CHRYSALIS
It was common courtesy to bow down to a queen; they were the supreme rulers, after all, and such a position demanded only the highest respect. Equestrian citizens practically slammed themselves to the ground at the mere sight of one of their princesses, and griffonians always respectfully tilted their heads at the sight of their beloved empress. Queen Chrysalis demanded no such courtesy, but she was beginning to wish that she had.
Respect is a lost art, she thought to herself while staring at the creature in front of her. To even begin to think that he was once one of her own was absurd, though she didn't dare even hinting at expressing such an opinion; the changeling across from her was far too vital to rub the wrong way.
Tepes the Changeling, called the Impaler by far too many for comfort, was a rather blunt creature, much like the end of his stakes. There was no hint of emotion in his words at any point in time, and he was not one for side banter and stalls; he told you what he wanted, and he made it very clear. He had lost the distinctive Changeling accent from being above ground; he now spoke in a similar manner to an ordinary Equestrian or Griffonian. He also almost always got what he wanted as well; the Black Hive mercenary band were rather feverish in their pursuits. Chrysalis knew this well, though she hoped she wouldn't give the Hive a reason to run her down.
The room the two changelings gathered in was considered very nice among their culture; the table in the center they both sat at, the only furniture in the small room, was crafted from the finest chitin available, and the slime that inhabited the walls was arranged in a nice and orderly pattern. It was dimly lit from various candles around the room, which faintly smelled of sunflowers; Chrysalis’s favorite. To an Equestrian, the sunflower scent was like to give them an appetite which would most likely be terminated seconds later upon viewing the oddities of the Changeling culture. To Chrysalis, the room was splendid; the changeling seated across from her was not.
The two had only barely exchanged formalities, but it appeared as if the Black Hive co-leader had already formulated an opinion of Chrysalis. He looked bored to be in the seat he had just sat down at, with an apathetic expression becoming more apparent by the second. His posture, however, was perfect; he sat as straight as an arrow, with his hands neatly at his side. He would almost look professional if the look of distaste had been pried from his countenance.
“So,” he began, placing his right hoof on the table from his side, “You dragged me all the way here to Equestria, a place I’m rather inclined to avoid, to talk to me about a contract. I do hope this is captivating, Chrysalis, or you’ll have wasted both my time and yours. Speak.”
He treats his queen like a peasant, Chrysalis thought. She attempted to hold her tongue on the matter, but she succumbed to her pride as she began to reprimand the mercenary.
“I don’t know if you remember, Tepes, but you were apart of the changeling hive before you, and disgracefully, may I add, disconnected yourself from the hive network. I will not accept your utter disrespect when I am one of the sole reasons you stand here now,” she said, her voice rising with every word. Angering her further, Tepes merely sat back in his chair, his expression unchanging.
“First, I was never a part of the Changeling hive; I may have been lawfully, but never in spirit. Second, you dragged me all the way here from Zebrican; I get to patronize you, and you get to state your demands and see if I care. I incline you to do so already, as I could be doing much better things.”
“I...I could kill you so quickly, you wouldn't have time to regret that last statement of yours,” Chrysalis exclaimed, violently standing up as her chair fell to the ground with a thud. Upon seeing that Tepes would not budge, as he hadn't moved an inch or changed his expression in the slightest, Chrysalis gave a long sigh and picked her chair back up, setting it neatly in the spot it had once occupied before sitting down again.
“I don’t regret anything, Chrysalis. Now, we've wasted enough time; you obviously really need our assistance, or I’d be a corpse, so I know you won’t kill me. What is it that you want from us?” asked Tepes. Chrysalis found herself lounging in her chair just a tinsy bit more; this would be a long explanation.
“I’m attacking Canterlot with my army in two weeks time. Our supply of love is running thin, and my citizens are starving. Canterlot is filled to the brim with it, and so I aim to bring my army there; it is also, of course, a major political conquest if we were to take the city, along with having an endless food supply. I need your Black Hive to initiate a kidnapping mission at the heart of Canterlot, if you can pull it off.” At this, Tepes' eyes perked up; Chrysalis had captured his interest.
“We can pull off anything. Who is this target? A noble, or perhaps a guard?” This was where Chrysalis got worried; she feared Tepes would lose interest once she revealed the grand target, but this is what she brought him here for; it was now or never.
“A Princess, actually; Mi Amore Cadenza. She happens to be in town for her wedding, and she’ll be marrying the Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor. You are to bring her to me, so I can take her form, and impersonate her. Once I have Shining Armor completely under my control, he’ll lower the gates and my army will come swarming in, unexpected and unrelentless. You will be given whatever you want in payment.”
Tepes looked up to the ceiling and closed his eyes, his body perfectly still. His silver, lustrous armor, paired with a rather vicious looking longsword sheathed at his side, made no sounds when he shifted, which baffled Chrysalis, but she made no mention of it. For what seemed like an eternity, Tepes stayed completely silent and unwavering before he finally began to speak, still retaining his meditative stance.
“We can certainly do this, but it’s going to cost you. A lot. I always like money, of course, and there will be that, but there is something else that I would love your assistance with.”
Finally, Tepes opened his eyes and returned to his previous sitting position.
“There is a entrance to Equestria from Griffonia, and so forth, called the Rigid Pass; I’m sure you've heard of it. As of right now, the pass is under the possession of the Griffonians, and guarded with security detail twenty four seven; you can’t go in or out without permission from either an Equestrian or Griffonian authority. Due to the mountainous nature of the edge of Equestria, it is very difficult to cross the border when the need arises. If we were to have the Rigid Pass, we could get to and from Equestria to Griffonia much easier and much faster. Do you see where I’m going?”
“You want the Pass,” Chrysalis remarked, understanding, though she didn't like where the conversation was heading.
“That we do, but we don’t want to get it ourselves; the Griffonians would be on us faster than a rainboom. No, we would rather the heat be on another group, and you called for us just in the nick of time. You get us the pass, and a payment of ten thousand bits, and we’ll accept, and complete, your contract.”
Ten thousand bits was ridiculous to begin with; Now he wants a military outpost? Thought Chrysalis. She had heard that the Black Hive was rather ludicrous in their demands to begin with, but this was insane.
“I can’t pull that off, and you know it. I’d have Griffonia’s entire army waiting by my doorstep, which I simply cannot risk. Stop being ridiculous and we can talk like adults.” He negotiates like a child, and yet he carries himself like the most mature of creatures.
Chrysalis saw something she wagered she would never see again; a smile slowly crept across the face of Tepes as he began to speak.
“Well, you’ll have to find some way to do it, or you won’t get Cadenza for your invasion. I know what you do as well; there isn't another paramilitary that can pull off something on this large of a scale. Besides, if you don’t want an army at your doorstep, I would recommend not invading Equestria, as the folks here are rather sensitive.”
It was Chrysalis’ turn to ponder now. Well, we could do it. Of course, as I said, Griffonia would likely declare war, but if this invasion is a successful one, we’ll have another army to back us. That would result in a Changeling victory in Griffonia, but I really shouldn't be thinking this large; we haven’t even kidnapped the Princess yet. We won’t be able to do so, or we’ll at least have an extraordinarily low success rate, if the Black Hive refuses. Which they will, if we don’t give them this damn Pass.
Chrysalis closed her eyes and sighed in defeat. Rolling her eyes, she began to address the co-leader, who was now grinning from ear to ear.
“Very well; you’ll get your Rigid Pass, along with the money you requested. You’ll get the money and the pass after the job is completed, of course, though I would expect you would come to that understanding. The Pass will be delivered to you after the invasion of Canterlot is successful, as I know it will be with the capturing of the Princess, and we’ll have a deal. Is everything understood?”
With those last words, Tepes cleared his throat and stood, pushing his chair back a foot with a screech. He looked Chrysalis right in the eyes.
Chrysalis usually saw nothing but the color blue in a Changeling’s eyes; they were drones, after all, and thought what she did, bending to her every will. This changeling was not connected to her hive mind, however, and she could immediately tell. His eyes burned with an emotion where his face did not, a swirl of anger and determination piercing into her soul like a thousand daggers. Chrysalis felt something that she hadn't experienced in years on end, and from one of her own race; fear.
“I don’t know, Chrysalis. I’m sure you've heard the tales of what happens to those who don’t give us what we ask for. I would like to have you understand something that I value very, very highly; my stakes don’t judge the status of those they impale. You’ll have Cadenza in a week, so I’ll give you one week to prepare for your invasion. I expect it succeed, of course, or we’ll have a problem. I’ll show myself out.”
With that, Tepes promptly turned around and exited the room, not acknowledging the servant Changeling waiting at the door in the slightest.
That went about as well as I expected it, thought Chrysalis as she too got up to leave. The diplomacy room was rarely used, as they didn't get visitors much and the way Changelings solved problems had absolutely nothing to do with diplomacy. She never really took a liking to it; the room was nice, but there was a certain air about it that repealed her. It’s probably because things like this happen every time I walk in here.
With another sigh (Chrysalis found herself doing this more and more lately), the Changeling queen also got up from her spot and was on her way back to her bedroom when the servant at the door stopped her. This servant was one of Chrysalis’ chosen; he could somewhat think for himself, while still being heavily influenced by the Queen.
“Pardon me if I speak out of place, your highness, but do you truely intend to deliver this pass to these mercenaries?”
Chrysalis stared blankly at the servant in deep thought for a few seconds before giving her answer.
“No, I do not.”
THARN
Playing Blackjack was much like waging war, Tharn reasoned; you had to know when to give up and when to trudge on, and you couldn't be afraid of taking either chance. There was also something on the line; here, it was a few bits, while lives and cities were common wagers in the game of war.
"Ante up, my friends!" called Syphys, the current dealer. Tharn had only just met Syphys, but he had taken a liking to him rather quickly. He was obnoxiously boisterous, complete with an insubordinate attitude and a mouth that never shut; just the kind of changeling Tharn enjoyed. A good soldier by Black Hive standards, and a great one anywhere else, he could certainly make up for his less than flexible attitude, that was for sure. Sighing, Tharn pushed in the pathetic amount of money he had left on the table into the center pile.
"I didn't expect my final stand to begin so soon after my promotion," Tharn grumbled as he leaned back in his chair and awaited the newest hand to be dealt. The other three players broke into laughter and, despite his recent loss of funds, Tharn couldn't help but join in. Their banging on the table almost knocked the lamp in the center of it almost topple over, though Syphys was able to catch it before it fell.
It had always been said that the Equestrian sky was the greatest of them all, and that the stars swam across the sky with an elegance unmatched throughout the entire planet. Tharn, after arriving in Equestria and pitching camp on the top of a sizable hill, couldn't think of any other statement he could agree more with at the moment. It truly was beautiful, even among the chatter of the large masses of soldiers at the camp and the occasional clang of steel. A perfect place to lose all of your money at.
The cards came around at a steady pace, and one down card and one up card eventually found themselves across from Tharn; the up card was a ten. This was, as Tharn had joked earlier, his last stand; if he won, he would win the pot and stay alive a little longer. If he lost, he would be completely cleaned of funds and then publicly shamed by his friends as he leaned back in his chair and watched his friends get richer than him. Lady Luck hasn't helped me yet.
"Okay, you can look at your cards now. Best of luck to none of you," Syphys proclaimed; with that, the round had began. Tharn peaked at his cards and tried his absolute best not to roll his eyes at the horrible hand he had been given.
A six and a ten. Wondrous. In Blackjack, almost nothing was worse than the dreaded sixteen; busting was only moments away, but simply staying on the sixteen usually didn't warrant a winning hand. Should the cards be two eights, Tharn could have split the decks; they weren't, however, and he was left with a hard sixteen. There were some folks who played under the surrender rule, where one would lose half the money they wagered, though these were not those type of people; the Black Hive never surrendered.
Tharn gazed around the table and didn't like what he saw. Shypys had an king as his up card, whilst the other two players,Thrax and Dio, both had queens as their up cards. Really? Now had to be the time the universe decided to do something that unprobable?
Tharn looked down at his hand again, and then back up a his fellow players; he didn't get much from them. They're soldiers, after all, and they're trained not show emotion. Why did I play blackjack with professionally trained killers again?
He simply had to hit; that was out of the question, as a sixteen would be much too low to win the game. However, if he got anything above a five he would be done, and that wasn't uncommon in blackjack. Lady Luck obviously did not respect the life choices of Tharn the Changeling, though that would stop him from trying.
"I assume we're good, then? Dio, you first. Hit or stay?" asked Syphys, a grin on his face.
Dio mimicked the expression and leaned back in his chair, raising his arms in the air. "No, I'll stay."
Dio the Changeling was one of the most trustworthy and reliable friends Tharn had ever known; naturally, because of this, he was probably the the biggest lying cheat that had ever put a hoof on a playing card deck. Not surprising that his playing card tactics reflect his battle tactics. All changelings may be shifty bastards, but Dio's the shiftiest. Tharn wouldn't ever want to see such confidence in a game of blackjack, but having it come from Dio was extraordinarily worrisome.
"Alrighty then, boss, looks like you're up. You want be to clean you out, or are you gonna do it yourself?" Syphys, too, sounded confident, which only served to put Tharn even more on the edge.
"You'll need to do this for the sake of the game and you'll want to do this after I take all your money; hit me." With a laugh, Syphys tossed him a card from across the table. Reaching out to retrieve it, Tharn turned it over to reveal an ace, exactly the card he didn't want.
Obviously, I can't use the ace as a ten, or I'd bust; That would bring up my total by one, and I could stay here. Dio's confidence trick seems to be working, as I'm not too inclined to do that. I suppose I'm just gonna have to-
"Hit," said Tharn as he leaned back in his chair once more. Raising his eyebrows, Syphys threw him yet another card from the deck; much to the relief of Tharn, Lady Luck had decided to prove her kindness.
A three! That should do it. Now, to sit back and wait. "I'll stay, thank you." With those words, Syphys' countenance faltered ever so slightly, something Tharn was grateful to see.
"Very well then. Thrax, that leaves you. Hit or stay?"
Thrax was the type of soldier that didn't need to actually fight you; he had you beat from the moment you laid eyes on him. Thrax was probably the best soldier in his squadron, but not in the way that soldiers were generally considered good; rather than using brawn, Thrax was probably the most intelligent being Tharn had ever laid his eyes upon. There wasn't a situation that was too much for Thrax to handle, and no enemy that he couldn't decipher; precisely why he was currently the richest player at the table.
"Hmm...hit me," said Thrax. Syphys passed the card over to him, and what happened next was nothing short of a miracle. Rolling his eyes, Thrax flipped over his card to reveal that he had a king, a seven, and the up card queen; a total of twenty seven, and a number over twenty one.
"Bust. I suppose the odds were eager for something new." A collective groan escaped the lips of everyone else at the table, which prompted Thrax to respond with a chuckle. Once everyone settle down, Syphys grabbed a card from the deck and brought it over to himself.
"I'll hit, for the good it'll do me...or not." flipping the card over, Tharn saw that his prayers had once again been answered; he had drawn a king, which, when paired with his up card king and a two, created a total of twenty two. Tharn immediately turned his head to Dio, who still had that confident look on his face.
"You ready?" asked Dio.
"As I'll ever be," replied Tharn, and they both turned over their cards.
Defeat did not come to the Black Hive often, and it had never come to them during the duration of Tharn's service; however, blackjack was a completely different story. Like one of his daggers easing its way into an enemy's back, Dio's hand effectively ended Tharn; the up card king was paired with the equally deadly ace of spades, totaling up to the flawless twenty one, just coming away with the victory.
"You hear that? That's the sound of the drink you won't be able to afford," said Dio as he mimicked the drinking from a flagon, complete with sound effects. As the whole group laughed, Tharn laughed along, despite his recent loss in fortune. As he looked to the left, however, he saw a very familiar shape approach the camp; Tepes had returned.
"ATTENTION!" screamed Tharn, drawing out the command. Everyone, including his fellow blackjack buddies, immediatly turned towards the direction of the approaching figure and brought their hooves to their brows in a salute. Tepes stopped at the edge of the encampment and pointed towards Tharn.
"Co-Leader Tharn, to me; we need to talk in private. The rest of you, continue what you were doing but don't get comfortable; we'll be having a meeting soon. Dismiss." With those words, the clang of steel resumed and the boisterous yelling continued. Tharn gave his goodbye's and followed Tepes to the tent at the edge of the encampment where the both of them slept. It was smaller than the larger tents, as it only housed two, and it was a dark green as opposed to black in order to discern the leaders lodging from the regular ones, if it's massive size didn't already.
When they entered the tent, filled with only two cots and two chests filled with their gear, Tharn zipped up the flap behind him and sat down on the ground across from Tepes, who had pulled tea out of somewhere and was currently taking a sip of it. Seeing that Tepes wasn't going to be the one to talk first, Tharn gladly took up the role.
"So, what did Chrissie want? Some military outpost or a strong town?" Tepes sipped on his tea for a few seconds before answering.
"No, actually. She wants Canterlot, and we're the first step in helping her take it. Care for some tea?" The air was silent for a few seconds before Tharn was able to get any words out.
"Wait wait wait, Canterlot? Like, the thriving capital of Equestria with one of the best millitaries in the world Canterlot? Why the hell would you ever accept a contract like that?" asked Tharn, the confusion obviously apparent. In response, Tepes set down his tea and began to rapidly explain the situation.
"We won't be among her invading army, I can assure you. Our job is to capture a Princess of Equestria, Mi Amore Cadenza. Cadenza will be in town for her wedding, as she is marrying the Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor. We capture Cadenza and hand her over to Chrysalis, thus making her able to imitate Cadenza up to and on the wedding day, so she can lower the gates of Canterlot when its least expected and invade the city."
That's so stupid it may actually work, thought Tharn as he stared blankly into space; a stare he kept when asking his next question.
"How do you propose we pull off this job? Cadenza is like to be surrounded with countless guards at all times, if not most of the time, so when do you wish for us to strike?" Tepes set down his tea and stood up, his head just barely missing the top of the tent.
"That's where you come in. Tomorrow is Monday and we'll do the job on Saturday. You and two of your choice will travel to Canterlot tomorrow and likely get their on Tuesday if we're lucky, as we don't have too much time. I want you to develop a dossier Cadenza, with no room for error; if she's always surrounded by guards, let me know. If there is a window where she isn't, let me know. I want her favorite shops, hobbies, everything you could possibly get on her so we can do this right. We'll arrive on Friday and get the job done on Saturday. Sound good?" Dusting himself off, Tharn got up to meet Tepes at an eye level; they were both about the same height.
"Yes, it's a good plan, but I do have one more thing to ask. This seems like a rather big heist, and I know you wouldn't accept this if something other than money was thrown in with it, so I ask you; what is Chrysalis going to give you?" asked Tharn. Tepes gave a what was considered a rarity around the Black Hive; a smile.
"Money is included; ten thousand bits; but I demanded something else. I requested that the Changelings take Rigid Pass for us, as it would be a tremendous strategic military standpoint for the Black Hive." Tharn gave a confused look.
"The Rigid Pass? I don't think I've heard of that before." Tepes' smile grew wider, and it was then that Tharn caught on to the schemes of his fellow co-leader.
"I would hope so, as it doesn't exist. Oh, and one more thing before you go; make sure that, by the end of the job, Canterlot knows something is planning on attacking them; we wouldn't want the conquest to be to easy, we would we?"
