The Bloody Deep

Pearl was fuming. Never in all her life had she been so peeved, so utterly disrespected, argued with, or downright spat on. No one gave a damn what she had to say during the negotiations, no one cared to listen on her points, and the arguments were just getting more and more circuitous.

"We should have it because we're allies!" one side would say.

"We should have it because we're more capable!" the other would retort.

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth they would go on all day long. Every day, for two weeks. But even as they bickered The Spire was faring well, keeping itself maintained and practically running itself, while the Choruses bickered and fought over every little thing.

"Well whoever looks the most eager could be the culprit!"

"Oh, so wanting to help is a crime now?!"

Pearl's hooves came crashing down onto the table, her glow tinted red with her rage. "ENOUGH!" she cried at last, steaming the water around her with her rage. Everyone went silent. Even Tide shrank in fear of her temper, and no one dared to challenge it. "You all are acting like little fry fighting over a shiny toy! How the hell do you expect things to get done around here, when none of you can get anything done?! Carol was special, she was one of a kind, I FUCKING GET IT ALREADY! But for Poseidon's sake, GET OVER YOURSELVES! SHE'S GONE!"

There was silence. Complete, and utter silence. The mare continued to steam, but she slowly sat down and smoothed her scales down. "Now... My Chorus has shown time and time again that--"

"They're pompous assholes?" someone piped up. There was a sharp drawing of breath, the water quickly thinning. It stayed that way as everyone held their breath, and Pearl's ears slowly folded back to press against her head.

"... Excuse me...?" she asked after a moment. "Did I hear what I think I just heard?"

With his hooves folded, a stallion leaned forward on the table, his eyes lidded lazily. He didn't seem to care she'd just exploded at everyone in the room-- In fact it only seemed to bore him. Pearl was both intrigued, and insanely angry. "You did," he responded coolly.

"And, pray tell, what did I hear...?"

"You heard, Pearl, that I called your Chorus 'pompous assholes'."

At that she chuckled dryly. The room was filled again with chilled silence. One could even say the tension grew so thick you could have cut it with a knife. "And why, would...would you say that...?"

He leaned forward. "Because you are just that. Pompous assholes who believe in the power of wealth over the power of other ponies. You have no idea how to run a happy Spire, and the ponies that stay with you are simply brainwashed schools of fish who don't know what a proper system is supposed to look like."

She scoffed. Then she chuckled. Then she cackled. She laughed at the idea of him so boldly, arrogantly insulting her and spitting in her Chorus' face to be the most hilarious thing she had seen or heard in years. No one spoke. No one else quite caught the joke. When she was done with her laughter, she carefully and slowly drew her dagger, and laid it gently on the table with a small smile. "I could declare war, here, and now... I could crush your tiny little Chorus and have you eat your words. Tell me why I shouldn't."

"Because you're nothing but a vague threat, and I shouldn't have to fear you." He stood up quickly, and Pearl followed. "You are weak excuse for a siren, and your voice is hideous to boot!"

A furious cry tore from her throat as she tossed her dagger at him, only to be hooked in the face by someone from his chorus. Tide lunged for the stallion who started it, and from there, all hell broke loose. While some ponies tried to pull them off each other, others took the opportunity to pounce on each other. There were no sides established, and everyone just took the opportunity to beat on one another. Hooves flew, blood sprayed... The guards cried out in outrage, trying to settle the fight desperately but only being pushed out of the way.

More quickly rushed into the room to settle the fight, and when they finally broke it apart, Pearl's glow was still a vicious red and a scratch across her face only seemed to be making her anger even more potent. They held her back from attacking the stallion she'd been trying to assault, and he pushed against the ponies holding him to spit in her face again. Even with his body littered with nicks and scratches, with his tail missing scales and his nose bleeding, he refused to give up. "I'll have your hide, Pearl! I'll have your spire, and I'll have your pitiful Chorus, too!"

She ground her teeth as she pushed against the ponies holding her, her voice rising to a hideous screech. "You know what this means, Capri!"

He hissed. "Yes... Yes, it means war!!"