This morning, the sound of the coffee pot running in my office was like music to my ears. Glimmer’s month-long gallivant across Equestria finally came to an end, and I wanted the details. Having just woken up, we were both in our bathrobes looking dishevelled. I handed her a mug and let her pour it herself; she was very particular about how she liked her coffee, and I didn’t trust myself to not fuck it up. She used her magic to scoop up a spoonful of sugar, eyeing it carefully. Her magic was able to precisely take a few grains off the spoon before it was dumped into the mug.

She took a small sip and grimaced. A miniscule pinch of sugar was added, and she smiled when she took a sip.

I just took my favourite coffee mug out of my desk. The inside was white, except for the bottom, dyed black from years of abuse. The outer walls were emblazoned with BOSS BITCH ; it was a goofy souvenir Dee got me working at Bargains, all the way back in Manehattan. I poured the black coffee, and sipped it with a sigh of contentment.

“The ol’ office cup. The gift that keeps on giving.” I said with a smirk, setting the mug to the side. “First things first: can we trust your friend to do the right thing?” I asked plainly as she sipped hers in turn, leaning back in her chair with a chuckle.

“Definitely.” she said, and I let out a sigh of relief. “Sunburst has always been on board with my ideas. At least, ever since he helped me pen that first edition of Mark’s.” She leaned forward in her chair and asked- “So… what’s the next step?” She asked giddily, and I shrugged.

“We wait.” That seemed to dash her hopes a little, and I added- “Obviously we can’t keep sending you over, that’d be too risky. So what I’ll do is I’ll have a lower-ranking agent drop letters off in his mailbox, detailing information we’ll need him to find… maybe a cover story on there, too!”

She sighed dejectedly, looking off to the side. “Glimmer, it’s not that I don’t trust you. I just think you’re too valuable to throw around like a regular soldata.” I rolled my chair to the other side, wrapping a wing around her back. “If you get pinched, there’ll be hell to pay- for all of us. There would be nothing I could do, you’d be at their mercy!” as much as I hated to admit it, that was the truth.

“... we’re in deep, aren’t we?” she spoke apprehensively I nodded with a smirk, thinking ‘she doesn’t know the half of it.’

“But we’re gonna come out on top.” I said, and her smile grew. “Just give it time. You’ll earn your button eventually.” I slapped her on the back, moving my chair back to its original spot.

“Earn my button?” She asked, a wary smile on her face. I just gave her a smug grin.

“All a boss has to do… is press a button, and the problems disappear.” She still seemed confused, so I leaned in and whispered, “You know- in a shallow grave.” I pulled back, and she nodded slowly.

“I see…” At first she seemed unsure, so I added-

“Imagine if you could do something about that Neighsay prick.” She blinked, and her frown curled up into a smirk. Hooves steepled, she looked off to the side and nodded.

“Ah, but enough about that!” I said, taking a sip of coffee. “Tell me- how was the vacation?” She shrugged with an eh, and said-

“It was okay. Things were… tragically calm in Equestria, all things considered.” I nodded, scribbling on a notepad. “The protests have died down because the ponies are too afraid to do anything about their situation.” We both shook our heads slowly.

“No fuckin’ balls, big surprise.” I muttered, taking a sip of coffee. “Is the Snitch Squad still… active?” I asked, referring to Gallus’ sort-of secret police program. The Snitch Squad wasn’t the official name for it, just what I called it.

“As far as I could tell, yes. Maybe at a reduced capacity now that things calmed down, though.” I nodded, kind of figuring that would be the case. Fear and paranoia have infected the minds of the ponies, which could fuck up our pamphlet idea.

“Shit… if the people are too piss-scared to do anything, what good would the pamphlets do?” I held my hand to my beak in thought, Glimmer did the same with her hoof to her muzzle.

Just then, my office's PA system crackled to life.

“Don Grimfeather, there’s been a situation in Crystalia that should be brought to your attention.” Tonio spoke into the mic, and I responded into my desk’s standing microphone,

“Just give me a rundown, please.” both Glimmer and I got papers ready to scribble-

“There’s been a terrorist attack in Crystalia. It started with food-service employees fighting for the right to unionise, ended in fire bottles being thrown at the guards.”

“HA!” I yelled, chuckling like a madwoman. “Turning pigs into bacon, I like it!” Glimmer gasped and said,

“Wait, maybe this will encourage the Equestrians to fight back?” I gasped, holding my fist up for a bump. She then sheepishly grinned and added, “This… might have been my doing.”

I leaned back in my chair, giving her a blank expression. I pressed the button on my microphone.

“Thanks, Tonio. Send the papers up.” I shoved the mic off to the side and leaned into my desk, noting the beads of sweat on Glimmer’s forehead. “Elaborate. What did you do?”

“No-nothing direct, if that’s what you meant!” I held my palms out, waiting for the explanation. She took a deep breath and explained, “Look, I just… there was this waitress, and-and… I don’t know why I felt the need… but I said- you can make a weapon out of a bottle, fuel, and a rag.” I nodded slowly with a smirk, Glimmer breathing a sigh of relief.

“I get it. Tired of seeing them sit back and take it?” She nodded slowly, and I added- “Good work.” She seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and a ding! told me the dumbwaiter arrived with the paper.

I cleared off the nearby table we used for meetings, taking a spot on the couch and gesturing for her to join me.

“What do we got?” She asked as we both read the paper.

The gist of it was that there was a strike going on, with the goal of unionising the service industries. When their demands were presented to the Crown, they were denied- and someone reportedly yelled out, “Fuck these rock-brains, they’re a bunch of druggies anyway,” with rock-brain being an insult to Crystal Ponies.

Well, the mood turned quite tense after that. Guards were called in, they postured with their magic shields and handgonnes… then a group nicknamed the Bleeding Hearts arrived, their cloaks bearing an amateurishly painted insignia resembling a broken, bleeding Crystal Heart.

“Prince Shining Armor has been tasked with keeping the peace, by any means necessary.” was the ominous way they chose to end the article.

We both took contemplative sips of coffee, each imagining ways this could end and what it meant for us. One thing was for certain, though; for now, travelling to and from Crystalia will be heavily discouraged. It wasn’t a big deal, though- Relatively few griffons ever chose to vacation in Snow Cuba except for the novelty of it.

Knock, Knock, Knock!

“It’s Adrian!” He announced himself, and I yelled back,

“Come in! Coffee’s on!” He wore a brown pilot's coat and a leather cap, his goggles hanging loosely around his neck with the left-lens blacked out. He wasted no time making his way to the counter, pouring himself a mug and just dousing it in sugar and milk. The spoon tinked around the mug, and I chuckled.

“You want some coffee with your sugar?” I asked, torturing myself with a sip of life-giving black coffee.

“I never knew you took your coffee Equestrian style.” Glimmer said, taking a sip of hers. He just chuckled, taking a seat across from us.

“Well, gallivanting around in an open-cockpit aeroplane tends to wake one's senses far more than caffeine ever will.” He took a deep sip and smirked. “Besides, I respect myself far too much to be subject to the tortures of unflavoured coffee. This is just for warming up, you know.”

I just rolled my eyes and turned to Glimmer. “Back in the army, we had to hold an intervention so this fuckwouldn’t waste all our sugar ration!” We shared a laugh as I put a cigarette in my mouth, lighting it and taking a deep pull.

Adrian turned to Glimmer with a smirk. “We had to bury the cigarettes in a wooden crate every night so she wouldn’t find them.” I huffed, rolling my eyes. “Every morning, it was like hunting for buried treasure!” They laughed at my expense, and I chuckled and rolled my eyes.

“Ball busting aside…” I turned to Glimmer with a smirk. “Take the rest of the day off. I got stuff I gotta talk about with Adrian.” I slapped her on the back, “That wife a’ yours misses you!” She smiled and nodded.

“You have no idea…” She said, getting up and grabbing her coffee and the newspaper- I didn’t really need it anymore, and she liked the crossword puzzles. “Talk to you later?” She asked, and I nodded.

She saw herself out, and Adrian turned to me with a smirk.

“The research and development phase of Operation Starfall is complete. I think we’re ready to transition into the manufacturing phase of the plan.” he said, and I grinned. “I never imagined a firearm could set off a seismograph… let alone one stationed miles away.” That comment was music to my ears, and all I needed to hear in regards to that.

“Slowly but surely.” I nodded, taking a drag of a cigarette. Adrian took a sip of coffee and asked politely,

“So… how goes things with Mrs. Tiara?” I smirked, nodding slowly.

“Fantastic. Girl has no patience, though- the first chance she got, she went to her doctor for a fetal analysis.” I took a puff of smoke, “Doc says to expect a unicorn filly.” He nodded, taking a deep sip of his coffee.

“Can’t blame her for wanting to know, though.” He chuckled and added, “I’d be lying if I said the anticipation of waiting for my niece didn’t make me want to know everything I could about her, before she was born.” I snorted out a peal of laughter,

“Please! I didn’t even know what I was gonna call her until I had her in my arms!” Then a thought crossed my mind, “With everything else in my life being so planned ahead, treating Anastasia like a surprise was like a breath of fresh air.” He nodded,

“I’ll drink to that.” He said, taking another sip of coffee. “Speaking of my favourite niece… How is she? I’d have stopped to see her, but she was already at school when I arrived.” He spoke morosely, and I smirked.

“I’m picking her up after school, if you wanna come with. Today’s her last day of grade 1, and it’d be a nice surprise.” He nodded with a warm smile, and I sighed. “She’s growing quick…”

Adrian had a smug look on his face, because he knew damn well he was taller than I.

“I swear to fuck, if she grows taller than me, you and I are gonna have a fuckin’ problem!” I joked, playfully waving a finger at him. He just shrugged, a sip of coffee covering the smug look he was giving me. It was all in good fun, though. If we were genuinely arguing, I’d have said- tough look coming from fuckin’ Peggy the Pirate over here!

My wife really loved the sounds he made that night, let me tell ya’.

“Anyways… I tell you I got an interview later?” I brought up, and he shook his head. “My wife, she’s been needing a new assistant, ya’ know?”

—

“Trixieeeeee!” Starlight sing-songed as she shut the bedroom door behind her. Her wife looked up from her spot on the bed; she was laying on her belly loaf-style, her magic holding a bowl of cereal and an open copy of Magician’s Monthly around her head. Her mane was messy and unkempt, and it looked like she’d just barely gotten out of bed.

Nonetheless, Starlight approached her wife and kissed her on the cheek, eliciting a giggle.

“Hey, honey…” She muttered with a grin, the bags under her eyes betraying her sleepiness. She lifted her head, and her wife nuzzled her neck. The adorable sigh of contentment made Starlight kiss her on the cheek.

She sat next to her wife in the same loaf-ish position.

“Thought you’d be… ready to go by now?” She asked suggestively, making the fur on Trixie’s neck stand.

“Tr- I thought you’d be working all day again…” she wondered, and Starlight gave her a wide grin.

“Leona told me Trixie misses you!” She paraphrased with a giggle, adding- “I wanted to respond, ‘I know! She was poking me all night!’”

“Well, it had been a month!” She whined, fidgeting with her hooves.

“And here I am now!” She exclaimed, hopping off the bed. “All refreshed, washed… ready to go.” she whispered into her ear, making her shiver.

Upon closer inspection, her wife looked quite good. Mane done up perfectly, smelling of tropical fruits. Fur trimmed and shiny looking and wearing an adorable smile and cute bathrobe… made Trixie excited.

Thwap!

A hoof hitting her rear made her yelp in surprise, a blush spreading across her cheeks. “Go freshen up. I’ll be waiting… Oh, Great and Powerful Trixie!”

She disappeared in a cloud of smoke like the road-runner, bathroom door slamming shut behind her.

Starlight sat back on the bed, eyeing the bowl of cereal in front of her. She shrugged, figuring her wife’s appetite was currently null-and-void, and remembering the fact that she’d skipped breakfast.

Half a bowl of soggy cereal having been taken care of, she decided it was time to play dress-up. A frilly purple saddle was chosen along with white-mesh stockings, and her look was completed with the application of makeup around the eyes. Mascara really helped to bring out her eyelashes, and wet red lipstick was a particular favourite of hers; her lips were like a brush, her wife being a delicate canvas. The artist's signature would take the form of horseshoe-shaped marks, left on her rear by special rubber shoes.

While her wife was in the shower, she called upon her friend Mrs. Rosy Hoof to help her get into the right mindset, only stopping to make absolutely sure the door was locked. Not only that, but thick curtains could seal themselves against the wall, so no angle could be used to peek inside. They used a new technology called Velcro to stick to the walls, ensuring her total privacy.

It wasn’t entirely for her, though. If she wasn’t thorough about it, her wife definitely would be.

So, she waited; sitting on the bed diagonally in that loaf position, one arm in front of her, the other resting beneath her underside. While she waited, she idly worked on the newspaper's crossword puzzles, held in her magic.

The bathroom door creaked open slowly, fog slowly pouring out. She was wearing that ridiculous purple wizard hat- but compared to the rest of her outfit, one could forget about that. She wore purple-cloth white-star patterned underwear, with black garter belts. A similar looking bra served to highlight her chest fluff wonderfully, and the laughably-small “cape” barely passed her shoulders.

“The Grrrreat and Powerful Trixie, has arrived!” Her showmares voice had a seductive, breathy undertone to it- and Starlight tossed the newspaper to the side. “I’m glad to have such a… loyal following.” she smirked, but blinked when she saw the odd look her wife gave her.

“Uh, Trix…” She kept glancing downwards, and Trixie blushed. “The masque?”

“Heh, silly me!” She giggled, horn lighting up. “I put it back on this morning when I thought you’d be out all day!”

Starlight focused on her lover’s beautiful face, but she could still see it from the corner of her eyes. Masque spells, developed recently after studying the magic which allows changelings to transform, can be used by highly-skilled ponies, to an extent. It allows all sorts of stuff- from combining with other spells, to changing entire body parts to appear different.

There was one flaw, though- not much could be done to alter the horn. Detached from the rest of her body, a doctor might assume that her horn belonged to a unicorn male. But that wasn’t who she was. She was a mare, through and through- no matter how she was born.

Despite having witnessed masque spells in action many times, it was hard to not get a slight sense of body horror; It was like blowing up one of those thin balloons used to make balloon animals. It’s like the illusionary marehood inverted itself, with ovaries morphing into testes, among other changes. But she blushed, as her lover's obvious excitement left her quivering in anticipation.

One thing’s for certain- Starlight needed this, and she knew it. Love and affection, above all else.

—

By midday, I was dressed in my normal coat-and-hat and ready to go.

“Are you sure you don’t mind taking care of the Snow Cu- Er, Crystalia address?” I asked her, fumbling over my words. She huffed, rolling her eyes and continuing to click away at the typewriter at her desk.

“Honey, I’m a month pregnant, I’m not fucking crippled.” I went up behind her, gently rubbing her shoulders. She huffed softly, turning and muttering- “Sorry… But I can handle myself!” I smirked, nuzzling her shoulder.

“Just don’t stress yourself out for my sake, honey. I don’t wanna see that!” She smiled, turning and kissing the side of my beak. “That’s why I’m interviewing that secretary you found today.”

And speak of the devil-

“Don Grimfeather, Mr. DeAngelo is waiting in your office with the interviewee.” Tonio’s voice rang over the PA system, and I smooched my wife’s cheek. Er, DeAngelo is Ross’s last name.

“I’ll be back, honey!” I said, and she waved me off.

“Eh, you do what you gotta. I need to focus on this.” She kissed me back, and I nodded in understanding.

I made my way to my office, letting myself in slowly so as to not startle anyone. Ross was sitting on the couch chatting with the interviewee, who I gave a smile.

“How’s it going?” I went up to her, shaking her hand. She gave me a nervous look, and I turned to Ross. “I got it from here, bud. Appreciate it.”

“Need me to stick around th’ house for anythin’?” He asked, and I shook my head. He turned and I remembered,

“Oh, there’s cannolis in the fridge downstairs for ya’!” With a knowing smile, he parted ways and I was left with… I don’t actually know her name.

I just casually took a seat at my desk, gesturing for her to take the seat across from me. A nearby paper had her name on it- Sybille Delapore.

“Mrs… Delapore?” I cocked an eyebrow, knowing I’d heard the name before. “Any relation to the defunct De La Poer family, that Barony from Nalot?” She blinked, apparently surprised I’d heard of it.

“Yes, actually.” That seemed to ease her nerves a little, and she went on- “Not many people make that connection!” I just laughed and admitted,

“I hope you don’t hold a lot of value to the meaning behind that name?” I pointed to the antiqueish locket on her neck, and she shrugged, “In the early days of our wonderful Syndicate, I had to entertain the nobility for a while. I wasn’t fond of it.”

“Eh, not really. My Great, great grandmother was estranged from the family, moved across the Celestial Ocean and Equestrianized her name. In fact…” She leaned in and said, “She used to keep some sort of family secret, written on a letter passed down to the next of kin, etcetera… but it was lost in a fire.” She just leaned back and shrugged, “I’d be a stranger to any remaining De La Poer descendents.”

Everything seemed legit so far- even down to her Strigiforme appearance, reminiscent of a barn owl, being a common trait amongst ancestral Nalotians.

“That’s good… So, why the sudden move back home?” I asked her with a knowing grin, suppressing the urge to wiggle my eyebrows like a knucklehead. I popped a cigarette in my mouth, holding the open end of the pack for her.

She smirked, taking one and popping it in her mouth. I flicked open my ornate lighter, lighting her cigarette before mine.

Clink!

Ash tray and a cloud of smoke between us, she spoke- “Economic opportunities, to be truthful. Or did you want to hear, ‘because I think I’ll be a great fit for this team!’” She joked, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Glad we’re on the same page here.” I took a puff of smoke and said, “Alright, let me lay it straight.” I leaned forward into my desk, resting my smoke on the nearby ashtray. In what was either an act of respect or quick thinking on her part, she did the same, sitting up straight.

“If you're working with my wife, you’ll be working for me. If either one of us asks you to do something, you do it. Anyone else asks a favour, just nod and pass it off to Tonio. He’s the head housemaid, he can delegate as needed.” She nodded, saying-

“Of course, Don Grimfeather.” I smirked, glad to know she already knew her station. I probably had Ross to thank for that, along with the pre-interview my wife did with her a few days back.

“Another thing you should know is that your position comes with a lot of trust. That trust is a valuable thing. If your loyalty is called into question, you might find yourself paying back a… vigorous debt.” I gave her a knowing look, and she didn’t even break a sweat.

“That’s a given. But personally, I love the syndicate and what it represents.” The way she spoke sounded genuine to me. “It’s a new era for griffonian workers!” I smirked.

“The syndicate has redefined the employer-employee relationship for the better.” I said, and she nodded. “Seriously. That trust, it comes with a lot of perks, too. Vacation time, sick time, days off, holidays off, you don’t even gotta pay your taxes since it’s coming from my checkbook anyway!” for the first time, she actually seemed taken aback. “Food, drinks, optional quarters within my compound, whatever keeps you happy!”

I leaned in and said, “Bottom line is, happy wife, happy life. Do whatever you gotta do to keep my wife happy, within limits; if you genuinely feel unsafe or don’t want to do something, come to me.” I figured I’d just leave the black and white to her own interpretation. “You keep my wife happy, I’ll make sure you stay happy. Fuck it- if she’s overworking you, come to me. I’m more than reasonable, you’ll find.”

She looked up at me with a nod, and I smirked, relighting my cigarette. I did the same for her.

“Any questions?” I asked her, and she shook her head.

“Nah, not really. During the prerequisite interview, Mrs. Tiara already went over what she’d have me doing.” I nodded, getting out of my chair.

“Then if you're interested, your offer letter could be as simple as a handshake.” We both looked at each other with a wide grin, shaking hands and sealing the deal. “Tonio’s downstairs inventorying the kitchen. He’ll get you situated.”

Personally, I had a good feeling about this one.

“It’s like I say; don’t take shit from a guy just because you work for ‘em!” I slapped her on the back on the way out, and she smiled and nodded. Before she stepped out of the room though, she stopped.

“Grimfeather…” She muttered to herself, turning towards me with a tilted head. “That name, is it Nalotian?” Once again, I was impressed.

“My grandfather was from Nalot, my grandma was from Fertilia. Good eye for details, huh?” I gave her a smirk, and she nodded.

—

“Aaaand here’s guest room five!” Tonio announced finishing off the tour of the house. “Syl, this is where you’re staying. Same accommodations as the other rooms!”

The tour had been going quite well- and Sybille, if that even was her name, was quite happy with the accommodations. But then- she noticed something odd.

“Is the carpet new?” she asked, noting that it looked newer and more vibrant than the others.

“Yeah, there was a spill or something when the old assistant left, it stuck to the carpet.” He shrugged, choosing to remain blissfully ignorant about what actually went down in this room. “Lucky you!” He said, playfully slapping her on the back.

She giggled, but then seemed nervous.

“That’s nice!” She glanced around and asked, “What made the old assistant leave?” Tonio’s warm smile fell slowly, and he turned to make sure the door behind them was locked. He gestured for her to follow him, taking a seat on the bed.

“You want my advice?” He spoke quietly, saying- “If you see something weird, no you didn’t. If you notice something odd or unusual, don’t ask for details. If someone has a weird conversation on the phone, they weren’t talking to anyone. And if someone disappears, they’ve found another job. Capische?” She nodded slowly, an unsure smile on her face. Somehow, she had a feeling that the old assistant was tasked with keeping maggots fed.

“How uh… how often-” Tonio just gave her a knowing smile, and she nodded. “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, and keep your mouth shut. I get it.”

“It’s as simple as that!” He said with a laugh, “Honest to goodness, this is probably the best job I’ve ever had!” Syl couldn’t help but smirk, thinking to herself- ‘How the hell did they indoctrinate this guy so well?’

“Is that so?” She asked politely, giving no hint to her internal disgust.

“Yeah! With the money I’ve made, both my parents could finally retire!” He pulled out a thick wad of bills, fanning through the stack to prove a point. “Working here’s gonna put all my nieces and nephews through college, and my connections to Leona got my brothers six-figure union jobs!” he then giggled, pulling a few bills out of the wad before pocketing it again. “A little taste of what’s to come. And my brothers, they told me I’d get nowhere in the housemaid business!” He slapped the few loose bills onto the bed before getting up.

“You need anything? Just use the PA to call me.” He said, making his way out the door.

Once he was gone, she let out a sigh and flopped backward onto the bed.

“Loyalty, paid for with blood money…” She muttered to herself… Then she eyed the bills next to her head. “I could use a new dress, though…” then with a sly grin she thought, ‘what the heck? I’m here, might as well get as much as I can out of it…’

Author's Note

I have a discord server for this fic out now!! It'd be real cool if u joined :333

TRANS TRIXIE!
Fun fact- in the show, she was originally envisioned as a male unicorn.

As always, thanks so much for reading! Likes and comments are greatly appreciated :3