A Very Nice Desk
"This will be your office, Ambassador."
Wildcard, formerly the changeling known as "Eta-Gamma", walked past Princess Celestia into what was apparently his new office. It was a bare room, with only a basic looking desk, a chair behind it, and a view to Canterlot behind that. It was situated high enough in the castle that one could even see into to the Unicorn Range through the towers of Canterlot, and Ponyville in the far distance.Wildcard walked up to and tapped the desk with with a holed hoof, it was hollow.
Celestia frowned behind him. "It's the best we could do on short notice, I'm sure we can do better in time." She trotted in and looked around. The wallpaper was peeling, the floor was dusty, and the chair had clearly seen better days. It had been a long time since Canterlot had housed an ambassador.
"Perhaps you could send for something from the Hive, to liven up the place," She suggested, noting the bare walls. "In any case, you can have your pick of the spare guest quarters, just make a note of it with one of the guards. There's also lodging in Canterlot, but you'll have to pay for that yourself."
Wildcard had turned the chair towards the window, and stared outside to the lands that lay beyond. He was away from his home, and for the first time in his life he would be away for an extended time, yet he felt relaxed. He had his orders, and he was free to carry them out as he saw fit. "Represent the Hive, to the best of your abilities."
Thanks to the friendship of Celestia, he was able to fill himself with magical energy, for the first time in his life he did it naturally, without force on either sides part. It was a different feeling than siphoning it forcibly, a better feeling. He spun the chair around to face the Princess.
"Thank you, Princess. This room will be fine." He said, removing his saddlebag and placed three things on the desk; paper, a series of quills (Plucked from the wings of one of the worker drones), and a jar full of ink.
"Good, There's no official business to conduct at the moment, so feel free to take in the sights of Canterlot. A portion of the money Chrysalis requested has been put aside for your use, a hundred bits I think "
Wildcard smiled, this was more than enough money to provide comfort, and his smile blossomed when he realized it came from the money Twilight owed the hive as recompense for her misguided 'liberation'."
"Thank you, I may do just that," Wildcard said. Celestia nodded and turned to leave, dodging Princess Twilight who had galloped into the room.
"Oh, Twilight!" Celestia stumbled to the side to avoid the hasty arrival of Equestria's newest Princess. "I was just introducing our new ambassador to his office."
Twilight blushed and skittered out of the way of the Princess of the Sun.
"Sorry! Sorry!" She said hastily.
"Don't be so uptight Twilight, just don't try to liberate our friend here." Celestia frowned at Twilight, who looked up at her with a look of total abject horror.
Wildcard looked on as for a second there was total silence, and it was then broken by Celestia smiling and patting her protege on the head. She then departed, leaving the two alone.
"She's joking." Wildcard said from behind his desk. Twilight still looked as if she had been convicted of murder.
"You're sure?" She asked.
"Positive."
"How would you know?" Twilight squinted at the changeling, who had begun separating the papers on his desk. Most of them were blank letterhead, and the others had information laws and regulations of Equestria.
"You didn't bring an army." He replied, not looking up from his work. At that, Twilight relaxed.
She noted the decayed state of the room as she walked towards the desk, the changeling tented his hooves on the desk.
"Is there something I can do for you, Princess?" He asked.
"I wanted to come and apologize once again for what I did, it was... wrong." The last word was spoken as if it's utterance would bring down the fury of an angry god.
"You've already paid for it, and I owe my job to your misguided invasion. Don't worry about it." Wildcard said in return. Taking out a quill he started to write the first of his letters home before noticing Twilight was still there, staring at him.
"Yes?" He asked again.
"I still feel... like I owe you something more." She said, and tapped the desk. It wobbled and spilt the jar of ink.
"Well I'm going to need some more ink," Wildcard said, spinning his chair to the side and standing. "This desk is terrible, and will also need to be replaced."
"That's it!" Twilight exclaimed, trotting to the window. "Come back tomorrow, I'll have something for you." She glanced back at him and then flew out the window. It didn't take long before her futile mockery of flight led her down to the street below. After her somewhat jarring landing she shook her head and trotted off.
Wildcard rubbed his forehead, and then slung his empty saddlebags over his back and trotted out. If he was going to represent the Changeling Hive, then he had better start meeting the locals. First, he wanted to see how the guard felt about the new state of affairs, it had only been a day since they had "liberated" the hive, with hope they had learned something from that.
Finding his way around the castle was relatively easy, he had been on assignment to infiltrate it a few times in the lead up to the ill fated invasion of theirs a few months ago. The floor plan had to be memorized by any of the changelings assigned to infiltrating the palace, a practice which has been promised to cease with the signing of the new treaty.
Clambering up the steps to the highest turret of the palace, Wildcard found the sentry waiting up top. A blue tail stuck out to contrast the golden Royal Guard armour. His gaze was turned outside as he stood, watchful for any threat.
"Excuse me." Wildcard said, tapping the guard on the back.
The guard spun around and pushed Wildcard over as he unholstered his spear and waved it around madly, seemingly not noticing the changeling below.
"Who goes there?" He demanded, eyes darting to and fro. After a moment he noticed the changeling, and grimaced.
"Oh, Ambassador," he said, extending a hoof as to help the changeling up. "I'm sorry." He pulled Wildcard up with one hoof while holstering his spear with the other. Ponies seemed to have remarkable balance, Wildcard noted.
"I should have known better then to sneak up on a sentry, it's in my nature," Wildcard said. "And you would be?"
The pony turned back to the window. "Flash Sentry." He said, continuing to stare out.
"Fitting." Wildcard mumbled.
"Sorry, what?" Flash asked.
"Nevermind. I wanted to ask where the new Captain might be found?" Wildcard asked.
"Can't help you there buddy, he hasn't been selected yet." Flash said, continuing his ever watchful gaze. Wildcard noticed he only seemed to be looking north.
He silently walked in front to see what was so interesting, only to find a cloudless afternoon in the world. Glancing back at the sentry he did a double take as he realized his eyes were closed.
Watchful for any threat indeed.
Wildcard sighed, and departed. There was no help to be found there. He walked back down from the turret and went to the throne room, finding Celestia on the throne with a pony he had never seen before at her side. Celestia appeared to be busy- the pony held a huge stack of papers.
"Ah, Ambassador, can I help you?" Celestia asked as he walked in.
Wildcard replied with a bow before coming before the Princess. "I was wondering who was in charge of the Royal Guard now, I wanted to get a feel for the peoples opinions on.. us."
Celestia chuckled. "You're making the same mistake Twilight did. If you want to know what the ponies think of you, go talk to the ponies. I don't control their thoughts, and neither does the guard." She got up from the throne and levitated a small satchel that had sat at it's side over to the changeling.
"This is yours, go out, explore." She said, dropping it in his saddlebags. Wildcard nodded.
"Thank you, Princess. I'll do that." He said, and bowed again before departing.
Shortly after he was outside the palace, breathing in the fresh air of a late afternoon in Canterlot. Ponies gave him strange looks as they walked by, but word had travelled fast that the changelings were no longer their enemies- Whether they were friends however, the average pony had yet to judge. Taking a deep breath, he trotted down the street. The ponies gave him a wide berth, and the guards posted here and there watched him intently. All eyes were on him, judging and noting his every action. His job was to ensure they judged him well, and noted his friendship positively. Stopping before a sign- "Best Cider until Ponyville"- He looked up at the establishment it stood before: Applebucks.
A fine place to start, he thought, and walked right in.
As soon as he entered all conversation stopped, and all eyes turned towards him. For a moment there was silence as Wildcard tried to figure out where to start. The pressure was intense. Glancing around there were a few dozen tables to his side, and directly before him was a bar counter behind which an orange earth pony stood, and so did a few dozen bottles of assorted beverages.
"Welcome to Applebucks." The mare said. "Can I help you?"
Thankful for the ice breaking, Wildcard forced himself to smile and walked to the bar. "A cider please," he said.
"Certainly." The orange pony said, and turned to grab a glass. "Have a seat, friend." As she said this the rest of ponies turned back to their conversations, and Wildcard did as asked, plopping his flank on a stool. As he listened he caught snippets of the conversations.
"Is Celestia sure about this?" "I'm still pulling that green stuff out of my mane!" "I imagine the Night Guard will run them out before long."
The tone of the room was clear: Suspicion. It made plenty of sense- they had after all been invaded by the changelings only months ago, and had been rightfully paranoid of infiltration since long before Wildcard was born. It would take substantial work to change their opinions. As he listened a mug of cider slid before him.
"First one's on the house, friend." The mare said, smiling warmly across the bar. "Names Applebuck, what do they call you?" She asked.
"Wildcard, and it's nice to meet you." He replied, and took a swig of the cider. Changelings had their own, but Equestrian Cider was a legendary delicacy outside.
Immediately his blue eyes fluttered open. The changelings had nothing on this.
Noting this, Applebuck laughed. "Good ain't it?"
"It's amazing, you could buy the Hive with a barrel," He said. It was entirely truthful, his comrades would live in the trees if it meant getting their hooves on a supply.
"That true is it? Maybe with the borders open we can strike a deal later." Applebuck said. Wildcard realized the genius in her offering a free 'sample'.
"Tell me, how much for a mug?" Wildcard asked, having a sudden idea.
"Five bits." Applebuck said, and cocked an eyebrow at him.
Wildcard took a quick glance at the rest of the room. He quickly counted out twenty ponies, not counting Applebuck.
A hundred bits.
He removed the satchel from his saddlebags and placed it on the counter. "I'll buy a round."
These words are universally able to quiet even the loudest of pubs with anticipation, and it was so here. All eyes turned once again to Wildcard.
"You sure about that, Wildcard?" Applebuck asked.
In response Wildcard raised his mug and faced the others. "To friendship!" He shouted.
"To friendship!" The crowd replied, and as one they drank.
A short while later Wildcard had finished his drink, and left the jubilant ponies behind. Coming into a warm Equestrian evening he noticed how much warmer it was, despite being further north than the Hive. Perhaps it was the altitude of the mountain. That would also explain why he was so tired, despite only being awake for around thirty hours. So he trotted back to the castle, his head held high knowing he had accomplished a good days work. Sure he was broke now, but he could explain it away as a 'necessary expense', and write home for more funding. The idea that they might strike a deal for access to Equestrian cider would surely be received well.
As he trotted he noticed that a blue figure was hovering in the sky above, following him. Wildcard knew exactly whom this was, but chose to ignore her for the moment. For a moment his instinct was to hide and change form, but he repressed that. He would have to be double sure to ensure that this pony, Rainbow Dash, never had any reason to report anything amiss to the Princess- any of them. Double timing it to the castle Wildcard noticed his vision began to blur. Equestrian cider really was strong.
Coming up the entrance to the palace he stumbled past the gate guards, who watched him with mild amusement. He turned down the hallway to the guest quarters, and hiccuped as he stumbled along. The thin air was suddenly becoming a problem combined with the cider.
Finding an open door he 'trotted' in, and was about to collapse into the bed when he noticed a white maned pony staring at him.
"Sorry *hic* wrong room." He said, clumsily bowing and backing back out.
"I'll say!" the mare shouted, and slammed the door shut behind him.
Continuing his journey down the corridor he saw two guards leaving one of the rooms and approached, swaying on his hooves as he addressed them. He noticed they looked just like the sentry from earlier.
"Is that *hic* room taken?" He asked.
The two stared at him, did Flash Sentry have a brother?
"No, it's not." Flash replied.
"Then you may *hic*-" Wildcard shook his head. "Inform the pr-*hic-ess that I will be lo*hic*ing here."
One pony looked at him, his head following the wobbly movements of the changeling.
"I'll uh, I'll see to it." Flash said, and departed, glancing back as the changeling wobbled his way into the room and shut the door with a green magic field.
"It's good to have m*hic*ic." Wildcard said to himself. Staring intently ahead he manoeuvred himself to one of the two beds, careful to match their odd swaying motion, and leapt on one.
He fell asleep before he landed.
Wildcard found himself in a field lit by a full moon that hung over a small town ahead. He recognized this to be ponyville, but it was eerily still and quiet. Approaching the town he noticed eyes watching him from behind closed doors and barred windows. In the middle of the main street stood a single figure, shrouded by a cloak. The pony's glowing eyes watched his approach intently.
"They'll never accept you." The figure said.
"And why not? We're just a friendly as you are, times change."
"I may have been gone a thousand years." The figure said, and whipped it's head back to remove the cloaks hood. "But the world hasn't changed that much. The changelings have always coveted Equestria, and you always will."
"Princess Luna." Wildcard bowed in spite of his profound, mutual, dislike of the Princess of the Night.
"I am no Princess of yours, and I will have you know that I am watching you, closely." She stared him down. "If you so much as bruise a single citizen, I will do as is my right and see to it you go home- permanently," she threatened.
"You will get no such chance." Wildcard said, meeting her gaze. "In time, maybe you will see as your sister did."
Luna snorted. "I doubt that. My sister is wise in her rule, but she is too easily trusting. Do not betray her trust or you will rue the day." Luna said, flipping her cloak back up.
Before Wildcard could respond he awoke in his room to a knocking on the door. Sitting up he was greeted by a pounding headache and the blazing morning sun in his eyes. Equestrian cider was a weapon.
"Who is it?" Wildcard shouted, rubbing his eyes.
"You're requested in your office, Ambassador." A voice outside said.
"Give me a few minutes." Wildcard replied, and got to his feet. Finding a washroom nearby he washed his face and then looked on himself in the mirror. A hungover changeling looked much like any other hung over creature, with the notable difference that the dehydration caused the blue colour to drain from their eyes, leaving Wildcards a dim grey. He took a few minutes to shower and try to make himself appear somewhat presentable before departing.
As he walked down the hallway towards his office, his head still pounding, he heard an odd sproinging sound following him. Glancing back a pink pony appeared to be tailing him.
"Can I help you?" He asked.
The pony came to his side, still jumping up and down as if a weird combination of spring and pony. "You're a changeling right? Can you change into anything?" she asked.
"Anything with the same body mass." Wildcard replied.
"So... you could change into Starswirl?" She asked.
"I suppose, that's an old unicorn wizard right?" Wildcard asked as they rounded a corner. The springing pony was not helping his headache.
"Could you? Please?" She asked, looking at him with the look of a sad puppy.
"If it will make you stop following me." Wildcard said. A green glow overtook his body, and after a moment he had taken the form of the ancient bearded wizard. His tail stopped and giggled before galloping off.
Wildcard paused to rub his forehead, and then recognized the entrance to his office just up ahead. As he rounded it and entered the room he was almost as shocked at what he found within as the pony inside was to see him.
"Starswirl!?" Twilight exclaimed. She looked, quite rightly so, as if she had seen a ghost.
"W-" For a second Wildcard was confused, but realized from the burst of laughter behind him what had happened. Dropping his disguise Twilight glared past him.
"Pinkie Pie, that's not funny!" She yelled, and then glanced at the ambassador. "The ambassador isn't a toy!"
Wildcard joined the pink pony in her laughter. "It was a pretty good trick," he said, it was certainly a fine way to prove the changelings had a sense of humour.
Focusing back at the room before him, Wildcard looked on a brand new desk carved of beautiful mahogany capped with an elegant lamp- fresh paper and ink to boot. He trotted past Twilight as she tackled Pinkie Pie outside and marvelled on the desk's beauty. His chair had even been replaced by a dark red chair that seemed fit for the Queen herself. Running his hoof along the smooth shining wood of the desk he trotted around it and put his flank down on the incredibly comfortable chair. The desk before him even had six drawers at his disposal.
"It's beautiful." He said. Twilight looked back from her tussle with Pinkie Pie long enough for the pink one to dash away.
"I had Applebloom make it, she's gifted." Twilight said. "I hope it's good enough."
"Princess, this desk is worth more then enough to be even with the Hive alone. I can't thank you enough." He said, and rubbed his forehead at a sudden pang of headache.
Twilight looked at him. "Are you hurt?" She asked.
"Not hurt, just hungover." he explained, and rolled his head on his neck.
A magneta field encapsulated his head, and quickly the blue returned to his eyes, and the pain left his head. Gasping at the sudden return to normality he stared at the pony.
"Thank you," he said.
"Don't mention it, it's what friends do," Twilight said.
Glancing back she spotted the pink pony creeping across the doorway, and then took off after her friend. Wildcard was left alone in his office, with a very nice desk ahead of him.
"It really is beautiful." He said to himself once again. "This 'Applebloom' must be a wildly respected craftsperson." He noted, taking a look inside the drawers. As he did he heard some pony trot in.
Wildcard looked up to see a royal guard approaching "Ambassador Wildcard?" the guard pulled a document out of a saddlebag. "Mail for you," He said.
"Thank you." Wildcard said, levitating the letter out of the guards hooves and opening it over the desk. The guard saluted and then left.
Wildcard had received his first real official business.
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In first chapter
It's Starswirl the bearded not Starsworl
High altitude is colder.
A few thoughts, jotted down as I went along.
I would find this embarrassing, not relaxing, if I were Twilight. It's a reminder of what a disaster bringing an army was, and implies that if she were there with an army, she'd do the same thing again.
Politics in Equestra apparently work much faster than in our world. One day is a really short time to get an ambassador appointed and sent.
Buying everypony a round of cider is a great idea. Also drunken changelings are amusing.
Er... higher altitudes get colder, not warmer. I guess maybe he doesn't know that. Maybe it's Celestia's presence?
The dream with Luna is good, I'm glad that everypony isn't just coming around with no struggle.
The prank is very Pinkie Pie, and it made me laugh, but I have to wonder about changeling powers now, if Wildcard can be a Starswirl that's good enough for Twilight to recognize him, when he doesn't seem to know much about him. How does he know what Starswirl looks like, when all he knows about him is he's an old unicorn? I did like this scene, I just can't help but pick at that kind of thing. :)
Yep, definitely not politics as they work in our world, if real business is getting done on day two!
This already feels more developed than the first story. I'm enjoying it so far.
Ma-hogany…
BOOOOOOO BOOOOOOO FLASH SENTRY SUCKS BOOOOOOOO
YES RUE THE DAY SUCCESS THANK YOU
should be more than enough not then
7064964
I have fixed that and I smiled at the rest of your comments, :)
Flash Sentry sleeps on duty. Noice.
( 'ω')
Calling a changeling a "friend" so fast? Wow. That Applebuck is excessively friendly, I'd say.
Changelings have their own cider? I thought they steal it from ponies from time to time. They are master shapeshifters after all.
As usual, fast,
BUT REALLY ENJOYABLE THANK YOU
I LOVE stories that focus on STORY and not excessively bland detail.
This is AMAZING TYTY