"Next turn, roll for initiative clockwise around the table. You first, Lieutenant." Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor says in his DM role, during the overnight meeting of the Oubliettes and Ogres group in Canterlot Castle. Shining speaks from behind his DM screen, at a place around a large circular table where the rest of the group - Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, Lieutenant Aldebaran, Guard Upper Class Buck Withers, Guard Upper Class 8-Bit and Guard Upper Class Gaffer - are gathered.
"Thank you." Lieutenant Aldebaran replies, rolling a D20 die between his hooves for his archer character.
"I'm curious about something, sir." Buck Withers asks in Shining Armor's direction, drawing the latter's attention toward him.
"Ten! Rolled a 10." Aldebaran exclaims after dropping the D20 onto the table, then passing it down to Princess Cadance seated beside him.
"What are you curious about, Buck?" Shining Armor asks, noting the 10 on a scratch pad as Cadance rolls the D20 herself via unicorn magic.
"Lieutenant Troilus, considering he's been going on a lot about how the pegasi in the service are corrupt..." Buck Withers replies, his tone somewhat awkward and a bit of blush on his face.
"It certainly has to do with a couple different things, I'm afraid Buck." Shining Armor begins to explain.
"I rolled an eight for my character." Princess Cadance primly states, before passing the D20 in turn to Princess Luna.
"A couple of different things?" Buck asks as Shining Armor notes down the 8 for Princess Cadance's "dance battler" character.
"Well, for starters, there was the Operation Whirlwind rebellion you were lucky enough to survive only because you were not specifically targeted to be taken..." Shining Armor states, only to be interrupted by a burst of the "Royal Canterlot Voice" coming from Princess Luna.
"A NATURAL ONE?! THIS ROLL IS UNACCEPTABLE!" Luna indignantly bursts out, the gusting wind that comes with it blowing over the figures on the map in the center of the table as well as several drinks on the table. This prompts a round of groans from the other members of the group as they start to try to clean up the resulting mess.
"We'll let you re-roll, Luna. In the meantime, keep the die moving." Shining Armor pragmatically sighs out, seeing Luna glaring angrily at the D20 as she passed it a moment later to Guard Upper Class Gaffer.
"You were saying, sir?" Buck Withers asks Shining Armor.
"Ahh, yes. Most of the casualties of Operation Whirlwind on the loyalist side were ponies Troilus either considered friends or subordinates at one point or another in his Guard career. Add in the fact that Aten deliberately kept him on the sidelines as a scapegoat for the failures around Luna's return..." Shining Armor begins to explain.
"Rolled a three." Gaffer sighs out in disappointment before passing the D20 on to 8-Bit.
"And after we made it clear that the failures were not to be held against him." a still-miffed Luna adds to Shining's explanation.
"I don't think it helps that he's the most senior Lieutenant on that shift now, even more senior than the Lieutenant Captain..." Cadance quickly chimes in.
"All of that very true." Shining Armor states, working on noting the turn order as he does so.
"Fourteen!" 8-Bit exclaims.
"Alright, let's let Luna reroll." Shining Armor cautiously states, daring a peek from behind his DM screen as Luna once again takes up the D20.
Nopony around the table dares even breathe as Luna picks up and rerolls the D20... and then there is an irritated growl from Luna as the result of the roll comes up to her dissatisfaction.
"Natural one again. The dice must hate you tonight." Shining Armor dryly notes, and several ponies stifle giggles as Luna crosses forelegs in a pouting gesture...
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MEANWHILE, IN THE BACKROOM OF A CANTERLOT INN...
"Well, Your Highness, I think that was a very productive meeting we had earlier. Double the number of ponies came out this time, and we certainly should keep up with those discrete mailers..." Lieutenant Troilus was commenting.
"Lieutenant, do we really need to be talking about conquest and slavery? It's been barbaric enough with Celestia's response to the Agents of Chaos..." a worried Prince Blueblood begins, but is cut off by Troilus raising a hoof.
"Make no mistake, Your Highness. Those pegasi have done things deserving of the treatment, whether Celestia thinks so or not. Killing indiscrimately and ruthlessly, shattering unicorn horns and lives, taking trophies... they don't deserve to live, but letting them live as slaves would be a sweeter victory than simply slaughtering them all." Troilus responds, and the fire Blueblood sees in his eyes causes the unicorn prince to hesistate in his response.
When the response does come, it is tentative: "Well, I don't disagree that justice needs to be served, but I'm sure Celestia..."
"By the time Celestia knows what's going on, she won't be able to stop it." Troilus snaps out. "Neither will those Element Bearers, especially if you do your job properly, Your Highness."
"My job? What are you talking about? I thought my job was just to lead the army." Blueblood asks, his suspicions beginning to seep in again.
"That will be your job once the army is assembled, which we need to still diligently work on. But there's something else." Troilus answers, pausing to keep Blueblood's curiousity a more powerful force than his doubt.
"Oh? What else are we talking about?" Blueblood asks, as Troilus predicted.
"The Element of Generosity Bearer, Rarity by name. She is smitten with you." Troilus answers again.
"So? I'm sure that's true of many young mares her age, in particular ones seeking upward social mobility as I've heard she is..." Blueblood states, flattering himself as usual in the process.
"She is going to the Grand Galloping Gala with the other Element Bearers. As will you. I hope you see where I'm going with this, Your Highness." Troilus points out.
"Well sure, but what exactly is it you want me to try to do talking to her?" Blueblood asks, referring to Rarity.
"She is already smitten with you, and if you show your innate superiority as the prince of the greatest of the three founding races, and the heir of Princess Platinum's crown, far above any pegasus or earth pony, it will make it easier to for her to join our side. Or, at the very least, distract her long enough to keep the Element Bearers from interfering with the plan." Troilus explains.
This statement leaves Blueblood quite puzzled - what the Lieutenant was basically asking him was to try to drive a wedge between Rarity and the other Element Bearers, which struck the unicorn prince as a task quite difficult, if not outright impossible. He would later spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out how exactly he was supposed to do this - only too late would he learn that he was deliberately being set up for failure.
"Just remember, Your Highness. All you need to do is sow the seeds of confusion, the seeds of doubt. That alone will ensure the success of the mission." Troilus offers as a (rather false, in retrospect) reassurance.
Blueblood gives a wary look at the unicorn Guard Lieutenant, still skeptical of motives, but knowing how deep he was already in the project, shoves his doubts down and gives a silent nod of affirmation.
"I'm glad we have an understanding, Your Highness. And now it is quite late. We have a big morning coming up, so off to bed we must be!" Troilus exclaims, heading for the door out of the inn as he does so.
Prince Blueblood, after taking a moment to make sure nopony else was watching, follows Lieutenant Troilus out the exit. As soon as the two unicorn stallions are outside the inn, they are unknowingly joined by an unseen, unheard companion - an owl, perched just outside the inn's entrance waiting for the exit of the stallions. An owl with orders from Princess Luna herself to follow them and see what they were planning for the morning...