//------------------------------// // 86- Nisaba // Story: Changing Expectations // by KKSlider //------------------------------// I stood up on top of a wooden crate in the main room of the warehouse. Attending was a crowd of changelings, now numbering some fifty or so. Every changeling we had come into contact with was present here. Only about thirty were staying here in the warehouse; the rest were here for the weekend for this meeting. Normally they stayed in whatever accommodations they had found in their respective cities and towns, preferring to stay where they were and help out that way. That suited me just fine, as they performed perfectly as lookouts, information gatherers, safe houses, love gatherers, and contacts. But now, everyone is here. “Many of you are members of the Lodges. A number of you don’t even know what those are, or why I am calling myself a King of the Fifth Hive. I call this meeting to order to induct all present into the Fifth Hive, and to bring you all up to speed as to the current situation within the changeling race. “During the course of the War For The Sun, I had come across information that changed the entire scope of the invasion. Within the Vault, deep in the old hive, Queen Chrysalis kept a basement of secrets. Within that basement were experiments most foul; Queen Chrysalis had tortured, mutilated, and disabled her own offspring and entombed them within their own dysfunctioning bodies. With this in mind, I set in motion a plan that would usurp her and ensure the safety of both myself and the Hive at large. A Queen who would rip apart the most loyal and steadfast royals to achieve an arbitrary goal, is not a Queen that can be trusted with the health and safety of the changeling race. The fact that the invasion was left till the last possible month is testament to that fact.” Murmurs amongst the crowd now grew into chatter. One changeling called out, “What happened in Canterlot? The ponies reported you as dead!” “Many of you are already aware of what happened, as you were part of those key events. Others were informed by the Lodge members of what happened,” I nodded to Cricket. “In the effort to usurp the tyrant Chrysalis, I had ordered the Lodges to prepare to remove her from power. However, due to a traitor from within my closest circle, Chrysalis had been informed of the scheme and had ordered the slaughter of all changelings who stood against her. I was forced to switch from taking prisoners to fighting for not only my life, but the lives of those who flocked to my banner. Chrysalis was taking no prisoners, and was hell bent on exterminating us before we could fight back. “This battle happened immediately after Princess Celestia’s defeat. In the ensuing chaos, many members of the Lodges were killed, including Captain Cicada of the Ninth Legion, Panar’s Hammer. I dueled Chrysalis myself but was unable to defeat her. I managed to teleport out before she could capture me and lobotomize me, the fate my siblings suffered, but the damage was done. Chrysalis was then set upon by the possessed Daybreaker, and you know the rest.” One more changeling voiced a question, “If this is true, why should we trust you? Why not go our own way?” The idea of abandoning the changeling Hive was inconceivable for any drone, but the question still stood. “It was in the name of our future and survival that I stood in open rebellion against Queen Chrysalis and her tyranny. It is in the name of hope and prosperity that the Fifth Hive has been founded, and I elected as its King. I did not order its creation, nor did I demand its rule. The changelings here chose me to be their leader. “Together, we shall secure the future for our kingdom, not through conflict, but through cooperation. I have already secured channels within the Equestrian Crown that will ensure our kinds’ survival. We can achieve through peace what we failed to conquer through warfare. An end to hunger. An end to suffering. An end to the Masquerade, for the good of the Eternal Hive.” The changelings asked more questions, and I answered them as best as I could. Who were the ponies helping us? What else was Chrysalis doing behind our backs? The questions went on, and other changelings jumped into the converse to speak. Coxa, Thorax, Cricket, Thalamus, and so on. Each of us shared our stories and helped fill each other in on what had happened in the fallout of the War. There were testimonies. Thalamus testified to my willingness to fight to protect changelings, even when doing so put my own situation at risk. Coxa testified to my preparations for the future, though the fact that I was the one who planned the War For The Sun already proved that I was the better choice than Chrysalis in that regard. Thorax testified that I was… a nice person. At first I admired Thorax for his honesty and sincereness but dismissed his words as nothing but naive platitude. However, when the uninducted changelings visibly showed interest in that, and how I treated my fellow changelings, it made me realize just how desperate they were for a leader that didn’t treat them like dirt. That fact made me sad. After all the talk about the new leader of the new hive, there was talk about our future. Specifically, how Thorax found the solution to our hunger crises. There were skeptics, but the fact that we were actually providing love rations for everyone here dissuaded any notions that Thorax was lying. There were no other changelings in open relationships, but there were a hooffull amongst the fifty changelings present that were currently in a relationship, and those changelings considered the idea of revealing themselves. It was certainly a risky move, with a lot to gain and a lot to lose. For now, there was no rush. As long as they brought in love, they could put off the reveal until after the war between our races ended. When it became time to decide, all new changelings joined the Fifth Hive. That was good, as I didn’t want to think about the alternative. The changelings swore loyalty to me, each bowing and swearing upon Panarthropo to serve me and the Fifth Hive. I was happy to welcome them, though we were running short on beds. But many hooves made light work, and their help and contribution was more than welcome. That brought us to a discussion on the expansion of our base of operations. Namely, that we needed to acquire housing. Sure, each changeling could go out and look for apartments themselves, but if we acquired a building for ourselves, then we could secure the entire thing, fortify it, and use it how we see fit– namely by stuffing more changelings inside. Hey, they didn’t care about personal space for sleep quarters. Actual beds were a massive upgrade from the living quarters of the hive. That brought us to finances. The first sales had finished, and boy did they pay well. Ponies were getting too scared to go against Daybreaker and trade alcohol. The salt market, as it was colloquially known, was relatively competition free. This would change soon enough as the smugglers got braver, and as organizations started muscling their way in. Organizations like the Changeling Mafia. With that in mind, the next orders immediately started to get carried out. From our burgeoning stores of alcohol, wagon loads were divided up and prepped for send off. As soon as contracts were finalized and up front payments received, the ponies would get their goods. Still, the contracts were relatively small. We would need to open up speakeasies soon in order to get the best profit margins. ‘All in due time. Hold your horses, Phasma, there’s no need to rush this. No huge need, at least. Any competition that tries to enter the market is going to find itself up against a ruthless and utterly cohesive opposition.’ It was that very cohesion that let this whole operation hit the ground running. No criminal organization in human history was this dedicated to a cause, pooling every dollar they had to accomplish their goal. Changelings were completely dedicated to the idea of establishing ourselves in this fashion, and had taken to the work with unmatched diligence. “Hey Phasma,” Coxa brought my head out of the clouds. The meeting of the Fifth Hive had basically ended, and the crowd had broken up into a number of groups who were chatting amongst themselves. “Coxa, what’s up?” “You got the latest reports on building prospects, yeah?” “Yes.” “Good, ‘cuz I think that duty can now fall to Thalamus. He’s already spying out speakeasy locations, so expanding what he’s looking for isn’t going to be a stretch.” “Sounds good.” “Great. Now… what should I do next?” I racked my brain for answers, “Hmm…. Oh! Remember what I told you in Hooferville?” “Uh, ‘I’ll make my own Hive, with blackjack and hoo–’” “Not that! Magical artifacts, I’m talking about magical artifacts! We should look into acquiring means to fight Chrysalis. I’m sure the ponies will help, and with alicorns allied with me in the fight, it’ll go our way, but… I’d rather not put all of our eggs in one basket.” “Right right right, I’ve already looked a bit into it. Typical mage stuff, right? Enchanted armor, weapons, doodads, and whatchamacallits?” “Anything we can use.” “How horribly unspecific. Alright, I’ll chase down the few leads I dug up in my oh so plentiful spare time. In the meantime, I think someone wanted to talk to you… Froghopper. Yeah, that dude.” “I guess I’ll go pay him a visit.” A cheer notified me that Thorax had broken open a crate full of love for feasting. Al-Capony was a young pegasus, with light black fur and a blueish grey mane, and dark blue eyes. His Mark was a pair of train wheels, connected by an iron bar. I nodded and put the mirror away into Froghopper’s saddlebags. He was wearing a white pegasus disguise; Hired Muscle. He was anything but hired muscle; Froghopper was an advanced scout that was left behind enemy lines when the Legions retreated. He was an Infiltrator, one loyal to the Lodges. The cart shuttered as it went over a pothole. I said to Froghopper, “We’re getting close. Go over this one more time.” “A shell company owned by Count Double Dealings wants to purchase huge sums of booze, as the good Count ran out himself. He sent one of his minions to attend the meeting with us, but said he would only do business with the boss himself. Nevermind the fact that he pitifully tried to hide his identity, we figured out who he was pretty quickly. Now we’re headed to The Red Dragon, a famous open air restaurant near downtown, the agreed meeting spot. There he is supposed to meet you and begin negotiations.” “And Count Double Dealings is…?” “Just some low noble. He doesn’t even rule over a county, the title is a hereditary one passed down, despite the county’s reorganization into a free metropolis. It used to be the County of New Colt. Now it's the District of Coltlumbia.” “And you’re sure this is worth the effort?” “He’s offering to buy our stores higher than any other potential client at the moment. Our profit margins would be unmatched.” “Count Double Dealings… So how is he planning on betraying us?” Froghopper bobbed his head side to side, mentally weighing futures, “Likely he will demand future shipments at far lower prices, using this current dealing as blackmail. It’s happened in the past from what I can tell; he makes a shady deal, tries to abuse it, then hides behind a well paid lawyer as the outlaw attempts to call his bluff.” “I don’t want any of this to go public.” “None of us do, My King.” “Then how do you propose we sidestep his trap?” “When he tries to betray us, we give him a show of force. You know, abuse the fact that we’re changelings to scare the living daylights out of him. Whether that be attacking him while disguised as his family, or a prominent politician, or what have you. There are a wide variety of options.” “I think I have an idea for that. Still, the idea of sitting and waiting for him to betray us sounds awfully… stupid.” Froghopper rolled a hoof, “Think of it as… letting them have enough rope to hang themselves.” “No thanks, I’ll look at it as waiting for them to betray us.” “Very well, Your Majesty.” Eventually the cart came to a halt. Froghopper opened the door for me and I stepped out into the street. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and overall it was a great day to break the laws of the land in broad daylight. I, as Al-Copony, cracked my neck and rolled around my shoulders to loosen up as Hired Muscle stepped out beside me. “Wait here by the cart. If something goes wrong, just get out of here,” I told the changeling driver through the Weave. He wasn’t the backup, merely the public face of how I got here. The Red Dragon was a cozy looking place. The building itself was practically closed to the public, with instead a hostess sitting at a podium at the gate to a closed off garden. The gate was black iron and was practically covered in green ivy that dripped over its metal frame. The garden beyond was half covered by large tarp-like umbrellas, each ringed with glowing lights. The hostess, a pink earth pony, stood up straight as I walked up to her. “Reservations, under the name of Merry Sew?” “Of course sir, let me just check…. Ah, here they are. Right this way, please.” The pony led the way through the opened gate and into the restaurant. It wasn’t a small place, and currently held around thirty ponies, each enjoying their meal. The place had a quiet hum of chatter to it, with the occasional pearl of laughter. I spotted out Count Double Dealings before the hostess even finished leading us to the table, which sat in the middle of the half-covered courtyard. Count Double Dealings was a red earth pony, with a gold mane, and a Cutie Mark covered up by a fancy tailcoat. There were four other ponies at the table; two earth, a pegasus, and a unicorn. The unicorn sat to his right, the pegasus immediately to his left, and the two earth ponies sat on the two far ends. They all sat on the Count’s side of the table, with five open seats directly across. I sat down directly across from the Count, and Froghopper sat on my left. “So glad you could make it, my dear friend,” the Count spoke in a low, breathless tone. The ponies tasted content and happy, as if wasting my time was a victory in and of itself. “I conduct business through intermediaries. Why do you insist on meeting me?” The fact that I was willing to meet at all was a miracle. He lazily waved a hoof, “Oh, I learned of your skill in the business and I just had to meet you.” A waitress came over with some menus. The Count ordered drinks for his party, “One sparkling apple cider, two glasses of iced water, and an orange juice.” ‘OJ? That’s not exactly intimidating. Who is this guy?’ The waitress nodded and then looked at me. “Two waters, please.” “Don’t drink anything. But of course, you probably already knew that,” I told Froghopper through the Weave. I caught a half-nod in the corner of my eye that confirmed that Froghopper was already planning on not partaking. The waitress nodded once more and walked off. “So my dear friend, we simply have to get acquainted better. In this town, I go by Big Bounty.” “Al-Capony.” “Hehe, yes… Al-Capony. You must be quite new in town if we’ve not met, and quite new in the business if you’re willingly giving out your name like that.” “I still have not heard why I was needed here.” “I’ve said it already, didn’t I? I simply wanted to meet the new face in town. You see, we’re in a shortage. The whole nation is. It’s getting quite bad, let me tell you. My favorite golf club is now host to all sorts of ruffians and other sorts of gutter trash. Only, the thing is, I myself have just managed to procure the balms for the aching needs of this city. So you being here is rather… problematic.” The unicorn snorted, and examined his hoof nonchalantly. The pegasus was sprawled out over his seat. The two earth ponies still sat up straight, keeping their focus on me. Count ‘Big Bounty’ pointed a hoof to his pegasus, “And you see, my friend Razer here is utterly convinced that we can’t come to an agreement, like adults. But I said to him, ‘Now Razer, it’s wrong to judge a pony by their cover. Let’s talk to the nice stallion, and see if we can convince him to leave our town peacefully.’ He still doesn’t believe in us, but… ah well, we’ll see who’s right soon enough.” I crossed my hooves, “Let me get this straight. I came here under the impression that you would be purchasing no small amount of goods from us. But you invited us here on false pretenses, and you are actually planning on running us out of town? Am I getting that right?” “Oh my friend, I would never do such a thing. I am merely advising you of the current situation here in Manehattan; we’re packed. Simply packed! So I thought it best to warn you and advise you to… move somewhere else. Somewhere with more opportunity!” I nodded to Froghopper. “What a generous offer.” The waitress returned with the drinks. She sat them down in front of each of us, with the orange juice going to the earth pony on the right. ‘Still weird.’ We all smiled and waited politely for the waitress to finish serving our drinks. “Are you ready to order?” The Count waved her off, “I’m afraid we will need some time to deliberate.” With a nod, the waitress left to serve another table. “But, ah, I hope that you do not need time to deliberate on my offer.” “Your offer of ‘get out of town?’” I asked plainly. “Please, please. You do me a great disservice by being so cold.” “Count Double Dealings, I am not here to have my time wasted.” All five ponies sat up straight when I dropped their boss’s name. “I am a very busy individual, so if you’re not here to purchase from me, then this meeting is over.” “My friend, I’m afraid you have me confused with some other pony! I am–” “Wasting my time. Thank you for the offer of dinner, but we’re leaving now.” I stood up and Froghopper stood not a moment later. However, when I stood up, the entire restaurant went quiet. Every single pony had paused and was looking at us. “My friend, that is not an acceptable answer.” “Damn it...” “I do hope you will reconsider?” “... That was my idea! Now if I do the ‘whole restaurant works for me’ bit, then I’d just be unoriginal!” “... I beg your pardon?” I cleared my throat, “I said; Count Double Dealings, you have wasted my time, threatened me, and have quite frankly pissed me off. It was such a good idea!” The red pony shook his head, “My friend! I have never lifted a hoof against you, I am merely trying to help you here!” “Oh will you drop the faux friend bullshit? It’s getting quite tiresome.” “... If you insist on being so unchivalrous. The terms are simple; leave and don’t come back. Don’t do this, and I’m afraid we will have to do away with you. You are outnumbered, both here and in the city at large. This is simply the best outcome for us all.” “Very well. I suppose I have no choice but to accept your kind offer. I will begin the measures to leave–” “You will stay here while Razer accompanies your muscle, where he will oversee the acquisition of insurance. We will take what you have, and let you leave after it’s all said and done. Think of it as payment for our guidance.” ‘Turns out this guy wasn’t a complete idiot. I mean, he was still a massive one, but not a complete one.’ I began to order the backup teams, who sat up on the neighboring building’s roofs, as well as locations out on the street, “You know what to do, Froghopper. Replace all of them and wait a reasonable time before returning. One of you in the backup team fly ahead and warn the warehouse to set the ambush. Then, bring more lings back here for a potential fight. The rest of you, stay where you are and wait for the rest of the backup to arrive. We’re going to make an example out of this moron.” I sighed, “One hell of an ambush… Go with him, Muscle.” Froghopper nodded and started to leave. The pegasus with the false name Razer, as well as about fifteen of the ponies around us, set off after him. I hid a smile when I saw that it was mostly fifteen ponies from the front of the garden, closest to the exit. After they left, the rest of the ponies present resumed their conversations, though this time they were much more quiet, and a lot more pairs of eyes were watching me. ‘We’ll see who's just a pawn in this game, Double Dealings.’