//------------------------------// // 108- Tezcatlipoca // Story: Changing Expectations // by KKSlider //------------------------------// There was a knock on my office’s door. A moment later, it opened slowly, and a black muzzle peeked through. “My King? May I come in?” “You may,” I answered. The door opened, and Cricket stepped through. As she walked up to my desk, I closed the ancient tome I had been hesitantly poking. The other ones I had stolen from the Third Hive were sitting in a pile on my desk. While they were intact, they were not in a language I knew. I was examining them to see if I could identify the language, but I would probably have to pass them off to experts within the Fifth Hive to be studied. That was if anyone knew the language they were written in. “My King,” the familiar changeling bowed when she came to a halt in front of my desk. ‘There’s that bowing again. Considering every ling has a bed and bathroom to themselves, the average quality of life here is much higher than back in the Fourth. So in your face mom, I’ll begin taking the praise now.’ “Hello, Cricket. You had something you wished to speak to me about?” “Yes, My King,” she said as she rose from the bow. “A few days ago, while scouting the countryside for liquor producers, we came across one famed one that might bring great fortunes to the Fifth Hive. However, it was only until we met this famed pony did we realize that they was one of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony.” “Who and what happened?” “The Element of Honesty, Applejack… Apple? Do they always have two names?” “No. What happened?” “I was chasing down rumors of one of the best ciders in Equestria, one named Zap Apple Cider. Found out the producer was working out of Ponyville. I was already aware that the Elements of Harmony were living in that town, but I figured it was worth the risk. This wasn’t just any cider, this was the cider that every single pony I talked to claimed was the best. No contest.” “Alright, that sounds like it was worth the risk. So the producer turns out to be the Element of Honesty?” “Yeah. Pretty obvious in hindsight that the pony named after apples grows apples. I arrived at their family’s farm after being pointed in its direction by a local. Disguised, of course. Found said Element of Harmony working in the orchard outside and figured that I came this far, might as well see what can happen.” “Questionable logic.” “... As you say, My King, but I kept in mind the fact that these mares are actively planning high treason, or rather regicide, against Princess Daybreaker. What’s breaking a law to continue what was presumably a family business compared to that?” “I see your point. How did this meeting go?” “I introduced myself as a pony, an earth pony to further endear myself, who had heard of the famous Zap Apple Cider, and was worried that I would miss out on the opportunity to try out the Cider. Break out the tear works, the never-going-to-try-it-with-the-ban-in-place, and the usual works on the soft ponies. It was working, but then she… she said… agh, let me just–” Cricket transformed into the orange earth pony with a burst of green flames. “Ah right,” she said with a country twang, “She said somethin’ along the lines of… ‘ah understand yer predic-a-ment, but ah’m an honest mare. If ‘n Apple don’t believe the sanctity of the law, something something being honest, then an Apple follows tha law but tries to get it changed through the system. Or somethin’. Ah’mma be honest, ah was too busy being enthralled by her accent tuh pay close attention to whut she was sayin’.’” I sighed and put my head in my hooves. “Ah luuve apples!” The fake-Applejack beamed. “Stick up mah plot! Followin’ tha law! Ah–” “Is that all, Cricket?” “Err… yes, My King?” Cricket said, still with Applejack’s voice but without her accent. “She didn’t think you were a changeling?” “Nope?” “.... Have a good afternoon, Cricket.” The changeling bowed, “Of cou–” her disguise vanished with a burst of flames, “I mean, of course, My King. I am sorry for wasting your time, My King.” “Yeah, just… keep up the good work or whatever, and stay out of the way of the Elements. And send in Coxa on your way out.” Cricket was doing well at her job of finding and lining up buyers, it was true. However, trying to learn anything from those dusty old books had left me in not the greatest mood to have my time wasted. Cricket bowed one last time before making a hasty retreat from the office. A short while later, Coxa appeared, practically shoved through the doorway. “Uh… hey Phasma. You wanted to see me?” I motioned for him to come closer. When he approached my desk, I lifted up one of the books, flipped it open, and showed it to him. “Have you ever seen this language before, Coxa?” “N… no. That language looks old. Older than anything that was in the Third Hive. Maybe even the Second.” I groaned and dropped the book onto the desk, “So then how the hell am I going to read it?” “Either find someone who knows the language, or get a team together to start deciphering the language. That second one should be possible, considering I see a few similarities between it and Old Ling.” “You think there’s someone alive who knows this language?” “I do think that. I mean, it’s Queen Chrysalis, so I don’t know how you’re going to convince her to give you some friendly language lessons, what with her trying to kill you and all.” “Son of a…. alright, thank you for the information, Coxa. If I see Queen Chrysalis and she’s in a chatting mood, I’ll just ask her about her knowledge on dead changeling languages.” “Sounds like a plan,” he grinned. “Who else can I speak to?” He shrugged, “Plenty of changelings around that know the current changeling written language, that rune one. I don’t know how much good it’ll do you, but it seems like something you should know. You know, being King and whatnot.” “I’ll throw it on the pile of shit-to-do-later. Speaking of which, are you fine with heading to that speakeasy location right now? I’m not exactly in the middle of something, so I’d rather get it out of the way while we can.” Coxa nodded, “I’ve got a thing at six, so we should go before then. Follow me, I know the way there.” “Good. While we’re out, I also want to look for a bigger chair.” I rose from the office chair to prove my point. I was beginning to dwarf the pony/drone-sized piece of furniture. In fact, I had to remove the armrests just so I wouldn’t get stuck if I sat in it undisguised. “Do you happen to know where Princess Celestia bought her chairs? I think she’s the only other being in Equestria bigger than me. But give me a few more months, and I might be at eye level with her.” Much like the original warehouse that the Fifth Hive had grown out of, the club had seen better days. Even calling it a club in its current state was a very generous overstatement. The place had been thoroughly trashed. It had holes in the floors and walls, wallpaper peeling off, and even the crappy magical light fixtures had begun to decay away. I kicked over a dilapidated wooden chair that was left standing up in the middle of the main room. There were a few other rooms that together made up the Last Chance Club, but by and large this main room constituted over half of the building’s floor space. The other rooms were a large kitchen area, two store rooms, and some small offices. I had glanced at the blueprint of the building before we headed over here. Thalamus had acquired a copy from Manehattan’s town hall, using a fake identity as an architect. Or maybe it was a building code inspector. Either way, he had gotten a few copies of the plans for several prime real estates around the city. From the looks of it, we could tear down a few walls and combine the side offices into one large backroom area if we desired. And I was desiring that very much. “Picture this, Coxa,” I announced, sitting on the overturned chair so I could gesture with both my forehooves. “That area over there is the stage. Takes up a large part of the place, yes, but with it we bring in live bands, dancers, and whatever else entertains ponies. This area right here, this can be the majority of the seating. Around it in a circle, we’ll have a raised section, with booths. In the back over there, will be the bar and kitchen. Waiters and waitresses cater to the tables while they’re all watching the show. Throw in new furniture, wallpaper, lights, and other decor and we got ourselves one of the hottest places in Manehattan.” “... Kinda just looks like an empty room to me,” Coxa said, brushing his hoof along the ground and kicking up a dust cloud. “Then just take my word on it… Yes, this place will do just nicely.” “Why do we need to do this, Phasma?” “What?” Coxa pointed to us both, “We’re pretty mobile and elusive as is. Getting a brick and mortar place like this would tie us down and make us… public. It’s going to be hard to hide doing that. No pony interacts with any of our main locations, so we can choose neutral or even favoring locations for us to meet at and make deals. What benefits are we getting from places like this?” ‘Oh come on Coxa. Don’t poke holes in my dreams like this….’ “We, uh… aside from the additional income, we– oh! Of course! Love!” “Love?” He asked, confused. “Love! We may have all the bits we want, but we still struggle with getting ample enough love to go around. That will hopefully change with the ceasefire between our species after the Gala, but I want to stack the odds as much in our favor as possible. Look, what do ponies do at bars and clubs?” “They… hook up?” “They hook up! Flirting, spending money, and whatever! That ambient mood should be positively charged enough to feed off of for the average drone, right?” Coxa nodded, starting to understand, “Yeah… yeah! Then in addition to love collectors, or just drones in interspecies relationships if you’d want to be less sterile, we would have this fallback. But uh… won’t Princess Celestia lift the Prohibition once she’s returned? What’s the point in investing so much of our funds in these places if they are going to be facing competition so soon?” I gestured to the place, “One, we’ll have a massive head start on the competition and that means a lot in a business that relies on regulars. Two, having our own places ensures that if ponies react… less friendly than desired to our reveal, then we will have locations we can still be in without fear of a hostile welcome. We’ll keep their ownership a secret.” “Think you can get away with that? I’d imagine that the Princesses would want to know the true depth of our presence within their own kingdom.” “Eh, worst case scenario the Equestrian government will have it filed as classified information. I’ll try to get away with what I can, but if they demand to know the extent of the Fifth Hive, I don’t think lying or refusing will be the smartest move.” Coxa grunted an acknowledgement before looking around the empty room. “So when Thalamus reports that the sale has been finalized and the paperwork properly taken care of, I’ll see to getting crews into here to get it refurbished. I… don’t know anything about kitchen equipment.” Coxa scratched the back of his neck, “Guess I’ll have to find that out, or find someling who does.” “Sounds good, Coxa. When we finish here and we’re satisfied, we’ll use it as a rough template for alternate locations. Nothing too similar, but… eh, maybe we’ll just entrust that to whoever runs each of those locations, if they have a good head on their shoulders.” ‘Make it their problem. Look mom, I’m delegating again! It’s so easy to make other people do the hard work for you!’ I yawned, “Oookay. So that’s everything out of the way for today, I think.” “Have you spoken with Katydid?” “So that’s almost everything out of the way for today. Ugh, we just left the office, now we have to go back?” Coxa shook his head, “Actually I think he’s hanging out over in the living quarters. I mean, I am guessing he is. I don’t actually spy on everyling’s whereabouts, and you definitely shouldn’t think I am. Not for a moment. Wouldn’t do it. Seriously, stop thinking that.” “Oh my dear Coxa, spying on my changelings is perfectly fine as long as you give me the information. I might even let you spy on myself, in exchange for something of equal value.” Coxa stared at me, “... A few bottle caps? Some lint? A spare bit that I’ve fished out from the sofa cushion?” “Oh come on, I’m worth at least three– no, four bits! Changing the topic, it might be better to give him more time to think, and have him find me. Takes time to find your heart, or whatever sappy nonsense makes the most sense. I don’t want to rush him into making the wrong decision; we have a noticeable lack of officers from the Legions. Pile this on with the fact that the vast majority of Praetorians and Infiltrators are staunch loyalists, and you get quite the imbalance of power. If Chrysalis was to show up and knock on our doors, superior numbers aside, I don’t think we would win. Unbroken Radiance gives me an advantage against her, but even with that I don’t think I can take her one-on-one.” ‘Maybe if I had my bullshit-powered hammer things would be different. I could rely on Radiance to protect me and focus completely on offensive spells. Coupled with God-Splitter, even a half-wit at combat like me could kill a demi-god like Bug Mom. But no hammer means no victory.’ The doors to the rundown speakeasy burst open, and a frantic disguised changeling flew into the room. He stopped before me, bowing and panting. “My King! My King!” “... What happened?” I growled. “It’s Division-P, Your Majesty! They’ve begun their attacks against the Fifth Hive!” We had taken an office meeting room back at our headquarters to hold our… war council. Where once discussion of mergers, profit projections, and company policy violations were held, now the top changelings of the Fifth Hive were gathered to discuss waging an urban, secret war. At the head of the table, I sat facing everyone. Starting on my left was Coxa, Thalamus, Thrips, and Cricket. On my right was Thorax, Katydid, Froghopper, and the newly promoted First Officer of the Red Right Hoof, Silverfish. The last four seats on either side of the table were taken up by the last eight officers of the Red Right Hoof. Though they were still retraining, I needed every leader present. On the table lay a map of Equestria, with three markers knocked over on the west side of the country. “Convoys to Vanhoover, Las Pegasus, and Cloudsdale were all hit yesterday,” Thrips announced, being the changeling in charge of deliveries to buyers. “All in full view of the ponies in the cities. Newspapers are already printing stories of ponies being arrested under suspicions of being changelings. The estimated loss of materials and goods is, well, irrelevant. Division-P has captured all twelve changelings in these convoys. How Division-P knew about their identities is unknown; our current suspicions, given that the convoys are all unconnected, are that Happy Trails Shipping Company is compromised.” “Can we hit Division-P on their way back to Canterlot?” I asked. Froghopper spoke up, “By the time we get a force ready and in position, they will have already arrived at the unicorn city.” I grunted in annoyance. “The changelings all know the location of the dormitory buildings, the main warehouses, and this office building,” Thalamus announced. “If they are forced to reveal that information, the entire Fifth Hive could be jeopardized.” “So we need to strike first, keep the pressure away from the Fifth Hive,” I told everyone. There were some nods as the changelings considered my idea. ‘We are so close to the Gala and the ostracizing of Division-P from Equestria. Damn it all, we were so close to getting away with minimal contact with this secret police.’ “Bastards,” I muttered under my breath. “If Happy Trails is compromised, will they know to come here?” Thorax asked. “No, I put the company’s place of work as a dummy location elsewhere,” I said. “But your disguise that is in charge of it, Al-Capony, could be compromised?” I nodded. “If we are striking against Division-P, we need to do it soon,” Katydid added. I levitated several markers onto the map, placing them on cities, “I’m thinking multiple strikes against patrols across the kingdom. Hammer them quickly and suddenly.” ‘Like the Tet Offensive, only this time the guerilla fighters are going to win.’ “That’s going to expose our presence to Equestria,” Coxa pointed out. Thorax asked, “If we’re already losing changelings to Division-P, what’s the point in hiding?” “Hiding from the general populace?”Coxa offered. “That is something I would prefer,” I said, “but we can’t let Division-P have every advantage and let them win every battle. We need to keep the pressure on them to respond across the country. If we keep them too busy to properly interrogate their captives, we can buy enough time to make it to the Gala. I’d prefer to hit their headquarters directly, but that’s not a battle we can win. Not until Red Right Hoof is ready to go,” I looked at Katydid. Katydid grimaced, “I can get them all ready in two weeks. More, if we’re being pulled away to fight these Division-P patrols. The experience that these battles will give us will be very good, however.” “We don’t have a choice,” I declared. “We have to bring the fight to them. If they get the chance to find our base here in Manehattan, then surviving until Princess Celestia is cleansed will be extremely painful. Maybe if we can keep them under pressure, we could even draw enough elements away from their headquarters to attack it directly. After the Thirteenth Legion is ready, of course. I will speak with Princess Cadence as soon as possible, and gather as much information as we can. Maybe she can help and start mucking up Division-P from within. Hell, maybe she can just hoof us their patrol routes directly.” “We need to engage them nonlethally and disguised,” Thorax interrupted. “If ponies are going to know about our presence here in Equestria, then it’s important that we show them that we don’t want to kill. Also being disguised will help slow the realization that we’re here.” “Can we do that?” I asked the gathered changelings. “It’s going to make things much harder, especially if those bomb collars are real,” Froghopper pointed out. “We would have to stun them immediately and hope that there isn’t an automatic activation.” I sighed, “I’ll find that out, too. I’ll light a fire under Cadence’s ass and force her to find out, regardless of the consequences. Even if she gets locked out of Division-P under suspicion of treason or whatever, that little bit of information would be worth it. We would be able to attack their patrols and rescue their hostages-slash-POW-slaves.” “Good, because I don’t want changelings to die from this,” Thorax said, voicing what we were all obviously wanting. “Is that all?” I asked the gathered changelings. They looked around, whispered to each other, but no one spoke up. “Good. You all know the plan, then. Prepare accordingly within your duties. I want the Red Right Hoof to keep training immediately while we pick out targets. It’s going to be exhausting and stressful, but now everything is at stake. All we have worked for in the past few months, potentially more. We cannot let the Fifth Hive fall. We cannot let this attack against us go unpunished. Once I give the word, we will strike at Division-P and begin the liberation of our brothers and sisters. These dogs of Daybreaker won’t know what hit them. You all have your orders. Dismissed. Katydid, I need to speak with you for a moment.” The changelings all rose, bowed, and exited the room. Katydid stayed seated, as I asked. “Yes, King Phasma?” “I’m sorry to press you so soon for a decision, but as you can see, this is out of my hooves. Are you staying with the Fifth Hive?” “... I cannot abandon this fight before it is over. Also, I spoke with Coxa and a changeling by the name of Auratus. Coxa told me about the Ascension Chamber… It was… I cannot conceive of any justification for its existence. Auratus told me about the Third Hive. He said you flew back into it to save him and a pony. You flew back into near-certain death to save a single drone and a stranger. I… I don’t like the saving the pony part, but the drone? If that’s what you’ll do for a single lowly changeling drone, then I don’t think there’s anything that can stop you from saving our species. Not even Chrysalis dedicates herself so fully… I will stand with you, King Phasma. I will die for you, if Panar wills it.” “Let’s hope she doesn’t. Welcome to the Fifth Hive, Captain Katydid. Now, let’s go kick some ass.”