//------------------------------// // The Upper Crust // Story: Secondo: Shores of Zebrica // by Lil Penpusher //------------------------------// Shots could be heard from far away, mingled with artillery barrages meeting the arid soil of Colthage. The battle raged on even now. Even with so much progress, some of the zebra fools clung on to hope. But by now, the war was all but won. A new flag was raised in the city's ancient port facilities, and atop its government institutions. The flag of Sirenalia - fittingly yet uncreatively named on a whim - fluttered in the warm breeze. The city had fallen days ago. The nation's back was broken. Plumes of smoke rose from several buildings in the city, as resistance had only led to bombardment and destruction of them in the wake of the surprisingly short siege and assault. The defenders had been demoralised by then. The levies and conscripts were barely equipped or trained, and the mercenaries that still remained called in their paycheck weeks ago and were by now an ocean away to save their own skins. The Pearl of Colthage - the ancient city - was theirs for the taking now. Days after the city's capture, zebras are being assembled in a hotel lobby. Armed guards, primarily hippogriffs but also numerous zebras, push them forward with their rifles and keep them in a vague line, neatly lined up. They all look terrified and confused at one another. Some of them wear vibrant clothes that match the equally vibrant interior of the lobby they were in, while others had ridden themselves of all clothing in an attempt to not be recognised after the fall of the city. A futile attempt, as it now seemingly turned out. "What's going?" one asked. "What are they doing to us?" "What do you think? It's the sirens, after all," replied another. "Oh shut up, you. If they wanted us brainwashed, we already would be!" Suddenly the room went quiet as the front doors bursted open. Heads turned and mouths fell shut as everycreature knew who was before them, even if they had never seen something like her. "Right you are," Aria playfully muttered as she hovered closer. Soldiers closed the doors behind her quietly. "Truth be told, Adagio recommended I simply turn you into common thralls and have you slave away in some plantation - fitting for landowners like you, right?" The sea monster's grin bore down on the group of zebras. "For all the time the girls and I were away, it sure is amazing how even today there are creatures like you roaming about. Though I think back in our days you were just called feudal lords and ladies? Whatever." The siren shrugged. "Unfortunately for me - and Adagio for that matter - we have some meager use for you, so to speak. So although I would find it hilarious to see you dancing to my tune, there's another fate in store for you." The zebras before her looked at one another, one of them eyeing the soldiers around them. Their pupils were shrunk and dilated, almost like they weren't fully... there. "What do you mean?" one of them, a stallion, rebuffed. "What does some creature like you need from us?" A mare next to him slapped his face and shook her face in anger. "Forgive him, he's a little stupid, you see?" she muttered in a happy tone. "What he must have meant is... we're just humble plantation and farm owners, yes? What do you, who is so obviously powerful and magnificent, need of us in this hour?" Aria rolled her eyes and crossed her hooves. "For someone supposedly humble you are quite good with your act," she said, and the mare flinched at being called out. "You can cut your charming and worming. If I wanted endless praise and for you to bow down and kiss my hooves I could make you do so in the matter of seconds." She pointed a hoof towards them. "Evidently, that's not why I'm here." The mare from before took a step back, and kept her head low, almost as if bowing. "T-Then what do you need of us?" The group was collectively looked on in surprise when Aria sighed deeply. "Let me set the stage first. What do you numb nuts actually know about me and the others?" "The others, as in..." "Yes, the other two," Aria confirmed. "Well," a stallion voiced to explain, "we only really know rumors and tales, you see. Nothing much at all is known about you besides the obvious ability to... err... to..." "Yes, yes, mind control, I get it," the siren babbled with disinterest. "And?" The group was taken aback at the casual disinterest Aria showed. Needless to say mind control was a pretty big 'issue', and for her to so casually shrug it off... "W-Well, we know you seem to rely on negativity in some way? And... that's it, pretty much." He looked at the monster for a moment before hurriedly bowing his head. "I'm sorry, that's all I know." Aria tapped a hoof of her against her scaled arms as they were still wrapped together. Her eyes scanned the group left to right. "Anyone else?" she questioned. No one dared raise their voice or hoof. "Right. Let me just elaborate in that case that, yes, we sirens do in fact feed off of negativity, including the negativity you feel towards me right now." The zebras froze and held their breath. "That was a joke, by the way," the siren relented. "Or, actually not. But don't worry, it's only natural, right?" Aria grinned in just a way that showcased her sharp, predator-like teeth which only stiffened up her 'guests' further. "I invaded your home, after all, and now you're here fearing for your lives. Bla bla bla, you hate me, I'm evil, yes I get it. It's the same thing everyone says when we go anywhere. At least that hasn't changed in over a millenia, I suppose." The zebras didn't move, their eyes only carefully wandering off towards the many soldiers all around them who were nearly as stiff and unmoving as them. Almost robotic, in fact. "So, in essence," Aria continued on, "we sirens feed on hate and general strife to gather power and magic. We use that magic to sing our song and enthrall the masses, from which point bits of our magic are used to keep up our spell over said masses in varying degrees. Normally we keep magical influence to a minimum, so that even under our spell the creatures underneath us retain an independent mind, for the most part. The only major differences are total obedience to myself and the girls of course, and that they will grow annoyed and angered with their surroundings, unleashing hate and strife in their day-to-day lives. This, in essence, is a net positive if you want to call it that, in terms of magic use versus magic production." The zebras were... confused, but some of the more business witty ones appeared to very slowly nod in understanding. "We can of course raise our level of direct influence and control, until we have individuals like these," she said, gesturing idly towards the soldiers all around, "who are essentially blank-minded and follow only what we order them to do. Mostly, anyway. However, the more direct influence we practice, the less hate a creature will exert due to our own control making them less focused and able to hate. This means that if we seriously wanted to magically force creatures to work a certain job or the like, it would cost us tremendous amounts of magic to do so. We would have new soldiers or factory workers, but they would be under such heavy mind control that the magic gained from them would be negligible at best." The wealthy zebras eyed one another, slowly breaking out of their stupor seemingly. "To fix this, Adagio and I came up with a somewhat begrudging compromise." "You... use certain influential stakeholders underneath you to govern for you?" one zebra wondered. "Huh. Impressive. How did you figure it out?" Aria asked them. "I... well, I see no reason why else you would have us here and not killed us yet. Or worse. It's obvious you want us to help you in some form, in my mind." The sea creature nodded, and clapped her hooves sarcastically at the solved riddle. "Very good, very good. You're smart ones, aren't you?" Nopony answered her, and she continued. "Just as we did in Hippogriffia itself, we will require a ruling class to serve us directly here in Colthage. Due to the nation's... relatively undeveloped nature, though, we can obviously not rely on it being an industrial park like the home of the hippogriffs might be." "Is that why you gathered us then?" the mare from before chimed in. "Colthage is big and relatively unindustrialised - but it's not barren. I did my homework on you fools and know who you are, and who you were to Colthage, too. The landowning elite that owns most of the farms and plantations?" Some gulped. All of them, however, nodded. "Well. Listen up, then." The zebras did as asked, and yet some of them shivered when Aria moved closer, rising into the air until her shadow shrouded the group in darkness. "I offer you the same deal we offered to the capitalist filth in Hippogriffia years ago. Surrender to our rule, serve us with absolute faith, loyalty and dedication, and we will give you more than you ever could have had under this pathetic construct of 'Colthage'. You will be the ones overseeing the menial thralls of ours here, and you will put them to work in the land to feed our labourers and armies elsewhere. You will doo all we ask, and should Sirenalia require more of you, then you will simply make your thralls work harder, longer. You will serve us and lord over your people in our absence - a people that is no longer a people, but simply a tool of ours. You will become the object of greatest hate and ire in Colthage, for all to hate, and yet our spell will restrain the masses from harming you - so long as you prove your continued worth to us." She paused, smirking from above the group. "What do you say?" She held out a hoof from where she hovered, and some of the zebras mouths hung open in disbelief or shock. The grin on the siren's face grew into a malicious grin, her eyes narrowing down. "Do we have... a deal?"