White. It was all white. Nothing was out here but the whiteness.
And Twilight Sparkle.
She recognized the place; it was that otherworldly plane of existence where every mercenary had to wait before they could respawn. It was nothing new.
Only one problem: She'd already been there for days.
"Any time now." She called out to nopony in particular. "I'm not getting any younger."
As always, the white void refused to reply.
Twilight sighed and sat down. At least, whatever invisible floor this place had, it could hold her weight. Sitting and waiting was a lot better than falling and waiting. Especially when she wasn't sure how far down the end would be.
Ordinarily, she would be incredibly excited at the opportunity to study the mystery of the void. She'd rush around, taking all the mental notes she could in the twenty seconds before she returned to the world of the living.
This time? ... Well, she had done pretty much the same thing for the first hour. After that, it became increasingly clear that there was, in fact, nothing to be studied in a void.
In hindsight, Twilight reflected, it really wasn't that big a surprise at all.
The rest of the time was spent trotting around in circles, catching up on lost sleep, going through spellcasting procedures, moping in boredom, and contemplating the deep mysteries of life. A far cry from her usual productivity.
Too bad there was only so much one could do while dead.
"Guess there's only one thing to do." Twilight sighed. "One squared is one. Two squared is four. Three squared is nine..."
"... Five thousand, nine hundred and forty-six squared is thirty-five million, three hundred and fifty-four thousand, nine hundred and sixteen. Five thousand, nine hundred and forty-seven squared is-"
crack
"Huh?" Twilight looked around. "What was that?"
crack
"I- whoa!" Her right forehoof slid down into... into... Is that a hole?
She hurriedly stepped back and observed it. It seemed like a tear in the fabric of the white void's reality; despite the transparency of the floor itself, the maw beyond the hole was dark as night.
crack
It was loud. Louder than the rest. "That doesn't sound good."
She turned around. Or... maybe it's better than I thought.
All over the place, bits and pieces of the void detached themselves and fell away into the black maw behind them. The whole place was, slowly but surely, disassembling itself. That could only mean one thing.
"Yes!" Twilight bounced up and down in excitement. I feel like Pinkie. "Respawning at last!"
CRACK
"Finally, I get to- Ah!" The floor gave way. The smile still on her face, Twilight fell into the darkness.
"Twilight?"
Ugh. What happened?
"Twilight? You there?"
Ah, that's right. I finally respawned. But why is everything so dark?
"Twilight? Can you hear me?"
And for that matter, why can't I remember what the square of five thousand, nine hundred and forty seven is?
"TWILIGHT!"
"Gah! Thirty five million, three hundred and sixty-six thousand, eight hundred and nine!" Her eyes shot open. "Oh, phew. For a moment there, I thought I'd forgotten basic multiplication."
"We're all very happy for you," whoever is was deadpanned, "but I think we've got a bigger problem."
"Rainbow?" Twilight scrambled to her feet and turned around. "Is that you?"
"The one and only." She struck a heroic pose. "But, uh... do you know where we are?"
"Unfortunately, I have no idea." Twilight took a moment to survey her surroundings. The room they were in - at least she assumed it was a room; it could have been a really big box, for all she knew - was surrounded on all sides by four drab grey walls. That was it. No doors, no windows, no nothing. Just grey.
"Well... do you know how to get out?"
"I'm not sure." Twilight walked up to one of the walls and placed her hoof on it. It was cool to the touch. "It's an alloy of sorts, I think. Tough to break." She stepped back and observed the wall in its entirety. "It's about one and a half meters long and three-quarters of a meter high..."
"Yeah, this is cool and all, but is that even helpful at all?"
Twilight ignored her and touched her ear to the wall. "Sonorous. And... I can hear somepony talking."
"Really?" Rainbow rushed to her side and all but smashed her head on the wall in excitement. "Who is it?"
"I... can't tell. Not yet. It's too faint."
"Let me try." Rainbow pressed her ear to the wall. "... I think I heard 'should be awake by now'."
"That sounds about right." Twilight's ears perked up. "Wait, it's getting louder. They're coming towards us."
"... I know this is RED Team's respawn point." The voice was vaguely male. "But what I want to know is whose respawn point it is."
"There are two of them in each box." Another voice, distinctly female this time, replied. "This one belongs to the Scout and Sniper."
"Finally. You could have just told me that from the beginning."
"I guess. But it was funnier to irritate you."
"... I have no words."
"That was four."
"Never mind, forget it. Just tell me how to open this box."
"Well, you see, first you have to look at it."
"Right, look at it. Then?"
"Then you have to get whoever's inside to say something along the lines of 'The floor's never going to open up'."
"... Why, exactly, is that necessary?"
"It's to invoke the Tempting Fate trope. It'll increase the probability of the mechanism working when you push this button here."
"This button, huh?"
"Yeah, this one."
"So you mean it's not one hundred percent reliable?"
"You might need to press it twice or thrice."
"But how am I supposed to let them know what they have to do?"
"Just tell them. The box isn't soundproof."
"We heard you the first time!" Rainbow shouted.
"See?"
"Fine, fine, so you were right." He grunted. "Okay, Scout, go ahead."
"Gee, there's no way out of here at all!" Rainbow said loudly. "I mean, there's no way the floor's going to open up, right?"
click
"Gah!" The floor swung open abruptly. Twilight's wings snapped open in all their majestic glory, just a brief moment before she realised that she still didn't know how to fly. She dropped to the ground half a metre away like a rock and landed unceremoniously on her back. "Ow..."
"Oh dear." The male said. "Why isn't there a cushion?"
"The Administrator's orders." The female replied. "He likes it better this way."
"Well, this way's going to end up breaking the mercenaries' backs."
"Not the ones who can fly!" Rainbow whooped.
"That's two out of nine of us, Rainbow." Twilight rolled over, groaning. "Now, who are... you..."
She came face to face with the two most bizarre ponies she'd ever seen.
The mare, an earth pony with a pastel violet coat and a cutie mark of a screw and a baseball side-by-side, had a poofy mane that, apart from its dual-toned purple and white colour, reminded Twilight too much of Pinkie Pie. A propeller beanie rested on her head, spinning in a non-existent wind. Strangest of all, though, were the rotating swirls that served as her irises. They had an almost hypnotic effect. Twilight turned away from her discerning gaze.
The stallion, also an earth pony, instead bore a coat of plain brown. A queer translucent-blue cloak encircled his neck and fell all the way to his ankles. His right forehoof was encased in a particularly tough-looking shell of what Twilight supposed was armour. It then proceeded to pulse gently with eerie green energy. She backtracked slowly.
A griffon vulture had anchored itself to his shoulder, just stopping short of digging in with its razor-sharp talons. It glared at her.
Twilight looked up at the two earth ponies. "Uh..."
"Ah, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself." The stallion extended his hoof. "My name is Ician, and this is Screwball."
"Hi." Screwball said.
"Nice to meet you... ee-shee-an." For a moment, Twilight was afraid that she'd mangled the pronunciation. But Ician just smiled, and a small sense of relief replaced the anxiety. She accepted the proffered hoof and hauled herself to her hooves. "Where are we?"
"In the Administrator's base. He reactivated your respawn point."
"Why now?" Rainbow asked. "Did something happen?"
"You could say that." Screwball replied.
"You've only been dead for a few days," Ician explained, "so you haven't missed much. I'll be briefing both teams on the current circumstances in a while."
"Current circumstances?" Twilight cocked her head questioningly. "What changed?"
Ician gave her a meaningful look. "A lot."
"Don't worry, he'll fill you in later." Screwball gestured to a hallway on the right. "The briefing room's that way. I'll walk you there."
"What, you don't think we can go there by ourselves?" Rainbow demanded.
"Yes, because you'll probably enter the wrong room." Screwball trotted away. "But if you want to get lost, be my guest."
"But- hey, wait!" Rainbow hurried after her.
Twilight sighed. "Hold up, I'm coming..."
The place was huge.
Twilight stepped through the door and into another world. Earlier, the ceiling hadn't been a meter above her head; now, the walls stretched upwards so far that even the laser pointer from her rifle would have been invisible.
In front of her, an elaborate stage, complete with spotlights and a grand curtain, occupied half of the floor area. The other half was separated into a further two parts by a purple barrier. On the two sides of the barrier were seven of the nine mercenaries of both BLU and RED. From the looks of it, they were in the middle of a bitter glaring match.
Twilight noted, without surprise, that there was another door at the end of the room. It opened, and Ician - the vulture still perched on his shoulder - stepped in, leading the BLU Sniper and Scout into the hall. Rainbow acknowledged them with a cold scowl. The Scout returned the look, while the Sniper just shook her head in exasperation.
"Everypony, if I could have your attention for a few moments." Ician called. Nopony replied; the intensity of the glaring match was so great that anything caught between may well have withered and died.
"Everypony?" Still no answer.
"Look, if you will all-"
"BEHOLD THE GLORY OF THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!"
Well, that caught their attention. Twilight thought.
All eyes turned to the stage. A familiar azure-blue unicorn, clad in a magician's cloak and pointed hat, stood silhouetted against a myriad of fireworks. "I trust you have all been awed by Trixie's unparalleled greatness?"
"That's enough, Trixie." Ician marched onto the stage and brushed her away.
"But Trixie helped! She demands that she be allowed to stay on the stage."
Ician stared at her. "Fine. But don't interfere until I let you."
Trixie nodded.
"Now, everypony," Ician addressed the crowd, "I have bad news." He paused for dramatic effect. "You've all been fired."
Both teams let out a collective gasp of shock.
"What?!" Rainbow said in a bare whisper. "He can't be serious!"
"Wait." Twilight said. "Let's see what he says next."
"But don't worry, it's not that your employers don't want you." Another one of those irritating pauses. "They're just dead."
The entire room burst out into either disbelieving or confused muttering.
"That can't be true!" Rainbow gulped. "... Can it?"
Twilight was silent. A maelstrom of emotions rushed around in her head. Anguish, fury, hatred... Princess Celestia... dead?
"I know all of you are angry." Ician continued, ignoring the hubbub that quietened down soon after he spoke. "It's understandable; they were, after all, your rulers. Your princesses. Your employers. Whether or not you're upset about losing a god or a paycheck, the resentment is still there."
Twilight, though still in a shock-induced stupor, almost took offense to the implication that the most she saw in Princess Celestia was a sack of gold. A moment later, she remembered that a lot of her teammates fell under that category.
"But you'll all be glad to know that I know exactly who did it, so you can watch contentedly as karma zeroes in." Ician said. "And the rest of you will be happy to know that I'm hiring all of you to make sure that this killer gets what's coming to her."
"Who is it?!" Twilight shouted, almost choking on the lump of anger in her throat. The rest of her team stared at her as if she was crazy.
"I don't think she's ever had an outburst like that." Rarity whispered to Applejack.
"No surprise there. She's always been attached to Celestia." Applejack replied quietly.
"The one in question," Ician answered, "is Queen Chrysalis, sovereign of the Changeling Empire."
His explanation was met with blank stares.
"Ah... okay, Trixie, it's time for your little show."
"Finally!" Trixie dashed back onto centre stage, knocking a surprised Ician onto the ground. The vulture flew off his shoulder and hissed at her. "Quiet, bird. Now, prepare to be astounded by Trixie's sheer awe-inspiring performance!"
"Hey, wait!" Ician snapped. "I haven't-"
All the lights went off.
"Once upon a time," Trixie began dramatically, "in the magical land of Equestria, back when it had just been born..."
An azure aura shone through the darkness, and an image of a planet, dotted with lush green vegetation and clear blue oceans, manifested above the stage. "... The two Princesses, Celestia and Luna, breathed life into the first sentient individuals.
"The first kind were the ponies." The planet faded away and was replaced by a ghostly trio of equines. "The unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies were their favoured creations, for they shared their creators' image.
"The second kind were the zebras." The three apparitions dissolved and coalesced into a cloud of bluish smoke. A lone zebra stepped through the mist, dispelling it. "The Princesses were tinkering with their 'life creation' formula, and created something that was almost pony - but not quite. But life was life, and they gave these new zebras a place in the world.
"The third kind were the buffaloes." The zebra faded away, replaced by a charging buffalo. "They, too, were given land of their own. But it was the first indication that the Princesses' life-creating spell was slowly deviating from the usual equines.
"The fourth kind were the griffons." The buffalo suddenly turned back, shock written across his face, and then he toppled off the stage and disappeared. Behind him, a griffon stepped in, her claws dripping with blood. "They were a violent and merciless group; the perfect hunters. The Princesses didn't dare to let them roam free, so they gave the griffons a part of the world - a part that would be under constant surveillance.
"And finally, the fourth kind: the dragons." The griffon vanished under the enormous foot of a three-storey tall red dragon. Its illusory head brushed against the ceiling. "They were the closest to the Princesses in lifespan, each able to live thousands of years with ease. With great strength, tough hides, and swift flight, they lacked only magic. After they were created, Celestia and Luna realized that, as they refined their life-creating spell, the products grew steadily more dangerous. From then on, they resolved to make no new life.
"But there was one species they were not responsible for, under the rule of a being much like them: The changelings." The dragon exploded in a puff of green smoke, and out from from the cloud came a vast army of eerie blue-eyed creatures, silhouetted against the dim light. "They had the ability to shapeshift into any living creature at will, making them unparalleled in stealth and evasion. But, unlike other beings, they needed to consume the love of others as food to survive.
"Their creator, Queen Chrysalis," A tall, green-eyed changeling stepped to the forefront of the horde, "devised a plan that would allow her subjects to survive; they infiltrated equine society and moved from place to place, masquerading as loved ones to drain the love from hapless ponies everywhere. They went on like this until about a thousand years ago, when the changelings grew too numerous to evade detection. Their doings were uncovered by Luna, who went about creating a shield that would keep them out. Celestia soon realized the problem as well, sending her best magic team to reverse-engineer the shield and use it for the Empire. With nowhere else to go, the changelings faded away. They were assumed to have gone extinct, and the shields lost their purpose a few hundred years down the road. But that wasn't the last time they'd be seen.
"Two days ago, Celestia and Luna came together for a diplomatic meeting." The army of changelings faded away, replaced by a scene of the Imperial throne room. Celestia and Luna were in the centre. "They were discussing terms for peace. Chrysalis infiltrated it with the intention of finally securing a permanent and reliable source of food for her subjects."
At once, the illusion took on a very real look. The colours solidified, shadows appeared, and it looked for all the world like they were actually in the throne room.
"—so how do these terms sound?" Celestia was asking. Her voice was astoundingly realistic.
"They seem acceptable." Luna answered. "Now, I believe we can-"
"Not quite." A dark figure emerged from the shadows. "You haven't heard my terms yet."
"Chrysalis!" Celestia gasped. "How did you get in here?"
"I go wherever I please - and take whatever I want." She grinned evilly. "And now, I want your lives!"
"Not if I can help it!" Luna snapped. Her horn glowed, and a second later a beam of darkness arced towards the changeling queen.
"Foal's play." Chrysalis snorted. She raised her hoof and caught the brunt of the attack in one of the holes.
"Wha- how?"
"I am more powerful than you can ever imagine." She spun around theatrically and, with an elegant twitch, fired the collected magic back at her foe.
"Gah!" It caught Luna in the chest, hurtling her into the wall.
"Luna!" Celestia's eyes widened in shock.
"What now, Celestia?" Chrysalis sneered. "Even as I speak, my changelings stand poised to take your precious capital from you."
Celestia's trembled in anger. "You'll never get away with this!"
"But I just did. And you're powerless to stop me!"
"You're wrong. I can stop you and I will!" She shouted. "When BLU Team and RED Team get together to stop you, they'll-"
"Spare me." Chrysalis scoffed. "That will never work. They hate each other to the core."
"But if we tell them to," Luna gasped, clutching her chest painfully, "they'll do it for us!"
"I'd like to see you try to tell them when you're dead." Chrysalis smirked. "Say goodbye!"
The scene froze. A gust of wind swept away the throne room, bringing reality crashing back.
"And now," Trixie concluded, "here we stand, BLU and RED, at the brink of war. Equestria's fate depends on us working together, as one team. Can we put aside our differences for the sake of our brothers and sisters? Don't let them do to us what they did to Canterlot."
Dimly, Twilight became aware that her mouth was hanging open. She raised her right hoof and shut it manually. When did Trixie become so good at illusion spells?... And drama?
Perhaps more disconcerting was the fact that Trixie's performance had taken the grief out of her, even if only temporarily. Whether it was because the performance was that good, she'd been desensitized to death, or maybe.. Celestia forbid... she didn't care for her mentor as much as she thought she did... it was very chilling. Twilight forced the discomfort down.
"Alright, Q&A time." Ician trotted back onto the stage, his vulture once again attached securely to his shoulder. "Who wants to go first?"
The BLU Spy raised her hoof.
"Yes?"
"I, for one, would like to know: was that showdown absolutely accurate?"
"Not really." Ician shot Trixie a sideways glance. "Artistic license and all that. The truth is, the Princesses were caught unawares and killed. Chrysalis could never have overpowered the both of them in a fair fight."
"I see." She lowered her hoof.
"Anypony else?"
The BLU Pyro went next. "So, now that the Princesses are dead, what's going to happen to the cycle of day and night?"
"The Administrator has already taken over that duty. I got him to agree not to play with the sun and moon, so it should be fine." He paused. "If it isn't, then you know who to go to if you want to complain."
The Pyro nodded, muttering something unintelligible under her breath.
"Any more?"
"I have a question." Twilight called. "What happens now?"
"What happens now?"
"To Equestria, I mean. With Ce..." She bit her tongue and held back the flood of emotions. "... the Princesses dead, what's going to happen to the Empire and the Republic?"
"Good question." Ician said. "Now, as with most nations, after the leaders' death, command passes on to the second in line to the throne. The Republic's election results haven't come through yet, but from what I know Princess Cadance is the most likely candidate for their new ruler. According to Princess Celestia's will, the new Princess of Equestria is..." He eyed Twilight. "... You, Twilight Sparkle."
She froze. All at once, a million and one thoughts rushed through her head, displacing the whirlwind of emotions and replacing it with a hurricane of disbelief. "I... what... huh?"
"Really, I don't think there were any other possible successors." Ician continued. "The very fact that you have both a horn and wings already designates you as her favourite."
"But... but..." Twilight struggled to regain control of her speech. "But I'm just a mercenary! Not to mention a twenty-year-old mortal!"
"Evidently, that had no bearing on Celestia's decision." Ician bowed respectfully. "Congratulations, Princess Twilight."
"So... I... what should I do?"
"Several things, Princess." Ician answered. "The first would be to reaffirm your predecessor's plans for peace. With the new changeling threat, Princess Cadance will no doubt follow in your hoofsteps. United we stand, divided we fall. The second would be to call for the reapplication of the anti-changeling shields. We're going to need them."
"But don't I have some leadership affairs I should be taking care of?"
"Not particularly. Your ministers should be able to handle the bulk of the issues. You only need to be there to make judgement calls on important decisions. That's your job, as a ruler."
"I wonder; could I—"
"Yes, you can continue being a mercenary." Ician smiled. "After all, you are the Princess. You have the final say."
"How did you know I was going to ask that?"
"I saw it in your eyes, Princess." Ician chuckled. "So, any other questions?"
"Just one more." Twilight said. "How are we going to fight this 'Queen Chrysalis'? If it's just the nine- sorry, I mean eighteen of us, we can't even hope to defeat them."
"Quite true." Ician agreed. "But with the cooperation of the Empire and the Republic, we can set up a United Equestrian Army. Granted, we'd still be outnumbered ten to one, but it's better than nothing."
"Ten to one?" Twilight was horrified. "How do we win with odds like that?"
"Strategy." Ician answered simply.
"There's only so much strategy can do." Twilight pointed out.
"Perhaps." He admitted. "But more than that - I have all of you." He swept his right hoof out. "All of you mercenaries. The most highly trained, expert crack killing team Equestria has ever seen. And I'm going to make you even more powerful."
"How?" Twilight asked.
"For many years, I've been secretly researching changelings under the order of Princess Celestia. I've learnt a lot about what they can do - both in life and in death." He glanced at Rainbow. "You're probably wondering: what's with the getup?"
"What? No I wasn't!"
"Really?" Ician raised his eyebrow.
"I... uh... maybe." Rainbow admitted.
"Don't worry, it's a legitimate question. You see," Ician explained, "changeling exoskeletons are a treasure trove of magical energy. It's what allows them to shapeshift. The thing is, with the proper modifications this magic can be channeled to fulfill other uses." He lifted his right foreleg. "See this armour? It took two of those exoskeletons to make it. Since birth, I've been cursed with a genetic disease that disallowed me the use of my right leg. But the armour affords me partial - albeit somewhat painful - control over it."
"Then what about the cloak?" Rainbow asked.
"Oh, those were just spare bits and pieces - I didn't want to just throw the wings away." Ician waved his hoof dismissively. "But I've grown rather fond of it. Unfortunately, it doesn't serve any practical purpose. I've got a full suit of exoskeleton armour that - if I have no choice but to fight - I can use in battle."
"But what else can that changeling stuff do?"
"A great many things. Don't be surprised if Faye-" The vulture let out a rasping noise, "... that is, my vulture, starts speaking to you telekinetically. She's my contingency plan should communications ever go out."
Twilight was surprised. "Changeling magic can do that?"
"Oh, it can do a lot more. Its most important purpose will be to upgrade your weapons, albeit temporarily."
"Temporarily?" Twilight inquired.
"Temporarily." Ician repeated. "To be permanent, I'll need to attach upwards of twenty or so exoskeletons to the weapon in question - and that's just for the less powerful upgrades. Completely unfeasible."
"Ah."
"Take my hoof armour for example." He said. "Theoretically, I could shoot a swath of green flames from it, but then I wouldn't be able to use that leg at all for anywhere between the next few hours to the next few days. Besides, I spent years working on it; I'll have a few minutes at most to cobble your weapon upgrades together."
"Good point." Twilight conceded.
"Each of you is worth a whole battalion of troops on your own, and our shortage of troops means that you'll have to be deployed in a manner befitting your prowess." He paused. "Meaning, grossly outnumbered."
"But-"
"Don't worry, the respawn points will always keep you alive. Unless Chrysalis gets to them, of course."
She gulped.
"Nonetheless, for now it seems quite unlikely. But to take on such huge hordes of changelings, you'll need to come to Trixie and I every now and then, deliver all the exoskeletons you can, and get better upgrades."
"Trixie?" Twilight asked. "Why Trixie?"
"I needed an assistant, and she was very eager. She'll be waiting with me behind the front lines."
"Hey, why do you get to stick at the back lines?" Rainbow demanded. "We have to risk our lives out there."
"Three reasons." Ician replied. "One: I have no respawn point. Two: My right hoof, usable as it is, is too weak to handle weapons of such great weight and massive recoil."
"Not even pistols?" Twilight asked.
"Perhaps pistols." He acknowledged. "But nothing beyond that. Shotguns are completely out of the question."
"Oh." An earth pony without strength. I already feel sorry for him...
"Anyway, the third reason is that I'm going to be the active commander-in-charge of the United Equestrian Army."
"What?!" Twilight's eyes widened in surprise. "Did the Princess authorize it?"
"Neither of them did." Ician said bluntly. "But that's not the point. It's a matter of pride for the Empire and the Republic; they won't accept a general that the other side recommends, because it would seem like they're giving in to the other's pressure."
"But I won't make a fuss." She protested.
"Maybe not, but your ministers will. And so will your citizens. And you'll be immensely unpopular if you go against their wishes."
"But- but then why you?"
"Simple: I was recommended by the middle ground."
"The Administrator." Twilight growled. Okay, I take back what I thought earlier. He's not pitiful at all!
"Spot on."
"He's manipulating you. Like a puppet on strings."
"Ah... not quite." Ician smirked. "You've got it backwards."
"That's just what he wants you to think." Twilight warned. "You can't outsmart him. He's had thousands of years of experience, for Celestia's sake!"
"I understand that you're concerned for me, but I assure you—"
"Concerned? Concerned?!" Twilight fumed. "Why would I be concerned for you?!"
Ician looked surprised. Even the vulture gave an avian equivalent of a raised eyebrow. "Why not?"
"Because you're manipulating your way into a position of power, that's why!"
"But Princess Twilight," He said, puzzled, "I don't see what's wrong with that."
"So you admit it!" She accused.
"I do." He replied. "But I'm doing it for the good of Equestria."
"Typical excuse." She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Imagine how inefficient the Imperial and Republic armies will be if there's a commander with a specific national affiliation in charge. It'll be chaos - insubordination left and right."
"Well... maybe," she conceded, "but that doesn't change the fact that you're manouevring yourself into power."
"If I'm not in power, how am I going to make sure whoever does have the power uses it responsibly?"
"Who's to say that you will?" Twilight snapped.
"Because I've spent half of my entire life fighting powerful corrupt individuals..."
"He who fights monsters often becomes one to defeat them." Twilight reminded him.
"... Also known as Imperial nobility." He added. "Also, I suppose it's worth noting that it's difficult to fight that kind of corruption as it is. Corrupting yourself only puts you on the wrong side of the law."
"Wait, so you're an Imperial? So much for impartiality!"
"I've spent an appreciable amount of time in the Republic, too, so I think that's hardly a fair analysis."
"But..." Twilight trailed off. She'd run out of things to say. Improvisation never was her strong suit.
"How about this, Princess." He offered. "You'll have the authority to remove me from my position at any time, as does Princess Cadance. Just give me a chance to prove myself, and if the results are unsatisfactory you can replace me."
"... Alright." Twilight eyed him suspiciously, traces of doubt still clouding her mind. "But I must be able to fire you anytime I want."
"Absolutely." Ician agreed. "If somepony was righteous as you, Princess, deems me unworthy, there is clearly some soul-searching to be done."
Twilight recognized flattery when she heard it. I wonder what he's planning...
"Any other questions?" Ician asked. Everypony stayed silent. "Excellent. That concludes today's meeting. We'll be meeting again tomorrow morning at five a.m. outside the base. I'll give a wake-up call at half past four. Our proximity to Canterlot makes us an easy target, so try to be ready for action at all times. Dismissed."
Twilight made for the door, followed closely by the rest of her team. It was almost undetectable, but it seemed that an air of subservience had taken over the minds of RED Team. Nopony dared to speak.
"Oh, and before you all leave," Ician added, "I would like to ask that you please refrain from fighting each other - at least until we defeat the changelings."
"Of course." Twilight said.
"We won't." The BLU Pyro promised.
"Right then, goodbye." With a dramatic sweep of his cloak, Ician marched backstage. Trixie, however, hurried over to Twilight.
"Twilight!" She exclaimed. The rest of RED Team shrunk back slightly. "How was Trixie's performance, hm? Fantastic?"
"I really hate to feed your ego, Trixie, but I have to admit that it was impressive." Twilight patted her shoulder. "How did you get so good at this?"
"Trixie has been studying in her spare time." She replied haughtily. "And she also read one of your books."
"Which one?"
"The one by Bulk Biceps. Explosition."
"Oh. Of course. 'If there's drama and action in it, nopony will forget.'"
"Anyway, Trixie must congratulate you on your elevated status, Princess." She said. "Trixie assumes that you will be moving out of her trailer?"
"What?" Twilight gave her a perplexed look. "What gave you that idea?"
Trixie was taken aback. "But you're royalty now, Twilight. You don't need to live in such a ridiculously uncomfortable home as the one Trixie has."
"But it's the only home I know." Twilight pointed out. "Besides, I'd rather stay in that trailer with a friend than in a palace, alone."
Trixie was apparently shocked into silence. A little tear leaked out the side of her eye, and a second later she enveloped Twilight in a bear hug.
"Ack! Trixie, not so tight!"
"Sorry, it's just that... I thought you'd leave for sure."
"I'd never leave a friend, Trixie." Twilight looked her in the eye. "Especially not a friend so in need of company."
"I... thank you, Twilight Sparkle."
Behind them, Rainbow smiled. The subservient air dropped away like a brick. "Glad to see princesshood hasn't changed you, Twilight."
"Actually, Rainbow, technically speaking 'princesshood' is not an accurate term. Rather, a more fitting term to use in this instance is 'becoming a princess', as in 'Glad to see becoming a princess hasn't changed you."
"Yep." Rainbow laughed. "Same old Twilight."
With the flick of a switch, the backstage was bathed in the harsh glow of the Administrator's fluorescent lights. Ician squinted, temporarily disoriented. He sighed and trotted forward half-blindly.
"You broke the news to them quite bluntly, didn't you?"
"Which news?"
"The death of the Princesses. Twilight took it pretty hard."
"There are many ways to motivate somepony, Faye. Revenge is a very good one."
"Still, you should have taken her feelings into account."
"I suppose I should. I'll try to be more sensitive next time."
"Not to mention that you told an awful lot of lies back there."
"Yes, I did. But I had to."
"That's what you say all the time." She paused briefly. "But what were you thinking, allowing Twilight to replace you whenever you want?"
"She is the Princess, so she would have had the authority either way." Ician pointed out. "Besides, I'm confident in my abilities. One way or another, I'm going to win this war."
"I thought Twilight was afraid that you'd be corrupted."
"But both you and I know that I'm not."
"Yet."
"Is that supposed to mean something?"
"Power corrupts, Ician."
"With the proper checks and balances in place, I'll never get out of hoof."
"But how many of those checks and balances are you going to have to subvert to do what needs to be done?"
"Not enough to corrupt me, that for certain. The odds of that ever happening are abysmally low."
For a short time, Faye fell silent. "... Those odds are going to betray you one day."
"One day." Ician agreed. "And when that day comes, I'll be ready and waiting."
Screwball hesitated. Her hoof, mere millimeters away from the door, sank slowly to the floor. She lifted it only to lower it again.
"Come in." A voice said from behind the door. "Don't worry, it's not booby-trapped this time."
Sucking in her breath, Screwball pushed the door open and stepped in. She braced herself for the inevitable.
Any moment now...
Nothing happened. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"So," the Administrator asked, his eyes fixed on the row of computer screens that were the only source of light in his darkened room, "how did the briefing go?"
"It was okay." Screwball replied.
"Should I ask for more details?"
"Well, he-"
"Actually, no, not really." The Administrator grinned. "I've been watching him the entire time."
Screwball frowned. "But I thought you told Ician you wouldn't be spying on the briefing."
"I didn't believe myself for a second. I bet he didn't either."
"But... the things he said-"
"I expect that it was only to reassure our new Princess that he was on her side." The Administrator mused. "Still, we warrants some watching. I can't treat him as if he's on my side if I don't know what his motives are."
"What could they be?" Screwball asked.
"Power-grabbing, perhaps. But he doesn't seem like that kind of pony."
"Um... what about winning the war?"
"Oh, that's certainly on his agenda. Master Mind has won against worse odds, and if Ician is anything like him then he'll make sure that the changelings are completely crushed by the end of the year."
Screwball flinched. "The end of the year? Isn't that a tall order?"
"It all depends on how capable he is. And with that hoof of his I have no doubts that he is hyper-competent."
"His hoof?"
"The genetic disease. He's probably a descendant of Master Mind."
"Master Mind?" Screwball was puzzled. "He had foals?"
"I won't dismiss the possibility. He and Quence had a lot of... ahem... 'alone time'."
"Don't want to hear about it." Screwball said. "But how likely is it that Ician is descended from Master Mind?"
"Very, very likely." The Administrator steepled his fingers in deep thought. "The only question is whether he will live up to his ancestor's name."
"Do you think he will?"
He stared quietly at the computer screens. "... Yes."