//------------------------------// // Meeting The Queen // Story: Sleight the Mystifying and Extraordinary // by Bluecatcinema //------------------------------// Sleight and Sazh finally arrived at the village. It was comprised of several shoddily-made straw huts. Sleight was unimpressed. "Eesh, I'm going to be fighting 'great evil' for this?" He asked, quite let down by his "to-be" kingdom. "Indeed you are, great one." Sazh smiled, missing the sarcasm. "We constructed this from the ground up a few years back, using nothing but mud and twigs." "Really?" Sleight said with mock wonder. "I would never have guessed." "Yes, we've come a long way from the cave." Sazh smiled. "Huh?" Sleight asked, confused. "The Queen's dwelling is right around the corner, great one." Sazh continued. The Queen's dwelling was less of a hut and more of a tower. As they neared the entrance, they were accosted by one of the guards. He was rather huge, and sported battle scars on his carapace and muscles. "Where do you think you're going, mizzzter pony?" The guard snarled. "To see the queen, of course." Sleight smirked. "Nice lisp, by the way." "Not on my watch." The guard glared. "It'zzz bad enough knowing you poniezzz even exizzzt. I'm not going to juzzzt zzztand here and let you enter our queen'zzz abode! No pony zzzeezzz the queen, not no pony, not no how." "Don't be a fool, Char!" Sazh declared. "This pony is a powerful wizard, who has powers you can't possibly imagine!" "Pleazzze." Char snorted. "Like any pathetic pony izzz a match for me." "You really should step aside." Sazh urged, "There's no need to be difficult…" "Never." Char sneered, "I take orderzz from no pony, especially from weak filthy drones like you!" "I don't know why you're even wearing a helmet." Sleight told Char. "You're already so hard-headed!" "That'zzz it!" Char snarled, about to punch him. "Enough!" An elderly Changeling came out of the tower. He had a gray-colored shell, and his wings are crooked, yet still functional, His eyes were of a milky white color. Sleight noted that he had a beard, despite Changelings not normally growing such things. "Who's that?" Sleight asked. "Wizel Yggdrasil, one of our elders." Sazh whispered. "He's the one who told me of the prophecy." "Leave them be." Wizel said to Char firmly, "I will handle this." "But, Wizel-!" Char protested. "Do as I say." Wizel glared, "Or I will see to it that you are transferred to larva-washing duty!" With a grunt of displeasure, Char stepped aside, casting a death glare at Sazh and Sleight. Wizel then turned to the two. "Sorry about that. Char is really a good soldier… but he has a head as hard as diamonds." Wizel sighed, before smirking at Sazh. "So, Sazh, how are you doing this lovely afternoon?" "Can't complain. I found this pony in the marshlands not so long ago." Sazh smiled, gesturing to Sleight. "And who is this pony, exactly? And why does he want to meet with our queen?" Wizel asked. "Allow me to introduce you to Sleight of Hooves, a powerful wizard!" Sazh declared. "And I can't explain now. All I can say is that we need to see her majesty at once!" "A wizard, eh?" Wizel examined Sleight. "Yes, indeed. 'The Mystifying and Extraordinary Sleight of Hooves'." Sleight boasted. "And I would gladly appreciate the chance to meet your queen…" "Well, I suppose a quick audience wouldn't hurt." Wizel shrugged. "Please, follow me." Wizel led Sleight and Sazh into the tower. Inside, in a well-put-together throne room, was a small court of Changelings, surrounding Queen Chrysalis herself. Sleight's eyes nearly popped out of his head. 'Whoa.' He thought. 'She's pretty cute - in a giant bug sort of way...' As the three approached the center, Chrysalis was quick to take notice of Sleight. "Hmm, that is odd. We rarely get pony visitors to these parts." Chrysalis mused. "Hello, Sazh. I presume you have something to do with this?" "You presume correctly, my queen." Sazh nodded. "Let us hope this is simply not another attempt to improve your social standing, my friend." Wizel smiled indulgently. "My beard is still singed from the last one." "I really thought I could do it that time..." Sazh hung his head in shame. "It was quite a light show, though." Wizel admitted. "Who is this pony, Sazh?" Chrysalis asked. Sleight was so smitten with Chrysalis that he was too tongue-tied to speak. "It is he, my queen." Sazh declared. "The wizard from the prophecy." Immediately, the room was filled with skeptical mumblings. "Wizard?! Him?" "The prophecy is just a fairy tale..." "Him, the great wizard?" Char jeered, having followed them inside. "Ha! Pleazzze, Sazh, I know you are rather zzztupid, but to think that a pony is the so-called 'wizard'? That izzz a new low, even for you." "He's right!" One Changeling agreed. "This little fop can't be the wizard!" "Imposter!" "Fraud!" "Some prophecies are harder to fulfil then others, young Sazh..." Wizel sighed. Chrysalis held up a hoof, and the room fell silent. "Sazh, that is a rather bold statement you are making. How are you certain that this is the wizard from the prophecy that Wizel Yggdrasil had made?" "I am sure of it, your majesty!" Sazh said proudly. "Wizel clearly said 'a wizard with the blood of Starswirl The Bearded' who 'fell out of the sky'. This stallion indeed possess said blood and fell out of said sky." "Unfortunately, Sazh, your words alone is not enough for these naysayers." She told Sleight. "If we are to believe your and this pony's claim, he must prove his worth as a wizard, stranger." Sleight immediately felt daunted. But before he could answer, Sazh beat him to it. "He will!" The young Changeling cheered. "What?!" Sleight hissed, as he pulled Sazh aside. "Sash, I've never had to perform in front of Changelings before! What am I supposed to do?!" "Don't worry, I have faith in you, sir." Sazh smiled. "Just put your best hoof forward and they will love you." Sleight let out a sigh and a minor gulp as he stepped forward. He pulled out a deck of cards and begin shuffling them. "Pick a card, any card." He offered to Sazh. "Okay." Sazh smirked. Sazh took a card out of the deck. "Now, put it back." Sleight urged. When Sazh complied, Sleight shuffled the deck, then pulled out the same card Sazh had drawn. "Is this your card?" He asked. "Yes!" Sazh nodded in amazement. "Ta-daaa!" Sleight bowed. He rose back up to notice the Changelings were not as impressed as Sazh. "Really? I've seen Parazzzprite invazzzionzzz that were better than thizzz crud!" Char sneered. A couple of Changelings murmured in agreement. Sleight gulped. 'Okay, it's time I bring out the big guns.' He thought. "Well, my fellow insects, that was just a warm up." Sleight put on a smile. "For my next act, I would like the queen herself to pick a card." He began to approach the queen, when suddenly a few of the guards stepped forth, growling in defense, prompting the magician to flinch a little. "Stand down, minions." Chrysalis declared. "I can handle this." The guards step down, but not before giving suspicious glares. Sleight let out a relieved sigh as he held out his deck. Rolling her eyes, Chrysalis took the card, glanced at it quickly, and then put it back. Sleight shuffled the deck again. 'Now let the real magic begin…' Sleight smirked to himself. Using his magic, he lifted the cards into the air, and flung them around the room, as they all floated around the center of the room. "Whoa…" Sazh gaped. He was not the only one, as Changelings all around were looking on, fully intrigued, as well as Wizel and Chrysalis. Only Char gave a disgruntled scoff. Secretly smiling at the awed audience, he began moving his hooves, as cards began to form together. It soon took the form of a tower, and a few 'ahs' emanated from the crowd. "You see, it is quite a wonder how much you can create with just 52 cards. While many simpletons could make a simple 'house of cards', ponies like me could do something like this!" Sleight declared. He quickly flicked his hooves, as the tower soon morphed into a big mountain. More sounds of intrigue were made. "And while some unicorns can hope to get this far, only a few can do this!" Sleight boldly announced. He swung his hooves upwards, as five tendrils of cards burst out of the mountain, and took the form of five hydra heads, each with moving jaws and card like teeth. There were a lot of gasps as the hydra snapped all it's jaws at the air. "And an even rarer few can do something of this calibre." Sleight brought his hooves inwards. The heads soon merged into one big dragon head, and two wings sprouted from the back. It let out a powerful roar as suddenly it began to breathe a flurry of cards for fire. The audience became even more amazed and restless, and the queen and Wizel seemed to look astonished. "But only the pony that stands before you all today is capable of this!" Sleight smirked, as the dragon soon crumpled into a pile of cards, and then, with a flick of his horn, the cards formed what seemed to be a card-based copy of him. It looked at Sleight and mirrored his movements, as the real and fake Sleight bowed to each other. The crowd gasped in amazement. "Incredible!" "Amazing!" "Not bad." Wizel smiled. "Not bad at all. Seeing the crowd getting excited for once, Sleight grew more confident as he pointed his horn upwards and lift up his hooves as the copy of him dissipated into a ball of cards and flew upwards, only to explode into a rain of falling cards. Without a second glance, Sleight whipped out his hoof and grabbed a card out of the air, and then showed it to Chrysalis. "Is this your card?" He asked. "My. Indeed, it is." Chrysalis admitted. The entire horde (except for Char, who was slightly peeved by the 'impressive' show) cheered. Even Chrysalis smiled. "You see, your majesty? This guy is the wizard we have been waiting for!" Sazh chuckled, wrapping his hooves around Sleight. "Indeed I do, very impressive." She nodded. "Good sir, would you and Sazh care to meet myself and Wizel in another room?" "Of course, your majesty." Sleight bowed. Unbeknownst to any of them, watching from outside was Twitch, who had followed Sleight and Sazh, who was horrified by what he had seen. He was currently being hoisted up by Slice and Dice. "What's goin' on, Twitch?" Slice asked. "Yeah, what's up?" Dice added. "This is bad! We g-gotta get back to base!" He gulped. "G-gotta tell the boss!" Instantly, Twitch was about to get off, but Dice lost his balance and soon the three fell to the ground hard. Shaking off the pain, the three limped out of the village undetected. Sleight and Sazh followed Chrysalis into her personal chambers. Sleight was quite smug, believing he had impressed his future mate. As soon as the door closed, Sleight gave a wry grin. "Taking me to your private chambers already?" He chuckled. "You work fast, my dear-" "What is the meaning of this, Sazh?" Chrysalis asked, rounding on Sazh. "Huh?" Sazh and Sleight chorused. "Uh, meaning of what, your majesty?" Sazh frowned. "I mean..." Chrysalis pointed to Sleight. "Who is this stallion?" "Uh…your highness, this is the answer to our prayers... this is the wizard that Wizel had prophesied about!" Sazh replied, confused. "Yeah, I am the Mystifying and Extraordinary-" Sleight started. "Cut the act." Chrysalis interrupted. "If this is some sort of joke, considered it played!" "Your highness, I don't understand..." Sazh said, dumbfounded. "Isn't it obvious, #28301016?!" Chrysalis growled. Sazh winced. Even though the Changelings each had their own name, the queen often refered to them by a number, so to not get one Changeling confused with another. Nowadays, when the number is said, it meant that the queen was not happy. "This pony is-" "Chrysalis, Chrysalis..." Wizel said calmingly. "Let me handle this." He turned to Sazh. "This pony here... he's not the wizard." "...What?" Sazh gasped. "That can't be... I mean, he fell out of the sky... he said so himself that he was a wizard!" "Then it seems that Sleight has lied to you." Wizel declared, he and Chrysalis glaring at Sleight. "No... Is this... is this true, Sleight?" Sazh asked, dismayed. "Well..." Sleight said nervously. "I wouldn't have called myself a wizard... more like a... small-time magician..." Sazh looked at Sleight... before shaking his head. "No, this can't be... he fitted every part of your prophecy, Wizel!" Sazh protested. "Sazh, there are probably thousands of other ponies that could fit the prophecy... but this pony isn't the one." Wizel told him. "The moment Chrysalis and I saw him in the throne room, we knew who he really was..." "Yes... weak, selfish, slightly egotistical, and a fibber." Chrysalis stated. "Hey, I'm not weak!" Sleight protested, "Did you not see that show I put on out there?!" "But you don't deny the rest though, do you?" Chrysalis noted. "Hey, when you're right, you're right." Sleight shrugged. "You lied to me?" Sazh asked Sleight. "Not lied, per se." Sleight replied. "I just... went along with what you said." "But you saved me." Sazh remembered. "You saved me from those thugs." "Yeah, well... what was I supposed to do?" Sleight said nonchalantly. "Just let them whale on you?" "Thugs?" Wizel asked, "What are you talking about, Sazh?" "We ran into some bozos on the way here." Sleight explained. "They were about to give Sash-" "Sazh." Sazh sighed. "They were about to give Sazh a hard time had I not stepped in." Sleight explained. "Oh my… this is not good… they're getting closer…" Wizel mused grimly. "So you defended one of my children from an attack?" Chrysalis asked. "I sure did." Sleight nodded. "Then you have my thanks." Chrysalis smiled. "That was rather brave of you." "No problem, your highness." Sleight smiled back. "But it does not excuse the fact that you're still a charlatan, though." Chrysalis dropped the smile. "Had a feeling you'd say that." Sleight sighed. "The question is what do we do with you?" Chrysalis asked. "Have you entertain the little ones?" "My queen, If I may?" Sazh asked, raising a hoof. "Maybe Sleight is not the wizard we were hoping for, but the others do not need to know that. As far as they are concerned, Sleight is the wizard they were praying for!" "Sazh does prove a point, your majesty." Wizel nodded. "Sleight here could be a figurehead. A symbol for our kind to rally around, to gain strength from. To give them hope. Celestia knows that we could use all the help we can get right about now." "Hmmm..." Chrysalis mused. "The idea has merit... Very well, sir Sleight, you may stay." "As you wish." Sleight bowed… before awkwardly glancing up at Chrysalis, "So… does this mean that I won't become king or have your hoof in marriage?" "What do you think?" Chrysalis deadpanned. "Had a feeling you'd say that as well." Sleight declared, drooping. "Aw man…"