I have the greatest job in the world. I get free run of Tartarus when there isn’t an emergency, I’m one of the first guards to be chosen for retrieval missions when there is a break-out, I’m never held responsible for the questionable integrity of the holding cells, tanks, and whatnot, and I’ve got full room and board as my pay. We don’t exactly have money in Tartarus, and I’m not too sure where the food comes from but nopony bats an eye at how much anyone eats (unless you stay between Dark Rainbow Dash and the cloudcakes for too long). Seeing as we’re technically isolated from Equestria Proper down here, trade and economics don’t exactly play a role in our little society of freaks. And yet we gamble.
For the most part we just gamble with chits assigned with arbitrary values, although on occasion we’ll gather up bunches of grapes or tins of mints and use those. Most games are casual affairs, playing until we’re bored or until one pony has all the chits and then walking away without a second thought. However, we also have a full-blown continuous league of sorts where the chits you have at the end of the game are accounted for and determine how many you can bring in to the next one. If you run out of chits, you can bet other things. I’d like to say that the league is the only kind of gambling game Dark Applejack dislikes, but she seems to disapprove of that entire branch of time-killing activity.
Myself, I’m one of the top-ranked gamblers, at least in the dice games. I’m not bad at cards per se, but I just have a knack for the dice. Besides, the card games seem to attract more… addicted players. Take Two Tone for example. He looks like what they’d probably think of as a zombie pegasus pony: only about half of his body has hide and hair on it. Don’t think I’m jealous of that by the way. I’d rather have no skin at all than a half-finished job. His joints aren’t too well joined either, and sometimes I swear half his brain is nothing but rot. He does a good job when he’s on duty, but give him a few hours off, a deck of cards, and some companions to play with… In the most recent league poker game, he tried to bet a wing.
“You can’t bet that,” I said, trying to hide my disgust as he pulled the featherless, sickly-looking appendage from his side. Hey, just because I’m technically skinless and live around things like Tone and Tibia doesn’t mean I can’t be grossed out.
“Why not Skin?” he whined, “I don’t have enough chits; this has gotta be worth enough to match the pot.”
“The hay is anypony else here supposed to do with a wing?” Occulor asked, taking my side. Occulor’s a Cyclops pony, more giant blue eye than head and a bit lopsided. Darned good poker face as well, and in calling bluffs. He’s usually on gate duty when somepony takes Cerberus for a walk.
“Uh…” Two Tone said, a pleading look on his face.
“You probably don’t have anything anyway, with the way you’ve been playing today,” I said, reaching to shove the wing back toward him, “You should just fold, walk away, and try again some other day.”
Tone was about to counter with more whining or begging, but then Dark Applejack walked up to us and the fun times came to an abrupt end. “All right y’all, break it up!” she said, somewhat unnecessarily since we were already scrambling to gather and count our chits before she could lay a hoof on them. “I got somethin’ actually productive for y’all to do,” she continued, “and it’s of utmost importance that ya don’t mess it up.” She gave me the evil eye as she said that, apparently still sour about my minor hiccup with Cerberus. “We’ve got us some new inmates ta bring in and process.”
“New prisoners?” I exclaimed in surprise, “Are you serious? We haven’t had to deal with newcomers since the Tambelon raid. Who’s the new guy?”
“You’ll see Skin,” DAJ replied, “I’m putting you in charge of escortin’ her through Tartarus to her cell. Two Tone, you’ll back him up; this gal’s tricky. You and her might hit it off Skin, now that I think ‘bout it,” she adds wryly, “Y’all have a thing or two in common.” That piqued my interest.
“I won’t let you down Daj ma’am,” I said with a cheeky smirk and a salute, and then grabbed Two Tone and hauled him away by the tail as I made my exit before Dark Applejack could properly respond.
“Hold on Skin my wing’s still back there!” Tone protested.
“Your fault for pulling it off,” I replied after dropping his tail and spitting to get the taste out of my mouth. Even his hair tastes like zombie rot…
The first thing that caught my eye upon arriving at the Gates of Tartarus was the tall, skinny, bug-winged alicorn with swiss cheese hooves, a wicked looking jagged horn, and the most beautiful green slit-pupil eyes I’ve ever seen. The second thing to catch my eye was Tibia, the white-furred skin-and-bones mockery of a pony, standing next to her. It was instantly obvious what had occurred and it made me giddy. “Ah, so,” I said with triumph as I approached, “Somepony finally discovered you for the monster you really are.” I sidled up next to the bug-winged pony and gave her a nudge of camaraderie to try and chase away the stranded-kitten look on her face, saying, “It figures it would take a fresh face to take Tibia down. Good work.” Bewilderment crossed her face for a moment, but then she smiled, revealing some nice-looking fangs.
“You’re such a tease Skin,” Tibia said before the new pony could speak, rolling her eyes at me, “This is Chrysalis, queen of the Changelings. She and her swarm just got booted out of Canterlot after trying to take it as a feeding ground.”
“Oh, I… see,” I said, taking a step back. Chrysalis gives Tibia a look of pure hatred and her horn starts to glow. I’m tempted to let her blast the bone-bag, but that would be unprofessional and dangerous, and with Two Tone looking on I wouldn’t be able to make a reasonable-sounding excuse. So I quickly interpose myself between the two, hip-checking Tibia to knock her away to safety (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it). “Well then,” I said somewhat awkwardly, “That makes me your primary escort to your cell. Name’s Skin, nice to meet you. Follow me, feel free to ask questions or just chat, and welcome to Tartarus. This way.” She falls into step behind me as I march away, and I see some consternation in her face as she does so. She’s clearly confused as to why she’s following my commands, and so I enlighten her: “Here in Tartarus we have an authority that is not easily ignored or defied. It’s easier if you just go along with it, trust me. Fight too much and they’ll put you in total stasis and then we won’t be able to talk.”
“Why should I even bother to speak with you?” she asks with disdain, her voice containing a curious droning undertone like an insect.
“Because I’m cool,” I answer proudly.
“That’s a matter of opinion Skin,” Two Tone says from his place behind Chrysalis, “Of course, it’s not like she’ll have much else to do.”
“I could orchestrate an escape,” Chrysalis says in a threatening manner.
“Could you now?” I ask with interest, “Well, I’d recommend you not execute those escape plans too quickly your majesty. A break-out is so much fun, so if you could pace them about… oh at least a year apart I’ll have something to look forward too for a long time. Plus it’ll give the others time to pull their own stunts if they’re so inclined.”
“You… are very cocky for an earth pony with no skin,” she says.
“Thank you,” I say sincerely.
“Are you even aware of what I and my Changelings are capable of?”
That made me pause for a moment. “No, I don’t,” I admit, “Enlighten me.”
She snorts. “If I tell you you’ll probably figure out a way to counteract my abilities.”
“Oh, smart girl,” I say, “We’re definitely going to have a good time, you and I.” She didn’t reply or even speak for the remainder of the walk to her cell. I was a bit disappointed that she was being so cold to me, but I figured she just needed a little time to adjust.
A few weeks went by without incident, although in that same time I only ended up patrolling past Chrysalis’s cell twice and she only glared at me when I tried to say hello. Other Changelings were captured and sealed up in some other part of Tartarus on Dark Twilight’s orders that they be kept separated from their Queen. I didn’t have the heart to tell her about that, lest it break her own heart.
One day I found myself walking past Chrysalis’s cell, called out a greeting as I went, and then stopped, back-tracked, and did a double-take. The lovely black insectoid alicorn was gone, and in her place was Tibia, looking sad and pathetic until she saw me looking at her. Her eyes lit up in hope and she called out, “Oh Skin, thank goodness you’re here!”
“What the hay are you doing in there?” I asked.
“The Changeling Queen has escaped!” Tibia exclaimed, “She overpowered me and locked me in here before I could do anything.”
“Huh,” I said, confused at the lack of alarms. After the Shadow Arachneus had escaped, a few more jail-break alarm spells had been set up around the place. However, I’ve never been too sure about their reliability, aside from the ones linked to the Smooze tank. “Sit tight,” I said to Tibia, “I’ll go track her down.”
“Wha- wait!” she called as I turned to run off, “Aren’t you going to let me out? I could help.”
“Hmm,” I said, pretending to think about it, “Nah, you’re good where you’re at. In fact, I might not tell anyone you’re in here and stick Chrysalis in another cell.”
“You… you horrible tease you,” she said with a whimper. That brought me up short; Tibia never whimpers. She’s pure skin and bones, and none of those bones are of the compassionate or emotional kind, unless you count well-veiled and creepy malice as emotional. Then I saw tears start to build up in her eyes.
“Oh, I get it now,” I said, walking up to the bars of the cell with a swagger, “Changeling. That’s literal; you can adopt the appearance of other creatures. Nice trick Chrysalis.” Yeah, I should have guessed that from the start, but I can be a bit slow on rare occasions. There aren’t many true shape-shifters in Tartarus. Even I with my lick-and-copy trick don’t technically count as one.
Her tears dried up instantly as she stared at me in shock, “How did you… I mean, what are you talking about Skin? It’s me, Tibia!”
“Uh huh,” I said flatly, “Tell me then, what’s that creepy nickname you always use for me?”
“Uh… um…” A victorious smile spread across my face. “Curse you,” she spat at me, and then with a rush of green fire turned back into her normal and far prettier form. “How’d you see through me so quickly?” she asked.
“I’d give you a list,” I answer, “but then you’d know how to fool me next time.”
Her eyes widen slightly, and then she gives me a small smile. “I underestimated you,” she said, “I guess I underestimated a lot about this place.”
“Welcome to Tartarus my dear,” I said, “It’s an entirely different world, and it’s your world now, so you might as well get used to it. Even if you do break out, you won’t get far. So loosen up and talk to us guards. We’re here to guard you, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be civil to each other.”
“I… I see,” Chyrsalis said slowly, “Very well, if you wish to talk, then let us talk.”
“That’s the spirit,” I said, getting comfortable, “Now, I never got the whole story about how you earned a place in this place…”