There was an anxious silence in the room as two former —and perhaps current— foes sat across from one another with only a small table to separate them.
Twilight’s eyes remained narrowed in the iciest glare Mark had ever seen, while Chrysalis continued to smile, her lips curled back to reveal her sharp teeth.
The moment Chrysalis —in her Crystal disguise— and Twilight were in the same room, both started yelling in a battle of wills and rhetoric. Currently, Chrysalis silenced Twilight with the non-consenting actions that may or may not have occurred with Shining while she was disguised as Cadence. Mark knew that she never did anything, but remained silent since it stopped the screaming. At least for now.
His silence was also not affected in any way by the fact that he was stuck in a room with two powerful mares, both in terms of magical power and personality, whom wanted to tear each other’s throats out. Not affected at all.
‘Well, this is a situation even I don’t want to be in.’
‘If I have to suffer through this, you have to suffer too.’
‘Yeah...about that...I’m gonna go bury myself deep in your old memories and just tune everything else out. Have fun!’
‘Wait, what? You can do that? Brain?’
“So...Chrysalis,” Twilight said, putting extra emphasis on the Queen’s name to let her hatred remain clear.
‘Oh no! Oh nonono! BRAIN, TAKE ME WITH YOU!’
Chrysalis’ eyes met the Twilight’s in challenge once again but she never lost her wicked smile. “Yeeessss?”
Twilight slammed today’s newspaper onto the table. The front page almost entirely a picture of Canterlot surrounded in a green sphere with the headline ‘Changelings invade Canterlot Again’. “Explain this.”
The Queen didn’t need to glance at it, she had already heard the news. She had an idea that all Equestria had gotten the news. “My brother’s doing.”
“Under your orders.”
There was no probably, no maybe. It was a straight up accusation by Twilight and upon hearing it, Mark’s ears splayed.
Chrysalis’ smiling facade broke apart and her multi-toned voice came out as something between a growl and a low hiss. “Do you really think I planned all this out? Mark, explain to her just how wrong she is.”
Mark’s eyes widened. “I really don’t-”
Twilight pointed her hoof at Mark, dangerously close to his eye. “And you! How can I trust you now? Not only do you put not just your friends but mine in danger, but she seems to have you completely wrapped around her hoof!”
Mark visibly shrunk. “I wouldn’t say-”
“Ah, is the wittle unicorn jewous that the mean changeling is getting all the attensen from Mark? Poooooor Twiwight.”
Twilight turned her head to Chrysalis, her eyes alight with pure, unadulterated rage. Precisely the reaction that the Changeling Queen was going for.
Growling like an animal, Twilight’s horn began glowing in preparation for a spell as did Chrysalis’ after recognizing the danger.
“HEY! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!” Mark shouted before things got more out of control than they already were. Using his magic, he rolled up the newspaper on the table and bonked both Twilight and Chrysalis with it. “Bad Twilight, bad Chrissy.”
He immediately regretted his choice of moderation.
If he thought Twilight’s stink-eye was bad, he hadn’t been prepared for Chrysalis’. Both of them calmed down enough so that there were no ‘open’ hostilities, but that didn’t stop them from glaring harshly at the tactician who was trembling under their scrutiny. He’d never felt so much like Fluttershy in his entire life.
Gulping, Mark meekly continued. “Tw-Twi, why don’t you let Chrysalis explain everything. I mean once you hear it you’ll see she’s as much a victim as-”
Twilight pointed at Chrysalis. “Victim? VICTIM! Does she look like a victim to you?!”
“Appearances can be deceiving right Chrys-” The moment Mark turned to address Chrysalis, he face hoofed. Instead of Chrysalis, he was met with the sight of a very tragic looking Princess Cadance. “Oh please no.”
“I am a victim! Remember how that beautiful and absolutely brilliant changeling almost married my hubby? It was so terrifying! Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if Shining left me since she’s so much better than I am in looks and-”
In an instant, Twilight furiously lunged at Chrysalis over the table before Mark or the ‘victim’ could react.
Mark winced as he placed the ice pack over his eye. “Okay, did you get that out of your system?” He asked, addressing the pony he never knew could be so vicious. Especially after that bite.
Twilight tried using her hoof to unruffle her mane, ignoring her new set of bruises. “As long as she’s willing to play nice.”
“I’m not the one who attacked,” Chrysalis responded in a vexed tone as she replaced the tissue from her bleeding and possibly broken nose.
“The wedding.”
Mark stomped both his front hooves onto the table and angrily glared at the other unicorn. “Okay, seriously Twi, it happened, fucking get over it or get out.” He then turned his attention to the antagonistic Changeling Queen. “Chrissy, stop being a bitch to my friend and start briefing us on the Canterlot situation.”
Chrysalis chuckled. “Did you know you’re sexy when you take charge like that?” She asked, causing a red tinge to appear across Mark’s cheeks.
‘I heard sexy. What’d I miss?...What happened to you three?’
Twilight pointed at the Queen again. “See! She doesn’t even take this seriously!”
“Actually, Twilight Sparkle, I take this matter extremely seriously,” Chrysalis’ said, her tone suddenly turning dour. “So seriously that I don’t think I want you involved if you can’t even try to put the past--In. The. Past.”
Mark gave a deep and very annoyed sigh. “That’s why you did all that? A test to see her self control?”
The corners of Chrysalis’ lips curled upwards into a small smile. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t having fun too.”
Twilight rose from her seat, like she was about to start yelling again, however, she thought better of it and sat back down with a huff.
“Are you ready to listen now?” Chrysalis asked.
Twilight’s eyes narrowed and she scowled.
“I’ll have to take that as a yes,” Chrysalis said with a shake of her head. Her jagged horn glowed and with a pop a miniature three dimensional image of Canterlot floated above the center of the table. “As Mark and I tried to explain earlier, my brother Morphos led a coup over my hive and has successfully taken control over Canterlot.”
“And this time, Twilight and the girls aren’t in the city to fight and we don’t have the Elements of Harmony,” Mark added.
Twilight bit her lip as she quickly thought of the pros and cons of the information she was about to divulge. “Actually, we have the Elements with us. After the incident with Discord, Princess Celestia allowed us to keep the Elements close at hoof.” Twilight returned her gaze to Chrysalis. “Just in case we needed them.”
Chrysalis ignored the jab at being the original target for the Elements and continued explaining the situation. “As ‘excellent’ as you think that news is, it’s a moot point unless several problems are dealt with.”
Chrysalis’ horn glowed brighter, and a green sphere encased the city’s image just like in the newspaper picture. “First of all, much like the wedding-” Twilight tensed but quietly continued listening. “A shield has been erected around the entire city. Unlike the previous one though, this is an old spell my hive had developed to allow only our hive’s changelings and changeling related objects to leave or enter. It’s strong and virtually impenetrable.”
Mark set down the his ice pack. “Am I going to regret asking why your hive has such a spell?”
Chrysalis didn’t fault him for asking. Like other multi-use spells, if you were creative you could use them for entirely new helpful, fun, or deadly purposes. “It was used primarily during the hive wars to protect supply caravans, shield soldiers, and trap enemies. What I’m worried about however is that this one is so big that it covers the entire city. Usually they’re only the size of a small room.”
“Shining did it,” Mark responded more snarkily than intended.
Twilight eyed her friend irritably. “Mark, do you know how much energy and magic it takes to raise and maintain a spell like that?”
Mark rested his head on the table. “Based off the fact you're asking me, I’m gonna assume somewhere between a ton and a shit-ton?”
Chrysalis nodded. “Exactly. Which means that my suspicion has to be correct. Someone is assisting him.”
Twilight and Mark’s brow shot upwards. “Any idea who?”
Mark closed his eyes in thought as he remembered Ninian’s warning about the unicorn that captured her and Nils. The same one she said might have plans against Equestria.
‘Yeah, now I’m doubting that whoever’s to blame ISN’T Sombra. Could be wrong, but from what we know about him, he’s a total attention-whore, I mean seriously, a giant blob of darkness? Who does that?’
‘I’m inclined to agree, but we can speculate about it later. Right now we have more important things to worry about.’
Chrysalis eyes narrowed as she stared at the holographic Canterlot. “I don’t care who it is, if I ever find them I will make sure they regret every minute that my hive’s suffered!”
Mark stared at the holographic city too and began thinking of his plan. “You said that the shield uses a lot of magic to maintain, right?” He asked and got a nod from Chrysalis in response. “Then wouldn’t it be better to wait it out until it can’t be maintained anymore? Then when it does come down we can swoop in and take Morphos out when he’s weak!”
“I don’t think that would be an ideal option for you,” Chrysalis said with a shake of her head. “Morphos is either powering it himself, or using multiple proxies to maintain it and is continuously using whatever resources he can get. Once he’s finished, he’ll move on to the next city, then the next like a swarm of locusts. Gaining power and weakening Equestria after every conquest.”
“What about the ponies?” Twilight asked, gulping since she felt she already knew the answer.
“As I said, resources. After draining a creature completely of their love, they’ll recover after some time but be physically weakened.You know that from experience Mark,” Chrysalis said critically. “Constantly draining after the recoveries however, and the subjects strength will sap away further and further until…” Chrysalis slowly ran her hoof across her neck.
Mark grit his teeth. “Okay, point taken. The sooner we kick his ass the better.”
Once again, Chrysalis was shaking her head. “It won’t be that easy. Unlike Miasma’s hive, my hive has a strong military tradition. It won’t be so easy to defeat.”
“The girls did it before. Sorta,” Mark commented once again more snarkily than he intended.
Chrysalis snorted with contempt. “When they were unarmed and ordered to use non-lethal force.”
Mark pinched his snout with his hooves as he realized that this was going to be even harder than he had imagined. Especially given the fact that going through all the weapons and equipment the group had, they were under equipped against a truly militant force. “In that case, we’re gonna need some preparations,” Mark said, standing up and preparing to leave.
“You have a plan?” Chrysalis asked expectantly.
“I have an idea. But I’m still fleshing it out,” Mark admitted as he headed towards the door. “Try not to kill each other while I’m out please.”
Twilight glanced at Chrysalis then back at Mark, unsure if she’d be able to comply. “Where are you going?”
“Hmm?” Mark turned his head but didn’t stop moving resulting in him hitting the door frame. He winced as he rubbed the new bump. “The bathroom, the bank, and a certain merchant pony with a fetish for money. Probably in that order. Probably...”
‘-add the lances and what do you think the price range is?’
‘Why am I doing the math? Go write on a wall or something. Or at least wait till you’ve pissed before you start hitting me with math problems.’
‘Price range.’
‘Ugh, fine. Knowing Anna it’ll be between twenty thousand and-’
Mark stopped as he realized that he was about to walk into another pony and so moved to the side of the hallway so they could pass each other. However, the pony mimicked his movements and blocked his path.
In a normal situation this would probably be one of those silly events where Mark and the pony would keep moving side to side, trying to be polite but not helping the situation. The fact that this pony was as almost as muscular as Big Mac, wore a black vest and bowler hat, sported some scars along his legs, and was intentionally blocking Mark made it self-evident that this wasn’t a normal situation.
Mark slowly backed away, keeping a close eye on the pony, unfortunately, that meant he didn’t see the other bowler cap pony until he bumped into him.
The other pony’s foreleg wrapped around Mark’s head, trapping him in a headlock. “Hey what’re you- mffphs!” The pony he’d almost bumped into quickly shoved a cloth into his mouth and then the one who had him in a headlock stuffed him in a bag. “MMMPHPHFFFSHSF!”
Inside the bag, it was too cramped for Mark to move his hooves and he couldn’t take out the dirt-tasting cloth. Worse was whenever he tried to prepare a spell, the bag would conveniently ‘bump’ against something hard, breaking his concentration. It was a worst case scenario, but Mark forcibly resigned himself to wait for a better opportunity out of this situation and try to visualize the directions that the ponies were taking. Surprisingly, it was only five minutes later, after a couple of turns and stairways that the goons emptied the bag’s contents onto a chair and pulled the cloth out of his mouth.
“Dammit, is that thing even washed? Ugh,” Mark voiced, mostly feigning disgust but discreetly taking in his new surroundings to find the best possible escape route.
Judging by the furnishing of the room, he was in one of the Weary Bray’s private dining rooms. The kind of rooms used for parties or other special occasions where you either didn’t want to be disturbed or disturb others as you ate.
The middle-aged pony at the other end of the table took one more bite of his salad before wiping his mouth with a napkin. At first it was a small tinge in the corner of Mark’s mind as he thought this well-dressed pony was familiar. Then came on the full torrent of memories of where he’d seen him before and this either had to be some cruel joke, or Mark was certain that he may not come out of this fully intact if at all.
Across the table was none other than Green Streak who, despite his name, wasn’t actually green. He was, however, an Earth pony who headed several wealthy businesses, an upstanding citizen, and under those two facades, the one who ran Equestria’s criminal network.
As a pickpocket, Mark had learned never to steal from this pony’s associates and to stay away from his businesses for good measure. Even Gambit was wary of him having only ever pulled one con on the most corrupt of his businesses. Bastion only drove the point home when he explained how Streak somehow remained untouchable for the past twenty years after Streak had clawed his way to the top.
Mark gulped and his fur bristled as Streak set aside his meal and spoke. “Marked Defiance. I’m sorry for the abruptness of this and how rough my subordinates were, but I wanted to meet you for myself and conventional means would prove difficult to say the least. Do you know who I am?”
“Yes,” Mark said numbly. His mind raced as he planned how he would deal with the goons to escape and how he’d get himself and his friends out of Manehatten.
‘If it’s not changelings it’s none other than the head of Equestria’s fricking criminal underworld that kills you. Why the hell do we have such bad luck?’
“I’m sure you think I’m a bad guy Marked, but I’m just what necessity makes me,” Streak assured after seeing the fear in Mark’s eyes. Streak crossed his forelegs onto the table since he realized that it wasn’t quite working. “I’m sorry, I know that all this isn’t exactly ‘trust-building’ but please listen and stop looking for a way to escape. If you’d like to leave, the exit is right behind you, I just thought you might want to know some important information concerning recent events.
Mark turned his head to look behind him and as Streak said, the door was there and the goons weren’t blocking his path. Mark wanted to leave, he really, really did. The problem was that he also really wanted to know why someone like Streak wanted to meet him. Reluctantly, Mark faced forward again. “...Okay.”
Streak smiled and clapped his hooves together. “Glad to hear it. I understand that you and your friends plan on saving Canterlot, so I won’t use up too much of your time, however, you have a price on your head.” Mark was very quickly regretting the fact he had stayed as his muscles tensed. “You see, quite recently I was approached by a lucrative business associate who you’ve made extremely nervous. Especially since you have acquired dangerous information on them.”
‘Them? Who’s...Miasma.’
‘Gotta hand it to her, she was pretty damn quick about it.’
Mark did his best to hide his fear and appear calm but wasn’t sure if it was working, especially when his voice cracked for a second. “So what? You’re going to collect this ‘price’ on my head only after Canterlot’s retaken?”
“Oh nonono. Marked, you have the wrong idea. I’m just here to meet and ask you to be more cautious in the future,” Streak said, waving his hoof dismissively. “Especially since it puts not only you, but your friends in danger as well. You were not the only one exploring Manehatten’s ‘underground’ if you recall.”
The fear that Mark had was almost instantly replaced with a cold fury as the unicorn slammed his hooves onto the table. “Touch my friends and I will make it my personal mission to end you, one way or another!”
Mark expected a cold, angry, or other generally unpleasant response like Streak ordering his goons to ‘teach him a lesson’. Instead what he got was a crime boss heartily laughing as if Mark had said a hilarious joke. It probably was, given the fact that if Streak had remained several steps ahead of the law for all these years, how could a single unicorn fare better?
“Ahhaha! I’m sorry, that was unprofessional on my part.” Streak wiped the tear from the corner of his eye from laughing so hard. “It’s just that you take so much after her, what you said, even that look in your eyes.”
Mark prepared to ask exactly what Streak meant in the most simple and elegant way possible. “Eh?”
For a moment, Streak had a confused look on his face but then rolled his eyes, sighed, and shook his head. “Oh my, she didn’t tell you. I guess I should’ve expected it. It is her after all.”
“Who the heck are you talking about?” Mark asked harder, hoping for specifics.
“Your mother.”
Despite Streak’s answer coming out in a nonchalant manner, it was a bombshell that managed to shock Mark back into his seat. He was an orphan who ran away from the orphanage at age six, a pickpocket adopted as a little brother by a con-artist, an apprentice and ward to Equestria’s Royal Tactician. Now he was somepony whose mother was known to one of the most influential and dangerous ponies in Equestria. “My...my what?”
Streak scratched his chin with a frown. “Your mother. She’d never admit it, but she really wanted to meet you face to face and tell you just how much you mean to her.”
Mark mouthed so many questions but was unable to voice them except for the last one. “How do you know all this?”
A wry grin spread across Streak’s face as he once again laid out another bombshell. “Because we’re family. She asked me to be your Godfather. And who am I to say no to her?”
Mark’s jaw dropped, as did the goons’ from before who suddenly looked very regretful of their rough treatment of Mark.
Reaching into his vest pocket, Streak pulled out a pair of sunglasses, put them on --despite it being indoors-- and stood up. As he headed for the exit he patted the slack-jawed Mark on the shoulder. “If she ever decides to tell you everything, please don’t blow up on her like you did with your changeling friend. She’s a lot more sensitive than she lets on and she’s regretted every day she had to leave you.”
With that said, Streak took his leave and signalled the two goons to follow. Leaving behind more questions than answers for a shocked unicorn.
‘I’m not gonna sugar coat it, if you’re not providing tactics and trying to survive a battle, you’re facing dramatic crap like this and usually losing any sense of composure.’
‘I know my life’s one big mess after another, stop reminding me.’
‘Speaking of mess, you might wanna find that bathroom now before, well, you know.’
Armored Bastion and a pegasus walked into Cloudsdale’s conference room which —at this current time— acted as a war room. They were fully armored and had just read through the report by their scouts and the situation at Canterlot wasn’t looking good.
Princess Luna’s current status remained unknown and out of the ponies that escaped, one of them was a photographer who had managed to take pictures and given it to the closest news company he could find. According to reports from other cities, the local guards were currently tied up with containing the mass panic as the news spread, and didn’t know when they’d be able to report in to assist.
The two ponies stopped and saluted to a pacing Celestia.
The Princess stopped with a grave expression on her face. “Have we found out how this happened yet?”
Bastion shook his head. “I’m sorry, other than the information from witnesses who escaped and the scout’s report, all we know is that changelings have occupied the city and enclosed themselves behind a large shield.”
Celestia’s face scrunched and she took a moment to take a deep breath to help maintain her composure. “This is a terrible situation.”
The pegasus beside Bastion nodded in agreement but had a fierce grin on his face. “Yes, but it’s also nothing that we can’t handle. I’ll lead the Silver-Wings and retake the city before the day is done.”
“General Ironwing, I appreciate the suggestion, however, I would very much prefer to avoid a full scale conflict if possible,” Celestia said, understanding the pegasus’ desire to truly prove himself to her.
“And we don’t know exactly what we’re up against. We don’t know their end-game and for all we know, we could be charging straight into a trap,” Bastion added.
Angrily, Ironwing slammed his hoof onto the wooden war table, leaving a large, splintered dent. “Now’s not the time for trying to find the meaning of every detail, nor is it for words. Changelings have blatantly attacked our capital and I will not let Equestria suffer such an insult and appear weak!”
“And what about the ponies that didn’t escape? Your charge will likely put them in danger!” Bastion snapped back, his volume the same as Ironwing’s.
The two were suddenly pulled apart by each other and Celestia walked between them. She released her magic and spoke with the full authority of her station. “You are both correct. Now is the time for action, however, we must understand what we are up against as well.” She paused for a moment to confirm that the two figures were paying attention. “Lieutenant Bastion, General Ironwing, you both will mobilize your forces immediately and accompany me back to Canterlot. I will try to convince the changeling leading them to leave peacefully. If that and the show of force aren’t successful, General, you and the Silver-Wings will prioritize evacuating the citizens who weren’t able to escape. Bastion, you will be the one to lead the assault.”
The general stepped up in objection. “Princess, I should be the one-”
“And once your task is complete,” Celestia interrupted giving Ironwing a sharp look. “I will allow you to take over the assault with Bastion providing necessary auxiliary support. Are we clear?”
General Ironwing grit his teeth. When it came to Bastion, ‘auxiliary support’ meant that he was going to accompany him and could override Ironwing’s orders using his position as Royal Tactician. It wasn’t ideal, but the General knew that now wasn’t the time to argue such matters. “Yes Princess,” Ironwing acknowledged, not bothering to hide his anger as he bowed his head and took flight out of the room.
Celestia sighed and walked to the only window in the room. It wasn’t facing Canterlot, but it did give her some fresh air and a pleasant view of Cloudsdale. Bastion took a place beside her, looking out the window himself. It was evident by their expressions that things were weighing on their minds.
Bastion was the first to break their silence. “Your highness, do you believe that this has to do with the changeling queen that Twilight Sparkle and the others were pursuing?”
“I have no doubt that she was somehow involved,” Celestia responded simply.
Bastion let out a sigh of his own and closed his eyes. “I...I see.”
“Mark will be okay Bastion. I’m sure of it,” Celestia reassured. A long time ago, she had learned that no matter how hard it was, the best thing to do was think positive and hope for the best.
“As will Princess Luna,” Bastion said with a soft smile.
On his new throne, Morphos sat silently glaring at the soldier who had just given the report on Canterlot’s complete and utter subjugation. It had gone accordingly and easier than he had thought but he couldn’t help but brood over some critical facts: though sighted in the beginning, Princess Luna had all but disappeared as well as over half of Canterlot’s known population. Of those found and either killed or captured, most were guards.
Morphos ground his teeth and dismissed the soldier with a swift wave of his hoof. The worst part of all this was that Celestia wasn’t present for him to defeat so that all Equuis knew what would await them in due time.
Reaching through the hivemind, Morphos called for his Lieutenants as well as reminded the four changelings he’d put in charge of maintaining the shield of the consequences should anything other than a changeling leave or enter the city.
The changeling king didn’t have to wait long for Skel and Mewta to buzz into the room and stand at attention. “Your orders, your majesty.”
“Take some of the drones and have them scour the city. I want the Princess and all the missing ponies found. The one to find their location gets a reward.”
“Oh? anything me and my boys might be interested in?”
Morphos narrowed his eyes into a glare at the ‘guest’ in the the throne room. “They get to live.”
“So the answer’s no,” Barrows said, lazily picking some food out of his teeth and flicking it away.
The diamond dog cracked his neck before picking himself up and exiting the throne room, easily ignoring Morphos’ contemptuous scowl. Walking down the hall and past the bodies of the guards unfortunate enough to have gotten in his and his band’s way, he met up with the others in one of Canterlot’s many guest rooms. Barrows smiled as he looked at the pile of golden utensils, plates, coins, jewels, etc. that now rested in the center of the room.
Grill, one of his new raid leaders and all-around kiss-ass was the first to see and acknowledge their leader’s entrance. “Hey’ya boss! Look’it this haul! Plus this is only what we found in the castle. Other than that vault anyways. We’re still waiting for Grease ta figure out how ta crack inta it.”
“Not bad for you lot,” Barrows said, taking a particularly shiny sapphire from the pile and pocketing it. “But there’s no point waiting on Grease. What’s in that vault ain’t for us. It’s for our generous ‘benefactor’.”
“But boss, who knows how much gold and stuff the ponies’ve got in there!” One of the dogs protested, others nodding and grunting in agreement.
Once again, Barrows repeated himself with increased volume and annoyance. “It doesn’t matter.”
“But boss-!”
Once was whining at best, twice might as well have been the beginning of open rebellion and without further ado, Barrows pulled out the dagger he kept strapped to his leg and threw it at the main protestor. There was a yelp and cry of pain as the dagger plunged into the dog’s paw and pinned him to the wall.
“Are you arguing with me?” Barrows shouted to the now deathly silent room. Walking over and recovering his dagger, much to the protestors dismay. Barrows spread his arms and addressed the room. “You boys stop looking at how empty the glass is and see the opportunity we’ve been provided.”
“Umm...what glass, boss?”
Barrows let out an annoyed sigh at the more-than occasional stupidity of his underlings and pointed out a nearby window, towards the city. “Instead of pestering me about the damn vault, go and see what you can find in the damn city. It’s ours for the taking and if we found all this in the castle, imagine what you’d find in Equestria’s capital city!”
There was a loud, raucous cheer as the diamond dogs pushed and shoved to be the next out the doorway, even the one who had been protesting earlier. All of them eager to do what they did best: loot and pillage. A few bloody noses and possibly a broken arm later, the only ones left in the room were Barrows and one other diamond dog.
A hood covering all but his snout, the diamond dog spoke in a crisp, neutral, intelligent voice. “How long are we intended to stay? Word has likely gotten out and Princess Celestia is sure to be on her way as we speak.”
“Of course she is. Once that idiot Morphos has engaged her forces we’ll be hauling ass to stay out of sight and get back into Diamond Dog territory. Until then, we just need to get as much as we can. What about you, did you complete that task I gave you yet?”
The hooded diamond dog shook his head. “There’s not much information on the ones who killed Gnoll. The only thing of significance I gathered was that it was a group of ponies and a griffin led by some mare named Deviance.”
“A griffin, huh?” Barrows could care less about the others. What peaked his interest was that Griffins usually tried to avoid dealing with Equestria altogether unless it was necessary. He only knew one griffin that would openly do that who wouldn’t care less about his image or any other consequence and more importantly, was extremely dangerous and desired nothing greater than Barrows’ head. “Butch, when we’re leaving I want you to stay close. I have a feeling that an old ‘buddy’ of mine is gonna make one hell of an appearance. He always does.”
‘Want to talk about it yet?”
“Don’t want to talk about it.”
‘How bout now?’
“Still don’t wanna talk about it.”
‘You sure?’
“I absolutely don’t want to talk about it.”
‘Well, I ask because it’s bothering you so much that you’re responding to me out loud and everypony is giving a wide berth of the crazy pony. AKA, you.’
“Hmmm?” Mark snapped out of his thoughts and realized that Brain was correct, around him there were ponies giving him approximately ten feet of space and either trying to ignore him, or trying not to let him know they were staring. “It’s like I’m a girl all over again.”
‘Nope. When you were a mare, you were an object of desire. Now you’re just some mentally mess up colt with some recently discovered family issues. Oh hey look at that, we’re here.”
“Ugh.” Mark facehoofed before taking a breath and pushing the door open to the shop. Though it looked like a normal shop on the outside, Mark knew it’s owner well enough to assume that she’d have a special stock.
Seeing no one at the front desk, Mark rang the call bell once. There was no response.
He tried again and achieved the same result.
Mark cracked his neck and wore his trademark grin before pressing his hoof on the bell at a steady pace. It took a little longer than he imagined, but there was an eventual response.
“Stop it already, dammit!” Yelled an unfamiliar mare’s voice from the floor above. There was then pounding as whomever had spoken stomped towards the stairs behind the front desk.
‘Uhh….This is the right shop, right?’
‘It’s supposed to be. I mean I don’t see why-’
Mark’s thoughts stopped when a cute but entirely unknown light orange unicorn became visible and continued her irritated stomping down the stairs and only stopping once she reached the desk. Flipping her purple mane out of her face she then crossed her forelegs across the desk. “What is it? You made me mess up and now there’s a giant mustache where wings are supposed to be.”
Mark’s eyebrow raised and he took a small step away from the mare. “Umm...I’m here to purchase something from-”
The moment that Mark had said ‘purchase’ the mare’s expression brightened and her glare was replaced with a cheerful smile. Maybe a little too optimistic since she had started leaning over the desk towards Mark. “You’re here to buy one of my works? Finally another customer,” the mare squealed with glee. “Are you interested in any of my collections? I’ve got some from Homestack, Crystal Gems, and my favorite stuff based off Puella Pony Epona Magica.”
Mark’s ears perked up in interest at the last name. “Hey I’ve got that comic! It’s so good but I never knew it was gonna be so dark.”
The mare’s grin widened at a fellow fan of the series. “I know right? So how much are you buying? I’ve got some really cool ones, oh, and if you want I can get my gallery book to show you other pictures I made.”
“Ah...right...about that…” Mark scratched his head sheepishly. “I was actually looking for Anna and I thought she setup her main shop here. Umm...do you think you can give me directions to the right place?”
Rather than get infuriated as Mark had originally imagined, the mare’s cheeks puffed out into a pout and she began ringing the call bell even faster than Mark had. “Anna, it’s for you again!”
“ARTSY, DO WHAT I TOLD YOU AND MAKE WHOEVER IT IS BUY ONE OF YOUR PIECES FIRST,” Called down all too familiar voice that was somehow loud enough to cause the building to tremble.
“Are you using that volume-tome again? Nevermind, you know I’m not into you’re swindling schemes,” Artsy called back up.
Anna poked her head out, her hoof holding a brown tome with what appeared to be a megaphone picture on it’s cover. “IT’S NOT SWINDLING. IT’S CLEVER BUSINESS STRATEGY.”
For the third time that week, Artsy winced at her flatmate’s use of that experimental tome and for the third time that week, Artsy threw one of her paintbrushes at Anna which she dodged with the simple motion of her head. “Just get down here! I need fix my commission before the paint dries,” the orange mare huffed as she stomped back up the stairs and removed the paintbrush embedded into the wall.
Rolling her eyes, Anna casually tossed the tome over her shoulder and trotted down the stairs to see who had caused all the fuss. She shouldn’t have been surprised to see the one responsible for her almost losing her merchant’s license in Manehatten, but he was still a potential customer and one whom Anna knew could access some deep pockets. “You’re not planning on blowing up my shop too, are you?”
“Ha. Ha,” Mark answered with an unamused stare.
Anna giggled and leaned forward onto the desk. “Just checking. What can I get you this time?”
“I need the best of what you’ve got. Whatever the price.”
Whatever the price. Hearing one the magic phrases for any merchant, Anna’s ears perked up and a wide grin spread across her face. She then lifted herself off the desk and reached under it until she felt a switch. There was a faint click as she flipped it and turned to the eastern wall where a large panel flipped on an axle, revealing the substantial array of items that Anna and her many sisters had learned to keep with them should opportunities like this arise.
“So what can I get you this time?” Anna repeated with a wink.
“I shouldn’t have said any price, should I?” Mark mumbled quietly to himself. The regret of his spending splurge making itself present.
‘Meh, this was bound to happen eventually. Especially given the fact you bought THAT.’
‘We both know I was gonna get one eventually and I’m through with being patient about it.’
‘Still, that was it. You finally spent the rest of the money that Gambit left you and it was on weapons, elixirs, that mercenary Anna directed you to, and the object of your desire ever since you were a kid.’
‘I still feel a little empty inside though. That money was all I had left of him and now it’s gone.’
‘Yeah, because money and material objects totally beats the memories and lessons of life that he taught you.’
‘You’re a sarcastic asshole, but thanks.’
‘That’s what I’m here for.’
Mark stopped in his tracks, as he spotted Fluttershy’s Aunt outside the door to Twilight’s room. Judging from her expression, she wasn’t too happy about something and since she was currently in his way, Mark decided to ask the obvious question. “What are you doing?”
“I’m waiting.”
“Waiting for what?”
“For you to get back. I didn’t want the two in there to start another heated debate and disturb the other residents on the floor so I waited for the one whom has an effect on both of them. You.”
“Wait, they didn’t even leave the room once?”
“No. They were settling some differences and coming to terms with what needed to be done. I’m happy that you keep yourself with good company,” Angel said quietly as she walked past Mark.
“So you were eaves-” Mark stopped. Speechless as he looked around the entirety of the hallway as if he had just met a ghost since the moment Mark had turned, Angel had disappeared completely. Even with a teleportation spell, there was always a sound of some kind yet there was absolutely none after the taller unicorn had left Mark’s line of sight. “I don’t think she’s everything she says she is,” Mark mused uncomfortably, still staring at the empty hallway as he gently pushed the door open.
Upon entering the room, he found both Twilight and Chrysalis where he had left them and once again in a silence, although this one didn’t seem to ooze with absolute hatred towards one another. There was a patient civility about it, with Twilight reading a book on her bed and Chrysalis sipping a drink at the table.
Hearing Mark close the door upon his entrance, Twilight set her book down and gave Chrysalis a quick, steely glance before giving Mark her full attention. “Mark, we don’t know exactly what you have planned, but from what Chrysalis has been saying, I want to know.”
Mark’s eyebrow shot up in confusion. “I don’t follow.”
Chrysalis cleared her throat to get Mark’s attention. “I had Razor keep an eye on you while you were out and used the hivemind to relay the information here.”
“Wait, so you saw what happened after I left his room earlier? And you weren’t worried or curious at all?” Mark asked, feeling a pang of hurt that his friends would let him be subjected to being kidnapped.
Chrysalis gave him a worried look, suspecting something from the way that he’d phrased that. “Did something happen? Razor only followed after you left the Weary Bray.”
“N-No. It’s nothing,” Mark quickly dismissed, giving Chrysalis a look not to pry further. Walking up to the coffee table that served as their improvised war table, Mark addressed the Queen again. “Chrissy, can you cast that spell again? The one with image of Canterlot and that shield.”
Chrysalis nodded and obliged as both her and Twilight joined the tactician around the table.
Once again examining the holographic city, Mark chewed his lip a bit before pointing one of the city’s towers. “Okay, after we get through the shield we need to-”
“Mark, you just skipped explaining how we’re getting through the shield,” Chrysalis interrupted. “Strong and nigh impenetrable, remember?”
Mark’s face lit up in pleasant surprise before a mischievous grin slowly spread across his face. “Oh, I figured you pieced that together after knowing exactly what I bought,” Mark said through his grin, making the other two grow uncomfortable.
There was a moment where Twilight and Chrysalis both went through the mental list of things Mark had purchased. Each seemed to have an obvious and reasonable purpose. All except one.
Whether it was fate, coincidence, or one of Mark’s over-the-top, childish schemes, a large shadow was cast through the windows and across the room as a yacht-class airship passed over the building. More specifically, Mark’s new airship that --with today’s economy-- must have cost a small fortune.
“You can’t mean-”
Mark giggled excitedly. “I totally mean it.”
“Do you even have a license?” Twilight asked incredulously.
“I need a license?” Mark responded in a tone that showed how little he actually cared.
Chrysalis placed her hoof on her forehead and took a deep breath so that she didn’t prematurely strangle Mark. “What do you intend to do exactly?” She asked through her teeth.
“Well, if it gets covered in changeling resin, it’s technically a ‘changeling product’, ergo we hop in the ship and ride it into the city like badasses.”
‘More like jackasses, but it’s still the best option you’ve thought of so there’s no helping it.’
For a moment both Twilight and Chrysalis looked like they were going to shout their disapproval of the plan but stopped as they considered that they didn’t have any better alternatives themselves.
“That...Will that work?” Twilight asked the changeling queen reluctantly.
Biting her lip, Chrysalis slowly nodded. “It should. As long as your within the ship when it crosses you won’t be...expunged.”
“You don’t sound very confident,” Twilight mumbled.
“The moment we’re past that shield it’ll be do or die. We’ll be trapped with you ponies unable to get out of the shield and Morphos highly unlikely to let me escape again. No help, no retreat.”
“Not if we take care of that shield and kick your brother to the curb,” Mark responded with a cavalier bravado.
Chrysalis gave him an annoyed scowl. “That’s highly optimistic considering we’re not facing the scouts, the rabble, or the ‘Lost’ changelings from before, but fully equipped, trained soldiers who won’t hesitate to kill you if given the chance.”
Mark rolled his eyes. “Which is why I hired a professional mercenary to assist.”
Chrysalis shook her head with disapproval. “That griffin? You call that drunk a professional? I thought you hired him to help you drive your new waste of money.”
“A bit of both actually. He bragged about being a pirate and has intimate knowledge about sea and air vessels.”
For a moment the Queen almost exploded into a rant to try and dissuade Mark from his airship nonsense and to have him find something more reasonable. Instead, she shook her head, huffed, and dropped the issue when she once again reminded herself that she had no better alternatives to give.
“Fine. So we get into the city, then what?” Twilight asked, she too conceding to their unexpected method of travel. “What’s the plan after we enter?”
Mark’s happy-go-lucky expression from talking about his new ship changed almost instantly into one that matched the seriousness of the situation. “We’re taking down the shield from the inside out. It’s our city for Celestia’s sake, so we have the home-field advantage.”
“How? You’re going to treat them to Donuts at Donut Joe’s until they’re too stuffed with sugar to fight?” Both Twilight and Mark stared at her, surprised that she knew the place. “Just because I eat love doesn’t mean I don’t like sugary treats too.”
Clearing his throat, Mark continued, “I was referring to the fact that we know the city and castle better than they do, I know a couple of secret passages, and I highly doubt they found the functional ballista towers.”
Chrysalis and Twilight’s eyes widened in shock. “THERE’S BALLISTA TOWERS IN CANTERLOT?!”