> Crown of Opal > by O-5_Synthetic_Unit_Alpha > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Crown of Opal > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shiiiit!” Tyrus was panicking. She had to get out of the building right now. She could hear the rapid hoofsteps of the guardsponies as they ran after her, taking off down the first hallway she saw. Just as she rounded the next corner, a bullet whizzed past her ear, forcing her to duck her head as she continued to run. She checked her watch. Thirty seconds. She needed to get out now. A window! There!   She blasted the glass with a well placed arcane bolt from her horn, before crashing through the fractured window, spreading her wings to take flight as just the building behind her was engulfed in a massive fireball.   Another successful mission, Equestria saved yet again. “Oh, perk up sweetie, at least the press is being kept away.”       The Crown Princess of Equestria looked over to where her heavily armored bodyguards were barring the doors to their private venue. While she was glad that they kept the room mostly empty, she had hoped for complete privacy for the evening.   Time spent alone with Opalescent Hayschting was never going to come by easily, especially for Tyrus of all ponies. Being the next in line for the throne of Equestria once Luna and Celestia decided to step down meant that she was constantly being followed by the paparazzi and coupled with Opal being owner of Equestria’s largest corporate empire and possibly the richest mare in the world, interactions between them were the recipe for the perfect journalist bait.   “I know, Opal, but I hoped that my bodyguards would be on the other side of the doors. It’s hard to have a romantic evening with them watching us.” Tyrus looked over to where the two guards stood, startling both of them.   “Of course, Princess. Our apologies.”   The guards lowered their spears as they pushed open the doors, forcing their way out into the press, flashbulbs sounding off rapidly up until the doors closed again.   “Better now, Your Highness?” Opal giggled, taking a sip of wine from her glass, running a hoof up the Princess’ leg underneath the table, causing Tyrus to blush lightly.   “W-well, now that we’re finally alone, yes, much better now.” She tried to ignore Opal’s hoof, taking a bite from her food, the expensive foreign dish proving an ineffective distraction as the billionaire’s hoof slipped under the skirt of her dress. “Opal, please not here.”   “Oh, you’re no fun, but fine, we’ll have time for it soon. I’ve got something special planned.” Opal smirked, enjoying the wide-eyed look Tyrus got upon hearing the words ‘something special’. “Already? We finished the last one less than a week ago, how can you already have something else planned?” Tyrus’ fork dropped onto the plate, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. That was never something good, well, never good at first; it almost always ended fun.   “Money, power, mercenaries, the usual methods.” Opal withdrew her hoof, that confident smirk never leaving her face. “I’m sure you’ll learn all about it come tomorrow, isn’t that how your agency works?”   “It’s General Shadows’ agency, I’m just her pupil, but yes, that is how it usually works. She’s probably spying on us right now,” the Crown Princess admitted, looking around for the usual signs of her mentor. Random plants, wait staff coming in, those gods-forsaken paintball dummies. Tyrus shuddered at the thought.   “Looks like you’re more scared of her than I am, Your Highness. But in any case, best keep you wanting for tomorrow. Au revoir, ma cherie.” Opal leaned over the table, stealing a kiss from Tyrus before vanishing in a flash of light.     “Cheeky little tease. I’m going to be extra rough on her when this is over, teach her to skip out on paying for the date that she set up.” Tyrus snorted, rolling her eyes, before looking down, her own forehooves drifting down under her skirt at the thought of what she’d do to Opal.         “Where in the world did she get those!?” The shrill panic in Tyrus’ voice echoed from the briefing room, the designs of a mana bomb pasted up on a large screen on the far wall.       “We’re not sure, but it’s likely she used some of her BFFs within the Goblin Cartels to acquire some of Arcatar’s surplus.” The Spymaster General, Dusky Shadows, never matched her personality to her appearance. She stood in dark colored clothes and makeup, looking more like a teenage goth-filly than one of the most powerful mares in the Equestrian military, and she acted like the preppy cheerleader captain from high school, taking everything seriously, but in a way that others found hard to consider legitimate.       “General, she has control over several of the most devastating weapons on the planet. Do we at least know where she’s keeping them?” Tyrus paced back and forth across the room, holding a wing to her forehead. This was the ‘something special’ that Opal was teasing about last night? This world ending nightmare? A single mana bomb dropped over a city with unicorns in it would be utterly devastating. What in the world was she thinking!?       “Actually yes. The nice boys in the Rangers have found her base in the mountains of Overburrow, towards the Iosan border. I don’t even think the Elves know that she’s based there.” Dusky nodded, pulling up a map of the mountainous region to the north. Overburrow seemed to be a haven for criminal activity, it serving as the corporate headquarters for the Goblin Cartels, the home of the crazy Doctor Whiplash, and now, apparently, the mana bomb-equipped base of Goldhoof, the villainess persona of Opalescent Hayschting. “You’ll be posing as a visiting dignitary to Castle Arcamide, and from there make your way into Goldhoof’s base.”       “I really need to speak with the Jarl of Overburrow about the sheer number of criminals within his borders at some point.” Tyrus shook her head, groaning. Speaking to Jarl Arcamide would have to come later though. The most pressing concern right now was Goldhoof’s stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. “Alright, I’ll head down to the lab, see what they have for me to infiltrate the site.”       “Good luck, Your Highness, the fate of Equestria, and the whole of Gaia, rest in your hooves.” In a rare moment of true seriousness, Dusky completed her sentence without childish phrases or idioms.       “Thank you, General Dusky.” A bow, a flash of light, and Tyrus was gone.     “Well if I can’t walk through these tables while in my armor, it’s you who should work on fixing that,” came the annoyed voice of Tyrus’ brother, following the sound of a loud crash. “I’m a foreign dignitary in a nation soon to be run by my sister, I’m not going without my armor.”       “Well you could try just not coming down here, Theo.” Tyrus scowled as she walked into the lab, snorting upon seeing her brother. Theodosius alternated between Tyrus’ closest friend and the bane of her existence every time he came back to Equestria. She often wondered where he even found time to come. Surely being an emperor was time consuming. She could barely keep up being Crown Princess and she wasn’t even a ruler yet. “Why are you here?”       “What? I can’t take a break from dealing with the Imperial Senate to come see my sister?” Theodosius grinned, turning around to look at his sister, causing even more equipment and tools to fall to the floor. The tech ponies down here hated the bulk of Theo’s steam-powered armor, especially since they had designed a far slimmer electric powered version years ago, but only complained about it when the Emperor of the South was gone, so as not to provoke him. “Also, before I forget, Gelair sends a kiss which I am not prepared to give to you.”       “Give Gelair a kiss for me then, I know you have no qualms kissing your husband.” Tyrus chuckled, shaking her head. She couldn’t stay angry when thinking about her brother-in-law. The demigod Gelair had an almost unnatural likability to him, and even then, Tyrus loved how he managed to keep Theodosius in line. She could only imagine what they were like behind closed doors, but out in the open, Gelair was more than capable of shutting his husband up in an instant with a comment which, while adorable, always embarrassed Theodosius.       “I’ll try to remember that it’s supposed to be from you,” Theodosius laughed, bringing Tyrus out of her thoughts. “But other than seeing you, I do have an actual reason for coming here~”       “So, ‘come to see my sister’ isn’t a real reason?” Tyrus went back to her scowl, suddenly reminded that her brother was just that, her brother.       “... Anyway, I came to try and find out how Goldhoof got her hooves on my stockpile of mana bombs.” Theodosius ignored Tyrus’ interruption, getting straight to business, his own expression hardening.       “It’s your fault for even having them, Theo, and frankly, why would you be asking me how Goldhoof got her hooves on your weapons of mass destruction? You should be asking your own intelligence agencies.” Tyrus walked past Theodosius, not wanting to spend too much time in a long, drawn out argument with her brother.       “I don’t want Gelair finding out that they’re gone, he doesn’t even approve of having those weapons stockpiled.” Theodosius turned to follow Tyrus, once again causing things to fall to the floor.       “I can’t imagine why. Now go away Theo, we’ll take take of Goldhoof, we already have her location,” Tyrus attempted to dismiss her brother before he could say anything else.       “You know, if you’d just tell me where Goldhoof is hiding, I can blast the entire place off the face of Gaia.” Theodosius found himself stopped by a magical bubble, one which began carrying him out of the lab.       “I said to leave, Theo.” Tyrus forced Theodosius out of the lab entirely, shutting the door once the bubble carrying her brother had left the room. Once her brother was gone, she took a deep breath through her nose “Ok, Tinker, he’s gone, so you can come out now and show me what you have today.”       “Oh, Your Highness, thank you for getting him out of here before he could destroy anything else.” Tinker Wire sighed with relief. The short, powder blue Earth Pony mare was more than happy to get the Imperator and his bulky armor out of her lab. She was the lead developmental engineer for the EIA, even though she was actually from the Logistics Branch of the Royal Army. The Spymaster just loved the gadgets she kept producing, so again and again, Tinker came from General Tesla’s workshops. “As for what I have for you, oh, I think you’ll like what I have, Your Highness.”       “Alright, alright, just show me, Tinker.” Tyrus chuckled, nodding her head as the engineer set a large toolbox on the closest table.       “Well, the Spymaster General informed me that you’ll be a visiting royal at a fancy gathering for the Arcamides, so I thought about how you’d be able to sneak your gear in, fitting it in with your fancy dress.” Tinker pulled out a long pearl necklace. “And this was the first thing I thought of, though Dusky wasn’t entirely impressed at the cost.”       “It’s beautiful, Tinker, but I’m not sure how this will help.” Tyrus took the necklace in her magic, unclasping it to put it on, before noticing that the cord of the necklace was hollow, and held inside of it a near invisible length of wire. “Is, is that…?”       “Yes, Your Highness, inside the necklace is three meters of garrote wire, spun from Elvish steel. It’s only a few nanometers thick but, put to the test, your bones will break long before this wire does” Tinker smiled proudly as Tyrus pulled out a portion of the wire, testing it with her magic, before putting it back inside the necklace.       “Incredible, Tinker, I can think of quite a few uses for this, quite a few indeed.” Tyrus bit her lip, thinking about pushing each one of those pearls inside…. Nevermind. “What else do you have for me, Tinker?”       “Well, borrowing from the plate armor of the Cyrissians, I’ve devised a way to condense your bodysuit down to a single ball.” Tinker pulled out a small leather ball, about the size of a baseball. “Simply press it against your chest and it will unfurl, spreading across your body. Even if you’re wearing anything, it will form underneath all of it. To condense it back, just rub your hoof against your chest, right beneath the collar.”       Tyrus eyed the ball curiously. It was one of the more… unusual items presented to her, for sure, but if Tinker made it… She put it against her chest, pressing it down with her hoof, and was suddenly met with the strange sensation of being enveloped, her bodysuit quickly wrapping around her.       “Tinker, how in the world did you do this, this is unbelievable.” Tyrus looked over herself, moving her hooves a little to test the suit. It fit perfectly, as if she had just stepped into it normally. She rubbed her hoof right beneath the collar, just as Tinker advised, and the suit receded off of her, back into the small leather ball.       “When you have the resources of the Equestrian government at your disposal, you’d be surprised what you can make.” Tinker laughed, waving it off with a flick of her hoof as if it was nothing. Then came out what looked like garter hooks. “A little more mundane, but only because your usual gear won’t really be accessible while on this mission. They’re your usual lockpicking gear, but use them in the place of your garters, since I know you’ll be wearing stockings beneath your dress.”       “Well it’s not like I’ll have much option now.” Tyrus rolled her eyes, but nodded “Alright, I’ll make sure these are in the place of my garters. Now what else do you have?”       “Some more flashy jewelry of course.” Tinker grinned, setting a silver hoof bracelet down on the table. “Laser deflector in the form of an hind hoof bracelet.”       “Um, Tinker, wouldn’t that make more sense as a forehoof bracelet?” Tyrus raised a brow, picking up the bracelet, looking it over. “So I can use it to deflect lasers in front of me?”       “And how useful would that really be, Your Highness?” Tinker pointed out. It was true, most of the time Tyrus had dealt with lasers, arcane or otherwise, it had been while she was trapped, tied down, and unable to move her forehooves. “Trust me, being on your hind leg will prove far more helpful.”       “If you say so, Tinker, you haven’t been off yet about anything you’ve given me.” Tyrus nodded slowly, setting the bracelet back down. “Anything else?”       “Nothing special this time, just another shipment of your sleep darts and a replacement silencer and flash suppressor for your pistol. Honestly, Your Highness, what are you doing with it that you need constant replacements for?”       Tyrus once again bit her lip, a faint blush emerging on her cheeks “That’s… um… my business, Tinker, I just need the replacements.”       If Tinker noticed the blush, she didn’t acknowledge it, just nodded and placed the silencer and box of darts up on the table.       “Well, then here you are, Your Highness. Best of luck to you and I hope this gear serves you well.”   “Thank you, Tinker, I’m sure it will.” Tyrus nodded, gathering everything up in her magical grip before making her way to leave.         “Presenting the Crown Princess of Equestria, Her Highness, Princess Tyrus Caesar,” the attendant announced as Tyrus stepped into the main hall of Castle Arcamide, the center of power within the Hold of Overburrow. It was full of visiting nobility and the wealthy elite from across the continent. In the crowd, Tyrus could see the turbans and brightly colored robes of Ottomare Divans, the polished steel armor of Imperial Praetors, and even the flowing gowns and tailored suits of Equestrian nobles, the latter all bowing upon the announcement of Her Highness by the attendant.       “And here comes the schmoozing.” Tyrus whispered to herself, before taking a deep breath and putting on a mostly fake smile as she walked into the crowd. She used to love going to fancy social gatherings, back when she didn’t have any pressure from talking to the other ponies. But once she was named the Crown Princess, all of a sudden she was bombarded by the nobility every time, all of them wanting to get favors from the next ruler of Equestria. It made her almost wish that Opal would hatch more hairbrained schemes for her to foil, anything to keep her away from the shmoozers.       Luckily for Tyrus, she did not have to wait long before the mare she was waiting for finally arrived. The attendant’s voice booming through the hall, stopping one Manehatten Noble’s attempt to grab the Crown Princess’ attention.       “Presenting the Chief Executive of the Gemtree Conglomerate, Lady Opalescent Hayschting.”       Almost immediately, Opal and Tyrus’ eyes locked onto each other’s, both grinning at the sight of the other. Opal knew that Tyrus would be at this event and Tyrus knew Opal would be in attendance as well. Both were powerful mares in their own right after all. Hopefully, Opal wouldn’t be expecting Tyrus to have anything with her tonight, since this one particular scheme was on short notice.       “Well, Your Highness, I’m glad you could make it. I was worried you’d be busy working on how to deal with… things.” Opal smirked as she walked up to Tyrus, a move which, when Tyrus actually reacted to it, stunned the Nobles around them.       “What? Me? Miss a elegant gala? Heavens no, Opalescent, and here I thought you knew me better than that,” Tyrus responded with a ‘royal’ tone which she rarely used outside of fancy events like this one.       “Leave it to you to put aside your duties to attend a party, Your Highness,” Opal teased, kissing Tyrus’ cheek, in full view of the Nobles around them, partly to kiss her lover, and partly to make sure the schmoozers think that she had the ear of the Crown Princess. Then there was the added benefit of making Tyrus blush in public.       “Opalescent, my dear, you are much too forward with me, at least wait until we’re in private,” Tyrus gushed, enjoying the expressions of the shocked onlookers about as much as Opal did. In reality, she really didn’t want to be here with Opal. As much as she loved spending time with her lover, especially amid the pomp and pageantry of the Nobility, she had a job to do which Opal stood in the direct way of….   “Presenting the gracious host, Lord and Steward of Castle Arcamide, Lord Hafgar Arcamide the Eighth.” The attendant’s voice derailed Tyrus’ train of thought, the Crown Princess reflexively looking towards the entrance, where the gold coated stallion in a rich red robe stood, eyeing the crowd in the money-grubbing way which most nobles had come to expect from most Arcamides. Seeing him started the gears in Tyrus’ mind once again. That would make a fine distraction to get away from Opal, and, lucky her, she was already a prime target in the eye of the Arcamide.   “Princess Tyrus! I had saw your name on the guest list, but I didn’t actually believe that you would attend.” He grinned widely as he flew over to where Tyrus and Opal were, landing between the two of them without caring if they were talking to one another.   “Well, yes, I couldn’t miss a fancy gala, now could I, Lord Arcamide?” Tyrus gave a sweet smile to the host, before quickly attempting to shift his focus onto Opal. “Now, Lord Arcamide, have you met my dear friend Opalescent Hayschting? She is a wealthy business tycoon in Equestria and the Imperium and I’m sure she’d just love to speak with you.”   “N-now I wouldn’t say…” Opal began, before Hafgar turned his attention towards her.   “Madam Hayschting, it is an honor to finally meet you in the flesh. Your business partners here in Overburrow are very complimentary about you and, by the Holy Light, they are not without merit at all.” Hafgar smirked as he looked over Opal’s body, already undressing her in his mind.   “You two get acquainted, I have to go make sure the other nobles from Equestria are getting by,” Tyrus threw out the first excuse that came to mind, regardless of how it actually sounded, dismissing herself from Hafgar and Opal, and quickly moving out of the main hall, quietly closing the hallway door behind her. “Ok, now to make sure I know where I’m going.”   Tyrus pulled out a scrying mirror, disguised as a makeup mirror, her horn igniting with the incantation to message General Shadows. “General? Are you there?”   “Your Highness, there you are, I was getting worried. Have you found the entrance yet?” Dusky’s face appeared within the mirror, her brow furrowed quizzically. To which Tyrus shook her head.   “Not yet, it’s why I called. I need to make sure I know where I’m going, so if you could tell me where the Rangers marked the entrance?”   “Let me see here, the Rangers took a mage with them, mapped out the whole area, I’ll send it through your mirror.” Dusky nodded, waving her hoof to signal for a mage nearby her to transfer the arcane map through the scrying mirror.   “Ok, keep heading down this way, then a hidden passage behind an armor stand.” Tyrus nodded, making sure she had the directions memorized; she didn’t want to get lost. Saying a quick farewell to Dusky, Tyrus dispelled the incantation on the scrying mirror, placing it back in the bodice of her dress, before she made her way down to the false armor stand. Taking a deep breath, she slipped out of her gown, now standing there in just her elegant, royal lingerie, her loosely laced corset and stockings, held up by the disguised lockpicking kit. “Here we go, time to get to work.”   Tyrus pulled out the small ball of her bodysuit, taking another deep breath as she pressed it against her chest, shuddering as she felt it envelope her body, leaving her lingerie visible overtop the bodysuit. The lingerie didn’t stay on long however, as she undid the garters to retrieve her lockpicks, and she was not so vain as to think it was a good idea to wear her corset during what was sure to lead to combat.   Some lucky maid would find probably the fanciest clothes she’d ever wear on her next round through the halls.         “So I told him that I had no interest in marrying his daughter and he just stormed off in a huff, didn’t even notice when I ordered the guards to make sure the door hit him on his way out.” Hafgar laughed at his anecdote, oblivious to the obviously fake smile Opal was giving him, only half paying attention to his words. No, by this point, she was far more curious about where Tyrus had run off to. Her Highness hated even having to speak to the nobility of her country, let alone check on any of them.       “Um, pardon me, Lord Arcamide, but I am quite famished. Could you please fetch a lady something to eat?” Opal put on her best ‘innocent’ face, hoping that Hafgar would believe her, and believe her he did.       “Oh, why of course, Madam Hayschting, I will be back in a moment.” Hafgar nodded, leaving the mare to get her a servant with a platter of h’or d'oeuvres. Opal let out a sigh of relief, before she pushed her way through the crowd, headed towards the hall which held the secret entrance to her base. Tyrus ditching her with Hafgar was not going to go down well, Opal thought as she rolled her eyes. Next time Tyrus was caught in one of her traps, she was skipping straight to the hard fucking. Reaching the false armor stand, her eyes widened upon seeing Tyrus’ dress and lingerie lying just behind it.       “Oh, so she already started?” Opal’s smirked down at the pile of expensive clothes, gathering them up with her magic, before opening the passageway. “Looks like she’ll be getting quite the rough ride sooner than I had thought. Well, I better not keep Her Highness waiting”       Letting out a soft chuckle, Opal walked down the passageway, carrying everything with her as she followed the path Tyrus took a just a few minutes earlier.         Tyrus was somewhat relieved as she made her way into Opal’s base. There didn’t seem to be anything other than Opal’s usual hired goons guarding the place, and none of them were expecting her, something which became very evident as she slipped her garrote wire around the neck of the first six goons, dropping them quietly before she kept moving. She got such a thrill as she moved along silently, dressed in skintight leather, and  it helped that she would likely end this mission with a loving time in bed with Opal, as strange as that sounded to have sex with the villain whose plan she would have just foiled.       “So, should we gather for whiskey and cigars tonight?” one of the goons asked, resting on his rifle alongside another guard.       “Only if you’re the one paying, I blew all my pay on the hound fights.” The other goon shrugged, leaning against a large crate. Both their backs faced Tyrus, who was crouched behind a large stack of barrels. She had to make a choice here, either risk taking them on at the same time and hope that they didn’t have enough time to sound off an alarm, find a way around them, or wait for one of them to leave. She took the first option. Hopefully Dusky wasn’t watching.       “Spy!” one of the guards shouted before Tyrus slammed into him, banging his head against the wall before turning towards his companion, who had already began running to sound the alarm.       “No no no no no!” Tyrus tried to reach the stallion before he could sound the alarm, but couldn’t move fast enough, forgetting she could teleport in the heat of the moment. The alarm bell loudly rang through the base, Tyrus soon finding herself surrounded by dozens of guards. She put sat down on her haunches, putting her hooves up into the air “Alright, alright, don’t shoot.”       “Oh yes, don’t shoot her, I have so much more planned for her” A steel collar, wrapped in Opal’s magic, snapped in place around Tyrus’ horn, followed by Opal’s hot breath against her neck. “Oh so many things planned.”       “I can’t decide if I should be scared or aroused, Goldhoof.” Tyrus craned her head to look back at Opal and was rewarded with a sinister smirk upon her lover’s face. “Okay, scared then.”       “How about both, because I’m going to make sure you never want to take that collar off again. Maybe I’ll even rewrite that sexy mind of yours and use your obedient little self to make sure my scheme succeeds.”       “Finally got tired of me foiling your plans huh?” Tyrus asked, quickly thinking of a way to escape before Opal could have her brainwashed.       “It has gotten boring now, yes, but I still love you, so I couldn’t think of simply killing you off.” Opal stepped back, gesturing to the Crown Princess. “Boys, bring Her Highness to the torture room, then you can be dismissed.”   “Yes Goldhoof.” One of the guards, clearly one in charge of the others, nodded, he and three of the other guards forcibly grabbed Tyrus, dragging her away.         “Is there anything you love more than strapping me down to a table?” Tyrus lifted her head off of the table as Opal finished securing her hooves to the table.       “I love what comes after even more, but don’t pretend that you don’t love being strapped down as much as I love strapping you down.” Opal smirked, swishing her tail in Tyrus’ face as she turned away. “Now, shush for a moment, go to your happy place, and I’ll make sure you stay there.”       “Can’t we do our thing one more time before you empty out my head?” Tyrus looked around, hoping Opal actually planned to use the orgasm ray on her before deciding on mind control.       “The ray?” Opal looked up to the laser array set up over the table she had strapped Tyrus down to. “Hmm, I suppose one more couldn’t hurt, you’ll enjoy having your mind emptied out even more if you’re in afterglow.”       Opal’s hooves danced over the controls to the ray, the yellow beam of magic shooting from the ray down at the base of the table, slowly moving it up between Tyrus’ legs. “If we’re doing this, you’ve got to ask the question.” Opal smirked over to her bound lover.       “Oh, fine.” Tyrus smirked back before clearing her throat. “Goldhoof, do you expect me to talk?”       “No, Your Highness, I expect you to come.”       Tyrus looked down to where the laser was moving, shifting as much as she could in her bindings to move her hind leg directly in the path of the beam. Before Opal could realize what Tyrus was doing, the laser reflected off of her ankle bracelet, blasting the console in front of the startled villainess. The console began sparking wildly, Tyrus’ restraints releasing.       “So, emptying out my mind, huh?” Tyrus stood up, grinning down at Opal, spreading her wings wide.       “Um, well, um…” Opal bolted, running as fast as she could away from Tyrus, grabbing things with magic, and trying to hurl them in the path of the alicorn princess. “Can you blame me? You’d be so cute as my puppet!”       “But I prefer having enough of a mind to make sure you are the one who ends up in bonds, Opal. I can’t have you ruling the planet after all.” Tyrus nimbly avoided Opal’s thrown barrels and crates, galloping after her lover-nemesis. She chased Opal down the numerous corridors and passageways of the base, towards the edge of a wide pool of liquid latex, the remnants of a failed experiment based on making living latex servants, much like a discontinued Imperial project to make assassins.       Opal ran up against the railing at the edge of the pool, turning around to face Tyrus as the Crown Princess walked up to her. She felt Tyrus’ magic wrap around her horn and her neck, before she felt the touch of royal lips against her cheek.       “I have to deal with your bombs first, so I’m going to need you to stay put for a while.” Tyrus whispered into Opal’s ear before picking her up, and dropping her into the pool, the effects of the magic Tyrus used soon becoming obvious, with Opal realizing that she couldn’t teleport out, but also wasn’t suffocating. Pouting, Opal cross her hooves over her chest as she sank to the bottom, leaving Tyrus free to do her actual job.         “Theodosius, when this is over, I’m going to rat out your stockpiles to Gelair.” Tyrus muttered to herself as she looked over the vast warehouse, filled with the most destructive magical weapons in the world, the faintly glowing gemstone orbs already armed, ready to be used to threaten the stability of the world. “Ok, let’s see, where’s Opal’s computer? Knowing her, it’s going to be the one covered in… Aha!”       Tyrus ran over to a gold plated computer, it being the only one different from the black monitors of the rest of the room. Tyrus already knew Opal’s password, since the villain never bothered to change it.       “‘RichBitchLicksRoyalCunt’, ugh, one of these days I’m going to have to tell her to change it to something less… vulgar.” Tyrus rolled her eyes as she entered in the password, sifting through the unfinished plans for world domination, the romantic novellas starring Tyrus herself, and unsent ultimatums to world governments. “Hmmm, maybe I’ll keep a few of those stories for myself.”       Tyrus sighed with relief when she found the program for shutting down the collection of mana bombs, slumping down into a chair as she noticed the glow of the bombs dim.       “And done”.