The Border.

[Plush Ramen]

Still a wonderful place for star gazing, this spot remains peaceful and relaxing to those who follow the rules of the new leaders. Reaching the end before you hit the mountains and forest paths, this last outskirt was once a favorite of the princesses. 

[The Old Steed (R.I.P)]

[Enter the Sultan & Vaan via chariot ride]

The Chariot finally finds the ruined mountain-city after quite a while of flying. Not wanting to put their leader in any danger, the pegasi landed the chariot as far from the actual city as they could. Once they landed, the Sultan slapped Vaan on the side lightly.

"Get up. It's time to do your job. You and Demetri are to go in, give the Queen my offer, and get out with her response. I'll be waiting here. Try to negotiate getting a Changling from her as well. Good luck." he says with confidence, as if Vaan was his own son.

[Vaan]

Vaan woke up and stretched. He did the usual griffon stretches(which resembled a big cat) and flapped his wings. With a quick yawn, he was ready.

"Alright, time to work," Vaan said, checking his bag for everything he needed,"Alright,Dem, It's you and me. By my guess, we can make it to he city in thirty minutes if we fly a little fast. Don't want to waste anymore sunlight than we have to. Who knows what happens here after dark? "

[The Old Steed (R.I.P)]

Demetri bites his lip and signals to his side. He didn't have wings; he was an Earth Pony.

"Trot. Give me a survey of the city too. It might be mine, one day, heh." the Sultan says, sitting down on one of the two benches inside the chariot. He took out his Falcion and started to sharpen it to pass the time.

[Vaan]

"Trot...fly."

Quickly, Vaan took off and grabbed Dimitri from under his front two legs. Then, he quickly shot straight into the air and towards Canterlot.

"Don't worry. I won't drop you. Though, I did just wake."

[The Old Steed (R.I.P)]

The Sultan rolled his eyes and huffed as the unwilling Demitri yelled out in protest.

"H-Hey! Hey! Careful! Don't you da-dare drop - oOooh gods.." Demetri says before groaning and burping; looking down and feeling extremely nauseous.

[Vaan]

"Please...don't vomit on me. It's alot to get it out of fur and feathers." Vaan pleaded, "Just enjoy the view before we have to work."

Vaan lowered himself closer to the ground and slowed his speed. For one moment, things seemed to be alright. Like the old days.

"You know, Demi...it's kinda nice out here."
.

[The Old Steed (R.I.P)]

Demetri gagged and groaned a few times with the occasional burp. He was a heavily built stallion, and weighted quite a bit with his armor on. The sounds lessened when Vaan got closer to the ground as it seemed to calm him down a bit.

"Changlings aren't nice..." Demetri says with a small cough, "Neither are the Shadow-Legions, but their kind sticks to the Crystal Empire... I prefer the Den still - over this."

[Vaan]

Vaan noticed the the city coming into view and lowered Demetri to the ground. One could easily see the black dots zooming across the sky, forming a shield around the city.

"I prefer a nice cloud or tree," Vaan said, "The den, huh? Tell me more."

[The Old Steed (R.I.P)]

"Oh! The Den! Right - heh - you're new." Demetri says quickly with a small nervous chuckle. Once Demetri reached the ground, he started to happily trot on his own. On his arm and back were the Last Locust symbol; a green locust surrounded by a green circle.

"The original 30 and the Sultan found it when they went into the BadLands. It was probably made thousands of years ago by the local tribe-ponies. It was a city carved from the mountain, and carved hallways from the natural cave-systems! Of course, we have hired contractors to carve more and make the base more stable. It's huge and it's definitely enough to house our army of 300. It's also incredibly defensible. With our guard-routes, we'll know if anypony - whether it's an army or just one pony - is coming. The main entrance is a funnel, so it'll make crossing through it living-Tartarus for a trotting army like Sombra's Shadow-Legion, and the insides of the Den are narrow and small, making invading it costly and difficult for flying armies like the Queens changlings." he explains enthusiastically.

[Vaan]

"What does a guy have to do to get a room?," Vaan asked jokingly,keeping watch around them,"In all seriousness, It sounds like you guys are ready for a fight. Though, I suppose what we're doing today will stop that."

[The Old Steed (R.I.P)]

"The Sultan will recruit anypony willing! The original 30 are good at weeding out spies, and their training is Tartarus incarnate! Saddle Arabian training is more thorough and brutal than Equestrian Methods... I'm not even sure if the Queen even trains her Changlings!" Demetri responds with a smile, taking his statement seriously.

"We are our own nation pretty much. Equestria never really claimed the BadLands. We're the most successful Private-Military-Company, mercenaries-for-hire, Organized-Hit-Squads, and Protective-Services in all of Equestria & the Crystal Empire! We have a lot of bits, and all of them are going to good use... the Sultan is pretty experienced with this kind of stuff, and he has high ambition. I wouldn't want to be in his way!" Demetri says with a chuckle, obviously a bit of a fanboy for the Sultan.

[Vaan]

"Do you guys think the Queen will take you seriously," Vaan asked, noticing the gleam in Demetri's eyes, "To her, you guys may just seem like a group of mercs. Or a rebellion.

[The Old Steed (R.I.P)]

"Well we are a group of mercs, and we 'officially' have no interest in Equestria's issues, so it's not really a rebellion. And she doesn't have to take us seriously, we aren't pledging our loyalty to her... I -- read the scroll, before it was wrapped up and given to you. I need to know what we'll be negotiating. We're simply offering her our services in exchange for a large sum of bits. Equestria is a large nation, and we're sure she'll need a little bit of help. We're excellently trained, and very valuable. If she declines -- that's her loss, heh. We can always help the rebels instead. I hear there's a camp called NewHeven or NewHome -- or maybe it's Newhayven? Either way, we could offer them our services as well. They'll most definitely need our help." Demetri rambles, looking ahead as they approach Canterlot.

"The Sultan says war breeds death, misery, and fortune. We aren't at war, so we're just claiming hte fortune~" he snickers, finding it amusing.

[Vaan]

"Fortune, huh? I like sound of that," admitted Vaan. Though, part of him felt some type of way for working Chrysalis. The one who helped make his life what it was. Though, bits were bits, "He sounds like a wise man."

Vaan once again looked towards the city, the black specks now forming shapes of changeling drones(In his opinion, mindless bugs that didn't think for themselves.) The drones began noticing the two as they approached the city. The activity picked up, and so did the buzzing.

"Almost showtime,Deme..."

[The Old Steed (R.I.P)]

"Uh, Demetri." Demetri corrects him, not liking the nickname and smiling awkwardly. He trotted towards the city, paying the changlings no mind.

"I'd rather speak to the Queen than the King. I hear that he kidnaps ponies for sport and puts them in the arena where he feeds them to all sorts of beasts in front of an audience... and I'd rather take an army of Changlings than a few of those Shadow-Legion things. I also heard that they could take crossbow to the eye and still keep trotting! At least Changling's go down easy..." he rambles in a hushed voice as they trot.

[Vaan]

"They may go down easy, but there's alot of them. Quanity over quality, "Vaan sighed, trying to imagine the city in its golden days, "Let's hope we won't have to go to the Crystal Empire anytime soon. So, you know your way round this place?"

[The Old Steed (R.I.P)]

"A few scouts came here a week ago. They drew a pretty detailed map." Demetri says as he reaches into a pouch in his leather armor, then takes out a map. "And there's Slavery in the Crystal Empire. The Sultan has had enough with trying to stop slavery, and he certainly won't support a slaver."

Eventually, Demetri stops and looks to the map. He points to a large road which will lead to the mainroad.

"Right this way." Demetri says with a nod before trotting to the main street.

[Exit Demetri to the main street]

[Vaan]

"Your lead, Deme."

[Exit Vaan to Mainstreet.]

[Little Foot (R I.P)]

[Enter Little Foot]

It was a long day of sleeping. Little Foot was enjoying the night sky as she trotted around in search for food. She was...lost. Little Foot hate to admit it but she was lost. The border was a beautiful place, and she thanked herself that she haven't became lost in a place full of bug ponies...yuck. She lowered her nuzzle and sniffed the ground. Her tail swaying as she used her nose to lead the way until she picked up a scent. A scent? Hmmmmm, it smelled delicious. Maybe food? It has to be food! Little Foot was tempted to follow the smell!

The bat pony soon trotted forward, following the scent of the fresh food. Her mouth drooled a bit, she hasn't eaten since yesterday! That was too long for Little Foot! A animal driven by her instincts, Little Foot had soon found where the scent was coming from. A Chariot. She saw a alone stallion guard the Chariot. She had a feeling that he wouldn't give up the food easily.

Little Foot crouched down low, the pony soon remembering her days as a pup, where her father would show her and her brothers hunting. She creeped silently but quickly until she got close enough to the Chariot. Little Foot stopped in her tracks confused, she smelled food, but where was the opening? She looked around to see if there was anything that would show to an opening, sadly she doesn't know what doors are yet. Her stomach soon grumbled loudly, her ears perked up and she gasped. She gave away her position! She needed to hide! Little Foot tired to hide under the Chariot and hope he wouldn't see her.

[The Old Steed (R.I.P)]

The Sultan relaxed himself and sat on a standard-issue crate brought along for every mission. Inside were medical supplies, weapons, spec-ops gear, food, and cigars. He missed the smoke of a cigar filling his lungs, and decided to have one; it had been a week since he last caved into the craving. He got off the box and turned his old body around. Once he did -- he saw something peculiar.

Being the cautious old prude that the Sultan had become, he had ordered his men to hold a perimeter and make sure there wasn't an army of Changling's coming. His eye widened, then sharpened as he saw a pony slip undreneath his chariot. It could have been a changling spy, which infuriated him slightly. He reached back and pulled out his falcion, then whistled, loudly.

Five ponies in total quickly galloped back to the chariot, all wearing armor and bearing a weapon of some kind. Four of the ponies were pegasi, they all carried a crossbow at their sides and wore black armor with a wings patch on their right side. The 5th pony wore heavy metal armor and had a sword at her side. The Sultan took a trot back and pointed to the chariot.

Soon after the Sultan's motion, all six ponies - including the Sultan himself - surrounded the chariot. The Sultan called out:

"You're surrounded! Come out with your hooves up, or we'll make a pelt outta ya!"

[Little Foot (R I.P)]

Little Foot squeaked and placed her hooves on her ears when she heard the whistle. That hurt! Soon she looked around to see the armored ponies looked straight at her. Little Foot's eyes widened and thought for a moment how much trouble she was in. Her whole body was quivering, she backed in a corner. She can't give up now! Little Foot didn't understand what he was saying she tilted her head slightly. "Hooves? Little Foot have paws, no hooves." She said out loud then she looked at her hooves. She always called them paws, since her old pack members called them paws. All though, the bat pony was a bit in a pickle here. She needed to find a way to run. Soon her stomach growled once again, Little Foot whined loudly. Hungry like this? "Be quiet belly growl, Little Foot eat soon..." She whispered to her stomach.

The bat in distress saw no opening for her to run. She might as well give up, maybe these ponies were nice and give her food? She crawled out from under the chariot trembling. Her head low and her tail between her legs, Little Foot's body shaking. She whined loudly as if begging for mercy.

[The Old Steed (R.I.P)]

None of the ponies showed any reaction, all kept their weapons ready, all awaiting the Sultan's command. The five ponies were worried by her speech pattern, however, making them tense, as a Changling were said to have unusual speech patterns.

The Sultan noticed her whisper, and raised his eyebrow. He looked over to the crate he was sitting on, opened it, and took out a carrot. The Old Steed was always a fool for hummus and carrots. He trotted in front of her and held the carrot up. "Say: Samantha Showed Steve her silent shoes, and I'll give you this carrot." the Sultan was aware of the Changling's lisp, and this was the only true way to determine if she was truly innocent.

[Little Foot (R I.P)]

Little Foot sniffed softly. The bat pony looked up to see that he had brought her a carrot. He held it out to her and she was hesitant to take it. She sniffed it, and looked up at him them back at the carrot. Little Foot was too hungry to reject it. She took it with her mouth and began to eat it happily, her tail wagging like a dog. She was quick to finish it and her ears perk up as if she was begging for more. The bat pony was still hungry after all.

[The Old Steed (R.I.P)]

All 5 of the Sultan's guard gasped and raised their weapons; ready to shoot. The Sultan himself huffed and took a step back, taking his Falacion back out of its sheath and reading her over with his cold brown eye.

"She's acting too undomesticated for a Change-bug..." the Sultan hummed to himself, the realization leaving him more confused than before. He reached into the crate and tossed another carrot to her. It made no sense for a changling to act such a way, so he assumed she wasn't a threat. that -- and no dignified assassin would act like this.

[Little Foot (R I.P)]

Little Foot soon caught the other carrot with her mouth. She began to eat the carrot with much gusto. The bat pony appreciating the stallion's gifts. Her tail wagging happily as soon as she finished the carrot. "Little Foot would like more food please." She told him honestly as her ears perk up. "Little Foot no eat for long time. Little Foot really hungry. Belly growl loudly. Little Foot need food."

[The Old Steed (R.I.P)]

The Sultan nods his head slowly, and the five ponies lower their weapons. He reaches in and takes out three more carrots, then tosses them to her lightheartedly. He chuckles and takes out a cigar, then lights it.

He closes the crate and sits on it, looking Little Foot over and puffing out smoke. "You're a strange one. Though these are strange times in Equestria, Pink." the Sultan says, referring to her by the color of her eyes. He didn't seem hostile anymore, and the other five ponies went back to their guard duty.

"Where ya from?" he asks curiously, speaking to her with a fatherly voice.

[Little Foot (R I.P)]

Little Foot took another carrot and her tail swayed. "Wood. " She simply said as she chewed the carrot. "Little Foot born in wood, live with wolf. Me alpha of pack. Bug hoof try to hurt us. Little Foot kill many bug hoof with pack. Bat hoof take me away from pack and bug hoof kill bat hoof, Little Foot run for many moons. " She explained. "Little Foot lost for many moons, no pack. " She said as she took another bite of the carrot.

[The Old Steed (R.I.P)]

Listening, the Sultan was easily able to follow. Born in the woods, Pink was raised by a pack of wolves, then became Alpha. Her pack were killed by Changlings, she was rescued, then her rescuer was killed as well. After the Queen took over, ponies have lost families and homes; surely Pink hasn't been the first foal to be raised by wolves, a blind and deaf child could run Equestria better than the Queen. This wasn't exactly bad for the Sultan, however, it means that there are more young ponies looking to dedicate themselves to a fighting cause. Pink may be one.

"I am pack alpha." the Sultan says with a smirk, puffing smoke out of his snout, "My pack is 300 ponies strong. Do you need a home? My Den is large." he offers kindly. He honestly didn't have much supplies to spare, but he felt a strange sympathy for the young mare.

[Little Foot (R I.P)]

Little Foot thought about it for a few moments. A pack 300 strong? That's nearly impossible! Little Foot could barely manage a pack of forty timber wolves let a alone four hoof creatures. The stallion in right of her was old after all, and ponies tend to live longer than timber wolves. Little Foot thought he must have multiple alpha females and allowed his pups to breed to get his pack to 300. She was surprised he would let join too. She was a bit iffy about it. All though she had to remember that hoof creatures often are most friendly to each other...they even let non pack members stay in their territories without pay.

What did she have to lose? Little Foot nodded softly. "Little Foot live with pack, as long as Little Foot hunt with pack."