Don't Start a Band (Las Pegasus, ATTN: Icy)

[Blueblood]

The daytime haze of the desert city of Las Pegasus was one of those things never mentioned in the tourist brochures.  Almost all pictures of the city's famous neon-lit streets were taken at night, when some casino cash streams were diverted to employ the weather team to keep the skies clear and unobscured by anything that would blur the signs advertising the dens of entertainment.  But for the sake of balance, all that had to be left hanging in the sky during the day, at a high enough altitude that the tourists didn't have to breathe it, naturally, but still at such a size that one saw the cloud before the city.

 

*At least it provides some shade from the sun.*  One earth pony reflected, riding in a special cab used to bus tourists directly from the airship & train stations to the hotels.  Not that Heart Sight was a tourist, exactly.  No, he was to be part of the staff, or rather one of the shows, at the newest establishment on the Strip, the Fire and Ice Casino.  The cab advertised as much, marked as it was in a snazzy orange, blue, and white pattern; it seemed to shine even in the dulled light of the city's sun as it was pulled up to the staff entrance.

 

The diminuitive figure that emerged, burdened with the load of a guitar case and travel bag, may well have had a reason to pick an out-of-the-way ingress.  Grey coat, mousey-brown mane, and body that wasn't quite... right.  The legs weren't all the same length, making him stand slanted and walk in a scuttling manner.  His speed betrayed the fact that he'd grown used to it enough to not let him be slowed down by it, and he made good time to the office at the far end of the hall.  

Sighing, he laid his burden down by the doorway, looking both ways for interlopers.  He'd been assured by... her that his natural form would not be seen amiss here, but... he only had promises for the proprietress.  No telling what the other staff would think of a changeling.  Particularly one which kept his unreformed state.  He sighed again, letting the glamor drop.  Grey hide became black chitin, brown mane a scraggly, flaky approximation to such.  Same color, though.  And the physique was still its old self; no magic could disguise that.  But neither could it hide the nature of his smile, it transformed his whole look from something merely pathetic to one of a cocksure underdog that was gonna blow the doubters away, baby!

 

Or so he could make ponies believe.  But could he convince himself?  That was the question still unanswered as he raised a holey hoof to knock upon the door...

[IceStorm]

 

 

Las Pegasus... It was the place that had been seeming to take up the vast majority of Ice Storm's time as of late. She supposed that made sense though. With everything that she was running here and how secretive everything had to be until she was ready to show her hoof... she almost had to be. That and ever since Luna had retired from the palace and she no longer needed her on the Lunar Guard for additional protection as well as a way to get reliable Intel. Now the princes lived in quiet place called Silver Shoals. She'd been there once or twice at this point to visit her friend and give her some status updates on the projects that she was working on. Luna was the only one of the princesses that knew about STAR before she retired. Of course, now princess Twilight knew about it, after magically appearing on the deck of her warship during her final inspections of it.

 

For the moment though, Ice Storm was reluctantly preoccupying herself with some of the paperwork and logistics of the casino itself. Making sure everything was still budgeted correctly and that it was running to it's full potential. She had a couple hefty payouts recently, which were a risk sometime when running a casino. Sometimes ponies just won, and she was usually happy for the ones that won. What made her a bit unhappy was the fact that she would see the same ponies again a few weeks later just as broke as when they came into the casino the first time because they didn't know how to handle their bits properly.

 

The other reason she was in her office waiting was because she was expecting somepony to show up today, or rather, some changeling. Chrysalis was supposed to be sending her a performer that had found himself wanting a bit more, and she assured him that his unreformed form here in Las Pegasus would fit in just fine. Of course, she would have to make sure to tell him what districts to avoid here. Just because most were accepting didn't mean there weren't still parts of Las Pegasus that weren't completely unsavory to anypony. Places that she wouldn't go despite everything that she herself had at her arsenal. It was a good way for a mare to become property rather than prosperous.

 

When she heard the knock at the door, Ice Storm set the papers aside that she was working on at the moment after marking them in the stack so that she could continue where she left off from once everything had been handled here. Or at the very least so she could pawn them off on her accountant and then she would know how to take things over from there so she could do other things than sit in the office all day. "Come in! It's unlocked!" Ice smiled as she waited for whomever knocked to enter.

[Blueblood]

Kahz fancied himself a good judge of voices; singers tended to be.  Icy's was pleasant enough, smooth as polished ice, considerably warmer, but... at the back of it, one could tell it had the potential to be something else.  She wasn't like most Equestrian mares, nice because that was all she knew how to be.  Or, at least, his intuition was telling him, but it had been a while since he was out in the field.  Maybe his senses weren't as attuned as they used to be.  One way to find out...

 

He sauntered into the room, stride and posture the very picture of confidence, in spite of their enforced lopsidedness.  "Well, hey there!"  He flashed the blue unicorn a grin, coming up to rest a crooked foreleg on the top of her desk.  "Her Majesty said I should be looking for a sharply pretty mare to report to, gotta assume that's you."  Not Chrysalis' exact words, but he had to keep the ol' charm in practice.  Queens knew, he'd need it up on stage...

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

 

 

An arched eyebrow was the response that Ice Storm gave when the changeling came into the office and greeted her. He definitely seemed the up beat type and would probably fit in well for Las Pegasus. Perhaps a bit to well depending on where he went. He also sounded like he was somewhat of a charmer, which want necessarily a bad thing itself either. Behind a smooth talker helped in a place like this in getting out of sticky situations that normally would be quite condemning. 

 

Still once he was done she smiled. "Right, you must be the performer that Chrysalis mentioned she was sending my way. We have a rather large clientele here so finding ponies that like the heavier genres of music won't be too hard, although they usually tend to be later in the evening as far as peak activity... So most of your gigs will likely start once the sun goes down. Is that okay with you?" Ice asked wanted to work with the performer the best she can but still upholding the business end as well as giving him the best chance to succeed.

[Blueblood]

Hah, still got it!  Kahz could tell from the look in Icy's eyes that she'd barely noticed his deformity.  It was irrelevant, just as he liked it to be.  Charm was, for him, a survival skill.  Growing up as a malnourished grub, every scrap of love he got was doubly valuable, not only staving off starvation, but also convincing passing warriors not to just squish him like a liability standing in their way.  *No, don't let your mind go back there.  Things are different now.  You're not hungry.  She's not hungry.*

 

Setting aside bad memories with a wink, he stepped back to where a chair was set up for visitors.  "Ah, sure; I've worked my share of nights before.  Might take a bit to get into a nocturnal rhythm, of course, but a week or two of practicing should set me on course."  He slid into the seat, masking his inability to sit up straight with a casual lounge over the chair's arm.  "Maybe three weeks, though, if I can't get my normal backup band.  I think a couple were sent here before, but her Majesty said they were already working in your... other project.  Wouldn't want to draw them away if you needed them."

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

Ice have the changeling a concerned look as he looked like he was trying to shake off thoughts from his past. See was more than aware of the troubles that the changelings had to endure in the past, and unlike other ponies, she never faulted Chrysalis for the invasion. Of course she wished that it wouldn't have come to such things, but now after being in the world of military and tactics she understood why Chrysalis felt that things needed to be done the way they were. As it was now, things were definitely looking better. With the new spa resort everything seemed to plateau out and was why they were currently taking how they were today.

 

Once the changeling shook off the negative emotions he spoke up, stating that he's worked his fair share of nights before, though it could take a bit to get back into a nocturnal rhythm, possibly around three weeks of her couldn't get his backup band to practice with otherwise shouldn't be longer than a week or two. When he said that they should already be here for hey other operation, she smiled. "Well. That makes things easier. If you can get me a list of names I can make arrangements to have them here within the week, maybe sooner depending on where I have them stationed. I have more than enough troops now to move around," she said not wanting to say that she'd be launching full force soon. She didn't know who would be listening in. Of course that part didn't matter that much. They were making the final preparations to open the ravine now to get the Shadow of Ice in the air. 

[Blueblood]

Upon hearing that his old band could get back together, Kahz's grey compound eyes lit up, and his wings buzzed a little.  "Alright, awesome!"  Pulling a list from underneath his elytra, he handed over the sheet to Icy, with a few names and band roles scribbled out on it.  "Hopefully their instruments are still in good shape, though we could probably get replacements easily in this city, yeah?"

 

There wasn't much of a reaction from him at news of Icy's military maneuvers.  Of course he'd been informed of it, but he'd also been raised in a militarized environment, to some extent.  Casual discussion of such things was par for the course for him.  "Oh, by the way, if you ever need to give your troops a little morale boost, just clear a stage for me.  I know how to get the old ichor pumping before a big mission.  That's what I did, back in the Hive; that and entertainment for the R&R crowd.  Not so much these days; I'm just playing chill tropical tunes for the tourists.  Which is pretty great, don't get me wrong; the audience's appreciation is a feast of love, but... well, I kind of miss the old range of shows I used to have.  That's why Chrysalis agreed to send me over, I understand."

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

 

"Well, I can't say anything about the condition of their instruments or if they even brought them, but Las Pegasus is easy to find some high quality stuff in. There's a lot of ponies here trying to make a name for themselves so instrument and music shops are quite plentiful here," she commented and nodded as he suggested that he could help provide morale performances and the like before missions and what not to help get everypony ready. He himself was ready to get back to the kind of music he preferred to play rather that the tropical tunes he had been. Another reason that Chrissy had sent him here.

 

"Absolutely. There's a couple of performance halls on base just for that purpose and if you ever feel like having a gig in the base let me know and I'll make the arrangements for it. That being said, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself and the genre you'll mostly be playing? I personally can't say I've listened to that kind of music much so I don't know a lot about out other than what little research I've done for marketing and the business side of it," she added pausing so he can reply.

[Blueblood]

Rolling his neck to get the last travel crick out of his chitin, Kahz was momentarily distracted by the sight of a black flake tumbling to the floor.  A hoof came quickly up to rub the spot where it came from, with a relieved sigh once he discovered it was just a normal molt.  "I have to watch out for that; this husk isn't exactly top-of-the-line, as you can see."  He tried to pass off his first reference to his condition with a grin, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.  

 

"Anyway... my main instrument is the electric guitar, so any song or style that features one is fair game to me.  I'm a bit all over the map, as I tend to bulk out my repertoire with covers, but the few records we managed to get back to the hive were... eclectic, to say the least.  Everything from Buck Berry to Shodhoof to Foster the Ponies.  Altogether I think I may have made an odd duck of myself, but I've developed the stage presence to make it all work.  You might have seen me at that Manehattan Friendship Fair some years back, do you remember?  The one held after the Crystal Faire?"

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

The small fleck of Chitin didn't go unnoticed by Ice Storm, but she didn't know enough about changeling anatomy to know what that meant. So she could only nod when the changeling commenting on how his husk wasn't the top of the line. She did notice that the grin that he wore wasn't entirely genuine but she let him continue. He told her that his primary instrument was electric guitar so and song or style that featured it would be fine. He also added that most of what he does was covers of other songs. He also noted that his stage presence was really good and cited the Manehatten Friendship Festival as a point of reference and his performance there. Unfortunately Ice had to shake her head when he asked if she remembered that.

 

"Unfortunately, I don't really remember much from the first few months after the Chrystal Faire. I personally was recovering from injuries and a severe cases of Acute Aether Depletion from my use of magic from the invasion during said event and really didn't do much for a good but afterwards and what I did do I'm afraid wasn't retained in my memory. But we can do a lot with electric guitar here for you. Essentially let us know what you're in the mood to play and we'll set that up for that night. If you ever want to try your hoof at writing your own stuff, we have ponies that can help with that as well," she finished with a smile. 

 

[Blueblood]

"Ohh.... you were there too?"  Kahz's voice grew a little softer.  "I... was just there to scout.  Honestly, I didn't end up doing much.  Holed up with some of the foals in a nook somewhere and watched in all go down.  Not much use in such situations."  He spoke in a sad, but not agitated tone.  He'd had to make peace with his abilities, or lack thereof, in a fight some time ago.

 

"Ah, we won't dwell on that, unless you feel like a sad song."  He shook himself, another bit of chitin flaking off.  "So, where do I leave my bags?  You got lodging for me here?"

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

 

Ice Storm nodded. "Aye, I was there. Was in the Spire. Myself and a group of others with the assistant of a level of magic I hope to never have to employ again got out just before it fell. Now, my only goal on that side of the casino is to make sure that doesn't happen again," she finished that part with a smile. 

 

"As for your lodging, that's completely up to you. Since you're a guest, you can choose to stay in one of my suites, on the house since you're a VIP... Or if you wish you can join us proper and stay on the base. That's completely up to you. For yourself, I don't know how far out your radius of consumption is for love, but I think the lower level of the hotel might be best. A lot of couples frequent those floors, so there would be a lot of ambient love to help in the time between gigs."

[Blueblood]

Nodding solemnly to Icy's description of her time in the Spire, Kahz wasn't inclined to linger there.  Dwelling on past trauma could get you into a bad mental state.  He'd seen it happen with Chrysalis, her brooding over prior defeats leading to a reciprocal mental narrowing that threatened to undermine her entire Hive.  He himself was a loyalist by nature, and even he had considered abandoning her right before Discord came in to give the inter-dimensional island resort.  

 

"Hmm, low-floor suite sounds perfect."  He got up to get his things.  "Oh, and I really should have asked this before... how do you want me to present myself?  I can't imagine that all of your customers would respond as calmly as you would to an unreformed changeling.  Honestly, I probably would drink the pastel flavor-aid if I thought my body could survive it, but..."  He looked down at himself, before giving Icy a crooked smile.  "Yeah, kind of don't want to end up a pile of colorful parts."

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

 

Ice's smile remained as Kahz said that the low floor suite would work fine. When he asked what form he should take while he was here. He was concerned about what some of her other patrons would think about his form while he was here and admitted that he probably would have drank the "flavor-aid" if he thought he would survive the process. That have her cause for concern in of itself.

 

"You're current form is fine. There are many changelings, reformed and not that frequent my establishment. Here in Las Pegasus, everything is normal. So your feel free to be yourself. Obviously there after going to be some places that your want to avoid, like the lower ground districts. They can be full of some unsavory individuals and honestly I myself don't go down there. At least not without an armed escort. As far as your issue goes, is it something that's treatable? If so we can discuss arrangements for that as well. Don't let it be said that I'm not an employer that didn't take care of those she hires," she responded. She hoped that she was able to help him. If not, she could have her r&d department look into things that could help. 

[Blueblood]

From the look on Kahz's face, that wasn't the answer he quite expected.  "Huh, really?  I'd been led to believe it wasn't going to be anywhere near that simple."  He looked down at himself again, pensively this time.  "Hm... I mean, if it's all the same to you; I wouldn't look like this by choice.  It's from nymphood undernourishment, you see.  I didn't grow quite right, and even now, that I'm getting all the love I need, it's kind of too late to repair the early damage.  Even disguised, I look small and not quite right in shape, but as a pony... it doesn't look quite that bad?  At least they can't see when the chitin flakes, anyway."

 

On that note, he resumed his guise as Heart Sight the earth pony, and from here Icy would be able to see his selected cutie mark; an eye of Horus set inside a Heart-shape.  "There's quite a few in the Hive who've always accused me of being a pony at heart.  Said the same thing about Thorax, too, if I recall.  Can't say if they're right or wrong myself; those were fighting words back in the day, but I was never much for fighting."

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

 

 

When Kahz commented that the form he was in wasn't really his preferred form, Ice nodded. He also explained the cause of the condition and added that because of when it occurred it was a bit too late for it to be treated. I've frowned a bit, but if there was nothing she could do to help, even if it was just funding the treatment, there wasn't much point in dwelling on it. She smiled as he continued.

 

"There's nothing wing with being true to who you are. You'd never believe that I started out as an owner of a frozen desserts store. Granted I still own that and it's a multi store franchise now, but never the less, once you figure out who you are, it's important to stay true to who you are. For most ponies, this is when they find their cutie marks. These things can be tricky thought because many ponies fall into the trap that their special talent defines what they are and that's that.

 

For example, I myself was content just being a business owner until I discovered the protective properties of ice. That's when I found my true calling myself and nothing has swayed me from that goal. If you feel more comfortable as a pony, them you should follow your heart's desire and do what's best for you. What form you take on stage matters not as long as you are comfortable with what you are doing," she paused looking over his file once more making sure she had the proper name for his pony form. It was a little malnourished but still wouldn't be that out of place here. She noticed his own cutie mark and it piqued her interest. "If I may, what does it mean? Obvious it ties into your name, but I know changlings can pick their cutie marks so I want to know what it means to you," she smiled. 

[Blueblood]

Kahz cocked his head a bit, mulling over what Icy said.  "Hm, do really think that we have 'true selves'?  Like, unchangeable, ideal personalities inside of us to which we must conform or forever feel unhappy?"  From the looks on his face, Kahz, or 'Heart Sight,' as he was in this form, wasn't sure if he believed it himself.  "You know, maybe its because I am a changeling, or was raised as one, but I don't see it like that.  I mean, can you really be false to yourself?  Anything you do is part of who you are, even if that part is a liar or a spy.  And that can change.  I mean, look at Chrysalis, or the Hive that joined Thorax, for that matter.  You wouldn't recognize them 5 years ago, and not just because of the looks."

 

He clicked his tongue, his disguise slipping briefly enough for him to buzz.  "I don't know; it's really only recently that I've had the luxury to think like that.  It's done wonders for my songwriting, though my new stuff is more introspective than concert-friendly; I'll try not to kill the buzz with too much navel-gazing on stage."  He gave her another grin, noticing her gaze drifting to his mark.  "Checking out the goods?"  He cracked, before answering more seriously, "It's based off my name, Heart Sight.  The story being that my special talent is being able to see into ponies' secret desires.  It's a pretty adaptive talent, and to some extent I really have it.  I just had to work it rather than be born with it; I got by in the Hive by being an arranger and go-between, making sure every 'ling was happy around me.  Kept me alive and in good graces, and that meant I could eat, and not worry about getting squashed."

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

 

 

"I don't think that anypony, changling, griffon will ever be forever unhappy if the don't find their true selves, because of nothing else it's more of an awakening moment they don't know could be coming. The most important thing is just being true to yourself. If you ever find yourself doing something that you don't like, you have to ask yourself why you're doing it. But there are many out there that enjoy what they do and have no idea that they could be doing more. Some ponies don't want to do more," Ice started before hearing his continue.

 

"You're right in saying that everything you do is a representation of yourself and defines who you are. Those experiences shape all in existence, and no pony can change what happened in the past, however, perceptions can change. Different perspectives, different view points. All of that makes us who we are. But we could be here all day speaking of philosophy," she added when he says that it'd only been recently he could think like this and his songwriting benefitted greatly from it.

 

Ice did blush a bit through when she asked about his cutie mark and he made a comment about checking out the goods. He then went on that it was based off of his name his ability to see the secret desires of a pony. He added that it was an adaptive talent and one that he actually had but he had to work for rather than was born with. She was half tempted to have him try it with her, but that could lead to some awkward situations. "Interesting, I can think of numerous ways that can come in handy."

[Blueblood]

Carefully balancing the guitar case across his back, 'Heart Sight' set along the corridor towards his room, eyes roaming to take the lay of the land.  "That all seems to beg the questions of just who and what the 'you' being true to whatever or whoever the 'self' is.  Be happy to talk this through when you got more time, sweetheart; it's a bit heavy a burden to put in a head like mine.  My neck's not built to carry that weight, haha."

 

It wasn't long before they arrived at the door, Icy opening it for the little ling as he gazed upon the furnishings within.  It was a true suite, one that a tourist would pay top bit for to stay in what felt like the lap of luxury.  Having already come from a resort, Kahz could recognize the professional touch when he saw it, as well as all the little economies a hotelier would take to not break their bank in making every room at this level.  Still, it was clear that this was built to be a guest suite rather than a staff dorm, and he felt appropriately grateful.

"Real Nice, thanks."  He said, voice clear of playful inflection to communicate his sincerity.  That mood carried him far enough to really take a look at Ice Storm, an exercise of his talent coming into play.  "Hm... You ever thought about changing your name to Ice Castle?  It would seem to suit you more; you build and defend more than bluster and attack.  And, well, you actually went and built a literal castle of ice."

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

Ice smiled and nodded as they made their way down the hotel hall in response to Heart. The matters of philosophy often have others something to think about on both sides of the coin. On one hoof, she was steadfast about the fact that there being more to life than just what you're cutie mark tells you. In a way, that's kind of what Heart was saying as well, but she believed that there was always that one thing that once a pony found, changed everything able how they had viewed themselves before.

 

When she opened the door to the room that he was going to be staying in while he was there, her smile widened as she saw his reaction to it. She could hear the sincerity in his voice when he complimented it. She also couldn't help but laugh a small but when he says she should change her name to Ice Castle. That she built and defended more than bluster and attack... and that she had built a literal ice castle. "Well, of this magnitude, none of this ice is real unfortunately. Less all my magical ability go to maintaining it. But I can assure you that I know how to rage a storm when somepony tried to hurt those I defend. The former princess of the night can attest to this. She was one of my personal trainers before she retired, and I still seek her out for advice. I've just been thankful that I haven't had to use my magic for offensive purposes yet," she smiled. 

[Blueblood]

"Heh, I guess that's fair.  Still, good on your engineering; you certainly maintain the illusion very well.  Though, I have to ask, where does the fire half come from?  Is it a mere stylistic choice, or is there a co-owner that I don't know about?"  In truth, Kahz had kind of an inkling, as Queen Chrysalis had given him a rundown of her own meeting with Ice Storm and Raven when the two mares visited their island.  Still, didn't pay to act on unconfirmed assumptions.

 

As she went on, Khaz nodded.  He was remarkably expressive in his pony face, more so than an average changeling.  It was one of the things that usually gave the 'off' impression that resulted in inexperienced infiltrators being caught.  Kahz, however, completely conveyed his admiration.  "Trained by Royalty, eh?  If that's anything like the Hive, that means a lot.  Not every drone is gifted with the opportunity to personally serve the Queen.  Though to hear her say it, that wasn't always the case.  Her dominion used to be a lot smaller, back in the day."  That would have actually been news to Icy, as the Queen was reticent with information concerning her history towards any outsider.

Edited February 28, 2020 by PrinceBlueblood

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

 

Ice smiled and nodded when Kahz mentioned that she maintained the illusion very well. He also commented that he couldn't help but notice the fire theme in the other side of the casino and asked if it was purely for thematics or if it there a co-owner that he should be aware of. The look on Ice's face became a bit more somber, and her smile not as prominent. "There was at one point. Unfortunately me stints in the military and my ambitions too me away to much. So myself and the mare that I was with when we opened are no longer together. It is odd thought, the way life works. Because the mare that I'm dating now, is also a fire mage," she said with a smile.

 

When he further commented on the honor of being trained by royalty, her smile widened once more and she nodded. "It never hurts either that Luna is a good friend of mine. It was she after all that helped me get my armor custom made," she started. "And what you said about Chrissy makes sense as well I'm the grand scheme of things. For her to resort to suck drastic measures meant that the situation has turned be dire and as the ruling body she did what she felt needed to be done to keep her kingdom alive. I'm probably one of the few ponies alone that doesn't fault her for what she did. I just wish she would have tried to approach is first. I'm sure with as lax as Celestia was with foreign affairs, something could have easily been worked out," she finished. 

[Blueblood]

After entering the room, Kahz had immediately starting unpacking, first taking out a small amp as soon as he found a place to set it up, while his guitar came next.  He examined both instrument and peripheral for damage, before proceeding to tune the guitar as he conversed with Icy.  "Sorry to hear, I guess?  I mean, it seems to have worked out for you, but I hope things were amicable enough with your ex?  Love turned sour is worse than spoiled milk, and I've had to drink both."  He plucked a string, eliciting an off-key tone that he stilled with a hoof.  "Mph, hang on, this got a little more out of whack than I thought.  Might need to replace the string..."

 

A few twists of the tuning key later brought it back to giving a clean G, so he moved on to the next one.  "Mm, good on you for getting that far.  I'm a valued servant, but I don't know if her majesty would say that I'm a friend.  I honestly don't know if she has any, to tell you the truth.  Which might explain why she never tried negotiation; almost every interaction she had with others was either subjugation, being subjugated, or a zero-sum conflict.  Pretty hard to get out of that paradigm if its all you've known."  He strummed a chord, not quite right yet, back to the tuning key.  "Even if Celestia was willing, Chrysalis might still have backstabbed, just out of habit.  I remain loyal, but I can be frank; she needed to be brought to the edge by multiple defeats before she could be trusted with any diplomatic agreement that wasn't just a lie or a temporary cease-fire."

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

 

Ice Storm watched as the changling pony pulled out his guitar and amp and began tuning it. She quickly cast a silencing spell on the perimeter of the room so that the sounds wouldn't disturb the guests in the rooms next to him. When he talked about the previous relationship and hoped that everything was at least amicable between them, she nodded. "It was a mutual split. The long days away and the stress of the military life got to be too much. My current marefriend is actually part of the organization itself so it makes it a lot easier to not be away for so long," she commented as Kahz finished tuning.

 

He then talked about how it was good got her to have become friends with the royalty. That he was a valued servant true but he didn't think himself as a friend to Chrysalis. He didn't think that she even had any and is probably why she never thought of trying to negotiate. That when all you know was subjugation and conflict, can it was hard to consider anything else. "I suppose that's true, and I already kind of suspected potential betrayal in our alliance. When that's all somepony knows, it's hard to trust them completely until they can prove otherwise. It's why there are somethings going on that they still don't know about yet. One thing that does need to be made clear though, and I really hope the Chrysalis understands this. I'm not Luna or Celestia. I have no moral qualms about eliminating a threat rather than reforming them. I am very much satisfied with our relationship and I don't want to see her so something stupid that's going to not just put her in danger, but those she's sworn to protect as well," she added.

[Blueblood]

"Hmm... that's good, I suppose."  Kahz said, in response to Icy detailing the non-hostility of the breakup, and the more fortuitous circumstances surrounding her present relationship.  During this time, he kept tuning, finally strumming a clean G I-IV chord progression.  "Oh, that's very good!"  He said, leaving ambiguous whether he was referring to the chords or her relationships.

 

He kicked down the volume on the amp, but kept strumming, almost like a storytelling folk singer, using the music to keep the rhythm and timing of his speech, but still talking rather than singing.  "Mh-hm, uh-hunh.  She knows that, and I think that's why she respects you, more than Celestia or Luna.  To her, anypony offering an olive branch on condition of reforming behavior is either a knave with something up their sleeve, or else too foolish and stupid to be worth dealing with.  Hence why she's met with you, and not them."  Kahz strummed some more, humming along before continuing.  "As for me, I see it a little differently.  To be reformed, is in its own way, to be conquered.  Or, to be more exact, colonized.  Thorax calls himself a king, but as I see it, he's just chief drone to Queen Twilight Sparkle, who's delegated most of her administrative duties over the new 'lings to him.  And, you know, that's fair enough.  Friendship is Magic, and Magic is Power.  One must take Power seriously, but... well, Twilight Sparkle neither laid nor hatched my egg."  Perhaps.... there was another reason, besides the health risk, that had kept the little 'ling from following the path of reformation.