The Aftermath

Two Tone stared up at the ceiling fan slowly rotating above her in my Royal Equestria Security Forces (RESF) dreamscape. Chrysalis had dropped her off at her apartment after midnight. The changeling had hinted she'd be contacting her in the next 24 hours to take care of further business.

"We're closing in on the home stretch." The queen had said as she handed the zebra the duffel bag that contained the clothes she'd worn to the spa. "But we still have things hurdles left to clear. Also I will help you get an offshore account setup and show you how to move funds in and out Equestria that won't make the Crown curious."

The zebra paused and blinked. "You mean you were serious about me getting that 100,000 bits" Link

Chrysalis had arched an eyebrow at this statement. "Of course. Golden Vision's last act in this world was to pay for his indiscretions to you by making a feeble gesture of forgiveness via monetary means. Now normally I would take a cut of it for services rendered, but in this case I'm willing forego it. After all you were the one who had to put up with his antics tonight."

Once back in her apartment she had grabbed a chilled water bottle from her refrigerator. The mare downed the bottle before heading to shower. Technically because of her visit to spa the zebra really didn't need to take another shower, but the events of the evening had left Two Tone feeling strangely unclean. So really she didn't have to bathe, but she felt a need to spiritually cleanse herself of the night's activities. After standing under the shower for 20 minutes she had dried herself off and given herself routine brushing down. After donning a nightshirt she'd collapsed on the bed and stared up at the ceiling fan.

Two Tone was conflicted over the sudden financial windfall. Two Tone was pragmatic enough to admit that she could use the bits. Her's life was one of often unexpected expenses, so having access to additional funds was a good thing. Bbbuuutttt....

Over the years Two Tone taken money for a litany of things. Many of them had been very unsavory if not outright criminal. But the zebra had never taken a paid job to kill someone. Yes a couple of jobs had resulted in fatalities, but those had been cases of her defending herself or others doing stupid things. But Two Tone was no murder-mare.

Technically she had not been directly responsible for Golden Vision's death. His own narcissism, and misogynistic arrogance had sealed his fate. And in spite of Chrysalis repeatedly assurances to Two Tone that she had not planned for the evening's events the mare couldn't completely dispel the thought that she'd been used as bait. A worm dangling from a hook set to lure the prey to their doom.

The zebra clenched her eyes closed and rolled on her side as she repeatedly punched the mattress in frustration. Tonight had just reinforced her fucking disgust of the rich who seemed to be able to use their wealth to avoid the consequences of their actions. Golden Vision's father had used it to eliminate his own son. Instead raising his son properly, or at least forcing him to face the consequences of his actions the family had instead used their wealth to make his transgressions go away. Until they finally became too egregious to tolerate. Then they used that same wealth to dispense with him.

The mare rolled back onto her back and glared at the ceiling fan. But she had willingly taken jobs from those very same wealthy individuals in the past, and currently was working for perhaps one of the wealthiest beings in Equestria. Did that make her a hypocrite for reviling their wealth while at the same time taking their coin?

She'd repeatedly told herself over the years that she did what she did only so that others would not have endure the nightmare that had been her youth. It was that past that had brought her in contact with Chrysalis and Grandma Coal. The Royal Sisters had protected the kingdom from the Realm of Shadows, and in their hearts they might desire the best for everypony.

But in Two Tone's mind their best intentions fell fucking short of real life. Yes Chrysalis had tried to overthrow the Crown, and in many ponies minds that was an unforgivable act. But as a result of that failed coup attempt and the efforts of the Crown to hunt down the queen and any remaining changeling cells the Royal Sisters had discovered many of the societal ills that had been a daily part of Two Tone's youth.

Changes were beginning to happen, but not fast enough for Two Tone, so in the zebra's mind the longer Chrysalis and her kind remained free and a menace, even if low level one, it would force the Crown to continue to search for her and in the process maybe other ills of the Kingdom would be discovered.

Also as long as Chrysalis remained not captured she offered ponies an option, even if an alien one, to the Royal Sisters rule.

The mare continued to watch the almost hypnotic motion of the rotating fan blades as her mind slowly calmed. So yes. Chrysalis might've had ulterior motives for having the zebra join her tonight. Even if the queen said she hadn't. And maybe she would use tonight's events to gain some inscrutable advantage in the future. But at the same time Two Tone was using the queen to enact her own long-term goals. Oh and to collect a fucking fat paycheck.

Besides Two Tone had to admit she liked the queen's no-nonsense approach to doing business so for the foreseeable future the zebra would continue to work for her. With that thought the mare reached over and turned off the lights. Then she went to sleep.