“Permission to board, captain?”

This one turned from the cooler it been filling with ice to see the Alya-mare waiting on the pier to board this one’s pleasure yacht, the Trustworthy. The zebra mare gave this one a cheeky salute as she grinned.

This one smiled at the sight of one of its lieutenants arriving for the little evening barbecue it had arranged for the day before it was set to head to Northmarch. “Permission granted. It's good to see you.”

“You too.” The Alya-mare boarded the Trustworthy and then looked around to see no one else there. “First here?”

“Yep.” This one had arranged a little get-together with the lieutenants in its organization. Considering this one was liable to be gone for many weeks due to the travel times involved, it had struck this one as a good idea to touch base with everyone during a nice relaxing evening enjoying good food and drink. Best to leave the best impression possible upon the people this one was going to leave in charge of its organization while it was away. That, and deal with any lingering issues or problems they wanted to bring up.

The Alya-mare chuckled. “Well, I guess it figures I'd be first here. I was the first to join you, after all.”

“It seems fate is being thematic today.” It felt like forever ago since this one returned from exile with the Alya-mare at its side. Soon after this one started the work necessary to become Freeport’s foremost information broker, this one placed the Alya-mare in charge of the finance and business end of this one’s little underworld empire. She’d been good at it too, always moving around goods, making deals with the seedier elements of Freeport, and passing on profits that this one used to build up its more legitimate businesses. It had been an important part of this one’s long-term plans, and the Alya-mare had played an expert part in it.

The Alya-mare had come a long way from the mousy little mare she'd been when this one had met her on a ship heading to the lands of the Dromaed all those years ago. She still wore her small-rimmed glasses, and her face was no longer youthful but bore the maturity of a zebra confident in her abilities. Instead of looking nervous and worried about how she would survive to pay off her family’s debts, she was modestly wealthy in her own right, and spoke like a zebra of affluence and influence.

This one started loading some wood into the grill it had on the deck. It wouldn't be long before the others showed up, so it was a good time to start getting food ready. “It’s been a profitable venture between us, hasn’t it?”

“I’d certainly hope so, given all the work I’ve put in.” She nudged this one’s side. “Someone has to figure out how all the bills are paid for your little criminal enterprise.”

This one decided to stroke her ego a bit. “It is good to have someone around that can handle the finances. It opens up so much time for this one to deal with other things.” This one gave her a smirk. “It really would have been a shame if all the Ephemera-mare's money had gone to waste, in addition to all the other gains we got while working with the Do-mare.”

The Alya-mare grinned back. “Might as well enjoy it while we have it.” She stepped up to help this one load the grill. “And I'd like to think I've made a pretty good partner for you.”

“This one has few reasons to complain. None of its money has mysteriously disappeared, for one.” This one dusted off its hooves once we were done. “The lack of headaches you cause certainly speaks in your favor. This one hasn't had to consider replacing you once, unlike other postings within its organization over the years.”

“I'd hope not,” the Alya-mare said. “I’d hate to be disappeared.”

This one started firing up the grill. “The Alya-mare hardly needs to worry about anything like that.”

“I didn’t think I did.” Instead of being comforted by this one’s word, the Alya-mare pressed her lips together. “Though I’m still kinda worried about you being gone for so long. Is going all the way to Northmarch again really worth it?”

Knowing that this type of question was inevitably going to come up, this one had ready answers. “This one can hardly turn down a request of someone as prestigious as Argentium the Runescaled. In case you forgot, she is a very, very big dragon who doesn’t take insults to her pride well. When she asks you to attend her, you show up.”

“I know, I know.” She let out a long sigh. “It’s just, you’ve never been gone this long before. It was different back when we were still a couple small-timers getting started. We’re used to you doing most of the management and making the big decisions, not to mention deciding what we do if a problem comes up. You’ve only ever been gone for maybe a couple of weeks at a time, save for that time you disappeared for a month and gave us all a scare. But we’re talking months here. That’s a long time to be away from the shop.”

“As this one is more than aware.” This one placed a hoof on her shoulder. “This one is sure you and the others will be fine. You all know how to do your jobs and have dealt with a variety of crises during the time you’ve worked for this one. Besides, if anything happens you’ll be able to contact this one and it can hurry home.”

“Yeah, I guess,” the Alya-mare said. “Still, that is a long time away just to do introductions. It’s not like Sunset needs to have her hoof held. She might not be very diplomatic, but you could just impress upon her the need to not tick off the dragon with teeth larger than her whole body.”

That was all true to a point, though in truth this one had more than one reason for escorting the Shimmer-mare to see one of the most powerful and influential dragons in the world: it had done several jobs for Argentium to build up its reputation with the ancient wyrm, and this one had been waiting for the opportunity to collect on its payments—special payments that only Argentium was capable of making. Better yet, this one could hide its full intentions under the guise of aiding with introductions.

Another reason this one felt compelled to go was because of what might happen between Argentium and the Shimmer-mare: Argentium wouldn’t have asked the Shimmer-mare to come visit her unless it was for very good reasons. While this one only had a cursory understanding of destiny and other more esoteric powers in the universe, this one knew that the Shimmer-mare was special. The White Pony had made the Shimmer-mare her student as part of her greater plans, and if the Shimmer-mare’s visit to Argentium was some critical step to ascension then it wanted to be sure it was there to help it along. If the Shimmer-mare did ascend, so many doors would open up for its plans. This one had invested no small amount of time, money, and energy into her, and that might just be about to pay off in a huge way.

But right now, this one had to consider how best to respond to the Alya-mare. She had worries about this one leaving for so long, and she had been by its side for a long time. Perhaps it was time to bring her into another layer of this one’s greater plans. She knew something of what this one was aiming for, but there were still a great many things this one kept very close to its chest. But if everything went well in Northmarch then the time would be approaching where it would need more people it could depend on to serve important parts in its plans.

This one started placing some shish kebab on the grill, keeping its voice quiet as it spoke. This one had paid for powerful magics to be imprinted into the Trustworthy to thwart any potential eavesdroppers, so it was just about as safe as it could be to speak here. “Depending on how the meeting goes with Argentium, it might be time to make some changes in the organization and switch focus. This one’s last meeting with her proved to be very interesting, and this one has a feeling that this time will be even more so.”

The Alya-mare’s ears perked a bit. “Oh really? So ... what kind of restructuring did you have in mind?”

“There are some details to finish working out,” this one explained as it put some hayburgers on the grill. “Though this one is aiming to change what we’re focusing on. We’re going to need to expand in several areas, create several new functions, and increase expertise overall to match. Really, this is going to be a full top-down reform that we’re going to need to sit down and hammer out. This one thinks we're getting close to the part where we switch to actually trying to make Freeport a better place in an active way instead of acting with extreme subtlety.”

The Alya-mare blinked and took a step back as she absorbed that. “That's ... a very big shift.”

She wasn’t wrong. Near as anyone saw, this one was little more than an information broker and minor crime boss. Nothing to be overly worried about by the standards of Freeport. But this one hadn’t come back to Freeport to be a somewhat big fish in a big pond.

“That’s why it has to be done carefully, and not all at once,” this one said. “A sudden and dramatic change could unravel everything we've been working towards. Things have to be done over time and specifically so that no one is the wiser until it’s too late to do anything to stop us.”

The Alya-mare swallowed. “Right, I’d hate for everything to get burned down due to a misstep.”

“Agreed.” This one stopped preparing the meal to face the Alya-mare and place a hoof on her shoulder. “And this one is going to need dependable and loyal people like you to play their part. Up to the task?”

The Alya-mare smiled. “You know I've been your longest-serving, most loyal, and most capable partner. I'd never let you down.”

This one patted her shoulder. “That's not something this one will forget.” This one heard movement from the dock, and spoke more loudly so everyone could hear. “Of course, this one wouldn’t mind if it had more than one stalwart and loyal lieutenant it could depend on in the coming months.”

“Good thing you have us then!” the Gustav-gryph called out from the pier. The hippogryph in charge of the muscle for this one’s organization, the Gustav-gryph was a powerfully built, barrel-chested mix of gryphon and pony who always seemed to have a wide grin on his face. Officially he led his own small mercenary company, but in reality he worked to make sure this one’s assets were protected and provide some muscle when needed for some task. He was a competent and oftentimes clever lieutenant, and had proven to be a good investment on this one’s part when it had originally hired him.

“Permission for myself and Merry to board?” he asked.

This one waved for them to come. “Permission granted.”

“Great, I've been waiting for this all day.” Merry Penny stepped onto the deck alongside the Gustav-gryph, both of them having arrived at the same time it seemed. The Penny-mare was this one’s long-time secretary and confidant. Her coat was a light pink, and her curled mane of violet locks lined her warm face nicely. She had served this one well with a calm confidence and ability to deal with any problem big or small that came up—including dealing with those who insisted they must see this one immediately instead of waiting their turn. Not an easy job, but one she did well. It seemed only right to invite her to this occasion alongside this one’s lieutenants.

“I’m going to miss you so while you’re away.” The Gustav-gryph took this one’s hoof in a firm shake before pulling it into a brotherly hug. “Try and not to freeze while you’re in Northmarch, okay?”

“This one plans on bringing plenty of coats to keep itself warm,” this one assured him. “And this one will miss all of you too. That’s why this one wanted to see all of you and enjoy each other’s company before it left. Speaking of, this one has some food on the grill that should be ready soon.”

The Penny-mare sniffed. “Oooh, that smells good.”

The Gustav-gryph patted this one’s back. “In addition to being a wonderful boss, he's a skilled chef.”

“This one's learned a thing or two over the years. And like most skills, you have to practice to keep them up.” Cooking and alchemy had a lot of the same principles, and while this one didn’t get to practice its skills in alchemy as much as it would have liked to, there was still the odd opportunity to cook. There were also perfectly practical reasons for this one to provide the food here. An unspoken rule in society was that the one who provided the free food established himself as the one in charge.

“Well, I for one appreciate your studiousness,” the Penny-mare said. “I always enjoy your barbeques. Even if I’m going to be sad that you’re gonna be gone.” She fixed this one with a wry grin. “Especially considering whenever you’re gone I either end up bored with almost nothing to do, or I end up with more than I can deal with and a ton of stuff that requires your signature or sompony to unload it on. All that while petitioners pile up at the door.”

“You’ve always managed in the past,” this one assured her. “And you can always ask this one’s lieutenants for help if need be. This one trusts your judgement to deal with things while it’s away.”

“Don't worry.” The Gustav-gryph wrapped a wing around the Penny-mare’s back and gave her a friendly shake. “We'll hold down the fort.”

This one picked up a pair of tongs to start turning everything over on the grill. “This one has every confidence you will. This one wouldn’t be leaving if it didn’t think you could handle everything.”

And perhaps if this one said that enough times it would completely believe it itself. In truth, this one was worried about leaving for so long, even if it was hiding its concerns behind a confident mask. A great many things could go wrong while this one wasn’t around: rivals might take the opportunity to attack, this one’s lieutenants might fall into some degree of infighting, or some great crisis might rear its head. This one had set up as many contingencies as it could to deal with all of those issues, but there was only so many preparations one could practically make without going overboard. Sooner or later, this one needed to trust its lieutenants to do their jobs.

“And what about this one?” a familiar voice said from behind this one. “Are you confident it can keep everything from falling apart without you foalsitting us?”

This one knew who exactly was behind it. This particular Free Mind always felt the need to one-up everyone around it, and included a habit of trying to sneak up on everyone to surprise them. This one turned around and shot Blackwing a grin. He was currently in his grey-coated pegasus disguise, a body that was all trim-muscle ready to snap into action and as always carried himself with a degree of confidence that bordered on arrogance. “How can this one not be confident in such a capable agent?”

And capable he was. Blackwing was this one’s most naturally gifted lieutenant, probably the most gifted in its entire organization. After all, this one wouldn’t have put just anyone in charge of the intelligence arm of the organization. This one had taught him just about everything it could about spycraft to the young changeling, and he had absorbed it like a sponge. Intelligent, fast on his hooves and a devil in a fight, he was the one this one was the most proud of, even if there were still a few rough edges to smooth over for him to become as great as this one hoped he would become someday.

“Also, it's traditional to ask for permission to board before doing so,” this one teased.

“Oh.” Blackwing’s eyes flicked to the deck he was standing on. “Permission to board?”

“Belated permission granted, Blackwing.” This one decided to let the faux pas slide this time, considering the occasion. This one really did need to sit down with him to explain the necessity of adhering to social decorum, however silly they might seem some days. “Good news is that the food is almost ready. You still like shish kebab?”

He nodded. “Always.”

This one picked up some wood to put into the grill to keep it at the temperature it liked. “Looking forward to getting some time to run things without your boss looking over your shoulder?”

A confident smirk crossed his face. “You know this one, it likes to operate independently.”

“Sometimes to this one's exasperation.” While Blackwing was immensely talented, he had a tendency of thinking he could only depend upon himself to get anything done. That was a problem when this one was trying to turn him into a leader, not a lone agent always running off to do everything himself.

“But you like the results once it's all done,” Blackwing countered.

“It is one of the things this one likes about you,” this one admitted. “Now if you could just—”

This one’s lesson was interrupted as it turned towards the grill and bumped into the Penny-mare. She quickly said an apology as this one fumbled with its tongs before dropping them. This one’s hoof reached out to grab the tongs before they hit the ground, but Blackwing’s hoof shot out like lightning and snatched the tongs first. His lips spread in a teasing grin as he poked this one in the barrel with the tongs. “Getting a bit slow, aren't you?”

This one tried not to sound defensive. “This one has hardly slowed down that much.” Thanks to exercise, a good diet, and the odd potion, this one was is very good shape all around.

The Penny-mare chuckled and nudged my ribs with an elbow. “Old age catches up with all of us, Puzzle.”

The Alya-mare snorted. “He's got a ways to go yet before he gets old.” Considering she was about as old as this one, it wasn’t a surprise she wanted to defend this one’s age. Besides, she was right.

“Remember, you’re going to be this one’s age someday,” this one said, “so be careful who you call old.”

“This one is a long way from needing to worry about slowing down.” Blackwing flipped the tongs in his hoof so as to offer the handle to this one and then grinned. “And really, you could do worse than to leave this one in charge of everything.”

This one rolled its eyes and took the tongs. “You’re all to play nice and work together while this one is gone.”

This one had split up its organization the way it had for very good reasons; considering each lieutenant was in charge of a different aspect of the organization, finances, muscle, and intelligence, no one of them had enough power by themselves to cause too much trouble. At the very least each of them wouldn’t hold all the cards by themselves to act with excessive independence and thus helped keep this one in control. That was the theory, anyway, and thus far it had worked to keep things manageable.

The Gustav-gryph scoffed and wrapped an arm around Blackwing’s neck to give him a noogie. “What is this? Trying to angle yourself to take over when the boss retires? That’s presumptuous of you.”

The Alya-mare frowned. “Besides, I believe I’ve been here the longest. If anyone were to be put in charge while Puzzle’s gone...”

Blackwing grumbled as he struggled to get out of the Gustav-gryph’s hold. “And if this one were put in charge you’d see profits double, easily.”

The Penny-mare let out a long suffering sigh as she rubbed her temple. “Not this again...”

This one cleared its throat before the rivalry between this one’s subordinates got out of control. “Play nice, all of you. This one’s made its opinion on this matter quite clear already. Work together while this one is away.” This one tapped the tongs on the grill. “Besides, you don’t want to ruin a perfectly good meal by talking about work, do you?”

“A free meal is why we’re here,” Blackwing agreed, finally pulling himself from his fellow lieutenant’s grasp. “And while you might be slowing down, you're still a master chef.”

“Oh yes!” the Gustav-gryph exclaimed.

The Penny-mare smiled. “You won’t hear me argue with that.”

“Hear hear!” the Alya-mare said. “Compliments to the chef!”

This one smiled as it looked at the people gathered about it on the deck of the Trustworthy. We had good food, the weather was nice and sunny with a pleasant wind blowing, and everyone was getting along. While this one had its apprehensions, it looked like this one’s plans were coming together.

Author's Notes:

Thanks to my editors Chengar Qordath and Comma-Kazie for all their help, and to my pre-readers Brony Writer, wolfstorm56, Trinary, 621Chopsuey, Rodinga, PoisonClaw, and Swiftest for their hard work editing.