Before long, the pyramid– and the statue above it– started to loom over us as we drew closer. If the pyramid was close to four hundred hooves tall, then the statue stretched up to five hundred fifty hooves, easily. That meant the entire thing was roughly the size of the biggest pyramid at Giza.
The statue was so…. Sad. Decrepit. Rotten. I had seen it in its true splendor in the vision; the royal was a faded maroon king. Where once swirling lines of gold, silver, and copper flowed around each other like waves across the statue’s surface, only small glittering specks remained. They used to form intricate shapes across the changeling royal, especially around his face. The only way I could have described it was something like ritual face paint, only painted in the finest of metals and encrusted with hundreds of jewels.
There were still hints of the green, especially on the slopes of the pyramid. As we drew closer, I wondered what material the green metal was. It couldn’t be Adamantium, there was simply too much of it. What else was there?
The rubble around us suddenly gave way to a wide open area that surrounded the pyramid complex. What was once the beating heart of an entire civilization now lay dead and cold, an artery that circled an unbeating heart.
In its heyday, it was the central plaza of the Third Hive. If there was commerce, then it would have taken place here. If there were gatherings, rituals, ceremonies, or even recreational activities, this would have been the prime place for them. It was the center of ancient changeling society, quite literally so.
We found it to not be empty. We immediately wished it was.
“Red flag after red flag,” I whispered, trying to understand what I was looking at.
Daring Do was at a loss for words, “That’s… uh… those are changelings, alright. But… what…”
“Hey boss,” One said, “I think we found the bodies.”
Thousands of changeling skeletons circled the pyramid on the open plaza. Some were little more than loosely arranged bones, with the majority of the skeleton missing. Many were completely intact. I even spied more than a fair share of what had to be some sort of elite guard, maybe beyond that of the Royal Guards that Officer Mosquito was part of. They wore crumbling armor, their helmets fashioned like the faces of wolves.
All of the skeletons were facing the pyramid, laying down on what once was their stomachs. They formed five concentric circles, each equally spaced from the next. From the size of the plaza alone, that meant there were thousands of skeletons here.
The group stopped before the skeletons. None of us dared to even cast detection spells; we just simply kept back and talked quietly.
“They were placed here after they died,” I noted. “Underneath those few over there, the material that covers the stone seems to have been violently stripped away, like a fireball hit that spot. However, only some of those skeletons are charred. All over the place, I see skeletons that are missing the majority of their body. They would not have been able to come here by themselves.”
“Somepony moved them?” Daring asked. “Who? Why? Do… do you know anything about this?”
“Sickness of the mind,” I wondered. “Something happened with an Ascension ritual. The former ruler looked… corrupted.” Daring looked at me strangely, “Visions, Daring Do. Visions. The ruler of this place got corrupted by something, and he– it brought the whole place down with it.”
‘I probably shouldn’t tell her this, but if this knowledge stops her from escaping then going around pressing buttons and poking dead bodies, the less problems she can create for me. She needs to understand just how out of her depth she is.’
“Visions? Do you… normally receive visions? Like when you eat dinner, do you suddenly see dead cities or something?”
I glared at her.
“... I’ll take that as a no, then. Well, I have to say, I did not expect a dead temple-city of changelings. Are you some kind of… changeling king?”
“Do I look like a changeling king to you?”
“No? Isn’t that their whole shtick? You know, not looking like themselves?”
I shrugged, “If you say so.”
Something pulled my attention back to the pyramid, “Something’s inside there. What we’re after… and more.”
“How can you tell?” She asked me, also looking at the pyramid.
“... Some things can’t be explained.”
“If you’re not a changeling, then how are you so connected to this place? I just don’t see any other reason. It makes sense that only a changeling could open this place– especially if you’re one of their kings or queens.”
“You think if somepony’s acting strange, then they can only be a changeling? Have you ever even seen any other species other than ponies? There’s a whole world beyond Equestria, Daring Do. Though a pony I may be, I have seen things you wouldn’t believe. Now, I don’t have the patience nor inclination to keep answering your questions. So unless you have something useful to say– like pointing out a trap or strange sound, then be quiet.”
“... What exactly are you looking for?”
Daring Do was certainly puzzled. She wasn’t really afraid of us. Nor angry. Just…. Confused.
“Something particularly shiny. And, if I’m feeling particularly foolish, the answer to the question we’re all asking ourselves.”
I tasted a sliver of fear as it worked its way into Daring’s mind, “What happened here?”
‘I don’t like this. Not one bit. I need to free up resources. I need everyone as focused on our surroundings as possible. I need Daring Do to not do something stupid. Better yet, I need the changelings keeping an eye on her…’
I stepped over to Daring Do and stared her in the eyes, “Daring Do. The last thing I need right now is dead weight that we have to keep an eye on. You seem to be smarter than most ponies, so I’m going to cut you a deal. I cut you loose, and you stay close and don’t do anything stupid. I don’t want you running off and awakening some ancient evil– that’s my job. I don’t want you backstabbing us at the worst time to get an opportunity to escape. I’m going to remove the bindings on your wings. You get a much better chance at surviving if we are attacked, and we don’t have to worry about watching over you. Deal?”
Her eyes flicked to the rope on her wings for just an instant, “... Deal.” Daring Do flexed her wings and the rope binding her fell off her back and flopped to the ground. “Ah, that’s better…. What? Of course I was trying to escape. You think I’m some kind of amateur who waits till the last moment to break free?”
I sighed, “Smarter than most ponies. Still, we have a deal.”
She smiled, “Glad to hear you’re a stallion of your word. Speaking of stallion, we skip ahead to my, or your, inevitable betrayal. If you are a changeling, then I can’t let you leave with magical artifacts. My boss would have my flank if I let that happen! And believe me, they always know. If you aren’t a changeling, then I can’t let you leave with magical artifacts. This is without a doubt the biggest archeological find in the history of… archeology! I can’t allow strange cultists to make off with pieces of ancient magic!”
‘I could just mind control you to force you to allow me to walk away with whatever I want. Better to keep that as plan B, though.’
I sighed, “You really want to do this?”
“No, I really don’t want to be doing this. The whole back and forth monologuing and backstabbing can be added in post, if I decide I want to keep that detail. I’m bringing it up now because that’s an issue that stops this whole temporary alliance thing. I can’t let you leave with artifacts, full stop.”
‘Why does she need monologing in her reports? What– nevermind, that’s not important.’
“You can’t let me leave, because either I’m robbing a cultural site of its important pieces of history…” Daring nodded. “... Or because I’m a changeling, and letting me have these items is aiding the war enemy.” She nodded again. “What if you just don’t tell your bosses?”
“As I said, they find out these things! There’s no way I could get away with it, even if I wanted to.”
“What if… I said I have backing within Division-P myself?”
Daring froze, “Division…. I’d say that’s a load of horseapples.”
“Backing from way high up….”
She shook her head, “Lying to me is pointless. I know you can’t have approval, because if you did, I would know!”
“Unless there are internal disputes within Division-P…”
“What are you talking about?”
I rolled a hoof, “Listen. You’re reporting to Division-P, right? Whether by choice or otherwise, you have to report to them. What if you give your report not to your direct supervisor or handler, but instead to my backer?”
“Shadiness aside, how would that even work? Unless your backer is Princess Daybreaker herself– in which case, we wouldn’t even be having this argument, then there’s no way I would walk away from this with my hide intact– again, if I wanted to let you go. Which I don’t.”
‘Mind control is looking more and more tempting.’
“And if I did have the Princess’s backing?”
“You don’t.”
“I do, actually.”
She rolled her eyes and huffed, “I would have been notified that somepony with clearance higher than mine would be in the area.”
“I don’t exactly work in the open, you know. More of a… contractor.”
“P doesn’t do contractors. They’re not S.M.I.L.E. anymore. So again, you’re clearly lying to me.”
“You’re thinking about this all wrong, Daring Do. After all, there’s more than one hoof involved in the leadership of Division-P.”
Daring blinked, “The director– no, you said a princess. Princess Cadence? Ha! You, you really think I’ll believe that? Princess Cadence has absolutely nothing to do with the day to day runnings of P, much less handle agents.”
I looked around us. Our quiet conversation did not wake the dead, thankfully. There really wasn’t a better place to have this argument, and unless we backtracked a ways, there was no point in moving elsewhere.
‘Arguing politics in a graveyard in a dead city, ain't this just dandy.’
I sighed, “I know. In fact, she is looking to change that. She’s no longer content with being shoved into an office, and she’s taking a more hooves-on approach. That means she’s looking into just what exactly is going on in Division-P. You think pissing off your supervisors is bad? Do you really want to try to go up against a Princess of Equestria?”
Daring scoffed, “The blood cultist is telling me, halfway across Equestria, down in the middle of an underground city, that he actually works for one of the Princesses. You expect me to believe you?”
“I expect you to watch your own back and cover your own flank. You do not want to be on Princess Cadence’s bad side right now.”
“It’s Princess Cadence, she doesn’t have a bad side.”
“She does when she discovers the manufacture and use of bomb collars right under her nose. She does when she learns about torturing prisoners and threatening to kill them. She does when everypony makes a mockery of her and her authority, right in front of her.”
Daring Do blinked, “Bomb collars? Torture? What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about an internal shakedown. Every level of Division-P is being looked at. Every action is under scrutiny. You think the Princess of Love doesn’t have a bad side? What reaction do you think she had when she learned about all this? You think she just shrugged it off? Forgot about it? Asked politely for Division-P to stop? She’s in charge of Division-P, and she’s the Princess of Love. She might not have had a bad side before all of this, but war brings out the worst in ponies. I’ll say it again, you do not want to be on the wrong side of things here.”
Daring thought about that for a moment. She frowned, rubbed the back of her neck, grunted quietly,
“How am I supposed to believe any of this?”
“I don’t have any proof, any identification, if that’s what you're asking. You’ll just have to trust me.”
“Trust you…. Fine, let’s pretend you do work for Princess Cadence. Why would you be unsealing a temple in the middle of the jungle using blood magic? Why would you be here, looting a sealed, ancient city?”
“The war’s not over, Daring Do. For it to end, we need everything we can get our hooves on.”
“Why do you think they press-ganged me? Now you’re claiming to be my role!”
“Except I work directly for Princess Cadence. She doesn’t trust the Division anymore. You shouldn’t either.”
“.... No.”
“No?”
“No. I don’t buy it. It’s one lie after another, all hinging on me trusting you. I don’t. I saw what you did to my actual colleagues. You’re not somepony Princess Cadence would hire, let alone trust. You hurt ponies, just because you can. You’re involved with this,” she waved a hoof around, “creepy city and its magic and its death. You almost had me fooled, but I know Princess Cadence would never associate with somepony like you.”
I worked my jaw, suppressing a sneer.
‘So much for the truth. As much of it as I’m willing to say, at least.’
“I can see there’s no convincing you.”
“That’s right, I don’t believe you. Besides, I work alone. Don’t trust you. Don’t trust anypony, really.”
“... Now what?” I growled.
“Now we decide how we want to fight.”
It was my turn to scoff, “How about five on one, with us having ranged attacks on you, and you not even having your pack?”
“I’ve survived worse. Easy odds, I’d say.”
I glared at her, and she glared right back.
‘Wasting my time. All she did was waste my time and make me reveal information. I was so close to getting a potential ally, maybe even one that I could use after Daybreaker is ousted. Now we have to do things the hard way.’
“On my mark,” I commanded through the Weave, “get ready to attack.”
“Smart pony. Too smart for your own good, as it turns out. You’re really overthinking this, and now things are going to get ugly.”
“Is that so, King Ouroboros? I have to say, I don’t think changelings do all that well in the beauty department, so I’d say this was all ugly to begin with.”
‘Time for plan B.’
“Sir?” One whispered.
I bared my teeth, “If that’s really how you want to play this, then this is how we’ll fight. I attack. You lose. I then decide whether or not you die here. Is that what you want?”
“You head honchos all think you’re hot horseapples, you know that? I’ve been kicking flank like yours for decades, buddy. Four unicorns and one earth pony? I can take you all with my eyes closed! But really though, I’m up against five changelings. Considering the E.U.P. has been kicking your flanks all the way out of Equestria and out into some barren desert, I think I can handle five of ya on my own juuuust fine.”
“I’ll be a distraction. You all cast stun spells, be sure to watch your aim and make sure you’re not hitting friendlies.”
“Sir!” One begged.
“Pride comes before the fall, pony. You think–.”
“Sir!” One yelled.
“What is it, One? Kinda in the middle of something here!”
“Look around you, sir!”
I broke away from Daring Do to look at what One was freaking out about. Thirty of the closest skeletons had turned their skulls and were now facing us. Inky black liquid was slowly dripping from their mouths, and some tinted red liquid was pooled into orbs in their eye sockets. We all turned away from Daring Do to face the skeletons, who were now starting to awaken fully. The black liquid oozing from their jaws began to seep backwards, down their spines– if they still possessed them– and into the rest of their skeletal bodies.
“Your Weave, sir,” One whispered harshly. “They started awakening when you spoke over it!”
"... She started it."
Dear Goddess... Love this chapters name ♡
Boi done fucked up now.
Thanks a lot, Daring!
Ignorance is bliss, which Daring does seem to recognize. And Daybreaker enlisted her personally? Or Division P did... interesting.
Also, that ending. Where the undead changelings turned to look at Phasma... Oof. That is NOT a good sign. So whatever the infection is, it is still active even after all this time. So now it is going to get ugly.
If Daring wasn't so stubborn, maybe we wouldn't be dealing with a Zombie awakening!
This made my day.
Seriously after this i really think Darin needs all her feathers janked out. Painful, but at least they grow back...
There is no fucking way that it isnt the Prophet ( hes probably a Royal ) that is behind it. My best guess is that he was stopped by someone locking the tempel main gate and all auxiliary exits. I guess they have to reseal the tempel and come back later. When the body started to rest again and they have actually a army backing em...
In hindsight it was a bad idea to read story that is set in place like x-labs from stalker games... Like before sleep in 1am...
You son of a bitch, I'm in!
Tamahagane?
I am shocked - shocked, I say! - that the Hero of Another Story thinks that she's the only person who knows what's going on and how to solve everything. And immediately became the catalyst for making everything so much worse.
That said, any talk of morality from a grave robber/culture thief should be treated with all the severity it deserves: none.
Maaannn, Darling is going to get such a big reality check on her soon.
Oh that is not good no matter look at it. Even if they follow his orders he just gave them a doozy of one.
Welp, time to run. I hope he gives her a good paddling after this, or she redeems herself.
she started it xD
Can't wait to see Daring's reaction to the fact that Phasma was telling the complete, honest truth to her face. It'll be a hard lesson for her to learn, but as Phasma said, pride comes before a fall. And right now she is pride personified, thinking that she's the only one doing good and that her bosses can't possibly be evil and that Equestria can't possibly have corruption in its highest government positions.
Spooky. Was the whatever-it-is engineered to specifically target royals I wonder?
Never change Phasma.
Yay! More chapters to read.
An absolutely exquisite read my friend! Thank you again for another great chapter. I can't wait to see the fireworks in the upcoming chapters
I'm probably going to be one of the few speaking in Daring's defence, but... what other conclusion could she possibly have gotten to? Aside from Cadance and Luna and a couple of guards in the middle of nowhere, there is no pony aware that there is a group of changelings that want to stop the war. As far as pretty much anyone else in Equestria is concerned, changelings as a whole are still trying to take over Equestria. Then Daring Do finds a group of changelings that take over her digsite, and show they're not afraid to use force to do so, in search of something in the middle of an ongoing war, but when pushed they claim to be working for Princess Cadance, who as far as Daring knows has little to do with the running of Division P, yet have no proof whatsoever to back up their claim.
"Oh don't worry, we're the good changelings!" sounds like the dumbest lie ever from that point of view.
Secrecy is one of Phasma's greatest boons, but in cases like these were trust is needed, it quickly becomes his greatest bane.
Expept that he IS Phasma, the most ferarful and 'dead'liest ling that Equestria ever fougth...so NO YOU DIDN'T!
I wonder how scared she will be if he heveals, now that she knows that they are changelings.
Phasma, NEVER stops being you
.
10858193
Yeah, it's dumb and the fact that we know it's all true doesn't change that. It's the sort of thing I'd say in Phasma's shoes if I wanted plausible deniability for sucking her dry (I'd need the strength to deal with *gestures towards horde of changeling zombies* that).
But are these undead rising to attack Phasma, or obey him? I'm guessing it's the former, since clearly something killed off everything that once lived there, but maybe the author will surprise me.
Standart issue pitfall: talking to a confirmed enemy agent instead of stabbing them when you had the chance. Morality should not be an issue,considering Double Dealing could have easily been spared, and instead died for annoying Phasma. I quite like that despite him trying to be better he remains his mother's son.
She says, speaking to the ling that whose absence is a major reason they've gotten their flanks kicked thus far. On top of the fact that the E.U.P has had the force multiplier equivalent of an atom bomb in the form of a pissed off demonic alicorn.
Pride really do be cometh before the fall
Great, Daring Do you just claim the price of the dumbass of the year! Your giant head just awoke the army of the death.
Oh Phasma is SO gonna a mess with your head once all of this is over.
10858199
True but Double Dealing was a "MOB DEALER" that used brute force as a commodity, alongside his gang, removing LIMBS from ponies when confronted, and thougth nothing of it.He received what he reserved, different from a "Archeologist" that belives ONLY she can be rigth on "good/bad side".
She will have her morality check VERY soon, and she'll see that nothing is always what it seems.
10858213
She was an Archeologist, she is an agent of literal Waffen-SS now. I dont know if "I didn't know" or "I was pressganged" would fly in Nuremberg.
Yep, definitely necromancy. I guess this must be the hive from which the changeling saying "here in death, remember our strength" comes. A bit more literal than one might have expected. It makes sense that the skeletons would be listening to the Weave, but it remains to be seen if they can actually understand what is being said or if they're just responding to the noise.
I can't wait to see if these skeletons are friendly or not. Hopefully they are and will acknowledge Phasma as a legitimate heir to the throne. They did get up and "get ready to attack" when Phasma told them to, even though the order wasn't directed at them. I think Mosquito did not get up simply because Phasma never asked him to do anything, so he just laid there and let Phasma read his mind.
Or... all these skeletons could just be feral monsters and getting ready to bite everyone's faces off. Either way.
10858218
She's Prideful, but not blind, she will check if ANY if this hold any true statements later on(if 'hypnosis' dosen't work), she's SUPPOSE to be that smart at least.
10858226
Even so i do not believe she has ability to change anything and i believe she would be the reason for Phasma being found out:either by reporting directly or being so bad at subtlety she will be found out and possibly drag Cadance down with her . But i do respect your opinion and it is a definite possibility.
I would think now is not the time or place.
10858232
Thank you, I also believe that is a possibility as well wizardcleave, in the end, is up to the author to decide, but that don't stop us, viewers, to friendly discuss about it the "what ifs"!.
Two possible situations
1. Skeletons are evil.
2. Phasma has a new army.
10858199
Double Dealing was originally just going to be consigned to a pod. He signed his own death warrant when he demanded a hoof or wing be cut off.
Daring Do, to Phasma, is a smarmy archeologist too curious and too full of herself for her own good. She hasn't grievously offended him, nor tried to kill. At worst, she let slip she knows too much, but Phasma has mind control powers.
10858218
Actually, under modern law, 'didn't know' and being forced into compliance are valid defenses, so long as the orders in question are not 'manifestly unlawful' - i.e. genocide or other crimes against humanity, nor are individuals that lack the ability to make policy culpable of crimes against peace.
A civilian being forced to report archeological findings to the government is not equivalent to a state policy maker tacitly supporting warcrimes and genocide that they know are going on.
I love the banter between Phasma and Daring, hopefully they'll become friends after this whole ordeal, I'd love to see that!
Great chapter, keep up the good work
Would you like to know more?
Anubis or Inpu, Anpu in Ancient Egyptian (/əˈnjuːbɪs/;[1] Ancient Greek: Ἄνουβις, Egyptian: inpw, Coptic: ⲁⲛⲟⲩⲡ Anoup) is the Greek name of the god of death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld, in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depicted as a canine or a man with a canine head.
10858193
In theory he could very easily present proof ,but Darin Do escalate the situation before he could suggest it. Hes a dream walker. He could have let her talk with Cadance and or Luna. This entire situation is because of Darins 'im right all the time and know it better' altitude toward the King. Also there is always more than one faction of a Race unless they are about to go extinct...
10858168
Not really... They are all battleharden and at least mildly trained soldiers. Phasma probably take each of em because they are soldiers.
10858199
Double Dealing was a sociopath of the highest order. Phasmatodea did Equestria a high service removing him.
And that's what you get for wasting time and letting elements around you take control when you are supposed to be in control.
Phasma talks when he is supposed to act, like a barking dog with no bite
This either ends with them teaming up and Daring Do trusting him, or her getting killed or running away
10858138
That bitch hopefully get the last days of her adventure erased hard...
10858151
Lets hope Darin is smart enough to help the 'King' to seal the tempel... Smart enough to see why a undead army killing a entire city population worth is not to be allowed to leave Changeling expedition/ war here or there...
10858166
Its basicly a open secret that she is a selfentiteld trill seaker... In the main story and troughout the kingdom...
10858167
Hope the learnes humility after that lesson...
10858218
"I didn't know" did, assuming they were telling the truth (and do remember that Cadance falls under this as well). What didn't fly was "I was just following orders", and being press-ganged into it often fell under that (just following orders is a bit murky, since not really applied consistently). Plus, it also depends on the orders in question. Daring Do following orders from Division P to stop changelings from getting their hands on an artefact aren't exactly war crime level orders. In Daring's case though, she seems to be in much the same spot as Cadance as someone who was kept in the dark of Division P's darker dealings, which makes sense because Daring has a decent moral compass and would be far easier to manipulate by obfuscating the truth and simply pointing her at a treasure and go "go bring that back to Equestria so we can keep it safe."
Two stubborn mountains... Daring obviously has an ego problem, and Phasma needs the decisiveness from when he delt with Double.
He doesn't have to kill Daring, but the moment he saw that it's going to work he should have just knocked her out... Says I in my comfortable chair away from such danger.
People keep blaming Daring for the issues, but ignore the fact that Phasma was the one that accidentally awakened "The Mass". Far from Daring being innocent, but she has every right to have a less than stellar opinion of the situation considering her career. Phasma as well, shares some blame given the fact that he knew from the start that she can't be trusted considering that 99% of ponies see Changelings as aggressors. Ya'll need to stop calling for lynch, for silly reasons.
10858311
How does one prove they're a dreamwalker in the middle of an ancient ruin though? You kind of need all parties involved be asleep for that to work. That takes time, possibly days if they're not asleep at the same time you are. Which is time Phasma does not have when Daring is questioning him here and now.
10858194
To be fair... She cant know how experienced they are and it seems Darin ever had to deal with city thugs rather than trained soldiers.
10858178
She started the entire situation by following and than playing hero...
10858181
Hope she has the guts to tell him she is sorry for her ego provokation waking a city filled with thousand of undead...
10858190
The Prophet was infected trough the Accending ritual. I guess what ever is responsible needs to be defeated withhin the weave. Just like Luna defeated the Nightmare trying to break Phasmatodeas mind!
10858197
Better her than him ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
10858198
Since this infection killed of Royal and drones alike? Rather obviously
10858204
Especially since Darin Do only hear the Pony Propaganda obviously...
10858207
After letting her forget the last few days perhaps he can give her a lesson in humility
10858213
Doubles death was the best Phasmatodea could done to that sick Sociopath
10858224
What is strange... The weave makes sence to manipulate living Changelings, basicly the get mindcontrolled, but corpses? That a very specific kind of Necromancy! The hell do it fit together?
10858332
Step one: knock her unconscious. That this is also the first step of dealing with a failure to convince her is worth a quip.
10858247
Why not both?
10858322
In war times shit really get complicated ,since everyone lacks the true context everyone learn afterwards... Still Darins bias is very strong...
Beside at least he trieds to be polite...
10858332
Fair point, but Luna and Phasmatodea do often meet and Cadance is probably sleeping around 3-4 in the morning no matter what...
10858349
Agreed Before her apperance in the main story she is quite the loner. Without RD she was the 'i work alone, when it suits me' type.
10858356
Because of the infection/corruption?
Never really seen Daring Do as any type of hero regardless of Lora Croft style raiding of artifacts. Daring is still a tomb RAIDER and anyone keeping track of her history dealing with Ahuizotl would know she is still a thief. For good maybe but still a thief. In this case Daring is completely in the wrong giving the circumstances. In her words they are in a changeling temple and that the one's she's dealing with are changeling's. So at this point nothing she says really matter's. Daring is trespassing and has no right to taking anything without permission from Plasma.
Think, not know. Pretty sure she never even meet or talked in detail with her...
Fungi if i think about it is out. That a magical possesion. Best guess after re-reading the last chapters is that this is Changeling Necromancy Weave effects the lifing after all.
Edit:
10858385
Exacly
10858252
The debate regarding the "superior orders" defense isn't as clear-cut. While international courts have tended to dismiss it as a legal defense since the Nuremberg trials, it has often been admitted as a valid mitigation factor and in many countries, their national courts do recognize it as an outright defense.
The whole affair is complicated by Article 33 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which states that (emphasis mine):
So really the answer to whether the "superior orders" defense is valid is: maybe?
Hah.
10858340
My guess is they were already animated by whatever dark magic the Prophet stumbled upon. All Phasma did was wake them up. He did say it looks as if they've been moved after their deaths, but it's more likely they've moved themselves. Since they'd be stuck down there for thousands of years and have nothing to do, even if they're sentient it'd only be a matter of time until they get bored and go to sleep until something happens.
On a different note, I just realized how bad it's going to look if/when word gets out in Equestria about these two data points. A) The "dread prince" is alive, and B) there are undead changeling lurking around, perhaps even a whole army of them. Even if there's no direct correlation, ponies will put two and two together and assume Phasma came back from the grave as some sort of Lich King and brought an army of skeletons with him. I could see Daybreaker making it a higher priority to kill Phasma in that case than if he had been "just alive".