The heavy metal door shut behind me before I even realized where I was.
The other occupant in the room lifted her head. An eye, slitted like my own, stared back at me from behind metal bars. Chrysalis, Princess of the Fifth Hive, rose from her bed as I paced the room. There were no other cells in this specialized holding area. No guards stood within the chamber. Just me and her.
“I hope you didn’t come down here just to exercise,” Chrysalis mumbled, stretching as she tracked my movement.
‘No, I didn’t,’ I thought. ‘Why did I come down here? Why, in my anger, did I turn to the one I hate the most? Used to. Used to hate and fear. Now that spot belongs to Tarsus and Tarsus alone. Damn him!’
“Spit it out!” Chrysalis hissed. “You are loath to come here, especially alone. Tell me, so I can go back to sleep. I can’t rest with the sound of you trotting back and forth like a show pony!”
The phrase shook me from my thoughts.
“That’s a phrase here?” I asked her incredulously.
She stared at me.
“... The ponies wish to bring back the traitor from his exile,” I revealed.
“Is that supposed to mean something to me?”
“The traitor,” I repeated. “Tarsus.”
“Oh, that one. Here I was, thinking you were talking about yourself. You exiled him?”
“Mmm,” I grunted.
“You should have killed him.”
“Tried to, but my own moral checks and balances prevented me.”
Chrysalis sneered, “You mean you lost the courage?”
I snorted, “No, I mean Thorax stopped me. If I had my way, that bastard would be dead.”
“Why do I need to know all of this?” Chrysalis asked, moving towards the side of her well-furnished cell.
The fact that it contained three times the furniture it did when she arrived set off minor alarms in the back of my head. However, she was content to reside in the cell. The reason being–
“After all, it is your job to work with the prey,” Chrysalis cackled while flopping down into her new favorite chair.
The reason being that Chrysalis was happy to sit out the troubles the Fifth Hive faced, taking a reclusive vacation from the world.
I shook my head angrily and rubbed at my right shoulder, where my right foreleg met my torso. My hoof glided over the thin lines where the chitin never rehealed properly. A scar written in the armor I wore at all times, my new flesh.
“Not enough,” I muttered. “The ponies angle themselves well. If I let them, they will back me into a corner and defang me.” Instinctively, I reached up to touch my actual fangs. “The truth is that what Celestia plans for the future and what I plan for the future are not compatible.”
“It’s too late to back out now,” Chrysalis said.
“Too late,” I agreed. “And your plan sucked, anyways. We never would have held Equestria for any meaningful length of time. Not when they outnumbered us two hundred to one. Plus, it was evil. No, we have to push right back to Celestia’s scheming.”
“Again,” Chrysalis interrupted, “I still fail to see how this is my problem.”
I walked up to the bars of her cell, “Pharynx is up in Nisir now. Thorax is… he leans too heavily towards the ponies in his opinions. We never would have gotten this far without that fact, but the levels they go to forgive others… I will never be capable of that. None of us, save for Thorax, will be capable. I need… I need you, Chrysalis. I need you to get your shit together, to–”
“As I said many times before,” Chrysalis said, “I am perfectly willing to let bygones be bygones. Say, you could open the cell right now, and I won’t retaliate in any way. So long as you keep the love flowing, I won’t try to usurp you, work against you, or fight you in any way. If I did, then I would have to be the one conquering or working with the ponies. You’re doing the worst part of rulership for me: getting food.”
“You slaughtered my changelings!”
She shrugged, “You slaughtered mine. Though apparently not enough of them. So what if the ponies want to retrieve Tarsus? Just make sure they don’t.”
‘... She really threw him under the bus, didn’t she? No reward for those loyal to you, Chrysalis? Spineless monster…’
I clicked my tongue in annoyance, “Tch. They won’t be convinced by anything I say.”
Chrysalis smiled. It was not the kind of smile I liked, no. It was the kind I recognized. It was her smile for when she was about to say something equally cruel and clever.
“Did I say ask them to stay their hoof? No, I said to make sure they don’t retrieve Tarsus. Kill him.”
The door behind me ground open as the rest of the First Fang piled in.
“There you are!” Thorax yelled. “We were looking for you!”
Coxa, who was limp on Lacewing’s back, said, “Lotta runnin’... Lotta… urf…”
“I swear to Panar, if you vomit on me again,” Lacewing whispered to her lover, “I will personally file away your horn!”
Chrysalis sighed deeply, “Great, now the whole circus is here.”
Thorax glanced behind me towards Chrysalis, “Why did you come here, Phasma? Why did you come to her?! The ponies are worried sick about you. They have the right idea that you stormed off to do something stupid!”
“... I can’t let them find Tarsus,” I admitted. “I will not let those bastards get away with what they did to me, with what they did to everyone who looked up to me! My life wasn’t enough!”
‘A Dothraki horde on an open field… This could backfire easily, but I have to assassinate Tarsus before the ponies can get to him!’
“Phas–”
“Lacewing!” I hissed.
Lacewing looked away from Coxa and our eyes met. I gave her a single nod. She returned it, knowing what my order was.
Thorax pushed in between us, “Woah, woah, woah! No! No! There'll be no nodding! No unspoken orders! No, you are not killing anyone!"
“It was a mistake to let him live,” I told Thorax. “I should have never let him out of my sight. I should have finished what he started. I didn’t decide the stakes of this war. I never do, no. The only actual fight that I was in full control of, the first Invasion of Canterlot, there were no deaths!”
“That’s not true,” Thorax hissed. He pushed on my chest, “You killed Eucharis at the same time that the Praetorians started killing the Lodge members! You both independently chose the stakes of this war, you and Chrysalis! Celestia was right!”
I glared down at the shorter Prince, “They made their choices!”
“I don’t believe that!” Thorax seethed. “And I don’t think you believe that, either! Changelings might not be able to sense each other’s emotions, but you wear your heart on your sleeve! Even a grub could see that you hate what you did! But you did it! You murdered Eucharis!”
I growled and almost raised a hoof to strike him. Realizing what I was about to do, I stomped it into the ground instead.
“He stood against me! He was going to side with Chrysalis! I tried to stop what happened before it happened! I didn’t want anyone to die!”
Thorax studied me, “It’s not your fault that all those lings died, but you killed Eucharis when you didn’t have to. You killed him when you could have captured him with a single spell. You’re no Saint.”
I flinched, unable to look him in the eyes.
“Oooooh! I am so glad you decided to have your first lover’s quarrel down here!” Chrysalis laughed and clapped her hooves. “This is the most entertaining thing I’ve seen in months!”
Thorax offered a hoof to me, “Stop this, Phas. Stop this bloodshed and hate. You’re never going to be able to move on if you don’t learn to forgive. You’ve made mistakes. We all have. I shouldn’t have been talked into letting you mutilate Tarsus– that was my mistake. I should have held my ground. I didn’t and now all this is happening because of it. We all have our share of the blame, but we all have to work together to make things right. Give Tarsus a real trial, one without us sitting as judges. Show the Hive how things will be done. Be the King they need.”
The hot anger left me. What once fueled me into coming to Chrysalis to vent and ask for advice now left me cold and sore. I panted heavily as I recovered. Yet the coldness reminded me of a memory: how cold I felt when I was murdered.
“The traitor will be dead before sunrise,” I whispered.
Thorax faltered. Then, with wide eyes, he spun around.
“Lacewing?!”
She was gone. During our argument, she had slipped away with Coxa still on her back. It would take her only a few minutes to reach a communication device to give the order to the observation team across the sea in Griffonia.
“Maybe once he’s dead, I can move on,” I said quietly.
Thorax didn’t listen to me. He was already halfway out the door when Chrysalis whistled.
“Promise me you will visit more often, son,” she cooed. “Don’t make me beg! To think, you have been depriving me of all this entertainment!”
As hard as he galloped or flew, I knew that I had delayed Thorax long enough to be unable to find and follow Lacewing. Even with Coxa weighing her down, there were three different communication devices in the Palace alone. She could have gone to any one of them. Thorax would have to guess which one and hope that he could cut her off. A one-in-three chance of stopping the order.
But I knew she kept a personal one to keep track of all the operations involving spying on Division-P activity, Daring Do, and Tarsus. Thorax would be unable to stop my command from going out.
Celestia and Cadance stared daggers at me as we sat on opposite sides of the dining room table. She had just raised the sun and not a single one of us had gotten any sleep yet. Now, she paced the room behind Cadance as we argued.
“How long was it until you rescinded that order?” Celestia asked me.
“An hour,” I told her truthfully.
“Long enough for it to be carried out,” Cadance said.
“Exactly,” I nodded.
Celestia ran a hoof through her billowing mane, “At this rate, I’ll add a cocaine addiction to my alcohol dependency before the year is out…”
“There’s going to have to be consequences for this,” Cadance told Celestia. “I mean more than just the direct consequences of his actions.”
“Oh, really?” I asked rhetorically. “Just what did you have in mind, Cadance?”
“Well, I don’t know. Celestia’s got more experience when it comes to this.” Cadance admitted. “Celestia, what do you suggest?”
Celestia sat down in front of me, “What is there to suggest? He isn’t some errant knight running off on his own. Our options of what to do about this are limited almost entirely to fixing it and making sure it never happens again. Do you have nothing to say for yourself?”
I thought about what to say. I was caught between making a reference to King Robert Baratheon and how he tried to assassinate a threat across the sea or making a reference to Lieutenant Aldo Raine saying he’ll be chewed out rather than executed.
At my silence, Celestia deflated, “Phasma? Is there something I did wrong? Any of us? You promised you would try to be better, so did we fail to uphold our end of the bargain?”
“There’s nothing we did wrong,” Cadance said.
Celestia lifted her tiara off her head, “It sure feels like I’m failing over and over again. Luna, Daybreaker, my personal guards, Phasma… I am surrounded by those I can help, yet I constantly fail.”
Cadance shook Celestia’s shoulder, “Auntie. None of those were your fault. Maybe Luna, but you’ve beaten yourself up for a thousand years– and she attacked you initially. Whatever happened, both of you are walking away better ponies and ready to make amends for that. As for Daybreaker… you just wanted to protect your ponies. The Nightmare that possessed you was to blame for its own actions. Your guards…. That was Chrysalis. Nopony else.. You did everything you could during the second invasion. Finally, as for Phasma…”
Cadance looked at me with undisguised pity.
“He was sent to Equestria already broken. It’s not your fault, Auntie. It’s not even his fault– it’ll take us years to untangle that mess. The best we can do right now is to limit the damage.”
I wanted to tell Candance that her judgment meant close to nothing to me. I wanted to tell her that the only accusations and insults that I kept rolling around in my head belonged to Thorax alone.
'Saint…'
I held my tongue.
Celestia rubbed her face tiredly, “... Phasma, you will spend the rest of the day with Cadance. She’ll be going over boundaries.”
“Boundaries?” I questioned.
“Yes, boundaries. I can’t tolerate any sort of execution in Equestria’s borders. You and I both know that while you are independent of Equestria, you still have to listen to what we say– within reason. Those were the terms of our agreement, the terms of the Canterlot Confederation. Are you going to tell me you’d tolerate what you’ve done if our roles were reversed? What if Cadance killed a changeling and then started killing her own ponies? You wouldn’t trust her, would you?”
Making a concentrated effort to not grind my teeth, I answered, “... No.”
‘I’m sure I could get very creative when it came to resisting, but the tree that never bends in the wind is the one that snaps during the storm. As far as demands go, banning executions and murder is pretty low-bar. Especially since I intended on getting rid of them anyways. Executing people, especially without a trial… What am I, Chrysalis? No, I’m better than her. I know I am. I have to be. There are too many people counting on me. Too many lives that can be changed forever with a mere wave of my hoof.’
“It’s a fair concession,” I admitted. “More than fair.”
Celestia sighed, “... I don’t even know what to do about this. All of this. This is all tangled up and inside out. We’ll just have to hope that your mistake can be fixed before it’s too late. For now, all we can do is get some sleep and wait to find out what happens. Tomorrow, you will not be going to Ponyville with Luna. You’ll be here with Cadance. Think about… Tartarus, just try to understand the scope of what you did. It’s not like I can give you any real punishment.”
“Does this mean I will be taking over observing the changeling’s disguising affairs?” Cadance asked.
“Yes,” Celestia said.
“No,” I said immediately.
Cadance leveled her stare at me, “You don’t have a choice in this.”
“Really?”
“No, you don’t. This is for your own good, Phasma.”
I grunted, “It was the entire First Fang that agreed to the punishment. And further, I do have a choice.”
“Even Thorax?” Cadance asked.
“Yes, albeit reluctantly,” I admitted. “I suppose he thought the same as Luna; that this punishment could be reversed after some time. At any rate, I will not be divulging security information to Cadance.”
“And why not?” The pink alicorn pressed.
“There’s no way in hell that Cadance can be trusted with knowing all of my activities. Nuh-uh. The last thing I need is someone like you having operational security to deny any covert infiltration. Luna at least has some real understanding of when rules need to be bent.”
Celestia pressed a hoof to her face and sighed, “Luna will still handle that aspect of our alliance; she will be in charge of overall changeling activities. You personally will be under Cadance’s guidance when it comes to… you. Can we agree on that?”
I shrugged, “Fine…”
“Good. Circling back to the boundaries issue,” Celestia continued, “there will be no more of this mutilation affair. If you want to punish somepony rather than reform them, fine, but there'll be no more corporal punishments! Prison sentences, community service, choose whatever works, but no physical torment.”
“... Agreed,” I relented. “No executions. No mutilations. Just… prison sentences or banishment. Fits into how I want the Hive to be run, anyways.”
“Then why did you do this?” Cadance asked.
I slammed my hooves down and yelled, “Because I’m tired of people killing me– or getting close to– and getting away with it!”
Cadance and Celestia recoiled at the sudden display of anger.
Celestia recovered first, “All the more reason why you should excuse yourself from such trials. Do you really think this cycle of violence will end? If you want real justice, then let it be delivered without bias and hatred.”
‘Wouldn’t have been a cycle if Thorax had let me end the fucker.’ I closed my eyes and took a slow, deep breath, ‘Alright, just… calm down. Celestia is right. If only because violence begets violence. I had Tarsus right where I wanted him: in chains. I let my emotions control my response. Mostly because that was the correct response, but… whatever. I shouldn’t have pressured Thorax as much as I did. I’m glad I actually did listen to him to the extent that I did, but it could have been a lot less messy. This whole situation could end up like Eucharis if shit hits the fan. Hell, I almost hit Thorax…’
I felt my ears press back against my head in shame, “Yeah, yeah… They’ll rot in jail for the rest of their lives, but at least they’ll still have their lives. The First Fang shouldn’t have been the judges for Tarsus. The rest of the loyalists will have fair trials and… I suppose Tarsus will have to be retried. If he survives.”
Celestia nodded, “Thank you for understanding. Personally, I find tossing the most irredeemable threats into a cell and throwing away the key to be… hmm. Admittedly, it’s perhaps not the best solution, but it’s an effective one.”
As Cadance and Celestia began talking about the various threats that have been permanently sidelined through the usage of life sentences, I couldn’t help but think about Luna and how she was doing. Caught in the middle of everything, the whole situation had to be weighing on her heavily.
‘I swear to Panar, if I catch her moping about like this is all her fault or some other horseshit, I’m going to kick her ass into the next decade. And give her a hug so strong that it’ll break some ribs.’
In my attempts to track down Luna since last night, I ran into Coxa and Lacewing. While Luna and I slept in the same bed, we often woke up at different times, leading to different morning schedules. I had found her already asleep, and when I woke, she was already gone.
Two of my three closest friends were on their way through the Palace when they waved me down.
“There you are,” Lacewing said as she gave me a quick hug. “I couldn’t find you after I went and… gave the order.”
“The Princesses wanted to talk,” I said plainly.
Coxa, sporting a perpetual scowl, grimaced, “Don’t talk so loudly. Damn it all, Lace, why did you let me drink that much?”
“I told you, you ran off after I cut off your drinking. Blame yourself.”
“Damn myself, that guy’s a selfish asshole,” Coxa whispered.
“The ponies aren’t happy about the whole Tarsus thing,” I said, quieter for Coxa’s benefit.
“Psh,” Lacewing rolled her eyes, “as if that wasn’t obvious. They ruined your hatchday party to make a point.”
“They were pretty upset with me after I said I would try to be better,” I continued.
“Be better?” Coxa quoted. “What do you mean by that?”
“No mutilating my own citizens, for starters,” I mumbled.
Lace scoffed, “Tarsus wasn’t a citizen of the Fifth Hive.’
“No, he was a prisoner. How we treated him reflects on our entire Hive.”
Lace glared, “That backstabbers receive punishment? What’s so wrong about that?”
I sighed, “This is going to be a long conversation. Let’s head to Coxa’s office, I’ve got some business with him that we’ll handle after this conversation.” As we began walking, I continued, “The problem is the fact that Tarsus’s punishment flies in the face of what the Fifth Hive will be. We blind Tarsus and then go and promise that the rights of every drone will be protected? That they are free from fear of the Crown executing them?” I shook my head, “Celestia is right. Should’a given the backstabbing prick a real trial and wash our hooves of the whole thing.”
Lace wasn’t happy, “Still, they have no right to say that you are to blame when all of us voted on the trial.”
“That hardly matters when I was the one who promised to do better,” I said. “I have no doubt that while they are upset with you two and Thorax, you three never made any promises. Now that I think about it, they’ll probably want to have a few words with Thorax.”
“They can talk to him all they want,” Coxa argued, “the fact stands that he pulled our verdict all the way from execution.”
“Like I said, a few words,” I smirked. “Compared to the dozens they’ve already given me, I’m sure that that conversation will amount to, ‘You did okay, do better.’ At any rate, Coxa and I will be writing up the first draft of the Fifth Hive’s constitution this afternoon.”
“We are?” Coxa repeated, seemingly always behind on our conversation. “Wait, weren’t you supposed to visit Ponyville with Luna today?”
“Cadance is supposed to talk about boundaries with me. I’d put air quotes around the word boundaries, but we’re currently walking and I have yet to figure out how you guys occasionally walk on only your hind legs. So that meeting will take an hour at most, leaving me with a free afternoon.”
“Why not get it out of the way and go with Luna?” Lace pointed out.
“I have yet to actually speak with Luna since last night,” I sighed. “I don’t know if she’d approve of me ignoring Celestia’s… reprimand.”
Lace grunted, “So not only did the ponies ruin your party, but they also are forbidding you from spending the holiday with your marefriend?”
“When you put it like that…” I trailed off. “... Look, Lace. I’m not happy about it. They have a point, but they are morally upright enough to put a hold on everything to immediately right that wrong. I… respect that.”
“Fuck that,” Lace hissed. “You can tell Applejack to her face that you respect her decision to ruin last night. Write your damn constitution with Coxa, I’ll find Luna and tell her that you’re still going with her to Ponyville.”
“... Thanks,” I whispered. “Also, have you heard back from the agents in Griffonia yet?”
Ent and Giardia loaded the crossbow without a word passing between them. It was a slow and laborious process: too fast would make noise and would alert the other griffons, but too slow wouldn’t even get the job done.
Behind their little hill, the target was huddled around a dying campfire with four other griffons. One of the griffons was asleep. The other three were awake, sharing a quiet conversation with the target.
Ent glared at Giardia and shook his head once.
‘The mission has changed too much. I don’t like this,’ he said without words.
Giardia thrust the loaded crossbow into the griff’s claws.
‘Neither do I, but an order is an order,’ was her reply.
Slowly, they crawled on their bellies to the top of the hill. The way had been cleared of twigs and leaves earlier, exposing the light green grass that grew up in these Griffonian highlands. From their vantage point, the pair had a perfect view of the target. With the fire between them and their target, the assassins had confirmed his identity.
Tarsus the Traitor was disguised as a faded-blue griffon, as blind as a bat. He had successfully garnered sympathy from those without it. Then again, his generous host was anything other than a regular griffon. Ent silently wondered if he was even a griffon anymore.
One of the two griffons sitting at the fire, the one with his back towards the two assassins, sat on a log and towered over the rest. The orange and amber glow of the fire illuminated the massive griffon’s silhouette. White fur faded to light blue feathers at the wingtips, a smattering of golden feathers gave the griffon a halo that was enhanced by the yellow glare of the fire, and the griffon’s armor glinted from between layers of his cloak. This massive griffon wore no armor of iron or steel. Instead, gold and gems peaked out from between the dirty brown overcoat.
Even the massive griffon’s boisterous laughter commanded attention.
He was the source of Ent and Giardia’s fear and frustration. His presence threatened the whole operation. After all, it was one thing to murder a blind griffon with no family in Griffonia.
It was another matter entirely to assassinate an associate of King Cyne Frostwing himself.
How the Traitor got involved with the King was unknown. As far as they could tell, this was their first interaction– yet the two got along together like pigs rolling in shit. Now, King Cyne Frostwing was here, a distance away from any army that swore loyalty to him, shooting the shit with a disguised changeling and only two loyal griffons for protection.
‘Better not miss,’ Ent gulped as he steadied his grip on the wood and iron weapon.
The weapon swayed in his claws. He felt its heavy, unfamiliar weight pull downwards, even as he tried to compensate for the one hundred hooves between him and the target. A drop of green slime slowly dripped from the bolt tip at the end.
Giardia gave him a claw signal. Ent nodded and adjusted his aim to his spotter’s reading on the wind speed. They both froze for a moment as small flashes of color dotted the air around the campfire. Orange, gold, blue, purple… The colors faded away, marked by nothing more than the griffons pointing up in the air.
Ent closed one eye.
‘Panar guide my aim.’
With a twitching claw, he squeezed the trigger. With a thuck, the bolt shot forth from the crossbow. The projectile whistled quietly as it cut through the air. Within a moment, it struck a griffon at the campfire. Immediately, Giardia and Ent squirmed backwards, no longer caring about the sound they were making. The griffons were yelling now.
It was time to leave.
But before the changelings had turned away, they had both seen the poisoned bolt hit the wrong griffon.
Ent cursed his lack of expertise with the weapon and the foolishness of ordering that the shot be taken ‘no matter the consequences.’ Forced to adapt to the appearance of the bloody King of Griffonia, the pair had switched to Plan B: fire a poison-tipped shot and then get the fuck out of dodge.
'Damn Lacewing! That juvenile idiot! If this operation had been led by Intelligencer Ocelli, none of this would have happened!'
What should have been a simple matter of walking up, slitting a throat, and then leaving was now a completely botched operation. The shot had missed and hit the griffon between Tarsus and King Frostwing.
‘At least it wasn’t King Frostwing himself who got hit. The last thing we need is another war. Then again, it may be too early to say that…’
Either way, neither Ent nor Giardia were looking forward to the debriefing and inevitable ensuing shitstorm that would drown entire villages in its path. For a few minutes, as they frantically dodged through the underbrush of the forest, Ent contemplated suicide.
The duty of an Infiltrator was to complete their objective. No matter what, that job had to get done. While he was given carte blanche to kill the Traitor and expose himself in the process, he definitely wasn’t given permission to fail the mission and start a war with the Griffons.
He paused. Giardia stopped alongside him.
“Keep moving!” She hissed.
“... I really fucked up,” Ent muttered.
“Then thank Panar that we answer to him and not her!” Giardia said quietly as she glanced behind them. “We both won’t be headed for the vats! But these griffs sure as hell won’t be as merciful, so get your ass in gear!”
‘Even if Saint Phasmatodea was merciful, he definitely wasn’t going to be happy.’
The quiet woosh of an aerodynamic figure cutting through the air behind him was the only warning Ent got before both of his hindlegs were shattered against the ground beneath him.
What ya wanna bet that griff was the king in disguise, and the one in royal drag was the decoy? Or if not the king himself, his son or a paramour.
Fantastic chapter!
So, the Ponies were right.
I'm really, really tired of the Ponies being right.
I mean, I think I get what the story is going for. Phas is from another harder, crueler world, and what would work there doesn't work here. Love and Kindness triumph over cruelty in Equestria. It's basically mandated by fate and destiny. But at the same time, the changelings are from this world, and their lives suck. They had an ascension machine going, life expectancy was terrible. The final battle in the first one killed a ton of changelings, Chrysalis murdered around a dozen solar guards. Changelings were tortured and starved to death by Daybreaker. Rogue Division P is still out there. The dead don't seem to matter unless it was named characters, then it's "How could you!?"
If the intention is that Phas' morality doesn't quite match up with the world he's in, there's too many counter-examples from that world. I'm sick of this being an argument, and I'm tired of the Ponies always being implicitly right. Every time it comes up, Phas or the Changelings are proven wrong by the narrative. If they get their way, it goes worse. Or they were wrong and there's a miraculous, peaceful solution. The Ponies were pleading with Chrysalis to surrender and be redeemed while she was standing in the ashes of unnamed, dead guards and holding a blade to Celestia's throat. The final battle was called a 'massacre.'
Maybe, maybe somewhere down the line there'll be a moment where the Pony Way fails. I don't know if I'll make it to that moment.
This is how you do plans. Your opponents need to think they have a chance, because a cornered rat will bite the cat. Your opponents ideally do not actually have a chance, because you did it thirty-five minutes ago.
And quite frankly, she was completely right here. Y'know, aside from the part where they'll need that particular kind of broken mind to win the upcoming war against the Nightmares. The part where he's still a lot closer to being tolerable than his mother will ever be, and she's a willing prisoner of Equestria because she's self-aware enough to recognize that, is also lost on the Princess of Food.
Who's betting on that they hit the griffon Prince? My bets are on it.
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The ponies don't want the changelings executing or physically mutilating anyone. They are letting the Fifth Hive into their own borders, they're going to have some say in what the Fifth Hive does. Do you really think that this is such a bad thing to want? This isn't some game where score is being kept, this is a give-and-take relationship. This is also the ponies demanding something that Phasma was planning on doing anyways, something which is cemented into the constitutions of many modern nations.
Is this not an example of that being changed for the better? Now the drones have a guaranteed right to a freedom from executions and cruel punishments. From the beginning, Phasma's whole promise to the drones is that he will improve their lives. Things have been bad. Things are promising to be better... after the Nightmares are dealt with, at least.
This isn't about us vs them, score keeping, or anything else. It's a complex moral issue that, when you boil it down, is filled with biases, lack of information, grey moral dilemmas, and the question of what rights should people have. This particular incident is about two steps forward, then one step back for Phasma in particular. Maybe more like two steps back, but you get the idea. He is not free from his emotions, the way he sees and feels things affects his decisions.
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Too many want or unable of not seeing all situations and morality as white and black, "us" against "them". For too many false dichotomy is given and natural. And this and other cognitive biases are agressively propagaded in our society since it's core for many policies and all religions.
11412642
Thanks for the reply! That really didn't cover what I meant. I'm fine with the politicking. I'm fine with the Ponies being a bit annoying. I'm fine with poor Phas being severely flawed.
I have to disagree. The literal narrative proves the Ponies correct, every time, with the consequences that unfold whenever things don't go the Pony Way. When things do go the Pony Way, it works out. When it comes to a head, Phas and the Changelings are never right. Things go badly. Whenever the Ponies suggest something, it always incredibly annoying, borderline sanctimonious, and the correct decision, no matter how illogical it seems to the reader. And it keeps happening. It's pretty aggravating to read a story where one side is very annoying and always proven to be right.
The Ponies were right. Tarsus should've been offered mercy. Now a war's going to erupt because Phas got hit with the stupid stick for a chapter.
From the first one:
Luna offered to help Phas way at the beginning, and he made the pragmatic choice of shoving her in a pod with the Elements because he's in the middle of trying to launch a coup and betraying his entire species at the drop of a hat is a little crazy. And so, the coup fails and we get another 300k words of story. (I'm willing to bet he would've succeeded if he took her hoof.)
The whole Count Double Dealings fiasco.
Division P trials and executions. (I think that one actually did backfire. A bunch of them escaped, right? With artifacts? Probably should've executed some of them, but the narrative really doesn't dwell on that.) Regardless, swept under the rug, so far.
Cadance and Luna try to negotiate with Chrysalis, despite the fact she's essentially launching a suicide attack on Celestia and has killed scores of guards. Phasma attacks her, because obviously. Of course, Chrysalis turns out to be more reasonable and willing to surrender to divine intervention.
I'm sure there's more that I forgot. If there was a moment where they went with the Pony Way, and it backfired horrifically and drove the story forward, I don't really remember it. Maybe Daybreaker? But a lot of that happened off-page and it worked out fine.
11412700
Ok but that's blatantly untrue. I can name two such occasions off the top of my head where the changeling's methods, and Phasma's by extension, can be viewed as the correct thing to do, if not the only reason why things went well. They are, in increasing importance: Phasma using mind control on the Division-P inquisitor, and Phasma single-handedly defeating Daybreaker by unleashing a greater evil during the Gala after the Mane Six and Luna failed.
During those two incidents, Phasma's actions can be considered anywhere from being reckless to being outright endangering the state of every civilization on the planet. Yet he was proven correct both times.
You can cherry-pick as many examples as you want. The fact is, this just isn't true.
Nice
FFFFUUUUUUUCK
11412609
The world of Changeling Expectations is more in line with canon than of EaW, I'd reckon. That it's more faithful that the pony way is the right way is just a byproduct of that, I'd reckon. Not that either you or KKslider would ever go into army logistics, production, and supply chains. Dreadfully boring stuff that gets in the way of telling a story but fascinating reads and watches via channels like Perun.
Tarsus death from the start was a quick resolution we never got.
Instead we get a growing problem every day Tarsus os still breathing...
The Nightstalking Dream parasites Army will already be a enemy that might be to mutch. If the Griffons additional weaken the already overworked Equestria than this might end in a game over.
One thing why I never play without backup saves is because I hate a campaign that was played trough lose and win, just to be failed before the end can be reached...
11412575
Possible, but the King on revenge because familie or friends got killed is a even better trope and more persistent revenge storyline. After all:
Phasmatodea was stuck until the chapters end to it...
11412577
With another tragic end.
11412609
Very good point. Ponys deal in white or black, but the world are 41 Shades of Gray...
11412615
The first line was perfection. Only give a illusion on hope while the opposition has already lost.
11412627
Or a national hero level, for reference like with mane 6 importance to Griffonia.
11412615
Cadance is a peacetime ruler, after war and war time nake Cadance absolutely incompetent and ill fitting.
11412665
Yep, on Earth all Gavourment that have a real say in the matter are corrupt and there puppets are hold to it as well.
One may wonder if Earth population ever fix it.
I highly doubt it.
I like the story so far, while some people do have complaints about the ponies, when joining both the changeling and pony ways together. There do tend to be clashing results. but that is what i love in stories like these.
When ideas that usually should work well together begin to slowly unravel all because of a difference in opinion. I can say that both Phas and Celestia are heavily flawed. but that is what allows this idea to unfold into a great story. While Celestia is more prideful and unwavering in her opinions, phas takes in the opinions of his friends and those who are offering aid.
the fact that he isn't mentally well also helps it play out, because everyone knows that he isn't well and yet its because of this flaw that allows him to do the things that no sane person would be able to do. aka his plan with making daybreaker defeat herself.
this allows a sense of conflict in times of stress which ultimately will lead to all of their downfalls, or their greatest achievements.
well enough rambling on my end, great story author. you have me on the edge of my seat and have my full attention.
11412772
Well you definitely need a potential plothook, so i suppose Tarsus remaining alive will allow a deeper plot to unfold. afterall, if we didn't have the ponies being upset and Tarsus being out of Phas' reach. it'd be a pretty dull wait for the nightmares to arrive.
well.... shit.... this situation is now FUBAR. that's a while fire that's going to be hard to control. i do believe that a war is about to break out
11412722
With the mind-control, the alternative was what? Killing him? Worse? I agreed that the Daybreaker/Discord thing might be an example, but that didn't really spur an argument about how reckless that was in-story. Celestia tells him it was risky, agrees it was necessary, and they move on. It's not a spirited debate about whether or not Phas was justified, with Phas coming out on top. It's cleaned up off-page, literally. Phas gets snu-snu. Moving on.
I'm not combing through the previous story, cherry-picking examples. That was just off the top of my head for a minute. Every memorable time it comes to an argument in-story, Phas and the Changelings seem to yield, or they hold and the narrative shows that it was the wrong choice. When it comes to these argument chapters, when are the Ponies ever proven wrong afterwards? When does their kindness and self-righteousness blow up in their muzzle? I mean in a way that significantly drives the plot forward. (Division P and the escapes might have been a good example, but the story leapt past them for a bit and there was never really a reckoning.) The conflicts that drive the story come from Phas and the Changelings making the pragmatic choice or the violent choice, and that clearly immediately being the wrong choice, a lot. The Ponies do face some pushback, but they end up being overall right most of the time, as shown by what occurs as consequence in the story.
The story continues to be engaging. I’m very interested to see what comes from the griffins. I will say though that it is my opinion that the ponies are laying it on a bit thick.
Phas as a ruler of a sovereign nation is entrusted with the running of his hive. The Tarsus scenario I feel is firmly under Phas’s jurisdiction, the judging of a ling who committed treason during wartime. Phas had already made a major concession in having it as a judgement by council, instead of putting Tarsus’s head on a plate. Yes they now live in the same territory as the ponies, however that should not entail the hive becoming fully subjected. It was a ling issue dealt in the ling way.
I also am reading with anticipation for when this current dynamic will fall apart as it is very clear that something is gonna give. The princesses cannot keep pushing phas without it blowing up, as celestia and cadence are simply asking too much. There is too much trauma, responsibility, and culture clash there for phas to fold in. Sure he can improve and elect to be more humane in some spots, but he rose to kinghood through being himself and i will be very disappointed if thats pulled out from under him.
Great work thus far and i look forward to the next chapter
u.smutty.horse/mkbfkhyrgkm.jpeg
Ah. I guess this is the complication that you wanted the sidestory about the griffons for, yes?
they didn't need to? the land means nothing when all you're after is the ponies themselves. Any and all cities could be burned to the ground for all any competent changeling cared so long as the ponies had been podded and transported. Absurd amounts of incompetence at the top really is the only reason changelings aren't already running the world huh.
As of this point in the story (so if changelings aren't supposed to be this powerful the author miiiight want to do something about it within the next few chapters) ponies still can't detect changelings. Daybreaker required coerced prisoners to sell out their species, and it was up to Phasma to notice that Chrysalis had waltzed all the way back to the pony capital at the end of the last story. The strategic and tactical ramifications of this are so profound that it's safe to say that if the changelings properly played to their strengths they cannot be defeated by the ponies. To those who would point out that Chrysalis was driven all the way back to the fourth hive after the first battle of Canterlot, I would respond by pointing out that she had no way of knowing if her troops would fight for her at all, or if there were enough (or any for that matter) traitors remaining to lead to a decisive defeat. I would point out further that once she had sorted her stuff out she was able to head right back to Canterlot with minimal difficulty.
Now what (aside from stroking Chrysalis' ego) was the main goal of the war in the first place? Securing food. Now in this case the food is magic derived from pony emotions, most efficiently from love. So how do you get that? Is it a crop you can grow out of the ground? No. Can you make it in a factory? Not if you want to keep your job. So all the changelings really need are the ponies themselves. Unlike land or infrastructure, ponies can be moved. This means that cities/towns/whatever only need to be held long enough to transport a chunk of the population out. How much of course would be dependent on several factors like what the changelings need at the moment, how big the settlement is, and of course, how much they can get away with before the Equestrians can mass enough of their army together to make a fight of it. Once that last part happens they can just fade back into the Equestrian countryside ready to do it all again somewhere else. Each one of these strikes would also be an excellent time to leave agents behind to sow chaos and relay information, and if they cut it too close "escaped ponies" (and sometimes actual escaped ponies to keep the waters muddied and the Equestrians unsure if advice should be followed or not) could lead them into ambushes and sabotage Equestrian supplies. At that point the Equestrians are left in a no-win scenario: divide their forces up in an attempt to defend every town, at which point the changelings can carve them up piecemeal. Or try to evacuate everypony into a small enough number of cities that defending them might actually be feasible, with all the conventional logistical issues that the changelings basically get to ignore (and that's not even addressing the ponies that'd refuse: imagine Applejack's response to being told she has to abandon the farm because "the bugs are coming"). Should they actually succeed in the latter plan it basically devolves into a siege, seeing who runs out of supplies first. At that point even if the ponies abandon that moral high-ground they've been so sanctimoniously clinging to they actually can't even attempt to reduce the amount of mouths they have to feed as any attempt (bar flat out killing refugees which won't happen) would directly feed the changelings. Celestia would be forced to the bargaining table and the changelings would be able to negotiate a far more equitable relationship that more accurately depicted the real balance of power between the two species, as opposed to the de-facto vassalage Phasma's working under.
This nonsense is absurd and seriously, Chrysalis acting against him or no this is going to cause some serious backlash in the changeling community that might end up with her on the throne regardless. I'm sure "hey, you know how we've been on the brink of starvation for so long that it's practically ingrained into our genetic memory? well guess what now traitors and the most heinous criminals will not be killed but instead be allowed to drain our resources in perpetuity until they die of old age. And all to maintain some form of pony moral superiority I guess," will go over swimmingly. I've never understood why societies consider an execution that takes hours sadism, but one that takes forty years divine.
Also I'm not sure if the subtext of that scene was kept in mind. While Phasma's actions are... morally murky at best here by modern Human standards and outright reprehensible by pony ones they're not even out of the ordinary by changeling ones (remember while he's closer to human morals Thorax is the aberration, not the norm). Given that in this case Phasma's exhibiting /typical/ changeling responses it gives the whole tirade some serious "Take up the White Man's Burden" connotations (for people who don't know it's a fairly famous poem justifying and portraying Imperialism (both literal and cultural) as simply "uplifting the savages"). What's next? boarding schools for changelings where pony teachers can teach them how to be "civilized" and "good?" Now given that Phasma is their duly appointed and agreed upon leader he has the right to change the changelings' cultural framework to something closer resembling his own. But the ponies? Attempting to force their culture down the changelings' throats without said changelings' consent? fuuuuuuck off.
holy shit finally literally any reason at all to root for the good guys. Lace here really is being the voice of the everyling. It's ironic that in a story that's, nominally at least, about the changelings we have so few genuine changeling perspectives in the narrative. Phasma clearly still retains and identifies with his human morals and culture too much to be representative, Thorax is such an oddball that he probably would've died from neglect if Pharynx and the first fang hadn't been looking out for him (and his views even got him exiled, so a typical changeling he is not), and Chrysalis is made out to be a villain, and as such there's already a moral bias to her actions in the story. I think it's worth remembering here that the changelings are going along with all this change not because they believe in the righteousness of pony ethics, or the nobility of Celestia, but because their God's chosen Steward on Earth (equiss, Equestria, whatever the planet's called in this universe) has declared that this is how it should be. That doesn't mean they like it, or even agree with it. And now they see the ponies cowing and browbeating said steward, on his birthday no less, for actions that are not cruel or unusual by changeling standards. What are they to make of this? Honestly I have no clue how Equestria survived for even a hundred years much less the thousand plus it has in this universe if Celestia is really that blind to the optics of her actions.
11412502
Except that you compare someone getting killed over some clothes to wear, and a f*cking war turning bad, because bug queen knew what Phasma tried to do. And need I remind you on how there is no other decision Phasma could have come to, when he saw his relatives in tubes, as well as one empty one. Good job on comparing a war criminal, with some tribal crap.
No. Just NO. FFS, this story goes into trashbin. Is Phasmatodea a puppet, or a head of state? HIS state. Exile made his choice, this is bullshit.
11412609
What you speak of is when we finally see Epitaph/King Sombra
11412627
You mean like they clipped him by accident? Possible. Either way, Ent getting caught means shit has already hit the fan.
I'll be honest, it's hard to enjoy this sequel when everyone is constantly dropping the idiot ball left and right. It's just one Bruh Moment after the other here.
Phasma is obviously not fit to rule at present. He's dangerously impulsive, emotionally unstable and seems to have become utterly passive to outside pressure due to psychological exhaustion, while also suffering from a martyrdom complex ("the entire hive depends on me!") that is leading him down a dangerously dark path. And now he decides to add yet another murder on his fraying conscience in the delusion that it will grant him some kind of closure. The rest of the First Fang similarly cannot set aside their personal feelings on the matter, and it's costing them greatly.
The ponies are painfully sanctimonous hypocrites who get outraged at Phasma's actions and yet at the same time casually threaten to use a magical superweapon on a foreign head of state on his fucking birthday. The Mane 6 are a diplomatic disaster waiting to happen and should never have gotten involved in this, especially not Rainbow or Applejack.
Cadance is an insufferably self-righteous and naive fool who seems incapable of tempering her idealism with a healthy dose of pragmatic realpolitik, which is a terrible trait in a ruler. News flash princess, people aren't willing to consider your viewpoints if you yell in their faces how terrible they are. "We DiDn'T dO aNyThInG wRoNg" my ass.
Celestia honestly takes the cake (pun intended), because holy fuck is she infuriating. She constantly belittles Phasma, undermines his authority, browbeats him for his mistakes when he's at his lowest point (and she knows he's not in a good state of mind - she's obviously using it to her advantage), infantilizes him by assigning him Cadance as a chaperone, flagrantly disregards the Fifth Hive's sovereignity while taking for granted her plans to assimilate them will work, and then assumes the changelings will just roll over and accept it because hey, the ponies are the good guys and those bugs will eventually come around, right? You would think a princess with her experience would know better, but apparently her drinking habit seems to have completely evaporated the last few ounces of competence she had left, along with the last of her functioning braincells. It's like she wants to ruin the fragile peace they've achieved.
And the cherry on top of this shitcake is bungling the assassination of Tarsus and threatening to start a conflict with the griffons before initial diplomatic introductions have even been made, all while the threat of Division P and a literal world-ending cataclysm is looming on the horizon.
I know the story needs some kind of conflict to drive the narrative, but it gets really tedious and infuriating when the drama hinges on stupid people doing stupid things. I can't really bring myself to care for any of these characters anymore, and it's a bit sad to feel this way when you did such a wonderful job fleshing them out in CE.
I can only hope the next few chapters involve Luna or someone else eventually growing a spine and whacking a little common sense into their thick skulls. I really don't want story fatigue to settle in this early.
11412982
Well, that's name of my folder, where I put fics when I find extremely out of character moments, or just stupid characters. Like, Darwin award characters. Can PM you some stories with explanations on why, if you want me ranting.
11412958 I was considering writing much the same thing, but you've expressed everything I wanted to say masterfully. Well done.
11412982
So, showing hysterical idiocy is having a backbone now? Ok. Admitting that you fucked up and accepting terms of cooperation is being puppet?
Also about Tarsus, I see trend of naming him traitor and war criminal. Really? If I remember correctly, it was Phasma who betrayed his mother/queen and staged coup. Tarsus was declared traitor because he was too loyal to become one.
11412800
The human brain is designed to give memory to exceptions, because exceptions are what got it eaten by lions. This is the worst argument you could possibly have made.
11413026
Cognitive bias as argument. After being pointed at cherry-picking. What's next? Dismissing statistics with praising intuition and post-hoc rationalization?
11413012
It's absolutely fucking stupid that people think that admitting that you fucked up and trying to fix that = being a puppet. I swear the comments get more blood thirsty and delusional every day.
11413037
You see, I made the mistake of having the MC being in the wrong. For that crime. The entire book is bad, everyone has the idiot ball, Phasma is an imbecile, puppet, and spineless coward, and what I really should have done is have the Princesses of Harmony and Friendship just accept that people will get executed in their lands and there's nothing they can do about. Because that's definitely in character.
I didn't say anything two chapters ago when this started because it was yet to be resolved, but god damn are commenters bloodthirsty. Executing and mutilating people is the changelings' "culture?" Really?
Shit, I just realized that someone in the comments below is reusing that argument. I'm not wasting my time with that ridiculous argument.
Great KKS made his decision. Ponies are right, changelings are wrong, and anyone that disagrees with those notions gets deleted. Nice...
11413071
I feel like anyone who's extremely blood thirsty in the comments gets deleted but okay.
Edit: Nope, guy deleted his own comment and you're accusing KK of doing it.
11413071
11413078
I'm not deleting any comments. You can rage all you want, as long as it isn't too ridiculous or an actual insult against me, I don't care.
11413081
Prepare to be insulted. Here goes:
I didn't like chapter-zero, too fourth-wall-breaking wibe for story's style in my opinion. Like main character saying: "in previous series we had..."
Here.
11413078
How sure are you? It's not said who deleted the comment. I had my comments deleted, they said the same thing.
"Comment posted by name deleted time."
I haven't seen it, EVER, on who deleted the comments.
11413081
I'm not raging, just dissapointed on how you make changelings wrong at every single turn. Deal with changeling traitor as changeling custom? Phasma's wrong. Phasma tries to deescalate, and a pony wants to PUBLICLY maim him - changelings are in the wrong. No, nice position you have there.
11413093
I see all of your comments.
11413096
Yeah, and every single comment(not just mine) that even TRIES to defend changelings have 1 or 2 dislikes. No matter the point of the comment. You might not delete comments, but you sure as hell don't like changelings in your own story, seeing as you are positive on people defending ponies, and negative on people defending changelings.
11412958
You say all of that as if that wasn't how the characters have always been written. Phasma has clearly, from the start, been in over his head and has nearly broken psychologically multiple times. The Mane 6 have always been shown in this fic to be extremely self-righteous, especially RD and Applejack (who just has a strong moral compass). Cadance is in a similar boat to both, in over her head with a strong idea of what's right. And then your complaints about Celestia, that's how she's been written from the start. The characters have even blatantly stated multiple times that she has significant trouble treating others as equals because of her thousand years alone. I'd say it'd be out of character if Celestia didn't try to undermine her equals and treat them like idiots because those are the exact habits she's developed.
All of your complaints are characters acting exactly how they were shown to be previously, it's just that this is far more stressful so their negative tendencies are stronger. So all of the criticism based on that doesn't really make much sense.
On top of all that, the "casually threaten to use a magical superweapon " bit is just stupid and always has been. RD has been shown multiple times, both in the show and in the story, to be extremely impulsive to the point where nobody takes her seriously. The only way that causes a diplomatic incident is if her target (Phasma in this case) either already wants to declare war or doesn't know much about RD, neither of those applies to Phasma so nobody should care.
11413098
Did you ever think that those 1 or 2 dislikes on the comments of people "trying to defend changelings" (I'd say it's them trash-talking ponies) are people that just disagree with those comments? They all share common points, so it makes sense that people who disagree with one disagree with the rest. I'm personally only liking comments unless it's something with no elaboration or it's just blatantly wrong.
And let's be honest, most people in favor of the changelings are attacking the ponies, not defending the changelings. If you read the comments, most of the ones in support of changelings are just saying the ponies are in the wrong. Those saying the changelings are in the right rarely offer reasons as to why beyond it being their "culture," or Tarsus being evil, which are both horrendous and poorly thought-out reasons.
11413101
It is extremely hard to not see others as inexperienced children when you literally fifty times older than them and have more than hundred times more experience (in ruling and politics) and therefore treat them as equals when you clearly aren't.
P.c. since commentators here point on entirely inappropriate behavior of M6, can you point please where Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie act like that?
11413098
Yes, that's what the downvote button is for. I'm not blanket downvoting everyone- hell, in a pair of negative comments with 7 upvotes and 1 downvote, I'm the downvote on one and one of the upvotes on the other, but I do disagree with most of the criticism presented here. As do plenty of other people.
In fact, most people in the CE Discord is on the ponies' side for this particular conflict.
11413106
Rainbow Dash is entirely out of line with her demands to use the EoH. I will concede this, but here's my take on that issue: no one takes her seriously. I'll address this in another chapter.
Everyone else is fine, I feel.