Celestia sighed as I watched her poke at a slice of cake with a fork.
“It’s like herding suicidal cats,” I heard her mutter under her breath.
Instead of reacting to her comment, I continued to fiddle with the magical artifact in my hooves. I could feel the power coursing through the Element of Loyalty. The only other time I felt such a forceful presence was when I was within the range of Panar’s Gift, the synthetic Weave embedded in the crown located at Nisir.
The doors to the dining room opened and Cadance entered. I tried not to let my disappointment show when I realized that Luna was not with her.
“Sorry I’m late,” Cadance apologized. “A flock of nobles has put together a petition to delve further into the nation’s treasury to expand upon Lantern Night’s party. As large as it is, there’s no need to break the bank… Oh, and a number of them are already trying to cut out changeling influence.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Cadance. And my sister?” Celestia asked before I could.
Cadance grunted as she sat down between me and her mentor, “Putting together plans for decorating the night sky. Too busy to join us, she said.”
“Damn,” I whispered.
Just as I caught Celestia’s comment, the pair of alicorns caught my own and glanced over at me.
Cadance smiled coyly, “I must admit, I take no small amount of pleasure in seeing you two love birds pine for each other. If only Celestia would–”
“No,” Celestia said forcefully.
“You’re going to find a snuggle buddy whether you like it or not, Auntie!”
Celestia rolled her eyes, poked at her cake some more, and then turned to me.
“Phasma. I’ll ask how your trip to Cloudsdale went since I imagine that will be the shorter story for your visit.”
I shrugged, “Fine. It was just finalizing a deal for some alcohol production there. Some old breweries wanted to open their doors again and agreed to operate under the Fifth Hive’s name. Of course, we’ll be inspecting the product and ensuring no funny business, but the deal is set to end when the Prohibition is lifted. They’ve already got a distribution system more or less in place. They are getting quite a deal out of it.”
“That’s… awfully generous of you,” Cadance remarked. “Seems kind of counterintuitive to help out your future competition.”
“It is,” I agreed. “However… I want to divorce the changelings from the Prohibition as much as I can. It’s not a good idea to correlate us with one of Daybreaker’s policies that ruined thousands of livelihoods. If I can remake those careers, businesses, and passions, then I’m all for it. The Nightmare’s damage is further undone, ponies like changelings more, and… it’s just the right thing to do.”
Cadance leaned over and patted me on the shoulder, “Good job, Phasma!”
“That is very altruistic,” Celestia nodded, “thank you for that. Kindness is always repaid with more kindness. Though, not often repaid back to you… Now, onto the real question. You’ve already briefed me on what happened– and yes, I’ve spoken to all the Element bearers about securing their Elements– but Cadance hasn’t heard anything. So, go ahead and give us the full story.”
“Full story? Did something happen while you were at the Wonderbolts’ place?” Cadance asked.
I nodded, “Yeah. The inspection itself was perfectly fine… but I had a run-in with Rainbow Dash. She wants to become a Wonderbolt. Makes sense, knowing her. We spoke, I kinda yelled at her and crushed her hopes and dreams and... Yeah. That was my bad. She wants to be a Wonderbolt, but I pointed out that someone as valuable as her wouldn’t be risked on the front line. One thing led to another and she gave me her Element…”
Cadance rubbed her chin, “Did you apologize?”
I shrugged, “Maybe? I don’t remember– she wasn’t mad at me by the end, though. Mostly just frustrated with her situation. Completely understandable, if you ask me.”
“And she gave you the Element of Loyalty to give to Celestia?”
“No, that’s the strange thing. I told her about what happened after the fight with The Prophet, and she got the idea that I can be a bearer of loyalty…”
Cadance and Celestia shared a look.
“Stranger things have happened,” Cadance remarked. “I would have thought of Phasma as being more Honesty, despite being a shapeshifting race… Harmony likes that kind of irony, anyways.”
“Luna and I wielded multiple Elements in our time,” Celestia pointed out. “Besides, it’s not like ponies have a personality that is completely defined by one Element. We need a balance of all six…”
I once again fiddled with the gem, flipping it over in my hooves. I felt tingles in the frogs of my hooves where the glowing gem touched them.
‘Cadance is supposed to take over my reformation or whatever. Maybe I should ask her…’
Cadance frowned, “Still, though I don’t want to sound mean or discouraging, I would hope that the Elements pick a more… mentally stable individual.”
“I managed to wield all six briefly while I was… dealing with Nightmare Moon. Mental stability does not seem to factor in,” Celestia chuckled. “I was not dealing with it all smoothly.”
“You handled it well enough,” Cadance reassured her adoptive aunt.
“Thank you, Cadance. At any rate, I spoke with all the Element Bearers after hearing about this. I have made it crystal clear to all of them, Rainbow Dash especially, that the Elements are not trinkets to be pawned off or hooved away. They must take great care to ensure they are safe and secure… When I heard how each of them were handling their Elements, I fear I may have had a hair or two go gray. Twilight was the best, keeping it in a box under her bed.”
“The best?” Cadance nervously chuckled.
“Fluttershy was the worst,” Celestia continued. “She kept hers on a coat rack by her front door.”
“Maaaybe we should have the Elements here in the Palace for safekeeping,” Cadance said nervously.
“That’s what I was thinking,” Celestia agreed. “Until they get more experience in being responsible. Also, Phasma’s conversation with Rainbow Dash has gotten me thinking. Perhaps it is a good idea to give them some sort of combat training. Not to have them deal with situations in such manners, of course, but if things go bad, then at least they have some training to fall back upon.”
“Shining will probably sleep better at night knowing that his sister can better protect herself,” Cadance agreed.
“It’s settled then. I’ll arrange for them to have some weekly training. Any input, Phasma?”
I looked up, ears pinned to the back of my head, “.... Am I a good person?”
They blinked owlishly at me.
“Yes,” Celestia said. “You are.”
“Yeaaah,” Cadance said slowly and scooted her chair closer to my own. “You just… You are a good changeling deep down. Deep down. Waay–” Celestia elbowed Cadance, “– just barely under the surface. Sorry, I’ve been spending a lot of time with Shining, I think a bit of his abrasiveness has started to rub off on me. Phasma, you’ve been through a lot and have to work your way back up. If you weren’t a good person despite everything, then to be honest, you wouldn’t be here. You tried to find an alternative to Chrysalis’s invasion, you care for your friends and marefriend and you do your best for your subjects.”
“Regardless of all the wrong you’ve done,” Celestia added, “you continue to try to improve. There’re setbacks, yes, but you are making progress. What brought this on? Something you said to your therapist this morning?”
“I talked with her, yeah, but she… She doesn’t matter to me. Not like you two.”
“D’aww, thank you, Phasma!” Cadance said, leaning over to wrap a foreleg around me in a half-hug.
“I’m happy to know that you are comfortable with us enough to open up,” Celestia smiled. “But again, if I may ask, what brought this on?”
I placed the Element of Loyalty on the dining table, “Rainbow Dash. She said I wasn’t a good pony and I kind of agree with her.”
Cadance frowned, “She shouldn’t–”
“She should’ve,” I interrupted, staring Cadance down. “I am responsible for my own actions. I’ve just been thinking about this since she flew away. I…” I broke the stare and looked down at the piece of magical jewelry on the table. “I don’t think I’m a good person. I try to do good as much as I can, yes, but deep down… I don’t care. People act like life is sacred and killing is some horrible sin that never washes away, some line in the sand that shouldn’t be crossed, but I don’t care. Never did. I get that you shouldn’t kill your enemies if you don’t have to– that’s why I’m still alive and talking to you, because you spared me– but I just find it too much effort, too dangerous, and too unreasonable. If there was a line in the sand, I never noticed.”
Cadance upgraded the hug to both forelegs, “Don’t say that, Phasma!”
Celestia sighed, “I’ve seen souls of all kinds. Some are, as harsh as it sounds, irredeemable. Creatures so full of hatred that trying to save them would get others killed in the process. You are far from that, Phasma. Do not for a second believe yourself to be irredeemable– in fact, the mere hope of trying to do better is enough, so long as you continue to act on it.”
“... Thanks, girls,” I said quietly. “Now I’m reminded of a quote. A wise dragon once said: ‘which is greater, to be born good, or to overcome one’s evil nature through great effort?’”
“I thought there were no dragons where you were from,” Celestia pointed out.
“Okay, he might have been completely fictional,” I admitted. “Anyways, I feel like I’ve done nothing but get very emotional lately. Anger, sadness, despair… Can someone else have a breakdown?”
Cadance patted me on the head, “No. You are Luna’s damsel in distress. If you didn’t constantly have breakdowns for her to fix, the thousand years of isolation would catch up to her and cause her to go mad.”
The older alicorn and I frowned as we took in what Cadance said.
“Speaking of which,” Cadance said, “I’ll send word to Luna. You need five units of hugs and kisses, stat!”
I shook my head, “You said Luna–”
“Will put aside what she’s working on to spend time with her needy coltfriend,” Cadance said, ending the hug.
“I’m not needy,” I grumbled.
“Phasma,” Celestia said, “you were literally murdered. I’ve known countless ponies who fell apart completely after much less happened to them. If you just continue to let it out, you will heal faster. It will still be slow, but you will heal.”
“You should also work on your anger,” Cadance added. “Maybe redirect it into something else, like sports or battle training. Just remember, you can absolutely open up to us like this if you ever feel like you want to.”
“Thanks,” I said again.
Our mushy moment was interrupted by Lacewing entering the dining room with a pained look on her face.
“Phas. We have a problem.”
As Phasma and Cadance hurriedly trotted out the door, Celestia switched from poking at a piece of cake to mixing herself a cocktail. She needed something that could satisfy her sweet tooth and guaranteed to make the day go by faster, so she resorted to one of her favorites: one part rum and one part rum.
Together, they made 'More Rum.'
Normally, it would have been far too early to start drinking hard liquor, but Lace delivered grave news. Grave enough to warrant breaking out the good stuff while Phasma and Cadence did the real work. Celestia wanted to go with herself, but she was needed here at the Palace. An attack on the Fifth Hive and her ponies made her writhe in her seat with frustration, yet she remained still.
There was a pair of diplomats from Saddle Arabia present that she needed to host a lunch for, not to mention a score of minor meetings she had to muddle through before she could salvage the evening for herself. Besides, this was an opportunity to further test and hone Cadance's skills in crisis management.
'This attack is bad. Bad with a capital B. Let's hope that no one has died. There's already been so much, and there will be so much more when the darkness comes…'
Drink in hoof, Celestia slipped away from the dining room and begrudgingly headed towards her office. As she sat down behind her desk and started sorting through some paperwork, her mind drifted towards the events before Lace's interruption.
'Phasma is opening up to Cadance and me. That's good progress. Very good. Not that I enjoy seeing somepony clearly in pain, but it means he's beginning to trust us more. Trust me more. I'm happy that I can finally start helping him… Luna will need to know all this. I should ask his permission to share the events with Luna, but the opportunity to ask has passed. I will just have to ask for forgiveness later if he is angry.'
Celestia lightly brushed a hoof against the bottle of rum sitting on her desk. The gold lettering on the black bottle flaked as the keratin of her hoof scratched it away.
'Such an explosive colt. I wonder if he'll cool with age and with good company or if he will keep his emotional streak. Hmm. It's certainly not conducive to good leadership, but… Is it entirely a bad thing? I can't remember the last time I did something rash in anger. It couldn't have been that one griffon warband… I can grieve as truly as anypony else. I can love on rare occasions But get angry? Show my sorrow for the world to see? I've shut away so much of myself that I'm not sure if I left a part of myself behind. I just shut down, like I did when Chrysalis murdered my friends, my guards.'
The memory of the second invasion froze her blood and sent bile up her throat. As Celestia took another swig of the sweetened rum to wash out the acidic taste, she made a mental note to put the trial in motion for the former despot.
I stepped off the chariot as Lacewing refreshed the heating spell keeping us both warm. The gravel road crunched underhoof as I shouldered my way past a cordon of Red Right Hoof and Royal Guards. The five ponies being attended to by paramedics looked up at my arrival.
Then they looked past me at the bright pink alicorn stepping off her own chariot. Cadance greeted the Royal Guards present and moved to speak with the injured ponies. I paused to examine the wagon that they were hauling.
‘Cargo doors ripped off, strong boxes cracked open, and secret cache panels obliterated. The bastards knew exactly how to hit the wagon. They must have a couple of insiders in my outer network of alcohol distributors. No surprise there, the organization has become as porous as swiss cheese.’
Captain Katydid approached me and saluted, “My King!”
“Katydid, it’s good to see you,” I greeted him.
“Wish we didn’t have to meet under such bitter circumstances,” Katydid grimaced.
I sighed, “Give me a rundown.”
Katydid gestured to the injured ponies, “Routine delivery, about twenty thousand bits worth of merchandise. Apparently that’s not a lot?”
“For pricey booze? No,” I explained. “Prices get crazy when things get into macroeconomics.”
Katydid shrugged, “If you say so, My King. Twenty thousand bits of booze stolen. This was this week’s delivery to Las Pegasus. They got everything: the boxes of the regular stuff, the locked-up expensive stuff, and the hidden expensive stuff. That chest had magical protections on it– nothing huge, mind you, but enough to steer away your average unicorn. That brings us to the ones actually responsible…
“The witnesses say that they were stopped by a squad of Royal Guards. Routine inspection for domestic goods, they called it. The Royal Guards had all six ponies and one changeling present lined up as they ‘inspected’ the wagon. Poor bastards didn’t stand a chance…”
“They took the changeling,” I said.
“Whitefly,” Katydid said coldly. “Loyal and a bit of a comedian, I’m told. The ponies all received broken bones and burnt fur from the imposters’ spells, but they were far less gentle towards Whitefly. It seems that she survived, but they took her…”
Cadance approached us with a grim look on her face.
“In a year, they’ll all be recovered,” she said. “But none of them know anything about the missing changeling or who did this.”
“It’s Division-P,” Lace said. “It has to be.”
“Clear as day,” I agreed. “They have Royal Guard defectors and loyalists in their ranks. The stolen goods are something we can survive without worry, but Whitefly? This cannot stand. What are our leads?”
Lace snarled, “The bastards were clean and quick. No records of any patrol in this region. No missing armor or M.I.A. Royal Guards that we can tell at a glance. The ponies were all knocked out quickly, meaning they didn’t see what exactly happened to Whitefly or where the Division-P bastards went.”
“We have nothing?” I asked.
“We have nothing,” Lace spat.
Cadance nodded her head towards the ruined sky chariot, “No evidence left behind?”
I sighed, “If this were some sort of cheesy adventure novel or L.A. Noir detective film, the perps would have left some glaring obvious clue in the wreck. Something like a seal that points us to the city which they are hiding out in.”
Cadance grimaced, “But we don’t live in one of Spike’s comics. No clues, then… I’ll handle the investigation with the local guard units and any nearby Royal Guard divisions. You two investigate things on your end.”
“I’ll continue following up on the leads I already have,” Lace added. “Not that there’s many…”
I glanced at the injured ponies, distracted by the medical professionals tending to them, “I’ll check through the Fifth Hive’s companies and employed ponies, see if I can find any leaks.”
‘Or, more likely, find someone else to do the investigating.’
“We should clean all this up before more ponies hear about it,” Cadance declared.
“No,” I countermanded. “Let’s bring the news crews here.”
“But that could start a panic,” Cadance said. “If ponies hear that Royal Guards are being impersonated, it could shake faith in the Crown…”
“It will make them fear Division-P– and put a spotlight on their actions,” I countered. “The last thing we should be doing is sweeping their dirty work under the rug. Yes, ponies will question their local guard units and Royal Guard stations, but why shouldn’t they? Division-P is infiltrating those.”
Cadance let out a long sigh, “... I don’t know. I see the merit in your idea, but it goes against what Auntie Celestia has taught me so far. Let’s put it before the older Princesses before we bring the public here. Right now, we have the time to decide the best course of action, so let’s use that time.”
“Agreed,” Lace agreed. “Let’s go crack some skulls!”
“Or, you know, arrest them,” Cadance ruined the fun.
Celestia..If he told you something in confidence and you blabbed to someone else, there’d be no point in apologizing, he’d never trust you again.
As for Division-P, by all means catch them and arrest them. They don’t necessarily have to be conscious though, especially if they resisted arrest which they would….
Hmmm. Nice but not fully nice. Like.... 68% nice. Cause I smell fishy behavior
Really looking forward for Phasma or Lacewing to get there hooves on some Division P agents.
Did you know the outer layer of a hoove can be broken off and heal up over a looong time?
Just saying...
The good thing about this desaster is that Division P are not officially terrorists that attack ponies indiscriminately.
Put head bounty in them and eventually a good Headhunter or three will catch one for... Questioning
Rainbowdash is quite selfish. That is literally a question of National security and could even be important about the survivel of pony kind...
Loyalty to one self is still Loyalty i guess...
One way to make Divison P stolen uniforms obsolete is to change the design and spell work on them.
They don't even have to be drastic.
Changelings will be more on guard now.
I would suggest a team of two or three Changelings to cover one another.
Maiming Division P members would be more than acceptable in my eyes.
Ponies have 4 legs, a well aimed shot to a joint will do well enough.
It's hard to hide when one can bearly move and missing medical ensurance has killed many organisation's...
Luna has quite a lot of snuggeling to do.
Phasma and Luna... Can they even have children?
I doubt Luna can lay eggs...
In my concept of a crossover of MLP and Jade Empire, I thought that the elements would match up to the different styles.
Applejack: Legendary Strike - a strong style mostly using kicks, much as Applejack does
Rainbow Dash: Thousand Cuts - a style that uses multiple small strikes in rapid succession. I think it fits.
Rarity: Leaping Tiger - a style of deadly grace. Fitting for one of those who appreciate the arts and can still throw down when it counts. Sounds familiar?
Fluttershy: Heavenly Wave - a style that slows the target, but does no physical harm unless you put Chi into it.
Twilight: Stone Immortal - an arcane style that fits those who have an understanding of their place in the world.
Pinkie Pie: Arguably Drunken Master. I'm sure you can guess why. And possibly with the improvised styles/weapons.
So... Chaotic Good with a HEAVY slant toward True Neutral. But as the saying goes, sometimes it takes a monster to fight a monster.
Is she wrong?
11509802
This is Phasma we're talking about, he's becoming the resident Changeling Doormat king. He keeps it up and he'll be the ponies bitch, oh wait...
Catalyst for next steps, here we come!
11510175
"I hate it when my stories has moral dilemmas were the main character is sometimes in the wrong"
A wise dragon once said that eh? I wonder who this very wise dragon could be! Is it perhaps Partysnax?
Still waiting for Pinkie to confront Applejack.
And Phas has the right idea. Put it in the spotlight, highlight the abduction and injuries, a fine touch of paranoia in the civilian populace will help this situation more than hiding it from them.
11509802
To be fair, Phasma did spring this onto them without warning. He didn't ask if they could keep it confiendential, he just dumped a load of emotional distress onto their front step. Informing Luna is... a debatable move, with good reasons for and good reasons against doing that.
11510215
Has nothing to do with the moral dilemma and more to do with the fact he's letting ponies dictate what happens with internal Changeling affairs that they weren't even there for or even had a stake in.
I get that Phasma is essentially a new monarch and ally of much older nation and hooked up with one of their princesses and they feel they need to tutor him, but that does not give them the right to just go ahead and overrule him on decisions that they had no stake in. And he should not have let them have a say anyway. Their not of the Hive.
confused bug is confused. need more cuddles and love. most likely more love
11510414
What internal decisions are being overridden?
11510668
The issue with Tarsus for one. No one outside the Hive should have a say on what happens, yet seems everyone BUT the Hive is getting to decide on how things happen.
There's also the dozens of other minor decisions and choices Phasma has made that's being consistently second guessed and degraded by ponies, such as Cadence and the Six getting all hypocritical and judgemental on him and he just takes it all without even fighting back.
For a drone watching this go down from the outside, it'd would seem like the ponies were now the ones in charge of all the real decision making and Phasma was simply a puppet king too infatuated with Luna to stand up to all the "bullying" and unable to go back to being the leader they need.
I think what Phasma is having a problem with right now is empathy fatigue. Living as a human we're bombarded everyday with bad things and eventually we just get exhausted.
Our empathy isn't gone per say, but it's been spent and it makes it hard to care when people are suffering. It's not that he doesn't care, but that he has spent all his empathy. What he, and many people don't realize is empathy isn't infinite.
This can be amplified by traumatic, and stressful events. Which Phas has gone through plenty. With time he will begin to care again, as he is seeking therapy and has a wonderful supportive circle.
Also he does care about his changelings, so he may not care about others, but he definitely cares about his people at the least which does show he cares. Either way I look forward to seeing him hopefully slowly realizing this fact or something like this.
For anyone curious about empathy fatigue, you can use this article to read up on it! There are probably other articles as well you can access if this is not sufficient.
11510672
It seems some people got so overprotective that it blinded them on bigger picture. If out of hundreds decisions hive got to follow a couple of instructions from outside - with reason and justification - it doesn't mean that "everyone BUT the Hive is getting to decide on how things happen".
Doctor who reference. Season 8 episode 2. Just rewatched it last week for the 20th probably time.
True. I woudnt bring the news if it was an isolated event because that would draw intention to the action and inspire other single actors but with an organized group it would destroy ability to gain support. Ignorance is often their ally, where as is not the case with isolated individual. Some will actually do it specifically for the attention it would gain, and it would show otherwise unable individuals wha could be done to imitate it
Good to see Phas making some progress, though I agree with his emotional responses he is letting it effect his responsibilities too much.
Honestly I think that is similar to what Celestia is starting to go through, she became the ruler, neither have drawn a line between themselves and who they should be for their people.
Also I'm left wondering why Div-P took the alcohol, it would take more ponies and probably a full carriage to transport it all, along with an above average unicorn to just get at half of the expensive stuff, you would think their main goal was the changeling capture. If it was just resource denial why not just burn it?
11512763
Possibly to taint it or something. If they get it into the market it could turn people off from the run maybe hurting the Changeling's profits. Or perhaps molotov cocktails.
Man there's all these people having deep discussion on the consequences of phasmas actions and decisions, and here I am just to say this,♥️ bang suprise positivity. Hope you are doing all good doing whatever it is you are /were/ will be doing. Writing positive comments for all my favourite horsey story tellers. Stay awsome dude
11516878
Thank you, I hope you've been enjoying the story so far!
11516878
Honestly, it is interesting to see how people dissect his character. Would you like some popcorn to go with it?
Flushing out P may be a bit of an issue. They can’t just wait around for P to leave evidence. They should press Daring harder for answers and maybe Sweetie Drops, and set up some Trojan deliveries to ambush the ambushers.
It does seem rather odd that they bothered to take the alcohol shipment if their primary goal it to grab changelings--unless they are also aiming to impact the Fifth Hive in the pocketbook.
I like the concept of making a Q-wagon--instead of a wagon full of booze, they'll get a wagon full of Equestrian Guard and changeling soldiers. Much like in WWII where the British built a slew of what looked like unarmed transports that had shitloads of hidden guns ready to pop out and blast any German subs or ships attacking the convoy.
Additional tactics could employ a large security force shadowing behind the shipments to catch Division-P or any other robbers in the act of trying to pilfer the shipments.
We know what they did to Lacewing with limitless ressources and time. Without both i think every prisoners of 'Division P' are dead creature walking.
Poor Whitefly.
11613639
Selling the booze themself would aid their terror organization, they have to feed and armor their troops after all.
Unlike gavourment black ops units, they have to financially support themself after all.
Unless they have monetary suppoters somewhere else.
11556102
Most likely a double agent in Division P, until the time is right it is better to let the Agent do his best to climb the ranks.
One do not getba decapitation strike easily after all.
11522714
Don't forget the Softdrinks!
R.I.P Changeling, we know how little they care for Changeling prisoners.
11613639
Yes, but don't forget they are declared a terrorist group. They have to finance themself somehow.
Welling booze is a very lucrative way to keep everything going.
Ponies need food,water, salary etc etc. That isn't cheap at all and I guess the royals cut of the defectors from their public funding.