//------------------------------// // 34- Iustitia // Story: Changing Expectations // by KKSlider //------------------------------// “Here in death, remember our strength!” I dropped God-Splitter out of shock and my eyes darted around the training room. Katydid stopped the lesson and trotted over to me, his hooffalls echoing through the empty room. There was no one here besides me and Katydid. And Katydid definitely could not speak through the Weave. “Everything alright, Phasma?” “You didn't hear that?” “Hear what?” “Someone just spoke through the Weave. It… sounded female.” “Queen Chrysalis is talking through the Weave? And you can hear her from so far away?” “Maybe? It sounded like she was saying a motto or rallying call or something.” “What was it?” “Here in death, remember our strength. Familiar?” He shook his head, “Better just ask Queen Chrysalis.” ‘I’d prefer not to. Last time I talked to her she gave me an ominous threat and I’d rather not stir the pot at the moment with strange questions she won’t answer.’ “At any rate, that’s enough for today Phasma.” “You sure Katydid? We barely did anything with the disguises.” We were finally just getting to integrating transformation to combat. The very slow pace my lessons crawled at due to my own inability to stop being shit meant that only now did we use one of the most versatile tools in our arsenal. “You know that it won’t be used extensively in the invasion.” It wasn’t any good against unicorns, so its use during the invasion would be severely limited. You might turn into a giant enemy crab, but the unicorn you’re facing can just pick you up with his magic and flip you onto your back. Or puncture your shell with sharpened will spells. Or in case your legs in mud or stone. There are plenty of ways to disable a non-magic combatant. Point is against unicorns it’s as powerful as a wet paper bag. Unless you have changelings covering you with spells, but at that point unless you are extremely skilled at transforming and have a skilled casting team at your back, it’s simply more energy efficient as well as tactically sound to be casting spells too. Against pegasi, changelings already have wings, so casting spells while flying already puts us at an advantage that pegasi don’t ever train to counter. It is only against earth ponies that transformation magic becomes useful. Similar rules for the rest of the species, from yaks to griffons. Then, there were also the consequences of transforming while injured. I rolled my right shoulder. The aching pain when it got hit by a blunt force spell was intensified when I tried to transform into a tiger to claw through Katydid’s anti-magic shield. Disguising changes your body up to a certain depth from the surface of your chitin, but magic can only account for so much. Injuries and imperfections make changing your body more difficult, and pre-existing damage is only exacerbated by transforming. The entire process also uses more magic if you want to create something that’s not there, like claws, extra limbs, extra size, and so on. Not that creating extra limbs and eyes is a good idea. It’s practically a wasted effort since changelings can’t mess with neural pathways within the body, meaning the only way to get functionality out of extra limbs is to duplicate nerves and ‘pair’ them with existing ones. That’s the culmination of many in-depth biology lessons that Praetorians and Infiltrators have to take. I had a crash course, with my human knowledge being the only reason why I have a chance at pulling off those complexities. “Another lesson wasted. Apparently all I’m good for is planning to hurt others, not actually carrying through with it.” “You did well enough Phasma, but maintaining enough concentration to transform through extreme pain is a skill that takes a long time to learn, far longer than what we have. No, you’ll be sticking to combat spells, along with most other changelings.” ‘Praetorians won’t be. One thing the changelings did well over the centuries, I suppose.’ Those guys actually did use transformation spells in combat. Sparingly, but still used them all the same. The door closest to us slammed open and Pharynx stomped up to me. ‘Not often I see him without his armor. Oh, he does not look like he’s in a good mood. Instead of his usually grumpy self, he’s grumpy and angry.’ “Hello Praeto–” “Shut the fuck up.” I blinked. “Exc–” “I didn’t care what you’re up to, but now you messed up. You better fix your fucking mess!” “Am… I missing something here?” “Thorax was arrested under charges of treason! Treason!” ‘She didn’t. She did. Of course she did. Damn, Chrysalis works fast.’ “Treason?” “What have you been putting him up to, Prince Phasma?!” He asked accusingly while jabbing me with a hoof. “Do you know how hard I’ve been working to keep him safe? How many changelings I’ve spurned to protect him? Now you’ve gone and thrown him to the wolves!” ‘If she thinks harming my closest friend will inspire loyalty… No, there’s something more to this.’ “I’ll get to the bottom of this.” “Damn right you will,” he hissed. “I don’t care if you’re wearing a crown or not, you will regret it if something happens to my brother.” “Thorax trusts me, Pharynx. I can’t ask you to trust me too, but be calm about this. Whatever Chrysalis is up to, I will get Thorax out of this. Take care Katydid, I have to see to this immediately.” “You too, My Prince.” Pharynx glared at me as I passed him. I was heading to the throne room, and drones didn't enter without reason, so he knew he had to stay here. ‘If Thorax was my brother, I’d be pissed too. Actually, he’s probably as close to one as I can get.’ The walk back to the main hive spire was brisk. There were the usual sights of changelings moving aside and bowing as we passed, something I had come accustomed to over the months of walking around the hive. As accustomed as possible, at least. When we arrived at the big ol’ doors in front of Chrysalis’s fancy big chair room, the Praetorians on guard duty pushed the door open, revealing something that made my heart drop and the blood drain from my face. Thorax out of his armor. With gel-binding on his hooves and his muzzle. In front of Chrysalis. ‘They fucking muzzled him?! Breathe, Phasma. Breathe.’ I slowly walked forward. There were many Praetorians in the room, and everyone from Chrysalis on her throne to Thorax in his bindings were all staring at me. ‘Chrysalis really fucking knows how to hit where it hurts. This is what I get for underestimating her.’ When the doors shut behind me with a loud thunk, the flinch I had was not manufactured. This time, I was scared for real. My hooffalls echoed loudly in my ears and I approached the throne. Chamberlain Eucharis had a trained neutral look, but Chrysalis had hints of malice in her eyes. “Prince Phasmatodea.” “Queen Chrysalis.” I didn’t dare turn to look at Thorax, not three hooves away from me. Looking would be a sign of weakness, I knew. ‘If she tries to hurt him– No! Breathe in, breathe out. Losing my calm here will only hurt Thorax.’ “Your… underling. Thorax. He has been found empty love pots underneath his bed, ones that were marked as missing from storage. In addition, we found books. One such book was written by none other than Princess Cadence herself. A memoir of her pony-life, and about her feelings.” That made me glance at Thorax. He was staring at me, eyes wide. ‘Fear.’ His muffled breathing was the only sound he could make, but I knew what wanted to say. ‘Help me. Please.’ I gave him a single, small nod. “That is an act of treason against the hive, Prince Phasmatodea.” I tore my gaze away to meet Chrysalis’s. ‘There’s no empty pots. There’s no books. You simply picked one of my subordinates, one known for treasonous thoughts, and put the blame on them. So what’s your deal, here? You know someone stole love, yet you pin it on a random subordinate of mine?’ At my silence, she continued, “You remember your lessons, I’m sure. Pass judgement on this traitor.” ‘And there it is.’ I looked back at Thorax. He was shaking. ‘The punishment is normally death. Execution. We all know it, so why is she asking me? Does she want me to swing the axe? Kill my own friend? No, no. Think!’ I kept my breathing steady, though I could do nothing about my heartbeat. It was deafening. The throne room was quiet, but I could only assume that. ‘Why? Why is she asking me to pass judgement when it’s obvious what the penalty normally is. What does she gain? She’s clearly clever enough to know this won’t make me loyal, so there’s got to be a spin on this. She knows I won’t kill him.’ Like stepping back and viewing a collage of pieces from afar, everything fell into place. ‘She knows I won’t kill him. If I passed judgement and gave him a less harsh sentence, she would accept it. She would appear merciful. Even if I knew exactly what her moves were, she would still come off as willing to bend the rules for me. After all, she’s willing to accept that I have a weakness, one very exploitable. It also serves as a reminder to stay in line. Stay very in line.’ ‘But Chrysalis will always be suspicious of me. She will have me watched at all hours, meaning I can’t coordinate with the Lodges. The rebellion will be smothered in its infancy. And after the invasion, she might just do away with me. I will have proven that I’m loyal to my friends first, hive second. If I didn’t...’ I kept a straight face and my heart rate climbed down from its spot near the top of the vaulted ceiling. ‘If I didn’t have that backup plan, I would have no choice but to bend the knee here and acquiesce to her clever plan. Fuck you, Chrysalis. You’ve gotten rusty, and now I’m one step ahead.’ I made my decision. ‘This will go one of two ways. Either you think I am cold and will not change your suspicions of disloyalty, or you think that I truly am utterly loyal to the hive. I’ve got a plan for that first one though. I underestimated you, but not as much as you underestimated me!’ “Exile.” I heard a muted whimper next to me, but I kept my focus on Chrysalis. I didn’t back down. I couldn’t. ‘Take the bait. Thorax means nothing to me compared to the hive. I am loyal. Believe me.’ She crooked an eyebrow. “Exile?” ‘Believe me.’ “That is more generous than the normal punishment, but… I cannot kill my friend.” ‘I understand what you’re doing. I will pay the price for my actions. I am loyal to you.’ She leaned back. Eucharis stared at me with his jaw open, but slowly closed it. Queen Chrysalis nodded, and thus judgement was passed. ‘I understand that you are being generous and being light with punishment against me. I am loyal to the hive, not to my friends.’ “I… Would like to say goodbye to him before he is sent out.” ‘But I’m not heartless. I do care for those beneath me. I will not betray you out of lack of compassion for those close to me. I am loyal to my Mother.’ Chrysalis slowly nodded, and the Praetorians next to Thorax backed off. I leaned in close and gave him a tight hug. Then, I whispered into his ear, covered up by pats on his solid chitin back. I moved my lips as little as possible. “Plateau, one mile north of the hive. Look for the rock shaped like a triangle on the north face.” “I’m sorry it came to this.” "Take what you need and get to Equestria.” “I wish I could turn back time and… I’m sorry. I should have tried harder to stop you.” Thorax nodded slowly and rested his head on my shoulder. ‘Fuck you Chrysalis. Use my friends as bargaining chips for my loyalty? I will kowtow and prove my utter devotion to the cause. But you, you will pay in blood.’ There was a reason exile existed. It was seen as a humane (or whatever the changeling equivalent word is) alternative to execution. In addition, there was always the slimmest of slim chances that the exile survived. But only if Panar judged them worthy of redemption. "May Panar forgive you and deem you worthy of redemption. Goodbye, Thorax." ‘This isn’t enough. There’s still too much room for doubt. I need something more. Something irrefutable.’ “No. May Panar forgive us both.” I broke the hug and faced Chrysalis. “I am his commanding officer, and I failed to report this. I betrayed the hive’s trust. I am as guilty as he is, so I must suffer the same judgement.” “No. From the day you were hatched, you have been loyal to the hive. We have entrusted to you a great deal, and you will prove worthy of that trust by bringing us The Promised Day. You will not redeem yourself through exile, but instead through securing our future.” ‘So if the invasion fails, I am to blame. Not that it matters, if it fails we’re all doomed. “I… am unworthy of a second chance, My Queen.” “Do you doubt my judgement? I deem it so, and thus it is.” I just silently nodded then stared at the floor. ‘I’ll find you once this is all over, Thorax. Once Chrysalis has been subdued. And now I have to work tirelessly to ensure the loyalty of the organizations that I created and empowered.’