//------------------------------// // 105- Laʻa Maomao // Story: Changing Expectations // by KKSlider //------------------------------// I found the captain on the bottom deck, at the bow of the ship. The prow of the ship, that being the carriage suspended from the airship’s balloon, was made of glass. The keel of the ship was a steel beam that stretched up across the far wall, directly opposite from the door. On either side, two massive glass panes offered a view of the mountains below us. The center of the room was taken up by a long table that was covered inch to inch in various papers, diagrams, wayfinding tools, and other miscellanea. The pony I had come looking for was standing beside one of the windows, holding out an extended spyglass in his magical grip. The pony in question was a white unicorn with a light grey slicked back mane, dressed in a fine captain’s coat. When he heard me enter, he turned, smiled, and placed his spyglass on the table. “Good evening. You are the noble I have been contracted to ferry, I presume?” He asked. ‘There’s issue number one with the current cover story. I’m not a noble, guys. That’s a lie that’s easy to disprove, too.’ “Pretty much.” He walked closer, “In that case, it is nice to meet you. I am Captain Silver Sky, owner of this vessel,” he introduced himself. “Nice to meet you too, Captain Silver Sky. I am Al-Capony, owner of Happy Trails Shipping Company.” The pony paused, tasting of mild confusion, “I was under the impression that you were a noble. No offense or anything, that is just what your ponies told me.” “Ah,” I nodded, “well that’s an understandable misconception that they’ve made. I’m not of the noble peerage, with special titles and whats-its from the crown. No sir, I’m a noble of Manehattan; the only thing special about me is the size of my coin purse, and how much I spend and how much I make. You understand how it is, of course.” Silver Sky’s posture visibly laxened, “Of course. New Money and all that, right?” “That’s right. Manehattan is a very different place compared to somewhere like Canterlot.” “Of course, of course. Anyhow, we are on our way back to the Big Apple. We should be there by three tomorrow afternoon.” ‘No mention of payment, which means that Coxa or whoever sent them handled that already.’ “Sounds good. Before I leave you to your work, I do have a question to ask.” “I’m all ears, sir.” “I haven’t seen any crew,” I pointed out. “How does this vessel fly without… tending?” Sky smirked, “I have one crewmate. She’s up at the wheel, making sure we’re on course and that Clear Skies is as right as rain. Crescent Blade is a dependable mare, and together we fulfill all the necessary roles for keeping Clear Skies up in the air, with as little weight as possible. All of that means that Clear Skies here is the fastest girl in the seven skies.” ‘Seven skies? That like the seven seas or something? I’d better not ask, it might be commonplace knowledge that would make me look too strange for asking. Stupid ponies and their alien terminology...’ “The fastest ship? How could you know that?” “Because I’ve never seen a ship that’s faster. Not in my nine years of flying has any ship outran me. If I do find one, I’ll let you know.” I chuckled, “As good of a reason as any to make that claim….. Fastest ship, you say?” “Fastest ship,” Sky repeated. “That’s very interesting. I assume you’re into more than just bringing ponies around Equestria?” “I follow the bits,” the Captain said coyly. “Well then, from one business pony to another, I think there is a lucrative opportunity here.” “Is that so?” Silver Sky asked, straightening some papers on the table, looking only partially interested. “I assume to get you here on such quick notice, my ponies had to pay a substantial sum of money?” It was a rhetorical question, but his answer would interest me nonetheless. In response, he raised an eyebrow, “I charge fair prices. A ship on short notice proceeding at full speed for a day is not a cheap venture. The fact that they hired the fastest one in Equestria only adds to the bill.” “I’d imagine so. And you know what? I don’t even have to look at the invoice to know that it’s an expense we can easily eat,” I bragged. “There isn’t an invoice for this trip. We set sail before I could process the paperwork. Your ponies paid for expediency, after all.” ‘No paper trail. Alright, here we go...’ “You know, the nation is in such a pressed state. With the war taking up so much focus, small things like invoices can get buried under bureaucracy and urgency…” Silver Sky nodded, “The Principality is at war. Even under the best circumstances, proper paperwork can easily be mixed up or otherwise lost.” “No pony would miss the invoice if it should never be filed.” “Nopony would,” Sky agreed, “except for the Equestrian Revenue Bureau. Money doesn’t come from nowhere, Mr. Capony.” “No, it doesn’t. So if instead an invoice for a trip to Vanhoover at one and a quarter times the originally agreed upon price for this trip was to be filed…” “Well, business has been picking up,” he finished. “And it might continue to pick up.” “I follow the bits, just as I always have.” I smiled, “Don’t we all? Do you have outstanding contracts that would keep you busy?” Silver Sky picked up a few pieces of paper, read through them, and then placed them back onto the table. “I have several deliveries to make next week. After that, the contract is up for renewal.” “So if a more lucrative opportunity were to arise, then you would be willing to take it? Say, to transport crates from a warehouse in Manehattan to warehouses and delivery sites across Equestria?” “Clear Skies is more than capable of such jobs, so long as you hold her attention.” “I think I can manage that.” “In that case, perhaps we should discuss this further. Tomorrow, over dinner or lunch? I would like to work out the fine details of such an arrangement with you.” “Sounds good. One more thing, why are you down here and not behind the wheel or something?” “Same reason why I could choose the room with the best view as my workroom. Flying in a straight line is easy. In fact, the airship does most of the small corrections itself. It’s the landing, taking off, maintenance, complicated maneuvers, and so on that require years of practice to learn.” ‘Years?! Eh, maybe I won’t buy an airship in that case.’ Since I had gone back to sleep hours early, Luna was not asleep. I moaned and groaned over her absence, but found someone else to be asleep. Someone I wanted to talk to. Cadence was sitting in front of an easel, looking like a giant on the small stool she rested her flanks on. Her glossy pink coat was marred with splotches of red, blue, and yellow paint. She was holding a large paintbrush with her right wing, slowly moving it around on the painting she was working on. Only, the easel held a mirror and not a canvas. Where the tip of the paintbrush met the mirror– or more specifically, her reflection in the mirror, her coat became more and more covered in paint. “Uh…. Okay, I’ll admit it. I’ve nothing… Something something postmodern expressionism? Nevermind, Cadence, this is just weird.” My sudden appearance startled her, causing her to drop the brush and turn around, which in turn caused her to fall off the tiny wooden stool. “Agh! What?!” “Good evening Cadence.” “Phasma? Why are you in the P– oh I’m asleep, aren’t I?” “Yep,” I said while offering a hoof to help her up. She took it and I pulled her up to all fours. “Thanks. I wasn’t planning on taking a nap, but here I am…” “Fell asleep at work or something?” “Mhmm,” she nodded. “I was reading a casefile and I must have dozed off.” “Working late nights, too?” Cadence glanced at her reflection in the mirror and grimaced at the sight, “I am, yes. This whole Division-P thing is… Auntie Celestia never said I would be doing anything like this when she stapled a horn to my head, you know. I was under the impression I would be helping ponies and providing guidance, and begrudgingly lending a hoof to Auntie when she needed me. These piles of paperwork, illegal operations, and outright nastiness is… is… I hate it, Phasma. I don’t think I could ever get used to it. I don’t think I want to get used to it, either. But I am doing it. I won't let this all happen under my watch.” She clenched her eyes shut, breathed out hard, and the paint vanished from her coat in an instant. When she opened her eyes back up, Cadence relaxed a bit. “It’ll all be worth it in the end, won’t it, Phasma?” “It will, Cadence. But before things get better, they might get a little worse.” She groaned, “Celestia, what now?” “I need you to censor a report that will come up. A Division-P agent learned my identity.” “You know, for the King of a species that has hidden from ponies’ sight for thousands of years, I don’t think you’re very good at this whole staying hidden thing.” I rolled my eyes and tried not to laugh, “Hey, it was a good thing. She’s going to try to not report me for as long as possible, but I don’t trust Division-P enough to not get the information out of her in some way. I know from experience that they can be quite… persistent.” Cadence’s face darkened, “That they can. Wait a moment, how do you know her personally?” “An agent was sent to investigate me a while back. I took care of that situation though.” The Princess facehoofed, “Please don’t tell me that I was reading a report on something you did. A mare’s memory was found to be tampered with. Phasma? Tell me you’re not messing around with mind magic. That’s forbidden, you know!” “She had a hostage. Besides, forbidden to whom? I’ll do what it takes to survive, even if that means breaking your laws.” “Our laws– oh you dense brute! Do you have any idea of what you did?” I shrugged, “I ordered her to forget that I existed.” “You ord– this just gets worse and worse! Hasn’t anypony taught you how damaging messing with the mind is?! It’s bad news, Phasma! You might have permanently hurt this poor mare!” “No,” I glared, “no pony told me. No changeling, either. They were all too busy training me to zap things until they stopped moving.” Cadence groaned and shook her head. “You… You’re smart, Phasma. I know you are. Am I to believe that you honestly thought that doing magic like that wouldn’t have permanent consequences?” “I didn’t have the luxury to contemplate long term consequences, Cadence. My life was at risk.” “That’s what separates a Prince and Princess from everypony else. Even when things are bad, we never stop trying to be good. The right path is rarely the easy one.” I snorted softly and scuffed the ground with a hoof, “Those are nice words. Reality works a bit differently, though. Sometimes we have to do things that aren’t all nice in order to make sure that the right people survive till tomorrow.” “Everypony can survive till tomorrow, Phasma. You just don’t want to see a path that isn’t through violence. You hurt that mare. Even if it's just a little bit, it’s something that she will live with for the rest of her life.” I sneered, “I sent people to their deaths, Cadence. Do you think you can guilt trip me with the wellbeing of my enemies? If she reported my survival to Daybreaker, I can guarantee that the changelings that have found me since the encounter would be dead now if Daybreaker learned the truth.” “A lot of good your cruel efforts did you. Daybreaker knows something is up, and she has begun to suspect that you are alive.” “What?!” Cadence shook her head slowly in disapproval, “Mind magic is not something any unicorn can accomplish. The list of ponies who can is a short. If you don’t count the alicorns, it's even shorter. Take into account that it was a changeling-hunting organization that got targeted, and then two plus two equals four. Either Queen Chrysalis has suddenly escaped the encirclement in the Badlands, or the missing-in-action Prince isn’t quite as dead as everypony thinks.” I hissed in frustration and started pacing. “So to sum it up; you hurt a pony badly, tried to get away, and only stalled the inevitable. You know, if you just tried talking to ponies, they might listen.” “I know, I know. Though it took some time, I did manage to convince the agent who learned of me that I wasn’t a bad guy. Took some convincing, though. Took a lot. I didn’t exactly have the time nor resources at the time when this first unicorn found me out, though.” Cadence looked me over for a moment before sighing, “At least you’re making progress. But I want your word that you won’t use mind magic anymore.” “Once I’m no longer struggling to survive another day, then sure, I’ll make that concession.” “Don’t be so dramatic, Phasma. Daybreaker thinks you might be alive, but she has no idea where or how to find you. You’re not struggling to survive another day, especially with Auntie Luna working on saving Celestia, and myself starting to gum up the works of Division-P.” “There’s more going on than just that, Princess. A lot more.” “What could possibly warrant such horrible actions from you? What could possibly justify the hurt you refuse to stop inflicting?” ‘Do I tell her? If she’s already stressed with Division-P, then the knowledge about the whole Nightmare situation might make her mental state worse.... Yes, I should. She’s a grown adult. There’s no need for me to baby her.’ “It may be an alicorn’s duty to stay good, or whatever that means in your moral code, but it’s a changeling royal’s duty to ensure the survival and future prosperity of the race. For the past I don’t know how many thousands of years, that’s a duty that we’ve all been failing.” Cadence interrupted my monologue, “That’s not your fault. You broke this downward spiral and started trusting us and helping out your changelings. That’s a huge leap forward.” “But it’s not enough. Not nearly. There’s a storm on the horizon, Cadence. One we’ve been running from longer than anyone can remember.” “What are you talking about?” She asked slowly. “Nightmares. Everything circles back to them. The war, the possession, the starvation…” “The monsters that possessed the Princesses, and tried to possess you?” “Yeah. Them. They’ve been hunting changelings for so long, Cadence. So long. Just a few days ago, I was in an ancient dead changeling city. Dead for two thousand years or so. Only, it wasn’t so dead. They were waiting. Waiting for me. I may have put something in motion that cannot be stopped. They are coming.” I stared at her in the eyes, “We need to wrap up this war between our species. You don’t want to know what happens if they make their return and we’re still at each other’s throats.” Cadence took a step towards me but I immediately stepped back. “Phasma–” “Just focus on Division-P, Cadence. There’ll be more talk about this than any of us can stomach in the future. For now, that’s the best we can do. I’ll keep investigating them and find out what I can, since I’m sitting on the sidelines for this mess in Equestria.” “... You’re like the harbinger of bad news, you know that...? How are you doing, Phasma? Are you okay?” “I’m overdue for a vacation.” She chuckled, “Ha! Aren’t we all. Just stay strong, okay? You’re capable of doing good. I believe in you.” I shuffled on my hooves uncomfortably, “Uh. Thanks. I’ll… try not to hurt anyone else outside of self-defense. Unless they’re a Nightmare, in which case I’m gonna kill them.” Cadence opened her mouth to say something but slowly closed it. “I won't claim to be an expert in that matter. Point in case, Auntie Luna implied she hunts them down, too. I guess they are a pest– or worse, if what you're saying is true– and need to be removed for everypony's safety… have you spoken with Luna about all this?” “A little bit, but our conversation was interrupted. I was hoping to speak with her tonight, but I think I will be awake by the time she’s asleep and in the Dreamscape.” Cadence didn’t have anything more to say, so instead she rolled the giant paintbrush on the ground using one of her hooves. “I saved a life,” I broke the small silence. Cadence visibly brightened, “You did? Altruistically?” “More or less. It was the agent who was going to report to the Division. So I guess I would gain more if she died, but…” “But you saved her instead,” Cadence said, grinning. “That’s good. You did good.” “Thanks mom,” I rolled my eyes, “I’m sure you’re proud that I didn’t let someone die today.” “Going from being a brutal Warlord to a hero is not something anypony should ever diminish, Phasma. Even if such lengths are expected of normally adjusted ponies– people, you are not well adjusted. Not yet. But you are making progress, and for that I am happy and proud. You should mention this to Luna, you know. She often wonders about just what you’re up to without her. She doesn’t say as much to me, but I know enough from watching her sister to know what’s going on in their heads when they stare off into space.” ‘Uh oh. How am I going to let her know that I killed someone, then? I mean, it was pretty much in self-defense, but considering I could have just picked up Count Double Dealings and just suspended him in the air, that might not fly.’ “So, you want to tell me the full story of what happened?” Cadence asked me. “I’ve got nothing better to do. Conjure up some chairs, we’ll be here for a bit. I suppose you and Luna will want to hear this from me first, before you read it in Daring Do's report.” "Daring Do? Like, the fictional book character? That Daring Do?" "No, the other Daring Do, the one that's also an explorer, archeologist, and adventurer. Yes, her."