//------------------------------// // 109- Fahrenheit 451 // Story: Changing Expectations // by KKSlider //------------------------------// Cadence rose from her seat at the head of a dinner table that stretched far past the horizon. “Hello Phasma, I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon. Welcome to, uh… a very long dining room? Why are all my dreams so weird?” “Luna and I avoid you like the plague when you’re having more personal dreams. Besides, better dreams than Nightmares, Cadence. Yes, the pun is intended. I didn’t come here just to chat, however. Time’s up. I need to know about the bomb collars, and I need to know now. Whether they are a fake or not, and if they are real, a way to safely deactivate and remove them.” “I haven’t found anything…. which actually means a lot.” I raised an eyebrow, so Cadence continued, “Something like… bomb collars… would take a lot of resources to make, right? Since I’ve been more or less locked out of the most important files that the Division keeps, I had to look around their secrets to feel out their shape. The collars seem magical, but there are no records suggesting that they are explosive. No large purchases of volatile materials, no building of safe storage areas, no training to handle explosives, no direct lines of cooperation with the E.U.P. to suggest any sort of militarized tactics or equipment, and so on. “So it makes sense that these collars are not explosive. From what I can tell, there’s a lot of material being purchased that would go into enchanted and anti-magical equipment. And these are predominantly unicorns being employed, so enchanting skills would be comparatively cheap, in large quantities, and highly valued within the Division, what with the tribalism and all.” “That’s good. Thank you, Cadence. Do you have anything more on the collars?” Cadence frowned, “No, sorry.” I nodded, “Then what you have is enough. Have you discovered anything about the treatment of their captured changelings?” “Nothing on that. They keep their prisoners locked up in a secure location in Canterlot. Their treatment is a closely guarded secret, as it’s not even public knowledge that changeling prisoners are even being kept inside Canterlot.” “They’re not prisoners,” I nearly hissed, “not anymore. The way the changelings are being treated, they are slaves. Slaves, Cadence.” She cringed at my wording, but offered no protest. “I have been patient up till now, but they are forcing my hoof.” “What? What’s happened? What are you going to do?” “I had hoped to just let you deal with Division-P. If they stayed a boogeyman that never actually hurt the Fifth Hive, I would have been happy. But they are finally moving against us. Three delivery teams were foalnapped yesterday. We don’t know how Division-P knows about our movements, but they do. So before they can do any more damage, we’re taking the fight to them.” “And just what would that entail?” Cadence asked skeptically. “Non-lethal attacks if possible, freeing their enslaved captives at all costs, and kicking their plots from this side of the continent to the other. I tried to sit quietly and bide our time until Celestia is returned and the Division dismantled, but it looks like that’s no longer an option.” Cadence groaned and slowly pushed her porcelain plate to the edge of the table. “I swear, it’s like everypony is trying to get underneath my skin and make things worse. I lend a hoof to Auntie Luna and help your... recovery and now a group of ponies come marching along just to ruin everything!” Cadence yelled as she pushed the plate off the table. It fell to the ground behind the table and out of view. Cadence watched it fall, and I heard it shatter onto the ground. She stared at the obscured ground for a few moments. “Things are going to get worse before they get better, aren’t they? That was fun though, maybe I should try some stress relieving practices in real life...” “I’d hardly say bashing a few skulls together is worse, but yes, things are going to definitely get more complicated and active.” “What am I supposed to say, Phasma? These brutes clearly make it hard to sympathize with them. Just… no hurting them permanently, and no hurting anypony else. No collateral. Ugh, I can’t believe I even know that word.” I shrugged, “I want it handled as cleanly as possible, too. Learned that lesson the hard way. You have no id– nevermind.” But Cadence had straightened up and bore a hard stare into me, “What do you mean, you learned that lesson the hard way?’ I know you’re not talking about the Invasion of Equestria, not with the way you shut up afterwards. What did you do?” I quickly looked around the room before gazing down at my bare fetlock, “Oh heavens, look at the time! I really need to get going!” “Phasma! If you ever want my help or friendship then you will sit down and tell me what the Tartarus you did!” I lifted a hoof in a ‘stop’ gesture, “It’s okay, Luna knows all about it. The important bits, at least. There’ll be more discussion of it in the future, so there’s no need to talk about–” “SIT! DOWN!” Groaning and cursing, I pulled a chair out and sat down. Thankfully, the dream was based on Canterlot’s dining room or whatever, so the chair was at least sized up enough for an alicorn or royal. “Now!” Cadence growled, the anger slowly leaving her voice, “I can clearly tell you did something bad. When?” ‘How long ago did I murder that bastard? It was before the Third Hive, but how many days before?’ “... Like two weeks ago? Less? It’s hard to keep track of the days sometimes.” “Okay! Two weeks ago! What did you do?” I cleared my throat and rubbed my mouth with the back of a hoof, “.... What?” “Oh no, you are not stalling for time. You will tell me what you did by the time this dream ends, or I swear I will start feeding information to Division-P!” “You wouldn’t!” ‘She wouldn’t! There’s no way! Not when knowing what they did!’ She grunted, “Maybe not, but I can make your life difficult in other ways. Phasma, how am I to believe that you want to be better when you’re hiding things from me?” “I told Luna! She said we’d discuss it later!” “We’re discussing it now, Phasma! What did you do!” I sighed, “Okay, fine. I may have murdered a noble.” “You…..” “It was in self-defense! He ordered his hench...mares? To mutilate me in the middle of a restaurant. He told his henchmares to cut off one of my legs.” This actually stunned Cadence, “He… wha…. what was his name?” “Count Double Dealings.” “That’s not any Count I know the name of.” She scrunched her eyes closed and tapped her head with her hooves, “Okay, okay. So a noble pony ordered you to be mutilated. Why?” “I tried to sell him booze. Apparently, he didn’t want competition.” “And?” “And what?” “Why else did he order this… act?” “I dunno. He wanted to make an example out of me, I guess.” “So this noble, who would have been in Celestia’ court frequently, just straight up ordered you to be ripped apart?” “Yes. I wasn’t too keen on the idea, as I already have had the experience of having a leg ripped off. It’s not fun, Cadence. In fact, you might say it’s one of the most painful experiences you could possibly have in your life. I may have not been conscious for the act, but your leg doesn’t stop being gone when you wake up, nor does the pain go away.” Cadence was visibly trying to keep calm. Frequently, she muttered things to herself that I couldn’t hear. ‘She can’t relate. Pony princess, sitting up in a castle, what does she know? The worst she has seen of this world is the fact that the Captain of the Guard saw me hurt a foal. As if that matters!’ “Okay… so you were afraid, your PTSD was triggered, and you stopped him from hurting you. Why did you kill him? Couldn’t you have zapped him and thrown him into one of your cocoons?” “Pods, and yes…. But…” ‘He just made me so fucking angry!’ I yelled in my head. “But what, Phasma?” Cadence pressed. “I... “ ‘He deserved it! He betrayed me! He tried to–’ Seeing my hesitation, Cadence doubled down, “What could he possibly have done that made you so afraid that you resorted to murder before anything else?!” “He tried to kill me!” I screamed into her face. Blinking, I realized that I had slammed onto the table and thrown all of its contents into the air. I lifted my hooves and brought them close to my chest. The action made me realize just how much I was shaking. Cadence had jumped back against her chair at my outburst, but now leaned towards me. She didn’t speak, clearly wanting me to continue. “You don’t understand, Cadence. What was the worst thing you’ve seen? What was the most afraid you’ve been? What have you even lost? I– I can’t even remember the bastard’s face. Just a blur of shapes and color. I can’t remember the man who took everything from me. Just the ones who try to do it again. I did everything this pony asked me to do. I tried to be calm. I tried to handle it bloodlessly. But he just betrayed me and– and I… I just wanted him dead. I’m trying to be good, Cadence. I am. But he just…” I trailed off. “When it was over, it was just like the last time this happened.” I looked down at my hooves. In my mind’s eye, I saw them covered in Chamberlain Eucharis’s blood. ‘The man with the gun. Chrysalis. Eucharis. Double Dealings. It always ends with death, doesn’t it? The only thing that has changed is that I’m strong enough to make sure that it’s not my death.’ “He shot me, Cadence,” I whispered. “Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile.” Cadence scooted her chair close and extended one of her small wings to wrap around my back. Chrysalis’s unbidden voice rang loudly in my mind, 'You’ll see the truth. I will make this right, even if I have to tear you down and rebuild you from the pieces.’ I recoiled as if struck. With a snarl, I pushed away from the table, throwing my chair backwards and clattering onto the ground. Cadence quickly retracted her wing. “Better them than me! This world wants to throw everything at me, from tyrants to nightmares? Go ahead! I’ll take what I can, and give nothing back! I killed Count Double Dealings, and I’ll do it again! Anyone who threatens me, I will show no mercy!” Cadence’s eyes widened and she reached out a hoof, “Phasma, your–” “Judge me all you want, pink pony princess, but I need to secure the safety of my species, which is still very much in doubt! I’ve been ripped apart, possessed, tortured, and murdered! I will not let that happen again! And now, the ones who look to me for safety and guidance have been taken to be tortured and used against their own kind. If I have to decapitate a few zealots to get me the goddamn rest and safety I so desire, then I’ll sharpen my blade and get swinging! Oh I’ll spare them if I can, but I’m not going to promise anything!” “Please Phasma! Just sit down and listen to me!” Cadence pleaded. The sense of authority and anger seen earlier was completely absent from her voice. She was desperate. But I was angry. “Since you couldn’t grind Division-P to a halt all by yourself, I have to take matters into my own hooves. Goodbye Cadence,” I spat as I began to leave the dream. She was saying something as I ripped myself out from her Dreamscape, but I didn’t bother to listen. Cadence raised a hoof to cover her eyes from the unexpected ball of orange fire that materialized around the angry changeling. The brightness dimmed, revealing an empty space where Phasma last stood. “Grrr…. Son of a nutcracker!” Cadence cursed as she kicked her own chair back. She waved her hooves in the air, imagining throttling the now missing changeling. ‘He’s gone! Like a stupid stallion, he couldn’t just wait a single moment to listen! He just has to run off and swing his sword around!’ Cadence’s frustration quickly melted away to fear. Cadence slumped down to the floor, idly running a hoof through the carpet’s fabric. She felt a little guilty for blaming him so quickly, in fact. ‘Oh Celestia, he needs help, and he needs it soon. Professional help. It’s not fair for me to judge him when he’s so sick. Normal ponies’ eyes don’t glow green, for Luna’s sake! This might be related to that Nightmare stuff!’ “I need to talk to Luna,” Cadence summarized her thoughts out loud. She spent the rest of her dream pacing about, thinking of what to say to the reclusive alicorn. When she awoke in her bed chambers, she quickly pulled herself away from the bed and onto her hooves. She yawned and stretched, but wasted no time in shambling over to the door. Her shamble became a limp, and then a walk, and then finally a graceful canter as she shook off the last bits of sleep. Having a lucid dream meant that the transition was far quicker than normal. The door creaked open, eliciting a stir from her bed behind her. “Honey…?” Her stallion mumbled, still mostly asleep. “Just getting some tea, Muffin. Go back to sleep,” Cadence reassured Shining Armor, before leaving the room and quietly closing the door behind her. The guards on either side of her door saluted as she exited. Deciding to forgo the grace, Cadence trotted down the palace’s long hallways, making her way across the maze of intersections to her destination. Being in the same wing as the other two alicorns had its perks, and Cadence arrived at Luna’s bed chambers in short order. The Night Guards glanced at her briefly, and saluted her arrival. ‘Nothing strange about going to see Auntie Luna, right? I’m not giving anything away… I just had a bad dream! Yes, a bad dream! I saw the Prince– no, best leave that detail out if asked.’ She raised a hoof and knocked three times on the door. Clearing her throat, she swung back and forth on her hooves as she waited. ‘Maybe she’s still asleep.’ Cadence knocked three more times. ‘She’s a heavy sleeper at times, I might need to put a little more effort into knocking.’ She lifted her hoof, and with considerably more effort, knocked three more times. Her third knock met open air when the door was swung open. Luna stood in the doorway, blinking some sleep from her eyes, and not entirely happy. “.... Cadence?” “Auntie Luna! Sorry if I woke you up, I just wanted to speak with you.” “... I am already awake. I have lowered the moon,” Luna mumbled. Cadence glanced down the hall and saw sunlight streaming in from the large windows on one side, the one facing a courtyard. “Ah, of course. May I come in?” Cadence asked. Luna blinked, surprised, but stepped aside to let Cadence in. Unlike Cadence’s chambers, Luna’s possessed a large sitting room. Cadence’s doors just went directly into the bedroom. Luna’s sitting chamber was a large, cozy room, themed in a dark blue and black night. Honestly, the moon motif was too drawn out for Cadence’s taste but she kept quiet out of politeness, and instead sat down on a chair by a fireplace. Then she remembered that she wasn’t invited to sit, and she quickly rose from the seat. Then Cadence remembered that Luna wouldn’t actually mind if she sat, so she sat back down. Luna watched all this with a confused stare. “Luna, I… we need to talk about Phasma.” Luna’s eyes widened and she quickly looked around her own empty room, “Such an act is not wise in the waking world. You know this. What could possibly be cause to warrant such a breach of… secrecy?” “It couldn’t wait for a nightly chat, as I don't know when the next one would be.” Luna sat down across from her, “Whatever happened must really worry you, then. Speak. Please,” she added as an afterthought. “Phasma killed somepony. Recently. A noble, right here in Equestria.” “.... Yes?” “Right, you know. He said that. But, it’s really affecting him. He’s not in a healthy state.” “That much should be obvious.” “Y– his eyes glowed green, Luna! He yelled at me and I swear his eyes flashed green!” Luna scowled, “.... Shit.” “Huh?” Cadence stammered. “Ahem. Apologizes, Phasma’s swears are often much shorter and more fun to use. This is bad news you bring. Not entirely unexpected, but bad news nonetheless.” “What’s happening to him?” Luna looked at the empty fireplace, “He is suffering from lingering, let’s call it taint, left over from his last near-possession by a Nightmare. He’s not being possessed again, though he does seem to be a magnet to those misbegotten vermin, but he will be affected in other ways. His negative emotions may be heightened, and they will make a feedback loop.” “Can you help him before he does something rash, like killing tribalist unicorns for example?” “Killing tribalist– Division-P? Well, if those scum-suckers are the target of his rage, I would say that this is a healthy avenue for him to work out his anger.” “Luna!” Cadence groaned. “You can’t go around killing ponies!” “Why not? From what I’ve heard, they work against Harmony without remorse. Torturing changelings and strapping them with bomb collars, it is unheard of!” ‘Thousand years on the moon after being Equestria’s warlord has not done Luna many favors…’ “Okay Luna… Let’s say we killed everypony who deserved death. That would make Phasma….?” “That does not count. He is different.” “His mother?” “Deserves death.” “But he doesn’t? Hypothetically, that is?” “No! He was simply following orders. He also tried working with Nightmare Moon, and though that sounds counterintuitive to testifying for his virtues, it shows that he did not necessarily want to end pony civilization.” “And you know all of this because…” “He said so.” “When?” “While I was possessed, and during our conversations afterwards.” “Nightmare Moon tried to end all life in the world, right?” “No, merely bring about eternal night.” “Whatever. My point is, would you have learned any of this if we did not forgive you– not that it’s your fault for being possessed! I mean… agh! Phasma tried to conquer Equestria and put everypony in pods, right?” Luna nodded slowly, “So going by your logic, that would make him a very bad guy, right? So that means we should kill him, right?” “He is different.” “Forget it!” Cadence yelled, throwing her hooves into the air. “This doesn’t even… what was my original point? Oh right, Division-P. Evil is a slippery slope, Luna. Justifying small evils will make large evils seem less and less horrible as you go on. This is no small evil, this is the permanent end to lives that can be rehabilitated. Phasma is clearly being hurt by this taint, so it needs to be cured. He also is going to do something evil, so he needs to be stopped. Can you put a halt to…” Cadence trailed off. ‘If nothing is done to Division-P then they will continue targeting changelings, which will only make the situation worse. Can I tell the rightful leader of the changelings to simply stop fighting back and trying to protect his ponies? I will have to do whatever I can to destroy Division-P from within, to save them.’’ “Cadence? Are you alright?” Luna asked, looking a bit worried. “I’m a bit stressed out, okay?! Luna, can you just help Phasma out?” “I shall visit him tonight and attempt to purge the lingering miasma from his mind. This is far more effective when it is done in person, so it will be hard to tell if the treatment will be successful.” “Then can you at least convince him to be as non-lethal as possible? Please?” Luna nodded, “I can do that. There are scant few things he would argue with me on, and this should not be one of them.” “That…. sounds like a lot of trust,” Cadence said, a bit confused. “You saving his life really meant a lot to him, huh?” “Yes. Though it seems being his caretaker will become one of my main responsibilities, judging by how often he runs into Nightmares. Honestly, what does he do to attr– right, the brand in his mind.” “The what now?” “Has he spoken with you about the Third Hive? About Trotsylvania?” Cadence shook her head. Luna glanced at the window. The curtains had been drawn closed, but Luna seemed to ascertain the time of day regardless. “We will be missing breakfast, but I believe you should be made aware of the Nightmares’ current activities, as well as their past ones...”