//------------------------------// // 16- Cerberus // Story: Approaching Apotheosis // by KKSlider //------------------------------// 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.