• Published 18th Oct 2020
  • 30,455 Views, 12,650 Comments

Changing Expectations - KKSlider



What does it mean to be a Changeling? To the former human Prince Phasma, that means doing what you can to survive and thrive in an utterly alien world.

  • ...
76
 12,650
 30,455

PreviousChapters Next
104- Scylla and Charybdis

“You’re leaving?” Daring asked, setting her notebook down.

“I am. I have business to attend. There is much work to be done between now and the end of the war between our kinds, if you can call it that.”

Daring looked me over, opening up her book and writing a few lines down as she did. That was quite the skill, writing so much without looking at her notebook once. I was able to do that with a keyboard, but writing with a pencil? That’s a horse– pony of a different color.

“This won’t be the last time we talk,” I told her.

“No? Are you planning on delving into more ancient ruins?”

“Potentially. Mostly it’s the fact that I might need you as a character witness should I be put on trial by Equestria.”

“Ha! Is that all I am to you, a character witness?”

“No. You’re also an annoyance. A future source of income, as well.”

“I can’t imagine you would willingly be put on trial by the Equestrian Crown, King Phasma.”

“We don’t get everything we want. We all need to be prepared to compromise in life; I may need to trade immunity for something like residing within Equestria’s borders. I doubt the Princesses would be happy with me and my changelings running around, breaking laws with impunity.”

Elder Sanguine nodded, but continued to silently watch our goodbye.

“Oof, I’m glad I’m no politician. That level of forward thinking is beyond me. I’ll stand up for you in front of everypony else on one condition, though.”

“I saved your life, Daring.”

“And I saved yours, we’re even on that. I have some colleagues who will be captivated, completely captivated, by the chance to learn about another sapient species, especially one as enigmatic and reclusive as the changelings. You’re like a foalhood tale come to life, you know? They would really appreciate it if you gave them a chance to do their work, or whatever. What? Don’t look at me for specifics, I study how old bricks are in the dirt. Point is, I have wracked up a few owed favors to a number of friends over the years as a spelunker, and directing you to them is a great way of wiping away the debt, not to mention the advancement of sciences that would come from it.”

I nodded slowly, “I can do that. I imagine that kind of cooperation would basically be a requirement between our species eventually. Give me a way of contacting you, and I’ll see what I can do once the war is over.”

Daring wrote something down on a new piece of paper and tore it out of her journal, hoofing it to me. I took it and looked it over. It was a PO box for an address in Hooferville, Equestria.

“This will do,” I said. I turned to Elder Sanguine and spoke to her, “Thank you for hosting us, Elder Sanguine. I will not forget the effort and loss your people have gone through to help us.”

“I would say think nothing of it, King Phasma, but I require a promise as payment. Two, actually. One, I want you to promise to bring us with you when you root out the Nightmares from this world. We have been training for this all our lives, I think. Two, keep the Night Mistress content. She is not as strong as the mask she puts on, and as her consort, we will be keeping an eye on you. Her Highness deserves more than anypony can give her, but the best we can do is try our best. I am certain your company has already aided her greatly, if her haste to inform us of your arrival says anything about her feelings for you.”

‘I can’t imagine what a thousand years of isolation would do to someone. I would most certainly go insane. Luna… Throw in the fact that her sister is suffering a similar fate, and the sooner I get with her in person, the better. For the both of us. I already can’t wait until tonight to speak with her again, but now that I think about it, didn’t the Nightmare say…?’

“That was the Nightmare speaking to you. Princess Luna was not aware of my predicament.”

Sanguine was taken aback, “That’s not good. Our seers were deceived?”

“Yes, they were. I’ll tell Luna you have been dying for some secret dream messages, though. Just be careful in the future to not take orders from Nightmares.”

“We shall confer with the Mistress on that matter, and seek out her wisdom. Thank you for the warning and awareness, distant King. Our paths will cross again in the future; until then, may the moon guide you.”

“Changelings don’t have any special sayings like that, so I’ll just say don’t die.”

“An admirable goal for all to follow,” Sanguine smirked.

“Are you ready to depart, My King?” Captain Katydid asked.

“I am. ‘Till we meet again, Elder Sanguine. You too, Daring Do.”

“Seeya, chump,” Daring waved.

I rolled my eyes and opened a bottle of love energy that one of Katydid’s privates had fetched for me. I tilted the bottle up and downed the semi-liquid concoction. The diluted ration was improved greatly now that we had more than just water to add to it.

‘Thank Panar for this shit. So damned good… Mmm…. What was I doing?’

“Your Majesty, we’re leaving,” Katydid reminded me after a few moments of awkward silence.

“Ah! That’s what was going on. Thank you, Katydid. We’ll talk more once we’re on the ship.”

Quickly before I forgot, I borrowed Daring Do’s journal and pencil, jotted down the written form of the spell I had used to fight Nightmares, and circled the portion I used in the dragon fire.

With that done, I channeled energy into the Thread of Change, changed my disguise to Al-Capony the pegasus, and took off from the ground. The ponies covered their faces from the upturn of dust and wind as the rest of the changelings and I took off and headed up towards the Clear Skies. Captain Katydid slowly maneuvered around to fly in front of me, in order to guide me to the planned landing spot on the ship’s upper and exposed deck.

We set down and immediately several changelings nearly swarmed me.

“Sir! Are you okay?!” One yelled in my face.

“What happened, sir?!”

“Who were those ponies?”

“What’s a Nightmare?”

“Alright, alright!” I yelled. “Give me some space. I’m fine. I need to speak with Aorta. Where is he?”

A changeling pushed to the front of the gathering, “Right here, sir.”

“Come with me. Captain Katydid, lead the way to a private room where we can talk.”

Katydid countered, “Actually sir, it’s customary to meet with the Captain of the ship once you come aboard…”

“Customs can wait. Someone’s dead and I need to know who. You may tell the Captain that I will dine with him or her tonight, but right now I have business to attend to.”

“As you order, sir,” Katydid bowed his head.

Katydid led the way past the gathered changelings and to a pair of doors at the back of the ship, beneath the raised part where the helm was. He opened the doors and we walked down a dimly lit corridor, taking a staircase down to the lower level. We walked around the center of the ship, which was open on both decks and taken up by crates of cargo below. At the far end of the ship, Katydid opened a door at the end of the hallway. Beyond, a small room with a desk and cot took up the curved front of the ship.

“This is your room for the trip,” Katydid announced and shut the door behind us three, “My King.”

“It will do,” I said as I walked around and took a seat behind the small desk. The other two changelings sat down in chairs across from me after I motioned for them to do so.

“Aorta. Brief me on exactly what happened. The thestrals said they didn’t even have a body to give to us, so I need to know who died, why they were in the ritual chamber, and why you left without trying to evacuate the others.”

Aorta to his credit looked ashamed at the mention of his flight.

“You have to understand Your Majesty, it was important to get out as soon as possible!”

“Why?”

Aorta swallowed, “My King, the Nightmare was spreading its infection through your Weave. Any changeling within it was at risk! That was how I knew the ritual would fail. I warned the ponies when I figured that out, and I told them to evacuate the other changelings. But I didn’t stay to oversee the evacuation myself, it was too dangerous. The longer anyone stayed, the more danger they were in. If we all got corrupted, there would have been no survivors…”

I sighed and rubbed my face with a hoof.

‘He’s got a point. If everyone died, there’s no telling just what information could have been lost. The reinforcements could have come in guns blazing for all we know.’

“Who was it that died, and how did they get infected?”

“That was Web, sir. I… I ordered him to stay with you, sir. I told him he would be relieved, but everything went wrong before I could arrange a replacement. He was in the chamber when it was sealed, but his presence made the seal imperfect. I was too focused with your safety to consider anyling’s presence near you to be a danger, Your Majesty.”

‘That lines up with Elder Sanguine’s story. So Aorta ordered someone to stay with me, and when things started to go bad, Aorta jumped ship without even trying to warn the others. That’s not acceptable. Damn it Aorta, you were doing well up till now!’

“Web,” I murmured.

‘Not the sharpest tool in the shed, but one of the most dependable. No doubt he followed Aorta’s orders to the letter. Even when things started getting dicey, I’m sure he just stuck his head in the sand and stood by my side. And now he’s dead. No one even tried to save him. No one fucking tried.’

I sighed once more, collected my thoughts, and prepared my words.

“I don’t expect anyone to dive head-first into a dying city, in defiance of all logic. I don’t expect anyone to be a miracle worker, everyone makes mistakes sometimes. But I do expect the changelings under my rule to follow orders when appropriate, and to watch the backs of your comrades. Your dereliction of duty put the rest of the team in danger. It got Web killed. However, I understand that circumstances demanded risk and priority of focus. Web’s death was a horrible outcome, and one that might only be predicted in hindsight. On that charge, your actions are excusable.

“However, you left the rest of your team. There is no conceivable notion that they were in any more danger than you at that moment, and your carelessness could have delayed their evacuation long enough to doom them. Aorta, I find you innocent on the account of Web’s death. On the account of dereliction of duty, I have no choice but to find you guilty. In the Fourth Hive, the punishment for dereliction would be severe, as you no doubt know.”

Aorta stiffened. Katydid was almost equally stiffened, and was no doubt wondering if he should even be here.

“This is not the Fourth Hive. I am not Queen Chrysalis. You will not be receiving forty lashes. Instead, I burden you with the Mark of Repentance. You will never hold a leadership position, nor a position of comfort. When you leave this room, you will immediately seek out the other seven from the expedition who still live. You will tell each one what you did. You will apologize, and seek their forgiveness. Until all seven forgive you, you will be marked. Should one die, be it in the line of duty or through natural causes, before they forgive you, then you will live the rest of your days marked. When we arrive at Manehattan, you will arrange to have the Mark crafted yourself. You will display it on your person at all times. It will not be a branding as tradition of the Hives dictates, but it is a Mark nonetheless. You are dismissed.”

Aorta rose from his chair slowly, bowed to me, and backed up out of the small room, never rising from his bow. When he bumped into the closed door, he reached out with his telekinesis, opened it, and closed it behind him after he left.

I did not tell him the consequences of failing to follow my orders. There simply was no need. He wouldn’t break them, not before exhausting all options beforehand. And if he did, he would come to me willingly and explain his second failure.

‘I hope he appreciates my leniency. The Fifth Hive has little room for such painful physical punishments. We have no jail, so we must do something else. A melding of the old with something new, just like the Fifth in its entirety.’

“That was kind of you, My King,” Katydid broke the silence.

“I imagine so.”

“Your mother would have issued a harsher punishment, to make no mention of the verdict.”

“She would have blamed him for Web’s death and given him forty, you mean. I know. The punishment of drones was one lesson she made sure I knew damn well.”

“Yes, My King…. Was it necessary for me to be here for that?”

“No, Captain Katydid– that’s wonderful alliteration. Your presence here didn’t matter for that. All of the Fifth will know what happened eventually. I wanted to talk to you. Last we spoke, you were to be an officer on a distant front of the war. You had no knowledge of what was to happen in Canterlot.”

“So it was planned.”

I drummed a hoof on the desk, “Of sorts.”

Katydid was silent for a moment, “.... Why?”

“She was planning to have me mutilated and imprisoned forever. I was a threat to her, and that was that. So I moved against her. I didn’t include you in the plans because you were too loyal to her.”

“I do my duty, My King. It’s not my place to decide who’s in the right or in the wrong. If she was going to hurt you, then… what am I to say about that? Do about that? If I stay out of the way, I will have committed treason against the victor. If I interfere, I will have committed treason against whomever was in the right, as well as the reigning Queen.”

“A Catch-22,” I agreed.

“My King?”

“Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

“Ah, yes, My King.” He looked around the cramped cabin room, “Um… I am not sure if I should thank you for leaving me out of this. Frankly, I’m not sure how I feel about this at all. When Praetorian Thorax told me about what happened, I… I was simply glad that you were alive, Your Majesty.”

“I had guessed that this was beyond your station, Katydid. You’re here now, though. You’re under my command. That means that in the future, there will be conflict between me and Chrysalis, and you need to know where you stand.”

“Sir?”

“I need you behind me, Captain. If you are going to be the Captain of the Red Right Hoof, then you need to be loyal to me, not Queen Chrysalis.”

“What are you going to do, My King?”

“I’m going to kill her.”

Katydid was stunned, “S–Sir? She’s your mother! You would kill her despite that?”

“You should have seen what she did to her sons and daughters, Katydid. The sight sticks with you like a worm. The image never leaves your head...” I took a deep breath. Slowly, I let it out. “She’s a monster, Katydid. There’s no trusting her. Not after all the things she’s done. Talk with Coxa, he knows what she did. He can tell it to you best. Just make a decision soon. I approve of your appointment to the position of Captain. We could really use someone like you. If you’re not up to the job, then let Coxa or me know.”

“Okay, King Phasma. I’ll do that.”

I smiled, “Thank you for your time, Katydid. Again, it’s nice to see you.”

“You too, My King. Oh, one last thing before I go. The Praetorian that was your shadow, Oestridae I believe. I haven’t seen him. Is he around somewhere?”

I gently scraped the desk with a booted hoof.

“... No.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, My King. I didn’t know.”

I waved at him with a hoof, “Have a good day, Katydid.”

“Good day, My King,” he said as he rose from his stiff, simple wooden chair, bowed to me, then made his exit, shutting the door on the way out.

When he closed the door behind him, I took off Unbroken Radiance’s helmet and held it before me. My reflection in the ancient helm was distorted and hazy. I tried not to think about how relevant that was. Especially not the fact that it wasn’t even my new changeling face, it was Al-Capony’s.

‘I spared Aorta. That’s a good thing, right? I’m not letting someone off the hook for a horrible crime, right? It was just a few mistakes. Web’s death was tragic, but… it wasn’t anyone’s fault, was it?’

I quietly tapped the helmet against the desk as I stared at myself through it.

“... I wish Luna was here. She’d have something stupid to say. Something stupid that was correct for some reason. She’d understand… blah blah blah, something about opening up and not hurting people. Keeping everything to yourself is bad for you; it’ll go straight to your thighs. And then you’ll blow up. Talk to your friends before I have to scrape you off the walls, Phasma.”

I glanced wistfully at the cot at the back of the room. It looked much softer than the chair I was sitting in. As much as I wanted to try to see if Luna was available to talk with right now, there was at least one more thing I had to do before going to bed. Two, if I counted trying to snag another bottle of love rations to eat. One bottle barely took away the hunger pains I had felt from being so thoroughly drained.

I still needed to talk with Clear Sky’s captain.

So, I slowly took off the rest of Unbroken Radiance, piled it neatly beneath the cot, and then set off to find the mysterious pony that was brokered to come across the continent to Vallachia.

‘I just hope this private trip wasn’t too expensive– oh who am I kidding, we’re rich now. With Dealing’s assets and the income from the burgeoning alcohol empire, I could buy a ship or three if needed. So much easier to make money when your workers require little pay, though that will change eventually. Maybe that’s a hobby I can pick up, though. I can fly an airship, right after I actually go skiing for once…’

PreviousChapters Next