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."
Two minutes after upload baby! Great chapter!
Nice
Gah, I almost got first. Next time.
Red Flag! She doesn't know who Daring Do is, so either Daring Do's Reports are under a different name and neither of them know what it is and thus she is useless. Or Cadance isn't actually the real Head personal and she doesn't actually get the real reports, and thus she is useless.
Either way, Plasma's fucked unless Daring Do goes out of her way to give the Report personally to Cadance, or omits Plasma from her reports.
Its good to be King.
Good chapter
10925997
Separation of duties. The ponies at the top of the organization don't get direct reports unless its REAL important, so they don't really know the identities of the field agents.
>Phasma and Silver Sky's entire conversation
files.catbox.moe/pkcxeg.gif
And the final score is:
Equestria United: 0
LODSALOVE Conglomerate: LOADS
But yeah, for as endearing as she is, I can feel the impurities in my soul burning from the sheer innocence radiating off of Cadence, and it hurts. Her and Phasma make a great foil. She does also make a good point though that mind magic is basically a giant 'PHAMSA WUZ HERE' sign now, and so shouldnt be used, but in terms of its long-term effects on people, fuck Division P; me and my homies say fuck Division P.
...it's just me that thought that was a little funny, because he was a Pegasus?
(MY mind is hazy, and don't remember if he was one, don't know why)Back to the event, you did what you could to change his mind, and warned him about it, but he simply ignored it, so yes, it still is self-defense, and I still believe that it was the best action, and just the thought that now you could managed the whole thing better, and fell a BIT bad about it, already show how much you already grown and learned from that. How can you learn without making mistakes?, no one talked to him about it up to the few months pasts.
10926011
That's actually a perfectly Phasma-like thing to say. I'm surprised he didn't say it. So Snarky.
Daybreaker: "Ah yes, 'Nightmares'... We have dismissed that claim."
Personally, I think Cadence kinda took the proverbial 'L' on Division-P. She's disgusted with it, but her reaction to Phasma removing memories from that Agent just seems really... lacking? Like she's still stuck in somewhat of a 'Twilight-Friendship-Report' stage, rather than the 'Cadence-Crystal-Kingdom-Ruler' stage; disappointed in Division-P, but has yet to really put her foot down. I don't know, not really, but Phasma's reaction just seems more justified of a response.
10926056
Yeah, it looks like Cadance has yet to make a noble decision that actually costs her or someone else dearly. That moment may be coming soon.
Once that happens, she might be more willing to understand why Phasma is operating on Game of Thrones logic, where no one is safe, and doing the noble thing can get you or someone else killed.
Ha! It did bite him in the ass! Bet you regret doing that now, dontcha Phasma?
Finally, CADANCE AGAIN! I was missing my favorite pink princess. I hope they can spend more time together and for the LOVE OF GOD PHASMA NEEDS TO MEET LUNA IN PERSON!
10926086
external-preview.redd.it/sQK4wjCn2B6K7iHrmAdban8qwh0m4PnrxnPbxGpDOfU.jpg?auto=webp&s=1d0c531a7dcf462d857dc4f8fcc8e33276b044be
10926053
"The immortal race of ethereal parasites that allegedly come from the dream realm."
i.redd.it/ztkzuwjssf661.jpg
"Oh, we have dismissed that claim."
Did he think murdering that criminal wouldn't come back to bite him?
Yep, Phasma has his eyes on the true threat. The Nightmares.
Hopefully there is still time to unite both Changelings and Ponies against this threat! Also the Thestrals, can't forget them.
Very short 'would you like to know more?'.
In Hawaiian mythology, Laʻa Maomao is the god of the wind. He was said to be created in the midst of chaos by his father, the sun god. Largely a benevolent entity, he is the god of forgiveness
10926094
'Warframe 'soon' flashbacks intensify'
10926094
This mod delays content release by 2 years.
lets hope that it doesn't go so horribly wrong that only the fucking mailman survives, though things would be a lot easier for Phas if he had someone of the Courier's caliber on his side.
Perhaps it's for the best that Phasma didn't mention how saving Daring Do's life indirectly cost at least two other creatures theirs. And yeah, better keep a lid on Count Double Dealings' deliberate demise for now. Or Phasma's plan to kill Chrysalis, for that matter. Did Phasma ever tell Cadance about that one time he stabbed his father in the back? Good times.
How do you know her personally?
Three 'that' in one sentence is a bit repetitive.
The list is a short list?
10926202
Well it is grammatically correct... it just doesn't flow well :/
You know, I'm relieved to see Cadance is alright. Before the Third Hive arc, Luna said she hadn't received any messages from her. I was actually worried someone didn't take too kindly to Lovebutt unfucking Division P.
Well I guess Cadence is on the rogue good side. Here's hoping they do manage to stop the war before the Nightmares break free.
Cadance is getting a taste of the grey, but hasn't yet been forced to actually divide the choice. How long can she yet maintain her stance? Soon enough she'll grow from her child-like state.
Hmm... me feels a big storm brewing up
10926094
WOOOOOO LET’S 𝓕𝓾𝓬𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 GOOOOOOOOO
What’s the difference between ko-fi and Patreon like does one charge less or something
10926053
10926096
This is actually less stupid than the original, equivalent to if the council had already been Indoctrinated (capital letter to make it clear that I'm not using the original English meaning of the word).
No relation to Silver Shill, I take it?
I can't resist; that reminds me of
Oh God, the condescension is too much, it hurts. While I hope Cadence doesn't renounce her Tautha'an like beliefs; her pacificism (since she's essentially the only character that spouses canon-like ideas, and were she to lose them her interaction with Phasma would be a lot less interesting), I'd be quite glad if experience teaches her to at least respect Phasma's more realpolitik approach to ruling.
Because say what you will about Phasma, he has been doing a pretty fine job as King of the Changelings. He's probably a better King than Cadence is a Princess.
10926243
10926081
10926453
At the same time, Phasma needs someone to reign his "anything goes" impulses, as well as remind the young king that going to far in that path can end with him becoming another Chrysalis.
10926381
Patreon is for monthly support, where people pay for specific benefits for tiers. Ko-Fi is just a tip jar where people can drop whatever they want, sometimes in support of a specific project (goals).
10926019
Ehh, not quite true depending on the job and position. Sure, the Report might go through different people, but at the end of the day the higher ups would have a copy of for review, especially for an organization like Division P where they are meant to be reporting for Changeling investigations. You even mention that Daybreaker read the report given by the agent that he mind controlled and noticed it was out of place and through that found out he was alive.
So the higher ups do get the reports, even if they go through someone lower first. You mentioned she was the one doing all the paper work and signing off on everything. Sure, she didn't know about the section using Changelings as slaves, but didn't mention Daring Do as part of that either, nor that Daring couldn't go Directly to a higher up above her boss and have Cadance step in to get the report first.
10926564
It's not just an impulse. Phasma's entire moral compass is skewed. In less than three years he has nearly died several times, was tortured, trained to be a weapon and a tyrant, betrayed, threatened and actually died. His mind has been operating on something near full survival mode and I can only compliment his spirit because I would have cracked like a wallnut much, much sooner. Hell, he's building an empire right under the muzzle little miss mental cage, and doing his best to make his charges comfortable.
His mind is frayed, but the only 'bad' Impulse was stun blasting that archaeologist... At least for me.
I was actually thinking of the third Daring Do, the one who traveled with Twilight's mother, Velvet, across different regions in search of artifacts and knowledg-
Oh wait, wrong universe. Sorry.
well crap Daybreaker knows something is up..
a grate chapter and thing are shaping up for moving the whisky around witch means more money to fight the war with.
What the hell... Im about to reread the last chapters and see i dont get a update notification... The hell?
Phasmatodea future transport partner reminds me of the Millennium Falcon, Han and Chewbacca.
Mind change a bad pony.
Killed a horrible pony.
Saved a good-ish pony.
Looking good so far.
Ling vs Equestria is harsh.
Nightmares vs the world... That one will be brutal
Spread the morally gray, or embrace the light/ dark philosophy that's lasted ponies so long?
Decisions, decisions.
I wonder what part daybreaker plays into getting the rest of the nightmares
10926028
10926081
10926243
10926453
It's worth noting that Cadance does not speak out of ignorance here. She has experience with facing trials and danger, but still making the right choice, even if it's hard. Back when Cadance was still a pegasus in an earth pony village and Prismia was leeching the love of all her villagers and sending the village down a one-way spiral to depressionville, Cadance went up and defeated Prismia, but rather than kill the witch who was putting her entire village in danger, Cadance guided her to change her ways.
As for Cadance going grey realpolitik... sweet stars, no! The Princesses going realpolitik would be the worst thing that could happen to Phasma and his changelings. Remember, this is Phasma style politics when it comes to dealing with an invading army:
Phasma's entire plan hinges on Equestria being extremely forgiving. Equestria going realpolitik, even if they only limit it to a Germany/Japan style total political overhaul and reparations, is going to lead to a lot of resentment towards changelings for at least a generation. Resentment isn't going to feed changelings for very long. He needs the Princesses to be the example of forgiveness for the rest of Equestria to follow.
Plus, with realpolitk any chances of Phasma getting together with Luna would be down the drain. He was the military commander of an invasion that attempted to turn every last Equestrian into cattle. Realpolitik would demand Phasma, being the highest ranking commander, to stand trial for the act. Luna, who is already still on shaky grounds due to the whole Nightmare Moon thing, marrying the High Marshal of an arguably genocidal invading army? That'd never happen.
10928058
Oh certainly, we need her to keep her loving stance. That doesn't negate that everyone's experiences are subjective in their difficulty, and hers are much fluffier than Phasma's in comparison.
Just saying, it's only a matter of time before...
10928131
Well, there is a difference between 'loving stance' and 'will passively stand by as evil ravages the land,' after all. Changing Expectation's Cadance may be a bit more passive than the show's Cadance (let's never forget that show Cadance's first reaction to seeing Sombra kidnap her little girl was to try and blast him into wall paint) but judging by how Changing Expectation's Cadance ravaged that Phasma lookalike dummy during that first dream meeting, show Cadance is still in there.
10928058
Assuming that the Princesses' goal is lasting peace and stability, then not trialing Phasma (instead whitewashing his involvement, using Chrysalis as a scapegoat) and having him wed Luna would be the realpolitik course of action. Doing so would pretty much guarantee close and amicable changeling-equestrian relations for a looong time, while putting him on trial has the potential of straining that relation.
The only reason we can somewhat expect that Phasma will be put on trial is that the Equestrians are not pragmatic, but rather incredibly moralistic. Their sense of justice demands he at least recognizes he did wrong, and "reforms" and embraces Harmony.
Phasma is going to have to pull off an ultimate "Big Brain" move if he ever confronts Daybreaker, disguised or not.