I was dying. No, worse.
I woke up before the alarm clock said ‘P.M.’
I rolled over in my bed to glare at the small appliance sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. Even worse than the fact that it displayed A.M. was the fact that the number next to it wasn’t in the double digits.
“Eugh…. Fuck you.”
I pressed every button on the top of the clock down, too lazy to find out which one. The horrible blaring cut out and I shut my eyes.
Then there was a knocking at the door.
“No.”
But the knocking persisted.
‘Someone is knocking at the door. An alarm has gone off that I most definitely did not set, meaning it was set before I moved in. Oh Panar, does that mean they expect me to wake up early?’
After a pause, the knocking continued once more.
With a pained sigh, I rolled off the bed and fell onto the floor. Getting my hooves beneath me– and remembering that I only had three, not four like in the dream, I lumbered across the room and over to the door.
“Yeah yeah, ‘m here…”
I opened the door and cringed. The hall lights were on, blinding me. I made sure that one of the first things I secured for my new apartment was a set of thick curtains to cover up the windows. I had planned on sleeping in often, but it seems that was not to be.
“You look like a mess,” a voice replied. The pony who said it was right in front of me. I, however, was still blinking the sleep out of my eyes.
“Who are you and why are you here?”
“Sky. I’m right in front of you. Open your eyes.”
I sneered but complied.
“Bray.”
“Hi sky.”
“... Why?”
“Why what?”
“Early!”
“Please use complete sentences. I know you’re capable of that, Sky!”
“.... ‘M goin’ back to sleep.”
I started to close the door but she outstretched a hoof to catch it.
“Ha! C’mon Sky, you need to get ready. You were supposed to be down at Search’s office ten minutes ago.”
“But it’s early.”
“Yes…?”
“... You can consider this my two weeks notice.”
Bray smiled and rolled her eyes.
“Get ready and get down to the office,” she said as she turned around and left.
Shutting the door, I went to the bathroom to start this miserable day.
Search came in and dramatically threw a newspaper onto the table. Bray and I glanced down to read. We had pushed two chairs up to the side of the room and used a small table to put papers down on it. Currently, she was quizzing me on basic procedures we just covered. Now, a newspaper covered the pamphlet and loose pieces of paper we were using.
“Shit’s happening in Canterlot.”
‘PRINCESS OF THE MOON RETAKES HER MANTLE’ was printed in bold letters. Knowing that story, the other headlines interested me more. The second biggest story was a reorganization on sentencing prisoners to Tartarus.
“A message in the stars, all to dispel the myths and prove her power. Alicorns…” Search trailed off.
‘Luna mentioned the feeding of changeling prisoners. Reorganizing these… ‘maximum security prisoners’ is a very convenient way of having a few souls disappear.’
Then there was the third article on the front page. It was the smallest of all, yet had arguably the largest impact.
‘Princess Daybreaker to pass moral reformation bill’ was the title. As Bray and Search talked, I read that article in particular.
“You two see the stars last night?”
“Yeah! That was so cool! And, uh… weird?”
“Mhmm, well that article explains it all. To dispel the doubt in both her and in the crown, Princess Luna placed a message in the sky. Says she was tired of dealing with foal after foal who didn’t know who she was, and what her powers were.”
“Weird flex, but okay.”
“How bout you, Sky? Did you see the message?”
“No,” I mumbled, trying to ignore them in favor of reading.
“What, really? It was kinda hard to miss.”
“Went to bed early. Tired, remember?”
“Oh right right right. That whole, uh, blood loss thing. How’re you feeling?”
“Tired. Not enough sleep.”
“Ah. You’re just going to have to get used to that, I’m afraid. I’ll try to limit your physical exertion until you recover, but we start the day as early as everypony else. Are you a night owl?”
“Yeah.”
“Heh, sorry to hear that.”
Bray interjected, “I have always been one to appreciate the morning. The day just isn’t complete without viewing Princess Cel– Daybreaker’s sunrise…”
I picked up and flipped the newspaper to the second page.
“You reading the article?” Search asked me.
“One of them…”
“Wait, is there something else besides the whole message in the sky thing? What could possibly hold a candle to that?!”
“... Something big with far reaching changes,” I said.
The door opened behind me. I was facing away but assumed it was Dew coming in. The low voice confirmed my assumption.
“Sergeant. Corporal.”
“Good morning Private Dew. Did you see the sky last night?”
“I did. It was… strange.”
“That’s an understatement!”
Dew swept his black mane back. It seems that he came up directly from the locker room, his mane was still wet from a shower.
"What's the reason behind it?"
"Incredulous foal," Bray smiled.
Dew nodded but I tasted some confusion on him. He likely didn't know what incredulous meant.
I flipped another page. The movement recaptured Search's attention.
"You were saying something, Sky?"
I set the paper down when I reached the end of the article. Then, I rubbed my temples. Well, temple. I only had a single forehoof after all.
“... You all might want to stock up on booze,” I said. "That is, if you drink."
Bray picked the newspaper up and flipped to the start of the article. Quick Search leaned over her shoulder to read while Dew walked to the Sergeant's desk. I watched as he grabbed a piece of paper and read it over.
'What could be more interesting than my ominous warning?'
"Moral reformation bill? What does that mean?"
Bray was looking up back at me, hoping for an answer.
"Citing fears and concerns brought to her," I absentmindedly quoted, "Daybreaker believes the changeling invasion is due to a lack of adherence to Harmony's virtues."
“In laypony’s terms?” Dew asked, not bothering to turn to face us.
“Things are going to change. First off, she is banning the sale and distribution of alcohol.”
Dew started, put the paper down, and came over to look at the newspaper.
‘Ha, that got his attention!’
“Okay, so we’re going to be expected to handle the enforcement of that…”
“That’s correct Sergeant. Further, we’re going to be cracking down on… narcotics.”
“Narcotics?”
“Drugs. Don’t know how prevalent they are in towns like Hooferville, but I suspect there’s going to be a list of banned substances released.”
“Huh… What else?”
“There’s going to be strict requirements on printing newspapers. No surprise there, she wants to stamp out any dissidence and changeling sympathy.”
“Who would sympathize with changelings, or go against the Princesses?”
“Very few, but each war does have two sides.”
Search sat back on his haunches.
“And here I was, thinking a sentence written in the sky itself would be the most important news of the day.”
“That was likely on purpose.”
All three looked at me with a confused look on their face, and a matching emotion in the air.
‘Oops. Perhaps I am being too clever. I better explain this and start stepping back from the conversation.’
“... No pony likes change. If Daybreaker wants to change society, then perhaps she thinks it's best to do so while we are all… distracted?”
Bray shook her head, “I think you’re being way too paranoid, Sky. This is Princess Daybreaker we’re talking about here. She wanted to be called by a different name, and we all happily went along with it. Nopony hates change, it just makes ponies uncomfortable.”
“Bray is right,” Search agreed, “Princess Daybreaker is just announcing this bill. Once it goes through, it’s going to be on all the headlines.”
‘Sure Search, sure. You’re the one with experience being under an absolutist monarch, after all. By the time the bill is passed, I am sure Daybreaker will be writing each article personally. Or rather, assign someone to write it to exactly her criteria and preference.’
“Okay, Sergeant.”
“... I think Far Sky might be right.”
“Now Dew–”
“Sir, you know firsthoof just how far Canterlot’s elites have their heads up their own plots.”
“The actions of the few don’t reflect the majority. We’ve been over this, Dew.”
“This sounds like exactly what is needed to get their fat plots moving, Sir.”
“You might be right on that. But still, this is going to apply to the rest of Equestria, too. Us more so, since we will be the ones enforcing these new laws.”
“Princess C– Daybreaker holds our health and happiness close to her own heart,” Bray seemed to rattle off pony propaganda quite cheerfully. Search nodded.
“Nopony’s arguing otherwise. Whatever this is, it’s for the best for Equestria.”
‘And thus the complacency of living under an immortal’s rule rears its ugly head.’
“Sure,” was all I said in reply.
“Anyways, how is the training going you two?”
Bray smiled, “Great! Sky is great at absorbing all these rules and scenarios!”
“That’s some good news, alright.”
“It’s nothing…”
It was tempting to start feeding off the happiness these ponies were exuding. I hadn’t eaten for almost all of yesterday, having been consigned to their custody pretty quickly. Given how they hadn’t really bothered to check if I was a changeling, I figured it was probably safe to feed off them.
I would have to start feeding in the afternoon, however. Spreading out my niblings of the emotions in the air over three of them would mean that the symptoms would take longer to manifest. However, I suspected that the guards would be far more physically active than Nurse Gentle Hoof, and would notice tiring quickly as being an anomaly. It is better to be safe than sorry.
“I neglected to ask, what level of education did you achieve before you set out in the world?”
“I was homeschooled.”
‘The perfect excuse, and not even a lie. It would be hard to cover up the gaps in my knowledge otherwise.’
“Close knit family, eh?”
I chose not to answer that.
Bray picked up on the poor conversation topic and switched its gears.
“I think that’s enough of the material for today. Next, let’s go over what spells you know.”
‘Great, I have to tell more lies.’
The guards station had a training room. As it turned out, it was next to the locker room.
The spell resistant dummy– a tall sack hanging by a rope attached to the ceiling– swung around after I had hit it with the fire bolt. It was a toned down version of the fireball spell I usually favored.
“Impressive hit!” Sergeant Search cheered from behind me.
“Thanks Search.”
“It’s no wonder you trounced those wolves!”
“Thanks Bray.”
Our conversation about my known spells boiled down to weaker versions of the combat spells I knew, shielding, and the ability to check the time. Bray had looked and felt quite distraught, but wanted to see my spells in action.
It wasn’t like I could tell her I could teleport or anything like that.
“You said you were proficient in shields, right?”
“Yes.”
“Great, let’s see how good you are.”
Sergeant Search had let Bray Call lead the testing, as she was the unicorn of the squad.
I turned and faced her as Search moved to the side of the spacious gymnasium and sat next to Dew. Dew had decided to do some weight lifts in the meantime, watching my spell casting but not wanting to waste time. Now, he was taking a break.
“Can you cast a shield around a distant target?”
“Sure.”
“Really? Most unicorns struggle with that.”
“I know.”
“Let’s test both targeted shielding and self shielding. Targeted first.”
I decided to construct a shield around the target at the strength I could normally maintain. An orange bubble flickered into place around the hanging tan sack.
“Ready.”
Bray walked up next to me.
“Alright, I’m casting.”
Her horn lit up in a lavender shade, the same color as her mane and eyes. Then, four shards of ice appeared around her and zipped off towards the target, flying in dramatic arcs. They broke against the shield harmlessly.
More projectiles, this time fire bolts. Six of them pinged off the orange shield, the fire flaring out and dissipating in the hot summer air.
Finally, Bray picked up a weighted ball. It was a huge thing, maybe fifty pounds, and she chucked it at the shield. The ball bounced off and onto the protective mat below.
“That’s one tough shield!”
“Is it? Was that supposed to be a lot?”
“Hey!” She lightly punched my one remaining foreleg.
“If you need to call some pony else, I’ll understand.”
“Sky! I may not have my Mark in offensive casting, but I’m no slouch!”
“Oh. I just figured that since I didn’t feel anything, you just sucked.”
“If you weren't funny I'd teach you a lesson you wouldn't soon forget. Wait, nothing?!”
She huffed but then looked back to glimpse at my flank. Or my Cutie Mark, whichever she found more interesting.
“... What does your Cutie Mark mean?”
“My Mark?”
“Yeah.”
I shrugged, “I dunno. Figured it was something about the sky. Fits my name, you know? Its meaning wasn't exactly clear when I got it.”
“You don’t know...? What if it was magic related?”
“Huh?”
“Magic related. Those are often obscure in design. That would explain your skill. I’ve never seen a shield so strong! You know, the Captain of the Royal Guard has his specialty in shielding.”
“Really? I never would have guessed.”
‘Is that where he got his expanding shield trick? That would have been a godsend in the fight against the wolves. To be able to shield without sacrificing your ability to move to the offensive is a game changer.’
“Mhmm. Even if you don’t become a Royal Guard, there’s plenty of institutes that’ll pay top bit for a shield specialist. From researching the property of shields to becoming a safety professional, there’s sure to be plenty of professions you could fit in. How did you get your Cutie Mark, anyways? That should, you know, hint at what you’re good at.”
‘What was the lie I came up with? Something about telescopes? Oh right, I trashed the one story I had.’
I shifted on my hooves uncomfortably.
“Sorry, don’t feel pressured to share if it makes you uncomfortable.”
I looked at Bray with genuine surprise.
“Oh, thank you…”
“Eh, most ponies unreasonably expect others to just open up completely. I understand if there’s some things you don’t want to share, especially for somepony like you with such a rough history.”
“How did you…?”
“The Sarge shared some details. Sorry, but the basic psych stuff we gotta know, lest something bad happens in the field. It’s required Guard stuff, ya know?”
“Oh.”
‘Is this that whole ‘military owns your ass’ stuff? Sounds like a massive invasion of privacy, but these are ponies. Not sure if they even understand stringent privacy concerns...’
She smiled after noticing my discomfort, “Don’t worry, none of us will talk about if you don’t want us to. Unless there’s a problem that comes up, though. Then we do need to talk.”
“That’s… fair.”
“Anyways, back to what we were saying, I think you could get far with your expertise in shielding. I don’t even know if there’s a point in me trying to hit you when you’re self-casting your shield. If I couldn’t scratch it while you were projecting, then I bet you could stop a train while self-casting!”
I briefly remembered my fight with Chrysalis. A massive light green beam slammed into my shield and had bounced off. The sheer power behind it…
“Maybe.”
'And this is with factoring in my reduced magical strength due to hunger. Damn, I remember tiring out after two whole hours of casting not half a year ago. Am I already starting to reach alicorn-tier mana capacity and casting powers?'
Sergeant Search had gotten up and walked over after seeing us not cast spells for a while. Catching the tail end of the conversation, he added in his two cents.
“Maybe we should test how powerful your shields are. Would be useful to know what your upper limit is.”
'It's been a long time since someone managed to break my shield. Should I intentionally weaken it? Either way, that's going to hurt.’
I sat down and rubbed the side of my horn as I thought. Search furrowed his brows at the sight.
“Another day, then. You did well, Sky.”
'What? Oh, the rubbing. He probably think I'm suffering from a lack of mana or something.'
“Yeah! I’ll teach you some basic spells, let’s get back to the office.”
“Actually,” Search interrupted, “I was thinking of grabbing lunch. It is past noon.”
“Is it? I must’ve lost track of time.”
I was hungry, too.
“... Could do with some food.”
‘Just a nibble. To test the waters, you know? If they do notice the symptoms, they’ll pass it off as a post-food coma.’
“Sounds good,” Private Dew said, having spontaneously appeared next to the Sergeant. There’s a chance he walked up when I wasn’t paying attention, but I thought it more likely that he somehow teleported, as opposed to catching me off guard.
“Is there a cafeteria here, or...?”
Search shook his head, “No. We go out and grab some food. The guards get their food for free at approved cafes and diners during our workdays. Well not really free, the bill is just sent to the Guard Station to be paid out at the end of the month. That is to say, we get free food and let the bean counters deal with paying.”
‘... Do ponies eat using utensils? Oh Panar, that wasn’t covered in the Infiltrator class!’
Phasma better be careful about how powerful he decides his spellcasting is as this persona...
You know why not leave Equestria and wait max 20 years for them to kill each other?
Maybe even do things to make Daybraker more paranoid so she will harsh to everyone and they public will see it, to speed everything up.
He will have time to upgrade,etc and relax.
Christ, I hate these types of people.
It seems Phasma is all too familiar with underhanded politics and the the slow, steady buildup towards ethnic cleansing.
10754148
Never underestimate the mental gymnastics people will do to justify their current outlook and way of life. If Phasma simply leaves, he'll surrender any chances of influencing ponies from accepting the new status quo. Luna and Cadance would be forced to face Daybreaker's machinations on their own. 20 years is enough for an entire generation of ponies to drink the koolaid because they have been raised with it being everywhere.
Phasma would also be leaving the remaining captive changelings to their fate, who would inevitably face mass execution if Luna/Cadance cannot free them. Combine with Daybreaker's demonization propaganda running unchecked and Equestrian society would inevitably spiral towards a state of mass hysteria regarding anything changeling - possibly leading towards calls for a "final solution to the changeling problem". This would be very bad for Phasma in the long run. Nowhere would be safe for him anymore.
Horrors like these must be dealt with early and decisively before they are allowed to take root.
10754143
He could potentially pass off any fluctuations as a result of trauma. Spikes and dips in emotion and all that.
10754149
Yeah leaving them to kill Daybraler themselves sounds like a less stressful idea.
Then you can go back upgraded and with better to decide to attack or be friendly.
10754143
He's gonna meet shiny irl before the dream realm at this rate.
10754151
Simply killing Daybreaker is not enough - she is currently far too popular compared to the other princesses and the ponies view her as the savior of Equestria thanks to her propaganda machine. Killing her at this stage would only make her a martyr, with hundreds of zealots ready to rush in and use her death to justify further atrocities.
Daybreaker's crimes must first be brought to light to expose and discredit her. Only when her own people turn against her in outrage can she "safely" be disposed with (there will always be "true believers" to muck things up).
The best alternative would be recovering the Elements and cleansing the Nightmare from Celestia so she can fix the mess her alter ego created, but that will require convincing Twilight to turn on Daybreaker - and the latter might not be possible without achieving the former.
Remember, the time Phasma takes to relax and rebuild is time Daybreaker has to do the same. She won't stay idle and let her enemies grow in strength. Phasma, Luna and Cadance are in a race against time to stop Daybreaker before she grows powerful enough the erase all changelings without opposition.
In a way, it fits him, he's more a Support Leader than a Front Line Specialist.
10754160
Yeah, but that got me thinking as well, Luna wanted him to 'train' his dream-walking magic, maybe, he can ALSO help C.Armor with the nightmares, as a start of his redemption phase? And other ponies as well, make them see the meaning behind Daybreakers...changes ?
10754178
I think you misunderstood me
What I mean is that he should let Equestria kill itself by fighting itself.
Right now Daybreaker is popular but that's only a matter of time before she starts to lose the facade and be more forceful.
If changelings will run away from Equestria and to ponies knowledge permanently, it will take away the scapegoat.
There is also an option of making Daybreaker paranoid by certain actions, with should result in her being harsh openly to everyone.
And of course this whole time changelings can upgrade ther army and get greater quality than quantity, and for Phasma to upgrade himself.
oh boy those guard's have a problem ...
YES FINALLY!! WOOOOOOO
Making me wait for more discussions with Luna and Cadence? EVIL! I’m really looking forward to that. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
First they came for the dissidents
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dissident.
Interesting, I assumed Daybreaker was going to be one of those semi-standard fascist baddies, I'm happily surprised to see she will apparently prefer a more theocratic brand of totalitarianism. Praise the Sun! I suppose.
Good, good! Soon will come the day when the first equestrian concentration camps open, and what a glorious day it will be !
10754220
I wonder if Daybreaker wants to turn Equestria into a dystopia just to make ponies more vulnerable to the attacks of Nightmares.
They are after all a race of body snatchers.
Over 1,6000 likes! Congrats KK!
Day 6: They haven't suspect anything yet, I may had show up a bit too much, Daybraker campain of tirany continue strong, needs to be more careful.
That doesn't bode well
10754046
He was shot in a mugging IIRC.
He's on the front page for like the 10th time!
Someone stop this absolute madman!
No one expects the changeling inquisition!
Daybreaker is certainly moving quickly. Make Equestria Harmony again speedrun any%
She's already started the foundation for Sun Nazis
What's ever actually covered by class...?
10754149
Would they? There's no reason why Daybreaker couldn't make a deal with the changelings. Just imagine what she could do with a changeling secret service. That's the real nightmare scenario.
10754200
I understand what you're saying, the point I'm trying to make is that it doesn't work that way. Equestria won't tear itself apart within a mere 20 years. Authoritarian governments can stay standing for quite a while even if the leaders are despised - Francisco Franco's Spain remained standing for several decades for example, and despots can stay in power for even longer if they are popular. To most ponies, Daybreaker is just Celestia with a new coat of paint, otherwise she's the same beloved immortal princess that has ruled Equestria for over 1000 years, and she's now promising to end a menace that has kidnapped their families and loved ones and spread terror and fear everywhere. It will take a very long time before her subjects even realize something is wrong, and at that point they might not even care because hey, the princess has never been wrong before right?
The changelings, meanwhile, are beaten and broken, teetering on the brink of starvation with only a few podded ponies taken as spoils. Rebuilding an army will take a very long time - time Daybreaker has to track down the hive and destroy their remnants once and for all while they are vulnerable. Daybreaker is implied to be aiming for a complete genocide here - there won't be any changelings left to retaliate once she's done. They can't hide and avoid conflict because the conflict is breaking down their door.
EDIT: I forgot she also invokes Harmony as a theological reason for erasing the changelings. Religion makes people do scary stuff they might not otherwise do.
10754241
The bigger milestone 169,000 words exactly.
Nice.
10754200
The biggest problem with that strategy is that it requires the one thing that the changelings don't have: time. The main reason for this invasion is that the hive was low on food, to the point where rationing was already at its limits and mass starvation was only months away. If the changelings attempt to hide back in obscurity, they can't go out and capture ponies in numbers sufficient for the hive to build up again, nevermind how much energy, and by extension food, it would take to improve. The hive would starve long before Equestria would have torn itself apart, if it ever did.
10754149
In their defence, Celestia has been sole ruler behind a peaceful and prosperous Equestria for a thousand years. That's the kind of street cred that needs some really solid evidence before anyone would believe she's suddenly turned into a tyrant.
Now if Daybreaker had actually started twirling a moustache and demanded virgin sacrifices, then yeah their refusal to believe Celestia had gone of the deep end would have been harder to swallow, but Daybreaker has been noted to be extremely careful to avoid appearing tyrannical so far, coating everything she does in promises of necessity and temporary or downplaying their severity, methods that many real life tyrants -with far less street cred- have used successfully throughout history.
Goddamn you're a fucking moron KK. Not even understanding that identity movements not only do not represent the identity they claim to be as a whole, but thinking that gay people in general are just one big monolith.
I can immediately tell you're well within the Progressive echo chamber with a huge stick up your ass thinking you're morally superior to everyone else because you wave the correct flags and say the politically correct words. You don't even understand you're a small fringe minority compared to the rest of the population.
The biggest thing that makes people hate YOU and LGBT's in general that you people are so incredibly hostile to anyone that calls out your bullshit, you act more like hyper offended Orthodox religious nutjobs than actual Liberals.
This was a nice chapter and you must have struggled a lot to get this word count total. Here's hoping the nibble doesn't cause problems.
Also we see Daybreaker went to the Palpatine School of Tyrannical Constitution Twisting.
Prohibition, of all things, is one of the things I did not expect from Sunbutt. Unless Equestria is facing a plague of drunkenness, I can't think what benefit does this bring. Or perhaps it doesn't, and it's a sign Daybreaker actually believes the pseudoreligious propaganda she spouts, instead of it being just cover for acquiring more power.
Anyways, I hope it ends about as well as prohibition in America. Would be funny to see Phasma's disguise dealing with Equestrian mafia.
10754434
Could it be that this is her Celestia part fighting for dominance by steering her towards pointless things? Prohibition is ultimately rather pointless to Daybreaker's rule. If anything, alcohol only helps Daybreaker. Bread and play keep the people happy and all that. But if Daybreaker was planning something far harsher and more harmful, and Celestia steered it towards something more innocent like prohibition, that makes more sense.
Before you know it...
169k nice
I wonder if we'll be seeing Daybreaker turn Changelings into Changeling detectors. Chrysalis' atrocity at least makes it seem plausible.
a vary amazing chapter for a awesome story.
Honestly I’m not surprised that this is how some ponies are reacting to Daybreaker
I do hope Phasma finds and settles into a role and begins to explore his power, a major reason he lost to Chrysalis was as much due to him not knowing the best way to fight on top of a lack of experience
Hmm possible equestrian civil war? Luna leading one side Daybreaker another with Cadance caught in the middle?
Great chapter as always
I'm trying to find a pattern in the name of ye olde Heroes.
It's very frustrating to not find it, but I'm sure I'll get it someday.
Nice chapter, Daybreaker isn't a fool as expected, I wonder how the prince will fare in the future.
Thanks for the chapter
10754637
Our latest chapter title, to me, is quite simple. Achillees was dipped, all but his heel, into a pool/river that made him immortal/man of steel-esc. Problem was the heel.
Daybreaker has made a number of good political moves that will keep her in power with one possible blunder; the prohibition of beer.
10754637
Achilles, immortal save for the weak point in his heel.
Phasma, shields op (pls nerf) save for.... Well, they're very strong, okay?
10754647
hmm
But he already lost a leg, sooo, does that mean he's invincible ? teehee
I though each name referend to a different character, with Shining being Hector, and a new crewmate being Achilles.
which say a lot about my confusion
10754450
It could also be to intentionally cause unrest within the country. One possible purpose is if the unrest grows enough it allows her to call for martial law. Also one of the quickest ways to destroy a country is to turn the populace against the government officials and especially those that enforce it's laws.
There's one thing that Americans and maybe equines like to protect their own liquor so there's going to be a lot of speakeasies prepare for that Equestria nobody or pony can't stop prohibition
https://youtu.be/AAGIi62-sAU
Said it by this man oversimplified
10754658
True, but Daybreaker wants to rule, not destroy. Inciting unrest against herself as an excuse to declare martial law would weaken her rule, as would destroying public faith in the law enforcement, and herself by virtue of being the one who banned alcohol in the first place.
Though having said that... perhaps creating resentment against Daybreaker might also be a sign of Celestia fighting back. By creating resentment towards Daybreaker she would be shattering the blind faith built from Celestia's thousand year rule that Daybreaker is coasting on right now, and instead cause ponies to become more critical of Daybreaker's rule much sooner than Daybreaker planned, including eventually Twilight and the rest of the Bearers. And while Celestia would be caught in the crossfire of any uprising that may result of this, but Celestia is the kind of pony who would sacrifice herself for her ponies, so it wouldn't surprise me if she would be willing to take the proverbial bullet and entrust Equestria to the hooves of her sister and niece.
10754655
Shining was indeed Hector. Each chapter name has to do with the contents of each chapter, to varying degrees of... intimacy, for lack of a better word. Sometimes, I find a myth the fully encompasses the chapter in a myriad of ways. Others, the myth reflects only a single important aspect.
God I can’t wait to see Cadence and Luna’s reactions to Phasma’s story, assuming he reveals everything
Dw phas, if it's any consolidation becoming an important support mage is a quick way to shoot through the ranks without much suspicion; supports are always in short supply! ...and they rarely get noticed or given credit. Unless you have a pretty humble team, in which case regardless of your role you'll get credited.
Though you may need to think about what your disguise's special power is and how it connects to a "far sky". And also maybe try to get more involved, simply being reliabile and involved is a quick way of getting noticed for your hard work and/or skill without appearing exceptional, as the only reason you climbed so fast (at least, how they assume you did), was because of your personality.
Daybreaker doing a civil war speedrun
The beatings will continue until morale improves!
Let's see how well an outsider can blow whistles...
Friendship finds a way
So Phasmodias shields are his strength. Indeed a skill worth of a leader and commander.
Eta 2 weeks since the invasion of Canterlot or? So mutch happen in so few time.
Ironic how everyday stuff can get a Changeling in hot waters...
Great chapter. Love the humor
Edit:
Voting comments with that vote limitation in time is cruel... Finaly done
Prohibition! Pony edition!
10754148
To bad they about to run extinct and Daybreaker might go after Luna in that time to. Hes not a normal drone but a imortal. He will be around for everything. Inaction is not a option.
10754149
Also given enough time research will pry every secrets from Changeling kind. Eating habits and Symptomes, how there magic works and csn be countered and perhaps a DZB dragonball radar to find Changelings specificly. Nightmares can utility celestial objects magic after all...
10754150
Yep. He was like last week attacked and almost bleed out. His magic probably really is a bit jumpy at the moment at the best of times.
10754151
Noone wants to kill Daybreaker exception would be Chrysalis.
10754160
Yep... As Captain of the royal Guard he might pull influence to force recrut and deploying him. Hard to tell.
10754178
Plus every day wasted makes it more unlikely the Elements can be used. Nightmares are no kind creatures in this storys so a accidently killed Element user might be very likely. 6 Twilights are better than 1 Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie in mindset.
10754194
Dream realm warfare? Daybreaker cant give direct competition to it. Purrrfect♡
10754200
Ever hear of powerful user going down with there most powerful move? I rather not see Daybreaker collect enough power to literally grill the planet for the fun of it. Nightmares are not known for there sanity...
10754208
Just one? I count at least 5...
10754228
Damn... That a horryfing idea... Good job
10754220
In all points accurate. Hard times ahead
10754241
Well deserved !
10754245
That might be one of the time a substory starts in the comment section
10754256
The success for Daybreaker... The now daily activitys or the inpending destruction of Harmony itself?
10754279
Neverrrr! He come to stay!
10754281
Equestria at war walktrough might share a light on her plans...
10754282
Using magic to look like a ponys. That basicly it?
At least what Phasma got...
10754293
Indeed. You never know if your next is a Changeling spying on you. Ruleing trough fear. Reminds me of Wolfenstein before genderpolitices killed it.
10754307
Correct in all counts.
10754309
Nice