28- Rupert’s Drop
I chuckled and clenched my eyes shut, shaking my head in disbelief.
“You… Brilliant, you can’t just say that!”
Brilliant Cut chuckled, “Why not?”
I groaned and scooted closer to him, “Because it’s your life? You can’t just shrug and say- say that!”
“I trust your sense of judgment–”
“Don’t repeat yourself!” I cut him off. “I just told you that your next fifty years could be set in stone. You can’t just waive that off and leave it to me!”
“Why not?” The white coated stallion smiled, green mane shaking as he laughed. “I’d rather just skip the theatrics.”
“Fifty years–”
Brilliant sighed and set down the glowing orange crystal he was working on, “Listen, Phasma. I’ve been in the business for thirty six years now. I’ve learned to sort the diamonds from the slag–”
“Can you explain without a diamond metaphor?”
“Can, but I won’t,” he smiled. “As I was saying, I’ve learned how to get a measure of a pony. Or, rather, changeling in your case. Your actions have spoken more volumes about your character than needs to be said!”
I raised an eyebrow, “Got away with murder and burning Canterlot to the ground?”
The thought cut through Brilliant’s train of thought, “That’s… I thought you said the Princesses were taking both seriously?”
I reached out and pushed Brilliant’s project, spinning it around and around, “Well, the killing Double Dealings part they are not too thrilled with. Celestia has been drilling me non-stop about finding my limits and being in control of every fight I find myself in. What happens when I’m not in control, well…. You were there that day.”
Brilliant laid a hoof on my shoulder, “I was. Though the headlines might call you a butcher–”
“Please don't remind me."
“– I understand that we have entered harrowing times where such acts of violence and cruelty are… becoming commonplace. I remembered what you showed me in Locksdale. I don’t know what exactly put you in that mental state, but I know the Princesses are on it– because I trust them, just as I trust you. At least, I trust your word and judgment in this situation concerning our deal with Princess Celestia.”
I groaned and rubbed my forehead, “Fifty years, Brilliant. You don’t even want to go over it with Bunny Hill?”
The stallion looked around, “I would like to, yes, but didn’t you say you were bringing her here, into this dream?”
I glanced above us. The ceiling of Brilliant Cut’s laboratory had been replaced with a vast expanse of stars, nebulas, and galaxies.
“... She isn’t asleep yet,” I shrugged.
Brilliant rubbed his chin, “It’s poker night for the mares. She must be winning good if she’s not in bed yet.”
“... I guess I’ll give the go-ahead to Celestia in the morning,” I said, admitting defeat and pushing Brilliant’s contraption back his way.
“Think of it this way, Phasma: I trust the Princesses, and I trust your word. If both of you say this is good, then it is good. Celestia has steered our country for thousands of years, and with your help this lab went from being a run-of-the-mill workshop to ground zero of miracles!”
I scoffed, “Hard to call it run-of-the-mill when you’re sitting on a fortune from a gem empire, Brilliant.”
He waved a hoof dismissively, “As I’ve said before, gems aren’t as valuable here as they are in your former life.”
“Whatever,” I sighed. "I give up. I can't convince you to not to sign away the rest of your life to your new insect overlords. Welcome to the Hive."
I levitated over a thick brown satchel, its gold clips practically popping free from its faux-leather surface. Even at a pace’s length away, I could sense the countless layers of protective magic upon the gold-embroidered satchel.
“Here you go, Thrips. Lose it, and I’ll have to look into getting a one-way-trip ticket to the moon with your name on it.”
The drone blinked in surprise, taking the offered bag and clutching it against his chest.
“... Wait, really? Already? This is….?”
“All the documentation needed for the three hundred million bit loan,” I confirmed. “You’ll have to make trips to several banks to get the accounts unfrozen from their initial creation, I’ve been told. Better hop to it, time is of the essence.”
Thrips bowed deeply, nose practically smacking into the red carpet of the Royal Palace, “Yes, My King! I won’t let you down!”
“I know you won’t, Thrips. That’s why I’m giving you this duty. Be sure to leverage everyling you need from the Bureaus to get your project in motion. In fact, you might need to just outright triple the size of your little department within Coxa’s mess of bureaucracy.”
“That was outlined in the plan– I’ve got to go, My King! I need to get started now!” Thrips said, hooves skittering across the ground as he spun around and took off for the nearest exit. “I’ll give my status reports to Coxa!” He called before he turned the corner.
Luna, who had watched the quick interaction with growing amusement, chuckled behind a hoof.
“My, he certainly seemed to have the energy required for the task you set upon him.”
“He’s the one who came up with the idea, I sure hope he’d have the energy,” I chuckled, giving Luna a nuzzle. “Now, what’s next on our schedule?”
“The next session of Chrysalis’s trial is not due to start for another three hours. I have managed to clear my schedule for this brief window. Before the trial resumes, I would like to work further on our Soulmancy project.”
Luna began walking towards our chambers. Or rather, her personal wing that I was taking up residence in like black mold. Her little complex of rooms held more than just her office and bedroom: a rather sizable sitting room, personal bathing and pool, and moderately-sized magical lab had all served the two of us for the past few months.
As usual, my group of six Red Right Hoof guards took up posts besides Luna’s Night Guards at the door, leaving us in privacy within. We made our way to the lab, entering the two-story chamber and splitting up. Luna stalked down the stairs and headed over to one of the wide tables covered end-to-end in stacked-up tomes. I walked up to the railing directly in front of the door, admiring the wonder of the place for the thousandth time. One wall was entirely glass panes that overlooked the Palace’s gardens. The two walls on either side were covered floor-to-ceiling in bookshelves. Countless magical tools, contraptions, and workstations filled the space between the walls. Atop one pedestal, God-Splitter bobbed in magical energy, an enchanted magnifying glass focused on the center of its head. Atop other pedestals, various magical projects belonging to the Night Princess swayed up and down.
“If you are going to stay up there all day,” Luna’s words cut through my thoughts, “I recommend taking up painting. Might as well capture the moment for all to appreciate.”
I grimaced, “You’ve seen my attempt at drawing.”
“Then I suggest lending me a hoof. The soul detection spell is almost ready, Phasma, and you are better at penning the structure of spells down than I am.”
I rolled my eyes and made my way down, “More like you want me to do the boring parts while you do the fun spell casting.”
“... As is my right as Princess of these lands!” Luna grinned. “Come, my squire. If you ever want to make knighthood, you will have to scrub the chamber pots first!”
I took my crown off and placed it on one of my own claimed spaces across from Luna, brushing aside several loose papers. I turned the Adamantium, jewel-encrusted jewelry to face me, staring into my warped reflection in the green metal.
“I should finish the enchantment on my crown. Celestia’s been on my ass to get it done so we can move on in our lessons.”
“Very well,” Luna relented. “I shall let you have your excuse and do the work myself. But! In exchange, you will be accompanying me to a meeting with Elder Vigilance tomorrow. Operations with the Night Guard will be expanding throughout Equestria starting in two weeks, and there is a lot of prep that needs to be done beforehoof. If they could have the changelings aid them, I would greatly appreciate it. She also would like to bring to our attention a training session outside of Canterlot between the three armies.”
“Sure, sure.”
“And,” she continued, “I shall also meet with the Manehattan Social Society of Socialites. They wish to air some grievances about certain activities within their vast city. Certain activities pertaining to a new economic powerhouse sweeping up the disparate and fringes of society?”
“They sound like a bunch of busybodies who hate that I am giving the downtrodden a chance at making a living,” I growled out. “Social society of socialites– I mean it’s like they’re not even trying, they just want to hear the sound of their voices for as long as possible.”
“I would like you to be there, Phasma. Not just because I value your company now more than ever, but also that being confronted by the one they lay accusations against will tame the more… zealous outbursts from them. And perhaps allow for a healthy, harmonious outcome.”
"Do you really believe that?"
"No, I want you to grind them into the dirt like the busybodies they are. Politely. See it as a chance to stretch your legs, politically speaking."
I shrugged, placing my crown on a bulky box and raising an armature. The device zapped the crown with gold energy, and the layers of enchantments started glowing. Each gem on the crown was suffused with different colors– each dependent on their school of enchantment– and various miniature leylines that marked the connections between the pools of magic glowed blue. I began the unenviable task of fiddling with the thing.
Unlike my peytral, which was able to project an effective shield across my entire body, the limited amount of Adamantium and the positioning of the artifact at one end of my body meant that I would have to focus on more localized spells. A magnet to keep it on my head, several layers of shield that projected downwards and covered my head and neck, and most importantly of all, a small air conditioning and heating spell.
Because the absence of air conditioning was a constant gripe during the summer months, and if I could find a way around that, I would be one happy bug.
“There is something I need to discuss, Luna.”
“Go on,” she prompted, neither of us looking up from our work.
“I want to go to Nisir. Like, this week.”
That pulled her attention from her work, and she fixed me with a confused stare, “... That is rather unprompted.”
“Is it?” I questioned, swallowing some uncomfortable emotions. “This whole… trial has been…”
Luna frowned, “I see. With that in mind, I can understand your desire to flee–”
“I am not–!”
“Running away?” She raised an eyebrow. “What would you call it?”
I crossed my forelegs, “A checkup! I need Nisir to be progressing well, and it is where we will be learning more about our upcoming foes. It’s important to stay on top of things.”
“All of which can be learned from letters, lessers, and dream visits. We are too busy to abscond, Phasma.”
I jabbed a hoof in her direction, “You mean you’re too busy! I have been quite good at delegating and giving my lings jobs, Luna.”
“Just so,” she said. “There is much to catch up on– we are not even close to being done handling fallout of the Lantern Night assassination attempt, Phasma. Need I remind you of the brewing public relation nightmare that–”
“All the more reason for me to vanish for a few days,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Four shops, five houses, and two streets painted in gore, Phasma!” Luna hissed back. “Division-P’s supporters are having a field day with their own martyrship while we stay cooped up behind our high walls. Celestia needs Cadance and I to be constantly present in the public’s eye– and for you to be there at the trial. While my sister is working overtime to get political plays in motion, Cadance and I must play fire marshal before this gets out of control. Even an absence as short as one week could be the tipping point!”
I faltered, looking away and down at the floor, “I– I just… I did my part. I gave my testimony. Now I’m just a ceremonial piece at the trial, doing nothing more than wasting time and enduring more of her presence. Look, I can just go to Nisir alone–”
“No!” Luna leaned over the table, “I almost lost you. I’m not going to risk that again. You are staying within eyesight until we have the wretches responsible for the attack on your life in chains and thrown into the depths of Tartarus! I can’t lose you, Phasma, not again!”
A tall pile of books fell to the side as Luna reached over and pulled me up into a hug, trying her best to hold me from across the table.
“I can’t lose you,” she repeated. “I can’t be alone. I can never be alone again– I have had too much time alone. I hate the sound of my own voice in my head, Phasma. I hate the sound of silence even more!”
I returned the hug, letting her bury her face into my shoulder.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I reassured her.
“There are so few things I can enjoy these days,” Luna continued quietly, her sadness like a bottomless ocean, each reassuring nuzzle and rub I gave her sparking currents of happiness and love. “I.. can’t enjoy any of my old hobbies. Painting, writing, cooking, sparring, horticulture and alchemy… It feels like nothing from my old life brings me joy, nothing save for being with my sister, my new niece, and you.”
“... This can’t continue forever, Luna. We can’t stay attached at the hip, not while we have so many important duties.”
“Let those duties fester,” she whispered. “Let me have this for as long as I can.”
I kissed her on the cheek, “Fine. I can… put off the visit. Come on, Luna, let’s go lay down.”
“We have to work on our magical studies,” she said, voice muffled from her face still being pressed against me.
“You just said let them fester. C’mon, Luna, I think we need to just take a break for a bit.”
“Very well,” she sniffed, breaking the hug. “I will cave to your idea.”
I blinked, “What? That was your–”
Luna smiled coyly, “If Celestia bemoans your lack of progress on your studies today, you will just have to face judgment.”
Sighing, I dragged her up the stairs, out of the workshop, and over to one of the couches in the private lounge. As I relaxed in front of a roaring fireplace, Luna draped herself across my chest, trying to be as close as possible to me. I levitated over a blanket and covered us both, returning her affectionate nuzzles as I lay back.
The blue alicorn relaxed on top of me, basking in the warmth and company offered, and I coaxed more and more pleasant emotions out of her. Unfortunately, while she slowly calmed to the point where she slipped into the Dreamscape, my mind remained racing with thoughts.
Despite the fact that I had dropped the topic of Nisir, I still felt that I needed to go there soon. There were so many mysteries there. So many answers left to be uncovered and secrets used. From the Gift of Panar, that marvelous crown that shone with the light of galaxies, down to the history of Sombra that was entwined with my race’s history, what knowledge we found in that frozen city would make or break the war.
My thoughts drifted to my past. I had lost so much, and lost a bit more beyond that. Without Luna and the dozen or so friends I had made, I had no idea where I would be right now.
‘Dead, in all likelihood. Adrift, probably in another world past this one, haunted by death and failures. If I die again, am I to start all over again? Is this gift a curse, where there is no afterlife for me? No chance to be reunited with those who have passed through the veil? Or have I already been united… Have I spent an eternity in a paradise, and lose my memory of that in exchange for rebirth? Will I ever see my family again– the real one, not the bastardization and mockery that I have here? Will I ever see Oestridae again?’
Luna shifted, murmuring and pressing her chin against my neck. I hugged her, ruffling the fur at her withers. She smiled in her sleep, which in turn brought a smile to my own lips. I let my head drop backwards and stared up at the ceiling. The quiet crackle of the fire and the soft breathing of Luna were the only company to my thoughts.
‘Seems unfair that even after crossing the path of death, that I am still left with many of life’s greatest mysteries. What’s a stallion gotta do to get some answers? Oh, who am I kidding, no one's ever gonna figure that out. At least I get to cuddle ponies. Like big, cute teddy bears, filled to the brim with delicious–’
A sudden, loud ringing bell jerked me into action.
Rolling off the side of the couch, I practically smothered Luna under me as I weaved a thick orange shield into being around us both. My head darted from side to side as I rapidly scanned the room.
“Phasma–” Luna’s quiet voice emerged from under me.
‘There!’
The ringing was coming from the main entrance. The thick golden doors remained closed, though.
‘Some kind of anti-breach alarm? A security alarm? Are we under attack?! Who would–’
“Phasma!”
I dared to look down. Luna’s muzzle was sticking out from under my chest.
“Please get off me, dear, before I buck you off.”
“We are under attack!” I hissed.
“... What?”
I sheltered her further, drawing my forelegs close on either side of her muzzle, “The alarm! Someone has broken into–”
“That’s the doorbell.”
I froze, confused, and looked down, “Huh?”
“I said that is– oh, will you get off of me?!”
The orange bubble around us popped as I slowly stood up. Luna was quick to dart out from under me. Fixing me with a glare, she shook herself awake and gestured towards the door.
“I said ‘that is the doorbell.’ You’ve heard it before, Phasma. It means that there is somepony that needs to talk to me?”
“I…” I gritted my teeth, trying to get my breathing back under control. “I thought we were under attack.”
“You’ve heard it before!” She repeated.
“... I’m sorry,” I whispered, ears pinned back in embarrassment.
That stole the wind from her sails, and Luna deflated on the spot, “Ah. I understand, I think. But was your first reaction to danger really to try to smother me in my sleep?”
“I was trying to protect you.”
Luna blinked owlishly, “... I see. That is… that’s actually nice to hear. I must confess, I have never been with anypony large enough to do something like that. Normally–”
The ringing of the bell cut Luna off, and she turned towards the door, wrenching it ajar. Immediately, one of her Night Guards stuck their muzzle through.
“Your Highnesses!” She hissed. “There’s an emergency!”
Luna pulled the door fully open, revealing the Night Guard and a Red Right Hoof changeling soldier standing next to her. The pair were looking at us with panicked expressions.
“What happened?” Luna questioned them as I slowly walked over.
“It’s the guards!” Her servant said in a quick tone. “They’ve begun fighting!”
The drone clarified, “an argument turned bloody, Your Highnesses! They’re in the primary training field!”
Luna’s face pulled back into a tight scowl, “The very best we have to offer, descending into madness?! Phasma, to me!”
I stepped up beside Luna just in time for a cyan bubble to materialize around the two of us. The world outside bled away, colored out by Luna’s magic as we were ripped from one location to another. A second later, when the bubble turned translucent and faded away, the interior of the Palace had been replaced with the open sky and snow-strewn field of the royal ground’s training yard.
There were around three hundred people in the yard, with the majority being the E.U.P., and the rest made up by thestrals and changelings. There was a clear divide between the Equestrians and the rest of the crowd– a visible space between the two groups as they huddled together and faced off. Between the two lines, blurs of gold, black, green, and an assortment of pastel colors marked where the argument had turned physical. Elder Vigilance, Captain Shining Armor, and Captain Katydid were in the middle of the chaos, physically restraining changelings and ponies, or barking orders to break up the brawl.
When Luna and I arrived, the closest to us fell back in surprise. The whole yard fell in surprise when Luna’s Royal Canterlot Voice shook the field.
“Cease this madness at once!”
Ponies and changelings scrambled back, staggering to their hooves and facing us. Those who were throwing hooves in between the groups stooped, bloodied, dusty, and glaring daggers at each other.
“In formation,” I growled, my voice carrying across the yard. When everyone– ponies and changelings– started to line up in rank and file, I pointed to the bloodied rabble rousers struggling to get in position. “Not you. You lot stay where you are, where we can all see you.”
“Where’s Captain Shining Armor?!” Luna demanded, staring down ponies as she walked down the line between the groups. “Elder Vigilance?!”
The three captains of the armies came galloping down to meet us– the old crone Vigilance dragging a mare by the ear, despite her advanced age.
“Your Highness,” Shining said, skidding to a halt, “we’ve been breaking up the worst of the fighting!”
“What happened– how did this happen, Captain?” Luna snarled.
“We don’t know yet,” Vigilance answered. “We’ve been too busy trying to mitigate the damage. These whelps started going at each other’s throats while we were busy planning the excursion.”
“Excursion?” Luna frowned. “No, tell me about that later. Get the wounded to the infirmary, and have them watched. We will get the answers out of those later.”
“Yes, Princess,” Shining half-bowed, before turning and gesturing to several Royal Guards trailing behind him. “Lieutenants, you heard the Princess. I want a ward sectioned off–”
“Katydid, Vigilance,” I addressed the other two Captains. “Get everyone out of here. Get them to their barracks, lock them down.”
“Get squads uninvolved to handle everyone,” Luna cut in. “Pull them in from off-duty rotations, patrols, wherever you must. I want every pony and changeling in this yard to be identified and under close watch!”
“As you command, Mistress,” Vigilance bowed.
“I mean it, Elder Vigilance,” Luna continued. “Not a single soul here can slip away– though we may already be too late in that regard.”
My heart started racing as I followed her train of thought, “Slip away? W-wait, are you suggesting that this could have been caused by–” I catch myself and drop my voice to a whisper, “– by spies? By Division-P?!”
She placed a hoof on my shoulder, “Perhaps. See to it, you two.”
“Yes, Princess Luna,” Katydid nodded as Vigilance bowed again.
The two scurried off, collecting subordinates and distributing orders like Shining was still doing a few paces away from us. Mind racing and matching the pace of my heart, I quickly formulated an idea and spoke a command through my Weave.
“All changelings in the training yard will bow and rise on the count of three. One, two… three!”
With hones practice of using my Weave to coordinate actions, every changeling dropped to their knees, the front ones– and stood back up. The ponies all startled and looked at them in confusion. Luna fixed me with a confused frown.
“What was that?”
“Eliminated half of the suspects,” I clarified quietly. “Everyling was in perfect sync, none present are ponies posing as drones.” I turned to face the ponies, “Which means that if we do have Division-P agents here, they would be among the ponies–”
Luna’s hoof on my shoulder squeezed, “It may not be the case at all. It is good to take precautions and investigate. Come, Phasma, we–”
With a flash of bright gold light, Celestia teleported into the center of the field. Upon seeing the two armies in attention position, facing each other, Celestia slowly turned around, saw us, and rushed over.
“I’ve been informed what happened, I am glad to see you two have gotten this under control. Where is– ah, there’s Captain Shining Armor. Shining?”
The stallion bowed quickly to the white alicorn, “Princess!”
Meanwhile, my focus was still on the Royal Guards, both in and out of uniformed standing in rank and file. I kept trying to look for any clue that would tell me who was a traitor, any sort of emotion, but the emotions were all jumbled up into a soup and I couldn’t see anything that gave them away.
Celestia addressed Shining, “Go– ah. Right, you already gave orders, haven’t you, Luna? Keep… doing whatever Luna ordered.”
“Yes, Princess!”
‘Just what exactly am I supposed to be looking for? A dagger? Some magical device that could be used as an explosive? Was that all just an attempt to lure us all into the same place for another assassination attempt?!’
Celestia nodded, walked over to us, and cleared her throat, “Right. Mind giving me a rundown?”
“Not much to explain,” Luna said, launching into a quick summary of our orders.
One of the Royal Guards, a shorter unarmored mare with a strawberry-pink mane and white coat, glanced at us. When she noticed me returning the stare, she snapped back into an at-attention position.
‘If they’re here, ready to attack, which angle will they come from? Will they make their move if they see me watching? Is that mare an agent?’
I was shaken side to side suddenly, quite literally shaken out of my thoughts. I looked to my side and saw Luna looking at me, her hoof still on my shoulder. I tasted her concern and worry before she even spoke, “Phasma. Your horn is glowing, what spell are you casting?”
“I– I’m not casting anything,” I shifted around uncomfortably, realizing I had prepped a shield spell to cast at a moment’s notice.
I let the nascent spell go, letting the magic flowing out of my horn and back into my body, but my marefriend still looked at me with undisguised concern.
“Celestia, take over,” Luna whispered to her sister.
Said sister glanced at me before answering, “Of course.”
Luna started dragging me by the hoof towards the Palace. I lagged behind for a second, stumbling from the unexpected action before catching up.
Still trying to keep the ponies to my side in view, I whisper-yelled at Luna, “Hey! What are you doing?!”
“Finding somewhere quiet, but preferably still in view,” she answered back.
She led us away from the gathered soldiers, stopping before one of the stained glass windows beside the main entrance to the Palace. No one entered or exited, so she nodded to herself before putting her back to the congregation of Royal Guards, Red Right Hoofs, and Night Guards.
Her disregard for her own safety pushed my heartrate just a little bit higher.
She placed her other hoof on my shoulder and sat down in front of me, nearly blocking my view. I struggled to see past her wispy, ethereal mane.
“Phasma.”
“Luna, you’re in the way!”
“That is intentional. Phasma, look at me.” Fidgeting, I looked her in the eyes. “This is a tense situation and worth caution, yes. But you are… unbalanced. I am here at your side, and now Celestia is here, too. Take a breath and calm yourself.”
“Calm? Luna, there might be assassins right behind you!” I hissed, pointing over her shoulder.
“I know. But it is of extreme importance to remain calm in situations like this, Phasma. Do you even know what spell you were casting?”
“A shield spell, I guess.”
She smiled at me, “Good. That is good instincts, drilled well. But we cannot risk casting spells unaware, Phasma. What if you throw an attack against something that surprises you? An innocent might get hurt. Just… breathe. Can you do that for me?”
I kept my mouth shut, nodded, and tried to follow her directions. Finally, she let go of my shoulders and scooted over to sit by my side, facing the yard. That made calming down a whole lot easier.
“I don’t like you disregarding potential danger like that,” I whispered out of the corner of my mouth.
“... I weighed blocking your view and forcing you to focus on me against any actual danger posed to me at this distance, and decided that you hurling a fireball to be the bigger danger,” Luna revealed, holding my hoof closest to her. "Besides, only a fool relies solely on their vision. There are many more senses, Phasma, and mine have been honed well enough."
I gave her hoof a squeeze, “I don’t like this, Luna.”
“I know.”
“This could have all been a ploy to pull us out and attack us.”
“Perhaps.”
“We could still be in danger. We didn’t even check to see if that was the real Celestia!”
Luna snorted, chuckled quietly, and shook her head, “There are few ponies who are capable of casting a teleport spell, Phasma. In fact, I am sure that my sister has a list of all of them somewhere. Now, add that to the fact that they would have to be maintaining a disguise spell on top of that. Do you know anypony capable of that?”
“... No. The only pony I know of who can dual-cast spells is Twilight Sparkle, and she doesn’t have the capacity to do that with a teleport spell.”
She nodded, “Celestia and I are more than capable, but I am afraid neither of us have quite mastered dual-casting. You need a certain…” She trailed off.
“Insanity?” I offered.
Luna giggled, “Insanity. No regular pony can partition their mind to such an extent as casting teleport with other spells. I must admit, Twilight Sparkle may one day have the mana pool to achieve such a feat.”
“What about the rest of the ponies, the ones already present? What if one of them launched an attack against us while we were standing in front of them? How can you discount such a threat?”
Luna chewed on my words, “... My reactions have been honed to a blade’s edge. Further, my peytral and tiara have their own protective shields that project over my body.”
I bit my tongue, refraining from grinding my teeth together.
“What about me? What about their most likely target? I left my crown and its built-in shield in the lab, Luna.”
At that, Luna looked away from me, towards the gathered soldiers.
“Oh. You are right. I should have been paying more attention to blind spots such as that. All the more reason to remove you from the situation. Come, Phasma. Celestia has this well in hoof. We can contribute nothing more by being here.”
“I don’t think we have enough time to relax again before our next scheduled activity,” I said, still trying to control my nerves.
“My sleep was disturbed, and far more importantly you are having a panic attack. I think we have earned a break.”
I snarled, “I am not having a panic attack! We are under threat!”
“You are twitching like a volatile flask of Electrum Mana, your eyes are darting side to side quicker than a stallion on spiked raw salt, and you are charging a spell you were not even aware of. The danger is there, but you are quickly becoming a bigger one.”
“Can you blame me?!”
Luna stood, “Absolutely not. Now, let us take our leave. We will return to this matter before long.”
With one last glance at the training yard, I relented and followed her inside.
Stats
Page generated in 0.028 seconds
Total duration
937 users online
1,088,750 hits today, 1,960,719 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
We needs more Thestral, they are besides Changelings the cutest things in Equestria:
camo.fimfiction.net/iwNGWxUgSxRinAV5nmNHYxGBFf6rMvUmpDUtS-Fp0OY?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs20.postimg.cc%2Fgbg86u1b1%2FBatty_Scene_Break.png
(Switch between day and night mode to see eatch side separately more with contrast)
Infirmary
Demigod with PTSD trying to deescalate situation between two battling armies. That would be fun, disastrous as well but fun. I like how you show weaknesses in different characters, be it Phasma, Luna or Celestia. Keeps the story "real"
Funny you updated this right now, I just finished reading the previous. Well done, great ending. Cant wait to read this one :)
I want to see more of that political thriller with parliament, will Phasma do something fun with democracy in the name of security, like the enabling act?
Besides*
Huh, guess it's not dead
11834534
Writing on mobile be like: incomprehensible messes. Seriously, if you see any complete nonsense that doesn't look like anything, assume it's because I was on mobile. This time was mostly fine, you could tell what the word was lol.
11834565
Yeah, and I'm always happy to help and point em out
This was probably a typo, but it's tangentially relevant to Phasma's bootlegging empire so I say leave it in.
You're losing your touch, Phas; I was already suspecting that by the time you arrived.
Nice
Rupert’s Drop is a very clever name for this chapter. Awesome metaphor.
Division P is definitely smarter than to stick around after a fuse is lit. The most they'll get out of anyone is various ponies outside the guard have been pushing sentiment into their ranks while off duty and letting the thoughts fester.
Phasma definitely needs a vacation, too bad Mark Wells and company likely won't visit for at least six years...
11834584
I added some lines to this chapter at 3 AM while I was sitting in my overpriced hotel room at a furry con. Any mistakes can be attributed to the tiny fucking keyboards that smartphones have.
Luna and Phasma were pretty adorable once again.
11834429
That's a nice trick.
Outside(?)
Breathe
Outside(?)
Breathe
Guess who old be experienced in assasination and it's weak points:
♡
cdn-img.fimfiction.net/story/0pt4-1636240699-506482-medium
Naaa just kidding it's actually:
camo.fimfiction.net/9EW75cd4BzHDM22x_DKG7NbYHWtqH5fQpM5ezIbgc7I?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.tenor.com%2F2QAgkXx1d94AAAAi%2Fchrysalis-mlp.gif
What better way to keep collecting, than eliminating conflict and making prosperity flourish so they freely fornicate
At least he's not waving a disintegration beam like a spotlight
Phasma doesn't need to be at the trial to be seen at the trial... He's the king of the changelings. CHANGE-lings. He can just have someone disguised as him attend in his stead.
...that would complicate things if Chrysalis tried to pull him onto the stand again, though.
The fact that Phasma reacted to the doorbell that way probably should have been a sign that Phasma wasn't in a good headspace to be in the middle of a conflict, but I doubt anything could have convinced him to stay inside and let Luna deal with it. Maybe it was best for him to be near Luna through the panic attack, anyway.
WAIT... Did Phasma react that way to the doorbell because of the conflict outside? He could have been emulating the emotions of the ponies outside the door without realizing it!
Phasma and Luna are both giant messes, but it's ok because neither is a giant mess at the same time. They take turns panicking and comforting one another! Other than making sure they see their therapists regularly, that's probably the best they can do.
11835155
Yeah they just take turns having a meltdown, but it's Phasma's turn like 4/5 times. Luna just is more time efficient and gets all of her freaking out done at once.
11835229
That makes sense. She's had millennia to learn to be efficient! In everything but matters of state, it seems... maybe she's secretly doing some of Celestia's work to make up for not helping for a thousand years XP
11835229
she does have experience.
Annnnd now I'm caught up. 2-3 years of updates and I run through them in a few days... I'm sad now, because I want more and there isn't any. Oh, what a world.
11836802
Damn... That tough. But this story is great in breaking expectations. Comment section is very entertaining as well. Stuff like:
camo.fimfiction.net/x0zemtmn_p095KDK51c3X0jWL9paAtx1uDJsWf03MQY?url=https%3A%2F%2F64.media.tumblr.com%2F1066b7fe948ed2b7255ada482d77c24d%2Ftumblr_pin0834tIa1u4fzdzo1_1280.png
Mine seem to be liked. When I used Lyra and Bon Bon jokes.
11850102
Weird.
No, not your comment--even though they often are (but in a good way).
The timing that I'm seeing is weird.
Your reply to me was for my comment on Chapter #16. And evidently, the last chapter I read here was #22. KKSlider posted new stuff all the way to #28 now...yet I don't recall any notifications of his story getting updated, not to mention that my Read Checkmarks stop @ #19--that is what was weird.
Anyhow, it looks like I need to do some catchup on this story. Plus, thanks for letting me know there were new chapters.
11851781
Kevin Lee: "
Urr..."
"
Kevin Lee *points hoof off in random direction*: "LOOK! THERE'S A DISTRACTION!!
*Kevin Lee runs the other way, jumps into the nearest escape pod, and abandons the website*
11851139
This website had its occasional bug and glitch, but the Fimfiction tech team has the most problems we'll in hand. Though on occasion thing just get messy with the community communications system.
Happens.
Changing expectations and this have been on the featured page and in the list of things I intend to read since like, 2020. I’m proud to say I’ve finally caught up now and it was very much worth the effort! I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here!
11855569
Now you should read Prey and a lamb. It's ending is awful, but the 1m words of actual story before the final couple chapters are great.
11857182
Average Stephen King experience.