Missing in Action

by LSTS Connor

Stage 2: Controlled Climb

For the millionth time in his life, Phasma found himself walking down the long corridors of the Palace. Unlike the last world that Phasma had visited, this Palace was in one piece.

He was being escorted by the Princesses of Equestria. Two out of the three, at least. Their destination was some sitting room or another. There were no doubt a dozen rooms like it, where the fates of individuals and nations alike were decided over a cup of hot tea. Or a cold margarita, knowing Celestia’s drinking habits.

Maids and guard patrols scurried out of the Royal Host’s path as they trotted down the halls. Getting an idea, Phasma walked a little bit quicker to catch up to Princess Luna ahead of him. The Princess turned her head when she heard his approach but made no comment.

“Luna,” he greeted her.

“King Phasma,” Luna returned.

Phasma tried to get a reading on her emotions. Unfortunately, being crowded by no less than a dozen Royal Guards and passing many surprised ponies left the hints of emotion from Luna very muddled. As best as he could tell, she was not happy.

‘Though it doesn’t take an empath to get that understanding, just someone with a pair of eyes. Pair of…’

He found himself staring at Luna’s eyepatch. Luna was staring right back, clearly upset at his uncouthness.

“May we talk a bit?” Phasma asked.

“It seems you have made that decision for us.”

“I suppose I should get out in front and ask; what happened to your eye?”

Luna grunted, “It was one of your assassins. I had already told you this.”

“I don’t employ assassins,” Phasma said. “If I want someone dead, I would kill them myself… No one under me is put in danger that way.”

“How noble of you,” Luna said coldly. “I do not kill anypony unless provoked. That is a lesson you changelings have yet to fully appreciate. You are lucky that Queen Chrysalis still draws breath. She is the one responsible for my injury.”

‘Fucking Chrysalis…’

Phasma laughed weakly, “I’d lose no sleep over Chrysalis’s death. If I had a bit for every time we tried to kill each other in battle, I’d have two bits. Which isn’t much, but it’s strange that it happened twice. First time we fought, I lost my right foreleg.”

Luna pointedly looked over at Phasma’s leg. Given that he had all four of his legs, her confusion was pretty understandable.

“What?” he asked. “I got better.”

“I see,” Luna said, clearly not seeing. “Do you have anything important to say?”

“I, uh… You… Never mind,” Phasma mumbled, starting to lag behind Luna.

She turned away from him and held her head high. If Phasma didn’t know any better, he would have said that Luna was putting in effort to keep him distant.

‘Oh wait, I do know better. She doesn’t know me. I’m just some… changeling king. Someone like Chrysalis… Just let it go, Phasma. You’ll get back home. You will.’

When we arrived at the sitting room, Phasma was surprised to find that it had a view. The large room, furnished with chairs, tables, paintings, small marble statues, crystal chandeliers, and the other usual accouterments that accompanied the Rococo-style Palace were accompanied by a floor-to-ceiling window on the far side of the room. It looked out over the vast rolling hills, winding rivers, and distant mountains of Equestria’s Western half.

Phasma whistled in appreciation. There were plenty of rooms and balconies that he had been in that had this view. However, none of them had managed to capture the luxury and splendor of this particular sitting room.

Celestia and Luna seated themselves in a pair of chairs in the center of the room. Celestia gestured for Phasma to take one of the two chairs opposite them. To Luna’s continued confusion and frustration, he chose the one directly across from her, not Celestia, and scooted it so that the back was against the wall.

Celestia quietly noted her sister’s confusion and the King’s choice of seating.

“Now, King Phasma,” she began, “you have clearly gathered much information about us. I am afraid we can not say the same about you. Neither of us has even heard of you, in fact."

"Yet you speak to us like we are compatriots," Luna added with a withering look.

Celestia held out a hoof to stay Luna's scoldings, "So we are both very interested to learn about you. Visits from royalty are very rare, let alone changeling royalty. Please, I would love to hear more about you and your kingdom. The Fifth Hive, correct?"

Luna gestured to a black stallion in a tux standing by the door, who bowed once and left.

'Off to get refreshments, if my memory serves me correctly. Now, the Fifth Hive…'

I relaxed in my chair as I considered what to say.

'Scraps of the truth and nothing more. I've learned that lesson the hard way. No mention of other universes. No mention of Umbrum or changeling invasions or… anything. I can never trust the locals, no matter who they are…. Who I think they are…'

"That is by design, as you may have guessed," Phasma said at last. "Knowledge is power. The Fifth Hive has kept out of the spotlight for our own safety. The Fifth Hive is located far away from here, in the Underhive."

"The Underhive? I'm afraid I have never heard of the place," Celestia said. "Where is it?"

'And the pitfalls have already started popping up. These ponies have already been in a war against the changelings. If I give too much information, the odds of being caught in a lie will grow higher and higher.'

“Far from here, I’m afraid. I’ve been trying to get back home for a long while now. The journey’s very long, and I was just stopping off in Canterlot for some supplies and rest. Guess it’s too late to get some rest.”

“I have connections far and wide, King Phasma. Perhaps if you told me where this Underhive is, I might be able to arrange help for you?”

Phasma sighed, “Unlikely. It’s a deep underground cavern system, filled to the brim with… not-very-friendly locals.”

“I can’t imagine that this is conducive to keeping your kingdom strong and growing,” Celestia remarked.

“No, it isn’t,” Phasma continued his lie. “I’m afraid the Fifth Hive now numbers less than twenty-thousand changelings…”

The Princesses visibly eased up and relaxed when he mentioned the population of the Fifth Hive.

‘Clearly, they thought they were dealing with someone who had an army at their back.’

“Well, don’t look too happy with that,” Phasma all but growled. “We’ve lost a lot recently. I’ve lost a lot.”

“Oh, Harmony, we meant no offense,” Celestia apologized. “We just thought–”

“– That another changeling Kingdom had set its fangs upon us,” Luna finished.

“Luna, please. I am sorry to hear about your troubles, King Phasma. We know how hard things can get when it comes to the stewardship of a kingdom. I’m sure we could offer aid, if–”

“The Fifth Hive’s too far for any of that,” Phasma shook his head. “Thank you for the offer, but I can’t accept any aid.”

“I am surprised you would even consider the offer,” Luna said.

Phasma chuckled, “I’m certain you are. If I only knew–”

The doors to our room opened. Phasma split his gaze between the Princesses before him and the door opening, half-turning to see the new arrivals.

“Ah, Captain Shining Armor,” Celestia greeted the stallion.

The familiar white unicorn strode into the room, bowing smartly before the Princesses.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna.”

“Captain Shining Armor here is quite interested in our conversation, given that he is in charge of all security concerns in Equestria,” Celestia explained.

“I am aware,” the changeling said, nodding towards Shining. “Captain Shining Armor.”

Shining frowned as Celestia introduced me, “Captain, this is King Phasma. He was the changeling whose presence set off the alarms…”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, King Phasma,” the Captain lied.

“The pleasure is mutual,” I returned.

Celestia pulled a chair up to her side, placing it more or less opposed to my spot against the wall.

“Captain, why don’t you take a seat and join us?”

“I’d prefer to stand.”

“Don’t make me make it an order,” Celestia smiled. As Shining sat down, Celestia leaned towards Phasma, “It is so hard to get ponies to relax. I admit, they follow my lead in that regard.”

“I don’t see why I’d relax with a changeling royal around,” Shining said under his breath.

“King Phasma was just explaining to us his Kingdom's situation,” Luna briefed the Captain. “It is a faraway place, and has been facing many challenges, so he says.”

“Meaning I’m not that much of a threat,” Phasma smiled. “Except, of course, for the fact that I am standing right here and not in my faraway, small kingdom.”

“How very blunt of you,” Shining stared at him.

“Your kingdom has just exited a war with ol’ Chryssy. If you weren’t paranoid out the wazoo, I would think that you did not learn enough from her…”

Celestia tilted her head, “Out the wazoo? That is a curious phrase. But I take it that you have had prior experiences with, as you put it, ‘Ol’ Chryssy?’”

Phasma’s hoof darted to the side, picking up a crystal glass that was filled with water. Shining Armor, and the Princesses, to a lesser extent, stiffened at the quick maneuver. Phasma chuckled to himself as he drank, staring at Shining Armor.

“Yes,” he said, placing the glass down. “I know her quite well.”

Celestia studied him, “Are you affiliated with the Hive of Queen Chrysalis? Is she an old friend or… lover?”

Phasma barked a laugh loudly, his sudden reaction once again causing Shining Armor to freeze in anticipation of an attack.

“Oh, that’s a good one! Lover! I appreciate your candid attitude and guess, but I would never sleep with that wretch! Nowadays, the only times I see her are when we are trying to kill each other or something to that end. No, no. Queen Chrysalis is my mother.”

The three ponies shared a glance of confusion as Phasma enjoyed their stunned silence.

“What?!” Shining yelled.

“How very… interesting,” Celestia said, her emotions performing a rare stint of not being clamped down in an iron vice.

“I see that you did not inherit her looks,” Luna said, still bewildered.

“You tried to kill each other, you say?” Celestia asked. “Is matricide and infanticide not frowned upon in changeling society? Such things would not win you any friends in Equestria…”

“No one blames me for defending myself, no. And if I killed Queen Chrysalis, then jolly to me. As for Chryssy trying to kill me… who can say otherwise? Who could stand up to her? I’m afraid that what she said goes.”

“Do you intend on continuing this feud?” Celestia asked.

“I don't plan on killing any of my family members. Well… any more.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Luna glared.

“It means I don’t want to talk about it,” Phasma retorted. “Chrysalis started this fight, not me. She was the one who decided the stakes. You know, like how she invaded you ponies, right?”

“She’s not very good at making friends, is she?” Shining asked rhetorically.

“Then it seems our interests are aligned,” Celestia steered the conversation back on topic. “We should try to work together to avoid any more bloodshed. We have had far too much of it recently, and it sounds like you have had your fair share, too.”

Once more, the doors were opened by the Royal Guards standing at attention outside our meeting room. A newcomer entered the room, the floors creaking under her weight.

Noble Six, still sealed in her power armor, walked into the room. Phasma’s eyebrows raised at her unexpected arrival, as did Captain Shining Armor’s. Six stalked around to the edge of the room behind the Princesses, not saying a word.

“I believe you have already met Six,” Celestia introduced the silent soldier.

“Quite,” Phasma responded, tearing his stare away from the Spartan. “What is it that you want, Princess Celestia? I understand that you were going somewhere with this?”

‘If the war is over and Chrysalis is on the run, what could Celestia ask of me? There’s never any real reason I was needed to intervene in Equestria’s politics outside of the Invasion in the many universes I’ve visited. So what does she want?’

“Equestria would be grateful if you could aid the negotiations between Equestria and the changelings,” Celestia explained.

“Negotiations?” Phasma repeated. “.... What’s in it for me?”

“Straight to payment,” Luna remarked. “Is the good deed of aiding others and preventing more war not enough?”

“No.”

‘And quite frankly, I’m getting sick of your hostility, Luna.’

“Peace between changelings and ponies is mutually beneficial,” Celestia stated. “Every kingdom involved would no longer be losing ponies and changelings, and instead, the bonds of friendship can start to form.”

“I don’t lead the Kingdom you went to war with, Celestia. I had nothing to do with it, just as I have nothing to do with your Equestria.”

“Your Fifth Hive kingdom has nothing to gain from a partnership with Equestria?” Celestia asked.

“You claim to be Queen Chrysalis’s son,” Luna spat, “yet you leave the changelings to their own fate? Do you have no compassion for your fellow changelings?”

“I have worries of my own, Luna. The Fifth Hive is too far away to be concerned with your politics, and my subjects’ needs demand my full attention. As soon as I am able, I will be leaving to continue my journey home.”

Celestia pressed on, “Surely there is something that Equestria can offer you that would entice you to assist us in our efforts to achieve peace?”

Phasma opened his mouth to shut her down but slowly closed it.

‘As a matter of fact, I suppose there is something…’

“I will handle negotiations between the changelings and the ponies if, and only if, you bring me as many flasks of synthesized Electrum Mana as I can carry. Which is… about three.”

Upon hearing his demands, Luna and Celestia shared a look that carried an entire unspoken conversation.

“That can be arranged,” Celestia said.

“Why would you want something so specific?” Luna asked. “One would think that there is a myriad of other potential payments that you would be enticed by. Far more valuable ones at that.”

“Equestrian bits won’t exactly be worth much in the Fifth Hive,” Phasma lied, “and I need something that I can carry with me without trouble. I want Electrum Mana. That is something I cannot get in the Fifth Hive, and I need it. You will get me Electrum Mana.”

“Why do you need it?” Shining Armor asked. “Electrum Mana has a lot of military applications that Equestria would be concerned with. The last thing we want to do is give another nation a weapon.”

Shining Armor, as a unicorn from a wealthy family and educated background, would have known of the substance. His position as Captain of the Royal Guard would have further escalated the importance of the controlled substance in his mind. Electrum Mana has many applications, from powering highly specialized magical machinery to highly specialized explosives. It was the explosive bit that Shining would be concerned with.

Phasma actually needed it to recharge his jump-MacGuffin that let him travel the multiverse. But he wasn’t about to say that.

“You have my word that it won’t be used in any military application,” Phasma promised.

Shining laughed, “No. Absolutely not. Equestria will not give away dangerous materials that–”

“Done,” Celestia interrupted.

Shining stood up, “What?! Are you serious, Princess? We can’t trust this changeling! His word means nothing to us. Tell me I’m right. Princess! Six, you back me up on this, right?”

Attention returned to the Spartan brooding behind the Equestrian entourage. Six’s helmeted head slowly looked between the Princesses and the King.

“Yes, let’s hear what the Girl Scout has to say about the diplomatic affairs between kingdoms,” Phasma mused.

‘The last thing I want is this juvenile Jar-Head jumping into my affairs and fucking everything up. Spartan, my ass, you’re nothing more than a cosplaying soldier. While parallels between Earth and Equus are common enough, this is far too much.’

“Watch your tone, changeling,” one of the Royal Guards at the doors retorted. “There’s a reason why your kind calls Six ‘demon.’”

‘Another Halo reference. There’s just no end to it, is there?’

“I think you’re confusing your Spartans there, little pony,” Phasma asked. “I’m not afraid of a jumped-up, crayon-eating marine who thinks they’re hot shit.”

“Queen Chrysalis wasn’t afraid till we showed up and kicked her flank,” Shining said.

“After she thrashed your ass, I’m sure. That’s a common–”

“Give the bug the Mana.”

Everyone turned to Six. She nodded once, confirming what she had said and that she was sticking to it. Even Phasma was surprised at this.

‘A petulant cosplayer would be more resistant than this. Surely she’s not the real deal. She can’t be. She can’t.’

“Well then, if there are no more disagreements…” Celestia looked around. “Then I believe we are finished here for the night. King Phasma, I will have a room prepared for you to reside in while we prepare for a trip to the Badlands. It may take a few days to get everything in order.”

“Thank you, Princess Celestia, for your hospitality,” Phasma said.

‘I wonder if I should ask Luna to join me, ha! Ah… maybe not…. That wasn’t a funny joke, Phasma. Remember who matters. Remember her.’

The King and the Princesses rose, prompting Shining to rise a moment later.

“If you’d show me to my room, I’d like to retire early tonight,” Phasma said.

---

As Phasma entered the chambers he was given– they were every bit as extravagant and overdone as he expected– he scanned the room for magical signatures.

Naturally, the whole place lit up.

Meticulously, Phasma combed through the place, signature by signature. Heating enchantments on the floor, protective shield barriers on the windows, the simple light enchantments on the gem-lights, durability enchantments on the very stones themselves… the list went on.

Finally, he found something unusual. A scrap of paper sitting conspicuously on his nightstand was absolutely covered in magical runes. Phasma recognized both the magical residue left on the paper and the hoofwriting.

“Luna, up to no good as usual,” he sighed.

With a single bolt of magic, Phasma vaporized the magical piece of paper. Whatever its esoteric use was– something somewhat simple, he deduced from the runes, it would not get to work on the King.

After rechecking the room and scanning himself for any enchantments or magical effects, Phasma went to sleep. He made sure to magically and physically lock the armored saddlebags that he still wore.

---

The crack of gunfire filled the storming brown wasteland as Six, an assault rifle held within her hooves, gunned down another pair of elites that were charging her. But as the two fell, three more took their place, and they were closing fast.

With her broken helmet lying in the dirt several feet away, there was nothing stopping their incoming plasma fire from melting the titanium armor into her skin.

She grunted in pain but would not yield. Pulling her magnum from the holster against her flank, she began to fire wildly against the charging elites. Some small part of her mind registered that her current duel-wielding should not be possible due to her having hooves instead of hands.

Two more elites fell to her barrage, but the third made it through. Leaping onto her, Six was only barely able to fight him off. The elite found the barrel of a gun pressed against his mandibles moments before his soul left the mortal planes.

Another elite attacked from behind, throwing the equine Spartan to the ground. Six attempted to fight back, but the sudden pressure of a second elite holding her down prevented such actions.

The one to her right activated their energy sword, raising it high to the sky before bringing it plunging down, intent on skewering the Spartan in their gasp. Yet as the blade fell and came closer and closer to Six’s exposed chest, time stood still.

”It seems I am mistaken. I should apologize. I don’t think I will.” A familiar voice filled the air, its source unknown.

Six scanned her frozen environment, looking for the source of the voice. And in a flash of orange to her right, she found who she was looking for.

Standing tall above the bodies that surrounded the immobilized Spartan was King Phasmatodea. He approached Six nonchalantly, his stride confident as, with a wave of his hoof, the elites pinning her to the ground vanished like smoke in the wind.

Six remained where she lay, her gaze watching the King intently.

‘What is he doing here?’ She asked herself as the changeling soon stood next to the Spartan.

He offered a hoof. Six simply stared at it before meeting the King’s eyes. Losing patience, he shook the offered hoof bringing her attention to it once again.

This time, she accepted it.

“Oof! Fucking hell, woman, you need to lose some weight!” Phasma yelled.

When Six accepted the hoof, instead of being pulled up to all four hooves and rising off the ground, she instead just pulled him down onto her. Quickly, Phasma rolled off of Six and got his hooves underneath him as Six looked on with mild amusement.

Six raised an eyebrow, “What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here? Not how? Well, if you must know, I wanted to speak with you. Preferably somewhere where we won’t be overheard. The Dreamscape will do just fine in that regard.”

“Okay,” Six said plainly.

Phasma sighed, “Panar, you have the personality of wet cardboard.”

Six said nothing. In her usual stoicism, she was silent as she got up to all fours on her own.

Phasma looked around them and out across the barren wasteland and overrun ruins that were once farms, “So this is it, huh? This is Reach. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen another planet. Equus is probably just Earth, after all.”

Six’s eyes widened in surprise.

Phasma’s gaze returned to Six, “When I first saw you, I dismissed you as nothing more but another one of those strange parallels. You know, like how your ponies all speak English. I had to learn a new phonetic alphabet– though, thankfully, it was still structurally English. Things change, yet still remain the same in so many ways… You really are a Spartan, aren’t you?”

Six nodded once, “Yes, and are you really human as well? Did the same thing that happened to me also happen to you?”

The changeling shrugged, “Yeah… I got shot. You got impaled, so not quite the same thing.”

Six chuckled a little bit.

Phasma continued, “I didn’t get to bring anything, though. How did you remake Spartan armor? I couldn’t even detect any magic in your armor when we were close in the real world. In fact, my scans were blocked– and not by magical means.”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t tell you. I just woke up like this,” Six said, raising a hoof to inspect it.

Phasma stepped back in surprise, “You woke up in your armor?”

“Also in a desert.”

Phasma huffed, “Lucky you. I had to take the long way around to being a king. It was very… weird. I, uh, hatched. Like from an egg.”

Six’s face scrunched up a bit in disgust. She did not comment on the reveal, however.

“You know,” Phasma remarked, “given that you wear your helmet all the time and that you’re not really prone to speaking with normal people, I would have expected you to have some issues with facial expressions…Forget it, doesn’t matter.”

Six shrugged, “This place changes people, even Spartans.” Her face darkened, “How’s the war going?”

Phasma waved a hoof again. This time, all the other Covenant in the wasteland disappeared. Six watched as each of them turned to dust– carried off in a wind she couldn’t feel. The aliens were removed from the human world just as quickly as Six found herself breathless when Phasma spoke next.

“The war’s over.”

In an instant, Six was in Phasma’s face, staring him in the eyes, “Did we win?!”

Six’s heart was beating out of her chest as her pulse skyrocketed from anticipation.

This was it. Her entire purpose as a Spartan was to protect humanity and fight the Covenant, and she would finally know whether it was all in vain. She had given her life on Reach to defend her home, unknowing whether her sacrifice had any importance. Fear, excitement, despair, hope.

Hope.

All the emotions she had never truly experienced until this very moment were threatening to burst out in an uncontrollable explosion.

Phasma pressed a hoof to Six’s chest and tried to push her back. Six didn’t budge a single inch. He gave an awkward chuckle in response.

“Yeah. As much of a victory as possible at that point,” he confirmed.

Phasma’s face bulged as Six suddenly swept him into a hug, quite literally crushing his ribcage. She ignored his gasps and mutters for mercy. Instead, Six spun in a circle, swinging Phasma around as she threw back her head and bellowed in laughter.

“We won! We won!” She cried– literally cried.

It was the first time Six felt emotions this strong since Spear died. A cacophony of feelings long thought forgotten and buried under the years of training and fighting exploded outwards with the force of a collapsing star. They had won, humanity had survived and Noble’s sacrifice was not in vain. No amount of Spartan stoicism was going to contain those emotions.

Six eventually put Phasma down, mumbling an apology as she attempted to regain her composure and any semblance of dignity that she still possessed.

Now free, Phasma wheezed on the ground, his carapace splintered and caved in around his chest. Blood and organs oozed out of the gaping holes that Six accidentally created. Weakly, he lifted a hoof up and into his mouth, biting down and blowing on it like a balloon.

Instantly, his chest reflated and wounds vanished– bringing more images of a balloon to Six’s mind.

“G-give me a warning, n-next time!” He wheezed, shaking on the ground. “You are mostly in control of this dream; it still unconsciously conforms to your expectations of physics!”

Coughing, the reinvigorated changeling king staggered back up.

“Of–” Six cleared her throat. “Sorry,” she said as she got her tone back to her usual facade.

“Yes, well, sorry doesn’t uncollapse my lungs. Thankfully, I totally can. Again, just give me a warning, and I can more or less disable pain for myself. In fact, I’m going to do that right now. Dreamwalking is a bit of a weird thing to do for both the Dreamer and the Walker.” He sighed deeply and shook his head, “Now. The… the war. I assume you have more questions?”

Six cleared her throat again, “How many did we lose?”

Phasma shrugged, “Hell if I know. How many worlds were there besides Reach? As far as I can recall, that was the last major world, correct?”

“Yes… There was nothing left other than Earth.”

Phasma nodded, “That’s pretty much everything, then. Africa did get glassed, though. Humanity allowed that, if you’d believe it.”

“Allowed Africa to be glassed?” Six repeated. “Explain.”

Eyeing her wearily, Phasma sighed, “It’s a very long story. You remember the Pillar of Autumn and the package you delivered?”

“How could I not?”

He nodded, “As per protocol, it blind-jumped after Reach. Then–”

Phasma paused suddenly, and his head darted in the direction of Reach’s moon. Six was surprised to see the celestial body through the miasma of smoke and airborne debris. Yet there it was; Csodaszarvas had emerged from the tan and orange gloom like a warship. Its distant green body and faint blue rings were visible from where they stood.

Reach’s skies had been darkened by dust when the Covenant had burned away its entire surface. It shouldn’t have been possible to see the blackness of space above, let alone one of Reach’s two moons.

Phasma whispered hoarsely, “We have a visitor. Princess Luna is knocking on your proverbial door, Noble Six. Shall we end our discussion here, or do you want to let her in? The longer we wait, the more she’ll suspect that something is up with your dream.”

Six considered her options, “Let her in.”

With a heavy sigh, Phasma’s horn glowed orange and Reach’s dust-covered skies were cleared away. Whether it was a metaphor or not, Six did not know. She was too taken by the sight of Reach’s moonlit night sky to contemplate the mechanics and magic of how this was all happening.

Csodaszarvas grew in size to dominate the distant horizon. From its swirling green surface, the clouds parted on the moon and Princess Luna stepped forth. Even at a distance, Six could observe that Luna was taking in the familiar surroundings. She had seen this wasteland no less than three times by Six’s count. Luna smiled when her gaze rested upon the Spartan. But when she noticed the large changeling king standing off to Six’s side, her cheerful expression slipped off her face.

Spreading her wings and taking a leap from the alien moon, Luna soared through the sky and touched down before the pair of former humans. Luna and Phasma began to size each other up, each puffing out their chests and looking down their noses at each other.

Luna broke the silence, “For what reason have you conjured an apparition of the changeling monarch, Six?”

Six began to explain, “I didn’t–”

Phasma interrupted, “Sex, we’re having sex.”

Six stares at Phasma in surprise, “What?”

Luna, for her part, began to blush, “I would not make the mistake of entering such an intimate dream! You are more than just a phantom, are you not?”

“Despite my name relating to phantoms, I am more than just an echo of what once was. I am actually here in Six’s dream,” Phasma nodded.

Six took a step back and resumed her statue-esque posture. This was going to be an interesting conversation. Though Six had many, many questions left to ask Phasma, they would have to wait.

“How are you able to Dreamwalk, changeling?” The Princess demanded.

Phasma mumbled and shrugged, “I imagine I’m here, then I decide to be there. Pretty much the same way you do, I suppose. Magic. The answer is always magic.”

Luna scoffed, “Such a dismissive explanation will not do. How did you come to possess the knowledge and skills of the Dreamscape?”

Phasma bared his fangs in a wide smile, “Oh, wouldn’t you like to know, alicorn? I can’t really think of any dismissive jokes or references to be made about it. Ask again in five minutes. Maybe I’ll have a witty response then.”

“Charming,” Luna said in an utterly unimpressed tone.

“You sure seemed to think so,” Phasma whispered under his breath.

Six raised an eyebrow as she caught the remark from him. Luna seemed to have missed the comment, however. The Princess of the Moon paced slowly around the changeling before stopping next to Six.

Luna scowled, “Never has there been anypony else who possessed the ability to walk amongst dreams. Yet here you are, changeling. My mark allows me to raise the moon and safeguard the dreams of my ponies. You, noticeably, seem to lack a Cutie-mark. I ask again, and this time you will give me a straight answer; how are you here?”

The King chuckled, “I have been trained in your Jedi ways by Count Dooku!”

Princess Luna recoiled in surprise, “There is somepony training changelings to dreamwalk?!”

Phasma laughed even harder, doubling over as his cries brought him as low as Six’s earlier overeagerness and excitement.

“Oh. I see. You are making a mockery of me,” Luna said slowly.

“Only a little bit,” the changeling recovered, pulling together his wits. “I couldn’t help but make the reference. It’s a bit of an addiction. Or a coping mechanism, as my therapist likes to say. I try not to think about her views on things, however.”

“Alright then, keep your secrets,” Luna said. “But I will get an answer. If you will not tell me how you got here, then you will tell me why you are here. Six is under my personal protection, changeling.”

“Then Six can tell you why I’m here,” Phasma said, gesturing to the silent Spartan.

Six shrugged, “He wanted to talk.”

Luna pressed further, “He wanted to speak with you? What was your conversation about?”

“Classified,” Six stonewalled.

Luna huffed in frustration, “Very well, then. King Phasma. Need I remind you that you are in Canterlot at our allowance? Should we choose to do so, you will be leaving Canterlot at our command. What were you talking about?”

Phasma sat down and crossed his hooves, “It’s very tempting to just say ‘Classified’ as well. You haven’t exactly been very friendly towards me, Luna.”

Luna stood up straighter, “Need I also remind you that my title is Princess, King Phasma? You should treat your host with the respect she deserves.”

“To me, you will always be just Luna…” Phasma said quietly– though not quietly enough for either mare to miss.

Now both of Six’s eyebrows were raised. The first comment was interesting. This second one was even more indicative of there being much more about King Phasma and his knowledge of the ponies. The number of secrets that the tall changeling held reminded Six of her dealings with ONI agents.

“And what does that mean?” Luna pointedly asked.

Phasma glanced at Six, “... Get me my flasks, Princess.”

With a flash of orange, King Phasmatodea was no more. In the silence that followed his departure, Six and Luna stared at each other.

“Would you mind telling me now?” Luna asked Six.

“No,” Six dismissed Luna.

Then, she turned away from the Princess and walked out into the barren wasteland that was once Reach.

Comments

[INeedSleep]

And tensions rise as Phasma continues to toss out references like nobody's business

[DracoMan671]

This is too perfect... Two of my favorite stories here getting a x-over. I only hope that it does not get abandoned

[Bandit1990]

11450931
No worries, the authors confirmed the whole thing is pre-written.

[Mister Morden]

Phasma: "You would think making references nobody else gets would get boring after a while... Nope, still funny!"

Good chapter.

[leo0074]

“I don’t employ assassins,” Phasma said. “If I want someone dead, I would kill them myself… No one under me is put in danger that way.”

Bruh

[Black--Soul]

Phasmatodea is there for a short fun time.
Not a long time...

My best guess is that his equipment allowed him to kill Nightstalking Parasite in their realm. After he was done he found himself back in Equestria, just not his.
Unless he has 2 directions to have a starting points, he will travel for all eternity. Or find it when it is to late to care finding anything of worth...

[vustrunreyth]

An interesting exchange. But definitely information six needed to hear. I wonder if phasma will broach the subject of healing pods being able to fix luna's eye and pixie's wing. (Unless I am mistaken and the pods don't work on ponies. Though I don't see why not healing magic is healing magic) I would think that phasma would have learned how to make one. Might earn him some brownie points.

[Black--Soul]

11451019
Last i checked they work only on Changelings.
In the storys of Goldfur like 'Off the Mark' the Changelings and Ponys made a regeneration Pod for all races.
11450922
It's his brand of humor.

[TheGreyCrow]

You have my attention

[Frazikar]

And the difference between a 'storage' pod and a healing pod is how great ???

[Nightsclaw]

Oh Luna.

[Aariadon]

The character of King Phasma is definitely growing on me, even if his backstory has problems. And he finds the idea of changelings acting like Covenant (at least the whole "demon" thing) annoying, and I appreciate that self-deprecation by the author.

[Night_Striker]

11451257
he said this is a colab with the creator off phsamatodie witch is really decent story and yeah there is loads off stuff but if i where to say it would be tiny spoilers

[KKSlider]

11451159
Very great difference in function. They probably look the same, albeit the healing pod is more opaque.

[Aresnightsworn]

11449771
Is that a Russianbadger quote I see?

[ArcherStern]

Whelp, looks like I'm going to have to go to the future to read the rest.

Anybody here knows how to make a deal with Discord?

[tsaukpaetra]

Classic Phas! Seems to have un-bent from the last we've seen him. A little at least.
Dropping hints like no other, but he's found a kindred spirit in Six.

[The Loner]

I had hoped that this would be a bit more of a serious story, but some hopes are meant to be dashed.

[LSTS Connor]

11480818
?

[vorxil]

Phas is just rocking it. Love it.