Family Business

by TCSNxs

Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges - expanded

Note: This is a complete rewrite of the story done at the request of a few readers. Story borders on mature due to graphic content. Given site rules, this was submitted as a new chapter rather than a separate story. Right. On with the show.

Luna materialized in a blue burst inside the Everfree Forest.  The preternaturally dark woodland maintained its shadowy disposition despite the sunlight overhead.  The clearing she teleported to was chosen for a reason.   It would give her teams a margin of error for their magical jump and it was near the center of the forest.

After a quick look around to be sure she was alone, Luna willed forth another spell, one of Telepathy.  Her horn glowed dully as she “rang” her sister.  It took a minute for the connection to be reciprocated.

“Lulu, have you found her yet?” Luna "heard" Celestia ask.

“No. Are you sure you saw her fly this direction?” Luna mentally queried her sister.

“Oh yes,”  Celestia confirmed over the connection.  To Luna, it was easy to imagine the deadpan nature of the response.

“And she should be within the Everfree?”

“It’s my best guess.”  Celestia answered back.

“Then the rest should not be far away.  Fair enough,” Luna surmised.  She wasn’t about to second guess her sister’s sense of geography and geometry.  The Lunar Regent closed the connection.

Her sister would remain in Canterlot to oversee the second attempt at the wedding and try to return life to its normal course.  As shaken the capital city was, it was hard to disagree with that sentiment.  However, Luna was quite free to pursue her own ends.  As much as she liked the Elements of Harmony and Shining Armor and loved Cadance, there was some “family business” she needed to conclude.

The Lunar Regent willed another spell forth, one designed to locate magical signatures.   She normally would have expected a few about the area.  Even zebras, as strange as their magic was, registered.  As several readings came back to her mind, she smiled evenly.  There were perhaps a few hundred “blips” and only a couple were even milling about.  Luna dropped the spell as her smile broadened.  It was perfect.

The alicorn willed one last spell into being.  This one was attuned to the helmets of her Lunar Guard and used for communication.  They were split into teams and ordered, in no uncertain terms, to stay together.  Each unit had a pair of unicorns to simplify the logistics.  Luna had to “borrow” a few of Celestia’s Royal Guards to make the numbers work, but she was sure they would do. Given what Celestia advised her of earlier, Luna had instructed them make to make their way towards the clearing within the Everfree Forest.

While they could not teleport as far as she could, they still would not be too far behind.  One unicorn would make the jump with the entire group while the other gathered their strength for the next jump. The magic needed for the venture stretched their resources a bit, but it ensured everypony arrived in one place and each in one piece.  Finding those possessed of the proper spells—Teleportation and the proper Dispel—had taken a bit of work, but the alicorns left nothing to chance

Once Luna made the necessary manifestations, her horn pulsed a simple signal of confirmation.  

“Location is Everfree. Converge.”

Luna dropped the spell and waited for the first arrivals.   As she waited, Luna processed through the curious emotions she felt.  She was still getting used to the increased speed of life.  A thousand year removal had that effect.  As such, moments of repose were at a premium.

Normally the diarchs never went beyond the feeling of slight annoyance.  Even in times of war, the sisters had always proceeded with an air of calm to avoid any rash decisions.  It was one of the reasons such conflicts ended favorably to the fledgling Equestria in those early years.  But something about this incident struck the Lunar Regent in a different light. Even as Luna prepared a plan to take back the city before Shining Armor expelled them, it really wasn't personal for her.

Once the changelings were expelled, Celestia took it upon herself to fully inform Luna when they met briefly in private. After that meetings, the Lunar Regent then understood a lot of things. Luna was quite aware of what transpired up to and during the wedding.  She was well aware of the humiliation Celestia endured at the hoofs of Chrysalis. She was well aware of the battle and defeat the Elements of Harmony suffered. She was well aware of the group being led back to the throne room in shackles and chains.  She was well aware of the mindrape Shining Armor was repeatedly put through.  She was well aware of her niece Cadance’s ponynapping and imprisonment.  She was well aware of the threat the Changelings posed to Equestria, her friends, and her family.  

When she was told of what transpired, the Lunar Regent found she wasn’t furious.  That wasn’t a strong enough term.  She wasn’t livid either.  It didn’t have the proper context.  There was a term she overheard Silverhawk say once when he dressed down a new recruit.  When she first heard the word, it amused her to no end.  When the veteran guardspony explained its meaning, she promised herself to use the word at a later time. But in light of what happened, she wasn’t sure that word was completely right either.  It was the closest verbiage she could fathom, but she was past that.

Luna was beyond pissed.

It wasn't long before a burst of white light flashed in front of the Lunar Regent.  Silverhawk, Storm Wind, and two unicorns materialized just ahead of the alicorn.  They were dressed for battle. Aside from the usual armor due their stations, they each wore additional pieces across their muzzles and on their hindquarters.  About their forelegs were vicious looking blades.  Elbow Blades, as they were known, was a recent innovation. They functioned best in close quarters melee, such as in a forest.  They could fold up, snap out, and lock in place with a simple twist of a hoof.  Though the guardsponies preferred their trademark spears, the Lunar Regent admitted the sharp blades added to their fearsome look.

“Apple core,” Silverhawk said immediately.

“Baltimare,” Luna answered the codeword.  Indeed, everypony was who they were supposed to be.

“Your Highness,” Silverhawk said as the four ponies bowed. He rose immediately. “The others are on their way.”

“Good,” Luna said evenly. “I want the entire forest swept.  I don’t care if you have to do it twice.”

“Of course,” the Lieutenant said. “Prisoners?”

Luna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her initial inclination was to sanitize the area. But she had to look at the larger perspective. “If they might have value, use your discretion," Luna opened her eyes as she finished. "Otherwise, none.”

“Understood.  What of the Queen?”

“You call for me if you see her.  Otherwise, be discreet and wait for me,” Luna instructed. She respected the Silverhawk's tactical sharpness and usually gave him broad discretion to do things as he saw fit. However, some things required her personal attention. “Are we clear?”

“As glass, Your Highness,” Silverhawk said. He bowed once more before he turned to his team.

Luna accepted that. She willed forth her magic once more, calling forth a simple spell of silence. As she moved to the edge of the clearing, the guardsponies had already produced a map of the Everfree.  Storm Wind circled a spot that represented Zecora’s tree hut. It would be their command post.  

Otherwise, they went over the tactical details of the hunt.  As another flash broke loose and codewords were exchanged, the Lunar Regent was already gone.  Despite the late afternoon, her natural coloration only melted into the perpetually dark forest.  Thirty more flashes were expected as the guardsponies prepared for their grim work. It was going to be a busy evening for the Lunar and Royal Guard.

Chrysalis wasn’t sure how long she was out.  The last thing she recalled was a pink wall of force and a long flight.  The Changeling Queen was sore and her magical reservoirs were a puddle. Even with her tap into Shining Armor, the duel with Celestia took quite a bit out of her.  Of course, she could recoup her losses, both in her army and her arcane reserves. However, she still felt vulnerable with the protection of neither.

“This is a change,” the changeling lamented.

All about her was a dark and tangled forest. Despite the chirping of birds, the overgrown trees conspired to create shadows all about her.  As she gained her hoofs, Chrysalis shook her head to loose the cobwebs.  The Changeling Queen glanced about herself.  With no permanent damage in her holey torso and wings, she counted her blessings. Given the circumstances, she would live and fight another day. And she intended to do just that.

The Changeling Queen gently tested her extremities and found them functional.  She was exhausted and ached in places she’d never thought about before.  She gingerly took a few steps before going into a full walk.  She needed time to decide her course. More so, she needed a chance to rest.

Chrysalis started down a long path that looked as promising as any.  As she walked, she set her mind to work on her next course and how to profit from her mistakes.  As time passed and the sound of rushing water approached, she decided to lay low and take a longer route towards her goal. She knew Equestria would be hers. As an limitless battery to feed her brood, she considered it only a matter of time. Patience was ever the ally of immortal beings and her charges were easily replaced. Such was their nature.  

The royal changeling sauntered on. Gradually, in the back of her mind, she had the feeling the forest was watching her. For that matter, she spotted the occasional sets of various colored orbs staring towards her. Silver, brown, red, green, and even cyan eyes seemed to give her a glance.  She attempted to dismiss the feeling by the time she moved across the river.  After all, what reason did she have to be nervous?

The birds continued to sing as she walked.  It had struck her as odd that she didn’t happen across any of her charges as she traveled.  But there would be time for that.  Being hive minded beings, it would be little chore to reach out and call them to her.  

But first, she needed rest. Even a basic calling was an expenditure of arcane energy she could ill afford at the moment.  The hours seemingly blended together as the forest still watched her. Chrysalis did her best to dismiss her nervousness. The unblinking eyes seemed to follow her where ever she went. Eventually, she happened upon an ancient structure as she made a clearing in the forest.  It was as a good place as any, despite her growing unease.

The entirety of the structure looked like it was the scene of great battle.  Holes and scorch marks lined the exterior of a large ruin. Two large towers jutted up from a main hall while buttresses liberally lined the diameter of the complex.  A few smaller and similarly scarred buildings dotted the clearing. Chrysalis wondered if it could have been a cathedral or perhaps some monument to an alicorn’s vanity.  Regardless, she stepped inside for some well deserved rest.

The changeling was well aware it was being hunted. Even intelligent creatures suffered from the instinctive “fight or flight” mode.  When it happened to come across a set of four armed and armored ponies outside of a strange tree, it was forced to a decision. With the numbers not being favorable, it ran at the first opportunity. The two unicorns gave chase as the pegasi took to the air.

The being didn’t get far before a silent pegasus landed in its path.  The pony glared at the creature while it wore a half-smile beneath its muzzle guard.  The changeling, on pure instinct, called forth its magic and morphed into a spitting image of the guardspony.  It mimicked the silent pony, right down to half-smile.

Or it tried to.  Before the creature could even begin to move, a wave of energy washed over both of them.  The energetical Dispel caused the changeling's to lose any sort of cohesion.  Unable to hold its form, the changeling reverted to its natural state.  Aside from a few shudders as if it were tickled, the guardspony was unaffected.  The silent pegasus, Storm Wind, stalked towards the “reset” changeling and reared on his hind legs.  

Beyond the unfolding scene, another changeling watched the scene unfold from a copse of trees.  It wanted to assist and even began to call forth its magic.  But the energy wave, courtesy of one of the unicorns of the Royal Guard, hit it before it could manifest the magic.  It occurred to the watchful changeling, on a basal level, that it should flee.

Behind the observing changeling, another guardspony landed silently.  Silverhawk, watched everything transpire after his landing. His slit irises, courtesy of the helmet’s enchantment, shifted down to the changeling as Storm Wind reared up. The head of the Lunar guard snapped and twisted a hoof, unfolding and locking the Elbow Blade in a single motion.  The click caused observant creature to turn around. To look into the eyes of the guard.  There was no sound other than a gurgle as Silverhawk brought a forehoof down; his blade had taken the creature in the throat.

The fugitive changeling watched its attacker as if time itself slowed.  The guardspony gave a snap of his forehoof as a long blade unfolded.  A twist of the same locked the instrument into place.  The creature watched fascinated as the blade glistened in what sunlight came through the forest canopy.  Even on its base level, the changeling thought the scene horrendously beautiful. Even as the sword's tip thrust towards his point of view, the changeling only broke away when its world grew black.

“Apple core,” Silverhawk called out as he exited the copse. One folded blade dripped garishly on the outside of a foreleg.  

“Baltimare,” a unicorn from the Royal Guard called back.  Storm Wind yanked his blade free of the changeling’s skull with a sickening sound.  

“Back to Zecora's,” Silverhawk commanded as he joined his departing team.  Behind them, the felled changelings’ life poured freely onto the ground.  

In the distance, Silverhawk heard the distinctive report of a lightning bolt. It made him smile. Given the sky was clear, the Lieutenant was reminded unicorns were quite efficient in the role of "artillery". As that late afternoon rolled into evening, similar scenes unfolded through the Everfree. As the body count began to mount, nopony could argue at the efficiency of the guardsponies.

Chrysalis found the scene inside the ruins as much of a puzzle.  Scorch marks and holes lined the main hall.  A large stone construction looked as if it were meant to hold something sat eternal in the middle of it. It was also scorched in spots. The Changeling Queen began to picture one answer: A battle.

After no answers seemed forthcoming, she moved up a side stairwell towards one of the towers.  Given the ruins seemed to be barely standing, The Changeling Queen measured every step up the passageway. She should have been resting, but fascination drove her on.

In the large room at the top of the stairwell, she noticed a few incongruous things about the room.  As she hoofed through the space, she noticed shards of blackened metal about the room. It was like somepony set off an explosive.  More than that, the marks left on the metal bits was darker, as if time and weather had yet to dull them. As she reached a raised dais of the room, she noted more metal bits strewn about it.  Looking closer, Chrysalis found a curious set of hoofprints charred into the floor.  Indeed, even to the fatigued Changeling Queen, it wasn’t quite right.

“What happened here?” Chrysalis absently asked.

“Family reunion,” answered a melodic alto voice behind Chrysalis that curdled her blood.

On instinct, Chrysalis called forth what remained of her magic as she whirled about.  Even as she finished, the changeling loosed a destructive green bolt in the direction of the voice.  What the Changeling Queen hoped for was a yell of pain and sizzling flesh. What she got was a blue flash of light.  The energy shot thundered into the wall behind the flash. The bolt blew loose a few stones as it dissipated.

Before Chrysalis could begin a question who said the words, another burst of intense blue light broke in front of her.  Even as the Changeling Queen's vision clouded with tracers, a sharp pain exploded on her cheek.  The sensation cascaded to the back of her skull even as she was rocked backwards.  The changeling hit hard against edge of the dais.  

The Changeling Queen tried to sort through the crippling pain as she put a hoof to her cheek.  When her vision cleared, she pulled the hoof away. A wet-looking crimson matted her normally ebony hoof.  She looked up to see a sapphire alicorn glaring at her as its horn glowed a menacing midnight blue.

“My apologies we weren’t formally introduced earlier,” the alicorn said.  Her eyes were devoid of any emotion as blood stained her slipper. "I am Luna, Diarch of Equestria and Lunar Regent.”

Even as the Lunar Regent stood superior before her, Chrysalis attempted to will her magic again. Her holey horn flared an angry green as she began to put together a Teleportation spell.  But as Changeling Queen had begun to picture her destination, a wave of energy broke itself against her.  The sickly green aura of her horn wasted to nothingness as Luna finished the magical Dispel.  Chrysalis looked up to the alicorn and swallowed. She was trapped.

“I believe you have already met some of my family,” Luna remarked coldly as she seized the changeling in her Telekinesis spell. She raised the Changeling Queen abruptly as she continued. “You met my sister, Princess Celestia.”  

The Lunar Regent brought the creature down with as much speed as she could.  She ended the magical grip a split second before Chrysalis’ back cracked against the edge of the dais.  The Changeling Queen’s face had become a mask of pain.

“I know you became well acquainted my niece, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,” Luna voiced as she seized Chrysalis again, raising her body before accelerating her against the back wall in a brutal fashion.  Though the Changeling Queen didn’t break through, she hit with more than enough force to steal her breath.

“Perhaps you are intimately familiar with Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard and Princess Cadenza’s fiancee?” Luna asked.  She magically grappled the changeling again and moved her to the other side of the room. Chrysalis’ trip ended in an unceremonious face first meeting with the wall.  The changeling’s face exploded in a red burst and sickening thud before she slid down to the floor.

“By chance, have you met the Elements of Harmony?  They are quite the wonderful cadre,” Luna deadpanned as she stalked Chrysalis.  The Changeling Queen rolled onto her back and put a hoof out as Luna continued towards her.

“Stop,” Chrysalis said weakly as her face was nearly destroyed. She wanted to add more volume, but each breath was accompanied by a sharp pain.

“But I've yet to get to them, and who am I to forget my friends?" the Lunar Regent replied.  She willed her magic forth again as she spoke. “Perhaps you’ve met Applejack?” The changeling queen was seized again in the bluish glow.  Quickly, she was accelerated through a pillar in the center of the room. Chrysalis landed hard and slid across the floor.

“Rarity,” Luna said as she telekinetically grabbed the Changeling queen. The royal changeling met the bottom of the pillar in much the previous fashion.

“Pinkie Pie,” Chrysalis heard as she was accelerated against the base of the dais. She felt her leg explode in torment.

“Fluttershy,” Luna remarked as she uplifted the Changeling Queen against a portion of the remaining roof.  The changeling hit hard against the ceiling, but somehow didn’t break through to the sky beyond it.

“Rainbow Dash,” Luna said as she continued to build steam. She seized the changeling once more as she came down.  Accelerating Chrysalis’ descent was a simple matter.

“Oh!  Of course I cannot forget Twilight Sparkle,” Luna explained as she seized the crumpled Changeling Queen in her telekinetic grip.  The Lunar Regent unceremoniously tossed the creature through an open portion of the roof.  As she watched part of Chrysalis’ flight, Luna winked away in a burst of magic.  

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Chrysalis wanted to flap her holey wings to at least soften her descent.  But the cool night air felt soothing the Changeling Queen. Whatever rational part of her mind was left simply relished in it.  But the repose didn’t last as long as she wanted; not with how fast as the floor approached.

Chrysalis crashed on the floor of the main hall.  Even as a blue flash lit the room behind her, the Changeling Queen hoped that it was Mortis Mori, the Spirit of Death, coming to claim her. But in place of a skeletal ghost, Luna watched the macabre scene with a frighteningly dispassionate view.  To her credit, the Changeling Queen managed to roll onto her back before she tried to backpeddle away from the enraged alicorn.

“Stop,” Chrysalis wheezed once more.  Battered and with one leg disturbingly bent, she managed to move some distance. Even as a crimson line marked her trail, she had somehow survived.

“Surely you're joking,” Luna stated simply.  Her eyes promised death if Chrysalis even so much as blinked. Not that the changeling could with her swollen eyes. “Mercy? Are you really that foolish?”

Chrysalis winced as she climbed slowly on the dais of the main hall.  Her mind tried to block out the pain as she fought for time. She wheezed once more as she spoke. “I will leave...and not come back!  Just...please, let me go.”

“As you wish,” Luna said with a half-smile. Chrysalis was stunned. Did she heard that right? "But before you go, you must answer a riddle."

Chrysalis nodded slight. She was in no position to bargain with the alicorn.

Luna stared unblinking as she enunciated softly: "I'm neither a guest nor a trespasser be, in this realm of visions that belongs to me. I know of your fears and disappear with the dawn. I may exist only an instant, but haunt you all night long. Of what do I speak?"

To her credit, Chrysalis' mind managed to piece together enough of the words to find the answer, "A nightmare?"

“Correct,” Luna answered as horn flared brightly.  In place of her trademark blue was a brilliant silver. The ground quaked violently beneath them as the ruins groaned in protest.  The Lunar Regent’s eyes started to glow in the same blinding light while her mouth shifted a maniacal grin. As Luna gathered her power, her auroral mane and tale flailed as if somepony hooked her up a generator. Chrysalis whimpered as the world about her grew very small in the horrible light of the Lunar Regent.

"Perhaps you will remember that as you leave," the Lunar Regent nearly cackled as she called forth her magic. Her voice even took on an electronic undertone. "But 'never', as you said, is such a long time and I would loveto see you again."

The next thing Chrysalis saw before the silver light blinded her was the furious alicorn rearing up and unfolding her wings. The Changeling Queen thought the alicorn a terrible and pretty thing indeed. As her perspective became nothing but solid silver, what the Changeling Queen noted next was an odd lack of pain.  Even as her body was being taken apart bit by bit as her corporeal form surrendered its final moments, there was sensations left. She want to yell in defiance, but her voice was lost upon the Astral winds as her spirit was taken away.  

The fierce silver light flooded the Everfree as it grew still brighter. Luna willed forth the last manifestations she needed. Celestial Imprisonment was a complicated spell, but one she was well versed in.

The light died away suddenly as the alicorn finished.  Luna stared at the smoking outline of where Chrysalis had been.  Her anger was spent, as was her magical reserves.  However, the Lunar Regent would have been lying if she said her conversation had been anything short of catharsis.

“One day,” Luna said quietly. She took one last huff to expel her frustrations.  The alicorn turned towards for the open portal to the night beyond. She kicked a loosened stone as she passed for the hay of it.

"Hello everypony! Did I miss anything?" Luna asked as she landed next her sister and the Elements of Harmony.  A quiet smile creased her face as most of the group looked at her in amazement.  Celestia gave a tilt of her head, which Luna answered with the same smile.  Celestia’s look shifted to its usual placidity as much transpired between them.

The party had become as much about healing for Canterlot as celebrating the joining of two of its most important citizens.  As such, the normally celebration-inclined ponies turned the shindig into an absolute carnival.  Indeed, things could have been much worse.  Whether it was intentional or not, the entire city took it as a celebration of triumph for the ideals of Equestria: Love and tolerance. And justice.

The Elements of Harmony were fully in the swing of things.  Pinkie was helping a DJ of some repute spin records as Twilight did her best to cut a hit single.   Canterlot, it seemed, was doing well to forget about the event dubbed “The Changeling Invasion.”

As the party moved well into the night, Luna received word from Silverhawk that the “infestation” was cleansed.  Of course it was likely a few of the changelings escaped. But they could be dealt with as the need arose.  The evening was turning into quite a delightful affair.

As the party moved into the early morning, Celestia and Luna watched over the oblivious throng from a balcony high overhead.  Celestia studied—and marveled—at her “little ponies” ability to move on.  Luna watched in fascination as the party waged on.  Both nursed glasses of wine as the celebration had begun to take on shades of a bacchanal.

“Is it handled?” Celestia asked again for the third time. The Solar Regent didn't doubt her sisters's word: She just wanted to hear it.

“It is,” Luna confirmed.  She looked up to the moon as a new shape formed on the surface.  She’d chalk it up to a “creative whim”.

“And the rest of them?” Celestia asked before taking a sip of her wine.

“Dealt with.”

The two alicorns remained silent for a while as life moved on in its own way below them.  There would be rumors and innuendo, but not a word would be breathed about the eradication.  Perhaps it would have gone smoother if the Elements were involved, but Celestia needed them to remain untainted.  As the embodiment of all that was "good and pure" about the pony spirit, they needed to remain naive for the time being.

“It’s good you’re back, Lulu,” Celestia said as she turned to her sister.  

“Hmm,” Luna smiled as she sipped her wine.  Though she was exhausted, she still wanted to be a part of the party.  They spread their wings and lifted off the balcony. After all, the party was just getting started and who were they to miss it?