The Unknown Daughter's Reunion:Part 3

by Disembodied_Pony

Chapter 3: Straw in the Wind

In an abandoned shop in Vanhoover, an occasional glow could be seen through it's windows this night.

Inside, were more than two dozen ponies. Gathered there to meet the princesses and see that they were in fact alive, as well as what they could and would do.

This was the second time this evening that the princesses attended a meeting like this. Over the past couple weeks, they were attending as many as they could. Reconnecting with the ponies of this generation.

As the princesses fielded their questions, the empress was off to the side; Having a conversation with nopony in particular. At least, as how it appeared.

Concluding her conversation, she walked over to where the princesses were happily chatting with the ponies that ventured to be there.

"I apologize for the interruption everypony, but I must intervene" the empress cut off their conversation.

"It has been brought to my attention, that a squadron of Provincial Guard is headed to our location. I ask that you remain calm, and gather any belongings you may have brought with you, and don them now. I wish to leave no traces behind of your identities. For we are all leaving post haste, except for myself."

The ponies who were not needing to pick up anything, looked to her.

"Why are you staying? Are you going to fight them?" One of the ponies asked.

"It will not be a fight, I assure you. Though I will contend with them none the less" the empress answered.

Ponies in the crowd winced, and then smiled a tiny bit; Wishing they could stay to see an alicorn bring a piece of the misery machine to a screeching halt.

"Is everypony ready to leave? This will be a little jarring, but harmless, I promise to you" The empress reassured them.

At everyponies nod, she tapped her ear comm. At once, all of the ponies in the room dematerialized around her, leaving her the only pony for the guard to find when they arrived.

She stood there waiting patiently. Her ponies research having prepared her for the coming confrontation.

Some ponies would walk out of this building with a different viewpoint, or already had such and were roped into this operation. Either way, a culling of the forces of tyranny here, were at hoof.

As the pegasi guard surrounded the windows and land bound ponies surrounded the doors, she took a deep breath. Right or wrong, this task did not fill her with any joy.

For some of the ponies outside: Stood a measurable chance of being banished from Equestria for the remainder of their days...

---

Aboard the ships in orbit, ponies materialized on the transporter platforms. Looking around, a group of four spotted an an earth pony behind a raised podium looking object in the room. Without hesitation, he waved and greeted them.

"Hi! I'm Flowing Stream, at your service. Welcome aboard one of her highness's ships, a momentary detour before sending you home. We wanted to get you all safely out of that warehouse before the guard arrived, so.. here you are! I guess we're like, cousins? Once or twice removed, maybe? Hmm, well, something like that. It's nice to meet you!" The stallion talked a mile a minute.

"If you want to head home immediately, we can do that. Just come on over to here, and I'll send you to anywhere you'd like to go. Though I'd recommend a place out of plain sight, as appearing out of thin air could being the kind of attention you just avoided... If you'd like a tour of the ship, we'd be delighted! Also, from here you can see all of Equestria, and even though it's night time, the twinkling lights of the towns and cities are still a beautiful sight to see. It's the least we can do for your time with the princesses being cut short by those ruffians... Hooves up for going home now?" Flowing Stream finished.

Their heads swimming for a moment, one of them raised their hoof.

"No problem ma'am. I have a map here, where you can just point the place you'd like to go" He responded enthusiastically.

Her coming around next to him, he pointed to the screen built into the console;

"This is an overhead view of Vanhoover. At the moment, showing the place where you were. I'll just slowly pull back so we can see more of the city... Now, you can see the town hall, the city center park here, the coast there... Hopefully that'll help get your bearings?"

"Could you send me to my dining room with this thing?" She asked.

"I sure can ma'am! With this, you could come and go without anypony knowing you ever left. Unless they knocked at your door and didn't answer, anyways" he replied.

The ponies were a little bewildered and uneasy with that revelation. However, it did show that they could pull of what they were planning, and weren't spitting empty words like they were used to hearing.

"Lets see, I live eight blocks east of the park, and twelve blocks south of it..." She directed Stream.

Moving the map with his hoof, they counted the blocks until the came to the right area.

"That one there I think? The one with the red roof." She pointed to the house.

Closing in on it, the walls and furniture were roughly shown.

"It's so weird seeing the furniture looking all strange like this, but what is this yellow thing?" she asked.

"Ah, that shows that there is something, or somepony there. Do you have a, cat? Gosh, I hope the poor thing is okay, the yellow shows that it's rather cold, it should be a warm red!" He said concerned.

Giggling at his concern, she told him;

"That's my lizard; Ziggy, I'm sure he's fine. I named him that because he zig-zag's when he walks." She smiled.

"Oh, that's good. Well, if you'd hop back up on the platform there, I'll set you down right next to the table?" He asked.

"That'll be fine, thank you!" She replied trotting up to the platform.

"Nice meeting you.." Stream faltered.

"Dragon Tamer. My parents were always an enthusiastic couple" She laughed.

Laughing with her, he bid her safe tidings as he tapped the console. The mare, disappearing from view and appearing as a red glow on the displayed map.

Turning to the remaining three, Stream asked them;

"So, who's up for a bit of sight seeing?"

---

As the windows of the shop shattered, and the doors broke from their hinges and latches; the dark alicorn remained motionless, her eyes closed.

As the shouts demanding her submission came forth, and magic attempted to grasp onto her, she still remain silent.

When she opened her eyes, they shown of a sad determination. With her wings opening wide as they could go, her horn glowed bright.

"Be Silent" Her voice echoed, rattling the fallen glass.

Their demands continuing by an undaunted many, found their muzzles forced closed by magic. Shock coloring their expressions as their enchanted armor failed to ward off what they were attempting to do themselves. Though, the enchantments glowed a bright white in their attempt to fulfill their purpose.

With a steady and confident voice, she introduced herself;

"I will not submit, nor be spoken to in such manner. This night, you have not entered uninvited to a rabble of ponies trying to escape the iron hoof of the fools that you herald. Some of you may know of me; either ancient tales, or notified of my coming and purpose. That being; the re-installment of rulers of legendary merit and benevolence, the princesses of old."

Taking another breath, she leveled her eyes at them as she delivered her ultimatum;

"You, the Provincial Guard of the office of Equestrian Order; are at a crossroads in your journey. Should you choose to abandon the abusive policies that are in place, I bid you leave. For this, I have not physically restrained you, beyond your muzzles. Freely, you may go and support other policies, or careers therein. I will bid thee no ill will for past transgressions made under ignorance. For now you will know better, and understand the path that you trot down, should you not be able to reconsider."

Closing her eyes, she dismissed the ones willing to let it go;

"Go now. To the brighter days ahead."

After a number of moments and looks between them, two thirds of them left through the broken doorways and windows. The lesser number of them remaining; Trying to spit words of cowardice and betrayal to the others, but getting mere mumbles out.

Opening her eyes, the empress's expression became tainted with revulsion as she took in the ones that remained; The hatred in their eyes being reflected back at them.

As her horn glowed nearly white from the intensity, the enchanted armor covering the guards was unceremoniously ripped from their bodies. Leaving them as bare as any other pony. Their hooves anchored to the floor, the pegasi grounded as well.

Bringing the armor before her; she crumpled it into a ball of metal, and vaporized it into a black powder.

Walking up to them, she looked down at the believers of fools.

"It is now time for formal introductions, for what comes next demands it."

Taking a breath, she proceeded;

"I am the empress New Moon of the StarLight Empire. By committing magical assault upon me by attempting to subdue without formal declaration; You are in violation of the statutes of civilized pony society. As such; your titles, powers, rights and so-forth, provided therein by those statutes, are now void."

Seeing the ponies futilely straining to either fly or move, whether to rush her or flee; she sighed.

"You are hereby prisoners of the StarLight Empire, subject to my discretion or mercies should I deem them appropriate or merited. I will levy my judgement upon you for your transgressions at a later time. Until then, you will be placed into suspended animation under the custody of the Empire. Therein, you can no longer bring harm to others."

'for your own protection' she wanted to add.

Releasing their muzzles only, she gave them a chance to speak.

Receiving biting words containing their expectations of absolution and vengeance, she replied;

"Those whom you would call upon to avail you, will not come. They, looking upon you with the same disinterest that you yourselves had to the ponies under your powers. You, having made yourselves into mere tools. Fodder for uncaring fools, whom care of nothing but what they can achieve to their own ends. As such, I will in turn regard you as you seek to make of yourselves. For the time being however, I bid thee farewell."

With a final burst of magic, the stripped ponies were encased in crystal. Frozen in time, until the empress was willing to deal with them again.

Bringing her head low, and folding in her wings, she tapped her comm once more. Receiving no response, she huffed.

'I guess that was too much for the little thing?'

Sitting down and un-clipping the communicator from her ear, she waved it skyward over her head.

On queue, it dematerialized and another appeared in its place.

Clipping the replacement back, she tapped it.

"That was quite a display, your highness" Shadow Blade's voice came back through it.

"Yes, it was a trying ordeal. For trying ponies" She replied.

"They were no real guards, they were uncouth brutes with heads bigger than their brains" He said with a laugh.

"Indeed they were. Much like the masters they served and revered. Please, have them transported to one of the cargo holds. This is only the beginning I am afraid, and bring me up as well. I feel I need a relaxing bath after tonight."

"Right away, your highness" Blade's reliable response came over the comm.

Empress and prisoners alike; disappeared from the tattered shop. The property damage also just the beginning of the cost of turning things around.

---

Reassembling at their headquarters; the squadron, or what was left of it, were silent for a time.

About half of them didn't return. Either; scared off, captured, or worse.

Trading looks amongst themselves, one of them finally broke the silence;

"What are we gonna tell the chief?" Steady Arrow asked.

"Well, in this case, I can't see the truth hurting anymore than anything else would? We came up against an alicorn, and lived to tell the tale. We were lucky she was lenient with us" Steel Sledge replied.

"Lenient? What in Tartarus are you on about Sledge? Half of our force is gone!" Silver Storm rebuked.

"C'mon Silver, the unicorns laid there magic on an Alicorn for bucks sake. And after doing that, gave us a choice to leave of our own accord. If a unicorn tried that sort of thing on me, they'd likely have a sore jaw for a week minimum. But she did nothing to us, and she had the magic prowess to push past our enchantments like they were nothing! I'd call that pretty bucking lenient" Steel argued back.

"So, who's gonna tell him? It'd normally be Brick Breaker, but he wouldn't come with us. The idiot.." Saw Blade asked, her misgivings about their C.O. laying bare.

Trading a chuckle here and there, Sledge spoke up while putting his armor away in his locker;

"I'll do it. If the chief cans the bearer of bad news, I can barely care any less" he said.

"Aw, but I thought you liked taking foolhardy risks every day, Sledge?" Silver jibed him.

"Risks, yes. Death-wishes, no. If the chief expects us to go up against alicorns and throw our lives away; he can have my job, and I'll keep my spine. Intact, along with the rest of me. I didn't take this job to be his disposable plaything. If he gets nasty, I'll throw my badge at him and tell him to get a good look at my tail hole on my way out" Sledge returned.

Laughter filling the air, they continued to put away their armor and head into the showers.

The hot water melting away their tension; their minds started wandering to what other lines of work there was out there.