Sunrise at Moon Watch

The restraining rings gone, it was a simple matter to free both Celestia and Cadence, despite the headaches the two had throbbing just below the bases of their horns. Celestia took the lead. She did not need magic to exit the cell. The door warped and melted into a puddle before her. Her magic swept it aside, leaving behind a trail of molten iron as it flew down the hall. For all that they had been captives, for several long halls, more than enough time for Twilight and Luna to recover, they saw not even the hint of a changeling. The first hint was a terror filled drone that disappeared down a side passage before any of the wall of magical attacks could reach it. The wall behind it was not so lucky, and was reduced to rubble.

“Perhaps only one of us at a time should attack sister?” Luna suggested. “It would not do to free ourselves, only to bring the fortress down upon our heads.”

“Agreed.” The next changeling they encountered was equally terrified, though whether this was at the sight of three angry princesses, or because he'd been painted white and was being waved up and down frantically was difficult even for Twilight to discern.

“Why is that one white?” Cadence asked.

“A good question.” Celestia admitted. “Why are you white?”

“Because we don't have any flags to surrender with.” came a voice from around the corner.

“That doesn't sound like Chrysalis.” Twilight offered.

“That's because it's not... her.” the voice sounded again. “Will you accept our surrender?”

“If you can tell us who you are, and why you have the authority to offer it.” Celestia answered. Cadence whispered to Twilight.

“Weirdest negotiation yet.” Twilight held back a snicker.

The white changeling fell to the ground, realized that it had not only been dropped, but also in front of their enemies, and skittered around the corner. There was an... argument, in very loud, yet still not quite audible whispers around the corner for several minutes. Then a changeling appeared. Larger, and more feminine than the others, she held up a hoof to stop several drones from following.

“I am Princess Pupae. I now rule the Changelings.”

“And what about... your predecessor?” Celestia inquired delicately.

“Gone. The love she took from us, that we took from you was not enough to save her.” Pupae shuddered.

“Save her from what?” Twilight asked. Pupae shuddered again.

“I do not know. Please, let us talk of the terms of our surrender. The other ponies are being released as we speak. A gesture of... good faith?”

“A good start.” Celestia nodded.

Mac carried Sunny on his back as the group approached the doors to the fortress of Moon Watch. Discord hovered along side, Shining lead. The gates were closed, the drawbridge up.

“Open the gates and prepare for battle!” Shining's voice echoed out into the clear morning. The draw bridge lowered slowly, revealing Luna, staring at him.

“I see we must work on your etiquette of besiegement.” she shook her head. “Come in, the morning is cold.” Shining's jaw hung open until Mac gave him a push.

“So, we came to save you to no good purpose.” Shining seemed depressed.

“Not at all Shiny.” Cadence pulled him close with a wing. “If we hadn't been able to get free, you'd have saved us for sure.”

“How did you get free?” Spike asked.

Twilight inhaled for an explanation. Celestia smiled. “Twilight worked out how to break through the rings suppressing our powers.” Twilight deflated.

“Except, it shouldn't have worked.” Twilight admitted. Celestia raised an eyebrow. “I've done the math Prin... Celestia. I mean I did it in my head, but when I worked it out, that kind of power should have blown our heads off.” Luna blinked.

“Meaning?” Rarity asked, clearly unsure why Twilight had been WRONG.

“Meaning, something turned off the rings before we gathered enough power to do that.”

“Sunny.” Robert acknowledged the slowly recovering earth pony. “When he used his super fly swatter,” Celestia choked on her tea. “she must have been the one who made the rings. So when she got … eliminated, the rings were disabled.”

“Precisely.” Twilight nodded, shield flickering out, tea falling to the floor of the room. “So even though we were trying to escape, you did sort of save us.”

“Not exactly.” Princess Pupae spoke up. “I am... aware of how the rings you were fitted with were created.” she exhaled. “They were, not designed to contain your power. Trying such on something as strong as an Alicorn, would be... inefficient.” she explained, leaving a room full of blank expressions, except for Twilight, who nodded along.

“I presumed as much.” Twilight confirmed. “So they wouldn't have blown our heads off?”

“No. They were designed to fool you into thinking you were building up far more power than you thought. The excess was being stripped off by the rings, and fed into the collective.” Pupae coughed. “Sorry.”

“So, she was stealing our power and using that to fight our friends.” Twilight shuddered. “I can't say I like the idea of having to destroy her, but...”

“What is past is past Twilight Sparkle.” Luna shrugged. “Something tells me we haven't seen the last of her, but for now, we must move forward.”

“Indeed, one should never fear the fall of a faithful foe.” Sunny said. “More umbrellas please.” his head lolled back sideways.

“Is he going to be okay?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Sunstrike will be fine.” Celestia smiled fondly at him. “He is... a distant relative.” Luna blinked. “Yes.” Luna's eyes widened. “He does not exercise his particular talent often, because he cannot control it. Had he been born a unicorn, it would be easier on him. Even as a Pegasus he could have learned to use only a portion of it. Earth ponies lack the inherent traits necessary to use such powers to less than their full extent. Each time he expresses his talent, he expresses it to it's fullest potential.”

“Makes it a might hard to practice, don't it.” Applejack nodded.

“Precisely.” Celestia nodded.

“He did say something I didn't know.” Shining said. “That he was a Knight Errant of the Order of the Unquenchable Sun. Is that true? I mean, I thought the knightly orders were disbanded?”

“Hence Knight Errant.” Celestia smiled. “He came to me, not long after he came upon his cutie mark. It was nearly so impressive as Twilight's.” Twilight flushed. “After he told me the story of what had happened, I explained it's nature to him. His talent is to tap the strength of the sun and use it upon his foes.”

“Okay... so why the knighthood?” Shining asked.

“That is his story to tell. I knighted him for his actions, and granted the title of Knight Errant. It was a gesture which he did not think himself worthy.” Celestia sighed. “I have often found cause to regret the disbanding of the orders.” she shook her head. “But such melancholy thoughts should be saved for other times. Right now, we are negotiating peace between our two peoples.”

“Umm please don't hurt us?” Pupae suggested hopefully.

“It's good to be back home.” Shining admitted. “I kind of miss this place.” he looked around the palace.

“I know, it's lovely.” Robert agreed.

“Why did you come up here?” Cadence demanded.

“I told someone I'd do something for them. No reason for concern.” he smiled.

“Fair enough.” Shining shrugged. “Just try not to cause too much trouble.”

“No promises.”

Far away to the south, beyond the hives now claimed by Princess Pupae, an egg cracked open. The soft chittering of the hatchling within it gave way after a moment to silence and then labored breathing. It's eyes opened, sooner than could have been expected as it began the process of removing the remaining membrane. Even as they opened, the segmentation faded, into pupil and green iris.

The End