Midnight

Having gotten used to being awoken in the middle of the night to the cries of Flurry, Cadence groggily unhooked herself from her husband. He mumbled something along the lines of thank you but it went unheard by the still half asleep mother. On practise and instinct alone she made her way towards Flurry’s purple and pink crib that held the crying child.

Taking Flurry out of the crib and setting her on the floor, Cadence stood over her and allowed Flurry to latch to a teat. This gave Cadence some silence to which she began to rest again, but not fully falling back into sleep for when Flurry was done.

A small squeak was heard and her ears swiveled toward the door, but before her mind could accommodate for where the sound was heard, she instead turned her head back towards the bed. “Shining?” But the stallion had not moved an inch from where she left him. Only his slow breathing moved the blankets. Finally catching up with her hearing, she turned toward the door and was startled by an orange stallion.

The small jump dislodged Flurry and she began to cry again, waking Shining Armor, who turned over to see the stallion. Having been caught unprepared he tried to jump into action, only to get trapped in the blankets. He tripped upon trying to move, his head hitting the floor. Grumbling, he looked up to get a better look at the intruder.

“Sergeant Sentry?” The entangled prince shuffled a bit in the covers trying to get himself free, but they seemed to fight him every step of the way. After a moment he gave up with a huff and turned back to the guard. “What are you doing here? Is everything alright?”

“OH! Uhm. I was on my patrol when I heard Flurry Heart crying? I wanted to check to make sure everything is alright.” Flash Sentry looked panicked as he glanced between Shining Armor and Princess Cadence.

“Well you shouldn’t startle us like that. You’re lucky Shining doesn’t shoot first ask questions later.” Cadence laughed. She had gotten Flurry to latch again and silence had resumed. “Well now that you’re here, would you mind going to the kitchens and fetching some milk?”

“Of course your… highness! I’ll be right back.” Flash backed towards the door bumping into it before turning around and opening it and bolted to the right. Noticing his mistake Shining held the door for a moment with his magic.

“The other way is faster!” He called and held the door open to watch as Flash ran passed.

“He seems a little out of it today doesn’t he?” Cadence turned to Shining.

“Please, he’s been out of it since he found out Twilight is my sister.” He shuffled around a bit in the tangled sheets. “Now could you help me out? I can’t see where I’m tangled.”

Cadence tittered at her husband’s antics before using her magic to pull apart the knot. She looked down at her foal which continued to suckle happily, and smiled.

“Well I’m up now. What time is it?” Shining looked towards an ornate grandfather clock that stood in the corner of the room. The hands proudly showed that it was 5:43. “Celestia will be raising the sun soon. Might as well start the day early.”

“Sorry about barging in earlier” Flash returned to the room rubbing the back of his head. The milk floated beside him, a faint green aura surrounding it. “I just wanted to make sure everything was alright.”

“It’s alright Flash.” Cadence took the bottle from his aura and stepped away from Flurry, who began to complain before having the warmed bottle popped into her mouth. “It happens to the best of us.”

Flurry laid quietly drinking her milk in Cadence’s forelegs as she rocked her daughter. Everypony took a moment to look as she cuddled the bottle.

“Would it be alright… If I held her for a moment?” Flash asked, nervously looking up at Cadence.

Cadence paused for a moment. She looked up at Flash who started looking down towards his feet. “Oh, let him hold her for a moment honey. I’ve got to get prepared.” Shining interrupted. He made his way to a dresser with a mirror and began brushing his hair.

Tentatively, Flurry switched hooves and Flash cradled her carefully. He cooed as he rocked accidentally releasing a small chitter. Slowly, Shining stopped brushing his hair and furrowed his brow.

“Say Flash… How did you carry that milk in here?”

===== * * * =====

A loud snore rumbled inside a train car, rustling Debonair from his reverie. He glanced across the mostly empty car towards a white pegasus with golden armor. He huffed. Anyone below sergeant in the military have their armor enchanted to hide their coats and manes. It was meant to help establish an order for the soldiers in the battle field.

Another snore tore its way into the car. The stallion's mouth hung open, his uvula dancing with the vibrations. Sighing, Debonair used his magic wires to tie the muzzle shut, hoping that it would stop the noise.

While for a moment the noise stopped, his eyes shot open and he began to paw at his mouth. Realizing his distress, Debonair dispelled the wire, and the poor soldier took deep gulps of air and fell forward to the floor.

"Sorry, but your snoring was starting to get on my nerves." Debonair’s apology was half-hearted. He used his magic to hoist the stallion back onto his seat

“Hey. Hey! Easy with the magic.”

Debonair, however, was barely listening. After hearing that the changeling queen, Chrysalis, had last been seen near the Crystal Empire, Celestia had sent him immediately. Glancing at the guard to his right, he gave a short, amused chuckle. Didn’t Equestria used to have a fearsome military? They sure have pissed that away. These idiots couldn’t catch a snail.

“Hey...where are your parents anyway?”

His smirk faded, his eyes becoming sad and cold. “They’re dead. They passed many years ago.”

The guard’s angered expression softened. “I’m sorry.” After pausing for a moment, he continued, “Do you have anypony here with you? A foal like you shouldn’t be going to the empire on his own.”

As the train came to a screeching halt, Debonair allowed a mischievous, almost foallike grin to spread across his face. “I assure you sir, I can take care of myself.”

===== * * * =====

The female changeling glared at her male partner, struggling to ignore the dull nibbling and tugging on her ear. “Why the hell am I the one stuck with the baby?”

He scoffed, part of him amused at the sight of her attempting to care for a pony foal. “I dunno...I think you’d be a great mother,” he teased. He ducked seconds later, just barely dodging an attack as the female attempted to spit mucus at him.

She glowered at him whilst attempting to soothe the sleeping Flurry Heart, whispering harshly. “The only reason I haven’t killed you is because if this thing so much as sneezes, we’re all dead!” She cast an uncomfortable look to the infant in her hooves, before returning her gaze to the rest of the team of changelings. Urg, how long does it take to get a stupid horn powered?

They were in the glittering crystal throne room, where four changelings struggled to hold down Cadence as her horn fed magic into the throne, revealing a hidden dark staircase. It was a powerful magic that only an alicorn or high-level unicorn could perform.
Cadence grunted as she fought in vain against her captors, the magic that had to be channelled for the spell sapping most of her energy. Wrinkles had already begun appearing under her eyes from the extensive use of so much power at once.

A male changeling suddenly ran up from the dark stairway, his reflection-less eyes wide from triumph. “Good news, we got the door open and -”

His head flew from his shoulders before he could finish his sentence, spraying black blood like a fountain of ink. There was a flash of blue. Cadence gasped as she felt blood splatter on her fur and mane as the changelings holding her literally came apart.

“Sorry I’m late.”

The female changeling who held Flurry Heart glared at the intruder, a threatening growl to her voice. “Get lost, pony, before you get hurt.” As if on cue, the rest of the swarm emerged from the secret staircase, each of them hissing and baring dagger-like fangs dripping with mucus.

Debonair clenched his teeth, his anger steadily growing. “You dare provoke me, even after what you’ve just seen?”

“KILL HIM!”

The remains of the changeling swarm flew forward, wings buzzing like a thousand insects. Debonair smirked, and with a single flash of blue the entire first row was cut to pieces, blood staining the floor. He dodged the mucus with almost lightning speed as his wires wrapped around the limbs of his enemies, and with a single tug more came apart, explosions of the same inky blood spraying out.

He took cover behind an overturned table, his cold eyes fixed on the female changeling still holding the infant. His horn was still surrounded by the pale blue magic that controlled his wire, as more and more enemies fell. “Come on you bugs, show me a real challenge!”

The room grew silent, as the female changeling was now the only intruder left. She shivered in terror, her knees knocking together, and practically threw Flurry Heart to her now unconscious mother’s side. “H-Hey, have a little mercy! I was just following orders!”

Debonair raised an eyebrow, unaffected by her pleas. “Funny you should say that…’cause so am I.” He neared the female, his voice growing softer and sending a chill down her spine. “I guess that’s something we have in common.”

“Please...don’t kill me…”

Debonair tilted his head, almost in a sick type of amusement. “Kill you? If I did that, I wouldn’t get the information I need.”

“Information?”

The colt narrowed his eyes, “What’s so important about that staircase?”

The changeling’s terrified expression changed to a smug smile, arrogance in her eyes. “Oh, that. Very well, I’ll tell you what I know. Not like it’ll do horse-apples for you anyway.” She paused, as if to add dramatic effect, before continuing. “You see, a while ago, we found a broken horn, just lying in the middle of nowhere. Chrysalis sent us here with orders to power it with the magic from a secret little door under that staircase. Then we are to return it to her.”

Debonair watched her face curiously, suspicion rising in his chest. “Why are you so happy about all this? Your operation was a failure!”

The changeling suddenly broke into hysterical laughter, “You actually believe you stopped us? You’re kidding, right?” With a devilish grin, she looked the colt straight in his eyes. “While you were here chatting with me, a few remaining members of our little squad flew to safety. They’ll be returning the horn to Queen Chrysalis immediately.”

Debonair fought to keep his rage at his own foolishness at bay, his wires tightening around the female’s neck. “Is that all?”

She gasped for breath, struggling with all her effort as her smugness vanished. “W-Wait! You said you wouldn’t kill me since I had information!”

“Correct,” Debonair replied, his wires only tightening. “And now that you’ve given it to me...I no longer have a reason to keep you alive.”