Put it to Rest

"What is taking that man so long?"

Luna wondered aloud to herself, dragging her ornate, rich blue colored brush through her mane gently. He said he would be here 45 minutes ago, yet here she still stood, alone. She glanced over to the grandfather clock resting in the corner of her chambers and sighed.

The ceremony would be happening within the next couple of hours. Maybe he didn't care to get to an event early, but she'd specifically asked him to be early. He wasn't one to go back on his word.

Maybe she should just do a quick teleport to check up on him. A swift in and out. Maybe he got held up by problems with his suit or some other minor problem sprang up. They'd be back in the castle in no time.

With her mind made up, she started to channel her magic to her horn, the soft blue luminescence growing brighter and brighter, before she blinked away from her room.

In an instant, her deep blue colored chambers were replaced with the outside of James' house, the still air of her room switched with a soft mountain breeze befitting of the altitude. Nothing seemed amiss as she stood outside, which calmed that little voice in her head that assumed the catastrophic worst. Stepping up to the door, she gave it a vigorous knock.

"James! James, are you in there?" she yelled through the door.

For ten seconds she waited for something, a loud shuffling of feet down the stairs or a hasty tapping of his polished, leather shoes he wore so much. But none came.

She tried the door and found that it was unlocked. Which was strange, because James never came into his house without locking the door behind him. Perhaps he forgot when he left? If he's even left his house yet. Shutting the door behind her and locking it for him, even stranger, she found the house devoid of any activity.

"James! Are you almost ready? We've got to get to the ceremony," she yelled up the stairs. She waited for a response, but again, none came.

Something was definitely up. She jogged up the stairs and came to the bedroom door, which was also closed, "James, this better not be some elaborate prank you're pulling on me. Are you in there? I'm starting to get worried."

No response.

"Alright, I'm coming in! If this is some joke or prank to scare me, I'll banish you to the moon!" she grabbed the door handle and forced it open.

She gasped, her hands covering her mouth, "JAMES!"

"So, there was signs of a fight and blood was all over the floor?" Celestia asked worriedly, sitting her and Luna down on her bed in Celestia's chambers. The two looked dressed to the nines, Celestia opting for a modest, yet beautiful deep maroon dress as per Cadence's request. Her hair was restrained in a neat braid, adorned with flowers between its seams.

"Yes, around his bed and on the floor. His room was ransacked and everything was thrown out of place," Luna rested her forehead in her hands and whimpered, "I don't know what to do, Tia. Where could those bastards have taken him?"

Celestia put a comforting arm around her sister, "It's going to be ok, dear Luna. Let's try to think this through. I've already have the guards investigating the city for any sign of him. Do you know anypony that wanted him harmed, or more seriously, wanted to get to you somehow? I fear that this may be politically or personally motivated."

Luna sniffled, daintily wiping away a single tear that threatened to come out, "No, I don't know of anypony. But they must have been planning this for awhile."

Celestia's brows scrunched at this and she leaned in a little closer, "How do you know?"

"His firearms were gone. Taken by whoever did this, I'd wager," Luna explained.

"Firearms? What's a firearm and more importantly, what do they look like? Maybe if we can find a clue to where they took them, we can find him," Celestia added.

Luna paused for a moment, "They're like, gosh what's equivalent to a gun? Um, they're like a bow and arrow, but instead of an arrow, it fires a small rock called a bullet really, REALLY, fast. They're long and cylindrical in shape and made out of wood. The point is, no one... err, no pony else knew about them except for James and myself. And I suppose now you too, although I don't think he'll mind. They had to have been watching him for awhile."

"Hmm," Celestia pursed her lips, "What a wedding. First Twilight and now a foalnapping. I'm starting to think that this wedding has been cursed."

"What happened to Twilight?" Luna inquired, turning herself towards her sister.

"She-"

Just then, a firm knock on the door interrupted their conversation, "Princess Luna! There is a letter for you, ma'am!" The guard shouted through the thick mahogany door.

Giving each other a puzzled look, both got up from the bed and went over to the door. Standing outside was one of her night guards, who presented the letter to her, "Ma'am."

"Thank you, soldier," Celestia nodded.

"Lieutenant Dusk asked me to inform you that we have found no sign of Mr. Milligan yet, but we are continuing to look. We will keep you updated," the guard informed.

"Thank you, that will be all. Report back to us if you learn anything," Luna requested. The guardspony gave a swift salute, did an about face, and started the walk back to her unit.

There was no return address on it, only the neat black ink in the center detailing the castle's mailing address. Eyeing the thin, white paper letter incredulously, Luna set to work opening it up, a thin sheet of paper being its only contents. The handwriting was fine, elegantly written in neat cursive.

Greetings

If you are reading this, then you have learned of Mr. James Milligan's foalnapping and are no doubt scouring the city for the culprits. Rest assured, we are responsible for his abduction.

We ask for no ransom, no amnesty for crimes, no tax cuts, no extortion. We are not in the business of such petty things. If you wish for Mr. Milligan to be returned unharmed, then you will do something for us.

You will go to Whitetail Woods. Follow the path in from the east and continue until you come to a stop at a crossroads in the middle of the forest. You will await further instructions upon reaching this point.

No guards, no tricks, nothing. If we catch any hint of an ambush or trap, then the man will be returned to you in pieces. Do not try to find us. Do not come after us. Trust us, we will evade whatever you try to entrap us in and it will only hurt your dear old coltfriend in the process.

And remember, smile. We will be watching.

For a moment, Luna said nothing. She was scowling, her fists shaking in an extreme anger as she gripped the page as tightly as she could without ripping it. The page was soon incinerated away, the ashes burned away in a intense magical blue fire.

"I'll kill them," she burned with rage, "When I get my hands on them, I'll send them into orbit!"

Celestia, too, was frowning, though with much less ferocity, "Normally I'd agree, but remember what they said. I hate for us to be extorted like this, but I'm afraid we don't have a choice. At least, until we get a clue as to where James is being held."

Luna softened only slightly and sighed, "I guess that's it then. We'll just have to play along."

"Take the Night Raiders with you. I don't know what's waiting for you, but I won't send you in there without some of our best shadowing you," Celestia added.

"Agreed. Be safe, sister. I'll keep you posted on what's happening when I get there."

Chrysalis' day was going just perfectly. Everything had gone exactly as planned. The purple brat has been neutralized and no pony suspects a thing.

She floated another pink flower into her braid, delicately placing it amongst the bouquet that now rested in the beautiful "false" mane.

"Soon," she gazed into her reflection in the vanity mirror, smiling to herself, "Soon, I will be Queen of so much more."

Her eyes soon fell upon a certain drawer in her dresser, the middle one to be precise. Walking over to it, she gave the handle a swift yank, pulling it open to reveal the silvery, glistening weapon that Tarsa and her team had procured for her. Gently picking it up, she analyzed its smooth metal with extreme scrutiny. For the past day, she'd been no closer to unlocking the secret to its power since the moment she was given it. The only setback in this whole plan had been Tarsa's death, as she was the only one of her hive who had knowledge of how to work the human's machine. And she now laid buried back in the desert.

Its 'latch', or she assumed that was what it was called, in the center of the guard had been locked in place, unmoved no matter how much force she exerted with her finger. Lest she make a mistake or hurt herself, she had chosen to lay it aside until now. Perhaps a little 'chat' with her hostage after this invasion might enlighten her to the inner workings of his machine, but for now, she was content to tinker with it.

She was looking down the hole in the front end of the gun when she heard a knock on the door,

"Who is it?" she inflected that disgustingly saccharine tone that Cadence spoke in. She couldn't wait for when she could drop the disguise and talk normally again.

"A friend," a gruff, deep voice replied.

"Enter," she gave the command, dropping the sweet voice for a more relaxed, normal tone.

A white, muscular unicorn wearing a staff uniform stepped through the door and closed it behind him, "My Queen, I bring news."

"Well then, get to it," she snapped.

"I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that your letter has been delivered to the Night Princess and our scouts have spotted her approaching the outside of Whitetail Woods. No guard detachment or escort have been seen with her as of now," the 'stallion' replied.

She smiled to herself, "Excellent. With Luna out on that wild goose chase, it should give us plenty of time to take out that Solar Nuisance before she realizes we strung her along. Fantastic work, drone. What's the bad news?"

The drone's smile faltered slightly, "The human hostage has escaped with Cadence. We've lost track of them in the caves and we believe they might be headed back to the castle."

Chrysalis remained expressionless for a moment, not moving, took in a deep breath and sighed, letting it out slowly as she tried to calm the frustration settling in, "Drone, I'm sure you are aware that our plan depends on our ability to keep those two imprisoned, correct?"

The drone gulped, "Yes, your Majesty."

"Then, I'll make this clear. Find them! Even if you have to burn this city to the ground or it's our asses if the Alicorns find out before our army is through!" she restrained her voice from full-on yelling, though only just.

"Yes, your Majesty. This is only a minor setback to a- a- foolproof plan," he sputtered, bowing to his Queen.

"See to it that it is," she commanded, nodding towards the door. The drone swiftly exited, leaving Chrysalis alone once more.

"Minor setback. Just a minor setback, Chryssie. Everything's still going to plan. Just a few hiccups," she muttered to herself as she set herself to work on her appearance once more.

Spelunking was rough and James decided that if he ever got out of here, he'd never walk through another unexplored cave for the rest of his days.

Much of the last hour had been an awkward shuffle through the cave system, with him mostly guessing where they were going and hoping it was a way out. And with the limited light available from the two mares behind him, he'd tripped over one too many loose rocks and he was starting to lose his patience with those traitorous pebbles.

"James, do you have any idea where we're going?" Twilight asked incredulously, eyeing up her surroundings as if they'd somehow direct them to the safety above.

"Nope," he matter-of-factly answered, stepping over a crystal blocking their way, "In case you didn't know, the Changelings didn't give me a map when they tossed me down here, so I'm throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks."

"Wonderful," he could feel Twilight roll her eyes behind him, but they continued to trudge onward.

Despite his distaste for being stranded in the depths of Canterlot, he had to admit that the scenery around him was pretty. He could make out intricate, colorful crystal structures that were growing on all sorts of surfaces in the cave. They glowed softly and pleasantly from the magical light the two mares were emitting, giving it a holographic, moving pattern that he was entranced by as they continued down the path. He would have felt bad for being here, disturbing this hallowed, peaceful ground with his presence, if they weren't trapped down here.

Just then, they heard the loud clop of hooves on rock. He quickly motioned the girls, who had fallen a little behind him, to take cover by some rocks, which he did himself. Thinking swiftly, he gestured for them to cut the lights, supplanting them into the natural darkness of the caves. Settling into a crouch behind a sizeable boulder near the wall of the cave, he slowly peeked over the crest of his cover to try to see who was down here.

"Of course it had to be Changelings..." he thought to himself.

A patrol of the black bugs was passing by, heading in the direction of their 'cell', a twinge of worry nipping at his chest that the Changelings had learned of their escape. There was about four, he couldn't tell from the distance, and they were closing towards them fast. As they drew nearer, their own lights illuminated them enough for James to see what he was dealing with.

There was four of them to be precise, three of them large and bulky and another slim and more curvy than the others, probably a female. Each had a weapon of some sort, two with short swords, one with a knife, and the mare had a sleek dagger. James pursed his lips. He definitely couldn't take them all, especially when they had knives and he was noticeably weaponless. He had an alicorn on his side, but he wasn't sure of how well Cadence did in a fight. He simply didn't know her well enough yet. If the bovine feces hit the fan, at the very least, he was sure that Twilight could magic up some sort of solution to get them out of here.

Hopefully.

With that in mind, he remained put, electing to just let them pass and book it for whatever entrance they came through. At this point, he was just eager to get out of these caves, consequences be damned.

The Changelings were right next to them now, only five feet away from his group. He held his breath and was as still as he could be, hoping that the girls were following in his example. He tensed as they passed by, afraid that any adjustment or movement, no matter how slight, would alert them to his presence. A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek, tickling his face in that annoying way.

Thankfully, the three leads passed without a hitch, continuing on towards the cell. The female brought up the rear of the pack and stopped for a moment.

"Hey, what are you stopping for?" one of the others asked.

"Just catching my breath; you guys go on ahead. I'll won't be too far behind. I trust you can handle yourselves while I'm gone?" she replied with a fangy smile.

"Yeah yeah. We'll see you there," he waved a hand dismissively and continued on his way. Soon, she was 'alone'. She sat by a rock and stretched out her right arm, massaging it every so often. From what he could see over his cover, it seemed her joint or perhaps her tendon was bothering her.

"Alright woman. Let's get it moving already," James impatiently thought to himself.

After a minute or two, he couldn't tell, the changeling was starting to wrap it up, getting to her hooves and continuing towards their cell. She was just about past Cadence and Twilight when he heard a noise, a shuffling of rock, come from where the two mares were hiding.

And unfortunately, the changeling heard it too.

"Who's there?" she whipped to her right and stared at Cadence and Twilight's cover. After studying the spot for a few seconds, the changeling started to creep towards it as stealthily as she could.

"Is anyone there? Come out now and I won't hurt you," she had her dagger out now, silently and slowly drawing it out from its sheath.

If she got any closer, Cadence and Twilight would certainly be discovered. So with his mind made up, he carefully crept out from his hiding spot and towards the intruder's back. Quietly, he nabbed a sizeable rock from the floor and crouched down, inching his way ever closer.

The changeling stopped just short of the boulder and smiled evilly, "Alright, I warned you," she muttered, peeking over the rock. Her eyes widened, "TH-"

James had sprinted to close the three foot distance between the two of them. His target tried to turn around, but was too late as he gave his weapon a mighty swing, its blunt, flat face connecting with the back of her head with a sickening, gruesome WAP! Even James cringed at the ungodly sound he just heard. The changeling fell to the ground gracelessly, not bothering or not able to break her fall, likely the latter. Quickly, the man followed up with another strike to her face, her eyes widened, this one finishing the job. Green blood splattered onto his hands and arms as he tried to catch his breath from the adrenaline that was coursing through his veins.

God, he hated killing like this. It was so much more of a personal affair as opposed to a gun, to see the clear pain and despair he caused another being. Regardless, he'd have to deal with that later. This changeling mare's cronies might've heard him brutally murder her, so it'd be best to leave while they still had the chance.

"C'mon," he grunted like nothing happened, "We gotta get moving again before those guys come back."

Cadence looked aghast like she was in the midst of a panic attack. If they stayed near the body any longer, he was sure that would be manifested.

"Oh my Goddess! Oh my Goddess, you killed her! You killed her!" Cadence panicked, scrambling away from James without thinking with a scared look in her eyes.

Twilight said nothing, which he found strange, settling into a stunned silence and an all-too familiar look in her own eyes. He'd have to talk to her later once this was all over. God forbid she end up like him...

"I know - I'm sorry you had to see that, but we gotta go!" he reasoned.

Cadence was hyperventilating and clutching her chest, on the verge of crying, "I can't do this, I can't do this!"

James did not have the time for this. He hated that he had to be like this, but if they didn't leave soon, they were toast. Quickly and swiftly, he grabbed the both of them by the arms, hoisted them up on their hooves, and dragged them along in the opposite direction. The two mares fumbled over their steps initially, but eventually they settled into a jog. This sudden movement did nothing to ease Cadence's frenzy, only amplifying her panic.

Eventually, after about a minute, he decided to stop, not seeing or hearing any pursuers behind them. He released his hold on them and laid against a boulder, both Cadence and Twilight doing the same. The three of them tried to catch their breaths as they rested, Cadence calming down from her fit of terror.

"Wh... Why did you do it?" Cadence finally squeezed out softly.

"Because she would've killed you. And I won't let that happen," James nonchalantly answered back. Instantly, he felt a pang of guilt for how coarse and apathetic he was treating her, especially since it seemed this was her first time witnessing a murder.

"Couldn't you have done something else?" she reasoned, pleaded even.

"Cadence. Look at me. Twilight, you too," he met Cadence's wet, magenta eyes, "I know what you just saw was traumatizing. These feelings you have..., well, it's normal to feel this way. I'm sorry for sounding so apathetic about what you had to see, but like you said, this is an invasion. These guys are not here to spread the... what's the slogan I hear from ponies all the time..., the magic of friendship. They're invading us and they're not above killing a few peo- ponies to get what they feel they deserve. Including you. And the only way we're gonna keep them from killing us is killing them."

James sighed sadly, "That's just the nature of war. And unfortunately, we've just been plunged into one. That's going to mean killing a few changelings along the way if we're going to beat these guys back and get you back to your husband, Cadence."

The two of them said nothing, Twilight nervously glancing off to the side and Cadence wiping a tear from her eye.

James stood up, gazing off towards a little speck of light in the distance, "Alright, c'mon y'all. I think I see the way out of here."

And sure enough, it was.

Climbing out of the tunnel entrance, James crawled across the grass, pulling himself completely out of the hole, and laughed as the sun's warm rays bathed him in light once more. He was incredibly happy to be out of that cave finally.

Twilight and Cadence soon followed behind him, both of them taking a pause as well as they took in the warm spring day.

"Oh thank God. I'm never going underground again," he muttered to both of them.

"You said it, James," Twilight breathed, letting out a happy sigh.

They sat there for only a few seconds before James remembered who had put them down there in the first place, "Alright ladies. Enough dilly dally. Cadence, we gotta get you back to the castle and stop that wedding!"

The pink alicorn got to her hooves quickly, "Right. Since we're short on time, ready yourself, James. I'll teleport us there."

She gazed at the castle with a hateful glare in her eye, "I'm coming for you, bitch."