Back on Duty

There really was no rest for the modern Princess on the go. Sometimes Luna missed the moon with its quiet serenity. A mare could really reflect on things up there. She had barely stepped out of the dining room, pleasantly full of waffles and maple syrup, and there was already a guard running right at her down the corridor.

"Princess!" he began even before the dust had settled. "Specialist Silent Spell sent me! You must-"

She merely had to hold up a hoof for the colt to fall silent. He blinked in confusion while she looked into the distance with a contemplative expression on her muzzle. The pressure in her belly rose up and she released it with a small burp. That made it infinitely easier to walk.

Sister had been a little overbearing with breakfast, but seeing her joy at getting the human Gregory back, Luna couldn't begrudge her. The food had been delicious, too. "Excuse me. Go on."

The side benefit of all that was that the guard had slowed down and explained himself much more intelligibly. "Um, Silent Spell wishes to speak with you in the smaller conference room, Princess."

Luna inclined her head in a silent thank you and headed that way. The messenger followed, but none of the other guards did. She'd made it clear to them on multiple occasions that she didn't require protection in her own castle. If Fire Fly didn't like that arrangement, he was free to complain to her sister.

"What else did Silent Spell say?"

The guard, a pegasus colt by the name of Comet Roll, paused to salute. "She found the house, Princess! The Captain has already been summoned, we are only waiting on you."

It was sooner than Luna had hoped and her pace, as well as her heartbeat, quickened.

"So Spring Morning's information was good?"

"Apparently yes, Princess!"

The changeling had been tough to crack initially, but a little pressure applied at the right spot got her to spill some very interesting details about Silvermane's activities in Canterlot. To think that he had kept his operation hidden for so long, right under their noses...

Luna became aware she was baring her teeth in anger and forced herself to stop. The pompous ass was in prison and his wife and colt were being kept in one of his estate houses - the one near Ponyville, Luna remembered. The most irksome part, the mare thought, was that Silvermane was not even the leader of their little gang. So far her questions had failed to yield any concrete clues as to who it really was. All Luna knew was that Silvermane was deathly afraid of whomever he called 'boss'. That pointed to either a dragon, a griffin or more changelings. There was no way a unicorn would be that terrified of another pony.

With luck-

"The house is being watched, right?!" she snapped, sudden fear chilling her to the bone. "They will not sneak away from under our noses!"

This made the poor colt gulp in fear and he nodded hurriedly. "Y-Yes, Princess! Silent Spell ordered Corporal Silverwing to keep an eye on the house until we get there!"

"Good. Silverwing is reliable."

They arrived at the conference room and Luna walked in without a pause. Silent Spell was peering closely at a map of Canterlot, while Captain Fire Fly looked on from the chair opposite. They both glanced up and the mare smiled.

"There you are," she said to Luna. "We must move quickly. No doubt word of Spring Morning's capture will have gotten out."

"Naturally. Where? How do we approach this?"

If it were up to her, Luna would have stormed to the place in her full alicorn might and smashed the house to pieces. The guards could arrest whatever they found among the rubble. Instead, the Princess looked at the map, where Silent Spell had circled a specific building. She imagined how the city looked from above and fixed the position in her mind. It wasn't one of the richest residences, and not one of Silvermane's properties, but it was still quite a large manor. Who knew what sort of bad guys might be hiding in it? In fact, her wings itched to go, but the Princess made herself wait. It was a different time and Celestia wouldn't thank her for starting a panic among her ponies in Canterlot. She certainly wouldn't enjoy having innocent bystanders hurt in the process.

"The squad should be assembled in the courtyard by now, Princess," Fire Fly said, saluting. "I will accompany this mission personally and-"

"I will go as well!"

For an instant it looked as if Fire Fly would try and argue, but one look at her expression made the poor colt swallow before saluting again. "Of course, P-Princess!"

"I will take Forward Point and Comet Roll. We will go down in the sewers and ward off the exits from the manor," Silent Spell said.

"You believe they will try to flee through the sewers?" Luna asked, aghast.

"Sure! I would, if I saw you and the guards at the front door. No way they can out-fly or out-teleport you, so sneaking out will be their only option."

Luna nodded at that and rustled her wings. "We do not tell Sister about this until it is done. She would only slow us all down with procedure."

This command made Fire Fly uneasy, but he took another look at Luna's face and nodded. "As you wish, Princess," the Captain said.

"Do not hold back. This is an order for you and all your guards, Captain. Protecting the lives of innocents is our top priority, but if some of them get bruised in this capture I will consider it a good trade!"

Fire Fly's eyes seemed a tad too wide for his station, Luna thought, but she didn't comment upon it. At least Silent Spell understood and the mare was nodding approvingly.

"Good," she proclaimed, even if the Captain hadn't explicitly agreed. "Let's move!"

Their course of action decided, Luna pushed the door out of the conference room open with a burst of magic and ran outside. She was dimly aware of Fire Fly and Silent Spell galloping after her, but her blood began to tingle with excitement and a grim smile appeared on her muzzle. This! Action! Battle! These were the moments when a mare felt truly alive! Whoever Silvermane's boss was, they wouldn't know what hit them!

As she ran out of the castle door, the Princess spread her wings and took off. She'd have to wait for the Captain and his squad to get there through the streets, but she could fly circles around the city and keep an eye on anypony trying to escape on wing.

The door splintered before her and Luna rushed into the house. She heard more crashes from around the back, where Fire Fly had also begun his advance. She glanced around the antechamber, but it was both unremarkable and empty. The only place anypony could be hiding was in the big wardrobe against the far wall, so the Princess yanked its doors open to check. Nothing. She hurried onward and stopped at the foot of the grand staircase. She pointed a hoof at her retinue.

"Corporal, search the top floor, yell if you find anything! You-" she pointed out another pony, "stand guard at this entrance. Do not let anypony out."

They both saluted and the squad ran upstairs. It left her alone, but Luna didn't mind in the slightest. An alicorn was a match for any five ponies, even if there were changelings among them. She heard Fire Fly's barked orders from somewhere up ahead and nodded grimly. Anypony hiding in those rooms would be in for a nasty surprise. She picked the door to her left and her horn glowed briefly. The wood slammed against the wall and Luna leapt into the room. It looked like a sitting room which also served as a library. No closets or wardrobes and the only table in the room was made of glass, so nopony could be hiding under it. The Princess gave the room a quick inspection, noting another door in the far wall. She ran to it, blasting it to bits even as she approached. Some noise and destruction might unnerve whomever was hiding enough to make them bolt. Then she'd have them. Even if they got out on wing, Corporal Silverwing was still floating above the house, keeping an eye for any escapees.

The next room was a small office, or maybe a workshop. There was a table in the middle with several open books on it and a set of fine tools. Luna didn't take the time to identify what they were doing here. She ducked her head down to check under the table, then glanced around for more hiding spots. There was a thick curtain pulled across a window alcove and she lit up her horn to yank it away.

Nothing.

Mouth pressed together in a thin line, she hurried back out to the main hallway, where she ran into the captain. "Fire Fly. Report!"

He inclined his head, eschewing a full bow, and pointed. "There are kitchens in the back, but all deserted. The pots haven't been used recently and the fire isn't lit. Princess- we may be too late."

Luna stomped a hoof angrily and shook her head, nostrils flaring. "I refuse to accept that! Search it all again! Forward Point is searching the upstairs."

"What about the cellars?" one of the guards with Fire Fly pointed out.

"Good idea! Come with me. The rest of you are with the Captain."

The guard, Snow Cover, gave a nod and fell in step behind the Princess as she hurried back to the staircase. It stood to reason that the way down would be near the way up. It only took her a few seconds to spot the small wooden hatch in the floor. A burst of magic flung it up so hard that it smashed against the ceiling.

The guardspony didn't even flinch at the noise, Luna was pleased to see. He was about to jump into the darkness, but she put a hoof in his way. "Light," she said simply and her horn sprang to life.

A glowing ball of white fire appeared and she sent it down into the darkness. It revealed a narrow stone stairway. Snow Cover began walking down, shoulders hunched and tail flicking. He was expecting an ambush at every step. Luna followed close behind, sending her light to scout ahead. Soon they reached the end of the stairs and the young guard swore under his breath. The Princess hurried after him to see and a small groan escaped her as well.

"Definitely changeling work," Snow Cover pointed out needlessly.

There were two slimy cocoons against the far wall. Other than that, there was nothing in the room at all. A lingering smell in the air told Luna that once it must have been full of root vegetables. She smelled potatoes and beets at the very least. She sent her light closer to the cocoons and followed it to get a better look. After a moment the guard joined her, armor clanking softly as he shuffled uncomfortably.

"That's- sweet Celestia!" he exclaimed when the light fell on a familiar muzzle.

"Hmm, so Spring Morning was an actual mare. I wonder how long she's been in there."

She moved the light to examine the other one and Snow Cover gasped again. "Sergeant Azure Wings!"

Luna was scowling as if the two unconscious ponies were keeping secrets from her. She looked down at the guard and barked an order: "Go find the Captain. Send a flier to the Castle and have him bring a doctor. I will free them, but they may need medical attention forthwith!"

As much as Snow Cover tried to hide it, the relief on his muzzle was palpable. He was glad to be sent away from this place and galloped back to the stairs. Luna remembered too late that there was no light for him to see, but the stallion hadn't asked for any. His hoofsteps faded into silence as he made his way up top.

Luna thought quickly. Ponies freed from changeling cocoons were disoriented and weak. They would also probably be frightened. Azure Wings might react better, thanks to her guard training, but Spring Morning was a wild card. They hadn't been able to find anything about the mare after she - or rather the changeling in her guise - had foalnapped Gregory.

The mare had appeared apparently out of nowhere, having been assigned to the Castle from a small guard garrison near Neighara. Her record had been entirely unremarkable, but when they'd tried looking for her parents, neither she nor Celestia had found anything. It could mean that Spring Morning was an orphan, but they'd decided that her entire identity was probably a changeling fabrication. In fact, there was a good chance that the mare's name wasn't even Spring Morning.

The Princess concentrated for a moment and her light split into four globes of pure white. It lit up the dark room until all the shadows were banished. She sent the orbs to the corners and fastened them there, so she didn't have to think about the magic anymore. True, they would dissipate in a matter of hours, but that would be plenty of time. Then she focused on the thick, green, gooey membrane of the cocoon itself. She pushed at it with a hoof, noting how it gave way before flowing back. The inside was filled with some kind of liquid.

She formed a blade out of her magic and chose the point where she plunged it into the goop. It immediately spurted out, some of it staining her hoof guard, but Luna didn't care. With a strong, brisk motion of her horn she made the impromptu dagger tear a long gash downward. The ooze spilled out and coated the floor. Some of it went on her legs, but again the Princess paid it absolutely no mind.

The mare in the cocoon began to slide and Luna abandoned her ephemeral dagger in order to grasp the falling figure with her magic. She lowered her gently to the floor, but she kept supporting the mare around the barrel to keep her upright.

"Wake up, Azure Wings. It's over."

The mare took a sudden breath, then began to cough. Some of the ooze, whatever it was, sprayed from her mouth as she cleared her throat of the stuff. Then she gulped down another big lungful of air and opened her eyes.

"W-Where? Wha-?"

Her eyes tried to focus on Luna and a small smile graced her muzzle. "Pri-Princess?"

Luna held the guard against her chest fluff, completely ignoring the goop she was smearing all over herself. "Yes. You are safe, my pony. Relax."

It seemed the guard had more to say. Her ears folded down and a spark of anger entered her eyes. "Got me... hallway. Shift- end. Changelings!"

"I know. I know, Azure Wings. We got them."

It wasn't completely true, or maybe it was. Perhaps Spring Morning, or whoever was in the prison was the only changeling attached to this operation. In either case, it wasn't something Luna wanted Azure Wings to worry about right now.

"Can you stand?"

The guardsmare put her hooves on the ground and lifted herself on shaky legs. Luna kept the magic supporting her, but Azure Wings took it as a point of pride to stay upright by herself. "H-How long?" she asked after another bout of coughing.

"I don't know exactly. More than a month, less than two."

The guardsmare nearly toppled over as she lifted up a hoof in salute. "P-Permission to come back on duty, Princess?"

It made Luna chuckle and pride warmed her heart. The castle guards really were the best of the best. "After the doctor has checked you out, Sergeant. Sit now and rest. There is one other we have to free."

Hopefully Spring Morning would take it at least half as well as Azure Wings had. Luna sighed and carefully withdrew her magical support from the guardsmare. She was sitting on her haunches by herself, which was very encouraging.

The Princess reformed the magical blade and plunged it into the other cocoon with a grim, slightly disgusted expression.