//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: Not Just Another Day 
// Story: Equestria Fallen 
// by ElectromagNick 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 4: Not Just Another Day


“Be careful, Little Sister.”  Celestia was worried, and her voice showed it.
Luna sighed.  “I will, Sister.  I simply hope that this may be resolved quickly.”
The Alicorn Sisters stood on the ramparts of Canterlot's outer wall.  It was early, about six thirty in the morning, and the day was still dim.  The battalions, at this point unified into a moderate brigade, were boarding an armored train with artillery loaded onto the cargo cars.  In spite of the heavy load, the new dual electromagic engines would allow the brigade to arrive in Port Gallop by noon, or slightly after.  Six Pegasi scouts and a large weather team were preparing in the field just outside of Canterlot's main gates.  If they were walking into a trap, they would at least have warning.
“Princess Luna,” Tenebrous announced, “the troops have boarded the train and the scouts are ready to begin.”
“Very well.  Tell the conductor to depart and then return to the scouts.  I want you to remain close until we reach Port Gallop.”
“Yes, My Lady.”  Tenebrous bowed her head and took flight.
Luna sighed, holding her head low.  She was understandably hesitant.  Celestia pulled Luna into a hug and for a long moment, they merely stood there, neither willing to break the embrace.  Finally, as she caught a glimpse of Tenebrous as she returned, Luna pulled away.
“I... should not delay further.”
“Good luck, Luna.”
“And to you, Sister.”  She looked back at Celestia will sullen eyes and stared for a long moment before taking flight to meet Tenebrous.  The two mares swooped down to the scouts.
Celestia turned and began to fly back to the palace.  There were still preparations to make.  She landed on a platform built off of the palace ramparts, a flight of stairs on either side that spiraled a quarter turn away from the wall into a grassy training yard for the Royal Guard.  Shining Armor stood on the platform and overlooked several officers as they trained the newer guardsponies.  Cadance was next to him.
“Is there any way I can help?” Cadance asked.
Celestia wasn't quick to respond.  She needed all the help she could get to counter Chrysalis, but Cadance didn't need to be involved.  At first, she thought to tell her to just focus on her wedding and to help Shining Armor deal with whatever stress came.  At last, she could only sigh, her eyes heavy.  “Just keep an eye out for any suspicious behavior.  Chrysalis is smart, and nothing if not careful.  If she's in Canterlot already, we need to find her before she chooses to reveal herself.  She'll likely try to remain hidden until she makes a decisive strike.  If she's confident enough to confront any of us directly, we may be too late.”
Cadance's eyes glimmered with determination.  She was eager to make herself useful, to help, to prove that she's worthy of being a princess of Equestria.  “I'll keep my eyes open.”
“Thank you, Cadance.”  She turned her gaze to the guard captain.  “Shining Armor, are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“Cast it.”
Shining Armor nodded before stepping away from the group.  He took a deep breath, closed his eyes.  A brilliant rose aura enveloped his horn as his magic poured into a singular point at its tip.  In a sudden flash of light, a beam of rose-hued mana surged from his horn and shot into the sky high above Canterlot.  The beam reached a terminal peak and spread outward, raining down in a large arc to form a solid, magical wall that engulfed the entire city and a small chunk of the mountain.  A low, telltale hum thundered from the bubble and the beam from Shining Armor's horn cut off.  The humming died down, but it was still present, as was a faint glow about Shining Armor, much like the ever-present aura surrounding Celestia or Luna.  Shining Armor opened his eyes and took another deep breath, rubbing his temples.  Conjuring a small ward was easy for him.  It was his talent, after all.  But the larger the radius, the more energy it took, and the more difficult it became to maintain for any duration.  Shining Armor was quite possible the only Unicorn in several generations capable of a shield this size.  He and Celestia would have to alternate every few days.  Otherwise Shining Armor risked physical injury and burnout, which would render him magicless for a time.
Cadance placed a hoof on her fiancé's shoulder.  “Are you okay?”
Shining Armor steadied himself.  “Yeah.  Yeah, I should be fine.  No headaches yet, so that's a good sign.”
“They'll start soon enough,” Celestia said bluntly.  It wasn't the time or the place to be subtle.  “When you feel the strain of the spell is becoming too much – and you will – tell me.  Then I can continue the spell for several days, but you'll have to take over again.  I can barely maintain the City Aegis myself.”
“Of course, Princess.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Celestia notice guards filing into the courtyard.  Shining Armor had called for an assembly to bring the uninformed up to speed and explain the shift change.  “I should be going.  I have some business to attend to.  And you should let him work, Cadance.  Besides, don't you have your own preparations to make?”
Cadance looked a bit incredulous.  “Shouldn't we postpone the wedding?  I mean, with everything going on, Shining Armor needs to focus, and the wedding would just distract him.”
Celestia turned and smiled at her adopted niece.  “No.  This has already disrupted your wedding enough.  I'll be maintaining the shield during the ceremonies so Shining Armor can enjoy it.  You two deserve that much, at least.  Besides, don't you have a young mare you used to foalsit coming into town for the big day?”
Cadance chuckled and gave a small smile.  “It will be nice to see Twilight again.”  She turned and looked over at the guards for a moment.  “I should let you work.  I'll see you when you finish your shift.”  She gave him a quick kiss on his check and trotted off through the gate.
“Thank you, Princess,” Shining Armor said, truly thankful for Celestia's promise and reassurance.
“It's no trouble.  I have things that I need to attend to.  Good luck, Shining Armor.”  Celestia gave one final smile and jumped into the air, soaring around the palace until she reached one of the balconies of the fourth floor.  Etiquette and General Cloverhoof were waiting for her.
“Good morning, Princess,” Cloverhoof said, a smile on her aged face.
“And to you, Daisy.  When will the additional brigade be ready?”
“The day after tomorrow.  They'll report to Shining Armor first thing in the morning, the day after tomorrow.”
“What about the rest of the corps?”
“On alert, preparing.  They'll be ready to respond to any additional attacks just as soon.”
Celestia visibly relaxed, though she still wore a stern, stoic expression.  “Good.  I can only hope they won't be needed.”
“You and me both.”  They were silent for a moment that felt far longer than it was.  “Is there anything else?”
“You're informing the other generals, correct?”
“Yes, Princess.  I'll be sending messengers to the rest of the E.U.P. Command throughout the next few days.  I'll have them fully briefed on the situation.”
“The Abandoned are our allies and they're to be trusted.  Make sure that they know that.  Beyond that, I have nothing else for you.  I'll send if something comes up.”
“Of course.”  She bowed her head with a smile and left quickly.
Etiquette was clearly tired, but he had no intention of letting that slow him down.  “Generals Armet and Highflier are preparing to leave for Colton.  Highflier still has reservations about putting his trust in the Abandoned.”
“That is not his decision.  Maybe it's because I know Façade, but I find no reason to dismiss the Abandoned's warnings or refuse their help.”
At first, the urge to ask why Façade began this civil war came over Etiquette, but it wasn't his place to ask.  His only concern was Princess Celestia and whatever task she assigned to him.  “On another note, there is press meeting at one o'clock this afternoon.”
Celestia's stoic expression faded, and in its stead was the weary face of an ancient diarch.  She couldn't keep a strong face any more.  The night was restless for her and the morning had already been long enough to fill the day.  She let her exhaustion show until she noticed the fatigue in Etiquette's eyes.  “Why don't you take tomorrow off, Etiquette?”
“Are you certain, Princess?”
“You hardly give yourself time to breathe.  You deserve a rest.  I still need your help today, but I promise I can handle everything tomorrow.”
He still stood tall and proper and bowed respectfully.  “Thank you, Princess,” he said humbly.
Celestia smiled.  “I'll be in my study preparing for the press conference if anything comes up.”
“Of course, Princess.”  He bowed his head once more and left.
Celestia turned to the horizon.  For a few moments more, she reflected.  The Alicorn Sisters had faced crises in the past, but this was the first Luna would face since her restoration.  The memories were still fresh, though half drowned from whatever madness she had steeped in for a thousand years.  “Letting her go was a mistake,” Celestia muttered.  “She should have had more time to recover.”  For a long moment, she stared off at the landscape opposite the sunrise, stars barely visible in the dark morning blue.  It was an eerily calm moment.  She lowered her head, eyes closed, with one final sigh before she pulled herself away from the balcony.
As hours passed, Princess Celestia sat at the writing desk in her study.  She was looking over her statements and notes, but some thought, some question, kept repeating itself in her mind.  “What happened?” she wondered.  “What happened all those years ago to change Chrysalis so much?  She's always been hot headed, even when we were just children, but now...  What changed?”  She just couldn't shake the thought.  One bell chimed from the grandfather clock against the far wall.  With a sigh, she stood up.  She was as prepared as she could be, but it didn't help the feeling in her stomach.
She trotted down the halls of the palace and toward a large conference room.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Your Ladyship?” Duplicity requested in silent telepathy, striding down the hall with Chrysalis, both disguised as patrols.
“Yes, Duplicity?”  Chrysalis did not look at her subordinate, but instead continued onward as a patrol, as though nothing were amiss.
“The barrier...  I have never heard of a 'city aegis' before.  I did not believe ward spells could be sustained at such a... grand scale.”
“Yes, even small barriers take impressive skill to conjure and even a few seconds are straining...  Perhaps I have underestimated the Guard Captains.”  They stilled their thoughts as she and Duplicity rounded a corner, expecting another patrol.  Everypony was working double shifts until the E.U.P. reinforcements arrived.  Just as expected, two more guards passed them by, stopping them.
“Tragedy at Eclipse,” the leader of the other patrol stated.
“Eclipse fell at Dawn,” Chrysalis responded.
The leader simply nodded and the patrol continued on.
Chrysalis and Duplicity started their path again.  Chrysalis didn't “speak” again for a short time.  “Odd, to use such a passphrase.  I expected increased security measures, but something so archaic...  Celestia does not believe I remember...”
“I assume it has some meaning to her?”
It took a moment for Chrysalis to reply.  “One thousand years, Luna was exiled.  It all began with an eclipse that lasted the bloodiest three weeks in Equestrian history.”  Chrysalis's thoughts stilled for a moment.  The memories still seemed recent.  After a short time, she changed the subject.  “Shining Armor is certainly more skillful than I anticipated.  Even in peacetime, Celestia is no fool, nor are her guards.”  She stifled a slight, reminiscent laugh.  “She has hardly changed...”  She accidentally muttered it aloud.  Her was off, almost... remorseful. 
“If you're going to replace the Guard Captain, are you certain you can maintain that shield?”
“I can cast it if I can learn the spell itself.  I suppose that Celestia will take charge in holding it for a time.  Likely during the wedding.  That is, if she is still as sentimental as once she was.  Yet we must not step recklessly.  The mortal dance of politics and warfare is not for the ungainly.”
“Still, we are fortunate that Luna left with Guard Captain Dusk.”
“It was not the Guard Captain that I worried about.  Still, if Shining Armor can maintain such a spell, I shudder at the thought of a power that Guard Captain Dusk may yet hold secret.  And perhaps it is fortunate that Luna left instead of Celestia.  In times old, Luna held the power to see others' hearts in a way few could.  If she regained that ability after her exile...”  She trailed off, lost in a thought that Duplicity could only guess at.
Duplicity simply let the conversation end.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Twilight couldn't stop smiling as she gleefully trotted around, packing the last of her bags.  They'd be there for at least a week, likely more, and she wanted to be prepared for everything.  She even had everything packed for Owloysius, who was currently sleeping on one of his perches.  Spike simply shook his head when he saw the three duffel bags in middle of the bedroom.
“Don't you think you're overdoing it a little, Twilight?”
Twilight simply gave him her usual “what do you mean 'over-prepared'” look.
Spike responded by raising an eyebrow.  “What exactly have you packed?”
Twilight laughed nervously.  “A seven-volume encyclopedia of wedding preparations and its accompanying trivia guides, five notebooks, seventeen packs of index cards, blank blueprints, my travel toiletries, and some light reading material?”  She smiled awkwardly, trying to cover up the realization that she got carried away.
“Light?”
“The entire Ballad of Magic and Steel series...”
“All nine books?  Aren't they, like, three-thousand pages each?”
Twilight sighed.  “Yeah.  I'll reevaluate and repack.”
“You realize-”
“Yes, yes, yes, we're leaving tomorrow morning, I know.  Are you packed?”
Spike smiled proudly.  “As a matter of fact, yes, I'm fully-”
“Did you remember your spare toothbrush and toothpaste?”
“They're next to a travel case on the sink, I'll throw them in my backpack after breakfast tomorrow.”
Twilight rolled her eyes.  “Don't forget this time.”
“One time!  It was one time on a camping trip I didn't even know we-  You're joking.”
Twilight giggled.  “Guilty as charged.”
Spike chuckled and shook his head.  “Need any help repacking?”
“No, no, I should be able to narrow it down to just one duffel bag and my saddlebags.”
“Alright.  If you need help, just ask-”
“RING RING!!!” Pinkie Pie called from the front door.
Twilight walked out onto the balcony.  “Uh, Pinkie, the doorbell is working.”
The ever-energetic mass of pink and curls was hopping up and down, staring right at Twilight with a huge smile.  “Oh, but I couldn't wait so I decided to just, I mean, it's a royal wedding in Canterlot and we're leaving tomorrow, I'm so excited, I'm so excited, I'm so excited!  There will be balloons and cake and dancing and music, not to mention CAKE!”
Twilight laughed as she rolled her eyes.  “I know, Pinkie.  Come on in, I'll boil some water for-”  Before Twilight could finish, Pinkie Pie had already traversed the entirety of the library and was standing next to her.  “-tea.”
“Whatcha lookin' at?”
“Where you were.”
“Oh, I know, I was just down there!”
Twilight giggled again.  “Alright.  So, tea.”  Twilight trotted out of the room and down the stairs, Spike and Pinkie in tow.  A lavender aura emanated from her horn as she entered the kitchen.  She pulled a kettle from the cupboard and some boxes of various teas and spices from a separate cabinet.  “Which would you like”
“Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...”  Pinkie thought for a long moment, contorting her body at odd angles.  Finally, she spun around, her body completely normal again.  Well, relative to Pinkie.  “Jasmine!  Ooo, no, green tea!  No, black tea-  OH!  I KNOW, I KNOW!  Can we make it chai?!”
“Your sure?”
“Abso-sweetness-lutely!”
Twilight smiled and opened three of the boxes, returning the rest to the cabinet.  “You know chai is more spiced than sweet, right?”
Pinkie raised an eyebrow in an oddly serious look.  “Twilight, did you forget I put hot sauce on my cupcakes?”
“Point taken, chai it is.  Is it okay if I mix in some-”  The doorbell chimed and cut Twilight off.  “Spike, could you get that?”
“Sure thing.”  He quickly left the kitchen to attend to the guest.
“So, what were you going to mix in?” Pinkie asked.
“Oh, right.  Cloves and cinnamon, is that alright with you?”
“Ooo, of course it's okay, I love cinnamon, it's just the best!”
Rarity entered the kitchen, Spike following behind her with a sparkle in his eye.  “Hello, girls.”
“Oh, hey Rarity,” Twilight said, retrieving her pestle and mortar.  “I'm making some chai tea, would like some?”
“Oh, that would be just marvelous, Twilight.  Thank you.”
“RARITY, HOW EXCITED ARE YOU?!”  Pinkie Pie was once again bouncing around the room.
“Quite excited.  Why, I do say I'm absolutely ecstatic about the whole occasion.  I mean, it's not often that I get to design the wedding dress of a princess.  I don't care how little notice we had, I'll ensure that it's the best dress I've ever made.”
Twilight smiled, grinding the cinnamon and cloves into a fine powder.  “I'm sure Cadance wanted to ask us sooner, but she's just been busy.  After all, when she was my foalsitter, she was still attending Canterlot Academy with my brother.”
“So, how long exactly have you known Princess Cadance?”
Twilight mixed the ground spices and put some tea leaves into the kettle.  “Let's see, I didn't have my cutie mark when she started, and I didn't start studying the prerequisites for the test until after Shining Armor graduated.”  She put the kettle on the wood burning stove and lit a fire, placing a few logs in the stove.  “He enlisted in the E.U.P. about when I started working on basic entropy spells.  He was transferred at Princess Celestia's request to the Royal Guard and taken under the previous day captain's wing, at which point I was told when the exam was scheduled for...  Geez, I couldn't have been more than three or four years old when we first met, and we became friends almost instantly, so maybe fourteen years?  It should be fifteen this summer, I think.”
Rarity chuckled.  “And you told us you didn't have any friends.”
“I said many.  My brother and Cadance were my best friends.  I sometimes spent time with Moondancer, Lyra before she moved here, and a few others, but I'd mostly sit in the background and read.”
"Silly, you do that now!” Pinkie said.
“She hasn't really changed much, now that I think about it,” Spike added.
“You were still an egg during most of that,” Twilight retorted.
“Yeah, but I spent a lot of time with Moondancer, and she told me about that stuff.  I mean, not that I had a crush on her or anything.”  He laughed nervously, turning his gaze away from Rarity.  “No, we were just friends.”
Twilight just rolled her eyes with a slight smile, deciding to save Spike the embarrassment.  “So, how's the packing going, Rarity?”
“Oh, marvelously.  I've packed everything I could possibly need, as well as all of the supplies I should need for the dress.”
Twilight shook her head.  “You shouldn't need to bring supplies.  Princess Celestia sent me a letter a last night offering us full access to the palace storehouse.”
“Oh, I wouldn't want to raid the storehouse for simple materials.  But, then again, the fabrics in the palace must be exquisite.”  She rub her chin with a hoof, imagining what she could do with such luxurious materials.  “Oh, I suppose we'll see when we get there.  There's no harm in bringing my own materials just in case, right?”
“You can never be over-prepared!” Pinkie shouted, pulling her party cannon out of what Spike, Rarity, and Twilight could only assume was thin air.  “Case and point, PARTY CANNON!”
“Where do you keep-  Never mind.”  Twilight looked back to Rarity as Spike leaned dangerously close to the barrel of the party cannon.  “Just try to avoid bringing more than four luggage bags and your saddlebags, okay?  There's only so much room on the train, and Spike can only carry so much.”
"Oh, it's all right, Twilight," Spike answered.  "I don't mi-"  BOOM!  The party cannon fired off, filling the room with balloons, confetti, party favors, and other miscellania.  Spike was now safely tucked into a cupboard, densely-packed confetti around him and covering all but his eyes.  "I'm okay..."
"That's certainly good to hear," Rarity said, pulling Spike out telekinetically.  "Alright, Twilight.  I promise I won't bring more than necessary.”  The kettle began to whistle, and Rarity grabbed some cups and saucers from the cupboard next to the Spike landed in.  “We were meeting at the train station, correct?"
"Yes," Twilight said, pulling up another chair.  She poured tea for everypony.  "Cheers, everypony!"
"Cheers," the three replied, clinking cups together.