//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: The Reception's Back On // by sister_mike //------------------------------// Chapter 9 Luna Luna was imprisoned again. There were several changeling guards outside and she was heavily chained to floor. She couldn't even stand. This time, Chrysalis had locked her up into one of the tallest towers. Little did Chrysalis know, that this was going to be to Luna's advantage. Luna had managed to put up quite the fight against the mass of changelings in the labyrinth. But eventually with Chrysalis's added strength, they managed to overpower Luna and they brought her up here. In some ways, Luna had let them capture her—because she had already sent out a signal to her rescue party. As soon as Twilight Sparkle had freed her, Luna had sent out a message to her guards awaiting her on the moon. She sent their captain, Titan Wings, to go and meet up with Twilight. Luna knew she was going to be late arriving at Ponyville, so she sent Titan Wings in her place. Once Twilight was gone, Luna had sent out another message to the rest of the guards waiting on the moon. She knew she was going to be captured, just as she had figured that Discord was missing. She told her other guards to come find her, captured in the palace, an hour after they received her message. Now, she waited. She knew they would be here soon. She had tried freeing herself with her magic, but like last time, her magic was counteracted by Chrysalis's. As she waited, she tried to think of reasons why Chrysalis would want Discord. She now doubted they were working together. She had seen a heavily guarded door along the way up to her tower prison. She knew her sister wasn't in there—Celestia would be much more harder to find than that—so Luna figured that that's where Discord was being kept. Something rustled at the window. Luna looked over and saw one of her guards peering in. "Princess Luna, are you hurt?" he whispered. "No, I am not. Thank you for asking Black Leaf," she said. "How many are with you?" "Ten pegasi, eight unicorns and five earth ponies. The ground ponies are waiting in the labyrinth, just as you instructed," Black Leaf said. "Excellent; come free me and then I shall divvy out further instructions," Luna said. Black Leaf and a few other pegasi flew into the room, while the rest kept watch over the tower. "Chrysalis does not have the window guarded?" Luna asked. Black Leaf shook his head as he began to file away at the chains. "She must be preoccupied with something else then, in order to have overlooked such an obvious escape route." It took a few steady minutes, but thankfully, they were not disturbed. The pegasi were trained warriors, and stealth and silence were part of their training. They barely made a sound as they sawed through the chains. Once the chains were broken, Luna carefully stepped out of them, so as not to make them clang together. "What's the plan Princess?" Black Leaf asked. "I want you and five of your men to go down to the ground team. Try to infiltrate the palace; Discord is locked on the second floor. See what they are doing with him. I do not know where my sister is," Luna said. "What about you Princess?" he asked. "The other four pegasi and I will travel to Ponyville; I need to ensure that the Elements of Harmony are found, and that their bearers make it to Canterlot safely. I do not wish to leave Canterlot, but it is better if I am not captured again and that I can actually be of some use," Princess Luna said. Black Leaf nodded. "And if we find your sister or news of Discord?" Black Leaf asked. "Get one of the unicorns to send me a message," she said. Luna and the pegasi flew swiftly to Ponyville. They encountered a few changelings along the way, but easily disposed of them. She saw no sign of Twilight Sparkle or her team along the way. She tried not to worry about them. Ponyville was like a ghost town. It was silent and eerie. Streams of green wafted from all of the houses. "Take a look around, see if you can find anypony conscious," Luna said. "If we do?" one of the pegasi asked. "Tell them not to panic; it is safe in the Everfree Forest. We will lead any survivors there. I know of a zebra who lives in the forest, and there is a filly in there that I want to check up on," Luna said. The pegasi nodded and dispersed. Luna wandered around the town. It was sad to see it so lifeless. When she had been here during Nightmare Night, the town had been full of festivities and fun. It was the first time she was shown friendship since coming back from exile. She stood in the town square, surveying the houses. Suddenly the ground a few feet in front of her rumbled. The dirt began to move and a small hole began to form. Luna readied herself in case it was a changeling. Slowly, a dark grey coated mare, with a light grey mane, stuck her head out from underground. She stepped out carefully and shook the dirt off of her. She jumped at the sight of Luna and stared at her frightfully. "It's alright pony; I am Princess Luna. I will not harm you," Luna said softly. She liked to think that the pony jumped because she was surprised someone was right there watching her, not because she thought Luna was Nightmare Moon. The pony didn't say anything. She just sort of nodded at Luna. Luna glanced at her cutie mark. It was dynamite. "What's your name?" Luna asked kindly. The mare stared at her for a second, and then hesitantly stomped her hooves. Luna tilted her head to the side, not quite understanding. When the mare repeated the same hoof stomps, Luna then nodded. "I see; you cannot speak," she said. The mare nodded. Luna pondered for a second. "I am going to do a spell, so that we can communicate via our minds; that way, you can talk. Ok?" Luna asked. The mare hesitated and then nodded. Luna's horn glowed. "Alright. It's ready. Now, what is your name?" "Blinkie; Blinkie Pie."