//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: The Prancing Pony 
// Story: Legend of the Harbingers 
// by PvtFlutters 
//------------------------------//

	Everypony sat in silence, even after Twilight had explained what was going on. Twilight had expected this, though. It was only natural for the severity of this whole thing to kick in. When it finally did, Rainbow Dash spoke up.
"So... Canterlot's... gone?" she asked with a frightened tone. Twilight pondered the thought for a moment. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and everypony's attention turned to it. Twilight slowly walked closer to it and her horn lit up. The knob turned and the door opened on its own. Standing outside was a pegasus with a newspaper-filled saddlebag, who couldn't have been much older than Applebloom. His coat was a light blue and his mane a dark blue, and he had a frightened look on his face. He slowly turned his head and grabbed a <newspaper> with his mouth, presenting it to Twilight. Twilight grabbed it and nodded to the mail pony, who then nodded back and flew away.
The newspaper confirmed her suspicions. Canterlot had been taken over, <and> most of the royal guard were dead. A magic force field surrounded the city, and there was no way in or out unless the unicorn allowed it. There was also a wanted sign for... Twilight's jaw dropped at the name... it was Princess Luna.
Twilight walked back in to the house and set the paper on the table that all the ponies surrounded. They were all quiet, eyes moving at different speeds reading everything they could. The only one away from the table was Twilight. She looked out a window running a hoof along Celestia's tiara. Her memory had returned, but she was wishing it hadn't. She remembered Celestia's last moments... the memories were so vivid. She slammed her eyes shut and forced herself to think up a plan. But soon afterwards, she reopened her eyes and began to stare out the window again. It was mid-day, and it really did look clear outside. She assumed that word hadn't spread too far yet...
Her eyes fell to the Everfree Forest... despite being daylight, the forest was dark. Twilight had never been a fan of the Everfree- the thought of being turned to stone again was awful. Still, seeing the forest gave her an idea. Zecora was the wisest zebra Twilight knew and admittedly... the only one. Maybe she knew something about this unicorn.
"Twi?" Twilight was so deep in thought that she jumped at the voice behind her. "Sorry 'bout that. I didn't mean to scare ya," Applejack chuckled.
"No, it's fine," Twilight smiled.
"What're y'all lookin' at through that window?" AJ asked.
"It's a long shot but... what if Zecora knows something?" Twilight inquired.
"It's worth a shot!" AJ stated excitedly. "Zecora is one of the smartest pon-... zebras I know," she said with a grin. Twilight and AJ walked back to the table and sat with the others.
"Alright everypony, listen up," Twilight commanded. They all turned their attention to her. 	"I've decided we should go to Zecora's place. She's the most knowledgeable zebra I know, and if there's someone who knows about this... it's her." Everypony in the room looked around at one another. They all turned back to Twilight without saying a word. Together they gave her a smile. Twilight understood and returned it with a smile of her own. It was time to go to the Everfree...
Canterlot was engulfed in fear. Nopony knew what road they were heading down... but they did know it would be a long and heartless one. The food coming into Canterlot had stopped thanks to this force field. And unfortunately, due to its location in a mountain, Canterlot had no way to grow food. A few mail ponies returned with food, but most were to afraid to. Some that did got caught and were thought to be killed. And even if there was a mail pony brave and sneaky enough to avoid capture, they would still only be one pony, and one pony can only carry so much.
Canterlot's only hope rested in the hooves of one pony... the most wanted pony in all of Canterlot- Princess Luna. An endless supply of food and supplies was promised to the family of the pony that found her. Therefore, Luna went into hiding. She had a few guards she trusted that hid along with her. They had given up their uniforms to maintain secrecy, and were dressed in the common street clothes of Canterlot.
Luna herself was in an underground cellar of an old abandoned shop called "The Prancing Pony." She had used her magic to clean it up and make it into a base of operations for herself. This "base" wasn't much, though- it was just a mostly empty room with cobblestone walls and a table. On the table was a map of Equestria, a map of Canterlot, and a candle to light the room.
The rain was falling outside The Prancing Pony, and two of Luna's guards looked out the windows, watching it. Rex, Luna's most trusted guard, approached the window where the other two were standing. He was a pegasus with a grey coat and blue mane. Showing their respect, the two stood and attention and saluted. He smiled at them.
"No need for that kind of stuff here. We're undercover, remember?" he explained.
"Of course!" Tumbleweed replied.
"We understand, it's just our habit, sir," Firewing replied. They weren't the most qualified to serve on such a high risk mission in protecting Canterlot's only hope, but they wanted revenge on this unicorn for burning Firewing and attacking Celestia. So, they were the most trustworthy.
"Was there something Luna needed?" Tumbleweed asked.
"No, she's fine," Rex replied.
"Was there something you needed?" Firewing insisted.
"No, I came up here to see if everything was OK. Besides the storm, is everything going well up here?" Rex asked. The other two nodded in agreement. After checking up on them, Rex walked back down to the cellar. It would've been pitch black if not for the candle and slight glow from Luna's starlight mane. Rex stood at attention but Luna was too caught up in her map of Canterlot to notice him.
"Your majesty?" Rex asked. Luna's head jolted up. Her startled state turned to one of joy at the sight of him.
"I assume everything is going well upstairs, yes?" she asked.
"Of course," Rex replied. "Good job." Luna blushed at his praise. She had been trying to break herself of her old habit of saying "we" instead of "I".
"Thank you, Rex. But we have far more important things to focus on than grammar," she stated.
"You're right. Got any ideas?" Rex asked. Luna shook her head no. Escaping Canterlot was going to be a challenge in itself, let alone finding Twilight afterwards. But she had to. Twilight had to be told about this new ruler and what he really was.
But... Luna had bigger problems. Outside The Prancing Pony, a grey pegasus with a yellowish grey mane waited. Her cutie mark was missing. The only way anypony could tell who she was was by looking at her eyes... her big, crossed, eyes...