//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: The Reception // by sister_mike //------------------------------// Chapter 7 Fluttershy Fluttershy's eyes had been closed for mostly the whole time. The sight of the possessed Princess Celestia was just too much for her. How in Equestria were they going to defeat Chrysalis now? Fluttershy heard Twilight shout Luna's name. She opened her eyes, just in time to see Chrysalis's grotesque horn glow green. Fluttershy squeaked in fear. This was it. This was the end. Then a warm, fuzzy feeling enveloped her. She felt calm and peaceful, which was very odd given the circumstances. Maybe this is what it felt like to die. Maybe she was in heaven. She opened her eyes as she felt a cool breeze pass by. "Fluttershy?" Fluttershy jumped at her name. Her legs shook beneath her as she turned towards the voice. She jumped again. She was inside the labyrinth. Behind her, was a large group of ponies. Some faces she recognized, others she didn't. Some were dressed in royal guard attire, while others weren't. Mr. Cakes continued to stare at her. "Are you ok?" he asked again. Fluttershy opened her mouth, but all that came out was a squeak. What was Mr. Cake doing here? As she looked at some of the ponies behind him, she recognized more faces. "It's Flutter-shy!" Derpy came out of nowhere and threw her forelegs around Fluttershy in a hug. Fluttershy still shook nervously, very confused as to what was happening. Where were the others? When Derpy pulled away, a few of the other ponies took notice to her sudden attendance. "Element of Kindness, you are alright," Windstrong said. "Where are the others? Where's Rain-bow Dash?" Derpy asked. One of the stallions in the royal guard suddenly noticed Fluttershy and rapidly approached her. "An Element bearer! Are you alright? What happened? Where is Princess Celestia?" he asked, speaking very quickly. Fluttershy squeaked. "I-I don't know what happened," Fluttershy said softly. The Element necklace around her neck suddenly felt very heavy. More and more ponies began to turn their attention towards Fluttershy, and she didn't like it. Be brave. "Where are the princesses?" the guard asked again brashly. "Calm yourself soldier! This is the Element of Kindness, and you shall treat her with nothing less," Titan Wings said. He pushed his way through the crowd until he was in front of Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, what happened?" "I don't know; the Elements failed. Princess Celestia has been transformed into some sort of puppet and is being controlled by Chrysalis. She and Luna were about to battle, when Chrysalis turned her attention back to us and then suddenly I appeared out here," Fluttershy stuttered, "and I'm not sure where the others are." "Possessed Princess Celestia? We need to get into the palace, now," the first guard said. "No; we need to wait here for Princess Luna's signal, like she ordered," Titan Wings said again. "She may be dead for all we know! We need to act now! We've been sitting here idly for too long! It's time to act!" the guard shouted again. Some behind him rallied in agreement. "Do not speak ill of Princess Luna! Chrysalis cannot defeat her, this I can assure you. We will wait here until she gives her signal to attack!" Titan Wings said. "If Chrysalis can compromise Princess Celestia, she can do the same to Princess Luna! We need to act now before Equestria is lost forever!" the guard shouted again. "Stand down soldier!" Titan Wings shouted, "As your captain has been compromised, I am in charge here! We will await Princess Luna's orders!" "I say we let the Element bearer decide what to do! We need some sort of direction! We're wasting time just sitting around here!" the guard shouted back. Others began to murmur and shout in agreement. The crowd was beginning to get restless. Titan Wings and the guard turned to Fluttershy. "Well Fluttershy; what do you think we should do?" Titan Wings said. Fluttershy squeaked. The crowed went quiet and looked at her. They were expecting orders, waiting for her to make a decision. They had just unofficially made Fluttershy their new leader, and she did not like it one bit. After a half hour, the group was still in the labyrinth. Fluttershy told the army that she thought they should wait until either Princess Luna or Twilight came to get them. She didn't like being in the leader's position, and even though she had been elected as such and had made an "order", the guard and Titan Wings continued to argue. "You wanted to make her our leader, and so we did! Fluttershy says to wait, so we wait," Titan Wings argued with the other guard. Their constant arguing was beginning to give Fluttershy a headache and wasn't at all making her feel any better. "Look! Newcomers!" somepony shouted. Somehow in the midst of all of the arguing and decision-making, Fluttershy had been pushed further and further into the labyrinth. She craned her neck towards the entrance to see who was coming. If her wing wasn't hurt, she could have hovered to see over the ponies heads, like some of the other pegasi were doing. "More Element bearers!" someone else shouted. Fluttershy's ears perked up and she tried even harder to look over the ponies. "Make a path, let them through!" someone yelled. "One of them is injured! Somepony, get a first aid kit, quick!" another yelled. One of her friends was hurt? Fluttershy began to push her way through the crowd. "Fluttershy! You're alright!" Applejack drawled, as Fluttershy met up with them in the middle. Applejack and Big Mac were slowly walking towards her. Rainbow Dash was between them, mostly leaning on Applejack for support. Rainbow Dash winced and gave Fluttershy a sheepish grin in greeting. Her right wing was drenched in blood. A makeshift bandage was wrapped around her wing, much like Fluttershy's. Now that she had a better look at her, Fluttershy noticed that Rainbow Dash looked dangerously pale. "Is there a doctor somewhere?" Applejack asked. "Dr. Hooves came with the Ponyville group," Titan Wings said. The then turned towards the crowd, "Dr. Hooves! Your medical expertise is needed!" Within a few minutes, Dr. Hooves had pushed his way through the crowd, a first aid kit with him. He instructed Rainbow Dash to lie down and he then began to stitch up her wing and bandage it properly. "What happened to her?" Fluttershy asked nervously. It was very unnerving to see her strongest friend suddenly so weak and vulnerable. "She reappeared on the roof and there was a weathervane stickin' out of her wing," Applejack said. "Big Mac n' I just happened to be walkin' by when we saw her and brought her down. Are you alright?" "Yes, I'm fine. I've been in here since we disappeared out of the main chamber," Fluttershy said. She then lowered her voice, "There's a lot of tension out here. Some ponies are waiting for Princess Luna's signal, while others want to go into the palace now and help. They've unofficially made me their leader, since I'm an Element bearer." "What did you tell them to do?" Applejack asked. "I said we should wait here for Twilight or Princess Luna," Fluttershy said. "You haven't seen Twilight or the others, have you?" "No, but I'm a guessin' that if me n' you—and Rainbow Dash, more or less—are alright, then they must be too. And I'm also assumin' that since we still have our Element necklaces, they must have theirs too," Applejack said, as she poked at her necklace. "I wonder why Chrysalis didn't get rid of 'em," Big Mac said. Fluttershy glanced at him and blushed slightly. "My guess is that whoever transported us out of the room—'cause I'm assumin' that wasn't Chrysalis's magic; felt more like Celestia's—got us out before Chrysalis could act," Applejack said. "But... Princess Celestia is possessed; how... could she... have transported us out?" Rainbow Dash wheezed. "Well, if you think about it, she's been possessed this whole time, since we were in the cocoons. And it sounded like she was the one who sent us through those portals in the first place, when we first escaped," Fluttershy said. "There's a lot about the princesses' magic that we don't understand," Applejack said. "That's very true," Fluttershy said. "What do you think we should do now?" Applejack asked. Fluttershy sighed. Why was she still in charge? She glanced around at the anxious ponies, waiting to hear her response. She looked down at Rainbow Dash, who had her eyes closed and was breathing softly. She opened an eye and then closed it again. "I'm awake," she said. "Well, for now, I think we should let Rainbow Dash rest. I say we wait at least another hour for either Twilight or Princess Luna to appear. After that..." Fluttershy sighed. She hated giving orders. "After that, then we can attack." "Ok! Finally, some direction!" the first guard, WinterHooves his name, said. "Why don't we plan out a strategy until then?" They waited and waited. Rainbow Dash eventually sat up. Derpy gave her a muffin and proceeded to tell the group about what she and Windstrong had gotten up to in the palace. She told sadly how Windstrong's brother had gotten killed by one of the changelings. Windstrong then said a prayer for his brother. WinterHooves, Titan Wings, and a hoofful of other guards began to strategize a plan. As the end of the hour started to come to a close, they began to dish out instructions to everypony in the army. Fluttershy knew that a lot of the ponies had come from Ponyville, but a good chunk had come from some other nearby towns and cities as well. A few stragglers had joined the group after Rainbow Dash and Applejack had shown up. As Fluttershy looked around now, she hadn't originally realized just how big their army was. Even though she was opposed to violence and war, it gave her optimism to see their increasingly bigger group of ponies. Titan Wings quietly approached Fluttershy. He put his hoof on her shoulder. She sighed. "It's been an hour," he said quietly. "No signal has come; it's time to act," WinterHooves said, a little too aggressively. Fluttershy sighed again. She glanced up at the moon, and then over at the palace. "You're right; an hour is what I said, and no signal ca—" Suddenly, there was a loud explosion from the palace. Many of the ponies gasped, some jumped. Fluttershy shrieked slightly and shielded her eyes for a second. When she opened them, she saw some debris and glass falling from the back side of the palace, facing the labyrinth. Smoke came out from the window and Fluttershy rubbed her eyes twice, doing a double take. "Whooaa!" Pinkie Pie hung out from the window, her hoof gripping the sill. Her voice traveled to the labyrinth. Fluttershy squinted, as a light grey mare pulled her back into the room. Inkie? And was that a white unicorn Fluttershy saw in there too? They're ok? Rarity and Pinkie Pie?? Twilight must be with them! Fluttershy then smiled, determination spreading across her face. She straightened up and turned to Titan Wings, a grin on her face. "I think we just saw our signal."