//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 - Luna // Story: A Journey Unthought Of: Revival of Chaos // by Hustlin Tom //------------------------------// In the days following her sister’s passing, Princess Luna had decided to tell to the world what had occurred. She had not wanted to keep her citizens in the dark any longer, but she also did not want to tell anypony before the official release of the information to the public. It was the fifth day after her sister’s death when she had announced that she would speak of a grave matter to Canterlot. Hundreds had packed the square below the proclamation balcony. Most were surprised that the message was being delivered by Princess Luna; what reason did she have to give this message, the gathered ponies wondered. Why wasn’t Princess Celestia here? “Citizens of Canterlot,” Princess Luna began with a wavering voice, before she stopped. After clearing her throat softly and taking a deep breath, she began again, with a stronger voice. “Citizens of Canterlot and the Equestrian state, I come to you today to bring grievous tidings. Five days ago, my co-ruler and sister, Princess Celestia, went to her eternal rest.” The entire square was struck to dead silence. “By her own account, the Princess believed that she was poisoned by the Changeling Hive, who I’m sure you still remember quite vividly from their attempted invasion and occupation of Canterlot. This is a sorrowful time like none witnessed upon us throughout Equestrian history. Two months from this date, a funeral service will be held to observe Princess Celestia’s passing; it will be open for anypony to attend.” The crowd below was still stunned from the announcement that their first beloved Princess had died. Some began to break down in tears, and others simply sunk to the ground as they were overwhelmed by what they had just heard. Princess Luna softly began to cry as she gathered her strength once more, “My sister was true to the virtues of Harmony, not just in public where others could see her, but also in her private life. She treated everyone equally, whatever race they happened to be, and she never let her royalty get in the way of us all, especially you, who she considered to be her children. She was a beautiful mare for her compassion, wisdom, inner strength, and her continued faith in anypony’s capacity to be truly extraordinary.” The Princess’ face became stern, and she wiped away her tears as she finished her speech, “Our enemy has tried to destroy our national spirit, Celestia’s spirit, by violating our homes, our basic trust in each other, and by robbing us of her physical presence. Her spirit, though, and her values live on in each of us. We will not be cowed by our opponent simply because they have taken her from us. I now officially declare war on the Changelings; wherever they hide, whatever hovel they may try to seek shelter in, they will not be safe. We will take the battle to them, and we will defeat them for what they have done to us.” Her speech done, Princess Luna left the balcony to return to her room. Though I am not a statespony in spirit, she thought to herself, I had to play the part made for me. Apart from these public declarations and the basics of diplomacy, I don’t know anything about the political world at all. She decided that what she needed was advice; advice from someone outside of Canterlot’s web of coy movers and shakers, someone who was able to deliver cold, hard facts. She knew who she was looking for; she had been looking for him when Tia had been dying. The trouble was that she had banished him, and because of that nopony had been able to get an exact location on him in the past few weeks, when she had had every available pony turning the country upside down for one stallion. She had been inside his mind, seen some of his thoughts; it was possible that had he been here, her sister might also still have been here as well. The report had just come this morning, but even though she still held hard feelings against him, she needed what he had to offer; she had to meet with Bunsen Burner. After making the evening twilight by lowering the sun, Princess Luna covertly teleported to the sleepy town of Pferdshire. She arrived in a back alley off the main square and sunk into the shadows, which she stuck to all the way through the town. The intelligence officer who had found Bunsen Burner’s home had said that it was a manor that stood prominently on a hill to the northwest, and so she made all haste in that direction. Approaching the house, she saw that it was a nondescript home, attracting no attention to itself apart from being on top of a hill. It appeared just as unimaginative in its structure and décor as the rest of the houses throughout the city, except for a window that had been hastily walled up with boards. She rematerialized into physical form from out of the shadows at the door’s front step, where she knocked three times. It was not long at all before she heard the sound of two latches being undone on the other side of the door, which then opened. Bunsen Burner looked like a completely different pony without a lab coat on, as she had been so accustomed to seeing him in. She saw that he had replaced his previously destroyed half-moon spectacles, which could nullify her telepathic abilities, with more traditional rectangular lenses. He looked her up and down slowly without betraying so much as a wisp of emotion. If he was angry, surprised, or anything at all, the Princess could not see it from just his facial expressions. “I’ve been expecting you,” he said calmly, before stepping out of the way of the door to offer her his hospitality. She silently entered the manor, and followed the older earth pony to his library. The Princess realized that this was the room which had the boarded up window, and on top of that, there was a hole in the floor which had also been hastily patched. “You’ll have to excuse the mess,” the scientist dryly commented as he offer the Princess a seat in one of his softer chairs, “I had a tad bit of an insect problem several weeks back.” “Parasprites?” the Princess asked. “Changelings.” The Princess’ eyes widened, before she then thrust her host against the nearby wall with her magic. Grunting in surprise at the sudden impact with the wall, Bunsen Burner sighed, “Well, we might as well get this part out of the way.” “Say something I know the real Bunsen Burner would say, or I will crush you like an apple,” Princess Luna darkly growled. “Very well,” Bunsen Burner replied, “When Equestria’s gods become its demons, who is there but me to stop them?” The Princess released her grip on the stallion, and he fell to the floor on all four hooves. Brushing himself off slightly, Bunsen Burner asked, “Would you like me to pour you a glass of brandy?” “One small glass, please.” After the drinks were poured and the first few sips were taken in silence, Princess Luna finally had to ask, “You were attacked by Changelings?” “Actually, I almost had one literally fall into my lap.” “Where is it now?” “Dead.” The Princess was stunned, “How?” “A chemical compound I had devised years ago, after my first encounter with their kind. I’m sure in the days after the assault on Canterlot you read some of the after action reports in the RSD archive?” The Princess stared hard at the stallion for a long pause, before she sighed in frustration, “I still stand by my past decisions: you lied to both me and Princess Celestia-“ at her own mentioning of her sister’s name, she stopped short. “I need your help,” she said flatly, “I am facing an unprecedented national situation alone, and while I am disgusted that I must resort to you, there is no one in Canterlot who is as competent at planning and preparing for unprecedented events as you.” Bunsen Burner’s eyebrow cocked as he analyzed the Princess’ statement. Finally, he asked, “What has happened?”