//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 
// Story: An Equestrian Freedom 
// by FullMetalFurbee 
//------------------------------//

	Celestia sat in her study. Outside, the castle was a storm of dissonance. Here however, she could at least pretend to be at peace. The scratching of her quill continued for almost half an hour as she scrawled several important letters to her allies. She squirmed in her bandages and vainly tried to loosen them. Her left wing protested at being restrained by such an unusual cloth prison.
“Your Highness?” said a young courier from the door.
“Yes, good day,” answered Princess Celestia without looking up. “Please save non-critical information for later. I am under enormous stress right now and I must make use of my time.”
“Of course,” agreed the courier. “I've come to inform you that four of the six Element bearers have been secured and are being held here upon your request.”
She scritched away on her parchment. “I've sent Twilight Sparkle somewhere safe along with my sister. Who else is missing?”
“Applejack. No word from the guards on her whereabouts. They haven't returned yet.”
“Very well. We'll keep an eye out for her.”
The courier mulled the news over in his head. “Princess, why send Twilight elsewhere if you're keeping the other bearers here?”
Celestia stopped writing. “If anything were to happen to me or the other Element bearers, I want to ensure Equestria's longevity. I cannot let all of our nobility fall pray to this invasion. Luna and Twilight will carry on if I fall,” Celestia said. “That is why I've sent them away.”
The courier hoofed the ground and avoided her gaze. “I see. It was not my place to ask. Forgive me. Oh and eh, one more thing.”
“Of course.”
He trotted up to her and handed her a sealed letter. “For your eyes only,” he said. “Don't even know who it's from.”
She accepted the letter. “Thank you very much. May I help you with anything else?”
“No, Your Majesty. Thank you,” said the lad. He tipped his hat and left.
Celestia delicately tore open the letter with mild interest. Inside was not parchment, but a bleach white piece of paper. The writing it contained was the angular chicken-scratch of a scientist. It read:

Dear Celestia,

You're going to love this one, boss! The guards brought us a little treat today. At first we thought it was some kind of joke, but I'm telling you, we really struck a gold mine. They found a broken automaton growing barnacles on the shores of Manehattan. The thing is basically in pieces. It must have crossed the whole damn ocean to make it here! Yes it's in shambles, but here's the kicker – it's Halcyonic! We found one of their bots! This is the kind of technology we've been trying to recreate for years! We've been working on reverse-engineering it for a few hours and we've already created a very rough prototype rig using Equestrian technology. (Come on down and see it when you get the chance.) It's amazing. Just think! This is our big break! We're finally going to have functional machinery to rival the Halcyonites! Anyway, my break is up and you're going to be pissed if I don't get back to work.

Cheers!
-Pendragon, Head of Engineering Division-  

The beginnings of a grin formed on Celestia's lips.



---



Three ponies were instructed to wait inside the castle's library. These same three ponies then heard the transatlantic dialect of a fourth protesting in blatant discontent. The complaining grew louder and before they knew it, a pair royal guards deposited a furious Rarity into their midst.
“I'll make sure you're fired for such unruly mistreatment of a citizen!” spat the unicorn. “Let alone a lady! I have rights, you know!”
The guards said nothing and left. Rarity attempted to mend her ruined hair and whined under her breath. 
Ridiculous, she thought. They could have simply requested I come to the castle! Uncivilized brutes. The amount of nerve-
“Rarity!!!” 
A speeding pink bullet latched tightly to her, bowling her over and mangling her hair all over again. “It's so good to see you! The guards came to our houses and made us come with them and we didn't see you here and we were worried sick but now you're here so it's okay!”
“Thank you so much for your concern, Pinkie Pie,” Rarity mumbled. It appeared her friends had also been rudely corralled out of their homes. Pinkie finished squeezing the daylights out of her and stood up. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy stood behind them both, giggling at the spectacle. Rarity saw nothing funny about the situation. However, she was glad to see her friends. Most of them, anyway.
“Where are Twilight and Applejack?” she inquired.
Dash shrugged. “Who knows? They'll probably be here soon. AJ is probably trying to pick a fight with the guards and I'll bet Twilight is asking them all sorts of boring questions about what kind of magic they use.”
Rarity smiled a bit. “I bet you're right.”
Fluttershy decided to chip in with, “Why weren't we allowed to bring our things? Why'd we have to come here immediately?”  
“I dunno,” admitted Dash. “It sounded like something serious was going on outside, but I couldn't see anything. The guards threw me into a windowless cart and brought me here before I could fly around and see anything.”
“I couldn't see either,” said Fluttershy. “I know I heard fighting outside, though. Maybe there's some kind of riot. Not to mention that huge explosion just a bit ago. Oh goodness...” 
Pinkie shrieked and pointed a hoof towards the library doors. Princess Celestia entered. Her left shoulder was bound in taught bandages. There was a slight, almost imperceptible limp in her step. Behind her, a short misshapen pony looked on in silence. It was unmoving and cloaked in the shadow of the doorway. 
“Everypony,” Celestia began before the four could interject about her wounds. “Let me first apologize for being so assertive in bringing you here. Rest assured it is only for your safety that your summons were mandatory. I trust that the guards didn't hurt any of you?”
Rarity opened her mouth to object but decided against it.
“Excellent,” Celestia continued. “Surely you're all wondering what's going on, and why you're here at the castle.”
The four ponies nodded.
“This is troubling to think about, but this morning I was attacked,” stated the ruler. “Hence my wound. I'd hoped this day would never come, but since it has, I must take proper precautions. As I said, you are here for your protection. I believe that it is no longer safe for you in Ponyville and I cannot allow anything to happen to you. You are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, after all. You are a topmost priority.”
“Thank goodness you're alright!” Dash exclaimed, unable to ignore the dark red spots on Celestia's bandages. “Who attacked you? What was that huge explosion we heard right when we got here?”
Celestia leaned carefully against the doorway. “Unfortunately, there was a terrorist bombing here in Canterlot. We are currently anticipating another attack. Maybe several. We're doing everything we can to evacuate citizens and eliminate the threat quickly. The guards have been mobilized and I've scrambled the Air Force. Again, I'm sorry to evict you all from your homes, but your security as the bearers absolutely cannot be compromised.”
“Princess?” asked Fluttershy in a quiet voice. “Where are Twilight and Applejack?”
Celestia's expression grew grim and she eyed each of the bearers. “I don't know. There hasn't been any word from Sweet Apple Acres or the Golden Oaks. I've sent my sister to retrieve them. However the situation is worrisome, as the more time that passes, the more potential danger exists. Luna still hasn't updated me on her progress. I've ordered the residents of Ponyville into emergency refuge in a bunker, but neither Twilight nor Applejack were reported present. I...” she paused. “I can't guarantee they're alive.”
Pinkie Pie chuckled nervously. “That's silly. We've never met a baddie those two couldn't handle. Twilight can spear them with magic and AJ can knock them into next week!”
Celestia smiled weakly. “You're right, Pinkie. I'm sure they're out of harms way. Now, if you all will excuse me, I need to rest. If you need anything at all, the guards will be more than willing to help. All I ask is that you don't make any attempts to exit the castle. For your safety. Is everything clear?”
They all nodded hollowly, their thoughts reaching out to their absent friends.
“Good. I'll be taking my leave now.” Celestia glanced at the four ponies in front of her one last time.
“Wait, Princess?” Fluttershy squeaked. “You didn't really answer Rainbow Dash... Who's attacking us? What do they want from us? What did we do?”
“They're from a faraway land called Halcyon,” she answered. “I'll explain more when I can. For now I really do need to recuperate. I promise everything will be resolved before you know it. I'll check up on you later this evening.” She exited the library, followed by the odd misshapen pony.
It was entirely reasonable that none of them felt like conversing after Celestia's departure. Pinkie just sat and stared at the wall. Rarity attempted to read a book on indigenous fauna, and Fluttershy tried to go back to sleep. Dash sighed and took a seat at a nearby table. She assumed they were going to be there for quite a while, and there weren't a great many entertainment options. At least until Twilight and AJ showed up. They'd be there soon. She knew it.