"What could have happened to her." Asked a pink alicorn.
"I don't know Cadence, but the letter said that all of the remaining citizens of Canterlot would be fleeing here for shelter, and that we should have our doors open for them."
"What does she mean by remaining citizens?" Cadence asked.
"I don't know." Shining Armor said with an emotionless voice.
"But they're gonna be okay, right?" Cadence asked, the extent of her worry becoming apparent.
"I don't know." Shining Armor said, just as emotionless.
A white figure approached over the horizon.
"Is that her?" Cadence asked.
Shining Armor squinted his eyes in hope of a better look. "Probably, I'm not sure though."
"Oh it has to be, look." Cadence pointed to a large group of ponies appearing over the horizon behind the figure they assumed was Celestia. "They don't look so bad."
But as Cadence was commenting on the well being of the ponies, more ponies started to follow them. These ponies were not in any means in the same conditions of the ponies in the front of the group. They were walking corpses. They were bloody, limping, and cruedly bandaged. Some of them were actually dead. They were being carried by their family who couldn't bare to leave them behind amidst the slaughter in Canterlot.
Shining Armor was in pure shock, Cadence started to cry. Shining Armor tried to reassure his wife by putting his forehoof around her shoulder, but even he needed some reassuring. This was definitely not what he had thought what was in store when he had agreed to help shelter Canterlot citizens.

Celestia approached the gates of the Crystal Empire. The guards opened the gates to let her and the citizens of Canterlot in without any words being said. Celestia walked through the gates and was greeted by a crowd of ponys bombarding her with questions. Celestia paid no attention to the questions.
"Make way!" Celestia shouted.
The questions ceased immediately. The Crystal Empire ponys were shocked, never had they seen their princess so distraught. But they quickly obeyed and cleared a path for Celestia and her followers.
Shining Armor came running up to Celestia. "Celestia what happened t--"
"Quiet! We'll talk in the palace." Celestia snapped.
"O-Okay." Shining Armor was take aback.
As the two made their way to the palace, medics started to tend to the mutilated ponies of Canterlot.
When the arrived inside the palace Cadence came flying up to them. "What happened to your shoulder?!"
"That's not important." Celestia said. "How many battle ready guards do you have?"
Shining Armor spoke up. "Celestia, you're leaving a small trail of blood in the palace."
"Answer the question!" Celestia yelled.
Shining Armor and Cadence both looked at each other hoping the other would answer.
"Uhhh, we have around two thousand ponys able too fight that are stationed here in the Crystal Empire." Said an orange guard with a blue mane, who was watching the entrance to the palace.
"Thanks Flash, you're always there for me when I need it." Shining Armor said in appreciation.
Celestia gave Shining Armor a stern look for being some what casual in this situation. "That's not nearly going to be enough." Celestia said.
"Not enough for what?" Shining Armor asked.
"You'll find out when I address the Crystal Empire."
"Okay, but first, let me fix your shoulder." Cadence said as she tried to avoid stepping in the small puddle of blood forming around Celestia.
Cadence closed her eyes and her horn started to glow. Slowly Celestia's wound began to heal, leaving only a scar.
"Thank you Cadence." Celestia said. "Now lead me to the balcony so I can address the Crystal Empire."
"Yes Celestia, right this way." Cadence said as she motioned her to a stairway.
As the group made their way up the stairs Shining Armor turned around to look at Flash Sentry. He pointed to the blood on the floor and gave him a look that implied that he wanted him to clean it up.
Flash Sentry looked down at the ground and sighed, but he understood what he needed to do. He left to a different room to get the supplies he needed.

Celestia approached the balcony with Shining Armor and Cadence behind her. She projected her voice far throughout the streets of the Crystal Empire. "Citizens of the Crystal Empire, refugees of Canterlot. A time of crisis has fallen upon Equestria. If you have not heard by now, Chrysallis, Queen of the changelings, has taken control of Canterlot with her army. An army not only consisting of changelings. But among her ranks is my sister, who has once again become Nightmare Moon.
The crowd beneath Celestia gasped and started to question what they had just heard.
"And also, someone who I had trusted, someone who I thought I could call my...friend, has betrayed me. Discord has turned back to his old ways of wreaking chaos and had sided with Chrysallis.
More gasps and questions arose from the crowd.
"If we do not stop them Chrysallis will take her army all over Equestria, killing anypony and anything in her path. What we need to do is rally anypony who can fight and assemble them here in the Crystal Empire. That along with taking in every pony we can to shelter them within these walls. Almost no place will be safe in Equestria. We will send couriers to every major city and town to spread the word as quickly ad possible. So get ready ponies, it's going to get rather crowded here." With that said Celestia turned and left, heading back inside to the palace.
After Celestia's departure the crowd erupted into a roar of confused and panicked questions. None of them being answered.

Author's Note

Sorry for being a bit late with this chapter, I've been busy as of late. But I'd just like to say thank you to those of who keep coming back to read more, and to those who have taken the time to like this story. It really means a lot to me seeing that this is the first story I've written. So again, thank you.

Also, Flash Sentry will appear in the story from time to time, but there will be no major interactions between him and twilight.