Canterlot: Her Creation and Her Architects

Chapters

Prologue: The Great Gathering
Meet the Great Minds Behind Canterlot: Part 1
Meet the Great Minds Behind Canterlot: Part 2
Meet the Great Minds Behind Canterlot: Part 3
The Great Gathering: Part 1
The Great Gathering: Part 2
The Great Gathering: Part 3
The Great Gathering: Part 4
The Summoning
The Contemplations
The Conditions
The Hike
Fears
Secrets
Onslaught
Finding Ones Worth
Intermission: Character Creation Series

Prologue: The Great Gathering

Prologue
The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters…

In bygone times, the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters was a fortress, a haven, a place of celebration, and a home. Its great towers and spires soared into the sky. Its walls sheltered inhabitants from the weather and danger; halls echoed with laughter and chatter. The furnishings of the castle were elaborate and elegant, serving to illuminate the glory of the structure. Tapestries decorated alcoves and chambers, statues of great Equestrians sat at every corner and paintings graced everyponies' eyes.

All that had changed since the imprisonment of Princess Luna.

The once-formidable walls now lay in ruins; her splendid magnificence was now burnt away by the war. The comfortable haven had no roofs to block the rain. The home once filled with so many fond memories was now scarred by overpowering, unspeakable recollections. The Everfree Forest, once the delightful, green backdrop for the castle, was now a refuge of monsters and a place feared by most ponies

A figure trotted through the ruins of the castle, her white coat barely visible under the layers of bandages. The echoes of her erratic hoofsteps rang through the castle walls. Her ethereal pink mane no longer sparkled. Her great white wings that used to strike awe into all were bandaged to her sides.

Princess Celestia, former co-ruler of Equestria and keeper of the sun, now sole ruler of Equestria and guardian of the sun and moon, raised her head to see the round, deactivated shells of the Elements of Harmony.

It was only two days prior that she used them to imprison her sister on the moon. Since then they had grown dormant. Now, a barely recovered Celestia stood in front of the pedestal of the elements, her eyes dry. The alicorn felt like crying, but was unable to shed any tears. Her only sister was now lost to her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the approach of another pony. He was a turquoise unicorn stallion with a greying blue mane; a golden triangle was emblazoned on his flank. One of his grey eyes sported a gold-rimmed monocle.

“Your highness, given the extent of the damage to the castle, it will take an estimated ten years to repair the structure and another five years to furnish it,” spoke the pony.

“DUKE GOLDEN TRIANGLE, WHY DOST THOU INTERRUPT OUR MOURNING?” roared Celestia in full Royal voice. The old pony stood his ground against the verbal onslaught that was equally filled with anger and grief.

“Equestria cannot function without a capital; we must either restore this castle or build a new one,” said Golden Triangle calmly. Celestia’s frame tensed up imperceptibly and her wings fluttered slightly.

“Duke, how many years are needed to build a new castle?” asked the alicorn. The teal stallion bit the inside of his mouth and tapped his left rear hoof anxiously as Celestia’s questioning gaze settled onto him.

“We do not know how long it will take to build a new castle, your highness. It shalt depend on the design.” Celestia nodded and glanced at the moon for a short moment. Shortly after that she turned her gaze back onto Golden Triangle.

“This task is too great for even thee, Royal Architect of Equestria. Thou shalt need help in this endeavour. We shalt gather some of the greatest minds and artists in Equestria and from them we shalt choose a team that would build the new capital,” declared Celestia.

Golden Triangle nodded and knelt. While he was glad that he would not be taking on this burden by himself, the stallion knew the issues associated with gathering so many conflicting minds. Despite this, the old architect was glad that his sovereign was closer to her old self and that he was once again back to work.

“Thine wish is my command, Princess!" declared the unicorn.

Celestia nodded, satisfaction settling on her graceful features.

“Then listen to our request: Thou shalt declare a gathering to take place at the foot of Mount Canter. All ponies of the arts and construction are invited to attend. Announce that the gathering will be a display of arts and that there will be prizes,” said Celestia. Golden Triangle nodded dutifully as he noted everything down in his head.

“And how is this gathering related to how thou shalt choose the group, your highness?” asked the unicorn. To the duke’s unease, Celestia cryptically smiled.

"We shall choose and that is all thou needest to know. Now go forth Royal Architect!” ordered Celestia. With that Golden Triangle nodded and galloped off.

Author's Note: I know Luna referred to the use of the 'Royal We' as the 'Royal Canterlot Voice', which would mean Canterlot had been built when Luna was around, but it will make sense.

Meet the Great Minds Behind Canterlot: Part 1

Meeting the Great Minds of Canterlot: Part 1
Coltchester, a month later...

Baron Byzas was sitting at his desk when he heard the pounding of a frantic hoof on the door of his chambers. Clenching his teeth Byzas got up and opened the door to reveal a fern colored mare.

“Baron! I just got back from town! The entirety of Coltchester is about to march onto the keep!” panted the mare. At this, the stallion raced to the window of his chamber and stared out into the night. Almost immediately, Byzas’s byzantine eyes saw a crowd of flickering lights gradually approaching the keep.

“Nonononono,Whynow.Whynow.Whynow.Whynow!” stammered Byzas as he paced back and forth across his chambers.

“I don’t know! They have been wanting to do this ever since the war started! I guess they only felt safe to do it now when the war has ended,” replied the mare. The colt nodded in agreement and turned to the fern pony.

“Laurelyourememberthe-. Sorry. You remember the plan right?” asked Byzas. Through long hours of exposure, Laurel had grown accustomed to her master’s speed-talking and had actually got the message the first time. Byzas knew that, but he just repeated himself out of habit.

“Of course master, but are you sure about this?” asked Laurel.

“WellwhatchoicedoIhave?” Byzas sighed as he trotted back to the window again. His entire body was immediately illuminated by the torches carried by the great crowd of ponies that were approaching the stout keep that was his home. They were shouldering a battering ram as well. As he watched the ponies prepare to attack his castle, the baron tried to block out the slogans they were chanting.

“Lover of night!”

Sun hater!”

“Down with the traitor!”

“Kill him!”

“Milord?” whispered Laurel. Unable to bring himself to watch the spectacle any longer, Byzas turned his fearful purple eyes away from the mob and back toward the mantis colored eyes of Laurel.

“I’mfineLaurel... Take care of yourself when I’m gone... If anypony asks you about me, tell them I was horrible to you and you were glad to see me gone,” said Byzas. Laurel’s eyes teared up and began to flow from her green eyes.

“But... how can I? You were anything but horrible to me! You picked me off the streets! Gave me another chance as your servant. You were only the Artist of the Night Court and in the war you didn’t even raise a hoof against Celestia! All you did was what you do best, paint. What did you do to deserve this besides just BEING a member of the Night Court?” sobbed Laurel. Byzas patted Laurel’s head with a red hoof.

“PerhapsifIfought...Sorry. Perhaps if I had fought against Luna maybe the mob would have spared me. Then again, even if the mob had not come, the Princess would have. Now go Laurel or else somepony will suspect that you sympathize with me,” ordered Byzas. The green mare gave a sniff, quickly embraced the stallion and galloped off to leave the castle before the mob arrived.

Leaving his chambers, Byzas began to walk through the halls of his home. The pony doubted he would see them again. The baron soon arrived in the entrance hall of his keep and trotted up to a pile of paintings. They had been carefully stacked, one upon the other. Each of them were masterpieces of art, each brush stroke delicate, each of them had colours perfectly balanced. There were night skies, sunny skies, fields and towns, and castles. How he wished he could take these pieces of his soul with him, but to much to his regret, he could not.

crack, CRASH!!

Ponies poured into the keep, and into the hall. They stopped the moment they noticed Byzas standing in front of them, unarmed and his face frozen with fear.

“I’llneverletyoutakemealive!BaronByzas,Nightcourtartist,diestoday!” yelled Byzas. He was about to drop the oil lamp when he was interrupted.

“Say what? You speak too fast!” yelled one of the ponies.

“BaronByzas,courtartist,diestoday!” stammered the stallion. The ponies stared at him, their expressions varied from confusion to outright disbelief. Byzas had spoken so quickly he had been totally illegible. The pony had meant to make the line sound epic, but as usual, he had spoken too fast so it had come out completely garbled.

“Just get the bloody speedtalker!” yelled somepony.

Not waiting for the mob to assail him, Byzas finally dropped the oil lamp he had been holding onto the stack of paintings. Immediately they lit up and set fire to the wooden floorboards. Within seconds, the entire entrance hall was alight and blazing, forcing the mob to retreat outside. Then, deprived of the focus of their anger, the mob watched as the building began to disintegrate.

What they didn’t know was that their target had slipped through their clutches.

The stallion coughed as he made his way through his home. Smoke was beginning to blacken the ceiling and the stallion needed to make his escape. The pony reached the pre-opened doors of his cellar. Quickly jumping in, he closed the heavy oaken barriers behind him and dashed down the staircase.

Though it was dark, Byzas had rehearsed the route many times and effortlessly galloped down the stairs. Soon he reached the bottom and found his heavy saddlebags. He quickly checked that his bulging sketchbook, his bits, and his arts material were inside. Then, with a neigh to nobody in particular, the sandstone-red stallion galloped off down a dark tunnel, to the light at the end.

Vaultaire’s Castle , three months later...

Large cloud structures such as cloud castles can only be built if the pegasus in question has obtained a Royal Writ. This Royal Writ can only be gained if one pony has connections, or lots and lots of bits.

Lady Vaultaire was associated well with a particular member of the Royal family, and had been able to build her own cloud castle. It wasn't as large as some, but it was built more toward socializing and security, as opposed to being a full castle. Light flowed in through masterpieces of stained glass windows, illuminating the vaults of the castle.

Right now, the sunflower-yellow mare was reclining on a cloud sofa inside the pavillion in her castle’s courtyard while unsealing a scroll with the Royal Seal stamped on it. As her dark green eyes scanned the letter, Vaultaire paused to push a curl of her scarlet mane out of the way. When she had finished the letter, the pegasus mare placed it carefully on her sofa.

Then she proceeded to rip it to pieces, scoop a small portion of cloud out of the couch and sweep the remains of the poor piece of parchment of it. After she had resculpted the sofa to fill in the hole, the young pegasus took a nearby jug and poured some Rainbow-Cider into her goblet. The cider was a powerful, hard, pegasus alcohol that warmed the wingtips in any weather.

“Celestia, if you HONESTLY think that I will just forget the fact that you threw me out of the Day Court after I suggested we should negotiate with Princess Luna then ask me to accompany you to this ‘Gathering of Artists’ and not tell me the reason why, then you’re more mad than I thought you were!” stated Vaultaire to nopony in particular.

“WE did not thinkest thou would just forgive us,” spoke a voice.

Normally, most ponies would just freeze and then prostrate themselves if they saw a white alicorn with the power t smove the sun hovering next to them. Vaultaire didn't. The pegasus had too much pride for that, and the Princess had quite recently insulted her. She wanted to annoy Celestia as much as possible.

“Your highness, to what do I owe thee the pleasure?” replied Vaultaire evenly. Celestia seated herself so that her greyish-magenta eyes stared directly at Vaultaire’s green ones.

“We expected that our letter would not be satisfactory. So we came in person to ask thou to accompany us and to explain the reason why we request thy presence,” explained the alicorn.

The pegasus initial reaction was to be overjoyed that her sovereign, and sometimes friend, would hold her in such high regard. However, she was determined not to let that feeling soften her. Instead, the pegasus gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes, causing the alicorn’s wings to flicker uneasily.

“Celestia, why should I accept your proposal when you banished me from your Day Court?” demanded Vaultaire. The princess flinched and hesitated.

“We did not banish thee young friend. We asked thee... to politely take a leave of absence,” said Celestia. The pegasus was undaunted by this flimsy defense and pressed onward.

“That’s practically the same thing. I know you well enough to recognize that that wasn’t a request,” retorted Vaultaire. The princess opened her mouth and closed it having no answer to this question, further enraging the baroness, who rose to her hooves and spread her wings.

“I told you about my family! You should have known how I would feel and yet you banished me, humiliated me in front of all the other nobles. Some ‘friend’ you are!” roared Vaultaire.

“I gave you that order for your own safety Vaultaire!” cried Celestia.

The pegasus stopped for a moment, her mind giving a mental gasp.

“Did you just use ‘I’?”

Celestia didn’t reply as she turned away from the pegasus.

Vaultaire’s teeth ground against each other in frustration. Her mind was caught in a mental tug of war. The pegasus could not help but remember the whispers and the giggles of the other nobleponies as she had left the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.

However, Vaultaire was very much aware that without her friend's intervention, the pegasus would have faced the same fate as many of the members of the former Night Court.

“I hate to admit it, but by humiliating me you saved my life,” the mare said bluntly. The alicorn shifted uncomfortably and responded haltingly.

"I did what I thought was best at the time... I haven't been the best of friends lately... actually I never have been....That wasn't the first time I did something so inconsiderate of your feelings."

Celestia paused.

"Vaultaire, you may not be able to trust me in light of recent events, but I really need your help because I trust you.”

The pegasus examined Celestia warily and sighed.

"I'll help you."

Vaultaire would help Celestia. Their friendship...would need some work, but what better way to fix it than by working together and the pegasus was keenly aware that her alicorn friend had always had the pegasus’ best interests at heart. Most important of all, Vaultaire valued the princess’s company and friendship despite the latter’s inconsiderate ways.

The alicorn gave a sigh of relief at Vaultaire's response. It wasn’t a massive sigh of relief, but it still looked as if a weight had been lifted off her chest.

“Thank you my friend. I had hoped you would help me on this mission,” said Celestia, smiling. Vaultaire smiled back and gestured if the Princess would like some Rainbow cider. Celestia conjured a goblet of her own and poured herself a cup of the drink.

“So what do you need my help for?” inquired Vaultaire. Celestia raised herself from her drinking vessel and licked her lips.

“Have you heard of The Great Gathering of Creators?” asked Celestia.

“Yes, it’s been the talk of Equestria since it was announced a few weeks ago,” said Vaultaire, raising an eyebrow.

“The Great Gathering of Creators is being organised for one reason that only I and a few of my advisors know of. It is so that I will be able to choose a group of ponies to design and oversee the construction of a new capital,” elaborated Celestia.

“I suspected as much. Will the old geezer Golden Triangle be there?” asked Vaultaire. Celestia frowned, mock disapproval plastered on her face.

“Old he may be, but geezer he is not. He shall be there; however, he will not be directly in charge of choosing the candidates; you and I will be.”

Blinking with confusion, Vaultaire tugged at one of her red curls.

“Sorry Celestia, but how will I be able to help you? How are we choosing?”

Celestia gestured to Vaultaire’s cutie mark of a drafting compass, divider and a curved template.

“You are an architect and interior designer, are you not? Many of the furnishings you have designed were highly successful, and most of your projects show ingenuity and style that defies the expectations of your critics. During the gathering we will be accessing other artwork and projects and the knowledge you have in your fields of expertise will be invaluable. Additionally, I need somepony who will be able to provide an alternate perspective, and I value your opinion.”

Vaultaire was flattered, but the mare still had one question.

“You haven’t told me how exactly we shall be choosing,” said Vaultaire. At that moment, Celestia replicated the cryptic smile she had given Golden Triangle, though the pegasus had no idea of that. Vaultaire’s reaction was to copy Celestia’s smile. The two burst out in a small fit of laughter as they shared an inside joke.

“I will elaborate on that later my friend. For now, content yourself with the fact that you are already in the group that will be constructing the new capital,” announced Celestia as she trotted out of the pavillion. Then with a powerful stroke of her great wings, the alicorn lifted off from the cloud garden. The pegasus behind her bowing until her sovereign was out of sight.

Immediately after Vaultaire was sure Celestia was nowhere near, she jumped into the air with a mighty leap, yelling at the top of her lungs.

“YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!”

The pegasus architect and designer could scarcely believe her ears. She was going to be designing the new capital of Equestria! A structure and monument that would last for Celestia knows how long. Her stoic air dispelled, the pegasus raced to her drafting table, leaving a yellow-red streak in the air.

She had a lot of planning and drawing to do.

As Celestia flew back to her undoubtedly-worried advisors, she couldn’t help breathing another sigh of relief. The alicorn was truly thankful that Vaultaire was assisting her and that they had resolved their argument. Not only was Vaultaire totally dependable and skilled, Celestia saw the pegasus as the one pony who wouldn’t think twice about criticizing her. Ponies like that were becoming a rarity. Moreover, since Luna's banishment, Vaultaire was quite possibly Celestia's only true friend.

Meet the Great Minds Behind Canterlot: Part 2

Meeting the Great Minds of Canterlot: Part 2

Stalliongrad, three months after Vaultaire’s meeting with Celestia and six months before The Great Gathering…

Across a checkered board, alicorn queens and kings, armored pegasi knights, unicorn mages and earth pony pawns and castles faced off. Each of them had perfectly stoical expressions on their faces. High above them, pondering the situation, sat two ponies, a white pegasus stallion and a deep sky blue earth pony.

“Unicorn mage takes your earth pony pawn,” said the pegasus as he pushed his black unicorn diagonally across the black squares to take out the earth pony pawn. The earth pony scratched her white-grey mane for a moment, but wasn’t bothered and moved her alicorn queen to protect her flank and apply pressure to her opponent’s flank.

As soon as the earth pony signaled that her turn was over, the pegasus smiled triumphantly, his light brown eyes filled with glee.

“I got you! My black alicorn queen takes your castle and checks your alicorn king! Checkmate!” laughed the pegasus. The other pony’s midnight blue eyes widened for a moment and then narrowed. This was soon followed by a smile springing upon the pony’s face.

“Uh, White Tower, what’s so funny?” asked the pegasus. He was beginning to feel very nervous. With her blue hoof, White Tower pushed her white unicorn mage across the board. The unicorn travelled down the diagonal white squares, flying past pawns, knights and mages until it reached its destination.

“Oh no...No...Not again,” groaned the pegasus. He ran his hoof through his messy golden mane as the unicorn mage took the alicorn queen and at the same time removed the last barrier between the white alicorn queen and the black alicorn king. The result was that black was in check and had lost its queen.

“Silver-,” began the earth pony. However, the pegasus met her with a warning glare, which caused the earth pony to stop. She had almost forgotten that her friend did not like going by that name. Not anymore anyway.

“Barbican, what have I told you about looking before you leap?” asked White Tower. Lord Barbican, Knight of Equestria and former commanding officer of the 1st Royal Equestrian Lancers rolled his eyes.

“I did look White Tower, but I swear your unicorn came out of nowhere,” groaned Barbican.

There was a knock on the study door and both ponies rose from their seats.

“Enter!” yelled Barbican in fine military fashion. A pony of the Stalliongrad Castle garrison pushed past the doors and entered into Barbican’s study.

“Milord and milady, there is a unicorn requesting to speak with you,” announced the stallion.

“Show him in,” ordered Barbican. The stallion, an earth pony, opened the door to reveal Golden Triangle. The unicorn was wearing a travelling cloak, a wide smile and his customary monocle.

“Professor!” said Barbican, a smile on his face. The corners of White Tower’s mouth were also turned upwards as the turquoise unicorn entered the room and embraced Barbican.

“Greetings to thee my friends. How have the repairs and upgrades on Stalliongrad castle been going, my old student?” asked Golden Triangle cheerfully. Barbican shrugged nonchalantly.

“On schedule sir. Though that is thanks to White Tower over here,” said the pegasus. The unicorn chuckled and trotted up to hug the earth pony.

“White Tower, hast thou been able to work well with our former student? Did we make a mistake in recommending thee to him?” inquired Golden Triangle. The earth pony snorted.

“I can manage him, your grace,” replied White Tower. The unicorn grinned.

“Good! Because I have a request for both of thou,” said Golden Triangle. Barbican pursed his lips and raised a wary eyebrow as the unicorn continued.

“Our beloved Princess Celestia has asked this humble pony to plan a festival, a great gathering of creators. It shall be a place where all of Equestria’s artists and innovators will come and gather to present their art. However, we need to create a layout for this gathering and we need thy aid to design the layout for this festival,” explained Golden Triangle. The pegasus shook his head and turned away from his mentor.

“Sir, you know I am wary of such great responsibility. Why are you asking me now?” asked Barbican, a bitter tone highlighting his question. The older unicorn sighed. He had hoped his former student would have recovered from the trauma of the war, but he should have known better.

“That was not thy fault Silver.”

“Sir, stop trying to make me feel better. I lead my ponies into that trap. I can’t be trusted with grand projects for the safety of my fellow ponies,” said Barbican as he stared out of his office’s window.

“My student. Thy Lancers were caught in a wickedly clever trap set by the Nightmare herself! What could thou do against the terrible intelligence of the Dark One?” asked Golden Triangle insistently. The question only caused the winged pony’s wings to flare angrily.

“I could have seen through it sir! I should have been able to thwart it. But I was blinded by my own impetuousness and I charged in without considering the worst possible scenario.” Barbican lowered his head and leant forward. He felt the cool glass against his forehead, chilling his brow.

“I’m afraid that I will make another mistake sir... ”

Golden Triangle turned to White Tower, stark helplessness increasing the amount of lines on his face. The mare pursed her lips in hesitation.

“Barbican... you know that... uh... what I mean is... ” White Tower’s uncharacteristic stammer only served to make Barbican turn around and face her. He soon wished he hadn’t.

“I think you’re being silly!” shouted the earth pony. Both stallions stared at White Tower, forced back by the sudden volume of her voice.

“You’re impetuous, but I-, we know you aren’t stupid! You won’t just make a random mistake that will make the whole Gathering a disaster. I won’t sugarcoat it and say it wasn’t a stupid mistake you made, because it was. However, I know you can do this. You’ve wanted in on this project ever since you’ve heard of it! Even if I didn’t have to poke through your trash bin to find all those letters addressed to Golden Triangle, I would only have to look on your desk to find hundreds of design layouts!” White Tower took a deep breath to recover from her short rant, allowing a tinge of red to seep into the pegasus cheeks.

“This project involves many ponies! It’s not like you’ll be working alone on the layout. Golden Triangle and I will make sure that the layout will be designed safely,” said White Tower assuringly, her voice level.

The pegasus bit his lip as he looked up at the the encouraging and amused smiles on his assistant and mentor.

“I uh...” Barbican gulped and drew himself back up to his full height and faced Golden Triangle.

“Well, I guess it’s not like Stalliongrad Castle needs us anyway since the repairs and upgrades are already underway. Golden Triangle, I respectfully accept your offer to design the layout of The Great Gathering of Creators. With one condition.”

“Let us hear it,” said the unicorn.

The pegasus bit the inside of his mouth.

“Will both of you make sure to check my work at least twice?” asked Barbican.

Golden Triangle nodded in understanding. “Of course, our young student.”

“I always check your work at least twice, boss,” said White Tower in a deadpan voice.

“That’s the understatement of the millennium assistant. White Tower, I’m going to go arrange my things. Can you show my old mentor to a guest room?” asked Barbican.

“Yes sir. I’ll see you for dinner,” replied White Tower.

“Thanks, I’ll see you later,” said Barbican as the two left the office. When the two had finally left, the pegasus unhooked his leather combat saddlebags, emblazoned with his cutie mark of a silver shield mounted on a wall. The pegasus began to pack his saddlebags, hoping he would not regret his decision to help Golden Triangle.

When White Tower and Golden Triangle arrived outside the guest chambers, the earth pony was about to leave when the unicorn stopped her and pointed to her flank.

“White Tower, hast thou made any progress on... that?” asked Golden Triangle. The earth pony rolled her eyes.

“You and Barbican. Both of you keep asking me that question. How many times do I have to tell you. I don’t care about what my talent is as long as I protect other ponies,” said White Tower tiredly. The earth pony had had this conversation many times with Golden Triangle and Barbican interchangeably.

“We are just worried about thee, White Tower,” said Golden Triangle. The earth pony smiled.

“I will always indebted to you for your kindness Golden Triangle, but please don’t concern yourself with my well-being,” said White Tower. The turquoise unicorn dipped his head in understanding, said his goodbyes, put his hoof back on the floor and trotted into the guest chambers.

As Golden Triangle dressed himself for dinner, he could not help but ponder his young friend’s attitude toward her cutie mark. He had done it before and he was doing it again now. After all, what could be more puzzling than a grown pony who did not care about her lack of a cutie mark?

Foot of Mount Canter, 1 month before The Great Gathering…

Duke Golden Triangle put his hoof to his face. This was the second time somepony had set up the tents for the food venues in the wrong place. Once again the old pony checked the layout he, Lord Barbican and White Tower had come up with and chuckled.

“They really were the right ponies for the job.” As soon as they had arrived, Lord Barbican and Lady Tower had quickly created a plan for the Gathering. Somehow, the two ponies managed to make sure all the venues were located in a reasonable location and at the same time, assure that each of them could be easily accessed, could be protected and guarded well, and easily evacuated in the event of an emergency. White Tower had even set up a schedule for the guard rotation so that they could safely patrol the entire site. It was quite a work of planning and design.

If Golden Triangle could pick two of the ponies that would be included in the group of architects, he would pick Lord Barbican and White Tower. He knew the two ponies had secrets and that both were quite adamant about keeping them, even from each other. However, they were extremely work-orientated, especially White Tower, who took pride in designing everything to be perfect.

As the duke got up from his chair, his face twisted into a grimace as his muscles stretched; his joints popped and cracked. He had been putting off his weekly massage and was now paying for it.

“I am getting old,” groaned the duke. He trotted outside of his tent and gazed upon the site.

The Great Gathering of Artists had been laid out so that if you saw it from above, it would look like the sun cutie mark on Celestia’s flank. Each of the “sun’s” flaming tendrils was a venue for a different type of art media. These included: interior design, textiles, garden work, literature and calligraphy, masonry and then his own, architecture. Some of the ponies accepting invitations were going to display artwork that was quite hard to categorize. One pony was submitting a gel castle that was delicious and at the same time a great work of architecture and sculpting. Part of the great circle area of the ‘sun’ was used for food venues and games for the younger ponies. At the very centre of the ‘sun’ was a grand common area and where Celestia would be announcing her choices for who will design the capital. Though, only Golden Triangle knew that.

Golden Triangle’s idea of shaping the venue into a giant “sun” had only been possible thanks to Lord Barbican and White Tower’s placement and design of the individual stalls and paths. Along with the Duke’s handling of the material and his experience of bureaucratic systems, the ponies had guaranteed that the gathering would happen right on schedule.

“Duke Golden Triangle, thy work is coming along nicely,” said Celestia, alighting next to the unicorn. Slowly, his tendons shifting and popping, the unicorn began to turn to face his sovereign.

“Thank you, your highness. Forgive this loyal subject for not being able to bow, but our joints are a bit stiff,” said the Duke with a wince. As he faced Celestia, the duke’s wince turned into a grimace as he noticed who had accompanied his sovereign.

“Baroness Vaultaire of Cloudsdale." Golden Triangle groaned.

“Duke Golden Triangle, my old professor. How are you doing ol-…sir,” said the pegasus, quickly correcting herself. The duke was not doing very well; in fact, he seemed to have aged ten years at Vaultaire’s arrival. It didn’t help that Vaultaire had just reminded Golden Triangle of his advanced years.

Oh why this pegasus? The pegasus who defied my EVERY order in class. The pegasus who questioned and then discarded ALL forms of the architecture and mathematical theories we were trying to teach. The pegasus who almost got herself named as a traitor because she was not afraid to shut her mouth and not say what she should not say. Please do not tell me Celestia brought her along for this all? Thought the duke.

“Duke, baroness, the two of thee will be part of the group working on the new capital,” said Celestia cheerfully. At this, Golden Triangle’s heart almost jumped out of his chest. He was in complete disbelief and he couldn’t help himself as he began to vent his frustration.

“But she never even completed her studies at the Royal Equestrian Academy of Architects! All her works have never been even close to the scale of what I will be trying to accomplish here! Also, this pegasus has absolutely no understanding of the bureaucratic system, a complete lack of respect for the intricacies and dangers of politics, and she has zero influence in court as of now. Not to mention she had little in the first place! She cannot be part of this group, your highness; it will doom the project before we dig the first foundation!” protested the duke.

For a moment, the Golden Triangle swore he saw Vaultaire flinch, but the fierceness of the look that she sent back at him made him doubt that she did.

“The ideas behind your design are old and out of date. Even if your ideas happen to be creative once in a while, the media and style you use to implement them clashes with the design or doesn’t allow the idea to reach its full potential!” retorted Vaultaire.

Golden Triangle was about to fire back at his opponent, when Celestia stepped in between the two.

“Duke Golden Triangle and Baroness Vaultaire, cease this nonsense immediately! It is disgraceful for two of the most accomplished architects in Equestria to be arguing like this! Vaultaire, go to my tent; we will speak to thee on this subject later,” said Celestia. Even without the alicorn’s regal and imposing voice, Vaultaire understood that there was to be no argument and left.

“I’m sorry Duke, but I believe that Vaultaire would be an invaluable addition to this project’s management,” explained Celestia. The elderly duke nodded, his head hanging low and his brow wrinkled.

“I understand. But your highness, can you please answer a question for me?” asked Golden Triangle, his head still hanging down low. The princess nodded, concern written on her expression. Golden Triangle may not have been as dear to the princess as Vaultaire, but the alicorn had great respect for the pony as he had accomplished many things in his long years of service to Equestria.

“Is my architecture getting...old?” asked the unicorn stallion.

The princess’s eyes grew distant as she lowered her head to the unicorn’s eye level.

“Everything will become old, my little pony, including thy style of architecture and the monuments thou has built. What thee designs now will eventually be lost to the winds of time,” said Celestia. The unicorn sighed and despite his hesitation, pressed onward.

“Princess, I do not mind if my body or my architecture becomes old and superseded by all these young ideas and ponies. Allow me to clarify my question: has the quality of my work degraded to the point that it is obsolete? Has my work become dated to the point that it is not even classic, but unfashionable? Have I shown you any results that overwhelm you and not just please you?”

A small part of the duke wanted Celestia to shake her head immediately or say ‘no’ in that serene, regal voice of hers. However, what came was partially expected, for a dark part of his mind had always told him this. It whispered to him whenever his joints protested. It rasped when his hooves shook involuntarily. It giggled to him when he attempted to perform magic. He knew it was true, but he wouldn’t allow himself to believe it.

“My loyal little pony, we will not lie to thee. The quality of thy work has degraded. Thy ideas and the results they produce are not obsolete, but they are dated. In the past decade, thou has not produced any work that has managed to overwhelm or surprise us. We are very sorry about this truth Golden Triangle, although we cannot completely understand thine position.”

As Celestia finished giving her answer, Golden Triangle almost felt as if he was going to fall over and dive into everlasting sleep. To the grief-struck unicorn's own surprise, he just stood there, head lowered, greying blue mane and tail shivering slightly.

“Why did you choose me for this project then?” asked the unicorn. Celestia’s answer came quickly, filled with inspiration and honesty. It blared like a trumpet, lifting the unicorn out from his misery.

“Just because thou has aged and has difficulty practicing thy craft does not mean thou has become useless. Art thou not the mathematical genius that has found the proportions and shapes that make structures beautiful? And although we highly admire Vaultaire’s abilities, she is like a pony in a pack of timberwolves when it comes to politics. But thou...thou completely understands the politics involving the inception and construction of a structure. Also, having worked on countless of projects, thou has acquired experience that prepares thee for the situations and mishaps that are bound to happen during this grand endeavour. Additionally, who was it that organized this gathering in less than a year? Thy skills are still needed Golden Triangle. So in thy final hour, when all hope seems lost, make thy star shine one last time so that its brilliance can be seen all across Equestria!”

The speech’s effect on Golden Triangle was instantaneous. His head had been raised. His golden eyes were once again twinkling with luster. A determined grin was set in the stallion’s jaw. The pony still looked aged and stiff, but was now standing tall.

“Princess, thank you.” And with that, the pony bowed and galloped back to his tent. His fire reignited and his determination stronger than ever.

Author's Additional Note: One more chapter and I'll be done with the introductions to my OCs.

Meet the Great Minds Behind Canterlot: Part 3

Meeting the Great Minds of Canterlot Part 3

On a road somewhere in Equestria, a week before The Great Gathering…

At a crossroads, one of many in Equestria, the earth pony Spire, once known as Byzas, peered closely at his map of Equestria, which he had placed on the ground.

Over the past months, Byzas had been living under a false identity in order to create a new life for himself. To make sure nopony recognized him, he had done several things. First of all, he dyed his coat maroon, covering up his rare sandstone-red coloration. He then had his cutie mark visually modified. With a bit of paint, he had turned the ruler on his flanks into a charcoal stick and turned his thin, ‘round’ shaped paint brush into a larger varnish brush with rectangular head. Of course he had to renew his paint once every few days, but his disguise was complete. Instead of Byzas, court-artist, he was Spire a lowly travelling, painter pony.

Some ponies might call Byzas’s new occupation a fall from grace. However, the pony had never thought about it that way. Before he had been the Night Court’s Artist, Byzas had been the lowly painter pony that was now Spire. The earth pony had despaired that he had lost his title, all the perks that came with it, and the castle he had loved. Still, Byzas viewed his new job as a return to his roots, and thus was not undone by his loss. He felt guilty about telling Laurel he was going to kill himself, but it would be safer for her the less she knew of the truth.

And the pony was good at his new job. Renovation and construction work were in high demand in the aftermath of destruction brought forth by the war. Byzas had found plenty of work and had made more than enough bits to feed himself. One thing bothered him though, there was no challenge involved with this line of work. The artist who had once been challenged to produce new and dynamic pieces was stuck with menial work that was beneath his skills.

So, when Byzas had heard of The Great Gathering of Creators, he packed his saddlebags and started galloping. He was eager to admire new works of art and was looking forward to displaying some of the works he had created in in hiding.

Now a week away from the opening of the event, Byzas had halted at a crossroad. The pony was so absorbed in evaluating his map that he didn’t see of the cloud of dust closing rapidly. Neither did he notice the warning that had been shouted.

The various belongings of the two colliding ponies went flying. Byzas also flew quite far. With a loud “OOFF!” the baron-in-disguise went head over heels and landed back side up and head upside down.

“Did a chariot hit me?” groaned Byzas, speaking slowly for once.

“Do I look like a chariot?" replied a sarcastic voice. This was soon followed by a snort.

"And how can a chariot yell ‘Get out of the way’?”

When the pony opened his eyes, what he saw out of his inverted vision replaced his annoyance with curiosity. What Byzas saw was a chuckling earth pony stallion hitched to a two wheeled cart with a canvas tarpaulin covering it. The pony had a coat the shade and colour of dry sun-baked sand, his blonde mane was held back by a headscarf. As he rolled over picked and himself up, Byzas noticed the pony’s cutie mark was what looked like interlocked gears overlaying a cam.

“I’msosorry.Ididnothear.MynameisSpire” said Byzas.

“Say wha?” asked the other pony. Byzas took a deep breath and repeated his introduction again, slower. His speed-talking was something that had dogged the pony throughout his life. None of the doctors or practitioners he had visited could offer any suggestions.

“No problem! I’m Sa’id. Where were you headed Spire?” inquired the sandy colored stallion.

“TheGreatGathering...Sorry, I’m heading to the Great Gathering of Artists. I am a painter as you can see and I wanted to get away from renovation work and see some artwork for a change,” said Byzas honestly.

“Ah! What a strange coincidence! I’m heading to The Great Gathering as well! I heard about it from my home in the Southern Equestrian Deserts,” explained Sa’id.

So that’s why he has a headscarf and that explains his coloration. Wow...He travelled far! Wonder why he is going to the Great Gathering? thought Byzas. He asked the question and Sa’id smiled brightly and gestured to his cutie mark.

“I’m an inventor! My talent is in mechanics and understanding how things move! I design devices that perform specific tasks,” explained Sa’id.

“Whatsortofdevices? Sorry, what sort of devices?” asked Byzas.

“Well, you know how difficult it is for a single pony to unhitch himself from a cart right?”

The maroon-colored pony nodded and without another word, the sandy-yellow pony kicked a small lever on his cart by his left hoof. The leather straps loosened and the arms of the cart dropped to the ground.

“Surprised?” asked Sa’id. The astounded look on Byzas’s face said it all.

“Simple really, the lever is hooked up to a rope that runs along the arms of the cart to the leather straps binding-,”

As Sa’id began to explain the complexities of his invention to Byzas, the two packed up their dropped items. When they had finished, Sa’id had a suggestion.

“Say, why don’t we travel together? We’ll be travelling along the same path anyway! It’ll be fun!” said Sa’id with a great enthusiastic grin plastered upon his face.

Byzas was apprehensive, but only for a moment. Having been without company for weeks, the disguised pony was eager for a travelling companion. Besides, Sa’id’s cheerfulness and enthusiasm was infectious. The two found the correct route using Byzas’s path and a weird, but very useful object of Sa’id’s called ‘a compass’ that always showed where North was, no matter where the sun was at. The two stallions then began trotting down the path, exchanging stories.

Within minutes, one could hear streams of laughter as the new friends continued down the road to their great destiny.

Foot of Mount Canter, The venue of The Great Gathering, The day before The Great Gathering…

It was the day before The Great Gathering. Many of the stalls had been rented out by artists and craftsmen wishing to display their work. The air was filled with neighs and whinnies of constant movement and action.

In the glass section of the Gathering, hundreds of works of delicate artwork were being set up. It was a beautiful sight, as the bright light of the sun twinkled and shimmered off many vases, panes of stained glass and glass sculptures that were being displayed.

One particular tent, a green one had products that especially shone. Most of the works that were propped up on the table were stained glass windows and they were masterpieces. The stained glass had been composed in a symphony of colour and elegance. The notes of light that shone through these windows revealed the images of heroic ponies on great adventures, of the majestic princesses soaring through the sky and of ponies playing, laughing and frolicking on the grass.

As Chartres slightly adjusted the angle of a pane, the ivory white unicorn mare gave a tired smile as she reveled in the beauty of her creations. Unfortunately, her contemplation was short lived.

“CHARTRES! Close up the tent before somepony steals my work! Then come to the back!” roared an angry voice. A resigned sigh sounded from the unicorn as she closed the tent up, shadowing the intricate glass creations, her works. Walking deeper towards the rear of the tent, Chartres lifted her head up to see the pitiless face of her mistress, Glassy Hoof.

At first glance, anypony would think Glassy Hoof was a greedy and jealous pony. From the glint in her stingy squinting green eyes to the greedy twitch of her mouth, she screamed greedy and jealous. Her coat was of medicine yellow and her curled mane of grape-purple. Although both were well kept, the combination was still ugly. The unicorn had an ample flank that was adorned by a cutie mark of a glass chalice. There is a pony saying that suggests that one should not judge a book by its cover. For Glassy Hoof, one should, for her looks told the truth.

“Sparkle my mane, Chartres!” ordered Glassy Hoof. Chartres blanched whiter than her ivory coat.

“But mistress! I had to use my magic to complete those pieces. I don’t know if I have any left!” gasped the unicorn. The yellow unicorn’s expression didn’t soften and Chartres blinked back her tears as she concentrated on her horn.

Blue sparks spluttered and stuttered, but no sparkles appeared on Glassy’s mane. By that time, the ivory unicorn had collapsed, her unkempt blue mane for which she was named after was drenched in sweat and her tail flopped down almost lifelessly against the ground.

“Since you won’t sparkle my mane, you won’t get to stay for The Great Gathering. Begone with you!” ordered Glassy. At this, the fallen unicorn sprang up, despair creased across her exhausted features.

“No! Please, anything, but tha-,”

A perfectly manicured hoof slapped Chartres sending pain exploding across her cheek and another slap almost unbalanced her. Blinking back tears of pain, Chartres cringed as Glassy advanced.

“Quiet you peasant! You still have at least five hundred bits left to pay me back. What will selling that scrap glass of yours do to your debt? Of course I realized you were making your own piece;I just didn’t worry about it because it was so worthless,” said Glassy with a derisive snort. The other unicorn whimpered, grabbed her sackcloth saddlebags and left.

How long Chartres ran, she didn’t know. What she did know is that she found herself in the sculptors’ area. The featured piece, a great statue of Princess Celestia stood towering over the lonely unicorn. The sculptor for this particular statue had decided to give the princess a gentler expression instead of the usual regal look. It was the kind, heart-warming features of the statue that broke the dam holding back Chartres’s despair. The barrier of what little pride and hope the unicorn had left shattered like glass hitting cobbled stone. Tears flowed like a torrent of melt water in the spring as Chartres cried.

“She’s taking MY WORK. MY glass! MY magic! And I can’t do ANYTHING about it,” sobbed Chartres. Sinking down against the statue of Princess Celestia, the unicorn pulled a stained glass window from her saddlebag. The arrangement of the glass seemed random. The shards and sections clashed and intermingled with each other. The lead strips binding the piece together seemed to be the only thing holding the glass in any form of semblance.

“You are my only hope,” said Chartres, gazing at the mosaic of colour. Still clutching the pane, the tired and dejected unicorn fell into a restless sleep of exhaustion.

The Great Gathering: Part 1

At The Great Gathering of Creators: Part 1
Foot of Mount Canter, Princess’s Pavilion, Day of The Great Gathering...

As darkness began to wane, Princess Celestia stood in front of her white pavilion tent. Since the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters had been abandoned, she had been holding a nomadic court. Every three months, the Day Court travelled to major Equestrian cities on a carefully planned timetable. For now though, the Day Court was set up in a circle of tents close to the Great Gathering.

Now, the Princess’s brow furrowed in concentration; it was time. Slowly, the alicorn began to lower the moon and raise the sun. The sun, the great blazing giver of light in which had been the model for the layout of The Great Gathering did not resist and slid smoothly upwards and shards of light began to skim over the horizon.

The white rock which was the moon reacted differently. Its path was halting, crooked, as if it wanted to stay in the sky. Beads of sweat slid down Celestia’s coat and the golden light around her horn shone brighter as the alicorn lowered the moon.

With dawn’s rays stretching across the sky, the palisade doors were opened by the Royal Guardsponies. The Great Gathering had finally gotten underway. Hundred of ponies of a myriad of colours and sizes now wandered into the venue and began to explore the great festival. Alert guardsponies, situated in towers, guard tents, and on patrol, kept watch on the proceedings while artists and their clients haggled over the prices of artwork.

Vaultaire entered a white temporary pavilion tent set up for Princess Celestia. The pegasus was dressed in her best: a stylish and chic golden dress with silver embroidery. Her curly scarlet mane and tail had been painstakingly styled.

No words could describe Vaultaire’s amazement when she was ordered to take her clothes off and ‘normalize’ her mane and tail.

“WHAT? Why would you want me to do that?” gasped Vaultaire. The alicorn was quick to explain.

“We want to mingle with the artists, Vaultaire and access them without allowing them to prepare. Then they cannot hide anything from us. We offer our sincere apologies that we did not inform you sooner, but-,” Celestia chuckled.

“We never saw you dress formally during your brief time on the Day Court, so we assumed that you would not garb yourself excessively for this occasion.”

The pegasus grumbled, wishing her alicorn friend had been more forthcoming of her plans before a great deal of bits and time had been spent and wasted. As Vaultaire quickly deprived herself of her garments, she realized something quite important.

“Wait, but how are you going to not attract attention?” inquired the pegasus with a frown.

Celestia didn’t say anything, but concentrated her magic. A great white light erupted from the alicorn, forcing Vaultaire to shade her eyes with a hoof. When the light had past, the pegasus’s mouth fell open.

The tall, regal alicorn was now at the pegasus’s height. Her white coat had dulled and no longer shone softly in the sun. Her stern magenta eyes had rounded and softened. Aside from the horn and wings, Princess Celestia, looked almost like a normal pony.

“This... is my normal form; the result of me shedding most of the power that is given to me by the sun. I very rarely do this in front of anypony,” stated Celestia. The alicorn’s voice, while still serene, had lost much of its regal power and authority. More and more, Vaultaire was becoming aware of the immense trust that her sovereign and friend had placed upon her. She knew immediately that not a word of this was to leave this tent.

The ruler of Equestria then used her remaining magic to hide her wings with an illusion spell. With another spell, she laid an illusion on her flank that visually changed her cutie mark to a large sunflower. After the alicorn had been sufficiently disguised, the duo exited the tent, completely unnoticed by the guards.

The Great Gathering, Visual Arts section...

Byzas had rented a small stall and set up his paintings. All of them were new pieces, made during his year in hiding. There was no chance he’d be recognized. They were simple, but quite elegant and made with all his skill as a painter. The brush strokes and paint combinations created shows of colour that did not go unnoticed as ponies passed by his stall.

Within the morning hours, Byzas had sold most of his works for a good deal of bits. If there anything Byzas was good at besides painting, it was haggling. His perfect recipe for haggling was brought forth by his natural speed-talking and the simple- but-vital fact, that he knew the value of his own pieces.

Now the baron-in-hiding was left with a great deal of free time on his hooves and whenever he had free time, he would always turn to his greatest hobby.

Byzas’s tent was facing Mt. Canter and thus had a brilliant view of the snow-capped peak. As the artist set up his easel, he couldn’t help admiring the mountain’s majesty.

It was then that the pony artist had a brainwave that would change his life. An imaginary candle had spontaneously lit itself on top of his head. Immediately, the stallion turned himself toward Mount Canter and began to paint with confident, clear strokes. He couldn’t wait. It was only once in a lifetime that an artist gets to experience this kind of inspiration and Byzas was determined to capture it.

As the artist painted, the image in his mind became stronger, started to gain momentum like a phoenix in a steep dive. The various spectrums of light reflected by the object in his image began to solidify, taking on various hues and colours of the rainbow.

The artist was so absorbed within his work that he didn’t notice that he had an audience in the form of two mares. One possessed a pink mane and a white coat and one had a yellow coat and a scarlet mane.

The Great Gathering, Miscellaneous Arts Section...

“No water??? La afham. Sorry... I mean I do not understand. I was promised that yesterday there would be a water tank provided for my demonstration!” shouted Sa’id. The pony supervisor bit his lip as he faced the incredulous desert pony.

“Uh... well..you see... we have a water shortage today and we have to use the tank for something other than your demonstration... ”

"Laa! I need the tank of water Al aan!” bellowed Sa’id as he leaned forward in a serious violation of the supervisor’s privacy. The desert pony had a desperate glint in his eye that only served to frighten the poor supervisor pony.

“I am afraid I don’t speak your language sir. We’ll deliver the tank when it becomes available. I’m sorry for your inconvenience,” stammered the pony apologetically. With that he galloped away, eager to get away from the crazy foreign pony.

Sa’id stared uncomprehendingly at the supervisor’s back as he galloped away. All the while, he could feel his stomach growing colder and heavier. His smile gone, the pony turned to the stale, motionless objects on his table. The inventor needed the water for his demonstration. Every single one of them was water powered or involved water one way or another and without water, they were useless. Without water... his gadgets could only hold passerby’s attention for a second. The desert pony had come all this way, travelled through sandstorms, dodged bandits, only to arrive and be unable to show off his genius. He was quite literally, a fish out of water.

The Great Gathering, Visual Arts section...

“That is a very nice painting,” said a voice. At the sudden compliment, Byzas almost swallowed the brush in his mouth. When the pony finally recovered from his hacking fit, he found himself facing two mares. He found the white unicorn with her pink mane rather familiar, but could not recall where he had seen her. His eyes switched to the pegasus and then widened with recognition and fear.

It was Baroness Vaultaire, once the personal aide to Princess Celestia and liaison officer between the Night and Day Courts. An interior designer and skilled architect, Byzas and her had been in a heated argument about what colour was a better representation of anger. Byzas won the debate, but Vaultaire’s response to losing it had left the earth pony with an irrational fear of the pegasus.

That irrational overwhelming fear was what made Byzas prostrate himself on the ground, surprising the two mares.

“Young artist, do rise. We would just like to see thine work,” said the unicorn gracefully. Taking a deep breath of air, Byzas reminded himself that he was Spire and that he was disguised. If he kept his head, there was no way Vaultaire would recognize him. Without a word, the earth pony stepped aside to allow the two mares to gaze at the painting.

The sight that greeted the two mares was that of a city and a palace, perched on the slopes of Mount Canter. The castle was regal, with gold and white spires; its magnificent towers that soared into the cloudy heavens. Teetering on the edge of the mountain, the structure defied gravity. Beneath the castle, sprawled a city filled with ponies. Although the painting was incomplete and patches of white canvas peaked out from behind this magnificent illustration, the disguised Celestia and Vaultaire were left speechless.

The Princess knew nothing about the pony who had brought this vision to canvas. However, her mind was made up: this pony would be chosen. She wanted this capitol; it was fresh, unique, a magnificent city that would be the symbol and trearue of all of Equestria. More importantly, it only resembled her old castle in the most nostalgic sense.

In contrast, the pegasus’s mind was torn. Vaultaire had done a lot of brainstorming, but her ideas would not even come close to the scale and grandeur that was being displayed in front of her. As a result, the pegasus was hit with a growth of green jealousy and smashed pride. And yet... Vaultaire also found the stallion’s idea irresistible. It would be crime for her to shove his idea away from the sun, but she was afraid that if his idea grew, it would strangle hers.

“What is thy name, young artist?” asked Celestia.

“It’sSpire.Sorry!..It is Spire, my lady,” stammered Byzas as he bowed. Something in the tone of the unicorn demanded his respect.

“Will you be staying for the rest of The Great Gathering?” asked Celestia. When Spire nodded rapidly, Celestia smiled.

“Then will it be alright if we ask for thy presence later?” inquired Celestia. Confused, the earth pony nodded slowly.

“Thank thee Spire, we will meet with thee later,” said Celestia. With that she gestured to Vaultaire and the two left. Byzas kept himself prostrated until the two mares had left. It was then that he remembered he had forgotten to ask something.

“Wait! What are your names? How will I know that you are requesting... oh horseapples... ” groaned Byzas. Turning back to his painting the pony narrowed his eyes and slapped himself with his hoof.

“I wanted red and gold for the tops of the spires? What was I thinking! Purple and gold would be better,” said Byzas as he picked up his brush with his mouth again.

The Great Gathering...

Chartres wandered aimlessly around The Great Gathering. With no stall now, she had to find somepony she could sell her piece to. There was one problem though. According to the rules of The Great Gathering, a pony must have a stall before he or she could sell and the price for disobeying that rule was a fine. The ivory unicorn had no stall, she wasn’t going to get one anytime soon and with her debt, a fine would ruin her.

Taking a deep breath, Chartres quelled her gut-wrenching nervousness, took out her glass pane and walked toward a nearby mare.

“Excuse me? Would you like to buy this glass pane?” asked Chartres, a smile on her face. The mare was surprised for a moment and then with an apologetic look on her face, trotted away.

Crestfallen, Chartres was about to put away her piece when she heard heavy clops behind her. Turning around, she was confronted with the stoic gazes of two Royal Guardsmen.

“Selling without a stall is illegal, miss. I am afraid you will have to come with us.”

The Great Gathering: Part 2

The Great Gathering: Part 2

Miscellaneous Arts Section...

It had been an hour since they had met Spire and Vaultaire was still trying to subdue the overpowering feelings of worry and jealousy she felt towards Spire’s painting. She had managed to appease her worry of being unable to leave a legacy by thinking of ways to decorate and design the palace’s interior. However, she was less successful in attempting to subdue her overweening jealousy and assuage her wounded pride. The pride that held her up when she was being ridiculed by nobles, could not understand how a common artist could conceive of such a brilliant scheme.

“Is something bothering you Vaultaire?” asked Celestia. The alicorn disguised-as-a-unicorn had by now noticed that the conversational pegasus had been silent for some time.

“It is nothing Celest... Uh wait... Did we ever decide on what to call you before we left the tent?” asked Vaultaire. The alicorn-in-disguise frowned and chuckled.

“Ah... We did not decide on a name. Thou may call us Celeste. That would be quite appropriate,” said Celestia.

“Celeste... Not very common, but it will be easy for us to remember... ”

“Salam, beautiful unicorn! I am sorry for intruding, but I have a problem and I was wondering if you can help me!”

The speaker was a Sa’id. The pony had been running all over The Gathering like a pegasus on a marathon. He had been trying to get the water he needed and had not been succeeding. As soon as he had seen the white unicorn walking past his stall, he had a brainwave.

Unicorns have magic. I’ve seen unicorns use magic to summon water in the southern deserts. Ask unicorn to summon water for me! Had been his thought process.

Celestia had barely a moment to get in a word edgewise before the earth pony gripped her tail and dragged her to his stall. The alicorn-in-disguise was surprised, but did not resist and, if anything, she was more amused by the earth pony than offended. Vaultaire watched this all with eyes as wide as dinner plates, wondering what her friend thought of being dragged by the tail.

Three stone, metal, glass and wooden gadgets greeted the trio as they arrived in front of Sa’id’s grey tent. The gadgets snagged Vaultaire and Celestia’s focus like a nail snaring a long dress; they could not help but take a more careful look.

There were a total of three intricate mechanisms placed on the ground. Each of them seemingly built for a different purpose. One device was rectangular with an empty stone basin on the top and a large granite flagstone on the bottom. Underneath the basin was a gap that opened at both short ends of the rectangle. When the pegasus and alicorn-in-disguise peeked into one of the ends, they saw that stone basin was held up by what looked like small pillars of clay tiles.

The second construction was a little more complicated. There were two tanks, at the top of the construction and at the bottom. A series of small steel gutters looped around and around to connect the two in a winding circuit. Between some of the gutters were what looked like small round basins. There was also a strange hollow cylinder with a crank handle at the top that lead from the bottom tank to the top tank.

The final device constituted of a barrel with a curious contraption on the top. The contraption in question was mounted on top of the barrel. It consisted of a wheel holding a rope that was knotted at intervals. The knotted rope appeared to go into the barrel and out of it through a metal pipe with a spout that shot off at right angles to the pipe. Sa’id took the barrel’s top off to reveal that the rope was tied in a loop and that the pipe extended into the barrel.

“Sorry for taking you away so abruptly, madam, but if you would please cast a water spell to fill the tanks, barrel and containers on these devices? The bottom tank in the middle device doesn’t have to be filled,” asked Sa’id. The alicorn hesitated only for a moment before the earth pony’s eager smile and Celestia’s own curiosity about the purpose of the devices won out.

“We ask that thou shalt, in return, explain to us the purpose of thy contraptions,” said Celestia. At Sa’id’s eager nods, the princess cast her magic.

Directed torrents of water shot from Celestia’s horn and sloshed into the tanks and containers of the three devices. As the water rose, Sa’id’s smile widened in proportion and by the time each of the containers were filled with water, the earth pony’s grin was stretching across the entire breadth of his face.

“Jayed! Good! So you wanted to know what was these things do? Let me, Sa’id of the Southern Deserts, demonstrate!” said Sa’id. The pony ran into his tent and came out, his mouth biting on some brushwood and a tinderbox. The pony dropped the brushwood on the granite stone beside the container and began to work at lighting the wood with the tinderbox, continuing to talk as he did.

“Have you ever had a hot bath before, my ladies?” asked the yellow earth pony, his cheerful grey eyes still glued to the tinder.

“No, why would you want such a thing?” said Vaultaire with a frown that brought forth a reproving glance from the alicorn-in-disguise next to her. Most pegasi were quite happy with the warm showers they could get out of clouds. Also, it was extraordinarily difficult for pegasi to obtain hot water since there was no way of heating anything in the clouds. Sa’id looked up from his fire and continued with his explanation, occasionally tossing more tinder to build up the fire.

“Let’s say you did! The main problem with hot water baths is the heating. There is no way to heat a large amount of hot water safely. One must heat in the fireplace kettles and have the heated water transported to the bath itself. This takes much time and is costly in firewood, time and labour. But what if you could heat the water for your bath and your house at the same time? Would you spend the wood to do that?” asked Sa’id. Celestia’s eyebrows had risen higher and higher as Sa’id had asked his questions. What this earth pony was proposing had never been done before and this provoked her already insatiable curiosity to the limit.

“One might spend wood to do that, but how would thou be able to heat one’s house and bath at the same time?” inquired Celestia. By now, quite a large fire had built up on the granite flagstone. Also, to the raised eyebrows and furiously blinking eyes’ of the ponies, the water in the bath was now beginning to give off steam although it had not been in direct contact with the fire.

“See the smoke coming out of the other end? That is the hot air from the fire. The air is directed under the bath and flows past the small clay tiled columns. If the floors are built similar to this bath, then by directing the heat using flues and vents, the floor of any room in the house can be heated the same way!” explained Sa’id. Celestia was quite impressed and even Vaultaire, who had been quite disinterested in the idea of hot baths, could not resist the pull of the possibility of heating for a structure. Most of Equestria’s castles were drafty, cold and the only way to heat them was to have fireplaces, which could not be installed in every room.

“Could this system be used for a larger structure, say a castle, and could thou design one for a castle?” asked Celestia.

“Such a system would be brilliantly suited for a castle. Though, I have never designed one for a castle,” responded Sa’id. As Celestia nodded in acknowledgement, Vaultaire gestured to the second device.

“What does this do?” asked the pegasus tiredly. She had tried to figure out what the gutters and small basins would do, but had ended up mentally exhausting herself.

Sa’id chuckled and with one hoof, scooped up a large wad of dirt.

“Most castles collect the rainwater, funnel them into gutters and then use gutters to transport them to where they are needed. That water is often quite undrinkable though because leaves and dirt often contaminate it,” said Sa’id as he dumped the wad into the topmost tank.

“Ah, but the basins somehow clean the water?” inquired Vaultaire.

“Indeed! Watch,” instructed Sa’id as he lifted the sluice gate that kept water in the top tank. Silted water began to flow down the gutter and into the first bowl, where something quite unexpected happened. In the small bowl, the water began to form a whirlpool! The gutter had directed the water at precisely the right angle so the water had spun in the bowl, leaving sediment at the bottom and cleaner water flowing into the next gutter. The process repeated itself until only clean water flowed into the tank at the bottom.

“Ingenious! Thou used the whirlpools to leave much of the sediment behind! We are most impressed by thine inventions! What is the third device?” asked Celestia, voice pitched high with anticipation. Sa’id beamed and without further ado, launched into his lecture.

“Most ponies get water from a well, but can only draw a single bucket up at a time. What if you could draw as many buckets as the well had water in it?” suggested Sa’id as he put the modified barrel back onto the filled barrel. Celestia’s and Vaultaire’s heads leaned forward as Sa’id’s hoof took hold of the handle. The earth pony then began to crank the handle slowly. As he did, water began to flow out of the spout.

“It is a pump!” exclaimed Vaultaire as the water began to splash on the ground.

“Indeed! It is a rope pump. With it, a pony can pump water out from a tank or well at ease!” said Sa’id happily.

“We are most fascinated by thy gadgets Sa’id. Art thou staying for the rest of The Great Gathering?” asked Celestia. Vaultaire turned her head slightly as she noticed the same question that Celestia had asked Spire.

“Indeed! Now that I have water, I can demonstrate and show my inventions to all the ponies at The Great Gathering. Thank you, madam, for your aid and your interest in my work,” said Sa’id as he bowed to Celestia.

“And we thank you for showing us your inventions and explaining to us their purposes. We shall call upon thee later,” announced the alicorn-in-disguise. After that, the pair left, leaving the desert pony with his head still bowed.

Min faḍlak! I mean…Excuse me! What are your names?” called Sa’id. However, the unicorn and pegasus only heard the noise of the multitudes of ponies running around in the Gathering and completely missed Sa’id’s question as they vanished into the crowd of ponies.

"Hello, sir. What are these objects?” inquired a passing pony. Always willing to answer questions, Sa’id gave his full attention to the other pony and began to display his inventions once again.

“What do you think Vaultaire? Should we choose him?” asked Celestia, her voice barely louder than a whisper. The pegasus put her hoof to her chin and recalled the heating system and the other inventions Sa’id had eagerly displayed to Celestia and herself. Having the capitol and palace designed with the most advanced pumps, heating and water filtration system would be invaluable. The desert pony also seemed to possess a mind capable of coming up with new gadgets other than the ones he had just displayed. However, Vaultaire also remembered quite clearly that Sa’id had mentioned that he had never worked on a castle before. He also seemed, a little too animated at times and the pegasus wondered if she could work with him. If Sa’id was to be on the team, it would not be without some risk. After several moments, the pegasus put her hoof down.

“Sa’id is inexperienced in constructing large structures. Taking him on wouldn’t be without risk to the project. However, the skills and inventions he offers will be invaluable to the project, for the new capital must be equipped with the latest in technology. This is an opportunity we cannot afford to lose,” declared the mare. The alicorn-in-disguise dipped her head in assent.

“We have come to the same conclusion as you have Vaultaire. We also like him,” said Celestia. Vaultaire’s ears shot up and she blushed.

“You mean…”

“Not that like Vaultaire, but it’s been a while since we have talked to a pony so cheerful and eager,” remarked Celestia. The alicorn-in-disguise then hid a smile with her hoof, her magenta eyes dancing.

“And we did not know thou could think of us like that,” said Celestia with a titter. The pegasus blushed as she and her friend trotted off.

The Great Gathering...

Chartres froze as she faced the two Royal Guards. Mentally, the bells in her head were ringing death knells. She had been caught, she was going to get fined. The emotionless features of the two stallions told her that no amount of begging was going to save her. So, not wanting to get caught and pay the fine, she did what was only natural.

Escape

Her horn shone and a blast of blue light blinded the two guardsponies. Not waiting to see the result of her spell, she ran. The unicorn galloped past confused ponies, stalls, past little fillies and colts. Chartres didn’t know where she was going. She only knew she had to get away.

The Great Gathering: Part 3

The Great Gathering: Part 3

Head Guard Tent in The Great Gathering...

“Buck it! I should have designed a larger holding area for mischief makers!” cursed White Tower.

“White Tower, don’t be so hard on yourself! You were basing it off my estimate which seems to have been too optimistic,” said Barbican with a sigh. The two ponies were in the main guard tent, observing the many varied emotions demonstrated by mischief makers caught by the Royal Guardsponies. All the while, guardsponies ran back and forth on errands and on missions. The two ponies had known there would be a great deal of troublemakers at such a large congregation of ponies and had designed the venue with security as one of their main considerations. Guard tents and towers were posted all over the site, while patrols on hoof and in the air covered blind spots where there were none. White Tower had even designed holding areas for these expected troublemakers. However, she was furious that the main one was already full.

“I know, but I should have caught your mistake on my third check of your calculations! I’m your assistant after all!” cried White Tower in frustration. The pegasus’s light brown eyes blinked in surprise.

“Wait, you checked my calculations three times?” he asked.

“Five and I still couldn’t foresee this. Now they will have to take guards off their duties to escort the prisoners to the other holding areas and that would leave gaps in the patrol! All thanks to my mistake!” replied the mare as she made her way to a map of the entire site of The Great Gathering. The pegasus stared at her back, amazement plastered on his face.

“Wait how did you check my calculations five times? You couldn’t have had the time with all the work I’ve been giving you so you... ” the pegasus gasped and cantered up to his assistant.

“You silly mare! You’re going to work yourself to death if you don’t sleep,” scolded Barbican.

“I got seven hours of sleep every day for the past few weeks,” said the earth pony as she examined the map. That halted the pegasus in his hoofsteps.

“Wait what? Then... Did you used the time I have been giving you to find your cutie mark?” demanded the pegasus.

“Yes I did! I never asked for that time Barbican! You just gave it to me without asking if I needed it,” retorted White Tower without facing her master.

Barbican took a deep breath and let it out with exasperatedly. White Tower was right of course, the pegasus hadn’t asked and just assumed. After all the time that they had known each other and had been working together, the pegasus still could not understand why his assistant lacked a cutie mark and why she did not seem to care that she did.

Everypony wants a cutie mark, especially at White Tower’s age! Why would she not care? I just want what’s best for her... Even though she didn’t ask for it... Barbican sighed and trotted up to White Tower.

“White Tower, I am sorry, for not asking you and just giving you time to find your cutie mark. You know how I am about these things... I kind of took it for granted that you wanted your cutie mark,” explained the pegasus. The earth pony turned to Barbican a pensive expression on her face.

“I know you just wanted to help Barbican, but I’ve told you before and I will tell you again. You don’t need to worry about me,” said White Tower, her voice firm. The pegasus nodded and then snorted.

“And you need to stop blaming yourself so much and worrying in general! Let the guards deal with the holding area problem. Your mane and tail are going to turn grey if you keep this up,” said Barbican, punctuating every odd word with a light poke to his assistant’s shoulder.

“Um, Barbican, if you haven’t noticed, my mane and tail are silver?” replied the earth pony voice dripping with sarcasm. In mock shock, the pegasus threw up his front hooves and lifted off into the air.

“Oh dear! White Tower is getting old! Somepony get me some wrinkle cream!” moaned Barbican. Then, quick as a feather, the pegasus flapped his wings and sped out of the tent flap, his earth pony assistant chasing after him yelling:

“I don’t have wrinkles! Come back here you feather-brained foal!”

The Great Gathering...

Somehow, Chartres could never really escape the guardsponies. No matter where she galloped, cantered, or trotted, she was met with armored ponies, guard towers and tents, or pegasi guards in the air.

The unicorn was fighting a losing battle, with the guards and with her own body’s endurance. Her breath came in loud rasping coughs and her stomach growled with increasing intensity. She hadn’t had breakfast and last night’s dinner had been meagre. The crowd of angry armored stallions and mares only grew larger as the unicorn dodged, weaved and flashed her pursuers. Hooves flying, Chartres tore past a corner and in the distance, down the pathway, was the main gate of The Great Gathering.

“Stop her!” yelled the closing guards. Chartres desperately charged down the lane, quickly dodging ponies left and right. Passer-by’s jumped out of the way as the unicorn galloped for freedom.

The unicorn was almost to the gate when a sky-blue earth pony with silver hair galloped past her and skidded to a stop to block the gates.

White Tower had chased Barbican all the way to the Grand Galloping Lane, the main walk from the gate to the centre of The Great Gathering, when they had seen the platoon of guardsponies chasing after the ivory unicorn. They had reacted quickly, White Tower chasing after the unicorn on hoof and Barbican taking into the air and into the clouds. Being very fresh, White Tower managed to easily overtake the fugitive and now stood barring the way.

“Give yourself up. You have nowhere to go,” said the earth pony squaring her shoulders. The opposing unicorn blinked sweat away from her eyes, wheezing like an old forge’s air pump.

“Let me past! Please!” begged the other pony, her voice a rasp between her heaving breaths. White Tower shook her head and charged. A flash of bright blue light erupted from the unicorn’s horn, but the earth pony was undeterred and rammed right into the unicorn, tackling her to the ground.

“White Tower, are you alright?” yelled Barbican as he descended to the ground.

“I’m alright! She only cast a light spell,” said the earth pony in assurance. The white pony didn’t say anything, but her eyes glistened with tears as the guards caught up and surrounded her.

White Tower and Barbican had walked back to the guard tent and holding area with the guards and the captured troublemaker. Although White Tower wasn’t injured, the sky blue earth pony’s vision had turned spotty and hazy. Despite his assistant’s protests, the pegasus knight had grabbed a towel, shot up to the highest altitudes and procured some ice. Then, feeling rather nifty and peckish due to his feat of flying, the stallion had then flown to the food area of The Great Gathering. Meanwhile, the cold, soothing water crystals had done their work quickly and White Tower was soon able to see perfectly again.

The mare used her newly recovered vision to glance at the captured unicorn’s flank and was perplexed. The ivory unicorn’s cutie mark was of a glass blowing stick with a globe of molten glass to the end. On the glass ball was a six-pointed star, as blue as the other pony’s mane. It could only mean the unicorn was a glass blower, not a thief or vagabond.

“You don’t seem like the type to steal. What did you do?” asked White Tower. The pony was met with a sniff. The unicorn had shed quiet tears while being led to the guard tent and while she wasn’t crying now, she was hunched over and looked as if Luna’s moon had decided to sit itself on her back.

“I was trying to sell a piece without a stall. I... am in debt,” said the pony dismally. White Tower got the point and decided to leave the other pony alone. Turning back to her scroll, the earth pony made some amends to her notes about The Great Gathering’s guard tower and patrol system in capturing unicorns.

“Sorry for blinding you earlier,” said the unicorn. The apology caught White Tower off guard and she frowned for a moment as she registered the unicorn’s apology.

“It’s alright,” said White Tower in reply, as she wondered how to respond to the unicorn.

The tent flap rippled as two ponies entered, a white unicorn with magenta eyes and a pink mane and tail, and a yellow pegasus with a scarlet mane and tail. Observing the pair, White Tower could tell that the two ponies were noble. There had been several cues including: the way the pair held their heads, the shape they had raised their necks to and how their chest was slightly leading their trot.

“Hello? What is your business here?” asked the guard on duty.

“We heard that the pursuit of a single unicorn pulled half the guard from their posts,” said the unicorn serene and yet disapproving tone. Chartres overheard the unicorn and blushed as the guardpony was rendered speechless.

“It was only a platoon m’am. We have everything under control now,” stuttered the guard. The unicorn inclined her head slightly in understanding, but the pegasus didn’t look so sure.

“There are a lot of troublemaking ponies in this venue. Are you sure you can capture them all if you had to pull a platoon in order to catch one?” demanded the pegasus, her dark green eyes narrowed. Deciding to step into the conversation and alleviate the poor guard’s misery, White Tower drew herself up to her full height and addressed the two ponies.

“There is no guarantee we can catch them all, ladies. I assure you that precautions have been taken, and the few troublemakers that escape our hooves will be so scared that they will not commit any more crimes,” said White Tower. The silver-haired pony’s confident tone was met with scrutinizing eyes from the yellow pegasus and raised eyebrows form the unicorn.

“What type of precautions?” asked the yellow pegasus.

“I am not at liberty to tell you. The precautions should be best kept secret or else or somepony would be able to bypass them,” replied White Tower evenly. The two ponies glanced at each other and the yellow one stepped forward.

“I, Baroness Vaultaire of the Day Court, Flame of Cloudsdale and Lonely Peaks request that you tell me the precautions that have been taken for The Great Gathering.” White Tower kept her eyes glued on Vaultaire in order to make sure she wasn’t rolling them in exasperation.

“Baroness, I am sorry, but I cannot reveal to you these precautions for I do not answer to your authority and you lack the peerage to command me,” stated the blue pony. The pegasus’s lips opened to form a small ‘o’ as surprise spread across the her face and her perfectly poised head dropped down a notch.

“Wait you... ” gasped the scarlet-maned pony.

“I am Lady White Tower, Former Colonel of the 1st Stalliongrad Ponies and Member of the Order of Equestria. I am the assistant of Lord Barbican and helped him to design this venue with His Grace Golden Tower. Now, may you and your friend leave this tent?” demanded White Tower. The earth pony had always disliked the power of nobles to order common ponies around like dirt and while she felt sorry for Vaultaire, she kind of liked shocking a noblepony with her rank once in a while.

“Of the Order of Equestria thou say? We remember thou White Tower. Thou wert the one who used her boon to request the construction of new royal orphanages in every Equestrian city and disband all the contracted ones,” said the unicorn.

At this statement, the atmosphere in the tent changed like a flash flood. Heads turned to stare at the unicorn who flinched noticeably under the weight of so many eyes. Vaultaire had bit on her lip, flattened her ears and had shut one eye in a pained expression. White Tower’s brided silver mane had shot straight up like a flagpole and her blue eyes had almost swallowed her entire face.

Ponies were rarely inducted into the Order of Equestria. It was the most prestigious honour that could be ever granted to a single pony and was valued even more than knighthood. Along with the many powers and benefits each inducted member of the Order would receive, the new member was granted a boon by Princess Celestia. The pony would tell the princess it by whispering it into her ear during the induction ceremony. Thus, nopony would know about the boon, but the recently-inducted order member and...

“Princess Celestia?!?!?!?”

White Tower’s voice came out in a mixture of a scream and a whisper, making it sound like a loud, grating rasp. The white unicorn who was actually an alicorn-in-disguise let out a long sigh.

“We believe the most recent phrase appropriate for this situation is... ‘Whoops’,” said Celestia. A soft white light filled the tent as the sovereign of Equestria took hold of her power again. A tall alicorn with a pink mane, white coat and magenta eyes now stood in the white unicorn’s place. Each pony in the tent except for the sheepish Vaultaire was now on their knees. White Tower’s ears were flicked back in fear and the earth pony was also trembling as she began to spout apologies rapid-fire.

"Your majesty! Sorry for not recognizing you! Sorry that an entire platoon of the Royal Guard got pulled from their post! Sorry for the overcrowding of the holding area and…”

“Lady White Tower of the Order of Equestria, we ask thou to not apologize. We were in disguise because we did not want thou to recognize us. We do not blame thee for the incident with the platoon of Royal Guard and the overcrowding of the holding area…”

“But your majesty! It was I who designed the holding areas, and Lord Barbican and I who designed the locations of the guard posts!... Sorry for interrupting!” squeaked White Tower as she squeezed herself closer against the ground. Celestia chuckled. The ruler of Equestria had never met a pony that placed so much demand on herself.

"Thou art forgiven and thou may punish thyself by explaining to us how thou and thy master designed the venue.”

The Great Gathering: Part 4

The Great Gathering: Part 4

Barbican had been merrily chewing on an oatcake when White Tower had charged in and told him that the princess wanted to see them, almost causing him to choke on his meal. After the pegasus had recovered to the fretful apologies of his assistant, the two ponies raced off, White Tower getting Barbican up to speed on what had happened.

“High Commander-, I mean your majesty!” said Barbican with a salute. At the sight of the white pegasus, Vaultaire’s cheeks flushed. Immediately, her yellow hoof shot to her mouth and she bit on it to prevent herself from going into oh-my-gosh mode.

Barbican, more commonly known as Silver Shield, was one of the most famous pegasi in Equestria. Although he was the same age as Vaultaire, he had been knighted by Celestia for his valiant service during the War of the Sun and Moon. Equipped with lean muscles, tousled golden hair, almond shaped brown eyes and an immaculate white coat, he was very handsome. Mares had fought to catch a glimpse of him when he had visited the cloud city. To her silent embarrassment, Vaultaire had been one of those mares that had been inflicting and taking blows.

“Greetings Sir Barbican, we did not know thou had a hoof in designing the venue. What part of the design process was thou involved in?” asked Princess Celestia.

“I was…basically designing the placement of the venue’s stalls, the location of the guard towers and the route of the pathways, basically the venue itself. That was the job His Grace Golden Triangle charged me with while he dealt with supplying, promoting, staffing and financing the venue. My assistant, the lady White Tower, basically double checked my designs and calculations and was more involved in the security aspect of the plan,” explained Barbican. Celestia nodded with acknowledgement and then turned to White Tower.

The earth pony cringed as the alicorn’s attention was directed to her. Although White Tower had met Celestia when she was inducted into the Order of Equestria, meeting with her briefly in a ceremony and actually being talked to was completely different.

“Thou said that there were precautions designed into the venue. Will thou explainest those measures?” asked Celestia with a smile. White Tower gulped and then trotted over to a site plan of The Great Gathering. Noticeably, the captured ponies in the holding area strained their ears to listen as White Tower began her explanation.

“When Barbican and I were designing the venue, we tried to make sure that we had eyes everywhere and that the paths would not prevent the flow of our guards if a pursuit happened. At the same time, wanted the venue to prevent the thief or troublemaker from escaping. Thus, we have a main pathway with no branches to the central common area. Meaning that anypony wanting to escape would have to go down that pathway. Guard towers with unicorn watchers and pegasi patrols sight trouble and report to the waiting guards in the guard tents. All of which are strategically placed so that every part of the site seems to be watched by guards. Extra guard patrols provide flexibility and give presence to where there are no guard towers or tents. You see princess, just the knowledge that one can be caught can change ponies minds about causing trouble,” explained White Tower. Throughout the short lecture, the alicorn had worn a warm, encouraging smile that served to make the earth pony more confident. At the explanation’s finish, Celestia nodded her head in assent.

“That is a wise saying, young pony. Thou hast rendered and continued to deliver Equestria great services. We are very pleased with the efforts of both of thee to provide a safe environment for our ponies,” said Celestia sincerely.

“It was an honour princess,” replied Barbican as he saluted, his mouth curved in a smile.

“I would not live for anything else your majesty,” said White Tower solemnly as she saluted. The alicorn dipped her head and then turned to the holding area.

Chartres had been watching the entire exchange like a pony watching a race in the stands. While, Barbican and White Tower had presented themselves, she had felt very distant from what was happening between the two designers and their sovereign.

Now that was changing with every step that Celestia took towards the holding area where she was sitting.

The various thieves, pickpockets and troublemakers that had been snared by White Tower’s and Barbican’s clever layout lowered themselves to the ground and began to beg. A few pleaded for mercy and many begged for forgiveness. Some of them whispered and murmured like they didn’t want to be heard and others made pitiful wails that caused many some of the tent’s occupants to flatten their ears.

The ivory unicorn slowly extricated herself from the mass that had crawled forward to warm themselves around the light that was their princess. Silently, the mare faced tent wall and sunk herself into her own thoughts. Chartres didn’t feel worthy enough to approach the princess. The glassblower compared herself to a piece of badly-made stained glass that would only block the sun shining through it. Not only was she a helplessly naïve pony who got herself in debt, she had the nerve to violate the rules approved by her beloved princess, just to satisfy her own goals. The princess’s sudden appearance only made Chartres feel even guiltier. It was as if a hoof was digging into her back.

Wait a moment. There is a hoof on my back right now... Chartres then noticed the long shadow of a winged and horned pony looming behind her. The unicorn’s jaw hung open limply and her legs wobbled unsteadily.

When Celestia had walked toward the holding area, the alicorn expected to be mobbed by begging crying ponies asking for forgiveness. Thus, her interest was perked by the one mare that had snuck away and stood alone. After quickly issuing a Royal Pardon of all of the troublemakers, much to the chagrin of White Tower and Barbican, Celestia had slowly stepped forward behind the white unicorn. So absorbed was Chartres in her thoughts, she didn’t even register the alicorn’s pardon, much less her approach.

The alicorn slowly turned the dumbstruck and open-mouthed unicorn to face her with a tender hoof and lowered her head to the unicorn’s level.

“We noticed thou did not approach us at all for any favours. For what reason did thou not approach us?” asked Celestia kindly.

No word was spoken for the next few seconds, for all Chartres could do was open and close her mouth. She was unable to speak due to the astonishment that the ruler of Equestria was speaking to her face to face. Quite used to this reaction, the princess waited without complaint for the better part of a minute, until the unicorn finally realized she had a voice.

“I…tried to…sell without a-a stall your majesty…I have a debt... ” stammered Chartres.

“Ah, what wert thou trying to sell?” inquired the princess. Numbly, with shaking hooves, Chartres reached into her saddlebag and produced the glass window. That raised an eyebrow from Vaultaire who had been watching Celestia closely. The arrangement of the multi-colored stained glass seemed random, but the pegasus had worked with glassblowers before and she could see that the workmanship was excellent. The pegasus’s instinct told her that there had to be something else in the window.

“Your majesty…if it isn’t too troublesome for you…may I ask you if you could please shine some light through the window?” asked Chartres so softly that Celestia had to lean closer toward Chartres. Nodding, the alicorn lit her horn.

As the white light of Celestia’s magic passed through the window, it began to take on the different hues and shades of an image. With one hoof, Chartres raised the window so that the image was transposed onto the tent.

Vaultaire’s instinct was confirmed as an image of a group of three foals happily prancing on a green lawn was projected brilliantly onto the tent wall. Astounded gasps and cries rang out through the tent as ponies admired the image of light that had been formed.

Even Celestia, who had seen the work of many a glassblower in her long years, had never seen something that demonstrated so much ingenuity and beauty.

“You…bent every single glass piece at different angles to form the image?” gasped the yellow pegasus, her scarlet eyebrows almost disappearing into her mane.

“Um…yes…” said the ivory unicorn. Celestia managed to recover her voice.

“We thank thee for showing us your work. Thou hast been graced with great talent. What is thy name?” asked the alicorn.

“I… my… name is Chartres,” squeaked the mare.

“Dost thou have more examples of thy work?”

After bidding goodbye to Barbican and White Tower and disguising herself once more, Celestia exited the guard tent with Vaultaire, Chartres leading the way. When they had left the tent, the white mare couldn’t be more ecstatic. Celestia, the sovereign of Equestria, wanted to see her work. However, every step closer to Glassy Hoof’s stall brought up worries for Chartres. Glassy Hoof would never admit the works being displayed were not hers and what if there were no pieces left? At the least, Chartres would be humiliated. At the worst... Glassy Hoof would be able to take the praise for her work and try to trick the princess! The very idea of such a scheme almost halted the blue-maned pony in her trot, but fear of not obeying the princess command blanked out the unicorn’s mind. So Chartres trotting forward, stuck on a doomed path.

The trio arrived at the green stall, Glassy lounging on a chair. To Chartres’s slight relief, the greedy pony had set the prices of most of the glass artwork at exorbitant prices and not a single piece had made it to anypony’s pocket.
“Chartres! Where have you been! I’ve had to…” The medicine-yellow pony took in the two well groomed mares behind Chartres and put on a too-wide smile.

“Oh excuse me! My name is Glassy Hoof! Good greetings to thee! What brings two young and beautiful mares to my humble stall?” said Glassy as she did a little curtsy. The wings on Vaultaire’s back twitched and the pegasus had to subdue the urge to glare at the older pony. There was something in that lilting, brittle sounding tone of Glassy’s that Vaultaire did not like.

“We were going to see the works of young Chartres here,” said Celestia with a smile. Glassy put a hoof to her mouth and her eyebrows yanked upwards.

“Oh! Heavens! What lies have my apprentice been telling you?” gasped the unicorn. The pupils in Chartres’s blue eyes shrunk to the diameter of a hair with horror. With a stern hoof, Glassy yanked the paralyzed ivory unicorn to her side.

“Chartres here can’t do any work of her own! She’s my apprentice and only knows the basics of glass work.” Glassy Hoof with her rear right hoof, stepped on the end of Chartres’s blue tail, a silent warning that the unicorn was not to speak. The ivory pony couldn’t if she wanted to. She was frozen with horror at what the other mare was attempting.

“We do not understand…Thy apprentice showed us a magnificent masterpiece of glassware that was creative beyond belief. Thou art saying that she lied to us?” asked Celestia, voice disbelieving. The yellow unicorn frowned for a moment, snorted and then glared at the cringing Chartres.

“So you have not only resorted to lying, but to stealing as well? I was wondering where that window went! So you took it and decided to sell it to some unsuspecting buyer! Shame on you!” shrieked Glassy. Celestia and Vaultaire turned their eyes to Chartres, who shook her head rapidly.

“No I didn’t! You…She…stole…” Chartres burst into tears. Glassy was going to steal from her again and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Chartres could see the disguised Celestia’s smile disappearing and her eyes narrowing. The princess was going to believe Glassy’s lies.

“Enough of that! Chartres, leave while I attend to the customers!” ordered Glassy. The pony didn’t have to say twice, the crushed unicorn ran into the tent, tears streaming from her eyes.

“Now ladies, I am deeply sorry for that commotion. Which one of my works would you like to buy?” asked unicorn sweetly. The alicorn-in-disguise raised up a window depicting herself and her recently imprisoned sister. The glass had been masterfully blown, the lead strips cut to perfection, holding each of the finely cut glass shard in place. The two alicorns themselves were back to back their respective realms of day and night dividing the window.

“Thou made all of this?” The pony with the pink mane gestured to the array of glass artwork displayed on the table.

“Yes, each and every one of them made with loving care! Now which one would you like to buy?” asked Glassy Hoof. The unicorn’s eyes focused on Glassy Hoof, who took a step back in surprise.

A glower from magenta eyes that sparked with fury was what the envious unicorn had seen. Glassy barely had the time to notice the accompanying pegasus mare chuckle coldly as a crackling column of brilliant light erupted from the unicorn. It quickly faded to reveal a towering pegasus unicorn, pink mane flowing in an ethereal wind, a pair of raging pink flames for eyes and a horn radiating scorching white rays. The earth pony was so stunned, fear hadn’t set in and she was still standing.

“GLASSY HOOF! DOST THOU RECOGNIZE US?” bellowed the ruler of Equestria. The roar deafened Glassy and caused ponies nearby to fling themselves down to the ground in fear. Across The Great Gathering, stallions and mares turned their heads at the sound of their ruler’s voice as she passed judgement on the one who had tried to deceive her.

“THY “WORKS” HAVE BEEN SATURATED BY THE MAGIC SIGNATURE OF THY 'APPRENTICE.' NAY! THE MAGIC SIGNATURE OF THY “APPRENTICE” IS INGRAINED AND WOVEN INTO THE MAKING OF THY “WORKS”. THOU DID NOT HAVE A SINGLE HOOF IN MAKING THESE MASTERPIECES. THEREFORE, THOU ART CHARGED WITH: THE UNLAWFUL AND UNJUST DECEPTION OF THY FELLOW PONIES, THEFT OF PROPERTY AND FALSE ACCUSATION! GUARDS!” roared the princess.

Two impassive golden-armoured pegasi alighted next to the alicorn.

“Take this pony to the holding area for further investigation and her future trial. Whatever debt Chartres owes thee shall be repaid, but under Royal supervision,” stated Celestia coldly. The two guards saluted and took up positions beside the unresponsive earth pony. She was still unresponsive as the two stallions ushered the pony away.

“I... I... Is she…Will she be alright?” stuttered a small voice. Celestia turned to see Chartres standing by the tent flap. The ivory pony was looking at the disappearing back of her former mistress with worried blue eyes.

“She will recover and hopefully learn from this lesson,” said the alicorn. Her magenta eyes wandering over the myriad of objects, the alicorn pointed to one of the most elaborate stained glass creations.

“How much is this piece?”

Author’s Note: Sorry for taking so long…I had a bit of trouble, but it’s taken care of. All of Sa’id’s inventions are actual devices. The heating system that is Sa’id’s first invention is known as a hypocaust. It was an actual Greek/Roman invention that was used to heat their baths and houses. Only the richest of the Romans had them and during the fall of the Roman Empire, much of the Greco/Roman hypocausts fell into disrepair (which is the reason why much of the medieval peoples didn’t have cheaper baths). The second whirlpool filtration system was used by the Moors and can be found in the Alhambra Fortress at Grenada, Spain and still functions today! If nobody knows what a Moor is, google, is it that hard? I found out about that invention from the documentary Ultimate Engineering on Discovery Channel. The third device is the rope pump, used by the Chinese in ancient times and now services villages in third world countries.

The Summoning

The Summoning
Celestia’s Pavilion…

It was late in the afternoon and time for the sun to be set when Celestia and Vaultaire returned to the alicorn’s pavilion. After the incident with Chartres, the two had toured The Grand Gathering, looking for other ponies of potential. Both had enjoyed the day immensely.

“Looks like you have a few new trinkets for your mantel,” remarked Vaultaire, eyeing the bags that Celestia carried with her magic.

“We remind thee that we do not have a mantel anymore, and our tent is sorely in need of decoration,” replied the alicorn-in-disguise. It was then Vaultaire remembered that the war destroyed Celestia’s royal chambers along with the castle.

“Sorry Celestia. I forgot,” said Vaultaire apologetically.

“We accept thy apology Vaultaire,” said Celestia, the ends of her mouth slightly turned upwards. The two were nearing the tent, when the two guardsponies, a pegasus and a unicorn, advanced and lowered their spears at them.

“Halt! In the name of Princess Celestia, state your names and your business! The Princess is resting!” shouted the pegasus guard. Vaultaire stared at Celestia her face incredulous.

“You didn’t tell the guards where you were?”

“Do you think they would have let me go without an escort?” pointed out Celestia

“Oh that’s true. How come they don’t recognize us though? We did come out of the tent the usual way.”

“We suspect that this is a different shift.”

“Really? I can’t tell. All Royal Guards look the same.”

“STOP IGNORING US!” roared the unicorn. Celestia and Vaultaire ignored the Royal Guardspony and smiled cryptically at each other.

“Baroness Vaultaire, all Royal Guards dye their coats, manes and tales because we decided it to be so. Is that not true, soldiers?” asked Celestia as she turned her smile at the Royal Guards. It was a sweet smile, but her eyes were gleaming with mischief. The two guards stared. The unicorn seemed familiar, almost too familiar to a certain alicorn.

“What do you mean you decided it?” demanded the pegasus.

“The Princess was the one who… ” The unicorn guard’s heart almost stopped beating as he figured out whom he was facing and he immediately stood to attention.

“Blaster Hoof, what are you doing? So what if Princess Celestia was the one who…” the pegasus nearly dropped his spear as he came to the same conclusion and he quickly stood to attention.

“Princess Celestia! Sorry for shouting at you and your companion!” barked the two guards nervously.

“Apology accepted. We will only be in the tent shortly. Prepare to escort us to Golden Triangle’s pavilion,” said Celestia as she trotted into her tent with Vaultaire, the two barely suppressing their laughter.

Golden Triangle’s pavillion …

Golden Triangle was reading a manuscript when two guards entered to announce the arrival of Princess Celestia and Baroness Vaultaire. Moving slowly, but efficiently, he smoothed out his mane and stood to attention.

To Golden Triangle’s mild amusement and surprise, Vaultaire and a unicorn that bore a startling resemblance to the princess entered the tent. Unlike many other ponies, Golden Triangle reacted with the Princess almost daily so he was familiar with her appearance and her tricks. Remembering the guard’s announcement, Golden Triangle dipped his head and knelt in a short bow.

“Your highness, did thou find any ponies worthy of the responsibility for designing the new capitol?” asked the aquamarine coloured stallion. The disguised monarch of Equestria nodded.

“Yes. In particular we have five ponies in mind.” Golden Triangle was momentarily gripped in a vice of panic as he inwardly balked at Celestia’s announcement. He trusted the princess not to make a stupid decision, but all the same, the unicorn was more than surprised that Celestia had already five ponies in mind after the first day. Not to mention that he had no idea how much influence Vaultaire had on these choices and anything that that pegasus did must be checked.

“We understand thy highness. May we ask if these choices are… final?” inquired Golden Triangle. Celestia shook her head.

“No, they are not. There still are several days until the Gathering is finished, our Royal Architect. We will continue to search the Gathering for more artists,” said the alicorn. At that Golden Triangle relaxed a bit.

“So who are these ponies?” asked the unicorn, the curiosity evident in his eyes.

“They are Spire, Sa’id of the Southern Deserts, Chartres, Lord Barbican and Lady White Tower,” replied Celestia. Golden Triangle’s jaw almost dropped open. Apart from Lord Barbican and White Tower, he didn’t recognize three of those names. That got him worried. If he had not hear of these ponies, that meant they were younger unheard-of artists. That meant they were inexperienced and probably had a far different style that might clash with his.

Needless to say, Golden Triangle was again worried about the stability project group.

“We beg thy pardon, your highness, but are these ponies… well… um… What are their qualifications?” asked Golden Triangle, managing to put a lid on his apprehension. Only to have it spill out at Celestia’s reply.

“Those ponies have no professional qualifications except for Lord Barbican and Lady White Tower,” replied the alicorn calmly. The unicorn almost fainted with fright, causing Celestia to examine the unicorn with a concerned gaze. Even Vaultaire was alarmed.

“Art thou ill, Duke Trottingham?” asked Celestia. Golden Triangle shook his head as he recovered his wits and calmed himself down. Despite the unicorn’s fears, he knew that his sovereign must know what she was doing. Celestia would not have chosen Barbican and White Tower if she was truly out of her mind.

“No your majesty… we were just shocked for a moment. May we ask what prompted thou to consider the three ponies without any professional qualifications?” asked Golden Triangle. The alicorn smiled.

“Ah, so it was thy fears that almost caused thee to faint? Fear not, my little pony. There are still several days before The Gathering ends. Perhaps we will find ponies with better qualifications in those days. So for now, relax Golden Triangle,” said Celestia.

Several days later, the evening before the final day of The Great Gathering of Creators…

Golden Triangle met Celestia and Vaultaire at the front of Celestia’s pavilion. The Princess of Equestria was still in disguise. She and Vaultaire had been touring The Great Gathering, looking at promising artists. The unicorn fervently hoped that Celestia had been dissuaded from her initial choices.

He was in for a disappointment.

“Good evening, Golden Triangle. Unfortunately, our choices have not changed,” replied Celestia. Golden Triangle groaned mentally. At least Lord Barbican and White Tower would be among the ponies in the project group he could trust.

“Cheer up, Golden Oldy. You’re in for a treat! Before we came here, I took a message to the guards to find all of those ponies and bring them here with some of their work. I can’t wait to see your face!” giggled Vaultaire cheekily despite Celestia’s disapproving glare.

“We think we are in for something worse than being stretched out on a rack,” muttered the unicorn sarcastically. Celestia overheard and chuckled.

“Do not fret my loyal architect. While we do not approve of Vaultaire’s second name for thee, we firmly agree with her that thou art in for a treat.”

An hour later, Celestia’s Pavillion…

Sa'id entered the enclosure in front of Celestia’s pavilion with one of his inventions balanced carefully on his back and was more than surprised when he saw Byzas waiting outside the pavillion.

“Masallama Byzas! You were summoned too?” said the desert pony. The maroon stallion almost knocked over what could only be a large covered painting that he had set down beside him.

“HelloSa'id!YesIwas!Imean. Yes. I was summoned. Do you know why?” asked the earth pony. The colt was more nervous than ever. It had been almost impossible for him to drag himself to Celestia's pavilion and the guards certainly didn’t help. Had the princess somehow found him at last? Had his disguise been somehow seen through? And why was he asked to bring his painting? How had she known about his painting?

“Nope! What a coincidence that we keep running into each other though!” said Sa'id.

“Greetings.” The two stallions turned to face the speaker. It was a well-built white pegasus stallion with brown eyes. He was accompanied by a deep sky blue earth pony mare. Almost as if he had teleported, Sa'id sprang up right in front of the pegasus and began pumping his hoof.

“Masallama! I'm Sa'id from the Southern Equestrian deserts! Who might you be?” asked the desert pony. The pegasus's eyes had snapped open in surprise.

“How did you... Never mind, I must be seeing things... I am Lord Barbican, military architect and engineer. This is my assistant, the Lady White Tower.” Byzas examined the blue mare as she dipped her head politely and crossed her front hooves in a rather old-fashioned greeting.

“Greetings to you my lord and my lady, I am Spire, an artist. Did her majesty summon the two of you too?” asked the maroon stallion rapidly. Barbican did a take and blinked twice at the stallion’s chatter, but White Tower was unfazed.

“She did,” said White Tower in acknowledgement. Byzas frowned. If Celestia was going to arrest him, she wouldn’t summon Sa’id and two military architects. The stallion’s overly-imaginative mind was stumped.

“Do you know why Her Royal Highness has summoned us?” asked Byzas. White Tower and Barbican exchanged glances. After Princess Celestia had visited the tent, the two had talked a lot about the possible reasons for the alicorn to be going around in disguise. The pair ended up brainstorming such implausible theories that they eventually gave up.

“We’re not sure. Though she did-.” Barbican was interrupted by a unicorn with heavily laden saddlebags, cantering quickly into the clearing.

“I’m so sorry! Am I late? Is Her Royal Highness here yet?”

“No, she isn’t. Your name is Chartres, right?” asked White Tower. The unicorn nodded.

“I take it she was pleased with what you had to offer then,” remarked the earth pony’. At this, Chartres smiled and nodded eagerly and Barbican chuckled.

“That’s good then. What were you asking us, Spire? Spire?”

Byzas didn’t answer Barbican’s question. The poor stallion had been bowled head over heels as he gazed at Chartres, a dreamy look in his Byzantine eyes. He only saw the ivory white of Chartres’s coat, the shades of her short, unruly blue mane, and her wide teal eyes. He was smitten. All the stallion could do right now was breath and even that was becoming increasingly difficult for him.

“Iwas…I Uh… I was… teehee…hello!” gurgled Byzas, his eyes still fixated on Chartres, who was beginning to notice she had attention.

“Um… are you alright, sir?” asked Chartres concernedly. Feeling incredibly light-headed, Byzas’s jaw slowly worked out a reply.

“Never….been….better…miss…Chartres….my…name…is….B-.” At that Byzas’s brain returned, shocking him out of his dreamy state and causing a hoof to be sent right to the stallion’s mouth.

“Mrmnamereesfpire!” replied Byzas unintelligibly, his hoof swallowed by his mouth. Chartres stared at Byzas, her teal eyes blinking in surprise. The stallion’s wince was far from a fair representation of the horror that was gripping him; he had almost revealed who he was! Chartres’s wide-eyed stare only made him feel worse as he prepared himself for a million barbed questions.

So he was in for a shock when she burst into laughter.

“Sorry! That was... teehee... hilarious! What is your name again?” asked Chartres, attempting and failing to hold back her giggle with a hoof.

“Spire. My name is Spire,” gasped the bemused stallion, his limb extricated from his mouth.

“That’s a nice name; I understand why you would be afraid of mispronouncing it,” giggled Chartres. Spire barely noticed that the unicorn had just passed off his mistake as an accidental mispronounciation and almost relapsed into lala-land again. It wasn’t really his fault, since Chartres looked absolutely adorable when she giggled. Seriously, if there was a manticore, it would have given her a lick. Luckily for him, a short fanfare trumpets distracted Byzas before he lost it.

Five Royal Guardsponies advanced, two of them with trumpets and a third in the centre holding a scroll with his magic. There seemed to be three ponies behind them, but the hulking forms of the unicorns and pegasi hid them.

“Presenting Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria! His Grace, Duke Golden Triangle, Royal Architect of Equestria, and Baroness Vaultaire of Lonely Mountain,” shouted the central guard. The five summoned ponies knelt immediately. The Royal Guards then separated to reveal the three ponies.

Sa’id frowned and Byzas gasped as they recognized the white unicorn and her pegasus companion. When they thought back to the guard’s announcement, they realized who had been the mysterious mare.

“Princess Celestia!” squeaked Byzas.

“Indeed my little ponies,” said the alicorn. Quickly, with a flare of light, the princess shed her disguise and towered over the kneeling ponies.

“Wait... if she was... I mean you were Princess Celestia... then...” Sa’id’s eyes grew to the size of cauldrons as he came to a shocking realization.

“Then, I bit your majesty's tail?” said Sa'id incredulously. Celestia nodded, a very serious look on her face. The desert pony was rigid; his hooves dug in firmly into the ground and his head sunk even lower. Everypony in the enclosure had turned their heads and looked at Sa'id, with expressions of horror and disbelief.

“If it’s any recompense, your majesty, your tail tasted funny.”

With that, the entire group burst out in laughter, stoic Royal Guards and Celestia included.

The Contemplations

The Contemplations

When the laughter had subsided and Sa’id assured that he wasn’t going to get thrown into a dungeon, Celestia drew herself to her full height and began to speak in Royal Canterlot Voice.

“By now, thou will be wondering why we disguised ourselves, walked among thee and then summoned thou to this pavillion. The answer is simple, we require thy services.” The five ponies eyes widened, the same singular question in their minds.

Princess Celestia needs MY help? Why?

The answer came when the alicorn lit her horn and an image of the ruined Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters was conjured.

“Due to the war between us and Nightmare Moon, the damage sustained to the capitol has proven too extensive to repair. Not to mention that the magical feedback from the spells cast in battle has severely corrupted the Everfree Forest and has made it dangerous for anypony to inhabit. Thus the true reason for organizing The Great Gathering of Creators, is so that we may can choose talented ponies who will design a new capitol. We summoned thou because we think thou art some of the most promising candidates and would like to ask thou one question.” The princess’s head lowered to the level of the five ponies and her magenta eyes filled the vision of every single one of the five.

“Art thou willing to accept the responsibility for designing and overseeing the construction for the new capital of Equestria?” asked Celestia.

“Yes! I mean... ” Barbican cursed inwardly as all eyes turned to him. The Pegasus clamped his mouth shut as his eyes twitched nervously. Once again the pegasus inwardly cursed his own impetuousness as he reconsidered the implications of accepting the task once again. Barbican had initially said yes out of loyalty to the princess and out of desire for this magnificent opportunity, but now he wasn’t so sure. The pegasus clamped his eyes shut as he considered the task ahead of him. Designing the new capital of Equestria would be a burden like no other and the consequences were high should he fail. Out of instinct, Barbican turned to White Tower, but stopped himself. This was his decision; he shouldn’t rely on her to check him forever, nor should he have any say in her own decision.

Yes, I can do this... I made a mistake and although I may never forgive myself entirely, I have become a better pony because of it and now I shall prove to myself that I am a better pony. I will make this new palace the safest in all of Equestria if it’s the last thing I do.

So, his resolve firm, Barbican took a deep breath.

“Your majesty, I humbly accept,” said Barbican.

White Tower was almost expecting her friend to turn to her. Maybe for advice, maybe to ask her what her decision would be. So she was pleasantly surprised when he turned away from her and shortly afterward, declared his acceptance. Though Barbican didn’t notice it himself, a new spark seemed to have lit in his eyes and, while flickering with some fear, was raging with determination and expectation.

Well it’s about time he got his spring back. Thought the earth pony.

Calmly, the mare faced Celestia and without hesitation gave her answer. For White Tower did not want to join this project out of glory or fame, but because she wanted to help other ponies. Though admittedly, the involvement of her two friends, Barbican and Golden Triangle, also played a part in her decision. If there was one small qualm White Tower had about accepting, it was if she could handle the stress of designing a new capital. A self admitted perfectionist, the mare knew she tended to obsess over details. Still, White Tower was confident she could handle the pressure; after all, she had fought in a war. The earth pony couldn’t see why she wouldn’t be able to handle the pressure of designing the new capital. There was also one thing the mare was worried about, but that worry was lodged in the back of her mind and practically forgotten like a long lost child’s toy as White Tower gave her answer.

“I am at your disposal and Equestria’s, your majesty.”

Sa’id’s answer shortly followed White Tower’s. The desert pony had absolutely nothing holding him back. He had waited for a chance like this all of his life, but the Sa’id wasn’t impetuous and he took time to consider the consequences of his decision. The desert pony was modest and he knew he had no experience implementing his inventions with the help of other ponies. Not only would this project test Sa’id’s ingenuity to the limit, but his inventions would need to be implemented on a grand scale. Still, the desert pony desired this challenge, for if he was careful, what would stop him from producing the greatest inventions ever known to grace a capitol city? Furthermore, the stallion sensed that if he declined, the decision would haunt him in his sleep and torture him for the rest of his life.

“Na’am! I mean... your highness, I accept!” said Sa’id, bowing.

The earth pony’s response shook Chartres from the initial stupor Celestia’s announcement had plunged her in. Only a few days ago, the same unicorn was slaving under a vain and cruel mistress. Now Chartres was just offered a golden opportunity to show her skills to all of Equestria and to write herself into history.

The ivory pony opened her mouth and was about to utter her oath, when a stray thought swaggered into her mind. What if I make a mistake and embarrass the Princess?

With that single thought, doubts began to bore through her resolve like termites through wood. she was afraid she wasn’t good enough

What if my skills aren’t good enough?

The pony cringed as fear crawled into her veins.

I’m not smart! I’m naive... stupid... too trusting... like that time...

Tears began to appear in Chartres’s eyes

Will I make a mistake?

Her limbs shivered and her resolve wavered.

Will I be able to make the new capitol beautiful through my glasswork?

The unicorn’s face screwed up into an expression torn by indecision, her confidence vanishing, flowing out of her like water from a tap. She opened her mouth, to refuse. She wasn’t good enough, she had to say no and leave it for a more deserving pony. And yet, one last though paralyzed her jaw before she could utter that monosyllabic word.

Do I really want this anyway?

Chartres clamped her jaw shut so fast she almost bit her tongue off. For that question, the only one she could answer definitively and it was really the only one that mattered.

I want to do this and... I think I can do this...

“Princess Celestia... I accept,” whispered Chartres, so softly that the ponies assembled only caught the wisp of her answer.

“What did she say?” asked Golden Triangle, his old ears unable to register the whisper.

“I accept!” announced Chartres loudly. Princess Celestia grinned and turned to the last pony.

When the princess had asked the stallion, Byzas’s mouth was clamped shut as his thoughts were thrown into a state of turmoil. Two mental dragons were battling each other in the realm of his mind. One dragon was roaring for Byzas to accept the task and take the opportunity to carve an everlasting monument onto Equestria that would serve ponykind for generations to come. The other dragon was screaming caution! To accept this task would be to stare a Cockatrice in the face. This battle continued on and on as the stallion stood as still as a statue, only breathing in and out. Stray thoughts flew in occasionally to support one side or add to the chaos. Just about when Byzas was about to start screaming his indecision to the world, when a passing query made him hesitate.

What would Princess Luna want me to do?

Byzas took a deep breath and raised his head to the night sky and to the mare in the moon. The twinkling stars seemed to whisper back at the stallion as he cleared his mind. Of all the Night Court Ponies, Byzas was probably the one who had been on the best terms with Luna before her downfall. The two had spent long hours talking about art and had grown closer than the normal subject-ruler relationship. Some ponies had even falsely suspected that the two were lovers. Therefore, Byzas knew that the true Luna, not the monster of rage and jealousy that was Nightmare Moon, loved her sister dearly and only wanted the best for Equestria. She would want him to do this for her sister and for Equestria’s sake and he would do it, even if it meant risking his disguise.

If my last commission is to be for you and your sister, then so be it.

And as if the fates agreed with Byzas’s resolve, the stallion didn’t stutter as he declared:

“Your majesty, I accept.”

After Byzas gave his acceptance, Celestia turned to Golden Triangle and Vaultaire.

“Duke Golden Triangle and Baroness Vaultaire, although thou hast pledged thyselves to this project, we must ask thee one last time. Art thou willing to work with these ponies to design and build the new capital of Equestria?”

At Celestia’s question, Golden Triangle immediately re-examining the other three unknown ponies. Being well-versed in subtle speech, the unicorn picked up on the specific way Celestia had worded the question and thus he knew exactly what the alicorn was actually asking him. After a short moment, the turquoise unicorn met Celestia’s gaze.

“I am ready princess.”

The old unicorn trusted his former student and his assistant. As for the other three ponies... compromise was part of an architect’s job description and Golden Triangle was no stranger to it. He would work with these ponies and hopefully, they would listen to his reason and experience.

Meanwhile, Vaultaire had just managed to figure out what her friend and sovereign was asking her to do. Unfortunately, the pegasus hadn’t exactly figured out how she was going to deal with the other project members. Vaultaire had just assumed that they would be able to deal with their areas of specialty and she would be able to excel in hers. Her biggest worry had been Spire, but now with all these independently minded ponies... The pegasus twirled a lock of her mane in frustration. Celestia had the strangest ability to ask questions that would make even the strongest of heart re-examine themselves. A sigh later, and the pegasus met Celestia’s glance.

I will do my best for you Celestia.”

The informal way Vaultaire addressed the princess prompted a few eyebrows to raise themselves. The princess just smiled.

“We are in thy debt Vaultaire and Golden Triangle and we thank thou all for aiding Equestria in this endeavor.”

Author’s note: If nobody actually got what I meant when Vaultaire said “I will do my best for you Celestia.” Then I epic failed. What Vaultaire meant was that she would work with the other architects, for Celestia’s sake. I am also trying to brush up the fic in anticipation for some proofreading by the /fic/ board. So chapter updates may be slow. I think I will get one or two more chapters out to finish the ‘arc’, but now it’ll probably be once per two weeks.

The Conditions

The Conditions

The announcement of the architects was full of pomp, circumstance and a bit of a hassle as Spire was rather picky on where he should put his painting and the guards had to gently coax the nervous Chartres up onto stage. Other than that there was a lot of cheering from as the construction of the new capital was announced.

However, the real business was to begin in a large meeting tent with a round table in the centre. This was where the seven ponies were going to meet with Princess Celestia for their first meeting regarding the construction of the capital.

One of the chairs at the table was different from the others, for good reason. Celestia’s was to be an ornate, high-backed, piece of furniture, with several large cushions nestled on them. As Vaultaire entered the tent, she noticed the sandy-colored pony known as Sa’id hunched by the throne, with a hammer and several nails.

“What are you doing to Celestia’s chair Sa’id?” asked Vaultaire warily.

“I’m fixing it. I can’t believe her majesty has to sit constantly on this piece of horse crap.” The desert pony grimaced as he continued to chip at something on the legs of the throne. Breathing a sigh of relief, the pegasus chuckled.

“She’s complained to me about her ceremonial sets more times than I can count, so I gave her those cushions as a Hearts Warming Gift and she has never gone without them,” recounted Vaultaire. The desert pony raised his eyebrows in approval as he began to fiddle with one of the chair’s armrests.

“Ah! A good choice! They are firm, not soft and provide good support. They look good too! I swear ponies forget that function and beauty must come hoof in hoof! Now hold that piece for me.”

Thirty minutes later...

If the table had a corner seat, Byzas would have chosen it for himself. However, the shape of the table denied that wish and the anxious earth pony soon found himself seated between Golden Triangle and Vaultaire. For a long minute Byzas sat in silence, until he decided to ask the duke a question that had been on his mind for a while.

“YourgraceTrottinghamisthe. Sorry, Your Grace Trottingham. May I ask you a question?” inquired Byzas. The unicorn nodded, initially surprised that the younger pony had earlier addressed him by title as opposed to name. Rather good etiquette for a commoner artist.

“Is the entire reason for The Great Gathering was so that Princess Celestia could choose architects for the new capital?” stammered Byzas.

“As far as we know master Spire, that was only one of the major reasons our sovereign convened this celebration. There were other issues that were to be addressed by The Great Gathering. Thanks to the war the development of the arts within Equestria were stymied. Not only that, but her highness Luna was patron to a large group of artists who were persecuted and their works lost. So our hypothesis is that her majesty wanted to use this event to start a revival of the arts.”

“It’sjustthat. Sorry Your Grace, I’m surprised that her majesty was able to finance the Gathering, with Equestria being in the condition it is now,” said Byzas. The earth pony on his journeys throughout post-war Equestria had witnessed the devastating impact of such a long period of sun deprivation. Fields had wilted away, orchards had become firewood and if not for the back-up granaries designed have for a situation like this, Equestria would have torn itself to pieces.

“Well young Spire, have our ways in finances and mayhaps we shall share some of our secrets with thee,” replied Golden Triangle with a smile, and a higher opinion of the young artist.

Across the table, Chartres sunk deeper into her soft cushioned seat, nervously wondering how she would be able to contribute to the meeting.

“You’ll be fine. Just think first, and then state your opinions clearly,” assured a voice to her right. The unicorn turned to see White Tower with a piece of parchment, some ink and quills. Clearly, the earth pony was preparing to take notes of the meeting.

"What... how did you know what I was thinking?” asked Chartres. The earth pony shrugged as she wrote the date on top of her scroll as well as a few unintelligible details.

“Felt the same way during my first meeting with Barbican. Not to mention that your feelings were all over your face.” It was then that Barbican, who was seated to White Tower’s right, asked the earth pony a question, leaving Chartres with somehow more confidence that before.

At that moment, Princess Celestia entered the tent, causing all the occupants to bow.

"Morning my little ponies, I trust thou slept well?” asked Celestia. At the nods and positive replies, the alicorn sat down to began the meeting and opened her eyes in surprise.

“Did anypony touch our throne?” The assembled ponies glanced at each other and soon, the majority of the gazes settled on Sa’id and Vaultaire, both of whom were struggling to hold back their grins.

“Do you like what we did your highness?” asked the desert pony. The princess’s eyes narrowed, causing a few hearts to pump faster, before a smile stretched across the alicorn’s face.

“The comfort has been doubled thanks to thy efforts. We may actually enjoy sitting this throne now,” remarked Celestia, causing Sa’id and Vaultaire to spew raucous laughter and the rest of the ponies to drop their jaws.

After the laughter was stifled and the jaws locked back into place, the meeting finally began. Celestia stood up and addressed the ponies.

“We have decided that for the design and construction of the new capital of Equestria, we are giving thou free reign over most aspects of the project. However, our advisors and we have several conditions that thou must follow.”

“Mount Canter shall be the site of the new capital. Being highly defensible and close to the centre of Equestria, it will be the ideal spot. The city must make our ponies feel safe and must protect them. Additionally, it must impress itself upon all who gaze upon it.”

The seven ponies nodded at the princess’s requests. They seemed quite basic of any city or structure of this magnitude. The final condition threw most of them into a loop.

“Finally, the new capital must be based off of Spire’s painting. Thou needs not follow it to the last brush, but we would like thou to take much inspiration from it,” said Celestia. With that, the princess gently levitated the canvas painting from its place beside Spire and unfurled it.

The artist had completed the painting in record time, but that did not detract from the quality of the piece. Stately perched upon the side of the mountain, was the city and castle of gold, purple and white. The elegant spires and rounded domes that made up the main castle were interconnected by a series of bridges and arches. Clean glistening waterfalls ran through the bustling city in front of the castle, and low walls encircled the entire complex. But with one look at the painting, Barbican began to feel worried.

“It’s mounted on the edge of a cliff Spire.” Byzas was still trying to get over the fact that his painting was going to be the inspiration for the new capitol. He was also wondering what Chartres was thinking of him and thus, Barbican’s statement went right through one ear and out the other.

“... Huh?” replied the dazed artist.

“What if the castle falls off? There’s no way we can build something that dangerous,” said the pegasus grimly.

“We can do it safely,” said Sa’id eyes scanning the painting.

That completely baffled everypony in the tent, even Spire.

“How? It’s a castle, not an octopus! It’s hath no suckers Sa’id!” decried Barbican.

“Of course it doesn’t suck Barbican. What in Equestria were you thinking? Only parts of it are hanging off the cliff. Most of it can be grounded onto the cliff, providing we find the right one of course. The rest gradually from the face using stone, some reinforcement charms, volcanic ash...”

“Volcanic ash?” remarked Celestia curiously. Sa’id’s excitement seemed to grow exponentially as he explained.

“Your engineers have never used it? Used in mortar it resists water greatly and is extremely durable to all weather! Thus we can build the castle off the edge of a cliff and there will not be a problem for a thousand years. Oh this will be so FUN!”

Again, the ponies were speechless and all that was heard was Celestia’s soft laugh.

“We shall take thy word for it Sa’id. Though, we hope that thou can present a measure of proof to alleviate any worries,” said Celestia. Sa’id nodded in agreement as Golden Triangle spoke up, his visage serious.

“We have a number of concerns about the castle in thy painting. While we admit that Spire’s painting is impressive, we think it would be better if the design for the capital only contain aspects of what is being shown to our eyes,” said the unicorn.

“Whatsort... sorry. What’s wrong with the capitol in my painting sir? Is it the colour? Is it the environment? Is it that the perspective is off?” stammered Spire as he closely examined his work again.

“Nay Spire. While there are aspects and attributes we wish to change, that was not the problem we were concerned about. We apologise for our complaint and implore thou to not take offense for our objection to thy work-,”

“Get the point Golden Oldy and stop posturing,” groaned Vaultaire bluntly, having recognized her old professor’s descent into incomprehensible mush from the lectures she had to sit through. The turquoise unicorn glared at the pegasus causing many of the table’s occupants to shrink back into their chairs.

“The towers Spire. They are too tall. They may look... imperious, but they do not please the eye,” said Golden Triangle in a low voice while glancing at Vaultaire. Hesitantly, Spire leaned forward, wondering how to placate Golden Triangle.

“Your grace, are you sure they are too tall? If they are any shorter, the castle will pale in comparison to the mountain and the capital won’t be able to impress anypony,” said Spire. Golden Triangle shook his head and replied in a condescending tone that elicited a rare frown from the earth pony.

“Thou art young and immature Spire. I can prove that shorter, larger towers can work better.”

“Proven by your fancy mathematics Golden Oldy?” blurted out Vaultaire, unable to take any more of Golden Triangle’s sweet-talk. The unicorn’s reply was still formal and courteous, but there was an unseen edge to it.

“Of course Baroness, how can thou argue that the basic forms and golden proportions are not the most beautiful objects...”

“Ever created blabla I get it Goldy, but as Spire mentioned, short towers won’t work against the profile of the mountain. Not to mention they’re out of style and they do not impress!” interrupted the pegasus.

“Thou only care about impression, size and glamour foolish feather brained foal! Did we not explain how the form of any structure must appeal to the eye of the beholder and not scar it like thy unruly coiffure? Not to mention that shorter towers are better for defensive purposes,” retorted the unicorn coldly. Vaultaire leaned across the unfortunate cringing Spire and smugly stuck her face right up to Golden Triangle’s.

“No attacker will be able to get up the mountain for the love of Faust, so there is no need for defensive towers! All they would do is fade away in the background like you old fogey!” Golden Triangle growled at Vaultaire as he bit back his boiling anger and frustration.

“And thou would know everything about lonely mountains thou decrepit, dropout and leech. Thou tall towers would be loved for a moment and torn down the next like thou legacy!”

“ENOUGH!”

And the Royal Voice was unleashed, like a massive western gale that swept through the tent. The architects were pinned into their seats by the sheer shockwave and the guards outside jumped in fright.

“Vaultaire and Golden Triangle, didst thou not swore to work together in harmony?” demanded Celestia. Sheepishly the two ponies remembered their oaths and looked down at their hooves. Meanwhile, White Tower raised her own.

“Princess, if I may?”

The still cross alicorn nodded, her attention still focused on the two shamed architects.

“Most ponies here have suggested good points based upon what insight the painting has to offer. However, the majority of the points though have been focused on the environment and foundations of the site. Since the setting within the painting is fictional, I suggest that we go to choose a site before we discuss these issues more in depth,” proposed the earth pony. There was a pause after White Tower’s suggestion, followed by widespread agreement. There was only one question.

“When should we set out?” asked Spire.

“Hmm, I don’t know... Chartres, what do you think?” asked White Tower turning to her neighbour. The unicorn hadn’t spoken for the entire meeting and with the attention all focused on her, she almost seem to disappear into her seat.

“I... Uh... tomorrow! Maybe... I mean... the faster we get started, the sooner we can start planning the capitol. I think there will be sunny weather tomorrow, so it will be a good time to observe the environment. We also... need to know if we can even build the capitol on Mount Canter in the first place,” stammered Chartres.

Wow! She’s smart! Thought Byzas as he hung on Chartres’s every word. With a nod, Celestia rose from her throne.

“It is settled then. Tomorrow we shall hike on the Mountain Canter,” declared the alicorn.

Author’s Note: Check out my new story Remembering the Fallen which answers the question: What happens when the Mane 6 discover the truth about the War of the Sun and Moon. AND... also gives a little backstory into Barbican, White Tower and the War of the Sun and Moon. Did anybrony or pegasister get the references?

The Hike

The Hike

The seven ponies arrived next morning to see several war chariots bathed in the pink sunlight. Heavily armoured and very spacious, the chariots were equipped with high wooden walls to protect the two unicorn mages or two earth pony archers they usually carried. These particular vehicles were marked with scratches and scars showing they had seen much service throughout the War of the Sun and Moon. Princess Celestia was already in one of the chariots.

“Shall I join you Celestia? Never mind, I doubt I’d fit!” guffawed Vaultaire as Golden Triangle gave her a scandalized look. Celestia didn’t bat an eye.

“Thou shouldst laugh as much as thou can before we spike thy victuals with Poison Joke. Then the joke, shall be on thee,” said Celestia with a smile. Vaultaire stopped laughing for a moment and then burst into a weak giggle.

“You’re kidding Celestia... right?” inquired Vaultaire. To her dismay all the pegasus received was a wink from her alicorn friend before the seven ponies had to choose their chariots. Despite his attempts to get his nerve up, Byzas lost his nerve and ended up sitting next to White Tower. Barbican found Vaultaire taking a seat next to him. Golden Triangle had a chariot to himself and Sa’id sat with Chartres.

The chariots, pulled by teams of armored pegasi, lifted off and made their way to the majestic peak of Mount Canter.

Byzas couldn’t help but take his sketchpad out and start drawing the clouds and landscape as they shot by below him. For a pony who had never taken to the sky, the artist was dumbfounded by what he was seeing. Slowly, clouds and distant villages began to take shape under the pony’s steady shading.

However, as the brown dyed stallion continued to fill the pages of his sketchbook, his attention was drawn by his fellow occupant and it was then he noticed the particular thing White Tower was missing

Her flank was bare: a deep sky blue like the rest of her. Byzas was surprised he hadn’t noticed it before and paused in thought. The name of White Tower was a legend among earth ponies. Byzas had heard snippets of conversation from all over Equestria in his travels. None of the stories seemed to mention that she was one of the exceptionally rare adult blank flanks; ponies scorned by society as deviants abandoned by Faust. What was usually told was that she rose through the ranks to command a regiment of elite earth ponies. That was the only thing that was reliable because the rest of her background was filled with fanciful tales that Byzas could barely believe. An example of these stories was one rather crazy version that claimed White Tower had fought a dragon and Nightmare Moon personally.

It was then that Byzas noticed the mare he was thinking about was glaring at him with icy cold, blue eyes.

“Are you interested in me Spire?” inquired White Tower. Immediately, the stallion’s gaze stared back toward the horizon.

“Noofcoursenot!” spoke Byzas a little too quickly.

“Of course you aren’t. You’re more interested in a certain ivory unicorn mare,” said White Tower with a wry chuckle. Underneath his dyed fur, Byzas blushed.

“I... I... shoot is it that obvious?” groaned the stallion.

“More obvious than your thoughts on why I don’t have a cutie mark,” replied the mare.

“I-wasn’t-thinking-of-that!” protested Byzas, causing the mare to raise an eyebrow and ask:

“What were you thinking of then?” The stallion pawed at the floor of the chariot nervously.

“I was... um... feeling sorry for you... and um... wondering how it was like to live without a cutie mark... I mean... I’ve heard of what you’ve done... and I don’t think they look at you the same way now, but most ponies would have noticed when you were younger,” murmured Byzas. White Tower blinked. The stallion in front of her would never lie unless there was a good reason. In her opinion, Spire probably couldn’t lie to save his life. Most ponies had felt shocked at her lack of a cutie mark and shied away from her. Some ponies, like Barbican, had felt sorry and taken it upon themselves to help her. Byzas was the first to ask her what it felt like... to be an adult Blank Flank.

“It was difficult,” said White Tower shortly, her dark blue eyes still locked with Byzas’s.

“Um... how so? ” said Byzas.

“Other ponies... looking at me like I was... well, unnatural. They called me Blank Flank a lot back then and I got used to it after a while,” shrugged White Tower as she gazed back at the horizon.

“I don’t think you ever did get used to it,” said Byzas. White Tower’s eyes widened and she froze. “I’m a little older than you and I’ve taken care of quite a few fillies and colts. You can say I was the foal sitter back at my village. Your muscles flinch a little bit every time you say ‘Blank Flank’ and the way you say it is different from other ponies.” Byzas stopped and coughed sheepishly as he noticed White Tower staring at him. “At least, that’s what I think... oh horseapples,” groaned the stallion, his delayed memory reminding him whom he was talking to. White Tower advanced, backing Byzas up against the chariot’s high wall. Her practiced marching steps reminded the stallion too much of her training as a soldier.

“You couldn’t have learnt all of that from raising foals. How else did you do that?” demanded White Tower, eyes critically examining Byzas like some magical scanner. There was no way he could lie, so he told the truth, or at least part of it.

“A skill I picked up... sorry. It’s something most artists have to do. In order to portray pony emotion, one has to understand the features and particular signs a pony makes to indicate emotion and status. A good artist is also a good observer,” explained Byzas nervously. He saw the earth pony relax - he didn’t know why she did - but her shoulders loosened and her eyebrows lowered.

“So what else can you tell about me?” asked White Tower, tone less pointed, more inquisitive. Byzas took a good look at White Tower, brow furrowed in thought and his hoof scratching at his dyed mane.

“Um... your stance, steps and what I know of your background shows that you are military pony. The upright pose shows that you are confident in your own abilities. There is an overall tightness and control in your movements, showing you are very afraid of making mistakes. All of them signs of a perfectionist. You seem rather cold and distant, yet...” Byzas stopped and his already furrowed brow rose higher as his face twisted into an extraordinarily confused expression.

“Go on?” said White Tower, her voice soft and encouraging, just the right tone to get Byzas to continue.

“I was listening to your conversation with Chartres... though my attention was somewhat focused elsewhere, I can see you genuinely care about the ponies that you talk to... Such as just now you managed to get me to continue speaking,” concluded Byzas. He paused, trying to process the mare’s reaction.

“I should take you along on my meetings with those pesky nobles more often,” snorted White Tower. The stallion’s lips pursed in an expression of displeasure.

“Don’t, I couldn’t put up with those ponies before the war and I doubt I could handle them after,” groaned the stallion.

“You’ve had dealings with the Two Courts?” said White Tower, curious. The stallion shrugged nonchalantly.

“Only a few of the minor nobles, namely the late Lord Saddlestrong of Stalliongrad,” explained Byzas. The mare’s ears straightened as her interest was heightened.

“You must have been a pretty good artist to have dealings with him. That stallion was a coward... completely obsessed with his image. I’ve only heard of him from his son His Grace Crestrot and even that was enough to make me shiver.” Byzas laughed and continued to horrify White Tower about the lord as the chariots soared through the mountain.

The Mountain Canter...

Once the architects had arrived, they sent the chariots away and gathered around in a circle, carrying their laden saddlebags. In the middle, White Tower laid a map in the center, but it seemed completely indistinguishable. To most of the ponies the map appeared to be a bunch of circles.

“These are contour maps: the latest from our cartographers. They detail the approximate shape of the mountain through these circles, which represent heights. I’ve circled two spots with the appropriate cliffs and the appropriate space. We will check them out and if that doesn’t work, we will gradually ascend the mountain. Is everypony in agreement?” asked White Tower. The plan was accepted and the ponies set off.

White Tower led with Barbican and Golden Triangle following her closely. Vaultaire and Princess Celestia came next. Sa’id trailed the pegasus and princess, - bouncing up and down with every step - his bulging saddlebags somehow defying gravity the same way he was. Chartres and Byzas brought up the rear.

The scenery was pleasing. The rock face of Mount Canter was covered with green moss, accentuated by small meadows that dropped off of sheer cliffs. These allowed spectacular views of Equestria’s countryside, giving the ponies to relax their eyes and enjoy the hike.

They reached the first of White Tower’s locations, a giant, rocky spur on the mountainside; desolate and devoid of life. The spur was huge and to Sa’id’s initial investigation, had solid foundation, but the sparse vegetation around it produced only the following verdicts:

“No.”

“We think this is unacceptable.”

“For once I’m in agreement with the old fogey, nay.”

“NO! This would be madness!”

“Nononononono.”

“No! Why did I ever think of this spot?”

“Its firm... but it’s so boring!”

“I... agree.”

With that agreed upon the ponies trekked onward in the same order they had begun in. So, up and down they went, across narrow paths, streams and rocky trails, getting higher and higher up the mountain.

However, this leg of the journey wasn’t so nice. Tempers were beginning to fray and the ponies were growing tired. Barbican was complaining endlessly about the stupidity of the whole idea, not knowing that Byzas could hear him. In fact, the earth pony could hear so much that he completely forgot to talk to Chartres. Vaultaire was in gossip mode with Celestia and her topic was Golden Triangle’s archaic teaching methods. Unfortunately, she didn’t know said unicorn wasn’t as deaf as she’d believed. Finally, Sa’id’s endless nonsense chatter was driving everypony nuts; even Chartres, who also wasn’t used to physical activity and was exhausted.

At long last, the exhausted architects and the princess reached a wide, flat moor shrouded with mist, somehow formed on top of this mountain ledge. Small sickly shrubs and stunted grey birch trees sprouted from the mass of soggy earth. When Celestia gazed upon this she felt an immense sense of déjà vu, but she was unable to place it.

“Well this is... not ideal, but we can clear the land, flatten it and then we’ll be fine!” said Vaultaire cheerfully.

“It may be too wet to do so,” said Sa’id, frowning as he attempted to bounce upon the edge of the peat. The stallion finally succumbed to gravity and sank so deep, he had difficulty extricating himself.

“Well there are some firm bits here. I”m going to have a look,” called out Byzas as he leapt upon a rectangular object that stuck out from the bog. It looked like a large stone covered with moss, in the most peculiar shape. It was as if it had been carved. As the earth pony gazed deeper into the mist though, he saw many more of the carved blocks.

“There are a lot of these stones! I think we can cross the bog!” announced Byzas. Slowly, the ponies leapt from stone to stone as they hopped their way deeper into the grey mist. They finally made their way to the center of the bog, where they found a large firm area they could gather upon.

“Since there are so many of these stones and rocky bits, I don’t think the bog can be that deep,” said Vaultaire happily.

“Still we will never be able to build yon horrendous structure upon the cliff,” groaned Golden Triangle. Byzas narrowed his eyes. Vaultaire face hoofed and glared at the unicorn.

“Still obsessed with the towers Oldy Goldy?” retorted Vaultaire.

“Art thou still poor and leaching off our Princess, Baroness?” inquired Golden Triangle. Celestia sighed as the pegasus almost leapt at the unicorn. Only to have her attention drawn by Barbican.

“Why are we even talking about building the capitol here anyway? It’s a madpony’s venture. Probably will fall off the cliff,” snorted a tired Barbican.

“Well do you have a better suggestion?” replied Spire sarcastically.

"Obviously!” said Barbican, raising an eyebrow. The other stallion snorted and threw the niggling voice of nice Byzas right out of the window.

“Oh yeah... building it by a lake? That is the oldest trick in the book. I can hear you from the back you know. What do you have against me?” demanded the earth pony angrily. The two males, their egos offended trotted up to each other, eyes homed in on the other and hooves pawing on the mossy surface.

“Stop!”

The ponies turned to Chartres. The unicorn was shaking beads of cold sweat heaving down her side. She had felt a nauseating feeling in her stomach as they had arrived on the bog and now it was sickening. There was just a sense of wrongness about the place. They should not be here. The cloying, musty scent of the peat and tar was not comforting her, instead overwhelming her fears.

“Just stop! This place is wrong! Can’t you feel it?” stammered Chartres. Vaultaire snorted, confidence unshaken.

“Really Chartres... it is a bit dreary and creepy, but nothing some weather management and earth pony magic won’t fix,” chuckled the yellow pegasus. Byzas took Chartres’s comment seriously, although not because of his feelings for her. There was just something in those fearful blue eyes that made him concentrate his senses and he saw.

“Ohmygoshits! Sorry! She’s right, we can’t... and we shouldn’t stay. Sa’id! Concentrate your senses to the ground! Can you feel it too?” gasped Byzas. The earth pony stopped bouncing and stood still, only to have a dark pall fall across his visage.

“We need to leave, now,” said Sa’id, his normally, cheerful tone somehow swept away by some gathering storm. Vaultaire was unnerved, but she still thought it was just the somber weather. Sure, the mist seemed rather... oppressive, but that and the bog could easily be rectified. By the time weather and earth pony magic would have finished, the bog would be just a flat piece of land perfect for building.

“Come on you little ponies. Stop being such a bunch of scaredy foals! It’s just the fog and mud-,”

And at that moment, White Tower collapsed.

Author’s note: So today I kicked off the month of December with the another chapter... and possibly my scariest cliffhanger. For people who had wondered when is this going to get exciting... I’m the author and this proves I can MUAHAHAHAHA you readers at any moment with cliffhangers. If you’ve liked the story, fav it, if you’ve faved it, like it please.

Fears

Fears

“Tower!” shouted Barbican as he raced toward the fallen mare, with Golden Triangle close behind. The dash of the two stallions was curbed when White Tower clonked Barbican on the head with a hoof.

“Get away!” screamed the mare, her eyes screwed shut. White Tower was shivering on the ground as if the temperature had dropped fifty degrees and her limbs were flailing like a madpony.

“Celestia what’s happening?” gasped Vaultaire. The alicorn shook her head disbelievingly, her voice more nervous than Vaultaire could remember.

“I don’t know, but we have to get out of here before...” And the princess was turned speechless as Barbican charged at one of the silver birches, shattering it. With alarming speed, the pegasus shot at another of the shrubs, bucking it and tearing at its leaves with his bear hooves.

“I will buck you all to Tartarus! You monster trees! How do you like that Nightmare Moon? COME OUT AND FACE ME YOU BITCH! GIVE ME BACK MY LANCERS!” roared Barbican. His voice was hysterical with fear, even though he was attacking the helpless bushes like a woodspony with an axe. Vaultaire and Celestia’s eyes were wide as they backed away from the pegasus. They bumped into somepony, a white unicorn sat down upon her haunches, tears running down her face.

“Oh no... please... don’t go! Don’t you love me?” whimpered Chartres.

“Everybody stay calm!” rasped Celestia. The alicorn turned to Spire and sighed in relief as the stallion appeared to be standing normally.

“WhatcouldIdo?I’mnotafighter!Whyareyoucomingforme?It’snotmyfault!” chattered Spire suddenly. The stallion was backing away, his violet eyes unseeing and unfocused. The princess’s eyes widened and she immediately sought Vaultaire. The pegasus was still beside her, but her green eyes, they were misted and tearful.

“You noble bastards! I’ll show you all!” the pegasus’s wings drooped and her ears flopped, “I can make my mark... just don’t tease me!” A feeling of hopelessness filled the alicorn’s heart and she shook the pegasus urgently.

“Vaultaire! Wake up!” pleaded Celestia. The pegasus gave no response and suddenly, the alicorn felt a familiar chill behind her. Turning, Celestia gazed upon the armored form of...

“Nightmare Moon! But how?” gasped Celestia.

The midnight alicorn cackled in glee, “Because thou art weak and cowardly older sister! NOW DIE!” A dark beam of purple magic erupted from the Nightmare’s horn. Celestia quickly threw up her strongest shield, but the ray pierced right through her shield and slammed into her. The white alicorn was thrown across the rocky platform, landing heavily on her side. Before her, was Sa’id, his face twisted in a puzzled expression.

“Not you too!” groaned Celestia as despair overtook her.

At that, Sa’id blinked and cheerfully inquired, “Princess, why are you throwing yourself all over the place?” Celestia's eyes boggled and she burst out laughing from the absurdity of the situation.

“What are you talking about foolish pony! Nightmare Moon is right...” the alicorn blinked. The spectre wasn’t there. Unconvinced, Celestia stretched out her magical senses. There wasn’t any sign of her.

“I admit, it’s rather hilarious to see Equestria’s ruler throwing herself all over the place, but-,”

“Now’s not the time to be talking about it,” said a firm voice. The two turned and saw Golden Triangle, a haggard look on his normally composed face, but his eyes were focused and determined.

“Duke! You’re alright!” gasped Celestia.

We are fine your highness, but now is not the moment to talk. The others must be freed from this accursed spell. We think we have understood the function of it,” said Golden Triangle, his no-nonsense voice restoring Celestia’s composure. The frightened screams and whimpers of the other ponies also helped to convey the urgency of the situation.

“Understood duke, what art thy conclusions on this malicious sorcery?” demanded Celestia. The grim faced unicorn trotted to Vaultaire. The pegasus’s eyes were clenched and her hooves were trying to cover her ears, as if there was some incomprehensible cacophony that only she could hear and that she had to drown out.

“There is no time to waste. We shall explain later. Right now, we need laughter, lots of laughter,” said Golden Triangle firmly. Sa’id blinked and let out a guffaw of incredulity.

“Laughter? Why that’s easy! Your highness, sorry, but I need to borrow this.” With a swift bite, Sa’id plucked a white feather from the bemused Celestia’s outstretched wing and took it to Vaultaire.

“Thou hast got to be pulling our leg,” groaned Golden Triangle as Sa’id began to mercilessly unleash the tickling powers of the alicorn feather on the unfortunate pegasus.

It worked. Vaultaire started belting out laughter as the coarseness of Celestia’s feather ruffled her ticklish areas. She couldn’t help it and when Sa’id stopped her eyes were their brilliant green once more. Coughing, the pegasus heaved in deep breaths, only to have them squeezed out by a double legged super-hug by a certain alicorn.

“VAULTAIRE! DO NOT EVER LEAVE US LIKE THAT AGAIN!” yelled Celestia happily, her Royal voice nearly shattering Vaultaire’s eardrums.

“I’ll try not to Celestia,” chuckled Vaultaire weakly, if only to preserve her sense of hearing. Golden Triangle didn’t have time to enjoy the touching scene though as he had immediately plucked a feather himself and with Sa’id, began to tickle the rest of the other ponies.

Byzas spluttered incomprehensible babble of laughter as Sa’id wrecked havoc with his hooves. Chartres soon followed after a few well placed flicks from Golden Triangle. With Vaultaire and Celestia’s help, they managed to corner Barbican and give him the tickle treatment.

Finally, they surrounded White Tower, all with feathers either plucked from the pegasi or Celestia. They immediately started tickling White Tower, but to their shock, nothing happened and if anything, she started to whimper even more. She almost ended up whacking Celestia with a punched out hoof.

“Maybe she isn’t ticklish? Wow that is weird,” said Sa’id with a frown. Without hesitation, Golden Triangle advanced forward, causing the architects to examine him with worry and curiosity. A hoof shot out as he advanced, but adjusting himself a bit, the unicorn allowed the blow to slide off of him. With a little sidestep and a hop that belied his age, the stallion sat next to the whimpering mare and embraced her gently. White Tower pushed away from him, but the unicorn only held onto her tighter and began to sing softly in his bass toned voice. As the other ponies listened, they recognized it as a timeless nursery rhyme.

Hush now, quiet now, it is time to lay thy down thy sleepy head,

Hush now, quiet now, it is time to go to rest,

Little filly do not cry,

Thy dreams will soon be safe tonight so,

Hush now, quiet now, it is time to lay thy down thy sleepy head,

Hush now, quiet now, it is time to go to bed.

And the blue mare stilled and her breathing steadied as she fell asleep. Golden Triangle then turned to the wide-eyed ponies staring at him.

“Well make haste! We have to leave this place!” reminded the unicorn. Immediately, the ponies acted at Golden Triangle’s apt reminder. The unicorns and Celestia lifted White Tower in a field of levitation and then all of them quickly left the bog. Once they hit the edge of the quagmire, they began to gallop not knowing where they were headed, so long as they could put as much distance between themselves and the accursed place.

It was time for Celestia to lower the sun when the eight ponies stopped at a small cave. While the princess did her duty, the ponies gathered around a campfire and broke out their provisions. The alicorn joined them later, out of breath and with her desire to learn what had befallen the group at the forefront of her mind.

"Now that we have the time Golden Triangle, wilt thou tell us what was that sorcery we encountered?” inquired Celestia. Although the alicorn had lived long, in all her years of magical experience, she had never encountered a place that had such an abysmal effect on ponies. Even she succumbed somehow and the alicorn wanted to know why. Golden Triangle took a swig of wine from the canteen he held and sighed.

“We considered all the possibilities during this time and have come to one conclusion. However, we wish to inquire thee what did thou sense. Chartres, canst thou explainest thy premonition?” asked Golden Triangle. The unicorn gulped and her teeth chattered as she tried to recall what she had felt.

“The magic of the place... It felt... wrong. It was like a cold chill that made my stomach feel ill and my horn tingly,” explained Chartres.

“We see... Byzas, Sa’id, may thou explain what did thy feel?” asked Golden Triangle. The two earth ponies glanced at each other and Byzas went first.

“With our earth pony abilities, we sensed a city sunken beneath the bog. Buildings, homes and castles. The very platform we were standing upon used to be the highest roof of one of the castles,” stammered Byzas.

“It wasn’t fun. There was also death, despair. I’ve never felt sadder in my life,” remarked Sa’id. When the two earth pony’s finished Golden Triangle nodded.

“The spell on that place forced us to relive our strongest, most hideous nightmares or memories. It was possibly placed by the inhabitants of that city before it was sunk into the ground. Our most reliable estimation is that this spell is some remnant of Discord’s chaotic sorcery that couldst only be banished by the Elements of Harmony. In this manner, we deduced that the element of laughter would be... the most appropriate medicine and it worked,” said Golden Triangle.

“Discord’s magic? But so much magic to be used on one city?” asked Barbican. As soon as the pegasus finished his question, the architects became witnesses to a Celestial facehoof. The very rare, most undignified, self-deprecating action the ruler of Equestria could ever commit.

“A crux be placed upon our foolishness! The bog, the mist and Discord’s magic.... My little ponies, we had stumbled upon the ruins of Canterlot,” groaned the alicorn. The six ponies eyes widened as they recognized the name from Equestria’s history.

“Canterlot? Your majesty, dost thou meanest the first city on the slopes of Mount Canter, established in Equestria by Princess Platinum, Clover the Clever, Commander Hurricane, Private Pansy, Chancellor Puddinghead and Smart Cookie?” gasped Golden Triangle in shock.

“Indeed. The city was a bastion of friendship, and was Discord’s first target. He first tried to sink the entire city by turning the surrounding land into a pudding. The ponies were more ingenious than he realized though, and they managed to halt the progress of his work. Unfortunately, it was then he unleashed his greatest weapon.” Celestia’s gaze darkened as she recalled a memory from bygone times. “He cursed the land so that anypony who wandered upon it would be in constant thrall to his or her fears. Chaos reigned. Canterlot was immediately abandoned and sank into the earth. I had forgotten about it until now.”

“Thatexplains... Sorry, that explains most of everything, but how was Sa’id not affected?” asked Byzas, his brow furrowed in puzzlement.

“We will take a guess that Sa’id has no particular fear or horrific memory. In that manner, the spell cannot work its magic upon him. Are we right Sa’id?” inquired Golden Triangle. Sa’id nodded, enthusiastically before blinking as he had a realization.

“But sir, I thought you weren’t affected by the spell like I was? How would you understand the spell’s effects?” asked the desert pony. That question caused Golden Triangle to wince noticeably and the rest of the ponies to display various features of confusion. Then, surprisingly, Vaultaire gasped and held a hoof to her mouth in shock.

“No! If it did that how did you...” The unicorn uncharacteristically shrugged his shoulders.

“We are old, though not as old as her majesty, my wayward student. But suffice it to say, we have been on this land long enough to face our fears and accept them. That is how we escaped the clutches of that spell,” said Golden Triangle stoically. The other ponies nodded, and accepted the answer, not willing to probe. Vaultaire on the other hand seemed dumb-struck and had shrunk into her seat, something even Celestia hadn’t seen before.

“What about White Tower then?” asked Chartres quietly. The mare hadn’t woken up and while she was sleeping soundly, everypony was concerned about her wellbeing. Golden Triangle sighed in resignation.

“We have known White Tower for some time. She has secrets, but it is not our place to tell thee and even we can only guess at her fears. What I can tell thee is that laughter would not exorcise the sorcery. Instead, I used kindness to soothe her fears.” There was a small grumble at this limited explanation and all of Golden Triangle’s lecture about The Elements, but it was late and after saying goodnight, the ponies turned themselves into their pallets and bedrolls.

A certain pegasus couldn’t go to sleep though... Vaultaire was rolling all over her pallet. The mare was gripped with a very unfamiliar feeling that turned her stomach and nagged at the back of her head.

Guilt

She knew exactly what Golden Triangle’s greatest fear was. She had been jibing him about it for ages, chucking it in his face constantly and reminding him at his weakest moments.

It was old age.

Why oh why had she been so stupid! How could she be so blinded by her pride, that she was oblivious to the fact that she was daily inflicting a pony with his greatest fear. How could she be such a featherbrained foal! Unable to sleep, Vaultaire launched herself into the sky and flew over to Golden Triangle.

The unicorn hadn’t slept just yet. He was taking a drink of water from his canteen when the pegasus alighted behind him.

“Evening Vaultaire,” said Golden Triangle warily.

“Professor... Is it too late to talk?” asked Vaultaire. The unicorn frowned warily and didn’t lower his guard. It had been a long time since Vaultaire had addressed him with that title. She could be just taunting him as usual.

“Proceed,” said the unicorn cautiously as he sipped from his canteen.

"I’m sorry for reminding you of your age!” blurted Vaultaire. That alone caused Golden Triangle to do a double-take and gagged on his water, completely unbecoming of the noble he was.

“Thou what?” coughed Golden Triangle.

“I... never realized how great the pain ones fears could inflict until today. I’m sorry,” whispered Vaultaire, lowering her head in shame. The unicorn blinked and let out a long sigh.

“Thou hast forgotten we did the same as thou. We apologize for constantly reminding thou of thy fears as well,” said Golden Triangle. Vaultaire blinked and stared at Golden Triangle, who was smiling softly. The pegasus grinned back and lifted back into the air.

“Thanks Goldy, but don’t think I agree with you on those towers!” called out Vaultaire, causing the unicorn to place his hoof upon his visage.

“One step at a time,” muttered Golden Triangle.

Across the camp, Celestia giggled as she listened to her friend and her trusted aide apologize to each other.

“Laughter and kindness have banished the fears of this day. What magic shall Honesty, Generosity and Loyalty bring in the future?” muttered the alicorn as she drifted into sleep.

Author’s Notes: Cliffhanger is resolved. I don’t leave people hanging for too long XD. Now about the city in the bog... lets call it Old Canterlot. There is a very little-known piece of canon from the iOS app “Twilight Sparkle : Teacher for a Day” which explains the Grand Galloping Gala originated when the unicorns put on a party for all the ponies to celebrate the construction of Canterlot. This was pre-Discord, so I was met with a canon conflict problem (since my Canterlot is being constructed Post-Nightmare Moon). So, I used this chapter to address that problem and at the same time, make for some excellent character development and a bit of conflict resolution. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. And no... anticipating question, but the architects do not exemplify The Elements. They do use various elements in some form or manner, but they are not bearers in any way. Ancestors of the mane cast? I’ll leave that up to your imagination.

Secrets

Secrets

White Tower could barely remember waking up. She merely became aware of the rough fabric of her bedroll rubbing against her fur and the soft pillow her head was resting upon. Blinking her eyes, the pony rolled the covers off of her and observed her surroundings. They were camped, that was clear, and everypony was still asleep.

Except for Princess Celestia who was facing the east, her horn glowing as she ushered in the rays of a new day. The golden yellow and fiery orange colours danced across the twilight sky, binding White Tower in its glorious spell. An enchantment that was all too brief as the performance ended, leaving the earth pony wanting for more.

“We hope you hast enjoyed watching our sunrise White Tower. Didst thou sleep well?” asked Celestia kindly as she turned to the pony. White Tower smiled and nodded.

“I slept very well your maj-,” White Tower’s eyes suddenly widened, causing Celestia to approach the younger pony.

“Do you remember the events of the last day?” asked Celestia. White Tower wished she hadn’t, but the onslaught of recollections couldn’t be stopped. She remembered... the nightmare and her collapsing. However, she couldn’t remember anything after that.

“Princess, did I say anything?” asked the mare desperately, her hooves clenched tightly around the blanket. The alicorn shook her head.

“Thy past remains a secret from the others young one.” That caused White Tower to relax, but immediately after that, her muscles tightened up. Slowly, the mare began to back away from Celestia, who was growing more confused by the minute.

“You know?” gasped the mare. Celestia internally sighed as she realized her slip of the tongue.

“We have known for some time and we honestly think thou hast nothing to be ashamed of...”

“I was a-!” White Tower was silenced by a gentle, but firm hoof on her mouth.

“Let us explain ourselves, young pony. We are very good at keeping secrets and we can keep this one a while longer. But you must unburden yourself. The longer that you alone shoulders this burden, the greater your surfferring and nightmares shall grow.” Celestia averted her gaze and lowered her hoof. “The last time somepony we knew dearly kept her demons to herself, she was overtaken by them.” White Tower blanched as she realized whom the princess was speaking of and bit her lip.

“I understand, your majesty,” replied the mare. Celestia smiled warmly and turned to the sleeping Golden Triangle.

“Thou should thank Trottingham once he arises. He was the one who quelled your nightmares yesterday. He cares for you deeply, mayhaps like a daughter.” Celestia then gestured to a snoring white pegasus. “And the Lord Barbican was most concerned about thee.” White Tower’s lips turned up in a bittersweet smile.

“I wonder how much they would care about me if they knew.”

“They would only not let you out of their sights!” exclaimed Celestia. White Tower frowned and then giggled as she realized that was exactly what those two foolish stallions would do. But though her heart felt lighter at that prospect, she wasn’t prepared to tell them, not just yet.

“Thank you, your majesty. I will tell them... in time.”

“Soon I hope, and you are most welcome.”

Author's Note

Author’s Note: Why this chapter is so short? WELL... I got a big one coming up so this will have to do. Enjoy and Merry Christmas! One of my reviewers pointed out that the thou, thine and thee bits in my 'old Equestrian' sentences is actually incorrect Elizabethan grammar. However, my regular proof pointed out that should I remove this, it would be quite a reader shock and the thou, thine and thee, no matter how incorrectly used, give a sense of style and flair to GT's and Celestia's speaking. What do you people think?

Onslaught

Onslaught

A short time after the sun rose, the other ponies awoke to find Princess Celestia preparing breakfast, showing that contrary to rumor, the princess knew how to cook. Quickly, the six seated themselves and prepared themselves to eat.

But before Golden Triangle and Barbican could tuck into the delightful fare, they noticed Byzas, Chartres, Vaultaire and Sa’id going wide-eyed at something behind them. They barely had a moment to react before they were caught in a death-grip hug by a certain earth pony.

“Golden, Barbican, thanks,” whispered White Tower. Golden smiled wryly and Barbican breathed a sigh of relief.

“We’re just glad you’re safe,” said Barbican. The three friends sat there for a moment, enjoying each other’s company. That was until Golden Triangle spoke up.

“White Tower, we enjoy the warmth of thy embrace greatly, but the stew is getting cold,” said Golden Triangle teasingly.

Red tinged the blue fur on White Tower’s cheeks before she lightly punched Golden Triangle and sat down to eat.

Celestia and the others stayed clear away from the swamp as they continued their journey up the mountain. As they hiked up the winding path along the side of Mount Canter, the ponies kept their eyes peeled for any ideal spots. They also took care to watch their step, for although one side of the path lay in the side of the mountain, the other descended in a sheer drop.

At the front of the line, White Tower, Golden Triangle and Barbican were recounting to White Tower how Golden Triangle had broken her out of the trance. Both White Tower and Golden Triangle had blushed when Barbican recounted Golden Triangle’s nursery rhyme. To avoid himself from being further embarrassed, the older unicorn changed the subject.

“If we remember correctly, thou seemest to have acquitted thyself well with that revolutionary young artist. What is thy opinion of him?” whispered Golden Triangle, having noticed White Tower chatting animatedly with Byzas while their chariot was landing.

“Revolutionary? Rash and mad, I say. Who would ever think of building a city on a cliff? It’s the craziest idea I’d ever heard of,” chuckled Barbican. At the rear of the company, Byzas’s ears shot straight in the air, but he pretended to be glancing at a nearby overhang, though it was much too small to build anything but a bird’s nest on.

“Barbican, be nice. Spire is nervous, but trustworthy, not to mention he is quite talented. I admire his vision in fact,” commented White Tower cheerfully. The unicorn sighed and adjusted his monocle slightly.

“We agree, but we also believe he needs more experience,” said Golden Triangle, wiping the dust from the lens.

“He needs more common sense, not experience, though he has none of the latter. His idea of building the capitol on a cliff is a dangerous and reckless,” said Barbican, his voice dripping with contempt. White Tower’s brow furrowed at the uncharacteristic behaviour of her friend. Barbican had complained earlier, but his grumblings had been focused mainly on the journey, not Spire’s reputation and skills.

At the end of the line, Byzas’s unique purple eyes were examining every bush, every ledge and every rock with fraught anticipation. The stallion had been infuriated by Barbican’s denouncing of his vision and was determined to prove the pegasus wrong. And although Byzas didn’t know what he was looking for, he knew that he would get some feeling when he saw it. In fact, Byzas was so concentrated on finding a suitable location for the capital that he completely forgot to stare at Chartres. Yet, after several long hours of trotting and hiking, Byzas’s concentration waned and he turned around to glance at the rest of his company.

It was good that he did, for the first thing Bzyas noticed was that Chartres was extremely fatigued. The unicorn’s breath was irregular and gasping, her blue mane matted with sweat and her steps staggering.

“Chartres! Are-you-alright?” stammered Byzas as he leapt to Chartres’s side. Blinking her teal eyes blearily, Chartres seemed to look through Byzas.

“I’m fine Spire,” said Chartres. Suddenly, the unicorn coughed violently and staggered, ending up leaning against Byzas and her head rested on his shoulder. For a moment, Byzas’s heart fluttered and he was floating in the clouds like a pegasus. However, the touch of Chartres’s saddlebags against his side diverted his attention and he frowned. Glancing to the mare’s sides, Byzas gasped as he noticed Chartres coarse, sackcloth saddlebags. Although cheap, the long days of hiking had caused the saddlebags to chafe against the Chartres’s side and now her sides were worn and scraped, the fur rubbed raw.

“Chartres-why-didn’t-you-tell-us!” gasped Byzas.

“I’m fine, I can still walk,” stammered Chartres. Byzas gawked uncomprehendingly at Chartres. He couldn’t understand why she was denying her own pain.

“Enough! Princess! We-need-to-stop!” roared Byzas. Celestia was beside them in an instant and her magenta eyes widened in fright as she registered Chartres’s condition.

“We have to get off the mountain,” said Celestia.

“Finally!” said Barbican as he approached the cluster of ponies. He was immediately met by a pair of furious purple eyes.

“What did you mean by that pegasus?” demanded Byzas, every word enunciated with a dangerous precision and weight. Barbican was taken aback by Spire’s changed tone, but a nudge and a look from White Tower directed his attention to Chartres and the pegasus finally realized the situation at hoof.

Sheepishly, Barbican coughed into his hoof, “Nothing at all. Um... how can we get off the mountain?” Spire glared at Barbican for a moment, but then turned back to Chartres.

“Your Highness, can you teleport- OW!” exclaimed Spire as a pebble landed on his head. He looked upward to see where the pebble had come and froze.

“Art thou uninjured Spire?” asked Celestia, puzzled at Spire’s sudden paralysis.

It was then they all felt the ground quake and quiver, as the mountain began to groan. Their ears were filled with the thudding of tumbling rock and the clatter of gravel against stone. Shattering boulders sent horrendous cracking noises into the morning sky. As the entire mountainside shook, Spire lifted a single, trembling, red hoof to the mountain top.

“Your Highness, avalanche,” whispered the pony. And with that all Tartarus broke loose.

The sight of tumbling boulders and rock only transfixed Celestia’s gaze for a moment before her horn glowed and she cast the strongest shield she could muster. A great golden dome of magic encircled the area around the architects. However, despite all the alicorn’s power, she could do nothing to ease the violent shaking of Mount Canter.

“Hold on!” ordered Celestia, squeezing her eyes and gritting her teeth, as she braced herself against the ground and funnelled all her power into the shield. The other ponies didn’t need to be told twice. Vaultaire clutched Celestia’s hoof tightly. Golden Triangle grabbed a rocky spur, while White Tower braced her hooves against the ground. Sa’id... somehow the desert pony didn’t bother grabbing anything, but allowed himself to be bounced up and down. Each landing was perfectly controlled and each jump timed to control his distance from the edge of the path. Barbican lofted himself into the air, staying within the Princess’s shield.

While Byzas was trying to secure his foothold on the rocky path, he saw the still-groggy Chartres slipping precariously near the edge. Immediately he stepped forward to grab her, but the moment his hoof touched the ground, his eyes widened.

Earth pony magic was never as obvious as unicorn magic. But it made up for that in its ability to sense the environment. Byzas wasn’t a master at it, but he was in tune with the rock well enough to tell that Chartres was in grave danger.

“Chartres-get-away-from-there!” shouted Byzas desperately. It was to no avail, for at that moment of bad fortune, the avalanche met Celestia’s shield. A frightening cacophony, similar to hammers smashing glass, sang through the air, as magic met rock. Spire’s warning was completely drowned out.

Then, there was an ominous crunch and Chartres’s lidded eyes snapped open, as she finally realized her predicament. The unicorn moved, her tired hooves lifting into air and her rear legs tensing for a jump.

It was too late.

A horrified scream, cut through the symphony of cascading rock, followed by a yell of horror. Celestia’s eyes snapped open and she whipped her head around, just to see Chartres tumbling through the shield, which was only designed to keep objects out, not ponies in. Spire, nearest to the stricken unicorn, had jumped in an attempt catch her hooves. The alicorn’s heart seized in horror, as she saw Spire had misjudged his leap.

“NO!” screamed Celestia. The earth pony uttered an astonished gasp, somehow heard by all, and he fell in after the unicorn. The alicorn tried to grab both of them with her magic, but the sheer concentration needed to maintain the shield made such an act impossible. Then, to Celestia’s surprise, a white shape, streaked with gold appeared in front of her. It saluted and said, in a voice strangely distorted by the falling rocks:

“Your Highness, hold the shield. I’ll get them back safe and sound,” said Barbican.

White Tower gave a sharp cry, as Barbican dived out of the shield.

Author's Note

CLIFF HANGER!!! I know you hate me for that, but I hope you liked how I described the rock slide. I promised you a long chapter I know, but I felt that this needed to be split. Good news is that the next chapter will be along shortly. And screw dropping thine thou thee, I said I'll do it if EQD told me to and they said it’s only recommended.

Finding Ones Worth

Finding Ones Worth

Chartres had shut her eyes and given herself up to Faust when the cliff had given out under her. She had prayed desperately for her death to be quick. That she would go to the Golden Plains quickly and not meet the reaper.

So imagine her shock when she felt something wrapping a leg around her. Opening her eyes, she saw Barbican, one hoof wrapped around her, his wings flapping furiously. A feeling of relief briefly filled Chartres’s heart, until she realized why he was there.

"Why did you go after me? You’ll die!” screamed Chartres. Barbican didn’t turn to face Chartres, but wove through the storm of rock like a trained weatherpony.

“No pony is going to die on my watch!” said Barbican. With a twist of his powerful wings, the pegasus spun right, narrowly missing a massive granite block.

It was then that they them saw Spire. The earth pony was in free fall screaming like a newborn colt, his hooves waving uselessly in the air. Barbican responded by angling his wings and diving towards Spire. Within moments he was at his side, but the barrier of flailing hooves stopped the pegasus from coming closer.

“Stay still you madpony!” said Barbican with a growl. Spire’s eyes unlocked and his limbs froze in surprise, allowing Barbican to slide above him and grab him with his other hoof. The trio were still falling very quickly though, and through final rays of the setting sun, they could see the ground beneath. In response, Barbican spread his wings and winced as several feathers were torn from them. The difference was noticeable and their descent slowed rapidly.

“Your wings! Stop Barbican! You can’t take both of us!” said Spire. Barbican grunted, his eyes narrowed in focus. More feathers were separating from Barbican’s wings and the appendages themselves were being pushed by the screaming pressure of the air. Chartres knew the pegasus couldn’t take it any longer and closed her eyes.

“Drop me! I’m just a burden!” screamed Chartres. Spire turned to her, disbelief written across his face. To Barbican though, the command only seemed to invigorate him further.

“NEVER!” roared Barbican and despite everything his instincts were screaming at him not to do, the pegasus pulled up. The drag was immense and the g-forces that Barbican pulled were sending the blood to his hooves, but he persevered. His wings were on fire, but Barbican knew he had suffered worse than this. With a roar of triumph, and two gasps of disbelief from his passengers, Barbican pulled into a level flight and began to hover.

“I did it,” said Barbican as he began to wearily flap down towards the nearby ground. The pegasus hadn’t felt such intense satisfaction and pride in ages and a wide smile broke upon his face. Chartres nodded in disbelief, Spire was about to follow suit, but instead roared:

“LOOK OUT!”

A final boulder, last in the pack, a little smaller than the head of an average stallion, had been dislodged at the last moment. It tumbled down, bouncing off the side of the mountain like a wooden ball across turf. It landed a glancing blow on Barbican’s right wing with an ear-numbing, WHUMF.

Barbican’s jubilant smile crashed into a howl of agony. Reflexively, his right wing snapped to his side and as a result, they fell.

The avalanche had finally ended. It had seemed like an eternity, but it really had only been over a minute. With a groan, Celestia lowered her shield and sat down, hard. Still trembling, Vaultaire looked to her friend, who all of a sudden, seemed to reflect her proper age.

White Tower stood on the edge of the path, her dark blue eyes staring at the column of dust that had been raised below.

“Barbican?” whispered White Tower. “Barbican, get your lazy flank up here or I’ll...” White Tower shook her head in denial, despite the tears forming in her dust-free eyes.

“BARBICAN!” screamed White Tower. The mare took a step into thin air, but an aquamarine magic aura snatched her hindmost leg and dragged her away, kicking and screaming as she was.

“White Tower, stay back!” ordered Golden Triangle, but despite his composure, his voice cracked and tears trickled down his face. Magic blazing, Golden Triangle poured more energy into the spell as White Tower flailed madly toward the edge.

“I’m not losing him! I can’t lose him!” White Tower then found her legs pinned to her sides by Golden Triangle’s magic, but she continued to crawl like a worm. “I’m the Hero of Stalliongrad!” Golden Triangle dragged her back, but White Tower tried to roll instead. “I blinded a dragon for the love of Faust! LET ME GO!” Golden Triangle didn’t oblige and averted his blurry-eyed gaze from White Tower’s grief-stricken glare. Cursing her friend in language more fit for a pirate, White Tower began to repeatedly slam her head against the ground. “I’m supposed to protect everypony!” she sobbed.

Sa’id, gloomy for once in his life, his smile upturned, trotted to the edge of the cliff. Vaultaire moved to stop him from getting closer, but the earth pony cocked his head and blinked.

“They’re alive,” said Sa’id.

“Stop talking nonsense. He’s dead,” said Vaultaire dismissively.

“No, they’re alive! I’m sure of it!” said Sa’id insistently. Vaultaire groaned, glad that Sa’id wasn’t going to throw himself off the cliff, but annoyed that he was still in denial. With a flap of her wings, Vaultaire flew back to Celestia.

The princess had finally stood up, but her head was still hanging low. The alicorn looked older than ever and while her coat was still pristine white, it was as if a dark shadow had fallen over her. Her pink mane was flowing slowly, like running tears, and no longer shimmered.

Vaultaire hated to ask her friend this, but right now, Celestia was the only one who could possibly hold the remainder of their group together. So, with a heavy heart, Vaultaire put a comforting hoof to the alicorn’s face.

“Celestia, what do we do now?” asked Vaultaire, quietly.

The alicorn’s sorrowful magenta eyes met Vaultaire’s green ones. “Let us leave. This mountain has brought us nothing but grief,” said Celestia. The other ponies nodded and at a slow, mournful trot, the defeated ponies retreated down the mountain.

One pony though, Sa’id, returned to the edge for a moment. His brown eyes scanned the nearly indistinguishable pile of rock below him for a moment.

“They have to be alive. OUCH!” said Sa’id. A pebble bounced off his head and the desert pony glared at the mountain. Then, he blinked and looked at his tail mystifyingly.

“At least my tail stopped twitching. Wonder why it was doing that in the first place?” mumbled the desert pony as he continued after his companions, mournfully looking back to the ledge.

Byzas groaned. He hurt all over. The stallion opened his eyes and saw that it was getting late. The sun was almost about to set.

“Wait... I’m alive!” gasped Byzas. Raising himself up, Byzas took a good look at his surroundings. They seemed to have landed where the rocks from the slide had fallen. A lot of dust had been kicked up, but the earth pony could make out a white figure in the distance.

“Barbican? Chartres?” called Byzas. The stallion picked his way carefully over the rocks, making his way to the figure. When he did manage to do so, Byzas was astonished.

Barbican was not dead. His wing looked horribly bruised, ruffled and patches of his wings were featherless. In short, he was a wreck, but he was alive, though unconscious. As Byzas was about to approach him though, he saw a flickering blue light in the dust.

“Who is that?” demanded Byzas as he stood protectively between whatever the light was and Barbican.

“Spire? Is that you?” gasped a familiar female voice. Byzas’s eyes widened as a dusty, but otherwise unharmed Chartres trotted into view, her horn lit.

“Thank-Faust-you’re-alright! Barbican’s-hurt-and-needs-medical-attention-immediately. The-others-probably-think-we’re dead, so-we’re-going-to-have-to-find-shelter ourselves,” said Byzas. Chartres blinked uncomprehendingly at Spire.

“Sorry Spire, can you please say it again?” asked Chartres. Byzas groaned and repeated his statement, slowly. With a nod and a few words, Chartres lifted Barbican onto Byzas’s back with her magic and the three set off. Byzas leading the front and Chartres behind, watching in case Barbican slipped off the earth pony. For a long while, the two trotted through the dust cloud kicked up by the avalanche.

“If we can’t see, we’ll never find shelter!” complained Byzas. Somepony above must have heard the former baron’s wish, for the wind suddenly picked up and the cloud began to disperse. Chartres breathed a sigh of relief, while Byzas did a tap dance with his front hooves.

“Thank You Faust... oh horseapples,” gasped Byzas as a raindrop hit his cheek. The eyes of the two ponies widened and the hairs on their necks stood up as they noticed the growing storm clouds. The wind was wooshing and whistling around the mountain, picking at the ponies’ tails and Chartres’s mane, short as it was. Without a word, the two quickly sped up their search, trotting as fast as possible, less concerned about where they were going as for looking for shelter. Night had already fallen when the rain began to come down in force. They’d finally run out of the area of the rock avalanche and were at least on grass. However, the two ponies could barely see anything now. The barrage of falling water and the lightless night made looking for anything impossible.

“Why is nothing going right today?” voiced Byzas, only to get a mouthful of water in response.

“Wait, Spire over there!” said Chartres, pointing with her hoof. The two squinted with their eyes and to their joy, they noticed a small cave. Gleefully, the pair carefully carried their burden to it and to their relief, found the shelter uninhabited. Before they entered into the cave, Chartres scavenged some firewood from some nearby trees. It was a good thing she did, for the storm was now in full force. Gale force winds were battering themselves against the immovable mountain. Rain came down in floods and waves, cascading through the sky and onto solid rock.

Seeing that Chartres had some wood, Byzas dug a fire pit, stuck the wood in and placed some rocks in a ring.

“How are we going to light the fire?” asked Chartres. For a moment, Byzas stared at her uncomprehendingly.

“Can you use your magic?” asked Byzas. Chartres’s head dipped for a moment and she winced.

“Oh, you’re right, sorry for being stupid,” sighed Chartres. The unicorn concentrated and her horn glowed, but Byzas lifted a hoof to stop her.

“Chartres, why-did-you... I-mean. Why did you call yourself stupid?” asked Byzas, a frown on his face. Chartres chuckled, but it was a half-hearted, forced and weak.

“Spire, don’t worry I’m just silly sometimes, now let’s get the fire lit.” With that, Chartres pushed Byzas’s hoof down and a blue flame sparked on the wood. Soon there was a small fire. The two put Barbican as close as possible to it and then knelt down to examine him.

“His wing is fine, but the muscle is badly bruised. He won’t be able to fly for a while,” said Chartres, carefully smoothing out Barbican’s remaining feathers.

“How-did-you... Sorry. How did you know?” asked Byzas, a curious expression on her face.

“Well... the wing itself seems to have retained its shape and I don’t hear any chafing of the muscle against the bone. There is some internal bleeding, but nothing too serious and it’s all concentrated at the impact point,” explained Chartres, gesturing to the spot on Barbican’s wing.

“Basically you were intelligent enough to deduce his condition,” said Byzas, turning to face Chartres. Byzas’s normally relaxed purple eyes had taken a sharp, serious glint.

When Byzas had been talking to White Tower, he had lied. His actual cutie mark of a paintbrush and ruler meant that he was more than just skilled at art. The ruler in the stallion’s cutie mark actually represented his ability to capture the measurements of any object or pony. For an arch, he could see if it was well made or if it was well proportioned. For a pony, every flick of the ear, every hesitant word, every trembling hoof, Byzas could measure it and interpret what it meant. There was no way Byzas couldn’t read minds, his measuring talent only allowed him to make and interpret physical measurements. All the same, it was an incredibly useful talent, giving him an edge over all portrait artists and why Princess Luna had picked him out of all the others.

As Chartres hesitated under Byzas’s intense glare, the stallion had already completed his measurements. For the first time ever, Byzas looked at Chartres. The stallion ignored the alluring shades of her wet blue mane, her soft white fur and the eyelashes framing her teal eyes. And, he saw.

“Well... yes,” said Chartres finally. Spire’s brow furrowed even more.

“Then Chartres, why do you have such a low opinion of yourself?” asked Spire. Chartres felt her lower lip trembled imperceptibly, but flinched as she noticed Spire’s dagger like eyes lock in onto the movement and then back onto her.

“I don’t...”

“You do. Don’t deny it. I’m the idiot for not noticing it sooner,” said Spire, wiping his face with a hoof.

“Spire... don’t say that...” stammered Chartres, trotting forward.

“Then stop calling yourself one!” insisted Spire, his tone harsher than she had ever heard him. Chartres felt something within her clench in pain. Wincing, the unicorn averted her gaze.

“Spire you’re tired, I think you need some sleep,” suggested Chartres, hoping to calm Spire down. In fact, the suggestion only seemed to incense the other pony more.

“I’m not tired. I’m more alert than ever before and talking slowly for once. Chartres, if you keep thinking yourself useless, you will hurt other ponies...” Chartres’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and she moved. Before Spire could react, she swung her hoof and struck the stallion across the face.

“Shut up! I’m not hurting anypony!” screamed Chartres. Anger, something she hadn’t felt in ages coursed through her veins. Spire looked shocked for a moment, then his eyes hardened.

“You are! You could have said something in the first meeting, letting Golden Triangle and Vaultaire battle it out-”

“I didn’t hear you say anything either!” interrupted Chartres vehemently. Spire nodded to concede the point.

“So I didn’t, but as the subject of the argument, I probably would have made the situation worse. You, a neutral party could have made it better.” Chartres’s ears shot straight up as she noticed the logic behind Spire’s reasoning. “Then, when all your instincts told you that the swamp was dangerous, you say nothing, until we were in the middle of the thing!” Chartres felt her stomach plummet into what seemed like an abyss. She felt her teeth tighten and her eyes wet, while a choking sensation wrapped itself around her throat. “Finally, because you thought that you would somehow be a burden if you asked for a break, you let yourself get exhausted when you could have asked for one, allowing yourself to drift to the edge, forcing Barbican and I to jump after you and look where that’s got us now!”

“SHUT UP!” wailed Chartres. Her mane and tail momentarily combusted into torch-like blue flames and her horn flashed as she wished for Spire to be sent away. Anywhere, anyhow, as long as it was away. Spire was picked up in a magic field and in a flash and fizzle, he vanished. Now alone, Chartres turned to the wall of the cave and stared at it, while her tears flooded down her cheeks like the rain outside.

“He’s wrong! He’s wrong! I’m not hurting anypony!” sobbed Chartres. The unicorn had never felt so broken, shattered. The last time... she had felt so low, was when he had left her on that street. A slow, cautious trot interrupted her contemplations, followed by a weary voice.

“Sometime, not too long ago, you were prideful, maybe even vain. You hide it well, but you bear yourself with hard-won dignity and your eyes are ever so lidded, showing you used to stare down on other ponies. You were looked to for advice. I remember when you were checking Barbican, your eyes were alert, not dull and subdued, and the prognosis was delivered with confidence.” Chartres was frozen to the spot, unmoving as rock, while Spire paused and took a deep breath. “I don’t know exactly what happened, but it was probably involved a stallion and it was a horrible betrayal of trust. Your confidence in all your abilities was shaken to the core and you resolved never to let anypony get close. Your timidity is a shield to prevent anypony, especially stallions from getting close or asking questions. You try to hide your face behind your mane, slash it haphazardly short and leave it unruly, because you didn’t want anypony wanting to pursue you.” Chartres shook her head fiercely, but it was a hopeless gesture that nopony would believe. “But the worst thing that bastard did - whoever he was - was that he made you feel guilty. You’re afraid that you let him down. You think his betrayal was your fault. You think that if you said one thing different, did one thing different, he wouldn’t have left you.” The unicorn silently mouthed ‘no’ again and again, but less desperately now. “That’s the true reason, isn’t it? If you didn’t say the right thing to him, how can you say the right thing to calm Vaultaire and Golden Triangle. If your instincts failed you so badly, how could you trust them? Maybe your complaints pushed him away. How did you know your pleas for a break would do the same then?” Chartres stared at Spire, eyes wet, mouth open. Heart filled with inexplicable horror and a twinge of denial.

And yet, she felt as if a burden had been lifted off her chest.

“How did you...”

“I’m a good observer. As an artist, I’m good at picking out details.” Chartres raised an eyebrow, just for a moment, before she lay down on the cold ground. It didn’t really matter how Spire had known, because everything he had said was true.

“And I’m a stupid, idiotic, selfish pony,” croaked Chartres. A warm hoof appeared on Chartre’s shoulder and she looked up to see Spire smiling comfortingly.

“Don’t say that. You were smart enough to get firewood before the storm started. Your reasoning and observations with Barbican were accurate, to my knowledge. You know how to teleport. You are the kindest pony I have ever known. And, if Her Highness chose you, then she must have seen you have talent,” said Spire. Chartres was tempted to smile, but she turned away.

“But that doesn’t excuse my mistakes!” moaned Chartres, guilt lingering in her heart.

“You were badly hurt and you can’t blame yourself for him betraying you.” The hard glint returned to Spire’s eyes as he pursed his lips. “Lay all the blame on him because he deserves it.” Chartres blinked, surprised at Spire’s vehemence and at the same time, flattered by his support. Still, Chartres shook her head, she wouldn’t blame him, but now she knew not to blame herself as well.

“No. I’m better than that,” said the unicorn. Standing up, Chartres looked Spire in the eye. He had been harsh, but she knew that the stallion was right. She had lived far too long in the fear of that moment. Chartres didn’t know if she could ever forget what he had done. However, she knew now she couldn’t let that dictate her life and for the first time in a long time, Chartres smiled.

“Thanks Spire,” said Chartres and she nuzzled the stallion’s cheek, not noticing the furious blush that appeared on it.

“Um-urgh-scuse-me-it-was-a-eh-hem-pleasure!” squeaked the stallion.

Barbican stirred as he heard shouting and then talking from two ponies, yanking him out of his deep sleep. His right wing ached, a dull throbbing pain that wouldn’t go away. At least he felt quite warm.

“Where am I?” groaned Barbican, opening his eyes.

“Barbican!” said Byzas, Chartres not far behind him. Both of them were smiling joyfully at the stallion’s consciousness.

“Thank Faust you’re alive. What happened?” asked Barbican, his eyes examined his surroundings. They seemed to be in a cave and had a fire going. But what was that pitter-patter in the distance?

“You were hit by a stone before you were able to land and fainted. We managed to move you to this cave, before the storm set on,” explained Chartres. Barbican’s ears trembled suddenly and he felt a sense of panic within him.

“Did you say storm?” As if to punctuate his statement, there was a flash of lightning and an ear-splitting thunder-crack that caused the trio’s hearts to beat ever so faster.

“Where are Her Highness and the others?” asked Barbican apprehensively. Byzas turned to Chartres, who wore the exact same expression of bemusement.

“We’re not sure,” admitted Byzas. Barbican scrambled to his aching hooves and before Byzas and Chartres could stop him, racing for the entrance of the cave. Immediately, Chartres cast a spell and Barbican’s hooves felt as if Ten Ton Horseshoes had been attached to them. (1)

“Barbican, you’re badly hurt and not thinking straight. Her Majesty might have teleported everypony off the mountain. Besides, I’m not allowing anypony in your condition out there,” said Chartres firmly. Barbican futilely tried to move his hooves, but all he could manage was to drag them across the ground, only to find his path blocked by Spire.

“Barbican, you don’t even know where they are, where we are! We’re not letting you out!” said Byzas. The desperate, white-faced, teeth bared and ear flattened look that Barbican returned to Byzas caused the stallion to take a step back.

“What if the Commander didn’t have enough magic to teleport everypony after shielding everypony from the rock slide? They’d be stuck and in this weather. Even Her Highness will have trouble! I have to get out there!” roared Barbican.

“And what if you die trying to save them?” replied Byzas calmly, not believing how stubborn this pegasus was. Why did every pony around him seem bent on sacrificing themselves to save some greater good?

“Then I will die trying to save them! My life is not worth living if I let down my fellow ponies! Tell me Spire, have you ever failed a pony you’ve cared about? Swore to support them and then abandoned them? Lied to them!” demanded Barbican. Byzas cringed, as he thought of Laurel and her wasteful tears before he faked his death. He remembered Her Highness Princess Luna and her anger. He had tried to reassure her, but no matter what he did, nothing helped. One fateful day, while painting a rising sun, he had seen the moon suddenly rise and he knew he had failed.

“Yes, but...” Barbican jumped onto this opening like a frog onto a lily.

“HAH! I knew it! You selfish bastard, only caring about your own hide!” said Barbican with a sneer. That caused Byzas to paw his hooves at the ground and growl.

“You know nothing you pompous self-righteous prick!” retorted Byzas. Barbican laughed hysterically with wild eyes, but Chartres noticed the tears forming at the edge of them.

“Oh it’s you who knows nothing about failing other ponies and I who knows everything about it!” said Barbican as he strained his muscles and attempted to move his hooves. Byzas was about to throttle Barbican, but what was said next paralysed both enraged stallions.

“The Everfree Massacre... that was your failure, wasn’t it Barbican?” asked Chartres, mouth open in realization. The jaws of both stallions dropped open in surprise.

“That’s why you were screaming at the trees to ‘Give me back my lancers!’. It was your worst memory. It forced you to relive Nightmare Moon’s ambush,” said Chartres. Barbican’s mouth shut and he sat on his haunches, his face slumped in defeat.

“It wasn’t an ambush. It was a trap. Nightmare Moon lured us into the forest, onto our own territory and used it against us. The signs were there and it seemed too good to be true, but I didn’t see it.” Barbican’s head drooped down even lower as Chartres and Byzas stared at him in astonishment. “The rest you know. The 1st Equestrian Lancers were cut down in droves and the rest of my pegasi barely escaped with their lives.” The white pegasus raised his head slightly as he appraised Chartres, “How did you know I was Silver Shield?”

The unicorn lowered her head, “One of my friends, Dawn Dancer, she was the wife of a lancer called Sky Lark. She asked me to make her husband a lucky pendant to keep him safe during the war. The charm I placed on it worked, but barely. He was maimed in the battle, but at least he’s alive with her.”

Barbicn bowed to Chartres, “In that case I thank you for saving the life of one of my lancers Chartres. Now release me! I cannot suffer this pain again. You understand don’t you?” pleaded Barbican. Chartres shut her eyes. She didn’t want to release the spell, but she understood Barbican’s need.

Before she could release her spell though, Byzas spoke up. “Barbican, I understand your pain, but this is too dangerous! You can die out there!” That stopped Barbican for a moment and then he snarled.

“Wow, I never expected the reckless artist who dragged us all along on this dangerous trip to care about my safety,” snorted Barbican. Byzas flinched. Barbican was right on that aspect, but the earth pony was far too angry to just stand there and take it any longer. He was about to advance, when a sudden thought entered his head so quickly, he almost tripped. When Byzas recovered, he glanced at Barbican.

“Wait, you think that I wanted to endanger everypony by having us go on this trip?” gasped Byzas.

“What am I supposed to think?” demanded Barbican. Byzas bit his lip as he finally comprehended why Barbican had been so against him from the start.

“You thought I was a genuine danger. A threat to the project because my design was so ambitious it defied common sense and physics. And you would be dammed if you let the new capital of Equestria be built in such a dangerous fashion,” said Byzas slowly. Barbican nodded and then to his surprise, Byzas facehoofed.

“Why didn’t you just tell me? It could have saved us all the trouble!” groaned the stallion.

Barbican’s eyes shot wide open in surprise as he realised Spire was being sincere. “I assumed you wouldn’t agree! Most artists are very defensive about their designs! Besides, Her Highness seemed so taken...”

“Her Highness isn’t unreasonable enough to ignore the Lord of Cloudesdale’s son! And I’m not that prideful! Do you honestly think I want the death of those ponies on my hands?” demanded Byzas. Barbican was silent and Byzas sighed as he remembered his own betrayal to Laurel and his inability to help Princess Luna. “Believe me, I’ve hurt some ponies before and I know the guilt that comes with it.” Barbican blinked as he noticed Spire lower his head.

“Then I hope you never have to feel it again,” said Barbican. Byzas raised his head and the two met each other’s eyes, purple orbs gazing into light brown orbs.

He’s not so bad after all... thought the two stallions. Suddenly, a flash of lightning illuminated the cave in white light and Barbican remembered his duty.

“Thank you Spire, now let me go Chartres!” demanded Barbican.

Chartres didn’t let go though, instead she asked a question, “What if you die and they survive? How will White Tower and Golden Triangle deal with your death? Are you sure your decision here will save them, not hurt them?” That stopped Barbican’s heart and he felt himself tear into two. He didn’t know what to do. If Chartres was right, he would be inflicting his family and friends with an unnecessary sacrifice. But if she was wrong, he didn’t know if he could take another failure. Barbican found himself trapped, this time in between a rock and a hard place.

“I... don’t know... But I can’t stay here! I need to know if they are alright!” begged Barbican. Chartres smiled.

“Then take me with you. You’ll need my magic to light the way,” said Chartres. Byzas stepped forward beside Chartres.

“I’m with you too,” said Byzas firmly. Barbican took in the resolute expressions the pair were giving him and he knew he couldn’t dissuade them.

“Thank you both.”

Footnote:
1) Thank you RealityCheck for that spell.

Author's Note

Holy, this is my longest chapter, ever. I was so drained after writing it. But it was necessary. Because I’m pulling out all the stops to HIT YOU PEOPLE IN THE FEELS! My editor, the awesome Inky Jay went WAAH several times while reading this. Enjoy the Byzas x Chartres development as well as Byzas friend Barbican development. Please comment to tell me how you felt after this chapter.

Intermission: Character Creation Series

Important Author's Announcement:

After every 'arc' of sorts, I shall be having brief intermissions where I will explain my thought process behind the creation of my characters. No spoilers will be in these chapters, so sorry for those who want them and don't worry for those who don't want them. This is akin to what the author of Rurouni Kenshin and Naruto did for the first few volumes of their manga.

Intermission: Character Creation Series

Subject: Princess Celestia

WHAT HYPOCRISY IS THIS? YOU DIDN'T CREATE PRINCESS CELESTIA, LAUREN FAUST DID! May be what you readers may be thinking. In that case let me change the subject.

Subject: Princess Celestia, 1000 years before the events of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Nobody knows, except possibly the actual writers and producers, how Princess Celestia would have acted around this time. In my initial plans for the story, Celestia was not a major character. In fact, I wanted to avoid writing her as much as possible for several reasons. I wanted to avoid any flames about my portrayal. Also, I was seriously thinking about EQD submission so I needed to reduce the possibility of me being rejected based on an Out of Character portrayal. Most of all, I wanted to avoid writing too much Royal Canterlot voice.

However, that changed when I decided rather abruptly to make Vaultaire a friend of Princess Celestia. I also realized that Celestia would take a personal interest in the choosing of the architects. Additionally, I found it fun to explore how Celestia would think in this era. Unfortunately, since I wanted Celestia to be in her own character, it made me have to think about making sure her portrayal was reminiscent of canon seasons, yet suited to the situation in my world.

In order to turn the clock on Princess Celestia and make her fit in the universe of Canterlot: Her Creation and Her Architects, my fan interpretation of Princess Celestia borrowed quite a bit from Luna in Season 2 Ep 4 ‘Luna Eclipsed’. Mostly the Royal Canterlot voice part. She’s more insecure and less stable as I hope you readers have noticed, but has the same mischievous mind and manipulative habits. Good Celestia fanfiction such as ‘My Little Alicorn’ and ‘Bringing Up Blueblood’ by InsertAuthorHere, may have provided some sub-conscious inspiration, but I probably did take most of my Celestia character from Celestia-featured episodes (A Bird in a Hoof). All in all, I hope I achieved a recognizable Princess Celestia.