Chapter VIII: The Canterlot Slums

Canterlot is known for its tall whimsical towers, the roofs that curve to a point, the use of marble in its buildings, and most notably the way that buildings seem to merge into a maze of paths and bridges. The appearance of the capital of Equestria was elegant, regal, magical. The bricks that pave the roads were accompanied by lacy lightposts and pristine sidewalks. The home of the princesses and their dear subjects is a beacon of hope and prosperity. Banners of gold, silver, midnight blue, and white hung in the wind. Nearly all of Canterlot was this perfection. Nearly all of it.

The Canterlot Slums, an area not ventured by anypony but the lower-class, was its unspoken counterpart. Trash bags lined the walls of homes and stores, buildings were boarded up, and few citizens walked the street as night fell upon this district. Many efforts to restore what was once a bountiful market on a narrow street was reduced to tattered remains of a neighborhood. Paint chipping of the walls alongside the graffiti once placed there and potholes in the road that the city would never notice to repair. Living here was no longer an option, it was a matter of survival.

A cloaked individual trotted down the sidewalk, heading further and further into the slums a thick fog slowly building up behind him. He was tight against the wall as a few others walked past him, avoiding to gaze. As he would pass alleys he would pause, check around the corner and around him. After the first couple of alleys his pace picked up, check and go, check and go. His head wildly turning around, up and down, left and right. Where? Where? He was galloping, trying to find it, he had to find it. He had been walking for hours and hours. He just couldn’t find it. His gallop slowed to a trot, his trot to a stop, and he leaned against the wall he had been clinging onto for the last few hours. Just one more try. He peered over the corner, just barely in the fog he could make it out. Spray painted onto the wall were a spread of wings with a circle around them. His eyes lit up with joy, and he saw through the fog, and the faint yellow glows of a building could be seen. He went on a sprint, rushing forward to his home. He was finally here.

The door slammed with a thud, the jingle from the bell above followed. The cloaked individual leaned against the door and breathed a sigh of relief, bringing a hoof up to wipe the sweat off his brow. It was then that he noticed the look he was getting from the others who sat down at tables and at the bar. He quickly got off the door and bowed his head and the rest went back to their business.Home was a small tavern. It had faces that he had seen, and faces he hoped to never see again, but home nonetheless. The place had a warm feel to it. The oak floor and supports, glowed from the orange of the candles that illuminated the building. The sea of light conversation made for good background noise, and the drinks served to warm you up even more from the inside. He sat down in a booth in the corner of the room. He could finally rest.

~*~

“For the last several years, to be precise two, the Garden has been trying to receive additional funds for infrastructural improvements. Now, I’m sure you are wondering why we are lobbying for such funds of forty-five-thousand and five-hundred bits, your Highnesses,” a pudgy, old stallion paced back and forth before the princesses as they sat on their thrones. At the bottom of the dias stood the earth pony, and behind them a table of councilmen.

“Yes,” Celestia replied.

“Thank you. The Garden is completely outdated to the rest of the city, your Highnesses. We still have cobblestone roads, compared to the brick ones which make it hard on our citizens’ hooves,” he turned back to the table where several nodded in agreement.

“Uh-huh,” Celestia sighed.

“Our light posts are absolutely dreadful. They are thin, straight pieces of old architecture. The Garden really needs these funds to modernize,” he bowed to the princesses as he finished his statement. A soft applause behind him.

Another council member stood up from their chair, “The council agrees with this proposal, your Highnesses. For too long we have let this district fall behind with the aesthetics of the city, to not do so would be a crime,” the member sat back down as his colleague applauded.

“We see thy worries chairs of the council, and tis’ an issue that should be addressed in the near future,” a sentence Luna had been using far too often ever since retaking her place as a princess.

“And you council members, are all in agreement on this matter?” Celestia asked as she stood up and walked down the dias. “You all agree that this is of the utmost concern for the city of Canterlot?”

“Of course your highness,” the proposer once again bowed down. “The giant snake creature has brought a perfect opportunity to do so, rebuilding the community is of utmost importance after all.”

“Is it now?” The entire chamber turned their heads to the door to see that Artorias stood there with paper and pen ready at hand. “I’m sorry, actually I’m not, your proposal is absolutely ridiculous.”

The council members stood up in shock and anger, “Take that back beast! You know nothing of the intricacies of Canterlot, go back to slaying monsters,” yelled one of them.

“Well I would, but can’t. Kind of got a stack of papers in my hand for all of you guys,” he then proceeded to pass them around. “So I got to read your proposal, Mr…” he pulled a flashcard up, “Mr. Quil. And I must say, aren’t you the cheekiest little shit.”

“Artorias,” Celestia stated curtly.

“Fine, fine. As I was saying, yes, the district does look somewhat different from the rest of Canterlot, but that can be said about many other districts in Canterlot. Not to mention, the sense of uniqueness that each of those districts provides is vital to the overall aesthetics of Canterlot. And also, the Garden is not the only district to be affected by the attack,” Artorias leaned over the table.

“What is your point?” Quil seethed.

“My point? I thought you’d never ask. After doing some critical thinking, I suggest you guys try it, I did some math and determined it wouldn’t cost half of what you’re asking! A mere fifteen-thousand ought to do it. So, Why would you need another thirty-thousand just for the Garden district?” Quil’s eyes shrunk to the size of pin pricks. “Any guesses? No? It’s all simple if you look at the plans that he left out of his presentation, but all cleverly hidden under a bunch of technical jargon, isn’t it?” Artorias began pacing back and forth in the main foyer. “ What a wonderful idea! Building a beautiful hotel there, near the edge to see the horizon for miles. But, I wonder who would end up owning it? Oh, I know. The man- I mean stallion -who came up with it all. Nice try, sir, but you wouldn’t last an hour in my court, much less congress.”

Quil stood there dumbstruck as Artorias railed into him and his proposal, beat after beat, the man didn’t stop going in depth into what Quil had planned. RIght there in court before the princesses and the rest of the council he had been humiliated. “Y- you have no truth to what you say! Lies, I say. Lies! I have been serving this council for ten long years! You have no authority, much less permission to even be here right now you beast!”

The room fell silent, the deep breaths from quil filling the room. No one could have expected that coming from the old stallion, his demeanor from a few moments ago suddenly gone. Artorias didn’t speak, he relished in the silence as he victoriously smirked. “Anyway, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, as your official right hand to the throne,” He paused. “I offer my proposal in this folder,” walking around the table of council members he handed over the files over to Celestia.

“I believe with that council members, we shall call this meeting to a close,” Celestia ordered. The members quickly stood up from their seats, each one hurriedly walking out of the courtroom. She then took the files in to her magic, and teleported them to her room to review later. “Did you really have to embarrass Mr.Quill like that?”

“Let him off easier than that? Scum like that deserve to be treated as such. Not to mention between all the meetings and documents, let me tell you, I needed that. Today has been such a fucking week.”

“Indeed, sister,” Luna spoke as she made her way down the dias. “As Artorias said, today has been quite the… week? I am not sure I fully understand the phrase if what you mean is that today has felt so long it is comparable to a week. If so, that is quite the phrase,” Luna raised her head, giving it a slight tilt as she brought her hoof to chin in thought.

Artorias bowed his head, “Thank you, Princess Luna.” He then proceeded to peer down into his clipboard, a stack of papers ready to burst from the clip that held them in place, “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, aside from the proposal, each of you now have an hour of free time to do whatever you please since you called this meeting short.”

“An hour… That is both plenty and not enough time at all to do anything but take a break wouldn’t you say Luna,” Celestia’s magic enveloped the table and chairs that sat in the middle of the courtroom. They bent and stretched until out of them formed a smaller circular table and three chairs.

“We agree sister, a break would be most effective of our time. Shall thou be joining us Sir Artorias?” Luna sat down at one of the chairs, an obsidian pot appearing before her as well as several jars of tea leaves. Celestia was also sitting down at the table as she brought forth her own glass pot.

Artorias stood there flipping through papers, making sure he had enough time to fully partake in a cup of tea. He paced back and forth reading through his tentative schedule. He now had an hour to take a break, or he could advance his schedule by moving things around. The maid that was pushing a cart of treats wasn’t sure how to get past the quick-pacing, tall individual. Moving forward one moment only to back out as Artorias’s large body overshadowed her.

“Artorias, the food?” Celestia was eying the small cakes on the cart.

No response.

As Artorias was walking back and forth in front of the maid’s way, he stumbled over as an invisible force began pushing him toward the tea table. His clipboard falling out of his hands, a few papers falling out just before a magical grip could be seen catching it. His feet now sliding across the floor, as he was being pushed to the princesses, “Really? What if I tripped and snapped my neck?”

“Then thou would have been bested by the the floor,” Luna said as she levitated over to him his clipboard and documents. “Thou also became a barrier for mine sister’s delectable treats.”

“Your indecision Artorias, has caused me to make a decision for you. That decision being for you too to take a break from this week long day.” The cakes and sandwiches finally made their way past Artorias and onto the tea table, “Thank you, Feather.”

“Of course your Highness, may everyone have an enjoyable break,” Feather made her way out with the cart as Artorias begrudgingly sat down alongside them.

“Fine, if I could get the usual that’d be great,” setting aside his clipboard, he began picking out sandwiches he could eat. “Thank goodness, you have carnivorous dignitaries that visit.”

“Yes, well Equestria isn’t the only country to exist on the face of Equus,” Celestia spoke as she spooned several leaves into her pot.

After finishing a bite of some cake, Luna spoke, “In these times it is also much easier to do so. Aside from eating habits Sir Artorias, We are curious about thy proposal. Wouldst thou give us a preamble to your work?”

Artorias was just moments away into having the first bites of his sandwich as Luna spoke, “Well, um, sure. The proposal is a very transparent document listing where each amount of funds is going towards. This is all out of fifty-seven-thousand by the way. I’ve already got several deals going on with some local businesses to help some job growth,” With his spiel out of the way, Artorias took his bite.

“Did you say fifty-seven-thousand, Artorias? That’s more than Mr.Quil,” Celestia was intrigued by Artorias’s budget proposal. After his analysis of Mr.Quil’s plan, any budget over fifteen-thousand would be preposterous.

Artorias brought a napkin to his mouth and wiped it clean, “Yes, it is more, but it does do more. My whole plan is to reconstruct not only the Garden district, but also to help the other districts with their identities. As I said earlier, not all districts are fully in line with the rest of Canterlot Main. I believe it to be of great importance to keep them like that, it will help with navigation, as well as citizen pride. To know that you are part of a unique portion of the city makes you feel special.”

“I see, but I’m sure we could allocate much less than that Artorias.”

“We could, we really could, but we need to do our best now rather than later. I did a bit of research, and the place that needs help the most is the Marketfest, now known as the Slums.”

“Tis’ a location that sees the darkest of nightmares. We agree that it is an issue Sir Artorias, but that area has resisted many attempts to help it,” Luna said as she took another bite of cake.

“I would dive more deeply into it, but then I’d be repeating myself in tomorrow’s meeting, if you could wait until then I’m sure I could deliver you more details. Not to mention, everything is laid out in the folder.”

Celestia levitated over a cup of red tea to Artorias, “Well, I’m sure it can wait until then. How are Sulyvahn and Raime doing by the way? I haven’t seen Sulyvahn around the castle, and though I haven’t yet met Raime, I heard he’s up and about.”

“Thank you,” Artorias said as he took the cup in hand. “The both of them left earlier in the day. Sulyvahn heard some stuff going in town and went to investigate. Raime tagged along, and I believe Twilight and Applejack are with them.”

“Seems like quite the adventure wouldn’t you say Tia?” Luna said as she lifted her cup in magic.

“I’m sure they will be fine, afterall my pupil is with them,” Celestia brought her own cup to her mouth.

“I’ll go ahead and get the medical papers ready then, way to tempt fate,” Artorias stood up from the table, the two princesses spitting out their tea and their eyes wide.

~*~

The sun finally finished its rise over the horizon, its rays illuminating the morning sky of Equestria and the ground below. Sulyvahn sat outside on one of the many balconies of the castle, the sounds of beeps and respirators sung behind him as he took his morning tea reading a newspaper. It’s been too long since I’ve held a newspaper, I wonder if they have… He quickly flipped through the pages until landing on absolute gold. They do have a sudoku section! Finally, something I didn’t have to make up. He earnestly began to solve the puzzle, making notes of where numbers could land, and picking out the easy ones. I might be a bit rusty, but I should be able to finish this in thirty minutes!

Time flew by for the scholar, his many cross outs and scribbles filled the page until he brought another sheet of parchment out to make another attempt. His enthusiasm reached a bitter end as he tossed the quil aside on to the table, crumpled the sheet of parchment up and threw it into the wind, “Damn you editorials and your unsolvable puzzles!”

A quiet voice spoke from behind, “Uh… um… Mr- Dr- Pontiff Sulyvahn, your friend Raime woke up…”

Sulyvahn quickly spun around with a hunch to his back, his head slightly deflated, “Oh, Ms. Fluttershy. I am so sorry, I must have startled you with my poor puzzle solving skills. Try as I might, and though I love them, I can never seem to finish one.” Sulvahn bowed his head before the pegasus who in turn flew up to pat him on the shoulder.

“Oh, I’m sure with enough time you’ll get their Sulyvahn. Afterall, I’m still working on things too,” She flew back down to the ground and put on a smile.

“Your kindness is too much for an old bag of bones like myself,” Sulvahn brought himself, dwarfing the young pegasus in height. He quickly picked up his tea and downed it in one go, “That’s unfortunate, it’s quite cold. Now, why don’t we make sure that another certain pile of bones doesn’t make a mess.”

The two made their way back into the infirmary. Curtains for the ill and damaged dangled from the bars, and the machines whirring were much louder inside. Nurses were moving about in their morning routines with breakfasts on carts being pushed about, and performing hygienic practices for the patients. Fluttershy and Sulyvahn moved through the flow of nurses with ease as many of them avoided walking in the path of the behemoth. “How is your morning Ms. Fluttershy? Mine was quite relaxing and peaceful until I saw that sudoku puzzle.”

Fluttershy flitted up to the height of Sulyvahn giving her easier access to speak with him, “It was fine, Twilight woke the girls and I up early to have breakfast. Afterall Rainbow, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie had to leave earlier than us to get back to work.”

“And why not head back yourself?”

“Well, Twilight and the princesses believed that it would be best to have me around to speak to Sif whenever Artorias wasn’t around. He can understand us, but he isn’t able to speak directly to us. Even Artorias can only understand him instinctually, so that leaves me as our best translator.”

Sulyvahn looked to his left ast the pegasus as she hovered next to him, eying her up and down, “What an interesting gift for a pegasus. You would think that an earth pony would be better suited, maybe even a unicorn. But a pegasus, that would have been my last guess. You are astonishing. Your friends too.”

Fluttershy adjusted her head to be a little higher, “Thank you for the compliment.”

The pair finally made it to Raime’s corner of the infirmary. Secluded from the rest as he needed the most room, and as to not disturb or scare other patients. He sat alone on the bed looking out a window. His dark brown hair in contrast to the pristine white of the sterile infirmary.

“Good morning Raime,” Sulyvah gave a slight tilt to his head and a small wave as he stood oblique to his friend.

“Its too fucking bright,” Raime fell back onto the bed, stretching out his arms. “Everything is… colorful and shit.”

“Well is that good or bad?”

“I don’t know, man. We’ve been stuck as statues for thousands of years, I feel like I’m suffering through some information overload or something. Y’know, like cats or something?” he yawned. “Anyway who are you, buttercup?”

“I’m… I’m Fluttershy,” she said, stuttering as her face hid behind her hair.

“A quiet one, huh? I like that, I like quiet. Haven’t had a good taste of it in a while.”

Sulyvahn then proceeded to make his way over to Raime, his head obscuring Raime’s vision of the ceiling, “Then I am sorry to have to ask for your assistance.”

Raime shot up from the bed, looking at his reflection in the mirror and giving a few shadow boxing punches. “Yeah, yeah, beat it up and I’m done, right?”

Fluttershy reeled back at the idea of fighting, “Beat up?”

“Yeah, y’know give the good ol’ one-two,” Raime gave a jab with his left and a hook with his right in quick succession. “I know I said I like quiet, but that’s good in like moderation or something. But I love a good brawl.” Raime looked at one of the curtains and gave a few more jabs in to the air, and the air then pushing the curtains that hung a few feet from him. “Yikes, a bit rusty.”

“Yes, yes. Now get changed, your gear is in the closet next to your bed. Now that you’re awake, I need to report this to the princesses as well as to Twilight. Would you like an escort to your room Ms, Fluttershy?” Sulyvahn then bowed once more to the pegasus.

“Oh, you don’t have to,” Fluttershy brought her hoof up to cover the blush that was now forming.

“It wouldn’t be a bother, in fact, I insist. Afterall your room is near your friends. And as for you Raime, please meet me in the garden, you can’t miss it if you ask around,” Sulyvahn and Fluttershy began making their way out of the infirmary leaving Raime alone.

Man, these ponies are fucking cute.

~*~

Twilight swiftly made her way through the halls of the castle, each turn she made was swift and precise from her years of running around as a young filly. She received a letter via Spike from Pontiff, who informed her that Raime, the last of the Triumvirate, had finally awoken. With Applejack by her side, who was a little less sure of where she was going, but confident in Twilight’s navigation skills. “Ah’ know you know where yer’ goin’ Twi, but how do ah’ know it too?”

“We’re heading to the gardens to meet up with Pontiff and Raime,” Twilight then levitating a clipboard in front of her to jot down questions and notes to ask Raime.

“Ah’ know that, but ah’ swear I’ve seen the same painting and vase four times Twi,” she frantically swung her head around looking for any more of the same painting.

“I do agree that that is a problem, you can thank the decorating team. They thought it’d be funny to do that about four years ago. Aside from me, you’re the only other pony to notice. Anyway, we need to be ready to meet Raime, and get as much…”

“Twi, stop!”

“Information out from him as-” Twilight was quickly cut off as she walked into what felt like a chitinous wall. Looking up from her position, Artorias stood there helmetless with his arm out as if he was holding something.

“Fucking hell!” Artorias yelled as he dropped down onto his knee to start picking up his clipboard and documents that had flown out. “I am so sorry. I was looking over my schedule, and well I didn’t notice you,” Artorias looked up at Twilight doing the same as him. Several documents were floating around her as she double checked each one to make sure that they were her’s.

“No, no, no. I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention as I was writing down my notes and questions.”

“Well, we wouldn’t be having this issue if I read my schedule ahead of time.”

“No, I should have prepared these beforehoof.

The two of them looked up at each other as Twilight’s magic held one end of a sheet of paper, and Artorias the other. The both of them determined to point the blame on themselves. A silence grew over the halls as Applejack stood there baffled at the apology contest. “Uhh… guys?”

“I will come out of this victorious Twilight Sparkle, I will not rest until I have apologised fully.”

“You think you’re the one at fault? We’ll see about that.”

The pause took over once again, Applejack a bystander. The silence held until the two of them began to show the crack of a smile followed by chuckles which grew into full on laughter. The two of them let go of the blank sheet of paper that separated them, as they both held their stomachs. Applejack’s confusion not following what had just occurred she just stood there dumbfounded.

Artorias stood clipboard in one hand as he offered Twilight his other hand, who graciously accepted. “Thank you.”

“No problem. Real fast, you think you could point me down the chamber of commerce? I got a meeting,” Artorias asked as he scratched the back of his head with his off hand.

Twilight gave a thought to their whereabouts, “Three intersections down the hall then left, two intersections then right, second door to your left.”

“Thank you. Also, Suly and Raime, are in the gardens. Something about going off to investigate an issue in the newspaper,” with that said, Artorias quickly began walking.

“Thanks for the heads up Artorias,” Twilight gave a small wave.

Looking over to her friend Applejack spoke up in confusion, “Ah’ thought you two didn’t get along.”

“I wouldn’t say that, we just got off on the wrong hoof. Now that he’s working with the princesses, he’s been really productive,” Twilight and Applejack began walking once more to the garden.

“Whatever ya’ say, sugarcube,” a slight look of doubt crossing over Twilight’s face.

With a few more minutes of walking down the maze of hallways, they found themselves under the morning sun, a soft breeze rolling over their coats. The scents of flowers flowing through the wind as they ventured in deeper. The garden had many statues and fountains about, each surrounded by a variety of colorful flora. Out there, standing by an all too familiar statue of a certain draconequus, were Raime and Sulyvahn who were leaning all over it as they conversed.

“Have I seriously been out for three days?” Raime asked, his face contorted in confusion.

“Indeed, it’s currently a Monday too,” Sulyvahn turned his head away from his friend and towards the statue they were standing by, “That’s odd.”

“What is?”

Sulvahn brought his hand to his chin in thought, about to open his mouth he heard a familiar chipper unicorn.

“Good morning!” Twilight quickly walked up to the too humans with Applejack in tow.

“Mornin’!” Applejack looked over to Raime who was now squatting down to give a handshake.

“Hi there,” a huge grin was on Raime’s face as he shook the hoof of Twilight. “I mean no offense, but you guys are like really small.”

“Well, yer’ as tall as an apple tree!” Applejack her head up in pride, as well as to stare up to Raime.

“It’s good to see you Ms. Twilight, Ms. Applejack,” Pontiff gave the two a quick bow. “I hope your morning has been well.”

Twilight’s gaze quickly switched from Pontiff, as he asked his question, to the statue behind him, “Uh… yeah! It’s been great so far! Heh, heh, heh… You know, times a’ ticking if you know what I mean, let’s go do that thing you want to do Pontiff!” A wide nervous smile was now resting on Twilight’s face as the two of the humans looked at her.

“Why yes, of course Ms. Twilight, daylight should not be wasted. Speaking of which, I’m sure you have many questions for my friend here, why don;t you ask away venture out of the castle and to our place of investigation.”

Raime nodded his head in agreement as Sulyvahn spoke until he heard the word questions, “Wait, what?”

“Come along Raime, with due haste!”

As the party made their way out of the gardens and back into the castle, Sulyvahn glanced back at the statue in the garden. He quickly faced forward once more, his hand facing backward gave a quick flick. A faint blue wisp leaving his hand, as he gave a quick witted remark to Raime’s dismay.

The group of four made their way through Canterlot, finding themselves close to the mountainside. Tall lurching buildings covered the afternoon sun leaving them in a deep shade. Trash and litter were about the streets, and a few homeless ponies wandered about. Twilight and Applejack covered their noses as they made their way through alongside Sulyvahn and Raime.

Raime surveyed the area as they walked, “Seems like even this paradise has its problems.”

“Ah’... ah’ had no idea there were ponies who are livin’ like this in Canterlot of all places,” Applejack's eyes fluttered about as she felt guilt flowing over her.

“Neither did I Applejack, I had been living here for almost my entire life. I… I had no idea,” Twilight refused to look fully up at the situation before her, opting to mainly focus on the road beneath them. She felt a soothing few pats on her back.

“It’s okay Ms. Twilight,” soothed Sulyvahn. “Utopias can not exist without a dystopia. It’s all a matter of perspective. If you really want to think about it, there are individuals out there in the world who have it worse.”

“That doesn’t make it right,” Applejack spoke up as she stamped her foot in the ground. “How can we allow something like this to happen?!” tears pooling around her eyes as she stopped behind the group. Twilight and Sulyvahn turning around to wait for her.

“Politics,” Raime spat out the word in disgust. He continued to walk down the street, taking in the entirety of what was around him. He would be the witness.

“Oh… Seems like Raime is having a bit of a memory lapse. I know!” Sulyvahn knelt down to the height of the two ponies, and looked over to Twilight. “This might be the best time to ask more questions, he’s a total open book when he’s distracted like this.”

Twilight stepped back, a little distrubed by Pontiff’s suggestion. “You can’t be serious! That would be incredibly rude.”

“Trust me, he needs a distraction from his little lapse. You asking questions might help.”

“Then why don’t you do it?!”

“If I were to start interrogating him, he’d get mad,” a chuckle escaped Pontiff’s lips. “Trust me Ms. Twilight.”

She turned her head back and forth between the distant Raime and Applejack, a pleading look adorned her face. “Look sugarcube,” Applejack raised a hoof onto Twilight’s shoulder. “You got this, I don’t think Pontiff here would put you in harms way on purpose.”

Twilight gave a reluctant sigh, “Fi- fine, I’ll do it.” She said a few words in a whisper to herself, and mustered as much courage as she could and began catching up with Raime. I’ll get something out of him yet!

Sulyvahn gave a little wave as he watched Twilight quickly trot on over to Raime, “Now, Ms. Applejack, I have a few questions.”

“Pardon?” The two began walking side by side, both of them keeping an eye on the pair up ahead.

“Well, there’s a small detail I need to confirm about the Canterlot gardens.”

“And what might that be? And why not ask Twi?”

“That’s a simple, Ms. Twilight seemed flustered when around it. You though, not as much. So I thought I’d get a more controlled response from you,” Pontiff tilted his head down to look at the earth pony.

“Ya’ mean to tell me, ya’ sent her over there just to talk to me?” a stern expression rested on her face.

“If I must be honest, yes. So if you could, I’d like some details on a certain draconequus statue.”

Applejack’s motion paused for less than a second as Pontiff mentioned the statue, her eye momentarily shrinking at the thought. Her breathing became a bit faster as she continued to walk, “Well ya’ see, that statue wasn’t a statue a long while ago.”

“You mean to say it's alive?” Pontiff’s intrigue grew, the presence he had sensed earlier wasn’t a fluke.

“Y- yes, he… is,” Applejack sighed, the thoughts of Discord’s brief reign over Ponyville, plaguing the corners of her mind.

“Judging from your tone, was he bad?” Pontiff’s voice became softer. From what he gathered from Applejack's response was that of fear.

“Ya’ darn tootin’ he was,” Applejack tried to shift her tone to being more jovial, an alteration that failed to be effective at hiding her emotions. The fears came to a pause though, as a yell could be heard from further down the street. Raime was waving the two over to get them closer.

“Don’t worry about a thing Ms. Applejack. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I’m sure I could ask the princesses if this is too much of a burden.” With a firm nod from the orange mare, the two made their way over to Twilight and Raime. “What’s going on?”

“Well Suly, I ain’t much for modern art, but are these the pony statues you were talking about in the news? The ones that were popping up around the slums?” Raime ran his fingers over the statues in question.

“Why yes, indeed. I thought them rather strange, and thought checking them out would be interesting. Afterall, they only started coming around when the fog started.”

As the two humans talked, Twilight began analyzing the statues with magic. With the soft glow of her magenta magic enveloping the statues, her studious concentration transformed into horror. She stumbled back from the statue and into Applejack behind her.

“Everything okay, Twi?” she asked in a hurry as she checked to make sure Twilight was unharmed.

“They- they were alive! The petrification magic that was used on them is similar to that of a cockatrice!” the words quickly fumbling out of her mouth caught the attention of the two humans.

“You sure, Twi? There ain’t none of those varmint here in Canterlot,” Applejack held on to the exasperated unicorn.

“I’m sorry, did you say petrification magic?” Sulyvahn knelt down beside Twilight offering gentle pats to help soothe her.

“Yes, petrification magic. It’s chaotic in nature, and is forbidden by the Mage Academy here in Canterlot. The only way for it to occur is if there’s a cockatrice around, or a rogue mage,” quick breathes left Twilight’s mouth. The thought of a cockatrice sending shivers down her spine.

“Well, sorry to interupt your guys' magicky talks, but there is a fog rolling in. Should I also mention its the middle of the day? Cause this shit i really fucking dense,” a thick yellow fogged began to emerge from the sewer drains. From under them the scamppering of a slimy creature could be heard.

“Thick fog and statues?” Sulyvah muttered to himself. He took a few seconds to piece what should have been an easy correlation. “Basilisks!” he yelled as he began conjuring a miracle. Words left his mouth at a breakneck pace, cylinders of radiant surrounding each of the party members. His spell coming to a stop, the cylinders collapsed onto their host leaving them glowing faintly.

“What was that Pontiff?” Twilight looking herself over. The feeling of Pontiff’s magic interacting with her own, was further from different.

“Let’s talk about it later! They’re coming,” a silhouette from the fog rushed out at them, with his long sword ready, Raime thrusted his sword into the bobbling eye of basilisk. And with it still lodged inside of it, he lifted it over him and threw it onto the ground in between the group.

To Twilight and Applejack the creature in question looked like an oversized salamander with softball sized eyes that protrude out of the skull like a snail’s.They quickly brought their sights up from the now dead basilisk and onto the fog where several more silhouettes could be seen. The croaking of the creatures could be heard all around them, their wet footsteps getting louder as they got closer. The group was huddled together, back to back, covering all sides. They were surrounded on all sides.

Author's Note

Hi guys, its been a long while hasn't it. Well, found some time and got to writing something out. Hope you guys enjoy. As usual, I would love some constructive criticism. hopefully I haven't fully lost my audience. Well, until next time!