The Stone Chisel Way

by King Genesis

Manehattan Blues

The day has completely changed from one second to another. The Stone Chisel who tried to drown in the water is now next to his partner looking at the baby of Royalty, Flurry Heart, crying while being tied to a piece of wood. His whole perspective, thinking about ending his life, has passed into something much less important, now that he found that baby crying in the water.

"Turns out..." says Stolen Bag. "Turns out you are not the only survivor on this."

"The baby..." whispers Chisel. "But... they... it's..."

"They let her go."

"You say?" he asks, this time getting calmer. "That ram hardly lets somepony go..."

"I mean..." replies Stolen Bag. "It's a baby... she wouldn't harm him."

"But she has magic," he says. "Maybe he didn't think that on time... who knows?"

Stolen Bag and Stone Chisel are now much calmer than they were some minutes ago. Flurry Heart's presence relaxed their minds and let them think about all of this, and despite the robber hasn't recovered his hope, he's still trying, at least, to find a way to put Flurry Heart in a safer place, while planning, or well, trying to plan, something against the ram. Stolen Bag, on the other hand, wants to get into the house and never come outside again, but feels a bit worried about the baby. Everypony may be looking for her, and this is not the perfect place to let her stay and be.

"And what do we do now?" asks Stolen Bag. "With her?"

Chisel finally stands up, with his hooves trembling, and raises his eyebrows. "No idea... her mother may be dead too... she hasn't appeared yet and I didn't see her on the Empire... and also I don't have a carriage or something to take her to somewhere... neither you."

Bag, on the other hand, bites his lips, not trying to look at Stone Chisel. "Yeah, yeah..." he says. "You're right. We don't have any carriages to take her to somewhere... yes... but we need to put her in somewhere..."

The pegasus closes his eyes and snorts. Chisel, nevertheless, knows there's something wrong he can't pass by. "Uh... er... What's the matter?"

Stolen Bag raises his eyebrows, opening his eyes to look at Stone Chisel. "What?"

"What's the matter?" he says. "You're biting your lips... not looking at me... something strange from a pegasus like you, Bag."

"No..." replies the pegasus, laughing. "I don't know what are you--"

"I don't forget," he says, stomping a hoof against the ground. "Both of us learned things from each other... you taught me how to lie and how to play, and I taught you how to make fun of everypony. I know when you are lying, you stupid, I'm not a moron... I've been working with you for years!"

Stolen Bag's eyebrows frown at hearing that. "Me... lying to you? What the hell are you saying, horsie? I swear I'm not lying..."

"If you swear you're not lying, that means you are lying, asshole!" he shouts. "I never heard you saying you swore for something..." Chisel chuckles, trying to calm down. "Gosh, Stolen Bag! I know you more than you know yourself! You can't lie to me, stupid!"

"Ok! Ok!" shouts the partner, and suddenly he gets silent. "Done? Are you done? Yes. I was lying."

Chisel laughs, despite not being happy. "So...? What were you hiding from me? A carriage?"

Bag turns around, only to look at the big amount of cloth and dirt covering the mysterious object. "That."

"Yeah," replies the thief, sarcastically. "Fucking genius... you hid it so well I can see it from here."

"Don't start with your stupid jokes... do you want to know where's inside that?"

"Yes."

And then, Bag angrily walks away. "So help me."

Chisel, surprised and in silence by hearing that reply, raises a hoof. "Are you kidding me?"

"No."

"Why don't you just tell me what's inside and stop acting like a whiny filly? Is there some kind of carriage or what?"

Stolen Bag enters his house while Chisel follows him, not before carrying the piece of wood which has Flurry Heart, softly kicking it with his hooves, sliding it through the plain ground. Flurry Heart, who was silent this whole time, opens her eyes and starts crying again. "Ma... M... Mama!" she whines, and the tantrum only makes both colts much more nervous.

Once the robber and the sobbing baby get to the door, the thief finds out his partner is getting out a couple of shovels from the house. He grabs a shovel with his mouth and leaves Chisel, not before turning around.

"What are you waiting for?" he mumbles while carrying the shovel.

Chisel, trying to attack his partner, decides to swallow his anger with saliva and only shout: "FUCK!" Then, he grabs a shovel with his teeth and goes to the mysterious hidden thing.

The Mysterious Disappearance of Iron Pick and Poofy Lantern

written by Tabloid

No, it doesn't convince him. A bad title. He wants something much more... he doesn't know how to describe it while looking at the empty noon of Manehattan. The time goes on and there are fewer ponies on the streets. They are filled with fear. The closed, almost abandoned building he observed minutes ago is now surrounded by police ponies, trying to investigate what happened last night.

"No, I can't," he whispers to Blister, who is next to him. Ink Pot is trying to tidy the room, but it's so messy he doesn't know where to start.

"I don't know," says the dragon. "I can't come up with another title... Why don't you like that one? It's good for me."

"I tend to be..." he says. "To be more poetic."

"Are you sure you want to be poetic with this?" asks Ink Pot, from behind. "I mean... it's a disappearance."

Tabloid keeps thinking about it... but there's something else he's been talking about in his mind, which is making him feel stuck at the moment... that thing Ink Pot told him... it really left him a lump on his throat, the biggest one he ever felt, and if it was a joke, something he actually thinks, he will do everything possible to kick that stallion's booty. He turns around and asks: "Hey, Ink Pot... any news about Wheat Stack?"

Ink Pot sadly shakes his head. "No. Nothing."

The old journalist sighs. "I told you, Ink... I told you. That was some kind of evil joke."

"I don't know," replies his partner. "It's impossible. Wheat Stack would never dare to make these jokes. I know him as I know myself, Tabloid. Besides, you didn't see his face while he was talking."

He turns around. "Did he cry?"

Ink Pot gets silent. "Uh... no."

Tabloid, then, shakes his head. "I don't believe in him, then."

"What?" says the journalist, angrily. "Just because he didn't cry... you don't believe in him? That's the most stupid thing I've heard in a while, Tabloid."

"I mean," says Blister, looking at the old journalist. "Everyone has a different way to react to several things, Tabloid, whether he cried or not, doesn't mean what he said it's a lie... who knows?"

Tabloid now takes a look at that building where Stone Chisel's parents disappeared, one more time. "I don't know."

Ink Pot, confused, gets nearer to him. "So?"

"Uh... let me think."

Blister turns around and looks at the window. "Thinking? Really? Just by looking at the window one more... mo... m...?"

Suddenly, Blister feels something coming out of his throat. Ink Pot and Tabloid turn around to see what happens and realize the dragon is trying to say something. "What?" asks Ink Pot, trying to hold him. "What's going on?"

"It's... it is... it... coming out..."

A big burp is heard in the whole room and a letter gets out of Blister's mouth, surrounded by a huge wave of orange smoke. Blister is the one that grabs the letter in silence, looking at both colts with a shocking sight. "A letter," says Ink Pot. "From who?"

Blister opens it and his eyes widen. "Princess..."

And at that right moment, the three of them quickly get into the letter and start reading it...

And turns out it was true. The first ones to come out of that portal, only to look at the crystal shards of what was the Empire of Crystal, are the Mane Six along with their loyal dragon and friend Spike. Gasps and small, tiny sobs are heard around, while Twilight, in silence, just looks around.

Celestia and Luna also come out of the portal and close their eyes once they see the terrible scenario, but what they call their attention to is that the ram and his acolytes are nowhere to be seen.

Twilight's ears can't even hear anything now. She is in another dimension, plane. She doesn't even know where is she walking, due to her legs and hooves moving by themselves and no direction. Shining, Cadence... Flurry... if she only could turn back time...

And what they weren't expecting suddenly came true. Celestia and Luna found Tirek and Cozy Glow's bodies, along with a strange black goo which had Chrysalis' broken horn on the inside. However, Stone Chisel can't be found... maybe, they think, maybe he is just pure dust... and Discord?

Discord?

Suddenly Spike finds lots of broken, smashed, destroyed dices inside of the Castle's scraps, at the same time Twilight found his dead brother.

Her hooves tremble but she doesn't even realize what's in front of her, and suddenly, out of nowhere, the world turns around and around... everything feels cold... and...

"TWILIGHT!" shouts Pinkie Pie, running like a cheetah, to hold her friend who has just passed out.

By the time Blister has finished reading the letter, Tabloid is on a corner, lying on the ground in silence.

Ink Pot is gone.

Blister wants to ask where is, but he can't even speak.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Stone Chisel was right this whole time. Not only it was a carriage, but it was a small, grey royal carriage, decorated with glitters of gold. "This is a royal carriage... how in the hell did you---?"

"I won it on a bet some weeks ago and decided to hide it here," replies Stolen Bag. "Where it will never be found."

"But..." he says, stuttering. "It's... quite... small, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he replies. "It looks like it was an old model or something like that. Normal carriages are much bigger than this."

"Uh," says Chisel. "And was this necessary?"

"To what?"

"I already knew it was a carriage... was that tantrum of yours, of not trying to tell me what's inside and me and you having to dig this whole thing down, necessary?"

Stolen Bag sighs and frowns. "Uh... er..."

He snorts. "Was it because I discovered you were lying... isn't it?"

"Please leave this behind, Stonie... we have to---"

"No shit!" he shouts. "You whiny baby... Flurry Heart is less immature than you!"

Stolen Bag now snorts. "OK, OK... maybe I was a bit frustrated..."

"Oh, come on... you stupid... you know I'm freaking desperate because of everything that has just happened and you are still playing games with your tantrums!"

"Really?" he shouts, angrily. "And what about you and your jokes, then?"

"What do you mean...?" he shouts. "I didn't make any jokes."

"Yeah, yeah... and what about the one that it was... it's so hidden and I can see it from--?"

"Woah, woah, woah!" he says, approaching his partner. "That was not a joke, but a complain!"

"Stop lying!"

"Oh, come on! I'm not lying, like you, asshole!"

"Momma! Mama!" Flurry Heart keeps crying while trying to move something with her magic, still being tied to that piece of wood. That's what makes Stone Chisel and Stolen Bag calm down a bit and look at each other.

"About that baby... You have to know... uh, gosh... this is suicide but..." says Stolen Bag. "I can't leave her right here and you know that. It'll be good for me and for her to take it to another place... and also for you."

"And where are you going to take her with that carriage you won in a bet, which was obviously illegal, I guess?"

"I don't know... someplace far away from the Kingdom... I thought about leaving her with you, at first---"

"Oh, thank you, Mr Friend!" he shouts with a smile. "You leave me alone with the baby while you sit on your little hidden carriage eating apples and drinking cider like a fucking donkey? Fuck you!"

"Woah! Let me finish, at least!" he shouts, clenching his teeth. "Let me finish... can I? Or will you interrupt me again, son of a gun?"

"Come on, come on..." he says, snorting again and frowning angrily.

Bag just sighs. "I thought about that at first but now I know we need the carriage to take her to a place... somewhere... a place which has to be far, far away from the Kingdom... but it has to be surrounded by creatures who can take her to the Princesses. Luna and Celestia may be crazy now, looking for her and we are not so far away from the Crystal Empire... we have to be quick."

"What about..." the robber just stutters. "Uh... you... you said there was a small town near here?"

"No," immediately replies. "I can't leave her there. I've shown my face to them and they will recognize me."

Chisel chuckles. "Really?" he says. "You really did that? The one who always came up with a plan to hide his face?"

"Well... everyone was desperate for the piece of news I've told you... logically they will get more shocked by that rather than me... and that's good if you think... because media is forgetting about me..."

"But not about me..." says Chisel. "If the Tenebris news came out, I may be on that list... fuck..."

"And that's why I want you to stay here until I come back... then we can talk about someplace you can stay... but not here."

An awkward silence gets in the middle until Chisel speaks: "What?"

Stolen Bag turns around and looks at him. "What what?"

"You're literally dumping me."

And the pegasus sighs. "No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are..."

"I'm not dumping you... I'm trying to talk to you after this to find a perfect place to stay for you..."

"Maybe you are right about that but... what about the baby, huh? You will take her to where the hell you know... by your hooves? Alone? I can't do it alone, and you can't do it alone too---"

"Stone," he shouts, interrupting his robber partner. "Your face may be in every single newspaper around town and everyone is waiting for the Princesses to cut you in half... you think I'm going to take you somewhere?" Suddenly, both of them get silent. Even Flurry Heart is not making a sound. "I don't even know where I'll go to leave her safe and far away from us... and I think there's no place where you can feel completely safe."

"There must be..." he whispers, frowning and stomping his hooves against the ground. "I think... uh... there may be one place for me but... no idea, do you remember the forest where I stayed with Black Magic..."

From out of nowhere, Stone Chisel's face drastically changes. He looks at Stolen Bag, who is now getting scared of his unexpected change of mood. "Shit."

"What?" he asks, shocked. "What happened?"

He looks at how Stone Chisel's fur gets spiky. "God."

"What? What happened, horsie?"

"Gosh... but... I can't..." he is whispering to himself, something that makes Stolen Bag madder.

"What?"

"I need an intermediate..." and then he looks at Stolen Bag. "And... and... and I... I think I found it."

"What?" he asks. "What are you talking about?"

Stone Chisel nods his head and approaches his partner again, this time much nearer. "Stolen."

"Yes?"

He bites his lips, looking at his partner, then at Flurry Heart, still tied to the wood, then at the carriage. "i... I..."

"You... you what?"

"I... I found a way! I found a way."

"A way?" he says. "For what? To find a place?"

He shakes his head. "To stop Tenebris."

Stolen's eyes widen. "What are you talking about? You clearly said there was no----"

"I mean... it's not the best way... maybe nothing can kill him but... this way can, at least, counter him if we do it on time."

"Do what?"

Stone Chisel shakes his head. "But I've..."

"You've got to do what?"

The robber closes his eyes. "I've got to sacrifice my freedom, Stolen Bag."

"Your freedom? What are you talking about?"

"You see..." he says. "I think Black Magic can do something against the ram... but... I can't go to that forest, they will kick my booty all the way... I need someone to convince him to talk to me... and I know who will be."

"Who?"

"No, you don't know her..." he says. "But... it will be risky. She lives in a certain place which can be bad for me. I've got to sacrifice my liberty."

"Everywhere you move, you will sacrifice your freedom because every creature can see you and recognize you..." Then, he approaches him, almost whispering to his ear: "Which place are you talking about? Manehattan? Baltimare? Fillydelphia?"

He shakes his head, and Stolen Bag feels nervous now. "No... Canterlot."

"Canterlot?" he shouts. "Are you crazy? We have to hide from the Kingdom... and you want to go to the freaking place where the Princesses live? Are you out of your mind, shit?" then, he turns around, stomping the ground. "I won't go with you."

"I never said I wanted you to go with me."

He turns around again. "Now you are the one who is dumping?"

"Uh-huh... and you know, honestly... your decision of dumping me made me realize I had another good idea floating on my mind."

"I don't know what you mean with good, honestly... you're scaring me."

"I think... I found the key."

"Of what?"

He looks at him. "You're gonna laugh your ass at this."

"What?" he says, now chuckling.

"You know... there are only two creatures, apart from you and the baby, on this world that, maybe, don't want me to see me hanging dead. I said maybe because I'm not sure whether they would answer me or---"

"... Your parents?" interrupts Stolen Bag. Stone Chisel looks at him and softly, slowly nods his head.

"I have to talk to them... think about it, Stolen, my father would do anything for money, especially right now, that his company may be falling to its death..."

"And where will you get that money?"

Stone Chisel raises his hooves. "I lied to the Princesses by covering them from the Surigate... I can lie to him."

"And how are you going to go to Manehattan to talk to your parents?"

"I know how."

An awkward silence gets in the middle until the pegasus understands what he's trying to tell him and strongly shakes his head. "No."

"... It's the only---"

"I won't take you to Manehattan!"

"Hey," he says. "I'm not saying you have to help me with this. Just take me to the top of the building. No one can see you from there."

Stolen Bag shakes his head. "The top? I can't fly on that height."

"Oh, come on," he whines. "You can't lie to me, I told you. I remember that time you escaped the Guards on Baltimare by overflying a freaking hill. Don't be an asshole to me."

Stolen Bag bites his lips and is still shaking his head. "I won't. I have to take this baby to..."

"STOLEN!" he shouts. "Wait... wait... I had an idea. I mean, I have one... I was waiting for you to say that!"

"Now what?"

Chisel's eyes get much wider. "Don't you see? I know Manehattan is a pretty big city but... we are going to the top of my parents' building. It's a pretty great height so no pony on the ground can see us so clearly..."

"So? What are you planning to do, huh? Leave a baby at the top of a building? What if she falls from there? No!""

"You don't understand."

"I understand, the problem is you are an assho---"

"No, no," he interrupts. "The problem here is that you are not listening to me. You see, there is a staircase which goes to the building's roof. My father likes to look at the city when the sun sets, so he goes upstairs and enters right there, and he has this kind of magical alarm on the roof in case he needs something. Don't you remember that time when we visited him? He told me this."

"No."

Stone Chisel snorts. "Really? I think you were there when he tol--"

"I said no."

"Damn... look, we can leave her on the staircase and we escape on my dad's floor, leaving her alone. A worker will find her. They always use those stairs... and if we use that alarm... somepony may get her."

"Are you fucking crazy?" he says, chuckling. "Of course not. We are in the eye of the tiger."

"I am in the eye of the tiger, not you." Silence. "Look... I know they may be still looking for you, but this whole Tenebris thing has everyone blind. Nobody may care about you now."

"Wow," he says, almost chuckling. "Thanks for the flattery."

"You're welcome." He approaches his pegasus partner. "You're in?"

Stolen Bag bites his lips. "Uh, look..."

"And remember you owe me one. You left me alone in the Everfree Forest and got caught by Flash Sentry, who I have to say, he may rest in peace, while you were spending your time in this little house at the end of the river."

Stolen Bag's jaw opens. "Flash Sentry... died?"

"Murdered by Tenebris," he replies, almost coldly. "Long story. He could have had the opportunity to live... but decided to die. I still can't believe he did it."

Stolen Bag smiles. "How curious... isn't it?"

He raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"You're doing the same thing as him, right now."

He snorts, almost getting angry. "I'm not travelling to Manehattan to die, a-hole. I want you to take me there to live... and to let everyone else live before that freaking ram kills us all as if we were flies."

Silence again... not even Flurry Heart is crying. "So..."

"Do me this one favour, Stolen," he says. "You don't have to follow me after it. We just land there, put the baby on the stairs... and you fly away. That's it."

Stolen Bag, trying to think, closes his eyes and snorts. "And what about... your parents? Will you give them the money?"

"Maybe not," he answers. "Money is the less important thing right now."

Bag laughs. "Did you realize what did you just say?"

"Yes, even I can't believe it, as a robber and the son of greed incarnate. Are you in or not?"

Stolen Bag turns around and looks at the baby, who's not crying but has a really strange face. She's making gestures, as she's about to cry again, begging for her mother to appear. "I..." he says, almost stuttering. "Manehattan is quite unsafe... but... but I don't know any other place where we can leave her."

"So?"

Stolen Bag bites his lips and groans, frowning. Stone Chisel chuckles at this because he knows what he's going to say. "I owe you one, isn't it?"

"Yeah. You left me alone and rotting in the freaking forest, dud--"

"Fuck! Uh... shit," he says, before taking a long breath. "Fuck this. Get in the carriage."

"You see?" says the robber. "Now you are turning into Savior Bag."

"That's what I was talking about, Chisel," he says. "You dare to say another joke and I swear--"

"Ok, ok," he answers, looking at Flurry Heart still tied to the piece of wood. "Ok... I stop... now, would you help me to untie the baby?"

But at that same moment, the baby alicorn's horn starts glowing, and the piece of wood slowly rises up. However, it can be barely moved by her magic, due to her being very young to understand her power's potential. Stolen Bag, who turns around, passes by them both. "Hey," he says. "Where are you going?"

"Wait."

"For what?"

Then, Stolen Bag gets in the house and comes outside several seconds later, with masks, tunics and a knife in his mouth. He slowly cuts the rope with the knife and lets Flurry Heart move, he starts crying again. Then, he leaves the knife on the floor and points at the tunics. "Put that on."

"The masks? The tunics? But..."

"My way."

"Hey!" he shouts. "Don't you see that if we wear masks and tunics we may get more attention?"

Stolen Bag immediately answers: "You said no one was going to look at us on the top. Besides, your face is everywhere and if someone, even a stupid worm, looks at you, he will recognize your face, Chis... and you know I'm right."

Chisel, nevertheless, tries to answer that... but he can't, and he knows he can't. He doesn't say anything and tries to calm the baby down, by trying to wrap her with one of the clothes which covered the old carriage. "You alone can manage with the carriage?" he asks.

"Yes," he replies. "But hold on straight and don't let the baby down, just in case. It's not a heavy carriage, but doesn't mean it can be stable."

Chisel nods his head and finds out Flurry Heart is actually calming down while touching the cloth he gave to her. He sighs and looks at the carriage one more time. They are ready.

Ready for that way...

The Stone Chisel Way.

Ink Pot is trying to take a breath outside, looking at the enormous building of Shiny Picks Gem Company surrounded by cops and cops. They are trying to find out what happened last night, when Stone Chisel's parents, Iron Pick and Poofy Lantern, along with their partner Trustlight have disappeared.

A few seconds pass until one of the cops, a pony, finds out there's somepony else there. Somepony who should not be. "Hey," she says, approaching Ink Pot. "We are investigating this place, sir. I have to tell you this is something private by now and we want civilians to don't break into our investigation."

"I know, I know," he says. "It's just..."

Ink Pot gets silent and doesn't look at the cop, something that calls the other two police colts' attention. "Um..." stutters the pony. "Are you OK?"

Ink Pot shakes his head. "You see..." he replies, almost in a whisper... "I... I am a journalist."

One of the cops shakes his head. "We don't want any interviews right now."

"No, it's not that..." he says. "I won't interview you. It's that... um..."

"What?"

Ink Pot closes his eyes and turns around, leaving the cops alone while walking away. "Hey! Wait!" shouts a cop. "You can't just leave us like this. Would you explain to us what's the matter?"

The journalist just sighs and the mare cop looks at his partner. "It's OK. If he doesn't want to tell us it's OK..."

"Wait... uh..." stutters Ink Pot, now catching other cops' attention. The journalist looks at them one more time... but doesn't have the guts to actually tell them what's going on. He's scared. "Um... no. No. It's just... something personal."

Ink Pot, then, walks away and leaves everypony in silence. Some cops even look at each other, confused.

Meanwhile, Tabloid is already writing the last paragraph of an impromptu article. Writing it while having countless lumps on his throat, tears on his eyes, a trembling writing machine and the sun, right at its zenith in the noon. How ironic, he thinks. The sun. The happy sun. Blister, on the other hand, is just sitting next to him, covering his face. "Shall I look for Ink Pot?" asks Blister.

"He'll come back."

The dragon raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, it's not the first time he does this."

He raises his shoulders. "Ok, if you say..."

Silence again, until the journalist whispers: "This is..."

"Tragic."

The journalist shakes his head after hearing what the dragon said. "... Stupid."

Blister raises an eyebrow, shocked. "Stupid?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I mean... I finished writing this article but... the Princess told you we have to warn everypony about the evil monster that is the ram..."

"Yes... and that's what you're actually doing right now," says Blister, standing up. "Shall I send it to Paper Pile now? To see if he can make several copies of it..."

"It doesn't make any sense."

"What?" he says, approaching the journalist, who is still looking at the building.

Tabloid looks at Blister now. "It's useless. No matter what we do, the ram will attack Equestria anyways. We're all gonna die."

"Don't you dare to say that," he says, almost shouting, while clenching his fists. "If we do things on time, and we attack in the right time, we can beat him up... the Princesses and the Elements of Harmony are on our side."

"But the ram killed Cadence and Shining Armor... who knows what did he do with the baby, Flurry Heart... I just... uh... I don't know."

"What I don't understand is..." says the dragon. "Why did he kill his allies?"

"Tirek, Cozy Glow, Chrysalis, Stone Chisel..."

"Stone Chisel hasn't been found yet."

"He may be just drips of blood and mincemeat, Blister," replies the journalist. "He was the weakest of the four. It's hard to admit but... come on, Blister, he was just an earth pony with a mind to rob... nothing else."

"And what about that mysterious smoke thing he used on the robberies?" asks Blister. "Was it magic?"

Tabloid gets silent at that moment but takes a breath and replies only seconds later: "Chaos Magic... that was stupid magic. Tenebris can't be hurt by that."

"But it was magic..." interrupts the dragon. "... handled by an earth pony."

"No matter how powerful was that magic... Tenebris can't be hurt by anything."

"Wait..." Blister hesitates now. "Wasn't there an old legion of some weird chaos magic like... centuries ago?"

Tabloid raises an eyebrow looking at the dragon. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean... there was some group of earth ponies who could manage magic, as Stone Chisel did... what was the name of that... uh... Wizards?"

"Wizards of Chaos?" he asks, shaking his head. "They don't exist anymore, Blist. They had some weird magic that died with them."

"Then... if that magic died with them... why did Stone Chisel have that magic?"

Tabloid shakes his head, again. "No, we don't know if it's the same kind of chaos magic... or if it's some new, weird magic from the black market... Flash Sentry said that on the trial but... we don't know if that's completely true..."

"And if it is?"

The journalist sighs and looks at the building trying to relax, but this time he finds something different.

There's something on the roof. He can't see it so well due to being on a great height but knows it's a carriage. Two strange colts, seen as ants from Tabloid's point of view, take something out of the carriage, cautiously. Trying to find out what's happening, he finds out that the carriage is quite small compared to others... it reminds him of an old model of a royal one he used to look at when he was a young, rookie journalist... but why would they be using an antique carriage? That would make no sense... but... and besides... two colts with a carriage, taking something? What is that? "Blister," he says. "Did the Princess tell you there were Royal Guards coming to the Shiny Picks building?"

"Uh... no," he replies, now getting nearer the window. "She didn't say anything about that. You read the card with me." Both the dragon and the journalist look at the two mysterious figures leaving something on the roof and leaving the carriage up there too, not before pressing something which is near a staircase. "Are you sure those are Royal Guards?"

Tabloid shakes his head, and then, seconds later, they look at how one of the creatures flies away while the other straight runs down something and disappears. Looks like it entered the building. Blister, at that right moment, shouts:

"Shit!"

"No, no," Tabloid says. "Those may not be real Guards. Call the police right now."

By the time Tabloid finished his phrase, Blister has already opened the door and got out of the apartment.

Meanwhile, some cops realize there is a light being switched on in every staircase. That may mean something...

... and on the other hand, Chisel is in a hall, confused and disoriented, because of something. "How strange," he whispers. "It's silent, and he always talks as if he was using a megaphone..."

The hall feels different... no. In fact, everything feels different. He thought about how to hide from several workers who were authorized to walk by the CEO's store with no problems at all. Only authorized employees could see him, that's only one sign of how crazy his father is... but this time he feels there is actually no one there. No sounds. No voices. Nothing. Silence... and it's making him nervous.

Suddenly, Chisel, looking around, finds the door he wanted to find.

But nothing comes out of it. Not even a sound, a voice. Looks like it is empty... maybe he is in silence, reading something, who knows? And now he's there to break that peace... the son gets prepared, and suddenly...

Chisel kicks the door and runs straight like a bullet. "FATHER!" he shouts, until he finds out... there's no father. No one is there. In fact, the office is almost empty, with his desk broken in half and surrounded by a strange yellow tape. "What the...?"

The office doesn't have a soul in it. The desk is broken and surrounded by this mysterious tape, everything is quite dirty and also finds a broken window in front of him. "What has happened here?" he asks himself. "Where are... where are them?"

He trots around the office until he finds there is a name on one side of the mysterious yellow tape. Once he approaches it and reads it, he says the name aloud.

... It sounds familiar. That name sounds familiar... and he doesn't like it. "No," he whispers. "Tell me this is not..."

At that right moment, trots can be heard outside the room and he takes off his mask. "Tell me... it's not the MPD I'm thinking about," he says, while slowly opening the door. "You motherfuc--"

SMASH. The door is kicked again and he falls. From the hall comes out lots of cops who run into Stone Chisel. "FREEZE!" shouts one of the cops, who starts trotting to the robber. "MPD! MANEHATTAN POLICE DEPARTMENT! FREEZE NOW!"

"Wait! Wait!" he shouts. "Where are my pare---?"

He couldn't even finish the place before getting punched in the face by a cop. Seconds later, another police colt grabs him and punches him on his loin, beating him up.