//------------------------------// // XV - Citadel Sightings // Story: My Little Sly Cooper: Thievery is Magic // by Deyeaz //------------------------------// ~My Little Sly Cooper: Thievery is Magic~ Written by Deyeaz with the help of the ever-brilliant Alex Rite XV - Citadel Sighting “...And here is our gardens,” Celestia said, almost concluding the tour of the fortress known as Canterlot Castle. The gardens consisted of marble statues dotting the ever-green grass of the grottos, the ten-foot high hedges placed together to erect an impressive maze. Sly, Murray, Bentley, and Carmelita “oohed” and “ahhed” at the things at the multitude of things that caught their eyes; Twilight had left their troupe when she had passed by the library. ‘Her and her books,’ Sly mused, rolling his eyes with a smile. The smile became ephemeral when he noticed the large barrier of thick steel chains barricading an iron gate on the left. The sign was written in some bizarre hieroglyphic tongue, comprised of many horseshoes, horns, wings, pony heads, and a myriad of other glyphs. “Say, what’s in here?” He asked, curiosity getting the better of him. Celestia looked behind her, glanced at the path Sly had earlier pointed out, and her casual grin dissipated, replaced with a cold, dark look. “That area is... forbidden. It’s off limits to everypony. Even me and Luna. Understand?” “I understand,” Sly said worriedly. “Ah,” hummed Bentley, nodding in comprehension. “We understand completely.” “Princess, are you alright?” Carmelita asked in concern. Celestia shook her head to clear it of the murky thoughts of hate that poisoned her mind. “Why, yes. I’m fine.” Celestia smiled again, brushing aside those previous thoughts of angst. “Let us continue with the tour, please?” With a nod from all four of the otherworlders, Celestia pressed on through the gardens. Sly lingered behind, staying next to the part of the maze Celestia said was off limits. "Finally got away from them," said Sly. "Good thing, too. The princess may be a great and kind ruler, but she talks so much she makes Dimitri seem mute." As he walked through the maze, he grimaced angrily at the giant gate that was blocking his path. "I should have known she wouldn't make this easy," Sly said, sighing. "Let’s see what I have to work with." Sly looked around the maze, scanning for a way past the hedge maze, and noticed a few branches poking out of the sides. Blue stealth auras were sparkling on them, and Sly grinned smugly. He went to the closest one, bent low to the ground, and leapt high into the air, using his ninja spire jump to get on to it. The branch bended slightly under his weight, but remained stable. He then proceeded to jump from branch to branch, getting higher up and closer to the gate. When he got to the last branch, he jumped over the gate. He would have had a clean landing had his back hoof not hit the top of the gate, causing him to fall over on his face on the other side. "I guess I'm a little out of practice," he groaned, mouth full of dirt and grass. “Either that or this body is too bulky for me to work with....” Sly got up and shook his head to clear it the smarting he created on impact. Refreshed, he continued on through the maze. He soon came to the end of the maze where he found a small grotto surrounded by the maze's hedges. Sly looked around and saw that in the middle of the grotto was a statue of one of the ugliest creatures he had ever seen. It had the head of a pony with a goat horn and a deer antler. It's long, weasel like body had a lion paw, a hawk talon, a bat wing, a bird wing, a goat leg, a lizard claw, and it had a long dragon-like tail. The statue was frozen in a position of fear, head back and arms stretched out in defense. "Yeesh. I can see why the princess had this place closed down," said Sly. "This is the scariest thing I've ever seen, and I've seen Dimitri in a swimsuit." Sly shuddered at the horrible memory he had accidentally let surface to his mind, rushing to push that eye-burning memory back into the deep dark recesses of his mind before he could upchuck his lunch. "Well, excuse me for my unsightly appearance. If I had known I was going to have company today, I would have gotten my haircut,” sarcastically complained a disembodied voice. Sly jumped and looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. There was no one to be seen in the entire grotto. "If you're looking for me, I suggest you turn your head upwards, at least ninety degrees," the voice said. Sly looked up to find himself staring at the wide-mouthed face of the statue. "Are...are you talking?" asked Sly. "Why, yes I am. Way to go, brainiac, you figured it out," the statue said sarcastically. "Somepony give the kid a prize." "Are you done?" asked Sly irritably. "For now," replied the statue. "Good," said Sly, "now can you tell me exactly who, or what, are you? Why doesn't the princess want anyone to see you?" "I am Discord, the spirit of chaos. I suppose you could say Celestia made me into this," said the statue, an edge of anger in his voice. "So... Celestia sculpts?" asked Sly skeptically. "She doesn't really seem the type." "Hey, we all have our little hobbies," said Discord. "I dabble in poetry from time to time, and I know you have a thing for stealing from criminals." Sly's jaw dropped in shock. He wondered how Discord knew about his past life. The only people on Equestria he had told about it were his friends, and they wouldn't tell anybody about it... would they? "Well, Pinkie Pie might, but none of them have, at least not yet," said Discord, answering Sly's thoughts. "As you can see, I know everything about everyone in Equestria. I know their pasts, their future, their thoughts, and, best of all, their problems. But where are my manners? Allow me to get you into something more comfortable." A flash of blinding light came from Discord, causing Sly to cover his eyes with his left hoof. When the light was gone and Sly could see again, he was shocked to find that in front of his face was a gloved hand. Sly looked to his right to see that another hand was holding his cane. He looked himself over to confirm his suspicions and saw that he truly was a raccoon again. "Incredible...." "Impressive, isn't it?" said Discord, a smug tone in his voice. "That's another reason Celestia has this place blocked off, my range of magic is confined to this grotto. She doesn't like it when I prank her subjects, so she keeps me here where I can't do anything. Now where was I?" Discord seemed to be thinking for a few seconds before continuing. "Oh yes, I was talking about how I can see the problems of the ponies of Equestria. I can see your problems too, and they are the most entertaining thing in Equestria. At least, they are in my opinion." "Well, they certainly haven't been entertaining for me," said Sly, feeling annoyed at how much the draconequus was enjoyed his pain. "Not only am I more-or-less dead and stuck as a pony while I'm here, I also have to deal with my friends causing trouble, and with no criminals, my basic way of life has been thrown out the window!" "Trust me, you have more problems than that," said Discord, a laugh escaping from his stone throat. "Ignoring your future problems and the ones you've mentioned, you still have two mares who want to kill each other over you." "Wait, what?" asked Sly, confusion setting in. What Discord said had caught his interest. While he did want to know what Discord meant by 'your future problems,' he was more interested in the part about two mares who were interested in him enough to kill each other over it. It was pretty obvious to Sly that he was talking about Carmelita and Twilight, but what he wanted to know was why. Before he could ask, though, Discord answered his question for him. "I'd be happy to tell you, my ring-tailed friend," he said, before a blinding flash of light reappeared. After Sly's vision returned, he sighed at the sight of himself, as he was now a pony again. "And as a reward, you will get to keep your old body. But first, there's something you'll have to do for me..."