Princess Celestia walked slowly with a slight limp. Aided by two royal guards, the humble monarch of Equestria inched along the glistening marble tile of the royal palace. It had been a full three days since the attack and the princess was still not strong enough to walk, however, this was far too important to Celestia. She had insisted that an audience be assembled ever since Canterlot had been declared safe and there was no threat of a changeling counter-attack.
Rounding another corner and passing through another hallway draped with ancient tapestries and priceless paintings of foreign dignitaries, they were mere steps away from passing through the guilded arch and out onto the balcony to where the head of state would make her address. On it stood the minister of defense as well as Princesses Cadence and Luna. The procession stepped into the spotlights fixed on the podium and the crowd gasped, The god empress suddenly became aware of her appearance. As the most powerful alicorn alive she should have felt some self-pity in having to be carried from her chambers by her guards (it didn't help that her mane was a mess), but the only thing she felt was remorse for the speech she was about to give to her faithful subjects. She positioned herself in a somewhat secure position and looked out into the crowd.
"Oh my...the entire castle grounds must be packed." Thought the sun goddess. She wasn't one to get nervous making speeches but she felt a bit of panic for a moment as her wide magenta eyes scanned the throng of ponies standing, floating, and waiting for her to address them. Her face grew solemn and burdened as she began to speak, the audience fell quiet as the bold yet gentle words of the tall white mare began to emanate around the courtyard.
"My loyal subjects... as most of you know, three days ago we were mercilessly infiltrated and attacked without provocation. Three days ago, Harvest the tenth, is a date that shall live in infamy for years to come. I have called this audience to gather here today to defunct any rumors or misconceptions that may have sprung up in the aftermath." She paused for a bit to regain her breath and take a drink of water offered to her by the minister.
The audience dared not to speak, they all felt the relentless tension in the air for what they knew would have to come up sooner or later. Celestia regained her composure and reluctantly cast an eye over the audience who were waiting for her to pick up where she left off. Only one pony noticed the princess's shady eye movement, his mouth curled up into a smug grin after noticing it.
"Before we start off with questions I wish to address one thing." Celestia sighed, her eyes revealed hours of contemplation. "It is true that when confronting the changeling Queen I... I was defeated." Her face was of total anguish when uttering these last words. Not only was her kingdom shaken, but so was her dignity. The crowd collapsed under the tension and the courtyard turned into a madhouse. The shouting was overbearing and wasn't doing any favors for the shrewd Monarch's injury which had been directed towards her head.
"Please... subjects... my little ponies?" her voice pleaded with the crowd but it fell on deaf ears. A certain pony donned with a Panama style hat moved towards the podium set up for the audience, slowly moving ponies out of his way with soft shoves. After a few seconds more of pandemonium the roar of voices subsided enough for the sun goddess to speak again.
"I would like to urge everyone to remember that this was a freak accident and that the Equestrian royal mili-"
"And why should we believe a mare who not only fails to protect her citizens, but let's her capital AND herself get captured in one fell swoop?" the pony standing on the podium yelled, his hoof outstretched and pointing straight at a dumbfounded princess.
A brown-maned pony with a certain type of hat waded through the crowd of bodies as if in some sort of trance. Even as the smoke cleared one day after the incident at Equestria's glistening capital, trade flowed through these roads and up to the city. The persistent river of equines let Vilotyne blend in quite easily, he never really liked to stand out until the moment called for it.
The mud from the road clung to his hooves like water to a sponge and the rain came down in thin crystal sheets from the heavens. He adjusted his brown coat to cover his hips and kept walking, smelling the air as the fragrance of the precipitation passed over him. A cart passed by the solemn figure, it barreled through the muck and the driver cast a grimace towards the entranced pony. He payed no attention to the outburst and kept walking at his own pace; he looked to his left and gazed through the mist that was hanging over the surrounding landscape. The gray stallion's face was one of indifference as he scanned over many miles of territory with a single glance, it wasn't anything that he wasn't used to after all, Las Pegasus had better scenery anyway. Turning his head forwards he could see Canterlot growing bigger and bigger on the horizon.
It was a mere twenty minutes until, at last, the lanky stallion's hooves met the cobblestone of the city with a loud clack. When a pony from another place comes to Canterlot they usually gaze up at the magical effigies and begin to feel humbled by the shear size of the city, Vilotyne did none of this. Walking down the sidewalks he heeded nothing, his eyes were fixed in a piercing stare at nothing in particular, and he walked at a relaxed pace. After crossing the street and ignoring the curses of the carriage drivers that he had blatantly stepped out in front of, he walked into an Inn. Nothing could disturb this deeper thinker when he was planning, he looked briefly at the other people seated inside the Inn and thought with disgust how his degrees from Fillydelphia University were going to waste on this trip. The Innkeeper looked up from her counter top to gaze at the strange pony as he slowly walked up and spoke:
"Is there vacancy in this fine establishment?" His voice was soft and gentleman-like, it had a slight country twang. His eyes shone from beneath the brim of his hat. The Innkeeper looked hard into his eyes and wondered where such a stallion would come from.
"Uh, yea... Down the hall and to the right. 30 bits a night." Her voice was uncertain and wavering. Vilotyne frowned as if to say no that will not do.
"My dear, this certainly looks like a wonderful building, however I can't help but notice that these stairs are not up to Canterlot building regulations." He smiled with great pleasure "The code specifically outlines five inches of hoof space for each stair, this is obviously three... one could easily slip and break thei-" He was frantically cut off by the Innkeeper mare.
"Okay okay..." she whispered gritting her teeth, trying her best not to notice the rest of the guests looking at her. "15 bits a night... how about that?" her eyes pleaded with the grinning patron.
"That will do." He said smugly as he opened his bag and threw 15 bits onto the table. Too easy a voice muttered disapointedly from inside his head.