Planar Equestrian

by Southern Ice

5. Blood In The Art

Planar Equestrian
Chapter 5: Blood In The Art

---

“Men evolved to be benevolent. It is within their design, their nature to care for those of their kind and of others whom they deemed friends.”

---

Sigil is a cesspool of diseases and ailments. It is ugly, filled with the worst of filth and the vilest kinds of wastes. You can taste the harrowing rot in the air, feel the dreaded polluted water in your mouth and the disgust in every step you take on this contaminated ground.

The ‘people’, if you can call them that, is the worst of the planes, nothing more than the carrier of plagues and ill omens. They walk with the glee of a fiend, speak in words of evil and act nothing like that of a civilized one. Only the gods above know how much evil and vile is hidden under their skin, threatening to unleash it upon us and the devoted.

The center of the Multiverse, they said. No, Sigil is nothing more than a sinkhole, a gathering tavern for the plagues of the planes. A single rat of this city bears all of the worst diseases both known and unknown to man. A single beggar, and the foul ‘collectors’, hid the vilest ailments under their skins, using it as a weapon against the people of the planes!

Warrior of Faerûn! It is our duty to cleanse this land, and bring it back to the hand of its true master, the gods of Faerûn! Let us burn away the plagues that haunt this city, and pull the damned ‘Lady of Pain’ out of her wicked throne!

Brothers, it is time to claim Sigil in the name of Faerûn!

Vahan Van Veldun, Priest of Selûne, in his speech to his brethren of the Sigil Crusade, moments before he was mazed by the Lady.

---

Twilight was hesitant, not because she was scared by the sight, nor was she mortified by the little filly’s condition. She hesitated because she didn’t know what to do.

Earlier that day, she was minding her own business, cleaning the library and making sure the readers knew where the books were and where to put them back. It was a peaceful day, until Applejack came knocking at her door, and in a flurry of emotion, kicked the door open, breaking it into two in the process.

It wasn’t the first time her friend came to her for advice, requests or something in between. They are friends, and friends are supposed to help one another, whether it was personal matters, or family business. To say that she wasn’t prideful of her book collection and well of knowledge would be quite far from the truth. Even those like Rainbow Dash, who was all about actions, knew that. Yet, there was always something she didn’t know, or books she hadn’t read.

One such thing was the conundrum she found herself in, between her friend and her sister, who was in what she could only describe as ‘critical condition’. The filly was a husk of who she was. The cheerful Apple Bloom could only use her eyes and faint voice to communicate with them. When Applejack came to her, she expected the worst, but not this kind of worst.

She wanted to say sorry, but she couldn’t, not when her friend was on the verge of crying out. Twilight fumbled, trying to find words, something to say to her friend. Her decision wasn’t one she would be proud of.

“What did the doctor say?”

Her answer was a silent stare from her friend's teary eyes. Twilight didn’t know what face she made to Applejack, but judging from Big Mac’s look, it wasn’t a bright one.

“Twilight, there has to be something! A book, yeah! You have a lot of books, don’t you? There must be something in there.”

“Well…” Twilight bit her lips. Yes, she had many books, some rare ones too, which might cover something related to Apple Bloom’s ailment. Yeah, she had a book about diseases and ailments written by Mage Meadowbrook! That must be it, there must be something there. With a semi-confident voice, she wiped away Applejack’s tears.

“Yeah, but it might take a while. You should stay with Apple Bloom, I will return sh-when I find out what it is.”

Applejack tried her best to regain her composure. She knew that Twilight wasn’t sure, but there was hope, and hope could help them go a long way.

“Thank you… And about the doctor,... he said that he knew a professor or something in Canterlot. Said that he is going to send a letter there.”

“That’s right!” Another idea blossomed in Twilight’s head. She cursed herself to not remember it sooner. “Canterlot has many doctors, some are my family friends! Spike can send letters to them much faster than the postal service. Can you tell me the name of the doctor who checked on Apple Bloom and the one he talked about?...”

Granny Smith sat outside of the room, listening to the mares. She let out a small smile. Apple Bloom might be in a bad shape, but she would be better soon, she knew it. She knew that her little filly would be better. What she didn’t really approve of Applejack is the mare’s lack of thoughtfulness. The doctor asked them to quarantine Apple Bloom, not bringing her friend in and meeting her, checking her without proper medical knowledge. But then again, what would she know? She was just an old mare, on her last leg and trying to help her grandchildren…

Time like this brought back old memories, when their parents were still around. That stubborn couple… She could do better for them… She shook the thought away.

Twilight ran out of the room, nearly escaping Granny Smith’s grip. The old mare caught her, her shaking voice rang.

“Good day, youngin’... Say, can ya help me with a lil’ something? It’s ‘bout Apple Bloom.”

“I am on it, you don’t have to worry.” Twilight tried to give her a reassuring smile, a little emphasis on the tried part.

“She has a friend, that uhh… Zecora, the striped one. Can you tell her that Apple Bloom wants to see her?”

Twilight looked at the clock, considering her time. It took her a good half a minute to nod.

“I will tell her if I see her.”

With that, the unicorn left the orchard. Granny Smith’s eyes followed the purple mare until she was out of sight. She sighed, Big Mac, who had just returned from his work, looked at her.

“Applejack has good friends, doesn’t she?” He asked.

“So does lil’ Bloom.” The old mare chuckled. “Sadly, I couldn’t let ‘em in.”

“Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, right?” The stallion pondered. “Did they come?”

“They did. But the doc said we can’t let ‘em meet her. He thought it might spread.”
His ears perked up a little. “I just hope that Twilight didn’t catch it.” He entered the house. “Ah going to check on Bloom, you and Applejack should get some rest.”

“Hey, when did ya look down on this old bone?”

Big Mac had a sad smile on his face. All they could do was follow the instructions left by the doctor and hope for the best… while also preparing for the worst.

---

“So, your friend got a strange ailment in her?” Diz reaffirmed what he heard.

“Her grandmother didn’t let me in at first.” Zecora said, trying to find something, anything in the book Diz lent her that was related to Apple Bloom’s condition. “I lied that I am a doctor, and was allowed to check on her.”

“But you are, right?” Diz took note of what Zecora described to him. Black veins on the body, troubled breathing, high fever, pale skin and bad fur… The only thing left was a swollen tongue. “A witch doctor, I mean.”

“What are they talking about?” Lyra asked Bon Bon, the two mares observed the strange conversation. The fey seemed to speak in perfectly normal Equestrian, while Zecora talked to him in her native tongue.

“Something about someone who is ill?” Bon Bon said, her eyes lazily looked around the store. “Why can’t he just drop his… disguise and all of this mysterious thing? It's just stupid!”

“He did say that he was reluctant due to past experience. Something had to do with him being burned by a bunch of lunatics.”

“Well, we aren’t lunatics!”

“Don’t you remember when we saw Zecora for the first time?” Lyra rebutted. “Now, imagine that, but Zecora is a tall, lanky cryptid straight out of a folktale.”

“Point taken.” The earth pony grumbled.

“While I am proud of my potions, I am not a qualified medicine practitioner in this land. Neither have I seen any diseases like that.” Zecora continued, she looked at him, trying to find something in the fake zebra. “Twilight is consulting ancient texts, I am going to help her. I just hope that we have enough time to do so.”

“Why me?” He asked nonchalantly. “I am not a doctor, Zecora. I am just a traveler, a merchant. You expected me to risk meeting a girl who is riddled with diseases and try to help her, a pony I barely know, even if I don’t have any prior experience with the subject at hoof?” His words were laced with doubts after doubts, as if he was judging her.

“I don’t know what to do anymore. I let my instinct guide me.” Zecora said with a shaken voice. “I can’t look at her like that, such a young filly. I can’t shake the image out of my mind.” She begged. “There must be something you can do for her. Please, Plain Walker…”

His answer was silence, unbearable silence. Diz shook his head.

“I… I am sorry, I should have thought it through. Plain Walker, I am sorry for taking your time.”

The zebra’s ears drooped down, so was her eyes. She thanked Diz one last time, said goodbye to Lyra and Bon Bon then left.

“What was that about?” Lyra asked the fey, who had retreated into his chamber and pulled the hood down. Bon Bon let out a relieved sigh when the illusion broke.

“A filly, Apple Bloom, caught some strange disease. She wanted to ask me if I knew something about it.” He said while checking his cabinet.

“Why did she find you out of all the ponies?” Bon Bon spat.

“Your guess is as good as mine, cutter.” The fey replied, opening some boxes and sniffed the dried herbs inside. “Maybe it has something to do with my realm. Maybe it was the cloak. May have something to do with the fact that I traded herbs with her and tried to make her help me in my research. Now where is it…”

“So she wanted you to check on Apple Bloom? Like a doctor?” Lyra examined the items Diz placed on the table. She saw boxes of herbs, some medical tools and scrolls. “You declined, right?”

“Of course I did.” He took all of it and put them into his saddle bags. “A gad of attention, her alone. Me, cutter, do you remember how you both found out my dark? My doughty up wouldn’t suffice.”

“Can’t you just walk out there and confess to them like you did to us?” Bon Bon huffed. “Without the ‘Oh, I am so scary and I am going to eat your foal part?”

“Not to offend you, cutter, but I am not an addle-coved clueless.” This earned a glare from the mare. “The cloak works based on crowd mentality. While in person, each body will see a different thing based on their own mental image. But when I am near a crowd, the illusion will shift and change depending on that crowd's mental image. The thing is, the illusion is in fact a hallucination, messing with your brain-box, putting a charm on you.” He pointed at Bon Bon without looking at her “And you, cutter, should know it best.”

“But we didn’t react that bad, right? And if you don’t want anypony know your ‘secret identity’, shouldn’t you wipe our brains or something like that?” Lyra said sheepishly.

“Two reasons, cutter. One, I need a tout. I am not a local body, and the plane has changed significantly since the last time I was here. I need guidance, eyes and ears in this plane.”

He tapped twice on the ground, and suddenly, a doctor’s outfit appeared out of thin air, shimmering with a magical hue. Lyra and Bon Bon were agape of what happened, barely paying any attention to what Diz was talking about.

“And if I show them what I am, no doubt that the whole town would howl about it. You two, however, are a bit different. I marked you and some of the others, and took a risk. The fact that you decided to have a barrikin with me was enough in my book.”

“Wait, you marked us?” Bon Bon’s eyebrows furrowed. “But last time you said that you didn’t kn-”

“I didn’t know that you two were going to bang around my kip, yes. But I did prepare to reveal myself, especially after Lyra here read my book and you seemed to be extremely peery around me.”

Diz opened a book and read the arcane text out loud. Light covered his body, until he appeared, in the form of a black unicorn with amber eyes and gray mane. He put the outfit on, and turned to them.

“Are you even a doctor?” Bon Bon followed him to the door. Diz gave them a wave and ran.

“No, but I am a blood in improv.” The fey closed the door and made his way to the Sweet Apple Acres.

“It means he is really good at improvising.” Lyra ‘translated’ the Sigil Cant, which earned a weirded out look from Bon Bon.

“Since when did you learn his bizarre slang?” To which, the unicorn shrugged and took a feather duster up to clean the shelves.

“Since I was hired as a part timer here.”

“WHAT?”

---

Big Mac heard a knock on the door, he took one last look at Apple Bloom then trotted down the stairs to open it. Standing before the door was a doctor of some sort, a unicorn, with the outfit used by Ponyville’s hospital.

“Good day, sir.” The unicorn politely said. “I am the new doctor appointed to tend to Miss Apple Bloom. I take it that you have received the paper from the hospital?”

“Nn… nope?” The stallion hesitantly said. Who was this unicorn? He hadn’t seen anypony like him before. “We haven’t received any paper, doc.”

“Then they should deliver them to you early tomorrow. May I meet the patient?”

Big Mac raised his eyebrows, but still made way for the stallion to go in. In the living room was Applejack, sleeping on the couch. She refused to rest, and fell asleep while she tried to make some milk for her sister. Big Mac put her there, temporarily, as per request of the doctor and Granny Smith to quarantine Apple Bloom. He turned to the unicorn and gave him a sheepish smile. The unicorn nodded understandably.

While Apple Bloom’s room was rather clean, the smell coming from her was harsh. The filly wasn’t conscious, but still breathing. Big Mac stood by the door, observing the doctor. The doctor came closer to his patient, checking her veins and eyes.

“How long has it been since her ailment began to manifest?”

“About two or three days, doc.” The stallion replied. “Two nights ago, she had a fever. We didn’t think it was serious then, but the next morning her condition-”

“Took a turn for the worse.” The unicorn said, putting his equipment away and mumbled. “Just as I thought.”

A small light glimmer appeared in Big Mac’s eyes. “You know what this is?”

“It isn’t a local disease, I can tell you that.” He put a hoof on her chest, come to think of it, where was the doctor’s regular medical equipment? “The day she had the fever, do you know what she did then?”

“She was playing near the forest.” Big Mac took a moment to gather his memories. “Trying to get her cutie mark. She told me that they were playing with some flowers and rocks.”

“Did she see or meet some kind of rodent of unusual size?”

“Well…” Internally, he wanted to kick himself for not listening clearly to what his sister told him. “I don’t know, doc… you can ask Applejack, she might know something more.”

The doctor nodded. He set his saddlebag down, then turned to Big Mac.

“You said ‘they’? There was other?”

“Yes, there are two other fillies who often play with her.”

“Do they show any symptoms like Miss Apple Bloom?”

“As far as I know, no.”

“Then that’s all…” The doctor took his boxes out and placed them on the table at the other end of the room. “Can you get me something? I need them for the treatment.”

Big Mac’s ears peaked up. His eyes shone with new resolve. “What do you need, doc?”

---

Diz had all he needed with him, then locked the red stallion out of the room, just in time as his disguise spell faded away. He closed the curtain, using only an oil lamp as the light source.

Just as he suspected from Zecora’s descriptions. It was Hive Fever.

He loved Sigil just as much as the next patriotic cutter, but he had to admit that it was far from the cleanest city in the planes. And from the dreaded sewer system, the forgotten Under Sigil, with its numerous catacombs and buried settlements, birthed the worst forms of diseases known to the planes. Some were ‘imported’ from other planes, while others were concoctions created from uncountable sources. The latter had names, and one of the most common was labeled Hive Fever, after its very origins. For reasons still unknown to him, the people of the Hive, and even the rest of Sigil, had built up an immunity system strong enough to shrug it off. But to the Prime and those of blood and flesh, it was a fatal disease, and could easily take a man's life after a week.

The filly was in luck, sort of. Her condition was life threatening, true. But if untreated, he expected her to hold off the disease for at least one or two more days, which was three days longer than most cases.

The other reason she was in luck was Diz himself. The fey wasn’t a doctor of anyform, nor was his domain in the Feywild had any relation to life or curing ailment. But he was a blood in all-things-Sigil, especially how to deal with them. From how to talk a berk down, to mapping out the city ever changing streets and portals. One such thing was how to cure Hive Fever.

And the treatment would be quite gnarly, he hoped that the filly wouldn’t wake up during the process. Sleep spells and anesthetic would hinder it significantly.

The first step was to prepare the medical herbs needed to sanitize the patient and to treat them. To the Sigilians, getting herbs wasn’t hard, even to those from the Hive. One of the most vital ingredients was razor vine seed and fiber, a rather common weed anyone could gather with sufficient finesse and a good, tough glove. Sigilite moss was the next one, harder to get, but could be bought from any collectors who knew where they grew. The last one was a little more finicky, as they would have to find a merchant from the Prime to get some coriander.

Diz put all of the dried herbs into two boiling pots of water, waiting for them to steep. One of them was used to clean the patient, and acted as a disinfectant. The other was the brew that the patient had to consume.

Using the medical brew, Diz cleaned Apple Bloom’s upper half, where the black veins gathered. He hesitated for a moment, checking the ratio and dosage of the brew, making recalculation and estimations. If he was honest, he wasn’t completely sure that this was Hive Fever, or at least the one he knew. While it is possible for horses to catch Hive Fever, the treatment was roughly the same, he couldn’t say for sure that this was the cure needed for the little filly.

But as a blood in the art, he knew that one of the most vital elements of a successful experiment was risk.

Carefully using his hoof to find a good area to start, he began to chant his spell. An ethereal hand appeared, a mage hand, picking up a scalpel and moving slowly to the little filly’s hoof. With precision, the scalpel cut down, he heard a small groan of pain from her, and black blood flowed out of the cut. Dipping her hoof into the first brew, he waited for the second to be ready. A considerable amount of blood was taken out of the filly, the veins became less visible. Diz took a small amount of blood, and put them into the second brew.

The soaked herbs were taken out and placed on the cut. Razorvine fiber secured them in place, making a boutique, speeding up the coagulation process. The second brew was ready. Then came the harder part, how should he put the brew into her?

One of his hoof lifted her up, while the mage hand slowly poured the brew into her mouth. It was tricky, as he even had to try to pry her mouth open once or twice. Fortunately, the filly drank the brew with little resistance. Next, came the most meticulous part of the treatment: observation and waiting.

Diz prepared for the worst, and it seemed that the chances of him failing was rather high. It had been a good five minutes since she took the brew, and no reaction had occurred. The healing process would take a while, of course, but should the brew work, there must be some reaction at this stage.

---

Apple Bloom was dreaming, she knew it. It wasn’t a lucid dream, she just simply knew that she was dreaming. Dreams take the pain away, take the world away. The dream was sweet, the dream was safe.

She was playing with her friends, visiting the ponies of Ponyville, trying out their newest plans to achieve their cutie mark. From partying with Pinkie Pie, to visiting the library and getting scorned by Twilight for using the books carelessly. She remembered the time she spent at Zecora, listening to her many folktales and watching potions being brewed. The nights she sat on the roof, watching the stars and the moon being raised with her family. She tasted the juicy apple in her mouth, and freshwater in her throat.

She remembered playing in the Everfree Forest, meeting a Royal Guard and helping him find his way back to the town. She remembered the strange critters she saw, and their chittering.

Then, a creature of darkness came, trying to pull her away from the dream. Its claws were sharp, its eyes cold as winter. And its wicked antlers looked like a nightmare walking right out of a horror story. Its claw dug into her hoof, bleeding it. She tried to cry for help, reaching out for her friends. They tried to keep her down on the ground, pulling her down with all of their strength. Tears ran on her cheeks.

Suddenly, she heard laughter from far away. An evil laughter, made by equally evil monsters. She looked down to where her friends were. In their places were an amalgam of rat and pony, screeching and biting in her hoof, trying to tear her apart. Being pulled from both sides, she had to scream, but she couldn’t. They overwhelmed her, drowned her.

The creature of darkness quickly pulled her to its side, and with a roar, pushed the rat-like monsters away. Its claw dug into her, but its grasp was gentle. It pulled her away from the dream, and into darkness.

Deep into darkness she went. She floated in a sea of nothingness, until she felt something in her mouth. It was bitter, but refreshing. Her throat was dry, did she know that? Light, small dots of lights appeared from the distance, slowly crept toward her. The creature form became more defined, clearer. It was a pony, with antler and black coats. Its calming eyes shone in the dark, like a beacon for her.

She felt her body slowly raised up. Something made its way from her stomach, all the way up to her mouth. It was putrid, horrendous even. She quickly puked the substance out of her body.

‘Welcome back to the waking world’ Parts of her mind said so, not literally, but deep in her senses, she understood it.

“There, there, let them out.”

She felt a hoof on her back, while her body arched forward, continuously pushing the vile waste out. The gentle push helped her stabilize her posture, efficiently purging the bad blood out of her system. With one last gag, her body relaxed. She felt tired, but the kind of tiredness coming from a long workout, not the painful torment made by her weakened body.

“You just can’t get used to this thing.” She heard some mumbling coming from the figure standing next to her bed. “Ugh, this is almost as vile as an abishai. How are you, cutter?”

“Ah… Ah am tired…”

“Still feeling feverish?” She tried to see who it was, taking a good look at the mysterious pony. But everything was blurry. She could make out a lanky form, and a long, weird horn? The accent was quite unique though.

“Ah guess so…?”

“Well, cutter, you can’t really cure a disease just by giving them a… cure! Trust the process…” She could hear a low grunt. “And you should be fine.”

Strange light came from the figure as he cleaned the room. She could finally see who it was, a unicorn, but where was his long, weird horn?

“We will meet again tomorrow…” The voice tone shifted to a more proper and ‘Ponyville’ like. “I wish you a speedy recovery, Miss Apple Bloom.”

The doctor gently closed the door, leaving the filly pondering about her dream. Being tied to your bed wasn’t fun at all. At least she could actually breathe.

---

Big Mac waited outside until the doctor came out, with his equipment packed up and a bag in his hoof. The doctor turned to the stallion.

“I am going to dispose of this thing.” He put the bag down, and took a package out of his saddlebag. “Boil these herbs up, don’t overcook them, then use the water to clean the patient. If possible, I recommend your family to do the same, it should get rid of the lice.”

“Is she okay, doc? And what was that about lice?” Big Mac carefully took the package, as if it was a delicate and fragile piece of art.

“While I can't cure her immediately, I can assure you that her condition is going to improve, should we stay with the current treatment. And about those lice, the disease spreads through them.” The doctor explained. “Mostly from rats and the like. When lice suck up their blood, it also carries the disease from them over to their next victim. Say, have you seen any vermin around your homestead?”

“A few, but we make sure to not let them stay for too long.”

“Good, good. I am going to return on a later date, to continue her treatment. Now if you excuse me, I have another patient to tend to.”

Big Mac walked with him until they reached the entrance of the orchard.

“Thank you, doc. We were in quite a fright.” There were more, but he kept the latter part in his head.

“Just doing my duty as a doctor, sir.” He tipped his hat and left. Big Mac returned to his home and checked on Apple Bloom. While the black veins were still there, she looked better, even if just a little.

“Big Mac?” The filly mumbled. Her brother came closer to listen to her. “I am hungry…”

No doubt, from what he heard from outside, it seemed that she puked everything inside of her out.

“Can I have some soup?” She asked, to which he nodded.

“Eeyup!”

---

Diz returned to his store and found Bon Bon stood behind the counter with a scowl on her face. Lyra cleaned the store pretty well, he had to compliment her for that. Making his way to the backroom, the fey turned to Bon Bon.

“Still in my kip, cutter? I thought you hate it here?” He said with a hint of a chuckle.

“After finding out you are trying to brainwash us and worm your way into our head? Yeah.” Her face showed little interest in him. “But I can’t just let Lyra be alone with somepony like you.”

“That I see… Any reason why you are standing there?”

“Lyra said she is going to work here as a part timer, is that right?” Diz turned his gaze toward the unicorn, who was trying to imitate the face on a mask. He tapped his chin and replied.

“I guess that means you want to work here? Helping me out?”

“I am not here for you, I am here for her.” They stared at each other for a moment. “But yeah, I want to work here.”

“Welcome aboard, cutter.” Diz shrugged and walked into his room. “And can you two stock the shelves for me? The boxes are in the left corner of the room.”

“Just that? Hey, don’t ignore me, you- you weirdo!” Bon Bon shouted at her new employer, while Lyra giggled at her friend.

“Anyways, how’s Apple Bloom? Did you cure her?” Lyra asked as she stocked the shelves. Diz answered from his room.

“I didn’t cure her, I treated her. And no, that’s two different things!”

They could hear the sound of books and pens being used, rather loudly.

“You said that you aren’t a doctor.” Bon Bon helped Lyra move a box out. “Are you sure you know how to treat her? And where are we supposed to put these…” She picked up a small bag labeled ‘charm’, inside of it was a fly?

“Oh, they are supposed to be under the scented candle section, forgot to label those.” They heard the sound of metal creaking and thunder coming from the room. “And I am not a doctor, true. But I know how to treat a case of Hive Fever. Don’t ask me how, you don’t want to lose your lunch over that.”

“Let me guess, it’s something from your home, right?” Lyra looked at a charm. It looked like a stuffed rat. Even when she picked it up with her horn, she felt a little mortified by the thing. “Where did you even find these? Don’t tell me this is also from your home too?”

“Yes and yes.” Diz walked out of the room, donning a robe and the cloak adorned with arcane patterns on him. He wore charms around his neck, and his saddlebags were stuffed. He stood before the mirror and fixed his hat. “Hive Fever is a common disease in Sigil, it spreads through lice and cranium rats. Quite a gad of them in the Hive and deeper down.”

“Wait, does that mean she caught it from you?” Bon Bon pointed at the fey.

“I made a vow to not let such a thing happen. But I do fear that something worse might come. It’s never easy dealing with plane related matters.” His voice became oddly cold, only to return to its normal eccentric tone just a second later. “And no, I cleaned myself and my realms daily with proper spells and tools. You two should too!”

Bon Bon wasn’t quite convinced, especially when he sold dead flies as charms.

“Are you going somewhere?” Lyra carefully put the last charm on the shelf. “You seem rather, how do I put it, fancier than normal?”

“Oh, you have no idea, cutter. I am going back to Sigil, for a day or two.” He gave them the key to the store. “You two are going to run the store until I return. You may enter my room if you want to, but I advise you to not do so.”

“Alright…?”

The mares nodded. Diz trotted into his room and went silent. Curiously, Lyra opened the door and was puzzled by what she saw. At the end of the room was what she could only describe as a portal, like those in fairy tales about the Everfree. A single sign was placed in front of it.

[GATE TO SIGIL, PLEASE DON’T ENTER UNLESS YOU ARE A PLANEWALKER]

“Let’s just agree that we should leave the room as it is.” Bon Bon said, slowly pulled her friend away from the door.

Author's Note:

There are some Sigil Cants (or Planar Cants) which are quite funny and misleading

A blood an expert, sage, or professional in any field. Calling someone a blood is a sign or deep respect. Bloodbath is a gathering of powerful high-ups and bloods, usually indicating that something dangerous or important is happening. But at the same time, blood-town means a village, town or city which is the property of a race of fiends and is populated mainly by them.

Cakewalk is another one of them, it means something that is very easy to accomplish, but has disastrous effects -- to cross a bridge that leads to a trapped door or an ambush is a cakewalk. In the same essence, a piece of cake means a piece of chant that's very misleading, rather than something that is very easy to accomplish.