//------------------------------// // Royal Welcome // Story: CCC-To Find Her Place // by Fresnor //------------------------------// Dear Twilight Sparkle, Selene and the other princesses, While you won’t receive this anytime soon I figured that I might as well still write letters to all of you whenever I have the time to do so. Since I won’t be able to send letters again until I leave then I figure that I can mention things that couldn’t tell you before. I just hope that when or if I leave that I do so on good terms and have permission to tell you these things. There must have been a reason for Celestia to dislike my kind and I plan to find out why and hopefully end whatever the conflict was. My first impressions of this place though don’t leave me with much reason to hope though unfortunately. The kingdom seems to be separated from the rest of the world by some sort of portal. From how the magic feels I believe that it is in a completely different reality or dimension or something. What is more interesting is that inside this place is a forest that feels remarkably similar to the Everfree Forest. My impressions of the kitsune I have met are where the main problems are right now. There seems to be some kind of system in place where the more powerful ones practically own those below them. I don’t know the full details of it but it may be a good thing that I now have six tails as it sounds as if it will afford me great leeway within the kingdom. I’m also not sure how the diamond dogs fit into everything yet but they seem to be the servants of all of kitsune around the place. The first day I was here was rather interesting as well. I found that the timberwolves were most likely created by my kind as I met a few of the ones that were uncorrupted by Discord. Not much more to say about that, but I bet Celestia will be happy to hear that I was arrested in the very first town I found. As mentioned before with the tail hierarchy bit it makes it where one perceived to be a two-tail is not allowed to defend themselves from the advances of a pair of three-tails. I wasn’t forced to fight any others as I allowed myself to be taken in peacefully but they got a real shock when I showed them that I had six tails. Currently I am in a carriage being driven to the capitol by those same guards that brought me in. They are wary about talking to me any more than they have to so I have to find other ways to entertain myself. The diamond dogs pulling the carriage don’t seem very talkative yet they also seem to fear me the least. They also seem to enjoy the illusionary magic that I use more than the others and I’ve entertained them every night we stop. Even the other kitsune act like they’ve never seen this kind of magic before and I am pretty sure that this may be true as well. I’m going to have to be very careful about what spells I cast around them until I find out what exactly is safe here. And yes I will be taking extensive notes just for you Twilight of anything new that I find. Your Friend, Flarenza I sigh as I flop across the seats in the carriage while I send the letter into my packs. “This is so boring. I really hope we arrive at the capitol soon. At least there I can find something to occupy my time instead of just sitting here doing nothing. I’d rather not practice my magic until I know what is safe to use here and what isn’t.” It wasn’t until near the end of the day that we finally reached the capitol and I was impressed with the view. “That is one impressive place.” Rising from the center of the city is a great tree that looks to actually have been grown into the shape of a palace. Looking at it reminded me of the Ponyville library and it made me wonder what the full history of it was now. The rest of the city was a variety of tree buildings and ones built in a more conventional way. Thinking back to the ruins in the Everfree I remember all those trees in the ruined area of the city and wondered if they also were connected as well. Catching the attention of one of the guard I direct them to head to the residence of Admiral Farraige as he was supposed to be waiting for me. There was little interest in the carriage as it rolled through the city as if it was a common occurrence here. Watching the city as it passes by I notice the multitudes of colors of the kitsune but notice that those with less than four tails were of more earthy colors while most of the rest tended to be as colorful as the ponies were. It was enough of an oddity to notice but it was low on my list of things to find out here. The buildings were also varied as well now that I was up close to see them clearly as they each had their own style to them. Many of them were just plain gaudy but some would have actually fit in well enough in Ponyville with how some of the ponies liked to customize their shops. The admiral’s residence was easy to spot before we stopped in front of it as it was full of nautical decorations that somehow managed to look decent compared to most of the rest. “I guess it’s time to get a few of my questions answered.” Once the carriage stopped one of the guards opened the door for me allowing me to step out of the place. There wasn’t any guard at the front like most of the homes, but if he is out as much as he says then he wouldn’t need one that often. I draw in a deep breath as I watch the carriage rolls away back to the town it came from before stepping up to the door to knock. It doesn’t take long for the door to open, revealing a stern looking kitsune. “How may I help you?” I look over the kitsune and notice he has four tails but retains the earthy coloration of brown and grey. “Yes, Admiral Farraige told me to meet him at the capitol and I was hoping he was in, the name is Flarenza.” The kitsune looks over my shoulder and see the six tails waving behind me and his eyes widen slightly before opening the door wide. “Yes, if you will follow me, Duchess Flarenza, I’ll show you to the master’s study where he will meet you.” As I am led through the building I notice that the nautical theme continues inside as well and it feels rather comfortable in its own way. His study looks much like his cabin did on the ship just with more books as well. Browsing through the titles I find that many of them relate to sailing and the seas of various areas though I don’t recognize many of the names. It doesn’t take long for the admiral to arrive followed by a servant with refreshments. “Ah, it’s good to see you again lassie, I almost thought you decided not to come. I see you’ve also changed a bit since I saw you as well.” He nods toward my tails which are waving around behind me. “Yeah it showed up some time since we separated. I found out about it at the first town on the path to here.” He cocks his head to the side as he sips from his tea cup. “Why didn’t you just take the portal that led straight here?” I just look at him before slapping a paw up to my face. “You mean I could have avoided all that boredom on the trip here? I’m guessing that it is only available to those with a certain number of tails right?” He looks at me for a moment when he realizes what happened. “Let me guess, you did your little vanishing act again didn’t you?” At my nod he continues. “I hope you didn’t run into any trouble on your way here.” I try to avoid his gaze but soon break down and confess. “Well I did get arrested after beating up two rather rude three-tails while appearing to have only two. When they found out I had six tails they panicked and got me a carriage and guards to escort me here.” I was starting to expect his reaction was rather common when he started laughing once again. “Oh yes you are really going to shake things up around here. There hasn’t been another to shake things up like that for a very long time. The only exception are the rumors that there is a prince or princess hiding out among the nobles but that has settled down a bit though there are still factions claiming to be sheltering whoever it is. I haven’t cared much for that but it’s thought that one of the few six-tails is the child of the Lord and Lady in disguise.” I try to follow what he is saying but I know absolutely nothing about the politics here. “That’s good and all but I don’t know enough to be able to say much there. Almost any knowledge I have is from what I learned while I was traveling and the practical things my mother taught me. She never told me anything about this place or even about what it meant to be a kitsune. That and I’ve been getting called Duchess by everyone.” His jaw drops for a moment before he looks a bit thoughtful. “That is actually a bit disturbing to hear though that all can be remedied easily enough. Since we’ll be introducing you to the court later tonight we’ll start with that for now. You were rather lucky to earn your sixth tail as it will afford you many protections as there are only two above you unless the rumors are right then it would be three. The Lord and Lady are both nine-tails and rule this kingdom while their child has either seven or eight. Next up are the twenty-one known six-tails, including you now, that have the titles of Duke or Duchess unless they are given another one such as mine. The five-tails are the barons and baronesses of which there are about a thousand of at last count. From there everything of one to four tails have no real titles naturally though they may earn them. There hasn’t been a real count of the population but I’d estimate it to be a few million.” I boggle a bit at the information though something seems off for some reason. “That’s rather interesting I guess; does that have anything to do with the variety of fur colors I’ve seen? I have yet to see anything with less than four tails have colors outside of the more earthy ones.” He looks from me to himself before realizing exactly what I was asking. “Oh that, that’s just personal preference combined with the power required to be able to do it.” I look down at my fur and ponder this but changing my own colors just wouldn’t feel right as well as the fact that previous attempts failed barring the poison joke incidents. “Huh, I don’t think that I’d care to do that myself even if I even can. I’ve tried a few times in the past and it only changed due to some magical mishaps that were easily cured. Well, also outside of the usual winter time change.” I once again think I said something wrong when he freezes for a moment before answering. “You really are full of surprises lassie. There’s hasn’t been a winter kitsune around in a very long time. They aren’t much different really though they tend to have talents in more unusual kinds of magic. The Lady is going to love to see you.” I wonder about what he means by this but something else comes to mind first. “Who are this Lord and Lady anyways? I know that they must be the rulers of this kingdom but I don’t think I’ve ever heard their names.” He thinks for a second, as if debating on whether to say anything, and decides to do so. “While it would probably be best to let them tell you themselves I think that not knowing would put you at a disadvantage with the other nobles. The leaders of New Sionnach go by Lord Inari and Lady Ogetsu.” My jaw drops open at the name of the two as I had actually heard them before. “Wait, you mean Lord Inari and Lady Ogitsu were real?!” I was so shocked that I blurted that out without much thought causing his eyebrows to rise. “So you actually have heard of her then?” I nod though I’m still a bit confused. “Yes, in fact it was from one of the few stories my mom told me when I was younger. In the end it involved Lady Ogetsu being stabbed by a Lady Tsukiyomi though it never mentioned if she lived or not.” He looks a bit sad at my mention of this and I wonder if I should have brought it up. “Ah, that old tale. It’s not really a popular one though it comes up from time to time. But yes they really were real and in fact are still alive. That is one of the stories that describes the final events of our kind being forced out of what used to be our home back on the world you were stranded on. I don’t have the details of it all myself as it was long before I was born, in fact I’m not sure if any of the nobles were alive back then.” He looks up past me and I turn to see one of his servants motioning to the clock. “We’ll have to continue this conversation later if we want to be ready for tonight. He’ll escort you to where you can clean up in preparation for it. It’s just too bad that there isn’t time to get you fitted for something to wear.” I rise to follow the servant but something comes to me causing me to pause with a smile. “Oh you don’t have to worry about that, I believe I have something that may work perfectly and might throw some of the other nobles off a bit.” His laughter as I leave the room is the only answer that he gives. While I wasn’t used to having servants helping me clean up and prepare myself, it did feel good to actually have a real bath again after the long years of travel. The two female diamond dogs he lent me for all this were respectably good at what they did though still a far cry from the best I’ve had in fur-care treatments. Still after having nothing for years there was a lot of tangles and deeply ingrained dirt to be removed and my fur was practically shining by the time I got out of the tub. I had yet to show any of them what I was planning to wear as it was still deep within my packs kept safe from being damaged. I probably looked odd with half of my body sticking out of them as I dug around for it but it was necessary with how protective I was of the dress as I had few mementos of my friend with me. When I finally cancelled the spells protecting it and began removing it from my packs I kept an eye on the diamond dogs and kitsune in the room for their reaction. The looks on their faces were pretty hilarious when I started to reveal the gem encrusted dress that was the first thing I had worn of Rarity’s. It felt good to put it on once again and I was surprised that it still fit so well after all this time. There were enchantments on it that were supposed to make sure it fit for years to come based on any changes to my figure but they had gone untested until now. I admired myself in the provided mirror while the others in the room conversed amongst themselves over how I looked. The admiral’s reaction was about as entertaining as well especially when the uniform he wore looked rather dull in comparison. “Well lassie you said that you had something to wear but this is beyond anything that I expected. If I didn’t know any better I would say that you really were the princess and you were sent through the portal to keep you hidden. But will those colors be good with your other fur color as well? Part of tonight’s event is for the change of season to winter for the next few months to give the land time to heal.” I am surprised by this as the colors on the trees didn’t suggest that it was even fall, but I was a bit ignorant of how most things went here. “Well there is something but since you seem to enjoy surprises so much then I might as well keep it safe until then.” I had guessed correctly as to his personality if his chuckles were to be believed. He escorted me out to his private carriage which didn’t have harnesses like his previous ones. Instead the driver was a four-tailed kitsune and I could sense what felt like an animation spell on the carriage. I knew a couple spells that could be used to push the vehicle around but I was curious as to what kind they use here. I had to shake head at the direction my mind was going as it was getting to be too much like a certain alicorn I knew. The drive to the royal palace was rather longer than I expected as there were a large number of carriages heading that way. From the numbers I was seeing I could guess that a large portion of the nobility was on the move towards this event. I chatted a bit about some of the things to expect with the admiral though my mind also wandered to other things as well. I was wondering if there were only going to be nobles at the party or if there would be others of four or less tails there as well. I actually wondered how all that discrimination worked when it came to families though I could find out more about that later. We were nowhere near the front of the line to get to the palace, but we were also far from the end. From talks with my friends many years ago I could understand pretty well what he was attempting as I saw a handful of other carriages being allowed to jump to the head of the line. “So waiting for all the other Dukes and Duchesses to arrive as well as a good many other before our triumphant entrance?” He smiles and nods at this as he watches the small number of carriages head to the front. By the time that our carriage arrived at the palace gates night had already fallen. There was some chattering going on between what looked like servants and some of the nobles that hadn’t entered yet but it only paused when the admiral stepped out but came to a complete stop when I stepped out into the lights. Well here we go, my firsts steps into the world of nobility which I’ve wanted to avoid. I pretty much have to give up my freedom to save my freedom. While I was doing this to find out more about my past it didn’t feel right to give up my future as well. It was a comfort that I still had a place to run to back in Equestria if I was forced to, and with the friendliness of the admiral I felt a bit of hope about things here. Maybe if I can get in with the nobles that I can actually like then things won’t be as bad. I just hope that they have enough clout that things don’t get as bad as they looked to be getting in Equestria. The silence of those at the gates had abated and the previous chattering had resumed at a much higher level as the admiral escorted me towards the event. I wasn’t sure if it was from just me or if it also included the exoticness of my dress. The admiral was soaking all the attention and confusion up as we made our way through the crowd so much that he was practically skipping. As we reached the entry hall to what appeared to be our final destination he stepped up to whisper something to a diamond dog, which I assumed to be a herald, who soon looked at me with wide eyes. The entire hall went quiet when the herald rapped his polearm twice on the ground before his proclamation. “Announcing the arrival of Admiral Farraige escorting the Duchess Flarenza.” Somehow the entire place went even quieter than it did before at this as every being in the room, both diamond dog and kitsune, turned towards the entrance and stared. There was another announcement from the other end of the room and a path opened up revealing the rulers on the other end of the room. There was some unknown sign but the admiral started to escort me slowly across the room towards the two figures. I took my time to observe them as we did so to try and stop any nervous thought from arising. On the left was who I assumed to be Lord Inari whose coat gleamed a bright golden color as his nine tails floated behind him. On the right would be the Lady Ogetsu who was as white as snow with her own nine tails spread out behind her as well. My eyes flickered to a patch of bare fur on her chest that looked remarkably like a crescent moon. Both of them were wearing regalia similar to what the Equestrian princesses wore, but were made of what appeared to be a white-colored wood and amber for gems. As we passes the halfway point of the room a bell started chiming signaling some event I didn’t know of but could guess as on the final tone a wave of gasps swept through the room. Seeing Lady Ogetsu sit up straighter and a small smile appear on her face clued me in to what happened as I focused on my nose to see the color of it had changed. I reached up during one of my steps to tap on the large gem at my throat and heard the admiral chuckle as another wave of surprise went through the room as my dress changed from the red rubies it once was to deep blue sapphires. His muttered “clever lassie” showed his approval on the change. Soon enough we arrived at the foot of the stairs to the throne where we both bowed to the royal couple as I had been instructed on the way here. When we were allowed to rise I got a closer look at the two and saw that Lord Inari’s face was as inscrutable as Celestia’s always was, but the Lady Ogetsu actually seemed excited. I was expecting the Lord to speak first but was surprised when it was the Lady to speak first in a voice that was almost familiar. “Greetings Duchess Flarenza, it’s so nice to finally meet you face to face.”