//------------------------------// // 27 - You've Got Another Thing Comin' // Story: The Other Side of the Horizon // by Rambling Writer //------------------------------// Applejack was more than a little dumbstruck as she left the consulate. The murderer had admitted to it all, and thanks to… thanks to some… some stupid bit of international law, they couldn’t do anything about it yet. It was draining. Applejack didn’t feel tired, but she felt… burnt out. Like she couldn’t care about anything. When Twilight bolted down the hall after some voice, Applejack couldn’t be bothered to run after her. Instead, she went with a slow walk. It wasn’t like it mattered, in the long run. It was only a matter of time before Mtenwhateverhernamewas caved and came out. Less than a week, for sure. Right? Heck, maybe some of her employees would try to bully her out. They were getting punished, too, and they hadn’t done anything. They’d hate her, definitely, and do anything to get her out so they could get their freedom back. Right? Right. But, until then, Mtenwhatever was still sitting there in her gilded cage. The consulate wasn’t exactly a prison cell. Applejack stopped walking and slowly put her hoof down. No. This was not okay. This was not okay. She had not come all this way across Zebrabwe to see someone who’d tried to kill Twilight, someone who’d tried to kill her, lounge about scot-free. Why should Mtendaji be able to sit in the consulate and wait for a few more days? She needed to be in jail now. Maybe they couldn’t just drag her out. But there had to be something, right? Something to convince her to leave. But what? …She’d seen Twilight move the sun, right? It was like a candle had ignited over Applejack’s head. She spun and walked back to the consulate. There were five guards outside the consulate, four of them with spears and one that looked like she was just coordinating the four and warning others away. The spearzebras were talking. “…three days, max,” one said. “Most of it’s inside the walls, so there’s barely any windows, an-” Seeing Applejack coming right for the door, the coordinator cleared her throat. “Ma’am, traffic into these rooms is forbidden. Move along.” “I’m goin’ in there,” Applejack said solidly. “I’m an ambassador of Equestria, there’s an Equestrian matter in there, and you can’t stop me.” “Technically,” said the coordinator, “diplomatic immunity simply means we can’t prosecute you. We can stop you all we like.” She placed a hoof on Applejack’s chest, strong enough to stop her from walking. And if Applejack had been a zebra, it probably would’ve ended there. “That ain’t what I said,” Applejack replied. “I’m goin’ in there.” She dug her hooves in and pushed as only earth ponies could; she started moving forward and the coordinator started sliding backward. The coordinator blinked, tried to get a firmer grip, and pushed with both front hooves on Applejack’s chest. No effect. When they passed into their line of sight, the spearzebras stared, then one of them started snickering. “Guess you can’t stop her, Ushupavu,” he said. “That’s a new one. And such a small one, too.” “She’s- stronger- than- she- looks,” grunted Ushupavu. She started trying to walk, to get a grip and push Applejack back, to the same effect as before; i.e., none. “Obviously,” said the spearzebra. “Just let her in and let whoever or whatever she believes in sort her out. It’s not our fault if she goes in and tries to drag that exec o-” “I ain’t gonna drag her out!” said Applejack, halting her forward march. (Ushupavu started staring between one of her front hooves and Applejack.) “I’m just gonna give her some advice.” “In the form of a hoof to the face?” Which was very appealing, but not what Applejack was going for. “No. Advice advice.” “Aw.” Applejack rolled her eyes and opened the door. The lobby of the consulate was filled with abadas and a few zebras, all of them nervous and all of them talking about Mtendaji. Applejack ignored them all as she kept walking. No one reacted to her, even as she picked her way through the crowd towards the relevant door. She remembered the way to Mtendaji’s office. What she didn’t remember was the two abadas standing in front of the office, muttering to each other and propping up spears. They both snapped to look at her the moment they heard her hoofsteps, and with a shimmer of magic, the spears were pointing at Applejack. “Ma’am,” one of the guards said, “no one sees Mtendaji.” His voice was wavering, unsteady, like he didn’t really want to be guarding this particular door. Applejack looked down one of the spear shafts and swallowed. Not the best position for this. “I want to talk to Mendaji. Mtendaji.” Great. What a way to start, not even pronouncing her target’s name right. The guards looked at each other. Clearing his throat, the first one said, “No one sees Mtendaji right now.” “I’ve got somethin’ she needs to hear,” said Applejack. “I promise I just want to talk to her.” She drew an X across her heart. (Would they know what that meant? Hopefully.) The guard grimaced. “I’m so-” Okubi stuck her head out of her office right next door. “The two of you will stand down or you’re both fired.” Her voice was utterly uninflected, completely flat and level. The guards twitched and went through a few motions of not knowing whether or not to lower their spears. Their gazes flicked between Okubi and Mtendaji’s door. “But…” one of them said. “But, ma’am, Mtend-” “I heard. The two of you will stand down or you’re both fired.” The guard swallowed. “Ma’am, she… she said she’d fire us if we let anyone by.” He looked nervously up at Applejack. “If she is able to fire you for this,” Okubi said, “I will personally argue for your reemployment. Same position. Slight pay increase, since you did the right thing rather than merely blindly following orders.” That was enough for that particular guard. He dropped his spear, took off his helmet and dropped that, and stalked past Applejack, muttering, “Screw this. I need some coffee.” The other guard was still looking nervously at Mtendaji’s door. “Ma’am, she’s, she’s still my boss, an-” “So am I,” said Okubi. “And who do you think is going to come out on top?” The guard blinked, sighed, and walked off, her spear over her back. Applejack stared at the spear lying on the ground and at the unguarded door. That was easy. “Uh… thanks, I guess,” she said to Okubi. She wasn’t sure what else to say. What was Okubi thinking? Applejack had seen the way she’d treated Mtendaji before, but this was something else entirely. “You’re welcome,” said Okubi, and vanished back inside her office. Applejack took a step towards Mtendaji’s office, then bolted for Okubi’s instead. Banging on the door, she hollered, “Hey! Why’re y’all helpin’ me like that?” Okubi opened the door. “I want her out of my mane as soon as possible,” she said. “Presumably, you are either going to find a way to extradite her or impress upon her to leave. Your goals and mine coincide. Ergo, I should help you.” She closed the door in Applejack’s face. But at least she’d gotten an answer. Applejack looked at Mtendaji’s door one last time (Why am I doin’ this? This is plain crazy.), sighed, and pushed it open. Inside, Mtendaji was pacing back and forth, nervously muttering to herself. When she heard the door open, she glowered up at Applejack. “What do you want? You can’t drag me out, you know.” “I wasn’t goin’ to,” said Applejack. “I just wanna give y’all some advice.” “Pfft. Sure. That advice wouldn’t happen to be ‘march right out and present yourself to the Zebrabwean Guard gift-wrapped’, would it?” “No. It ain’t.” Applejack stepped just outside the boundary of Mtendaji’s comfort zone. “I want y’all to think about what Twilight can do. Movin’ the sun and all.” “Like I could forget it.” Mtendaji shivered. “People should not be able to do that,” she muttered, “it’s-” “And she can get around your defense against magic like it’s nothin’.” “Which should be impossible, there’s no way she can-” “And she’s got diplomatic immunity.” Mtendaji froze. Applejack could already see her mind racing. Good. Good. “Y’all tried to kill her,” Applejack said flatly. “And if she decides she wants to return the favor, there ain’t nothin’ y’all can do to stop her. Y’can’t use the law against her, and y’can’t use magic against her. You really think she’ll just sit by and let the zebras handle it?” She very conveniently left out that, yes, Twilight would sit by and let the zebras handle it. Twilight wasn’t a very smitey pony. As far as the Elements of Harmony went, honesty was a very restrictive one, but Applejack had learned to work around it. Mtendaji started chewing her lip, her eyes flitting around the room at nothing in particular. Her breathing grew louder and sped up. She started pacing, flicking her wiry tail. “And as long as you’re here,” Applejack said, “she’ll know right where you are. Is stayin’ put really the best option?” “If… If left…” whispered Mtendaji, “would-” She swallowed. “Would she, you know-” “She’s here for the zebras. She ain’t gonna piss off the zebras.” Mtendaji chewed the inside of her cheek for another second, then sighed. “Fine. Just… just as long as Twilight doesn’t do anything.” She shivered. Well, that was easy. Applejack wanted to cheer, to yell in glee, but there’d be time for that later. Right now, she just had to get Mtendaji out. “C’mon, then. Let’s get y’all to the guards.” Without waiting for a response, she left the office. Mtendaji followed a moment later, audibly dragging her hooves. Just as they passed Okubi’s office, Okubi herself opened the door. “Beg pardon, ma’am. If you don’t mind, I would like to speak with Mtendaji for a moment.” Applejack knew she should just get Mtendaji to the zebras as fast as possible, but Okubi had smashed Mtendaji’s face into her own desk, and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to see more of that, even if it was only verbal. Oh, why not? “Aight.” She took a step back. “Thank you.” Okubi looked down at Mtendaji and asked, “Why?” “You heard why,” snapped Mtendaji. “We’re dangerously close to going bankrupt, an-” “Why murder?” “It- It’d keep Equestria out of Zebrabwe for years,” Mtendaji said. “Keep trade down. It’d be good for other Wilayabadan companies, even.” Mtendaji did her best to glare at Okubi, but it wasn’t all that intimidating. “Can you think of a better plan?” “Several, as a matter of fact. First, try to sell coal to Equestria in addition to Zebrabwe. They might have need of it.” “But we don’t know that,” said Mtendaji, “and i-” “Second, realize that the Equestrians have minimal data on goods exchange between our two nations, and so any attempt on their part to force themselves into the market would take months at best, buying us precious time to chart a more effective course of action.” “I- I-” Mtendaji was struggling to meet Okubi’s eyes, constantly trying to cringe away and then forcing herself to look back. “I thought that was what Livingstone was doing. Gathering data.” “Her exchange was primarily cultural, not economic. As you would have known if you had actually paid a modicum of attention to her. Third, if they did try to sell coal, convince Inkosi that Equestrian coal would not be worth it. One way or another, five thousand miles is not a thing that can be blithely ignored; transportation will incur costs that will raise the price.” (Applejack was really creeped out at how little Okubi moved.) Mtendaji didn’t even say anything, instead breathing loudly and irregularly. “Fourth, talk to me, as I have more than twice the years’ experience you have in this and am, nigh objectively, more competent than you. Or did you imagine I acquired my position as co-head of this company thanks to my stunning looks and my winning personality?” Okubi pulled her thin lips back in such a manner that exposed her teeth while the corners of her mouth curled upwards. It was probably supposed to be a smile. Mtendaji closed her mouth and started glaring angrily at a certain tile in the floor. “Fifth, remember that coal is a very small part of Zebrabwe’s very large economy. A lucrative one, but a small one nonetheless. The odds of the Equestrians being specifically focused on coal were miniscule, and they were unlikely to be of any danger to us.” “I get it,” Mtendaji mumbled, almost too quietly to hear. She was still glaring at the floor. “In short,” said Okubi, “literally anything besides murder, you idiotic buffoon. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to shore up what I am able to of my company before we encounter the devastation caused by the wake of your colossal fuckup.” Okubi slightly inclined her head to Applejack. “Good day, ma’am, and if you find Uvivi, please inform her that she is welcome back at any time.” She closed the door to her office. When Applejack led Mtendaji through the lobby, absolute silence fell. The crowd parted to let them through, everyone staring at the two of them. Mostly at Mtendaji. She grimaced and tried to hide her face, but that just made her all the more conspicuous. Applejack just kept walking as if it didn’t bother her. It was a bit odd to find that it genuinely didn’t. She was well past caring about much of anything besides Mtendaji. The spearzebras were still outside. The moment Applejack stepped out, she and Mtendaji had several spearpoints only a few inches from their noses. One of them who was aiming his spear at Applejack blinked. “Oh. It’s you.” He (and the others) promptly shifted their spears to Mtendaji, who quailed back a few feet. “Hang on…” said Ushupavu. “Isn’t that the perp?” “I don’t know,” said a zebra, “I can’t tell abadas apart.” “Pretty sure it is,” said another. “Her coat’s the right shade of brown.” “Aren’t all their coats that shade of brown?” “No, hers is a bit lighter th-” “Yes, I’m the perp,” Mtendaji grumbled loudly. “I’m, I’m turning myself in.” All the zebras fell silent. Someone coughed. “W-well, um,” said Ushupavu, “that’s convenient.” “Yeah,” mumbled Mtendaji. She started glaring at a wall. Another moment of silence before another zebra spoke up. “So what do we now? Do we-” “We have our orders until something changes,” said Ushupavu, “which’ll probably be soon, but… You and you, take, um, take Applejack and Mtendaji to the barracks. Everyone else, we’re staying here.” And so in a few moments, Applejack found herself escorting a criminal through a palace in a foreign land while being escorted by two zebra guards. If anypony had said she’d be doing this while on her diplomatic mission, she’d’ve laughed them off. Even in Equestria, this sort of thing would be pushing it, Element of Harmony or not. But it felt right, somehow; like, yeah, this was something she was supposed to be doing and there was no reason to not do it. It did, however, feel kind of strange doing something this big without Twilight; Applejack wondered where she had gotte- “Applejack!” Twilight came running down the hall, closely followed by Stormwalker and… what was her name? Uvivi? Twilight flared her wings to come to a quick stop. “Where were you? You just vanished and- What’s Mtendaji doing out?” Mtendaji kept pointedly examining the tiles of the floor. “I talked her into comin’ out,” said Applejack. “She’s turnin’ herself in. And your name’s Uvivi, right?” “Yeah. Why?” “The, uh, the zebra boss, I didn’t catch her name, she said you’re welcome back whenever.” After a second’s thought, Uvivi nearly wilted. “Oh thank the stars,” she breathed, rustling her mane. “That’s…” She coughed. “I’m just gonna hang out in front of the consulate until the guards pull away. Get back in ASAP. But thanks for the offer, Twilight. Be seeing you.” She trotted off down the hall. Twilight waved after Uvivi, then turned to Applejack. “You can tell me about this later. For now, let’s get Mtendaji to wherever. I think Mlinzi’s going to be very happy with you.” At the barracks, Mlinzi stared at Mtendaji for a few seconds to confirm he was actually seeing the truth. Then he looked Applejack in the eyes and said, “I love you forever.” Then he hugged her. It was a good five seconds before Applejack decided to say, “Um… Get off me.” It was another five seconds before he did. “So?” Spike asked when they got back. “How’d it go?” “Applejack captured a criminal!” said Twilight brightly. “I didn’t catch her,” Applejack protested, “I just-” Spike gasped. “Really? You caught the assassin? You caught the assassin?” Twilight nodded. “She was hiding out in the consulate and we couldn’t get to her thanks to some political crap, then Applejack went back in and came out with Mtendaji in tow. So, yes, my theory was correct. How’d you do it, anyway, Applejack?” “W-well, uh…” Applejack looked away and rubbed one leg against another. “I… kinda made it sound like you were gonna come after her. And, well, you can move the sun, so…” “Huh. That’s one way to do it, I guess. You… didn’t actually say I would, did you?” “No!” yelled Applejack. “It’s… I couldn’t do that! If I just went and said that, I- I’d feel like- I don’t know. But that ain’t right. I just sorta… y’know, kinda sorta hinted at it.” She half-grinned and rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, if it works, it works,” said Twilight. “I’m not complaining.” “So that’s it?” Spike asked. “We’re all safe now? If it was Mtendaji, and she’s in jail-” “Pretty sure,” said Twilight. “Unless there’s another person who wants to kill me running around out there.” “…That’s anticlimactic.” “You’re telling me.” Twilight flopped down onto a couch and stared up at the ceiling. “It’s… I don’t know, it’s weird, having this problem suddenly hanging over me for two days and then just as suddenly not hanging over me.” “You feel better about it all, though, right?” asked Applejack. Twilight nodded. “Yeah. A lot better.” She paused. “But I’m also starving. I don’t think I’ve eaten since breakfast.” Livingstone called out from a few rooms over. “That’s what you get for studying grounding all day, yes! You brought that on yourself!” “I know!” Twilight yelled back. She flexed her legs one by one and rolled off the couch. “But my brain says it’s time to raid the fridge. Let’s raid the fridge.” She trotted off. Applejack was about to follow when someone knocked on the door to the embassy. She almost ignored it when she remembered Idube and Bhiza and the others. Someone might’ve stopped by to say, “Hey, we got your stuff here.” Maybe even Bhiza. Sure enough, Bhiza was right outside the door. “Hey!” she said brightly. “How come you haven’t caught whoever tried to kill us yet?” She started laughing. “We did.” Bhiza’s laugh stopped so suddenly, it was like someone had turned off the sound. She blinked once. Twice. “…Really?” “Sure. Twilight used that ball — we were right, it did track magic — and that earrin’ thing, which was some kinda communication thing, and we found who’d sent that bandit out. They’re in jail now. Or at least goin’ there soon.” Bhiza blinked again, then started laughing harder. “Ha! Ponies do not do things by halves!” Applejack grinned. “Guess not.” “Anyway, we finally managed to get the carts over, and the goods’ll be brought here — I mean, here here, not just the palace — servants’ll bring them here tomorrow. And…” Bhiza fished a scrap of paper out of her saddlebag and shoved it over to Applejack. “Here’s the address and name of our hotel, if you get the time to stop by. I get it if you don’t, though.” “Nah, I’m sure I’ll find the time,” said Applejack. “Maybe not for a few days, but I’ll do my best.” “Cool. Anyway, nice seeing you, but I gotta get going,” said Bhiza, “since those jerks at the bar meant we couldn’t get any dinner, and we’re all hungry.” She turned to leave. “Actually… hang on a sec.” Applejack shouted over her shoulder. “Hey! Twi! You wanna go out to eat with some zebras?” “Being a subset of weather magic,” Twilight said to Bhiza, “pegasus magic reacts particularly well with air and small particles. In the case of clouds, even the small amount of passive magic that lets a pegasus fly causes the water droplets near them to form incredibly strong connections to each other, to the point that the natural polarity of water doesn’t connect with other molecules, while keeping them light enough to still float and stay more-or-less in place. As a result, to a pegasus, clouds are effectively floating bits of dry water with an extreme amount of surface tension, allowing them to stand on them.” “Uh-huh. Cool,” Bhiza said with a nod. “So, how do you stand on clouds?” Twilight sighed. “Thanks to magic, clouds are naturally more solid to pegasi.” Bhiza glanced at Applejack and snorted. “Why’s it always magic?” she muttered. “‘Cause.” Applejack shrugged. Bhiza flicked an ear. “Weak.” She buried her muzzle in her soup bowl. They were at a downscale restaurant in the Old Quarter, not too far from the palace. It wasn’t a swanky, high-class place, but it wasn’t a cheap fast food joint, either. (Applejack was a bit surprised to find that, yes, fast food joints existed even in Zebrabwe.) The food wasn’t spectacular, but it was more than good enough. According to Twilight, Inkosi was paying for it. Which was good, because the people who’d already been in the embassy and Idube’s caravan, there were almost twenty people of varying species there; Applejack could only imagine what the end bill was going to be like. The waiters, at least, looked polite, given the large crowd. Maybe it was the presence of the ambassadors and winged guards. Taking a sip of her own soup, Applejack noticed Twilight looking out over the zebras, apparently lost in thought. “Somethin’ wrong, sugarcube?” “No,” Twilight said, shaking her head, “just… this is the first time I’ve met with regular zebras, not nobles or bosses or anything like that, and they’re a lot like ponies.” “Yeah,” Applejack said. “Some of ‘em can be a bit strange-” Bhiza pulled her muzzle from her soup. “I resent that.” Back into the soup. Applejack rolled her eyes and continued. “-but that ain’t different from how ponies can be strange, is it?” “Of course not,” said Twilight. “But at the same time, they’re so different. So much we take for granted, they have to work around. Pegasi control Equestria’s weather, but zebras have to catch, train, and harness iimpundulu to do that. And did you know that the zebras’ recorded history is, as best I can tell, a thousand years shorter than ponies’ recorded history?” “Huh. Really?” Twilight nodded. “Since all zebras are more-or-less the same, as opposed the differences in the pony tribes, there was less of a divide between them, so there was less need for like individuals to band together and coalesce into distinct nations; they stayed tribal, with a rich oral tradition as opposed to writing, for longer. And yet, in spite of that shorter history, they’re about as technologically advanced as us. Probably even more.” She sighed happily. “There’s just so much out there to learn. I can see why Livingstone stayed here. Everything’s new.” “So y’all wanna just get out and learn everythin’ y’can, right?” “Sometime soon, yeah. But not right now. I’ve been looking over my shoulder for the past few days, and even though that’s gone, I’ve still got to meet with a king, and it’s all…” Twilight waved a hoof around in a circle. “It’s all a bit much, you know? For now, I’m ready to just relax until tomorrow.” Twilight held up her mug in a toast. Applejack nodded. “Until tomorrow.” Clink.