//------------------------------// // Chapter Two // Story: The Seeker of Knowledge // by Sonata Blaze //------------------------------// "This is so exciting!" the mare said, running up the stairs and coming to a stop in front of Ashjing, "I have read a few books about the various races that live across the whole of Equus, on the various continents outside of Equestria's borders, but I've never seen a mention of whatever you are! Oh there are so many questions that I have to ask you; like who and what you are, what your homeland is like... and especially how you managed to get in my tower." "Twilight, you can't go running up to strange creatures and start asking them questions." the whelp said in annoyance, though Ashjing noticed that he had crossed his arms as he followed the mare up the stairs, "Besides, we don't even know if we can trust her yet." "Wait... how do you know its female?" the mare, Twilight, asked, turning to the young whelp in shock, though Ashjing was also surprised that he had figured it out without even telling them anything about herself. "I hang out with you all day long," the whelp replied, though its eyes never left Ashjing, "and a lot of the ponies we interact with are mares, so I guess I immediately guessed which gender this creature is based on who we meet around the castle. I should really stop guessing genders and focus on whoever we're meeting... otherwise I might end up like you one day." Ashjing sensed that there was some sort of bond between the two of them, though she had no idea if it was a teacher and student relationship or a family relationship. They way they talked made her think it was a family type of relationship, but decided not to say anything until she knew more about the two of them. "Do not worry yourself young dragon," Ashjing said, deciding that it was time that she said something, causing the two to look at her in shock, "you actually guessed my gender right." "I think its time for a change of pace," Twilight said, as if she wanted to get away from the subject they had been talking about, "Introductions are in order; I am Twilight Sparkle, and I study all aspects of magic under the watchful eye of my teacher, Princess Celestia. This is Spike, my Number One Assistant. If you don't mind me asking, but what are you exactly?" "I am Lorewalker Ashjing, student of Lorewalker Cho," Ashjing replied, bowing her head ever so slightly to Twilight, because she knew that she had to show some respect to someone, or somepony, that was being taught by royalty, "As for what I am... I am a Pandaren, from the land of Pandaria." "Lore...walker?" Twilight asked, clearly not understanding what Ashjing was saying, "Pandaria? I'm sorry, but I have never heard of either of those things." "I did not expect you to, seeing how I'm from another world," Ashjing commented, seeing the look of confusion on Twilight's face deepen, "My home world is called Azeroth. What's the name of this world?" "Our continent is called Equestria, though our world is called Equus." Twilight replied, amazement filling her eyes once more, "I still can't believe what I'm seeing; a creature from another world, called into our world from a strange magical anomaly that occurred maybe twenty minutes ago... you are real, aren't you?" Ashjing had heard of the expression 'seeing was believing', though she assumed that Twilight Sparkle was of the mind set that touching that something would confirm it existed... especially if she had appeared from some sort of magical anomaly. She smiled and beckoned for Twilight to approach her, deciding to give her the opportunity to see that she was real and that she was actually standing in the same room that she and Spike were in. Twilight approached her for a moment and held her hoof out, pausing for a moment as if she was thinking about something, before she reached forward and touched her hoof against Ashjing's stomach. "I don't believe it," Twilight said, joy filling her eyes as she realized that Ashjing was real, "I guess I had better move on to a better question than are you real. Tell me, how did you get here? What events brought you to my tower?" "I walked through a magical gateway that the people of my world referred to as the Dark Portal," Ashjing explained, taking a seat at the nearby table, though she smiled when Twilight and Spike joined her, "Normally this portal connects to a world called the Outlands, but recently something has changed... because it started connecting to the world that the Outlands had been about thirty years ago. My world was attacked by the natives of the old world, through a force they called the Iron Horde, and we defended our home until this new threat was pushed back. Even though the Iron Horde had been forced back into their world we knew it was only a matter of time until they came back, so the leaders of the Alliance and Horde sent their armies at the portal to battle the Iron Horde on their home world. Unfortunately the portal was growing increasingly unstable when the armies crossed over to Draenor, so when I... umm... attempted to cross over the portal threw me through space itself... until I appeared in this tower." "You make it sound like you weren't supposed to be near this Dark Portal at all," Spike commented, to which he earned a glare from Twilight, "What? I'm just making an observation, that's all." "I was supposed to arrive at the Dark Portal three days after the armies entered the portal," Ashjing said, though she noticed that Twilight was writing notes on everything she was saying, "A friend of mine, Archmage Khadgar, was heading in with the forces of the Horde and Alliance and told me that when I arrived he would have a tower set up in this new world. It was from there that he, the mages that he handpicked for the venture, and myself would study the world around us and uncover the secrets that had been lost to time. Its a shame that I'll never get to see what Draenor looked like or learn what secrets it possessed." "Its because you arrived at the Portal three days too early." Twilight said, connecting the dots for herself, though she smiled when Ashjing nodded her head, "I can't believe that your friends with an Archmage... and I'm willing to bet that he's already started looking for you." It looked like Twilight wanted to say more, though before she could do so Spike started tapping on the table with his claws, almost as if he was trying to remind her of something important. Ashjing had figured that the young mare had forgotten something important, because she remembered her mentioning that the Princess she studied under had felt the anomaly that had brought her to this world. No doubt Princess Celestia, if she was remembering the name correctly, had sent Twilight to investigate the tower she lived in, which brought them to what they were doing now. She had the feeling that she knew what was coming, but decided to let Twilight connect the dots herself before she said anything to the young mare. "Spike... how long have we been sitting here?" Twilight asked, as if she wanted to check something before voicing what she was thinking about. "About an hour," Spike replied, a small grin appearing on his face for a moment, telling Ashjing that he was pleased that Twilight had caught onto what he was trying to tell her. "Princess Celestia must be wondering what's taking me so long." Twilight commented, though the way she said it Ashjing almost assumed that it was meant more for herself than for anyone else, "Oh what am I going to tell her? Its not like I can just waltz into the throne room with a stranger!" "Oh for the love of Celestia!" Spike groaned, snapping his head with his right hand for a moment, "Twilight, your Princess Celestia's personal student. That means the guards will know to look the other way once you tell them that Ashjing is here on official business. They might question it in their minds, but they wouldn't speak out against the pony that was their Princess' student." "Oh... your right Spike. I don't know what I was worrying over." Twilight said, turning her attention back to Ashjing, "Well then, follow me and I'll get us to Princess Celestia in no time." Ashjing nodded as she and Spike followed Twilight down the stairs, though as they reached the tower's entrance she turned back and grabbed her bag from the chair she had set it on. She didn't think it was safe to leave the puzzle box, which was still in her bag, unattended for some unknown length of time. It wasn't that she didn't trust Twilight or Spike, but she felt better having her bag with her at all times... and that included the box that it carried. With the strap of her bag wrapped over her left shoulder, and the bag back where it belonged, she rejoined her companions and followed them out of the tower. Once they were actually outside the tower Ashjing was able to take in her new surroundings and examine the city, while they walked towards the castle. In the light of the evening the buildings and roads glowed with a golden hue, shimmering and sparkling like a million precious gemstones. A seemingly endless array of streets criss-crossed each other in a spider web-like array, all leading towards a single focal point... the castle itself. Ashjing was amazed by the city that rested before her, though she knew that the palace was likely more amazing than anything she had seen so far. When they reached the castle she discovered that it was larger than she was expecting it to be, though they were stopped outside the castle by a pair of stallions that were wearing gold colored armor and carried spears on their backs. Ashjing could tell that the guards were staring at her, though their expressionless faces told her nothing about what they were thinking, making her wonder if they were animated stone statues or something. "Don't worry boys," Spike said, beating Twilight to the punch, before throwing a hand back towards Ashjing, "She's with Twilight on official business." The guards looked at Twilight for a moment, to make sure that Spike's claims were true, though when Twilight nodded her head the pair of guards moved out of the way and the trio continued their journey towards the throne room. Ashjing guessed that Twilight didn't like to order guards around, though they were lucky that the guards didn't ask what business they happened to be on. As they walked Twilight admitted that the castle was somewhat confusing to ponies that hadn't been there before, which Ashjing could see thanks to the various passages that looked like they could take someone to anywhere in the castle. It took them some time to reach the throne room, where Spike managed to get the guards to let them through again, but Ashjing thought it was well worth the effort to reach their destination. On the other side of the room was a massive pony, easily twice the height that Twilight was, that happened to be sitting on the throne. Ashjing's eyes widened as she realized that the mare was about the same size as one of the horses back on Azeroth, which she had seen when the Alliance moved their wagons towards the Blasted Lands. She also noticed that the large pony had a horn and a pair of wings, though Ashjing assumed that meant that she was important to this world. The mare had a coat that was as white as pure snow, with a mane and tail that shone with multiple shades of blue and purple, though they were also flowing in a non-existent breeze. Ashjing assumed that this had to be Princess Celestia, based on the fact that the mare was wearing some golden jewelry on her hooves, around her neck, and had a crown on her head. "Princess Celestia, I have returned with my findings on the magical anomaly you sent me to investigate," Twilight said, causing the large pony to turn towards them for a moment, "Your not going to believe what I found." "I have been eagerly waiting for you to return, my dear Twilight. And I see you brought Spike with you," the large pony said, taking stock of both Twilight and Spike for a moment, before noticing that there was someone else standing beside them, "and also someone else that I'm not familiar with." "Princess Celestia, meet Lorewalker Ashjing of the continent of Pandaria, formally from the planet called Azeroth," Twilight said, waving a hoof to Ashing for a moment, "Lorewalker Ashjing, meet Princess Celestia, the sole ruler of the kingdom of Equestria." "Greetings, then, Lorewalker Ashing," Princess Celestia replied, beckoning for the three of them to join her with one of her wings, to which Ashjing watched as the Princess removed herself from the throne and walked down to where they were standing, "I hope that you have found this land to your liking." "Very much so your highness," Ashjing replied, bowing her head respectfully once more, though she decided to leave out the fact that she hadn't seen anything besides Twilight's tower, the city, and the castle, "It is a beautiful and breathtaking land that you rule over." Princess Celestia smiled and stared at Ashjing for a moment, as if she was trying to figure out something without actually asking a question, before she turned to one of the nearby guards. "Inform the other guards that the Day Court has ended and that they are free to relax until their replacements arrive," Princess Celestia said, though Ashjing noticed that she spoke with a hint of kindness in her voice, "Oh, and ask the cooks to send some tea and cookies up when they have the chance... I haven't had the chance to actually eat anything since breakfast." The guard nodded and left the throne room with the guard that was duty with him, no doubt heading to tell the other guards on the other side of the door what their Princess had told them. With the guards gone Princess Celestia moved to the left side of the room and her horn lit up, to which a small doorway appeared before their eyes. The doorway connected the throne room to a much smaller room that appeared to be a retreat of some kind, which Ashjing assumed was the room where the Princess relaxed before she had to sit on the throne all day long. There was a long sofa in the middle of the room, with two smaller ones on either side of it, and a fireplace that had a steady fire going. It was a cozy room, one that Ashjing was sure that the Princess enjoyed using from time to time, though that thought was confirmed when Princess Celestia laid down on the larger sofa and set out a sigh. Twilight and Spike took their seats on the sofa to the left of the Princess, so Ashjing took the one on the right and smiled when she sat down. As she got comfortable she wondered what questions the Princess would have for her, because she knew that there were going to be quite a few before the evening was done. As that thought crossed her mind another door opened and a azure coated mare walked into the room with a cart, to which she moved several cups, a teapot, and a few plates of cookies onto the table before withdrawing and closing the door behind her. The moment the mare was gone Princess Celestia, Twilight, and Spike picked up one of the tea cups, though Ashjing smiled and picked up one herself. That was swiftly followed by the Princess lifting the pot up and pouring some into all of their cups, before setting it down and snagging a few of the cookies for herself. "Go ahead and help yourself Lorewalker," Princess Celestia said, beckoning to the tray of cookies for a moment, "I'm sure that you could use something to boost your energy as well." Ashjing nodded and helped herself to some of the cookies, which she noticed were chocolate chip cookies, though she was still surprised that they had been made so fast. Though as she thought about it, and silently ate one of the cookies she was holding, she reasoned that the Princess might actually end the 'Day Court' at the same time every day and the kitchen staff had everything prepared ahead of time. She knew she was hungry, as the last thing she could recall eating was a light lunch so she didn't linger in the Swamp of Sorrows. There was also no telling just how long she had been out before coming to her senses in the tower, but that was more like a few minutes considering what Twilight had told her. Still, she was grateful to have something to munch on and something to drink, as she knew she needed it after everything that happened to her. "I assume that you have questions for both Twilight and myself," the Princess commented, snapping Ashjing back to reality for a moment, "and I will admit that I have quite a few of my own. I am curious as to what you are and where you came from, as well as what a 'Lorewalker' actually is." "I am a Pandaren, from the island of Pandaria," Ashjing explained, noticing that Twilight was prepared to take notes, in the off chance that she revealed more than what she told her in the tower, "My kind stayed on that island for about ten thousand years and we rarely left our land to travel to the rest of the world, save for a brave few that kept the exact location of our home a secret. A few years ago the mists finally parted and the world realized that we were there, though some of my people joined the Horde while others flocked to the Alliance. I, and many more of my kind, remained neutral to their conflicts and dealt with more personal problems." "Sounds like you lived in a world of warcraft," Spike commented, though he paused partway through eating one of his cookies when he realized that all eyes were on him, "What? I was just adding my two bits." Ashjing knew of Azeroth's history, and the various wars that had threatened to tear the world asunder, so she knew that the dragon wasn't far off, but decided to say nothing on the subject. "As for what a Lorewalker is, think of me as a historian of sorts," Ashjing continued, remembering something that her mentor, Lorewalker Cho once told her, "knowledge is my armor, and I carry a quill instead of a sword. Back on Azeroth I visited the other continents and dug up whatever knowledge or artifact I was searching for, whether that was by actually visiting a dig site or searching through a library for the information I needed. Before I came here, by means of a powerful gateway called the Dark Portal, I managed to recover one artifact; the Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron." "Do you still have it with you?" Twilight asked, though Ashjing could see the gleam in her eyes, telling her that the mare was definitely a lover of history and books. Ashjing nodded and reached into her bag, carefully withdrawing the ancient puzzle box and hearing two gasps as it was revealed to the light once more. She could tell that both Twilight and Spike were surprised by the appearance of the box, though she was surprised that the Princess wasn't so surprised. That told her that the Princess was much older than Twilight and that she had likely seen some things that were as strange as the box. Ashjing filed that information away as she attempted to solve the puzzle box again, though she knew what the outcome would be. After three minutes of trying to solve the box, and giving Twilight the chance to try with her magic, it was returned to Ashjing's hands, where she waited for the voice to speak before she put the box away. The giant rook watches from the dead trees. the voice whispered, causing Twilight and Spike to look around for a moment, though Princess Celestia merely raised an eyebrow at the box, Nothing breathes beneath his shadow. "Is... is it supposed to do that?" Twilight asked, though it was clear that she didn't like the sound of the voice that had whispered the words. "Yes, but why it does was something I was supposed to study back on Azeroth," Ashjing replied, putting the puzzle box away once more, though she was unwilling to admit that the whispering was caused by the fact that it was the relic of an Old God. "Most interesting." Princess Celestia commented, turning her attention back to Ashjing for a moment, "You never did mention what your diet was... and I'm slightly interested in hearing about it." "Oh... well that's easy. All Pandaren are omnivores," Ashjing answered, though she knew that the Princess was only asking because she wanted to keep her subjects safe, "We have incisors, so we can eat meat, but to be honest I stay away from that sort of thing when I can help it. I'm more into fruits and vegetables, salads, and the occasional pasta dish from time to time. Do not worry your highness, I can go without meat." She could tell that the Princess was studying her and analyzing every word that she said, as if she was making sure that she was telling the truth before she made her decision. Truthfully Ashjing hoped that she'd be allowed to stay in this world, because she had no idea how to open a portal back to Azeroth if she was told to leave. She guessed that she could always explore the world until she found someplace to settle into, as she knew there had to be more continents than Equestria. Though it was as she finished that thought that she noticed that Princess Celestia's horn had stopped glowing, as it had been going the entire time they had been talking. "Lorewalker Ashjing, I sense no dishonesty in your words." the Princess finally said, a small smile appearing on her face, "However, I would ask that you stay in Canterlot for the time being until we introduce you to the public, so I'd prepare for a small conference in the immediate future. Until then you can stay with Twilight and Spike in their tower, as there is plenty of room for someone else to live comfortably along side them. Once the public knows about you we'll go from there. Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to retire to my chambers before I have to lower the sun and raise the moon. Oh, and welcome to Equestria." Ashjing smiled as Princess Celestia got off the sofa she was sitting on and excused herself, leaving the three of them alone for the moment. She was grateful that the Princess was willing to let her stay inside the city, Canterlot as she had learned, and that she would be spending time with Twilight and Spike. There was so much she needed to learn about this mysterious world if she was going to adapt to any sort of life here, and she was sure that there was a lot more questions that Twilight wanted to ask her. Though as she processed what the Princess had said, or more like the last bit, something crossed her mind that made no sense to her. "Wait, what did she say about the sun and the moon?"