It was a warm and windy day in the kingdom of Abyssinia, which was normal for this tropical southern land. But today, something seemed off. The cat-folk farmers and ranchers looked up from their fields, sensing the odd feeling in the air, and the merchants looked up from their stalls. A strong wind was blowing in from the island's eastern shore, a wind that spoke of new arrivals... of strangers from the north...
...of ponies.
In Panthera, the capital of the great kingdom, the cats could see the newcomers for themselves. The white sails billowed high over the skies over the city's harbor, drawing the attention of all the felines in the city's streets, who pointed at started at the unusual sight. The Abyssinians stood on the rooftops of the capital's stone houses, shielding their eyes from the sun as they watched the vessel draw closer and closer. But in one of the houses, one cat woman was very busy at her own work, paying no attention to the 'great event' that drew the attention of her fellow felines.
"Catrina! Oh, Catrina!" A young tomcat called out, running up the carved stone stairs to his sister's chambers on the upper floor. "What are you doing up here? Don't you know what's going on outside?"
"Mwrrrooowwwrr! Why is it that you bother me, Fasilides?" The red feline humanoid with long blond hair hissed. "There had better be a good reason you have come to disrupt my work."
The angry cat-woman glared at her brother, a gray feline dressed in white robes, sandals, and a turban. The tomcat looked away from his older sister, speaking nervously as he replied;
"I thought you might want to know, sister, that we have a ship full of strangers in Panthera's harbor." He replied glumly. "The elders say it is a pony vessel from the lands of the north."
"Ponies? But that's impossible!" Catrina gasped, nearly dropping the beakers and test tubes she was holding. "There hasn't been a pony vessel- or any kind of vessel- in our waters for nearly a century!"
"Well, that's what the big news is!" Fasil replied, motioning with his paw for his sister to follow him. "The negus- the king- has called all of the nobles of the city to the royal palace. I, myself, am a Mesafint of the noble blood. I came to get you, because I figured the royal alchemist would wish to be there, as well."
Catrina rolled her eyes, and followed her brother out of the house, and down the cobblestone road of the city. She saw many of the other felines of the city's population were making their way towards the jubilee palace. Katrina and Fasil made their way into the castle large sandstone archway, covered with symbols carved in Ge'ez, the language of Abyssinia. They entered the large, circular castle, walking into a colorful throne room filled with oriental splendor.
"Wow, looks like his highness has really decided to pull out the fancy decorations." Fasil commented, noticing the multicolored banners on the walls and sweetly-scented, smoke filled braziers hanging from the ceiling. "I wonder if he's rolling out the red carpet for our guests."
The two siblings noticed every major noble-cat in the capital was present, when the king emerged from a chamber behind the royal throne. The obsidian-furred tomcat was covered in thick robes of colorful patterns, with a tall golden crown with hanging bead strings adorned his head. As the monarch approached his throne, the other cats bowed to the sovereign, as the royal herald announced his presence.
"Behold, his royal highness, King Sahama the third!" The herald declared loudly, spilling out all of the king's royal titles. "Negus of Abyssnia, Lion of Axum, holy descendant of King Menelik and his mother, Queen Makeda! The representative of the great deity Mahrem, shall now speak to his nobles!"
"Thank you, loyal herald." King Sahama thanked the servant, before turning back to the nobles. "My loyal subjects, we have had a unique and extraordinary event happen to our kingdom. For the first time in a hundred years, we have been graced with a visit by foreigners from another land." He looked out the window, towards the ship which was now simply floating in the harbor. "I have called all of you here, in order to decide how to react to our new arrivals."
"But, how were they able to get here?" One of the Mesafint nobles inquired, thrashing his tail in anxiety. "No ship, pony or otherwise, has been able to get past the storm king's violent weather for a century. How were this vessel able to get through?"
"More importantly... what exactly are they doing here?" Another of the nobles asked. "Are they here to trade? Or are they here for some... other, less-than-noble purpose?"
"That does raise the question... how exactly DID they get through the storm king's weather wall?" Fasil questioned, stroking his whiskers with his free paw. "It's seems a little suspicious, if you ask me."
"My brother is right, it seems a little strange this are the first visitors our lands have gotten in three generations... unless one counts that rumored incursion up north at Axum a decade ago." Catrina purred thoughtfully. "It is possible they are spies sent by the storm king, trying to learn our secrets, after all those failed attempts to conquer our kingdom."
"Then I believe it would be best to have two cats, to keep an eye on our visitors." The king replied, giving the siblings a stare that made them turn pale. "We shall give our guests the royal treatment, and Catrina and Fasil shall follow them everywhere they decide to go."
"Wait... us?" Fasil asked in shock. "But... what are we supposed to do?"
"Oh... well, begin the first guests we've had in a century, we need to treat them like honored guests." King Sahama replied. "So I want you to let them stay at your estate, and be their guides here in Abyssinia." The monarch smiled. "You'll be compensated out of the royal treasury, or course."
And as the monarch dismissed the royal court, the feline brother and sister wondered what exactly they had gotten themselves into...