//------------------------------// // Greetings // Story: Turns // by Equimorto //------------------------------// Three guards were waiting for them, or at least Sassy assumed they were guards. She didn't precisely know if the capital had a Royal Guard like Canterlot's. Either way, there were three armour-clad minotaurs on the shore as they stepped onto it. They silently greeted the ship's captain with nods, then turned to look at the ponies. "Come with us," the one in the middle said, then he turned and began to walk. Nervously looking to each other, the three ponies followed behind. The three led them to a set of metal tracks in the ground, one end riding up the promontory while the other disappeared into the distance. A train passed by on its way away from the city, and more than a few curious glances darted from its windows towards the mares. Sassy swore she saw Twilight bite down on her lips to stop a squee of excitement. Their own train arrived just a little later. It rode down empty from the city, and stopped right in front of them, opening its doors. The ride was just as exciting as Sassy had assumed it would be. It was interesting to actually feel the inclination, she had to admit, the train to Canterlot always made it feel like it was travelling on a flat surface. But aside from that and the slower pace, nothing too relevant. That gave her some time to focus on something else though, something they'd seen before the train. The guards' armours. She sketched them down as they climbed to the capital. Simple and functional, very different from Equestria's, but they had their own elegance. A shame Rarity couldn't be there, but if the Dragon Lord's sceptre was cracking then she was the pony for that. Sassy would try her best as her delegate. The train stopped. As they stepped out, Sassy reasoned it must have switched to a different set of tracks from the normal one at some point. It had reached a dead end, and they were outside the city. But any thought about the exact path they'd followed was swept away the moment she actually took in the scenery. She'd heard about it, but she didn't think that had been nearly enough to prepare her. The gates of Klayss stood high in front of them, gleaming in the reflected sunlight, and they were a spectacle to behold. Taller than every building in Canterlot but the highest spires of its castle, the entire history of the minotaurs was inscribed on it, chiselled in the gilded iron. Tales of heroes and monsters, of kings and warriors. Distantly, the mare considered how it was admittedly a safer way to preserve history than glass windows. The rest of the walls was just as impressive. While the part facing the sea still bore the reddish colour of the bricks it had been first built with, the inside had been rebuilt out of metal entirely. Shiny black, polished like a mirror, thicker than any wall in Equestria if the legend was true. Impossible to climb and impossible to tear down. One could fly, but something gave Sassy the feeling the top wasn't unguarded. The guards hadn't spoken much besides short commands. Not even their names. One of them, the one who appeared to be the captain, stepped forward, and pulled a decorated horn out of his belt. It was encircled with gold at two points along the length, runes carved in the metal. He brought it to his mouth, and blew into it. The sound was deep and loud like the howl of wind blowing through a valley between two mountains. They'd distantly heard it while on the boat, but it was something else being next to it. A moment passed after the guard placed the horn back into the strap it hung from, then the ground began to shake. With a slow but steady motion, smoother than what their size hinted at being possible, the gates began to open. There was no creature pushing them, not that any creature other than a dragon would have been able to, but hints of the gears turning them could be seen where they joined the walls. The gates finally came to a stop. Along with their turning, they'd slid backwards, and now they lay flat against the walls' section, confirming what Sassy had heard about their size. There was just a little space left on the sides, so the decorations didn't actually touch the wall. The city was visible now, the main road leading from the entrance to the royal palace large and mostly empty. "Do you have to open the gates like this every time someone comes to visit?" Fluttershy wondered aloud, inadvertently promoting the nervous darting of Twilight's eyes. "Minotaurs do not get many visits," the captain flatly replied as he stepped forward and began to lead the way inside. Then he stopped and added, in a softer tone, "But no. There are other entrances to the city, we just felt you might enjoy seeing this." Twilight sighed in relief, perhaps a little too loudly. The other two minotaurs looked at her, then at each other. Finally, they broke into chuckles. The alicorn joined them after a second, and then the group resumed its walk into the capital. If Sassy had to describe Klayss in one word, it would be colourful. But that alone didn't quite get the point across. Pony cities were colourful, too. The capital of the minotaurs' lands was different. It was warmer. Drapes of orange and red and yellow hanging from every window and every stall built of dry wood selling fruit and spices of every kind. Music came from the smaller streets around them. Strings and flutes, dozens of different songs, all playing in harmony. All following the same rhythm, the one dictated by the ever-present ring of metal being hammered and forged. Minotaurs didn't sing like ponies did, but they seemed to have quite the passion for music nonetheless. The roads weren't paved, but they weren't uncomfortable to walk on. Outside the walls, the ground was just naked rock, but inside it was dry yellow dirt and dust. Once the gates had closed behind them, it became impossible to tell that they were anywhere near the sea, even with a couple of merchants selling salt and algae and dried corals or seashells. The Royal Palace stood in front of them, at the opposite end of the city. As they walked through the large road connecting it to the gates, many curious minotaurs looked at them, most smiling and some waving. Their destination stood as the tallest building within the walls, a staircase leading up to its entrance. Its architecture bore the same squared structure as the houses around town, but where those were painted and colourful, the palace was pristine white. The group ascended to its open gates, a smaller version of the city's with only a few of the scenes, still carved in gold. Inside their hoofsteps over the polished granite echoed in the hallways, the sound broken and dimmed by the many flowerpots lining the corridors and by the strange plants inside them. It was no easy task for Equestria's only princess to stop herself from studying them right that moment. Finally they reached their destination, the bronze doors of the Council's room standing closed before them. They'd heard about the Council from Steel Bolt, the ship's captain, but he'd seemed intentionally vague about it. Bronze Knuckles, his assistant, hadn't offered much more insight. The guards' leader stepped forward, and once more took out his horn. He blew into it. A moment later, just like at the gates, the doors began to slide open. This time, however, their movement was accompanied by a fanfare of other horns answering back from inside. As the tall metal slabs turned through mechanisms hidden in the walls and floor, the Council's room revealed itself to them. They had a chance to observe it fully as they stepped inside, led by the grey-furred minotaur holding the horn. A total of seventeen seats occupied the three remaining walls, six on each side of the ponies as they entered and five in front of them. In the centre of the room, a metal platform with three steps leading up to it. Of the five seats on the far end, three were higher than the rest, the one in the centre higher than all others. On that seat sat a somewhat old looking, black-furred minotaur, a golden crown resting between his worn out horns. He wore an emerald green robe, with a crest woven into it in scarlet red. To his right was a female minotaur, wearing a silver crown herself, dressed the same way as him over her light brown fur. The rest of the lower seats were filled with a number of other minotaurs, both male and female, except the one to the old one's right, which was empty. The captain stepped onto the podium and knelt, remaining silent for a few seconds before looking up, while the other two guards signalled to the ponies to remain back for the moment. "King Golden Horn, Queen Cobalt Arrow. Here with me is Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, alongside her friends, Sassy Saddles and Fluttershy. "They come in peace, as announced during their previous communications. They wish to study our history and culture, bring news of it to their land, and establish trade routes between our countries. They also wish to share their knowledge, so that both of our nations may benefit from it." The guards gave a nod, and the three ponies stepped onto the platform, walking to the captain's side. Like they'd been instructed to before leaving Equestria, they bowed silently for a moment, then looked up and waited for the King's reaction. The black minotaur ran his gaze over them. "Very well," he spoke, his voice sounding even older than his body would have suggested, but still deep and strong. "You are welcome in our lands, and I look forward to what our encounter will bring." He clicked his tongue. "I would gladly introduce the rest of the Council to you, but it seems my dear son is missing from his seat. He sneaked out to go see the ponies before everyone else, you see." All non-pony eyes in the room turned to the armour-clad captain, and the ponies' followed as they noticed. He gave a small cough, a very sheepish smile, and rubbed a hand behind one of his horns. "Sorry, dad," he finally let out. The King smiled at him. "Prince Silver Hooves," he said, pointing towards the grey minotaur. "Now, tell us about yourselves, our little pony friends."