//------------------------------// // A Mammoth of a Problem III // Story: Rainbow Dash's Unstoppable Ego // by MagicS //------------------------------// Tarmok’s Hall was busy as usual. Any and all business in relation to the management of the city and anything not a personal or family matter was conducted here. If a contract between two mammoths for a job needed to be written, it was approved here. If a mammoth needed a loan from the senate to start up a new business, it was approved here. If someone had broken the law they were put on trial here. If someone thought a new statue should go up somewhere, it was debated here. And so on and so forth like any well functioning center of government in the world. Larkon didn’t think it was perfect but he was still proud of the senate’s efficiency and benevolence in these matters, he had to believe that most other city-states could only dream to possess such a clean legislature. His only complaints were in certain areas but for the day to day business he could always count on the senators to get the job done and get it done fairly. As a mammoth oft given work to do by the senate it was certainly nice that they governed well. Nobody needed an incompetent boss. He had made it up the steps after arriving at the hall (always an obnoxious climb) and just sort of wandered in since he didn’t really have any set place to be or thing to do. Larkon figured some sort of interesting business would pop up and he could eavesdrop on that or just walk into the senate chamber and see whatever they were up to at the moment. Perhaps in a bit of luck he saw a friend of his who worked here, a scribe by the name of Ansel. Maybe he would have some news on the senate this morning. “Ansel, my friend, how are you?” Larkon said as he walked up to the other with a smile, his trunk raised in a greeting. Ansel turned at the sound of his name and smiled at Larkon. “Larkon! I didn’t expect you today.” His eyes drifted up to the top of Larkon’s head and he grimaced. “Ah, so it’s the bowler today is it?” “Oh be quiet,” Larkon frowned but then quickly chuckled. “And yes, I couldn’t help myself.” “You’re a slave to your work,” Ansel shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Hardly! I’m a slave to my passions, and luckily my work is entwined with them,” Larkon playfully slapped his friend on the cheek with his trunk. “So tell me, what’s the news today? Has anything special or sudden come up? I’d love to watch a good debate or be a witness to a new business contract if needed.” Ansel shrugged, his trunk coming up to rub an itchy spot behind his ears. “Unfortunately for your sake I’m afraid that things are just as the schedule said they would be yesterday. The senate is still convened on the matter of expanding the kelp farms or not.” “For the third day in a row...” Larkon sighed. He wanted to see a good debate and discussion. Not a bad one. And this was something he was already familiar with thanks to the past two days when he was actually working, a matter that as historian he would have to record as part of his normal work anyways once the senate was done. And thanks to how dry an issue it was he would likely gloss over it in his books. “I suppose I’ll try and see if there is a private affair being held somewhere here. Even just a walk through the Hall may yield something enjoyable.” While the work of the senate and big business issues and so forth had to be scheduled in advance and the schedule written on a large board outside the senate chamber, smaller ones could be held with but a moment’s notice and even ones that were scheduled in advance weren’t always announced or available for the general public to see. “There’s a wedding being ordained that you can walk in on,” Ansel said. “That’s a bit too private,” Larkon shot a frown at his friend. “Well I’m sure you’ll find something even if it’s just a bit of conflict mediation between two parties. I’ll have to get to the senate chamber in a moment.” “Fair enough, I wouldn’t want to keep you from your work.” Larkon was going to bid farewell to his friend and travel elsewhere in the Hall in search of something stimulating for the day when a commotion reached both their ears. The two mammoths turned to look at the great entrance to the hall and saw a crowd of mammoths practically blocking the way, all of them murmuring to each other and looking about in shock. “What’s going on?” Ansel wondered. “I haven’t the faintest idea,” Larkon rubbed his brow with his trunk. “But I think we should see.” Rainbow Dash and Mallom made it up the final step, although she was flying so technically it might not have counted, and stood before the huge open door. Along the way all the other mammoths on the steps had noticed her and were now making up a new entourage while the ones who were up here at the first floor of the Hall had also seen her and were crowding the entrance. The mammoths were all very curious and Mallom had to practically push some of them aside so they could actually enter Tarmok’s Hall. It was a decent welcome for Rainbow Dash’s standards. The attention was like food to her. The atrium was large and not just because it was built for mammoths either. The ceiling looked like it went up almost to the roof of the building and a great chandelier hung from it, illuminating the entire atrium. A large hall went off to her left while stairs went up the back wall to higher levels of the building. There seemed to be a few other doors along the wall and an area in the center of the area with couches, chairs, and tables. Those must’ve been some impressive chairs and couches though if they could hold the weight of a mammoth. The floor looked to be lacquered hardwood that gleamed in the light and was immaculately clean. From what she could tell it seemed like every mammoth here was trying to rush and mob her. If she couldn’t fly she very well might have been trampled. But she couldn’t really just fly up and buzz around the atrium looking around on her own, that might’ve caused a commotion or panic. So again she had to have Mallom sort things out. The big mammoth loudly stomped his foot on the ground until the crowd around them grew silent and Rainbow Dash lowered herself to flying right by his head. Mallom then cleared his throat and smiled before taking a deep breath. “Announcing the arrival of Rainbow Dash from Equestria!” He bellowed throughout the entire atrium, his deep voice having no trouble at all carrying and echoing off the walls. “A pony who has journeyed far and wide and has now arrived on our doorstep, make way everyone! It is to the senate that she goes!” The mammoths all hastily parted to the sides, allowing her and Mallom an easy way through. Rainbow Dash grinned and threw off some even more cocky than usual waves and smiles to the mammoths in the Hall as they passed. Naturally they kept talking about her, some in hushed whispers, others not even trying to disguise it. More than one clearly looked like they wanted to approach and ask her questions but had to hold themselves back after Mallom’s announcement, knowing they couldn’t delay her visit to the senate. “You’re a real lifesaver, Mallom,” Rainbow Dash said to him while she waved at the last mammoth they passed. “Merely doing my duties,” he stated. Although Rainbow Dash could hear a good deal of pride in his voice. They walked into the large hallway that led to the left wing of the building and Mallom eagerly pointed to the end of it with his trunk. “Look, at the end there, behind those doors is the senate chamber.” Rainbow Dash looked down and saw a set of oaken double doors at the end of the hallway, they weren’t oversized like the red doors leading into Tarmok’s Hall but they were elaborately and artistically carved with inlaid flowers and jewel designs going all around the frame and spiraling lines in the center. Golden door handles that seemed to practically radiate light with how polished they were sat in the middle of the door, they were also designed in the shape of mammoth tusks. Just looking at that door too Rainbow Dash doubted she could pull it open on her own. In fact that might end up being a recurring problem for her stay here. “Looks like we’re also going to have quite a few witnesses to your first visit to our government,” Mallom said as he looked over his shoulder. Rainbow Dash followed in suit and saw that a majority of the mammoths from the atrium were quietly walking behind them. Trying not to make a fuss and see if they could sneak into the senate chamber before it became too crowded. “Guess so.” To the right of the door was also a large board that had some stuff written on it that Rainbow Dash couldn’t make out while to the left was a podium that a mammoth wearing a top hat and a dickie stood behind. The podium had what looked like a large book on it along with a feather and ink bottle. Currently the mammoth manning it seemed to be halfway asleep, Rainbow Dash was sure she saw him almost nodding off. When they got a little closer the steps seemed to alert him that someone was coming and he looked up with half-lidded eyes. At first he didn’t seem to register the flying pony but when he did his jaw dropped and his eyes shot between her and Mallom over and over. “Hello,” Mallom said to the mammoth as he and Rainbow Dash stopped in front of the door. “Could you open up the door for us and announce our presence to the senate, consulate? As you can see this is pretty important business.” “Y-Yes, of course,” the consulate stuttered but went over to the door and grasped one of the handles with his trunk, pulling it open for the two of them and using a built in door stopper to hold it open momentarily so they could all walk in. The door opened up to a carpeted aisle in-between dozens of rows of benches that were all occupied by mammoths dressed in black robes. At the far end of the chamber directly down this midsection was a long, curved table where three additional mammoths sat and to the left of this table was a lone chair and desk with a single mammoth sitting over it and writing something into a scroll. The ceiling of the chamber had a total of six chandeliers, three over each group of benches, that were very luxurious themselves but not as huge as the one in the atrium. On the sides of the room there were numerous alcoves and other benches, some of which were currently occupied by other mammoths not wearing the black robes. And the entire back wall of the chamber right behind the long table was taken up by a massive painting of a regal mammoth standing on a cliff overlooking a green valley with dozens of other mammoths huddling behind him. The consulate cleared his throat and stomped his foot on the ground three times to grab the attention of the senators who hadn’t already turned at the sound of the door opening. “My lords! An important announcement!” Rainbow Dash once more had to deal with a huge crowd of mammoths realizing just what they were looking at and the importance of it. Every last eye in the room had turned to her and she particularly enjoyed the befuddled expressions from the three mammoths at the long table. Once their presence was noted Mallom stepped forward. “I, Mallom, had the fortune to be at the gate when this pony arrived at our city. I now introduce to you all, Rainbow Dash!” “Uh, hey,” Dash awkwardly grinned and waved a hoof at the senate and other mammoths in the chamber. There was no simple murmuring this time, the entire chamber erupted into a loud commotion, all of the mammoths either trying to shout questions over each other or engaging in a yelling conversation about this blue pony that had appeared before them. “Order! I call for order!” The mammoth in the center of the curved table yelled, he grasped a gavel in his trunk and repeatedly banged it on the table’s surface. It didn’t do him much good just yet, everyone was far too enamored with Rainbow Dash. “As the speaker and convener of this senate I demand order!” It took a few more time of banging the gavel but the mammoths were eventually forced into submission by his relentless swings. “There,” he sighed and took a deep stare at Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash was it? If it is your will would you like to come closer?” She smiled and dropped to the carpet, folding in her wings and beginning her walk down the long aisle. “Sure.” Like this she really got to take her time and make the mammoths drown in anticipation. They all watched her take step after step with a confident look on her face and impeccable posture. Despite her much smaller size she managed to come off as intimidating and impossibly sure of herself. It was as good a first impression she could give them as any. When she made it to the table she had to crane her neck quite a bit to look eye to eye with the speaker, he was an older mammoth with graying hair and saggy wrinkles under his eyes and down his trunk. Most noticeably he wore gold bands around his front feet. “So, you are already aware then that we have not had an outsider here for as long as this city has stood?” He asked her. “Yeah, Mallom told me. But you guys know about ponies and the outside world, don’t you?” He nodded. “To a degree. We keep a very good record of our history, our knowledge may be dated in some areas thanks to our isolation over the past few centuries though.” The speaker coughed. “But I can not tell you enough how pleased I—all of us are—to see you here. It truly is a blessing to see that any creature has happily and willingly come to our city.” Definitely sounds like a story there. Rainbow Dash thought. “Well it seems like a really nice city so far. And you guys have been cool.” “Thank you, that warms my heart to here that you have been received well and are enjoying yourself,” he smiled. “My name is Bakol, I am more or less in charge of keeping the senate in order and getting our business started and finished.” “Nice to meet you,” Rainbow Dash flew up a bit over the table and turned around, waving at the whole chamber. “Nice to meet all of you! You already know my name, but let me tell you something else! I’m a pegasus from Equestria, way, way, way to the south of here, we’re a whole huge country of ponies and I’m like, basically an ambassador of it. So it’s really cool to be the first pony from Equestria to be here! I’ve been flying north looking for fun and adventure for a while now and meeting you guys is pretty awesome, whenever I get back home I’ll tell my friends all about you too! And if there’s anything else you want to know, just ask! I guarantee you I’m the most awesome pony you’ll ever meet!” The mammoths clapped together in applause and some even trumpeted with their trunks (which made Rainbow Dash wonder why Mallom’s coworkers had actual trumpets) while Rainbow Dash hovered there. Bakol had to bang his gavel down a few more times until things got quiet again. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash of Equestria. Please, won’t you tell us more of your home and your adventure? I want every mammoth in the city to know about you, and they will know about you by tomorrow, I’ll have the newspaper make sure of it. And of course we’ll tell you anything you would like to know about us, and you will be treated like royalty and given whatever you desire, it is truly the least we can do for you.” Rainbow Dash was happy to hear that but at the same time she had to admit she was curious and even a little suspicious of the way they were acting. This wasn’t just being a good host, that’s what Pile and Dust Bunny were, these guys were trying to be as perfect and reverent as possible. She could imagine that they wanted to make a good impression on the first guest they’ve ever had but were none of them really even remotely suspicious of her? Even if they had heard of ponies it doesn’t seem like they knew about Equestria, and yet they weren’t questioning her about anything she said at all. She was taken completely at face value and they were ostensibly going to be absurdly generous to her. Should she make vocal what she had heard about them from the yaks? That might be pretty rude… and they were being super nice to her. Maybe she could just ask Mallom or one of the other mammoths in private? Rainbow Dash decided to at least ask one of the questions she really wanted to ask. “Thanks for everything, but I was really surprised when I heard that I was the first visitor you’ve ever had. How come no one else has come here?” Bakol got a somewhat sad look on his face and she could feel that attitude wash over the rest of the senate behind her. “A reasonable question. As you can tell we are quite isolated from the outside world, your ability of flight no doubt allowed you easy access to our valley but there are few other creatures and civilizations up here that have such an ability. That is the main reason but also… while it is a dismaying topic I do not wish to hide it from you. We mammoths are not fondly remembered by the other creatures of the north, and this entire area is seen as cursed land that is avoided by others.” “Oh, sorry,” Rainbow Dash winced at the somber tone this meeting had taken. Sounds like there was a fair amount of truth to the yak’s story although there also had to be way more going on than just what Bakol said. Wanting to change the topic to something more upbeat though, Rainbow Dash took over. “Well hey, forget about that for now! I’ll tell you guys everything I know about Equestria and even tell you all my own awesome stories and adventures! You better sit down cause this is gonna get your blood pumping and your spirits lifted!” She flew down and landed right on top of the table, looking up at Bakol. “Hope you guys have the time?” The speaker glanced over at the other two mammoths at the table and then at the one sitting with the scroll, they all gave him eager smiles and small nods and Bakol looked back at her with a tight-lipped smile of his own. “In truth we had some work to do that is already running late, but I think we’re all in agreement that you take precedence here today, Rainbow Dash.” “Awesome!” Rainbow Dash pumped her hoof in small victory. Bureaucracy and legislation were boring anyways. Now Rainbow Dash certainly wasn’t a big history buff, and she didn’t know half—hay—a tenth of what Twilight knew. But she had been around for a lot of big things, and she knew important stuff like Hearthswarming, and what happened to Luna, and the stories of the Pillars. Surprisingly enough she was probably one of the better ponies to come to when it came to relating all the important stuff in Equestria’s history, the far past and the more recent. If these mammoths wanted to learn all about Equestria and everything that defined it, she’d give them a storytelling hour for the ages. But where to start? “Okay...” Rainbow Dash rubbed a hoof under her chin and then grinned as she looked out across the chamber. “Let me tell you guys about a pony called Starswirl the Bearded...” “… and so that’s when Starswirl and the other five Pillars planted the seeds for what would eventually be called the Tree of Harmony. And then...” “… but when it seemed like the windigos were going to bury everything in ice and the ponies were doomed, the friendship between Smart Cookie, Clover the Clever, and Private Pansy saved them...” “… you see, Princess Luna was jealous of her sister. She thought nobody appreciated her or the night she watched over. And one day she just couldn’t take it anymore and she became the evil Nightmare Moon...” “… and right there is where I met Twilight Sparkle, the second most awesome pony in the world...” “… together the six of us defeated Nightmare Moon and freed Princess Luna from the influence of evil, and ever since then we’ve been best friends and...” “… we defeated Tirek! And a new crystal castle grew from the Tree of Harmony, we later learned that a map also...” “… so after defeating the Storm King, Twilight got the idea to make a school so we could teach harmony and friendship to ponies and creatures all over the world! Of course then...” “… and that’s when I got the idea to fly up north for my adventure. It’s been pretty cool so far, let me tell you about some of the stuff I’ve seen...” “… so I flew up on top of the cliff and saw your city here in the valley. And that’s that.” Rainbow Dash finished telling her long tale. Thanks to them being indoors she had no idea what time of day it was but it had probably gotten pretty late now. The mammoths that had been listening were all totally enraptured and amazed by the history of Equestria and her own personal adventures. It was a great feeling. “Magnificent. Utterly magnificent,” Bakol slowly clapped in appreciation for her. “You have truly lived a life of adventure, Rainbow Dash. And Equestria itself… your home sounds breathtaking. Not for the first time I regret our seclusion and remoteness.” He pushed his chair back and stood up with a groan. “I am sorry that we must adjourn this meeting between our two people’s for the day however. There is surely much you would like to know about us, but there is also much we must do for you and it is beginning to get late. I will have to notify our newspaper and relate to them what you have told me, but tomorrow because of that the whole city will be made aware of your appearance and warmly welcome you!” The other mammoths of the senate once more stomped and trumpeted in agreement. This time they naturally calmed down quickly enough to let Bakol talk again. “There is also the matter of your lodgings, it will take time for you to get settled in and truthfully I’m not sure where we should out you up. Tarmok’s Hall is no place for a guest and obviously we don’t really have any place for visitors to stay...” “I will take her in!” The voice from the back of the chamber got the attention of all of the other mammoths and Rainbow Dash, they looked to see a mammoth that Rainbow didn’t recognize push his way past both Mallom and the consulate to stand in the middle of the aisle. He was a normal looking mammoth as far as Rainbow Dash could tell. Er, aside from the kind of silly looking hat he was wearing. Bakol seemed to recognize him. “Oh, Larkon! That would be perfect.” The mammoth called Larkon strode down the aisle to the table, regarding Rainbow Dash with a curious but polite expression. He bowed his head slightly to her and smiled. “Miss Rainbow Dash, my name is Larkon, I am the historian of our city and mammoth society. A great pleasure it is to meet you.” He lifted his trunk and stuck it out to her. Rainbow Dash grinned and shook it. “Back at ya.” Larkon chuckled and withdrew his trunk. “Would you be alright with staying at my home for the duration of your visit? I have plenty of room, any questions about mammoths you have I can answer, and you will get first hand experience of what a mammoth family looks like.” “Hey, I need somewhere to stay,” she shrugged and glanced over her shoulder at Bakol. “You all seem to be fine with this. Do you want me to come back tomorrow or...” “Actually-” Larkon interrupted. “Bakol, I don’t believe there is any reason for us to schedule more meetings such as this or make Rainbow Dash come before the senate again and again. Allow her to experience this city herself, let me be her guide at most but give her the freedom to enjoy our culture and home the way she wants to.” He glanced at Rainbow Dash. “You seem like the type who would enjoy being able to do whatever she wanted, not have to come back here everyday to talk and get approval for something.” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Heh, you read me like a book dude.” Bakol rubbed his big chin with his trunk. “I certainly trust your ideas, Larkon. You would be just about the best of us all for this too.” He coughed. “Very well, if the both of you are fine with it then for the foreseeable future, Rainbow Dash shall live with you and your family.” Rainbow Dash cracked her neck and flew up off the table, buzzing right in front of Larkon. “Alright, so where to?”