The entrance to Tarmok’s Hall was as grand as ever and the polished and posh lobby as busy with mammoths as she had seen it last time. What else had Mallom and Larkon said about this place? She couldn’t remember, or she hadn’t been paying attention. Probably too busy just checking the building out and preparing to meet the senate and introduce herself. And dealing with all the mammoths that were here mobbing her.
Which hadn’t changed at all.
Larkon had to push through a huge group of curious and overeager mammoths as they tried to crowd around him and Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash meanwhile flew just slightly over his head with a smug grin on her face.
“Can you please give us some room? I can hardly breath!” Larkon frowned as he shoved some others away. “Go on! Skedaddle!”
It took a little more arguing and shooing but the throngs of mammoths did give them some peace. Larkon shook his head in annoyance and started walking to the middle of the large atrium towards some comfortable looking chairs and tables.
“Taking a rest already?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at him.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t sleep very well,” Larkon apologized. “And the walk through the city and up the steps of the Hall have drained me a bit.”
“Well you guys definitely have a lot more weight to carry around than I do...” Rainbow said.
Larkon snorted. “Very funny, you’ve seen how athletic we can be, I just happen to have taken a more academic path in life.”
The big mammoth sighed as he sat down on a chair, Rainbow Dash deciding to keep hovering by. Thankfully the other mammoths around kept giving them space and just went about their normal daily business. Rainbow Dash got to watch as mammoths went down the halls or up the stairs, some carrying scrolls or important documents, some looking very busy and frantic and others taking their time. Tarmok’s Hall was a busy center of government and there was a lot to do here.
“Larkon? What are you doing here today?” A voice called from down the way to the senate chamber.
Rainbow Dash and Larkon both looked to see a mammoth that Rainbow didn’t recognize walking towards them. His fur was a bit light and he was slightly short for a mammoth with yellow and black striped tattoos on his tusks that made them reminiscent of a bumblebee.
“Hello Ansel, new tattoos?” Larkon said as he stood up from his chair with a smile.
“Indeed, just got them,” Ansel glanced at the top of Larkon’s head. “And I was hoping you might have a new hat to go along with them.”
“Shut it,” Larkon glared at him while Rainbow Dash snickered.
Ansel smirked. “But what are you doing here today? I thought-” his eyes finally registered the blue pegasus buzzing about around Larkon. “Oh. Well that explains things.”
“Yes, I’m still working as Rainbow Dash’s host and guide. Today I wanted to get her more acquainted with Tarmok’s Hall and what goes on here,” Larkon told him.
“I hope you have all day then, it’s a lot to cover,” Ansel said.
“We do thankfully. What about you? Care to join us?” Larkon asked.
Ansel shook his head. “Can’t. I have a marriage license to record and a deed for a new shop to write up. It’s a shame, I’d love to make Miss Rainbow Dash’s acquaintanceship.”
“Next time, dude. Larkon told me about the spring festival too, maybe I’ll see you there?” Rainbow said.
“I would hope so,” he smiled and then cleared his throat. “Well, I need to be going now though, farewell you two.”
“Goodbye, Ansel,” Larkon waved with his trunk as his friend walked towards the stairs going up to another level of the Hall.
Rainbow Dash waved after him too before looking over to Larkon. “So what’s he do here?”
“He’s a scribe. He records and writes up documents such as marriage licenses like he just said, but also property deeds, contracts, legal agreements, anything really.”
She raised an eyebrow at Larkon. “Then why didn’t we just go along with him? Didn’t you want me to learn about stuff like that?”
“True. But I also figured you would be bored just watching someone write up some document. I wanted to show you things actually happening right now. Maybe things you can even engage in. Or does watching Ansel write up 5,000 words on the zoning laws of a new business sound fun to you?” Larkon grinned.
“Fair point,” Dash laughed.
“Come on then,” Larkon said as he started walking towards a door at the far side of the atrium. “We’ll make our first stop at court. I’ve checked the schedule and there’s a dispute being settled between two business owners.”
“Alright,” Dash flapped her wings and flew at eye level beside him. She was still kind of looking around and just inspecting everything she saw but aside from the architecture most of the atrium was empty. Lavish, but empty. There weren’t any eye-catching sculptures or paintings out here, although she knew there were some in this building. After meeting with Ansel though there was something else she thought about too, something she wanted to ask Larkon.
“Hey Larkon? So does that Abalun guy you met with yesterday work here too?”
Larkon didn’t pause in his stride but she noticed him flinch and almost stumble a bit. And he didn’t look back at her when he answered. “No. No, Abalun doesn’t work here.”
And that was it. No other explanation, no other question or even an attempt to slide the conversation somewhere else. Rainbow Dash knew he was hiding something about Abalun or just really didn’t want to get into it. And he knew that she knew but it wasn’t going to change anything. Larkon was all clammed up about Abalun. That suspicious mammoth and the suspicious way Larkon had acted right after were getting to her, and if he didn’t have something to do with the government of the city then what did he have to do with?
She was definitely going to get her answers someday. Curiosity fed the pegasus.
Larkon reached the ebony door and tugged on the golden handle, opening it up into a hallway that spread deeper into the building. It went down a bit and had one hallway going left midway down and then turned right at the back end. The floor was carpeted and embroidered with a pattern of flowers across it while the walls were painted red. It went well with the black doors.
“This way,” Larkon said and took Rainbow Dash down the left hallway.
She could hear sounds coming from all the different doors around them and every now and then a mammoth would pop out of one and go running off somewhere else. Rainbow Dash looked at each door as they passed them by, a plaque rested on the right side of each one with a number. It started with 101 and then went on from there. Besides that the rooms weren’t labeled in any other way she could tell, they must’ve just been for general use and whatever anybody needed at the time. Or perhaps there was some kind of directory elsewhere in Tarmok’s Hall that detailed what each of them were and she just hadn’t seen it.
Larkon stopped at the room marked 109 and quietly opened the door, clearly not wanting to distract the others already inside. With just enough room for him to slip in he and Rainbow Dash entered and stood at the back while he silently closed the door.
The court room had two rows of benches that went halfway down on either side of it with two desks at the heads of the rows. The rest of the room was an open area where mammoths could stand and make their arguments or presentations while a third, much larger, desk stood attached to the back wall of the room. The two sides must’ve been to separate the two groups that came to settle their disputes or whatever was going on here.
At the moment the benches weren’t even close to being filled, there were a lot of empty spots and most of the mammoths were gathered at the front couple of benches. Other mammoths sat at all of the desks, with the ones at the back desk clearly being the judges or arbitrators. None of them had noticed their arrival yet so things continued on as normal in the court for now.
One of the mammoths at the left desk stood up and walked to the middle of the open floor, he cleared his throat and began speaking. “I have come here because my neighbor adamantly refuses to move his trashcans to the other side of his building. The smell from these trashcans creates an unpleasant odor that ruins the atmosphere and experience for my customers at my restaurant. I have asked again and again for him to simply move his trashcans but he refuses, so unfortunately I had to bring this matter before the court. He is hurting my business with his staunch refusal and selfishness.”
“The plaintiff’s case is presented,” the mammoth at the middle of the back desk said and looked over at the right table. “Your counterpoint?”
An angry looking mammoth stood up and stomped to the center of the room before jabbing his trunk straight at the plaintiff. “My point is, as I’ve always said, that my trashcans are in a perfectly legal and normal spot on my own property. It’s not my fault that there’s a restaurant right behind me and I’m not lugging them around to the other side of my building, it’s too much of a hassle cause you’d have to take all the trash from our workroom and carry it all the way around to them.”
“These guys are actually going to court over this?” Rainbow Dash leaned into Larkon’s ear and whispered.
“This is just about the most intense conflict you’ll see between two mammoths here,” Larkon whispered back.
“I agree that property rights are important,” the first mammoth, the plaintiff, said. “But should it come at the expense of my business?”
“Should your business come at the expense of my time and work?” The defendant snorted.
“It would hardly take any extra work for you, you know that!” The plaintiff shouted at him.
“That’s not the point! The point is that I shouldn’t have to do it because I can keep my trashcans wherever I want on my property! It’s the principle of the matter!” The defendant shouted right back, the two of them now angrily approaching each other and getting right in each other’s faces.
“Stop that, stop that all at once and calm down!” The judge roared from his seat, glaring at the two. “At least act a little civil, will you?”
The two arguing mammoths backed down from each other and walked back to their tables, not sitting down just yet and still giving out mean looks but at least it didn’t seem like a fight was about to break out anymore. Rainbow Dash had heard plenty of disputes and quarrels between neighbors and business-owners back in Equestria too, and the Cutie Map sent her to numerous problems that were honestly pretty similar to this, and it seemed like there was always at least one pony in Ponyville who had an issue. Creatures were really alike all over.
With the slight pause in the arguments the judge at the back of the room actually looked up and saw Larkon standing and Rainbow Dash hovering at the back of the room. His eyes widened in surprise but Larkon lifted a foot up in front of his mouth in a “shushing” gesture. The judge wordlessly understood it and went back to business, allowing Rainbow Dash and Larkon to watch without becoming the center of attention.
The judge coughed as he looked back and forth between the plaintiff and defendant. “Legally speaking… the defendant does have a point that there is nothing wrong with the placement of his trashcans, and I wouldn’t wish to set the precedent of making it alright to punish someone just because what they’re doing may not be “kind” exactly. At the same time the issue of the public’s good may be at trunk. Should the plaintiff also have his business suffer for an easily remedied issue? While the defendant’s trashcans may be his property, if the smell from them reaches over far enough to the plaintiff’s restaurant then perhaps they are a matter which the plaintiff has a right to.” The judge paused for a second, thinking, his trunk drummed up and down on his desk. “Court rules in favor of the plaintiff. The trashcans need to be moved until the smell is no longer an issue for the restaurant.”
The plaintiff and the other mammoths on his side cheered and clapped their trunks together, the defendant and his side meanwhile just groaned and threw up their trunks in disbelief and annoyance.
Before the groups both realized that Rainbow Dash and Larkon were there the historian quickly ushered the pegasus back to the door.
“Let’s not get caught by another mob,” Larkon whispered.
Back out in the hallway Larkon continued to lead Rainbow Dash left through the building. She knew the senate chamber was on this side of the building but didn’t know if you could get to it from here. And Larkon might’ve been thinking of showing her something else too.
“So is that the kind of stuff that happens every day here?” Rainbow Dash asked him.
Larkon nodded. “Disputes and cases like that, yes. It’s all done here at Tarmok’s Hall.”
“What are we gonna go see next?”
“Well there’s a wedding going on up in one of the ballrooms at the top level of the Hall. I’m sure the lovely new couple would be more than happy for you to grace them with your presence on this special occasion… or we could go to the senate chambers and watch them debate on installing a new statue in the old part of town.”
“Does the wedding have alcohol?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.
“Of course,” Larkon smiled.
A very happy smirk grew on Rainbow Dash’s face. “I think I know where I want to go then.”
Rainbow Dash was currently downing a glass of beer while dozens of mammoths danced around her. The newlyweds were at the front of a party train traveling around the ballroom while the groomsmen danced in a circle with the bridesmaid. All of them were kicking their feet in and out and twirling each other around by their trunks while other mammoths clapped and stomped in rhythm. These mammoths knew how to throw a fun wedding, it reminded her of the party she and her friends had all had after Shining Armor and Cadance’s wedding. A group of fiddlers and cellists at the back of the ballroom played a fast and exuberant tune to keep things upbeat.
Larkon had been asked to dance by one of the other wedding guests but declined on account of his already married status. So he sat at a table by Rainbow Dash and ate a piece of cake. Just as he thought, the newlyweds were more than happy that they could boast of being the first, last, and only couple to have the pony from Equestria crash their wedding. It made their most special of days even more special.
“Ahhh, this stuff is good,” Rainbow Dash said to Larkon as she sipped down the rest of her beer. Naturally it had come in a rather large glass but she could handle it.
“Only the best for a wedding,” Larkon smiled.
Rainbow Dash thought about that for a second, there must’ve been patches in the farms specifically set aside for the grains and wheats used to make beer. They definitely didn’t have grapes up here to make wine or champagne or anything fancier. But they did have corn and a lot of other stuff that could’ve been used to make strong whiskey or moonshine. Rainbow Dash was going to keep on the lookout for that. If the chance to drank some came up she was definitely going to take it.
She looked out the window to her left, which led to a balcony that stood at the very top of Tarmok’s Hall beneath the decorative roof. She could see a good deal of the city below and the cold lake beyond it. It was really a nice view, she was surprised there weren’t just a lot of mammoths who came up to the top of Tarmok’s Hall just for it.
“I’m sure someone would’ve asked you to dance if they knew how to make that work,” Larkon said. “But I’m afraid it would be quite awkward for our… size differences.”
Rainbow Dash snorted, holding back laughter. “It’s whatever, dancing can be fun but I don’t mind.”
“You could join the train maybe? Just get on at the back or fly above the newlyweds heads?” Larkon prodded her.
“No thanks,” Rainbow Dash blushed at the fairly embarrassing thought. “I’ll just sit back and watch, if anyone wants to talk I can tell them all about my awesomeness but right now I’m having a pretty fun time just having a drink.”
She watched the train of mammoths keep going around the ballroom and idly wondered how bad it would be if the floor collapsed.
There must be some really powerful beams holding it up… She thought as she grabbed another glass of beer.
Wiping away the foam from her mouth after drinking she happily watched more of the festivities. The new husband and wife eventually stopped their train and had the rest of the wedding congregation crowd around them while the band changed to a slower paced song. Rainbow Dash flew up to get a good view and saw the newlyweds dancing together. Their trunks were embraced and the husband had a gleaming silver and diamond-encrusted band on his right tusk while the wife wore a flower crown. It was a young couple, both of them no older than Rainbow Dash herself. She felt happy for them.
Other couples and mammoths joined in on the slow dancing, soon the entire ballroom was taken up by waltzing mammoths. They didn’t move quite as nimbly while dancing as they had when she had seen them swimming but it was impressive to see their large bodies glide over the ballroom floor.
The newlywed couple saw her flying around overhead and they detached their trunks from each other so they could wave to her.
Rainbow Dash flew down to the two of them. “Nice wedding! Good luck on your marriage and everything.”
“Thank you!” The wife said. “We were so excited when we saw you, I can’t believe you came to our wedding.”
“Hey, don’t mention it. Larkon’s the one you have to thank anyways. But it was cool, I’m glad I came up here to see you two get married,” Dash said.
“It’s our pleasure,” the husband said. “Do you have similar weddings and ceremonies back in… Equestria, was it?”
Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yep, real similar. Different kind of dancing though. I’ve been to a few of them.”
“Is there any special wisdom you have for a newlywed couple then? Something common for ponies, or anything you’d like to share?” The husband asked, raising an eager eyebrow.
The “advice” Shining Armor had given her ages ago flashed through her head but she didn’t think it applied here. “Err… just be awesome to each other I guess?”
“Awesome to each other?” The husband said and looked into his wife’s eyes. She returned the loving gaze and Rainbow Dash could practically see the sparkles. “I think we can be that.”
“Great! Imma get some more beer, it’s really good,” Dash said, rubbing the back of her neck at the couple’s lovey-dovey display.
“Enjoy it, and please, stay as long as you’d like!” The wife said.
Rainbow Dash waved bye to them and flew back to Larkon and her table. He was eating a second piece of cake already. She was full of beer though and had no room whatsoever for anything like that right now. Instead she sat down on the table and watched as the wedding guests all continued their slow dancing. She sighed in contentment, the alcohol washing over her and making her feel a pleasant buzz.
“I hope you had enough to drink. With your size I was slightly worried,” Larkon said as he watched her.
She closed her eyes and smiled. “Don’t worry about that, I can handle it just fine.”
“So it seems. I’m impressed frankly,” Larkon shoveled the last bit of cake into his mouth and swallowed it down. “Are you ready to go?”
She opened a single eye to look at him. “What are we going to check out next here?”
“I figured that regardless of what’s going on it would be good for you to visit the senate chamber again. And the senators and Bakol would certainly want you to have come back at least once as well.”
“Yeah, true,” Rainbow Dash opened up both eyes and looked at the ceiling. “Least I could do and all that, huh? Alright, give me a second to get off this buzz and we can go.”