"Let us begin."
Stoic sat comfortably in one of the vacant tables of the inn. Kirin was seated just across who had been generously given a short break by his new boss. Right after Stoic requested of course. The unicorn had previously said that he would wait after Kirin's shift, but he became impatient. So here they both were two odd ponies in the corner of the inn attracting some attention from the townsfolk.
"Name: Kirin. Current Occupation: Buscolt." Stoic listed off what was obvious. "Entry #1. The introduction will begin as soon as you are ready, Mr. Kirin."
"You can just call me Kirin, you don't need to be so formal." Kirin chuckled. "Alright, ask away."
Stoic dipped his head down. "Very well. As the institute knows, kirins are an ancient race that was said to have left the continent of Equestria years ago, for what reason, we do not know. When your species departed, they had forgotten to bring numerous artifacts. Which comes to my first question... how come you have a single horn instead of antlers? Though we have only discovered a few remnants of the past, most of it depicted kirins with antlers."
Kirin soaked in the information he had just learned. And honestly, he had no idea how to answer. He pondered for a bit before he could say a word. "I have no idea." He shrugged his shoulders. "The history of my village goes far as five or more hundred years. As for the horn, as much as I know, we had never heard of a kirin with antlers, to begin with."
Stoic cocked a brow. "I see." He muttered as he wrote in his journal. "Next question, what is your opinion on other races?"
"Well I have only met ponies, and they are all so friendly. Well, most of the time. So I can't really answer that."
"What are other kirins like?"
"Oh, they are just the best!" Kirin beamed with joy. "You just have to meet some of them! My buddy, Whisper Wood, is a killer at stand-up comedy! He just tells the best jokes in the entire village! Though I'm just being biased since he's my buddy. Then there's Wild Fire, she is such a wild card! No pun intended. She would always challenge the animals in the jungle, like a manticore just for fun! Though she got some scars from her stunts, don't let that fool you, Wild Fire is as sweet as honey and almost as kind as Rain Shine."
"And Rain Shine is?"
"Rain Shine is my village chief! She is just the best! Kind, caring, and with no competition, the best darn singer in the whole village!" He sighed. "The tallest one too."
Stoic paused, eyes glued at his journal. "How tall?"
"Like... two ponies high."
That was the answer that Stoic had expected. "Seems like there is something our kind have in common then, our ruler princess Celestia is also quite tall."
"Really? Wait, what is she then? Earth, unicorn, or a pegasus?"
"She was gifted to have both wings and a horn. Her race is called Alicorns, and they contain an immense amount of magic, so much that princess Celestia claims the title Deity Of The Sun."
"Woah, that sounds awesome," Kirin said, completely mind blown by the fact of the day. "How strong is she?"
Nonchalantly, Stoic answered. "Her highness can move the sun and the moon with her mind. Feel free to guess."
Kirin's jaw dropped, he said no word and allowed Stoic to write something into his journal.
"Can we move on?"
"Wait." Kirin pressed his jaw back in place. "I got a question of my own."
Stoic arched his brow. "Very well. Proceed."
Kirin rubbed the back of his neck as he chuckled awkwardly. "Don't want to sound rude or anything, but why do you and other ponies have pictures on your butts?"
"Right..." Stoic hummed. "I had just realized that not all creatures on Equestria have cutie marks. Allow me to illuminate my good sir."
Stoic moved a bit to the side so his mark could be seen by Kirin, he hovered his hoof over it.
"A cutie mark is a special talent a pony would gain throughout their lifespan, and we are not born with it. Each of them has its own meaning in some way, also acquired differently in some cases. It serves many meanings, and it is not always literal. For instance," Stoic raised a hoof and pointed it at a lime green stallion with a short red mane. "That pony has a three-leaf clover as his mark. This could mean many things, one would need to ask the pony to truly understand the story. The only thing you can guess alone is his name. I believe it is Clover, or perhaps Shamrock."
Kirin nodded his head. "Alright, so what does yours mean?"
Stoic glanced over to his symbol. Silver chains intertwined around a rusty sword, and above it was a golden halo that sparkled brightly. The unicorn took a whole minute before facing Kirin with his usual expression. "Would you like to guess?"
Kirin pressed a hoof against his chin. His eyes shut, using everything he had to think of an answer that would be close enough. "Right," He began speaking in his mind. "Probably name related... But how do chains fit with 'Stoic'? Maybe the rusty sword? That's sure to make someone very stoic. Or maybe not, I'm not sure where I'm going with this."
Kirin thought hard on the subject. His mind worked harder than usual just to make a guess.
"Is it... because you work better with chains and swords?" That was Kirin's guess.
Sadly it was wrong. "If it was the right answer, then I'd move on. But sadly it is not." Stoic cleared his throat. "I'll tell you if you give up."
Stoic paused for a second or two just so Kirin could give another guess.
"No, I can answer it... It's because you like to keep rusty swords at home?"
Stoic chuckled softly. "I am impressed by that answer, but no. Though, this does give me an idea for a little game. For now, try and think of an answer. Until then, let us move on."
"Aw, what? At least give me a hint." Kirin pleaded.
"Very well. The hint is that this symbol of mine is related to my line of work. Now, unless you have more questions, let us proceed."
"Oh wait!" Kirin exclaimed. "I do actually. Ahem, are there any creatures that could shape-shift?"
Stoic eyed him carefully. "Any reason to be asking about such a subject?" His tone changed from his casual to a much deeper one. His brows furrowed and his eyes stared at Kirin accusingly. The aura just around them both soured.
Kirin recoiled back a little, surprised by the sudden shift. "W-well..." He stammered. "You see..." Kirin started sweating bullets. The way Stoic glared at him was just too imposing. "I... I am an aspiring theatre director! Also an amateur writer! I remembered that you and the Institute Of Peace are in charge of connecting cultures among the creatures of Equestria, so I thought that you'd know a few that could shape-shift!"
"What for?" Stoic arched a single brow.
"Well, as I said, I want to make theatre plays. So I figured that finding a shape-shifting creature would be a great idea and I could recruit them for my dream. You get me?"
Stoic stated at him blankly before nodding his head. "I see. Your reasoning is acceptable." A blue aura enveloped his horn. Then out of nowhere, both stallions were surrounded by a blue dome. Kirin attempted to push his hoof through the dome, only to discover that it was solid. "This information might not be good for the common folk of Mud, this town is a bit... sheltered, by the looks of it. But numerous creatures can shape-shift. Such as the lycans of the west. Wonderful bunch, though their powers are only limited to transforming into weretimberwolves. They are an interesting subject in my opinion."
He flipped through his journal before presenting a sketch to Kirin. A pony with the features of a timberwolf was sketched onto the page. And Kirin was quite impressed with Stoic's skill with the pencil. It looked so life-like.
"Then there are the zygons, strange creatures that can copy the appearance of other ponies. They are considered as the enemy of the country after the countless attempts of stealing the throne from princess Celestia. They had more abilities than just shape-shifting, they have stingers that can stun and or maim. Thankfully none are around anymore to be a threat."
"Oh, anymore?"
Stoic took a second just to skim through his journal. He presented another sketch to Kirin, but this time, Kirin knew what exactly this sketch was about.
"Changelings, insect-like ponies. They are skilled in the magic of shape-shifting and are very similar to zygons. The changelings are just as dangerous, and I would not recommend ever going near one. They primarily feed on love, an energy within us all. But they can't get it from other changelings, they need other living beings to feed. So they would kidnap and imprison any creature they could get their hooves on."
Stoic's expression hardened, his teeth bared and a deadly intent flashed in his eyes.
"These changelings are a menace to Equestria, I must warn you Kirin, that these insects will stop at nothing just so that they can feed. But do not blame them, it is only nature that compels them to commit these crimes. And we must answer in kind-" Stoic stopped himself, he looked away shyly. "Forgive me, I sometimes lose myself in my own rants. Do not be afraid, many of my useless rants are quite positive. I only speak... ill of other creatures if they are not aligned to our country."
"You uh, don't say." To be truthful, Kirin was taken aback by Stoic's sudden shift. He started out as some simple unicorn, and Kirin thought nothing about it. But now that he had a peak of something more, he was feeling a tad bit fearful.
Stoic relaxed in his seat, he let out a sigh. Before he could even continue the interview, a sudden thud resounded in the dome. Both stallions looked towards the source, it was a strange discovery for sure, one that they would have expected. An odd mare was pressed against the dome, eyes wide as dinner plates. She was shouting something, as evident to the fact that Kirin and Stoic were hearing muffled noises coming from the mare.
As the orange mare goes on, Kirin couldn't help but scan over the mare and notice her features. Not in a perverted way, mind you. She had a curly green mane, freckles complemented her cheeks. Her eyes were like amethysts, her scarf was nearly the same shade of purple, only a bit off. Perhaps due to the color of the dome.
Before he could inspect any further, another pony slammed into the dome to join the mare. A stallion with a green coat, His hair was orange like the mare next to him. Eyes were blue as the sky on a cloudless day. This pony had a straw hat on his head that fit him very nicely.
"Friends of your?" Stoic asked.
"I have never met those two before," Kirin answered.
The two watched the ponies banging against the dome. They were very aggressive at that. Stoic pondered if he should let down the dome, but deep down he felt like it would be a mistake. And against his judgment, the dome vanished with a single thought.
The two citizens of Mud quickly rushed over to Kirin and hounded him with a thousand questions, such as...
"How are you alive!?"
"I thought she ate you!?"
"Did the enchantress erase your memories!?"
"Why is our town made of mud!?"
"What happened!?" And so on.
"Uh... And you two are?" Kirin managed to squeeze in a question of his own.
"That's beside the point!" The stallion argued. "What happened when you and that uni-" His shut tight once his eyes landed on a unicorn that sat across the table. "Unicorn!" He exclaimed as he cowered behind Kirin. The mare followed soon after she noticed as well.
"Oh god, I knew it!" The mare cried out. "The unicorns are taking over!"
"Pardon?" Stoic was confused.
"Have mercy! Please don't turn us into a potted plant!"
They were making a scene, every pony in the room was watching, and Kirin could only give them an awkward grin.
"I will do no such thing," Stoic answered. "There is no reason for me to even take over a small town such as yours, so relax, your cowering annoys me. Take a seat, I insist." He then shot them a single glare, and the two ponies quickly straightened themselves before doing as they were requested.
Now sitting at the same table as the odd ones, the rest of the ponies in the room returned to their own devices. Right after receiving a simple glance from the unicorn himself.
Stoic flipped through his journal and landed on a blank page, resting the tip of his pencil against the soft paper. "You two, what are your names?"
The two had their mouths shut, none of them dared to speak, especially when they were under Stoic's gaze.
"I asked you both a question." To him, it was indeed just a simple question. But to them, they felt that it was more of a demand. "Do I have to repeat myself?"
"Carrot!" The stallion blurted out. "Er... My name is Carrot, sir."
"O-Orange..." The mare answered.
Stoic wrote down their names in his journal, Kirin was curious about whatever reason Stoic had to do so. "I see... Now please, explain what you meant by enchantress, and do not waste anymore of my time."
"There's a unicorn in town!" Carrot answered as quickly as possible.
"I thought she kidnapped the weird unicorn to eat!" Orange followed after.
Stoic arched a brow. "Unicorn? A mare I presume, but what made you believe that she would eat Kirin? Our species are opportunists, but we do not just eat meat. By the end of the day, we are still herbivores." His eyes moved towards Kirin. "You didn't mention a unicorn." His voice laced with suspicion.
"Well, it didn't seem to be important at a time." Kirin chuckled awkwardly. "Golden Star is a great host! She offered me a place to stay while I'm in town!"
"I see." Stoic hummed.
There was a pause between the ponies and the kirin. A silence that was much louder than the voices that resounded through the inn.
"You must introduce me Kirin," Stoic cracked a smile. "Meeting a fellow unicorn would be great, especially when there are practically none in this town."
"Oh yeah, I'll definitely introduce you. Just need to ask her first, anyway I gotta go to the johns. Nature and all that." Kirin excused himself and stood up.
Stoic stated at Kirin as he went towards the nearest comfort room. Once Kirin was out of sight, Stoic turned towards the two ponies. "Would you mind if I interview the both of you?"
As this happens, Kirin didn't exactly need to go, he just needed an excuse to get away from Stoic. The way he looked at him with those eyes. Something about that cold glare suffocated Kirin, it felt as if he was being crushed by an invisible force. And what's worse, is that changelings. It would certainly be bad if Minion and Stoic ever cross paths with each other. And the fact Stoic wanted to meet Minion's disguise is bad already. Kirin needed to talk to Minion as soon as gets home.