It was hard to tell right away, but Dry's eyes were wide, gaping at all the ponies that moved about the town of Ponyville. "Most of them are earth-bound," he noted, fixing his view on a bright green unicorn. "Most... Do you know them all?"
Apple Bloom bobbed her head. "Ah know each and every one of 'em." She pointed at the unicorn Dry was fixed on. "That's Lyra. She's nice. Hey, Lyra!" When Lyra looked over, Apple Bloom pointed at Dry Whisper. "This here's Dry. Dry Whisper."
"Hello," he got out in a tiny voice. In a fit of utterly insane bravery, he did not dive behind Apple Bloom.
"Hey." She trotted up, looking at the colt curiously. "No offense, but you... are completely awesome!" She threw out her hooves wide. "Seriously, way cool. But also not an earth pony." She nodded with certainty.
"You are... correct," admitted Dry. "I am a ghost pony."
Lyra reached out and casually booped the little colt. "I thought you couldn't poke a ghost. What kinda ghost are you? A nice one, right?"
Dry inclined his head, bringing one eye to bear on her horn. "You're a unicorn."
"Yep." That was not much of a secret. Lyra nodded. "And you're a ghost I can poke, which I don't get."
Apple Bloom moved between the two. "Dry's from far away. Really really far away." She moved a hoof in a wide arc, though there was no wide enough circle to emphasize just how far away she meant. "Ah think ghost's more of a, you know, cultural thin'?"
Dry inclined his head. "We are ghosts because we live in the realm of ghosts. We are not actually ghosts though." He put a hoof behind his head. "Oh, is that what you thought? I am not a ghost, but I am a ghost pony." There, all clear! He resumed examining Lyra. "Are you smart?"
Lyra inclined her head at that. "I'm alright I guess?" With a soft shrug she pointed up towards the big crystal tower that didn't fit in with the rest of the town. "The smartest unicorn in the town lives over there. Twilight's a big brain pony, ain't she, AB?"
Apple Bloom bobbed her head. "Well, yeah. She's super smart. So smart she stopped being a unicorn."
That sent Dry for a loop. "I didn't know that was... What is she now?"
"Princess!" gusted Lyra with spread hooves. "You can tell, 'cause she's an alicorn."
A vision of a unicorn somehow becoming just their horn danced in Dry's head. A floating horn, full of nothing but arcane power and smug intellect. What power, and terror... "O-oh...."
Apple Bloom inclined her head at the awe struck appearance on Dry's face. "Yer not thinking what we're thinkin', ah'm gonna guess. Twilight has a horn, like a unicorn, but she also has wings, like a pegasus." She put out a hoof, then raised it a little. "She also got a bit taller."
"Oh!" Understanding snapped into place. "She's unified. How lovely." And far less terrifying than floating horns of scornful intellect and untold magical power. "I would not want to be unified. That sounds terrifying, but she sounds like she's enjoying it."
Apple Bloom joined in the fun of poking Dry. He was very pokeable. "Wait, so... in Everglow, ponies can be 'unified' but not be royalty?"
Dry inclined his head slowly, it dawning on him. "Oh, I heard a story... What was it..." But he was a little kid, and it wasn't that popular a story among the ghost ponies. "I forgot... There was a big unified!" He reared up briefly. "She was in charge. But it doesn't always work out that way... My uncle!"
"Yer uncle?"
Lyra inclined her head in the opposite direction, listening to the exchange eagerly. She had no idea what was going on, which made listening in all the more a priority.
"My uncle." Dry bobbed his head furiously. "He unified, just a little." He frowned with thought. "He became shiny, and said he had to go. He was old enough to stay in the ether, but he wouldn't. He said he was being called, and he left. Being unified is really scary." Which put it in a very large bucket of things in the world. "I'm happy just being a ghost pony."
"Well, ah wouldn't complain too badly if ah just had a horn out of nowhere." Apple Bloom shrugged. "Ah'd still be me. Ah'd still know how to buck a tree, make a potion or three, but ah could grab somethin' across the room as a bonus."
Lyra clopped her hooves suddenly. "Being a unicorn is great. But so is being an earth pony."
"Ah ain't complainin'" Apple Bloom waved it away before her expression shifted to a sly smirk. "But now ya gotta say what's so good about bein' an earth pony."
Lyra suddenly clapped Dry on the back. "Tag."
Dry squeaked, but composed himself quickly. "Earth ponies are tough! Earth ponies are brave." He was looking at Apple Bloom. "Earth ponies have, um, a connection, with this." He tapped at the ground with a hoof in rapid little motions. "They are almost the opposite of ghost ponies."
Apple Bloom squinted a little. "Yer alright with a pony who's the opposite of you?"
Dry leaned in towards Apple Bloom. "I am very scared. You do not know fear. When trouble comes, you will protect me, because you are nice, and do not have fear. I am very happy I found my opposite."
Lyra clopped her cheeks with both hooves from either side. "Oh, wow!" She burst into giggles. "I think he likes you, AB!"
Apple Bloom colored swiftly. "Don't go stuffin' words in his mouth! But ah do gotta get somethin' straight. Ah know what it's like to be scared. Ah get scared all the time."
This confused Dry quite a bit. "But you fought that huge bee-bear."
Lyra's eyes widened. "You saw a bugbear?! Where?!"
Why Lyra was interested, Apple Bloom knew not. "Off in the Everfree?" She pointed the way, which was enough to send Lyra galloping away. "Huh..." But she did not know of Lyra's secret service duties. "That was funny. Ah was scared, but ah had to fight anyway. If ah didn't, ya coulda got hurt!" She poked the colt dead center in his chest. "Besides, ah also wanted to show off jus' a little." She blushed with the admission. "But ah was scared."
"I would have hid." He had, in fact, done that very thing. "But thank you. You were really scared? I can't imagine it." Anyone as scared as he was would not be trading blows with a bugbear.
"Well, too bad." AB stuck out her tongue as she turned. "C'mon! Gonna introduce you to two fillies that are as good in a scrap as ah am, but they ain't earth ponies."
Dry followed behind, curiosity becoming stronger by the moment. "Are they unicorns? Pegasi?" He had seen those two tribes, other than earth pony.
"Both!" Apple Bloom lead the way to their clubhouse, winding out of town to do so. "Hey, girls! Ya in there?"
The door cracked open and a head poked free. "Hey!" Bursting free came a small pegasus filly. "Welcome back!"
"Scoots!" Apple Bloom charged up the stairs and the two met in a fierce hug. "Is Sweetie around too?"
Scootaloo called without turning. "Sweets! Ya gonna hide in there?"
Dry perked. A pony that knew fear, ah ha!
Another face poked free of the open door. "I was planning the next camp. It's gonna be so much better than the last one." She clopped her hooves with a big grin. "I can't even wait!"
Dry turned an ear to the side. That was not a fearful pony, that unicorn. Well... "You said they can also fight?"
The two fillies peeked down the stairs at Dry Whisper. Sweetie emerged from the small house entirely. "You look..."
"Are they?" followed up Scootaloo, peering at the colt. "Does this mean?!"
Apple Bloom sighed with a quirk of a smile. "This here's Dry Whisper. Yes, he's from Everglow. Be nice."
Sweetie blinked softly. "Dry whisper? Like a ghost?!"
Dry inclined his head. "Yes." What an insightful little pony! "Hello." He raised a hoof for a little wave. "Apple Bloom was telling me that you are just at good at battle as she is."
Scootaloo spread her wings, puffing her chest, and looking as proud and mighty as she could manage. Her small wings defeated that somewhat. "We are official adventures. We've all been to Everglow and survived the trip."
Sweetie pointed to Scootaloo. "She is a magus. She fights with magic, up close and personal." She turned the hoof on herself. "I, Sweetie Belle, am a bard. I like singing," she sung out that last word in a held melodic note. "And I can assist my friends with that magic."
Apple Bloom pointed at herself. "And ya already know ah'm an alchemist. I make up great potions fer all kindsa things. When we're not doing that, which is usually, we're also the--"
The three crashed together, striking a dramatic pose. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders!" they got out in unison without any visible prompt, falling back to their usual standing positions.
Dry was driven to a clopping applause at the theatrics. "You are good friends. Very good friends. And talented. You're about my age, but you already know so much, how?" He inclined his head slowly. "I am impressed, and a little scared." Well, he was always that, but especially so, cowed beneath the superiority of fellow foals that had adventuring levels.
Scootaloo inclined her head. "Don't sweat it. We all grow at our own rate."
Sweetie sagged at that. "Don't remind me! It took so long for us to get our cutie marks!"
AB flashed a bright smile. "Just made it more special when it happened."
The three turned to present their rumps to the colt, their unified theme of marks. "And it binds us togetha," finished Apple Bloom with a firm nod.
Scootaloo waved Dry closer. "Come on up! We don't bite, promise."
Dry considered the ramp/stairs a moment before he started up them. The fillies did not scare him. They were actually a protection against threats. He had three able fighters right there! How fortunate! "I am confused. Your brands were not there always?" He gestured with a toss of his head at his own brand. "I was born with mine. My mother and father had theirs. Everyone had theirs always..."
Sweetie circled the colt when he arrived at the top of the stairs and onto the platform. "Aw, yours is cute." She reached out to poke the cloud with the eyes peeping out. "Are you scared?"
"Yes." There was no hesitation there. That was not a secret.
"I knew it." Those were not predator's eyes or leering eyes. "Well don't be. We wouldn't let anything bad happen to you."
"Not a chance!" joined Scootaloo, striking a brief pose before she started trotting inside. "Come on in. Like Sweets said, we were planning our next cutie mark camp to help ponies."
"About that." Apple Bloom bumped against the colt. "Equestrian ponies gotta find their brands. Everglow ponies just have 'em. One of the biggest differences 'tween us." She nodded with confidence. "Once a pony figures out what their purpose is, pow, there it is." She walked alongside him into the club house. "Now whattaya all got in mind fer that camp?"
Sweetie pointed to Scootaloo. "She insists we incorporate some Everglow themed classes."
Scoots threw up her hooves. "Why not?! You think foals don't want to learn magic any tribe can do? I'm pretty sure they do!" Her eye lids fell with a smirk. "Or are you jealous that not-unicorns can get your trick?"
Sweetie gasped with alarm. "No! Besides, you have to know a lot of magic to do what a unicorn does pretty easily." She shrugged her shoulders. "It just comes naturally to us." A hoof jut at Scootaloo. "Just like it takes a lot of magic to fake flying, but..." She had walked right into that one. "Um, sorry..."