//------------------------------// // Capper's Old Days // Story: Back to Panthera's Past // by PonyPixel //------------------------------// Wherever the map calls, it is your mission to resolve the issue. What makes it more interesting is that it expands to other unheard exotic locations like Zebrat, Caninia, Ornithia, and a town full of minotaurs. Now, the expansion continues, and more distinct lands are yet to be unearthed. It’s about to occur right now. It was another bright and normal day in Canterlot, and everypony was having their ordinary and tranquil time. The Canterlot Castle stood tall like a mountain on the plains of the horizon, and a flock of birds soared through the air while forming their V’s. Meanwhile, within the palace, where guards stood in place, a conference was being held. Princess Twilight Sparkle was about to finish her meeting with leaders and ambassadors from different lands with Spike assisting her. “And hereby,” the princess concluded, “with the set of proper rules in place, the School of Friendship’s sports team should and must be fair and impartial to different Equestrian schools, that way they would not be calling them cheaters or so.” “Inquiry,” Thorax raised. “Wouldn’t that be redundant when other creatures move to locations other than Ponyville?” Thorax asked. “Yeah,” Ember agreed, “I’ve heard about one of my subjects wanting to move to someplace in Equestria. I think it was called…” she paused, laid her elbow on the armrest, and rested her head on her claw. “Uhhhh…” she then raised her other claw and promptly snapped her fingers to regain memory. “What’s that city called? Silly Dilly? Philly Billy?” “Fillydelphia,” Spike corrected. Ember then glared at the young dragon with an annoyed look on her face. “Hmph! My point still stands.” “She’s correct though,” Queen Novo commented. “Surely most of them, primarily seniors, would plan to move out and would likely choose one of the locations of Equestria, along with other places such as Zebrat and Ornithia.” As Queen Novo was about to continue, the sound of the door opening interrupted the scene. They all turned their attention to a royal guard standing at the doorway. “My apologies for interfering,” the guard apologized. “But there’s someone here who wants to have a conversation with Our Excellency Princess Twilight.” “Thank you for your notification,” Princess Twilight spoke, “but I’m afraid you have to tell him or her that we’re in the middle of a discussion as we’re about to conclude later in a minute.” “He says that his name is Dapperpaws, and he’s… some sort of cat creature.” Right away, Spike recognized what the guard was describing. “Is he wearing a red jacket, and has darkish indigo hair and light green eyes?” The guard nodded in confirmation. “Give me a second, allow me to speak with him right away.” The young dragon left the meeting and followed the guard to where the guest was at. Outside of the castle stood Capper Dapperpaws, who had defeated the Storm King together with Spike and the Mane Six. He was pacing impatiently back and forth waiting for the response from the princess. He still has his noteworthy red jacket on his body and his classic manners. After a minute, he saw Spike exiting the door, to which he smiled. “Well, it’s about time I see the face I recognized,” Capper chuckled. “Long time no see.” “Hello, Capper,” Spike greeted gladly with a wave. “It’s nice to see you again. What brings you here to Canterlot?” “Well, you see… ever since that adventure we’ve gone through, I’ve been missing you and the ponies so much for a while, and you’re much nicer than the folks in Klugetown. Thus, I need a place to crash. I was hoping your princess could assist me a bit.” “Sorry, Capper,” he apologized, “but you have to wait for a while because she’s currently having a conference with different ambassadors, so you have to come back later in a bit.” “Great.” Capper let out a sigh and a frustrated growl as his ears drooped. He leaned his back against a nearby pillar as Spike was about to go back inside. He turned slightly back to the anthro cat who was looking down with his arms crossed and his legs folded while facing up at the clear blue sky. The purple dragon sighed before he spoke up. “I’ll tell her that your problem is urgent. Besides, you did help us combat the Storm King before.” Capper smirked as Spike reenters the castle. “Whoo! New home, here I come!” Capper felt like things were looking up for him until his whiskers began glowing inexplicably. “What the…WHAT’S HAPPENING TO ME?!” A few seconds after this, Spike poked his head out of the castle. “Um, Capper, it’s now the time for her to see you now. It’s something important.” Dapperpaws then quickly followed Spike inside the castle. They both arrived at the conference room, and Spike opened the door. In shock, he noticed both Thorax’s and Dragon Lord Ember’s wings and spines respectively glowing, just like Capper’s whiskers. Ember, being clueless as she was like Thorax and Capper, panickily and rigorously stroked her spine thinking it is some sort of disease. Normally, the Dragon Lord is the one who made the call for the dragons by making their bodies glow, but this is different. “This looks like trouble. Should we call a doctor?” Queen Gilda requested with concern. “No need,” Twilight calmly replied, “this is completely normal. And it is similar to what my friends and I have experienced.” “Indeed,” Queen Novo added. “I had that same occurrence with me and my daughter before. The map is calling you.” “Uhh… I’m sorry?” Thorax raised. “What map?” Capper and Ember asked in sync. “Allow me to show you,” Twilight explained, and then turned to the attendees. “Speaking of which, this meeting is now adjourned. You may all leave.” She, together with Spike, gathered Ember, Thorax, and Capper around her and teleported away to Ponyville with her magic, leaving the others alone in the room. “...So, Sir Will,” Queen Gilda said to Iron Will, who was beside her, “Any info about your kind?” “Minotaurs are adjusting to life fine now,” Iron Will informed. At the Everfree Forest, Twilight and the group via teleportation arrived in front of the Treehouse of Harmony. Capper felt dizzy after they arrived, with his paws on his head to make himself steady. The same thing goes for the Dragon Lord. It felt strange to be transported with magic in a flash. The Treehouse of Harmony, in which Capper was amazed, still stands proudly in the middle of the Everfree Forest, with the rays of the sun reflecting its shine through the crystals. “Don’t you have a castle we can go to?” Ember inquired while holding her head from the dizziness.  “We do,” Spike noted, “But lately, the chosen ones have been called here, myself included.” “Wow! Look at that place,” Dapperpaws exclaimed. “That looks like it came out of a storybook.” Princess Twilight and Spike then led them to the front entrance of the unique crystal structure. As the princess was about to open the door, the knob rotated itself back and forth, thinking that someone was already inside. She was right. The door slightly opened, revealing Gallus’ head poking out. “Another mission, I supposed?” Gallus smirked. “Glad you came.” “How did you know that we’re here already?” Twilight disbelieved. “I was going to say Pinkie Sense,” he declared, “but it’s not. I do have that feeling.” He poked his head back and opened the door fully to reveal his whole self to them. “Welcome,” the young blue griffon proclaimed with a slightly deep voice. “I can see we have new travelers today. Dragon Lord Ember, King Thorax, and…” Gallus paused when he looked at Capper. “Who are you?” “Capper. Capper Dapperpaws,” the cat revealed. “Your princess here says there is some sort of map we need to see?” “Yes. Right here.” Gallus moved out of the way to let them go in. Once they were in, they noticed right on their feet/hooves is the enormous holographic map with different locations. Ember’s and Thorax’s eyes widened in astonishment. Capper felt the same. “I know, right? I had that same reaction before. I’ll leave that to you. I’ll be leaving now.” Gallus then left the treehouse back to school. “I gotta say,” Ember asserted, “this is the most splendid thing I have ever seen.” “Indeed,” Capper affirmed. “I’m amazed,” Thorax exclaimed. Immediately, Ember’s scales, Thorax’s horns, and Capper’s whiskers stopped glowing. “Finally, it’s over,” Ember grunted. Appearing in front of them are floating mini silhouettes of their heads, which once again made them shocked. Their eyes focused on the icons as they fluttered until they stopped at one location circling to indicate their exact pinpoint on the map. This place is located south of Equestria, many kilometers away from where they were standing. A city filled with culture and courteousness. “Well…, I… never seen that place before,” Thorax commented while kneeling to observe, with Ember joining in. Capper, the only one still on his paws, had his ears drooped in distress when he recognized the location the map was pinpointing. “I know that place,” Capper admitted, letting out a sigh. “You do?” “That’s Panthera, capital of the Kingdom of Abyssinia.” “Your homeland?” Twilight guessed. “Yes…” Capper turned his head slowly towards her. “How’d you guess?” “It’s been a running theme lately,” Spike replied. The dragon soon pulled out a list and a quill, before writing down some things that would be required for the trip. “Looks like you’ll be having a long quest coming.” “So… we’ll travel by gliding over there and give this cat a ride, right?” Ember asked. “It’s not that easy, Ember,” Twilight informed. “Most trips like this can take at least a day or more to travel. Looking at this… huge map right here, from Canterlot to that specified location based on my estimates could take a day or more to reach there.” “You gotta be kidding me! That long!?” The dragoness complained with a groan and her palm on her face. “That’s just fantastic. I can barely leave the Dragon Lands to be civil without my diligence, vigilance, and supervision for a day!” “Settle down. The days have gone by, and things have been improving and reforming from time to time, so the Dragon Lands should be alright. If I were you, I would appoint a substitute to look out for our kingdoms.” Ember sighed. “Why didn’t I think of that in the first place? Okay. And you better keep those words of yours. If my kingdom is under chaos after we return, you got to help me.”  “Deal,” Thorax declared. She then shifted back to Princess Twilight and Spike. “We’ll prepare once we take care of stuff back home. We’ll be back as quickly as possible.” “Go ahead,” Twilight said. “Do what you can do.” Ember and Thorax then left the treehouse back to their kingdoms to make sure everything looks fine when they get back. Capper meanwhile stayed a little longer, staring at the location on the map with his ears still drooped in distress. Twilight and Spike noticed his attitude. “Capper?” Twilight asked. “Is anything okay?” “S… Sorta,” Capper responded. “I left Panthera on bad terms, especially with my buddies.” Twilight could understand why he was feeling so overwhelmed about having to go on this mission. “Hear me out, you’ll find yourself feeling better if you explain your situation to Ember and Thorax. Who knows, it’ll help break the ice with them.” Capper rubbed his arm as he did feel concerned. “Come, we’ll teleport back to Canterlot and prepare your trip.” Capper smiled. Princess Twilight and Spike then came nearer to him, and she teleported them back to the Canterlot Castle by using her magic. Right before that, Spike had drawn a small but not-perfectly-drawn map of the pinpointed location. It is as almost accurate as the initial outline. He ain’t a professional cartographer. Once they arrived, Princess Twilight and Spike immediately went inside to arrange his trip for him. Dapperpaws meanwhile stood back and let the rest do their work, pondering how he’d deal with not just heading back home nor meeting his old buddies, presumably due to its laws and regulations regarding certain… outsiders. Dusk arrived and the sun was about to set. The airship is ready for takeoff. Before it goes, Ember and Thorax quickly hopped on board with Spike. “Okay, let’s make this quick,” she proclaimed. “I don’t feel too well leaving the Dragon Lands alone for too long.” “They all heard your speech, Ember,” Thorax reminded while rubbing his ears, which still felt like they were ringing from the deafening screech from the Dragon Lord herself. “They all did.” “I know. Anyways, where’s that Casper guy?” “Capper,” Spike corrected. “Yeah, right. Where is he?” They then heard the whistle call. “Over here!” called a voice. Immediately, they saw Capper from afar waving his paw. “In the cabin at the lower deck downstairs!” And so, they followed him downstairs where the cabins were located. When they arrived, they saw him leaning his back on the ledge of the door. “How long have you been in here?” Thorax asked. “Since the ship was docked here… like a minute ago,” Capper responded. “So you’ve just been sulking here while waiting?” Ember questioned. “You would be too…” he exclaimed, “if you were comprehending what you’d say to pals you left behind on a bad note.” “…H… how bad?” King Thorax asked with sympathy. There came a long pause from Dapperpaws, nothing but breaths and his visible dismal face. Capper sighed. “Brutal.” He slouched on the bed staring at the ceiling as his ears dropped. Spike sensed that this circumstance was getting uneasy. “Ember, Thorax,” Spike called whisperingly. “I think it’s best to let him have his alone time. I can tell that he’s not in a good mood. Let’s double-check your stuff, this ship is about to take off any minute now.” Spike, Ember, and Thorax left the room, leaving the cat alone to think for himself. He wondered if he’d ever see his old buddies again, or if they would be happy to see him. Then Capper remembered what Twilight told him. A little while later, as the sun was setting at the horizon and the sky was turning dark indigo, the airship set off to Panthera. At the rear of the ship, King Thorax and Dragon Lord Ember watched as they flew further away from Canterlot while Capper slowly approached them. “You know,” Capper declared softly. “I never thought airborne creatures like you would be so interested in a view like this,” the cat in a red jacket said. The dragoness and changeling turned towards their partner. “Oh, so you’re finally out of bed?” Ember asked. “Yeah, I’m not helping with the lazy cat stereotype.” “We understand if you have any bad blood with your old friends,” Thorax informed. “Glad you do. And… your friend suggested that it’d be a good idea at the right time to tell you what it was like. It should also help pass the time.” Ember turned her back to Canterlot, which they could still see in the distance, implying they weren’t going very fast. “Sure, go ahead,” she requested. “Things will go slower if I’m bored.” “Lucky for you, I’ve got an interesting story to tell.” Ember and Thorax took a seat, as they listened to what Capper had been through. “It goes like this…” Far from the south of Equestria, there was a kingdom called Abyssinia, that was ruled by a great kind-hearted king. It has numerous municipalities and towns, including the capital city of Panthera, with a vast and bright population of bipedal cats. It is known to have amazing rich cultures, age-old customs, and sacred traditions. For a long time, the people of Abyssinia, just like what an average working pony can do, have lived their lives with many jobs to support their families and children. Speaking of children, unfortunately for some, they were unlucky to have families, and this is a minor issue that happened in Abyssinia. This was the case for this very specific young kitten.  It was a rainy night, dark grey clouds blanketed the clear blue sky, drops of rain poured over the rooftops and leaves of plants and trees, and thunder struck loudly from the storm clouds. Down the pavement road with puddles everywhere, heavy breathing can be heard, and the running motion was heard from the splashes of the puddles. With no one around, a figure wearing a black hooded raincoat kept running while carrying a big basket. It was frequently heavy, but it didn’t quit and kept running and running. As the rain drizzled, the figure arrived at the three-story building. It is an orphanage, and it is well known to the public for adopting underprivileged, disordered, and lost kittens. It quietly went up the stairs of the well-lighted porch and stood in front of the white door. She took her breath once more before removing the hood of the raincoat. It revealed itself to be a white female Ragdoll cat with a big dark grey spot surrounding her left eye. Kneeling on her knee, she opened the basket gently, taking her last glance at what appeared to be a kitten with moderate gamboge fur, dark indigo hair, and green eyes sleeping underneath the soft blanket. Judging by his size, it couldn’t be a week older than a newborn kitten. She sobbed as she took her last glimpse of her baby, knowing that she would miss him.  “Stay safe, my little one,” she murmured while sobbing as she slowly stood up. With no one around, she rapidly knocked on the door, put her hoodie back on, and ran away as far as she could, slowly fading away from the wet and foggy environment. A moment later, the door slightly opened, and a dark-grey-with-black-striped adult feline with black eyeglasses and a sky-blue skirt poked her head out, peeking out at the misty night rain. “Hello?” she called, “Who’s…”. She gasped when she glanced down and saw the sleeping kitten in the basket. She looked around left and right, seeing that no one was around out of the night, not even a slight silhouette was seen. Concerned about the infant’s safety, she slowly carried the sleeping kitten still with his blanket on. The feline smiled as she gently caressed his cheek. “You poor thing. Do not worry, I’ll take great care of you.” She carried the basket as well and finally went back inside the orphanage with the baby, who was then soon to be named… Capper Dapperpaws. Capper, now living in his new home, has been living a rough life as a child. He wasn’t the only kitten there and everyone required attention. Not to mention, there were those days when a lucky one got adopted to a new home. No one came for Capper though, he was just one of the unlucky ones. As he grew up, Capper would have to learn a lot of things on his own. There were important things he’d learned like the first baby steps, basic language, and mathematics with the help of one of the caregivers, but sometimes he’d need to learn it by himself, or with the help of a new friend. At the age of 5, Capper was in the library reading a storybook on the table. It was a simple bedtime story, with short sentences and big words, but for someone like him, it was a struggle. He was attempting to read terms phonetically. “The… Fam… Farmer…. To-ok.” Capper sighed as he had no idea what he was reading. “T… to-ok…” “It’s pronounced as ‘took’,” corrected a young voice. Turning his head to his right, Dapperpaws saw a young skinny grey kitten with black stripes on both sides of his body, on his head between his cat ears, and the tail, and white fur from his face to paws, sitting beside him.“Two O’s make the sound of ‘ooh’.” “Ooh?” “That’s right. Mrs. Stripe says that it’s like the sound a cow makes. You know… MOOOOOO!” The kitten then noticed the book Capper was reading. “Say… do you need help reading? I’ll be happy to.” Capper then quickly scanned through the number of pages he needed to read, 10-12 more. “Yes, please,” Capper promptly affirmed. “I’m struggling with phonics.” Both kittens skimmed the storybook thoroughly reading the words together slightly one by one. For kitties like them, there are terms that they couldn’t pronounce properly or never heard of. For the words ‘knob’ and ‘knowledge’, for example, Capper couldn’t silence the letter K, nor the letter E in ‘cane’ and ‘nose’. He is even confused with different pronunciations of the four-letter suffix ‘-ough’ in the words ‘cough’, ‘bough’, ‘rough’, ‘through’, ‘tough’, ‘thorough’, ‘dough’, and ‘enough’. Terms like ‘environment’ and ‘symphony’ were very new to his vocabulary and he didn’t know the definition. Capper’s partner however did try his best to correct him and give an explanation of the definition in the simplest way possible. Once they reached the end of the book, Capper had never felt so pleased thanks to his new buddy’s assistance, and he also felt thankful for helping him. Thinking that he wanted to read again, Capper quickly searched the bookshelf for another book. As he scanned through the bookshelf, he found another very interesting book, so he grabbed it. The cover page of the book has a female black kitten attempting to hold a heavy metal sword, with her partner helping her while tilting his head in confusion. With interest, he brought it back to the table. “I wanted someone to help me read this book,” Capper explained, sitting back down. “Now we can read it together.” The grey kitten smiled as they both opened the book. “So, what is your name? I’m Capper.” “…The adults call me Chummer,” the kitten answered, “which is… a weird name for a kitten.”  “Well, I like it!” Capper smiled. “It is a good name.” With their names given, both of them immediately formed an amiable bond. The two then continued reading the book Capper found.  As they resumed, a female caregiver came from behind and called them. “Boys!” she called kindly with two hearable claps, grabbing their attention. “It’s nice for you to read, but it is time to brush your teeth and go to bed.” Looking at the grandfather clock beside them, Capper and Chummer quickly noticed that it was way past their bedtime. The house rules of the orphanage rigidly stated that kittens have to be in bed by 9:00 p.m. The clock read 9:10 p.m. Not wanting to get in trouble, they swiftly returned the book and left the library to brush their teeth and up to bed. The next morning, while the two boys were exhausted, they were still glad to be friends with each other. Capper and Chummer were the last few of the orphans to get their morning meals, they wouldn’t have much to consume compared to the others. However, there were a bunch of sweet cinnamon rolls that were just about to be served. The two kittens didn’t waste their chance and snatched as many rolls as they could before running to one of the tables. The other orphans were infuriated at not getting any rolls of that sweet pastries. Capper and Chummer were happy to have each other now. Now they were having fun with each other. The two’s favorite pastime in their youth was playing on the nearby playground. The caregivers have assisted to keep an eye on the children, allowing them to run and play tag, slide on slides, climb on monkey bars, swing on swings, and all kinds of things youngsters can enjoy. The boys were getting a kick out of themselves until they noticed a black cat with a grey face and matching fur collar. She managed to jump onto the top of the swing set and was balancing across it like a balance beam.  “Shadow, get down from there!” cried a caregiver. The feline heard her and decided that the best way was to jump down toward her caregiver. However, Shadow lost her footing and ended up mistiming her jump. Instead of landing in the arms of her caregiver, she crash-landed on Capper and Chummer, who happens to be below her without realizing. The three were fairly dazed from the impact and they all gazed over at their caregiver. “Now look at what you’ve done! You need to understand what dangers lie ahead when you do that.” She picked Shadow up by the back of her neck and carried her inside, not bothering to check if the boys were okay. They were still bruised, but other than that there wasn’t any harm to them. “Who was that?” Chummer asked while recovering himself and Capper. “I don’t know but she just called her Shadow,” Capper noted. “Why was she above the swings?” “You’re telling me. I don’t know we could get up there,” The male kittens eyed the top of the swing set and wondered how Shadow was able to climb above. They began by having Chummer hop on Capper’s shoulders and boosted up on top of the swings. Once he made it, Chummer struggled to keep his balance on the top, so he wrapped his arms around the pole, shutting his eyes tight. “Capper, I need help here!” he cried. “Hold on, I know another way up!” Capper quickly climbed up the swing chains. He quickly managed to get up to where his friend was. However, the young Abyssinian didn’t think his plan through as it was much harder for him to climb down safely than it was up. With both of them stuck, the only thing they could think of was calling for help. “Mrs. Stripe!” they cried. After a while, the boys were back on the ground safely but were taken inside and given a stern scolding by Mrs. Stripe. “You boys should know that it is very dangerous to climb up the swing like that,” she scolded. “You two were very lucky that I was nearby when you did that stunt. Who knows what would’ve happened if nobody was there to help!” “We’re sorry,” the kittens apologized. “You have my forgiveness,” Mrs. Stripe sighed. “Next time, never ever do a stunt like that ever again. Understand?” The kittens both nodded in confirmation. “Very well. You’re now dismissed.” With that, Mrs. Stripe walked away. Capper and Chummer were roaming around the orphanage for a while after getting scolded by Mrs. Stripe. As of now, they so far have nothing to do since they’ve already been playing in the playground for a while. Now they were searching for Shadow, that female kitten they’d come across recently that was dangerously balancing on the swing set before. They searched everywhere, but she was nowhere to be seen. Then, as they were going to reach the staircase from the first floor to the second floor, they found her. Shadow was seen by them once again balancing on the stair’s guard railing, holding out her arms to maintain her balance. “Look, there she is!” Capper cried. They quickly approached Shadow, to which she looked down at them curiously. “Hi.” she greeted. “What brings you here?” Chummer spoke first “Hello…. Shadow?” She nodded, telling him that was correct. “Okay. We wanna ask. How were you able to get onto the top of the swings? Like… you’re up there like a spider or something.” She smirked confidently and was about to leap off the railing. “Allow me.” She jumped to the side where the landing was close, but from the thud the boys heard, she didn’t seem to stick. Running upstairs, Capper and Chummer could see Shadow grasping her foot in pain. She was doing her best not to cry as she stared at the boys with their concerned faces. “The… The sun was in my eyes,” she fibbed. She was trying to make it sound like it wasn’t her fault. “Are you alright?” Capper asked. “I’m fine.” Her voice sounded like she was trying not to cry as she stood up. She stopped as she held her leg and started to whimper. “Um… Mrs…” Chummer was interrupted by the feline. “No! I’m fine.” She tried standing up, but she appeared to be in pain, putting much pressure on her leg. Chummer took off to find help as Capper squatted beside the feline, who couldn’t help but cry. “Are you sure?” he asked. “I told you… I’m fine,” she sniffed. Capper took a glance at her shin and could see a pretty bad bruise on it. “That doesn’t look fine to me.” Shadow would’ve objected, but the pain was terrible. “It hurts.” Capper tried helping the injured cat stand up as Chummer returned with Mrs. Stripe. “Oh, dear,” Mrs. Stripe sighed with worry. “Young Shadow, what have you done this time?” The young kitten didn’t respond as she just wept. “Come, let’s just get you some ice.” Later, in the bedroom, Shadow was lying down on her bed with an ice pack on her bruised shin, still feeling the pain. Although the sting still shivers her, she did her best to not feel it. Meanwhile, as she rested, Capper and Chummer came in to approach her, much to the black kitten’s confusion. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “We wanted to check on you,” Chummer said. “We think you’re kind of cool.” “...You do?” Shadow asked. “Yeah. We did try getting on top of the swings and… we got stuck,” Capper admitted. Shadow smirked as she sat up. “I’m really good at jumping and climbing, but I just feel a bit cramped in this place.” “It is,” Chummer groaned. “I want to go downtown.” “Me too,” Capper agreed. Chummer peeked outside of the window, looking down at the street. They were happy to be in the orphanage, but as children, they were bored and wanted to do something new. Capper peeked out the window as well to see how close the ground was. He was thinking about something before he heard a voice call out to them. “Boys, you still have homework to do!” called one of the caretakers. The boys groaned as they walked downstairs to resume their schoolwork. Shadow thought she would be getting out of it with her injury, only to see one of the caretakers carry some books up to her bed. She groaned as she knew she was going to be bored for hours. “Great…” It was an hour before midnight, and all orphans of this house had fallen asleep peacefully on their beds with their warm blankets wrapped around their fur bodies. All except Capper. He couldn’t get some sleep, his eyes were staring at the blank white ceiling for minutes. All he can hear was silence and his own breathing. Feeling restless, he turned his head toward the nearby window. There was no curtain covering it but could see the glimmering moonlight coming in and the stars from the sky sparkling like glitter. He quietly removed his blanket, got out of bed, and tiptoed his way to the window. From the window, he peeked outside and put his paw close to his face for a better view. While he was gazing, Capper could hear odd chuffing sounds. He had remembered hearing these noises before. Glimpsing down at the lane, he noticed a couple of steel beams and a couple of tools lying. “What are they doing?” the kitten asked himself. He could’ve sworn he saw something shining in the moonlight and wanted to get a better look. Wanting to know more, he tiptoed silently towards Chummer, whose bed is beside him, and shook him awake. “Ugh… What?” Chummer groaned. He wasn’t expected to be woken up in the middle of the night. “Capper? Why are you awake? It’s midnight.” “Sorry, but I want to see the rest of Panthera for real.” “Ohh?” Chummer looked around to see that everyone else was fast asleep. “This is our chance to explore the city. We won’t be in trouble if we get back before the sun rises.” Capper did seem excited and Chummer was tired of staying inside the orphanage, and he wanted to have fun with him. “Okay, let’s do it,” he smirked. Capper and Chummer silently tiptoed back to the window and glanced down. Based on the height from the window to the base, it was not too high, but enough to reach the ground smoothly when jumping off. Capper thought for a minute and finally got an idea. He headed back to his and Chunner’s bed and took off their covers. He twisted them like wet towels and tied them together to form a rope. Chummer was confused with the process he was doing, and quickly realized his plan. “Come on, give me a paw with this.” Chummer did so, and eventually, he and Capper had a makeshift rope for them to use to climb out the window. First, Capper tied one end of the rope of the footboard leg of his bed, then they quietly opened the window without making a single loud creek and he threw another end of the rope through it. Once he checked that the end was making contact with the pavement below, they climbed down as still as a mouse. Once they were out, they left the orphanage right away without any trouble. Now it’s their chance to finally explore the city of Panthera for the first time. They began their adventure by following the rails that were built into the street to see where they went. Right away, they witnessed many amazing structures and buildings they came across. At the center of the city are three separate memorials of three founders of the kingdom holding swords; they’re deemed also as heroes of the kingdom by the Abyssinians themselves because they’re the ones who brought their people to liberty from raiders. 50 miles west of the memorials is the tall metal flagpole where the giant flag of Abyssinia is supposed to be hoisted, and because it is midnight, it is not on the pole; normally it has to be formally hoisted every morning while the national anthem is being played. A few miles northeast of the memorials is the iconic tall clock tower with a giant golden bell that was established 100 years ago, and it still stands until the present. The boys were very amused with the scenery of these iconic landmarks of the city, and so they kept roaming. Because it was past midnight, most businesses were closed, such as restaurants and a recognizable pub known as “The Milk Maid”. The only lights the kittens could see were coming from the oil-burning street lights. Capper and Chummer couldn’t see one pedestrian on the streets, but they didn’t care, this was a new world to them. “This is amazing!” Capper exclaimed with excitement. “We can do so much out here.” “Yeah, I agree,” Chummer gladly affirmed. “So, what can we do out here now?” Chummer asked. Capper pondered for a moment until they noticed something sitting on the nearby hill. It was a black and yellow tank engine with a coach, a crane, rails on a flatbed, and other track work tools. “A train!” Capper cried and gasped. “Come on!” He sprinted toward the engine with Chummer following behind. Capper remembered the time back at the orphanage before he met Chummer when he had a toy train in the toy box, and played with it all day, and now that he sees the real deal, this is his chance. Once they arrived, they were amazed by the size of the steam train engine. With no concerns around their heads, they hopped inside the cab and began fiddling around with the small wheels, levers, and a shovel to figure out how to get it moving. “This is so cool!” Capper said. The boys didn’t fully understand how a steam engine worked though, so they had no idea with the engine being cooled down since there wasn’t any steam. The boys were disappointed as they failed to get it rolling on the tracks. The boys hopped off the engine and left.  Little do they know that there is something they forgot in the engine. Capper forgot to turn off the brakes. The brakes were the ones that helped the train itself stand still, without them, the train would be in motion nonstop. What’s worse is that it sat on top of the hill.  Capper and Chummer went down the incline of the hill, unaware of what is going to happen next. As they hiked down, they felt the swift gust of wind from behind. Their hearts froze. “Di… didn’t you forget to pull the level that stops the train?” Capper didn’t respond, and turned around. The train was rolling down the hill with speed. They were stunned as the engine coasted down the tracks. “Uh… oh…” At the bottom of the hill, another engine was pulling a few small vans across an intersection, which the runaway tank was rolling straight towards. It smashed destructively through one of the vans, sending a bunch of letters and parcels everywhere. Not only did it crash through, it caused the head engine to tilt forward, almost injuring the driver and fireman. They both turned on their brakes to stop the engine and collapsed.  “You alright?” the driver asked while breathing. “I’m fine,” the fireman responded. They hurriedly evacuated themselves out and witnessed the heavy damage it caused. “Oh good gracious, this is not good…” Capper and Chummer from above witnessed the damage they caused, Scared about getting caught, they sprinted back to the orphanage. It is a good thing that both driver and fireman didn’t see or notice them, however because of this mess, they have to call for assistance to clean up. As these two kittens ran and ran, they panicky looked left and right multiple times. Chummer did not recognize the way they came before. “Um…… Capper, are we lost?” he asked. “I don’t think so,” Capper guessed. “Look, we passed those buildings.” He pointed to the restaurant and the pub, which they had passed earlier. “That means we are going the right way. Let’s go.” Capper led Chummer as he trusted him.  Once they thought they were far enough from the crash, the two carried on exploring Panthera. Suddenly, they found another set of tracks and began following them to see where they went. Capper and Chummer could see eventually they were now leaving the street track and began following the ordinary ones.  “Where do you think these tracks go?” Capper asked. “I don’t know,” Chummer shrugged. “I hope whoever wasn’t driving the train got hit. I felt so bad for them.” The boys continued following the tracks. As they proceeded, his ears perked up as he heard footsteps from behind. He turned his back to see… no one. He swore he heard them from behind. “C-c-c-Capper, did you hear that?” “Hear what?” Capper listened carefully. Instead of hearing the sounds of footsteps, he could hear the squeak of rolling axles, metal pieces smacking together, and a whistle going off. “I hear some engines.” Capper ran down the tracks with Chummer trying to keep up with him. The two boys ended up in a shunting yard, where there were workers wearing construction gears. The boys had never seen so much rolling stock. There also looked to be some construction workers adding more tracks to the yard, and there were even cranes assisting them. Just then, an Abyssinian staffer with a pigeon on his shoulder headed over to the workmen. That has to be the boss of the site. “Sorry lads, we’re going to have to borrow your crane for a moment,” he said. “Aw, you’re having us on, are ya?” one male worker asked with a cockney accent. “I wish. Rumors say that somebody has made an effort to be a driver and left the brakes off, and because of this, it smashed the mail vans to splitters, almost injuring the driver and fireman due to the tilting of the head engine.” “Damn, they lucky. I’ll be having a word with those twats who caused it if that comes out of my pay.” “Settle down, lad,” a female worker said in a Scottish accent. “We’ll have it sorted out. Fire up the coffee pot and we’ll be there in a few moments.” “Very well.” The boss left as Capper and Chummer hid behind the tankers. “This is not good, let’s go somewhere else before they blame us,” Capper said. “Right,” Chummer said. The two were about to leave when somebody landed right behind them. “Whatcha doing?” The two jumped as Shadow had shown up out of nowhere, almost made a loud scream by covering their mouths, and they made some noise in the process. “Oi, what that!?” one of the workers jumped. Scared about getting caught and being in trouble, Capper and Chummer made a run for it with Shadow quickly running after them. The worker investigated and was getting closer to the kittens. Chummer was going into a panic, Shadow didn’t fully understand what was going on, but Capper was thinking of an idea as quickly as he could. Then, he saw a small engine pulling a few trucks, one of them was a hopper car that looked to be empty. “Guys, this way!” he screamed quietly. He ran to the moving truck with Chummer and Shadow following him. The trio quickly climbed up a nearby set of rolling stock, giving them enough height to jump into the open truck. They weren’t spotted by any workers and the three kittens made their way out of the yard.  After traveling for a few minutes, Capper peaked out of the edge of the truck and they seemed to be in the clear. The boys were relieved but were annoyed as Shadow for almost getting them in trouble.  “Shadow, why in the world were you following us?” Chummer asked. “You almost got us caught.” “I couldn’t sleep and I was wondering what you guys were doing,” Shadow explained. “Were you exploring Panthera all by yourselves?” “Yes, we are,” Capper responded. “We were tired of staying in the orphanage, so we wanted to have an adventure.” “It was fun until you almost got us caught,” Chummer added. “Why though?” “I guess the same reason as you guys,” Shadow said. “I’m tired of sitting around in the orphanage. I wanna explore new places, you guys saw how good I am at climbing.” “Yeah, I…. I think it’ll be best if we leave the climbing to you.” Chummer didn’t want a repeat of the swing set incident. He peeked outside of the truck and watched the buildings slowly passing them. “I think we should head back.” “Sure. Um…. Do you guys know the way back?” Shadow asked, “I was following you, so…. I wasn’t keeping track.” She grinned with guilt. “Eh, it’s fine,” Capper shrugged. “We simply have to be up a hill where there aren’t any tracks.” Capper looked out of the truck and saw the engine was going over a set of points. It was turning right while the track was heading uphill. “Follow nu lead!” Capper jumped out of the freight car, much to the surprise of the other two kittens. Chummer and Shadow quickly followed him, stumbling a bit from their jump since they were higher off the ground than they thought. Still, they ran after Capper, who was already halfway up the hill. He slowed down a little bit so they could catch up, then the three continued their journey back to the orphanage. Capper led most of the way, walking away from the rails. They passed by the pub, “The Milk Maid”, and then they saw the orphanage come into view. “See, there it is,” Capper proclaimed. The kittens quickly approached their bedroom window, where they could see their blanket rope lying on the ground. “Shadow… how did this happen?” The boys darted at Shadow, who was scratching the back of her head. “I… was slightly cautious about my leg, so I slid down the rope to be on the safe side,” she explained. “I know I felt something come loose.” “So how do we get inside now?” Chummer questioned. “If we go through any other way than the door, they’ll know we were outside and caused that scene.” Capper thought for a moment before facing the two kittens with him. They were a little confused when he held his claw up to their height, then brought them up to the window. “Shadow, how good are you at balancing?” Capper asked. “Fairly satisfactory,” she responded, “Why are you asking?” “Wait, are we getting on each other’s shoulders?” Chummer asked. “We’d still be too short to reach that window.” “Maybe not,” Capper noted, “If Shadow can jump high enough.” The kittens weren’t too sure about this, but they were too scared to try risking going in any other way. Shadow got onto Chummer’s shoulders and Chummer got onto Capper’s. The three wobbled a little bit until Capper managed to angle them into the right position. Shadow jumped off of Chummer and just made it onto the windowsill. She managed to climb in, much to the delight of the boys. Chummer started piecing the plan together and, with the help of Capper’s tail, tossed one end of the blanket rope up, which Shadow caught. She tied the rope to Capper’s bed, making it secure for the boys to climb. One by one, they carefully climbed up, making sure they wouldn't wake up any of their roommates. Once they were back, they pulled the rope in with them and started untying it after closing the window quietly. All three sighed in relief. “We’re back,” Capper whispered. “Okay, so if they ask why we were up this late, say that we went to the loo,” Chummer suggested. “Alright.” “Agreed,” Capper and Shadow affirmed in unison. And soon, they went back to their beds and rested their heads. The next morning, Capper, Chummer, and Shadow woke up and were very tired from their adventure last night. The caretakers didn’t take notice, as a few other kittens hadn’t slept that well either. The news about the crash last night had made it into the papers, which was a hot topic that the adults were discussing quite a bit, including Mrs. Stripe. Capper eavesdropped on their caretakers discussing it, and thankfully couldn’t hear any of their names being mentioned. “I think we got away with it,” he whispered to Chummer. “Oh, thank goodness,” Chummer sighed with relief. “What a relief. I don’t know what Mrs. Stripe would say if she finds out about us. I wish we could’ve seen more of Panthera.” “Me too.” Shadow eavesdropped on the boys’ conversation until they noticed her getting closer to them. Seeing they knew she was spotted, she joined in the conversation. “So, are you going to try that again?” she asked. “Sneak out again?” the boys questioned. Capper thought for a moment as Chummer didn’t like the thought of this. “Capper, are you so sure about this?” Chummer asked. “Well, if we ponder it out better, we could have a promising time.” “Could we even bring something back with us?” “Who knows? If we’re good enough, we could. We might get away with it again.” “I could help you out with that,” Shadow said. “I’m the fittest out of you.” “She’s not wrong,” Chummer noted. “I guess so,” Capper shrugged. “It could help me practice becoming a gymnast,” Shadow said. “I’d be famous in the Games.” “Is that a dream of yours?” Chummer asked. “Yes. What do you guys want to be when you get out of here and get a new home?” Chummer thought for a moment as he didn’t think about this until now. “I’m planning on being a rich cat,” Capper proclaimed. “If I can learn how to make myself rich, I can go far.” “Umm…. I don’t know about me,” Chummer admitted. “Maybe just something where I can help other cats like our caretakers.” “I’m sure that you’ll figure it out sometime,” Shadow reassured. “She’s right,” Capper added. “We’re best buds and we can make a great plan together.” Chummer smiled as he was looking forward to what he and his friends could do with their skills, planning, and confidence. Capper rested his head on his paw as he finished up the little trip down memory lane. “How often did you and your friends leave the orphanage?” Thorax asked. “Usually… once a week,” Capper answered. “We had more fun once we snuck out during the day. I’m surprised by how close we came to getting caught by Mrs. Stripe. I wonder if she still works there.” “How could she not notice you guys were missing?” Ember questioned with a sleepy yawn. “I get them not noticing you at night, but how could you be unnoticed during the day?” “There were a lot of us there,” Capper said. “Plus, we’d often hide from adopting parents, so we couldn’t be separated from each other. They got tired of looking for us for a while so that made sneaking out easier.” “I guess that makes some sense. But you said you came from another town, right?” “Oh… Kludgetown,” The Dragon Lord just nodded. “Why do you ask about that?” “How did you grow up in Pantshera…?” “Panthera,” Thorax corrected. Ember just glared at him before resuming. “Panthera… and then move to that place? We passed that place miles ago.” Capper suddenly looked nervous as he started twiddling his thumbs. “You see…” He said, “...It’s a part of being a con cat… I don’t want any guards or police catching me…” Capper slowly stepped back from the edge of the ship, and held up his wrist like he has a watch even though he doesn’t. “Heh, look at the time. I guess it’s slumber time! I’ll see you in the morning.” He then swiftly rushed back to his cabin, leaving the Dragon Lord and the king dumbfounded. “Yeah… we’ve been up for a while listening to his backstory,” Ember commented with a big yawn. Feeling sleepy, Thorax carried her back to the cabin. The following morning, Capper was at the bow of the airship drinking tea while enjoying the view of the clouds. He had finished his breakfast a while ago after waking up from his slumber. He is as of now soothing himself after a long night telling his story, although he is still feeling uneasy on his trip back to his hometown. As he takes another sip of his tea, Ember and Thorax come from behind, joining him with cups of coffee. “Good morning,” Thorax greeted. “I see you got yourself some tea.” “Ey, good morning as well,” he greeted back. “You slept well?” “Yes we did,” Ember replied with a sip of her coffee with gems. “Kinda… I gotta say: these gems really help make my coffee sweet.” As they drank, Capper noticed something in the distance. “Heh, would you look at that?” Ember and Thorax faced towards Capper’s direction and saw the ship flying above land, not only that, they could see the city coming into view. “Is that Panthera?” Thorax asked. “I haven’t seen it from this angle, but I’m sure it is,” Capper commented. “We’re here.” When he took a gaze at the city, he quickly caught a glimpse of something else. Two hot air balloons floating above the metropolis connected by a red, long and enormous banner with painted white text in all caps that read something none were pleased about: NO MAGIC ALLOWED! “Ah nuts, that can’t be good.” Wanting to play it safe, the airship landed a few miles away from the city as everyone on the ship was worried about magic not being allowed. Capper, Ember, and Thorax were planning on the strategy.  “Okay, one question: Why’d they ban magic there?” Ember suspected. “There has to be a few reasons,” Thorax noted. “A few creatures like us do tend to go mad with power.” “We can fix that magic problem later,” Capper proclaimed. “What’s important is getting you two into that city without getting caught.” “If we need disguises, you got the right guy to do the trick.” Thorax had a flash surrounding him and his form had changed into one of an Abyssinian. His fur was green with an orange patch on his chest that matched his ears. His eyes had slits now, which were still purple. Ember rolled her eyes at this while Capper was surprised by what he witnessed. He then laughed and remembered something. “Ooooooh, CHANGEling,” he giggled, “That’s a good one.” “Good for you, guys,” Ember said, “But I don’t have a special power that can turn me into a cat like Thorax. How the heck do I follow you guys without someone screaming at my face?” Capper then thought about this. “Hold on, let me have a look.” He went back to his cabin and searched for an object that would give Ember a disguise. A few minutes later, he returned with a neon green cloak, which he helped put Ember into. “What are you doing?” the Dragon Lord asked. “If the townsfolk don’t see you as a dragon, then they won’t freak out. Now stay still, I have to ensure your wings are hidden.” Ember grumbled as she tried to stay still and have Capper put the disguise on her, especially with her wings since she normally never closed her wings. When he was done, only Ember’s muzzle, claws, and feet were visible, with her tail making an attempt to escape underneath the cloak. “Not perfect, but better than nothing.” “How do you feel?” Thorax asked. “My wings are going to feel cramped by the end of this,” she answered. “Can we go now?” “Okay. Sure thing,” Capper said. “Better start movin’.” Capper led the way to Panthera, with the disguised dragon and changeling following him. “We should find more clothes to hide more of your body,” Thorax noted to Ember. “You’ll also be needing contemporary names too,” Capper noted. “Since you’re not supposed to be here, I guess you’ll go by… hmmm… Ember will be Alison and Thorax will be Chester.” “...Really?” “Why? You got better names?” his voice raised. Ember didn’t respond while Thorax just shrugged. “So be it, leave the strategies to the experts. Follow me.” Capper continued leading the way towards Panthera as the disguised creatures followed closely behind. This is going to be complicated.