"Hoca. Are you here?" Husam called out as he stepped into the library, the pegasus in his arms looking around herself in wonder at the sheer number of old books.
"Husam? Is that you? One moment, I'll be with you right away."
There was the sound of rustling paper and books being closed. Shortly after, an old man with a white beard appeared from behind a shelf, hunched over a gnarled walking stick.
"What brings an old man like me the joy of the presence of the Sword of the Faith himself?" he chuckled as he stepped up, "Surely, you're not here to..." he froze as he saw the pegasus cradled in Husam's arm, "By the lords name..." he whispered.
"Hoca, this is Rainbow Dash." Husam pointed to the pegasus before nodding towards the old man, "Hoca."
"Hosha?" the pegasus replied with raised eyebrow, obviously having trouble with the pronunciation.
"Hoca." Husam repeated the word patiently.
"Astounding!" Hoca cried out with joy, making the pegasus flinch, "To think that I have the honor of witnessing such a fabled being in reality!" he walked up to the pegasus, "How beautiful!" he started to reach out with his hand, but the pegasus flinched back from his touch and further in Husam's arms.
Hoca held up an apologizing hand, "I am deeply sorry, I did not mean to scare you." he bowed.
"I am afraid she does not understand our language." Husam replied with a sigh, "Tell me, Hoca. You have traveled a lot in your past. Have you ever heard of a race such as this?"
The old man scratched his beard in thought, "I am afraid I have not... but I have collected many maps of distant lands during my journeys... maybe there is one she recognizes?"
Husam nodded, "It is worth a try. The queen wishes for me to find out where she came from... please show us all maps you have, Hoca."
Rainbow Dash watched in wonder as the old man suddenly sprang to life and started to bustle through countless shelves and drawers, collecting numerous scrolls and parchments in the process with obvious joy. Looking at him reminded her of... Twilight. She hung her head at the memory, she missed her friends.
"There!" Hoca put down a huge collection of parchment onto a table, "These are all the maps I have in my collection. Though I have to admit, some of them may not be as accurate as the ones your used to, Husam al Din."
Husam walked over to the desk, looking over the maps as Hoca started to open them, "That's quite a collection..." he pointed to the maps with a finger before talking to Rainbow Dash, "Do you recognize any of these?"
Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes as she observed the first set of maps, much to her dismay, none of them reminded her of anything she had seen before. None of the countries had a shape that reminded her of Equestria, and the language written on them was just as foreign to her.
She shook her head, "No luck?" Husam commented, "Let's see the next then."
---
Two hours later they still had not made any progress. No matter how many maps the old man pulled out, Rainbow Dash failed to recognize any of them. When the last map had been taken away, she simply hung her head in sadness.
"This is getting us nowhere, I am afraid." Husam sighed, "I had hoped that there would be at least something she'd recognize..."
Hoca nodded gravely, "It is a tragedy, but surely..." he froze, "Wait! Could it be?"
"What is it?"
Hoca's eyes lit up, "There may be one last thing... How did I not remember this?" the old man quickly rushed off to a large chest, opening the lid and starting to rummage through it frantically, "Where is it?" he mumbled, "There!" he fished out a crumpled and stained piece of paper.
"A long time ago, when I was still young..." Hoca carefully started to unfold the paper, "I bought this from a traveling merchant. He said it showed the world beyond the great seas of the east..."
Husam huffed, "Beyond the great seas? I thought the world ended beyond them..."
"That is our belief, but simply because no one ever dared to cross them and returned." he opened the map and carefully turned it towards Rainbow Dash, "I always thought it was nothing but a mere fairy tale too... but maybe..."
Rainbow Dash's eyes grew wide as she looked over the map. There were no countries, no words... only pictures of dragons and other mystical beasts, but the shape... the shape was unmistakable. She pointed to the map with a frantic hoof, "Equestria!" she cried out with happiness.
"Equestria?" Husam repeated the word, he had never heard of such a country before.
"Equestria!" she repeated the word with clear excitement.
Hoca's eyes sparkled with joy, "So there really is a world beyond the great seas! To think, what uncountable tales and mysteries await us there!" he looked at Rainbow Dash, "And what unimaginable races..."
Husam frowned, these were interesting news indeed. The known world was believed to end beyond the great seas... but if there really was a whole world waiting there...
"Hoca... I must inform the queen of this at once." he looked at the excited pegasus in his arms, "Can I leave her under your surveillance for a moment?"
"Of course!" Hoca nodded, "I shall take good care of her in your absence... Maybe I can even find out more about our visitor in the time."
"Good." he carefully put Rainbow Dash down on a big pillow and pointed to the ground, "Wait here."
Rainbow Dash looked at his hand, at the ground, then back at Husam before nodding, "Εντάξει, θα μείνω."
Husam nodded, assured that she had understood before heading towards the doors, "There will be two of my blades standing on guard outside. If there is any problem, call out for them. Do not allow anyone else to enter but them or me. I will be back as soon as possible."
Hoca scratched his head as he gave Rainbow Dash a pondering look, "What a strange language..." he turned around in his library, thinking about what to do next. He turned towards Rainbow Dash with a small smile, "Would you like some tea and biscuits perhaps? They always help me think." he chuckled.
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow and tilted her head, "τι?" she didn't understand a single word he had said, but he seemed friendly.
Putting aside that she still had no idea where she was, Rainbow Dash now felt for the first time since her stay in this place that there was a chance for her to return home.
The old man shook his head with a small laugh, "Tea and biscuits it is. Then we can try to figure out that language of yours." Hoca silently hoped that the queen did not have any immediate plans for the small pegasus. As far as he was concerned, this could be the discovery of a lifetime.