"I'm not drinking it, Ruby," Zuri repeated, shaking her head and pushing away the curved glass. "I have never even had any zebric strong drink. I'm not about to try the stuff made by ponies."
"Not even a sip?" Ruby offered, lowering her own glass from her lips. "Come on, Zuri. You've got to try it sooner or later."
"Later, then," Zuri decided, breathing lightly so she didn't have to inhale the fumes of the strong drink.
Ruby sighed, taking Zuri's glass away on the bar counter. "Well, if you won't get drunk with me, I guess you'd better go back to your room, yeah?" Zuri nodded, and stood up off the barstool
The inn had a small bar that was mostly empty, and Ruby had come back with Zuri to get a drink. Zuri had stayed behind to try and learn how the shadowmaster expected them to be allowed into the Gala in the first place. The most sense Ruby had made was when she had memorably said, "in good time and good drink, most good things are revealed, and the rest comes after the hangover. In other words, let me get shitfaced, then let's worry about the next step while I'm holding an icepack to my head."
Since Ruby was the one they were relying upon for the solutions, Zuri supposed she may as well be patient, as she ascended the stairs. She was met halfway by Moondancer, who looked very excited. "What happened?" Zuri asked.
"Rainbow Dash and I were able to get a secure communicator uplink. She's talking with her friend, the princess. She needs to know how the thing with the club went."
The two of them reached the top of the stairs, and entered the room Rainbow was staying in. "...So then just as I'm about to try to explain it to this ESSUG guy, Uzul, Druva and Rock Polish barge in, Crusader-style!" Rainbow was obviously retelling her rescue from the Rock Pile, though Zuri noticed she left out any hint of Chrys.
"Wow, Rainbow, sounds like you've found lots of new friends!" Said a hologram of a purple unicorn mare, looking very impressed. Upon further examination, however, Zuri realized this unicorn also had wings.
"I did listen to some of your lectures after all, Twilight." Rainbow smirked at her. Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes, though her voice had a laugh in it.
"They aren't lectures, they're morals. I send the lectures to Princess Celestia, remember?"
"I thought you were allowed to leave off the word 'princess', now, seeing as you're one of them!"
"Doesn't mean I have to, does it? Listen, the ship's going to be docking in about seven hours. I ought to get some sleep soon. I think I remember them saying they built me a castle, and I wouldn't want to look like I hadn't slept when I was complementing them on it."
Rainbow laughed, before noticing Zuri had come in, and she beckoned the trancer over. "Before you go, Twilight, this is one of the zebras I was talking about. Her name's Zuri, and she's the reason we're out of that mess at the Rock Pile."
The young alicorn looked at Zuri curiously, without any malice or fear, however. "So, Rainbow tells me you were breaking into a gentlecolt's club, today."
"I was," Zuri answered. If Rainbow thought it alright to tell this mare, then why shouldn't she? "Filthy Rich is indeed going to be at the Gala."
"Aw yeah!" Rainbow said, grinning broadly. "You know what that means, Twilight!"
Twilight let out a slightly exasperated laugh, "yes, I do know. I wonder if Celestia will actually understand this in my report. I'll issue the tickets and permissions in the morning. Let's see how good we can make you out to be, Zuri!"
"Wait, what?" Zuri sputtered a little. What in the stars and spirits did that mean?
"Rainbow Dash can explain, I'm off to bed now. Talk to you tomorrow!" With that, Twilight's holographic image vanished, and Zuri turned to Rainbow Dash.
"What have you been up to?" Zuri got the question out of her mouth first.
"You're gonna love this." Rainbow Dash said proudly. "I told Twilight what we were trying to do. All of it, from getting you home to getting us off Palosol, and Twilight is like a super-genius or something, and some pony who didn't know better put her in a place where she had a lot of power. She's going to be re-writing the laws to allow a special zebric emissary to come to the gala with two friends, so as to 'better appreciate our way of living and hopefully build a bridge between the two species.' We're masking it all as a political move, see? Twilight was already working over the stuff for the Gala, so that it would be more enjoyable for a wider group of ponies, though she has to make sure the nobles are happy, otherwise somepony might dig too deep and figure us out."
Zuri frowned; the plan seemed fairly water tight, but... "Can she really do that? Ruby warned me that I should lay low after going into that club."
"Twilight'll take care of it. A good friend of hers has some serious hold on the media, and they're gonna make sure you appear in a bad light after the gala, hopefully by the time you're out of here. As for me, they can't actually put me in prison, it would render one of Equestria's most important means of defense useless if I was behind bars, and Twilight said she could get my crew pardoned long enough that we could hold audience with a court back on Equestria and sort this all out nice and quick."
Rainbow finally finished her explanation, and Zuri didn't really understand how it could go that smoothly. Then again, she already expected to have to improvise, given her luck so far. "So, we can go to the gala, supposedly," Zuri said, slowly, "when is this happening again? I thought the gala was only a few days from now."
"I already said: Twilight'll take care of it! If she asked to, they would hold the gala on a different planet, and without complaining everypony would follow her there, build her another castle to hold the gala in, get all dressed up and stuff, and be seconds from opening the doors and Twilight could ask them to reschedule and relocate again, and they'd probably all do it with smiles on their faces."
"Your kind would follow your leaders over cliffs, I gather." Zuri mused with a grin.
Rainbow nodded, her lips curving upward as well. "Probably. Though, the one thing Twilight can't easily do is override a noble's or high-elected official's order. That's not rescheduling a celebration, it's questioning the mind of someone in a position of power, and that requires more than some frivolous reason you pull out of your ass. You need proof, so Twilight can't open the city's gates for anyone but herself without going through noble court, which doesn't much like zebras or mercenaries they don't own. So..."
"We still need to get Filthy Rich to let us go, I see."
"Believe me, it was the first thing I asked, and she said she couldn't do it quickly enough before ESSUG got around to dealing with us. They are looking for us, it turns out, but only in Harmony Town and the frontier towns. Twilight's going to keep them off our trail a while longer, and she's going to have the gala be held next week." Rainbow heaved a sigh, and then yawned widely, her wings stretching out. "Bleh, we should both get some sleep. We can nail it all down in the morning, Zuri, a job well done deserves a good rest."
Though Zuri hadn't really been under any extreme pressure with the brief journey to the Ropes of Equestria, the gallop afterward had left her limbs stiff and sore, muscles throbbing dully with the pain of exertion. Druva was already asleep, as were Snippet and Moondancer. Zuri's eyes stopped on the empty bed Chrys had slept in only once, and found that she missed the changeling. Whenever she had been around before, there was always a very slight redirection of the mood, usually enhancing it. Zuri associated this with the strange magic surrounding Chrys, and her affinity for emotion. Having finally been free must have been what she was always so happy about, but ever since being denied a home by Druva and Zuri, her presence and effect on the atmosphere seemed to have ceased to exist.
Returning to the thoughts of sleep, Zuri undid the crest clip on her neck, and placed her cloak down next to her bed, and climbed betwixt the sheets. Her eyes close, and she sighed, letting herself relax as if drifting on a cloud.
"A cloud would be softer than that thing, really."
Zuri's eyes snapped open again, and she sat up, ready to meet the intruder headon. To her great alarm, a lanky zebra mare was resting her head on her hooves, smiling slightly at her. Then, she realized, it couldn't be a zebra. No zebra glowed like that, with such a strange light that billowed off of them like mist.
"Shocked to see me, little Oun-Drii? Hasn't that Dunnur taught you anything useful? I know you recognize my face." The zebra said, looking very amused. "Can you say who I am, little trancer girl?"
Zuri nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off of her as she whispered, "you are Sibulla, the spirit envoy."
"With subtitle and everything, very good!" Sibulla clapped her hooves together. Zuri noticed no one else in the room had woken, and the spirit laughed. "Worry not about the aliens. They will not wake for me, though they would still see me."
"Why have you come?" Zuri asked, a little warily. In the zebric religion, many spirits existed, and their loyalties relied upon mortal frailties, for it was believed that their ancestors had once been mortal. Sibulla was the guardian spirit of messengers and travelers, but was also the lover of Dancir, the spirit of disunion, and so had gained a slightly mischievous personality.
"Why else, little girl? I appear only to deliver messages from and escort others to the plain of the stars. Were you never paying attention during sermons, or were you not beaten enough?"
"I'm sure you know the answer to that already," Zuri replied, a little defensively. Sibulla narrowed her bright yellow eyes, and then gave a short laugh.
"I am a habitual teaser. Dancir has rubbed something off on me, I guess." She rolled onto her back, only that didn't seem to work right, as she now floated along on her back, her head leaning back to gaze at Zuri. "I am here to take you on a little journey, little Oun-Drii girl. A short one, and you will remember it as a dream, but it was real. Will you trust me?" She held out a hoof, expectantly. Sibulla had once been punished for taking zebra to and from the plain of the stars whenever she liked, whether or not her victims wanted to. Her punishment was that she had to humble herself and ask permission to take them to the plain. After the zebra said yes, however, they were completely at her mercy.
Zuri, uneasy but curious, placed her hoof atop Sibulla's, and nodded. "You've got to speak it, little girl."
"I will go with you," Zuri stated, now without worry of waking her bunkmates. The messenger spirit gave a smile, and Zuri suddenly felt as if she were being pulled upwards. She tried to look around, but everything was moving too quickly. She wasn't moving upwards at all, she was stepping between plains of existence, something only a spirit and their passenger could accomplish. The incomprehensible speed made her eyes water and burn, and so she shut them, only reopening when the rushing of wind had settled, and she felt gravity becoming much weaker.
She was in what seemed to be an infinite expanse of stars, standing atop a road of what appeared to be black glass, but Zuri knew better. It was pure, undiluted nuvra, the blackstone, the supposed source of trancing. On Palosol it was very rare to find a blackstone vein anywhere but in the deepest parts of a city. Here, it was everything. The surface of the blackstone did not reflect the stars above, but in fact was thin and pure enough that Zuri could see right through it, and to more stars below. The road glowed slightly wherever she lay a hoof, and the glow diminished when she took her hoof away.
"Come this way," Sibulla ordered, and, not wanting to get lost in this world, which her religion had warned her so much about doing, Zuri followed. There didn't seem to be any other spirit or zebra present, the silence was deafening, untouched save for when Sibulla spoke. The spirit lead the trancer towards a cave, also of blackstone, and from which a rumbling, breathing sound seemed to be emanating. Zuri knew exactly what it was: a gateway to events past. Sibulla stopped short of the cave mouth, and looked down at Zuri. "This is where I leave you: nobody lets me in there."
"Then why am I being allowed?" Zuri queried.
"Maybe you aren't," Sibulla smirked. "Maybe I led you here to be eradicated by the excessive knowledge of all that has been, for the sheer fun of it. Dancir might try that, but his dull sister would just talk him out of it." She sighed, obviously exasperated by that topic, and blowing a lock of her glimmering, perfectly black-and-white hair out of her face. "Goodbye, little trancer girl, maybe you'll make it out again." With that, Sibulla walked away, disappearing into the huge expanse of stars not long after.
Zuri turned, and looked up at the mouth of the cave. As she neared it, the rumbling grew louder, and cold, odorless air blew against her face. Taking a deep breath, the trancer stepped forward, and began to walk into the blackness of the cave. She hadn't gone more than twenty steps, when glowing symbols began to appear all over the walls, illuminating the cave, and helping the zebra progress further. The symbols began to move, to revolve around Zuri as she walked, and soon Zuri perceived that they had become a single ring of shapes all around the cave, marking where she stood. For a moment, Zuri felt fear: maybe Sibulla hadn't been teasing that time, and this was a sort of mark of death, before something fell down upon her, but no such thing happened. The rumble grew louder, without Zuri moving her legs, and she quickly discovered she was being carried deeper into the cave by the ring surrounding her, as if she were standing upon a mobile disk. A light appeared at the end of the cave, and with it appeared the source of the noise.
Another spirit stood at the light's edge, apparently expecting her. The ring halted, and Zuri experimentally stepped off of it, but it would not happen. The ring bulged and elongated to always surround where her hooves touched. "Do not try to exit the protection, young Zuri," The spirit advised. "Walk normally, do not try to step over the ring. It is what protects you from the cave."
Zuri did as she was told, and moved closer to the spirit. "Good, you know who I am? Name me."
"Tambana, guardian of the past." Zuri stated, though she found her voice was meek and hushed, while the male spirit's was large, powerful, almost overwhelming. He stood with his back to the light, so his face was cast in shadow, but his eyes shown like the ring around Zuri.
Tambana nodded and beckoned her closer. "Good, you're probably wondering why you're here, mortal curiosity being what it is."
"I am," Zuri answered, and did not like how her voice still sounded so small.
"Firstly, an explanation of the ring. All good things come to those who wait, after all. It guards you, from the winds of past knowledge, which is that noise." The rumbling seemed to grow louder for moment. "Should you be exposed to it with no protection, your mind would break. All who feel the full, concentrated wind on their bodies gain all the knowledge of the past it carries, but this is too much for any zebra still restrained by their physical form. We spirits have no need for a true, lasting shape, therefor we are not hindered by the mortal brain. Now, as to why you've been brought here..." Tambana looked behind himself.
"Walk with me into the light. The cave is the knowledge, the light is the true event." Obediently, Zuri moved towards the light. It was not blinding, and she soon found it was like no light she had experienced before. There was no tempurature, no adjustment of the eyes, as she was enveloped in white light, and then, was suddenly on a the road she had appeared on. Tambana was beside her, standing stoically, his striped body looking strange, shimmery, almost.
"I was here before," Zuri muttered.
"I know you were: I know everything that has happened, of course." Tambana replied, and then held out a hoof to direct her attention. "Hush, here they come. This is the event as it happened, but you can change it without meaning to. Keep silent, and stand where you are, else they will see you, and the future may change."
Zuri watched where Tambana had pointed. Further down the road, two forms appeared, walking closer and closer. Strange images appeared on either side of the road, and Zuri was shocked to see Rainbow Dash flying around in a world very much unlike Palosol, along with the purple mare she had seen her speaking with before. As the two forms drew closer, the images appeared, and shifted, and a soft voice could be heard. The voice belonged to the larger animal moving towards them, singing gently.
"To see how you might grow, to see what you might do..."
The two forms came close enough, that Zuri could depict their colors. One was the purple mare from the hologram, with no wings, and looking very astonished up at the much larger mare she was walking with. The other mare was much taller than Sibulla had been, with a coat white as snow, and a long, multicolored mane that flowed as if blown by a slow breeze. She was the one singing, often directing the little unicorn's attention to one of the scenes shown on the sides of the road. Zuri hadn't ever thought a pony would be allowed on the plain of the stars, but it had apparently already happened.
They passed by slowly, the mare still singing her song, with Zuri completely baffled. Tambana lowered his head to speak in Zuri's ear. "You recognize that mare, the little one. She is a friend of Rainbow Dash, and here is where she gained her wings. She completed a spell of unity, one that allowed her to, as the larger one called it, 'fulfill her destiny.' In a way, that is the reason you are here, little Zuri. Someone wanted you to see this."
Twilight had stopped, staring up at the white alicorn as she rose into the air, finishing her song, before they both vanished into light, as did the rest of the environment. Zuri found herself at the mouth of the cave again, with Tambana lurking behind her, and yet another spirit standing before her. This one wore a robe, and was a regular zebra's height. Bright, cyan eyes stared into Zuri's own, with curious interest alight in them.
"Sibulla has brought her, Viva, as you asked." Tambana said, nodding and backing into the shadows of the cave, and vanishing without another word. Zuri now knew who this was. She was looking at her ancestor, Viva Sara, who looked amused and, a little perplexed.
"So, you are my granddaughter twelve generations later?" She said aloud, in a voice almost exactly like Zuri's. "I expected you to have not imbibed the Gift so strongly. Essebana led me astray."
Zuri couldn't talk, at a loss for words. If this was but a dream, it was alarmingly creative. "Do they cut tongues out for being rude, still? Is my twelfth-forth granddaughter dumb?"
"N-no, my elder." Zuri squeaked, sounding even more meek and small than before.
"Elder? Do I look your elder to you? My dear, I may have grown old among the living, but spirits have no age. I like to think I look more young than usual, and... Look at you!" She gave a sigh, and came trotting straight towards Zuri. She held Zuri's face in her hooves, like a mother cherishing her child's bright visage. "Young and beautiful, ripe with innocence and power! I can see the gift in you: it burns like the sun does on unguarded flesh."
Zuri didn't move, but managed to speak again. "Why... Why did you bring me here?"
Viva Sara gave a click of the tongue, shaking her head. "And there is the Sara curiosity. That once led me to try and mate with a sandspider, to disprove a rumor, so I caution you against getting too curious." She gave Zuri a gentle pull. "Come, walk with me."
Zuri walked obediently alongside her ancestor, still having a hard time forming words. Viva Sara, however, used the silence to explain herself. "I've been trying to reach your for some time, my dear. I at first tried to reach you through a memory turned dream, but I could not manage before you awoke. Your mind is strong, and doesn't like to be invaded, as I was trying to do. Eventually, I decided to get Sibulla to do it for me. She was more than excited to go fetch you, much more than she must have let on. She hasn't had an excuse to leave the plain for more than a century. Dancir wanted her close for a while, I suppose. I wanted to meet and speak with my youngest descendant for several reasons, but the most important is that those two mares in the past have an important role to play. You're going to meet the purple one soon, but the other you shan't meet before the end of the season, or so Essebana told me." Essebana was the guardian of the future, and fraternal twin to Tambana, much like how Dancir and Hadona were disharmony and harmony, Essebana and Tambana were future and past.
"The little purple one is going to help you—and not in the way Rainbow Dash described to you. She will do more than dance at a gala or rewrite laws, she will help you overcome a nearing conflict, and help you along your path to become a truly memorable trancer. That is what you want, isn't it? To become known for your own achievements and not mine?"
"Yes, it is." Zuri admitted, feeling a little embarrassed to do so. It wasn't exactly polite to prefer to make your own reputation instead of use one your elder had practically prepared for you, centuries in advance. "Why show me what Tambana showed me?" Zuri asked, still confused on that point.
"'Tis a lesson, young Zuri. 'Tis to show you that the zebra and the ponies are more similar than you may think. We share the same afterlife, after all." Viva Sara gestured around her to the unending expanse of the plain of stars. "I have learned much since dying, to nearly match what I learned in life. The greatest thing I learned, however, was that the zebra and the ponies are much closer together than either species realizes. Discolored zebra, my dear, are evidence of that."
"You mean me?" Zuri asked, looking at herself, and feeling suddenly ashamed of appearing as she did to Viva Sara, not looking like a pure zebra.
"Child, why are you downcast?" Her ancestor asked, obviously able to see right through her.
Zuri gave a quiet sigh. In the otherwise perfectly silent environment, it sounded loud. "You must be a little ashamed, that your descendant is discolored."
"Your color? My dear Zuri, your color makes you more beautiful!" Viva Sara stopped in front of her, and suddenly pulling Zuri into an embrace. "Your blue stripes are a sign of your power, of your importance! The blackstone has made you more unique than any other, like my twelfth-forth grandson, your brother said to you: in a crowd, the prettiest Oun-Drii girl stands out. I couldn't be more proud of you, Zuri. I have seen what you'll accomplish, child, and it far outclasses that of your siblings."
"So Essebana has let you see my entire future?" Zuri asked shakily, stirred deeply by Viva's words.
"All of it. I cannot say too much, else he would grow angry with me, but I can tell you that your future is bright and long, and one other thing: a future love is very near."
Zuri's eyes went wide. "B-but why tell me that?"
"Why do you think? Your two companion zebras both have their own relationships unfolding nicely, with you left all alone. You seemed pretty miserable like that, so, I thought you might like some hope!"
"Is it a zebra? Please tell me I end up with a zebra." Zuri pleaded, now very curious. Her ancestor, infuriatingly, shook her head, and laughed.
"I shan't say another word of it! Better to leave you in suspense than let your expectations go too high!"
"But that's so unfair, to lead me on like that!" Zuri protested.
"I'll tell you this: he is kind and good to you, he'll never leave your side for another, and he knows when to let a trained Oun-Drii lady hold her own reigns, but that won't stop him trying to be chivalrous."
Zuri strained to think: had she gotten to know any stallions in Otoul like that? "Don't worry yourself on it!" Viva Sara chastised. "I wanted to give you hope, not give you an excuse to try and guess who it is prematurely! I can see now telling you was wrong. Do not overly think on it, you hear me?"
Zuri obediently nodded, with a disappointed sigh that surprised her. Was that curiosity that made her desperate to learn more, or a lonely heart? Viva Sara offered no explanation, but took a deep breath, looked around, and then smiled at Zuri. "You know, judging from the stars' position, you ought to be getting in bed, no?"
"So soon?" Sibulla's voice came from behind Zuri, making her jump as the spirit stepped into a place next to the two zebras with an amused smirk on her face. "So I see the runes let you pass into the cave unscathed, unlike me." Sibulla said, looking down at Zuri with something like jealousy. "But again, you leave so soon? But you've yet to meet my dear Dancir, or Braxis!" Being the guardian spirit of the dead, and known for being extremely unsettling, Zuri thought not meeting Braxis was a good thing.
"Don't try to scare my twelfth-forth granddaughter, Sibulla," Viva Sara warned. "I'll tell Dancir about you and that Gau-Aer you neglected to mention to him."
Sibulla's hint of a smile vanished, and she turned around, giving a grunt. "Take my hoof, interloper, I'll take you home."
"Just one thing to remember, my dear," Viva Sara continued, "do not forget what I told you about your color. It is as natural to you as it is to breathe. The blackstone bestows its greatest gifts upon very few!" Zuri nodded, promising she would not forget what she had been told, with the agonizingly obscure hints as to what the future held foremost in her mind. She took Sibulla's hoof, and immediately there was a sensation of plummeting.
Zuri hit her bed with a bounce, almost completely silently save for the creak of bedsprings. It was still dark outside the window, and everyone in the inn room was sleeping peacefully. Now out of the plain of stars again, Zuri felt more tired than she had been before, but her mind was racing. She had been allowed to go to the plain of the stars, where zebra had not been recorded visiting for millennia! She doubted anyone would believe her if she told them she had been visited by Sibulla, met her famous ancestor and saw that ponies traversed the plain, she may be branded a heretic for that last part alone.
What stayed in her mind greatest, however, was what her ancestor had told her. Viva Sara was proud of Zuri's color, at some point, Twilight Sparkle would have an incredibly important role to play in her life, greater than she would in helping them escape Paradise City, and finally, she was soon to meet a love! An adolescent part of Zuri's mind gave an excited giggle at this news. She had only been courted for gatherings a few times, but an actual lover was something that lasted more than a single night, wasn't it? The assembly of important and pleasing news kept her giddy even as she laid her head back down to sleep, and she didn't noticed the glowing form of Sibulla, not disappearing to the plain of stars, but instead exiting the room through the window.
———
"Up and at 'em!" Moondancer called loudly, and Zuri woke up almost instantly. "We've got a deadline, you two! Rainbow Dash says we've got to meet the princess on her way down from the docks, where the crowd won't be as big since everyone else is going up there for the big welcoming ceremony!"
Druva stretched as she climbed out of bed, yawning as well. "Bleh, a bit earlier than usual. Not unwelcome though, I wasn't having a very good dream. How did you sleep, Zuri?"
"I slept just fine, and dreamt of good things." Zuri said with a smile.
Druva furrowed her brow, though she smiled as well. "Did you have a midnight catharsis, Zuri? You seem very bright this morning."
"'Tis but a day where I feel happy, Druva." Zuri said as explanation, getting out of bed and attempting to straighten her hair without trancing. Druva shrugged, and also began bettering her appearance. If they were going to be meeting any form of royalty, it would do them good to look their best minus any formal attire.
Before they left, Druva got out her cauldron, and prepared a brew which she shared with all the mares of the mercenaries who would take it, Snippet being one of the exceptions. If rubbed into the mane and tail with water, it smoothened the hairs and improved the sheen, and if rubbed into the coat, made it glisten and flatten evenly. When they had finished applying the potion, Zuri and Druva looked radiant, and Moondancer demanded they share some of the concoction with her. Rainbow, also using some of the potion, brought Big Macintosh, Zuri, Uzul, and Druva with her to meet Twilight separately, while the rest of the mercenaries left to attend the arrival ceremony.
The streets were not as crowded this time around, though the groups around the elevators to the ship docks were dense with ponies squeezing to get in. Rainbow wisely kept her band a little apart from the crowds planning on watching the ceremony from afar. The crowd slowly filed into the crowded docks, remodeled so that a group of ponies could walk across a raised road from one of the docking stations to the main transport elevator, so that they were not smothered by the crowds. Zuri understood that it was to be a festive procession, where the volume would reach astronomical levels even before the princess arrived.
Their group waited from a distance of a few meters from the nearest pony, though not far enough away that they wouldn't be able to watch the starship arrive. They had not brought any weapons, not wanting to cause a disturbance, as the part of town they were now in was much less used to firearms on such blatant display as opposed to where their inn was.
In the bright blue sky of the early Palosol morning, a dot suddenly appeared. The dot became a blot, and then a blurry shape. The starship was coming in at a high speed, gradually slowing down the closer it came to the docking station. Long mechanical arms extended from the holding frame of the station, like a beast widening its jaws to accept a mouthful of food. The shape grew bigger and bigger, until it cast an immense shadow upon the ground. Around six rods in length, the lean, smooth-surfaced spacecraft slowed almost to a halt before the frame, before turning to one side, and lining up the little hooks and rungs on its side with the docking station arms. Magnetized locks swung into place, and the great rumble from the ship's spacefaring engine died down. A tall door on the side of the ship began to slide open, and out walked, to deafening applause, five ponies.
From someplace unseen, a section of horns blew a fanfare, as Princess Twilight Sparkle, head held high and wings unfurled, moved slowly and calmly across the bridge over the sea of cheering ponies. She smiled as she walked, her chestpiece and hoofslippers of bright, golden metal shimmering in the light. She wore a similarly golden crown, with a jewel embedded in the front shaped like the mark on her flanks. Zuri, having seen her before, moved her eyes onto her four very interesting companions. The first was a butter-yellow pegasus, with long, flowing pink hair and green eyes. She wore an interesting suit, with initials on the side too far away for Zuri to make out. She looked rather nervous, but kept her eyes straight ahead, apparently determined to keep moving across the platform. The next was an orange mare, also with green eyes, but blonde hair, braided so that it rested along her back. She also wore a uniform like Fluttershy, but of a dark shade of grey. The next pony did not come walking, but skipping. Here was a mare of total pink, save for her blue irises and sun-yellow suit, with a smile so wide Zuri thought her lips would split at any moment. Her hair was like the clouds, and bounced with every step.
Finally, with cheers as loud as they were for Twilight, came a unicorn mare with a white coat and curling, violet mane, her sapphire eyes lidded, an expression of trained regality upon her face. What made this mare especially interesting, however, was her legs. Zuri had expected them to be as white as her coat, but then thought her legs and hooves were covered by the clothing she had around her middle. As the unicorn passed closer, Zuri discovered this was wrong.
The unicorn's legs were of a dark metal, looking extremely detailed, and almost like someone had engraved ornate images and symbols of great complexity into them. The metal started at the shoulders of the forelegs and the haunches of the hindlegs, and the hooves glistened, of perfect, reflective black. This mare was a cyborg, one of the few Zuri had seen with such smooth, expensive looking mechanical features. The legs moved exactly like real ones, but their perfect sheen made them as unnatural as their dark color on the snow-white mare. Maybe the mare saw Zuri staring, or she thought she had enough eyes on her now, but, she began to do more of a showy strut, tossing her hair with a casual flick of her head, and reveling in the limelight for a minute. This was, obviously, a mare who liked to be watched.
Zuri felt a hoof tap her shoulder, and turned around to find Ruby Nights had come along to see them arrive. She gave Zuri a strained smile, but the trancer could see her blodshot eyes and the exhaustion all over her face. "Have you had a bad night?" Zuri asked, trying to speak over the diminishing din of the huge audience before them.
"What, me? No... It's nothing to worry about." Ruby reassured her. "So, are they through the crowd yet? Can we go meet 'em?"
"Of course!" Said Rainbow Dash. "We're gonna wait at the base of the elevator for them while they finish their march. Twilight's gonna speak to the crowd assembled to tell them about the new schedule and stuff."
And so they moved to the base of the elevator. It appeared as though nopony had the intention of seeing the princess or her entourage for the moment, as they were otherwise alone in the street below the docking bay. They had stopped at the edge of their assigned elevator, Twilight had, and had addressed the ponies above personally. Zuri heard her say how excited she was to be here, how proud she was of her species and the planet for preparing for her arrival so quickly, etc. Finally, they heard the fanfare signalling that Twilight and her group had shut the elevator doors, and were descending. The crowd up above began to disperse, as Zuri could see through the huge glass ceiling that was the floor of the ship docks.
The elevator doors opened, and almost immediately someone within let out a loud shriek, and leapt out of the elevator. Rainbow Dash was suddenly underneath a blur of pink, being hugged tightly. "Aiee! Pinkie Pie!"
"Hi Dashie!" The pink mare on top of her said, still hugging her. "I've never missed you so much before!"
"Pinkie, get off'a her!" Another voice chastised, before turning cheerful and laughing. "It's my job to tackle her!" Rainbow Dash stood up to meet Applejack's rough embrace head on, letting the two ponies shake slightly in place as they hugged and patted one another affectionately on the back.
"Aw, it's so good to see you girls again." Rainbow Dash said, her voice unusually laden with emotion. Two more voices set up cheery giggles, as Twilight and Rarity rushed to hold Rainbow Dash along with Applejack. They all pulled away, Rainbow Dash pushed past them to sweep the other pegasus in a tight embrace that made the mare squeak. "Good to see you too, Fluttershy! And I see you were able to stand in front of all those ponies without a problem!"
"Do you think so?" Zuri had to strain her ears to fully understand the soft voice of the pegasus. "I've really been practicing, and it's really been helping that I have to do a lot of public speaking."
"Fluttershy's been hard at work, Rainbow, trying to come up with proper medical laws for all sentient creatures, not just ponies." Twilight informed them, patting Fluttershy, who had begun blushing, on the back.
"That sounds real impressive!" Rainbow Dash complemented her, "nice job! What have the rest of you been up to?"
"Pinkie and Applejack have been working on proper food circulation on less-provided for colonies, actually." Explained the young alicorn. "Applejack's expanding Sweet Apple onto Palosol, aren't you?"
"Eyup!" Applejack confirmed, nodding her head as she rubbed one leg with a hoof. "I thought you said my brother was supposed to be around–Big Mac!" She ran towards the big red stallion, who had just walked up next to Druva. He let out a breath as the mare collided with his chest, and he wrapped one of his large hooves around his sister in a hug. "I thought they were crazy, sending you out onto a planet ya hardly knew!"
"Ah learned quick enough," Macintosh chuckled. "Better than signin' up fer the army branch, otherwise Ah might never have met these three fine zebras, here." He gestured to Zuri, Druva, and Uzul.
"We've heard all about you from what Rainbow has said." Came Rarity's voice, as the cyborg unicorn approached the three zebra, her eyes alight with interest. "Oh my, darling," Rarity gasped as she set her eyes upon Zuri, one of her dark metal hooves lightly touching her chin. "Has anyone told you that your coat color pattern is simply magnificent?"
"They seem to be doing it more and more often, yes." Zuri answered, though she felt effeminately flattered.
Rarity gave a sigh, admiring Zuri's mane and coat for a moment. "Rainbow, why didn't you send me a picture of these three? I could have had dress plans already sketched for them when I got here!"
"Dress? Ah, right, we are going to that big gala, aren't we?" Uzul spoke, looking at Rainbow Dash for a moment. "It is usually our custom to only wear full formal attire for the most important occasions."
"Well, the gala is important! Boring though it may seem to be for those going there for the wrong reasons." Rarity replied, chuckling nervously after she said it. The rest of Twilight's group and Rainbow Dash responded likewise. "It's the only social gathering where all nobles are invited, and brought together to share news and coordinate on other upcoming events."
"Plus, we're gonna make sure that this gala really is fun, this time around!" Pinkie Pie chirped, bouncing in place. "Not a pony or zebra walking into those big castle doors is gonna be bored, this time! That's a genuine Pinkie Promise!"
"Hey Twilight, where's Spike?" Rainbow asked, looking around.
Twilight Sparkle looked puzzled. "He came before me, didn't I already tell you? He was overseeing the construction of the castle to be sure that we would all be comfortable."
"Then we should get to that castle of yours they built, before the crowds come down here!" Rainbow Dash advised. "And my little group, too."
Twilight Sparkle nodded, scrunching up her face in concentration as her horn lit up. Zuri didn't know what to expect, as a pink light engulfed her, she felt a rushing in all directions, and landed on another metal road with a thud, gasping in alarm, dazed from the sudden repositioning. "Eugh, sorry," Twilight apologized, shaking her head. "I probably should have warned you, uh..."
"Her name's Zuri, remember?" Rainbow Dash said to the alicorn. "And before you ask, Pinkie: no, she can't rhyme like Zecora does."
"Dang it!" The overly pink pony kicked the road with her hoof, frustrated. "And Zecora never let me learn how she did it so well!"
Twilight approached the large gates to the castle, which now loomed proudly over them, and placed a hoof into a circular indentation on the console to the right of it. Around her hoof, the indent glowed turquoise, and the shining, perfectly polished gates began to slide open with a low rumble. This revealed a wide set of stairs, ascending first to a square, with a huge fountain as a centerpiece with statues of ponies standing in the center in various poses. Then, even further up the steps came the main castle, with the tallest tower rising out of it. Everything was of pale stone, with gold and jewels accenting statues, moldings, and the huge symbol that faced them that was etched into the tower, which, Zuri noticed, matched the symbol on Twilight's exposed flanks and the crown she wore exactly.
Suddenly, a strange purple and green animal came stumbling down the stairs. At first, Zuri thought it was another pony, perhaps this Spike which had been mentioned earlier, but as he came closer, Zuri saw the bipedal shape, the lanky body, the serpentine scales, even, as Spike ran forth and took Twilight in a big hug. "Twilight! I was just coming to attend the celebration! I guess I missed it, huh?"
The adolescent dragon's voice was just that: adolescent, and sometimes cracked slightly. He stood a little taller than Twilight, almost able to meet eyes with Macintosh, but not tall enough. His long purple tail was encircled with short, but sharp-looking spikes, and he had long fangs beginning to poke out from his long, serpentine mouth.
"You didn't miss anything too important, Spike." Twilight giggled, and then backed up slightly to get a better look at him. "Have you grown again? I'll need to look up dragon puberty, and make sure that's natural."
"I'm not getting greedy again, Twilight, come on." Spike reassured her, rolling his emerald eyes. "I hardly even need to! Since I was made your right-hoof, almost everypony has to do what I say. Gives me a satisfying feeling of power—which I'm not planning on getting used to, now you're all here!"
"Well, I think a high position suits you," Rarity put in, walking up to Spike, who suddenly straightened, grinning a toothy dragon grin. "It makes you seem not so little any more, Spikey-Wikey."
"You really think so, Rarity?" Spike asked, his voice cracking again at a very inopportune time.
Rarity chuckled, and gave one stroke to his left cheek with her black metal hoof. Spike gave a little sigh of contentment, only interrupted when Rarity withdrew her hoof. "Well, Spike? Are you going to lead us in?"
"Of course, my lady!" Spike replied, and stood dutifully beside her, his tail wagging a little more lively than before. "Everyone, pony and zebra, come along!"
Spike lead them up the steps, past the fountain, towards the castle, with him and Rarity in the lead, and Twilight closeby. Applejack walked up to Zuri, and gave her a nudge. "My big brother says you actually took him down, twice."
Zuri nodded. "I did do that, why?"
"Shoot, that takes a lotta doin'." Applejack gave an appreciative whistle.
Zuri made a shrugging motion in reply. "I only did it because I thought I had to, I hope you know. The first time I didn't know him to be better than any other pony, and the second, well, he was apparently under the control of a maniacal filly."
"Yeah, he told me 'bout that! Daughter of Filthy Rich, right? The one who yer tryin' to get to?"
"Yes."
"I think she might be at the Gala. Might cause problems, but nothin' Twilight shouldn't be able to fix!"
"I'm not omnipotent, Applejack, but I can pull strings," Twilight interjected. "As for whether Tough Love is at the Gala, the only problem that would cause would be if she recognized Rainbow Dash or any of her cohorts, and we weren't able to contradict her if she accused them of assaulting her." She shrugged with her wings. "That isn't what I'm worried about, anyway."
They reached the large double doors, which Spike pulled open without so much as a grunt, probably trying to impress Rarity. Zuri stepped inside, and was reminded of the more showy temples and Oun-Drii homes as she stepped onto the gleaming marble. Alabaster stone made up most of the hall, with bronze, gold, silver and purple filling in all the details, just like the outside. Before them was another grand staircase, this one carpeted, and Rarity gave a slight coo as she stroked the dark carpet with a hoof. Obviously her prosthetic legs allowed her to retain tactile sense. "Oh, this fabric is delightful. I must get some to experiment with! And you, my dear," she looked at Druva, "would look positively svelte in a color like this!"
Druva gave a sheepish smile. "I admit: I don't know what svelte means, good lady unicorn."
Rarity looked more than flattered. "Good lady? Rainbow Dash, I'm liking these friends of yours more and more!"
"It's their custom when they address another of equal caste or higher to do that, when they haven't formally shared names." Ruby Nights, who had been silent up until now, said.
Rarity looked at the thief mare as if she hadn't ever seen her before, and gave a cry. "Oh! My dear, that cloak of yours! May I see it?"
"Now we've got her started," Rainbow Dash said with a snort.
Ruby let Rarity examine her cloak, and was rather surprised to hear the mare sigh. "This gold and red design fits your colors perfectly, darling, but its condition is terrible! Have you been climbing buildings, or something? It's ripped in so many places!"
"I hardly have the time to get it repaired," Ruby said, also a little sheepish as she shot a furtive glance at Zuri. "I'm a busy mare."
"Well! I've got my work cut out for me, then!" Rarity said, with finality, stamping an onyx hoof on the carpet. "I've got to design eight new dresses, because let's be honest, I could do so much better last time, and with the Gala so soon, why waste an opportunity like this? And don't argue, Twilight! Your royal gold fittings are nice, but you'll not want to look nice, you'll want to look stunning!"
"Your eight is... Four after four, correct?" Zuri asked, and was aware of how stupid she sounded asking a question like this.
"Why yes, darling. I'm guessing you never learned our numerals too well? A shame, but understandable. But actually, nine, if I'm making a dress for every mare in here, and then a couple proper suits, for the stallions, of course. And Spike, with your growth spurts setting in, I've got some new ideas, that I'm thinking will make you look more dapper than ever..."
"In case you hadn't noticed, Rarity is a professional dressmaker." Rainbow Dash whispered in Zuri's ear. "And a damn good one, too. She got me and Applejack to wear gowns, and if you knew me as long as those five have, you'd know how big a feat that is."
"I'll take your word for it," Zuri replied, just before Rarity rounded upon her.
"As for you, darling, I'm thinking something to complement your special colors. Maybe something in white and bronze? No, black and violet! Maybe if you're willing, I could do something with those strips of blue in your hair? Ooh, a nice violet dye wouldn't take long, and your mane already looks so perfectly moistened. How do you manage that, in this dry heat? Nevermind, we can cover that later. I need to see how you look with pearls 'round your neck! Spike, PLEASE tell me..."
"I've had the workers fit an entire wing in the east with all the dressmaking supplies and equipment I could find, old and new," Spike said, looking proud of himself, "organized just like Carousel boutique, right down to the extra spools."
Rarity gave an overexcited laugh, sounding like "wha-ha-ha~!" And threw herself onto Spike, planting a kiss right on his cheek. As quickly as she had done this, she pulled away, and recomposed herself with the clearing of her throat, her face pinker than before. "Anyway, darling, if you don't mind, I can repair this, and make a duplicate in the form of a proper ball gown!" She informed Ruby, who looked more than excited at the idea of a free dress. "I already know all my friends' measurements by heart, but I'll need to take you three with me for some preliminary fittings!" She pointed at Zuri, Druva, and Ruby. "I hope this doesn't muddle with your plans, but you can't rush perfection, so I ought to get started now! I'll measure Macintosh and Uzul, next, so you can hang onto him for a little bit longer, Rainbow Dash."
"Who's holding? I'm not holding anypony." Rainbow asked innocently, folding up her wing, which had been wrapped affectionately around Uzul's side.
"Nor are you fooling anypony, Rainbow." Rarity said, almost accusingly. "I overheard you babbling to Twilight about your new stallionfriend."
"Babbling, eh?" Uzul said, grinning at Rainbow Dash. "What were you babbling about me?"
"Just stuff," Rainbow deflected, not looking at him, her face red. "Uh, nice stuff, not anything mean."
"Well, then I want to hear what good there is to say of me!" Uzul persisted, looking like he was enjoying this.
"Rainbow asked me to keep it a secret, Rarity, and I suggest we both respect that." Twilight intervened, looking sympathetically at her friend. "Can you respect that too, Uzul? At least until Rainbow feels comfortable telling it to you?"
"Alright, alright. If she wants to tell me, she can." Uzul said, still with a grin on his face.
"Why Rainbow Dash would feel more comfortable talking about Uzul to Twilight, of all ponies, who's hardly ever dated..." Rarity mumbled, jostling Zuri, Ruby, and Druva towards the eastern wing Spike had pointed out, her black metal hooves clanking rhythmically on the reflective marble floor. "Poor Rainbow's hardly had any experience herself, you know. She pretends like she's been around every corner and experimented with every possible combination, but as far as I can tell, she's only been with a couple of ponies, and one gryphon: Macintosh and Gilda stick out, in my mind."
"Hang on, you mean that Gilda she keeps hinting about? They were a thing?" Druva said, looking bemused. Rarity sighed in an exaggerative way, and nodded.
"The way Rainbow Dash sometimes spoke of her, yes, they were most certainly a thing. I can't for the life of me see what Rainbow saw in her, though. She was a bully, plain and simple, and then she got ahold of these mercenaries..." She sighed and shook her head, her horn glowing a soft blue as she opened up the door to the boutique within the castle. Ruby dove to catch the unicorn, as she swooned as soon as she saw the contents of the dressmaking room.
Fabrics, jewels, and pre-made dress templates lined the walls, with a huge vanity mirror atop a raised platform, with several bare mannequins standing atop it. There was a veil off to the side, behind which Zuri assumed one was supposed to change.
Rarity managed to stand on her prosthetic legs again, and gave a cry of delight. "It's exactly like my boutique back home, only better! I always wanted a rotating carousel presentation, so much easier to view things from different angles, without having to move! ... And where the hay did Spike find that full-body mirror!? Oh, he's spoiled me..." She gave a long, happy sigh, and Ruby tensed in case she fainted again. "Now, time to get to work!" The unicorn announced, stepping into the room, and lighting up her horn to pull over a long tape measure. "I'll do Ruby first, you've already got that lovely cloak that I can mimic the style of."
"What about mine and Druva's?" Zuri asked, tugging a bit on the soft cloth that made up her own traveling cloak. It was in near perfect condition, save for being slightly dusty due to traversing in the desert. Rarity looked back, again as if she hadn't noticed, she put a hoof to her chin, looking suddenly very troubled.
"Ahh, umm, hmm... I thought you'd look better in black, darling, not sandy or wood brown. And, honestly, it looks rather plain..."
"Well, of course I would wear something plain," Zuri answered, bluntly. "I was walking across sand dunes, a few days ago. Why would I wear something worthy of me then?"
"Worthy of you? Dear, maybe we need to explain to you about being humble, like we did with Rainbow Dash." Rarity said, chuckling. "We all dressed up as superheroes, I remember."
"Uh, maybe you haven't heard," Ruby said, a little nervously as she held herself still, Rarity measuring the length of her legs and the dimensions of her body. "Among zebra, Zuri is a noblemare. Like, Princess Cadence level."
Rarity blinked, and then became very flustered. "O-oh, oh, pardon me! You're an Oun-Drii, then? That's your word for it? I'm sorry, I didn't realize..."
"Let it be," Zuri said, placatingly. "I left my home to get away from all the up-tight supplicant zebras that populated it. I wasn't about to expect a pony to behave the same way."
"Your culture and society is almost entirely new to me, other than what little bits of information Twilight's given." Rarity said, as if still apologizing. "But, a zebra noble! This is a pleasure, then, to make a dress for someone in such high standing! I suppose I'll take your measurements next!" She finished writing down Ruby's and then asked Zuri to stand atop the little platform as she held her measuring tape out with magic, jotting down the numbers upon a pad device she had picked up from one of the desks at the entrance to the room.
As she did so, she began to talk once more. "You know, if you're a noble, and what Rainbow says about you is true, our own noble class could learn a thing from you. Um, do you mind removing your cloak?"
Zuri nodded, undid the clasp, let the cloak fall to the floor. Rarity gently wrapped the tape around her middle. "Anyway, according to Rainbow you're a skilled fighter, and aren't one to look for a lot of excessive attention. Our own nobles could take a hint or two there: they have egos the size of moons, and are usually just so uptight, narcissistic, and all around snobbish! They follow along after the even bigger names than themselves like little puppies, liking whatever they like, or at least pretending to, so that they all 'fit in'. Anyone who doesn't enjoy doing the same things and behaving the same, snobbish way is considered so low-class that they're barely above–hm!" She put a hoof to her mouth, apparently preventing herself from saying a foul word. "How do you Oun-Drii normally behave towards one another?"
Zuri looked up at the ceiling in thought for a moment, before looking back down and answering. "We get along, but just as often, we become cutthroat. One family is always after another's property or fame. Some band together, some have been going along in feuds on subjects so trivial I don't think even think they remember why they were fighting in the first place." The trancer gave a shrug. "My family is famous for what one of my ancestors accomplished, but just as many other Oun-Drii want to claim our high reputation for themselves."
"Those edrecht have nothing on the Sara magician!" Druva exclaimed, in the middle of Rarity measuring her. "Do they expect everyone to toddle along after them, like those nobleponies?"
"Changing the subject, a little," said Ruby, interrupting. "Miss Rarity, how many nobles will be at the Gala?"
"Oh, hundreds, darling," Rarity said, wrapping her tape around Druva like she had Zuri. "Hundreds upon hundreds! I expect half of them to have already arrived expecting the Gala to be tomorrow. Twilight's planning sometime next week, so they're all in for a rather nasty surprise. They're coming in from every major colony planet, and Equestria too!" She gave a little gasp, "ooh, the princesses might show up to join in on the fun. Well, maybe. I think Twilight said something about Princess Celestia being unable to control the sun on other planets, which is odd, I don't think the princess has ever gone to any other planet, not to my knowledge. And Luna, well, Luna tried, but had a nervous breakdown as soon as she got to Thardrim station."
"Why?" Ruby asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
"The poor dear couldn't see Equestria's moon. I hear she had a nasty fit when she couldn't find it in the sky around Teraphim. Alright, off the platform, you three!" She pulled up a mannequin, again with magic, as well as a table with a sewing machine mounted on one end. Even as she worked, Rarity tried to keep up the conversation, though she almost always kept her eyes on her work. "Cadence could try, though! She could bring along Shining Armor, and some extra cargo, too, if the rumors are true. Oh! I just had a thought." Rarity looked at Zuri for a moment. "Darling, if we play this right, we might be able to make you the life of the party! An experienced zebra noble getting along with pony nobles would be a step in the right direction for a sense of equality between the two races. I think that might be the main reason Twilight agreed to this idea of Rainbow's. And furthermore, you might have a lot of fun, unlike we did. Conversing with others of similar position should be easy, shouldn't it?"
Zuri wasn't sure how to answer. Rarity seemed to have forgotten that ponies and zebra lived on totally different planets, in totally different cultures and societies. Yet, there was a chance she may be able to get along fairly well with some of these pony nobles, if they were as well-trained as she was in how to behave in a proper way. Then, of course, the concern was how differently the two races defined the word 'proper'. She had a thought, and voiced it without moderation. "Do they dance at this Gala?"
Rarity's sewing machine sputtered to a halt as her magic operating it faltered, and she gave out a raucous snort. Regaining composure, she put her hoof over her mouth to smother her laughter. "W-why, yes, darling, I think they do a bit of dancing. Maybe. Just a bit." Her tone was sarcastic, it made Zuri feel slightly insulted. "Sorry, I'm sorry, it's just... Why? Are you afraid to dance?"
"Stars, no!" Zuri exclaimed, scandalized. An Oun-Drii, afraid to dance? That was like saying a Gau-Aer was afraid to make a profit. "I was wondering how ponies dance. I'm assuming our kinds do it differently in some respects, or all of them."
"Our waltz is a lot like your retaogos, or retamol, Zuri." Ruby informed her, to everyone's surprise.
"How do you know so much about our kind?" Druva asked, as if she had begged to know this before.
"A lot of luck and eavesdropping, mostly!" Ruby responded, looking proud of her secrets.
"But the retamol is usually performed at weddings!" Zuri argued. "'Tis often the bridesmaids' lone dance around the floor. Lone dancing like that shouldn't be taken lightly, at a Gala."
"Performing it to a crowd of nobleponies would certainly gain their admiration, though." Ruby countered, grinning. "Though you would need the accompanying music to fit, wouldn't you?"
"Why not the retaogos?" Druva offered, with a wry grin, "or, if you would perform a lone dance, the retanoga, maybe?"
"Retaogos, well, I never liked it." Zuri replied, shaking her head. "I wasn't bad at it or anything, but," she blushed. "You two know exactly how embarrassing it is!"
"Am I allowed to ask...?" Rarity began.
"It's a little like a formal strip-dance." Ruby answered, and Rarity gave a small squeak, her face turning bright red, while the thief explained further. "It's usually performed in front of a lot of other mares, as a way of bragging that you look the best, that you're more fertile, you're stronger, and you're therefor going to end up with a better stallion and family than any of them."
"You're supposed to practice it in front of your mother, sisters, and any female relatives. It's really uncomfortable, dancing and flaunting yourself in front of your family." Zuri finished the explanation, shaking her head. "I doubt there will be only mares looking at me if I try that. The retanoga, though..." Now there was an idea. Retanoga translated directly to "lady's beauteous dance", and the name was very descriptive of what the choreography displayed. Zuri dreamed that she would first perform the retanoga for that future love, and she was rather unhappy to perform it in front of a crowd of nobleponies, especially because she was good at it. Zuri was a natural with moving her hooves, and retanoga required coordination and leg strength only a trained sand trancer would have, to make it look right. The other thing it needed, however, was a proper gown, otherwise several steps and movements would be impossible.
"How loose can you make my dress?" Zuri asked Rarity, suddenly coming out of her thoughts. "Not so loose that it falls off, but, well, retanoga requires flexibility."
"A lot of it," Druva put in.
Rarity squinted at the numbers she had written for Zuri's size, then at Zuri, and she grinned. "Darling, with a body like yours, it's more of a playful challenge than a problem."
———
"So, let me get this straight, you're going to win the crowds over with a dance?" Rainbow Dash asked Zuri, from her perch atop her bed, as if having not heard her correctly.
"Yes, a very special dance." The zebra answered, looking proud. "One I'm good at, and I had been thinking: if all those nobles are distracted by my dancing, it would be easier to grab hold of Filthy Rich, wouldn't it?"
"It would, but I was hoping you'd be able to help hold him down!" Rainbow protested, making a face like that of a child who hadn't gotten the gift they wanted on their birthday. "Not that he's like Big Macintosh or anything, but, well, it just seems kinda silly for you to be dancing around. All this time you've been beating the crap out of ponies and now you're going to dance for them?"
"I may as well show them how much better at it we are than they." Zuri replied, smirking a little. "Did you expect me to be some serious, stony zebra all the time?"
"Well, yeah Zuri, you did kinda set up that expectation." Rainbow said, shrugging with her wings. "How you acted most of the time, and all, I figured you to be a little like me."
"How so?" Zuri asked, wondering where this had come from.
"Well, like, y'know..." Rainbow Dash seemed to be having a hard time forming the words. "You just acted so angrily at Thunderlane, and you complained about stallions always came at you. A-and then when you first found me and Uzul kissing, how you, uh... I just, figured you to be a tomboy."
"And what," Zuri asked, now without her smile, "is a tomboy?"
"A butch mare! Well, not really butch, just... Uh..." Rainbow Dash struggled to find the right words. "A masculine mare, is all, maybe one that preferred... other mares, y'know."
Zuri's jaw almost hit the floor, and Rainbow winced at the reaction. The zebra took a breath, and said, in a measured tone, "Of all the things I am, I am not a lesbian, and I never have been. When did you decide I was?"
"I just, well... You and Ruby seemed to keep each other company!" Rainbow defended herself, holding up her hooves as if to catch an object Zuri would throw at her. "And, Ruby is definitely a fillyfooler, like, no doubt about it, how she was eyeing you and Druva. I noticed that! But, I guess I made a wrong connection..."
"So because I don't like a bunch of perverted male aliens trying to mate with me, I was jealous of Uzul, and because Ruby Nights and I get along, I'm a lesbian?" Zuri asked, incredulous and angry. "And what does that have to do with my deciding to dance at the Gala?"
"I'm sorry, Zuri, I shouldn't have assumed anything! I just didn't think you'd want to dance in front of ponies, after all we've done." Rainbow shrugged, shaking her head. "It's not what I expected, I guess. I mean, dancing? Really?"
"Yes, really," Zuri said, sighing. "Why is it such a problem? You sound almost disgusted by the idea that I can dance."
"I'm just not one for it," Rainbow Dash said, a little cautiously, as Zuri's tone was still dangerous. "At least tell me you're not going to dance with a pony."
"Of course not! Retanoga is a lone dance, 'tis perfect for showing off to a bunch of aliens." Zuri sat a little straighter, and exchanged her unhappy tone of voice with one of trained regality. "How long does your friend Rarity usually take to finish her dresses?"
"Oh, you'll be waiting for another day," Rainbow said, happy to have the subject change to the unicorn's dressmaking, for once. "Rarity takes her time, works on the details. I can promise you, you won't be diss–" The pegasus stopped in mid-sentence, her eyes looking at something above Zuri's head. Zuri turned to see what had distracted her, and saw a pair of bright green eyes widen, for a split second, and then vanish, through a window on the wall opposite Rainbow's bed. Running to the window, the trancer peered through the glass pane. There was no sign of the spy, but Zuri knew who it was, and so did Rainbow Dash. "That was Chrys."
"I know it was," Zuri said.
"I'm going after her," Rainbow jumped from her bed, taking flight and opening the window, darting out of it before Zuri could say anything more. Zuri was able to marvel at just how fast Rainbow could fly, though where she thought Chrys had gone was a mystery.
———
Rainbow Dash had seen exactly where the changeling had been going. She could see her now, little above a large black spot buzzing high above the buildings of the noble district. The pegasus shot forward, flying towards the escaping changeling like a bullet. Chrys turned around, wide eyed again, as Rainbow flew into her, hitting her square in the middle. The changeling gave out a cry, and lost several feet in altitude before regaining control. Rainbow got the triumphant grin wiped off her face, when she straightened to see that the changeling was now flying at her. They met in midair, and began a fight that, with every subsequent blow, caused them to lose more and more altitude. For the pony, it was actually a losing battle. She had caught Chrys by surprise, and wanted to attempt an interrogation once she got control of the changeling, but now she found that she had greatly underestimated her target.
Chrys fought viciously, with trained precision in every movement that Rainbow had not seen in her before. If she wasn't currently getting beaten by the insect-like equine, she would be wondering where the hay Chrys had learned to fight in midair. Finally, they landed roughly onto the roof of a tall building, and Chrys stood over Rainbow Dash, holding the pegasus' forelegs beneath hers, as those green eyes glared fiercely into the shocked magenta ones.
"The letter to Zuri I wrote was clear: don't follow me," she snarled.
"What letter? Why were you spying on me and Zuri?" Rainbow quizzed her, attempting to struggle free with no luck. Those gnarled hooves didn't look like they held any muscle, how was she being held down by such a thin, underdeveloped changeling?
"She didn't show you?" Chrys' glare became confused. "Why wouldn't...? Must have forgotten. No matter, now you'll ask her about it. My business is my own, now. I just needed to make sure I got all your looks right, one last time."
"What do you mean, our looks?" Rainbow asked, not breaking eyecontact. She was glad she didn't, otherwise she would have been shocked into muteness by the fact that Chrys had assumed Fluttershy's exact form. Calmer emerald eyes glowered at Rainbow's magenta ones.
"You'll see," Fluttershy's voice came from the disguise's throat, though it sounded unnatural with the tones of malice. In another moment, Chrys had retaken her natural shape, and was flying away at a greater speed than Rainbow Dash wanted to follow her. Wherever she had learned to fight, the changeling had left the pegasus with several purple blotches and bruised ribs. Rainbow struggled to her hooves, and set off, back towards the castle, flying much slower than before.