A deep blue mist fills the sky; nothing is visible except for a slowly rising balloon peeking through the ethereal fog. The balloon and its basket bear a rich cobalt hue that masks them into their surroundings. The interior of the basket is embellished with three ornate chairs and a square table, one chair sits across from the other two. On the table rests a deck of cards with a slender gloved hand resting on top of it.
“Hello, and welcome to the velvet room…” An eager voice calls out. “This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. You have been summoned here because you are about to enter into an agreement, and we are here to help you uphold it. My name is Igor; it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” The voice belongs to an old man, with an eerily long nose. He sports a dapper black suit, which gives him and unmistakably professional air.
His hand rapidly sweeps across the table and without as much as a touch the cards beneath spread into a hexagonal pattern.
“Each of these cards represents an Arcana and you will soon come to understand their true power. They are all that was and all that will be; they have told every story before you and will tell every story that comes after it; and while each one may be different, they are merely arrangements of the same cards.” With a swipe of his hand the cards return to the deck.
A young pony with a blonde mane sits on the chair next to the man. “My name is Caroline, and I will also be assisting you along your journey.”
The older man looks up and reveals his large bloodshot eyes, everything around him begins to fade away. “It is time we said goodbye, you will soon arrive at your destination. We will call you here again as your journey begins to unfold…”
With a snap Arata woke up. His head darted back and forth trying to get a grasp on reality. When he had fallen asleep he was in a taxi heading out of Baltimare to the small town of Foalsdale; from the bumping and rattling he felt it was clear that was still the case. Foalsdale was located on the outskirts of the Hayseed Swamps, and the landscape reflected this. When Arata started his journey out of the city the scenery was vibrant and grassy. Now it was filled with mangled trees with only a few isolated patches of grass to show that they were not entirely in the swamp.
“It was only a dream...” Arata muttered to himself as he pulled himself up into a more comfortable position and sat quietly observing the scenery as the taxi drove on.
A few miles down the road the trees parted and a large grassy field came into view, filled with ponies moving about and tents set up in neat rows. The only clue to the purpose of the camp was a sign that stood off to the left of the tents. Etched into it were the letters “E.W.E.F.” Upon closer inspection Arata saw the same letters on the blue bands that the Ponies around camp were wearing on their right forelegs.
The “E.W.E.F.”, or Equestria Wilderness Expeditionary Force, was the first group to begin scouting and mapping the various wilds scattered around Equestria. The project originally focused on exploring the Everfree forest, but in recent years has expanded to include the White Tail Forrest, and most recently, the Hayseed Swamps. In addition to the intricate maps that E.W.E.F. produced; they also had an enormous database of various anthropological records from every place they explored.
E.W.E.F consisted of some of the most courageous and intelligent ponies in Equestria. The group was founded by the former captain of the Canterlot Royal guard, and being chosen to take part in the project was considered an honor.
Arata had recently been accepted into E.W.E.F and he was finally about to begin his new life in Foalsdale as a fearless explorer. When he left Nippony he wasn’t sure if it was the right decision; if he stayed he could have stayed with his family, ponies who loved him unconditionally. But if he left all of the familiarity and comfort behind he could finally find himself and his special talent.
For the most part Arata looked like an average stallion. His coat was a cobblestone gray, his mane was dirty blonde with a red streak, everything about him was normal. That is until anypony examined his flank; Arata had never gotten a cutie mark. Needless to say this was almost unheard of for a pony of his age, and in Nippony the lack of a cutie mark caused a deep feeling of shame. It had begun to seem like he had entirely missed his opportunity to find out what his special talent was, but then he was chosen to come all the way to Foalsdale. He was chosen to leave his old life, and as he saw it, given one last chance to get his cutie mark.
As they rounded a corner of the road at the end of the camp, Foalsdale finally came into view. The town, although small, stood out as a beacon of radiance and color against the monotony of the Hayseed Swamp. While it was no different from any other small town, the brightly colored houses and various plants that lined the road took on an entirely different meaning here. Arata gingerly grabbed his suitcase, paid the driver, and excitedly trotted down Mane Street.
Arata’s acceptance into E.W.E.F. was part of a cultural immersion program. Ponies from Nippony were given a chance to move to different cities around main land Equestria, and vice versa. Arata had hoped that this change would give him a chance to find out what his special talent was. Unlike exchange programs for students, this program focused on helping the participant integrate themselves into the new culture, so they could become permanent residents. As part of the immersion he would be staying in Foalsdale instead of at the E.W.E.F. camp. He had been assigned to the Poultice family, who operated the local pharmacy.
As he approached the house adjacent to the pharmacy his excitement started to falter. What if he had made the wrong choice? What if he had given up his old life for nothing? He couldn’t just leave, it was too late for that. Just as he began to lose control of his thoughts the door to the house swung open. Standing where the door had been a moment ago, was a tall and lanky pony that seemed to be the same age as Arata. His face was obscured by a scruffy brown mane kept together in messy locks, and he had a light brown coat.
Before Arata had a chance to acknowledge the presence in front of him, the stallion had shot out his front leg and grabbed the clearly confused visitor, and dragged him into the building. In the same blur of motion that had brought Arata into the building, the stallion had darted outside once more to grab his bags, and was now standing intently in front of him.
“Hey dude! You must be Rattata! We’ve been waiting for you, everypony here is sooooooo excited to meet you, it isn’t often that we get to meet someone from as far away as Nippony! The name’s Camphor by the way.”
Finally coming to understand what had just happened, Arata looked up at the stallion, still shaken and said, “H-hi,” He paused briefly and hesitantly added “Actually its pronounced Ar-a-ta,” as he muttered the addition, the anxiety that he had felt before his introduction to Camphor returned. How would these ponies treat him? In Nippony not having a cutie mark had turned him into a pariah. He began to sink into his anxieties; a seasoned and reassuring voice pulled him back to his senses.
Standing in the entry way was a stallion, about as tall as Camphor but he seemed well proportioned in comparison. His coat was dark brown, and he had an exceptionally well kept mane. Arata guessed he was in his late 40’s. “You must be Arata, I’m Tonic. I’m glad you made it,” Tonic gestured for Arata to follow him into the next room. “Let me introduce you to the family; you’ve already met my son Camphor,” he said gesturing over his shoulder, “This is my wife Panacea, and my daughter Marigold, ”Before him stood a mare with a light red coat, and a shimmering white mane tied back into a pony tail. Beside her was a young filly twitching with excitement, she had the same white mane as her mother, but allowed it to hang freely and the same light brown coat as her brother.
“Make yourself at home Arata. Camphor will show you to your room and then you can come on down and eat, you must be starving after such a long trip.”
“Mom! Can I take Mr. Arata up to his room too?!” Squeaked the filly, her excitement finally boiling over. Compared to her mother’s smooth and soothing voice, Marigold’s high pitched and eager voice sounded like hooves on a chalkboard.
“Arata would it be okay with you if Marigold came along?” she said, wearing a reassuring smile.
Arata smirked, and felt his whole body relax. No one here had judged him for not having a cutie mark. They had all welcomed him into their lives with open hearts. With a new reassured voice Arata answered; “Of course she can,” and the trio headed upstairs.
“Mr. Arata, can I ask you something?” Marigold chirped as they hopped up the stairs. She was curiously staring at his flank. Arata knew what this meant, but was surprised to see that she had a more excited look on her face now than when he had first seen her.
“Uhh, of course,” he muttered trying to conceal the embarrassment he felt.
“Whydon’tyouhaveacutiemark!?!” her excitement becoming too much to control for a second time that night. Before having a chance to answer, the little filly had darted in front of him and unleashed a torrent of words at him. “I think it’s really cool that you don’t have a cutie mark, I don’t have one either. Almost all the other ponies at school have them but I don’t and you don’t so that means I’m not the only one!” Marigold staggered back behind Arata clearly being out of breath, but she had a pronounced smile stretching across her face.
Arata composed himself, trying to take in everything that was just thrown at him. “I just haven’t found my special talent yet… but that doesn’t mean I don’t have one,” he immediately regretted adding on the last defensive statement. Back in Nippony a statement like that would have been followed by a harsh personal attack. People would often call him lazy and pathetic, but that was nothing compared to the shame it brought to his family. Arata was not allowed to be the sole bearer of this burden; everypony would always find a way to drag his family down with him.
“Of course it doesn’t silly! Maybe we can get ours together! Wouldn’t that be sooo cool! We can try everything there is to do around here until we get them!”
“Okay, I’m sure trying new things will get me a cutie mark,” Arata didn’t believe it would be that simple. ‘Having expectations will just lead to disappointment,’ he told himself as he walked up the stairs.
As if blissfully unaware of the conversation between Arata and his sister, Camphor abruptly informed his guest that they had arrived at his room. Kicking open the door, he walked inside and placed Arata’s bags by a small bed in the upper right corner of the room.
“I’m gonna help mom get dinner ready!” Marigold sung, quickly darting down the stairs and vanishing around a corner.
“It’s a bit small, I hope you don’t mind,” Camphor said, slipping by Arata and out the door. “I’ll let you get washed up, see you at dinner!”
After unpacking a few essential things, Arata washed up and headed down stairs for, what he hoped would be the last part of a very long day. Everything that had happened today was a blur, from the long balloon ride that brought him to Baltimare from Nippony; to the extended greeting he had just survived. One part still lingered in the back of mind, the dream he had on the way into Foalsdale. The talk about entering into an agreement, was his promise to get his cutie mark with Marigold that agreement? Who were the two figures in the dream? One was clearly a pony, but the other looked nothing like any creature he was familiar with. Maybe I’ll dream of them again tonight he thought, rounding the corner to the dining room.
Everypony was seated around the table, clearly waiting for Arata, except Tonic who could be heard shuffling around in the kitchen. The room was decorated with pictures of the family, and a few decorative mortar and pestle sets. A rectangular table sat in the middle of the room, it was set for five ponies, but had room for six. As he took in the room Arata noticed Panacea gesturing to the seat at the head of the table. He promptly took his seat.
As if being queued, Tonic entered the room carrying a white and blue cake, with “Welcome, Arata!” iced onto the top. Arata stared at the cake blankly, not knowing what to do or say. He was not used to this kind of treatment in Nippony.
“Don’t look so shocked it’s just a cake,” Tonic said with a chuckle, placing the cake on the table. “We wanted to start off your year here on the right hoof. If you need anything at all while you’re here, don’t be afraid to ask. We want Foalsdale to be a second home for you.”
Everypony sitting around the table was smiling and looking at Arata. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ he thought to himself, ‘maybe that was the key to being here. I have a fresh start, and the people don’t judge me for my blank-flank.’ For the first time in years Arata was able to relax, and let go of his fears. He smiled back and they all began to eat.
After a relaxing dinner with the Poultices Arata retired to his room, and tried to get ready for whatever tomorrow was going to bring. His first day in Foalsdale had been eventful to say the least, but with work starting the next morning there was no telling what the day would have in store. As he closed his eyes he couldn’t help but wonder if Igor and Caroline would visit him again tonight…