Rising Sun looked up at the brick and mortar walls of the Ponyville Inn with a dubious eye.
"Is this where I am to be staying?" she asked in a carefully guarded tone to the pegasus guard at her flank.
The guard looked like he wanted to be anywhere but where he was, but he afforded her all the courtesy expected of a diplomat to Equestria.
"That's correct, ma'am," he said soberly, before a troubled expression overtook his gaze. "Is it...not to your liking?"
Instantly, Rising Sun felt ashamed. Her predicament was coloring her feelings on everything, including her living arrangements. She knew that Princess Celestia had arranged her accommodations with every possible courtesy in mind. That she would still be living far away from her home was beyond her control, but she had been treated with nothing but the utmost respect since arriving here in Equestria, and thus far, every-pony she'd met, including this guard, had been nothing but kind to her.
It was not that she found Equestria or its inhabitants repulsive or anything. It was all just...different.
After spending the night resting in Canterlot and being treated to a small but formal meeting with the Princess, Rising Sun had been promptly informed that the Elements of Harmony were not located in Canterlot, as she had originally expected, but in Ponyville, a small village to the south of the capital, about half a day's ride. Moreover, it turned out, the elements themselves had been returned to the Tree of Harmony in order to suppress the dark magic buried within the Everfree Forest by the God of Chaos, who in Rising Sun's home land was known as as the dark lord Kogami, but here was known as Discord. Perhaps one day, the Princess informed her, the elements might be retrieved once again in a time of need. That day would not come for likely hundreds, if not thousands of years, however, while the tree regained its strength, and the plunder-seeds deep within the forest eventually withered and died under the strong magical force of the elements.
In the meantime, she learned, the Elements' original bearers retained much of their magical power within themselves, and oversaw the small town of Ponyville where they lived with the newest of the four princesses in Equestria. When Rising Sun wrote back to inform Princess Cherry Blossom of this development, she was promptly ordered to travel to Ponyville, as she suspected she would be, and see to the matter personally with Princess Twilight.
So after all the necessary pleasantries were exchanged, it was off she went aboard yet another train, but not before being saddled with a "royal escort" - a pegasus knight named Stainless Steel.
Rising Sun let out a sigh. Since arriving in Ponyville, she had received even more bad news. After a formal meeting with Princess Twilight had corroborated Princess Celestia's story, her correspondence with Princess Cherry Blossom had resulted in her worst fears being confirmed: she had been ordered to remain in Equestria, to remain in Ponyville, and report on any future developments that arise with the Elements of Harmony.
End of message.
Just like that, her entire world shattered. She would spend the rest her days here in this tiny little village in a far away land. Either the Elements of Harmony would remain dormant until her dying days, or something would happen that would awaken them and prove to her people back home that her presence here was even more crucial. Either way, her life as she knew it was over. She would never again see the cherry blossoms of her home, never taste the soft juicy fruit of the Haysian peach trees, never fall asleep to the sound of the cicadas cry.
So no, she was not happy. Not with her mistress, not with these foreign princesses, and certainly not with her escort. For as polite and professional as Stainless Steel had been with her since they had set out from Canterlot, she could not help but be frustrated with his presence. None of this was the pegasus knight's fault, she knew. She supposed it was her own fault, really. While she was sure to keep her correspondence with Princess Cherry Blossom as cordial and formal as possible, her manner of writing in her letters may have hinted at her deeper feelings on this whole voyage.
In her latest response, she had been ordered to ask that Princess Celestia provide the diplomat from Haysia with an escort to accompany on her on her trip to Ponyville to keep her appraised of any cultural disparities that might arise, as well as ensuring her protection (not that the sovereign ruler of Haysia would suggest that anything could possibly happen to one of her diplomats on Equestrian soil under Princess Celestia's watch).
Still, Rising Sun could not help but feel a twinge of frustration at her mistress's imposition. She did not want a guide, what she wanted was to go home! The Princess' private correspondence with her, which suggested that she give the foreign land a chance and to get to know the local ponies, was of no help to her either. Knowing her mistress, she had somehow deliberately conspired with Princess Celestia to arrange for the handsome gentle-colt she had been conscripted with in an effort to sway her opinion.
She knew that this was irrational, but it made it difficult not to direct her ire towards the dark-coated pegasus knight, who she knew was just doing his job. Her thoughts had a tendency to get away from her at times, but she was nothing if not a disciplined individual, and it would reflect poorly on her homeland were she to let her disposition reflect on the young stallion.
Still...
"What about that establishment over there?" she spoke up, gesturing towards the smaller, quainter looking house with the thatched roof and wooden walls. She saw two earth ponies, one green, one yellow, carrying what appeared to be luggage containers into its doors, so she gathered that it must be a place of rest, like the inn. If she was to stay in a foreign land for an indefinite period of time, she would at least like to stay somewhere quieter and less luxurious - somewhere that reminded her of home.
"The bed and breakfast?" the pegasus, giving the the building an appraising look. "I don't know much about it. I suppose arrangements could be made if they have room, but the service there isn't going to be as good as the inn, ma'am. I can't recommend it."
"I care not for service, Sir Steel," she said stubbornly, turning to face him directly. "It is decided. I wish to stay at this bed and breakfast."
She saw the knight nod his head once in acceptance. He was used to following orders, it seemed, and while he did little to disguise the exasperation he felt with her, he did not hesitate to follow her directive. She liked that about him, she decided.
She lifted her luggage with her magic (Rising Sun patently refused to allow any-pony to carry her baggage for her) and made her way towards the establishment, which looked tiny by comparison to the inn. She knew that she was being difficult by altering the Princesses' plans, but she did not care. She had so few ways of lashing out that had not been programmed out of her system by years and years of regimented training and discipline that her options left her little recourse. She was not able to outright oppose her mistress, but she could at least control where she laid her head at night.
The sight that greeted her when she entered the door, however, was something that she could not quite comprehend.
"That's plus three to my Terrelian Dracolich," a white coated unicorn with a black mane and glasses cried out from his seat at a round coffee table at the center of the room. "Swinging at you for eight damage."
"I'll block with Indomitable Snowman," replied an orange-coated pegasus with a red mane, before returning to his conversation with the two earth ponies who had just walked in. "Don't be ridiculous - if you're just here for one night, it's on the house. You're one of our valued suppliers."
The green pony was practically bouncing up and down with excitement, and the yellow pony was looking more and more flustered.
"Honestly, Mister Graham, it's not a problem," the yellow mare said politely. "I would not want to impose."
"Tell you what," said the pegasus, who Rising Sun took to be the proprietor of the establishment. "Throw an order of croissants in our delivery each month, and you can stay here as often as you like."
"Do it!" the green mare bounced. "Do it! Those croissants are amazing! Also, he's a cheapskate - you'll never get a deal like that again!"
"Hey!" the pegasus frowned.
"That sounds equitable," the yellow mare nodded. "Deal."
"Alright!" the excitable mare shouted. "Slumber party!"
"Your turn, Graham," the unicorn said from his position by the table.
"Be there in a sec," the pegasus said, handing the yellow mare a key. "Here you are, room 6, just upstairs. Creme will make sure you have...everything?"
The green mare had already made a mad dash to what appeared to be a dining area.
"Just a sec," she hollered. "This calls for some coffee!"
The pegasus just sighed, looking helplessly at his customer.
"She'll, uh...get back to you in a little bit," he said. "Talk to me if you need anything."
The yellow mare started looking at the board game going on by the coffee table with a curious eye. "Hmm? Oh, yes, no hurry. Now, what's all this then?"
"Knights of Equestria," the unicorn said. "It's a really great strategy game - if someone would sit down and play already."
"Give me a second, will you?" the pegasus finished jotting down something in a notebook marked guest list.
Then he took a step towards Rising Sun and her escort.
"Welcome to Graham's Bed and Breakfast," he said cheerfully. "No better breakfast in town. Will you be needing a room for the night?"
The foreigner and her guard had no immediate response. He simply stood in silent stoicism while awaiting his charge's decision. She took a moment to glance around the room, trying to reconcile what she was seeing. Each conversation had seemed to go on simultaneously. While she could follow along with what was being said, she could make sense of very little of it.
The very air seemed to be constricting around her. The presence of so many ponies talking all at once was making her claustrophobic. She had grown up keeping mostly to herself, and even when she had attended affairs with a multitude of ponies in the room with her, they were all usually quite and well disciplined. This bunch seemed ready to burst at the seams!
The entire room was just so loud by her standards, and it was all rather intimidating and overwhelming to her. She had no idea how long these ponies would be staying at this establishment, but she had no reason to believe those that took their place would be any different. Were these to be the types of ponies she would be associating with from now on? While there was nothing inherently wrong with them that she could see, they were all just so strange to her, and there was such boundless energy emanating through the room because of them that she was beginning to feel dizzy.
Perhaps she would have better luck at the inn after all.
"Please forgive me," she inclined her head low to the ground. "There has been a mistake. I am sorry to have bothered you."
The orange pegasus looked a tad disappointed as the foreign unicorn turned to go.
"Oh..." he muttered softly. "Well, okay. Feel free to come back any time if you change your mind."
Rising Sun turned around and started heading for the door. She was discouraged - she had honestly thought that the smaller, homelier bed and breakfast would have provided her with a smaller group of strangers to have to contend with. For all she knew, it still did, relatively speaking. If that were the case, she would have some adjusting to do. She was prepared to contend with such rambunctious individuals if she must, but only if she must.
Her royal escort pushed his way through the door and politely held it open for her. She was about to exit the premises, when her ears began playing tricks on her.
"<Now for my trump card...>"
She froze in place, seemingly stunned, as if the words had made no sense to her. She understood their meaning, and she had processed that she had heard them, but something about their utterance made absolutely no sense to her.
Then it hit her - they had been spoken in Haysianese! It had been weeks since she'd heard any-pony speak the language of her homeland that she had almost not recognized it for what it was!
"I wish you wouldn't mutter to yourself in moon-speak like that," the proprietor said absently as he returned to the small table upon which their little game was being played. "You're probably scaring off my customers."
The white unicorn merely adjusted his glasses. "Hehe...sorry. Anyway, it's your turn, Graham."
Rising Sun watched the two of them for a moment longer, blinking in confusion. Had she imagined it?
"Ma'am?" her escort had returned to see what was keeping her. She disregarded his question as she watched the dynamic of the room play out before her. She would explain her actions to the guard in due time.
Then, when the pegasus played his hand, the unicorn slapped down a card of his own.
"Your general is banished to the moon!" he cried out in elation. "Hahaha! <Victory is mine!>"
Rising Sun couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was that unicorn speaking Haysianese?
"Come and get your fresh brewed caffeinated deliciousness!" the green earth pony had returned from her task in the dining room carrying a tray of small, steaming mugs.
Her yellow earth pony friend graciously accepted one of the mugs.
"Great!" she smiled. "Do they still make your teeth wiggle?"
"Only at first," the green mare winked.
Rising Sun tried to tune out the noisy barista to focus on the game. This unicorn stallion was baffling her.
"Enjoy this short-lived victory while it lasts!" the pegasus taunted back, before playing a card of his own. "Celestial Recovery! My general returns to my hand."
"Oh, very clever..." the unicorn said in a tone of false modesty. "If it weren't for my...Equestrian Exile! Target player discards his hand!"
"Aww, come on!" the pegasus said in dismay as the unicorn played his trump card. "I had all my best cards drawn!"
The unicorn crossed his arms and sat back with a smile.
"<Never confuse patience with indecision>," he said in a wizened tone.
Rising Sun's eyes widened. Those were the words of Uma no Chie, one of Haysia's oldest philosophers. There were students in her old class that had yet to memorize his teachings, and this Equestrian unicorn was reciting them in her native tongue!
She studied the unicorn with a meticulous eye. He did not bear any Haysian resemblance himself, though he was sitting on his knees on the floor on the low coffee table in a very Hasyian style.
Just who was this young stallion exactly?
She supposed there was one way to find out. She would just have to get over this stupid social anxiety of hers. They were just ponies, after all. Loud and undisciplined, perhaps, but it was not like any of them intended her any harm. Just because they were foreign to her did not make them bad ponies. What was wrong with her? Was she so xenophobic that she could not simply approach some-pony who interested her? Or was she just so homesick that any-pony who demonstrated any familiarity with her homeland garnered special attention from her?
"Ma'am?" Stainless Steel asked her, his patience evidently wearing thin. "Is something wrong?"
She shook her head, smiling at the crowd of ponies that now gathered around the small coffee table. The more she watched them as they interacted, the more she realized what a fool she had been. Her friends back home had been right all along. Ponies were ponies at heart, wherever they hailed from. It was the little differences that stood out most of all. Sometimes though, it was nice to know that the things that made you different weren't all that strange to every-pony.
"Dude," the orange pegasus said in a hushed tone, looking nervously back up at Rising Sun. "Ix-nay on the moon-speak, would you? You're probably offending our...um..."
He straightened as he saw the foreigner approach the table, her lithe, noble features commanding an air of respect. Her corn curved upward slightly, and her mane and tail were so long and vibrantly black that they extended nearly to the floor, nearly covering the red sunrise cutie mark for which she shared a name.
"I'm, uh...terribly sorry, ma'am," he said politely. "I didn't mean to offend."
She shook her head simply. "It is no matter."
"Oh," he said, sounding slightly relieved. "Well then...is there something else I can help you with?"
The Haysian unicorn eyed the other ponies around the table, her eyes lingering on the other unicorn who had spoken her language, who was now blushing and refusing to meet her gaze.
A pity, she thought. She had been hoping to speak with the young stallion, but it seemed he was intimidated by her as well. She supposed she could be rather imposing without realizing it. She clearly had a lot to learn when it came to interacting with other ponies. She was used to social functions where everything was cut and dried for her. Introductions were made by one noble house to another, and the ponies she met were only there to serve a function, as she was. It was not about making friends, it was about establishing ties and cementing bonds. Nothing personal, just business.
She made a mental note to spend more time working on her social skills. It seemed she had nothing but time on her hands, in any case.
"Ma'am?" her escort asked, completely unsure of what to do next.
Rising Sun cleared her throat.
"I would like to stay here," she said simply, bowing her head low to the floor once again. "If that would not be a problem."
The other ponies in the room all exchanged a glance, including the pegasus knight, who seemed as confused as they were. Finally, however, the one called Graham got to his feet, and offered her a friendly smile.
"Of course," he said enthusiastically. "Welcome to Graham's Bed and Breakfast."