//------------------------------// // CH 25: Exploring Others // Story: Bridging Ages, Bridging Worlds // by BlueDWarrior //------------------------------// === BABW: A New Conflict === === Chapter 25: Exploring Others === [ August 01, ????+1 – Canterlot, Equestria ] ============================================         In a quiet room, deep in the bowels of Castle Canterlot, there sat a room. The room was rather unremarkable from the outside, appearing for all the world like just yet another room for storing archives that weren’t in active circulation through the many libraries that dotted Canterlot proper. However, inside was an entirely different matter. “Lulu, are you sure that we need to introduce this to them now? I mean we can swear everyone else we’ve given this to secrecy, and actually enforce some kind of punishment against them. The Bearers and Conduits have no formal ties to the Crown, so unless we wanted to put them through the normal civil arbitration system, we’d have no recourse if they told anypony of this technology,” Princess Celestia asked from one side of a cardboard separator that divided the room into two halves more or less: one half decorated in the stylized sun of her cutie mark, and the other half in the crescent moon and clouds of Luna’s. “I know, but we will eventually release this to the wider public, so I want to see what our little Ponies would think of having their own version of a device that will let them talk and see anyone that is connected to a similar device…” Luna thought aloud, as the small box, only similar to the Black Horse Box that produced the Conversion Serum base in its size, hummed with a soft swirl of magic. “True, you just know how I am with introducing new technology. It makes me nervous, that’s all…” Celestia replied, with a bit of a huff acknowledging her own fault. “It should make anyone nervous. No one can tell how a wide population will adapt to a new device or method being introduced. But if we want to avoid stagnation, it has to be done. And besides, I am pretty sure that not having to pulverize so many trees to satiate our need for paper to write on would be a boon later,” Luna responded, trying to assuage the fear of her elder sister. “Point taken; even if it makes me queasy, I just have to adapt like everyone will,” Celestia said, as she steeled her nerve for when Twilight would open the package she sent to Golden Oaks Library. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m a little nervous as well. Every time I send one of these prototypes out, I fear that it may be one that was not constructed properly and it would fail, or worse yet… explode like so many before Twilight sent us her research on melding Terran and Equuan Magics,” Luna replied, as she awaited Vague opening a similar package that was sent to the Greystone Conductor. == A few minutes later, in Ponyville ==         “Hrm, not often that Princess Celestia sends me something through a regular courier. And then she doesn’t want me to open it until I get the other fillies here with me…” Twilight said out loud, as she levitated the roughly cubic Length box into the common area of Golden Oaks Library. Across town, Vague looked at a similar package, one with Princess Luna’s personal insignia on it. “Thought she’d teleport this straight to us, whatever this is. Then again if she wants to send it through express mail, I’m not going to argue with her. Though the whole not opening it until the other Conduits are in the same room is an odd request…”         Another short while passed, as the other eight Bearers and Conduits slowly gathered at the site where their respective package was sent. “Alright Twi’, I was in the middle of listening to one of my favorite radio dramas. You know it costs ten bits for a recording to be sent to my house after it airs, right?” Rarity asked as the other Elements of Harmony, and Spike, gathered in the common of Golden Oaks. “I figured as much, Rare, but apparently Princess Celestia wants us to look at this… thing… she sent us. And she specifically asked me to not open it until you all were here with me when I did,” Twilight replied apologetically. --- “You interrupted me from watching A-Team. You know how much I like watching old action serials,” Golden Storm complained, as he sat on the floor in a huff looking at the indigo-wrapped package on the floor. “Well our erstwhile patroness has deemed it necessary that we all watch as I open this package, so just hold on and you can get back to seeing Mr. T do… whatever it is he does in that show,” Vague replied, not taking kindly to the surly attitude from the yellow-gold Pegasus. --- “Alright then, let’s see what’s in the box,” Twilight said as she used a small letter opener to sever the binding strings on the package. After a few more moments of tearing the sky-blue and gold paper off, and opening the cardboard box, reminding Pinkie of so many Hearth's-Warming Even gifts, Twilight finally got to what the thing was that she had been sent. “You know, it kinda looks like the box we saw in the center of the Bureaus. The ones that made the base for the serum…” Rainbow Dash mused, as the six Ponies and one Dragon looked down at the square half-Length box that was covered on five sides by foam packing peanuts. “But it can’t be that, we don’t have any use for that on this side of the Aurora,” Twilight said as she picked up the instruction pamphlet. A few moments of cursory reading of the printed Equestrian script clued Twilight into what she was looking at. “Oh wow… this is… I didn’t think she’d be moving this fast on it…” Twilight said, as she grabbed a small hoofstool to sit the plastic and metal-frame box on. --- “So what is this box, then, Vague?” Hana asked as the four of them stared at the box that seemed to have some kind of crystal matrix in the center, one that did not appear active, at the moment. “In a sense, it’s a video-phone, except there is no wide-scale network so it’s not like we can just, say call up Sweet Tomato’s Pizzeria to order a few pies in advance – although I’d really love to and we should go there for dinner tonight. But back to the point, this is a production prototype of that magi-computer that Luna and her team had been working on for the last few months,” Vague replied, as he wondered how far the rest of the project was, and what he should get on his pizza if they did go later that afternoon. --- “Wow, I’d love to call Papa Granite back on the farm with this…” Pinkie Pie said as she was a few inches away from the glass-like facing of the proto Quantum Machine. “If Luna is moving this fast with development, then that will be possible before long. But as it stands, there are only so many models, so only so many Ponies we can call out to, or get calls from,” Twilight said, as she read how to activate the box. “Whatcha doin’ now Twi?” Applejack asked, as she saw Twilight’s horn glow softly. “About to fire this up to see who’s on the other end!” Twilight said with a knowing smile. --- “Can’t say I’m surprised, Princess Luna, but I am impressed…” Vague said as the four of them in the Greystone Conductor walked around the projection of the Princess of the Moon and Night. “Given you have grown and thrived, all things considered, in technology far more refined than this, I will take that as a compliment,” Luna said, as she looked at the projection of the four Conduits of Terra from her end. “So what’s up with all of this, wanted to show off?” Storm asked, as he sat back down near the box. “There is some news we want to share with you all,” Luna started. --- “Wait what? A whole week?” Fluttershy replied, anxiety creeping into her voice from the news the Princess of the Day delivered to her. “Yes, the Dragon Central Council, Zebra Tribal Congress, and House of Leo of the Gryphon Federation all requested to host you all before we finalize negotiations. However they, and frankly we couldn’t decide which nation to send you all to first, so we decided it would best to ask you all to split into three groups, along Tribal lines, and you would each spend a week in each nation’s capital,” Celestia replied with calm but humble tone. “I don’t think we’d mind, though I wonder how the Conduits would take being split up like this… I mean they really haven’t spent a lot of time separated from each other since we all were together in St. Louis,” Rarity thought aloud, getting a nod from the other five Bearers and Spike. --- “That’s a lot to ask of us, Princess, with all due respect,” Vague replied, rubbing the mane in the back of his head as he looked over at the other three Conduits of Terra. “I’ll admit - I wanted to see the other nations while we were on this side of the Aurora before we left for Earth again. Though this is, I dunno, man…” Storm wondered aloud. “I agree, this is a bit of an imposition, Princess,” Red Blaze added, as she sat on her haunches, the frustration evident in her face. “I think it’s not that bad of an idea… though,” Hana said, which got everyone to turn and look at her with an odd look. “A whole week away from Vague, after you two started really getting close?” Blaze asked of her green, Earth Pony friend. “I know how it sounds out loud. But at the same time… do we want to let our personal reservations mess up their international diplomacy?” Hana replied, pointing at the projection of the Princess of the Night. “Truth be told, this is how it was for much of our relationship, Blaze,” Storm added. “I was just getting used to waking up and knowing you were either in the same bed or one room away from me…” Blaze replied, looking away toward the ground, blushing a bit through her fire-engine red coat. “I can see how that’d be a problem. And I was getting used to doing the same with Hana… Then again, like Hana said, this can help nail down a formal alliance with the other three major powers. And that can make fixing the Earth that much easier. I think we can give up a week for that… I think,” Vague said, as he tried to rationalize the issue. “I do not want to simply impose my will upon you all. And I do not mean that as a threat, I truly do not want to send you off to a foreign country unless your hearts were truly in it. At the same time, this could be a boon to us, to let the other powers know that we are willing to share our bounty, if they are willing to do the same,” Luna replied, trying to get the four Ponies to see the wider geopolitical gain that could be made. The conversation paused for a few moments, before the Four Conduits all nodded knowingly, as they came to realize in their own ways that giving up one week of close proximity to their mare and colt-friends could be worth building a bridge out to the other three major powers. “Aside from the reservations we just voiced, I don’t think we’d have any other problem with this proposal, Princess Luna,” Vague told indigo Alicorn through the projection from the new magic box sitting in the middle of their floor. --- “In the end though, I think they’ll agree to go with us,” Pinkie Pie concluded, as the Bearers and Celestia thought about the friends and comrades they had forged over the near year together. I always wanted to see where Gilda grew up… Wonder if she’s gotten over that incident with Pinkie from a couple of years ago… Rainbow Dash thought to herself, as she contemplated spending a week over in Gryphon territory. “In any case, they’re requesting you a couple of weeks from now. So that should give us time to get you and your families prepared,” Celestia said. “Alright then, thanks for the ‘gift’ and the opportunity with this, Princess,” Twilight replied, as Celestia cut the feed and the projection went ‘blank’. “Wow, a week in the Dragon Badlands. I’m going to have to pack double the amount of hair-care products, possibly triple…” Rarity thought aloud, as she wondered how many times she’d have to wash with the dust storms that were prone to race through the main collection of Dragon city-states to Equestria’s south and west. “I hope I’ll be okay around all of those Gryphons. I… I never been around so many… even being around Gilda makes me so nervous…” Fluttershy chirped, still rattled a bit from the news of the three Pegasi spending all of the third week from the current in Vogelstad. “We’ll be fine, the Leo House is the least of our troubles when it comes to Gryphons. I mean Gilda is from there and she’s fine,” Rainbow Dash said, blowing off Fluttershy’s readily apparent anxiety. “That’s fine to you?!” Fluttershy exclaimed, knowing how ill of a temper the Gryphoness had. “I wonder why kind of parties Zebras throw when it’s just Zebras attending, do you think it’s going to be a really BIG one to wow us, Or a small one just to set the stage for something bigger at the end of the week Applejack?” Pinkie Pie asked excitedly, wondering just what the Zebras were going to do to welcome the Earth Ponies when they arrived at Makabkumi in few weeks’ time. “Dunno Pinkie, just hope they have good food whatever they do,” Applejack responded, not knowing what else to think except roll with the tide. “So are you gonna come with us when we go to Karrak-za-Jalve, Spike. I mean it hadn’t been that long since you spent some time there,” Twilight asked of Spike. “May as well, something tells me that Rosethorn might have some news for me, so I want to be there live when she gives it,” Spike responded, wondering if he could get any practice in while he was there. [ August 16, ????+1 – Karrak-Za-Jalve ] =======================================         “Wow, this place is beautiful, despite the fact were in the middle of scrubland desert…” Vague thought aloud as the winged-dragon-powered airship docked into the airport just outside of the main border walls to the city proper. “I wonder how much the dragon that flies this thing gets paid…” Rarity thought aloud, as she tightened the headscarf and put on her sunglasses to shield her eyes from the desert sun. “I start 100 D-Coin per flight. Or roughly 1,000 bits in your currency,” the pilot/engine said over the intercom. “You know I forgot all about that thing?” Blaze replied, forgetting the dragon in question had an enchanted shell that allowed him to talk to the cabin through a headset. “It would have made my life a lot easier if I could ride the airship coming here. Then again, I guess I wouldn’t have had all that time to practice with Rosethorn if I did just come straight here by ‘ship,” Spike thought aloud as he and the four Unicorns all disembarked, and the porters gathered their luggage onto a pushcart. “So I wonder what kind of hotel or inn they are gonna put us up in for this week?” Blaze thought as a pair of guard-dragons ushered them into their cab to leave the airport. “Says here on the itinerary… Yulva Hotel. Apparently a lot of foreign dignitaries stay in that hotel because it’s a rather short walk from its lobby to the campus where the Dragon Central Council hold their meetings and the rest of government works from,” Twilight said, while reading the notes from a small bound notebook that was in her saddlebag. “Well at least we won’t have to waste time shuttling back and forth…” Vague thought aloud as the Dragons pulling the rickshaw-like cab pulled out of the lot and started on their way to the hotel in question. -----         “Oh Spike~ It’s been too long~” Rosethorn sung as she grabbed Spike in a very matronly hug… a little too matronly for the now-grown drake. “Wow, Rosethorn, you can let me go any minute…” Spike said as Rosethorn finally let the purple drake go and Spike caught his breath again from having his chest pressed against the sternum of the older Dragoness. “And these must be the four Unicorns of the Conduits of Terra, and the Elements of Harmony, correct?” a silver Dragoness asked, as she looked on at the scene from a short distance on a chair in one of the meeting rooms inside the hotel. “Are you sure it’s going to be alright if she’s here?” Spike asked, as he looked with some concern at the churlish silver Dragoness with the red spines and highlights. “Oh don’t worry Bloodthorn will be on her best behavior, won't you?” Rosethorn said, emphasizing certain words to catch the attention of her elder sister. Bloodthorn merely stood up, and slowly walked over to the group of four Unicorns, taking special note of the fire-engine red one who stood on the far left from her perspective. With a suddenness and fluidity of a wasp, she rushed over to the red Unicorn, with an outstretched claw, covered to a fine point with Draconic Mana, as if she had a welding torch built into her arm. “WHAT IN THE BLUE HELL?!” Vague shouted, as the other three Unicorns scattered, but Blaze, Rose, and Spike all stood where they were; as Bloodthorn stood in a striking pose, the flame-point barely an inch from the center of the triangle created by Blaze’s eyes and her horn. Bloodthorn looked down into the eyes of a Unicorn that betrayed some hint of fear for her life, but it was overwhelmed by a need to stand her ground against the apparently overly-aggressive Dragoness. “I will have to keep a very close eye on you especially, Miss Red Blaze…” Bloodthorn said, as she relaxed her arm and resumed a normal standing pose, the flame on her forearm and hand having dissipated as quickly as it came into existence. “Seriously, um… uh. Okay, if I’m going to yell at you can I at least get your name first?” Vague started, before he realized that the silver Dragoness never introduced herself formally. “Bloodthorn. First Seat of the Sub-Council of War and elder sister of your purple friend’s teacher…” Bloodthorn stated with full calm as she resumed sitting on the chair apart from the group of six standing around a table in the meeting room. “Okay, Bloodthorn, what in the hell was that just now?! You damn near gave me a heart attack,” Vague asked of the now named Dragoness. “Red Blaze has a look in her eye. A flame that burns as hot as any Dragon I’ve seen come through the halls of the Militia Processing Center on the Council Campus that you all will visit tomorrow. But it is not enough to have a bright flame in your soul; if you are going to do what our intelligence says you are going to do, that flame has to be tempered. Blaze could have easily retaliated against me, but she didn’t,” Bloodthorn started. “Because I need to know exactly what you are capable of. It would do me no good to retaliate and not damage you, because I underestimated how strong you were. That, and that I could feel that you only ‘struck’ to provoke a response,” Red Blaze concluded for the silver Dragoness, getting a nod from her. “And that is exactly why I want to keep an eye on her. If she had scales and not a coat, I would be doing my level best to have her join the Militia. Perhaps when all of this over, I may ask you to join anyway as a Legionnaire,” Bloodthorn mused aloud, chuckling as she did. “Never change, Bloodthorn,” Rosethorn huffed, her palm along her temple as she refocused on the issue at hand in her mind. “Alright, now that that little distraction has been dealt with, let us get to what I wanted to lead this little week excursion for you all with,” Rosethorn started, as she snapped her claws, causing three scrolls to appear before her. “In accordance with traditional Draconian educational procedure, I am hereby introducing you, Spike…” the rose-red Dragoness started as she looked over at the purple Dragon in question. “… to your Trinary Partners.” “Wait… Trinary Partners…” Spike interrupted, as he racked his brain to remember what he read that term in. “Hrm, Dragon typically take students in multiples of three. So I guess that means that you are about to get a pair of classmates… in a sense,” Twilight figured aloud. “And the violet Unicorn is correct. I feel that it would be good to pair you with a pair of fellow Native Dragons, since you also need to understand how the rest of this world would perceive you as a grown drake. And you would need to at least help teach them what the Terrans think Dragons are, and how they are right and wrong about that regarding us.” Rosethorn cleared her throat before she continued speaking, picking up the second scroll. “Introducing your first Trinary Partner. She is nineteen years of age, born in Vals-ju-Nilak, near the main territory of the House of Leo, of the Gryphon Federation. Miss Cinnamon, would you please come in?” A door on the other side of the room opened, as Spike got a good look at his partner. Her build was not dissimilar to Spike’s, except she was clearly female, as her backspines were not quite as sharp as his, and her tail did not have the spiked knob on the end. What she did have, though, was a seeming abundance of flame, as she hummed a chipper tune, a bit of flame escaping her nostrils as she did. Her body was a slightly darker red than Red Blaze, but still not terribly dark, and her spines were bright orange, as she looked over at the rose-red Dragoness that was now her teacher, and the violet drake that was her new partner. As soon as she got a look at him though, she bolted over, nearly flipping over a chair in the process. “Wow… this is my partner. Hrm…” the red Dragoness said, as she looked all over Spike, lifting and stretching his arms trying to get a gauge for his physical strength, and generally making Spike quite uncomfortable as she did. “Is she normally this touchy feely with Dragons, because I don’t exactly feel… right… right now,” Spike said as the Dragoness lifted his tail off the ground a couple of inches with her foot. “Only the ones she meets for the first time,” Rosethorn said, giggling at the cinnamon red draka’s antics. “Well you certainly have a nice build… I bet you are an Emerald Flame!” Cinnamon said after she was done with her physical inspection. “Yeah my flame is green, if that’s what you mean…” Spike said as he was still not used to another draka so close to him physically. “That’s nice~ I just love Emeralds, other Rubies are too aggressive… and the Sapphires are just plain weird,” Cinnamon said as she continued to hover around Spike, her face only a short distance from Spike’s, as they were similar builds but she was a mere inch shorter. “Yeah and can you back up a few? You are kinda deep in my personal space!” Spike said, finally having enough of the cinnamon-red draka practically on top of him. Cinnamon huffed as she backed up a few feet, in human terms, from the violet drake. “Fine, have it your way. But if our partner is a drake, then don’t get jealous when I’m all over him!” “No problem there…” Spike retorted, as the two younger Dragons quieted themselves. “Spike. Cinnamon. Now I will introduce your partner and third of the Trinary. She hails from Umi-fa-Sangri, near Neighpon, to put it in Equestrian Terms. She is twenty years of age. You may enter, Miss Coral,” Rosethorn announced, as a tall draka entered the room from the same door that Cinnamon did a couple of minutes earlier. “Hrm, I see, the dignitaries from Equestria are here, as well as… I am assuming, my new Trinary partners,” the chalk-white and iridescent-blue spined draka asked of her teacher. “Yes and yes, Spike and Cinnamon here are your new Trinary Partners, and he, along with the four Unicorns here, are dignitaries from Equestria,” Rosethorn confirmed. “I see. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Coral replied in a neutral but fair tone, as she gracefully bowed at the other Dragons and Ponies. “Hrm,” Cinnamon wondered aloud, as she paced around the other draka in the room, eyeing her up in much the same way that she did Spike, but with far less touching. “I see, you must be a Sapphire Flame, right?” “Correct. My internal flame is as blue as the deep ocean,” Coral replied, her painfully neutral tone a stark contrast to the gregarious Cinnamon’s forever-barely restrained excitement. “Fine, I guess we can get along. Just so long as you keep the oddity to a minimum,” Cinnamon replied, her voice going flat as she seemed nonplussed by the lack of expression in the white draka. “And she’s one to speak about oddness,” Spike mentioned aloud, which pulled Cinnamon right back into his face. “I will have you KNOW mister I am not ‘odd’ in anyway. I am a perfectly… normal… Ruby Flame draka!” Cinnamon replied, poking Spike in the chest with each word of her last statement. “Whatever, just stop poking me like that,” Spike replied, as he brushed away the forearm of Cinnamon, which got a huff of frustration from the excitable red draka. I fear that I may soon regret my decision to venture away from Umi… Coral thought as she looked at her two new partners staring daggers into each other. “This feels like an inauspicious start to our week here, Miss Rose,” Vague said, already starting to feel mentally exhausted. “It doesn’t have to be. I felt it would be better to have you all interact with some younger Dragons for the day before you have to deal with the rest of the population and us on the Council for the rest of the week,” Rosethorn replied. “I guess, Rosethorn,” Twilight said, as the group left the meeting room to enjoy the rest of the hotel’s amenities. -- == --         Later that evening, the four Unicorns and three younger Dragons were sitting around an extended table in one of the hotel’s foreigner-friendly restaurants, discussing the events of earlier and their newfound status. “Since we’re all together, and it looks like we’re gonna be together for the next week, why don’t you tell us more about yourselves, Cinnamon and Coral,” Red Blaze asked of the cinnamon-red and chalk-white Dragons. “Sure, I’d like to know more,” Spike concurred, he looked at the two of them with some amount of interest. Cinnamon was the first to speak as it was clear that Coral was going through what she was going to say in her head. “Well I’m the first hatched of my clutch of three. Mom and Dad are still together. My hometown is near the main territory of the House of Leo, so if I start using some Gryphonic words, don’t be surprised.” The cheer in her voice was somewhat off-putting, reminding Spike and the Ponies of Pinkie Pie while she was baking. “And you, Coral?” Spike asked of the chalk-white draka sitting next to Cinnamon at the table. “I am the second hatched of four. Mother and father are still legally married, but currently separated, so I resided with mother until I ventured here to Karrak to further my education. Umi-fa-Sangri is partially on land and water, as it has a high concentration of Sea Dragon residents, though my blood is a combination of Long and standard terrestrial Dragon,” Coral replied with a slightly more personable, but still neutral tone. “Yeah the Long always are kinda freakishly tall in their bipedal form, aren’t they?” Cinnamon asked of Coral in a bemused tone. “Correct, your average Long is several inches taller than any other, even Sea Dragons, if you are restricting your consideration to the bipedal walking form,” Coral replied with her matter-of-fact tone.         The dinner and chat went on for a few minutes more with small talk, until Twilight was struck with a certain question that had been nagging at her since Cinnamon first introduced herself to Spike. “Say, Cinnamon, you called all of your flames by gemstone before. I’ve never read or heard about anything like that, so could you explain what the difference is with Dragonfire?” Cinnamon’s ear ridges perked up as she heard the question, quickly swallowed her food, and started reciting, as best she could, what she learned in her primary schooling. “There are three colors of Dragonfire, ruby red, emerald green, and sapphire blue. Ruby flames, like mine, have the most intense heat and burn the brightest, but they don’t have any kind of special effect other than being really hot and bright. So it’s pretty straight forward that way.” She turned toward Coral as she continued. “Sapphire flames like hers are the least intense and bright, but they can be fine-tuned to produce some lingering effects or modifications to the target. So they are good for laying curses and hexes that aren’t a part of Draconic Invocation.” “That is a fairly decent summation of the general nature of a Sapphire Flame,” Coral confirmed, cleaning bits of quartz from her mouth with a napkin. “And Spike over here…” Cinnamon started, as she grabbed him around the shoulders from the side. “… has Emerald Flames. They are about the middle in terms of heat and luminosity, but their power can be directly funneled into a Dragon’s Invocation. That’s why Emeralds make the best Invokers overall, they can super-charge their spells with their flames for big-time effects.” “I see…” Spike said, as he thought about things. “However, the other variants of Dragon don’t even breathe fire unless it’s part of an invocation, so we can’t take them lightly if we ever get into a fight with them. Especially the Long: I mean it’s one thing to breathe fire from your mouth or your nose… it’s another thing to be able to call down lightning out of the clear blue,” Cinnamon reported, as she nodded sagely. “True, though my ability to do that isn’t as strong as a full-blooded Long. It is something I constantly work to overcome through my study of Invocation,” Coral replied, as she sipped at a cup of green tea. She reminds me of Hana, at least a little bit when she is in a calm mood, or busy researching something… Vague thought as he compared his marefriend to the white Dragoness. Dunno who Cinnamon reminds me of though. I’d like to say Pinkie Pie, but it’s not quite the same. Plus Pinkie is nowhere near as flirty as this Dragoness is, apparently… “So… Mr. Spike, wanna tell us where you’re from?” Cinnamon asked of her purple compatriot. The two dragonesses were surprised when it seemed like he and all four of the other Ponies gulped in fear, however briefly. “Oh oh right, okay…” Spike started, as he inwardly started to panic. What am I supposed to say? I’m only twelve years old but I underwent Flash Puberty over the Aurora?  Spike cleared his throat, as he hoped he, in those few moments, could come up with a solid enough story for the other Dragons at the table with him. “Well, I was orphaned in Canterlot, and taken in by the Princess because she frankly didn’t want to leave a Dragon wandering around unattended. Eventually Twilight and I kinda found each other when she started in the School for Gifted Unicorns, and I was eventually adopted by her parents as her brother. I lived in Canterlot with her until she graduated, and then we both moved to Ponyville when she became the Element of Magic.” Twilight groused a bit at Spike nonverbally, but Spike merely shrugged his shoulders, silently saying ‘What else am I supposed to tell them?’ “Ahhh, that’s so sad. I know Dragons aren’t the most tight-knit overall when it comes to families, but at the very least you shouldn’t lose your parents…” Cinnamon mused, sniffling a bit. Something doesn’t feel… complete about his story. I may need to conduct a background investigation at a later date regarding this… Coral thought, as she ate some low-sugar ice cream topped with cut peaches. [ August 18, ????+1 – Vogelstad, Leon (Gryphon Federated Territory) ] =====================================================================         “So I trust everything has been to your liking so far,” an escort guard under King Guile’s employ asked of Fluttershy, as she, Rainbow Dash, and Golden Storm all walked through one of the canopied markets that dotted many of the corners of the streets of Vogelstad proper. “Yes, I’m more calm now. I’ve never been around so many Gryphons before…” Fluttershy replied, with some apprehension still evident in her voice. “You should have seen her when we first arrived, she looked like a long-tailed cat trying to walk in a room full of rocking chairs,” Storm added, chuckling as he did. “I’m sorry, but I’m so nervous around those I don’t know…” Fluttershy concluded sheepishly. “I told you not to worry, ‘Shy. The House of Leo are the least of our trouble when it comes to Gryphons antagonizing Ponies,” Rainbow Dash said, as she patted Fluttershy on her back, and the three of them moved on.         The three Ponies and one escort walked along the aisles of the market, looking at the various tools and wares that were being sold. Everywhere Gryphons spoke in a mixture languages, mostly Kattsprache[1] but the three Ponies could easily pluck out some modern Equestrian. “It doesn’t surprise me that Gryphons would speak Equestrian given how much the two species have interacted over the last 300 years especially,” Storm thought aloud, also contemplating how Kattsprache was analogous to German, but with more cat or bird-centric terminology most likely. “It has really boomed in the last 50 years, when schools started teaching Equestrian as the main foreign language. It is the most common second language, with Draconic close behind,” the escort said, as the they came to a mixed-menu café.         “I guess by the fact that we have Ponies and a few Diamond Dogs eating here, this café serves all, yeah?” Storm asked, looking at the Gryphons and Hippogryphs that made up most of the population seated at the tables. “You’d be right, sir,” the escort replied, as the four of them opened the gate to enter the businesses property. Or at least three of them did.         “Say Dash, what’s up? Not hungry.” Golden Storm asked, as they looked at the anxious looking Pegasus standing on the outside of the wrought-iron gate to the café’s dining area. “Huh?” Fluttershy replied, confused until she looked out into the crowd, and spied a certain lion/eagle Gryphoness to one of the far side tables. “Oh… I see…” “Wait, what’s wrong Fluttershy? Rainbow Dash?” Storm asked, as he looked over the whole crowd, trying to figure out something that might have been amiss. “Not a what… a who. A certain Gryphoness I doubt I would have seen hide or wing of for the rest of my life…” Rainbow Dash said as she pointed the table out where she was sitting. “So let’s just get our food and find somewhere to sit where she won’t see us, then we can move on and not worry about it,” Fluttershy replied, the anxiety starting to creep back into her voice.         Across the way, where that certain Gryphoness was sitting, she continued to chat with the Gryphon sitting across from her, unaware of the two yellow and one cyan Pegasi who were settling to a table on the opposite side of the dining area from them. “So what brings out here to Vogelstad anyway, Godfrey?” the lion morph asked of her similarly ‘designed’ younger brother. The eagle-headed male gryphon sighed as he brushed some of the top of his crest away from his eyes. “I was planning on entering the Treffsicherheit-Schule[2], Gilda. I think I’m finally ready to take the entrance exam and see if I can get a scholarship.” “You know I would trust you with my life with the theory of bows, rifles, and anything else. But you know how you are when you’re around strangers, or in unfamiliar territory, or anything else that might induce stress,” Gilda chided with a look of genuine concern on her face. “And it is time I put that theory into practice. It doesn’t do me any good to study the bow and the rifle and not use it for anything,” Godfrey replied, his somewhat-high pitched voice disguising his age of nineteen. “Aquileo help us,” Gilda replied as she rubbed a talon across her face and beak, exasperated by the sudden stubbornness of her younger-by-three-years brother. “I will be fine, Gilda. It is time I moved on from our den anyway, and at nineteen it seems like I’m actually starting a bit late to take my first flight in the world,” Godfrey replied with a defensive tone, responding to Gilda’s unspoken frustration with him. Godfrey sighed as he looked around at the occupants of the café, before he was stricken by a sight. A sight that practically latched onto his beating heart the second his eagle-eyes came into focus on it. “Oh… by His wonderful crest…” Godfrey said with an airy tone, as he suddenly got out of his seat and set off across the café dining area. “Wait, what’s going on, what got your throat all of a… oh no… oh no don’t tell me…” Gilda said aloud to the unresponsive Gryphon, until she figured out where he was heading. Heading right to a certain somepony who she thought she had finally put in her distant past.   -----         “I wonder how long it’ll be until that escort and Storm come back with our food,” Fluttershy asked, now starting to feel definite hunger pangs. “And that’s why I told you not to skip breakfast this morning. I swear sometimes you act like a little sister to me,” Rainbow Dash replied with a chuckle. “And I’m a year and a half older than you, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy groaned in response, one part mad at the implication, and another part frustrated by how hungry she had gotten over the last while. Rainbow Dash just laughed some more, before she heard a stifled squawk behind her. “Who was that?” Rainbow Dash asked, as she looked around. The male Gryphon behind her shuddered in sudden and extreme anxiety, unable to say a word as he looked at Rainbow Dash’s folded wings and rainbow-colored mane and tail. Oh dear… she is so… so amazing… I’ve… I’ve never seen anything like her in any of the magazines I’ve brought. That combination of feminine beauty and pure, raw athleticism… I can just tell by the muscle tone in her legs and everywhere else… Godfrey thought to himself, absolutely smitten by the sight of the Wonderbolt-aspirant and Element of Loyalty not but a couple of Lengths in front of him. “So are you going to say something?” Gilda asked in a non-plussed tone, as she slapped her lovestruck brother in the back, eliciting a louder squawk out young-adult Gryphon. “I guess I should ask the same of you?” Rainbow Dash asked of the slightly older Gryphoness, as she turned around with a non-plussed look in her eye, herself. Oh my… she’s even attractive when she’s mad… Godfrey thought, as he was still unable to formulate anything close to words. “Well it’s nice to see you again, too, Rainbow Dash,” Gilda said, as the Gryphoness and cyan Pegasus stared daggers into each other. “Hi, Gilda…” Fluttershy hailed in a mousy tone, anxious by the tension in the air between the two who were still staring at each other with seeming ill intent. “Fluttershy…” Gilda acknowledge briefly, looking at the yellow Pegasus for a few seconds before shifting her eyes back to total focus on the cyan Pegasus. The Gryphon siblings walked around to the side of the two Pegasi, and then pulled up chairs to sit at the same table across from the other pair. “I hope you don’t mind…” Gilda said, trying her best to keep her tone neutral. “Oh no, go right ahead…” Rainbow Dash replied, doing much the same with her voice. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but notice the dumbstruck look in the face of the male Gryphon to the side of Gilda, so the obvious question was asked. “Who’s the guy sitting next to you?” “My little brother, Godfrey. He came to the city to enroll in one of the academies, and now he saw you, apparently, and can’t come up with anything to say,” Gilda replied, slapping her brother in the back once again. “YOU LOOK REALLY PRETTY!” the male Gryphon shouted, the white feathers covering his head doing nothing to cover the red he was blushing in his cheeks. “Thanks?” Rainbow Dash, surprised by the admission from the male Gryphon. Fluttershy for her part had her opportunity to laugh, and laugh she did. “Someone has a crush on you, looks like,” Fluttershy said, giggling as she did. “Great…” Rainbow Dash replied, rolling her eyes as she did. “In any case, I don’t know why you’re being that way with me. I thought we had some fun times together those couple of years ago,” Gilda mused in a snide tone, still sour from what happened that night in Ponyville all those moons prior. “I did like it, until somepony went through some length to point out what was wrong with the whole scene,” Rainbow Dash replied, as she looked at the Gryphoness with a large measure of nonchalance. “So what, someone complains and all of a sudden all those years just go *poof*? If I thought our relationship was that weak, I wouldn’t have bothered to show up when I did,” Gilda asked, trying her best not to still sound hurt from all those years ago. Relationship?! Godfrey asked himself, as she looked at how his sister and the cyan Pegasus stared at each other the whole conversation. “I’ve been wondering if it really was that weak. I mean we were only together in that flight camp for a month. These other girls I’ve known for years,” Rainbow Dash replied, doing a better job of keeping her tone down than the Gryphoness. “And I met you first out of all of them. So why it is you just ditch me when you met them?” Gilda asked, the negative emotion in her voice now bleeding through in earnest. “I don’t ever remember actually ditching you, Gilda. The way I recall it, you got so mad that I didn’t want to do those things anymore you just blew me off. Not only that, but you started trying to screw around with the rest of them, for what reason I still can’t figure out,” Rainbow Dash replied. “This was a bad idea… I… I,” Gilda stammered, as she just wanted to shriek and roar at the same time, but eventually, through a combination of breathing and calming statements in her native Kattsprache, she calmed down enough to resume a somewhat even tone. “If that is the way it is going to be Rainbow Dash, then I guess I don’t have anything else to say to you.” “Whatever you say, Gilda,” Rainbow Dash replied dismissively. “Whatever!? That’s it? Whatever?! Just… ugh, Godfrey, we’re leaving!” Gilda shouted as she started dragging the younger Gryphon away by the talon. “What? What happened, where we going now?” Godfrey said as his elder sister started ushering him away to parts unknown. Rainbow Dash sat there with her front-legs folded as she stared at Gilda shoving Godfrey along the way out of the café’s dining area, Godfrey apparently complaining the whole way. “Are you going to leave it at that, Dash?” Fluttershy asked of her cyan friend. “I don’t want to, but every time we start talking it ends up like this. I tried to write her a letter, and do you know how she replied?” Rainbow Dash asked in response. “How, Dash?” Fluttershy asked. “She wrote in all strong glyphs[3], in textbook Equestrian, in bright red ink. I thought it was blood at first, but the fact it wasn’t turning brown disproved that,” Dash replied, huffing at the end. “Well she thinks you hurt her after that incident at Pinkie’s Party that night. And I can see why she’d think that honestly. I mean she shows up after… what was it… seven years apart. And all of a sudden you have a new set of friends and everything. And then when you two tried to do the same things you did as kids, your heart wasn’t in it. And you know that Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy responded, in a stern but loving tone. “I get that, Fluttershy. But I can’t just, put everything I am on hold until whenever our lives would criss-cross like it is right now. And even then, what’s to say that we would be close enough like we were in Flight Camp to do stuff together. For all I know… this might be the last time I see her,” Rainbow Dash said, before she came to a sudden realization. “You know what you need to do, huh?” Fluttershy asked, with a knowing tone. “When Storm and that escort get here with the food, tell them I’ll be right back,” Rainbow Dash said, as she took off to a low altitude to see if she could find Gilda and Godfrey before they got too far away. -----         “Hey, Hey Gilda!” Rainbow Dash shouted, as she perched herself along one of the eaves to a storefront near an intersection where the two Gryphons in question were waiting for the crossing signal. “What is it now, Dash?” Gilda responded with a churlish tone, as Godfrey was giddy at getting another glimpse of his blue angel. Oh she’d be even more gorgeous if she just let her mane grow out some more~ Godfrey thought as he couldn’t help the dumbstruck look on his face as he and his sister looked up at the Pegasus sitting on the eave. “Can I ask you to come to the hotel your King is putting us up in while we’re on this trip, we got like four days left before we head back to Ponyville. And… I want to hash this stuff out, like, seriously hash it out,” Rainbow Dash asked, showing as much contrition as she could manage. “Come on Gilda, it’s clear you still care otherwise you wouldn’t be this hung up on it,” Godfrey said, finally managing to find his voice in Rainbow Dash’s presence. A bit high, but not bad… Rainbow Dash thought as she watched Godfrey plead with his elder sister. “Fine, give me an address and I’ll show up,” Gilda replied, as she looked off to the side. “Can I come, please?” Godfrey asked of Gilda, with pleading eyes. “Ugh, really? Fine…” Gilda replied to her brother. “Yes!” Godfrey exclaimed, as he waved vigorously to Rainbow Dash, before he was dragged across the crosswalk by a non-plussed Gilda. “I have no idea what I’m going to do about him…” Rainbow Dash thought aloud as she flew back to the café where Fluttershy and Storm would have her food waiting. [ August 21, ????+1 – Makabkumi, Zebrav ] =========================================         It was the second-to-last full day for the Conduit of Earth and the Elements of Laughter and Honesty in Zebrav’s capital, so they spent it like how many of the residents of Makabkumi spent their days – milling about the many, many, many open markets that littered the non-residential areas of the capital. “Ah fess up – Ah thought things would be a little more strange since were among Zebras, and the only Zebra we all know is Zecora,” Applejack started, as the three mares walked down the lane created by the gap between the stalls. “Other than the ‘casional odd look, it’s just like walkin’ a market back home.” “Given how everyone around here is a neutral color, except for the green ones, I guess the odd look would be expected. I know I got some double-takes being pure Japanese amongst the melting pot that is your typical American city, when we were all in St. Louis,” Midori Hana replied, as she looked around for some more seeds and easily transported cultivars to bring back with her. “Well, I don’t mind at all. Being an odd duck is fun~” Pinkie Pie said, as she walked along the street with a rubber duck toy nestled in her curly, cotton-candy-like mane. “So what is with the duck? I mean, I didn’t mind a bath toy or dozen when I was a little girl… but… well…” Hana asked, still unsure of why Pinkie kept the duck in her mane after it lodged itself there from the pink mare’s bath the previous night. “It speaks to me!” Pinkie said, with a sudden false-ghastly tone and eyes wide, before giggling and continuing to walk along the way. She even used a skinny loop of what appeared to be loop of copper wire to squeeze the duck, making the toy ‘quack’ in a typical squeaky tone.   “Ah have no idea what any of us are gonna do with you, Pinkie,” Applejack wondered aloud in an exasperated tone. “Absolutely nothing~” Pinkie replied, as she flitted and hopped down the alley between a pair of buildings, duck squeak-quacking with every second bounce. After briefly getting used to the rhythm of Pinkie’s squeaking and hopping, they heard it cease, which caused the two of them to start worrying and follow Pinkie down the alleyway.         When they finally caught up with the pink mare, she instinctively shushed them, pointing out what looked to be half a dozen Zebras in deep red robes standing on several soapboxes and crates arranged into a makeshift stage. “” one of the stallions started, his eyes glowing a faint golden glow, which were the only way the mares in the back of the small crowd could tell the Zebra speaking even had a face. Hana and Applejack stood there, observing the crowd, and noting something odd about what they were saying. “Is it just me, or is it really hard to pick up what he is saying. Either he isn’t speaking standard Zebrakian or our translating spells are fading…” “Ah’m noticin’ the same thing. I might understand every other word, but not enough to put together what he’s going on about…” Applejack confirmed. “That’s really weird, it doesn’t feel like that’s right at all…” Pinkie said, as she was in rapt attention to what the zebra stallion on the stage was saying, more or less ignoring the fact that her compatriots could barely understand him, if at all. “Wait Pinkie, how come you can tell what he’s saying but we’re having so much trouble?” Hana asked of the pink mare. “Oh, just this… I’ve been reading it the last five days straight…” Pinkie said, as she pulled out a small but rather dense looking book out of her saddlebag. “Basic Zebrakian for the Equestrian Traveller… You’ve been reading a travel dictionary for five days?” Applejack asked incredulously. “Yep. And the stallion over there is basically saying that the world is about to fly into utter chaos because of all the foreign Spirits and all the foreign Ponies that are encroaching upon the Astral Plane and the land itself. And that there has to be a strong, unifying leader that will act as a guide for everyone, and not even Celestia can be that leader,” Pinkie replied, and then started to more or less translate for her friends. The stallion spoke for a little while longer, noticing the grass green, orange, and candy pink figures in the back of the crowd. Without missing a word or a beat while speaking, he motioned to a pair of robed figures to approach said mares. Pinkie listened with rapt attention, occasionally leafing the pages in the dictionary to find words and phrases she hadn’t read up yet. Finally, the stallion stopped speaking and the crowd looked on, more confused than anything. “So what did he close with, then?” Applejack said, as she watched Pinkie’s tail crimping into many sharp angles, and her rear-left leg tapping the cobblestone alleyway rather spasmodically. “Um… ok… uh… The only way that we will be able to proceed into the future would be is if we dedicate ourselves to the true Great Spirit: Ulk-Dravto. And… um…” Pinkie replied, the anxiety in her voice becoming quite evident to the two mares. “’And Um’ what, Pinkie?” Hana asked, looking rather nervous herself, as she could feel something with ill intent approaching. “Um, I think we need, to go, like right now!” Pinkie said as she started to briskly walk out of the alley and hopefully out of the sight of the robed stallions, the duck squeaking in alarm as she did. Applejack looked into the crowd, and saw a pair of robed figures approaching, their eyes now glowing red. “Yeah, Ah’m gonna take yer up on that, Pinkie” Applejack said, her voice quivering a bit as she shoved Hana along the way. “Okay Okay we’re going!” Hana said as she got into gear, catching up with the pink mare, as the two robed Zebras began to give chase in earnest.  --- “” a police-stallion of about thirty said to himself, as he sat at a café table eating his lunch. A Rulola ridgeback[6] laid on side of him, napping in the cool winter sun over the Zebra’s capital. Just as the ridgeback was getting good and relaxed, his ears perked up, and he began sniffing the air. “” the police-stallion groused, as he looked up in the direction the ridgeback was trying to catch the up-wind scent from. Soon he saw what the dog at his side was smelling, as three lovely young Pony mares were being chased down the street by a pair of dark crimson robed stallions. A sight he had unfortunately become accustomed to in the last few years. “” the police-stallion wondered aloud.  the ridgeback asked of his Master and Summoner. “” the police-stallion replied aloud. The ridgeback, with a level of vigor that would have seemed unreasonable a few moments ago, quickly joined the chase.  --- “What’s going on, and why are they chasing us?!” Hana shouted as the three of them were stunned at the amount of stamina their two pursuers had. “Crazy… they’re crazy!” Pinkie shouted, her tail still looking like iron filings that were standing on end in a magnetic field than curly hair. “Yer a fine one to talk about crazy, Pinkie!” Applejack shouted back as the three of them turned down another alley, only to run into a dead end. “Curse the nonsensical nature of Zebra urban planning!” Pinkie shouted, as the red-eyed Zebras slowed their approach, now that they weren’t in a full sprint. The two stallions approached, while chanting something indecipherable to any of the mares in front of them. The shadows cast by them in the midday winter sun began to grow and warp, as something that appeared charcoal gray to jet black began to emerge from the ground. “” one of the Zebras shouted, as what looked like lanky, clawed arms began to emerge from the dark blob that was emerging from the warped shadow on the ground. “” the other Zebra shouted, before something that was as tall as he was but longer tackled him to the ground with great ferocity, and equally ferocious barking. The creatures arms appeared to freeze into place, as it was clear to the mares that were scared out of their mind at the moment that the creature that was about to emerge had stopped for some reason. “” the one of the cultist Zebras shouted, as he tried to escape from the paws and jaws of the violently barking Rulola ridgeback. Just as soon as his partner reached over to try and pry the dog off of him, he screamed a vile scream of pain, as his entire body raced with a sudden discharge of electricity. “” the police-stallion said, as he had finally caught up with the two cultists. “” the other cultist demanded of the officer, or at least tried to demand before he was stunned into unconsciousness like his partner. “” the police-stallion asked, as he adjusted the navy blue grip on his front-left hoof. The Rulola ridgeback Egi eventually let go of the cultist he had tackled earlier, as the police-stallion called into a local precinct for a pickup of two Ulk-Dravto Cultists.  --- “I am terribly sorry for that, madams. But the cultists that pursued you have started taking interest in kidnapping foreigners, either for capital, or more foot-soldiers,” the police-stallion said as he walked with Kuvale and the three mares out of the alley, waiting for the paddy wagon to take away the still paralyzed and unconscious cultist stallions. “So… what up with those stallions, they kept giving me this creepy vibe. Even though they’re knocked out I still get a creepy vibe. And then there was that dark shadowy… thing they were trying to pull out of the ground,” Pinkie stated, still jittery from the experience. “Damn, they must have saw something in the three of you to try that in open daylight,” the police-stallion stated, as he turned to the side to think for a few moments. “It’s typical for them to call a darkness-aligned Spirit to spirit away, if you will, unsuspecting Zebras who follow them into a meeting in some kind of closed space, such as the back rooms of a shop. But to do it in an alleyway in broad daylight – either you three have some heightened value or they have truly lost their minds.” Hana listened to the conversation before she noticed a problem, a rather significant problem. “Hey guys, my back and sides feel a lot… lighter… did I drop my saddle bag anywhere?” The two Ponies and Zebra looked around the alley’s dead end and the corners, before finding a lime-green saddlebag with a mountain shaped mark on it… in the possession of a brown imp with green and white marking along its head and arms. “Bag heavy with klink-klank, must mean many shiny bits, many shiny bits. Kukuri take shiny bits, bye bye!” the imp said before it ran off with the bag. “GIVE ME BACK MY BAG YOU LITTLE THIEF!” Hana shouted as she took off running in the same direction. Applejack and Pinkie Pie started to chase with her, before the police-stallion put a front leg in front of them to bar their movement. “Don’t worry, I know that little imp, and more to the point, the summoner of said imp. Follow me, and we should meet it and your green friend in due time,” the stallion said, as he started off in a different direction. “Should we follow him? We haven’t had much luck with Zebra stallions in the last few minutes,” Pinkie Pie asked of Applejack in a soft tone. “Ah don’t feel like he’s ribbin’ us, and Ah’m a bit mentally worn out from the last chase. I say we go where he’s goin’,” Applejack responded, as the two mares followed the stallion and dog out of the alley.  ---         “Kukuri take shiny bits to master, master very happy. Master reward Kukuri!” the imp shouted as he ran under-stalls and looped in figure eights, trying to do his best to throw the chasing Pony off his trail. Hana, to her credit, didn’t fall for such tactics, carefully tracking the imp, given her non-existent preparation time, and only chasing when she had a more or less clear path. “Give me back my bag and I won’t call for police when I catch you!” “No police. Navy Blue mean. Always scold Master when Kukuri tries to help!” the imp shouted back, as patrons ducked and shopkeepers complained at the procession of two weaving in and out of the open markets. “This really doesn’t seem like helping if the police are chastising him about it!” Hana shouted in reply, as it seemed like the imp was subconsciously leading her somewhere. There are fewer shops and more homes it looks like… wherever this imp’s owner lives must be coming up soon… the grass green mare thought to herself The imp kept trying to lose Hana, but Hana had already begun tracing the Earth Magic she imbued on her bag, just in case she lost in the hustle and bustle of the Makubkumi markets. Eventually she perceived that the bag had stopped moving, and she figured the imp had reached his destination. “Alright, I am going to have a stern word with that little things owner, and then I’m going back to the hotel and unwinding my nerves for the rest of the day,” Hana said to herself as she outwardly calmed herself down and knocked on the door. Hana saw a panel slide open on the door, and then there was a sound of bolts unlocking. “Oh I am so sorry, you must be the Midori Hana, I believe,” a Zebra mare of the same age, apparently, as the police-officer Hana and her friends had met earlier answered. “Yeah, um, I had put a tracker in my saddlebag, and I think something, or someone, carried it back here. Could you help me look for it?” Hana asked, taking her best contrite tone as she did. “I see, I recognize the symbol that was on the bag my darling little Kukuri brought back. Do come in, I think you should be pleasantly surprised,” the Zebra mare responded, as she opened the door for Hana.         A few moments later, Hana was stunned by what she saw: a black-and-off-white Zebra stallion in a police uniform, a cotton-candy pink mare with poofy, curly mane, an orange mare with a Stetson hat, and an apologetic brown imp. “Pinkie, Applejack, officer… officer…” Hana started, as she realized that none of them had the officer’s name. “Walu’Ja. Officer Walu’Ja, patrol-stallion for the 47th Ward of Makabkumi and the surrounding metropolitan area, at your service,” the now named police-stallion replied. “And his partner and Egi – Kuvale,” the Rulola ridgeback resting by Walu’Ja’s side responded in a deeper, masculine voice than his Master. “Cool, talking dog,” Pinkie said, as she squeaked the toy duck in her mane, a duck that had somehow not fallen off in all the running the three Pony mares did earlier. “Is there any reason for the duck the pink one possesses in her mane?” the Zebra mare and owner of the home asked of Hana, as she took her bag back from Kukuri. “We’ve been trying to figure that out ourselves for the last while,” Hana replied as she crossly looked at the imp that had snatched her bag. “But… but Master Za’Yuli said that she needed shiny bits for her Alchemy. Kukuri go out and find shiny bits,” Kukuri started before the Zebra mare cut him off. “Yes I did need these ‘shiny bits’ you were talking about, but I needed them to make more tools for my potion and salve making. What you took…” “…Were a bunch of seed and cultivars in jars and tins; jars and tins that thankfully didn’t break in all the jostling while running,” Hana concluded The imp started to cry as he realized that even if he had gotten away, he stole something that was completely redundant in the hooves of his Master. “Kukuri wanted to help. Master Za’Yuli does so much work and… and…” “You help enough when you help me dig for metal, clay, and roots for my potions and tools. You do not need to go out and steal other people’s goods and property to help me. I should hope my need for money was never so dire, that my darling imp would steal from one set to retire,” Za’Yuli said, putting her imp at ease. “I was never good at the emphatic rhyming…” Walu’Ja said, as he smiled at the mare that was only a couple of years younger. “It is a skill one must practice to develop. If you had talked to me ten years ago, I would have said the same of myself as you,” Za’Yuli replied, somewhat embarrassed at the praise. Pinkie took the moments while the two Zebras were talking to take a look around the living room of the house they were all in, when she saw a particular photo. “Say… this mare here looks like Zecora if she had a longer mane.” Za’Yuli giggled a bit, as the others walked over to that side of the room to look at the photo up-close. “You’re right, pink one. This photo is of the Zebra named Zecora, daughter of the great Zebra Zel’Ana, and niece of the current President of the Zebra Unified Republic, Zu’Olala.” “And… what relation is she to you, Za’Yuli,” Walu’Ja asked of Zebra mare before him, a bit taken by the pictures of so many pretty and young Zebra mares gathered in one place. “Second cousin, father’s side. We haven’t talked much in the last few years, though when she lived in Makabkumi we would meet for coffee at least once a week. Though you said that she looked like she had longer mane in the picture than what I remember of her.” “Oh yeah, she nice a pretty nice Mohawk now. Wonder how she keeps it up, literally…” Hana replied, which got a chuckle out of Za’Yuli. “Oh my dear cousin, she always was one to change her mane-style every so often. Wonder if she came up with that idea on her own or saw it in a magazine somewhere.” Applejack walked over and took a good look at the Rulola ridgeback that was lounging near a chair in the living room, apparently nonchalant regarding the inspection by the orange Pony. “Ah don’t get it. You call yourself an Egi, which meant you were Summoned. But yer look just like any ridgeback in a photo Ah’ve seen,” Applejack wondered aloud. The ridgeback snorted, as he began to glow with white runes along his back and his forehead. “Ah see now…” Applejack said with a bit of a neutral tone, wondering how it was they were invisible on the ridgeback and always ‘on’ on the skin of the imp. “So what exactly is Summoning… actually for that matter… what is Zebra Magic at all?” Hana asked, wondering how it was that this Alchemist by trade apparently had a Summoned helper. “If you are willing to stay a little while, I think I can explain it well enough,” Za’Yuli explained, as she set a teapot to boil.  ---         “Okay, there are three primary disciplines of Zebra Magic: Seeing, Summoning, and Alchemy. Seeing is the most simple and therefore most widespread of magic disciplines. It is simply using a medium or your own intuition to divine the future or the past. Alchemy is the second most commonly practiced discipline, involving the combination of materials into other materials, using magic-imbued instruments to do the conversions. We use this to make the many medicines and salves that Zebras are famous for. The most rarely practiced discipline is Summoning, and that is calling into the Astral Plane for a creature to appear in the Physical Plane. It is so rare because not only do you have to have the power to make the call to the world beyond the Veil, as we call the Astral Plane, but you also have to have enough magical strength to gain the respect or control over the thing you’ve called forward,” Za’Yuli explained, as the audience nodded in apparent understanding. “The more exotic and powerful a creature you are attempting to summon, the more mana you need to use and have control over. I was most comfortable with a mystic version of a common animal,” Walu’Ja stated as he looked over at the half-napping ridgeback of his. “Much like my cousin whom now resides with you all in Equestria, I was never a powerful Summoner. While Kukuri is not the most impressive creature by any stretch, he still assists me earnestly and effectively. Sometimes a little too earnestly and effectively,” Za’Yuli added, as the imp carried some more tea saucers from her cupboard to the table where the five Ponies and Zebras sat. “Ah think Ah get it, but that just brings up another question. Zecora always called herself a Shaman when we asked her about her brand of magic. How would you describe it, Za’Yuli?” Applejack asked as she thought about her previous encounters. “Hrm, I see. A lot of Zebras who are proficient in Seeing and Alchemy tend to call themselves Shaman to represent that combination of disciplines. I would wager there are more competent Shaman amongst Zebrakind than there are pure Summoners. That is how rare the ability to Summon well is,” Za’Yuli replied, striking a contemplative pose as she did. “I can see that,” Hana concluded, as she double checked her jars and tins to make sure Kukuri wasn’t trying to hide anything from her. “Oh wow, we’ve spent a couple of hours here already. Time really does fly, doesn’t it,” Pinkie realized, as she looked at the clock that was almost at 3 PM local time. “I do not mean to keep you all day, so you may as well be on your way,” Za’Yuli stated with a warm smile. “And we should take that as our cue to leave, ladies,” Walu’Ja mused aloud, as he tapped the floor a couple of times with his back hoof to get the attention of Kuvale. “Ah guess so. It was nice meeting you two, even if the first meeting could’ve gone a lot better,” Applejack said as she waved goodbye to the mistress of the house. “Indeed, but who knows – our worlds grow ever so small, and you never know where your luck may fall,” Za’Yuli said, as the four exited her abode. “You never know indeed…” *** ===== ***