//------------------------------// // Cousin Conundrums // Story: Three More Things! // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// The purchase of goat's milk, harnesses, and leashes went off without a hitch for Jackie, even if it was the strangest purchase he'd ever made. When he'd told the person at the store what he needed, they came to the conclusion that he was hand raising an exotic animal, possibly a big cat. Jackie wasn't able to answer any questions about it beyond saying he was picking things up for his Uncle. Even so, he left feeling more confused then settled. As he entered Uncle's Antiques, he saw Uncle behind the front counter, going over some old documents. He looked up with a smile as his nephew entered. "Jackie!" he greeted warmly. "Come, give Uncle a hug!" "Uncle!" Jackie greeted warmly, walking up and embracing the old man. "What did you bring me?" Uncle asked once they broke the embrace. Smirking, Jackie set down his satchel. "The artifacts are carefully wrapped on top," he explained. "The, uh...pet supplies are in the bag. Do you have a big cat in here?" He looked around nervously. "Did you get pets?" "No!" Uncle insisted. "Pets do not listen. One more thing! Too many breakables in antique shop for misbehaving animals. Is dangerous enough with misbehaving children, customers or otherwise. One more thing! Pets take far too much work, Uncle has no time for that!" Jackie nodded. "Alright. But...why goat's milk? You've been cutting dairy from your diet." "Is not for Uncle," Uncle countered. "Take it to the kitchen. One more thing, do not step on the ponies!" Jackie had already turned towards the kitchen at the start of Uncle's second sentence, turning back for the instruction. He paused as he heard the last sentence, trying to make sense of it. "...what?" he asked, confused. "What was that last part, Uncle?" "Is Jackie hard of hearing?" Uncle demanded. "Jackie is young, Uncle is getting old! Uncle said, do not step on the ponies!" Jackie blinked. "So I didn't mishear. What does that even mean?" "Is very straightforward!" Uncle insisted as he opened the satchel. "Now get goat's milk in fridge before it spoils!" Jackie shook his head as he turned back towards the kitchen, carrying the pet supplies with him. What he saw nearly made him drop the bag as he let out a loud, "WUAHHG!" A small yellow equine was on the counter, futzing with the coffee maker. An orange equine with wings walked along the bottom of the upper cabinets, tugging on the coffee maker as though insisting she should do something with it, although she raced up the cabinets to the ceiling at Jackie's startled shout. A white equine with a horn floated in a green aura watching the pair, but quickly floated over to Jackie to examine him, squeaking curiously. "Jackie?" Uncle called out. "What is wrong?" "Uncle!" Jackie gasped out. "There are...tiny ponies in the kitchen!" "That is why Uncle said don't step on them!" Uncle called back reasonably. "That would be somewhat hard when one is on the kitchen counter, one is on the ceiling, and one is floating in the air!" Jackie yelped out, rapidly patting his chest as he struggled to calm his heart. Before long, Uncle joined him in the kitchen, staring disapprovingly at the ponies. "Apple Bloom, do not tinker with the coffee maker, you will void its warranty!" The yellow pony set the coffee maker down, hopping to the floor. "Scootaloo, floor is for walking, not walls, ceiling, or cabinets!" The orange filly dropped into Uncle's arms, letting him put her down. "Sweetie Belle, no levitation on the first floor, too many things to bump and break, or fall on and break you!" The glow ceased as the white filly dropped into Jackie's arms. "One more thing! ...this is Jackie, your cousin. Jackie, this is Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. They went astray in a powerful magic spell, and were entrusted to me." As all three fillies climbed up Jackie, he stared at them. "...you gotta be kidding me..." he groaned out as he examined them. "...tiny, candy colored ponies? A pegasus? A unicorn?" "Qi-lin," Uncle corrected firmly. "Know your roots, Jackie!" Jackie rolled his eyes. "Uncle, her horn is not an antler, nor does she have paws, claws, or a full lion-esque mane. Plainly she is a unicorn, not a Qi-lin." "Same creature, different name!" Uncle insisted. "Uncle, how can you say that?" Jackie demanded. Uncle slapped down the documents he'd been going through. "My Chi Wizardy Master's thesis," he explained. Confused, Jackie read the title, easily understanding the meaning of the kanji. "...Divergent Evolutionary Paths of Magical Creatures, As Pertaining to the Qi-Lin, Eastern and Western Varieties?" he asked, confused. He took a brief glance through it, seeing how Uncle had written that, based on where and when various images of unicorns and Qi-lin had been recorded and the fact that both had the same magical properties of purity and cleansing attributed to them, the two were divergent evolutionary branches of the same original creature, that had traveled and adapted its body in response to the magical field and environmental factors. "...huh. I never thought of that." "Whether Qi-lin or unicorn, Sweetie Belle is sacred creature of great good magic," Uncle confirmed. "What matter what you call her?" Jackie nodded, doing his best to wrap his mind around it...and eventually deciding to just accept it without fully understanding, as he had enough trouble wrapping his mind around the mundane world while accepting the possibility of magic, let alone trying to understand magic. "In that case, I will call her Sweetie Belle." Uncle smiled warmly. "That is good, Jackie. One more thing!" He held out a small wrapped book and three pendants. "Where did you find these? They were at the top of your satchel." Jackie blinked at the items. "I...didn't," he replied, confused. "I didn't put those in my satchel, either. Where did they come from?" Uncle rubbed his chin thoughtfully, putting a few things together. "...come! We must do research!"