Lilligold and Mizuko's Neighponese Tale

by Razalon The Lizardman


A Lily Out Of Soil

Back on the ferry, Lilligold had spent a good deal of time wondering what kind of sights awaited her in Neighpon. The marina had looked about as standard as she could imagine one being, and the same appeared to hold true for Gujo Hachimare itself. Elevated wooden buildings with thatched and tiled roofs lined the semi-busy streets, spaced very close next to each other. Their architecture was familiar to what she’d grown up with in Elmshire, but possessing that kind of Neighponese style which she recognized upon seeing, but couldn’t describe in adequate detail. Architecture wasn’t her special talent, after all.

One standout detail which caught her eye was that a large number of buildings had bamboo walls built into the side, but to what purpose was unknown. A number of red arches could be seen hanging overhead many different paths, and in the distance she could see a traditional Neighponese castle rising above the more modern, suburban houses.

But the bulk of her attention was not on the town and its foreign beauty, but instead, on how everypony traversing the streets kept throwing her sidelong glances upon noticing her presence. Brief as they were, anxiety nevertheless took root in her mind, and began growing.

What did they think of her? To see her following behind Mizuko was surely enough to clue them in on the fact that she was a fish out of water in this foreign land. Did they see her as weak and pathetic for needing such help? Was she upholding any stereotypes of foreigners they had? The questions rang through her mind over and over, to which the anguish began to show itself in her features with her trembling lips and shifty eyes.

She mustered the courage to tap Mizuko on the shoulder. Mizuko turned around, and her eyes widened a little upon seeing the anxiety clearly written across Lilligold’s face.

“Why are they looking at me?” Lilligold squeaked, shifting her eyes to the right.

Mizuko followed Lilligold’s gaze to see a young stallion across the street looking at them out of his eye’s corner, trying to be subtle, but Mizuko could still see it clearly. In her own eye’s corner, she noticed an older mare from up the street staring dead on in their direction.

Mizuko smiled and shook her head. “They’re just curious. Foreigners aren’t a common sight to them, after all.” She turned back to Lilligold with a wistful smile. “This is your first time visiting Neighpon, right?”

Lilligold sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. “I don’t travel a whole lot. The only reason I’m here is because my friend Audrey locked me out of my shop until I come back with some cherry blossoms.” She hung her head, exasperated. “According to her, I need to ‘buck up’ and see the world.”

Mizuko looked at the dejected mare in pity. The more she got to know her, the clearer it became to Mizuko that Lilligold was a shut-in type of mare, too afraid to step outside her comfort zone even to achieve her desires. Mizuko could only speculate as to why she was that way — perhaps she lived a sheltered life under overprotective parents — but if she had the capacity to help Lilligold ‘come out of her shell’, as mainlanders would say, then she’d be more than happy to do just that.

Mizuko smiled brightly. “Well, I hope–”

“Mizu-tan! Mizu-tan!”

The sudden voice gave Mizuko pause. It was immediately recognizable to her, and her smile instantly fell into a frown as the sound of scampering hooves came up from behind. In front of her, Lilligold looked over her shoulder at what Mizuko hoped wouldn’t become a negative stereotype in Lilligold’s eyes. Sighing, she rubbed the bridge of her muzzle before turning around.

The pair of gray eyes that stared back up at her were full of ignorance. The little green colt they belonged to grinned in that special way children do when they think they’re being clever, when in reality they know nothing.

Mizuko sighed again. ”What do you want?”

The colt gestured toward Lilligold, causing her to quirk an eyebrow. ”You got the foreigner from the sea!”

Mizuko shook her head. ”No, I did not.”

”Gaijin hunter! Gaijin hunter!” he chanted, before turning and running down a nearby alley.

“Um, Mizuko?” Lilligold asked, turning to her. “Who was that?”

Mizuko took a moment to rub the bridge of her muzzle before turning to face her. “His name is Yadame. He’s just a very rude and ignorant child, but it’s for that reason that I can’t fault him for the hurtful things he says.”

“Oh, well… what did he say just now?” Lilligold frowned. “Something about me?” she asked.

Mizuko shook her head. “No, it was about me.” She gestured behind her down the sidewalk. “Just a little farther is where I need to go. Come.”

“O-Okay.”

They resumed their walk down the sidewalk, Yadame’s echoing laughs eventually fading away. As they walked, Mizuko contemplated having a lengthy talk with the colt’s parents about his abysmal behavior. He’d been a constant nuisance to her for a couple of years, and her patience was rapidly nearing its breaking point. Why he’d seemingly singled her out for torment was still a mystery to her. Maybe because she had such a fascination with foreign cultures, he didn’t–

Splash

“Eep!”

Startled by Lilligold’s cry, Mizuko quickly spun around to see what had happened. Lilligold was shaking like a leaf, staring wide-eyed at a sewer grate right in front of her. The pavement around it was littered with wet spots, as was the underside of Lilligold’s barrel.

“M-M-Mizuko,” she stuttered, pointing at the grate. “Th-Th-There’s something in there.”

Mizuko trotted over to the grate and peered inside, already fairly sure about what she’d find. The orange and white shapes swimming inside confirmed her suspicion, and she placed a reassuring hoof on Lilligold’s withers. “I’m sure you don’t regularly see fish in sewers on the mainland, right?”

Lilligold managed to calm down enough to reply. “Not at all. The only creatures living in sewers back home are the ones told in urban legends.”

Hearing that reminded Mizuko of a story she’d heard during a visit to the mainland about a filly flushing her pet alligator down the toilet, whereupon it grew into a monstrous beast that devoured anything in its path. It reminded her of the story of the Underground City of Kappas living right underneath Gujo Hachimare, and just like that, she believed the monstrous sewer gator story only had a grain of truth to it, if that even. “Don’t worry, the coy fish that live in these sewers are harmless,” she replied. She then gestured a little ways down the street, toward Hoseki-san’s shop. “We’re almost there. Let’s go.”

Lilligold nodded, and they set off once more. At one point Mizuko glanced behind her to see Lilligold glancing warily at another sewer grate while carefully stepping around it. Mizuko could only imagine what turmoil Lilligold would’ve gone through without her guidance. Lucky for her she approached somepony very familiar with the differences between their two cultures.