Marshmallow Dreams

by Halira

Chapter 118: How to Make a Marshmallow Boil

We all got into the limo. It was spacious, and there wasn't anybody with us. That was weird because that pegasus had looked back here when he conferred with someone. There were plush seats, wine, and fancy-looking cheese and crackers. This might still be a foalnapping, but at least they were hospitable foalnappers.

"Ah! The candidates have arrived, plus one."

I looked at the source of the voice. There was a monitor, and on that monitor were three ponies– an earth pony mare who was so old and grayed I couldn't tell what colors her fur and mane were supposed to be, a large muscular earth pony stallion with a patch over one eye, and between them, a unicorn stallion with deep red fur and a purple mane. The unicorn reminded me of that Shu pony that was Sunset Blessing's son. Behind them was a flag, straight red, except in one corner was a sickle and hammer over a Shimmerist sun, the flag of China.

"Make yourselves comfortable. Have some snacks and drinks. I wish only to speak with you for a few minutes. There's no need for this limo to leave its parking spot," the unicorn said, sounding welcoming and gracious. He had a hint of an accent, but overall, his English was good.

"Who are you?" Sunflower asked as she took a seat.

"That's Qiánchéng De Érzi," Ashley practically spat.

The unicorn on screen nodded. "Very good. You Americans are notorious for knowing little of what goes on beyond your borders. I am pleased at least one of you can recognize me."

My eyes widened. Oh no, I think I would rather go back to fighting shadow monsters, changeling queens, and zombies. That felt infinitely safer right now.

Sunflower's ears drooped.."Ashley, can you please tell me who that is? I know I should know and I'm probably insulting people by not knowing, but please tell me."

"He's the pony responsible for Miss Seapiny's death," I said grimly.

"A slanderous accusation!" Qiánchéng De Érzi growled. "I am not responsible for what the courtesan did to herself. Is it so much to ask that a pony be loyal to their homeland? Is it so much to ask that a pony be loyal to ponies? Yinyu died by her own hoof as an ultimate act of disloyalty and defiance. Don't throw such accusations at me!"

Ashley leaned next to me and whispered. "Don't say things like that directly, no matter how true. You can say something as close to it as possible, but you can't outright say it."

"I still don't know who he is," Sunflower quietly said.

"He's the head of the Communist Party in China, and their President," Ashley said in answer to Sunflower's question. Never turning her hateful glare away from the screen. "Rumor has it he's also responsible for a lot of…other things. It's also hearsay that he has a very short temper. It's best to watch what you say. He is a very dangerous pony with a very long reach."

The large earth pony chuckled, saying something in Mandarin. The other two ponies on screen chuckled in turn at whatever was said. The ancient mare pulled out a wooden cup and shook it, before spilling out its contents. Were those bones? The mare examined the things I was pretty sure were bones for a few seconds then said a few things in Mandarin. Qiánchéng De Érzi nodded and then faced us again.

"Soothsayer's oracle bones say you had a terrible ordeal with a certain Uighur piece of trash, Ashley Santos. An unfortunate happenstance. You have our sympathies. Some people are so vile that not even becoming a pony can cleanse them of their perversion. It's a shame he never managed to end Sunset Blessing. The fact he leveled your little town using her work shows how much she shouldn't have been allowed to live. Sadly, it seems one perversion is not enough to end another sometimes," Qiánchéng De Érzi said. He didn't sound very sympathetic.

I raised an eyebrow at them. "You got all that out of looking at some old bones you rolled like dice?"

"You pegasi aren't the only ones with gifts," the old crone cackled. "I can read much of the past, and see the threads of future paths. You Americans don't have a monopoly on Storytellers."

The big earth pony stallion muttered something in Mandarin. It must have been an insult about the old pony because Soothsayer started practically hissing and spitting back a response in the same language. I wish I knew what they were saying, and I doubted either Ashley or Sunflower knew the language either. Qiánchéng De Érzi allowed them to argue a moment before barking off a command. It probably meant silence or stop, because they did.

"Why's your name even Soothsayer? Shouldn't it be whatever the Mandarin word for that is?" I asked, still skeptical she got all that out of rolling bones.

Qiánchéng De Érzi answered for her, " Soothsayer is an immigrant. All ponies are welcome in China, free from human tyranny, and able to live as the dominant species that we are. Soothsayer is originally from Australia."

"New Zealand!" Soothsayer hissed.

"It matters not where she came from. She is in her rightful place now," Qiánchéng De Érzi finished, not batting an eye at his companion's correction. "There could be a place for you as well. It seems unbalanced that two-thirds of the living Dreamwardens will be living in the United States– perhaps all, since we never did identify the human or where he resides. It is still all the Dreamwarden ponies living in the United States, and that shows complete bias that Princess Luna specifically tried to avoid when she chose the originals. Wouldn't it be better if one of the pony Dreamwardens lived in the nation ruled by ponies?"

I glared at him. "I think I'll pass. You had a Dreamwarden, but she didn't feel like living in your country was the right fit, and gave your hospitality an absolutely terrible review. She liked the location, scenery, and history, but found the management and staff decidedly poor. I think I'll avoid visiting your country until there is a change in management."

He glared back. "The courtesan didn't seem to think living anywhere was a good fit, given how she left. She was clearly deranged, and I personally think the Dreamwardens should vote to expel her from their ranks, but I doubt she would abide by any vote. What sane pony sets themselves on fire, and right in front of her terrified foals no less? I believe she may have caught some venereal disease that distorted her thinking, and she became overly paranoid and distrustful, mad even. We have endured nothing but slander from her, and she sits protected by her position. Meanwhile, her foals have been spirited away to some foreign land where they receive fewer rights and privileges, and your government has illegally condoned this flagrant foalnapping. But I digress, the matter of the foals is between our governments, the Dreamwardens should have no involvement. As for her claims, I have tens of millions of other ponies who are very pleased to be living here to counter her baseless lies."

I don't get mad easily, but I wanted to scream at him. He might not know how long and close a friendship I had with Miss Seapony. If he did, he wouldn't bother making those accusations about her sanity. Why was the OMMR even giving him this time to speak with us? How did he even know who we were? I thought who the candidates were was a secret.

He turned his eyes to Sunflower. "And how about you? Even if you don't end up becoming the new Dreamwarden, wouldn't you desire the opportunity to work with an experienced Storyteller who can better help you understand your gift? I'm told you also wish to see new and interesting places. China has an abundance of sites to see. There is over six thousand years of cultural prehistory here. Enough to keep you occupied seeing for a lifetime. We'd be more than happy to provide you with all the luxuries and amenities you could desire."

"I don't need much in terms of stuff, just some items to do my art and maybe some books. I'm a simple farm pony," Sunflower answered. "And while I might want to visit China sometime, just to see it, I'm not sure I want to move there. Honestly, I don't want to have to stay anywhere for too long. I like seeing new things, and that requires me the freedom to be on the move. Being tied down in one place, no matter how grand, feels too restrictive for me. Just like my parents' farm–I love it, and I want to be able to visit it when I want to, but I don't want to stay there. Staying in Skytree for four years, even though it is amazing, is already going to be pushing my limits, and I'll be getting out of here as soon as I graduate. As for your offer of training, thank you, but I think I want to figure it out on my own. My ability seems very different in how it functions than other Storytellers I've heard about. We all seem to have our own ways of doing things, and I need to explore mine on my own, but I do thank you for all your kind offers."

Soothsayer said something to her companions in Mandarin. Qiánchéng De Érzi replied, again in Mandarin. The third one muttered something. I wish I knew what they were saying, but I knew what they were doing. They were judging us, just like the Dreamwardens.

"Why are we speaking to you and how do you know about us?" I asked, feeling like there was no harm in asking.

"We know about you because we have a much better spy network than your country does, and we were able to determine who the candidates are," Qiánchéng De Érzi answered. "There were more of you, but something changed recently. The Dreamwardens seem to be whittling down the ranks, although I have no idea why you two stood out. I would have thought that human girl had the edge. She seemed more versed in world events and politics and had a more level head. As for why we are speaking to you– if the Dreamwardens end up with a divided vote, the deciding vote goes to the UN security council, of which China is a member. Reports only go so far. I wanted to get a feel for both of you by speaking to you."

There were times for joking around and making light of a situation, then there were times you were staring into the eyes of the person who threatened and caused the death of one of your bestest friends. I narrowed my eyes. "And how did you convince the Dreamwardens to allow you this meeting? I'm sure every country would want the same opportunity. What makes you special?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I think the reports underestimated you, Miss Riddle. You are certainly confirming that there was value in speaking to you directly. I would never have known you had any sense at all if I was going by the reports alone. The answer to your question is simple. We cut a deal with the Dreamwardens. We gave them something they wanted, they gave us this opportunity. All agreements were sealed by a Dreamwarden contract, so no reneging of agreements was possible. If you want to know what the Dreamwardens got out of the deal, you'll have to ask them, or more likely become one, since I doubt they will disclose that information to anyone outside their order. We originally asked for more, and so did they. There were a lot of counteroffers with Arbiter speaking on behalf of the Dreamwardens, and I assume the others giving her constant feedback. Her disdain for us was clear, but I must compliment her for being professional in her arbitration. An agreement was able to be made in a relatively short time, with what must be record efficiency on how quickly it was implemented, and we were told you would be speaking to us. I will never say the Dreamwardens can't act quickly. I'm satisfied with the agreement."

"If you're satisfied, how about we end this?" Ashley asked. "They both had a long day and need to get some sleep."

"Yes, dealing with that abomination refugee, or so I heard," Qiánchéng De Érzi said darkly. "Why the Dreamwardens allow that thing to live is a mystery. It should be destroyed."

"He's just a foal!" I protested.

"It is an unnatural affront to all things living, and shouldn't be referred to as a pony," Qiánchéng De Érzi hissed. "It should have died in Turkmenistan, then in Uzbekistan, then in Kazakhstan, and the Russians should have executed it at their border. At least it is polluting your side of the world with its presence and not ours, although sharing a planet with it seems too much. It is out of our hooves, but we hope somepony over there has some sense and puts it down. Perhaps it is foul enough for even a human to realize what needs to be done. Mark me saying this, you'll come to regret letting that monster live."

"Okkkaaay….I think we're done here," I announced as I got up.

Sunflower stood up as well. "Yeah, I draw the line when we start discussing murdering sweet little kids."

"I might not be likable for saying that, but that doesn't make me wrong," Qiánchéng De Érzi called out to us as we headed for the door. "Better to stop a problem before it becomes too big to deal with. Look at what it can do now, imagine what it can do when fully grown!"

Ashley opened the door and the agents standing outside looking at us. "This meeting is over," she told them. They didn't stop us as we exited the vehicle.

Miss Seapony had it right to fear for her foals and try to escape China. That pony was the real monster, not Moses. Could Moses become dangerous? It was possible if he grew up to be hateful. Maybe if he had spent his life locked away in that facility, but Phobia Remedy was putting a stop to that. Even if he were grown, he hadn't done anything malicious. He just wanted friends, the ability to play and to see the outside. What pony wouldn't feel caged in and miserable under his circumstances? We were social creatures. To deny him all access to other ponies except his adopted mother was practically torture. Isolation had been used as a torture method against ponies before, and that hospital had been using it with him. The only danger of him being out on a farm was he was now out where Qiánchéng De Érzi could reach him more easily.

I hoofed my way back to Maggie's car and got in. She stared at me.

"You look pissed. I don't think I've ever seen you look this angry. What happened?" Maggie asked as she looked me up and down while I fought to get my harness on.

"I don't want to talk about it. We met a very nasty pony and I never want to speak to him again. I doubt any of us want to," I answered as I fought with the harness.

"Oh," she said, sounding unsure of what to say. "Did you want to go somewhere?"

"Back to the dorms so I can take a shower and go to sleep," I replied as I finally got the harness fastened.

She blinked. "Um, Bec, look out the window."

I did so. We were in the dorm parking lot. Sunflower and Ashley were standing at the entrance of the dorm building, watching me and Maggie curiously. The limo had already departed in that little time. I was still angry, but now I felt a little silly.

I gave Maggie a sheepish look. "Yeah…mind helping me get this harness back off…please?"