Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot

by Equimorto

Nolimatra

He was too tall to enter the castle, and Twilight once more considered building a separate structure for those sorts of meetings. She would need one eventually either way, once Ember became big enough. Still, for the time being her standing on the balcony of her castle while he stood outside would have to do, and thankfully it worked quite well. She was at about eye level with him, smiling as she stared at him.

The Nolimatran ambassador smiled back at her. Or at least Twilight guessed it was a smile. Growing up with a dragon meant she was better than the average pony at reading a reptile's facial expression, but the snake-like conformation of the creature was still fairly alien even to her. It did not help that his face was about half her body size, that made it quite difficult to focus on the expression as a whole at close distances.

Fascinating creatures, nonetheless. She would have loved to study one, but she knew not one of them would be willing to stay in Equestria for any longer than strictly necessary. Or anywhere else outside of their home country, for that matter. None had travelled further than Ponyville, using Twilight herself as the middle mare for their negotiations with other territories such as Griffonstone.

And Twilight knew getting into Nolimatra was near impossible. The creatures weren't willing to let anyone in, and trying to force her way there might have permanently damaged the relationships between the two countries. It was a great shame though. Twilight couldn't help but dreamily run her gaze over the snake-headed scorpion whale's body, wondering just how exactly it functioned.

She was just as eager to learn about their culture. Their habits, their language, their history and society. Unfortunately, all that knowledge was sealed for her. Nolimatrans never spoke a word about their homeland, and never in a language other than the one of the creatures they were speaking to. The only known word of their native language was Nolimatra, the name of their country, though its meaning remained a mystery.

Nolimatra itself was located in the southwestern sea, fairly far from the coastline. It might have never come in contact with Equestria had it not been for a fishermare's boat getting dragged all the way there during a manastorm. The inhabitants had rescued her, escorted her back to Equestria, and sent along a few delegates to establish relationships with the country. Their condition were fairly simple, they just wanted to be left alone. But they were willing to offer help in times of need, provided the other countries agreed to do the same.

No one had actually been to Nolimatra, or seen it from anywhere other than the sky above. There were a few islands there, perhaps also inhabited, but the bulk of their civilisation was assumed to be underwater. The creatures seemed perfectly capable of living both in and out of the water, after all, another one of the many interesting facts concerning them that Twilight wouldn't get a chance to study.

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Fascinating and intriguing, but it left no room for story. I'm not even sure which Twilight we're dealing with here. Still, very interesting creature and culture. Certainly a tough nut to crack for the Princess of Friendship.

[Saix]

I'm pretty sure this is the first time Spike has even been mentioned, I wonder where he is.