FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

To see my original work, follow me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FlightInSnow

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Chapter Two

The Visitors

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Twilight Sparkle was stressed. This in and of itself was not that unusual. She stressed about a lot of things, some less important than others. This time though, this time she had a very good reason.

Princess Celestia was gone.

Okay, so it was a little less traumatic than it sounded.

Celestia had left on a diplomatic visit to Yakyakistan. She had left, not because there was no pony else to go but to give Twilight Sparkle a true taste of running the kingdom in her absence. Twilight was not completely on her own in the massive castle. Princess Luna had stayed behind to raise and lower the sun without her sister. Spike, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Flyingstar had all come with her to Canterlot. Starlight Glimmer had stayed behind to keep a watch over Ponyville.

Twilight was deeply grateful for the company. She knew being a Princess would be tough. Distantly she wandered if this was how Princess Cadence had first felt, this low underlying level of constant panic.

She had never really appreciated just how much Princess Celestia dealt with on a daily basis. From the moment she got up to the moment her head flopped onto the pillow again, Twilight was bombarded by ponies. Ponies wanting her opinion, her signature, her advice or her orders on what should be done. It had only been a week and already, she was exhausted!

It had also been at the end of the week that the caribou had arrived in Canterlot seeking asylum.

The request had come via a messenger. Apparently, the caribou had set up a camp not far out of the city and were seeking asylum after their own native country had suffered from a natural disaster that had destroyed much of their lands and homes.

"That's positively awful!" Rarity gasped as the messenger, the whip thin stallion with an orange coat panted.

"I've never even heard of a caribou kingdom before," Applejack spluttered.

"Have you?" she asked Twilight sceptically. Twilight frowned.

"It does ring a sort of bell but I can't remember anything specific, only that I think they had a falling out with the ponies of Equestria a very long time ago." Then, her face lit up.

"This is perfect! I can finally show Celestia that I can build new relations! If we can rebuild our friendship with the caribou, imagine what we could learn from them," she gushed excitedly. Pinkie Pie squealed.

"Oh, we could throw them a big party! Show them how much fun we are!" she said, bouncing violently up and down. Applejack frowned, catching Flyingstar's eyes. The crystal mare looked troubled.

"What's up?" Rainbow Dash asked, catching onto the same thought. Star shook her head.

"I'm not sure. I haven't heard of the caribou but what evidence do we have that they are here on good terms?" she asked. Twilight snorted.

"What reason do they have to lie? They need our help and we have to give it to them," Twilight said happily.

"I don't know, something just feels off about this entire thing," Star murmured, glancing at the messenger who was still trying to catch his breath.

"It will be fine! We'll invite them here and meet their king. Then we can work out how best to help them," Twilight decided, nodding to Spike who was writing all of this down on a floating scroll, tongue tucked between his teeth.

"Got it," he said.

"Wouldn't it be best to go see them rather then bring them into the city?" Star asked nervously.

"Don't be silly darling, it leaves a good impression to invite them here," Rarity cooed.

"But-"

"Spike, finish up the letter and give it to Fleetfire here. He can run it straight back. We can have everything ready for them by tomorrow!" Twilight said excitedly.

"I think you're being very rash about this," Star said warningly. Twilight frowned, her mood souring.

"Star, I'm the Princess of Friendship. It's part of my role to establish connections with other creatures and countries," she said in a deliberated slow tone. Rainbow Dash watched their back and forth, her mouth slightly open.

"Urmm..." she said, sensing the impending argument.

"Yes, but you don't understand what it's like out there," Star insisted. Temper flaring, Twilight stood up.

"As a matter of fact, we do know. We've been outside Equestria before," she shot back hotly.

"Twi-" Applejack started.

"Then you know that not everyone out there wants to be your friend! Sometimes they just want what you have!" Star snapped.

"I think-" Fluttershy tried...

"Just because you have trouble finding and recognising what friendship is doesn't mean that it's impossible for the rest of us!" Twilight shouted. There was a ringing silence following these words. Flyingstar met her eye for a long moment then turned and strode from the room.

All eyes turned to Twilight who flushed.

"She was only trying to help," Applejack said in a hard tone.

"I know! I know, I just... she's just so..." Twilight spluttered, her wings feathering out with her irritation. Fluttershy trotted to the door.

"Don't bother. Just let her go cool off. You know you won't find her anywhere," Applejack sighed. It was the truth. Barely a minute had passed but when Fluttershy stuck her head out into the grand corridor, there was total silence. Left or right, Flyingstar had appeared to have vanished into thin air.

--

Twilight swallowed nervously. She was trying not to shake in her chair. She was worried. She also felt guilty for shouting at Star. The mare had yet to come back and Twilight wondered miserably if maybe she had gone back to Ponyville. Twilight was also rather nervous about the enormous male standing in front of her.

King Dainn of the Caribou was massive, heavily muscled and battle scared. His crown was little more than cheap metal twisted into a ring at the base of his sharp antlers. He stood with the kind of posture that spoke of a solider rather than an aristocrat. Either side of him were two other male caribou, one with fur the colour of powdered snow and the other, an even bulkier figure with a heavy jaw and dark brown pelt.

"Thank you for seeing us Princess. I am King Dainn. I will admit, you are... not what we were expecting." King Dainn's voice was deep. It sent a shiver right down Twilight's spine and for the first time, she thought that maybe Flyingstar might have had a point. Oddly, she could feel magic in the air but it wasn't a sensation she recognised. She tried to force on a smile even though the presence of this male made her want to curl up and hide like a foal.

"N..not at all. You're very welcome," she stuttered.

"This is Svend, my cousin and Bjorn, my general," he rumbled. His cousin, Bjorn, met Twilight's gaze. Her heart was pounding in her chest. It was a bit like trying to stare a dragon down. The white caribou looked almost bored; his pale green eyes boring into Twilight's.

"General?" Rarity squeaked. Her friend had been mostly silent since they had entered though her eyes had taken in every inch of muscle on display. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were all helping to get the welcome celebration under way. Twilight really didn't need Pinkie's... enthusiasm right now.

"We were under the impression we were meeting the Princess of Equestria. It is customary to bring one's top general," Dainn explained.

"O..Oh. Well, Princess Celestia is not here at the moment. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle," Twilight tried to sound confident, like a proper ruler instead of a rather lost librarian. She thought she saw a hint of amusement in those cold eyes.

"Of course, you are," he drawled.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Applejack said, her eyes narrowing. Bjorn turned his attention to the earth pony. Twilight watched with concern as the brown eyed sleepy gaze sharpened as he took in Applejack's figure.

"I meant no offense," King Dainn said though the tone was sarcastic. Applejack's lips pulled down in disapproval.

"So, when did you arrive?" Twilight said quickly, not wanting the conversation to turn nasty.

"About a fortnight ago. My men and I came to shore. We have been on the open ocean for some weeks and our supplies are running low," King Dainn explained in his low voice.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened in your own country?" Twilight asked timidly. The king's expression became oddly closed as he met her gaze steadily.

"There were several earthquakes. The land cracked apart. There were fires and floods that followed and our crops failed to grow. Our land needs time to recover so we left. We have come seeking asylum from a kingdom we heard accepts outsiders," he said. Twilight smiled.

"Well, you've come to the right place. The ponies of Equestria are able to offer sanctuary for yourself and your people. We can set up a-"

"After we meet the Princess of the Crystal ponies," Dainn interrupted. The ponies all stared. Twilight opened her mouth a little and then closed it again.

"Umm, why is that?" she said delicately. Applejack's frown deepened. She and Rarity exchanged a glance. The general was now looking around at the stained-glass windows. He had an ugly expression on his face.

"It is our custom to greet the rules of any land we visit or occupy. As Equestria has more then one princess, it is necessary for us to make an offering to her as well." Well, that... sort of made sense. Noting her hesitation, he added

"It is one of our oldest customs." His tone was unfriendly. Perhaps by her hesitance was seen as insulting. Twilight flushed.

"Of course! I don't see any problems with that. I'll need to contact Princess Cadence to let her know," she said quickly, hoping to placate the enormous male. King Dainn nodded curtly, apparently satisfied by this.

"Very well. How long will this take to arrange?"

"Umm, a few days," Twilight spluttered. The caribou nodded.

"This is acceptable. After that, we wish to make our offering to Princess Luna as well," he continued.

"Of course."

--

Twilight left the meeting feeling oddly flattened. She had no idea if it had gone well or not.

"Well, he seemed... nice," Rarity said with a hint of sarcasm.

"I dunno Twi, I'm beginning to think Star may have had a point. Them folk seem awful fishy to me," Applejack grumbled. Twilight's ears flopped, head drooping.

"I know but we can't just turn them away now. They need our help," she sighed. Applejack snorted.

"They were awfully demanding for a group of folk needin help," she snapped.

"They were a bit... but that could just be how caribou are. The yaks were quite different from us, but everything worked out in the end with them so...," Twilight said in a falsely cheerful voice.

"Maybe..." Rarity said.

The caribou had all but stated where they planned to set up camp, just north of Canterlot. King Dainn had also wanted a tour of the city and castle. Twilight couldn't help but notice for a species that had never been to Equestria before, they seemed to know a lot about it. She made a note to try and find some books on them after she had Spike sent a letter to Cadence. King Dainn was leaving to return to his people but would be back later that afternoon, giving the ponies some time to get organised.

After writing a lengthy letter to Cadence, Twilight went straight to the library. With any luck, maybe Cadence would know something the newcomers. In the meantime, Twilight could search through the library. To her great frustration though, Twilight couldn't find a single text.

"This is ridiculous! How come there isn't a single book on caribou!? I know I saw one somewhere," Twilight positively howled as she flew up to the top of a bookcase and began scanning the spines. Spike shrugged.

"Are you sure it was here in Canterlot and not back at the Castle of the Two Sisters in the Everfree Forest?" Spike called from his own bookshelf. Twilight stopped in mid-air, her wings flapping madly.

"Oh..." she whispered. Then she groaned.

"I don't have time to go there and be back," she said miserably, coming back down to the ground.

"Maybe we could ask Starlight Glimmer to have a look?" the dragon suggested as he climbed over a stack of tombs on magical toadstools. Twilight sighed.

"I can't ask that of her, she's already got her hooves full looking after Ponyville. We'll just have to wait until after the tour," she sighed. On the small chance their suspicions were wrong, Spike and Twilight stayed in the library most of the afternoon, Fluttershy and Applejack coming to join in the search.

"Well, Pinkie's nearly done, for better or for worse," Applejack sighed, pushing her hat back on her head.

"Who doesn't love a good party? I'm sure it'll be fine," Spike said with a careless wave. Twilight nodded meekly.

"Yeah." Her eyes drifted to the window where the weak sunlight was starting to disappear.

"We should go, they'll be back soon," Twilight added glumly.

"True. But maybe you should have a chat with the pony who came to see you first," Applejack said with some amusement. Twilight spun around.

Flyingstar was standing in the doorway to the massive library. Despite the cavernous hallway and thick tiles, Twilight hadn't heard the mare approach.

"Hello," Star offered softly.

"We'll go greet the king and bring him up," Applejack said, nudging Fluttershy and Rarity ahead of her. Spike shrugged and followed, dumping the book he had been holding with an echoing thud.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" Star offered. Twilight nodded gratefully.

The two mares stepped out of the library and into the bustling hallway. Streamers were dangling from several of the crossbeams and Twilight wandered vaguely when Pinkie had the time to even do that. They walked in silence for a while.

"I'm sorry I shouted at you," Twilight said awkwardly. Star dipped her head.

"It's alright. You are under a lot of pressure," the crystal mare replied.

"I think you were right," Twilight whispered.

"I should have been more careful. I just wanted to do this properly and show Celestia that I can make the right choices." Flyingstar took a step closer, nudging Twilight gently.

"It's okay. You weren't wrong anyway. I'm not very good at recognising friends," Star murmured.

"I'm the Princess of Friendship. I have to try and help the caribou," Twilight said though she didn't sound as confident as she had that morning. Star nodded.

"You can only do what you think is right. You'll have your friends with you either way," she offered kindly. Twilight smiled.

"Thank you." They heard the sound of cloven hooves on tile.

"I'll go find Pinkie and the others," Star murmured.

"You won't stay?" Twilight asked a little desperately. She could have used Star's calm head. Star threw the approaching figures an uneasy look.

"I can't. Not yet. I'm not leaving the castle though," she promised. She touched Twilight's shoulder once and then slipped sideways into another corridor. Twilight couldn't help but admire just how silent she was.

King Dainn and his cousin, Svend came into view alongside a rather star struck looking Rarity. The white stag was looking around.

"Was there someone else with you?" His voice was quite as low as the king's.

"Urhm, yes. She's not able to join our tour," Twilight said awkwardly. The caribou considered her for a moment and then nodded.

"Shall we?" King Dainn purred. Flushing, Twilight gave a nervous laugh.

"Yes, of course. Let's start in the courtyard." She led them off down the corridor, unaware of the way the white stag lingered behind, still staring down the hallway.

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END

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