private A Cultural Exchange 1x1 with LonnaKitty

[LonnaKitty 173]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

"Quite the complicated answer I might have for you there, but I guess all we be answered." she stood up as well and shook her body, getting the blood flowing back in her body. "Food sounds very good, and I think I will leave the meat alone." she giggled, a bit lighthearted for what had transpired. Though that seemed to be what she liked to be, as lighthearted as possible. It however probably does not work in her favor often.

 

She walked beside him heading to the keep. She remained quiet, deciding to keep her questions in check. Occasionally they were stopped, a pony asking Argante about this and that. She would always smile and give her best solution she could think of, taking her time with each pony and not brushing a single pony off or away. It would take some time, but they eventually made it to the keep at early evening. 

 

"Sorry that it took so long, a lot of ponies are very worried what we are going to do now that the curse had been broken, on top of the usual daily problems, it took so long to get here." She spoke softly, her quiet voice reverberating off the stone walls. She lead him to some rather large doors and opened them. The sound of at least fifty ponies came through. There were knights and their squires, maids and butlers scuttling about to deliver food to everyone, even a few members of the council were in there, sitting near the raised dais at the back of the large dining hall. 

 

Several guards and knights placed their hooves over their chest and bowed to Argante, going back to eating after doing so. She walked to the raised dais and climbed up and looked back to Midnight. "Come and join me Midnight, since you are a guest you are allowed up here."

[Illiad Easle 3,029]

@@LonnaKitty,

 

Midnight smiled at the interactions Argante had with her subjects, it was a bit more involved than Celestia, and in all very similar to how Midnight interacted with those he guided and directed back on Archback. "I'd be happy to assist you in any way I can, I am technically royalty as well, though the title never suited me well. Don't worry about the wait, I know how important it is to pay attention to those who look up to you for guidance." 

 

Midnight was surprised at how, medieval the whole arrangement seemed, moreso even than Equestria. Either they really liked the styling, or they where quite a bit behind the times in regards to culture and science. Nonetheless, he didn't let his surprise show on his face, this was a brand new culture after all, so he had best not make a poor impression of himself. He joined Argante on the dais with a slight smile on his face, glad that he had been so invited to join them. "So, What should I expect in terms of etiquette and procedure here? I'd hate to insult your customs by doing something wrong."

[LonnaKitty 173]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

"We tend to let others from outside do what is most comfortable. However if you would like to try our ways, you are in for quite a long meal." she chuckled softly, as soon as she was finished two ponies brought up some soup for the two to dine on. It was a rich broccoli soup with carrot peelings in the broth. Argante sipped it lightly, her ear going back as she tried to finish the whole bowl. When she was she looked down at it in defeat and frowned at it. When she realized she was showing her feelings she looked to Midnight and laughed, a bit embarrassed.

 

"I'm uh, I am not fond of broccoli." she spoke in a shy manner, the two council member to the side scoffed a bit, in annoyance, or at their princesses overly friendly manner with the stranger was hard to tell, but either way it was rude. If she noticed she took no note of it as the next course was brought forward. It was a large salad with several types of greens ranging from iceberg lettuce to cucumbers. Argante nibbled on the salad a little bit before speaking once more.

 

"So, question, and I guess I should have asked much sooner, but do you know how the barrier around us shattered?" 

Edited July 19, 2016 by LonnaKitty

[Illiad Easle 3,029]

@@LonnaKitty,

 

Midnight gave a smile back at her comments of not much liking broccoli. "To be honest it's not my favorite either. I mostly prefer grains and fruits to vegetables."

 

He leaned back in his chair between the courses to shoot a pointed glance at the rude council members, a small amount of energy, like a static shock's worth of lightning, seemed to jump from Midnight's eye about an inch in the direction of his ear before disappearing. In all a rather intimidating look despite the lack of helmet, which is why he took care to do it in a way that Argante would not see. They may be older than her, but at this point the difference in age was negligible, and no excuse to be rude.

 

He turned his attention back to Argante as she asked her question, "From what I was able to observe, the present bearers of the elements, a gift from your tree of harmony to Celestia about 2 or so millennia ago, returned to the tree to save it and thus the rest of Equestria from Discord's plunder vines. The successful re-energizing of the tree must have countered or overwhelmed whatever curse kept your kingdom from going unnoticed for all this time. At the very least these two events happened close to each other, but they are not necessarily related, though I find it quite likely." 

 

After answering her question he returned to sampling the food provided, he was surprised at the variety of produce this isolated group had managed to maintain for so long, under different circumstances they may not have succeeded as well as they did.

[LonnaKitty 173]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Aagante's eyes widened at the mention of new bearers. The look was both a mix of shock and joy and then it fell as she went into deep thought. This would change a lot of things, and some ponies might not be very agreeable to them. She sighed inwardly and shook off the unease.

 

"Midnight, we will be holding another council meeting in the morning, I would like you present. Not only because that you should see our council in work, but so you can recall what has happened. It is pretty large news that the tree produced bearers not just once but twice. So its quite a big deal." her words were mixed with a bit of anxiety at the thought. She knew she was probably going to be met with resistance. She stood firm though, she knew this was the right course of action, she could feel it in her feathers. 

 

She decided to take a couple more bites of food as some cider was brought out for them to drink along with some water. She then thought to try to go to more lighthearted topics, get her mind off the upcoming battle she would have with the council. "So what is it like? Where you are from I mean."

[Illiad Easle 3,029]

@@LonnaKitty,

 

Midnight nodded ad the mention of council meetings, "That is indeed something I would like to see, and I would be happy to share my knowledge of what has happened. And to be perfectly honest, the tree produced four sets by my count, two sets of elements of harmony and two sets of tenants of balance. I had always known it as the tree of peace from what Princess Luna told me, but I digress."

 

Midnight was surprised at her next question, though he supposed it was to be expected. "Well, where I'm from and where I've spent the last thousand years of my life are two very different places. I think you'd be more interested in the latter though, Archback Mountain AKA the colony of the children of the moon. In terms of terrain it is a mountain surrounded by a plain and a river with a close forrest, the Shimmerwood Forest. The castle is up the mountain and it gets pretty cold up there in the winter. As to the populous, I don't have the census data on me, but there are now nearly one hundred thousand descendants of the original twelve children, along with an untold amount of the zebra and thestral descendants. Which reminds me, the area is home to the three main pony races, as well as zebra and thestrals, the zebra isles were discovered oh fifteen hundred years ago? Anyway, the castle itself plays host to delegates from every nation, and thus every discovered sentient race, except Equestria and the Crystal Empire, so we don't have an alicorn, Draconequis, or crystal pony. Thus it has: The three main races of pony and thestrals, griffons, diamond dogs, dragons, camels, deer, reindeer, minotaurs, zebra, buffalo, cows, and changelings among others. Overall I think it's rather peaceful at the moment, no major disputes outside of Equestria, which surprisingly hasn't made it easy for us to work with them. Though the Reindeer and Deer have their own deep social feud similar to the three races before they got unified."

 

He paused to think for a moment before looking back with an apologetic expression, "I hope that answered your question, but I think I may have missed it entirely. Do ask a more clarifying question if I missed what you were looking for."

[LonnaKitty 173]

@@Illiad Easle,

 

"Hehe no you answered plenty!" she was listening with intent while he was talking, eating little bits as he did so. She was so amazed that that kind of unification was possible. She was glad, her father and mother wanted to travel, see if there were other ponies or creatures that would like to be apart of them and they apart of the others. She smiled at nothing in particular happy there was something like that, even if her parents could not see it. 

 

"So tell me about zebras, my mother told me a little about them once, but we passed it off as myth since we never saw one before." she was all but bouncing in her seat, her wings were fluttering in anticipation, her curiosity was almost palpable. As she spoke two ponies took the empty dishes away and soon brought out a small strawberry cake for them both. "And if you wanna ask me some questions too feel free."  

[Illiad Easle 3,029]

@@LonnaKitty

 

Midnight gave a more genuine smile at her enthusiasm for what he had to say. "The zebra? Well, in terms of appearance they are the same size and shape as any pony, though their coats are white with many black stripes if varying widths. They have a form of cutie mark in the pattern their stripes make on their flank. They have quite the talent for potions, and a form of ancestral magic, talking to the dead and the spirits of nature. The colony of them that I watch over are descendants of slaves that Sir and I freed about a thousand years ago, they follow a bit of a tribal society in terms of government, and are quite agrarian in their practices."

[LonnaKitty 173]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

"That is amazing. Maybe our own potion master could learn from them, that would be lovely!" She giggled excitedly at the prospects of learning from other cultures. She then thought about what he said and then tilted her head to the side. 

 

"Who is this Sir? If that's okay to ask, if not you don't have to answer." she hurriedly finished her sentence before popping some cake in her mouth before she got to out of hoof. Sometimes she can't stop herself. 

[Illiad Easle 3,029]

@@LonnaKitty,

 

Midnight gave a short laugh, "Well, I'll be sure to introduce you to a few of the potion masters I know back at Archback, I'm sure some of them would love to come back here to share what they know."

 

His expression seemed a bit less sure at the question of Sir, though it still stayed a bit positive. "Don't worry, It's okay to ask, I don't have many secrets that I would hide from someone that will be around as long as I will. Sir is... well, he's really the only family I have in this world. He and I have been working together since before I can remember. He trained me since I was but a yearling so that we could be the perfect team. He was raised to be king eventually, but the kingdom fell before that could happen, so we ended up here, decided if we couldn't save the land we came from, we might as well make this one a better place. Now he runs the Equis Global Council and I advise him, assist him however I can. I don't know how to best describe our relationship, the closeness, as if sometimes we were the same individual, though at other times we completely disagree. But we still respect each other and each other's opinions on matters and work until we can agree with a solution."

 

He sighed, an odd look on his face, "I hope that answers your question, which reminds me, I forgot to ask you a question, Would you mind telling me about the council? As in, how it works as well as about each of the members? Given their apparent immortality I would guess I'll have to deal with them at some point in the future, especially if one of them is submitted as the delegate to the EGC."

[LonnaKitty 173]

@@Illiad Easle,

 

So like a sibling then? she thought to herself quietly as he talked, her own memories clouding her mind till he asked about the council. She took another bite of the cake and a sip of cider before she jumped into answering his question.

 

"The council has been around as long as this kingdom. Each member is chosen by the Great Tree, when a member passes a new one is chosen. A member is chosen by what they believe in most. I suppose that's how the new ones were chose as well. I guess we will go in the order. Let's see. First was my mother Queen Monalla she was Joy, she believed if she can make anyone smile, it makes their day brighter. Then there is Hoofbeat, he is the dapple grey stallion who is kinda taller than the others, he is Honesty, he just has this way with ponies that make them want to tell him the truth at all times." she took a quick moment to take a sip of cider as their empty plates were cleared. Other ponies were starting to leave the warm hall, some still stayed to gossip and what not but it was emptying out.

 

"Then there is Joyleaf, he is the smallest stallion out of the council, he is Kindness. You think he would have been Joy by his name but nope he is Kindness." She giggled and bit and then continued, "He is the one who helps out the most ponies, he is pretty nice, but doesn't let nopony stomp over him. We have Rosebud, she is the really lovely, dull red mare, I think she is super pretty, but she represents Generosity. She goes around teaching ponies how to cook with certain foods, we can actually thank her for the food we ate." she smiled and took another sip of cider and took a deep breath.

 

"I, myself, am Magic, as you have seen, my magical power is pretty strong, we didn't know how strong till the tree awoken my true potential, but it was there. Last but not least, was my father, King Harth, he was Loyalty, and wow was he the most loyal pony anyone could ask for, he was brave and strong, wise, courageous, I looked up to him." she looked down and then wiped her eyes for a quick second, catching any tears that were about to spill. "So are you keeping up so far?"  

[Illiad Easle 3,029]

@@LonnaKitty,

 

Midnight looked slightly concerned as he noticed that Argante seemed ever so slightly like she was a bout to cry, but nodded that he was understanding what she was saying. "Indeed, it is strange though that we have had similar representations in our more recent elements of harmony, though Celestia referred to Joy as Laughter. Unfortunately the new set only appeared about four years ago, so I don't actually know too much about them or how well they bear their burdens. I don't even know their names, but that will be corrected in time." 

 

He really wanted to make a physical gesture of comfort but he knew that the risk of breaking their customs was too great. "I would guess given the way you refer to them, your parents aren't around anymore. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but hey, it would seem we have another thing in common there."

[LonnaKitty 173]

@@Illiad Easle,

 

She smiled softly and nodded slowly. "They may be gone, but as long as I uphold their ideals, they live on." she touched her hoof to her chest and smiled at her own heartbeat. She then blushed and coughed continuing with her explanation.

 

"So currently the current members are, Honesty, Generosity, Magic, and Kindness. We do have a fifth member which is Raindew, the very old blue stallion who called you a young one." she giggled at that and then went back to the conversation. "We would have had a sixth if the captain of the guard would have joined, but she declined, saying she had to train others and protect us, so we let her be." Argante just shrugged a bit at the comment.

 

"What we do in the council is we settle disputes between ponies that end up in a large scale. Though we had plenty of room, being around the same ponies for three thousand plus years will make anypony on edge. We also make rules and laws, I have the last say though with that, I decide if its put in practice or not. The council will act as head if I am sick or wounded, taking care of my usual duties along with anything else that happens in the day. Lets see what else....oh and of course the emergency meetings, which I guess are self explanatory." she nodded to herself, yeah, that was a good explanation, she thinks.

[Illiad Easle 3,029]

@@LonnaKitty,

 

Midnight looked a bit confused, "The same ponies for 3000 years? Is everypony here immortal? Or did whatever isolated you from the rest of the world also stop everypony from dying? If everypony here is immortal that could cause quite the issue on a global scale, given the rest of the world is not immortal."

 

Midnight sighed at the implications of a hundred or so extra immortals entering the global scene, "Your council sounds a bit like how the Trojans run their government, though not exactly the same, while also a bit like Equestria as well. A good mix of the two that could perhaps be a link that brings them together, though I highly doubt it would be enough for those two to settle their centuries long feud."

[LonnaKitty 173]

@@Illiad Easle,

 

"Oh gosh no! No the others are not immortals, its just, when things happened my parents, well the counter spell they tried to cast made everyone stop aging while the barrier remained. I am sure the normal cycle of life and death will continue now that it has been removed, only I will probably be the last remnant of the old times later in life." her tone shifted to a slightly sad one, she hadnt thought about that topic in a long time but now that it was a truth once more she would have to re-accept it once again.

 

She looked out one of the windows the sky had grown dark and she nodded at the beautiful night sky. "Well then I guess I will ask one more question for tonight and then show you to your room. Since you mentioned it and all, who are the Trojans?"

[Illiad Easle 3,029]

@@LonnaKitty,

 

Midnight gave a slightly sad expression as he shrugged, "Death is a natural part of life. Having seen it happen to so many I've cared for... Sometimes I wish this immortality were not given to me, but it is my place in this world now and I'll stay. At least I have Sir with me again to pass the time."

 

He hadn't even noticed that the sky had grown darker, now that he thought about it he was actually somewhat tired from his journey here. over a hundred miles was a long distance to travel after all. "The Trojans? Well, about eleven centuries ago one Trojan Horse proposed to form an Equestrian colony further south than the rest of Equestria as a sort of midway for many of the trade routes passing through the desert. It was founded under Luna's direction and thus had an experimental government established to test her idea of Democracy. A council elected of the citizens of the city would direct what happened within the city. It actually worked much better than Celestia had anticipated and more cities were built out in the San Palomino desert, also known as the mild west, to house all those that moved to be a part of their prosperity. Celestia did not want this experimental government to succeed, so she began sabotaging it with decent success, until a rebellion was staged in the darkness Luna caused after I fled her captivity and Equestria all together. Those who had been oppressed by Celestia's agents took control and restored the democracy that the agents had dismantled. After it was revealed that Luna had been banished the cities of the Trojan Province decided to declare their independence from Equestria, and for the last thousand years they have thrived as a world central trading hub. Though the citizens of Equestria have little to know knowledge that it ever existed, which has caused some problems between them for the past thousand years as well."

[LonnaKitty 173]

@@Illiad Easle,

 

Argante nodded at his story, feeling sorry for those that had to deal with the hardships that came with what happened. "Well maybe we can be a form of catalyst? Its a nice hope, but hopes help us dream, as long as we nurture it, well who knows." she grinned a bit and then stood up from her seat, stepping off the dais, looking behind her to make sure he was following.

 

As they walked though the dimly lit hallways of the keep Argante kept the conversation going. "I hope that after a little while, and with my own citizens interacting with you, that they will be able to go off and explore the world. I wish for us to be apart of the land, but I know we have a lot to learn. I will probably think of more things to possibly improve upon, and since we are in a dangerous part of the forest we will have to get the barrier up before we invite others..." she continued to ramble on about improving the lives of her people. Even if she was a bit ditzy she cared very deeply for her people, and was surprisingly smart about all things that needed to be covered. 

 

"A-ha here we are, your room." she had stopped in front of a oak wood door with a rose bush carved into the wood with detail. She opened the door and the room was simple and cozy. A large down feather bed, a single red carpet in front of a fireplace that had wood both inside the fireplace and on the side a safe distance away. A couple more smaller tapestries were on the wall, and a large window with a balcony that had a perfect view of the night sky and the back gardens.

 

"My room is actually beside yours, so if you need anything just go to the door with a crystal carved into it, it looks like my mark." she smiled, standing in the door making sure he was comfortable before she left. "Have a good night." she placed her hoof over her chest, bowed, then left, closing the door behind her.

 

As she walked to her room and went inside it she sighed and sat on the floor a moment. Today was both nerve wracking and exciting. She decided to sit outside on her own balcony, enjoying the crisp night. She took a deep breath and started to sing softly, hoping not to wake anyone. Her voice was very nice, melodious, warm and inviting.  

[Illiad Easle 3,029]

@@LonnaKitty

 

Midnight thought for a bit on how this kingdom could get connected to the outside world, they were surrounded on nearly every side by Equestria, and likely Celestia would want to simply annex the kingdom because of it. He would have to think on this for a bit before he decided, hence have ideas to share in the morning.

 

He turned his attention back to Argante once they arrived at his room to thank her for accepting him in the first place and adjusting him to stay with them before entering the room.

 

He retrieved his journal from his bag to document his day as he did most every night, but before he could start he could hear the faint sound of what he presumed was Argante singing from what must be a similar balcony in her own room. He resumed his writing with a smile, while he was tempted to join her he decided to just listen before settling in to the very soft bed for the night.

[LonnaKitty 173]

@@Illiad Easle,

 

*~The Next Morning~*

 

Argante woke up to the sound of her hoofmaidens coming in and drawing back the curtains. They started to run around pulling her out of bed and started to preen her. Brushing her mane and tail, along with her coat. She yawned loudly, rubbing her eyes free of sleep.

 

"Would you like the gems in Princess?"

 

"Oh moon no. Not anymore, he has seen me without it and honestly I would prefer it." Argante grumbled and the hoofmaid nodded and put the gem box away, finishing brushing out all the tangles free. She then stepped away and bowed, the two hoofmaidens stepping outside. She sighed and looked outside. She hoped she was prepared for what was coming this afternoon.

 

While she pondered in her room, a butler went to Midnight's room and knocked on it calling out to him, "Sir do you require any service?" 

[Illiad Easle 3,029]

@@LonnaKitty

 

Midnight had been awake for some time before the butler knocked, he had always been an early today after all, and had been digging through his pack when interrupted.

 

He looked over to the door, "Well, it seems I've forgotten a tail brush. You wouldn't happen to have one I could borrow would you?"

 

While some might say that Midnight didn't care much about his appearance, they would be wrong. If there was one thing he cared about it was his tail. Every morning he would meticulously groom it to its silky white perfection, but his tail brush was back at Archback. He had already brushed his coat smooth, though that was a necessity when wearing chain mail and a cloak.

[LonnaKitty 173]

@@Illiad Easle,

 

"Of course Sir." the dark blue unicorn pulled a cart back to revel a plethora of combs, brushes, perfumes, and other beauty knickknacks on it. "Feel free to chose what you wish."

 

Argante was in her room, writing a couple of documents to bring with her to the meeting that would be after breakfast. She rolled them up and placed them into her saddle bag. Sighing she turned around to the head hoofmaid and nodded. It was time to begin the worst part of her day.

 

The maid smiled and prepped the bracelets, then going over to her mistress unlatched the first one. Her mistress winced as the sparks began, she quickly replaced it with the new one. The process repeated for the others, only the last one made her mistress yelp in pain. She bowed quickly, taking the sparking bracelets that were on her mistress the day before to be cleansed by the head mage. She exited quickly, passing by Midnight's room, the sparking box could be seen and then gone.

 

Arganted panted a bit and sat in her room a bit longer before throwing her bag on, adjusting her bracelets, and stepping out, to greet the new day.

[Illiad Easle 3,029]

@@LonnaKitty,

 

Midnight looked over the contents of the cart with a sly smile, "You certainly have quite the selection." He chose a rather simple looking tail brush before returning to his room to begin brushing out his long and silky smooth tail. Perfection like this didn't come easy you know.

 

He idly wondered about the sparking box he had seen while he chose a brush, but it didn't strike his interest enough to care beyond that. He set the brush next to his pack, he would be sure to return it when he left and he was unsure at the moment how many more days he would be here.

 

His tail groomed he slipped on his chain mail and cloak before finally emerging from his room ready to start the new day.

[LonnaKitty 173]

@@Illiad Easle,

 

"Good morning Midnight!" Argante stopped a little bit before she had reached his room. She looked excited for the day, a saddle bag slung on her. "I hope you are ready, after breakfast we got some work to do." she laughed a bit walking beside him, making small talk as they made it to the great hall once more.

 

The smell of toast and eggs permeated the air, a few guardsmen still looked half asleep, while new recruits were excited for their training. The wait staff rushed back and forth making sure everypony had food and drink. Argante made her way to her seat at the dais, placing her bag beside her waiting for her food.

 

"So was your room okay? I hope it was alright." 

[Illiad Easle 3,029]

@@LonnaKitty

 

Midnight gave a slight smile as he sat next to Argante, "It was quite good, a bit softer of a bed than I'm used to, but comfortable all the same."

 

He gave a contented nod as he looked around the room, "So, what work do you have planned for today then? I'm interested to hear what you need my help for."

[LonnaKitty 173]

@@Illiad Easle,

 

She nodded glad he was comfortable. She thanked the maids that brought them some oranges, eggs, toast, some hay, and orange juice and apple cider. She took a bite before she spoke up.

 

"Let's see, mainly you will probably be watching, see how I deal with things of varying natures, but a second hoof would be very helpful. After those few things are knocked out, we will then go to the council meeting and deal with that," she pouted at the mention of the council, she then shook it off and took another bite off food.

 

"After all that we have the rest to ourselves, I can tell you the rest of our unfortunate history, and answer other questions while you answer mine."