Two weeks after Grogar's party's departure

These last weeks were rather uneventful, but it was fun. Sometimes they would encounter another traveler from nearby villages, it was refreshing to just enjoy the scenery and it filled Grogar with nostalgia by reminding of the times Old Grogar wandered Mundus before he started his campaign.

The group became closer as they spent the nights around the campfire and got to know each other as well as occasionally fighting monsters on the way. They passed through some small villages and farms on the way to Cheng's hometown. When the party arrived on the town, the last settlement before the crossroad that would lead to either Zerzura or Agartha.

It was still morning when the party arrived on a hill overlooking Cheng's hometown after passing through a forest and it surprised Grogar when he saw the town. It was a blend of what you would expect of a small town in a fantasy setting with fields around it, but what surprised him was the fields with many hills with houses built under it that reminded him of the Shire from the Hobbit. The appearance made sense since feral rabbits created burrows, but still, it was a nice place to live.

“Welcome to Autumn Leaf, the town got its name from the leaves of the surrounding trees, but it's more like a nickname. The original name of the village was Zhenqiu, ironically qui can mean either 'hill' or 'autumn',” explained Cheng as he motioned for the town.

“It looks like a lovely place to live,” said Faust as she looked at the town.

Agate didn't look that surprised since she passed through this town before, the main road passed further north but after Cheng's promotion many visitors would come here and the town expanded. This also caused a new road that led here from the main road to be built. Grogar just nodded, to see a small town like these filled him with happiness. Old Grogar despite his selfish desires cherished life itself, when he was studying to become a mage he wondered how life would be without the old gods to guide it.

Despite New Grogar not being the Old Grogar, he knew his desires beside vengeance, he might not care much about individuals, but he desired to see where the paths that were rejected by the great majority of species led to. The fact that Tambelon evolved further and faster than Mundus and had a far greater variety of lifeforms and cultures filled him with pride. It was remarkable how culture can grow through interactions and the introduction of new ideas. That was another reason that Grogar disliked the nations that were comprised mostly of the same species, how they expected to grow both as a nation and as a species with almost no interaction with outsiders. Besides their control of the weather was another aspect that he disliked, “Necessity is the mother of invention” after all.

“My lord?” said Agate interrupting Grogar's introspection.

Grogar noticed that the party was already walking in the town's direction, but stopped when they noticed that Grogar wasn't with them.

“It's nothing Agate, just old memories and dreams,” said Grogar before following the group.

The party was noticed by some bystanders, mostly rabbits and sheep working on the fields surrounding the town, it wasn't the first time they had visitors, but their surprise came from the fact that they saw Cheng and waved at him. They were about to approach and greet him but stopped when they saw Faust. Alicorns while rare were still many, but the only alicorn of the Old World was a figure well know throughout Tambelon. This caused a crowd to form near the group – rumors travel fast in a small town after all– to both see the goddess and to greet the visitors, especially considering that Cheng was part of the group.

*WHISTLE*

The high pitch sound of a whistle was heard, which caused the crowd to look at the source of the sound. It was a moon rabbit like Cheng but it was clearly female, which was evident by the tight fitting dark blue pants with knee pads and vest over a light blue long sleeved shirt with a golden badge on her black utility belt showing that she was part of the town’s law enforcement. On her right hip there was a small gun, around her neck a small chain with the whistle, which was still in her mouth, a fingerless glove on her left hand, a normal black glove on her right hand and foot bracers that left her toes free –lagomorphs of all kinds generally hate closed shoes, they prefer either bracers or no shoes at all.

The rabbit officer was around 3ft tall –a height similar to Cheng's–, had a slender figure, which was common on her species for both genders with the females having wider hips –as was the case here– and the males having wider shoulders instead, her round and cute face with a pink nose with white and gray fur. The white fur was on the front of her neck and around her mouth and eyes while her gray fur covering the rest of her face, but it became darker on the tips of her long ears.

“Ok guys, move along you are all blocking the main road. Besides let them get settled first, I’m sure that Cheng can tell all the details later,” said the female rabbit, which caused the crowd to disperse, then she approached the group or more specifically Cheng and said happily, “Hello little bro.”

“Hello Jun,” said Cheng before hugging his older sister. After that, he let go of her and turned to the group and said, “Guys, this is one of my older sisters, Jun-Yang.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you,” said Rime in a polite almost noble manner.

“Hello,” said Agate simply.

“Greetings,” said Faust politely.

“Greetings,” said Grogar in a firm but neutral tone.

Jun just looked at the hooded figure with curiosity, she could somewhat feel the power and authority in that voice.

“Are you going to stay for the harvest festival, Your Majesty?” asked Jun as she looked at Grogar before leaning forward after placing her right hand on her chest.

“I see no problem in staying a bit longer. Besides enjoying the little detours along the way can be a reward greater than what you find at the end of a journey,” said Grogar as his traveling cloak melted into a long-sleeved shirt. Out of curiosity, he asked, “How did you know it was me?”

“Your presence is almost indistinguishable from the world around us and yet I can feel your... Um, authority I think it's the best word to describe it. Besides Lady Faust is here and she swore she wouldn't leave the Capital before your return,” explained Jun as she put her index finger on her chin, it was quite a cute image.

“You have good instincts. They will serve you well,” said Grogar to the small officer.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” said Jun before she turned to Cheng and asked, “Please tell me you're going to be at mom and dad’s house for lunch?”

“That sounds lovely,” said Faust

“Yeah, we can go there after finding a place to stay for a few days,” said Rime agreeing with Faust.

“There is no need to do that, we can stay at my parents’ farm for the duration of our visit since there are plenty of spare rooms there,” said Cheng.

Jun was about to say something, but a small beep was followed by a small glowing magic circle appearing over her left ear. She used her right hand to tap on the small circle.

“Yeah, Jun-Yang here,” said Jun to whoever was on the other side of the communication spell and she seemed to have got an answer, so she said, “Alright, I’ll be there in a minute.”

Then Jun turned off the communication and turned to the group and said, “Sorry, but duty calls. I’ll pass by the house before lunch. Until later little bro.”

Jun jumped on a nearby blue and white motorcycle with the same emblem as her badge before speeding off. One of the most notable achievements of Tambalonians, magitek. This case automobile created using a combination of mechanical science and magic.

“And there she goes, I never understood her obsession with weapons and vehicles,” said Cheng to himself before he turned to the party and motioned for them to follow, then he said, “The house is not far from here, it has two spare rooms so if we use the same arrangement as the tent we can all stay there.”

The members of the party didn't mind and so they proceeded to walk for a while. They passed a fence and a sign that had drawings of bunnies and houses, but they continued to walk. Then they passed through some houses along the way with other rabbits living there, some looked like normal houses while other looked like the home of a hobbit from the Shire, and they waved at Cheng as they passed until they reached a decent house.

Despite its medieval look, the house was made using modern materials and it was possible to sense magic on the stones and metal that made the up the building. They even passed through a detection spell, no surprise since it was the house of a mage.

“It's a lovely neighborhood, but you said we were going to your parents’ house,” said Agate and Cheng looked confused for a moment before he realized what was going on.

“We are at my parents’ farm, the houses we passed by are from my siblings that already married and are living in a plot of land given to them by our parents. We have been on the farm since that fence,” clarified Cheng as the group approached the house.

Agate was surprised by that information, Rime not so much because she saw similar arrangements before, Faust and Grogar on the other hand just didn't mind at all. The group, minus Agate, noticed a miniature house on the wall just at the level of the small fence beside the door. Just before they reached the door they hear a click from the mini house, from it came out two small beings.

The first was small, around 3.5in tall, pony-like being with a slender figure and it was possible to tell that it was a male because he was topless only using a pair of white pants. This showed his red fur coat and green mane, from his head, came two long antennas the same color as his coat and from his back came butterfly wings with a beautiful red, blue and black pattern. It was a breezie, or as Grogar preferred a fairy pony, but he couldn't tell from which type.

The second was female, as evident by her D-cup breasts –proportional to her size– that were covered by a short strapless light blue top, which contrasted with the dark teal feathers from her upper torso and arms before giving way to small black avian talons at the elbow, along loincloth of the same color as the top, which contrasted with her light brown fur coat with dark brown spots that covered her lower torso and legs. Her height was around 3.8in, it was possible to see that she had a slender yet muscular figure. This was a traditional pygmy gryphon of the hummingbird variety as evident by her wings that were moving just as fast one and her size, her lower half was probably that of a small feliform judging by her tail which was longer than her legs.

The two small beings hovered near the mini house and observed the group until they saw Cheng. Then they flew near him, the fairy pony hovered in front of the rabbit mage while the mini gryphoness landed on his left shoulder and hugged his head.

“Cheng you are back! We weren't expecting a visit so soon,” said the gryphoness while Cheng extended his right hand.

“Yeah, normally you send a message before coming,” said the fairy pony as he landed on Cheng's extended hand.

“Sorry Aron, Ida. But I came here on a mission, we are just going to stay for a few days before departing to Zerzura,” said Cheng before turning to the group and introduce the two, “Guys, these are Aron and his mate, Ida, they take care of the house and send me messages from my family while some of my siblings take care of the land around the house.”

“Hello,” said Rime and Agate at the same time to the unusual couple.

“You two must have quite a story. I can't wait to hear it,” commented Faust as she looked at the couple, who flew off of Cheng and were circulating Faust in curiosity.

“But first let’s settle first,” said Grogar, which caused the small couple to focus on him, then they hovered in front of him before bowing.

“Of course Your Majesty,” said Ida and Aron at the same time just as Cheng opened the door.

The couple flew into the house and proceeded to pull small ropes to open the drapes, so light could get in. It was a modest house, but the furniture was bigger than necessary for a rabbit, but considering that Cheng may bring larger visitors it wasn't unreasonable to think he furnished this place to be comfortable regardless of size.

Two hours later

The group settle and chose a room, they kept the same sleeping arrangement, so Faust and Grogar got one room while Agate and Rime got another, Cheng just settled in his old room after he also showed his lab in the basement. Aron made some tea for the party members and Ida asked if they wanted anything in particular for lunch, but Cheng informed her that they would go to his parents’ house for lunch.

Not long after the doorbell was heard, then Ida turned the knob and opened the door.

“Hello Jun,” said Ida as she hovered just about Jun’s height.

“Hi there Ida, me and Katsu were going to mom and dad's house for lunch. I thought about giving a lift to Cheng and his group,” said Jun now wearing a simple short sleeved pink button-up shirt, light blue pants and black bracers on her ankles. Without the gloves, it was possible to see that her right arm was a gray mechanical replacement.

“Ida, who is…Oh, Jun we were about to head out. Not to be rude, but what are you doing here?” asked Cheng as he came to see who was at the door.

“Hi there Cheng. I told I would stop here before going to mom and dad’s, besides I thought you guys wouldn't mind a lift,” said Jun as she pointed behind her with her left hand.

Cheng looked to where his sister was pointing and saw a white and green van that was used to deliver vegetables from the farm, on the wheel he saw a red-furred fox wearing khaki colored pants, a light green colored button-up shirt and aviator glasses. The fox was leaning back on the driver's seat and checking on his phone.

“That's Katsuo, my partner in the force and my boyfriend,” said Jun when she saw Cheng raise an eyebrow at the fox.

“Whatever, who you date is your choice. I'm going to call the others,” said Cheng before going back inside.

“Are you and Aron coming as well?” asked Jun looking at the pygmy gryphoness and Ida shook her head.

“No, I want to spend the afternoon with Aron and we have other plans for lunch,” said Ida before winking at Jun.

“More power to you girl,” said Jun as she raised her left hand and made a fist. Despite the size difference, Ida returned the fist bump.

While the group came out and Cheng locked the door Ida sat in front of the mini house. Aron landed beside his mate and waved at the group, who waved back before approaching the van.

Katsuo pushed the edges of his phone and caused the solid holographic screen to shrink until the edges met. Then he looked at the group his girlfriend insisted in giving a lift to the clients of one of her brothers and her brother as well, more specifically the one that became a mage and worked for the Mages’ Guild in the Capital.

The fox saw the blue qilin and immediately noticed that she was a warrior, probably a bodyguard to the white gryphoness –he guessed– she was definitely a noble. Then he saw another moon rabbit in robes, the brother Jun mentioned most likely, but he froze when he saw the alicorn and the goat.

Katsuo immediately opened the door and walked around the car to greet the group, more specifically Faust and Grogar.

“Your Majesty!” said Katsuo in a surprised tone as he bowed, before saying, “I'm truly sorry, I didn't know that the Emperor would be here. If I knew I would have prepared a more suitable mode of transportation.”

“It’s of no consequence, besides constantly reveling in luxury for too long can get old. I have no need for those that grovel at my hooves, what matters to me are the accomplishments, skills and contributions of those I consider my subjects,” said Grogar in a firm tone, this seemed to help Katsuo because he stood up, but still had an uncertain look. If Grogar had to guess he had a very rough life and knew the price of angering someone with power.

Jun saw what happened and was immediately beside her boyfriend, despite being a little over half of his height and a completely different species it was possible to see that she cared deeply for him.

“That's was very kind of you master,” said Faust quietly to Grogar.

“It was the truth, besides that kitsune has potential,” said Grogar to Faust, but he saw one of Jun’s ears twitch and turn in his direction. She probably heard what he said, bunnies and their hearing.

After that they all entered the van, Rime, Katsuo, Cheng and Jun sat on the front, with Jun behind the wheel on the driver's seat, her brother and her boyfriend beside her on the middle while Rime sat by the window, it was possible because the two rabbits and the kitsune were small in comparison to Rime and the others. On the back Grogar just conjured seats for himself, Faust and Agate. After that, they departed.

“We have some time before we arrived at mom and dad's,” said Jun without looking away from the road. Then she asked, “Why exactly did you come? Normally you send a message before showing up.”

“It was because of me actually. Me and Agate here are on an escorting mission to Zerzura, but I asked if we could pass through Autumn Leaf Town on the way,” explained Cheng before he looked at Katsuo, then he returned his attention to his sister and asked, “So, how did you two meet?”

“Well, that's a funny story…” said Katsuo before trailing off when Jun glared at him.

“We don't need your brand of humor right now, Slick,” said Jun.

“Ok, you tell them then, Fluff,” said Katsuo with a smug look on his muzzle.

Jun just kept a neutral look on her face before saying, “You will be sleeping on the couch tonight.”

The kitsune kept his smug look, but Jun could see the small twitch on his right eyebrow behind the lenses of his aviator glasses, so she just send him an equally smug look and said, “Glad we have an understanding sweetheart.”

“Ah, young love,” sighed Rime and Faust at the same time, which caused the couple to blushed, Katsuo had the good fortune of having a dark orange fur that hid his blush, Jun’s fur also hid her blush but not as well as Katsuo’s, besides it was possible to know she was blushing by the interior part of her ears that darken slightly. Grogar just smiled at these interactions, that and the fact they were on a van reminded him of his life as a human, this atmosphere felt just like when he and his family went on a road trip.

“Anyway, we met before I went to the academy. I just saw him on the city square selling ice cream on a, particularly hot day. He and his siblings were there when I bought one, after that we just talked for a bit until he mentioned that he was going to the police academy as well. At first, I was excited to have a friend in the academy since all my other friends and siblings wanted different careers. We didn't get along well back then after he said I was too 'by the book’,” said Jun recounting the events.

“And she still is,” said Katsuo to himself quietly, but he was still heard by the pair of rabbits. This caused Jun to reach out and punch his left arm when Cheng leaned forward, then Katsuo said in a dramatic but still fake tone, “Oh, that's police brutality.”

Jun ignored Katsuo's witty remark and continued her story, “And he was too 'street smart’ for his own good, he would use loopholes in the academy's rules and that silver tongue of his to talk his way out of trouble,” narrated Jun, but when she paused Katsuo interjected again.

“And you love that silver tongue,” said Katsuo as he wiggled his eyebrows while looking at Jun, which caused Rime and Faust to giggle, Cheng groaned since this was his sister that he was referring to, Agate just raised an eyebrow and Grogar kept relaxing. Jun just glared at her boyfriend again and he just lifted his arms to say he surrendered before he picked his phone to distract himself.

“Anyway, I wasn't exactly happy when we were assigned not only to the same precinct but as each other's partners as well. At least we kept a somewhat professional attitude despite his attempts at annoying me with his bad jokes. That changed when we busted an operation dealing with illegal substances and he ended up saving my life,” said Jun as she lifted her left arm and caressed her mechanical prosthesis while remembering that day. Then she finished her story, “After that, we became good friends and eventually we started dating. Of course, we agreed to not let our relationship interfere with our work.”

“Well, that was quite a story Ms. Jun,” said Rime as she looked away from the window and at the rabbit in question after a brief glance at the one-tailed kitsune.

“Just call me Jun, I never liked being called ‘miss’,” said Jun without looking away from the road. Then she started to giggle, which caused Cheng and Rime to raise an eyebrow, so Jun clarified, “Sorry, I just remembered the day I told my parents I was dating a kitsune.”

While Jun was interacting with the other on the front Grogar looked at Faust and saw her with a distant look, through his magic contract with her plus his own abilities he could tell she was remembering their confrontation just before the start of their war against each other.

“Still think me trying to take over Mundus was a mistake?” asked Grogar to Faust, which caught Agate’s attention.

“No, it was the rules and laws you put in place that allowed so many species to develop and interact the way they did on Tambelon,” said Faust before she remembered the nations that existed on Mundus today, how different species stay mostly on their own territory and rarely interact with each other. Contrasting perspectives could lead to the development of both sides, it was no wonder the Tambelon developed so quickly compared to Mundus, where most species that tended to share similar views stayed almost isolated –the few exceptions were those that traveled a lot or lived in the borders– while here they interact constantly.

Faust focused on Jun and Katsuo again as she saw the yuètù punch the kitsune arm again when he made another inappropriate but harmless comment, it was a sight she would never see on Mundus the way it was now. She admitted that even if she survived the final battle against Grogar she would have let her daughters rule just like they have ruled as if she wasn't there. It was somewhat depressing to realize that she wouldn't make much of a difference on Mundus even if was by her own choice.

In her fear of repeating the mistakes of her father she let the mortals without guidance, that wasn't bad in on itself, but just because she wanted to let them make mistakes and learn on their own didn't mean she couldn't help them along the way. Grogar wanted to rule and guide them himself, something she was fervently against, but she failed to realize that tyranny wasn't always a bad thing.

On Tambelon Grogar made sure that his rules and laws were so ironclad that even after his death they couldn't be defied, but he left enough wiggle room for some of them to be interpreted differently and for different cultures to make different laws so long they didn't contradict the ones made by Grogar himself.

The laws made by the sorcerer only concerned his empire as a whole and so long the actions of his subjects were “beneath” these laws they could do what they wanted. Then she remembered one of Grogar's lessons when she was just a filly, “Rules are guidelines, suggestions for how we live. What matters is what we choose to do with them and how we choose to interpret them. Not letting yourself be tied down by rules doesn't necessarily mean ignoring or breaking them, by imposing limitations one can grow around or surpassing said limitations, life can show its truest potential when presented with a goal to strive for. That is the true test of life.” And in her own eye she failed this test, she let her fears and limited views of the world tie her down, which caused her to fight against her former mentor.

“I'm truly sorry for what I did back then. Maybe if you proceeded with your plans Mundus would have been as prosperous as Tambelon is today. It would have been perfect,” said Faust, only to hear a snort from Grogar, which caught the attention of everyone even Jun, who turned her ears to hear what Grogar had to say.

“You are wrong,” said Grogar firmly and while it hurt Faust to hear him say that he clarified, “What is done is done and it can't be changed, would I have done something differently? Probably. Could it have been better? Definitely. Do I regret what happened? No, I don't.”

“What do you mean, master?” asked Faust while the others wanted to know the answer as well.

“Have you forgotten what I thought you as a filly? Then answer this, why haven't I just traveled back in time and proceeded with my original plan?” asked Grogar.

That left all the others to ponder, time travel was within the realm of possibility considering all of Grogar's powers and knowledge. After a minute of silence, Grogar answered, “Because not only it would be an insult to all the Mundusians and Tambalonians that died on that war, but to all the lives they have lived and are still living to this day. It means to erase all the effort, love, suffering, dreams and accomplishments of those that came after the war. Do you think that I’m petty enough to trample on all those dreams just for another chance at a plan that already failed? While I have no problem in using time as a weapon if I am to resume my campaign I will do so in the present.”

That left everyone speechless, they never considered that particular scenario with that point of view. Jun and Katsuo were hit extremely hard by that information, as they looked at each other they couldn't imagine a world where they never met. That possibility was also horrifying to Rime, whose thoughts turned to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren that will be born soon.

“Man, you should write your own motivational speeches,” said Echo inside Grogar’s mind.

“Not now,” thought Grogar before returning his attention to reality and say, “There are two things that I hate, the first I learned to live with and overcome, but the second is something that I abhor with all my being and would rather erase myself than achieve it. Can you guess what the first one is?”

They shook their heads wanting to hear the answer from Grogar himself, so he answered, “It is weakness. Do you know why?”

“‘Not letting yourself be tied by rules doesn't necessarily mean ignoring or breaking them, by imposing limitations one can grow around or surpass said limitations, that's what you said about the ‘true test of life’ back when I was a filly,” said Faust quoting the lesson from Grogar that she just remembered.

“Good, you remember my lessons. Can you guess the second one?” asked Grogar, but he saw that they would just wait so he answered and asked, “It’s perfection, can you guess why?”

“Um, wouldn't perfection be the most awesome thing ever?” asked Katsuo with Jun nodding.

Cheng and Rime cringed when they heard that statement, which was noticed by the others, although it was far more evident on Cheng than Rime.

“Because there wouldn't be nothing else to study,” said Cheng, which confused Jun and Katsuo.

“‘Always seek perfection, but hope you never achieve it’ is one of the first lessons that a researcher of any kind must learn. We always aim to improve and make things better, to us perfection is no different than stagnation, for those that strive to better themselves it could be considered a fate worse than death,” clarified Rime.

“Exactly, to be stagnant is to not live at all,” said Grogar.

After that, there was only silence with everyone contemplating what they learned, but their introspection was interrupted when the van stopped.

“We are here,” said Jun as she turned to face the group.

Author's Note

Before anyone starts asking, Jun and Katsuo were based on Judy and Nick from Zootopia, but I added a bit of Yang Xiao Long from RWBY in the character of Jun. As for Katsuo, so far he is just a expy from Nick but I might change that in the future, his name is a japanese name with the same meaning as Nick, which is normally a short for Nicholas.
The characters on Zootopia are somewhere between Type 2 and Type 3, so I just used that to imagine some characters. If you are interested in learning more about it just click here.


Ida and Aron are just names I pulled from a list while searching for names for them, Ida is a Type 4 while Aron is a Type 3.
Also Katsuo phone is like the Scrolls from RWBY.
If you are questioning the technological level of Tambelon, just think in worlds like RWBY, Breath of Fire, Guilty Gear, BlazBlue or Final Fantasy, but with a more medieval look.
For the "perfection = stagnation" philosophy, it's from Mayuri from Bleach, also there is Abathur from StarCraft that thinks that "Perfection is dynamic and therefore circumstantial, thus it's ever changing". The in-universe explanation is that Grogar taught the first generation of tambalonians, everything that came after was expanded upon using his teachings as foundations.
As for the "living with the past" its from Rider from Fate Zero, I agree with him that to change the past just because you regret it is a insult to all those that fought and died for you and to preserve their legacy it better to accept what happened and move forward.
Also check some of shepherd0821's other artworks.
Also if you are a fan of Zootopia and you ship Judy and Nick check some artworks from Spintherella.