Peace Celebrations

Scale sat munching on her daisy sandwich, watching Elina eat. It was a strange sight, watching a gryphon eat. The fact that Elina could even get her talons on something other than grass or flowers was surprising; most ponies hated the smell of cooking flesh, it made them sick to their stomachs. Though, considering some of the stories Scale had heard about the savagery that went on in the Gryphon Empire, what Elina preferred to eat paled in comparison.

Back to the subject of Elina’s eating habits. The gryphon tore into the flesh of the fish with the same vigor a pony who hadn’t eaten for a month tore into a hay salad. Scale couldn’t help but wonder if Elina ate like this all the time. If she did, well it made the fact that the corner of the large dining hall that the trio was sitting in was completely abandoned just a bit less weird.

Shi, who was coiled up on the table next to Elina, was a completely different story. No matter how Scale tried she couldn’t seem to catch the small, snake-like creature eating. Every time Scale looked back at where Shi was sitting, a small amount of food from his plate disappeared. It confused her immensely.

Scale shook her head. It wasn’t worth the effort to try and figure out what was going on there. The mare turned her attention to the rest of the ponies milling around the cafeteria. The room was only about half full but there were still a lot of ponies; surprisingly most of them were parents with babbling foals. Scale shrugged; she had heard that many ponies didn’t want to leave after they finished their first year.  It was only natural that they would start families after a while.

Scale’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of hoof steps coming towards the table. She glanced over her shoulder and saw an elderly mare standing a few feet away from were Scale, Elina and Shi were sitting. The mare had a very disappointed and slightly disgusted look on her face.

“Young filly, one is judged by the company that they keep.” The mare said, obviously speaking to Scale. “If one is associated with filth, then they are seen as filth. Do not throw away your chances of having a life by choosing those creatures as your companions.”

Scale was taken aback by the mare’s word but Elina and Shi didn’t even blink an eye. Judging by the indifference on their faces, this situation wasn’t an unusual occurrence. Scale had heard that some ponies were bigoted about other species that lived in or near the Solar and the Lunar but she never though somepony like that would live in the Neutral.

Scale took a deep breath and did her best to hold her tongue for a moment so she could think. On one hoof, Scale had no idea who this mare was; she could be somepony important. On the other hoof, that mare, no matter who she was, had insulted her. Not directly, of course, but in a roundabout way she had.

Coming to a decision, Scale turned around in her seat and faced the bitter mare. “It is easier to see the splinter in somepony else’s eye then the peg in one’s own.” Scale chuckled. “Do not tell me who I choose to be friends with, Miss. I, like everypony else in this land, has freewill and the ability to choose what they wish. I choose to sit with these two ‘creatures’ as you so delicately put it.

“And, just for the record, I am not a filly. I am a young adult with just as much responsibility as you. Now why don’t you go trot off and tell the kitchen staff that they aren’t boiling water correctly.”

The old mare gave a snort of disgust, turned tail, and walked away. Scale sighed and turned back around to the table. She was greeted by two chuckling mythical creatures. Upon seeing Scale’s confused face, both burst out into full blown laugher.

Sighing, Scale pushed herself away from the table. She stood up and went to go back to the dorm but she remembered that she didn’t know how to get there. Hanging her head, Scale sat back down. She looked at the still giggling creatures and waited for them to calm down.

“You just made the biggest mistake of your career.” Shi snorted. “You just told off the Headmare of the Neutral.”

“That old bag was the Headmaster.” Scale sputtered. “But if she’s the Headmare shouldn’t she be kind to all the students of the Neutral? Isn’t that what a leader is supposed to do?”

“What should happen and what actually happens are two totally differently things most of the time.” Elina said with such seriousness that Scale was slightly unnerved that the gryphon could change her mood so quickly. “Headmare, her name is actually Headmare, doesn’t happen to be too fond of any creature that isn’t a pony. In all honesty, she doesn’t even really like ponies either.

“Headmare does all the things she can to get anypony that isn’t a pony thrown out of the Neutral. The only reason she hasn’t been able to get me kicked out is because I’m a ward of the Neutral.” An evil smile crossed the gryphon’s face. “She’ll never be able to get rid of me.”

“Headmare may not be able to get rid of you but she is really good at making your life miserable.” Shi said. He slithered over to Scale and wrapped himself around her neck. “Last year she tried to call me declared a pet. I got locked up in a cage for a week while the Council convened. Worst. Week. Ever.”

Suddenly Elina hunched over and let out a deep growl. The feathers on the back of her neck stuck up and her ears flattened down on her head. Scale felt Shi shift so the he could see what had the gryphon in such a tizzy. Scale felt the small creature go ridged (which ended up almost strangling the pony.)

“Leave, just leave.” Shi said with barely controlled rage. “Elina and I are not in the mood to deal with you bucking jerks today.”

Scale turned to find a group of three tough looking ponies standing a few feet away. The pony in the middle was a bright orange pegasus with yellow streaks in his mane and in his tail while the two on either side of the pegasus were unicorns. The unicorn on the right was a pale grey and the unicorn on the left was a deep crimson. From what Scale could tell all three were boys only a few years older than she was.

“Ooo, the little rat thinks he can get us to leave. Isn’t that funny boys.” The pegasus laughed. The other two followed his lead and laughed as well. The pegasus, who was obviously the leader of the trio, trotted forward and leaned in close to Scale’s face. “And who is this fine, tribal filly you’ve managed to drag into your world of despair?”

Scale put up a hoof and pushed the sleaze bag away. “I’m my-name-is-none-of-your-business; it’s a true pleasure to meet you.” Scale said sarcastically. “I’d absolutely love it if you’d stay around longer.”

“The pleasure’s entirely mine, little lady.” The pegasus said, obviously not catching Scale’s hints. “The name’s Flash and that’s Bangarang and that’s Boomer.” Flash said pointing to the unicorn on the right and then the one on the left.

Scale looked over her shoulder at Elina and found that she was still crouched into a defensive position. What was it about these colts that had her so tense? Scale shrugged and turned back towards Flash. The second she was facing forward the orange pony pulled her into a kiss.

In the next three seconds three very important things happened. First, Scale hit Flash in the side of his face so hard that he flew all the way to the next table before he hit the ground. Second, the two unicorns used their magic to pull Elina’s wings out straight causing her to jump close to six feet into the air in a flurry of black feathers. Lastly, Shi shot off of Scale’s neck and disappeared into a flash of light.

Flash pushed himself up, spat out a glob of bloody spit and glared daggers at Scale. “You bitch!” He stuttered. “You tribal bitch! What the buck do you think you’re doing? I’m the top kid here and I just came on to you. That is like a gift from the gods!”

“A gift from the gods!” Scale sputtered. “You forced me to kiss you. You just hurt somepony that’s my roommate. I clunked you my hoof for a reason. You’re the biggest bucking idiot I’ve ever met and I’ve met a lot of idiots in my life. Now, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!”

Flash went wide eyed and, after a few seconds of confusion, he whistled. Boomer and Bangarang trotted over to the pegasus’ side. Flash barked a few incoherent commands that the unicorns somehow understood. Boomer and Bangarang’s horns began to glow as they moved themselves into classic battle stances.

Scale’s eyes widened. She tried to think of a spell that would block the unicorn’s magic but she drew a blank. She stood there like a fool and watched Boomer and Bangarang get ready to cast. Scale saw a bright flash of grey light and then a streak of white slammed into her side. She was sent tumbling to the floor, the back of her head making contact with the tile rather hard.

After a few moments of blackness, the colors of the world spun in circles and blended together. Scale could make out vague shapes but even trying to figure out what they were made her feel faint. Squeezing her eyes shut a couple of times, Scale tried to clear her head.

While Scale was incapacitated, the creature that had knocked mare out of the way of the blast of magic gave a low growl and spat out a fiery ball of matter over the two unicorn’s heads. They scurried out of the way and, after another louder growl, out of the dining hall. Seeing that his backup had fled, Flash made some obscene gestures before turning tail and running after his comrades.

Scale put a hoof to the rear end of her head and pressed lightly. She couldn’t feel any bumps but it still hurt like hell to touch. Wincing, Scale pushed herself to her hooves. She stumbled a little, her head spinning, but she caught herself before she could fall.

The creature that had saved Scale sat patiently off to the side, waiting for the mare to regain her senses. His face was foxlike as was his body. Unlike a fox, however, he had not one tail but nine, purely black tails. The rest of his fur was pure white and his body build was just a little bigger than Scale’s was but not quite as big as Elina’s.

“What in the hell just happened?” Scale asked. Her mind was foggy and she couldn’t quite make the connections she needed to make in order to understand what was going on.

“Well,” The white fox said in a very familiar voice. “I just saved you’re tail. You’re lucky I was here. Flash has a tendency to go overboard with anypony he finds even moderately attractive. With the way you reacted, something very, very bad could’ve happened.”

Scale looked at the fox for a few moments, her face crinkled in concentration. Her eyes lit up as she recognized the beast before her. “Shi?! It can’t be. You’re a little snakey thingy not a fox with nine tails!”

“The one and only.” The fox said. He got up and did a little dance that made Scale giggle. “Pipe foxes have the ability to turn into nine tailed foxes if need be. I had to help Elina and you so I could become much more powerful in order to protect you.”

“I could’ve handled it.” Elina said. “I just needed a second to find my clawhold. Flash is all talk and no action.”

Shi gave Elina a ‘I’m not buying it but whatever helps you sleep at night’ look. He shrugged and stood up. He walked over to table, sat down, and proceeded to devour all of the food left on his plate. In a matter of half a minute, Shi managed to eat everything from potatoes to the bones left on Elina’s dish.

Elina sauntered over to Scale, holding what little pride she had left very closely. She plopped down next to the mare and nonchalantly knocked one of Scale’s back hooves out from under her. This caused Scale to fall on her rump and into a sitting position.

“May I help you?” Scale asked, grimacing at the pain that shot up from her hind quarters.

“Nah, I’m good.” Elina replied.

“Well, in that case, maybe you can help me?” Scale looked at Elina out of the corner of her eye. The gryphon didn’t seem to be protesting so Scale continued. “What’s up with Flash? You heard him; he thinks he’s a gift from the gods to ponykind. How does somepony get that high up on a pedestal without falling?”

“He’s the bastard son of Prince Helios.” Elina huffed, clearly annoyed. “His mother was from the Lunar so that pegasus can’t inherent his father’s title but that doesn’t mean ‘papa’ doesn’t give him exactly what he wants. He may not be technically royalty but he sure acts like he is.”

Scale thought about the paintings she had seen of Prince Helios. There were a lot of painting of the prince and not all of them were flattering. In fact, the majority of the paintings weren’t flattering. The prince was infamous in both the Solar and the Lunar. Anyhow, besides the fact that the prince was a unicorn and that he was much older, Flash looked almost exactly like him.

“I suppose that makes sense.” Scale said. She thought about how Flash had acted and compared them to the stories she had heard about the prince. Like father like son. “Do I really look that tribal?”

“You look more native than anypony I’ve ever met.” Elina snickered. “If I were you, I’d get a haircut or a die job or something to change all that.” The gryphon motioned in Scale general direction.

“You just gestured to all of me.”

“Precisely!”