Peace Celebrations

by Copper Clockwork

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure
Length: 11215

Will Scale and her friends be able to find what's causing all the deaths around them?

It's Scale's first year at the Neutral Training Grounds between the Solar City-States and the Lunar Republic. After beginning her studies in the musical arts, a piece she has written is selected to be performed at the 500th Peace Celebration. At the same time that Scale is celebrating with her friends, ponies from both sides of the border begin falling sick from an unknown illness. Each country blames the other for the deaths that begin to pile up. With all the anger in the air, harmony becomes unbalanced and the cycle of day and night stops once again. The Celebrations are canceled. Scale and her newfound friends take it upon themselves to find the real cause of the sickness and put the Celebration back on track.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-12-07 02:01:47 UTC

The Story that Started it All

Scale pushed her way through the gathering crowd to the kitchen in the back of her family’s small cottage. The entire village of Farrar was there for the end of the Season of Storms. This year, Scale’s grandmare, Fermata, was the story teller so, Scale’s family was hosting. It was hard to keep everypony happy but Scale didn’t mind. At least her cousins had to help too.

Since no pony would be able to sleep during the Season of Storms, it was a long tradition in Farrar that everypony would gather and tell stories, sing songs, and laugh long into the night. It was a great honor to be selected as story teller. No pony in Scale’s family has been story teller for over a decade. It had taken the rest of the ponies in town a long time to get over the fact that Scale’s mother hadn’t been born Farraran.

Scale grabbed a trey of rose sandwiches from her mom, a petit, silver unicorn, and took it out to the zebra’s milling around the living room. Nearly everypony in Farrar was a zebra; that was what made Scale and her mother stand out. Though Scale took more after her father’s side of the family, the fact that she had a horn set her apart from everypony else.

It took Scale less than a minute to empty the platter. Everypony was hungry and anxious to have some entertainment. Being the last night of the Season of Storms as it was and the story that was being told that nigh was everypony’s favorite.

Fermata pulled a chair up to the front of the room and got settled in. Everypony else followed suit. The rest of Scale’s family filed out of the kitchen and settled down in the back. They were just as existed to hear the story as anypony.

“As you all know, tonight is the last night of the Season of Storms. That means I will be telling the story we all wait to hear.” Fermata said. Everypony was hanging on every word she spoke. Fermata had that effect on ponies. “Tonight, I will be telling you the story of how our glorious land came into being. As you all know, the Lunar Republic used to be part of a much larger country named Equestria.

“A thousand years ago, the celestial beings that ruled Equestria fell from power. We call this fateful day the Fall. With the collapse of the monarchy, the sun and the moon stopped their daily trip across the sky. The land known as Equestria fell into disarray. The eastern half of the country became a frozen wasteland; the western half a waterless desert.

“After a number of years, these villages and towns that had survived the Fall organized themselves into two countries. To the west, the land of Celestia’s Warriors formed and to the east, the empire of Luna’s Martyrs.

“For a time, each power was content to leave the other alone, only interacting through business transactions. This fact changed after it was discovered that a portion of land, formerly known as the Everfree Forest, was able to function without the aid of magic. Both countries wanted the piece of land for themselves.

“A bloody war broke out but the two sides were too evenly matched. For years the war dragged on. Each side lost thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands, of warriors but no pony could gain the advantage. With their numbers dwindling, the leaders of Celestia’s Warriors and Luna’s Martyrs met.

“It took them less than a day to figure out that the fighting needed to stop. Not only had their war killed many it had upset the balance of harmony more than anything else since the reign of Discord.

“A peace treaty was signed and the Everfree Forest was renamed the Neutral Training Grounds. A school was constructed in the middle the dense woodland. The builder made sure to keep the natural beauty of the forest intact. Laws were passed and all the foals from both sides of the boarders were required to attend at least one year. All of these efforts by those ponies ended the suffering of many. Harmony was finally restored and the cycle of day and night began again.

“Here in the Badlands, without the weather pegasi to control the rains, the desert had increased its borders and turned the entirety of valley into a cold wasteland. Despite this, small tribes of zebras managed to survive. We, as Farraran, are the descendants of these perseverant ponies.

“On the same day that the sun and moon began their daily cycle, it began to rain in the Badlands, without the interference of weather pegasi. These rains that have occurred every year since the restoration of harmony, brought life back to our corner of the Lunar Republic.

“Each year, we celebrate the official forming of the Lunar Republic and our neighbor to the west, the Solar City-States. We also celebrate the Season of Storms; the time of the year when rains from the north bring life our desert home. Each night, we gather like those that created the treaty that brought those rains back to us.

“On this, the last night of the rains, we speak fondly of our history. We tell the story we have all heard since the beginning of our foalhood. I feel that I speak for the rest of us when I say that it is a story I will never tire of hearing. I am proud to have been chosen for the honor of retelling it again for all of you.”

Everypony in the living room began to clap their hooves. They all loved to hear the story and Fermata had told it well. After a few minutes of congratulating Fermata, Scale, and the rest of the ponies in their family, zebras began to file out of the cottage in a muddled line of black and white.

A small, white zebra with black ears and one black hoof climbed up on top of a chair and cleared her throat. “Could everypony wait for a second?” She asked, loudly.

Fermata glanced up at the zebra with a questing look. “What is you need, Mukesh?”

“Well, as everypony knows, the week after the end of the Season of Storms is when the foals go to the Training Grounds. We also all know that Scale, Fermata’s grandfilly, will be going to school there.” Mukesh said. “Some of us got together and made some things for her.”

Three ponies from the crowd pushed their way to the front. Each one was holding a small, wrapped package in their hooves. A few other zebras grabbed Scale and dragged her to the front. They plopped her down in front of Mukesh.

Color flooded to Scale’s grey cheeks. She had been expecting this to happen, everypony that left Farrar was given a tradition send off, but she had hoped they would wait a little longer. She knew what was expected of her and complied. Scale stood up and straightened herself out and got ready to take her medicine like a mare.

“The first gift is to help keep your home close to your heart.” Mukesh proclaimed. Scale was embarrassed but she knew better than to protest. If she left halfway through, she wouldn’t be able to leave with dignity.

The first of the three ponies handed his package to Scale. She carefully untied the small string and unwrapped the brown paper around it. Scale pulled the top off the box. Inside was a carefully made necklace, made to look like the flowers that grew on the cacti in the surrounding desert. Scale tied it around her neck.

“The second gift is to help you keep your home in your mind.” Mukesh said.

The second mare stepped forward, a green package in her hooves. Scale pulled it apart and took the top off. Inside was a ring that fit onto Scale’s horn. She slipped it on and waited for Mukesh to finish.

“The final gift is the most special one we can give. It signifies you transition from a filly that looks towards the sky to a mare that listens to the ground.” Mukesh said. “Would Scale’s mother please come up front?”

Scale was actually excited for this part of the ceremony. The first two gifts varied from foal to foal but the last gift was always the same. Once she completed this part, she could leave Farrar whenever she wanted.

Scale’s mom, Ambrose, the grey mare from before, strode to the front. She proudly displayed a gold ring in her left ear. Glancing around, anypony would have noticed that everypony else’s right ear was pierced. It was a punishment of sorts. For one, Ambrose was not a zebra. Secondly, she was not born Farraran. It was tradition for somepony that joined the Farrar to be accepted as a full member but something had to be different about them so they would stand out.

Ambrose knew her ear ring set her apart and she was proud of it. She held her head high and turned to the third zebra.  She took the last package and opened it. Inside was a simple, gold ring, like the one Ambrose was wearing, and a needle. The needle glowed a dulled grey and levitated out of the box.

“I, Ambrose, mother of Scale, wife of Cyan, and proud member of the Farrar Tribe, am glad to help Scale into marehood.” Ambrose declared.

Scale tipped her head to the left so that her right ear was in the air. She, unlike her mother, was a Farraran by blood. Therefore, her right ear was to be pierced. The needle moved over to Scale and pointed at the tip of her ear. Scale cringed as the needle pricked her flesh but kept quiet. She felt the needle push itself the rest of the way through her ear and slide forward until the back of it was barely sticking out.

The gold ring levitated in the air and came up beside the needle. In one smooth motion, the needle was replaced by the ring. Nearly everypony clapped their hooves at Scale’s completion of the ritual.

“Scale is now a full-fledged mare and a full member of the tribe. I expect her to be treated as such in this last week before she leaves.” Mukesh said. “Welcome Scale, grandfilly of Fermata, foal of Ambrose and Cyan, and the newest member of the Farrar Tribe.”

Everypony cheered and repeated what Mukesh had said. “Welcome Scale, grandfilly of Fermata, foal of Ambrose and Cyan, and the newest member of the Farrar Tribe!”

Scale smiled as her family beamed with pride. She wasn’t one for tradition but she didn’t want to disappoint. She was now a mare, an adult that could do as she felt.

The ceremonies that the Farrar practiced weren't really all that unique. In fact, almost every village in the badlands had kept most of their traditions despite becoming part of the Lunar Republic. They had just combined their traditions with the requirements of the Republic.

After another hour of ponies talking with one another, everypony had left. It took Scale and her family another two hours to clean up the mess that had been left. By the time Scale finally made it to her bed, the moon that had given her county its name was high in the sky. She flopped down, closed her eyes, and allowed the hooves of sleep to carry her off.

Audition

“Well, Miss Scale, it would seem that you are the perfect candidate for the music program here.” The admissions pony told Scale. “The head of the music department would like to hear you play before you’re admitted, though. His office is down the hall, seventh one on the right. He shouldn’t have anypony else in there right now, so just go on in once you get there.”

Scale pushed herself away from the big, oak desk, grabbed her saddlebag, and trotted out the door. She counted each of the doors and stopped in front of the seventh one. She stood outside that door for a long time before she worked up the courage to open it.

Scale had a lot riding on her acceptance into the music program at the Neutral Training Grounds. If she wasn’t admitted then she would be placed into whatever class had an opening. Scale shivered at the thought of being stuck in a class like science or math for a whole year. Music was her favorite subject and the only one she was great at.

The room that Scale walked into was surprisingly cozy. At least a dozen, well-polished instruments were hung up on walls along with framed pieces of classical music. Two overly cushioned chairs faced a desk with another overly cushioned chair behind it.

“I’m Scale.” Scale called out nervously to the seemingly empty room. “I was told to come down here to audition. Hello? Anypony here?”

“I’m in the back. I’ll be out in a sec.” A stallion’s voice called out. A chorus of crashes and bangs followed. A door, which blended in perfectly with the wall, swung open and forest green earth pony stumbled out. He tried, unsuccessfully, to tidy his blue, disheveled mane.

The stallion had the picture of a conducting baton on his flank. A pair of glasses hung from a beaded rope around his neck. He fumbled with the glasses, trying to get them up to his muzzle. Once the glasses were where they belonged, he looked for the source of the voice he had heard calling out earlier.

He noticed Scale and looked at her, puzzled. “Um, what are you here for.”

“The pony at the admissions desk said I need to play for you before I’m accepted into music program.” Scale informed him. “You are the head of the music department, right?”

“Yeah,” The stallion mumbled. “You said your name’s Scale? That’s a different one though I suppose I’m not really one to talk. I’m Mr. Ensemble by the way.

“If you’re going to audition you’re going to need something to play. I don’t see you carrying anything big enough to be an instrument so I assume you weren’t able to bring it with you from where ever you came from.  Where did you come from? Are you a Solar or a Lunar?”

Before Scale was able to answer, Mr. Ensemble started to talk again. “Ah, it doesn’t matter. Here we’re all Neutral. Though I would think you’re from the Badlands in the Lunar Republic judging from the pattern on your coat and that earing in your right ear makes me think you’re from the eastern half of the valley. That horn is throwing me off, to be honest.

“So a zebra with a horn; how did that happen? The tribes aren’t very excepting of outside especially in the eastern half. Unless you’re from the southeastern part, that would make a difference. So, Farrar, Everent, or Halen?”

“Farrar.” Scale said louder than she should have. She was surprised at how much the teacher had talked. She was even more surprised that he had been able to narrow down where she was from without her saying much of anything. “I’m from Farrar.”

“Interesting; you’re related to Fermata, aren’t you? You look just like she did all those years ago, minus the horn of course.”

“Yep; she’s my grandmare. Cyan, her son, is my father.”

Mr. Ensemble nodded his head as if to approve of Scale’s story. He glanced up at the clock on the far wall. “Look at the time! I’ve been chatting way to long.” Mr. Ensemble laughed. “What instrument or instruments do you play? I have almost everyone know to pony kind.”

“Anything with strings should do just fine. No woodwinds or brass; I don’t like ones that require you to provide air in order to work.” Scale said, thinking. “Could you just show me where you keep the instruments, please?”

Mr. Ensemble nodded. He signaled for Scale to follow him to the room he had come out of earlier. Inside was a jumble of instruments in every shape, size, and color imaginable. Scale was is heaven, minus the mess of course.

“I’ll give you an hour or so to get acquainted with your instrument of choice and prepare an original score of music. At least 50 measures long and the use of dynamics is required for it to be acceptable. There are some pieces of music paper in the corner over there if you would like to write it down.”

With those instructions, Mr. Ensemble left Scale alone in the storage room. She began to pick through the jumble of wood, metal, and plastic in an attempt to find something of use to her. It would take her almost half of her allotted time just to find a usable violin.

One hour later

Mr. Ensemble trotted back into the storage room to find it looking a lot different than how he had left it. The instruments were now neatly organized according to their type and size. Scale had found that a number of them were beyond repair which, as far as she could figure, were why they were in the room to begin with.

Scale had also found other instruments that, while they weren’t in the greatest shape, could be saved. She took bits and pieces and had repaired them. Now, each one instruments were all repaired, freshly polished, and tuned.

If Mr. Ensemble had been able to see the floor, he would have been impressed. If he had been able to find some of the instruments that he hadn’t been able to before, he would have been blown away. The fact that the room was now usable had left him in shock.

“I hope you don’t mind. I couldn’t find anything in that mess, so I cleaned it up. If you’d like, once I’m done here, I’ll put them all back how they were.” Scale said, stepping out from behind a rack of clarinets.

“No; this is wonderful. I’ve been trying to trick somepony into cleaning up this room for years and here you come and do it without any encouragement from me.” Mr. Ensemble said, recovering from his shock. “I’ll give you some more time to finish you submission. It must’ve taken you the whole hour to clean this mess up.”

Scale grabbed a violin from the rack and a bow from another pile. She pulled the bow across the taunt strings experimentally. She nodded, satisfied, and put the instrument back onto the ground.

“I only really need another minute or two if you’d like to stick around.” Scale said. She grabbed the music paper and a feather pen from the corner she had shoved it into. “Just let me set everything up in the right place and I’ll get started.”

Scale sat down on the ground, put the paper and pen in front of her, and picked up the violin again. She took a deep breath and visualized the scene she had chosen for her inspiration. Once it was firmly implanted her brain, she opened the gate that kept her magic at bay. Scale’s horn was enveloped in a black and white spiraled glow.

Pulling the bow across the strings again, Scale began her audition. The music paper glowed black and the paper glowed white before floating up into the air. Each note she played was written down without a thought.

Scale found herself at the edge of the Badlands up on the ridge of the valley. It was late July, right after the Seasons of Storms had ended and the air was full of moisture. Scale looked to the horizon and saw that it was that time of the day when the sun had yet to rise and the moon had yet to set; that grey period when it wasn’t anything yet. Even the fog that was rising out of the valley was grey.

As she continued to gaze at the horizon, Scale saw the grey begin to change to orange then red and yellow. This sunrise was the same one she had seen the morning she had left Farrar for the first time alone. It was a fond memory, surprisingly. Despite the fact that she was leaving home, she knew that someday she’d be back.

Grabbing her bags, Scale turned away from the sunrise and her home and turned towards the part of the sky that was still lost to the blackness of night. Whatever life decided to throw at her, she’d be able to take it. She was now a mare, not a little filly. She could make it in the real world, she knew she could.

Scale opened her eyes and sent the instruments that had been grabbed by her magic back to where they belonged. She let the music paper, which now had dozens of notes scrawled on it, drift to the ground next to the pen. Placing the violin on the ground, she looked to Mr. Ensemble to see what he thought.

Mr. Ensemble picked up the music paper and glanced over it. “You’re very good at multitasking, that’s for sure. This seems to be accurate. What was your inspiration for that piece? It was very good; your use of multiple instruments was also very good. I don’t believe I’ve ever had a student with skills like yours. Believe me, that’s an unusual occurrence.”

“I was thinking of the morning I left Farrar.” Scale told Mr. Ensemble. “I got up to the ridge of the valley right before the sun came up. It was one of the better ones I’ve seen and believe me that is an unusual occurrence.”

Mr. Ensemble laughed at Scale’s little joke. “Isn’t there a road out of the valley that doesn’t require one to climb the walls?”

It was Scale’s turn to laugh. “The day a Farraran takes that road is the day that Celestia and Luna return. The walls aren’t that steep anyway; I’ve been climbing them since I was a filly and so has everypony else in the village.”

“At any rate, you’re accepted into music program.” Mr. Ensemble said. He grabbed a trumpet and gave it a few experimental touts. He played a chromatic scale and then began to play an upbeat waltz.

“Thank you! I’m so glad! This is the only class I wanted to take.” Scale said, jittering like a school-filly. “The thought of getting stuck in another class has been keeping me up for the whole week.”

Mr. Ensemble finished his waltz before speaking again. “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, sweetie. Make sure you find something else you’re interested in. Besides, the only reason I’m accepting you is because of your cleaning skills. Weather you can play or not is beside the point; you’re now my official storage keeper.

“You’re going to be in charge of keeping this room clean and organized. From what I can see, you’re pretty good at fixing instruments so that’s also your job too.”

“So, I get to spend my free time in a storage room; the place furthest away from everypony else in the school.” Scale asked. “Sign me up. I’ve been looking for an excuse to hide away. Better yet, I get to spend it around the thing I love most in the world: music.”

Mr. Ensemble gave Scale an odd look before handing her the trumpet. He turned to leave the room and Scale thought she could hear him say “bucking, perky foal,” under his breath.

Well, I suppose I’ve made my first friend here. Scale thought, sarcastically. It’s going to be a great year after all.

First Deaths

Officer Warrant of the Solar Enforcers looked through the one-way mirror with a mixture of horror and sick fascination. He watched the medical ponies dart in and out of the room, their green scrubs stained crimson. Each pony in the room on the other side of the glass, save one, wore a white medical mask in an attempt to keep whatever the victim had contracted contained.

The victim, an earth pony mare in her late twenties, lay limp in the bed and stirred only to cough up blood or to laugh hysterically. It was creepy and sad at the same time. The mare’s coat and mane, which had been a bright, shiny orange when she was admitted two hours ago, was a dulled grey. Splotches of navy blue, black, and dark purple covered her face and legs. Her eyes, whenever they fluttered opened, were unfocused and glazed over. As far as the doctors could tell, the mare wasn’t aware of anything at all; she was a vegetable.

The illness the mare had contracted was of a magical origin and there was little the doctors could do to help her. They estimated that she only had a few hours, if that, left to live. One the mare died, Warrants case went from being Malicious Use of Magic, which was a minor offence, to Murder by Magic. That was when Warrant was officially on the case.

Warrant was the lead investigator of magical crimes in the Solar Enforcers. With the strangeness of this case, the chief wanted his best stallion on it. Warrant had seen everything from muggings to murders; once he’d even seen a stallion that had been turned inside-out, but something about this case unnerved him.

Perhaps it was how quickly the disease worked. The sick mare hadn’t shown any symptoms before she had passed out on the Sunray Express on her trip to the capital of Sol, one of the ruling bodies in the Solar City-States. Maybe it was the fact that Warrant didn’t know if the sickness was contagious. At any rate, he was uneasy about the whole thing.

Loud beeps and alarms drew Warrant out of his thoughts. The doctors and nurses were running around faster than they had before. The machines were buzzing and whizzing around, bells and whistles were going off as well. Through all the business going around Warrant couldn’t really tell what was going on.

After a few minutes, the excitement in the room died down but Warrant didn’t think that was a good thing. His suspicions were confirmed when one of the head doctors came out into the hallway. A somber look was plastered onto his face but Warrant could see that he didn’t really care.

“The mare has passed on.” The doctor told Warrant. “She’ll be sent to get an autopsy but that could take a few days. The results will be sent to your office once they’re compiled.”

Warrant nodded and shooed the doctor off; he needed time to think. The dead mare hadn’t been identified yet so that was where he needed to start but beyond that, for the first time in a while, Warrant was at a loss.

Shrugging it off, Warrant got ready to leave the hospital. He collected all the data he could from the nurses and from the doctors, making sure to get every piece. He slipped his notebook and the medical file into his saddlebag along with his pen. Trotting to the front door, Warrant was half way out when somepony called out his name.

“Officer Warrant! Wait, Officer Warrant!” A small, blue coated nurse called out. “We’ve got another patient with the same symptoms as that mare that you were asking about. He’s in room 503. He’s awake but the doctors don’t think he has much time left.”

“Are the sure it’s the same illness? I mean really sure.” Warrant asked.

The nurse nodded. Warrant sighed and trotted to the room. He made it just in time to see the machines in the room flatling and the doctors scrambling about. This guy had lasted even shorter than the mare had. Warrant needed to get back to the office and do some research.

As Warrant turned around, he saw another pony being wheeled in on a gurney, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth. He looked exactly like the mare did when she died. Three victims within an hour; this was not good.

Whatever this illness was, it was spreading fast and killing ponies before Warrant could blink. He wouldn’t be able to solve this on his own. This was going to become an epidemic within a day; a pandemic within a week. If he didn’t find out how to cure this, ponies were going to die. Hundreds of thousands of ponies were going to die.

New Roommates

Scale looked at the door and then back to the paper floating in front of her. The white paper, which was enveloped in a grey glow, had the numbers 254 hastily scratched onto it. The pony on at the admissions desk had given it to Scale after she had been excepted into the music program by Mr. Ensemble, the music instructor.

The silver numbers on the door, 254, looked a lot like the numbers on the paper; they were not well taken care of and hastily put up. The door, as far as Scale could tell, was supposed to be made of oak but one could no longer tell. A number of deep scratches and gouges covered the once dark wood, making it one of the worst looking doors on that floor.

The top of Scale’s saddle bag opened and the paper floated inside. Scale took a deep breath and tentatively knocked on the door. There were a number of bangs, clangs, and crashes from the other side. Scale waited for almost an entire minute for whoever was making the ruckus to open the door.

When the door finally swung inward, a mostly black gryphon was standing on the other side. The creature’s features had a certain feminine quality so Scale assumed that the gryphon was of the female persuasion. The gryphon’s jet black feathers were sticking out in all directions and so was the fur on her backside.

The gryphon took a second to look at her grey claws while her grey spotted tail swished behind her in annoyance. Apparently finding her talons uninteresting, the gryphon looked up at Scale with bright blue, cat-like eyes.

“Can I help you?” The gryphon asked in a gruff, yet feminine voice, with no trace of an accent. Scale was impressed. The language that the majority of ponies spoke was not made for the mouth, well the beak, of a gryphon.

“Um, yeah. I think I’m supposed to be your new roommate.” Scale said. “The admissions desk directed me here.”

“Dude, they said I had a whole week to get ready. You’re early.” The gryphon said, leaning against the door frame. She lifted up her left talon and dug it into the wood. That explained how the door got so messed up “You sure you’re supposed to be here? Normally, they only put the same species together.”

Scale shrugged and pulled out the scrap of paper. The gryphon snatched it out of the air. She looked over it and frowned. Sighing, the gryphon moved out of the doorway. Scale could now see inside the room and was pleasantly surprised.

Though the room was set up to accommodate a gryphon, not a pony, it was well taken care of. Apparently, the current resident had only gone to town on the door and had left the rest of the room alone. Even the carpet was in good condition save a few stray feathers.

“You gonna stand in the hallway all day or what?” The gryphon called. “Your side of the room is over there. You can whatever you’d like with it as long as it doesn’t affect my side. You’re a unicorn so if you’re gonna practice magic or anything, don’t do it in here.

“Oh, and just for the record,” The gryphon said, poking her head back out into the hallway. “I am not going to be your friend. If I see you outside of this room, I will not say hi; I probably won’t even say hi to you if I see you inside this room. I will not be your wing-gryphon. If by some chance you manage to get a coltfriend you want to bring over, I need a 24 hour notice. Any less and I make no guaranties.”

Scale found these conditions a little harsh but didn’t really mind. With any luck, she wouldn’t be spending much time in that room anyway. Besides, friendship wasn’t what was on Scale’s mind at that moment anyway. She was more worried about the instruments she hadn’t been able to fix. She knew it was a strange thing to be thinking about but, never the less, it was what she was what she was worried about.

Trotting into the room, Scale dropped her saddlebag next to the empty bed. The gryphon closed the door and hopped up onto her bed. It was then when Scale noticed that the bed on the other side of the room was made out of a cloud. Scale supposed it was something to help remind the gryphon of home, wherever that happened to be.

“What’s your name? I can’t keep thinking of you as ‘the gryphon’ even if we aren’t going to be friends.” Scale said. She climbed up onto her bed and looked at the gryphon expectantly.

“Elina; the name’s Elina.” The black gryphon said. “An’ I suppose I can’t just think of you as ‘that pony.’ So what’s your name?”

“My name is Scale. It’s a pleasure to meet you Elina.” Scale said, mock bowing. “I take it that this isn’t your first year here. You really seem to know how things work around here.”

“I’ve lived here for practically forever. I can’t even remember where I lived before the Neutral. Heck, if you want to get technical, I’m the ward of the Neutral Council; they’re my family. Though, for a while, I was the only non-pony student but that’s all ancient history now.” Elina squawked. She flopped on her back and stared at the ceiling. “I’m not even sure I ever lived in the Gryphon Empire. It’s quite possible my parents lived in the Solar or Lunar; I don’t really know.”

“You don’t know who your parents are?” The gryphon nodded. “If you ask me you’re lucky. I know both of my parents and my life stinks because of it. You wouldn’t believe the pressure that’s put on you when your parents are practically famous where you live.”

Elina glanced at Scale out of the corner of her eye with barely masked curiosity. While the gryphon normally hated learning anything more than necessary about somepony, Scale intrigued her. Flopping back onto her front, Elina looked at Scale questioningly.

“Well, I’m from Farrar.” Scale said. After seeing Elina’s confused expression, she explained that Farrar was a village in the Badlands of the Lunar side of the border. “So, anyway, Farrar isn’t all that big but it isn’t all that small either. It’s small enough that everypony knows one another but big enough that no pony ever really needs to leave.

“For most everypony that lives there, they only leave so that they can go to their one year at the Neutral and then they never leave again. My family is one of the few that has had ponies actually do something with their lives. My grandmare was a famous cellist and my father an accomplished diplomat. Even my mother, who isn’t even from Farrar, is the filly of a noble stallion.

“The ponies of my village expected me and my cousins to do something special. They really expect me to because of this.” Scale tapped her horn and sighed. “They’re all zebras out there, you see. They use potions and such but true magic doesn’t really happen out in the Badlands.

“I know it sounds silly but the ponies in the outskirts of the Lunar Republic don’t really come across other types of creatures, pony or not, so they tend to be very closed-minded. The thought that one of their own had married somepony outside of the Badlands was a foreign idea. The fact that that zebra had had a foal with that pony was simply unthinkable; I was unthinkable. But I’m getting ahead here aren’t I.

“Like I said earlier, my dad is a diplomat. Despite the fact that the Badlands are a part of the Lunar Republic, the villages aren’t really part of the country. Sure we follow most of the laws and practices but we work through our own systems. So, to keep everything friendly, a representative is elected and placed on the Republic’s general counsel.

“My dad was elected and lived in Artemis for almost six years. When he came back to Farrar, he had a wife and a bouncing baby foal in tow. Needless to say, ponies were surprised. No pony really knew how to react. For a long time, they just avoided us.

“I was still a filly at that time so I didn’t really understand. Anytime I wanted to play with the other foals, their parents would usher them away. It was hard. Thankfully, after a little while, ponies in the village began to warm up to us. They stopped hating me but, at the same time, they began to expect things from me.

“I mean, with my ability to use magic, everypony thought I should be able to do more. They thought I should be the “Pride and Joy of Farrar,” you know they actually called me that for a while. I just couldn’t get away from it. Leaving, oh Luna, leaving is the best thing that’s happened to me yet. I can get away from that oppressive hoof that’s been shoving me into the ground since I was three.”

Scale took a deep breath, felling slightly better than she had before. She looked at Elina and waited to see her reaction. For a while, the gryphon just stared at Scale. Then, after what seemed like forever, Elina began to laugh; one of those deep throaty laughs that only a gryphon could manage. Scale, while she wasn’t surprised, was just a little shocked.

“You’re really something. You really are something.” Elina said still chuckling. “You finally get away from all crap and the first thing you tell somepony you hardly know is how much you hated it. If you ask me, which I know you aren’t, you miss it; you’re probably one of those crazy ponies that only works well under pressure.”

Scale looked at Elina with a mixture of anger and inquisition. Ponies had called her a lot of things in the past and Elina definitely wasn’t the first pony to hear Scale’s story but she was the first one to suggest the Scale liked being under pressure. Scale was at a loss for words.

“Not that I don’t love all this mushy gunk, but I don’t want to be listening to it to the rest of the day.” A third voice chimed in, startling Scale. “Now where are my manners? Elina, are you going to introduce me or what?”

“You always pick the best times to chip in don’t you, Shi?” Scale watched as a long, thin, pure white creature wound its way up onto Elina’s bed and up her grey forearm. It finally came to a rest around Elina’s neck. “Scale, this is your other roommate, Shi. He’s a pipe fox from Canter. Specifically, he’s my pipe fox.”

Scale looked at the duo with a look of pure fascination, all thought of what Elina had said a few moments earlier thrown out the window. From what she had heard about gryphons, Scale had assumed that a creature like a pipe fox wouldn’t be a friend, it would be lunch. When she expressed such thoughts to Elina, that throaty chuckle returned.

“I was pretty much raised by herbivores. If I were to eat a sentinel creature, why, I don’t think anypony here would ever forgive me.” Elina laughed. “The closest I’ve ever gotten to eating meat was fish.”

“Not to mention I probably would have been the first thing on her menu.” Shi said in a light, high voice. If Scale didn’t know better, she would have said that the fox was a girl. Scale looked at the pipe fox in wonder. She’d been watching him while he spoke but, though no part of his face moved, sound came from his body. Shi sure was something. “I met Elina about the same time those hunting instincts starting kicking in. In fact, she practically tried to eat me.”

“I did not.” Elina cried, swiping at the fox around her neck. “I found you out in the woods and was nice enough to take you in. Do you know how long it took me to get the Neutral Council to let you stay?”

“Close to 30 seconds if I remember correctly. Even back then, the Council had a soft spot for its one and only ward.” Shi giggled (is it possible for a pipe fox to giggle?) and did the equivalent of squirming off of Elina’s shoulder. “This gryphon could get away with murder if she batted enough eyelashes.”

Elina smiled at Shi’s teasing. It was obvious, even to somepony as out of touch as Scale, that those two were really good friends. Perhaps, under different circumstances, the two creatures’ relationship would have taken a different turn. Their personalities seemed to mesh fairly well.

“So, pony, why don’t the three of us go take a look around campus?” Shi asked. “I’m positive you have no idea how to find anything and Elina and I know how to find everything; sounds like this was a match made in Asylum.”

Scale looked at Elina, expecting her to interject, but, the gryphon chose not to speak; Scale nodded her head in agreement. It would be nice to have somepony who actually knew where things were. It had taken her almost half an hour to find the dorms and another hour to find the correct room. Scale groaned aloud at that thought of having to find the cafeteria or the bathhouse on her own.

“Well then, allons-y!” Shi called, slithering off of Elina. He wriggled across the floor, up the post of Scale’s bed, and onto the mare’s leg. Scale giggled; the fur on the pipe fox’s body tickled. Once Shi settled in around Scale’s neck, oddly enough in the same place he had wrapped himself around Elina, and the mare had stopped chuckling, Elina gave a snort and hopped off her bed.

“I suppose it’s dinner time anyway.” The creature huffed. “You can follow me there if you want. And, just for the record, I’m not helping you. I’m only letting you follow me because of Shi. If he likes you then maybe, just maybe, you might be ok.”

Now done with her spiel, Elina strutted out of the room like a peacock. Once Scale was sure the gryphon was out of earshot, she let out a small giggle of delight. While she hadn’t been trying to win the creature’s approval, having it gave the mare a slight jolt of delight. At that point, Scale didn’t even care if the pipe fox heard (which he did. Shi understood though. Elina tended to make ponies want her approval without them even realizing it.)

“You coming or what?” Elina hollered from down the hall. “I think Shi wants to eat even if you don’t. So if you don’t mind, move you hinny!”

Scale shuffled out into the hallway and slammed the door behind her. She turned the deadbolt and ran off the catch up with Elina.

Lunchroom Meet and Greets

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!”

Filly-Friends with Breaking News

Warrant slammed his hooves into his desk. Sighing, he hung his head, letting his disheveled mane fall into his face. He hadn’t gone home for almost a week which meant no shower, no sleep, and no breaks. There simply wasn’t any time for Warrant to rest.

A week ago Warrant had been assigned to a new case. Like all the other cases he dealt with, the crime was of magical origin. Unlike the majority of the cases that Warrant dealt with, this one was not a singular incident. It was a sickness that killed those infected in a gruesome and quick fashion. He had managed to keep the deaths out of the news but, now that the disease had spread outside of his district, there was little he could do.

Warrant rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked back over pieces of the information he was given. There had been over a dozen confirmed deaths but those were only the ones he could confirm. There were probably three or four more dozen that had slipped through the cracks.

Thankfully, the doctors had found a way to slow down how fast the disease killed you. Instead of killing you in a few hours like it had in the beginning the doctors could extend your life by a day or two using a stasis spell. Yet, no pony had recovered.

There were no connections between the any of the victims. They all lived in different parts of Sol; they worked at completely different jobs, and did different things in their free time. Stallions, mares, foals, middle class, upper class; it didn’t matter who you were or what you did. The sickness simply didn’t care.

There was a knock at the door. Warrant huffed, sliding his hooves off his desk, and trotted across his small office. He flung open the door and was about ready to give the pony that had interrupted him an earful, until he actually saw who was on the other side.

The mare on the other side of the door looked normal enough. Her jet black mane was pulled back into a simple ponytail but a few loose strands still framed her face. Her cutiemark was of a dark inkwell with a raven-feather quill sticking out of it. Her splotched face, though kind and creased with laugh lines, was set into a firm ‘I know exactly what you’re afraid of but trust me I’m worse’ look. She was somepony to be feared and adored; loved and despised. She was a reporter.

“Miss Inkblot, how wonderful to see you.” Warrant said through gritted teeth. He didn’t really want to deal with her at this point in this case. “What brings you to my office so late in the day?”

“Officer Warrant, it’s the middle of the afternoon. You’ve been in this cramped space too long.” Inkblot laughed, batting her baby-blues. Her face suddenly turned serious. “Why don’t you and I go out and eat some lunch? The fresh air will do you good. And, please, for the love of God, call me Inky. I don’t care if you’re at work.”

“I would but I don’t think I mffmh.” Warrant sentence was cut short by Inky’s spotted hoof being shoved into his mouth.

“No but’s mister. I already got your boss’s permission to take you away for a while.” Inky seized Warrant by his elbow and began to drag him outside. “I’ll even pay if you’d like. It’s only fair since I’m dragging you away from your work.”

Though Warrant grumbled the whole way to the corner restaurant, deep inside, he was slightly happy that he had a distraction. His brain needed a break from all the evidence and reports and statements; no pony, not even the most seasoned officer, could stand it indefinitely. It could drive you insane faster than you could blink.

“What would you like, sir?” The waiter asked Warrant politely.

“I’ll just eat whatever she’s getting.” Warrant said with a wave of his hoof without thinking. He winced and looked at Inky out of the corner of his eye. She had that look on her face that sent shivers down his spine. This wasn’t going to end well.

“Alrighty then, I’ll have the hayfries, two daisy sandwiches, a bowl of cranberries, half a dozen carrots…” Inky went through the entire menu, ordering practically everything. Now, to most ponies this would just be strange but to Warrant, he knew exactly what she meant.

This meant war. Inky was issuing a challenge; see who can eat more food in the set amount of time. Sighing, Warrant leaned back and waited for the reporter to finish. The poor flustered waiter was doing his best to keep up and, to his credit, the stallion had managed to get the first half written down.

“And, last but not least, I want a big glass of water.” Inky finished. She took a big breath and leaned back in the same manner Warrant had. The waiter wiped a bead of sweat of his brow and trotted away, muttering something under his breath.

“Two hours?” Warrant questioned. Inky though for a second then gave a slight nod. Two hours was their normal time frame though they hadn’t had a contest in almost a year. As the first round of food arrived, a true smile crossed Warrant’s face for the first time in that year.

Two Hours Later

“You win again, Inky.” Warrant mumbled. He let out a belch and waited for the mare to do the same. Of course, she did, and it was twice as loud as Warrant’s.

“You know why I came to your office, right?” Inky said sweetly.  “I need a story, I mean a real story. I heard rumors and they’re all about you getting a new case.”

Warrant huffed. He wanted to help Inky; she was one of his oldest friends but he didn’t want this getting out. He needed to keep it contained within Sol. Then again, Inky was one of the few ponies he trusted to put the most positive spin on this story she could.

“I… It’s this… It’s a sickness.” Warrant whispered. He proceeded to tell her everything he could about the disease. He kept everyponies’ names out of it. Inky listened, writing down bits and pieces of information every once and a while, her face growing more and more downcast. “And the worst part is I can’t seem to find out how it started.”

Inky stood up and walked behind Warrant. She placed her hooves on his shoulders, giving him a short massage. She leaned down, whispered something in his ear, and hopped off him. Warrant watched his filly-friend trot off.

The Next Morning

Warrant rolled over and wrapped his hooves around Inky. At least he would’ve is she hadn’t moved away in the night. He growled under his breath. She’d always done that, every time since they’d started dating; he should’ve known she wouldn’t be there in the morning.

Flopping out of bed, Warrant trudged over to the bathroom. After taking a shower, Warrant made himself breakfast. Thankfully Inky had remembered to buy orange juice. She hated the stuff but Warrant loved it.

Pouring the juice, Warrant grabbed the morning paper. He figured Inky would already have the story published. That was normally why she left halfway through the night. The idea that she was just using him to get good stories had crossed his mind before. Yet, even though Warrant was sure Inky knew when he would have a story, she never stopped seeing him when his tales were boring.

Strangely, the front of the paper was folded inwards. The mail-colts were normally pretty good at getting the folds right. Trying not to look too much into it, Warrant opened the paper. When he saw the headline, he practically had a heart attack. Written in bolded letters across the top was ‘Unknown Disease, New Lunar War Tactic?’

Warrant grabbed his coat from the rack and ran out the door. The last thing he needed was that headline getting taken seriously. The only problem was that Inky was the most respected reporter in Sol. Getting anything she said taken down would be difficult, if not impossible.

The second he was out the door, Warrant was knocked over by a spotted shape. He opened his eyes and saw Inky lying on top of him.

“Warrant I had nothing to do with that headline!” Inky blurted out. “My editor wanted to change it and I had fallen asleep and he changed it without me knowing and there’s no way I can stop it now. You have to fix it!”

But as Inky looked into Warrant’s eyes she saw what he was thinking. There wasn’t anything he could do. They could only sit back and wait for the response from the Lunar.