A Perfect Day for New Friends [Open]

[CrystalRain]

Crystal would wave goodbye to SkyBubble leaving her and her new love to great adventures with each other. She'd fly over to the Crystal Empire's Train Station waiting for new ponies to arrive, possibly to help them find love, or make some new friends.

 

Crystal waited and waited, until she seen the train getting ready to pull into the station, "Okay, I will make new friends today, since not every pony, or other creatures want to find love I really hope that I can make a new friend today!" Crystal exclaimed gleefully

 

As the passengers got off the train she spotted a Zebra getting off the train "Wow! Maybe I can become friends with them" Crystal got up and flew over to the Zebra. "Hi there! my name is CrystalRain, what's yours" She'd asked with a smile on her face.

[SteelEagle]

The Crystal Empire was one of the most well-paying societies in all of the world when it came to the performance arts. And what an appetite as well! From Saddle Arabian mystics to Acroneighsian Warrior-Songstresses, Velvet Strand acoustics and Equestrian pop idols, you were never at a loss for variety. And those performers were never at a loss for payment, royal or otherwise.

 

It was this prospect that sent Muziki and her family north. The traveling performers may have based themselves in Ponyville, but their nomadic Unyasan roots meant they still wandered near and far looking for work. This time, they had accepted the offer of performing for a petty lord near the capital of the Empire. The family had prepped a small tail of tales and as bardsa knew their job well, so they decided to arrive the day before rather than a few days. They wouldn't need that long!

 

The train came to a stop and Muziki, eager as she was to see everything, was soon off the train. The young filly Zebra, her green bardic hat tilted with a new Phoenix feather stuck in it, immediately regretted it. It was cold! Even through her little jacket which flowed a bit too small around her shoulder and haunches (she needed a new one, but she liked the pattern on this one! So pretty!) she could feel the nip of the Crystal Cold. It was so different from her homeland, a phrase that never lost its luster to her no matter how often she thought it.

 

"Usisubiri baba! Nitaenda kuona jiji!" She said, her head cranes back inside as she bounded off the train. She sure did bound, almost right through a very happy, greeting pegasus! "Mti mtamu!" She exclaimed briefly before smiling and looking up. "Oh! I am sorry. I was not seeing you! Wow, you have pretty feathers. I am Muziki! What happens is your name, yes?"

[CrystalRain]

"Thank you so Much Muziki!" Crystal Replied smiling as she held out a hoof to shake hands with the friendly Zebra. "Oh my goodness your hat and Jacket are very pretty indeed, you are also very pretty!" Crystal smiled and looked at the Zebra and smiled again "Have you ever been to the Crystal Empire before? If you would like, do you want to get something to eat at my favorite café?"

 

Crystal would look at the Zebra's jacket and notice that it was a bit small on her "It's cold here" Crystal remarked "Do you want to go and get a new jacket? The café and Jacket will be my treat!" Crystal said looking at the Zebra once more.

 

"I'm also sorry for the questions I just love meeting new Ponies and Zebra's!" Crystal would shake her head and cover her face with her wing what was she thinking asking all these questions to someone who just met her she continued to shake her head with her wing covering it.

[SteelEagle]

Muziki nodded. Why would she not! She loved the idea of having frozen cafe food in a frozen land. It all seemed so exotic. She shook the pegasususus' hoof and smiled wide. "Oh thank you! I try and be very good so looking good is good too!" She asked, feeling her cap about to fall off and quickly putting it back up in place. A true Unyasan bard never let their hat fall, after all! "I have never been to the Crystals before. Umm, currently living in the Ponyville town in the Equestrian! But, umm, lived before in homeland of Unyasi with mama and baba."

She was flattered by the offer, but shook her head. "Oh, I can be getting new jacket! I just like this. It has, it has, umm, such a pretty pattern!" She said, flashing it around to show off. She was rather fond of it! "But yes! Cafe lunch! Let me ask mama and baba!" She said as she bounded back i9n the train. or would havem, had she not run into her parents as they were getting off themselves.

 

She fell back, still smiling. She started pointing at the pegasus. "Mama! Baba! Pegasus huyu mzuri anataka kunipa chakula cha mchana! Naweza kwenda, tafadhali?" She asked, tail wagging excitedly.
The younger-middle aged mare looked at the pegasus, though she spoke to Muziki. "Unamjua huyu pegasus, Muziki?"
"Hapana! Lakini alisema mimi ni mzuri sana!" She said, nearly pronking in place.
The father looked at Crystal. "Hello. Who are you, please?"

[StrongCopper]

Kabra'za's trip to the Crystal Empire was naturally tilting him towards disliking it.

 

While others freely took advantage of the train in order to bypass the frozen lands around the recently returned empire, Kabra'za didn't have that same luxury if he wanted to have a roof over his head or his stuff. So he traveled with his wagon instead. 

 

Not only was this a somewhat longer trip, but it involved having to deal with ice and snow. Kabra'za found he didn't like ice and snow. He had a number of means of negating the coldness so he didn't suffer any ill effects of freezing, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered to make the trip at all, but there were challenges outside of it that he hadn't considered... such as ice locking up his wheels. Or having to dig his wagon out of the snow first thing in the morning.

 

But still, he made it! Walking past the train station with a small glare in his eyes, he calmly reached up to brush the loose snow off of his top hat, rattling the bird bones a little in the process. Even as snow was brushed off of his back as his shadow seemed to be shaking itself off independently of its master.

[CrystalRain]

Crystal would hold out her hoof again for the father to shake it "Hi there, names Crystal Rain and I'm the cupid around here and I just offered to take Muziki to a café for lunch, but if you would like you all can join!" she said smiling

 

"I know it's probably awkward since I don't really know you all that much, but I want to make new friends, but I would love to take you and your family out for lunch my treat of course!" She smiled again then looked behind Muziki's father "Look another Zebra" Crystal waved and called the Zebra over to them "Hey there other Zebra sorry that's rude, but names Crystal Rain, would you care to come over and join us?"

 

 

[SteelEagle]

Muziki's father thought about it for a moment. The family were beyond trusting and so far the ponyfolk had done little to dissuade their belief in the common good of all creatures, and so he didn't feel any real pang of worry. "It is okay. We must be preparing for performance, and setting the lodge. Getting lodging. The hotel," he looked down to Muziki. "Kuwa na tabia, alizeti kidogo. Usichelewe sana- unajua hoteli iko wapi, ndio?"

She nodded, tail wagging. "Ndiyo, baba!"

He nodded and smiled at Crystal Rain. "It is nice to be meeting you Miss Rain. Please watch Muziki. I hope you are enjoying all of the lunch and the cupid work," he said, not knowing what that was. He nuzzled his daughter and started walking away. "Kuwa salama, Muziki!" 

 

Soon it was Muziki and Crystal Rain. And then Muziki, Crystal Rain, and another zebra! Wow! Now talk about lucky day! "Oh, hello there! Umm, Unazungumza Zebric?" She asked happily, always excited to meet new and different creatures. Even if they were the same as her! Where was he from? She was excited to find out. Find out and eat as well! She turned back to Crystal Rain. "What is good cafe like? Does it, umm, is all the food icy? I heard, I heard from a pony friend in Ponyville town that, that the food in the Crystal city is made up of ice! I even brought, umm, I brought a small hammer to help break the ice on a sandwich!"

[StrongCopper]

Somewhat damp from the snow he had brushed off, Kabra'za had been intent on finding somewhere for his wagon to be set up... and maybe finding a warm, fresh meal instead of dealing with the preservatives that his remaining supplies were filled with. However, the sound of a variant of his native tongue caused his ears to flick and his head to turn towards the station again...

 

Witnessing other zebra here of all places surprised him greatly. By contrast, the energy radiating off of the now named Crystal Rain was only mildly surprising, but with a deep breath he calmly moved his wagon to the side of the road where he could safely unharness himself from it and walk over to join the conversation that he had been invited into. Offering the zebra mare a smile and a small tip of his head, he answered "Kama nisingeweza, huu ungekuwa wakati mgumu sana kugundua ukweli huo."

 

Turning to Crystal, his top hat jingled with bird bones as he introduced himself as "Doctor Kabra'za. Were you waiting for someone in particular, Miss Rain?" he asked politely, gesturing towards the station in general.

 

[CrystalRain]

"Oh no, I was just seeing if I could find new friends and take them out for lunch, would you like to go with me and Muziki out to lunch?" Crystal asked smiling "It's okay if you don't want to, but it's my treat and a toast to new friends!"

 

"Also, sorry about my hyper energy I just am very happy to meet you two!" Crystal said "Not only that, I'm just a very hyper pony." She said shrugging "Also,it's very nice to meet you Doctor Kabra'za!" Crystal smiled holding out her hoof "I really like your hat Doctor it's really cool, where did you get your hat's from?" She asked tilting her head to one side.

[SteelEagle]

The doctor was several things at once. He was a doctor, and she liked them. They were smart and funny and they once helped her get treatment for a tail bone issue she had. She flicked her tail just at the thought of how helpful a doctor could be, which meant this doctor was already on the way to being great! She was happy he didn't wear a scary mask like some doctors. Or was that the plague doctor for Nightmare Night? She wasn't sure what to make of that night still.
The second thing he was, was a zebra who spoke the native tongue well! He clearly had spent more time than she had among the ponyfolk and learned their tongue better than she had. He had such clear diction! Probably helped him with all of his doctorly duties. You didn't want a doctor who didn't speak your language well and there weren't enough zebras in the land to be a zebra-only doctor, ya know!

 

The most important thing though? He owned a cool hat! That meant he was not only a doctor and probably a good one, but a cool one as well!
"Ooh, yes! His hat is very handsome on head!" She nodded, "and yeah, more merry on lunch if he joins us!" She turned to the doctor, eyes brimming bright. "Je, ungependa kwenda kula chakula cha mchana nasi? Mimi ni mpya hapa lakini ninafurahi kuwa na nyasi ya barafu!"

[StrongCopper]

A wide grin appeared on Kabra'za's face as his choice of attire and headwear was clearly complimented. "Asanteni nyote wawili." before he cleared his throat as he remembered that one of those he was speaking to likely didn't know what he just said. "For those speaking equestrian, that means 'Thank you, both of you.' As for where I originally got my hat..." he paused, thinking about it for a moment before shrugging. "I actually don't recall off the top of my head. Been a number of places and I've worn it so long, it feels like just an extension of myself."

 

Blinking slightly at whom he guessed was Muziki, he couldn't help but tilt his head slightly. "...Considering I walked all the way here, I would personally prefer something a bit warmer. Had enough icy cold food for the time being."

 

Turning to look at Crystal, he couldn't help but look somewhat interested as he asked "And why do you feel the need to focus your excess energy towards those you haven't met? Wouldn't that energy be better used to better yourself or towards helping out your friends?" He didn't intend to be rude or anything of the sort, he just found the mind, how it developed and the things it came up with rather fascinating.

[CrystalRain]

"Well Mr. Kabra'za I focus my energy on new people because I like meeting new people, and not only that, where I'm the cupid around here, all my friend's from here are with their loves." Crystal repiled she didn't take Mr. Kabra'za's question as rude just rather it's kinda cool how he want's to know how other's mind's work after all he is a Doctor Crystal thought.

 

"Also, I know a great place where they serve brunch and all the food is hot don't you worry Mr. Kabra'za and Muziki!" Crystal said smiling a little "As for your hat, that's okay it's still really cool!" Crystal said.

 

Crystal sat thinking about Mr. Kabra'za's question why did she put her energy towards new people?

[SteelEagle]

As they spoke, Muziki allowed herself to look at the city, her mind to wander. The Crystal Empire—oh, dear pages of wonder, how it sparkled like the stories told by the elders! Her hooves danced on cobblestone streets packed with snow, her heart aflutter with anticipation. And as did so, the conversation around her took on a more poetic form.

 

Kabra’za, the tall one with the mysterious hat. His grin stretched wide, and she wondered if his hat held secrets—perhaps it was woven from stardust or spun by moonbeams. “Asanteni nyote wawili,” he said, and she blinked. Her native tongue, soothing yet enchanting. "Thank you, both of you..."

 

But it was Crystal who captured her imagination even more so, because she was a filly and fillies liked energetic things. And Crystal? She radiated energy, like a sunbeam bouncing off dew-kissed leaves. “I focus on new ponies,” she explained, “because meeting them is like unwrapping ancient scrolls. Each one holds a destiny, a melody waiting to be sung.”

 

Crystal spoke of love, of friends entwined in heartstrings. Cupid, they called her. And Muziki believed her, for who could doubt a pony with eyes that shimmered like starlight at the prospect of such new friends? “Mr. Kabra’za,” she said, her voice like a zephyr, “I know a place where brunch is served hot. No more icy meals for you!” Her smile—oh, it could melt glaciers.

 

And then, the question. Kabra’za, curious as a moon moth, turned to Crystal. “Why this energy for strangers?” he wondered. “Why not weave it into your own tapestry?”

Muziki's heart fluttered. Muziki the believer had an answer. “Because,” the filly piped up in anticipation of what was to be said, “new friends are like forgotten songs. They hum in forgotten corners, waiting for a bard to sing them back to life.”

 

Crystal nodded, her eyes twinkling. “And myths?” she asked.

Muziki leaned closer, whispering secrets. “Myths are the threads that bind our world. They’re real, you know. I’ve seen unicorns dance with moonbeams and heard whispers from ancient trees.”

 

Crystal laughed, and Kabra’za raised an eyebrow. “You’re a delightful filly, Muziki,” he said.

 

And so it went  with stripes and stardust as Muziki skipped along lost in her own interpretation of those around her. After all, she was not one to allow the mundane and wonderful to pass by without the appropriate embellishments- what else was a bard to do? All was well until she nearly tripped on a stone, her hat falling off her head briefly.

 

"Whoopsie daisies!" She laughed before brushing it and putting it back on, wet as it was. "Oh, hot food, here we come. Is it, is it on the fire when you walk in? Or do yummicorns- those are, umm, my friend Zap Apple said thats what you call, what you call a cooking unicorn, a yummycorn, but I told him that it sounds very like cannibal eating unicorns, and he just laughing- do they use magic?"

[CrystalRain]

Crystal giggled and replied to the filly "We call our unicorn's around here, well just unicorns." "But, yes the cooks are mostly unicorns, and they do indeed use their magic to cook some awfully delicious meals!" Crystal replied licking her lips.

 

"What would you two like to eat, lunch, or perhaps breakfast, or maybe even brunch?" "There is even some delicious tea around here as well!" Crystal remarked While they were talking, Crystal saw a pony she had helped find love, and waved to her, as the pony waved back she turned back to Muziki and Doctor Kabra'za.

 

"Shall we get going to a warmer area? Cause you two probably need a warmer place to sit, and even warmer food to eat!" She asked smiling and jumping up as if she were a filly again. Still, Doctor Kabra'za's Question lingered in the back of her mind, and she felt like she could not shake the question from her mind. Sure, ponies and other's ask her all kind's of question's often, but she knew the real answer to Kabra'za's question, she did not want them to think differently of her, but the truth was, she did not really even have friend's, she might seem popular, but she's not, as she thought all this, a tear fell and Crystal didn't notice it.

[StrongCopper]

For his part, Kabra'za did notice the somewhat ignored tear that rolled down Crystal's face.

 

However, for the time being he didn't draw attention to it. After all, there was a filly present and they were in a public place. Some conversations were best kept private.

 

Instead he offered a smile and suggested "As long as it isn't dried, packed with preservatives and warm in the belly, it might as well be mungu as far as I could care." He did pause for just a moment to think through. "...I should relocate my wagon somewhere first through. Don't want to get into trouble for parking it in the wrong area again." Law enforcement in regards to parking could be incredibly ironhoofed and petty when they wanted to be.

 

Glancing between Crystal and Muziki, he decided to ask the latter "Are you and your family also staying in a wagon? It would be a boon to have a guide show me where I need to go to avoid dealing with parking tickets." in turn, he glanced at Crystal before adding "Granted, if you have an idea of where I should go, having a friendly local offer aid would be a pleasant change of pace."

[SteelEagle]

Muziki was just happy to be with these two new friends. She still was very excited about the food, too. Frankly, she was looking forward to the idea of magically cold super foods more than anything else but she couldn’t deny that warm food in a warm place with warmer friends was appealing in its own, mostly normal way. And she was a very mostly normal zebra! She didn’t notice the tear, almost entirely owing to her going ohhh and ahhhh at the weird crystal city and all the pretty crystal ponies. She wondered if the structures shattered like glass, rock, or crystal, and if a crystal pony got hurt did you need to glue them back together?

 

All these questions and more flooded her brain as she bounded along happily, tail swishing and mouth murmuring words of ancient rhymes as she allowed herself to be lost to the city. “Oh, Crystal, Crystal Rain. Tell me, umm, I know the pegasius ponies control weather. Do the, umm, does it rain crystals here? Should- should I be getting umbrella’d?” she asked, a little concerned about the prospect of giant crystals bonking her in the head. She wasn’t sure she wanted a bruise that was as tall as a unicorn’s horn! “Umm, ohh, and I could, I could have lunch? We had a small food on the train.”

 

And speaking of food, she had many of the same priorities as Kabra'za. Of course, all the smart zebras thought the same! “Oh, yes, we do have wagon! It help, umm, it not help as much in the Ponyvilles because we have place indoor now, but we perform it. With it,” she sighs wistfully, “I do missing the day when we travel the savannah in home. Very cozy. Too much space now! Feel like I get lost in bathroom sometimes now. Fall into tub, woopsie!” She said as they continued walking deeper into the city, towards whichever way Rain was gonna lead them.

[CrystalRain]

Crystal would happily exclaim "Well you can just park it over at my house I don't mind whatsoever!" Crystal would forget about the tear that dropped down her cheek as she used her wing to wipe away what was left of it.

 

"No, no Muziki, the pegasi do control the weather, but it does not rain crystals here!" Crystal giggled as she answered "As for food, we should go to my favorite café, c'mon ill lead you two there!" Crystal exclaimed as she started walking towards the café. 

 

"Also, you two should know, sometimes Princess Cadence will be at this café, me and her are pretty decent friends, and she's really amazing!" Crystal said happily as she trotted along, she looked around taking in the sight of the Crystal Empire, "No matter how long I live here I never get tired of how beautiful it is here." She said sighing.

 

[StrongCopper]

Kabra'za politely tipped his hat towards Crystal and her offer. "I may take you up on that. Through I should relocate my wagon there before we go get something to eat. I don't need to start my visit to the Crystal Empire with a-" Kabra'za had been about to say a rather naughty word in his native tongue, but remembered just in the nick of time that there was an impressionable young child that understood the mother tongue nearby. "-... annoying parking ticket."

 

Clearing his throat a little, he recovered a bit as he tilted his head in confusion. "I'm sorry... Princess Cadence? I am not familiar with that name."

[SteelEagle]

She was very happy to hear that it did not rain crystals. While that certainly would have made for a very fun bout of souvenir collecting, she doubted her noggin could take the beating without her going all cattywampus. If that was true, then where did all the crystals come from? Did they grow like leaves, or did you have to plant them? Were there special crystals seeds that the crystal ponies used to grow crystal trees? She assumed it was magical because everything in Equestria was magical. Even the water you purchased at the market, it was super magical! The stallions in white and blue stripes back in Las Pegasus had sold her super magical water for a lot of bits! It tasted like really good water, but she was sure that the water would make her super smart.

 

“It is a very pretty city. It has so many crystals! I bet all you ponies up here, umm, I bet you’re super duper tired of them, right?” She said as she skipped along. “Oh! Princess Mi Amore- I saw, I saw her daughter and her husband back in Las Pegasus. We were buying candy and I was the big candy winner and that made me so happy, and the little Princess was nice but I think I super impressive her with my big candy winning! And her father, he seemed very excitable about this mare there, and also I think the princess wanted my candy,” she said in a stream of conscious as she followed the Crystal.

 

As she did so however, Mr. Kabra'za said something that made her puzzled. She gave it some deep, deep thought before she asked. “What’s a parking ticket? Do you, umm, is it like a prize? They don’t give us prizes like that. We head to, we head behind the tavern near the woods with cart. Hey Mr. Kabra'za, umm, do you keep mask ya salamu in your cart like we do?”
 

[CrystalRain]

Crystal would smile "I never get tired of the crystals, they are beautiful, I don't think I'll ever move to be honest." Crystal would turn her head to Kabra'za and say "Princess Cadence lives here in the Crystal Empire, she's also a cupid!"

 

Crystal would smile as she lead them to her home where Kabra'za could leave his car "So, where all have you two traveled?" Crystal asked kindly.

[StrongCopper]

Kabra'za was more then happy to take a small detour in order to hook himself back up to his wagon in order to pull it to more secure pastures... even if that pasture was simply Crystal's yard. Muziki however asked a rather interesting question through, which caused him to chuckle softly. "A parking ticket is a means in which local law enforcement helps inflate their paychecks via making others pay bits. It is of vital importance to them and thus, the duty of finding and handing out tickets is generally reserved for those with eagle eyed vigilance and a dedication to duty that borders on callousness. Empathy, after all, is a weakness in their eyes because it means they might not give someone a ticket."

 

Looking at Muziki again once he finally parked the wagon, he offered the filly a grin. "Of course I keep a mask ya salamu. Some traditions need to be preserved after all..." before he paused as he glanced at Crystal and his grin turned into something more akin to a smirk. "Would the two of you be interested in seeing something cool?" Not really giving either of them time to answer (assuming that at least Muziki would be curious in that child like manner), he made a small show of gesturing towards his shadow... before he calmly took a step to the right while his shadow stepped to the left, disconnecting from his body completely as the two walked a few strides away from each other.

 

Once a respectful distance, Kabra'za calmly removed his hat... and like a disc he threw it towards where his shadow was.  Said shadow seemed to reach up to grab at the shadow of the hat as it flew by... and the hat stopped dead in midair, as if being held there. Waiting a moment to make it clear that this wasn't a trick, the hat moved slightly as the shadow drew its hoof back and threw the hat back to Kabra'za, who happily caught it and returned it to his head. A smile on his face, both him and shadow walked back towards each other before reconnecting as if they had never parted. "Ta da."

[SteelEagle]

“Me? I have been so very man places. I was born in the land of the tribes of the Upepo na Wimbo, and I walked all along the southern lands of Unyasi. Umm, then I saw the cities, but then I saw even bigger cities when I saw the town with the griffons. Clawifax! And Taraju, of course. But then we did the moving into Equestria and we lived in Manehattan and then Ponyville and I have seen, umm, I have seen Hoofington and Canterlot! Did you ever see the big Canterlot castle? It was so nice looking. Umm, and then I saw...I saw Cloudsdale in the sky, and smelled Trottingham, and the Velvet Strand, and then I saw Stalliongrad and now I am here! So many cities. This is such a big land!” She said in response to Crystal, nearly skipping alongside the pegasus as she excitedly spoke about every rock and pebble in existence.

“Where have you been? Have you ever seen, umm, have you ever seen another crystal cities? Do all the crystals in the world come from here?” She asked as they waited for Mr. Kabra’za to finish with his cart. Then they could get food, and she was hungry! 

 

But then, something fun happened. Muziki was entranced as she watched Mr. Kabra'za go to work putting on a show. Muziki loved performance of all types and flavors, from the prestigious arts of dance and song to the fake fighting in ring and magic shows and all things in between. Talent was a wonderful thing to have but even better to share the fruits of it with others. At least, thats what her parents always told her and she believed they were right about everything but the best flavor of ice cream. Everypony knew the best flavor was rocky road and everything else was heresy time!

 

With that said, she was enamored with his magical show. He detached his shadow used it to catch the shadow of his hat in place. Muziki immediately knew what this meant! She clopped her hooves together. “Ooh! Oooh! You are, umm, Witch Doctor!” She nodded happily, then turned to Crystal.

“From shadow to light and hoof to heart/In the art of healing, he plays his part.
With herbs and chants, he mends the weak/A touch of kindness, for those who seek.
In the depths of night, his work begins/A dance with nature, free of sins.
He whispers wisdom, old and smart/From shadow to light and hoof to heart.
They are like, umm, if he is Path of Mirror? Reflectioning? That is, umm, like Pony Psychology. But magical!” 

[CrystalRain]

Crystal would look at Muziki and smile "Well, I've been to Las Pegasus, Manehattan, Ponyville, and Canterlot! I have not seen another Crystal city though, although I do not know if all the Crystal's come from here!" Crystal giggled 

 

Crystal would see Kabra'za  and her jaw would drop she'd never seen anything like this before this was very new to her, but as much as it was a bit scary it was quite fascinating to see this "Wow, Mr. Kabra'za I've never seen anything like that before, you are very fascinating to watch, so you are a witch doctor?" Crystal asked

 

"Well, I might not be able to do anything like that, but I definitely can immediately tell when two people are meant to be together!" Crystal smiled knowing her "Power" was not as fascinating.