Back to Yakyakistan
Nov. 7th, 2015 10:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
twilightponyWe got back yesterday from our trip and I'm happy to report that we were successful. I have maps and Machur Lulach has agreed to join us for dinner in Canterlot.
Let's see, our trip started with the train to the Crystal Empire. Spike, Applejack, Rarity and I got off at the station, dropped off our bags at the Castle and I made arrangements for dinner with Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon visiting the Crystal Empire market.
Applejack bought some crystal corn to take home, Rarity found a few bolts of crystal pattern cloth she liked and I picked up some leather leaf tea for Zecora and a book: Fundamentals of Book Collection Development and Systematic Reference Management.
Spike found a souvenir stand full of miniature copies of the statue the crystal ponies erected in his honor. He signed several and got one free. And yes, he posed next to his statue, holding his souvenir. I thought he looked like he was trying shelve it on an invisible bookcase.
We got back to our rooms, cleaned up and had supper with Cadence and Shining Armor. There was a wide variety of food on the table. Princess Cadence is wrestling with surprise changes in what she finds tastes good and what tastes bad. That's normal, since she's pregnant, she's more vulnerable to bacteria and fungus that may grow in fescue and other grasses, and to other things that are normally not that toxic.
After dessert, we had tea on a balcony overlooking the city. The sky was clear, a great night to look down at the city lights below and at shooting stars above. We even saw an early fireball! Then the Crystal Heart channeled the good will of the crystal ponies, shooting colored lights straight up into the night sky. It's a very impressive sight to see from where we sat. It's huge! A voice of light at our backs, rising like a geyser to paint the sea of stars.
We didn't stay up long, we had an early start the next morning.
Next morning we hiked to Yakyakistan. Once in the gates, it wasn't long before we had a giggling gaggle of calves following us, again. This time all eyes were on Spike, riding on my back. I guess dragons, especially baby dragons on the backs of ponies, are rare in Yakyakistan.
Finding Machur was easier than I expected. We went to the general neighborhood in which we had found him last time and we got promptly lost in a maze of tiny streets. The calves were of no help. But not for long, we asked around and every yak we met seemed to know who had guided our expedition.
When we found him, he was sitting at a stall selling a close approximation of the alfalfa-oat-nut-honey power cubes we ate on our expedition! It took a while to explain that were weren't hiring him, or trying to muscle in on his alfalfa-oat-nut-honey power cube business, we were inviting him to a dinner in Canterlot. I was beginning to wonder if he expected us to pay for his fare and his time.
But we got through and I did explain a few times that the food, while probably not perfect, will be edible. It's being at the table with friends and meeting new ponies that is the point. I hope that only Prince Rutherford expects perfection, or reacts as strongly.
He wrote down the date, place, time and how to get there, and how much the train fare would cost. We also exchanged mailing addresses while we sampled Machur's power cubes. They were different. We didn't smash the table, but Machur could tell that we knew these weren't pony power cubes. Instead, Applejack dictated the recipe she used for our power cubes as Machur wrote it down. She explained that she and Pinkie drew from three different recipes to make her version and she listed several substitute ingredients Machur could try.
That was quick, so we had time to shop! Machur gave us directions to a market where we could find vendors of fine cloth. Once there, Rarity bought a few bolts of beautiful dyed yak felt cloth and Applejack traded two dozen Macoun apples for a nice two tone green yak wool headband with red stripes that fit right under her hat. To keep her ears warm.
At another stall a vendor asked Rarity "How much? How much for your baby dragon? I trade you three groats and a lemming." The lemming was very cute. Rarity refused quickly. "Not for sale." Spike thought he had said "goats". He looked half insulted, half proud. Insulted that anypony would think he could be bought or sold, half proud that he outmatches at least three goats.
The best find was a stall selling illustrated manuscripts! Legends, botany guides, astronomy, medicinal herbology, metallurgy, farming practices, and fashion and etiquette (Rarity and Applejack immediately borrowed the last two). The astronomy book includes star charts that I will be able to use in my talk! Success! Finding Machur and star charts, two more items off my check list. I was quickly much lighter in bits and much heavier in books. It was a long walk back to the Crystal Empire.
It was late evening by the time we got back to the Crystal Empire. We went knocking on the kitchen door for a snack and we got delicious hot leftovers instead! Just as we sat down to feast, Princess Cadence came in to join us. She was feeling restless and hungry. She's eating like a horse.
The next morning we caught the train back to Ponyville. Rarity trotted off to her boutique with her fresh bolts of cloth, Applejack made a beeline for the farm and her haying equipment, and I settled in with my new books. Spike put his souvenirs up on his shelf: a replica of his Crystal Empire statue and a Yakyakistan groat. I'll take the tea to Zecora some other day.
Let's see, our trip started with the train to the Crystal Empire. Spike, Applejack, Rarity and I got off at the station, dropped off our bags at the Castle and I made arrangements for dinner with Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon visiting the Crystal Empire market.
Applejack bought some crystal corn to take home, Rarity found a few bolts of crystal pattern cloth she liked and I picked up some leather leaf tea for Zecora and a book: Fundamentals of Book Collection Development and Systematic Reference Management.
Spike found a souvenir stand full of miniature copies of the statue the crystal ponies erected in his honor. He signed several and got one free. And yes, he posed next to his statue, holding his souvenir. I thought he looked like he was trying shelve it on an invisible bookcase.
We got back to our rooms, cleaned up and had supper with Cadence and Shining Armor. There was a wide variety of food on the table. Princess Cadence is wrestling with surprise changes in what she finds tastes good and what tastes bad. That's normal, since she's pregnant, she's more vulnerable to bacteria and fungus that may grow in fescue and other grasses, and to other things that are normally not that toxic.
After dessert, we had tea on a balcony overlooking the city. The sky was clear, a great night to look down at the city lights below and at shooting stars above. We even saw an early fireball! Then the Crystal Heart channeled the good will of the crystal ponies, shooting colored lights straight up into the night sky. It's a very impressive sight to see from where we sat. It's huge! A voice of light at our backs, rising like a geyser to paint the sea of stars.
We didn't stay up long, we had an early start the next morning.
Next morning we hiked to Yakyakistan. Once in the gates, it wasn't long before we had a giggling gaggle of calves following us, again. This time all eyes were on Spike, riding on my back. I guess dragons, especially baby dragons on the backs of ponies, are rare in Yakyakistan.
Finding Machur was easier than I expected. We went to the general neighborhood in which we had found him last time and we got promptly lost in a maze of tiny streets. The calves were of no help. But not for long, we asked around and every yak we met seemed to know who had guided our expedition.
When we found him, he was sitting at a stall selling a close approximation of the alfalfa-oat-nut-honey power cubes we ate on our expedition! It took a while to explain that were weren't hiring him, or trying to muscle in on his alfalfa-oat-nut-honey power cube business, we were inviting him to a dinner in Canterlot. I was beginning to wonder if he expected us to pay for his fare and his time.
But we got through and I did explain a few times that the food, while probably not perfect, will be edible. It's being at the table with friends and meeting new ponies that is the point. I hope that only Prince Rutherford expects perfection, or reacts as strongly.
He wrote down the date, place, time and how to get there, and how much the train fare would cost. We also exchanged mailing addresses while we sampled Machur's power cubes. They were different. We didn't smash the table, but Machur could tell that we knew these weren't pony power cubes. Instead, Applejack dictated the recipe she used for our power cubes as Machur wrote it down. She explained that she and Pinkie drew from three different recipes to make her version and she listed several substitute ingredients Machur could try.
That was quick, so we had time to shop! Machur gave us directions to a market where we could find vendors of fine cloth. Once there, Rarity bought a few bolts of beautiful dyed yak felt cloth and Applejack traded two dozen Macoun apples for a nice two tone green yak wool headband with red stripes that fit right under her hat. To keep her ears warm.
At another stall a vendor asked Rarity "How much? How much for your baby dragon? I trade you three groats and a lemming." The lemming was very cute. Rarity refused quickly. "Not for sale." Spike thought he had said "goats". He looked half insulted, half proud. Insulted that anypony would think he could be bought or sold, half proud that he outmatches at least three goats.
The best find was a stall selling illustrated manuscripts! Legends, botany guides, astronomy, medicinal herbology, metallurgy, farming practices, and fashion and etiquette (Rarity and Applejack immediately borrowed the last two). The astronomy book includes star charts that I will be able to use in my talk! Success! Finding Machur and star charts, two more items off my check list. I was quickly much lighter in bits and much heavier in books. It was a long walk back to the Crystal Empire.
It was late evening by the time we got back to the Crystal Empire. We went knocking on the kitchen door for a snack and we got delicious hot leftovers instead! Just as we sat down to feast, Princess Cadence came in to join us. She was feeling restless and hungry. She's eating like a horse.
The next morning we caught the train back to Ponyville. Rarity trotted off to her boutique with her fresh bolts of cloth, Applejack made a beeline for the farm and her haying equipment, and I settled in with my new books. Spike put his souvenirs up on his shelf: a replica of his Crystal Empire statue and a Yakyakistan groat. I'll take the tea to Zecora some other day.
