Twilight walked by Brand's side as they progressed back through the village, the same way they'd come, only now, the inhabitants of the village were out and about. Ponies of all sizes, exclusively earth ponies, all of them sporting dark, tightly woven braids. All were busy with something, mostly chores of sorts, but also conversing amongst themselves in their native tongues. Twilight walked on in silence as she traced Brand's footsteps, walking slightly behind him and just off to his side, and simply took everything in as she thought about which questions to ask, and which to hold on to for later.

Her eyes, perhaps a bit shamefully, wandered onto the flank of her companion as his toned muscles flexed with each step, and she promptly looked away, blushing despite not being caught. Involuntarily, alongside the definition in his legs, she also saw the image on his rear quarter's hide. This was the first time she'd really realized what his cutie mark depicted, as it was one of the first times she'd actually seen his flank uncovered. It was a sort of tribal weave, red and orange in color, depicting the head, tail, and outstretched wings of a dragon, as if it were flying upwards across his skin. She thought it remarkably fitting...and beautiful.

Brand was very patient so far; after all, he'd asked her a question, and he wasn't urging her to respond any time soon. A school teacher back home would not have done so, and Twilight kept telling herself that it was because she was practically in a new world now, and that things would be very different.

The sky was still grey, and the mountain tops were shrouded in misty veils, their granite slopes above the tree line reaching up to the monochrome sky, but the air she occupied was clear, and it was so all the way down to the valleys far below. She breathed in deeply; the air felt good in her lungs. It was pristinely clean, crisp and fresh with the smell of frost in the air, and the chill of a gentle breeze.

The view, the air, the reality of her newest acceptance, as well as her newest teacher...everything seemed to be going her way, and Twilight couldn't help but feel lucky, and very thankful. But, for all the good, there was one thing that was making her a bit nervous.

"Brand..."

"Yes," he responded, looking over his shoulder as he continued walking forward.

"Why are they all staring at me?"

The stallion smiled a bit, his dark blue hide, previously concealed by his ram skin cloak, shimmering in the sun.

"You are something new, in a place where almost everything stays the same."

Twilight was confused at first, but then found herself suppressing a laugh.

"What is it?" asked Brand, stopping to look Twilight in the eye.

"Nothing," she began, "It's just that I'm here, in this strange place with nothing in common with my own home, and yet, everypony here thinks I'm weird."

"You are weird," he said matter-of-factly, "You do not even wear a braid."

"No," Twilight said defensively, "You're all weird, because you all wear braids; even the stallions."

"It is a symbol for us; something to be proud of, not something to be ashamed of," Brand countered, his tone striking a new quality, one with a bit of hostility and a hint of hurt.

Twilight sighed.

"Next question," he said a bit demandingly.

"Before you begin again," Brand continued, turning back around to continue sauntering through the dirt paths of the village, "Just make me a promise please."

Twilight was a bit taken aback.

"Of course. What is it?"

"Don't ever make fun of me or my family ever again. If you ask questions, I promise to answer them with truth, but you must not laugh or scoff at what you learn while you are here."

"I promise," Twilight agreed sincerely, and Brand nodded appeasement.

There was a short silence as the two continued their stroll, but the tension was immediately broken by a pack of foals darting past them in what seemed to be a very physical game of tag.

"So, there must be plenty that you want to know," Brand said, his smile returning, though, not as full as before.

Twilight thought for a moment, but then, slowly, began to speak, bringing her focus back to the main reason she'd wound up here in the first place.

"So...where are all the dragons?"

Brand smiled a bit to himself, avoiding looking Twilight in the eye as he led her in between homes, and through small crowds of foals, looking up at her curiously.

"Here and there," he said after a short while.

"Oh, come on. Why haven't I seen any of them?"

Brand smiled to himself again as he took his time with his words, saying them carefully and properly.

"If a stranger came to your home, and you weren't sure you could trust him, would you leave your most precious treasure where he could see it?"

Twilight's mind drifted back to the library in Ponyville, specifically, the elemental crown within a safeguarded chest, hidden behind a bookcase.

"No," she answered.

"That is why you do not see the dragons. Up here, we do not live lives of luxury, but we are happy. Our treasures are not gold and silver; those are prizes for the dragons to keep. Our treasure is our knowledge, because nopony else has it. We are the only ones of all the clans that know what we know about dragons, and that treasure is one that is protected, much like your treasures back home. So, you being a stranger, our treasure is locked away, or, in our case, set free."

Twilight thought for a moment, tasting the stallion's reasoning, and finding it satisfying.

"But, what if I wasn't a stranger?"

Brand smiled again, and looked over his shoulder again to answer.

"Have you ever shown your treasures to your family, or even your dearest friends?"

"Yes," she responded, and Brand, still looking over his shoulder, allowed a glint to come to his eye, and Twilight knew what he meant.

"The day you become our friend, you will begin to see dragons, but the day you join our family... perhaps you will have one to call your own."

Twilight sighed a bit.

"I already have a dragon."

Brand whirled around, and gave her a look she had never seen before, something between confusion and anger.

"Then why do you come to us?"

"Beca..."

"You said you came to learn! What do you need to know if you already have a dragon?"

"I did come to learn," she retorted, looking around uncomfortably at the intense stares she was now receiving from everypony in sight.

"He is a dragon, but, he doesn't act like one."

Brand looked at her as if she was insane.

"What?"

"He's...civilized. He talks and helps with chores, and he's very well behaved...most of the time. As long as he acquires things in moderation, he's fine."

"What else does he do?" asked Brand curiously, his attitude changing drastically.

Twilight responded with one of the only things that came to mind.

"Almost everything he does is to try and impress one of my friends. We all know he likes her."

"He desires her as a mate?" asked Brand in disbelief.

"Well...yes, but he's nowhere near mature yet. I don't think that sort of desire has come yet. It's just an innocent crush."

"I see," Brand said, nodding a bit, "He acts like a pony."

Twilight was about to refute the answer, but then she realized he was completely correct. Brand turned back around to continue his stroll, and Twilight trotted after him.

"So, he is not a real dragon. Our dragons are. And that is why you have come? To learn about real dragons?"

Twilight nodded when Brand looked back at her.

"You will," he said encouragingly, "eventually. When you prove yourself worthy, you will join us in the sky."

As he finished, a distant sound came drifting downwards from mountaintops, concealed by clouded sky. At first, Twilight thought it was the wind, but she soon realized it was something else. It was strong and guttural, starting as a low pitched roar and growing into a high pitched shriek, like an eagle's cry. It echoed across the mountains, and was followed by another similar sound, though not quite as loud, and though Twilight's head snapped to the air above, all the others in sight simply went on with their business.

Brand looked up as well, and smiled, and pointing upwards, said, "Because that's where the real dragons are."

Twilight could tell her spreading grin was a bit excessive, and all of her fascination for whatever had made the noise was blatantly obvious.

"I know you do not want to wait any longer than you have to. You are like me; you want to be up there, not down here. So, let's get started."

"Alright," Twilight agreed, "What's first?"

"Gardening?"

"No," Brand corrected, "farming."

The stallion handed her a bag of seeds, as well as a small spade made of some sort of black metal attached to a wooden handle, and gestured towards the small dirt field filled with working foals. Twilight looked around bewilderedly, from the primitive tool in her hoof to the dirty colts and fillies already in the field, busying themselves digging small holes, and planting the seeds three at a time.

"I thought you were getting me ready to work with dragons."

"This is one of the first steps," Brand explained, pointing to the foals once again, "They are getting ready to handle dragons as well."

Again, the unicorn looked down at the bag of seeds, made from cheap cloth, and back up to Brand.

"I don't know how I feel about this."

Brand took a step closer to her, and lowered his fiery amber eyes to look into hers, and gently answered.

"If you want to earn your place among us, you need to do as I say without question. I will not mislead you; you only need to trust me."

Brand turned her around with firm hooves, and began pushing her towards the field, her hooves dragging through the dirt as she involuntarily moved closer to the patch of tilled earth.

"A dragon is something to be earned. This is how all of the...'Windriders', as you call us, started. You must do the same. This is a very important job, and will help the village very much. We will need food stores for the winter, so, get to work. And once you prove you are above farming, we will move onto something more fun."

Twilight reached the place where the grass ended, and the dirt began, a gigantic rut marking where her hooves had cut through the dirt with Brand's encouragement, and the stallion stopped pushing. He walked up to her side, and whistled to one of the colts in the field.

The colt, a small, beige foal with a dark mane, woven into a short braid, turned with pricked up ears towards the two of them, and Brand yelled out to him.

"Kroll!" he yelled, waving for him to come, "Reta!"

The colt came trotting over, and looked up at the two of them with sparkling blue eyes. Brand knelt down to the level of the foal, and whispered a few things to him; Twilight couldn't tell what was being said, but the colt nodded as Brand stood back up.

"This is Merda's son, Kroll," he said, introducing Twilight to the youth, "I've taught him to speak some Equestrian; most of the foals do not. He will show you what to do."

With that Brand turned, and began to walk back in the direction of home.

"Wait, where are you going?"

Brand turned around, and walking backwards, gave his response.

"It's time to feed Perilax."

Then, he turned back around, and left Twilight in utter confusion.

"Perilax?"

"His dragon," explained the colt from her side, his glacier blue eyes looking up at her, "He likes pig."

"Wait. You mean the dragons eat meat?!" she said, shocked, as she looked down at Kroll, who eyed her suspiciously.

"Yes," he said, talking to her as if she were an idiot, "They are dragons. What do you think they eat?"

"I thought they all ate gemstones."

"Those are treats. Meals are meat."

Twilight spent a good portion of time stomaching the thought of Spike being carnivorous, before Kroll grabbed her by the hoof, and led her into the field among the other foals. The colt went back to work quickly, readying his spade and opening his bag of seeds.

"Like this," he said, and demonstrated by digging a small hole in the dirt with one strike of the spade, and filling it with a trio of seeds, covering them with soil when he was done.

Twilight prepared to do the same, and in a lavender aura, she lifted the spade, and was about to get working when Kroll grew excited.

"No magic!" he said suddenly, grabbing her spade from the air, and as if reciting a life-long lesson, he iterated, "Vlad, sut, und trun. Blood, sweat, and patience. You must do everything the right way, or else you will not be ready."

Twilight was shocked; the colt, for his youth, was not shy to tell her what to do in the least, and as he demanded that she do the chore manually, she found herself a bit too eager to comply. With her hoof now, she dug out a small scoop of dirt from the field, in line with the other mounds of displaced dirt so as to make rows and columns in a very efficiently organized pattern. Twilight admired the foals for doing such; the foals back in Ponyville wouldn't be able to keep focus for more than a few minutes on something such as simple farming chores, and yet these foals, unsupervised, had done a job to rival the work of Applejack.

As Kroll continued working, focused wholly on the task at hoof, Twilight felt herself smiling. There was just something about him, about everypony in this village, that put her in awe. It could have been just the way they carried themselves, or some sort of communal pride, but they seemed, though technologically inferior to the ponies of the valley, superior in spirit, and Twilight was wonderstruck almost every time she had looked into the eyes of a mare, stallion or foal; she hoped it would continue to be so.

Several minutes passed, the only sounds being the distant, occasional vocalizations of the dragons in the clouded mountaintops above, and the scraping of dirt. Eventually, Twilight decided to break the quiet.

"So Kroll, what are we planting?"

"Kreb," he responded without looking up from his work.

Twilight sighed.

"Do you know what kreb is in Equestrian?"

The colt shrugged, and planted another hoof-full of seeds. Twilight sighed again, and waited the duration of nine seeds' planting to continue the meager attempt at a conversation.

"How old are you?"

"I am nine moons from my first hunt."

"First hunt?"

"Yes. Then I won't have to plant any more. I'll help feed the dragons instead, and help with the skins too."

Twilight nodded to herself a bit; at least this explained why hunting was so prevalent in a culture occupied by equines. The ponies may be vegetarian, but the dragons weren't...the animal skins were definitely a side effect, probably so as not to waste the prey, as well as to provide insulation, whether in the form of architecture or clothing.

"Tell me more about your 'first hunt'."

The two continued planting seeds as they likewise continued talking.

"One of my Therran will take me down the mountain to the trees. We will stay in the forest for days, until I make my first kill. Then, with my first kill, I will make my rider's cloak to wear on the rest of my hunts."

Twilight smiled as the colt grew more excited, hope filling his eyes, as well as his voice.

"I want my uncle Thresh to take me."

"Why him?" Twilight asked, her mind recalling the large son of the chief, but mostly, his icy glare, spawned simply by her not being born on the mountain.

"Thresh is the best hunter. Even his dragon is the strongest in the village. If I go with Thresh, my first kill might be a bear, like his was. That way, I will have respect."

"Well that explains his ego."

While Twilight went over the explanation for the stallion's hostile demeanor in her mind, Kroll looked up at her with confusion in his expression.

"What is ego?" he asked.

Twilight thought for a moment before saying, "It's what you think of yourself."

The colt seemed to accept the explanation, and hastily went back to work, digging small holes and filling them with seeds. Twilight did the same. As she continued working, she lifted her head to look around, and tried to enjoy a sight other than the dirt at her hooves.

The field was in between the homes of the terrace, and the rising slope of the mountain, and though the ground around the area she was working was tough and hard and overgrown with hardy grass and lichen, the dirt beneath her had been tilled, and soft, moist soil had been brought to the surface. But, the rest of the field was uninteresting, as was the monotonous mountainside behind her, Brand undoubtedly scaling its face in concealment towards the fog, and the dragons, above.

In the town, however, a small crowd had gathered. All of them were young adults, around Twilight's age if not a bit older. All had braids, and all had hides glistening with a trace of sweat, probably from another chore, one that left them less dirty than the foals in the field. They leaned against the wooden fence separating the field from the village structures, and watched her curiously as she worked. They were talking, almost definitely about her, in their native language, and laughing. Twilight tried to ignore them.

Several minutes passed before either of the two spoke again.

"What other things do the foals do?" asked Twilight.

"Sometimes we find plants in the forest instead of growing them, but mostly we take care of the fields. We plow, we plant, and then we feed the seeds. Sometimes Sappa helps us, but only when she is not hunting or taking care of her dragon."

"Who's Sappa?"

"Mother."

"Which do you like better?"

"I like to be in the forest. It is calm and still, and less dirty. Most like the forest better, because it is less boring. It is good."

Twilight smiled to herself. The colt, for how limited his Equestrian was, was doing well holding a conversation, but despite the dialogue, he was gripped in his work, much more so than talking. She could tell he felt the need to finish the job right the first time, and his focus was unshaken. Twilight nearly giggled at the thought of one of the foals in Ponyville trying to do the same job; most of them would have dropped the spade by now, and ran off to play when their supervisors turned their heads.

Kroll, even at his young age, was so different than the foals in the rest of Equestria. He dreamed of his 'first hunt' and of growing up instead of becoming a famous musician or athlete.

The culture of the tribe continued to mystify her, and she'd only been in the village for half a day.

The day progressed slowly; and fairly soon, Twilight ran out of things to discuss with Kroll, and small talk became harder due to his limited Equestrian. However, as the sun was beginning to descend from the sky above, luckily, Brand came back.

His timing was impeccable; he arrived at the field just as Twilight and the foals were finishing up planting, and once she laid the last trio of seeds into an earthy cradle, she eagerly trudged towards him with Kroll by her side. She gave him a smile from the other side of the wooden fence, and he grinned back. Eventually, the stallion lowered his sparkling amber eyes, and smiled to the colt at Twilight's side.

"How did she do Kroll?"

"She did well, but she was not as fast as I am."

The older equines chuckled a bit, and at Brand's beckoning, Kroll, followed by Twilight, hopped the fence. She landed in the dusty path adjacent the field, and, as was becoming a habit, followed Brand into town.

"So," Brand said as he dropped back to walk beside the unicorn, "what did you think?"

"It was simple enough, but, kind of dirty, and maybe a bit boring."

Brand chuckled again and looked back to his front.

"We all felt that way. Planting is not a fun job, but it is very important to feed the village. Tomorrow, we will do something different. Hopefully you will like it better."

Twilight smiled as she anticipated what dawn would bring; she hoped it would have something to do with dragons, and not with farming or some other kind of chore.

Just then, Twilight looked up, and realized she wasn't familiar with the buildings surrounding them.

"Are we going home a different way?" she asked.

"No," Brand responded, "We need to take Kroll home to Merda's house. Then we will go back home, eat, and then, if you have no more questions, we will sleep."

Twilight nodded, and continued at the stallion's side. It wasn't long before the beige hide of Merda became visible, standing out against the grey wood of the home she stood before. She smiled when they drew near, and she beckoned for Kroll to come to her. The colt trotted forward, and the two embraced, speaking a bit excitedly in their native tongues; Twilight actually understood a few words this time. Sappa, which she'd learned meant mother and Therra, which, to her best understanding, meant brother, or something of the such.

She was smiling at the sight of the mother and son, reminiscent of her relationship with her own mother, when she heard heavy footsteps coming from within the home. Almost immediately, the giddy talk between Merda and Kroll halted, and all present looked towards the door to the large home. It was like the whole atmosphere changed.

Suddenly, Brand leaned into Twilight's ear, and whispered, "Look him in the eye."

Twilight was about to ask why, when Thresh came lumbering out of the home, ducking his immense bulk underneath the doorway. His gaze was seized by Kroll running up to him; the foal eagerly hugged his uncle, who in turn, mussed his mane, and, kneeling and with words unrecognizable to Twilight, sent the foal indoors.

Then, the mahogany stallion stood to his impressive height, and turned his piercing blue eyes to Twilight in an expression in between disappointment and a scowl. Merda, with eyes the same shade of glacier blue, stood to the side, looking nervously back and forth between her brother and her cousin; Thresh and Brand kept their eyes locked on each other, and Twilight, with great effort, was avoiding looking away from the eyes of the imposing stallion.

Finally, Thresh's eyes met Twilight's in a silent stare. He said nothing, nor did his gaze falter. He simply looked into her eyes, as if he were trying to see her soul. The tension could have been cut with a sharp knife.

Finally, the stallion spoke.

"Vi morta la."

"We are not killing her, Thresh. She has done nothing," responded Brand, stepping a bit in front of the unicorn, shielding her.

" Vi mo..."

"Speak so she can understand, Thresh," interrupted Brand hostilely, again, putting himself in between the stallion and Twilight.

Twilight could hear the discontented growl from within the stallion's chest, low and rumbling like a manticore.

"I do not trust her," he said, "She has come to steal eggs. Why else would she arrive a week before the hens begin laying?"

"She has come to learn. Nothing more, nothing less."

"How do you know? It is an act, just like un kitruben, like the ones that came before her," said Thresh, taking a step forward to stand before Brand in all his massive bulk.

Twilight never broke her gaze with the stallion, but regardless, she found herself beginning to step back and away from him.

"We should kill her before she has the chance," Thresh pushed, his glare descending even further as his rumbling voice reached Twilight's ears.

"Until she takes anything, I will protect her as if she were one of us, from you, or anything else that tries to harm her."

Thresh laughed, throwing his head back and cackling a low rumble into the sky.

"You would take her over us...a worthless pony from the valley, over your own Therran?"

"It does not matter who she is," Brand challenged, "I took her in, and I am bound to keep her safe until she gives me a reason not to."

Thresh grew visibly angry, putting his previously aggravated state to shame.

"I have spent years protecting you. Ever since father took you in, I have treated you as a brother. And now, you choose this," he threw a hoof towards Twilight condescendingly, "over me?"

Thresh took an aggressive step towards the stallion, but Merda caught him around his shoulders, and held him back.

"Stop it Thresh," she said sternly, "You need to go back home now."

Thresh stopped; Brand was holding his ground, but Twilight had given up nearly five feet of ground involuntarily as she'd backed away from the imposing equine.

The brown pony glared at Brand.

"You should sleep lightly," he growled as he began to turn back around.

"Are you going to kill me in my sleep?" asked Brand sarcastically.

"No," shouted Brand, whipping around, his braid lashing out behind him, "but she might."

The stallion lifted his snout to Twilight, and then, with a snort, he stomped away. Brand watched him go, and when he was sure he had rounded the corner for good, he looked to Merda.

"I am sorry about him," the mare said, her blue eyes sympathetic and strong as she looked to Twilight.

"It's okay," the unicorn responded, her voice a bit shaky.

"You should probably get back home as well. Night is coming."

Brand turned without speaking, and as was becoming a sort of custom, led Twilight away through the village in the direction of home.

As the unicorn walked after him, she noticed her knees were weaker than normal, and, with a deep breath, attempted to calm herself, to no avail. It was a long walk back to Brand's home.