There was a time, just a few short years ago, when the idea that a Yak and a Hippogriff walking down the streets of Ponyville would have been little more than a pipe dream. And yet, as Yona and Silverstream now proved, things had changed in Equestria. They walked here among the ponies like they were one of them, smiling and waving to passers by as though they were close and trusted friends. Everyone had accepted the students as part of the community, given all they had done since their arrival, and Silverstream and Yona seemed more than happy to be a part of all this. After all, there was little the two females enjoyed more after a long day of school work than to casually stroll through the town. The markets were in full swing, and there was just this buzz of activity that seemed almost infectious. Silverstream especially marvelled at everything she saw, gasping and looking wide-eyed at all the wares she came across.

"Oh! These jewels are so pretty! And those fruits! They look so tasty! And is that a genuine wood-carving of a hydra I see over there?!"

Yona, while similarly excited to see what the ponies had to offer, nevertheless walked over to her over-enthusiastic friend, placing her hoof upon her shoulder.

"Yona like pony stuff too, but watch out for pony wood stuff. Last one Yona buy not last very long."

Silverstream looked to her, and together, the two shared a laugh, clearly showing how much they were enjoying the moment. But, as they continued to do this, they were soon interrupted by the sound of ponies muttering to themselves. Many mares and stallions in the immediate area started to move, either from browsing the market or from some other activity they were in the middle of. The two students watched them, confused, seeing them all gather towards one end of the market. Naturally, their curiosity got the better of them, and it wasn't long before the two started to join the crowds. Silverstream was pretty excited, as the prospect of doing something completely mysterious and unknown always gave her a giddy sense of fun. Yona was a bit more wary, but otherwise wasn't all that worried. After a while, however, the crowd stopped, and Silverstream craned her neck upwards, trying to get a better view.

"Oooooh! What is it?"

Yona, naturally, took a more direct approach, and carefully nudged the ponies in front of her out of the way. There was plenty of room for these other ponies to move to, so this move on Yona's part wasn't any issue. Once towards the front of the group, both she and Silverstream saw what it was that had gathered so much attention. A pair of earth pony stallions, standing right in the middle of the town square, lookign to the crowds with confidence. They were dressed quite unlike anybody else here, though the students were still able to recognise the uniform of a gymnast when they saw them. After regarding the crowds they'd gathered for themselves the two stallions took a bow, before the first, the older-looking of the two, finally broke the silence.

"Mares and Gentlecolts! My brother and I have travelled from town to town, seeing the length and breadth of all Equestria! We have performed in Manehattan, Baltimare, Canterlot, and even as far North as the Crystal Empire!"

The younger one then spoke up, adding his voice to the proceedings.

"Crowds have marvelled at our skill and feats all over, and we assure you, that today, you too shall watch with awe and disbelief at what we can do!"

There were many excited murmurs and chatters of speculation over what was happening, and Silverstream was very much among those who were keen to see what was about to happen. Yona seemed more sceptical, but nevertheless watched as the brother gave each other a nod. Without any further warning., they literally leapt into action, jumping high and performing an immediate backflip. It was a move that caused "oooohs" and "aaaahs" in the crowd, but the brothers were not done yet. They continued to move and jump about, flipping over pre-set-up obstacles and even each other on occasion. The crowds continued to watch, stunned at every single high jump and flip and other acrobatic movement they were witnessing. Silverstream, as one would expect of her, was practically jumping in one place over how awed she was, and even hugged Yona over this.

"Oh! Yona! Aren't they great?!"

But the young Yak did not seem so impressed, and continued to watch the brothers as they got down to performing their final act. And this was, by far, their most dangerous feat yet. One held aloft a ring, about a width-and-a-half of the average stallion, before, to the shock of the crowd, setting it on fire. The other gave a bow to the onlookers, before promptly running towards the flaming hoop, giving an almighty leap, and flying straight thought it. The flames had never even touched him, even in spite of how small the ring had been, and the stallion landed back on the other side, eliciting a massive cheer from the crowd around them. The brothers bowed, and Silverstream, in that usual way of hers, practically screamed with excitement over what she'd witnessed.

"Oh! That was amazing! The flips, the jumps, the movements! Ooooooh! It was all so great!"

She turned, looking to her larger friend.

"Wasn't it fantastic, Yona?"

But, to Silverstream's slight surprise, her Yak colleague was not so enthused, and let out a snort soon afterwards.

"Yona no like pony brothers. They too gloaty."

Silverstream tilted her head.

"Er...gloaty?"

Yona looked to her, giving a hearty nod.

"Yes! Gloaty! They come here, spend big time talking about how great they are! They type to look down on others!"

She frowned.

"In Yakyakistan, Yaks who boast and talk of greatness must prove they as great as they say!"

Silverstream blinked, looking from her friend, to the still-bowing brothers nearby, before again looking to Yona.

"Um...the brothers did prove they were great. I mean, did you see all those acrobatics?"

Yona huffed again.

"Hmph! Yona still no like braggers!"

Raising a hoof, Yona pounded her chest.

"Yona show them! Yona challenge brothers!"

Silverstream immediately leapt into action, standing between Yona and the very first step she was about to take.

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait! Let's just think about this, shall we?"

Yona tilted her head.

"Why Silverstream stop Yona?"

Silverstream sighed.

"Yona...I realise that Yaks have this whole action-over-words thing, and believe me, I respect that a lot!"

She stepped forward, placing her claw upon her friend's shoulder.

"But you have to remember, these guys are performers Their whole job is entertaining people! Giving them an exciting show or something big to look forward to!"

She gave a quick shrug of her shoulders.

"I mean...when you stop and think about it...they're kind of like storytellers."

Yona's face was filled with confusion now, as was her tone when she spoke.

"How?"

Silverstream's smile returned.

"Well...when people tell stories, they'll sometimes add little things here and there to make it seem more interesting. They'll say something like...like...it was a fierce battle! Or that...um...my heart was pounding when it happened!"

The young Hippogriff let out a quick giggle.

"Little things like that can make a big difference, and can turn some matter-of-fact account into a real story. Something people can have fun with! And it's the same with acts like these!"

She gestured to the brothers.

"Sure, they could have just arrived and started doing their act, but by doing what they did, by talking about all the other people who've seen their stuff and enjoyed it, they crank up the anticipation."

Slowly, she looked back to Yona.

"I know this can be difficult for you, but...what they did wasn't wrong...and it wasn't done to hurt or insult other people."

Yona stood there, absorbing everything her pink friend had said to her, and after a while, she looked to the side letting out another snort. But, while she was reluctant to accept this new way of thinking that her friend had presented to her, she did, after a slow while, start to look back to her, her voice tinted with just the tiniest bit of uncertainty.

"So...Yona shouldn't challenge brothers?"

Letting out a sigh, Silverstream gave a slow shake of her head, before speaking up yet again.

"Yona...just think about it. If you did go over there and challenge those two...those two professional gymnasts...what would happen?"

The Yak female paused, thinking on that question for a good long while. Then, her earlier confidence started to melt away slightly, and she gained a small blush. She didn't want to admit it, but as the moments rolled on, the truth was right there, staring her in the face. Prideful she may have been, just like all Yaks, but even so, she could not deny it any longer, not with her friend looking to her and awaiting an answer.

"Yona...would no look good doing gym stuff."

Another quick giggle on the part of Silverstream, and she gave a slight shake of her head.

"I'm afraid not. I mean, no disrespect to you, Yona, but..."

She scratched the back of her head, trying to think on how best to say what she needed to, before just coming out and saying it.

"...you're...well...not exactly the most graceful of people."

A pause fell between them, but, rather than be offended or angered by what had been said to her, Yona instead let out a hearty laugh. Silverstream, who was understandably relieved that her friend was not upset with her, joined in on the laugh, and together, they continued to do so even as the surrounding crowds started to at last disperse. The brothers had finished their performance, and the day was over for a great many of them, so the ponies trickled away, one by one, even the brothers themselves, before, at the end, it was only the two students left here. They continued to laugh, the potential scenario of Yona's plan passing through their minds. Clearly, they were amused by it, with Yona herself coming out and declaring how absurd it might have been.

"Yona no do jumps and flips! Yona just trip and fall!"

Silverstream continued to giggle.

"Yeah...it'd be like when you first arrived at the school!"

Another hearty laugh from Yona.

"True! Yona's head hurt a lot back then!"

She gave a slow nod to herself.

"Yona probably go over there, try big jump...then fall flat on face."

She shuddered slightly.

"Yona no like to think how ponies laugh after that."

Silverstream gave her a soft look, reaching over and giving her a quick pat on the shoulder.

"I'm sure they wouldn't have been to bad. But, at least you know it's not a good idea to go and publically out-do professionals. I mean, boasts or otherwise, they probably know what they're doing."

Yona nodded, acknowledging that point.

"Yeah...they just do their job. Making people happy...exciting them..."

Slowly, she smiled again.

"Yona can respect that. Performers no bad people because of boasts and chest-puffing. They make acts better!"

Silverstream nodded back, opening her mouth to no doubt say something further on the matter. But, before she had the chance to do so, the two of them were interrupted by the sound of somebody sniffing. Together, they turned, and saw that, while almost every other pony had vacated the town square, there was now one lone resident here. A blue unicorn mare, with an almost white mane, looking to the two students with a happy smile upon her face. It was Trixie. More than that, however, she seemed to be welling up with tears, and while the two didn't understand why this was the case, they were even more surprised when, without warning, the mare leapt forward, embracing Yona in a big hug. Now, Yona liked a good hug as much as the next person, but having it happen unexpectedly with one of her substitute teachers was not exactly how she usually went about them. And speaking of whom, that mare, through her sobs, started to speak.

"Thank you...thank you so much for saying all that, you wonderful, beautiful Yak you!"

Yona, though flattered, nevertheless chuckled in a manner far more nervous than she was known for, as indeed did Silverstream. Trixie, after hugging as much as she was able, parted from the youngster, giving her a look that spoke of pure respect towards her, before giving a similar nod to Silverstream. Then, without a word, the blue unicorn headed off, wiping a tear away from her eye as she did so. Now alone, Yona and Silverstream moved closer to one another, looking to each other with confusion.

"Um...why substitute teacher Trixie do that?" Yona asked.

Silverstream, in an uncharacteristic look of concern and worry, shook her head, then looked Yona in the eye and brought her voice down to a whisper.

"I'm not sure...but I think it's best if we just smile, nod...and walk away slowly."

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