Chapter 8

Apple Bloom dragged Leafwind all the way to a rundown treehouse, where two other fillies were waiting. One was an orange Pegasus with mauve hair and eyes and the other was a small white unicorn with pale green eyes and a curly lilac mane, styled differently from Leafwind but similar enough.

"Who's she," the Pegasus asked.

"Her name's Leafwind," Apple Bloom said. "Leafwind, these are my friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle."

"Nice to meet you, Leafwind," Sweetie Belle said. Leafwind followed their eyes as they circled around her.

"Are you a real unicorn," Leafwind asked. Sweetie nodded. "I've never met a unicorn before."

"Never," Scootaloo said in surprise. Leafwind shook her head.

"Everypony I've ever met before today has been a Trossel like me." she lifted up her hoof and they noticed the spikes.

"What's a Trossel," Scootaloo asked. Leafwind opened her mouth to answer, but then paused. She'd never actually ever been asked that question before, but then Leafwind had never known anypony who wasn't a Trossel. Then, a thought came to mind.

"Well," she said. "I don't know, but we could always ask Frostburn's big brother Infernalo. He knows everything." the group decided to follow Leafwind.

Steelmind was sitting down at a table across from Rarity, sipping his tea. He couldn't help but feel something strange about Rarity's expression while they were talking, but simply ignored it. He'd told her everything about Seldreinia, Trossels, and just about everything that had happened in his short life, stuttering occasionally and only pausing to catch his breath or take another sip of tea.

"And then," he concluded. "Leafwind met another young filly and they seemed to really like each other. I left Frostburn with her sister because she started getting emotional about what could and/or, in all likelihood, is happening to Seldreinia. Then, I met you in town and I think you can fill in the rest." he took a long gulp from his cup before setting it back down. "This is very good tea, by the way."

"Why thank you, Steelmind," she said. "You seem to have led a very interesting and fulfilling life. Tell me again what Seldreinia's like."

"I don't know why you'd want to know," he said with a tint of confusion in his voice. "It really isn't all the different from here, but it's bigger and more populated; not nearly as diverse, though, but I fail to see how that's neither here not there." Zephyroak walked in, seeing Steelmind and Rarity at the table.

"This place seems very nice," she said absently before seeing Steelmind. "Steel, there you are. Who's this?"

"Zephyroak, this is a new friend of mine Rarity," Steelmind explained. "Rarity, this is my girlfriend's sister's best friend Zephyroak, the one I was telling you about before."

"Pleasure to meet you," Rarity said. "Your friend Steelmind seems very sophisticated and fascinating."

"I am a Thought Trossel after all," he bragged. Zephyroak muttered something sarcastic under her breath, before dragging him away with her magic. "Hope to see you again soon, Rarity." Zephyroak looked at him with some semblance of annoyance. "I can assure you nothing happened. I have no serious emotions towards her, and the mere notion of what you may or may not be implying was never brought up."

"Can't Thought Trossels, like, read minds and stuff," the Sky Trossel asked. Steelmind nodded, pushing his glasses back up to his eyes.

"I could, but I didn't want to be rude," he said in a dignified tone.

"I've been trying to track you down, like, since we got here," Zephyroak scolded. "If we're going to make this a temporary home, we'll need a place to stay." Steelmind looked back at the boutique, and Zephyroak narrowed her eyes. "What else?"

"What else do you know of," Steelmind challenged.

"Point taken," she said defeated. "We'll stay with the girl so far out of your league you need a telescope."

"I told you I don't have those feelings for Rarity," he said defensively. "Besides, I doubt that somepony that beautiful isn't spoken for by somepony else."

Leafwind and the others searched around town, looking for Infernalo. Almost immediately, Leafwind stopped dead in her tracks as the others followed seeing Stonebolt and Frostburn standing around and talking with Zephyroak.

"What is it, Leafwind," Sweetie Belle asked.

"I thought we were looking for Infernalo," Scootaloo said.

"We are," Leafwind assured them. "Trust me. If anypony knows where Infernalo is, it's his sisters." Leafwind galloped off, Apple Bloom and the others following. Frostburn looked down at the four, all of whom looked back up at her.

"Leafwind," Frostburn said happily.

"Frostburn," Leafwind said. "I'd like you to meet my new friends Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Guys, this is my cousin Zephyroak, her best friend Stonebolt, and Stonebolt's sister the bestest-best Trossel in the history of forever Frostburn." Frostburn smiled a bit at Leafwind introducing her that way as her new friends looked up at her in amazement. "Have you seen Infernalo? We have a question for him." Frostburn thought about it and then turned to Stonebolt.

"Nope," they said. "We haven't seen him all day," Stonebolt said.

"The last pony I remember seeing him with is that Pegasus I met," Leafwind said to herself. Scootaloo lit up instantly.

"I think I know where he is," she said, and they rushed off after her. With the young fillies gone, Zephyroak turned back to Frostburn.

"Frosty, you don't seem to have any kind of reaction or anything to what I told you about Steelmind and that unicorn," Zephyroak said.

"Zephyroak," the Ice Trossel assured her. "I think you're blowing this a bit too extreme. Steelmind wouldn't go behind my back with anypony else. Besides, a lot of guys say Steelmind was lucky to have even got me. If this unicorn is as pretty as she sounds, I doubt that she'd be available and interested in Steelmind when, in all reality, she could shoot so much higher." Zephyroak nodded a bit, almost envious of her best friend's sister's naivety and innocence. Zephyroak thought a bit longer about the situation, though. She'd known Steelmind all her life and even indirectly introduced him to Frostburn. If Steelmind would've left her for another mare, he would have done it a long time ago and he proved time and again that he more than cared about Frostburn even more than himself at some points, even pulling himself away from the most important projects just for her. The thoughts that had run through Zephyroak's mind vanished as quickly as they'd been introduced and she shook her head clear of the thoughts.