Ice Bear Seeks Safe Settlement

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear walked through the Tangled Green gate, finding it to be like the forest back at home. He was glad the human pointed him in the right direction. If he could find an icebox at least, he'd be set until finding his brothers again.

He noticed he had a communicator device of some sort and a mobile data viewing device. He'd have to check them out later, but his luck with technology they might break on him in half a minute. He wanted to be within some sort of community before trying to use such things.

He kept walking, eventually he'd surely find a sign post soon.

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear saw a sign post for a city named Ambrosia. The name alone made Ice Bear interested.

"Ice Bear likes food of the gods"

He decided to walk towards Ambrosia. It took him about 20 minutes from the sign post to get there. Along the way he tried to familiarize himself with the communicator and data device. By the time he reached the city, he had worked out the ins and outs, but wasn't ready to do anything with it yet. Besides, he knew no one in this region... or at all in this universe.

He approached the outer limits of the city. He stared in amazement as a Sylveon was chitchatting with six pastel coloured ponies about movie rights, as Ice Bear was walking along. Ice Bear felt both validated and confused.

He felt validated because he wasn't the only talking animal in this universe.

He felt confused, on the other hand, because he had no idea what the hell just happened.

Ice Bear sighed at it all. He didn't want to eavesdrop on their conversation either, that'd be rude.

[Ice Bear]

Upon looking around, Ice Bear found in the centre of the city, a gigantic pinkish mansion surrounded by tropical jungle. Ice Bear recognized this is probably where he could find some guidance, just because of the size alone, and the location of it. Call it a polar bear's intuition.

Ice Bear was tall, but even he was eclipsed by the size of the mansion. He was also amazed by the jungle forest that surrounded the mansion, considering the temparate climate of the rest of the city.

Ice Bear sighed as he walked up to the palace's front doors. He was nervous, and getting a bit warm. A slight breeze hit him in that moment, and he felt a bit of relief.

"Ice Bear is ready." He said as he stood in front of the doors.

[Guu]

Guu felt the cushion underneath her disappear and her rear gave way to the empty air that replaced it. Quickly, she floated up a few inches, stopping the momentum before she could hit the ground.

She had forgotten to consider that there wouldn’t be seats where she would turn up.

Straightening herself, she took in a large breath. After breathing the stiff and manufactured air of the colosseum, the sudden shift to the clean air of Ambrosia was almost a shock to the system, but still refreshing.

As she made her way towards the palace, she opened her mind’s eye to peek into everyone walking around. Some terriers, hundreds of pokutes, she could even sense Sylvia and Molly, though near the edges of her senses.

But someone caught her eye. A polar bear walking just ahead. The concept of a bear walking on two legs wasn’t unusual, at least not in Ambrosia. But what piqued her interest was that he was a prime.

As he paused at the front door, she simply walked up behind him

“What’s your deal?”

Ice Bear shot around, his eyes wide as he looked down at the extremely pink little girl. After a split second, he calmed down.

“Ice Bear didn’t sense you.”

“Yeah, it’s my suppression, it blocks that sort of thing.”

“How does it block Ice Bear’s smell?”

“I dunno, I don’t think about the mechanics of it.” Said Guu nonchalantly. “And it’s not important right now. What is important is what business you have here.”

“Ice Bear wishes to speak to the one in charge.”

“That’s me, I’m Princess Guu of Ambrosia.”

Ice Bear took a deep breath, before continuing.

“Ice Bear requires a home here. Ice Bear seeks safe settlement.”

“Well, you’ve come to the right place.”

Guu’s arm stretched out in a crazy bendy straw-esque design before reaching the door handle that was only five feet in front of her to begin with. As she pulled the door open, he arm merged together and shrunk down until it was straight.

“Let’s go inside.” Guu walked in ahead without a single word about what just happened.

Ice Bear was kinda horrified, but he followed anyways, citing obvious exits on the way, just in case.



Ice Bear was sitting across from Guu in a large velvet arm chair, feeling slightly uncomfortable, both from meeting royalty, and because of that crazy stunt earlier.

Guu shut her eyes and suddenly a ball of rainbow light appeared in front of her and began to pulsate. Ice Bear was frozen in shock, not sure if he should run for his life. He didn’t know if running and jumping out a window as uncouth in social situations.

But much to his surprise, the ball moved to the table in front of them, and then formed into a cup of tea. It gave up a mild plume of steam as the Princess picked it up, the stump of her arm had become a hand composed of nothing but pinkie fingers.

“Ice Bear wants to know how you did that.”

“It’s a gift to all primes. We can create stuff from simply thinking what we desire.”

Ice Bear was curious. He shut his eyes and thought of a nice cool glass of iced tea. With only a few seconds of it in his head, the ball of rainbow colored light appeared in front of him. A few minutes later, a sweating class sat in front of him.

“Ice Bear is impressed.” He said, sharing Guu’s monotone.

‘Yep, it is impressive.”

“What’s a prime?” Asked Ice Bear, looking up at the princess.

“Oh, we have a long chat ahead of us.”



Guu explained about primes, how they are summoned to the Omniverse by Omni, and about secondaries who are summoned by the primes. She explains about the many verses and how each world is completely different from one another. Then she told the story of Ambrosia, it’s humble beginnings as a town of teenagers, to it growing into a sanctuary for the odd. She explained how anyone who doesn’t fit anywhere else and wanted to live peacefully is always welcome here.

Ice Bear couldn’t help but let his guard down a bit. Guu maybe weird, but considering all she’s created here, she can’t be all bad.

“And since you plan to join our city, you’ll be provided with a house within town, as well as access to the palace’s public amenities, like the dataverse uplink, medical centre, recall station access.”

“Ice Bear wants to know what a Recall Station is.” Inquired Ice Bear.

“There should be a new app on your phone.”

He pulled out his phone, and sure enough, a new app was there, one with a strange symbol on it with multicolored arrows pointing away from the center.

“If you press that and stay still for 10 minutes, it’ll automatically teleport you back to Ambrosia. You could be thousands of miles away and you’ll be back here in no time.”

Ice Bear’s eyes widened at the prospect, no more commuting home. This Omniverse did open a lot of possibilities.



After the pair finish up their drinks, Guu lead him to the front door wear a chipmunk walking around on two feet was waiting with a clipboard at hand.

”This is Charles, he’ll take you down the the Cavern Grotto. They have a bunch of houses with a cave aesthetic there, he can help you pick one out.”

“Ice Bear appreciates the help.”

“It’s no problem, hope you enjoy your stay in Ambrosia.”

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear headed over to the Cavern Grotto with Charles.

"Ice Bear knew a guy named Charlie." he muttered.

"Oh you did? From where you came! I'm not sure if I fit the part, but I'll do my best to be the best Charlie. Oh darling it's gonna be such a blast having another bear in the town. I gotta show you my favourite couple too!"

Ice Bear and him continued to walk down.

"Ice Bear can't wait" Ice Bear said in a monotone voice, trying to think of what he'd need to summon to make his cave more like home.

Charles noticed Ice Bear looked glum. "Look, I'm not gonna lie, I know it may be hard wherever you came from... being here now. But here we look out for each other. I'm just gonna be honest: if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm around, okay?"

Ice Bear smiled a bit.

"Atta boy, cheer up. Make the best of the situation!"

Ice Bear smiled a bit. "You do remind Ice Bear of Charlie."

Charles blushed. "Oh shucks."

They arrived at the Cavern Grotto. Many caves with numbered posts and mailboxes lined the grotto. Ice Bear saw many vacancies, but also many families and individuals living there.

"Ice Bear is impressed."

Charles smiled in agreement. "Yes, only the highest quality cave homes here. They even have basic air conditioning." He stopped as he noticed his favorite couple coming home. "Hey guys, how was the game?"

The bear couple looked at Ice Bear and Charles. "Oh it was amazing. The Grizzes won by 4 points." a tall, more buff bear spoke.

"Ice Bear, meet Dan and Bob Gnarleson, they're my favorite couple. They liven up this grotto like a summer barbeque. If you need any help and I'm for some reason not around, I'm sure Dan and Bob will gladly help you.

Bob, the shorter but still buff bear spoke to Ice Bear "Nice to meet you! We're gonna need to show you the cave sometime."

Dan, the tall and even more buff bear nodded. "Nice to see someone who can rival me in height. How tall are you, bud?"

Ice Bear blushed and replied "About 6 foot 7 inches tall. Ice Bear doesn't like ceiling fans."

Bob and Dan smiled, while Bob said "Drop by anytime we're home, just knock first."

Charles smiled and waved. "Such good tennants!"

Ice Bear looked at Charles.

"Oh and before you ask, it's because they make the best barbequed ribs in town and throw the best parties." Charles said to the leaning bear.

Ice Bear nodded in silent agreement.

"So let's find you your spot here. We got some vacancies here, across the street."

Ice Bear pointed at the big cave, suitable for him and a few others.

"Ice Bear might need the room." he said to Charles, blunt but fair.

"Oh, absolutely. Ice Bear, enjoy your new home. And I hope you enjoy your time here in Ambrosia." Charles said with a smile, handing Ice Bear the security key to the place.

Ice Bear smiled, nodded, and gave Charles a big hug.

"Oh, a friendly fella!"

Ice Bear waved as he let go, walking towards his home.

Ice Bear walked into the cavern that he'd soon call home. He looked around, seeing some basic "rooms" made out of the cave's structures, combined with "man-made" walls. Ice Bear was glad to net a cave of a reasonable size.

Now he wanted to try summoning the one thing he longed for aside meeting his brothers again: but first he needed to find an electrical outlet.

He found one, and analyzed the plug's shape and size. He then started to summon a large freezer, large enough for him to rest in comfortably. Soon, before him, was a refridgerator/freezer that he could sleep in comfortably.

He was so happy he could do that. It was long enough to sleep in without being hunched over anything. He decided to prop it up like the one at home.

He decided to furnish his place a little bit, making a desk, two lamps and some chairs. He decided that'd be enough for the day. He decided it was time to sleep for the night, as he had a long day.

He curled up in the freezer, next to the fire axe he had. He shed some tears, wondering if he'd ever talk to his brothers again. But at least for now, he was safe.

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear awoke after a long night of tweeting. He had a rough first night, and it was complicated by him seeing how many talking animals there are in this brave new world, but none were his brothers. And there was no sign of Chloe either.

Still, he eventually did get some rest. After waking up... He decided to head down to a restaurant in town. Turns out the individual who told Ice Bear about the Isabelle Doppelganger was in Ambrosia. He decided to stop by and say thanks.

He closed the lid of his freezer and took out his fire axe, bringing it along in case of emergency. While he trusted his new home, he wanted to be prepared at any given moment to kick butt.

Ice Bear walked, waving at his neighbors. He'd have to learn to be more sociable in a time like this. He realized the axe might be off putting, so he kept it over his shoulder, and tried smiling.

He went and knocked on Dan and Bob's door. He needed directions.

Bob answered the door.

"Oh, hi Ice Bear!"

Ice Bear blinked. "Ice Bear comes in peace." He said as he pointed at the axe. "Just in case of self defence."

Bob understood. "Sure, gotcha man. So what brings you to our humble abode?"

Ice Bear titled his head "First to thank you for being welcoming. Also for directions to the Sty and Fry."

Bob smiled. "It's no prob. Also the Sty and Fry is in the main part of town, on the main street. You can't miss it."

Ice Bear nodded. "Arigatou" he stated as he clasped his hands, with the axe still in one of them.

"Be careful with that!" Bob stated cautiously.

"Ice Bear will be careful." He stated. "See you later."

Ice Bear wandered towards the centre of town, seeing some of the pastel coloured ponies, one was in the window of a party store. Ice Bear was amazed with the naturally occuring diversity in this part of an even more diverse universe within the Omniverse.

He then spotted with his eyes the Sty and Fry. He decided to walk in, with his axe over his shoulder.

"Ice Bear comes in peace" he said as he went towards the counter, sitting down, putting his axe down. He started reading the menu.

[Ice Bear]

As Ice Bear glanced through the menu, he heard a peppy but pleasant sound.

"What will ya have?"

Ice Bear looked up and recognized the pigtailed pig. It was Mina from OmniTwitter.

"Ice Bear appreciates you guiding me the right way on OmniTwitter. Proud Bear." He spoke. "Ice Bear will have Ice Water, with Lemon."

Mina put her pad on the table and gasped in awe.

"Oh so you came! I am so glad to meet you. Bonita is gonna be so thrilled. I told her I met a cool bear and she didn't believe me! She and you have so many similarities you wouldn't believe it." She spoke with such energy Ice Bear couldn't handle it... yet he was all ready used to the social responsibilities. And she wasn't being nasty. She and the others have been, outside that troll, very friendly and helpful towards him. It was in a way better than San Francisco, where everyone treated him like an outsider. He and his brothers, even with some other animals, never really fit in.

Ice Bear in a way, was relieved someone was being nice to him.

"Ice Bear bets Bonita is best Bonita in the world." He fudged up his words.

Mina laughed. "Yes she is! And don't you forget it boy!"

Ice Bear blinked, not sure how to respond.

"... Ice Bear wants the fish fry with chips."

The peppy pig took his order and left him with a glass of water and lemon, filled to the brim with ice.

After he ate his breakfast, Ice Bear puzzled the pig with a question.

"Ice Bear thanks you for breakfast. Ice Bear wants to find work."

Mina giggled. "Oh, all ready?"

Ice Bear simply blinked and nodded.

"Well, there are several job postings on the town hall bulletin board. Maybe one of them there will lead you to an ideal job. Unfortunately we don't have any openings here or I'd offer you one in a heartbeat."

Ice Bear stood up, formed some coins out and dropped them onto the counter. Plenty in fact.

Ice Bear nodded. "Arigatou" he said, walking away.

Mina was amazed at the tip he left.

"Uh sir, didja really mean to leave all thi-" She was cut off by him shutting the door.

She sighed and smiled.

"What a nice young man."

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear walked to the town square. He saw a board with several leaflets pinned up on it.

He wanted to travel, and explore this brave new world, but he wanted something not too extravigant.

So he looked for anything pertaining to travel.

He saw that a store named Party Hard had just opened and needed a parcel delivered, and stop by the store for details.

Ice Bear took the strip of paper with the address to the store, and headed that way.

People in the town paid him no mind. For once he didn't stand out like a sore thumb.

Still, this could not compare to home if he didn't have his brother. Alas, he was starting to get used to this fact.

He went into the store's front door, when all of a sudden, like a pleasant thunderstorm, a noisemaker went off and gallons of confetti rained down on him. He quickly raised his axe in self defence.

"Hi!" A pastel pink pony spoke to Ice Bear with glee.

Ice Bear recognized the pony as one of the six talking to the sylveon about a movie the other day. He lowered his axe.

"Ice Bear... comes in peace..." He said, trying to regain his composure.

"Name is Pinkie Pie! And welcome to PARTY HARD!"

She spoke with such joy yet so much energy Ice Bear nearly was overwhelmed. It was like he was meeting the polar opposite of himself each and every moment, and it kept getting more and more intense.

Yet it was not unpleasant either... just different.

"Ice Bear is here about job offer." He said in a blunt manner.

Pinkie Pie jumped in glee. "Yeee! My first client from out of town. I need you to do a favor for me, you'll be paid well I assure you." She said with a giant smile.

Ice Bear nodded, sagely.

"Okay! I need you to take this parcel and deliver it to a ninja girl named Rina in the nearby village of Mokugakure. You'll need to get a signature. The quicker the better... but I know it's a hard village to find. I cant't find it on a map. So maybe for you, you can be the one who gets to it at last." She spoke at a mile a minute.

Ice Bear just blinks. He then summoned a backpack and put his axe in one of the holders, and put the parcel in the backpack.

"Ice Bear will find village and deliver parcel, rain, sleet, snow, sun or shine."

Pinkie Pie waved. "Come back soon!"

Ice Bear exited the building and looked around for a sign post. None clearly indicated where the place was.

He needed a clue. Just any clue.

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear headed west. Fortunately the road was well maintained, albiet not the 4-lane freeways he's come to know from San Francisco. He used his dataverse device as a compass. Plus he made note of the app Guu had shown him earlier, if he got lost he could always reset back to Ambrosia's town hall.

Still, he wanted to be careful. He summoned a notepad and some paper and a pencil. He started jotting down notes along the roads as he walked. He watched a documentary the night before on Ambrosia, and remembred a map showing the east and western parts of the city's outer edges.

So he drew a rudimentary map. He wasn't the best artist, but when it came to technical stuff he knew what he was doing. He'd worry about the nitty gritty details later.

For now this map was his guide. The documentary did give him one clue: It mentioned that nearby, in the woods, was the neighbouring city of Mokugakure, but it didn't point out the city on the map in the documentary for some reason.

Ice Bear assumed it was maybe an oversight and decided it might be in the woods somewhere west. He noted on the map there was heavy amounts of forest. He decided that was where he needed to search.

So he headed west, walking at a brisk, firm pace. He saw plenty of people walking from the west, heading into Ambrosia, including a pony hauling apples from her farm to sell in town. It was good to know he found a place to belong.

He couldn't help but think of his brothers. He really did miss them. However, he focused on the task at hand: the parcel needed delivery and the invoice signed.

Ice Bear was about 30 minutes out from Ambrosia's city limits. He didn't see any sign posts for Mokugakure anywhere. He scratched his head. He wondered why such a place would be so hard to find.

"Ice Bear needs guidance." He admitted, frustrated.

However something caught his eye: a single footprint, not of an animal, but human... and it was of a shoe. Most of the animals in town didn't wear shoes. And what piqued his interest was it was very faint: he only detected it because it was relatively fresh.

Then he noticed it was pointed away from the flow of east/west traffic - it was heading north from where he was standing.

He went down to sniff the footprint to see if he could get a scent. He got one. The footprints were very faint, as if someone was trying their best not to make them, lest they be detected. The road quickly turned to shrub, but he never completely lost the trail.

He kept heading north-northwest, making a note of the approximate trail he was taking. He came to the conclusion that this trail was gonna end up somewhere.

Ice Bear then felt someone creep up behind him. His instincts kicked in: but he remembred to try to be a bit more friendly this time. He turned around.

In front of him was a ninja, albiet not the kind Ice Bear was used to. This ninja had weird open toe sandals and a headband with a metal bit on it with a weird symbol. Ice Bear didn't immediately suspect a threat, because the ninja would have done something by now.

"You! Why were you following me?!"

Ice Bear shrugged his shoulders.

"Ice Bear has parcel for girl in Mokugakure."

He presented the invoice as proof.

"So it is. You got the parcel on you?"

Ice Bear unzipped his bag and showed the parcel.

"Ice Bear's axe is for self defence."

The guard looked stunned. He'd seen weird animals before, Ambrosia was kind of known for it. However he never had one trace his tracks so discretely.

"Ice Bear was making map to ensure he wasn't gonna get lost."

The guard spoke firmly. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't show that map to many people!"

Ice Bear shrugged his shoulders.

"Keep heading north, eventually you'll find the village."

Ice Bear nodded and bowed. "Arigatou" he said firmly. The then continued walking north towards the village of Mokugakure. At this rate he'd be back in time for dinner at the latest.

Maybe lunch if he went first class mail.

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear kept heading north through the shrubs. He kept following the general north-northwest track and eventually he came out to a clearning, with a giant village with a hollow tree in the middle of it.

He stood in awe of the major structure and the bustling ninja town around it.

Ice Bear immediately saw houses, businesses, training facilities and even some basic farming and production facilities. The place was very self contained, yet it was producing the basic needs. For being so remote, it was so advanced.

"Ice Bear is impressed." He said, with his eyes wide open. He immediately went to another person on patrol near a local business.

He tapped the ninja patrolman on the shoulder.

"Ice Bear needs directions."

The ninja reacted with such reflexes, but Ice Bear quickly retracted his paw. He stared at the man who nearly sliced his paw off.

The patrolman quickly recognized the bear as possibly being an Ambrosian.

"Oh my, sorry! Please don't tell Guu I did that!" he was sobbing.

Ice Bear just blinked.

"Your secret is safe with Ice Bear. Ice Bear needs directions. Girl named Rina has a parcel." He reached into his pack, showing the parcel and invoice needing signed.

The patrolman tilted his head. "Rina you say? Hm... hey, my senior patrolman's daughter's name is Rina. Is it anything to do with parties?"

Ice Bear sagely nodded.

"Well what a coincidence!" he then laughed "I can direct you right to his residence, she might not be home... then again it is lunch hour, so she might be. It's the red brick house with the curvy top. Can't miss it, it's down that way" He said, pointing northeast from where the bear and the man stood.

Ice Bear sagely nodded. "Arigatou" he said, starting to walk away.

"Hey sir?"

Ice bear turned slowly.

"Rina's been wanting party supplies... from what the boss tells me, she's wanting to do more business with that party store in Ambrosia. Maybe you could find a way to make business easier on us?"

Ice Bear turned "Ice Bear has learned the value of community and communication... and helping your neighbors. Ice Bear's neighbors have been very helpful. However you aren't far from Ambrosia. Ice Bear gladly would consider you a neighbor too. And Ice Bear feels Ambrosia would too. Take that how you will. Ice Bear has package to deliver."

Ice Bear waved as he walked away.

The ninja cried. "So wise of a bear!"

Ice Bear approached the red two storey house with the curved roof. He couldn't help but notice a pink lit room in the upper floor. Someone was home.

He knocked on the door, not sure what to expect.

Within seconds the fast footsteps were audibly heard, and then the door swung open quicker than lightning.

"HI!"

A poofy pink haired girl, shorter than Ice Bear, but not by much, with a tall build and a pink hooded jacket, shorts and tall boot sandals was standing in front of Ice Bear in the doorframe. She has a grin from ear to ear, and her eyes, when opened, were so shiny and full of life.

"I'm Rina, what can I do for you, friendly stranger?"

Ice Bear opened his backpack, handing the package over.

"Ice Bear needs signature. From Party Hard in Ambrosia."

The girl started getting all giddy and excited. "OOOOH BOY. My party supplies arrived! It took quicker than she said it would! Oh my gosh oh my gosh! My friends are gonna love this little party I'm throwing!"

Ice Bear had gotten used to the energy by now.

"Ice Bear is glad. Ice Bear still needs signature for package."

The girl paused. "Oops! Let me fix that for ya!" She took the pen out of Ice Bear's hand and wrote down her signature, albiet in Japanese.

"Ice Bear thinks that'll do."

The girl looked at Ice Bear "Hey, why don't you come in and have ramen with me?"

Ice Bear blushed.

"Is it okay?"

The energetic lass nodded "Sure!"

Ice Bear decided to take her up on her offer. He stayed for a bit while the ramen was being cooked.

"Ice Bear appreciates your hospitality."

Rina turned for a bit while the ramen cooked.

"It's no problem! It's not often we get strangers. And ever since mom died, I've missed having company. She was sick for a long time."

Ice Bear put his ice water down. "Sorry to hear that."

"I try not to let it bother me, she's not suffering anymore... and I know she'd want me and dad to be happy. It's been hard, I'm still trying to find work and dad's been raising me on his own... he means well and I know he misses mom too. I have a few friends coming over tomorrow for a party... it's just us three, dad's gonna be working a double shift tomorrow. The parties I do... I do because mom always knew how to make get-togethers the best. And I'd like to continue that tradition."

Rina looked a little glum.

"Ice Bear thinks that's wonderful. Ice Bear knows what it's like to lose someone... not in the same way... but Ice Bear knows they'd want Ice Bear to press on and do what he does best. You should do the same."

Rina then perked up. "Aw, you're so sweet."

Ice Bear looked at her "Arigatou"

Rina then got the ramen off the stove. She turned off the stove and served it to Ice Bear and dished out some for herself.

"Ice Bear thinks this is a lovely dish... by a lovely girl."

Rina blushed. "Stop it you're making me blush!"

Ice Bear grinned. "Ice Bear's just telling it how it is."

Rina and the Ice Bear ate a bowl of ramen each.

"Ice Bear thanks you for the meal." The tall bear spoke.

"You can come by anytime! I know it's a bit remote but we honestly don't mind!"

Ice Bear spoke firmly. "Ice Bear lives in Cavern Grotto in Ambrosia. You can come by anytime. Look for the cave with the fridge in it." He spoke, writing his address down on a piece of paper and giving it to her.

Rina blushed as he gave her his address.

"Maybe sometime I'll come by and throw a party for you at your house! I'd invite you tomorrow... but it's a girls thing, you understand right?"

Ice Bear nodded. "Ice Bear understands."

She then gave Ice Bear a big hug. "You're so kind. I'm glad to have met you, friend!"

Ice Bear blushed, and gave her a hug in return.

"Ice Bear feels the same way!"

Ice Bear had made a real good friend, and several good acquaintances along the way. He felt more belonging than he ever did before.

He decided he'd use the app to return home. He didn't want to encounter any possible animals in the forest. He waved goodbye to Rina and went outside to a bench. He wrote down Rina's address just for reference before pressing the button to go home.

Home... that took on a new meeting. However, if Rina, Mina, Isabelle, Guu and Pinkie Pie, as well as Dan and Bob, and Charles were common around here... he could get used to it.

He looked at things differently now. He actually wanted to know if he could find a way to bring his brothers here... they might have a chance in this brave new world for them to make it.

For the first time since coming into this place, he felt a purpose and a sense of belonging.

[Ice Bear]

"I forgot I forgot I forgot to tell him THE ADDRESS. Oh Celesita and Guu and all the powers at be!"

Pinkie Pie was panicking, more frantic than a chicken with its head cut off. She was in a dillema: she forgot to exchange info with Ice Bear.

"Oh my business is so doomed! More Doomed than Doomguy!"

Then no sooner than the panic started, Ice Bear walked in.

"Ice Bear delivered the package. Invoice is here. Signed by the nice ninja girl."

Pinkie Pie fell back in relief.

"I needed that reassurance, Ice Bear." She said as she got her chipper mood back.

"Ice Bear thinks you should branch out your business once it booms. The girl seems interested in parties. Rina is similar to you. And I feel it'd do good."

Pinkie Pie was amazed. "Branching out would be good, but it'd be risky too!"

Ice Bear shrugged. "All Ice Bear is doing is planting the seeds. You do what you want with them."

Pinkie Pie paid him a huge sum of coins. He put it in his backpack.

"Ice Bear will invest in something using this." He said, going to the door. "By the way Pinkie Pie, thanks. You helped Ice Bear more than you could ever know."

Pinkie Pie smiled. "That's my job, making people smile. Now let me see your smile!"

Ice Bear kept grinning. He was grinning so wide the gap between his teeth was visible.



"Well, maybe not that much!" Pinkie Pie stated bluntly.

Ice Bear just went back to a basic grin, realizing he went too far.

Pinkie Pie waved as Ice Bear headed home.

"Ice Bear is good." he said as he walked back to the Cavern Grotto.

He had a mission now: he wanted his brothers to join him. He wouldn't separate Chloe from her family... nor would he force Charlie to socialize where he didn't want to. He simply wanted his brothers with him.

Surely there was a way.

Ice Bear arrived at his house, and put the backpack next to his freezer. Before he closed the lid, he said a prayer.

"Ice Bear is grateful for the chance to meet everyone in the past 24 hours."

He then got his axe and hugged it as he did, and got cozy and cold in the freezer. He closed the lid, dreaming of what would come next.

"Hired Ice Bear. Will Travel. Has a ring to it" he muttered as he snoozed off, taking a well needed nap.

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear slept longer than expected. He slowly woke up to hear knocking on the door. It was muffled due to him sleeping in the freezer, so he got out of the freezer. He saw it was about high noon from the sunlight he was getting into the room.

He opened the door to find Dan and Bob were at his house for some reason. He blinked, still groggy from waking up.

"Ice Bear says hello."

Dan spoke first. "Sorry for bothering you, we just didn't see you come out for almost a day, and we were kind of concerned was all."

Ice Bear didn't realize how long he had slept.

"Ice Bear slept for almost a day?"

Bob spoke his mind "Yeah, we just were concerned was all... hope you didn't mind us checking in on you."

Ice Bear smiled. "Ice Bear understand. Just tired. Was having good dream."

Dan and Bob were relieved. Both made an audible 'whew'.

"Well, we'll give you some space then. We just wanted to make sure you weren't sick or anything. Some of the tropical jungles around here can have all sorts of hazards if you aren't careful." Dan stated to the tall bear in front of him.

Ice Bear nodded. "Understood."

"Well, have a wonderful day. And remember, if there's ANYTHING you need, we're right across the way. Just knock~!." Dan stated. "See ya later!"

"Adios" Bob said, walking off.

Ice Bear was kind of glad to have neighbors who'd check on him in a heartbeat. In fact, it was the first time he had neighbors of that sort. Most of the animals who lived around the cave back in San Francisco didn't spoke, and the only animals who spoke were the obnoxious Nom-Nom and the eccentric but good-hearted Charlie.

Ice Bear decided to tweet some of his thoughts and check the Dataverse to see if there was anything of note. He hadn't yet decided what he wanted to do today. He could practice his moves.

Then he rememebered. Dan was a bodybuilder-looking bear. He might know a thing or two. He also could summon a punching bag and some gloves to punch with.

Ice Bear decided to take it easy initially. He'd worry about finding something active to do later. He was just glad he had a good dream and an even better rest after yesterday's journey, and the night before that's very rough first night in Tangled Greens... and in this brave new universe he had discovered.

He wondered to himself why he kept referring to it as a "brave new world" all this time... when there were tons of places in different realms of sorts he barely had any knowledge about. It wasn't just a brave new world - it was much bigger than that.

It made Ice Bear think of how small he was.

However it put things in perspective too: he was able to find a place to call home, and accomplish a job, and meet wonderful people all in the first day. If he kept doing his best, things would work out in the end.

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear sat in a chair and started watching television on his data device, wondering if there was anything like they had in San Francisco. He wanted to get a sense of what the media was like in Tangled Green and surrounding realms.

He first found the evening news for Ambrosia. To Ice Bear's surprise, the big event was Dante's Abyss. They covered that on the local news? As they explained more about the event and who had lost so far, Ice Bear was all but confused with the point of it. Ice Bear wouldn't mind competitive fighting but death, be it temporary or not, seemed to be a bit much. He'd only kill if it meant protecting a loved one or himself, he'd not do it for sport.

Sure, sparring with a trainer is one thing, but fighting against your fellow citizen seemed kind of distasteful. At least that's how Ice Bear saw it in the moment. However he also realized if... they come back maybe there's no harm to it.

Then the news talked about Pinkie Pie's Party Store being a massive hit and how people from all over Tangled Greens came to the single store in Ambrosia. Pinkie Pie was interviewed.

"Oh I just got the biggest order for party supplies yet... and it's right here in Ambrosia. You'll see what happens! And part of my business boom is in part thanks to Ice Bear and Rina! Love ya both lots!"

Ice Bear felt warm and fuzzy inside.

"Ice Bear proud of self, Ice Bear must tell bro-"

His warm fuzziness turned to despair. He realized he couldn't. He started crying and put his data device away. He decided to head to the Sty and Fry for a late lunch.

In his walk towards the restaurant he kept his head low. He was so happy... and yet being reminded of his brothers made him sad. He missed them so much. As good as the people were here, it was a void he couldn't fill. With each step he became more in despair. If it were a cake, it'd be a wedding cake of despair.

Ice Bear entered the Sty and Fry, and Mina was once again serving. He also saw Dan and Bob there, by chance eating.

"Hey bro, what's up?" Dan said gleefully.

Ice Bear started crying. It was the most emotion he had shown since he got there.

Mina took notice.

"Dan, what in the world happened to that boy?"

Bob chimed in. "All he did was say 'hey bro, what's up?' and he started crying like this."

Ice Bear was about to leave.

"Ice Bear, no." Mina said. She was grateful for once that she only had these three customers... she'd need to do stuff not in her work description, but it was the right thing to do.

"Ice Bear misses them... Ice Bear brother... Panda... Grizz..." He was barely understandable, but Mina got the gist of what he said.

She went and gave Ice Bear a hug.

"Ice Bear, you deeply love your family, and being away from them like this... I know it's not all been sunshine and roses. But you're not the only one who has lost someone due to this... but sometimes people do meet up again with their loved ones in this world... sometimes it just happens. Don't lose hope. Don't stop. Don't be angry at Dan... he didn't know. I trust you're not angry at him." Mina stated firmly, yet with care.

Ice Bear was still crying but he was more calm.

Dan stood up with Bob.

"Ice Bear, we... we know we can't be your brothers. However, me and Bob here have lost family members too... just by being us. It's not right. However, we don't mean to compare your strife... but we get that it hurts. It's because you love them deeply. And for me, that shows character... and that's more important than muscle, I'll tell ya that."

Dan's story made Ice Bear even more calm.

"Dan and I had to give up alot to be together... so we know what it's like... maybe you should come sit with us and talk. We'd love to hear what you have to say."

Bob pointed at a seat he pulled up for Ice Bear to sit in next to the couple.

Ice Bear's tears stopped.

"Ice Bear will try... Thank you Mina... Dan and Bob. Ice Bear gives thanks."

Mina booped Ice Bear on the nose. "Because of this, I must wash up. Food safety rule, don't take it personally. After that, I'll getcha your order. Bob and Dan ordered all ready!"

Ice Bear blushed after she did that. He went over and sat down across from the bear couple.

"Ice Bear misses Grizz and Panda... they'd be proud of me. Ice Bear got mentioned on local news. In a good way. No lie."

Dan looked at Ice Bear with a grin "Golly, only two days in the town and you not only have a home, a job, but you get mentioned on the news! Look at you, you're doing good things!"

Bob was excited "Oh. what did you do Ice Bear?"

Ice Bear showed his moneybag. "Ice Bear did a good job, created business. Apparently the girl who got the package, Rina, was very excited and told people. Ice Bear presumes this is what happened at least."

Dan and Bob gasped and spoke in unison. "Wow!"

"Dude, that's like... really good if I say so myself! Maybe tomorrow you'll do great things as well - maybe go to a party, go on a quest to another land, or maybe find a hobby that benefits the community and yourself. Or more! And I'm sure your brothers would be VERY proud of you." Dan said, excited for Ice Bear.

Ice Bear blushed. "Ice Bear knows."

"I can speak for Dan and I, we're proud of you!" Bob spoke with glee.

Ice Bear smiled.

"There's our smile" Dan said. "So what do you do for fun."

"Ice Bear works out... practices ninjitsu... cooks... typically does chores for his brothers. Ice Bear kind of misses that... in a way. Ice bear also dabbles with electronics sometimes... with mixed results."

Bob thought of an idea "maybe you could take time and hone in your technology skills and make something of it. Ice Bear, you're so talented in many ways. You got a gift. Don't lose it man."

Mina arrived at the table. "So Ice Bear, are you ready to order?"

Ice Bear nodded. "Ice Water with Lemon, Fried Fish and Chips - no tartar sauce."

Mina wrote down the order. "I'm glad I could help. Let me get those drinks for ya. And your boys' orders will be out soon."

Ice Bear, Dan and Bob took turns chatting and Ice Bear got to know them well. Ice Bear kept feeling an odd feeling... like his brothers were watching over him in some way, still proud of him. He also felt good knowing his moment turned into a friendship between the bear couple and Mina. He really appreciated what they did for him.

After the meal, he decided to go home. He walked home with Dan and Bob, and eventually they parted as Ice Bear went into his home. Ice Bear was glad to have gotten it out of his system. He never truly had done that, nor had he expressed how he felt in an honest manner. Ice Bear found that to be a good outlet. And the bear couple was right, he needed a hobby, not just work.

He decided to try to hone his skills in technology. No robots though. He's had bad luck with them in the past. Maybe radio or something.

He tweeted a few things before going to bed. Who knew what tomorrow would bring.

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear had a good rest after the heart to heart at the Sty and Fry. He really wanted to take the day and flesh out his place. He hadn't had a chance to. He decided to summon some things to flesh out his cave apartment.

He first summoned a sizeable bathtub. He'd use it to do some ice water swimming. It'd get the cardio going real nice-like. And he'd need to shower, he forgot he hadn't in several days.

So he decided it'd be a good time to do that after he summoned his other furniture. He decided he needed some cabinets to store foodstuffs for when he'd go to the store. He'd put the rest in the freezer with him. He was very odd like that.

After putting in the bathroom and the extra cabinets, he decided to take a break and watch some local TV and see what was coming up. Pinkie Pie was on the local news again, talking about preparations for a city-wide party. Ice Bear was proud her business was taking off.

Ice Bear turned the channel to see what was going on elsewhere. He saw a weather report for the Ashen Steppes - it was going to be hot. Like steaming hot.

"The Ashen Steppes is likely gonna be another dreaty, hot, humid environment, you'll definitely be preferring the Frozen Fields after today's temperatures of 42 Degrees Centigrade, that's about 108 degrees Fahrenheit. There will be no winds today, and may be hotter in certain areas." The meteorologist said firmly.

"Ice Bear isn't going there" he said, tongue-in-cheek as he sat. He wanted to see what other regions were out there.

"Camelot will be a moderate 17 centigrade, much cooler than the Ashen Steppes. Coruscant will be similar, about 18 degrees centigrade, both will experience some light percipitation. The Tangled Greens will reach about 20 centigrade, with cool breezes ahead of a small weak cold front that might bring some drizzle later on this evening. The Vastly Deep's many islands will have various different temperatures, so a bit of a grabbag. The Frozen Fields and the Pale Moors will be chilly, about 0 degrees centigrade, and will drop lower through the night. The Endless Dunes will be very hot and dry, reaching 35 degrees centigrade, might wanna bring a sun visor if you're traveling through the area. Dante's Abyss is currently about 20 degrees centigrade, hope the weather doesn't kill the participants. The Nexus is a calm, stable 17 degrees centigrade."

"This weather report was brought to you by Pleasure Motors in Coruscant. At pleasure motors, your business is our pleasure, but our pleasure is none of your business!"

Ice Bear changed the channel. He hates the Pleasure Motors guy. It sounded like he'd not like the Ashen Steppes either. Ice Bear got a brief idea of the temperatures in each realm. He knew how to prepare for each. The Ice Fields sounded lovely, but he knew each verse would have it's own challenges and benefits. He most likely wasn't moving any time soon.

He decided it was time to go to the store to buy some baking goods. But first he needed to summon an oven. He needed to hone in his cooking skills.

It took him a bit, like he did with the fridge before hand. The oven with the stovetop then was plugged in and scooted towards the back. It was time for him to go buy some baking goods. He had something he needed to do.

He searched the Dataverse for in-town grocery shopping. He found a small supermarket called the Shop-N-Bag. It was a short walk into the heart of the town.

Ice Bear grabbed his backpack. He decided to leave his axe in it, just in case. So far he didn't need it, but he never knew when it'd come to the point he'd face a situation of life and death.

He started walking towards the town. He saw one of the pastel coloured ponies working in a field just outside the heart of town, near the ring road that circled the city. She was harvesting apples from the trees near the fields. He waved at the orange pony. She actually waved back.

Ice Bear was amazed that she saw and waved at that distance. He kept walking, with a grin on his face.

He finally got to the Shop-N-Bag. He grabbed a cart and pulled out his shopping list. He needed stuff to bake cookies with. Sure, he could summon some cookies - but something didn't seem right about that.

He got flour, sugar, milk, eggs, butter and some basic icing. He also got mixing pots and cookie sheets for baking them, as well as several spatulas of different sorts. He also picked up some brown sugar, just to give the cookies an additional zing.

He decided to get some ice cream pops from the freezer section. The cool breeze from opening the freezer felt good on Ice Bear.

"Ahhh~"

Ice Bear put them in his cart. He started to head out. He noticed how many walking talking animals there were at the store. He didn't stand out at all. He did see some humans as well. It was bliss knowing he was one of many.

Ice Bear checked out. The cashier was a human, but she didn't stand out either. Her hair was a blue colour.

"Find everything okay?" she asked

Ice Bear sagely nodded. He put some coins from his bag on the counter.

"Do you have a Shop-N-Bag rewards app?"

Ice Bear shook his head. "Does it take long?"

She pointed out that the app would allow him to shop at any shop-n-bag and get some items cheaper based on sales. He decided to op in. The app didn't take long to setup nor download.

He got the app running and the items were cheaper. He also decided to buy a tote bag for the hell of it.

"Ice Bear thanks you for your business."

He headed back home. He saw the pony harvesting apples was no longer there, she must have gone into her little house.

Ice Bear headed into his cave home to make cookies. He preheated the oven and then mixed the cookie batter together while it preheated. When the oven was fully heated, he put two trays in.

He decided to summon a small smoke detector just in case. Safety is important to Ice Bear.

He affixed it to the roof of the cave. Now all he needed to do was wait. He put an egg timer on his phone, and set it. Now it was a matter of time. He went back to watching TV on his dataverse device.

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear waited for the cookies to get done. He occasionally checked on them while watching videos.

He saw some creepy kids show on Ambrosia's public access.

"Hi kids, I'm the happy hamster!" The guy in a fursuit danced around, causing Ice Bear to squick due to uncanny valley. The hamster laughed creepily at the camera. "I'm glad that you're here today, watching one of my favourite Kids Pics videos. So how do you like my dress?"

Ice Bear couldn't stop watching. It was creepy and disturbing, but was so blatant Ice Bear couldn't look away, lest he miss a trainwreck worth rubbernecking at.

"Best of all, we're here together! We're gonna get cozy and comfy as we watch these Kid Pics videos! And please don't touch that dial once the videos are over, cuz I got a special surprise in store! Lights... action... music! And I'll see you again later!"

Then, all of a sudden, several royal guards come in and bust into the public access studio. The happy hamster in the Seargent Peppers costume was wrestled to the ground. Ice Bear's eyes were wide with awe and wonder as the hamster was wrestled. The guards read the hamster his rights.

"You are under arrest for indecent exposure. You have a right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in the court of law. You have a right to legal council. If you cannot afford legal council, one will be appointed to you."

Ice Bear wiped his eyes. He wasn't sure what to make of this. A title card appeared saying Wheel Be Right Back as we continued to hear the happy hamster resist the police.

He took this opportunity to check out the cookies. He was glad they were coming along well. He decided to eat an ice cream bar while he waited. He continued watching the Public Access Channel just to see if anything else of interest was to occur.

The new host came on, being apologetic for the happy hamster's actions. They decided instead of watching public domain refuse, that they'd air Applejack talking about how versitile apples would be.

He recognized Applejack. She was the pony in the field he saw earlier that day. Interviewing applejack was a unicorn/pegasi hybrid known as Twilight Sparkle. Twilight asked some nuanced questions about apples.

"So Applejack, tell us why the apple is the best fruit to grow from trees." The purple pony asked.

"Well shucks, it's because it can be eaten raw, it can be cooked, baked into a pie, it can be stored for winter, it can be eaten after being picked off the tree and cleaned off a bit. It can be turned into juice, it can be turned into sauce. It can even be thrown at hecklers in the audience." Applejack said with glee, looking at the audience with intent.

Twilight paused. "Well that certainly opens up a ton of possibilities for cooking too! I bet it's used in many recipes."

Ice Bear watched, but was mainly bored. Nothing against Applejack or Twilight, but the subject matter was stuff Ice Bear knew. He was waiting for just one flub, this being live public access. He encountered no such thing, outside Applejack sometimes glaring at the peanut gallery for insulting her profession, and Twilight shooting an apple using her magic at said heckler.

That got kind of old.

Ice Bear then saw the egg timer app on his phone light up. Ice Bear's cookies we're done.

He put the icing drizzle on the cookies and let them melt a bit, and he took the excess and put it on the oher cookies. His idea was to let the icing thin out, and harden a bit, forming a crunchy shell on top of the cookies. He then let them sit for a while to cool.

Ice Bear continued to watch public access. Soon after Applejack and Twilight got done rambling about apples, Ice Bear turned it to the local news. He saw the anchor talk about the incident earlier on public access.

"A hamster was arrested on Amrbosia's public access today, being charged with indecent exposure. The hamster, 35-year old Michael the Happy Hamster, was charged with the crime, and resisting arrest. The incident, now going viral, was also caught from a viewer in the audience, who captured things after the cameras stopped. Michael the Happy Hamster will be arraigned tomorrow in court, and apparently has refused council.

It occured to Ice Bear... that was no fursuit. That WAS his fur. It was so creepy and uncanny unlike 99.9% of the population of Ambrosia.

Ice Bear's eye twitched a bit as he got the mental image: how did this hamster 'indecently expose' himself.

"Ice Bear needs brain bleach." the tall polar bear spoke firmly.

His cookies were done. He took one cookie sheet and wrapped it up, and then repeated it for the other one. He took one tray of cookies out, and he walked out of his home and across the street.

Ice Bear knocked on Dan and Bob's door.

Bob answered.

"Hey man, what's up?" Bob answered.

"Ice Bear cookies for friends." Ice Bear stated, showing his cookies to Bob.

"For us?" Bob asked.

Ice Bear nodded. "Thanks for being good friends with Ice Bear."

Ice Bear handed the cookie try to Bob.

"Gee, thanks man!" Bob said. Dan's out working right now, but I'll be sure to let him know when he gets home!

"Ice Bear thanks you." Ice Bear waved, and headed back.

Bob smiled. "What a nice young man."

Ice Bear went back and got the other tray. Ice Bear then walked towards the Sty and Fry with the tray. Ice Bear saw Applejack back in her fields, but this time she was selling her apples to people. Ice Bear might try her goods sometime.

He walked up to the Sty and Fry and entered the restaurant. Mina had a few more customers, then again it was just past lunch hour.

"Hey Ice Bear! Feeling better today?" the pink pig asked.

Ice Bear sagely nodded. He revealed a tray of cookies. "Ice Bear cookies. For you and Bonita. Consider it thanks."

Mina took the tray. "Wow! Thanks!" Ice Bear grinned. "You really are a nice young man. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Ice Bear grinned from ear to ear. Ice Bear sat down. "Ice Bear will have water with ice and lemon." He was a bit hungry for something other than ice cream. "And the fish fry and chips."

Mina wrote it down. "Bonita's gonna love these cookies. I'll take them home to her. Thank you so much! I'll be right back with your order."

Ice Bear waited for the fish fry to come. He was watching on the Dataverse TV another weather report. Once again Ashen Steppes was hot as hell. If Ice Bear could avoid it, he'd probably avoid that region. He'd probably overhear unless he could find a way to continually cool his body.

Mina came by with Ice Bear's water. "Listening to the weather?"

Ice Bear nodded. "Ice Bear will avoid Ashen Steppes like the plague. Sounds like it's like a blast furance."

Mina giggled "You definitely don't wanna be there" She nuged Ice Bear.

Ice Bear smiled a bit. He heard the weather report for Camelot.

"You know, this place used to be a Camelot territory... long time ago!" Mina said.

"Ice Bear knows." he turned the channel, this time watching the Dante's Abyss events live on a sports channel.

After eating his late lunch and paying for it, he walked home. Applejack had all ready closed shop and was back to farming those apples. He waved towards her, and she waved back.

Ice Bear had an idea: maybe he could go on public access sometime and interview people. It might a way to hone his technical skills.

That was for another day.

He also thought about writing a letter to Rina... or better yet, stop by.

Ice Bear got back home and decided to take a nap, cuz the day took alot out of him. It was taking a while for him to get used to being more sociable.

He went into his freezer and watched some dataverse TV, resting for a while. He'd write the letter when he'd wake up.

"Ah... Ice Bear is good." he muttered as he watched a hockey match on another sports channel.