Did you see that? The water shaking in the glass?

They're almost here! 9 days away.

How about a peek at the saurians, a new pony tribe:

There Are No Forced Brands

Ponies of this tribe do not, by default, have any brand on their back ends. Their destiny is theirs to forge. Some may choose to draw or have someone else draw something on them, but that is their choice, and not one mandated by divine grasp. The Author does not have a hold over this tribe in the way it so tightly grips other ponies.

This gives them freedom of another sort. To mark themselves is an act of rebellion against what has become the norm in pony society. They may decide what their purpose is, and change their mind after making it. They expect few to challenge them on this entirely personal decision, and most find it strange how strongly other tribes take theirs, foisted upon them as they are.

Appearance

Dinosaurs come in a staggeringly wide variety, and so do saurian ponies. As a spirit tribe, their physical tribe determines the gross facets of their build and features. A pegasus saurian would be a reptillian pony with wings that may be leathery or quite brilliantly feathered. They would have teeth, no matter the physical tribe, capable of tearing into meat or vegetation with equal pleasure.

Their tails tend to be thicker, with feathers adorning them instead of hair, but the feathers are not dissimilar to that which one might find on a griffon's tail. Compared to non-saurians, they tend to have more extremes of weights going towards very heavy or very slender, especially if they are meant to be air or waterborne.

Life of Saurians:

Though saurian ponies regard their wards as beloved family, they understand that they can't have a new generation there. When it comes time for saurian ponies to consider such, this action tends to be initiated by the male, with males having brighter and more colorful marks to show off their fitness and properly impress females. Being sapient, the female can actually reject him (and maybe even for not being pretty enough or any number of reasons).

The two produce an egg that is tended by the female. The male remains close by, but has little involvement in raising the child, only the production of it. Despite this, the male never wanders far until the child is grown. If the female suffers injury, illness, or calamity, the male will protect them. This lasts long into adolescence for both the male and his child.

When the child is fully grown, the male may choose to try again, or leave to find a new mate. The saurian pony child will go on their own path, and will rarely stay with either parent. Their education is considered a communal act, with any saurian pony available to be asked about how they perform their various trades. They learn as they ask, but often this is a very different experience than what they are naturally inclined to.

Freshly emerged from their first nest, the saurian pony seeks a place to belong. Fortunately, their community may be an easy way out. Females, in particular, are welcome to find a place to work closeby and simply begin applying their hooves directly to things needed within view. Males are more pressed to go find another community. This spread of vitality keeps their lines strong, but at the end of the day, they can choose to stay where they were raised.

Other communities of ponies, if one is near enough, don't think too hard on an incoming or a saurian that decides to stay or go. Only the most well-learned of their kind even know the struggle a young male might face, but they're often not questioned on it either. The community simply takes them in, or lets them leave without much hassle. One doesn't just turn away a pony that knows how to work, and so long as they're not trouble, the extra hooves are welcome.

In any event, unless a saurian pony remains transient, they will usually form thick ties with their community, wherever it happens to form. Showing their skills to the best of their ability, to make the community they are a part of better comes naturally, but so does irritation if others seem to fail at this one vital task. This leads the tribe into some difficulties with more independent communities that believe in self-reliance over communal collaboration.

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Post comments, questions, and other such below, we have our eyes open. The 10th! Be ready!