"Well, this is a fine mess."
Green Bottle looked over the river before him, frustrated. After getting hurled from Canterlot at high speeds, it was no wonder he'd have gotten lost. He'd landed, thankfully, in a soft patch of leaves and other detritus, which had cushioned his fall. However, he was utterly lost, and had only succeeded in exiting a thick and rather primeval looking piece of woodlands just a moment before. Now he faced a clear landmark, a river that, while deep and wide, was thankfully rather gentle in its flow (It would be easy to cross, which was good since Green was not a strong swimmer, and his wings were still too sore from his landing to risk flight just yet), it would be a good landmark to use to get his bearings... were it not for the fact that his knowledge of Equestrian geography was slightly less than his knowledge of the mating habits of seaslugs.
Night was quickly falling, and it would be a bad idea to try and travel in the darkness. He spotted a small hill on the other side of the river, a cave clearly visible, a perfect place to take shelter until morning. He looked over the river one more time, and readied himself for the swim across, when he saw something completely unexpected...
There was a zebra on the opposite shore of the river, clearly unconscious... or worse.
Without hesitation, Green dove in, and began paddling to the other side. While not a strong swimmer by any length of the imagination, concern lent him wings (Or perhaps flippers), allowing him to cross the river in record time. Once clear of the river himself, he pulled the unconscious zebra ashore, and began a cursory examination.
The patient was a zebra, female, eighteen or nineteen years old. While her body was slightly cold, it was within normal tolerances, and her heartbeat, while weak, was still steady. However, she was not breathing. Otherwise, she was in good health, and with no visible injuries. Treatment? CPR.
Alternating between chest compressions and rescue breathing, Green went to work. On the third round of rescue breathing, the mare suddenly snapped to consciousness, her lips still locked with Green's (Always an awkward moment, but at least Green was not performing CPR on a male this time...). Pushing Green off of herself, the zebra took a deep breath, and began coughing. After a few seconds, the zebra's fit passed, and she began breathing normally.
Once her composure was restored, Green asked, "Are you alright?"
The zebra looked at him, a confused look on her face, and asked, "Utheni?"
Great... so apparently she didn't speak Equine. Green's knowledge of Zebric was rusty, but he might as well try. If he remembered right, she'd just asked, 'What did you say?'
Clearing his throat, he asked, "Ingabe ulungile?"" 'Are you okay?' At least, he hoped that was right...
Seemingly more surprised by the fact that he spoke Zebric than by her rescuer's odd appearance, the zebra replied, "Ngiyaphila, ngicabanga..." 'I am well, I think...' Then, looking around, she seemed startled by her surroundings. Her expression now one of near panic, she asked, "Iyini le ndawo? Ngikuphi!?!" 'Where is this place? Where am I!?!'
"Wena ezweni amahhashi," Green said, after a moment's hesitation. He couldn't remember the word for Equestria, so he'd resorted to 'You are in the land of horses.' Close enough, he supposed...
The zebra tensed for a moment, then seemed to take stock. After a moment, she said, in halting, but understandable, Equine, "This... is... Equestria?"
So she did know a little pony talk. Nodding, Green said, "Yes. This is Equestria. I'm, um, not sure where, exactly, in Equestria this is, but yes. This is Equestria."
Letting out a long breath, the zebra said, "I... I made it..." Looking up at Green, she paused, then said, in slightly better Equestrian, "Please, forgive my manners. My name is Idube. I... I have come a long way to reach this place. I thank you for..." she paused, seeming to struggle for the right words, before saying, "Umoya wokuphila." 'The breath of life'? Was that the right translation? Well, he supposed that was one way of describing what he'd done...
After a moment, she said, "I am deeply in your debt, but I fear I cannot repay you yet. I am in need of more help. I..."
Holding up his hoof, Green said, "It is getting dark, and I think you're just as cold as I am, after your trip down the river." Gesturing towards the cave, he continued, saying, "Let's get a fire going in there, and then you can give me the whole story. Alright?"
After a moment's hesitation (It seemed that, while she spoke Equine after all, her command of the language was a little bit shaky), she nodded and said, "Yes. That is good. I could do with warmth..."
--------------------------------
A few minutes later...
Her name, as she said, was Idube, and she was a princess.
Well, princess was not the right word for her role. A better translation would have been 'daughter of the chieftain of the chieftains', but princess rolled off the tongue easier. Her father, to hear her description of him, was a wealthy and powerful leader, ruler of a confederation of several large and powerful tribes. While the Zebra homelands had no single true king, there were several confederations like these, and Idube's was among the biggest.
Sadly, her position as daughter of the chief of chiefs meant that her husband would be next in line when her father passed away. While she'd been able to turn away the more repulsive suitors, one of them had decided he would not take no for an answer. Normally, this would be the kind of story that ended with 'And the jerk ended up impaled on a spear, the end', given that Idube was the apple of her father's eye, and he would not have forced her daughter to wed somebra that she did not love. However, this particular jerk was a powerful shaman (Well, that was how Green had translated the word, anyways)... one believed to be centuries old, and incredibly powerful in the ways of the dark arts...
The shaman had threatened to rain disasters down upon her father's tribes, should Idube refuse his advances. As a result, Idube's father was caught between love for his daughter, and his responsibilities to his subjects, and Idube, not wanting to force her father to make a decision between the two, had chosen to flee her homeland. She had set off for Equestria, hoping to beg for the aid of the princesses, since Celestia had been a friend of her father for many years. Idube had hoped that, with the aid of Luna and Celestia, it might be possible to defeat the shaman and save her people from his cruelties. After all, a practitioner of the dark arts could hardly be expected to be a kind ruler. Odds were, if he became the chieftain of chieftains, he'd just end up being a striped Sombra...
She'd not counted on the shaman following her, however. Nor had she expected the shaman to sink the ship she was sailing on in an attempt to capture her. Hopefully, the shaman thought her dead, killed by the storm he had summoned, and would pursue no further. However, if he did think her dead, he might decide to visit plagues and famines amongst her people out of spite...
"And so," she said in conclusion, "I need help in reaching the castle of the princesses as soon as possible. Can you help me get there?"