The Exiled One

by joe mother

Chapter 2 - Stories in the Dark

Chapter 2
-
Stories in the Dark

"Do you know where we are?" Zircon complained for what felt to Zecora like the gazillionth time.

"I do not know," she said, already having fallen from her rhyming. "Stop asking me. The trees all look the same, so I can't tell."

Zircon sighed and let his head hang. They had been searching the forest for anything familiar for the past two hours. It was almost as if the forest was preventing them from leaving, holding them against their will until their time expired.

Zircon's hooves were aching, and his many cuts from his tumble down the hill were beginning to sting, making him very uncomfortable. Suddenly, Zecora stopped, and he collided with her.

"Why did you stop?" he asked.

"I have decided that we should take a break," she said, taking a seat on a nearby log, where light streamed in from a gap in the leaves. "Sit and rest."

Zircon gladly did so.

"So, Zecora," he said. "You seem like you know a lot about all the other zebra tribes. Are you an adventurer or something?"

"Oh, no, Zircon," she said with a faint smile. "I am just a healer. I traveled around the world to heal the injured. I journeyed to find tribes and towns that needed my assistance, and I gladly gave it."

"That sounds cool," Zircon said. "Do you have any good stories from when you went to all these places?"

Zecora thought for a moment, then spoke, "Do you wish to hear of the time when I was in the desert in Saddle Arabia?"

Zircon nodded, already eager to hear what stories the exile had to tell.

~

The sand that rubbed beneath her hooves was coarse and rough, wearing her already cracking hooves further. The light was intense and brought extreme heat to her body. She raised a hoof to block out the sun's rays and examine her surroundings.

Sand.

That was all she could see, stretching off in every direction, dotted with dark spots that she assumed to be cacti. A small breeze kicked up, and sand started to lift off from the ground, flying against the zebra's face, causing her to close her eyes.

The wind passed, and her eyes opened. She continued her arduous trek, clenching her teeth in determination. She was going to get through the desert to the town.

Soon, she found herself facing a glimmering speck in the distance. It was surrounded by a haze of heat, blurring any details of life. Her heart soared as she began to walk faster, quickly breaking into a sprint. The shimmering place grew larger, slowly becoming less hazy and misshapen.

It eventually came into focus, revealing a large town. The zebra laughed and ran at it, fueled by her desire to see another creature. She saw the sandstone buildings grow ever bigger until she was amongst them, a large smile crossing her face.

The town was filled with ponies, some buying things at the marketplace, some chatting, and others just having a walk. The zebra went up to one of the standkeepers.

"Do you know where the queen's palace is?" she asked in the area's dialect.

"It is in the center of town," the keeper said, pointing into the crowds. "You can't miss it."

And so she was off, pushing her way through the ponies, getting many angry complaints and rebukes. She could hardly care as she neared her prize, a cylindrical tower that stood up into the sky, hanging over the town and its residents.

She went up to the large doors of blue painted wood and knocked. They opened, and a single pony stepped out. He was dressed in a black suit, despite the heat, and had an air of servitude.

"What business do you have?" he asked.

The zebra reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a yellowing letter, which she showed to the butler.

"Ah, the healer," he said, moving aside and waving her in. "Come in."

She left the outside and was greeted by cool. The large entryway was cold, quite against what she would have expected from a castle in the middle of the desert. She followed the butler through many hallways until she was standing in front of a giant pair of golden double doors.

They opened, revealing the throne room. The room was large in height, which made up for what it was lacking in length. At the end of the small area, the queen sat on her throne, which was made of carved sandstone. She stood and approached the zebra.

"You have heard of our blight?" she asked, her voice flowing like smooth silk through the zebra's ears.

"Yes," she replied, bowing before the queen.

"Rise. I assume that you have brought all of your supplies?"

"Most. However, there are some that I cannot fit in my saddlebag."

"What things are those?" the queen stepped aside and stared out of a window nearby.

"A cauldron for preparing my potions, and a mortar and pestle."

"Those things will be provided."

The queen stepped away from the window and gazed into the zebra's eyes.

"I pray that you can heal my daughter," she said. "She means so much to me."

~

Zecora finished her tale.

"Is that it?!" Zircon complained. "What happened after?"

"It is something that I said I would never speak of," Zecora replied. "I promised the queen that."

"Why did you have to promise?"

"There were a few complications that arose. I was forbidden to tell another soul."

Zircon sighed in frustration.

"How come every time I try to ask an adult anything they never say?" he asked. "Nopony wants me to know anything, like why you were banished."

"There's a story for that one," Zecora said with a smirk. "Would you like to hear it?"

"You're going to tell me why you were banished?"

"Yes. I might as well since it may be a while before you get back home, and your persistence to learn has swayed me."

~

The air was cold in the dark night, and the sky was dotted with many stars. A lone zebra was standing in front of a hooded figure, teeth grit and eyes narrowed, burning with ferocity.

"Don't think you can just sway their minds so easily!" Zecora yelled, her eyes narrowed at the pony. "You may be able to get the job done faster, but you cannot cure as many diseases as I can!"

"Who's says I need to be able to cure every disease?" the hooded pony said with a smirk. "The faster the job gets done, the more they pay. Besides, they'll come to me when they've heard about what happened in Saddle Arabia."

"Hah! Like you know what happened!"

"Oh, but I do! I know how you failed and how your failure did something that magic healing cannot. Your potions are susceptible to change if you put in one less gram than was intended, causing side effects that you cannot prevent."

Zecora grit her teeth.

"At least I care about healing and not just the money it brings me!" she spat.

"And does that make your cures any better than mine? I relish the money and I do my job. It's just that I enjoy the former much more."

Zecora pressed her face against the figure.

"Do not attempt to do my job. I can do it better than you no matter what."

"I will do your job, and you can't stop me. If you try, I'll make sure everypony knows what happened in Saddle Arabia. Nopony will trust you after that. In fact, you may even be banished for endangering all of your patient's lives and not letting them know of the possible consequences. You should know that the zebras here value safety and the knowledge of it. You'd be breaking that if I let them know. In fact, I may just tell them to ensure I don't have any competition."

The pony walked off, leaving an angry, defeated Zecora standing alone in the street.

~

The crowds watched in horror as the unicorn who healed the townsfolk spoke about Zecora, who was standing at the front, trying her hardest not to jump on the pony right then.

"... And she has been endangering your lives every time you get her to heal you! Her potions can have bad side-effects, and all it would take was her to mismeasure a single ingredient for you to die or worse. In fact, I have come to the conclusion that she has been here healing you to gain your trust and eventually kill you all in gruesome ways with a bad potion!"

The crowd murmured, and a few angry yells came from throughout.

"Would you want that kind of zebra in your town?! Do you want a killer to be the zebra you trust your lives in?!"

Large roars of assent came from the gathering.

"She should be banished for taking advantage of using your trust as a tool to kill you!"

Another roar.

"She should be banished!"

Zecora felt herself be pulled by magic onto the stage where the unicorn healer was standing.

"Here is the one who has used you! Take her away!'

Zecora felt herself get thrown into the crowd, and she felt hooves and teeth tearing at her coat, and she tried to fight back, but the masses overwhelmed her. She was picked up off the ground and thrown to the dirt. She winced as pain split through her.

"Take her away!"

Those words from the unicorn were the last Zecora heard before she was knocked unconscious by a flying hoof.

~

Zecora had tears in her eyes as she recounted the experience.

"That unicorn lied about you?" Zircon asked, well aware of the healer who had become prominent in the tribe as of late.

Zecora only nodded, turning her head away.

"That's a terrible mean thing!" he yelled. "Why would he lie about you?!"

"He only lied about me wanting to kill them all," Zecora said in a whisper. "But everything about me endangering their lives was true. He knew that the accident in Saddle Arabia wasn't enough leverage, so he had to make something up."

Zircon wrapped his hooves around Zecora in a hug.

"It's okay," he said. "He's a mean pony who lies and does bad things to others."

Zecora hugged Zircon back and felt a few tears roll down her cheek.

"Thanks," she said.