Herald of the Night

by Commentaholic

Chapter Six: Books and Visions

Herald of the Night

Chapter Six: Books and Visions

---

It turned out that the destination to which Zecora was leading Twilight was not as far off as had first been assumed, and was infinitely more appreciated.

"Booooooks!" Twilight squealed in barely-contained glee, rolling around in a pile, horn glowing and floating more of the old tomes atop her, burying herself - apart from her face - in the lovely scent of printed knowledge. Sure, the books were ancient beyond belief and should be handled with much more care than was being showed to them, but who cared! BOOKS! And lots of them!

Zecora had housed herself in a library. More accurately, the back room of the library, where a small array of cauldrons, shelves and many bottles of ingredients had been placed, brought in by the zebra shortly after her arrival. From the looks of things, Zecora was a potion-maker of sorts. Perhaps alchemy. They were currently standing - well, Zecora was standing, Twilight was floundering in the ever-growing book pile - in the main hall, where shelves upon shelves of old books still stood. As they'd entered the older-than-old building, Twilight instinctively detected the slightly-bitter magical-scent of a preservation spell that she'd so often detected in the libraries back on the Moon, only much less refined and MUCH more ancient. These books contained knowledge from a time over a thousand years previous. But at the moment, Twilight was just enjoying being smothered by them, feeling their bindings and inhaling that scent of pressed and pulped paper.

"It would seem you have a love for lore. In the castle, there are many more. But carefully you must tread in those forgotten halls. For, you see, there is danger within those walls." Zecora chanted, laughing to herself at Twilight's antics before sobering her tone and issuing the warning. While Twilight had begun, upon arrival, immediately pulling books off the shelves, the zebra had, instead, leaned her spear against the wall by the door and divested herself of her cumbersome saddlebags. From her packs, she had begun withdrawing many herbs and plants and swiftly sorting them with a deft hoof and depositing them into separate jars.

Twilight, after calming down and picking out from the pile a stack of books she wished to peruse later, peered out from a cave she'd constructed within Mount Knowledge. Perhaps later, it would become Fort Bookworm, but for now, she had priorities. "You said something about a prophecy earlier... Perhaps you could tell me about it?"

Zecora scooped up a jar from her shelf, overturning it and dumping its contents into one of the steaming cauldrons, sending up a cloud of thick, aromatic smoke that began filling the room. "Prophesies may not be the right word, they are things that can be overheard. Words came to me by way of a tome. These words carried me far from home. To understand their message old, one cannot be merely told."

The unicorn mare's vision blurred, becoming hazy in the wake of each wafting puff of smoke as its richly-scented haze filled the room. Her only thought before she lost consciousness, confused as it was, was that she had passed out way too many times on this quest already. Was everyone out to knock her out or drug her?

---

Twilight was awoken by a hoof gently digging into her side, prodding at her. Twilight stirred and looked up to find Zecora. Around them, in a strange, unnatural clarity, was a jungle that Twilight did not recognize. It was far too lush and... green to be the Everfree Forest. "Where-"

"'When' is a more accurate question. But though, if I may, I would make a suggestion. Sit back and watch the story unfold. Too long has it waited for you to be told. In my dreams we do walk, and I would appreciate if you did not talk. This dream-share is difficult to do and I sacrifice much to show it to you."

The scene blurred and there appeared before them, from the underbrush with a machete in her mouth, was a younger Zecora. The stripes on her hide were thinner and less pronounced and a couple gold bands were missing from her form. Hacking and slashing through the thick foliage, an ancient stone doorway, with a sparsely-illuminated stairwell leading down into the ground. Torches lit the passage every few dozen steps. Enough to see by, barely, but not enough to see well.

Without hesitation, the younger Zecora descended through the archway. Without moving a hoof, the two of the observers seemed to... float in pursuit of the focus of this vision, down, deeper and deeper.

After what seemed like hours, but no time at all for the two of them who trod the dreamscape between their hooves, the young zebra emerged into a lit chamber, filled by other zebras with similar glyphs on their flanks. Some turned to see Zecora enter before continuing on their business once they saw who it was.

The young Zecora seemed to be on a mission of her own, weaving in and out of the crowd that was forming after she had left the entryway far behind. The occasional zebra tried to speak to the zebra mare, but she shook her head and continued determinedly down her path, occasionally glancing back at her saddlebags, as if to make sure they were still there and still closed. Twilight could only assume they were of some concern to Zecora. Something precious, perhaps. Secret? Whatever it was had the zebra in a hurry.

The hallway expanded into a large chamber, buildings built along the walls with staircases leading up to the secondary levels. A large underground city on either side, but Zecora hadn't batted an eye. Instead, she made her way to an ornate building off to the side.

Twilight looked at the zebra floating next to her, who looked strained and sorrowful at the dreamscape city around them. "Zecora-"

"Hush, young one, and let it be shown. The burden these memories bring is my own." the zebra said, hushing the unicorn.

The memory-Zecora knocked on the structure's door before entering, locking the door behind her with a sure hoof on the key.

"Is that you, Zecora? Make sure to lock the door-a."

Zecora snorted, "We all know door-a does not rhyme. With your lessons, you should take more time."

A zebra colt stepped out from behind a cabinet. "Can you blame me for trying? Not everyone has the natural affinity for poetry as you, Zecora."

Zecora smiled kindly. "I cannot blame, this is true. Is your master right now here with you?"

The colt nodded, "He's waiting in the back. Did you get what he asked for?"

Zecora only nodded and proceeded through a second door, beyond which was an array of bookshelves filled with Zebra histories. Twilight would have spazzed out again, if not for the seriousness of this situation and the fact that she couldn't read them.

When Zecora emerged into the main portion of the room, an ancient zebra sat before her. Eyelids opened to reveal milky white orbs. He was blind. "Zecora, is that you I hear? Hurry, hurry. Come close, my dear."

The mare neared the old stallion. "My mission successful, my quest victorious, I return with your desire, a bounty most glorious," she intoned, shrugging off her saddlebags and picking them up in her mouth to carry them towards the stallion. Once flipped open, their contents were revealed to be half a dozen scrolls and....

Twilight gasped. Nestled among them was... a Lunar Sapphire. Rich shades of blue sparkled against the ceiling, sparkling in the torchlight. But... how had such a gem - from the Moon, no less - come to be in Zebrica?

And why did it have a crescent moon carved upon it?

The vision melted before Twilight's eyes and she fell into the abyss.

---

Twilight jerked upright. "Lunar Sapphire!" she blurted. Whirling on Zecora, who was also shaking off the effects of sleep. The smoke that had dominated the room was now a vague haze. "Where did that come from?"

Zecora looked at Twilight, "You asked me to explain my reasons. Why I waited here for a few dozen seasons. My journey began in years long past. It is good to finally give you this at long last."

The Zebra moved over to a chest that sat against the wall, pulling out a key and unlocking it. Resting within, sat the Lunar Sapphire.

"The reason your Luna came to me. The reason: She asked Zecora to bring you The Key."

Author's Note:

And now a little Zebra to brighten up your day, following some Bookgasming Twilight. :)

Comments

[SeventhBrony]

yay update! and now truely the first step has been taken and Twilight once again is given the hard part. there are those that would say that others have done the hard stuff, but really all they did was clear and then point her in the direction of the path

[Iron Nebula]

I love bookgasms. They're the BEST.

[Commentaholic]

2095471 Yeah, it's always fun to show that Twilight, deep down, is still that enthusiastic filly that is eager to learn, no matter the AU.