Chapter Six: Daring Rescue
As life in the zebra village continued as normal, Rainbow, Spike and Zecora carried on their case of the ominous voodoo dolls. But the peace of the village was broken that day. Zecora backed nervously out of the home of the filly Zenzi's family as a mare inside shouted furiously in a native zebra dialect. As she exited, Rainbow clumsily stumbled out of the driftwood house and Spike was tossed out like a hoofball. The shouting continued as Rainbow raised her head.
"I said I was sorry!" she called as the door slammed on her.
"Your diplomacy, Rainbow, is really quite bad," said Zecora. "I have never seen Zenzi's mother so mad."
"Explain to me exactly what I said wrong!" rebutted Rainbow.
"Maybe implying to Zenzi's mother that she was somehow involved with voodoo?" glowered Spike. "You don't think that might tick somepony off a little?"
"It's not my fault she's overly sensitive, Spike!"
"Well now we are nowhere near finding a clue." Zecora said. "And we are still unnerved by the presence of voodoo."
"It doesn't look like any of the other villagers have anything to do with these dolls." Spike said, holding the collection of burlap effigies in a bag and playing around with the one resembling Rainbow. "You know these could make pretty neat collectibles!"
"Spike stop moving mine around like that!" Rainbow swiped the blue doll from him. "I'm not an airplane!"
"You just don't understand the novelty of collectible figurines!" argued Spike.
"Ugh, I'd vomit if I ever saw sweaty nerds like you playing around with dolls of myself." Rainbow gagged.
Zecora looked off in the direction of the woods for a moment. "I am growing quite concerned." She said. "By now Zeru and Twilight should have returned."
"You're right," replied Rainbow. "It'll get dark before they back. And neither of them could have gotten lost."
Spike gulped. "You don't think something bad happened to them, do you? I mean, maybe they just decided to make camp somewhere, right?"
"I don't want to take that chance." Rainbow said. "I say we head out and find them. If there's an outside presence on this island then Twilight and Zeru could very well be as in danger as this village."
"I agree we should go to their salvation," said Zecora. "But the three of us have no way of navigation."
"Why don't we ask Madame Zaria?" suggested Spike. "She ought to know her way through the jungle."
"Maybe." Rainbow nodded. "But we should also ask her if she knows anypony who can protect us like Zeru. Come on."
Before Zenzi's mother could chase them off her property, the three returned to Madame Zaria's bungalow, hoping Zecora's mother could further aid in their search. Upon entering, they found the hut empty and silent.
"Mother, are you home?" called Zecora. "We must find where our missing friends have roamed!" No reply came.
"She's not here?" Rainbow peered around. "Where else could she be?"
"Possibly in the market buying produce." Zecora answered. "But not this late in the day, I deduce."
The sound of a wooden object clunking on the floor came from the back room. "That must be her." Rainbow walked over. "Madame Zaria! Are you busy?"
Without knocking, Rainbow opened the door to Madame Zaria's bedroom, but not to find Madame Zaria. Instead, she gasped at an ornery green stallion rummaging through a chest of magic trinkets. The stallion paused his ransacking and darted up at Rainbow who clenched her teeth in anger.
"Aw scrimp!" the stallion blurted before making for the open window by the bed.
But Rainbow reacted swiftly and tackled the thief, pinning him down on the boardwalk outside the hut. "Where do you think you're going, dirtbag?!"
"I ain't got nuttin' witchu, pret gal, I ain't none nohow!" the panicked stallion said in a twangy accent.
"...What?!" replied Rainbow.
"Getchoff me ya craze'eyed cit' gal!"
"...What the heck are you saying?!"
Without replying, the gruff pony kicked Rainbow off his body and sprang back up to flee. Zecora then rounded her mother's home to catch up with the thief. She procured a hoofful of magic powder which blew in the stallion's direction. The dust enveloped the thief and immediately immobilized him, causing him to plummet to the board again. Zecora loomed over the crook with narrowed eyes.
"Who are you that are so bold," she interrogated. "As to steal from my mother's abode?"
The stallion calmed his breath to speak more clearly. "The name's LeCroix," he said with a spit. "And I ain't got nuttin' to tell ya, witchy woman!"
Zecora sneered at him and pulled a different magic powder from her saddlebag. "Trespassers like you make me sick. Why don't I show you a witchy trick?"
LeCroix gawked at the dubious substance. "Aright aright I'll talk, darn ya!" he sighed. "I work fow Columbus! He pay me ta stake aht dis heya village. Tol me ta keep a eye aht for some Madame Zaria at dis heya hut!"
"Who the heck is Columbus?" asked Rainbow.
"Jus' some fanceh citeh treasah huntah."
"Will you please speak Equestrian?! I can't understand a word you're saying!" bellowed Rainbow.
"This treasure hunter must be that pony in white," said Zecora. "Who nearly killed us in the middle of our flight."
"Hey yeah, and he must be the one after Madame Zaria!" Rainbow turned back to LeCroix. "Where is this guy now?"
"Don' know, I sweya!" answered the stallion. "Jus' that he wen' somewheya by da fishin' docks!"
"The docks?" Rainbow turned to Zecora. "That's where Twilight and Zeru were headed!"
"Heh heh, ya mean da big zebra an da purple alicone?" smirked LeCroix. "They gon' be dead soon if dey meet Columbus!"
Rainbow sneered down at him. "Not if you help us find them!"
"...Aw scrimp..."
...
After some serious convincing, Rainbow, Spike and Zecora managed to take on LeCroix as their temporary field guide, under threat of magical intoxication. He showed them to his electric-powered fan boat, hidden in the swampy overgrowth near the village. Rainbow and Spike were dazzled by the speedy watercraft, but Zecora was somewhat offended by such loud modern machinery finding its way into her hometown. Nevertheless, she convinced LeCroix to start up the windy vessel and he kindly piloted the group across the water into the thick bayou outside the village. The fan boat cruised along the same river that Zecora and her friends traveled on using Zeru's gondola. All the while Rainbow took the moment to enjoy the wind in her mane.
"Whoo! Now this is a river cruise!" she exclaimed.
"Ugh, not again!" Spike gurgled as he quickly vomited over the boat's side.
"Ey don' be pukin' up mah boat, lizid!" barked LeCroix.
"Jeez, Spike, first airsick, now you get seasick?" scoffed Rainbow. "We're not even on the sea!"
"Shut up, Rainbow, I can't help it!" Spike said, woozy. "I'm not used to fast motion!" He bent over for another hurl.
LeCroix gritted his crooked teeth as he steered the boat, begrudged by having to escort annoying city folk. Just then, he caught a glimpse of movement in the water to his right. He grinned to himself, knowing full well what was approaching the craft. As the swirling water got closer, LeCroix let out a loud whistle. The water burst as a swift alligator launched itself out of the river and grappled onto the side of the boat. Rainbow and Spike yelped in surprise.
"Das raht!" cackled LeCroix. "You in mah watahs nah! Git 'em mah pet!"
The gator slowly crawled toward the bow of the craft, setting hungry eyes on Spike cowering in the corner that wasn't currently weighed down. But as the terrifying reptile opened its maw, Zecora suddenly straddled its neck and grabbed the creature by its upper jaw. In a split second, she splashed a vile of potion into the gator's open mouth. The creature did not even clamp down on Zecora's hoof, instead beginning to slack and lose focus. Before anypony else knew, the gator slumped to the floor of the boat, lying in a completely relaxed daze. LeCroix stared in bewilderment.
"Wut didchu do ta mah pet?!" he yelled as he brought the boat to a halt.
"It is a ginseng elixir, nothing less." Zecora said as she gently stroked the gator's snout. "This gator will simply take a rest."
"Man, Zecora, you have a potion for everything!" Rainbow gleamed.
"Can we please just drop this thing off before he tries to go for more dragon chops?!" shuddered Spike, feeling even more queasy.
Zecora then glared at the baffled LeCroix. "You trap these innocent creatures and make them each your pet?" She suspected. "Why don't you keep moving this boat, before I do something I'll regret?"
LeCroix gulped. "Yes, ma'am." He started up the boat again.
...
After a couple hours of maneuvering through the perilous bayou, the fan boat finally reached the island's east coast, while the sun began to set in its last light of day. The trees dispersed as they approached a brackish delta where the fresh river water merged with the saltwater of the ocean. It was from here on that LeCroix picked up the speed of his boat and scaled up the sandy coast. The bobbing over the beach's tide made Spike's stomach practically launch into his throat, to the point where he began vomiting balls of fire.
Eventually, the rustic docks loomed in the distance with the old fishing vessels rocking with the tide. Rainbow took flight to get a better look for any activity ahead.
"Rainbow! Do you see Twilight?!" called Spike.
"No I don't!" she responded, then gasped. "But I see Zeru! He's on the beach!"
Sure enough, the strapping zebra was sitting now awake on the sand under the darkening sky. He sat by a small campfire burning from dry palm wood. His body was bruised and battered from the struggle that put him out of consciousness earlier, and the net he was ensnared in now lay nearby having been crudely gnawed through. Zeru looked out toward the water to see the loud fan boat approaching. He carefully stood up and tensed his body up ready to attack, despite having lost his guardian's staff. But his alertness turned into elation when he noticed Zecora standing in the rusty metal craft. Zeru trotted over to them as the boat ran aground on the wake.
"Zecora!" he smiled as he hugged his foalhood friend. "I am so relieved you are alright."
"Zeru thank goodness you're here!" said Zecora. "When you did not return I was stricken with fear."
"What happened, Zeru?" asked Rainbow, landing on the beach. "Where's Twilight?"
Zeru frowned, overcome with regret. He looked away from his acquaintance. "I am sorry. Princess Twilight was taken. We were ambushed and she was kidnapped by a dastardly pegasus named Columbus. It appeared he was the one who attacked you during your journey here days ago."
"Columbus took Twilight?!" grimaced Rainbow. "That bastard!"
"Heh heh heh, coulda sed he took dat preteh purple alicone!" LeCroix chuckled as he sat back in his boat. Rainbow responded to him by chucking a starfish in his face.
"But he was not alone." Zeru continued. "It was my horror to see that my brothers of the village guardians were under Columbus's control. They bound me and knocked me out before I could fight any of them off. They did not seem like themselves. Almost as if there was no life in their eyes."
"Zebras are working for this Columbus guy?" gawked Spike. "This island just keeps getting crazier!"
"But something tells me the guardians didn't do it voluntarily." Rainbow pondered.
"It is my fault." Zeru looked down in humiliation. "I failed to protect Princess Twilight. And now I do not know where she is. I have disgraced my duty as a guardian."
Zecora placed a calming hoof on his shoulder. "My dear Zeru, do not feel shame. There was nothing you could do, you are not to blame. Your brothers' betrayal was far too rough. But rest assured, with your help, we will find Twilight soon enough."
Zeru smiled softly and clasped his own hoof around hers. "I wish not to leave you again, Zecora." He said. "When I awoke just a few hours ago, I feared the worst for you."
"Do not worry for me, foolish man," Zecora gave him a wink. "For escaping danger I always have a plan."
"Au revoir, ya damn citeh folk an' chatteh zebras!" LeCroix cackled as he started up his boat and steered away from the beach.
Rainbow sulked. "Hang on." She then took off, swiftly gave LeCroix a beating and forced him to turn his boat back to shore all in just seconds. "Okay do we even want to keep this hillbilly with us? I'm pretty sure we can just take his boat and find our own way around the island."
"Wait, that is the man who attacked me and the Princess on the river!" Zeru stared daggers at LeCroix.
"Heh heh, um, no hawm dun ol' boy?" shrugged LeCroix, cowering under the zebra's might.
"Hey Zeru," said Rainbow. "Is somepony with you? Over there!" Beside Zeru's campfire, she trotted over to a blanket made of wide palm leaves. A pony's tail was sticking out from underneath.
"Oh yes," replied Zeru. "Princess Twilight and I found her under Columbus's capture. I am afraid we have an unconscious mare under our watch."
Rainbow immediately fainted upon lifting the leaf blanket.
Zeru stared blankly. "...Make that two."
"Holy crap! It's Daring Do!" Spike gawked as he rushed toward the conked out pony.
But Zeru quickly tripped him and sent him falling into the sand. "Please, do not disturb her. She has not eaten in days and has no energy to move. She was awake when we found her at the docks. But when I woke up, she was lying next to me. It seems her health is failing."
"No way," Spike looked down at the fading Daring Do. "What was she doing here anyway?"
"It is my understanding that she was a student of Columbus." Zeru said. "She must have come here to help vanquish the mysterious pony. I did not want to risk carrying her through the jungle. But if she does not get a doctor's help soon we will lose her to exhaustion."
Zecora approached and knelt down beside Daring Do. She carefully examined the treasure hunter's body and checked her vitals by hoof. Her still face was growing pale and cold. "She will survive, barely I'm sure." Zecora said. "With enough time I can prepare a cure. I will need help finding herbs for a special elixir. An awakening potion that will be enough to fix her."
"Of course." Zeru complied. "I do not think we will have to worry about our blue friend for now. She'll wake up soon, but hopefully not too soon."
"But what's the plan after we save Daring Do?" asked Spike.
"It is too dark to travel safely." Zeru said sullenly. "We will have to wait until morning."
"I can't wait that long!" Spike griped. "Who knows what that jerk Columbus took Twilight?! He's clearly able to be all over the place! And right now he could be doing something awful to Twilight! I don't want to rest until I know where she's...ugh, I'm gonna be sick again!" He began to drive heave.
"Damn lizid, everthin' make you puke!" scoffed LeCroix, lounging on the sand.
But it was not vomit that burst from Spike's gullet. Instead he belched a plume of green fire, and within it appeared a rolled up piece of parchment tied with a string. Spike held the scroll in his claw, baffled.
"...Did you just belch paper?" Zeru raised a brow at him.
"A message? Now?" Spike unrolled the chipped and torn paper. "What could Princess Celestia want at this time?" He started to read the message and gasped. "Hey! This one's from Twilight! She sent this to me!"
"You can receive messages from far away, little dragon?" asked Zeru.
"Usually it's from Princess Celestia." Spike said. "But I guess Twilight learned the spell too. I guess she never really needed it since we were always together."
"Well what does it say already?"
Spike read aloud. "'Dear Spike, I want you to know that I'm okay. But I have been kidnapped. You must gather Rainbow and Zecora, head to the beach with the fishing docks, and find Zeru and Daring Do. Yes that's right. Daring Do! She's in Port-au-Prance looking for the stallion who attacked us on the plane. His name is Columbus and he's the one behind the voodoo curse. It is absolutely...im...per...ra...tive...that you guys find him and take him down. I am currently imprisoned on his boat and I hear we are heading to an island off the coast of Port-au-Prance. Please be careful, Spike. Columbus has connections all over the place. If I can find anymore paper, I'll let you know more about my situation. Take care, all of you. I know you can do this.' She's alright!" Spike gleamed. "And now we know where to go!...Sort of. Do you know any islands around here, Zeru?"
"I have little knowledge of the sea." Zeru said. "But we can surely find a map in one of those fishing vessels."
"Then it is settled, once Daring Do is awake," said Zecora. "We shall set off to stop Columbus, for Twilight and Port-au-Prance's sake. Now help me find ingredients quickly, you two, if we have any hope of saving Miss Do."
"Yes, ma'am!" said LeCroix. "Y'all look ovah deya, an' I go in da jungle ta find sum!" He began to trot away before getting clocked on the head with a coconut.
"That was for getting me wet!" smirked Zeru.
"Mmm...Daring...Do..." stirred Rainbow, fast asleep at this point. "Of course I'll be your sidekick!...mmmph..."