Chapter 7: Darkened Seas
Twilight awoke with a moan, slow to rise as she felt the comfort of a down blanket under her. For a minute, she was convinced that she was lying in her own bed at home, having come out of a long and vivid nightmare about voodoo, alligators, and ornery kidnappers in gaudy white fedoras. After that minute, she quickly realized she was even farther from home than she already was.
"I apologize for keeping you cooped up on my boat, Princess." Columbus said from across the dark.
With a gasp, Twilight jerked herself up and sat on the bed, darting her head around an intimate room lit only by several candles. The entire structure appeared to be made of bamboo and let in the shroud of night from the one window across from the door. Aside from the bed, the only other furniture in the room was a simple desk, the chair to which held Columbus, facing the desk and admiring an ancient Roaman gold coin. He spoke to Twilight like a business pony to a potential partner.
"Please, don't fret." He said. "I have no reason to cause you harm. It seemed you fell faint on the way here. But I do hope you're feeling better now. And I hope the accommodations are to your liking."
Twilight took a few breaths to regain her courage. "I know what you're doing." She said firmly. "You're using me as bait so you can lure Daring Do here and eliminate her. You're going to desperate lengths just to be rid of a former student!"
"Don't flatter yourself, Princess." Columbus continued leaning back in his chair, yet to make eye contact. "I would never go for the old damsel-in-distress cliche. But I do have a better use for you."
"Right, your experiments, I presume?" Twilight got to her hooves. She felt a slight wobbling sensation in the creaking wooden floor. "And I suppose it wouldn't even matter if I tried to escape?"
"You have a good memory, Princess Twilight." Columbus then gently held up a purple alicorn doll, staring at it the same way he stared at the coin. "Can you imagine the surprise of the ancient zebras when they first employed voodoo dolls? To be able to control somepony's will from afar?"
"There's a difference between controlling a pony's will and controlling their body, you sociopath." Twilight confronted him. "I swear you will pay for what you've done to the guardians of that village. Even if I have to use every ounce of magic in my- Ahhh!"
Twilight gasped and froze. A sudden chilling sensation surged down her body from her wings. She looked in front of her as Columbus began lightly caressing the wings of the alicorn voodoo doll, rolling and bending them ever so slightly. Twilight could feel every pinch and stroke in her wings, even as they couldn't be moved, as if she were being handled by a masseuse. It was anything but therapeutic.
"You're far too tense, Princess." Columbus said, looking at Twilight and fondling her by magic proxy. "Please relax. You're on an island in the Maribbean Sea after all. My own personal little island that is. Think of it as a vacation. I told you no harm would come to you. Quite the opposite in fact. You'll be pampered as my star guest."
"You sick creep!" Twilight spat as she tried in vain to charge magic in my horn.
"Yes, yes, try as you may," said Columbus. "But you may have noticed that your magic is negated under the effects of voodoo...Curious...one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria is vexed by a simple toy. It's moments like these that remind me why I went into archaeology. Hmph, for unlimited power of course."
"Stop doing this to me!" Twilight demanded through gritted teeth. "If I already can't escape then what point is there in keeping me immobile?!"
"Quite right, Princess." Columbus stood and placed the doll back in his satchel. "But I'll hold onto this just in case you try anything foolish."
Twilight sat on the floor and wrapped her front hooves around herself, trying to shake off the creepy sensation.
Columbus leaned down to her. "Just know, my dear, that if any of your cohorts do come looking for you, they will expect no mercy from me. Not that they would be able to put up a fight. Not against the powers under my control."
"Pretty big talk for a stallion who gets his way playing with dolls." Twilight seethed.
Columbus then donned an irritated frown not seen on him by many. Without another word, he exited the small bamboo bedroom, locking the door behind him purely out of instinct. With another gaze around the dim space, Twilight stood up and went over to the window to get a view of Columbus's private island. But what she saw was not an island in the scientific sense.
There was no land beyond the window, only more ocean stretching out into infinity. Puzzled, Twilight looked out on both sides, still seeing only glassy water bathed in moonlight. Suddenly, it became apparent to Twilight why she was feeling a rocking sensation. The room she sat in was part of a large complex of interconnected floating docks made of bamboo. She then spotted other rooms, or rather huts, like the one she was in connected by narrow platforms. This island was in fact an elaborate floating village. And so Twilight's sense of desolation only grew.
...
As dawn broke over the Maribbean Sea, the fan boat whirred at high speed, bouncing on the mild swell of the ocean. Both Daring Do and Rainbow had come to a few hours before, the former thanks to Zecora's quick remedy. Zeru struggled to decipher one of the charts he had taken from the fishing vessels, even in the dim of the early morning. Spike sat up front, trying to control his seasickness and keeping his eyes peeled, anxious to find Twilight as soon as possible. Rainbow's mind however was elsewhere.
"Wow! You look better already, Daring Do!" she beamed giddily at her hero. "You're so cool and strong! But of course that's not the first time you had to face starvation! Like in The Search for the Jade Saddle when you were trapped in that abandoned mine shaft in Neighjing for three days by those gangsters! But then you got them back by-"
"By flooding their hideout after blowing up a dam." Daring Do finished her sentence. She examined some charts with Zeru. "Yeah yeah, I know. I wrote it. I lived it."
"Right!" replied Rainbow. "You are so awesome!"
"Are you sure we're heading in the right direction of this island?" asked Daring Do.
"I am not skilled in navigation," said Zeru. "But it is the only island off the coast of Port-au-Prance within a few hours' sailing. It should not be difficult to spot out."
"Sez you!" grumbled LeCroix. "Dis ain't no ocean boat! An' I ain't no ocean pony! We get sunk out heeya!"
"Just shut up and keep driving." Daring Do ordered him.
"Why dontcha make me, yella girl?!" sneered LeCroix.
Daring Do stood up. "I could just throw you off right now and steer this thing myself if I wanted!"
"You must not strain yourself, Daring Do." Zecora said. "Your body is still recovering after coming to."
"I appreciate it, Miss Zecora," replied Daring Do. "But I've been conked out more times than I've had book reprints. I'm sure I'll be okay to fight. Although my wings are still a little numb."
"Peeshaw!" LeCroix sputtered.
Rainbow swung her hoof across his cheek. "Don't ever badmouth the great Daring Do ya toothless hick!"
"Will you quit rocking the boat, Rainbow?!" Spike burst out.
"Spike, you okay?" asked Rainbow. "You've been quiet since we left. You haven't even tossed your cookies yet."
"I'm just worried about Twilight." He said, resting his head on the edge of the boat. "She's always able to get herself out of these jams. You don't think this Columbus guy could be too much of a match for her, do you?"
"Get real, Spike," scoffed Rainbow, sitting next to him. "This is our old alicorn princess pal we're talking about. It's gonna take more than some voodoo-junkie geezer to do any harm to Twi. Why I bet she's already busting her way off that island!"
"I like to think that." Spike sighed. "She really is my hero."
"Yeah well, real heroes don't always do things alone." Daring Do chimed in. "And that's why we'll be there to help the princess every way we can."
Zecora pondered for a moment, looking out at the crimson horizon and listening to the others' words. She had begun to realize that, even after her falling out, she was still able to look upon her mother as her hero. She remembered that everything she had been doing on this journey was for Zaria. Now Zecora had the urge to defeat Columbus herself.
"Over there!" exclaimed Zeru. He stood and pointed off to port bow.
Rainbow looked out to sea with the others. "Man! That is one huge boat out there!"
Zecora squinted her eyes at the large mass of wood floating dormant in the distance. "That is no boat, that is a hut!" she said. "Who would live out here? Some kind of nut?"
"There's a whole bunch of them!" added Daring Do. "They seem to be connected by a series of floating docks. I take it none of you guys saw that on the way here?"
"They look like bungalows built by zebras." Zeru said. "But we have no knowledge of any floating village in the middle of the sea. It is very strange."
"Well, why don't we check it out?" shrugged Spike. "Maybe that's where Columbus is keeping Twilight!"
"You really think so, Spike?" asked Rainbow, skeptically. "Twilight's message said she was being taken to Columbus's private island. And I don't know if that counts as an island."
"Rainbow, why do you think nopony knows about that crazy floating village?" replied Spike. "What about you, alligator guy?"
"Shoot, lizid, I told ya!" spat LeCroix. "I ain't no ocean pony!"
"But we can't risk wasting time barging into that place." Daring Do said. "It could be a group of fishermen. Or some off-the-grid parrot heads."
"Look, if Twilight is on that thing and we don't find out, then we'll be wasting even more time by going any farther!" Spike retorted.
"I agree, Spike my friend," said Zecora. "For now our quest must end. That floating village out there is a suspicious sign. And we cannot take risks while Twilight's life is on the line."
"I suppose it would not hurt to look," said Zeru. "Even if Columbus is not there."
"Ya want me ta turn dere or what?!" barked LeCroix.
Daring Do looked out at the floating structure again. She remembered the risk of overlooking any detail, especially in her line of work. "Alright then, hard to port."
"Yeah, do as the lady says!" chimed in Rainbow.
The fan boat slowed to a cruise as it altered course toward the floating anomaly to the left. As its passengers approached ever cautiously, the seaborne village appeared larger and more complex. It looked almost big enough to house every zebra in Zecora's home village and yet there were no apparent signs of life to be seen. An extended narrow dock harbored several small wooden boats that looked zebra-made, but even more rotten and dilapidated than the ones on the beach. This confirmed the presence of natives on this elaborate barge. The view only grew more ominous with the gray shade of clustering clouds up high.
LeCroix brought his vessel to a halt at the end of the dock, tying it off on a capstan, while the others carefully stepped out. The bamboo creaked under their hooves and claws with the sound of the water sloshing in the space underneath. They continued to look around in astonishment.
"Far out." Rainbow said. "Literally! What kind of a maniac would build all this?"
"Hopefully the maniac we're looking for." Daring Do replied bluntly. "The whole structure must be anchored in place to prevent drifting away. But why in such a random part of the ocean?"
"It is hard to believe such a place is real." Zecora added. "But there is a strong, dark energy that I cannot help but feel."
"I shall lead the way." Zeru said. "If Columbus has truly forced control over my guardian brothers, then we will surely face strong opposition."
"Come on, LeCroix!" ordered Rainbow.
"Nu uh! I ain't leavin' mah boat ungawded!" the alligator wrangler stayed put.
"Alright then, if you're so worried about that..." Daring Do proceeded to remove one of the spark plugs from the fan boat's engine, something its pilot would never have thought of.
"...Hmph, fair 'nuff." LeCroix grumbled and carried on.
The six wandered down the dock and into the open maze of docks and walkways. Soon the horizon became blocked by the numerous bamboo huts conjoined to the docks and by the various vessels floating beyond. The complex was suitable for a bustling community. But the walkways remained eerily empty.
"Hello!" called Rainbow. "Anypony home?! Fishermen?! Parrot heads?! Wait, what's a parrot head, anyway?"
"Rainbow will you keep it down?!" hushed Spike. "We might not want to draw attention to ourselves."
"Oh please, Spike," she replied. "If Columbus really is here, we can take on anything he dishes out. And if he's not what's the big deal? Wait a minute...what the heck is that?"
Up ahead, as they approached the center of the village, they came upon a space of water inside a circling walkway. Four mounted wooden cranes with manual cranks leaned over the water with ropes lowered down into the blue. It was unclear what they led down to under the large circle.
"Kind of a roundabout way to go fishing, huh?" said Rainbow.
"This isn't for fishing." Daring Do replied. "Whoever lives here, it looks like they're raising something from the bottom of the ocean. We might of just walked into some kind of elaborate salvage operation."
"But this does not explain this aura of dark disdain." Zecora added, gripping her satchel of potions.
"I don't like this." Spike shuddered. "I feel like we're walking into something a lot more dangerous." At that moment, Spike felt something wooden poke his back. "He cut it out!" he said without turning. The poke came again and he spun around this time with a glare. "What do you want, Zeru?! I'm not in the mood for..." Spike's eyes bugged. The male zebra standing over him was not Zeru.
"Spike! Stay back!" shouted Zeru as he quickly spun his staff at the ready.
The other zebra guardian stood on the walkway behind the six wielding a similar staff, mirroring Zeru's fighting stance. But unlike Zeru, this zebra carried no essence of life in him. His fur and mane were matted and unkempt, his hooves looked untrimmed, and his eyes were bloodshot with hollow pupils that gave off a greenish glow. This guardian looked more like a walking corpse.
"Okay, I don't think we can rule this place out anymore." Rainbow said meekly.
"Brother! Put down your weapon!" commanded Zeru, unnerved by the ghastly appearance of his comrade. "What has happened to you? Tell me!"
The decrepit guardian only responded with a lunge forward and a jab of his staff. Zeru effortlessly deflected the slight attack and continued to try and reason with him.
"Do you not see I am a guardian just like you?" he asked nervously. "Can you even understand me?!"
The zebra only continued to recklessly ward off Zeru, grunting with an angry rasp. Zeru was able to defend himself from the clumsy attacks, but refused to counter. Although he had never met this zebra, he would never bring himself to assault another guardian. The encounter had become more like a stalemate.
"It is no use, Zeru, it is out of your control!" said Zecora. "I am afraid this zebra has long lost his soul."
"Wait, you mean..." Spike gasped and grappled onto Rainbow's leg in fright. "ZOMBIE?!"
"Holy crap we're being attacked by the undead!" Rainbow exclaimed as she grappled around Daring Do's leg with Spike still attached to her.
"Oh come on," the archaeologist rolled her eyes skeptically. "I know I've seen a lot of supernatural crap, but there is no such thing as zombies." She immediately looked down as another guardian's staff extended in front of her neck.
Sure enough, a second guardian with ghoulish features stood behind Daring Do ready to attack. Just as suddenly, two more startled Rainbow and Spike from behind, with another two surprising Zecora and LeCroix. It was not long before an entire hoard of zombie zebras came lurking from behind the bamboo huts, some standing on the roofs, all ready to unleash an onslaught. As Zeru held his defensive stance, the others huddled close as they became surrounded by what seemed like a hundred undead guardians. The sky dimmed with a mass of dark clouds over the already dismal scene.
Daring Do gulped. "Uh, no such thing, right?"
"Really, my bright young pupil, I thought you would be more enthusiastic!"
The six turned to attention as Columbus made a path through the army of zombies and stood across the salvaging pool. He gave them a wry grin as usual.
"What have you done to these men, you snake?!" shouted Zeru.
"Mares and gentlecolts," said Columbus in a showman manner. "I give you eternal life! These zebra guardians were once fallen soldiers defending their homeland with all their strength. And now they live to fight again!"
"So wait," said Rainbow. "You dug through zebra graves to resurrect these guys to be your own personal thugs? That's messed up!"
"I admire your ability to make such quaint friends, Daring Do." Columbus mocked. "Ah! And Miss Zecora! I've heard so much about you. Your knowledge of potions is unsurpassed."
"Your knowledge of me may be disturbing," sneered Zecora, unwavering as she met her foe. "But we shall soon put an end to your reckless perturbing."
"Strong words, my rhyming friend," smirked Columbus. "But how exactly will you? Are any of you prepared to fight these forsaken guardians? Can you find yourself the vigor to sacrifice them?"
"He is right." Zeru said to his allies. "I cannot bring myself to harm my own fellow warriors. Even so, there are too many of them for all of us to defeat."
"Where's Twilight when you need her?" whimpered Rainbow.
"Ey! Citeh boy!" rasped LeCroix at Columbus. "I didn't sahn up fer no zombeh fights!"
"Oh dear Celestia," glowered Columbus. "I forgot about you."
"Ya done just tol me ta fight ponehs on land!" LeCroix shook his hoof at Columbus. "Now I wan mah moneh! An I wan outta heya, mon frere!"
"Then you should have asked for the money up front." Columbus replied, reaching into his satchel. "Although I wouldn't have been able to understand you anyway."
"GAAAH!" LeCroix suddenly screamed when his body bent backwards in a painful arc. His head jerked to the side, twisting his neck, as every joint in his body succumbed to massive pain. He was completely unable to control his movements.
"LeCroix what's wrong with you?!" exclaimed Rainbow.
At that moment, the gruff stallion was one-hundred percent sure he was going to die. "My name's not LeCroix! That accent was fake! I'm not even Creole! My name is Jerry!"
"This is what I have to put up with for leaving loose ends." Columbus sulked as he manipulated a green voodoo doll. "Now I think we understand each other. You're going to keep working for me in Port-au-Prance or else! Compre vous?!"
The pony formerly known as LeCroix was unable to speak, his mind too preoccupied by the pain shooting through his body, as he was stuck in a frozen, contorted position. But while Columbus was distracted with torturing his mercenary, Zecora discretely nudged Rainbow's shoulder. Rainbow looked down as the medicine woman placed a perfume bottle full of blue liquid in her hoof.
"Rainbow, this is a stun potion." Zecora whispered. "Inhale it and you will lose all motion. When you are ready, quickly take flight, and spray every guardian in your sight. There might not be enough, so conserve every squirt. It is the only way the guardians won't be hurt."
"You got it, Zecora." Rainbow grinned. "If I'm lucky I'll even spray Columbus in his fat face."
Columbus continued to make his lackey learn his place. "Don't make me break you in two, you gator-loving, half-witted, piece of...What?!"
To his surprise, Rainbow soared up high, out of range of the angry zombies swinging their staves. Relying on her speed, she flew over the shouting guardians and began spritzing them with blue vapor. Instantly, the undead zebras started dropping like flies to the bamboo docks, still awake, but paralyzed and even angrier. Columbus scowled in fury as Rainbow already incapacitated half of his guards like a crop duster.
"I love the smell of stun potion in the morning!" she yelled as she flew.
"Damn that brat!" growled Columbus as he too spread his wings. "I could have sworn I have a voodoo doll of her somewhere!"
But on sea level, the other half of the guardians prepared to attack the other five intruders. While cured by Zecora's awakening remedy, Daring Do still had not the energy to fly and brawl at the same time. She and Zeru stood defense in front of Zecora, Spike and the dazed LeCroix from the oncoming zombies. But Zecora had another plan in the works.
"Spike, now is your chance while we fight." She said. "Go and find our dear Twilight. I don't think Columbus has seen you yet, so you can slip by unnoticed I bet."
"But what if Twilight isn't even on this barge?" quivered Spike.
"Do not fret, my dear," smiled Zecora. "I can feel that she is near."
Spike trusted her words and put on a confident face, remembering his promise to rescue his beloved caretaker. Zecora turned to join Zeru and Daring Do and cast a hoofful of flash powder to scare off the zombies momentarily. At that moment, Spike jumped into the water beside the walkway, undetected by the hoard.
"Ha ha!" mocked Rainbow as Columbus gave her chase in the air. "You're too slow, old man!"
"You ignorant hooligan!" shouted Columbus. "You'll have to run out of that spray at some point!"
"Well then you can eat my dust instead!" she responded with a raspberry.
As the battle went on, Spike swam away under the surface until he reached an opening by another section of docks. He paddled and looked around for any sign of Twilight, but every hut he saw looked exactly the same and seemed void of inhabitants. Spike climbed up onto a walkway and continued searching, looking out for any straggling guards. For several minutes he wandered through the labyrinth of bamboo checking inside every hut through the window, still with no luck of finding his best friend.
"Agh, how am I supposed to know where Twilight's being held?!" he grumbled to himself. He then noticed a hut a few blocks down with a pair of zebra guards standing outside the door, the only building to have such. "...Okay, that's a safe bet."
Slipping into the water again, Spike swam under a few more docks until he reached the side of the guarded hut, careful not to alarm the clueless sentries. He slowly climbed up the bamboo wall outside and grabbed onto the open windowsill. Just as he was about to pull himself inside, a purple hoof grabbed him by the claw.
"HIIIIIYA!"
Spike was swiftly hurled across the inside of the hut and into the adjacent wall, sliding down like a splattered raw turkey. He hit the floor upside down and dizzy.
"Spike!" exclaimed Twilight as she ran and grabbed Spike, squeezing her beloved little companion in a spine-crushing hug. "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry I thought you were a guard! Oh I'm so happy you're okay! How did you get here?! Where are Rainbow and the others?! Did Columbus get to you?! Oh I can't believe you're here!"
"Good to too you see, Twi." Spike said in a daze.
Just then, a knocking came at the door followed by a series of grunts from one of the zombies.
"Uh nothing, sorry!" Twilight called at the door. "Just saw a bug! And uh, got a splinter! Everything's fine in here!"
Meanwhile, in the center of the village, Zecora, Zeru and Daring Do struggled to fend off the swarming guardians, careful not to critically hurt them.
"Rainbow!" called Daring Do as she took a dropped staff and deflected attacks. "Help us out before you use up all that stuff!"
"No problem, Daring Do!" Rainbow replied before squeezing nothing out of the empty perfume bottle. She looked blankly. "...Uh oh."
"You're mine, you brat!" barked Columbus.
Back in Twilight's hut, Spike explained to her everything that had happened while she was gone, from Rainbow finding the voodoo dolls in the village cemetery to battling the zombie zebras on Columbus's floating headquarters. Twilight had already gathered what Columbus was doing with voodoo and the zebra guardians, but was relieved to learn that Spike and the others were able to help Daring Do and find the floating village. All the while they were both quiet as not to alarm the guards.
"So that's what happened." Spike said, almost out of breath. "We're in kind of a jam. I don't think we can hold out much longer against Columbus's army."
"Tell me, Spike, what is Columbus doing right now?" asked Twilight.
"Well, last time I saw him, he was chasing Rainbow." Spike shrugged. "Kind of a lost cause on his part. Why do you ask?"
"If Columbus is distracted, that means he won't notice if I escape and use my voodoo doll on me!" she replied. "Now we just have to deal with those guards."
Spike took a moment to catch his breath. "Twilight, send me another letter. I have an idea."
Outside, the guards still stood motionless in front of the hut, a vacant look in their lifeless eyes. As they carried out their dull duty, one of them sniffed the air, detecting the smell of smoke. Both sentries looked behind and down at the foot of the door as green dragon fire came lapping through the crack. Immediately, the zombies gave guttural shrieks upon seeing the blaze and ran off down the bamboo walkways in a panic. As soon as they disappeared, Spike simply opened the door and stamped out his flame.
"How did you know they'd be afraid of fire?" asked Twilight.
"They're zombies, Twi." Spike scoffed. "And you said my comic books weren't educational. Now let's go kick that criminal's ugly flank!"
"Ooh wait! I've got just the thing for that!" smiled Twilight deviously, as she went back to fetch something from under her pillow.
...
Back in the village center, the two living zebras and the treasure hunter were losing energy fending off the zombie flood. Up above, Columbus grew more and more blindly enraged in his dogfight with Rainbow. At one point, he procured a knife from his satchel.
"I've had enough of you!" he shouted and threw the knife.
Rainbow looked back and rolled right to dodge the flung knife. But this caused her to slam into the roof of a hut and fall into the water below. After a moment of regaining her direction, she surfaced with a gasp for air. But she was immediately grabbed roughly by the hoof and held up by Columbus, wielding a second knife.
"You never should have left Equestria!" he bellowed and rose his hoof to strike. But as he did, his hoof didn't come down. "Huh?!...What's going on?! What's happening to me?!" he gasped as he suddenly lost control of his body, which was forced backward onto his rear. His grip on Rainbow was leased. "No! It can't be!" As he lay on his back, Columbus rolled his eyes to the side and looked across the dock. "It can't be!"
"You know, Columbus," said Twilight as she casually strolled down the walkway. "I may not be able to counter voodoo. But it turns out it doesn't take much to craft it." She then flipped her own voodoo doll of Columbus, causing the real stallion to flip over and slam onto his face. "Funny what you can make out of some bed cloth, pillow stuffing and string. Just add a little magic energy and presto!"
Columbus was then forced to punch his own face. At last, the zombies lost focus on fighting and turned to watch, in stale confusion, as their puppet master was fed a taste of his own medicine. The other living ponies and zebras watched in elation.
"Alright! Sock it to him, Twi!" cheered Rainbow.
Columbus coughed and sputtered as he tried in vain to get up. "You conniving little shrew! I'll make you suffer for this!"
"I don't think you're in any position to be making threats, Columbus." Twilight said, approaching him with the doll. "Your quest for eternal life is misguided and threatens the sanctity of the zebras. It's time you paid for your selfish goal."
To everypony's surprise, Columbus slowly began to chuckle. With the sound of distant thunder from the clouds, he then let out a loud genuine laugh, sending a chill up Twilight's spine. "You really think this was all only my idea?!" he cackled again. "Tell me, Princess, you and your friends all managed to uncover my plan. But answer me this. Have you figured out how I acquired the powers of voodoo in the first place?!"
"Princess Twilight, please...let him go."
All gasped and turned their attention to behind Twilight and Spike. On the walkway stood an elderly zebra mare, clad in an ornate red cloak and shamanistic jewelry. She looked at the shocked Twilight with a face of seriousness mixed with deep worry. Zecora stared in bafflement and dread, unwilling to believe that her mother was there.
"You all should never have come here." Madame Zaria said.