//------------------------------// // 33. Zebrican Thaumcraft // Story: Hero Souls: Awakening // by SvenFoxx //------------------------------// “So why do you live in the Everfree?” Twilight asked as she, her friends, Zecora, and Applebloom on Applejack’s back travelled to Zecora’s home in the forest. “Tis a land full of magic, and a land governed by none but itself. The Everfree is just that, forever free.” Zecora responded. “It reminds me of the jungles of home, where zebras do not command nature, but rather live in harmony with it.” “Why are you here though?” Applejack asked. “Why leave the zebra nation?” Zecora reached into her saddlebag at her side and produced a large leather-bound tome. “I am on a pilgrimage to complete my Thaumonomicon, a journey all Shamans undertake at least once in their lives.” Twilight stared at the book in awe. “No way... “ she breathed. Her hoof steadily reached out, but Zecora pulled the book away from it. “I never thought I would ever see one of those with my own eyes…” Zecora was smiling as she put the book away. “Indeed, it is not something we let just anypony see. A Thaumaturge is nothing without their Thaumonomicon after all.” “So it’s a spellbook?” Applebloom asked. Zecora gave the filly a smile. “It is no more a spell book than you are a pony,” she said. “Excuse me?” Applejack asked, eyes narrowing. Zecora held up the book again. “It is indeed true that there are many spells you can find within the confines of a Thaumonomicon, but spells are only a single chapter. There is far more to this book than the magic it can teach me, just as there is far more to you than being just a pony.” She poked Applebloom on the nose. “It is why such a journey is undertaken in the first place, to provide experience to forge and temper the knowledge we gain.” "So cool..." Applebloom breathed, clearly fascinated. “Don’t you miss your home?” Applejack asked after a moment. “I tried that once… I just couldn’t take it,” she said in remembrance of her own journey to discover her Cutie Mark. Zecora nodded. “Not a Moon goes by that I don’t long for the canopies of the Zebrican jungles. But the knowledge that I will one day return is enough to ease my woes.” “How complete is the book?” Twilight asked. Zecora smirked at her. “You, who has the wisdom of two ages, should know the answer to that.” Twilight and Fluttershy froze just as they entered a clearing with a wooden hut. Zecora nodded, stepping in front of the group. “All Thaumonimicons are different in one way or another. Such difference is usually because of their owner, but mine…” she flipped open the book, peering into the pages. “There is a chapter within with but a single entry. I read it only once before, and do not remember the contents. All I remember is the knowledge it imparted unto me, of you, your friends, and of the message I must repeat.” A glow from the pages of the book illuminated Zecora as she began to read aloud. “The Eater of All comes, and none may End him. Death cannot reach him, and Life will not free him. His herald shall be the rise of Reality’s Chosen, his vanguard their shadows. The First will be the Bridge Between the Dawn and the Dusk. The Second shall be the Mother of All. The Third shall be the Heart of all Love. The Fourth shall be the Shattered Soul. The Fifth shall be the Thief of Excess. The Sixth shall be the Prismatic Blur.” The glow intensified, Zecora’s eyes turning white and glowing as well. “Three times shall the Gatekeepers bell toll. One, the Architect of the Bridge will know the other half’s pain. Two, the The Illusion will fall, halting Genocide. Three, he is here. All has been consumed.” The book started to float. “But Beware the tale of the Eater of All. It is all paved in gold.” The book slammed shut, falling from the air. The thump of it landing on the grass was punctuated by the near deafening silence that followed. Slowly, Zecora picked up the book. With eyes shining with all the colors of the rainbow, she looked into Twilight’s eyes. “Soul of Hope,” she greeted, her voice multi-layered and echoing.