“On the midnight hour of the darkest day,
The Ones who should stay locked away,
Come again to scourge and scour,
Hope and light they shall devour,
Blood light will shower land and sea,
Drowning peace and Harmony….”
Zecora awoke from the terrible dream. Her striped body shivered feverishly from the
cold sweat soaking through her dampened fur. Or was it the horrific images that haunted her in her sleep that caused her to shake? She couldn’t be certain.
She stepped lightly from her bed onto the great throw rug that decorated her floor in symbols and ancient script from her homeland. A hot cup of tea would surely do her nerves well, she thought, crossing the symbol laden straw weaves that lined her path to the iron kettle. She absentmindedly struck up a fire beneath the kettle, adding an assortment of tea leaves and soothing herbs to her brew. Soon, a sweet aroma fluttered in the air, filling the small hut with tantalizing fragrances. Her mind pooled at the strange tangents of the dream that had left her weary. The words echoed in her mind, reverberating harshly as they spiraled into the pit of her stomach.
“Such terrible thoughts to fill one’s dreams, I wonder what these words could mean?”
A loud whistle popped a hole in her pondering bubble. She removed the pot from the flame to quell the earsplitting howl, setting the freshly brewed beverage to cool and simmer from its boil. It was not just the words that chanted in her mind in the voices of her kind that left the Zebra unsettled. Dark shapes with hungry eyes remained etched in her thoughts as well, their silhouettes only just visible in the wavering crimson aura that shrouded them. She poured herself a steaming cup of her herb infused beverage and began to sip gingerly at the brew. The tea did help. The chemicals released from the boiled herbs were soothing; slowly bringing her down from her elated state of unrest.
“Ah, what a pleasant and soothing type of brew. It never fails to ease the mind, it’s true!” The banded mare proclaimed. “Enough pondering these thoughts of mine, I will try again at a later time.”
She finished her tea and made a beeline for her bed across the room. She snuggled
down beneath the wooly covers, tucking in for another attempt at sleep. She nuzzled into the fluffy white puff beneath her head, letting the symphony of the nighttime creatures serenade her as she started drifting off. She took one final look into the majesty of the night sky through her bead and chime adorned window before closing her eyes. A bright star flickered against the darkness amongst the dappled embroidery in the blackness. Not in the way that most stars idly twinkle. No. This star was flickering the way a candle does before the wind breathes the flame away. It shone dimly then brightly, all the while shifting in coloration from the purest white to the bloodiest red.
“Blood light will shower the land and sea,
Drowning peace and Harmony….”
Zecora’s eyes shot open, a tiny red essence dancing within their glassy reflection. “Oh,
sweet Celestia, what can we do if this prophecy of old is real and it’s true?”