I had been hiking for a few days now, and it seemed that the ponies hadn't thought to look in the forest. I wore my scarf around my face at night as I walked, trying to keep a steady pace. I stopped to drink water, and that was it. I had realized that it had been... Quite a while since I had first arrived in Equestria. It had been at least a few months. I realized that I wasn't the same as I was back then. It was probably past my birthday by now, making me about ten years old. All of this was weighing heavy on my mind at such a young age. I was getting hungrier and hungrier by the day, and I ate tree bark and drank water as I walked. I decided to travel during the day and during the night, traveling to the first pony I had met here. I had left behind so many friends when I left, and I was getting lonely. It was scary, and it wasn't fun. Sometimes I would hear creaking wood and sticks snapping in the dark. Being even as brave as I was, I couldn't handle that. I remembered my backpack was at Flutter Shy's anyways, so I would have to make my stop there.
It was a few days since I had eaten real food. It was a few days since I had had real affection to call my own, so I started pretending the stuffed animals were my best friends, close to me like family. I hid them beneath my shirt as I walked, and crept through the woods in the pitch darkness. It was currently night, and I'm doing my best to stick near the outskirts of the city. I smiled as soon as I could manage through my chapped lips by now. I stopped in the dark and shivered, seeing my breath in the air. I coughed a little bit and shivered a bit more. I was going to get ill if I didn't keep moving and reach Flutter Shy's cottage soon. I inhaled shakily and continued walking, feeling nauseated, but unable to vomit because I had nothing to throw up. I gasped out and looked at my stuffed animal, staring back out at me with it's glass orbs. It held a worried misery in it's face, and I cracked my neck as I kept walking.
"No... No don't worry..." I coughed. "I'm going to make it."
With renewed determination, I kept going, making it another night. The sun was beating down, and then, suddenly, as if there was a cut in my memory, it was dark again. I was standing in front of a strange hut, a single candle in the darkness that was in the windows, eerily illuminating the scary looking masks around it. They appeared to stare at me from the darkness, my fear growing as I started trying to drag myself into the door. It was unlocked, and it was dark except for the corner, were the candle was illuminating the room. The room was dimly lit with different colors of vials and bottles and vials of liquid, with a cauldron in the middle. I stumbled inside and shook, closing the door behind me and knocking over a few glasses, making them shatter. I gasped out and coughed s I fell to my knees, and began trying to pick them up so they wouldn't cause any harm. I heard hoofsteps, and heard a gasp, but I didn't look up. I only let out a sickly sobbing cough, and tore off my scarf. I took off the glove covering my normal hand, making me question my own sanity. I swear I saw my vision getting fuzzy. The room lit up, and I yelped and let out a cough as I covered my eyes.
I coughed again and felt something warm dribble down my cold face, and I touched the dribble, and pulled it away from my face. It was red. I don't understand how, but I was bleeding... Paint? I felt something prod me over onto my side, my body hitting the ground, face up, with a bottle being forced down my throat. The foul liquid forced its way into my stomach, making it churn as I flailed weakly, covering my mouth as I coughed. More red dribble dripped out, and I went unconscious, feeling the darkness claim me.
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I was in a fever dram like state, with everything being in disarray. Something was wrong. I followed the path I had to the cage again and swore to myself, stumbling a little as I ran, needing to find the cage.
I found it alright, but... The lock was glowing red and it was hot. I began prying at the lock to get it open, but it didn't hurt. I shook my head as I felt dizzy. I growled and looked around the cage, looking into the corners. There he was, the man with the beard, looking sickly close to giving up and breaking. I grabbed his arm and screamed at him, not being able to let him go, for fear of the greater good of his wife.
"NO!" I shook him as I felt tears. "I PROMISED YOU! YOU CAN"T GIVE UP- WE'RE CLOSE TO FLUTTER SHY'S HOUSE! WE'VE MADE IT THIS FAR! WE CAN'T GIVE UP! NOT NOW! NOT WHEN WE'RE SO CLOSE TO... To her!" I sobbed out and he looked at me, his eyes dead as he looked at me, his only remanent of hope.
"I... I can't... Help you... Other than navigation... Any longer." He looked weak as he talked in his raspy voice. I hushed him and felt tears roll down my face.
"It's OK... I'll follow the east. I will. I'll get us back to the Isle. You don't have to worry." I gasped a bit and coughed, trying to cover up my tears. The hole opened up again, and in I was sucked, forcing me to wake up.
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I woke up in a bed, and my head pounded as I stared at the surroundings. My body was sore, and my breath heavy. I sat up, and found a beaded doorway. I stared at her and teared up a little. Where was I? It was dark in the room, due to the beads, and my blood ran cold when I heard the sound of hoof steps.
"No... no, no no no please I promised I would get him back! I won't let you keep their love apart! I won't let you keep me from saving her!" I shouted as the beaded door was sliced apart by a figure, and I got into a fighting stance, my eyes blinded by the vision of the silhouetted figure. Tears dripped from my eyes as I sniffled.
However, what I wasn't expecting, was a short zebra to step in with strange gold pendants on around her neck, and even weirder, she was holding a hot bowl of what I could smell, was chicken noodle soup. Only made for and eaten by carnivores. She watched me with her eyes wide as I looked at her. She set the soup down on the table next to me slowly, and cautiously.
"I did not expect you to speak, because you are so weak..." She spoke softly as I grabbed the bowl and chugged the broth and took the wooden spoon, scooping the chicken and the noodles that had clumped up in the bottom of the bowl. I looked at her after finishing the food and panted, feeling broth drip from my mouth.
"What are you...?" I felt wary.
"Zecora is my name, although, I have no fame." She looked at me like I was something that needed to be handled with care. I looked at my hands, and noticed the gloves were still there. I was relieved.
"Hi... Zecora... My name is Savra. Thank you for your help... But I have to go. The princesses will be closing in on me soon if I don't leave." I started to weakly place my feet upon the smooth wooden ground.
"And where is it you go, with skin still as pale as snow?" I looked at her and scoffed as she stared at me.
"Um... To the Dragon Isle. I'm part of the Prophecy." I coughed and stood up, shakily looking for my shoes. She looked genuinely surprised.
"The prophecy, the destruction of Equestria I foresee?!" She got into a fighting stance as my gaze became filled with tears and fear.
"N-no! I made him promise not to destroy Equestria! All I want is for his wife to be happy again! It's the least I can do!" Her expression softened at my tears and response, and I backed up a little.
"This... This is not your fault, not your duty to open the vault!" She looked at me like I was a delicate flower.
"It may not be my job, but it's the right thing to do." I felt pride well up in my chest with a hint of guilt.
"You cannot go, not with your skin as pale as snow." She looked at me like I was a foal that would collapse under my own weight.
"Then come with me. Either way, I'm not staying here, sick or not. I'll need you to do something for me though." She looked at me, interested for a moment. I struggled to sit up as I looked at her.
"What it you need, so that I may succeed?" I clicked my tongue against the top of my mouth and stared at him.
"It's my backpack, from Flutter Shy's cottage. You can't tell her what it's for, but just get it." She nodded and looked at me, and I nodded back, holding out my hand. She took it awkwardly with her hoof and I huffed a bit.