The work had to resume. It was getting late, but this was a duty that couldn’t be shirked. Even if it took her until the morning she had to reach the same result as she did before she was interrupted. The zebra dragged the alchemist set into the room and began to unpack it. The beakers, the stand, and the heating source were what she mostly required; she only hoped that the potential volatile reactions won’t disturb the residents.
It was to be expected what followed. Not just for Zecora, but the residents of the castle as well. For a long time, they could keep hearing a shrieking explosion going off at regular intervals in their room, even as bedtime came, the cry every now and then didn’t cease, and somebody was starting to slowly lose patience.
“Okay, that’s it!” Trixie jumped out of her bed, angrily stomping out of her room.
The tremors roused the other two unicorns and went to check it out.
“Trixie, where are you going?” Starlight asked.
“I need to have my beauty sleep for tomorrow and that blasted racket keeps robbing me of it. The zebra. Needs. To stop!”
“Trixie, will you calm down, please? We can afford to give her some leeway after how we ruined it for her when she was already done,” Sunburst told her.
“No,” the blue pony corrected him, ”Starlight over here ruined it for her, and then you had to add fuel to the fire, while I’m paying the price. I’m going to give her a piece of my mind.”
She walked away in direction of Zecora’s room, continuing to stomp on the way when her steps suddenly became quiet. That’s when she realized she was being levitated off the ground, noticing the pink unicorn using her magic.
“I’m sorry, Trixie,” she apologized, “but you’ll just have to bear it for a bit more.”
“I think not,” the school counselor replied.
Her horn began to glow and out of nowhere a trap door opened underneath the headmare’s hooves and disappeared into it. Freed from her grasp, the blue pony galloped off. After a split second of confusion on what just happened, Sunburst gave chase.
“Trixie please, we can’t disturb her!” he pleaded.
“Well, she’s been disturbing us for hours and I refuse to be a wreck in the morning!” she told him.
She was nearly at the door to the shaman’s room when a flash happened. Starlight appeared with an angry expression on her face. Trixie on the other hand used her magic on the curtains, causing them to come to life and tangled around her head, disorienting the pink pony enough to pass by. Nothing could stop her now. Until the headmare actually got out of the tangle and froze her just when she was about to tap on the door with her hooves.
“You really thought you could just deal with me so easily, Trixie?” she said with a smug smile as she traipsed over to the immobilized blue unicorn.
“I don’t have to, I just need to keep you down,” the blue pony said and used her magic to command the carpet to swing over Starlight and tighten up.
Yet just when she thought she was done, a mass landed on top of her, forcing her to the ground.
“You’re not interrupting her, Trixie!” Starlight muffled through the carpet.
“I… don’t… care…” Trixie struggled to speak, while desperately trying to reach for the door. “The zebra… needs to-“
“STOP!” the third voice cried out.
The two mares ceased, turning their attention to the stallion who held on to his mouth after realizing he raised his voice too much.
“You don’t need to do anything,” he lowered his voice. “Listen.”
They waited a few seconds, but they were met with dead silence.
“I don’t hear anything,” Trixie told him.
“That’s my point. Earlier I counted down to how often the explosion went off at regular intervals. It’s already been some time-”
“But it didn’t happen yet?” Starlight frowned at him for a moment, before getting out of the carpet.
She pressed her ear against the door, followed by the other two unicorns. They listened to the goings-on inside the room, but they could only hear one constant sound.
“It sounds like somepony’s sawing logs,” Trixie commented.
Starlight turned the handle of the door slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible as the doors opened, then poking her head inside, with the other two following suit.
The light in the room was still on, as was the other light source coming from the table that had various alchemist instruments strew across. There was a lot of black residue lying about, likely a result of failed attempts. The only experiment that hadn’t seemed to fail yet, sat on a stand over the heating source. And the zebra sat by its side, with her head laying on the table, letting out the loud snoring noise.
They slowly entered the room.
“Wow… how many times did she repeat the process?” Sunburst wondered.
“Too many times, if you ask me,” Trixie answered him.
Starlight came to sleeping Zecora’s face. “I feel so bad for her. All this time and in the end, she ran out of strength to continue.” She looked to the beaker containing black liquid, standing over the small flame. “And she didn’t even get to finish the last one.”
She turned off the heating source, before using her magic to levitate the sleeping shaman from her seat and into her bed, covering her.
Slowly traipsing over to the door, she looked at the blue mare. “Happy now?”
“Let's just hope she doesn’t start sleepwalking,” was all she said.
They were about to leave when they heard the sound of glass bashing against the floor. They all quickly turned and spotted the source. The giant jar was tipped over by the malevolent dark mass that was still trapped inside it, a single speck of light could be seen floating within it.
“What do we do about that thing?” the stallion asked.
Trixie looked around the room and spotted a line of books on the shelf. She turned the jar back up-right and levitated the book, putting them on top of it.
“There, problem solved.” She grinned.
The childhood friends gave each other an awkward look.
“Now let’s go already if we wanna be in a good state in the morning. And by we, I mean, I, need some decent shuteye,” she said in a tone of frustration before walking out of the room, with the other two joining her, closing the door behind them.
CLINK!
CLINK!
CLINK!
The sound kept coming up throughout the night and into the morning when the sun had long since risen, but the shaman was still fast asleep and couldn’t hear it. Even though Trixie put weight on top of the jar to prevent it from moving, the malignant force trapped inside refused to yield. As the castle slept, it kept bashing against the glass container without a break; by the time the sun was already high up, the weight had become considerably unbalanced, so when the dark mass bashed against its prison one last time, the books fell off. Finally, completely undeterred, it resumed bashing against the jar until it tipped to the side and then rolled it over to the table where the alchemist set was. The dark creature began to bash the jar against it, and each time, the beaker containing the concoction from last night that was left undisturbed, began to edge towards the end of the table. And then, just when it seemed that one final ram would cause the brew to fall over and spill, as the jar rolled forward, it was stopped just a few inches away from the table by a black hoof.
Zecora finally woke up from her slumber in the nick of time, as the constant bashing against the table finally got her attention. The black mass made an angry face, pressing against the glass, but the zebra paid little attention to it; her concern lay with what it was trying to do. Her memory was a bit vague, she wasn’t even sure how she managed to get into bed. All she recalled was managing to isolate a single grain of the black powder, adding it to the beaker, and waited for the reaction to happen, before she blacked out. Yet if she woke up just now and not from explosion… that meant she just succeeded! And that’s what piqued her curiosity on the behavior of the black mass.
“You would ruin my work out of spite, what must I do to make your mood right?” she asked it.
The dark essence only growled. Perhaps she was on to something. If the nut from which she made the powder came from the same origin as the prisoner in the jar, was it naturally attracted to it? That would be the only explanation for its behavior. But now she knew she had reached the success she achieved yesterday. It was time to try it out. Of course, it didn’t come without risks. Who knows what the aftereffects of ingesting this concoction would be; necessary precautions would have to be taken.
She put away the rug on the stone floor, then grabbed a piece of chalk between her teeth and began drawing protection circles on the ground. If some sinister force takes over her from consuming this potion, then at least she can make sure others aren’t put at risk as well. With safety measures set, she grabbed the beaker and sat in the center of the circles. She took a moment to clear her mind of all thoughts, looking at the pitch-black broth she had made, before finally grabbing it with her hooves and taking a single sip. It was terribly bitter! So much so that it sent shivers down her spine. The aftertaste disappeared and a sense of being filled came over the zebra, as if the inside of her was about to overflow, it was akin to the sense of feeling sick. And then she saw something in front of her sight; black fluid was beginning to rise on her eyes, beginning to cover up anything she saw until the darkness completely consumed all her senses.
She saw a narrow place, likely underground, yet for some reason, she could clearly see through it. A swirling shape made of dark light stood open and through it, a grizzled old ram exited, after which the portal closed.
A loud maniacal cackle followed, her sight shaking before it finally levitated away and turning to its originator. There was another shape present; she was dark and tall, resembling a horned equine with insect-like features.
“Oh, I would’ve hated myself if I wasn’t there to see it. The tension, the drama, the sorrow, the tears, the despair…” She squirmed with a squeal in a sensation of excitement. “Not even for a moment did I believe you would actually succeed, Grogar.”
“You should never underestimate the power of an indomitable will, Queen of Changelings,” the old ram told her. “I knew from the start that the draconequus would break under the pressure; all that was required was the proper application of force… and you provided the necessary leverage.”
“Oh, you flatter me…” She waved in his direction, acting as if she was bashful.
“Enough prattling!”
That third voice… was her own! Yet it sounded distorted as if someone else was talking along. Her sight flew about, looking at both the Changeling Queen and the Father of Monsters.
“You’ve got what you said you needed, Shaper. Now it’s time to put that power to use. The Scourgelord cannot wait any longer!”
“Ah yes, the sole reason you decided to bring me back…” The Father of Monsters stroke his beard. “Very well, what needs to be done?”
“All the preparations have been met,” she spoke. “You and Broodmother, follow.”
Her sight turned away from them and proceeded to fly down the tunnel. And even though she kept moving forward, she could still hear the two figures talking in the back.
“Something troubling you, Queen of Changelings?”
“I don’t think you should’ve just left those ponies locked up in Jagged Ridge,” she said. “They’ll likely escape; it’s only a matter of time.”
The ram chuckled. “Do not worry, “Broodmother”. Even if gravity doesn’t do its job, then starvation certainly will. With the isolation against magic you’ve provided, they’ll be trapped in the depths of the mountain for good. Their end will be slow… and agonizing.”
“Oh my…” a tone of surprise escaped her. “You really are a monster… I’m beginning to like you, Grogar.”
The old ram brushed that notion away, his interest lay elsewhere. “Tell me wisp, this “Scourgelord” of which you speak; who is he?”
Her sight turned back to face the ram. “That’s Doubt to you, Shaper. And I feel you’ll get along well with him. Much like you, he once spread terror throughout the land.”
The sound suddenly grew silent, the vision blurry, until it all went completely black.
She gasped for air. The darkness from her sight finally dispersed and she found herself laying on the floor. She quickly rose, looking about in panic. She was all alone in the room, apart from the jar that was once again laying on the floor, and tried to move in her direction but was prevented by the protective circles she has drawn.
Zecora tried to collect her thoughts on what she just saw. Queen Chrysalis was clearly there, yet she looked far different than when she saw her last time, and that other figure, the old blue-furred ram she referred to as Grogar, she heard about him from old pony tales, but for him to actually be alive… What was said about “ponies being trapped in the Jagged Ridge”; she could think of only one group of ponies they could be talking about, but first she had to make sure before she jumped to a conclusion.
Just as she exited through the door, the town’s bell rang. It was two o’clock already; she had slept through most of the day and didn’t even realize it until now! She picked up the pace, running down the street of Ponyville, stopping first at Carousel Boutique, but she didn’t have to look for long as she noticed a sign hanging over the door, saying “Closed.” Next was the Sugarcube Corner; the Cakes said that their regular resident left some time ago on an official business. She ran to the house on the edge of the forest only to be met by a scowling bunny; if the owner wasn’t at home, then it was likely the same for the one who was set up there temporarily. There was only one place left to check now to dispel any doubt.
The Sweet Apple Acres was the last destination. The moment she arrives she spotted Big Macintosh and his wife Sugarbell carrying a fresh batch of apples to the cellar, and she quickly intervened to ask them about their sister’s whereabouts.
“Applejack?” the pink unicorn responded to the zebra’s inquiry. “No, she’s not here. We had some problems in the morning when the orchard came to life; she left, saying she’ll go fix it, and a few minutes later she came back saying there’s an emergency and that she’ll be absent for the day.”
“Eyup,” her husband responded.
“Why? Is something wrong?” Sugarbell asked when the visitor hadn’t responded in a while.
“No,” she lied, “I was looking to dispel a doubt of mine. Please don’t tell my apprentice I was here, and all will be fine.”
The shaman ran off, and just then the youngest of the Apples emerged from the barn.
“Big Mac, was somepony here just now?” Applebloom asked.
The couple looked at one another before the stallion answered. “Nope.”
The zebra’s mind was racing. This all but confirmed her fears of what she saw in the vision. And if Grogar is anything like the stories portrayed him to be, then the whole Council of Friendship’s lives was in great peril. She galloped back to the castle. Starlight and the rest must know what she saw, so they can launch a rescue mission.
“Starlight! Sunburst! Trixie! My vision is filled with menace, assist me!” she called out to them.
She waited a moment for a response… but there was none. She ran up to their rooms to check on them, but they were all empty. She called out to them as she ran through the hallway, but nobody answered. Finally, she stopped at the grand door to where the giant map table stood and noticed a note hanging on them.
“Zecora, we took the students on a trip to the Crystal Empire. Please let Twilight know in our place since she was unavailable. See you later, Starlight Glimmer.”
The zebra grimaced. The only one who could help immediately was now gone. She had to calm down and think things through. First of all, where is this so-called “Jagged Ridge” anyway? She went to the library and picked up an encyclopedia, looking up the name. She finally found it, but it left her worried when she realized that it’s far off the known map of Equestria, marked as “Undiscovered West”, and no direct transports were going there, the closest one being White Tail Woods, which then took a turn to Las Pegasus. There was only one way to approach this now: she would have to go to Canterlot and alert those in charge. She returned to her room to start packing all her things into her saddlebag until she remembered she left something unattended. The potion that gave her the vision was left in the middle of the protection circle, and the dark being trapped behind the glass was still trying to get to it, without any success. She poured the black concoction into a small bottle and stashed it away in a safe place, before picking up the jar with the black mass in it, putting it in the saddlebag, along with all her things. She then put on her cloak, grabbed her staff, and ran off.
She galloped down the street. This couldn’t wait any longer; she was the only one with the knowledge that the monarch of the kingdom was in great peril. But as she ran past the train station, something slowed her in her tracks.
“Train to Las Pegasus will be departing in five minutes!” the train conductor called out.
Her movement stopped, as she realized something. The whole Council of Friendship was missing. She had no idea who to report to in Canterlot, and whoever’s in charge likely doesn’t know her, so why should they believe her a word that their princess was in trouble if she told them she had a vision about it. Then she remembered there was ONE pony whose words carried some weight that could be believed – Celestia; that is if she was still in the castle since yesterday, and even then, she was unsure if her current position gave her the right to give orders to those employed in Twilight’s service. Perhaps the better course of action would be to just hop on the next train for Las Pegasus and go to the rescue directly, but if she did that she would potentially be endangering her own life as well, and if the worst came to pass, the result would be the same. So, it was either go to Canterlot and hope the rescue is mounted as soon as possible and risking the response being too slow, or going to rescue herself, arriving in time, but risking ending up in the same position as the princess and her friends. What was she supposed to do?
“Are you sure it didn’t arrive yet? They said it would come with the next train?”
A familiar voice caught her attention. There was a familiar young mare talking to the station post pony; the pegasus had orange fur and purple mane, but what stood out was her scooter that she rarely left out of her sight, and the small underdeveloped wings that had not grown since she was a little filly. She thought for a moment; perhaps there is a way for her to achieve two outcomes at once. She approached her, and the young mare wasn’t even paying attention as she turned away from the postal office and crashed right into the zebra.
“Scotaloo, are you well? Do you need some comfort for that swell?” she asked her.
The crusader rubbed her head before she finally gazed upon her obstacle. “Zecora? No… no, I’m fine.”
“Scotaloo, are you in a hurry, or could I bother you with a personal query?” the shaman questioned her.
“Well, I just came to the train station’s postal office since I’m expecting a package from my parents, but it didn’t come today, so I got nothing else to do at the moment. Why?”
She felt lucky, then went to the point. “There is a message I need to deliver to Canterlot, but I’m in a hurry to trot.” She pulled out a piece of paper from her saddlebag and a piece of coal and wrote a few words on it. “It’s addressed to the Princess of the Sun, assuming she’s not out on a run. Do your best, nonetheless, to find somepony who can be swayed and remain at our behest.”
“Wait… Princess Celestia is here?” she exclaimed before she was handed the piece of paper.
On it, the pegasus read two short sentences: The council in danger at Jagged Ridge. Send help. It ended with the symbol of the Zecora’s own mark on the flank.
“Council… in danger? Wait, Rainbow Dash and the rest are in trouble?!”
The shaman nodded.
“But… what about you?” Scotaloo asked her.
“I must hasten to try and lend a hoof, but I ask of you, Scotaloo, to keep this secret under my roof. After all, a panic when raised makes everypony dazed,” the zebra told her.
“Train for Las Pegasus is now departing!” the train conductor called out.
The shaman gave her a passing glance as she was about to leave. “Can I count on you, Scotaloo?”
After a moment, the young mare nodded, put on her helmet, and with a buzzing sound of her small wings, she propelled herself in direction of Canterlot.
Zecora sighed in relief. If all else fails, at least now she had assurance in case she failed. Without another moment of delay, she galloped onto the platform just as the train was about to leave.
It felt like a long ride. Even though it took the train only two hours to get to where she was heading, it was still too long for Zecora. Normally she wouldn’t object, but as she sat and looked out the window, observing the scenery, she could feel the eyes of the surrounding passengers glued on her. She may have become a local in Ponyville and Canterlot, but the rest of Equestria has never seen a zebra before.
“Next stop, White Tail Woods!” the conductor called out.
Finally. The moment the train stopped, she jumped off the platform and legged it for the woods. No more prying eyes. She pulled out the map of Equestria. This was going to be a rather difficult task as the place she was searching for was basically off the regular land maps. Navigation will be difficult, but she didn’t have any other choice. She would just instinctively have to follow west and look for anything that would resemble the world “jagged”.
And so she ran. Through the forest and over the hills, following the setting sun as it passed over her. It has been several hours and considering it was late afternoon when she started, it was slowly beginning to switch to sunset. She was well aware she would have to set up camp for the night somewhere, but not while she still had a light to work with. Eventually, however, the sun began to disappear over the horizon as she climbed the tall hill, hoping that she will buy herself a little more time. She had no such luck, but she came over an unexpected sight as she came to the top. The sun was slowly sinking on the horizon, however, even though it was disappearing over the straight line, the far sides of the landscape had strangely spikey edges. Was that her final destination perhaps? Whether or not that was it, it would have to wait until the morning. In the cover of trees, he set up a campfire, pulling out a thick blanket to keep herself warm; she felt especially vulnerable to the cold and it has been a long time since she was out on the road. She hoped that by morning she wouldn’t catch a cold.
Dawn came and the sun began to shine on the eastern horizon. The sparks of light woke up the zebra who lay wrapped up in a thick blanket. She yawned, then began to double-check that she still had everything with her, before taking a quick bite from a green patch, tasting morning dew, and resuming her journey. With the sun at her back she finally clearly saw the valley before her. A handful of houses stood there, perhaps they could give her some direction if she was on the right trail.
She approached the small farming community, and as the ponies saw the newcomer walking through their settlement looking and dressing rather conspicuously, some individuals began to retreat to their houses. Only one of them stood there, with a pitchfork in his mouth, before he finally dropped it.
“Pardon me, sir, is this Jagged Ridge? The map I consulted did not show it looked like a bridge...” the zebra asked, pointing to the mountain range.
“The Jagged Ridge?” the earth pony farmer responded. “Aye, it’s right over there. Though I have to tell ya, that flat on top wasn’t always there. Something went off yesterday and almost the entire ridge blew up. And now it’s been making this awful howling sound, it’s almost hard to sleep at night.”
She thanked him and galloped off, the rest of the residents finally coming out of their houses again.
For some time she ran over the open fields before she finally entered the forest once more. She was now in the shadow of the looming mountain range, and she could already feel the slope increasing. It was going to be a long climb to the top. The trek made her feel dry; the early morning dew wasn’t enough to slake her thirst, but she could hear the sound of a stream nearby, she would finally be able to quench it there. She climbed through the bushes and finally found it… along with something she did not expect. Laying on the bank of the stream was a purple pile with green leaves sticking out in a straight line, however, as she got closer she quickly recognized what it really was. A little purple dragon with green spines lay all beat up on the ground, barely breathing. The zebra quickly hastened to his side and scooped him into her hooves.
“I feared the worst would come! Are you okay, my chum?!”
“Z… cora…?” was all he could say.
He cried. Each time he bit through the gem that the zebra had provided, tears came streaming from the joy of having the stomach pain fade away. As he did, the shaman began to apply medication on his bruises.
“I… was never happier… to see somezebara…” he mumbled through everything that was going on with him. “I thought… I was a goner…”
“Your praise and thanks won’t go to waste, but for now, to your friends, we must go in haste,” Zecora said as she finished applying her potion on his back.
“But… how did you know where we were, Zecora?” Spike asked.
“I can explain that later when we’re all together.” She put her saddlebags back on and stepped beside the dragon. “Now hop on and guide me, while we still have good weather.”
The little dragon climbed on the zebra’s back, she hopped over the stream, and proceeded to ascent the increasingly steep slope.
It took a good hour, maybe two before the trees started to disappear and were replaced with rocks. The zebra was able to hold up the balance as she scaled the nearly vertical descent, moving only inches away from a direct fall. Fate was on their side as they finally came up to the top of the Jagged Ridge, now looking rather flat, and the winds from Nether Lands howling as result. Spike pointed her in the direction of the opening into the mountain and they resumed their journey. They traversed the previously dark corridors together and this time Spike luckily remembered the way, until they eventually came to the end of the tunnel and a direct drop into the darkness below.
The little dragon hopped off the zebra. “This is it. They’re all at the bottom of the chasm.”
Zecora took off her saddlebags and reached into one of them. “It’s a good thing I have a rope, one that will lead them to hope.”
“I’m afraid that the rope won’t be enough, Zecora,” Spike told her.
“Oh? How so?” she stopped.
“They’re trapped in a stone cell in the underground river. The bottom has been pierced so the water’s slowly breaking in, meanwhile, the room has been isolated from magic and all the rubble from up here collapsed on top. The only exit is a small hole that was just big enough for me to squeeze through,” he gave a long explanation.
Zecora went into thought. This was a conundrum. She was expecting the magic nullification, but other problems were something she couldn’t have predicted. Time’s clearly running out for them and the only exit point was just big enough for the little dragon’s size… She looked at him, then her saddlebag; she may have gotten an idea. She opened one of them and started to pull all manner of items she’s been hauling around with her.
“Zecora, what are you doing?” Spike asked.
“Making some room,” she replied, “so the princess’ and other’s fate won’t be so gloom.”
It took some time before the shaman stopped pulling things out and the dragon just stood there; how easily he had forgotten how much junk the zebra’s enchanted containers could hold. She then attached the rope to the end of the saddlebag.
“For this plan to work, tell them all, so they’ll be in the know,” the zebra addressed him. “I’ll lower you into the chasm, off you go!”
Spike had some misgivings about descending back into the darkness again, but he had to do it; for all of them. He nodded and grabbed hold of the rope tied at the end of the saddlebag, and after seeing the shaman had a good grip on it, he walked over the edge and slowly fell into the dark below. Zecora made sure that she held the rope tight, otherwise, this was going to be a very short rescue mission. After some time, she felt the pull on the rope stop; it seems the dragon had reached the bottom, now she just had to wait for him to give a signal for her to pull them out. She looked about in the meantime, and only now realized how much junk she’s been hauling about, she was surprised that among all of that she was having an easy time looking for… She stopped. The jar… where was the jar with the dark matter in it? She quickly tied the end of the rope to a stalagmite, then began digging through the mess she pulled out of her bag. In a matter of moments, she came to the realization and that jar was still inside the bag she just lowered, and if they by some chance break it open…
She suddenly heard a sound of cracking rock and noticed that the end of the rope was being tugged on, so much that the stalagmite broke off and the rope slowly slipped over the edge and Zecora managed to catch it right in the nick of time. She exhaled in relief, disaster was averted, now all she could do is hope that the second one could be averted as well. She bit down on the rope and pulled, almost galloping down the tunnel to make sure the rope was pulled all the way to the top. Eventually, she felt the weight on the other end drop, and then noises followed in the distance.
“Thank you, Spike! I told you, you could do it!”
She let out a sigh of relief. It’s best if she went to join them. As she approached she could already see a pile of mares clinging on to the purple bundle of scales.
“You’re my hero, Spikey-wikey.”
“Thanks,” he blushed, “but I can’t take the whole credit. Had it not been for her, I don’t think I would’ve made it.”
“Her? Her who?” the princess inquired.
The shaman finally reached them, and even though she wore a cloak they all immediately recognized her.
“Zecora?!” a collective shout followed.
The ponies were led by the zebra and dragon out of the broken mountain. They went from a cold and dark place, and into a sunny and arid area. Finally outside, they all collapsed, exhausted from the experience.
“Rest now, ponies, you’ve done well. Plenty has happened, this much I can tell,” she said.
“You’re the one I’d least expect to come to our rescue, Zecora,” Twilight said. “Nobody but Celestia and Luna knew where we went. How did you find us?”
Zecora pulled out a small black bottle. “Do you recall the gift which your encounter in the cavern brought? After a night of toiling this is what I wrought. It is what led me to you, although... The one who placed you back there is something I prefer not to know.”
“You… you saw Grogar?” she asked.
Zecora nodded. “But still, I feel like there are gaps that my vision could not fill. Perhaps then you could enlighten me if you will?”
Just then, a shadow came over the group and the blue pegasus complained, with her eyes closed. “Agh, stupid clouds, why can’t they just let me be in the warm sun for just a bit?”
“Those aren’t clouds, Dashy,” Pinkie Pie said as she raised her head and looked to the sky.
Everybody followed suit. Flying above them was a giant airship with a crest of the sun engraved on the balloon. However, the one who stood at the very bow of the ship wasn’t the Mare of the Sun, but the Mare of the Moon.