//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10: The Travellers' Rest 
// Story: You Can't Take The Sky From Me 
// by FailcopterWes 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 10

Two Days Later

“Let me see, let me see!” Ditzy cried happily, bouncing on the spot beside Fluttershy’s bed.
“Please, miss Doo, give me some space. The wound must heal at its own pace” the witchdoctor said.
“I know, I know” Ditzy said “But that’s boring. Flutty used to be able to go walking all the time! I want to show her around town too! Come on!”
“Your wing please, if you would” he said to Fluttershy - managing with practiced skill to carefully ignore the excitable mare by his side - who extended her damaged wing carefully into the air. The witchdoctor carefully unwrapped the bandage, discarding it into a reed bowl that sat on the bed. “It seems your reaction is nothing but good” he concluded cheerfully.
“Could there have been a reaction to the medicine?” Fluttershy asked.
“It is possible, but a rare to see, that wings and such may atrophy” he admitted. Fluttershy squealed and pulled her wing back, hurriedly checking it for any sign of the limb wasting away. “Relax my dear, the chance was low. To work with a pegasus is uncommon, you know. Experience is something we have in few shares, so please, provide any help you can give to your care.”
Fluttershy looked up from the wing.
“You really should have asked sooner if I had any reactions to these things” Fluttershy said quietly.
“Perhaps, but at least we can see that you are not dead, and you spend most your time asleep in your bed” the witchdoctor said, taking an obvious pleasure in the words. Fluttershy gave off a sheepish smile, and quietly apologised.
“Yeah, you’ve been really sleepy recently. You haven’t been this tired since-” Ditzy was cut off by the sudden appearance of a hoof in her mouth. Fluttershy’s cheeks flushed a luminescent red.
“Try not to move, for any task” the witchdoctor said, pushing Fluttershy gently down onto the bed and removing her hoof from Ditzy’s mouth “And something tells me that I should not ask”
“Please don’t” Fluttershy said quietly. The witchdoctor nodded and silently began his work again, bandaging the wing again and letting Fluttershy fold it back in. He asked her to roll onto her back and begun a similar procedure with the wound in her centre. Ditzy craned her neck, eager to see what had been placed to stem the bleeding. The witchdoctor politely pushed her back with a hoof to her collar bone.
Ditzy pouted, but let herself be pushed back. The witchdoctor reached for a small knife, telling Fluttershy to be still. He picked it up in his teeth and slid in under the bandage, with the blade facing outwards. With a quick tug, the knot of the bandage fell loose. The bandage flopped down onto the bed, comparatively clean compared to the last ones Ditzy saw replaced. A few tiny flecks of blood stained it, but nothing serious. Ditzy then looked up to the wound itself, seeing a strange tem placed inside it.
“What’s that?” she asked, pointing at it.
“Local plantlife” Fluttershy stated, as the witchdoctor opened his mouth to answer. As Fluttershy spoke, he busied himself with replacing the object “A sponge like growth known locally as Tee-mise that is found on several trees near the mountains. Since it is hard to get when growing naturally due to growing near the top of the – ah, careful – of the trees, any zebra outside the village is encouraged to bring back a–uh – any that they find having fallen off to the ground. Once cleaned and preserved, they can be cut to size and used for many things, such as – ah – kitchen sponges, bandage linings or even child toys”
Ditzy stared blankly for a moment.
“I’m sorry, were you going to say that?” Fluttershy asked the witchdoctor as he finished his work.
“It is fine that you said it, and I’m glad that you paid attention. Most do not care for medical information”
“Oh” Fluttershy said, her eyebrows raised. “Well, I don’t suppose they do. I look after a lot of cute little animals a lot of the time, and Ditzy here” she added with a giggle “so I had to learn medical procedures for most of them, and from that I learned how to work with ponies. But the medicine in this part of the world is amazing. In Ponyville we tend to use more tool based healing. Stiches and casts and needles and all that sort of thing. Out here it all seems so natural. I really could learn a lot from here!”
“And I would be glad to teach, if you would allow it. There is much to tell in the time that you visit” the witchdoctor said. Ditzy narrowed her eyes at him and flattened her ears, flicking her tail up behind her and curling her lips back.
“Ditzy, I’m sure he means nothing by it” Fluttershy said, noticing the signs. She turned back to the witchdoctor to continue. “I’m sorry, I think she thought you were being a bit...well, um, forward.”
“What? Oh I see, an easy mistake” the witchdoctor said, bowing his head to Ditzy “I apologise for any transgression I make”
Ditzy continued to glare.
“Ditzy, why don’t you go for a walk?” Fluttershy suggested “ I’m sure Rainbow would love to have you around. But right now we need to concentrate on the task at hoof”
“O-kay” Ditzy said slowly, straightening out. She planted a quick peck on Fluttershy’s forehead and then strode out, flicking her tail at the witchdoctor as she passed him.
“Oh dear, I think I upset her even more...” Fluttershy muttered. “Do you think you could let us have some time alone later?”
“Of course, I think that would be wise, just please do not disrupt the Temise”
“The plant? Oh, I think I mispronounced it earlier, Ditzy’s going to be confused about that too.”

Ditzy trudged down the street, her head bowed and tail flicking every few moments. She muttered to herself as she walked, quietly veering from topic to topic as she stared at the ground in front of her hooves. In the back of her mind she guided her legs towards the centre of the village. From it she faintly heard Rainbow’s voice proclaiming her exploits to a presumably enraptured crowd of the young and their parents, the latter of whom seemed to exist only to debunk such tales in private. Ditzy hated parents like that. Whenever she saw a parent explaining something with science that could be explained with imagination, Ditzy wanted to shout at them. Something inside her just hated the idea that the universe should be so simple and logical. However, like most of her mental distractions, this rounded back and her mind became stuck on Fluttershy.
“Stupid doctor person winning her over with body science” she muttered to herself.
“Excuse me!” chirped a little voice. Ditzy looked up to see a tiny zebra, barely taller than Ditzy’s knee, standing in her path. His mane was short, cut into a single stripe down the back of his chubby face. “If it’s not too much trouble. Are you the creature from outside the...oh...um.” The zebra looked at the ground and muttered to itself.
“Bubble?” Ditzy offered.
“That works!” the tiny zebra cheered. “But now I feel like a berk”
Ditzy chuckled quietly, eliciting a playful cry from the zebra.
“Then again, you don’t really have a bubble here.” Ditzy mused “Shame. I like bubbles, you can never have too many. Apart from when you fill a room with them and then your parents come home and you get yelled at because, apparently, foamy cushions are no fun” Ditzy stood slightly straighter “I disagree.”
It was the zebra’s turn to giggle this time. A high pitched little noise that attracted the attention of a zebra mare standing a few metres away. Ditzy looked up at her.
“Is this one yours?” she asked the zebra, cheerfully grinning. The mother nodded.
“I apologise for my son’s demeanour, he is only young, and his speech could be leaner” the mother claimed.
“It’s okay!” Ditzy said “He’s cute!”
The mother smiled briefly, but then returned to her serious expression.
“Could you please try to rhyme around the child?” she requested “I am trying to teach him, and you sound so...wild.” There was something about the way the last word was said that made Ditzy think it did not have the same connotation here as it did to her. She doubted they even had parties in this part of the world.
“Alright, I’ll give it a try” Ditzy said, pausing to think out her next sentence “...Although I’m not really sure why...”
“It seems you know little of culture, perhaps you would require a short lecture” the mother suggested.
“I don’t know, that sounds kind of boring...” Ditzy said, glancing down at the child, who was staring in awe at Ditzy’s cutie mark. “But I suppose I can’t be ignore...ing?” Ditzy shrugged her shoulders, giving up on finding a better rhyme.
“What’s this thing?” the son shouted, pointing at Ditzy’s cutie mark. He received a stern look from his mother before he glanced around nervously and hurriedly added to his question “Does it sting?”
“That’s my cutie mark!” Ditzy answered. “You get it when you work out why you’re here...park”
The mother glared.
“I got my mark inside a park” Ditzy said, attempting to justify herself. The mother sighed.
“A cutie mark appears on ponies and zebras, it is to them what we call the Zalekra” she explained to her child.
“Oh” he said “But it’s got all these colours! There are only the black ones on everyone’s mothers!”
“Quiet, child! That’s not always true!” the mother turned to Ditzy “Now, please, come with me, and I shall teach our ways to you.” She gestured towards one of the tents off of the main path. Ditzy nodded, smiled and trotted forwards.

Rainbow leapt out of her crouch and landed deftly in front of a group of zebra fillies, all of whom stared in wonder at the display.
“Bam!” she shouted “I was flying so fast that I broke light into a rainbow! I snatched Rarity and the Wonderbolts out of the air, just in time before they hit the ground!”
“Ooh” came the chorus of the enraptured audience.
“And that,” Rainbow said, finishing her tale and straightening up “is why everypony back home knows me as the most awesome pony around.” The sound of hoofbeats on the hard ground clattered around the open space. Rainbow surveyed her crowd with a smug smile. The crowd was filled with more adults than she expected to see, all of whom stared on with a curious expression, hiding the inane wonder of seeing a pegasus that was plastered upon the faces of their children. Over their heads, Rainbow could see Ditzy eagerly talking to a filly. Something tugged on her leg.
“Can you show us?” said a voice by Rainbow’s hooves. One of the fillies sat there, eyes wide.
“Or would it cause a fuss?” a slightly older filly finished.
“You want me to show you the Rainboom?”
Half the crowd nodded emphatically.
“Yeah, I don’t see why not” Rainbow said “That okay Chief?” she called to the tall, important looking stallion standing to the side of the stage. He looked to the crowd and then back at Rainbow, and nodded once. With a grin, she spread her wings to their full width and braced to take off. “You guys all ready?” she asked, pausing  a moment for the unanimous response to die down. “Here we go”.
She kicked off, wings beating furiously, she rose high above the landscape, spiralling up in ever closing circles, a spectrum of colour beginning to form behind her. She passed above the clouds that dotted the mid-day sky, keeping an eye on the nearest cloud of suitable size. While she waited for it to drift beneath her, Rainbow took a look around. From this height, she could see forest in all directions, but also could see the dead lands in one direction, the mountain she had sat on three nights ago in the other, and beyond that mountain, the grasslands.
Into Rainbow’s head flashed images, of lights, of grass standing limply without a wind to blow it, of something trying to get in her head.
The cloud passed beneath her. Rainbow faltered in the air, snapping her out of her thoughts, and dived. She passed through the cloud, forcing it apart, and gave one final burst of speed, ripping apart the spectrum before her eyes and blasting apart the calm in the skies.

In her tent, Fluttershy heard the distinctive buildup whine and whip-like sound of the Sonic Rainboom. She stared up at the ceiling of the hut, fully expecting Rainbow Dash to come tumbling through it at any moment.
“By the heavens, what in the world??” the witchdoctor exclaimed, striding towards the exit as a wave of multicoloured light pulsed through it “It sounded dangerous, like an explosive was hurled.”
“Don’t worry, that’s just Rainbow Dash” Fluttershy explained “She has a trick where she goes fast enough to break the light spectrum”
“That is fascinating, I must admit. How does her body manage it?”
“I don’t really know... sorry.”
Outside, shouting had started. Panicked shouting. Over it all, Fluttershy could have sworn she heard cheering, and one firm voice demanding quiet from all present.
“Stay here, my friend, through this incident. I must go ensure this causes no accident” the witchdoctor said firmly, darting outside.
“Oh dear” Fluttershy said.

Night fell over the village. It came without further incident and slipped on like a wave slides onto a beach, unnoticed except by the few standing out in it. In the centre of the village, a fire had been lit. Around it gathered a large quantity of zebras, who arranged themselves in circles before a small podium, talking amongst themselves. Some of the younger ones chased one another between the legs of their parents and amongst the ropes of nearby tents. A light wind blew the smoke from the fire in a grey plume, drifting steadily north towards the dead lands before it spread too thin to see and became one with the fluffy streams of cloud that floated there, blocking the usually clear view of the stars with their strangely beautiful rippling shapes. Beyond them, visible through the gaps and holes in the cloud layer, was the moon, shining brightly again. It had begun to wane noticeably, but was still over half full, displaying a sliver missing, as if a sickle had been placed in silhouette against it. In the dark, a trio of crows circled above the village, squawking above the murmur of the night time activity below.
Ditzy looked up at the circling shapes. She could not make out the breed in the dark, but knew they were birds. In her head, she replayed memories of when she thought birds were demons, come to taunt her inability to fly at a young age.
“Never gonna get you up” squawked the memory crow “Always gonna fall back down”
Ditzy’s memory of herself leapt up at the crows in her garden, flailing wildly.
“I’m going to make it, I’m going to get you!” her filly self declared, flapping her tiny wings uselessly.
Ditzy tilted her head as she watched the grey and gold filly charge along beside her in pursuit of crows, the hard soil giving way to grass wherever the imaginary filly leapt. After her trotted a middle aged mare, her mane scraggly and eyes underscored by bags.
“Ditzy, come back here!” she called “Don’t run away”
“But mother! The crows are teasing me!” the filly yelled back.
“Ditzy, crows do not talk, neither do they tease, now get back here before I have to drag you home with your tail in my teeth”
Filly Ditzy stopped leaping and turned to her mother. Her eyes widened.
“But they do talk to me.” she said “All the time”
“Don’t be stupid” her mother chided, catching up and planting a light smack on the back of the filly’s head, making her eyes swing in opposite directions. “I’ve had just about enough of you for the day”
“But I’ve been the same as every other day” Ditzy objected.
“That’s the problem” her mother muttered.
“Wow” Ditzy said, snapping out of her thoughts “That flashback got sidetracked a bit”. She glanced around, spotting the medical hut a short distance away. She trotted over and entered quietly. Fluttershy was on her bed, quietly reading a book as thick as her head. The side room was empty, the usually ever present witchdoctor having decided to join the gathering outside.
Fluttershy noticed Ditzy standing in the doorway in the corner of her eye, looked up, and smiled at her.
“Hello Ditzy” she said.
“Oh, you ruined it” Ditzy said, stepping over to the bed.
“Ruined what?”
“You’re adorable when you’re reading” Ditzy explained, nuzzling Fluttershy.
“Well, I think I’ve read enough for today” Fluttershy marked her page and closed the book with a thud “Otherwise the room might just overflow with adorableness” she giggled quietly.
“Too late, you can sense the cute from down the road” Ditzy told her. “What is that thing anyway?”
“A medical manual, written by my doctor’s grandfather” Fluttershy said “Considering its age it’s in surprisingly good condition”
Ditzy reached for it to test the claim for herself. Fluttershy gently pushed her hoof away.
“It’s a fascinating read though” she continued. “Whereas Equestrian medicine moved towards more practically minded ways to cure ailments such as the use of needles and casts, the medicine out here stayed true to its roots as a ritual. Whilst it dropped the majority of the superstition around it, witchdoctors encouraged ponies to try and find a natural remedy for things, as nature itself will provide for somepony in need. You see, the zebras treat nature not as an environment, but a presence, sort of like a ghost that inhabits the entire world simultaneously, and manifests itself in the healing methods available to them.” Fluttershy stopped to breathe, barely noticing Ditzy’s mildly surprised look. “It’s a bit like those ponies who think Celestia causes all the good things in the world to work despite her saying she doesn’t.”
“Fluttershy” Ditzy said, holding up a hoof “Um, I understood about eight words in that entire thing”
“Oh...sorry. I got a little carried away.”
“I wonder why...”
“Oh Ditzy, don’t be like that” Fluttershy said, putting a foreleg around Ditzy. “Are you still upset about earlier?”
Ditzy nodded, scowling slightly.
“Oh, you poor thing” Fluttershy shifted to pull Ditzy up onto the bed and sat her down “You know I would never let him do anything with me, don’t you?”
“Yeah, but still...” Ditzy said.
“I know he sounded a little...suggestive” Fluttershy blushed up at the word “but that’s simply the way zebras talk. In order to fit their rhyme structure they often have to think of some incredibly vague or easily misunderstood words.”
“I know, I spent the last three days with them” Ditzy reminded her “Whilst you’ve been lazing around in here”
“With a stomach wound, a crippled wing and a leg I probably won’t be able to use properly for a year” Fluttershy said sternly.
“Oh yeah...”
“How could you forget that?”
“I didn’t forget! I just got distracted” Ditzy cried, rearing her head back.
Fluttershy settled into the bed again.
“Yes, you’ve been quite active the past few days. I never thought I would see you trying to fit into a new culture” Fluttershy remarked.
“Eh, I try” Ditzy said, lying down beside her.
“So...” Fluttershy prompted “Tell me what happened today.”
“Well, I was in here for a while, and then I got all mad and went out. And I met this little filly, who was really cute, and he asked me things. But anyway, his mother kept asking me to try and talk like she did, apparently it’s rude not to around here, which I suppose explains why nopony ever breaks it” Ditzy began, interrupted only by Fluttershy squeaking about her newly discovered verbal rudeness to the locals. “Anyway, I went back to her place, but before I got there, Rainbow went and blew up a cloud with that trick of hers. And when she did that everyone got all scared, but I was really excited, because I love it when she does that. But the zebra lady tried to get me inside, because she thought  the sky was falling, and I had to try and explain everything and work out words that sound the same at the same time, and that hurt my head. Eventually the chief zebra took control of everything, and everypony calmed down, and Rainbow was told not to do it again, and I think your witchdoctor wants to cut her up, and she got questioned about how she got kicked in the head, and then they found me and asked a load of questions in the Chief’s tent, and I answered them because I like helping them. And then they let me come back out, although they weren’t exactly keeping me in the first place, there wasn’t even a guard. That’s another thing I like about this place, everypony is really free with things. I mean, possession or information kind of things, not emotional stuff, they lock up emotions like a puppy in a tinderbox in a well.”
“That’s a disturbingly specific example” Fluttershy noted.
“I’ll tell you about it someday” Ditzy promised. “Anyway, I know this because I saw a zebra in the village who kept looking over at this one with braids. I mean, not really my taste, but I can see why he would like her. He keeps taking glances and the mare with him kept pulling his face back towards her and complaining about him looking at other women, which surprised me a bit, but the moment she said this everypony glared at her. I don’t think they like people talking about emotions in public, especially the big ones”
“I can understand why they would.” Fluttershy said with a nod, taking advantage of the lull in Ditzy’s speech to remind her marefriend that she was listening.
“Yeah, but it’s kind of sad to see somepony like that. I mean, that mare was really possessive, you’d think they were married or something...wait...” Ditzy trailed off. Fluttershy rolled her eyes and sighed, pulling the grey mare closer.
“I hope you’re not looking too hard at any other ponies” she teased. Ditzy’s cheeks flushed a little.
“Me? Wouldn’t dream of it!”
“I know you wouldn’t” Fluttershy laid her head on Ditzy’s back briefly. “You’re a good mare”
“Yep” Ditzy grinned “Best there is”
“That’s an impressive boast” Fluttershy noted as Ditzy curled her neck around to embrace her. “Can you prove it?”
“Probably not” Ditzy said, breaking off, her eyes crossing. Fluttershy sighed quietly and pulled her back.
“You don’t need to prove anything to me Ditzy” She said.
“But you-”
“I know you’re the best mare I will ever have” Fluttershy whispered. Ditzy returned to her embrace. “And when we get back home we can lock the doors and have the whole day to ourselves”
“Oh, like on Hearts and Hooves day?” Ditzy asked excitedly. Fluttershy nodded.
“I’ll cook you your favourite food as well”
“What about the animals? Don’t they need feeding?”
Fluttershy paused. She pushed her mind back to the night they left Ponyville.
She whimpered slightly.
“Flutty?” Ditzy said, leaning close.
“They won’t need feeding Ditzy” Fluttershy said, barely audible. “Somepony else is taking care of them”
“Oh” Ditzy said cheerily “Good to know they survived. I mean, last I saw them they were in that little basement of yours. I didn’t think they’d get out to be h- Flutty... why are you crying?”

Rainbow sat on the ground near the fire, happily soaking up the heat. Every few minutes, one of the fillies would cease their games to stare at her with their inquisitive little eyes. They scampered on their way when Rainbow pulled an unusual face at them, causing them to giggle and depart.
“Good evening to you, my friend, Miss Dash. Is joining you a decision that is rash?” the witchdoctor asked, stepping to her side.
“Nah, go for it” Rainbow said, waving him down. “How’s Fluttershy holding up?”
“As well as she can be.” The witchdoctor assured her, before adding “On that you can trust me” when he noticed Rainbow’s incredulous look. “Her wounds are bloodless, and medicine applied. There’s nought else to do that is medicine derived.”
“I’ll take your word on that” Rainbow said, gazing into the fire. “She in there on her own?”
“For a time she was reading and sitting alone, but for a short time now she has Miss Doo to her own.”
“That...sounds incredibly unlike Fluttershy”
The witchdoctor gave raised an eyebrow at her.
“The last I saw they were sitting together, reading a book with arms like a tether” he said.
“I...think you just said they were hugging, but I can’t be sure” Rainbow said with a playful smirk. “But as long as they’re not...you know. I mean, she’s not really in a condition to and I don’t think she’s even interested in...you know.”
“And if an act like that turned to be true, what exactly would you do?” the witchdoctor asked, an edge of sarcasm creeping into his usually unwaveringly polite and vaguely cheerful tone.
“Well, I wouldn’t just charge in, that’d be weird” Rainbow said, ducking her head awkwardly and glancing around. Nopony was listening or at least paying attention other than another of the fillies, who was sent away with a glance in its direction. “I mean, I’d have to wait until they were finished and then...wait are they actually...?”
The witchdoctor smirked like a particularly satisfied frog.
“Touché” she said, realising how stupid she had just looked.
“Miss Doo and Miss Shy are a lovely pair” the witchdoctor said, staring idly into the fire.
“It’s just Fluttershy” Rainbow corrected. “I’m pretty sure she doesn’t have a last name. At least, she hasn’t told anyone back home it if she has one”
“Home... is there anypony for you there?” the witchdoctor finished.
Rainbow relaxed her shoulders and snorted.
“Why do you want to know?” she said, restraining a snap in her voice.
“Mere interest, nothing more. But your reaction belies a heart so sore”
Rainbow looked up at the zebra, who simply stared ahead, seemingly disinterested.
“Well” Rainbow said, tracing a hoof in the dusty ground. “I don’t know if it’s the same as the whole thing Ditz and Fluttershy have but...”
The witchdoctor turned his head and looked down at her expectantly.
“I don’t want to talk about it” she insisted, flaring her wings and shuffling awkwardly. The witchdoctor snorted lightly and got to his hooves.
“I must check on my patient nightly. I will make sure she is doing nothing...unsightly” he announced.
“Yeah, sure, whatever” Rainbow mumbled.
“A word of advice, before I depart, it is wise not to talk publicly of the heart” he said, and quickly departed. Rainbow glanced after him, but saw only a few zebras looking uncomfortably her way.
“Great.” She sighed.

“Are you sure it’s safe for me?” Fluttershy asked, eying her leg carefully.
“As long as you are careful, and do not strain your leg, there will be no disaster and no reason to beg” the witchdoctor insisted.
“But what if I break it and then all your work was for nothing and I’ll be really really sorry oh please” Fluttershy begged.
“Why don’t you want to go outside?” Ditzy asked. “You’re usually the first one to go exploring. Is it the Rainboom? I can make Dash not do it again if you want”
“It feels wrong out there” Fluttershy whimpered. “Something doesn’t want me out there tonight”
Ditzy looked to the witchdoctor, a look of concern struck across her face.
“Is she crazy?” Ditzy asked.
“It may be a delirium from the loss of blood” the witchdoctor said, his hoof stroking his chin “Cannot be an infection for we cleared out all the mud”
“I’m not crazy” Fluttershy objected quietly “I just... know it’s a bad idea”
Silence reigned in the tent for a moment. Fluttershy breathed heavily on her bed, pulling the thin covers up around her. The wind blew at the flaps in the entrance, whistling through the gaps and ruffling their manes.
“I’m not...” she said “Listen, listen to the noises. You want to know why you live in this little forest with these walls and gates and guards? You’ve lived here all your life, never gone too far. I bet the crew that saved us were the furthest this tribe’s ever gone, am I right?”
The witchdoctor scowled.
“I do not take kindly to being insulted-” he began, but was cut off.
“Don’t you see?” Fluttershy squeaked. “Don’t you realise that your whole tribe is being held here? You’re an experiment! An experiment!”
“Fluttershy!” Ditzy snapped “Stop it!”
Fluttershy froze. She turned to Ditzy, the steely glint in her eyes fading and her jaw relaxing.
“Oh Ditzy, I didn’t scare you did I?” she said, her voice lowered to her usual gentle tone. “Oh, I’m sorry. I...I don’t know what came over me”
“Flutty, you’re acting weird”
“But Ditzy...” she reached for Ditzy, but her reach fell short. Ditzy stepped back, eying her carefully. The centimetres of air between them buzzed as Ditzy’s eyes aligned in a stare, her eyelids peeled back. It was not the raw power of Fluttershy’s Stare, but it was enough to make Fluttershy freeze for a moment. Ditzy’s eyes widened as she looked into her marefriend’s eyes.
“Hey witchdoctor, you got a mirror?” Ditzy asked, keeping an eye on Fluttershy, the other one rolling to look at the witchdoctor, who was squinting and leaning closer to Fluttershy’s head. “Hey!” she snapped. The witchdoctor jerked his view towards her and nodded. “Get it.” She ordered. After a moment’s hesitation he turned and trotted into the side room, glancing over his shoulder constantly. Ditzy’s eye rolled back and stared at Fluttershy again.
“Ditzy...” Fluttershy said, cowering, but unable to break eye contact. The witchdoctor returned, a rectangular mirror hanging from his mouth by a piece of string, attached at two corners. Ditzy snatched the string with her teeth and held it up in front of Fluttershy, still staring over the top.
Fluttershy slowly came out of her cower, leaning towards the mirror. Her eyes flicked down, catching sight of her reflection.
Her eyes shot back to Ditzy’s widened orbs. Slowly, she lowered them again.
“Oh my...” she whispered.

Cortich stood on the wall. The mighty trees, uprooted and carved into a walkway high above the city, doubling as a defensive wall. To her it was a grand statement, one of power, of dominance.
A statement the tribe did not need. Since the day she was born, the tribe had lived off the land, the town protected only by a moat and the Tribe Rangers. But the Rangers were not what she had joined twelve years ago. They used to be a group for foraging, for claiming what could be spared, what had fallen to the ground. It was their job to maintain things as a natural order.
The new chief had changed that. He was a paranoid stallion. The Rangers were now stationed as guards or used to watch the populace. It was the new chief who had demanded these walls be built.
Cortich tapped a hoof as she thought on the state of affairs. As soon as the walls had gone up, the Rangers had begun reporting increased activity in the woods. Animals became restless, moving away or fighting amongst themselves.
“Kara-Ha, the creatures gathered, just as you dreaded. Would I be right in saying they this way headed?” a young Ranger said, emerging from the darkened guardhouse.
“Thank you my Kara-Ko” Cortich said, gazing into the night “for this information. The knowledge you have provide will help serve the nation”
“Kara-Ha, if it is not too bold” the young Ranger said “What is the intention which you withhold?”
“To let us go back to the way we were” Cortich turned to the Ranger “When we were a tribe rivalling Tribe Myr.”
The mere mention of that rival tribe drew a hiss from the Young Ranger.
“Do not worry, our village may still be spared” Cortich said calmly “There is no reason to be so scared”
“I fear not Kara-Ha, least not for me” he replied “I am concerned only with the wellbeing of thee”
Cortich gazed at the Young Ranger. He was honest, and his loyalty endearing.
“The ritual tonight, you must attend” Cortich instructed “For yourself you must look for a calmer end.” The Ranger did not move. Cortich silently cursed her habit of leaving her mouth slightly open when she thought to herself. “And whilst you are down there, find Rainbow Dash. Tell her to come here, quick as a flash”
The Young Ranger bowed low and departed. His hoofsteps made no sound, as his training had demanded.

Rainbow watched on in amusement. Around the fire, a trio of musicians had gathered. They all had a kind of string instrument, unknown to Rainbow, which consisted of an ‘S’ shaped bend, raised in the middle, with fifteen strings attached at various angles along it. It was played in two ways. With a bow, somewhat like a violin, or by plucking the strings like a harp. Both methods were currently in use, creating a strange harmony that filled the air. Up on the podium, the Chief stood contentedly. Before the music he had given a short and difficult to follow speech about tradition, had not said anything since the music and dances began.
However, the zebras all seemed to know what he was talking about, so Rainbow decided not to ask him to repeat it.
The music swelled as three other zebras, each one dressed in feathers and a green and red robe, and each with a differing wooden face mask. Two of the masks were small and face fitting, with large teeth attached to them to make them appear as wolves. The other mask was larger, more elaborate, with curling streamers attached to it and paint smeared across it in a deformed face. Embedded in the face were two triangular mirrors, one on each side of the mask, the edges worn down to curves. The zebras danced around the fire, the wolf-dancers stayed close to the ground, growling and snapping at the audience. The large masked one stayed high, their front hooves attached to small stilts, giving her a strange looking height and unnatural looking way of moving, her front legs arcing out sideways and angling in whilst her back legs stayed together, appearing almost as if she were a tripod.
‘I wonder if I can do that’ Rainbow thought, staring at the zebra towering above her as she swayed about atop the stilts, each moment looking as if she would fall into the blazing fire or onto an unfortunate audience member, the movement causing her to dip and rise like a piece of paper caught in a wind. The mask reared back with some of the steps, the zebra inside giving out a roar as the music became a haunting, high pitched sound. The two wolf-dancers reared up and howled, stretching out their rear legs in a crude imitation of the tall one. The stilted zebra then began to lean backwards, rearing high and to the point where it appeared as if she were about to tip over.
The clouds parted, seemingly aware of the dance, giving Rainbow a view of the stilted zebra with her forelegs in the air, and still bellowing, silhouetted against the moon. For one monstrous moment, Rainbow saw the moonlight reflect off of the mirrors, forming two flashes of light in the air. Rainbow twitched in place as the mask’s gaze fell on her. The light had gone from the mirrors, but the dark shape etched itself onto Rainbow’s mind. Her lower jaw hung, her lips twitching. Every muscle in her body told her to move, to do something.
The mask looked away. Rainbow relaxed. She shook her head, trying to shake away any thoughts she felt lingering.
As those thoughts left, she felt a sudden sense of familiarity. Looking around, Rainbow found herself being able to name several of the zebras that sat nearby. She occupied her mind with naming several of them, mostly ones who had visited her and Fluttershy in the medical hut or had been in the audience during her demonstration earlier. At a glance, Rainbow thought that nearly every zebra in the village had turned out, excluding the guards who seemed to spend every waking moment atop the wall or venturing outside. She looked around again when she realised that only one that she could name was missing.
‘Hmm, would have thought Cai-Cai would be right at the front for all this.’ Rainbow thought to herself, lowering her head in time to avoid seeing the mask rear into the sky again, this time with the two wolf dancers bowing in reverence before it. The mask gestured with one stilted hoof, and the wolf-dancers followed the tip. Their bodies stayed rigid and let their heads move loosely, as if guided by a puppeteer. The stilted hoof fell, causing the two wolf dancers to leap into the air, twisting and landing facing outwards, growling loudly. This startled Rainbow back into watching. While she was watching the wolf-dancers, the mask vanished into the dark with amazing grace for something so powerful and unwieldy looking. As the music began to fade out, the wolf-dancers slid away around the podium to the thunderous applause of the crowd.
Several other zebras appeared, sprinkling various items onto the fire. Rainbow watched in mild confusion. There seemed to be some connection to the show before, but Rainbow could not place the significance of throwing spices and dead leaves on a fire.
“Rainbow Dash, I knew you would come” Cai-Cai said, settling in beside Rainbow.
“Is your entire race trained to sneak up on people?!” Rainbow hissed.
“A natural instinct, easy for some” she finished with a smirk.
“Yeah, sure” Rainbow said. “Where have you been anyway? I thought you would like the whole dance thing. You said you were good at it”
“I was in it, did you not see? The one in the largest mask was me” Cai-Cai said.
“I was wondering how that thing got away without me noticing” Rainbow said “I should have guessed it was because of miss dancer here” she playfully cuffed Cai-Cai’s shoulder. Cai-Cai shifted uncomfortably.
“Please refrain from doing that act. It’s not good to do and that much is a fact.” she warned. Rainbow glanced down at her hoof.
“Oh, right...heh sorry about that” Rainbow told her, adding mentally ‘Note to self: these guys are not as playful as the ponies back home’ She gave Cai-Cai and apologetic grin, which the zebra returned. “So what were you supposed to be playing there?” Rainbow asked.
“A spirit of the forest, or nature itself” Cai-Cai explained “I have the whole myth in a book on my shelf” 
“Oh, cool” Rainbow said, running the performance through in her mind. She opened her mouth to say something else when a cough came from behind. Rainbow turned to see one of the guards standing over her, hooded and glaring.
“You presence is asked by Kara-ha Cortich” the guard said, leaning in and lowering his voice.
“It is wise to obey the Ranger’s wish” Cai-Cai advised.
“Alright” Rainbow said, getting to her feet “Where is this Kara-whatever pony?”
“Kara-ha Cortich” the Ranger insisted “is upon the guard wall. Get up there fast, and try not to fall”
Rainbow nodded and set off, trotting at a reasonable pace towards the stairway on the inside of the gate. She made her way up carefully, avoiding the more rickety looking steps. Upon reaching the top, she glanced around, spotting a hooded zebra standing a short way off and staring out into the forest.
“Hey, are you the one that se-“ Ranbow began.
“I am indeed the one that called you” Cortich cut in, still looking away “There is something we all need you to do”
“That depends what it is” Rainbow said hesitantly.
“You and your friends, depart from here. Take with you the town’s fear” Cortich told her.
“Fear? What do you mean?”
“Your stunt today was the final straw, now nature calls on its unseen law”
“Are you saying that I’m going to get attacked by a tree?” Rainbow asked, her eyebrow raised suspiciously. “Because that sounds kinda stupid, even for a threat”
“Believe me when I say that this is no threat” Cortich warned “It will come for you and all you have met. There is more to this than you can perceive, so I shall put this simply” she paused to allow a distant howl to rise into the night “leave” she finished.
“You’re crazy” Rainbow said, turning her back and gliding off the wall. Cortich did not react, and let her go.
Out in the wilderness, the howls came closer.