“Everything must have its opposite. I believe we are destined to ultimately succeed. It is impossible for a Yin to exist without a Yang, and a pendulum must be able to swing back and forth, otherwise a clock can’t exist at all. If we fail, the universe itself will come crashing down and if it does no one will be around to remember our failure anyway.” – Twilight Sparkle, upon receiving news of the fall of Holstein
—“Reflections”, Autobiography by Starlight Glimmer
The young bull lieutenant Risk Taker was knocking on the wooden post beside the general’s tent. The general annoyed at the interruption looked from his notes and papers.
“Yes? What is it?” asked Clip Clop.
“Some old zebra lady is here to see you. She was waiting on the shore. She says it's important and won’t go away.”
He saw a black eye and bruises on the lieutenant’s face and considered asking him about them. The lieutenant was tall, thin, fit, and wiry.
In the end he decided not to. If the lieutenant was getting into fights that was his superior’s problem. So far Captain Syrup had been… useless but not an actual impediment to the mission.
Grimacing, the captain sighed. The paperwork was boring anyway. “Well send her in.”
The lieutenant turned and fetched her. If the lieutenant was small but healthy, the zebra by contrast looked like a stiff breeze would kill her. She hobbled in with an uncertain gait, and slowly approached him. The lieutenant appeared ready to steady her if needed. That was good. It showed thoughtfulness and initiative. The Ground Pounders needed officers who could think. The general resisted the urge to smile slightly.
“You are the one they call the general?” He nodded to the old zebra in her scratchy white and black cloak. She was covered from muzzle to flank in tattoos, marked in black ink. White astronomical signs covered her muzzle. “I am Elena, one of the star-touched.” Her words were spoken in strangely accented Poni. It sounded like how actors pretending to be ancient equestrians spoke.
Chop-Chop drew away. That zebra tribe had a nasty reputation. Even other zebras avoided them. Prophecy, curses and madness were reported to follow them wherever they went.
“Why have you come?” he asked.
“The Spirits often speak to me. One such spirit brought a unicorn to me in a dream, and this unicorn, she begged me to aid you in your journey.” The old zebra looked at the general long and hard. Then turned and peered at the lieutenant, who drew back from the intense scrutiny. She shook her head and leaned toward the general. “You intend to travel through the lands west of the mountain to the cursed city of Canterlot.”
“I do.”
“The land between here and there is forbidden and dangerous, and not all of its dangers are readily seen. Those who lived under the mountains destroyed themselves long ages ago, but the evil they unleashed in the Dawn War lingers within that land poisoning all who come near.” She made a warding sign with her hooves and spat.
Looking down, she rummaged inside her robes.
The general was perplexed. The Dawn War. It was a legend and little more. Far to the west in the desert of Saddle Arabia there were large black glass craters in the desert said to date from that time. They were impossibly old and eroded, and clearly something immeasurably destructive had made them. The notion of a lingering curse though, that was new to him.
She hoofed over to Clip Clop a small cylinder made of a strange white material wrapped in a thin wire and hung from a chain. The small container was covered in glass and held a clear solid block inside it. “Take this for safety. If you see the crystal glowing within, you need to abandon wherever you are and move elsewhere.”
The general waited for her to say something more, but she remained silent. Realizing she was done and recovering from surprise at this generosity Chop-Chop said “Thank you for this gift. May I repay you for this generosity?”
“Oh, tall one, I don’t need thanks. Reach the Pony Lands safely. They are going to need your kind there.” She smiled and bid Chop-Chop farewell, turning slowly and unsteadily. Risk Taker showed her out.
Risk Taker returned and “What was that all about?” he said.
“I don’t know. Here take this. Keep it safe. I’m going to assign you to the vanguard under Captain Syrup. Don’t lose it. If you see it glowing, tell whoever is in charge, there to move away from wherever they are till it stops. Understand?”
The lieutenant saluted and smiled, taking the charm. ‘Wow’ he thought, ‘a real magical talisman to ward off evil, zebra certified.’ It even had some writing on the back. Сцинтиллятор. Hum. Cunhtn-pi-pi-rtop. “Well, let me keep you safe,” he said. He hung the chain around his neck and tucked it into his vest.