Cinder always loved flying. She never let me forget just how much she enjoyed not just the utility of flight, but the sheer, unparalleled freedom it offered. I certainly knew about—and benefited from—the utility of her wings, but only now in these five days since boarding this sky ship do I truly understand just how freeing it must feel to soar through the skies.
A pity that I must experience this while I am not, in fact, free.
“D-duh-do you really have to st-stand so close to the ledge like that, s-sir?”
“If the height bothers you so much, you don’t have to stay.”
“I-I’m just worried about you!”
“I assure you, I’m fine.”
Zelac whines a bit, but ultimately steps back onto the relative safety of the larger deck. Leaving me to lean against the railing leading to the bowsprit, looking down at the crystal clear skies and the dark, deeply blue ocean beneath the sky ship. The ship flew at speeds far in excess of any seafaring vessel, perfectly sufficient to get my mane tossing in the wind in the absence of any inclement weather. But even for the days that did have inclement weather, I was truly not expecting the sky ship to remain as steady as it was, in spite of the high winds. These sky ships really were marvels to behold. I only wish my two interactions with them so far had been on better terms.
This spot at the front had become a place for me to relax, to focus my mind on the tasks that lay before me. With the benefit of real, undisturbed sleep on my side, I could finally begin to formulate plans to escape. Not now, but for when we would inevitably return to Zebrica. Admittedly, there still wasn’t much I could do with the Princes and their honourguards present. But since finding a surprising asset in that Zelac and his ability to make darkdream tonic, simply waiting this farcical sentence out suddenly became a far more tenable option. Since I already knew I wasn’t going to be freed after the conclusion of this tour, that simply meant I would be returned to Greenstone, or tossed into some other much easier-to-escape prison. In the former’s case, that meant my escape plan remained unchanged, since even a month’s time wouldn’t magically undo the tensions I’d sown there. In the latter? Well, with seventeen prison escapes to my name so far—eleven Imperial, five Zhaaneph, and once in the small Z’Haran protectorate’s sole prison—I don’t expect to be held there for more than a month.
I smile a bit at the memory of Z’Hara. An odd little land, what with openly playing host to the migrating United Herd. But surprisingly, they had the least corrupt government I’d seen in Zebrica, as well as some of the kindest zebras I’d ever met. Well, they’ve probably fallen victim to the Zhaaneph army or the hyena warlords by now. A shame if true, but far from an unexpected outcome. Zebrica was a beautiful land, but was just as cruel to match.
I continue to gaze out at the passing ocean for hours on end, content to just immerse myself in my thoughts with only the wind as company. The sun begins to set, tinting everything orange with it’s light. Without sunglasses, it would be stupid to look at it directly, so I keep it only in my periphery. But the moment the light’s intensity hits an all time low, I turn my eyes straight towards it. And just in time, too: a brief pillar of green light flashed in the horizon, just as the sun sank below it.
That’s the first green flash I’ve seen since my last day on Farasi.
With a tired sigh, I turn away from the railing and return below decks, headed for the crew quarters. When they loaded us on board, they packed me and the others into two tiny rooms, easily watched over by both honourguards and foreigner pirates alike. It had the unintended effect of splitting that mare and the other two stallions away from me and Zelac, giving us a degree of privacy I hadn’t expected, but wholly enjoyed. Or rather, took advantage of.
Waiting for me in my room was, of course, Zelac, seated on the small, straw-filled bed and waiting for me with bated breath. I did promise to reward him for his contribution of darkdream tonic, and this newfound privacy allowed me to do just that. For many consecutive days. He was a perfect submissive and a zebra-pleaser at heart, and was enthralled to me from that first night onwards. I doubt he would take a bolt for me, but he was certainly head over hooves for me all the same, which made getting what I wanted that much easier.
He let out a happy little squeal upon seeing me enter, jumping off the bed and hugging my neck the moment I closed the door behind me.
“You’re back!” he chirps.
“First things first,” I hum, Zelac’s ears folding at the more serious tone I used. “You’re sure there’s no more left for tomorrow?”
“I-I’m sorry,” he whimpered, looking up at me with watery eyes. “I-I thought I’d be collecting more ingredients from the walk to Nanga! Y-you know, e-enough for about a month?”
“And there’s no substitutes on board?” I sigh as he shakes his head in response. “Fine. Then I suppose this will be the last night I can enjoy a dreamless sleep.”
“I’m sorry!” He was beside himself with grief, his voice cracking as the tears flowed from his eyes like a waterfall.
I stop that nonsense in it’s tracks by pressing my snout to his, speaking in a lower, more amused tone of voice. “Did I, at any point, ever imply this was your fault?” His eyes shimmered with hope and his ears slowly begin to rise. “Of course I didn’t. Nozebra could have predicted we’d be swept up by a sky ship before we got there, yes?”
When he nods, I make my next move. I dip my snout under his chin and drag my tongue along his jawline, drawing a shaky, trembling yelp from him. With it, I clean away the tears wetting his coat ever so slowly, first on one side of his face, and then the other, and then ending with a slow, wet kiss to his nose. He went completely red in the face well before I had even gotten a third of the way done. And by the time I had finished, he was a whimpering, severely trembling mess of barely contained desire, wearing a tight, equally trembling smile with his pupils constricted to quivering pinpricks, all as he took sharp, shallow breaths through his nose. The only thing holding him together was, as usual, his wish to please me.
Adorable, really. Small wonder his former secret lover’s wife had him arrested. Her envious rage must have required six guards to subdue.
“On the bed,” I order in a low growl. “On your back.”
I swear, he gets more eager each time I order him around like this.
The next day...
I’m not sure what I expected to see when the sky ship finally reached the land. But I can safely say that I hadn’t expected this large, sprawling shanty city to be the first thing to greet me.
I knew something was wrong the moment I woke up, feeling none of the ever-present forward momentum or the subtle trembling of the sky ship’s engines through the floor. Zelac was particularly unhappy about having to extricate himself from my hold when I got out of bed to clean up and see what was going on for myself, but his attitude flipped completely once he saw this strange city for himself. Now he was back to being starry-eyed and awed at all the new sights.
My criminal instincts tell me this place is a buzzing hive of disrepute, in many ways beyond even what Farasi was. For a long time, I strongly considered finding a way to abandon ship here, to make my escape into the thick, familiar mass of individuals that teemed all around. Unfortunately, the Princes saw fit to keep me and the others all confined to the vessel, while the captain and her crew disembarked to deal with the odd creatures on the docks.
Though I couldn’t understand a word of whatever language these strange avian bipeds spoke, I knew the mannerisms of pirates quite well, enough to know that this crew was acting more like a band of privateers than just simple raiders. Though they were clearly instructed not to trust me and the others, it was still surprisingly easy to form a kind of nonverbal rapport with some of them, participating in various games and trying whatever alcoholic swill they had in casks during their occasional feasts. Though I had to hide my true feelings when it came to the alcohol in particular, as I hated drinking. Indeed, I hated anything that made me lose control of myself, which is why I was extremely careful to moderate myself.
I continue scanning the cityscape, looking on at the eclectic mix of races inhabiting it, all speaking a plethora of unknown languages, with the dominant one being whatever Zakurai and the pirates were speaking. Truthfully, that was the second largest issue with my idea of escaping here: it was extremely unlikely I would be able to find a Zebrikaans speaker here, not this far away from Zebrica. Communication was critical to survival in the underworld, and it would be a different type of suicide to just dive in here, without the ability to do just that. Of course, even if I did know how to, the idea of seducing these other races to get what I want was, quite frankly, repulsive. Obvious hygiene issues aside, my taste in partners remained firmly equine, and I had far too much self-respect to bend that line.
The primary issue, however, was that there was no guarantee I would be able to return to Zebrica from here. No guarantee I could free Cinder.
So, with a heavy heart, I’m forced to let this escape opportunity pass me by. The pirates, with aid from the local creatures, load crates full of supplies and barrels full of liquid onboard via the cargo lift. Only some of the barrels are full of more alcohol. The rest are shipped to the engine room. It must be filled with the fuel it requires. I had honestly expected it to be coal-fired; I’ve never heard of an engine that took a liquid to operate, let alone one that didn’t use steam. If there’s one thing this cursed journey has taught me, it’s that the technology on this side of the world is clearly far beyond Zebrica’s, which only makes me curious about what else there might be.
With the sky ship resupplied, it is detached from the cliffside dock and regains it’s altitude above the cloud line before journeying further inland. Below is a great desert, though a mostly static one filled with enormous bones. Nowhere near as dangerous as the likes of the Great Banded Desert, but consequently far less interesting the longer I look at it pass by.
It’s evident from the horizon that there will be far more desert to fly though, and the ship’s engines weren’t running as fast as they were above the ocean, no doubt due to the noticeably higher ambient heat. So after only an hour of looking down at the desert, I return below deck to find other ways to occupy my time. Exploring more, gauging potential weaknesses and egress points, playing table games with the pirates I still don’t fully understand, the usual fare, really.
If nothing else, I’m able to once again end the night with Zelac on a pleasurable note, so at least there’s that variety of relief available to me. As I try to settle in to sleep, already dreading having to share a dream with the damned Princes again, I’m at least entertained by the noises coming from the room with the other chosen zebras. That entitled tail-lifter was very happy to be alone with those two stallions the first day, but evidently they weren’t up to her expectations, if the sudden cessation of thumping and groaning after the third day was any indication. Now, she and the other two just yell at each other, broken up only by her pitching a fit, clearly frustrated about being unsatisfied in the bedroom.
Secondary school never truly ends for some zebras. I’ll give it another day or two before she begs me to sate her next. I’m still split on whether I’ll reject her advances and relish watching her seethe about it, or if I’ll utterly ruin other stallions for her when she does come crawling.
The prairie stretched out as far as the eye could see, a veritable ocean all unto itself. The gentle breeze swept across the tall, yellow-green grass, tousling them in waves not dissimilar to the waves of the ocean. All while the gentle light of the slowly setting moon illuminated all. Not a single obstruction was present, not even so much as a single shrub: grass was all there was. Most importantly, however, that also meant that there was no real place to hide, beyond crouching in the grass.
This was quite possibly the worst environment I could have been thrown into.
The yellow sun was a few metres directly over my head, and was about the size of my head as well, anchored by a stream of power into my back. Since embarking on this cursed journey, it has started becoming more and more attached to me, more willing to listen, more willing to obey. So it was then, that it immediately flew into my outstretched hooves and began to shrink in size as I made to lay in the grass, taking cover from what I knew would be coming.
The twin dawns on opposite sides of the skyscape, one blue and one red, heralded their arrival. The yellow sun shrank enough to fit into my frog, just in time to allow me to clasp it between both front hooves and hide it’s light from view, held close to my chest. It hated hiding like this as much as I did. It wanted to burn and destroy. I wanted to live.
As the two suns quickly rise, they form a binary system when they reach the centre of the sky, slowly orbiting one another. The temperatures of both suns cancel one another out, leaving only an intense light. The light slowly swung through rosy-red, magenta, and violet colours as the suns revolved, and swung back just as slowly. Most importantly, the suns were also anchored to their respective Princes with a stream of power. And those streams were converging somewhere off to my side.
And they were only a few metres away from me.
I could hear their indistinct, whispered conversation from here, but I didn’t dare move from my prone position, hoping the tall grass would be sufficient to hide me from their view. As I listened, their words gained clarity and volume. But they did not gain meaning. Their language was a bizarre, familiar kind of foreign that made no sense to me: it was definitely Zebrikaans, but it was also definitely not. I can’t make anything of it. All I can make out is the emotions and intonations. I hear monotony from Zabraxas, and frustration from Zakurai.
Their streams of power begin to move closer to me at an angle. I remain still, but my heart begins to pound in my ears.
Your cyberpunk samurai massacre through Night City’s furry district was brought to a halt as you felt something for once in your dreamscape prison. A tingling all along your back, of a kind that felt real familiar. The scenery and your make-believe equipment melts away, first like ink running down paper, and then dissolving into fog, leaving you naked once again in the void with nothing but ol’ Sunny up there to keep you company.
Oh yeah, you’ve definitely felt this before: this is the same feeling the Staff of Sacanas had when it used to chat you up. Man, feels like forever ago, now. At first, you think it is the staff, finally revealing itself. But it takes mere seconds to realize that no, it is not, in fact, the magic stick in question. For one thing, the weird spiritual fondling was barely there, almost unaware of your presence. No, it was unaware of you. The feeling was more like bumping into a stranger than the active fondling between man and staff. And there was, hmm... One, two, maybe...? Ahh, yeah, there is a third one there somewhere, hiding real good-like! Wonder why?
Well, ain’t this a welcome break in the monotony? Well, what kinda host would you be if you didn’t reach out and say hello to these newcomers?
A horrible chill runs down my spine. Even the yellow sun shivers in the frogs of my hooves. I feel... something in the air. Something different. Something deeply, horribly wrong. At first, I think it’s because of the other two Princes. But their streams of power were reeling and undulating, and for once, their suns were actually shrinking away, like the yellow one might have done if it were in the sky, too. I could hear surprise and alarm in Zakurai’s unintelligible voice, and Zabraxas’s tone held a twinge of... something. Discomfort? Disturbance?
The light of the two suns begins to dim. And then, the beginnings of a third source of light makes itself known. This one was green, but not like any green I had ever seen before. It was harsh, bright, and a completely unnatural shade. The two suns shrink in size and fly back down to the ground, coming to a stop above their respective Princes as their connections become thicker and more powerful. In so doing, their light fades from the sky and becomes localized around them, leaving the sky black and star-filled once again. I hear the two Princes’ tones become deathly serious, and they begin galloping away together, taking their suns with them.
Risking a look, I keep holding the yellow sun to my chest with one hoof as I slowly push myself upright, my head finally cresting above the grass. What I see in the distance requires a double take to ensure I am seeing it correctly.
A fourth sun was rising. But I’m not even sure one could call it a sun. Though it had the necessary luminescence, the form was nothing like a solar body: while large parts of it were in fact the expected solar plasma, an equally large part of it was some kind of crystal. The entire body was deformed and non-spherical, and it was in a constant state of fracture and self-destruction, constantly warring with itself over whether it would be a sun or a crystal, and emitted bursts of strange green lightning each time it’s surface broke in the process, leaving it wreathed in power.
I didn’t need a visual to know that there was something deeply wrong here. It wasn’t that it was intimidating, which it was. It wasn’t that it felt wrong, which it did. It was that it felt... otherworldly. Alien. Like nothing that was native to Equus. Nowhere was that more evident than it’s harsh, green light: a hue I am certain has never even been dreamt of by any worldly species before. As it slowly rose, the sky did not become lit with it: the stars remained perfectly visible, as if no sun had risen at all.
Then, the alien sun split in half and ripped itself apart. The parts remained cohesive through enormous streams of power anchoring them together, as much lightning as they were fire. The sounds that power made were loud, deep, piercing, and wholly unnatural. In it’s split-open core, something descended downwards to the ground, linked by multiple streams of power connected to each still-splintering piece of the alien sun that somewhat amalgamated into one frayed stream as they converged on that central point. The sun’s parts smashed back together into it’s fracturing whole again shortly after releasing that something, but the multitudinous streams linked to it remained.
It defied what little I knew about these suns, but I’m certain that whatever it just released was the individual linked to the sun. But I couldn’t see who—or what—it was from this distance. The other two Princes and their comparatively natural suns continued to approach, bearing straight for this still-descending new individual. I look down at the tiny yellow sun in my frog, and silently beg it to stay out of sight. It floats around and nestles against the back of my neck, where my mane began, allowing me the use of all my legs and letting me break into a gallop to get a look for myself, never forgetting that avoiding detection and staying alive was still my priority.
I still couldn’t see the individual properly, but it eventually made landfall. I knew immediately by the way the ground shook and trembled, throwing my gait off for a moment. In a large radius around the unknown individual, the ground beneath it began to fracture, crack, and eventually sink into the ground, forming a kind of crater. It was as if the very land itself was trying to distance itself from this strange new being. The two Princes leap down into this crater once they are close enough, taking their suns with them and putting them out of view. That did not comfort me, as the green, alien sun still hung overhead, replacing one set of fears with another.
I slow to a stop at the lip of the crater, deciding it wise to not descend into it myself. Finally, I can see the individual in question.
The sight leaves me with more questions than answers.
It was a biped of some kind. It almost looked similar to an ape of some description, but like none I had seen before. It’s skin was devoid of hair, and was a green colour: not the same green as the alien sun above, but green nonetheless. It was muscular and toned, an obvious recipient of lots of physical training. It’s completely exposed genitalia gave it away as male, but the presence of actual nipples on it’s chest confused me on that point for a moment. It’s eyes were strangely small yet very expressive, were forward-facing like that of a predator, and it had a protruding nose, but no snout.
It was the look in those eyes that caused me to shiver. I’ve seen many looks before over the years. But none quite like this. It’s look of curiosity and excitement was set against a backdrop of insanity, of a variety I haven’t seen before and could not identify. And it was regarding both Princes with a wide, toothy grin, revealing teeth that at first I thought were carnivorous, but quickly realized were omnivorous.
I only realized that point as it began to speak to the other Princes, it’s arms extended in a welcoming gesture. It’s language was both foreign and unintelligible, yet held amusement and an undercurrent of danger. The streams of power it had to it’s sun were connected all along his rear side like cables or puppet strings, linked to his limbs, torso, and especially along his spine.
I could hear Zakurai replying in that same foreign language, and to say he was hostile and unhappy would be quite the understatement. Strangely, he spoke as if he knew this... alien. In response, the alien threw his head back and laughed. As Zakurai continued to speak, the creature looked on at him with unhidden amusement. Zabraxas spoke up as well, but in that unintelligible Zebrikaans: it was clear he couldn’t understand the two’s words. Said Prince was becoming increasingly hostile and agitated towards the alien, and his sun’s core leaked power that formed an arc of energy blades around him. The alien looked on with heightened mirth, as if Zabraxas only registered as an amusement rather than a threat. Despite Zakurai’s plea to Zabraxas to not do anything, the latter disregarded the advice and charged forward, leaving a trail of frost in his wake.
A simple smile crossed the alien’s face and his eyes lidded as Zabraxas ran closer. He reached out and extended his fingers towards him. And with a loud, blaring, and unearthly electric noise, green power burst forth from his hand like lightning, moving too fast to avoid and striking Zabraxas dead-centre. He was thrown against the crater’s wall like a ragdoll, leaving a smaller crater with the impact. But the alien was not finished with him: the lightning continued to flow as he used it to yank him from his impact point and send him crashing into another wall of the crater, and then another, until finally he recalled his power after three such impacts.
I looked on with my jaw hanging open. Zabraxas laid in a heap, dazed and weak, his sun a small ember compared to what it once was. This alien had completely beaten him back in the span of mere seconds. Zakurai leapt to his side, his mane transformed into a living flame. He held his fellow Prince close and reached for his sun. Just like my own reaching, his body lit up with his angry red flames, spreading from the hoof he reached with. He yelled something at the alien, something defiant yet ultimately ineffectual. Then, the two Princes and their suns were engulfed in a sudden inferno of red fire. And in the next moment, they were gone, presence and all.
The alien laughed to himself, thoroughly amused. But his amusement gave way to some level of concern as he spoke to himself more softly, rubbing his chin in thought.
And then he turned his head in my direction. And looked directly at me with a knowing smile. As if he had always known I was there.
With a small yelp, I turn tail and start running for my life. Picking up on my need to escape, the yellow sun lights me on fire as I run, causing the grass around me to combust as I pass through it. However, I’m forced to skid to a stop when a wall of unstable green power erupts to life in front of me, fired down from on high by the alien sun and igniting the grass on it’s own. I spin around to find a different avenue of escape, only to see the alien standing directly in front of me. I fall onto my haunches and then onto my back, terrified out of my wits.
And yet, he does not attack. Rather, he looks down at me with curiosity. As my vision begins to turn yellow, he squats to get a closer look at me. He speaks. I don’t understand the words, but I have a good idea of what he was asking, even as everything melts to yellow, and then to white.
‘Who are you?’
Huh. Well ain’t that something? Three entire cyphers, come to make sweet, sweet synchronicity with lil’ ol’ you! And to top it all off, each one of ‘em is a zebra.
Your mere presence begins to turn this entire weird dream-prairie into a burning wasteland, helped by ol’ Sunny up there randomly lashing out at the land. And yet you could not give less of a shit, choosing instead to hum and lose yourself in thought. Given what you already know about Zebrica, you think it’s fair to say that these guys would have to be some of those Princes you’ve read about.
Or at least, the two you just Count Dooku’d definitely were. That third guy, just sat there hiding and watching? Doesn’t exactly fit the profile. Of course, he could still totally turn out to be the secret Obito mastermind behind them all, but given his lack of a weird swirly mask and mangekō sharingan, coupled with how legitimately shit-scared the guy looked? No, he looked like he was just trying not to be noticed by anyone. Didn’t seem like he wanted to be here at all, really. So that’s worth keeping in mind.
But the far bigger question is: what are some of Zebrica’s Princes doing way the fuck out in Equestria, of all places? You’re fairly certain they only stick to their home turf, so what’s the occasion? You?
Oh. Yeah. It’s probably you. You know what, you figured that those princesses would do some major homework on cyphers after you were beaten. But you sure as shit didn’t expect ‘em to outright call some ‘good’ cyphers over for their expertise. That’s... uh...
Well, shit. That’s gonna complicate your escape a bit, isn’t it? Go figure, the good guys finding new and inventive ways to fuck you even harder.
Snrk. Good guys, those zebras. That’s a good one. You’re fairly certain those guys were speaking Dutch. And any Brit will tell you that the Dutch are as evil as they come.
I wake with a start, yet not quite as exhausted as I expected to be.
“M-Mister Zobachi!” Ever the cuddler, Zelac is quick to latch onto me in some attempt to calm me down. “A-are you okay?”
“Not really, no,” I groan, rubbing my forehead.
“D-duh-do you need me to—?!”
“Shush. I need to think.”
He hums with concern, but obeys me regardless, nuzzling against my neck.
What fresh new addition to the hells was that? Who was that? No, what was that? And why did Zakurai seem to know who that was? Wait. Wait, no. No, don’t tell me...!
Was this entire journey to a foreign land to interact with who or whatever the hells that was? Or to fight him? Kill him? Capture him? I can’t imagine how anyzebra— no, anyspecies could face off against something like that, with such a twisted and powerful Gift. At least, if his appearance in my dream was any indication. I never thought I’d see Zabraxas of all zebras just... swatted aside like a fly, with barely any effort. I’ll admit, it was... exceptionally cathartic, with the benefit of retrospect.
What I can’t figure out is why that alien didn’t kill me afterwards. He certainly could have. Hells, he went out of his way to chase me down. And yet, he let me escape. Why?
My ears perk up and my thoughts are interrupted when I hear a rush of hoofsteps outside the cabin door. Concerned yet curious, I pull myself from the bed, much to Zelac’s dismay, and open it enough to look through. Honourguards rushed down the hall and towards the Princes’ quarters, and I can hear Zakurai’s voice calling to them, a noticeable strain in his tone.
It’s only when I hear that strain that a thought occurs to me. A thought that brings a tiny yet wicked smile to my face.
“Don’t tell me...!” I exclaim under my breath.
“S-sir?” Zelac says as he sidles up against me, voice filled with concern.
Engaging my charms, I turn my head and press my nose against his, his face turning red and his ears flattening as he shares breath with me.
“I need to check on something out there,” I tell him. “Be a dear and keep the bed warm for when I get back?”
As usual, he stammers for a moment, but soon relaxes with a swoon at the mere thought of more intimacy with me, all too happy to obey me if it meant even the chance of having more.
“Yes, sir,” he croons through his goofy smile.
I reward his obeisance with a kiss to his forehead. “Good boy.”
A drunken giggle comes tumbling out of him, and I’m fairly certain I saw little hearts pulsing in his lidded eyes. Regardless, he doesn’t try to stop me as I open the door and enter the hallway, heading straight towards the Princes’ quarters. Once there, I see the entrance to the quarters guarded by six honourguards in total, the door left ajar. And within, I see another two honourguards and Prince Zakurai tending to a heavily breathing and prone Zabraxas. And Zakurai himself looked quite exhausted, with some dark rings under his eyes.
My glimpse only lasts for a few seconds before the honourguards outside approach me, demanding to know what I’m doing here. Of course, I half-lie to them and say the sound of their hoofsteps woke me, and I was curious about what was going on. To which they order me to return to my quarters immediately. Which, of course, I do. They don’t see the wide, dark smile on my face as I round a few corners and get out of their sight.
It is what I thought! The same thing that happens to me, just happened to them! Oh, what sweet catharsis this is! Doesn’t feel good, does it, you bastards? Doesn’t feel good to be robbed of your sleep like that, does it now? And seeing Zabraxas laid on the floor like that, oh gods above! That alone makes up for my own bout of dream-induced exhaustion, and as I re-enter my quarters, I can’t help the dark little cackle that I finally allow to leave my throat.
“O-oh, back so soon?” Zelac, obedient as ever, looks down at me from the comfort of the bed, pulling the sheets closer with his forelegs. “You, uh, look really happy, sir.”
“I am very happy,” I chuckle, sauntering over towards him.
“Oh! W-well, uhm, good! I-I’m glad that you’re happy! Y-you look really good when you’re—”
I silence him by covering his mouth with a hoof, and keep him silent with my lidded eyes. I peel the sheets back with my teeth and climb onto the bed, forelegs on each side of his head as I stand over top of him, looking down into his increasingly hopeful and excited eyes.
“The only noise I want to hear from you right now,” I purr, “Is the sound of your squealing. Do I make myself clear?”
He lets out an incredibly happy squeal, morphing into giggles as I descend upon him.
I’ll worry about what the future holds later. Right now, I intend to celebrate this little victory for the next ten minutes, at the very least.
After having my fun with Zelac, I leave him to recover and regain the ability to walk as I clean up in the shower and head back above deck, returning to my spot at the front of the ship. Now that I’d enjoyed my brief moment of victory, it was time to fully appraise the reality of this situation again.
And that began with acknowledging that my victory was by proxy, and was at the hooves—or rather, hands—of whatever that strange alien in my dream was. And that once the Princes had recovered from their little setback, they would undoubtedly return with a vengeance. Again, I had to assume that their purpose for coming to this faraway foreign land was tied to that strange, unmistakably evil alien with his own twisted yet exceptionally powerful Gift.
If their goal was to defeat him, I doubt they could, not without at least some help from whatever other foreign powers may be in this land. Assuming there were any, that is. If their goal was instead to capture him, then ignoring the same impossibility of achieving that goal, that meant that they must intend to take him back to Zebrica; the Four Lines are extremely protective of the Gift, to the point where they actively prune any extant family branches outside of their rigidly controlled breeding programs.
Which is why they’d kill me if they knew what I was. Or worse.
Or worse...? Wait, if capture is the intent, then they may very well intend to do worse! Yes, yes, that’s right: the Princes weren’t perfect, despite their posturing and all the Empire’s propagandizing to the contrary. Gifted members of the Lines, or even full Princes and Elders, do go bad, and they need a place to imprison them.
Deepscorn Hollow.
It’s virtually unknown in the Empire, and kept that way on purpose, but is spoken of in hushed whispers by the Zhaaneph as part of their raving, incoherent prophecies on the mortal reincarnation of their Lord. From what little I knew beyond the name, Deepscorn was just such a prison for those with the Gift, where their abilities were either removed, suppressed, or rendered ineffective, depending on which story I hear. Nozebra knew where it was exactly, because of course nozebra would just happen to know the location of a secret prison. But it was largely agreed upon that it had to reside somewhere deep within the Great Banded Desert. That made sense to me: travelling that enormous, scorching, and ever-shifting hell on Equus required either a death wish, extensive preparation with at least twice one’s body weight in water alone, or being a member of the Zhaaneph’s desert raiders, who apparently had special armour and alchemy to stave off the heat and retain as much water as possible. All in order to attack Imperial settlements near the Desert without any fear of reprisal, as pursuit would be suicide.
So if capture is indeed their goal, they must intend to take him to Deepscorn. Even if you did escape from the facility itself with nothing but the rags on your back, you would be surrounded by certain death for tens, if not hundreds of kilometers.
Well, seeing how he hasn’t tried to kill me yet, and in the absence of all other knowledge of that strange alien, I can only wish him the best of luck in that regard. I’ve had many a nightmare on what that place might be like, and have no desire to join him in experiencing the real article.
With my thoughts concluded for now, I turn my eyes down to the quickly passing landscape below. The expansive desert from yesterday night had apparently long since passed by while I slept, leaving us flying above a sizable stretch of badlands now. In the horizon, I could see vast green expanses of varying shades in the far distance, and could make out the shape of several snow-capped mountains, reminding me of the Alchemist Peaks back in Zebrica. One of those mountains, easily the tallest and seemingly freestanding, seemed different somehow, but at this distance, I couldn’t quite tell what that difference was.
The badlands ended after nearly half an hour of continued flight, giving way to vast, dull, yellow-orange plains. I could see a settlement of some kind after only a few minutes, surrounded by trees that were clearly not native to the area. I overhear the captain of the ship barking some more orders, and I turn to see the other bipedal avian pirates hard at work around the ship, followed by me feeling the ship beginning to lose altitude. Looking back down to the ground, I indeed see the ground coming closer, that settlement in particular.
The ship descended several hundred metres below the cloud level before levelling back out and continuing to move forward, bound for that tall mountain I observed beforehoof. The pirates were clearly quite excited about being in this land again, but unfortunately, I turn to observe them just as the damned Princes emerge again from below deck, honourguards in tow. Zakurai seemed to bounce right back from his little dream encounter, no doubt with some alchemic assistance. Zabraxas, on the other hoof, still looked rough, and I could see an undercurrent of anger in his otherwise still neutral expression.
I guess somezebra isn’t used to not getting his way. Or losing, for that matter. Ahh, such a poor, tender little angel foal, experiencing defeat like the rest of us mere mortals. Oh, the equinity of it! Bastard.
One of the guards calls out for me and the others to present ourselves before the Princes again, and of course, I do so, this time while fighting to keep the smirk off my face. Zelac is the last chosen to arrive, his legs still slightly wobbly from what I’d done to him. With everyzebra assembled, Zakurai begins speaking.
“You have all done well to come this far, to bear the rigours of travelling beyond the borders of our fair Zebrica. But I must now ask for even more of you. In mere hours, we will be reaching the halfway point of our grand journey. We will soon be arriving at the city of Canterlot, the capitol city of the kingdom of Equestria. Ergo, the land we have just passed into mere minutes ago.
“This land,” he continues, pacing in front of us as he speaks, “Is the home of the ponies, our distant equine cousins. It has been over ten centuries since zebrakind has reached out to the ponies of Equestria, back during the reign of the Old World. And as you might imagine, the Old King of that time repulsed ponykind with his crass, barbaric manners.”
Hah. Badmouthing the Old World like that, especially the Old Kings, will earn you multiple death sentences on the Zhaaneph side of Zebrica.
“But we are a new people now. And just as you five are atoning for your mistakes now, so too will our people atone for a much older mistake: our poor treatment of our long lost cousins. Thus, my command to you now is this: to be on your best behaviour, and to remain aboard this ship. As part of our own people’s atonement, we will be cooperating with Equestria and it’s allies to seal away a great evil that has ravaged their land, and brought ponykind teetering on the edge of destruction.”
I knew it. That is what they’re here for! Who else but a wielder of the Gift could bring an entire people to the edge of ruin?
“As part of our cooperation, we will be joined on this ship by six great heroes of the kingdom of Equestria: the bearers of Equestria’s Elements of Harmony, and their leader, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight Sparkle? What kind of name is that? It sounds so... juvenile.
“We will also be joined by a force of Equestria’s finest soldiers, soldiers that to them are just as our exalted honourguards are to us, to aid in the transportation and defence of this evil. I expect you all to afford them the same deference you would afford to our own honourguards. In addition, this great evil has ravaged more lands than just Equestria, and as such, our airship shall be escorted by two of the newest and most advanced combat airships, developed and helmed by the hippogriffs of Mount Aris, to further secure this great evil against any that would attempt to free it.
“Though we zebras cannot speak Ponish, nor can our cousins understand Zebrikaans, we all speak the common language of courtesy and respect. Treat our new allies with the respect they are due. Your actions now will reflect on our entire species. Give them our best, so that we may see their best in turn.”
With that, he turns around, looking away from us all. “That is all. As you were.”
Well, I have to give Zakurai credit where it is due: he’s a very good speaker. Still, the unease of encountering a new species of equine was weighing on the other chosen. Well, except for Zelac, who seemed over the moon about the idea. I was too worried about other things, like that strange alien wielding the Gift, to worry about some new race of equines I’ve no real reason to care about.
I trot back towards the bowsprit railing to overlook the now much closer, and therefore much more detailed terrain. This time, Zelac’s excitement overrides his fear of heights, and he stands next to me, gushing about this development.
“Isn’t this incredible?!” he squeals. “We’re not just going to a foreign land, we’re going to a whole blessed kingdom of new people! New equines, no less!”
“You do know there are other equines back in Zebrica, right?”
“Yes, but these ones are new! And probably not evil, either!”
I suppress a snort. Living with dragons for so long has done wonders to disabuse me of so many common zebra superstitions and misplaced feelings of superiority, I often forget that even the most naïve of zebras would still harbour them in some measure. The kelpies were definitely not evil, just territorial to an aggressive fault, much to the chagrin of the merchant fleets. And the abadas just wanted to be left alone, not that the Empire cared what they thought. The only real argument for evil could be made about the blackhorn abadas specifically, and even then, I don’t know them well enough to judge, especially given the wild rumours that circulate on them, often crossing into the realm of ridiculous.
Zelac continues to wax poetic about this new species. I’ll reserve my judgment for when I see them in zebra. I remained far more concerned about this ‘great evil’. Obviously, we’ll have to share a ship with it once it’s captured, assuming it isn’t already neutralized, which in all likelihood meant another addition to my damned dreams. But of particular concern to me was the fact that it saw me. It knew what I looked like now. It would find me again, I’m sure of it.
And most unsettling of all was that I still don’t understand why it didn’t kill me when it had the chance. Just what in the hells was it’s game?