//------------------------------//
// The Third Memory 
// Story: A Hearth Warming Memory 
// by Comet Burst 
//------------------------------//

Zecora sighed heavily as she placed the fig back down. Applebloom tilted her head to the side and said "Well why'd he get ridda the bees? Applejack always says their good for tha apple trees..." Zecora nodded and said "The bees were not an issue anymore, but a tragic event came to his door. You noticed that scar on his leg? He got that when a crook pretended to beg." The zebra mare then picked up a rather milky white stone and stared at it. "He almost couldn't walk but fought back. Instead of winning, though, the strength he did lack. He was robbed, beaten and left for dead, so my father put a bounty on the muggers head. Medicine and care he needed, so to aid him I proceeded."

"Wow." Applebloom said "He musta been a good friend." Zecora continued to stare at the stone and said "When he was healthy again, nothing else interesting happened until the month of ten. I was with him on that night when the mugger came back and gave us a fright..."

"That opal is nice. It will work well for your spell. Of that I am sure." Xavier  said as he walked with Zecora on the road leading to the village. The moon hung high in the sky, casting its eerie light over the grass around them. Zecora was nervous, but felt safe with Xavier. By herself, Zecora wasn't much of a fighter, but Xavier was a stallion trained at a young age to fight. While he had lost to that mugger several months ago, he was still a strong and tough stallion.

The grass rustled unassumingly as the pair walked by. Zecora's head scanned the savannah without much interest, but a strong sense of unease crept over her. She felt a set of eyes watching her, but she dismissed it since her people had instinctual paranoia from when the lions used to hunt them. It had been years since the last encounter with the lions, but her people never forgot the brutality they were shown. Little did she know that someone was watching them.

Crouched in the tall grass, a young lion stalked the two zebras. He was about to come of age and had to make his first kill to be accepted into the lion society. He had followed the zebra he had tried to kill earlier, the taller one of the two. He thought it would be an easy task to trick the zebra and to leave the town, but the zebra was stronger than he thought. Even wounded, he had still managed to break the lions nose and left foreleg. Much more cautious, he eyed the second zebra. It was obviously a she due to her smaller size, which would make it easier to subdue her. All he had to do was to get the male away from her.

As they walked along, the lion continued to stalk them, waiting for the right moment. Finally, the two stopped and the lion crouched lower. Zecora looked up at the moon along with Xavier, taking in the wonder of a sky filled with stars and a brilliant full moon to match. "I wonder if the stars look like this, in other places our people might have missed." Zecora  said, pulling away Xavier's attention. In the moonlight, the sight of Zecora made his heart feel like ice was pumping through it. She was beautiful, wise and a great voodoo practicer, all the makings of a fine mare. Looking away, he kicked at the ground, sending a rock into the grass. Without warning, a loud roar came from the grass as a lion burst from it and bounded towards the pair.

Zecora screamed and skittishly backed away as the lion bored down on her, terror clearly seen in her eyes. The lion leaped at her, eyes full of hunger and claws extended when a dark blur ran in front of her. She had barely seen the familiar silhouette of Xavier when he reared up and kicked his hind legs, smacking the lion in the head and ribs. The lion fell backwards and rolled away as Xavier turned to face it. "Zecora, please go!" he shouted, not taking his eyes off the lion "It is too dangerous here! I will fight him off." The lion rose to its feet and roared again at Xavier, who didn't even flinch as Zecora shrunk.

Slowly, the lion circled the two zebras, constantly eyeing Zecora as Xavier never dropped his stare. Positioning himself between the lion and Zecora, Xavier could not only better defend her, but could also anticipate the lions moves. The beady black eyes of the lion locked with Xavie's iron gaze and the lion charged. Reacting quickly, Xavier moved forward and slid onto his left side, hooves out, and caught the lion on his underbelly and gave a powerful push, sending him sprawling into the grass. Zecora ran over to Xavier and huddled next to him as he rose to his hooves. "A lion here?! Why is he anywhere near?" Zecora asked in a frightened tone.

"They hunt us zebra, in villages to the north, around my hometown." Xavier responded hunching over and watching the grass. "They hunt us for sport, they do not care who they take. They do not go south." The grass rustled to their right and the lion burst from the wall of grass, claws and teeth bared. Xavier reacted by pushing Zecora away and the lion tackled him. The two rolled away before Xavier kicked him away again, then running over to Zecora. He only made it halfway before the lion was about to leap again. He stomped his front hooves and spun to face the lion, face unreadable, and a wall of stone shot up as the lion flew towards him, crushing the underside of the lions jaw. The lion recoiled back and Xavier ran to Zecora, still stunned, and pulled out the opal from her bag. He spun to face the lion but instead had a sharp pain cut across his right foreleg.

He felt the claws tear at his skin and muscles, feeling like a heated iron serrated razor dragging across him. He yelped and fell as his leg lost all its strength to support him and another claw swiped the air where his head had just been. Focusing through the pain, Xavier threw up his left foreleg and caught the lions throat as a set of razor sharp teeth snapped shut. The angry look of the lion snarling down at him caused his heart to beat faster and his mind to race as he dodged claws and teeth.

The opal was still in his mouth as he rolled around and avoided further bodily harm. He knew of a spell he could weave through the stone, but a swarm of bees descended upon the lion, causing him to roar in even more anger. Batting his claws at the bees instead of his prey, Xavier took advantage of the distraction and spit the opal at the lions forehead. He felt the abnormal rush of air behind it as the rock flew at a breakneck pace and struck him dead in the center of his forehead. A loud smack and a second of recoil later, the lion began to fall over in a dazed state. By the time he hit the ground, the lion was already unconscious.

Xavier tried to stand, but the warm gush of blood from his leg and another hoof held him down. Zecora appeared over Xavier, clearly stunned and very much impressed. She said something, but the loss of blood made her sound muffled. The last thing Xavier managed to see was his beautiful mare silhouetted against a clear moon before he felt sleep overtake him.