Dear Journal,
The train dropped me off at a town where one pony waited for me. She was so pretty and had a kind and eloquent voice much like the ‘city’ I just left. She introduced herself as Rarity and said that Fancypants had sent her a message concerning my arrival. She wanted to lead me to the zebra in the forest but didn’t want to go into that forest alone. We walked back to town and gathered things she insisted I would need. She expressed concern for a little colt being so far away from home and tried her best to make me feel welcome and safe. I thanked her but said I didn’t deserve all this generosity but she kept insisting on it.
We met a few of her friends: a pink pony that asked me too many questions to count, a purple unicorn who asked me just as many questions, and an orange coated mare that said I looked homesick. I guess I was a little homesick but I needed to find papa! The orange coated mare said she would take me to meet the zebra so I left the town with her. Everypony seemed so nice, mama! The strong feeling of belonging was similar to my village. It made me miss the village very much.
The forest was frightening, mama! I felt like it would swallow me whole at any moment. I felt safe, though, with the orange coated mare by my side. She made things seem pleasant in a home-like way. We arrived at the zebra’s hut and knocked on her door. When she answered, she immediately caught sight of me and recognized me from the village she had visited. She hurriedly rushed us inside and shut the door. The orange coated mare asked why she did that to which the zebra replied that I was in grave danger.
She dimmed the lights in her hut and sat us down to explain that zebras don’t travel far from home because of their disagreements with the Changeling Queen. This especially means little colts and fillies. After the attack on Canterlot, changelings won’t openly attack or raid pony towns/cities. However, zebra villages are fair game. Zebras have the ability to fight back but, without unicorn barriers, this is only effective during daylight when the enemy can be seen. She had made a visit to her own village to make sure everything was still fine while stopping by ours on the way back.
She asked if I was followed and I said no at first but recalled the strange ponies in my travels and told her of them. She seemed deeply worried as a colt would be a prime target and easy prey. I told her I was only trying to find papa. She told me that it would be a fruitless chase and fool’s errand at a time like this. At that very moment, we heard banging on the door. We all looked at each other and back at the door expecting the worse. Right now, the banging on the door is getting louder. Mama…I think they’re going to get me! I’m sorry for leaving!
*****
Dear Journal,
I’m hiding. Mama, I think I’m going to die! They took me from the hut and dragged me into the forest. There were so many that the zebra and the mare couldn’t simply handle them all while protecting me. I was dragged out into a clearing where I saw the Pegasus, Earth Pony, and Unicorn peering down at me with their creepy smiles. They simply laughed and hit me. I must have been unconscious because I woke up in a disturbing hut. There were monsters all around me much like those outside my window. Then, I saw the monster Queen herself.
She laughed and said it was so easy to lure zebra colts and fillies from their villages through their dreams. She said the other Princess pony was not the only one with the power. The rest of the monsters laughed at this. I screamed out for you mama and for papa. This made them laugh even more. I closed my eyes and wanted this nightmare to end and wished I could see papa or mama’s smiling face again. I love you mama and papa and should have never run away! I'm sorry for going against you and did not mean to disobey!
As I said this out loud on accident, she stopped laughing. “Love? What a ridiculous sentiment.” She raised her hoof to her mouth and pondered something. I asked what became of my zebra and orange coated mare friends. “That zebra is hard to catch with all her silly little potions. We’ll get her one of these days I assure you. As for you, let’s have a little game of cat and mouse. We’ll even be sporting and give you a head start.”
So, mama, here I am hiding from these monsters. I don’t know what to do. I can hear them getting closer. All I wanted to do was find papa! I’m trying not to cry, mama, for fear that they will find me. I love you mama! I love papa! I’m sorry for being a bad colt!
Mama used to say not everything is Black and White. But, mama, all I ever see is the darkness and the-
*****
The village was unnaturally quiet this night. One mother was fraught with the sudden disappearance of her son. This was happening more and more frequent in neighboring villages as well. It has something to do with the nightly raids. Every zebra simply hid in their hut at night hoping the nightly raids would stop. They never did. It only seemed to be getting worse. As the morning sun rose, the mother stepped outside to continue the search for her son. She saw that the changelings were right outside her door and, when she opened it, they simply laughed and flew away. They left behind a journal.
Peering down, she immediately recognized whose it was and let out a gasp. She picked it up and ran her eyes over her son’s words. Coming across the last sentence, she screamed in agony at losing her one and only son. Not only had she lost her stallion but now her son! The rest of the village came to life and rushed over to her hut to see what was wrong. They noticed the journal she held close to her chest while screaming that they took her son. This was the last straw! The nightly raids would not go unanswered anymore. Each zebra took up arms and readied themselves for the coming night.
The day was spent with much noise in the village. The only quiet one was the mother who never took her eyes off the journal. As the sun began to set, she wrote her own entry into it:
“Baby, papa is away much further than the bright lights. He died from illness when you were too young to remember. He loved us very much, baby. He said with his final breath that he’d watch over and protect us no matter what. I miss him too and didn’t want to cause you unnecessary pain. Baby…know that your mother loves you! I’m not angry. I just want you to come back home…I will always love you!”
Baby, I used to say not everything is Black and White. But, baby, all I ever see is the darkness and not so much the light.
*****
As night fell, the zebra stood guard from each of their huts awaiting the nightly raid that was sure to come. When it does, the changelings will wish they never had come to this village.
It never came.
The sun rose and the zebra cursed the changelings for their cowardly nature of hiding behind lies and shadows. A single silhouette appeared on the horizon. None of the zebras could make out who or what it was. Whoever this was seemed injured rather badly with a broken foreleg. It was the zebra colt coming home! All the zebra rushed out to meet him. The mother noticed the commotion when one zebra let her know her son had come back. She pushed through the crowd and hugged her son never wanting him to leave her sight ever again. After a while she let him go, long enough to get a good look at him.
He had a broken foreleg, many bruises and cuts, and one of his back hoofs was broken. Despite all this he wore a big smile across his face. He told every zebra present that the changelings hunted him down but he was saved. At first, he hid until they found him where he dropped his journal due to panic and ran. He ran for what seemed like an eternity through their desert wasteland looking for an escape. Once or twice they lost track of him so he hid some more behind what he could find such as rocks. As night fell, his chance of escape was closing. He remembered closing his eyes and wishing papa was there with him. The changelings found him easily in the dark and attacked him. The colt explained:
“In the end, don’t you see? It was papa who saved me. Don’t cry, mama, he said he always loves us both. He said, he would not forsake his loved son and break his oath.”
The young colt looked around at the gazing crowd and back to his mother.
“Mama, you used to say not everything is Black and White. But, mama, I saw the darkness and papa, love, and hope in the light.”