Houngan glared down at Voodoo with disapproval. The little zebra foal cowered a bit. He hated it when his father was angry with him. “ Voodoo, don’t you realize the danger you have put yourself in? Worst of all, you put Dust Devil in danger as well.”
Voodoo flattened his ears, “ Papa, I…”
“ You took responsibility,” Houngan finished. “ You did your duty as a prince and protected your tribe. You have proven you are ready.”
“ Ready?” Voodoo asked as he perked his ears erect. He sat up and cocked his head a little to the side.
“ Forgive me, Papa, but what is it I am ready for?”
“ To display your destiny for everyone to see!” He declared with a big smile. “ You have proven yourself worthy of receiving your Destiny Mark!”
“ My…Destiny Mark?” Voodoo squeaked, somewhere between shock and terror. Wait…when?!”
“ Tonight, my boy! This is a proud day! Your flank shall be bare no more and you will be seen as a colt to be taken seriously! You have utilized the power of the Star Beings to ward off an enemy! Didn’t I tell you?! The Star Beings are just an entity within ourselves!”
Voodoo took a few steps back, “ W-well, I may not be entirely ready, Papa. I mean, I could stand to learn a lot more. Let’s not…rush into things!”
“ Nonsense, my son!” His father insisted. “ Your destiny was always apparent. We just waited for the perfect time to visibly display it. Now is that time.”
“ Papa, I’m scared!” He suddenly squeaked. “ It looks so painful!”
Houngan looked absolutely shocked. “ Voodoo, you faced a rogue griffon…and it’s your rite of passage into maturity that you fear?! The few weeks of tenderness is worth it for a lifetime of visible pride in your identity and what your destiny holds for you! You are one step closer to becoming a stallion!”
Voodoo felt himself pale. He swallowed hard and gasped when he backed into his mother. Mambo looked down thoughtfully to him. She could understand his fears, for sure. Any Zebra with a Destiny Mark could understand the fear a foal had when receiving one. But, that was part of the battle into adulthood. That mark would signify in one glance what his role in the tribe would be, and he’d be received by others in the proper fashion. “ Do not fret, my son. The Zebras have been given Destiny Marks for as long as anyone can remember.”
*
The stone knives rested over a perch on the fire. They were being warmed to not only cut but to cauterize. The amount of slicing to be done to Voodoo’s flank would be intricate and it would be important to cut off the bleeding to fight against infections and excessive blood loss. Luckily, despite the tight knit culture of the tribe, the Destiny Mark cuts were a private affair of the closest of family. Perhaps this was made so long ago to prevent the teasing later on. Voodoo could totally see it. A prince screaming and crying in an absolute state of pain and panic…and being ridiculed for it later. This…ridicule was often saved for much later in life when all parties could tease one another with good nature, as everyone had their own horror story.
Voodoo began to wish more and more that the Destiny Mark tradition died out with other traditions exclusive to the golden age of Zebra society. This was barbaric. He gasped when he felt a touch to his rump. He looked back to see Mambo spreading on a salve with her hoof. “ What is that?”
“ This is made from a special mixture. It will help to numb the area.”
“ Will it make the pain go away?” He asked.
“ Well, it will help,” Mambo replied. “ You just have to be brave and stubborn, Voodoo.”
Voodoo couldn’t help himself. He ended up taking deep broken breaths and wiped some tears from his face. He was terrified, despite how hard he tried to fight it. “ You are probably disappointed in me…”
“ Not at all, my little prince,” she smiled. “ Your fear is very natural. My grandmother had to hold me the entire time I got my Destiny Mark. You father, he screamed and hid.” She covered her mouth with her hoof and chuckled. “ It took hours to find him and they dragged him back by his hind legs. He clawed at the dirt with his hooves as if his life depended on it. The receiving of one’s Destiny Mark can be very frightening, Voodoo. However, we all must go through it if we are to be accepted into the next milestone of our lives.”
“Can we just skip to the next milestone?” Voodoo whined.
“ I think you’re a little young for your first bride, my son,” she laughed. To that, Voodoo huffed and grumbled at the ground. He had to agree. He had no use for a mare right now. He heard the ramblings of his father as he called upon whatever higher power he could reach and he looked down at the bones before him. He was consulting divinity.
“ I thought he knew what I was going to get…”
“ Well, he knows it’ll be related to your position in the tribe,” Mambo explained. “ But, the what is something he is seeking. He is looking for a vision so that he may know what it is you shall have placed upon your flanks.” She lowered her head and began to push him forward. He slid against her, but was no match for her adult strength and he was soon next to Houngan.
“ I got it!” The tribal king declared and set the bones aside. He gave Voodoo a confident nod and picked him up to stretch over his lap. Voodoo gulped, feeling the weight of Houngan’s body pinching him into place between his torso and those strong forelegs. Mambo stood nearby to take hold of his front hooves
“ Do not flail, my son. Try to keep still. Find a center to focus on. Take deep breaths.”
Voodoo nibbled on his lower lip. He was unable to look back towards his flank. That made it worse, perhaps, for he didn’t know what was going on back there. He heard the clicking of the stone knife being plucked from the hot perch and he felt the warmth radiate on his skin when it came close to his back end. In the next instant, he let out a cry and but down on his lip, slamming his eyes shut as he felt the hot sharpness slide over his flank. It cut so smoothly, like his flank had been made of butter. Blood still leaked from the cuts, but the stone also fused off veins as it burned through little Zebra flesh. Blood also trickled from Voodoo’s lip as did the tears from his eyes. His sobs were quiet. He couldn’t even make a sound. The best he could offer was a squeak here and there. He felt like he was on fire…being burned alive. He was then taken by surprise when he was lifted up and spun around on Houngan’s lap to expose the other flank.
The ease began to fall over him. It still hurt. It still burned. But, the pain from his first flank kept his attention. He was able to breathe with an open mouth instead of huffing through his nose. His muscles were so tight. How much longer would this torture take?!
It felt like an eternity before he heard the clack of the stone knife back onto the perch. He felt a cool, wet cloth rest against his flank and then the other. He was then placed over Mambo’s back, unable to move. All he could feel was the hot throb. He couldn’t even feel his limbs anymore. He just hung there in a limp heap and simply allowed himself to be moved from Mambo’s back to his own bed. There, Mambo continued to cool his rump with the wet clothes. When she felt the initial wave of danger was over, she began to rub a new salve onto the fresh carving to serve as a painkiller and a sort of Neosporin to encourage a swift healing. After that was finished, she began to wrap linens about his lower half to avoid any debris to enter the wounds. They would have to heal a little more before they could be exposed once again beyond the changing of the wraps.
“ You did very well, Voodoo,” she said softly. His vision was blurred, not that it mattered. He didn’t have the energy to turn his head towards her anyway. He closed his eyes as she hummed a little tune. His eyes were so heavy. His body was so heavy. His spirit was so heavy. Soon, even thought became too heavy and he fell asleep, unable to muster the strength to do anything else.
*
There was no border between what was real and what was a clouded dream. It was all a blur. Voodoo slept and awoke several times, unaware of the time that had passed. He felt hot. He wanted to get up, but he could not move his hind legs. He could feel them, so he wasn’t paralyzed. However, he just could not muster the strength to move them. His hips were sore, not just from his scars but from having slept in that uncomfortable straddle for whoever knows how long. He could hear voices, but they were muffled and it was hard to tell if the conversation was connected to the dreams or actual discussions.
He had become one of the unlucky ones. He would not eat, unable to chew. His meals became pulverized fruits…force fed to him. Water was forced on him as well and about him as he was constantly monitored and cooled. He did not cool. He was never dry, for even without the water, he kept sweating. The Destiny Mark had become infected and he suffered a horrible fever. He hallucinated, not that anyone would notice his delirious state. He almost appeared dead or catatonic.
Houngan was an expert in his field, but even with the most skilled hooves on the job, the risk was always there. Not every foal could handle the mutilation of their flanks. It was a horrible blow, however, to find the young prince was among the weak. He could hear the music as the vigils and ceremonial prayers were chanted outside. I’m…going to die, he thought as he let out a long, hot breath. A tear fell down his cheek as he listened to the desperate music. He didn’t know what death felt like per se, but he could feel the strength of his life becoming heavier and heavier to bare. It was just…too heavy. Too…too heavy…
*
Muffled sounds garbled about. The air was hot. Funeral songs… it was funeral songs that flowed through. Voodoo could feel an irritation on his flank. The bandages must have been removed and it was an itchy sheet that rested over it now…as well as his whole body. He could smell the dirt. He couldn’t open his eyes. His breathing was shallow. He was only vaguely aware of what was happening. He was confused. Was he dead? Was he alive? He couldn’t even tell. He had to be dead if they were going to bury him, right? But, he didn’t feel dead. Then again, he didn’t know what being dead felt like.
Wait! He could hear the screams and cries of his tribe and he could no longer feel the ground beneath him. It…felt like he was flying…and a coolness pushed against the sheet as it wrapped tightly about him. He could hear the cries growing farther and farther away until they were silent. Then, he heard a cry overhead and felt a jolt. Then it felt as if he was falling, then another jolt as the falling feeling stopped and the flying feeling returned. However, he soon felt the ground again, but it was cool and dank. Did he just venture into the world beyond? Now what?
He felt the coolness reach his skin as the sheet was pulled back and voices began to register again. “ Ah! Yuck! Look at that!” A voice called out. “ Who would do that to thyself?!”
Voodoo could feel the vibrations of hoofsteps nearby and he felt the presence of a head over him; he could hear the sniffing. “ He’s still alive. Where did he come from?”
“ We bumped into a griffon up there and he dropped it.”
Griffon? Voodoo fought so hard to make some sort of movement. He couldn’t communicate. He…was alive?!
~Do not fear, little one~ he heard in his head. It frightened him. How was this voice speaking to him inside of his head?! It was a beautiful voice…female.
“ He shouldn’t be here,” a male voice stated. “This is not good.”
“ Well, what doth thou want us to do? Just toss him into the desert?”
Arabians? Was he among…Arabians? But, then how did he get free from a griffon if he was caught by Arabians.
“ Silence!” Came the female voice he had heard in his head. “ We cannot hear if thou are all going to fuss! Make thyselves useful and prepare a place!”
The amount of time that had passed was indefinite. However, Voodoo soon began to realize he was indeed alive. He was finally able to open his eyes and breathe deeply again. His flank was still sore, but the heaviness that had kept him so still was gone. He was disoriented, but finally able to experience some form of life. He sat up, a blanket falling from his form. He forced himself to his feet. His legs were weak from the infection and atrophy. Still, he fought to carry himself and pulled himself towards a pond where he examined his reflection. Finally, he could lay eyes on that stupid Destiny Mark.
Ugh, how sickeningly befitting. Upon his flank was a scar of a skull and cross bones. He scowled at its reflection with a sense of disdain and bitterness. He hated it. He hated it so much. It wasn’t that it was ugly. It was indeed well carved. It was the simple presence itself that sickened Voodoo and angered him so much. He knew that he was away from his tribe. He knew that they thought he was dead. At this point, he had no idea who his caregivers were or where he had ended up. Everything was different and he was frightened…and furious. If it weren’t for this stupid tradition, everything would have still been as it was…and everyone would have still been happy.
“ Thou art awake…” A voice stated. Voodoo spun around, nearly losing his balance. He saw a young colt that stood well over him on long and slender legs. His frame was delicate. He was blue black in color with those coverings over his hooves. He wore ornaments about his neck, like a breast plate and some sort of jewelry about his head, exposing a moderate sized horn of the same color. Feathered wings were pressed against his body. His mane flowed despite no wind reaching this place. His tail trailed like a cloud. His mane and tail glittered with an ethereal essence. His eyes were a golden yellow. He almost didn’t seem real.
“ You… I…have seen you before,” Voodoo said breathily. “ I saw you…” he looked about to see the grand trees and canopy, “…in the jungle…”
“ Yes, we think we remember thou, little one,” the Star Being colt replied. “ You screamest rather loudly.”
“ Ugh…” Voodoo lowered his head bashfully. He then stood tall and took in the sight of this creature.
“ You are a Star Being…”
“ Star Being?” He repeated. “ We are Astral Nova, prince of the Alicorns.”
“ I’m…Voodoo, prince of…uhm…well…a tribe of Zebras… I’m the son of Chief Houngan and Lady Mambo.” He cocked his head to the side. “ What…is an Alicorn?”
“ Us,” Astral Nova replied simply. “ That is the best way to explain it. We are the son of Queen Destiny Essence and King Dreamscapes.”
Voodoo gasped, “ Did you say…Destiny Essence?”
“ Yes,” he nodded. “ It is how we knowest how to speakest with folk of thy sort. Our mother has dealt with thine kind before…long ago.” He stared at Voodoo’s flank curiously. To that, Voodoo followed his gaze ad blushed.
“ That’s…my Destiny Mark…”
“ Destiny Mark? What be-ist the purpose of this…Destiny Mark? Why hast thou and thy kind taken to mutilating thy flanks in this manner? Is this not a painful experience?”
“ It is,” Voodoo sighed. “ Papa says it’s a tradition our kind has had since before the Start Beings came… er…Alicorns. It dictates what it is we do within our society. Divination is performed to determine the destiny of each individual…and the mark is cut into the flanks for all to see.”
“ Dost this not cometh with mistaken identity?” Astral Nova asked. “ What be-ist thy destiny, Voodoo, that thou may don the sign of poison upon thy flanks?”
“ I suppose that was the sign my father saw for me. We are shamans by trade…spiritual leaders. But, it can be a bit confusing. I don’t think a lot of Zebras are happy with their Destiny Marks.”
“ It is a barbaric tradition, we thinketh of this practice,” Astral Nova huffed.
“ Why…do you talk like that?” Voodoo finally asked, arching a brow at the alicorn. “ There is only one of you…and you talk by making funny words.”
“ We thinketh thine Zebra kind speaketh funny. I am speaking in thy tongue, but that doth not mean I sacrifice mine own sophisticated tongue. Doth though haveth troubles understanding us? Shall we simplify further?”
“ Uhm…no, I think I get it,” Voodoo sighed. “ Where am I? What happened? I thought I was dead for sure.”
“ Dead? That would explaineth thy funeral linens when thou arrived,” Astral Nova said as he rubbed the side of his head with his hoof. “ Perhaps that wouldeth be the reason for the griffon to have taken thee from thine grave. In that case, we are glad to have bumped into said griffon, for we have saved thy life. Now you are within the Alicorn camp…or one of which. It would have been cruel to have simply left thee be. So, we nursed thou back to health so thou could live.”
“ Can I return to my family?” Voodoo asked.
“ In due time. Thou is not completely recovered yet. We remember where thou village was located. Now, if-eth thou feels well enough to walk, come and join us. Thou must be famished.”
Voodoo looked to his tummy as he heard the grumble. “ Yes, I suppose I am.” He did his best to trot towards the towering colt. “ So, tell me about yourself.”
Astral Nova walked with a high gait and held his head high. It appeared rather snobby, though he meant nothing of the sort. “ We were born upon a cloud during the rainy season. Mine own kind cometh often unto this place to do a special kind of work. Mine own kind also worketh hard in the Celestial Layer within the Star World.”
Voodoo suddenly choked on his own gasp when he saw some of the other Alicorns. They were huge! Astral Nova towered over him. These giant Star Beings were like giants on long spindly legs. They all held the air of a powerful presence. He could tell the king and queen easily, as they wore crowns upon their heads. The mare was a strange lavender gray with a flowing light purple and pink mane and tail. Her eyes seemed to be a foggy white. Voodoo had heard of this expression before. It was how his tribe described Xylophone Jingles. Did that mean…Destiny Essence was…blind?
Oh the grand stallion was enough to bring a chill down Voodoo’s spine. He could induce nightmares with the right element behind him. He had to be Dreamscapes. He was dark plum with a glittering coat and indigo hooves under feathering hairs. The feathers on his wings alternated color by row…plum, indigo, plum, indigo. His mane and tail were midnight blue with swirls of indigo. They also glittered so magically. His eyes were mauve and soft in their expression…currently.
“ The Zebra foal hath awaken?” He observed. “ I see thy strength is returning to thee. Thou hath cometh a long way from thy near death state.”
Voodoo bowed respectfully before Dreamscapes. “ I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I feel really blessed to be among Star Beings.”
“ We have not mingled with Zebras for a very long time,” Dreamscapes stated simply. “Thou hast persevered beyond thy past catastrophes. Thou hast held on strong as a folk and as an individual. We are impressed at thy strength and might.”
“ I have a question, Majesty Dreamscapes,” Voodoo began nervously. “ Why did the Star Beings leave the great cities of the Zebras? Why…did they come back only to destroy them?”
“ It was not our idea,” Destiny Essence began, “ to have the grand cities destroyed. The alicorns… we are not all allied to one another. There be-ist many factions. With our guidance, the Zebras grew. We left because we were not needed. The other factions…they were not happy with this alliance and they waged war over the cities. It took a long time before the war was won. Now, we can create a peaceful existence for the work we are doing.”
“ What work?”
“ In due time, the work shall be revealed,” Dreamscapes replied. “ It is too soon to reveal that now. In the meantime, we would like to share some of our knowledge with thee to taketh back to thy folk. We are still here but our role shall change drastically. What they know…shall change drastically.”
“ Father once told the Zebras that it was possible to ascend into alicornhood,” Astral Nova chuckled.
“ Then, they went and began to mummify their dead in hopes they would come alive again in an ascended state. They did not understand what that meant.”
“ Ascend?” Voodoo perked.
“ Many of us were born this way,” Destiny Essence explained. “ However, our most ancient ancestors were regular ponies. Through the most highest of discovery and enlightenment, those ancestors ascended into the next plain of existence…the alicorn. As this ability becameth more easy to obtain, more alicorns were created. Soon, it becameth so regular that alicorns bred alicorns. However, now that alicorns are born naturally, the special trait that created them is no longer relevant. Alicorns are not made through ascension any longer, and this means that the undesirable traits are not filtered out. Alicorns are not exclusively benevolent as was true countless generations ago. This cannot go on. The state of being an alicorn must be earned and can no longer be so flippantly given through mitosis.”
“ My what?”
“ Mating,” Astral Nova whispered with a hoof cupped alongside one side of his face. He cleared his throat, “ What she means is that we can’t controleth who becomes an alicorn because they are born, not made. This means the value of ascension is non-existent. No one has reached ascension in eons.”
“ Our race is too dangerous to exist in our current scale,” Dreamscapes stated.
“ Are you suggesting…some…mass suicide?!” Voodoo gasped.
“ The time for that has not yet cometh upon us,” Dreamscape assured.
“ Does this mean that Star Beings are therefore not immortal gods?”
Destiny Essence began to laugh, “ Oh, certainly not. We liveth a very long time. We possess great power. However, immortality would thereby be how an alicorn ascends. None hath reached that level of ascension. We feel it is thereby only a myth to give thine kind hope that there is more to be found. We do not know what would trigger that level of ascension. In our current state of division, however, it might be best to never find out. If that level of ascension shall reacheth the wrong hooves…there is no telling the amount of danger the world could be in.”
Voodoo plopped himself into a sitting position. He hissed at the pain in his flanks. It passed overall with a slight burn to remain. It was far more tolerable than it had been when he first received the stupid Destiny Mark. “ It depresses me to hear about it. I feel like I should do something but…what can a little Zebra like me do compared to you grand Star Beings?”
“ Do not fret, little Zebra,” Destiny Essence sighed. “ If thou are to take part in thy lifetime in such stakes, thy will naturally become prepared. However, thou shalt really focus on returning to thy tribe and repairing thy lost knowledge. Thou art a leader…and thy shall lead well with our guidance.”
“ I’m being blessed with that kind of guidance?” Voodoo gasped. “ I won’t let you down! I promise!”
*
Voodoo had to admit, he really enjoyed being with the alicorns. They taught him a great many things. He even got to become a regular part of the play groups. Astral Nova was not the only foal in the group. There were others. A blue and black filly named Nocturne was a regular playmate. A white alicorn filly with a gold and silvery transparent mane and tail called Nebula Blaze was another. There were some other colts among them and a few more fillies. Voodoo was the odd one out and not simply because he was a prince. However, even being the strange one, he was very well accepted. He just couldn’t use the fancy magic they possessed or fly. He learned from their games. There was a lot to know about maneuvers on and off the ground. They play-fought, strengthening their long legs and building muscle. Voodoo also learned about political diplomacy and how to determine when war was necessary and when it was better to compromise or sacrifice. He learned new magic and new medicines, even some new science.
Time seemed to just go so fast. Days became weeks and weeks became months. Months became a couple years. He had long since recovered, but continued to thirst for the wisdom the alicorns offered him. It wasn’t as if he didn’t want to return. It was understood all around that he would not be able to stay among the Star Beings. He knew he’d miss this alicorn family, but he also knew he’d be more than prepared to become a confident leader among his own tribe.
He looked rather different now. He had grown a little, and his traditional mane and tail had been teased over the years by the fillies who had taken a liking to it. They had been trained to flow in a wave. He accessorized now with a thick twine about his neck and the skull of a primate as the charm. He was prepared in a special fashion for his return. He wore a body of armor made from the scales and spikes of a dragon. Even his helmet was made of dragon, the hard upper skull framing Voodoo’s face. These features were laden with gold and spikes stuck out from the forehead. Mostly it was one large one, similar to the horns of the alicorns, and a few smaller ones along the length of the nose…more like nubs. His hooves were adorned with the shoes. That was that they called these coverings.
He was now ready. He looked over to his companions. “ Won’t you come with me?”
“ We cannot be seen yet,” Astral Nova stated. “ However, we shall meeteth again one day.”
“ We shall go!” Nocturne cheered. She was then pushed aside by Nebula Blaze.
“ Thou cannot go, Nocturne. Such a union is not proper.”
“ Union?!” Voodoo gasped, looking at the two fillies. “ I’m not married! Besides, I don’t think the world is ready for that sort of thing. Zebras normally frown on relationships with outsiders. Granted, it might be better for the other party to be a Star Being, but it’s still something awkward. I would think it would be harder on you, since I don’t think us Zebras would be worthy of deities.”
“ But we aren’t deities,” Nocturne remarked. She sighed, “ We get it, though. Until next we meet, Voodoo…”
Nebula Blaze put the saddlebags across Voodoo’s back. “ Thou shalt go north west. There thy shalt find thy kind. It is two days travel to the glen of which thy hath spoken. We wisheth thy luck on thy travels.”
“ Now thy must be off,” Astral Nebula finally concluded. “ The sooner thou reacheth thy village, the sooner thou can rejoin thy family. We promise that our paths shall crosseth again. Prince to Prince, of this we vow.”
Voodoo nodded, “ Farewell, my friends. I look forward to meeting again.” He reared and let out a quagga before giving into a gallop into the northwestern horizon. He was on his way home. He was on his way to displaying his defiance of death and the blessing of Star Being wisdom.