//------------------------------// // Chapter Three: First Meetings // Story: Here come the elephants // by Centurion9289 //------------------------------// The sun is just beginning to set just as Twilight and her company reach a familiar path. After walking past the Macintosh Hills, the Appaloosan Mountain Range is in sight just a few yards away. Twilight looks up at the mountains with a nostalgic expression of wonder. “Seems like only yesterday we came through here to rescue the girls from Queen Chrysalis.” Applejack looks up and her face slightly warps into anger. “Nasty changelings, snatching up my sister like that! Never been so worried in my life.” Rainbow Dash flies beside Applejack with a smirk of pride. “But we sure showed them! They should’ve known better than to mess with us!” Rarity raises her head and stomps her hoof in agreement. “I should say so! They underestimated the lengths a lady will go to save her family!” Pinkie Pie bounces up wearing a dunce cap on her head with fake hole-riddled wings zipping back and forth to each of the girls while making wild gestures with her forelegs. “Yeah! You’d think they’d have learned by now not to foalnap any of our family! I mean really, when that meanie Queenie had Princess Cadence locked up and Twilight’s big brother under a spell, and made Twilight go crazy on her when we thought she was just being clingy but she was right all along about the evil Cadence being evil and we ended up saving the day, and then she kidnapped your sisters and we went out to save the day again...” “Girls, we’re here!” Everypony turns their heads to Twilight and notice that they have arrived at the entrance into the mountains. As they look ahead, they also notice what caught Twilight’s attention. In front of the cave illuminated by a torch in hoof stood a pony clad in silver armor with a crimson cloak blowing in the soft wind. Zecora narrows her eyes at him in an almost suspicious manner. Twilight and her friends stop in their tracks ready to address whom they could only assume is Sentinel Alaris. Twilight takes a few steps forward towards him and stops at about ten feet away from him. He puts down his other hoof as he makes to bow. “Princess Twilight Sparkle, it is an honor to be of service to you.” Twilight turns her eyes away nervously. It was still going to take her a while to get used to ponies bowing down to her all the time. She regains her composure and looks to him with a sincere smile. “You may rise. And please, just call me Twilight.” He rises back up and looks at Twilight in the eyes. Now that Twilight had a good look at him, she could see his tan fur and his golden-yellow eyes. If it weren’t for the light of the torch, his red-plumed silver helmet would have completely covered his features. She smiles nervously waiting for him to reply or say something. He stood firm as though waiting for another order. “You must be Sentinel Alaris.” “Yes, your highness. And I am at your command.” Alaris turns his head to the rest of the girls. His eyes stopped at Applejack. “And you must be the legendary Bearers of the Elements of Harmony.” Applejack eyes widen and she nervously rubs the back of her head with one foreleg trying desperately to look anywhere but right in Alaris’ eyes. She makes for a small smile and chuckle. “Oh, uh...that was us! The Bearers of the bonafide Elements of Harmony...ha ha...” Sweat begins to drop from Applejack’s face and her mouth scrunches up. Rainbow Dash swoops down and pushes Applejack aside with an enormous smile and nervous eyes. “YEEEAAAH, that’s us! I mean, that IS us! Heh heh...WHOA!!!” Suddenly Rainbow is flying away from the scene but not of her own accord. In her place stands Rarity with a small trail of smoke behind her. Rarity bats her eyes and smiles seductively at Alaris. “What they mean is that we usually don’t receive such recognition. We prefer to be treated as you would treat anypony but it is quite flattering that you noticed.” Rarity giggles lightly as she leans her head closer towards Alaris at those last words. Alaris leans his neck backwards and smiles nervously as he steps away. His eyes turn and he notices the long pink hair of Fluttershy slowly approaching him. “Um, it is...nice to meet you...Sentinel...sir...” Alaris cannot help but smile at this adorable pony. She seemed so meek yet he felt there was some courage in her or else she might not have approached him at all. Most ponies tended not to, as they found him to be intimidating just like any other Guard. Each of the girls he met so far seemed to be even more beautiful and interesting than he had heard. He could not help but admire the orange pony’s strong yet lovely earth pony build. Plus, he found her cute when she was stumbling on her words. She definitely was humble about her status and he admired that in anypony, mare or stallion. Then there was the cyan pegasus. Her unmistakable multi-colored mane brought to mind the legendary Sonic Rainboom. He had heard the rumors and was certain that this was that very mare. She did seem to have the spirit to back them up. And the rather friendly white unicorn is certainly as beautiful as he had heard, perhaps even more so now that he saw her face-to-face. He heard that she was a fashion designer and wondered just how many outfits she wore herself. From the word of Canterlot Guards, he heard she often arrived in different styles every other time she was out and about. Though most Guards often put on serious faces and attitudes, they could not help but go on about her stunning good looks when they were off-duty. He also heard good word that she often went out of her way to help other ponies in need without expecting reward or compensation. It sounded like her lovely appearance was also matched by her wonderful heart. And of course there was Princess Twilight Sparkle herself. He did not know what to expect when he first met her, whether her hair would flow like the regal sisters or if her beauty would match Princess Cadance. She turned out to be not at all what he expected. She almost seemed to be a normal unicorn pony with wings and a slightly longer horn. But of course he still found her lovely in her own right. He had heard that even when Twilight ascended she did not let her new title and power get to her head. It felt comforting to be in the presence of somepony Royal who is still down-to-earth. But then something nags at the back of Alaris’ head. He could not help but feel he was forgetting somepony... “HIIIII!!!!!” Alaris’ eyes widen, his mouth grimaces in startled surprise and he almost stumbles backwards as he sees a bright pink pony pop seemingly out of nowhere. He vision is then engulfed by two large blue eyes and he feels his nose bumped by hers as she presses her face too close to his for comfort. “It’s VERY nice to meet you! My name’s Pinkie Pie! OOOHH!!! I think they forgot to introduce themselves too!” Alaris suddenly feels a foreleg wrap around him and he finds himself pressed by Pinkie’s side and he sees her foreleg pointing to each of the ponies he previously met. “That’s Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy!!!” At the last name, Pinkie Pie was suddenly away from Alaris and standing on her hind legs with her forelegs spread out presenting her friends. Alaris blinks his eyes and shakes his head to regain his composure. He takes a mental note to try to remember each of them, as Pinkie did go through them very fast. It seems that this pink pony is very hyper and quite friendly. A little too friendly. Not quite like Rarity, more like an energetic foal. Still, Alaris found himself fighting not to smile or laugh at her antics. Alaris turns his head back to Princess Twilight and he sees a small baby dragon sitting on her back smiling and waving. “Hi! I’m Spike! Number One Assistant to Princess Twilight!” At the last sentence, Spike stands up on his feet and lifts his hand to his head in a salute with a proud smile. Alaris smiles and nods at Spike as a small salute. Alaris turns his head back around and he notices somepony he missed. Or rather, somezebra. Alaris‘ smile fades and he goes back to being more official. His face carries the same seriousness as any other guard would. “And you must be the zebra Princess Celestia mentioned.” Zecora does not glare or narrow her eyes but there was something subtle in her expression that seems to appear offended. However, she replies with grace and politeness. “I am indeed and Zecora is my name. Please do not forget, it would be a shame.” Alaris slightly glares his eyes at her. He really did not trust zebras or think much of them. Twilight walks over between Alaris and Zecora with a friendly smile, oblivious to the tension that was slowly building between them. “Now that everypony’s been introduced, shall we get started?” Everypony starts to walk into the large and cavernous entrance into the mountains. Zecora and Alaris still have their eyes on each other, Alaris slightly narrowing his in a glare before he turns to join the group. “Yes, your highness. The sooner we depart, the better.” ----------------------------------------------------- Zecora is at the head of the group leading them through the familiar dark and cavernous pathways. The pony’s nearest to her are Twilight Sparkle and Alaris, though Alaris keeps his distance nearer to Twilight than he does to Zecora. Twilight is using her horn to illuminate the path. Twilight turns her head back to Alaris. “So, Alaris...I’ll just ask the questions I’m sure everypony has on their minds. What happened at the Southern Watchtower?” Alaris looks down at the ground as he walked with a grim expression before he rises his head to look at Twilight. “What do you know about the lands south of Equestria?” Twilight smiles with a bit of pride. “Well, quite a lot actually. There were all kinds of books I read when I studied under Princess Celestia and I learned even more from the places we saw when we first travelled here!” Alaris narrows his eyes at Zecora and then looks back to Twilight. “Have you ever been to the territories of the Zebras?” Twilight’s wings rose in excitement and her face brightened. “No but I’ve always been interested in their culture! True, there aren’t too many books about zebras but ever since I met Zecora...” She turns her head to Zecora and smiles brightly. Zecora looks back to Twilight. “...I’ve been eager to learn more about zebras!” A small smile forms on Zecora’s lips. Spike cocks an eye at Twilight in confusion as he clings onto her back. “Then why didn’t you ever visit her more often and learn from her before?” Twilight’s wings fold and her eyes hint at embarrassment. Her ears fold back and she chuckles and smiles nervously. “Well, I guess I just kind of put it off for a long time. I mean, I’ve been meaning to but...hehe...sorry Zecora.” “Your apology has long been accepted already. The life of an Element, and now Princess, is not exactly steady.” Twilight smiles lightly. Then she cocks a curious eye at Alaris. “But what do zebras have to do with what happened at the...OOF!!!” Twilight is suddenly stopped in place by something solid placed in front of her chest. It was abrupt and sudden but not enough to knock the wind out of her or make her stumble. Still, it caught her by surprise and Spike grabbed a hold of her neck to keep from falling down. They both look down to see a long bamboo stick. They turn to her left to see Zecora holding out the stick. Her face is expressionless and emotionless, her eyes looking straight ahead. Alaris from behind raises his head in alarm and gallops toward Zecora. He is a few seconds away from closing in on her. “HOW DARE YOU LAY A WEAPON ON THE...” A hoof is shoved into his mouth and all that comes out are muffles as he angrily reaches out for Zecora. Zecora, now between Twilight and Alaris turns her heads to one and the other as she pulls the bamboo away from Twilight and places it down on the ground to regain her balance. She leans it toward her mouth in a silencing gesture. Twilight quickly catches on and turns back to the rest of the girls spreading out her wings and using them to gesture to the girls as she whispers towards them. “Girls!” They immediately catch on and quietly hurry to group up right behind Zecora. Twilight turns to Alaris and whispers to calm him down. “Please, be quiet!” Alaris turns his angry eyes to Twilight. They begin to calm and soften and he ceases reaching towards Zecora. She still keeps her left hoof in his mouth. Twilight leans toward Zecora’s ear. “Zecora?” Zecora slightly turns her head to Twilight but her eyes still aim right in front of the path. “Something is coming this way. Listen close and do as I say.” ----------------------------------------------------- The path Twilight, Zecora, and the rest were on is now empty. No lights from torches or magic are lit. Then from behind one of the large rocks near the wall, Zecora lightly sticks her head out just enough to peek at the path. She quickly turns her head back to Twilight who is just beside her. “Everypony stay calm and steady. It is very close, be ready.” From behind different-sized rocks, the rest of the ponies poke their heads out and give a confirming nod before returning to position. Applejack and Rarity are behind a large stone embedded into the wall. Applejack has her rope in her mouth while Rarity crouches down and readies her horn. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are above the group hiding behind stalactites just big enough to cover their bodies as they tightly grip it. Alaris is behind a large stone with one hoof under his cape ready to whip out whatever weapon he has hidden. Not far from him, a small rock suddenly raises from the ground with a pink hoof lifting it. Smiling brightly, Pinkie Pie sticks her head out from under the rock with goggles, a mining helmet, and a wink. Alaris cannot help but be surprised by Pinkie Pie coming out from what otherwise would be an impossibly small place for anypony to hide. But he quickly regains his focus to the task at hoof. Spike is right beside Twilight and Zecora with a large butterfly net in hand. Then a light sound is heard from the path in front of them. It quickly grows louder thanks to the echo but from the way Zecora’s ears were moving, Twilight could assume it was definitely coming closer. She wanted to say it sounded like hoofsteps, like somepony was running but remembering the Changelings and various other creatures in the mountains she did not want to make any assumptions. The sounds were getting increasingly louder, filling the whole cavern. Zecora raises her right foreleg just enough for everypony to see. They all ready themselves to strike. Fluttershy however shivers nervously and sticks her head out just enough to try to get a look at what was coming. She and Rainbow did have a better view from above. As she catches a glimpse of what is coming, Fluttershy makes a light gasp and hides herself back from behind the stalactite. She turns her head to Rainbow Dash who seems ready to launch herself to attack. “Rainbow...” At first, Rainbow does not seem to notice so Fluttershy calls out to her again. Rainbow Dash turns her head and glares as she harshly whispers. “Shhhh!!! Not now!” “But Rainbow Dash, it’s...” “Shhhh!!! Don’t blow this!” Zecora throws her foreleg down and jumps out onto the path with her bamboo stick in hoof swinging it down low at the area where the ankles would be. They hit their mark and a dark hooded figure flies into the air from the impact. Rainbow Dash zooms down and creates a small tornado catching and spinning it in the air. All the while, grunts, cries and yells of confusion and surprise can be heard. Rarity uses her horn to freeze the culprit in place and Applejack uses this moment to swing her rope and lasso its legs together. Pinkie Pie pops out of the rock with confetti and balloons flying everywhere and shines the light on her helmet at what they caught. It seems to be completely covered by a large hooded cloak with large saddlebags. Once Twilight sees that the hooded shadowy figure has no way to break free, she calls for everypony to surround this mysterious pony or thing that has come across them. Spike swings his net and it lands on the covered backside. “We’ve got it!” Twilight smiles proudly and victoriously uses her magic to lift up the hood. But once Twilight pulls it fully back, she, Spike, and her five friends gasp loudly. A terrified and shivering zebra is shifting his green eyes between Twilight and the rest of his captors. His mohawk is incredibly messy and around his neck are colorful beads of orange, blue, and red. Only now does Twilight notice that Rarity’s aura also caught what appeared to be pots, pans, bottles, and maps. Rainbow Dash hovers above and turns her head to Fluttershy with a nervous smile rubbing a hoof behind her head. Fluttershy looks less than amused but not quite angry or irritated either. But her expression said it all: That’s what I was trying to say. Rarity blushes as she uses her magic to gently lower the zebra down and undo his ropes. Her ears fold back and she lowers her head in embarrassment. Twilight raises her foreleg to the zebra and waves apologetically. “Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!!!” The zebra quickly sits back on his hind legs, lowers his head and raises his forelegs to shield his face. “Please, do not attack and leave me be! What have I done for you to do this to me?” For a quick moment Twilight could see that on his right forelimb is a bamboo band with red feathers attached to it. His stripes are a dark shade of gray. She could also see the poor thing was scared out of his wits. What she did not see that Alaris is eying this zebra very carefully, as though he had seen him before. “I’m so sorry, this is just a big misunderstanding! You see...” Seeing his chance, the frightened zebra makes a break for it behind the group. The nervous zebra looks back at them for a quick moment before turning his head to the direction he was running into. Suddenly his eyes widen and he screeches to a sudden halt making him stumble over and fall down. He skids and slowly stops just at Zecora’s hooves. He looks up to see her holding her bamboo staff in one hoof and to see her blue eyes. But instead of fear in his eyes there is wonder in their place, almost as though he had seen an angel or a ghost. He even ignored the sounds of galloping hooves closing in. “Zecora?” Twilight and the rest of her group just stopped galloping in time to reach Zecora and the zebra at her hooves. Twilight heard the zebra just in time and cocked an eye in confusion at Zecora. The zebra on the floor raises himself to his hooves to get a better look at Zecora who also carries a look of bewilderment. It seems that she is just as surprised as everypony else to see this zebra. Finally she breaks into a small smile opens her mouth to speak but when she does, nopony can understand a word she is saying. The only thing that came to Twilight’s mind was when they first followed Zecora back to her hut and heard her speaking in another language as she made her brew. Thinking about it now, they did sound very similar. Zecora seems to be speaking in a friendly matter, much like she would to Twilight or any other pony. She sounds delightfully surprised. When she is finished speaking, the other zebra laughs heartily and replies back in the foreign dialect with a smiling face. Then they both laugh loudly and hug each other’s necks with one foreleg. Everypony looks at each other in confusion as they try to comprehend what is happening. Finally, Applejack steps forward towards them. “Begging your pardon for interrupting but what in the hay is going on here?!” Zecora and the zebra stallion turn their heads to Applejack. Zecora raises a reassuring foreleg waving up and down. “This is indeed bewildering to anypony’s mind and brain. Please my friends, allow me to explain...” “YOU!!!” Everypony whips their heads at the loud yell from Alaris. His eyes are glaring daggers at the zebra beside Zecora. The zebra himself notices Alaris and his eyes widen in recognition and his face grimaces in fear. He quickly hides himself behind Zecora. The poor zebra is sweating beads and eyes the menacing helmeted pony before them. He makes a small and frightened squeak. “You...” Fluttershy turns her head to Alaris surprised at the effect he had on the zebra. She looks at the zebra in sincere concern. “Ohhh, please stop! Can’t you see he’s frightened?” Alaris pulls out a small golden stick he had hidden beneath his red cloak. It then clicks and shifts as it opens up into a long and deadly-looking halberd. “As he should be.” Everypony gasps in shock as he moves to approach the zebra. Zecora however stands herself on her hind legs, swirls her bamboo staff in her front hooves and aims it right at Alaris. Both glare into each other’s eyes very fiercely. “Stand aside, zebra.” “You do so first soldier, stand down. Or you will find yourself on the ground.” Both refuse to back down, and both ready themselves for battle. Just when they are about to jump at each other with weapons in hoof, magenta aura surrounds both of them pulling them away from each other and stopping them as though they were frozen in time. “STOP!!! Both of you!” Alaris shifts his eyes to Twilight. “But your highness...” “Sentinel Alaris, you will withdraw your weapon immediately until further notice! That’s an order!” Alaris shifts his eyes to Zecora and the other zebra. He shuts his eyes and sighs. “Yes, your highness.” Twilight releases her magical grip on Alaris and Zecora. The weapon Alaris wields shifts back into a small stick in his hoof. Twilight then turns her attention to Zecora. “Zecora, can you please tell us who this zebra is and what is going on?” Zecora returns to a relaxed stance and gets down on all hooves as she places her bamboo stick into her saddlebag. "I have made an error in judgement which led to this unexpected end. What I thought was a foe turned out to be a long-time friend." “Your friend? You know this zebra?” The zebra behind Zecora nervously shakes his head up and down. Twilight notices he is still anxiously eying Alaris. She looks to Alaris and then to the zebra. “And how do you two know each other?” The zebra opens his mouth to speak but Alaris beats him to it. “Your highness, I saw this zebra just before me and my company were attacked and the Watchtower was destroyed. I do not believe it is merely coincidence that he is here...” Twilight turns her head to the shivering zebra. “Is this true?” The zebra shifts his hooves nervously. “It is indeed true that I was there. But I had no ill intentions I swear! There is no treachery or ill action to be seen. In truth, it was for my life that I was fleeing!” Twilight leans her head toward the zebra in concerned curiosity. “Fleeing?” “Yes, and I am here because I had lost my way! I have been wandering frantically in here for perhaps more than a day!” “What were you fleeing from? What attacked the Watchtower?” Everypony waits in anticipation to finally hear just what had attacked the Watchtower and what the big fuss was about. The zebra hides himself behind Zecora shaking almost uncontrollably, seemingly too afraid to speak. Then a voice breaks the silence. “Elephants.” Everypony turns their head to Alaris. Upon hearing this, almost everypony has no idea how to react. Spike bites his claws nervously. Then he grips Twilight’s neck from behind. “Elephants! We don’t have a chance, we’re all doomed!” Spike pops his head up with eyes wide in realization. “Uh...what are elephants anyways?” Twilight turns her eyes back towards Spike. “According to old stories, elephants are large gray creatures with big ears, two deadly long tusks coming from their mouths, and a long flexible nose with opposable tips called a trunk. They are said to be larger than buffalo, some even as big as a pony’s house! Their hide is tough, their footsteps shake the ground, and they are very powerful!” Applejack shakes her head. “It can’t be! I heard about them from Granny Smith but I thought they were just old pony tales.” Alaris turns his head to Applejack. “You may find that there is so much more to the old stories than you know.” Then Alaris turns his head to Zecora and the zebra with a glare. “And no one knows more about the elephants than the zebras.” Everypony turns their heads to Zecora and her friend. Zecora lowers her eyes to the ground. Twilight looks to Zecora, surprised at her almost guilty-looking expression. “Zecora?” Zecora then raises her eyes to look at Twilight. “Let us make camp so that we are ready for bed. And before we rest, there is much to be said.” The other zebra widens his eyes speaking foreignly again as he places a hoof on Zecora’s shoulder while pointing the other to the direction from which Twilight and the others came from. He seems terribly afraid, and it sounds like he is almost begging to Zecora. Zecora turns her head to him calm but stern. She says but a few words, the last ones almost sounding like a plea. Her friend continues to plead but once again Zecora speaks softly with but two words. He looks so anxious but he gives out a sigh and lowers his head. He speaks to Twilight and her friends without raising his head to them. “With great reluctance, I too will stay. For I also have much to say.” Twilight looks at both of the zebras who seemed to have a lot of explaining to do. But she was hopeful things were not as bad as Alaris was making them out to be. The zebra looks to the side avoiding the gaze of Twilight and her friends. A soft voice breaks the silence. “Um, excuse me.” Twilight turns her head to see Fluttershy walking towards Zecora and the other zebra. Zecora makes no reaction except for a few blinks but the zebra looks nervous to see Fluttershy approach them. “Before we do anything, we should do something we should have done earlier.” Fluttershy looks at the zebra behind Zecora who seems to have slightly relaxed and calm down now that he sees the pegasus before him being kind and gentle. “We’re so sorry for all of the trouble. What’s your name?” The zebra finally steps out from behind Zecora and places himself next to her. He seems a little more relaxed and calm. He looks to Twilight and the rest of the ponies present before turning back to Fluttershy. “My name is long and difficult to pronounce I fear. But you may call me Zeb. That is, if it is alright my dear.”