//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Friends in High Places // by Wheller //------------------------------// Chapter 4 Zecora had discovered quickly that Cherries Jubilee was different from everyone else she had ever encountered, while she didn’t understand a single word she was saying, she could certainly tell that Cherries Jubilee was making every attempt she could to communicate with Zecora. Cherries Jubilee had lead Zecora to her home in the residential district, a townhouse in a complex of fair size. Cherries Jubilee led Zecora passed many of her neighbours, who stopped and stared in awe of her. Zecora sighed, she was going to have to get used to the looks. Cherries Jubilee opened her door and the two stepped inside. “This. Is. My. Home!” she said, accompanied by rough sign language and lots of pointing to herself and lead her around, showing her each room in the house, she tried to explain each one of them to her, though Zecora was sure that she didn’t understand most of it. She didn’t fault Cherries Jubilee for trying; she was actually making an attempt to be friendly to her, though she didn’t understand why. She decided not to ask, part of her fearing what answer she would get, the other half knowing she wouldn’t understand. Cherries Jubilee led her into one last room, sparsely decorated with a bed, an end table, a clock, and a writing desk. “You. Sleep. Here!” Cherries Jubilee said, pointing at Zecora, and then to the bed, following up by placing her head on her hooves and closing her eyes and making an exaggerated snoring noise. Zecora got the point. “Dankie vir jou vriendelikheid,” Zecora said, bowing her head respectively. “You’re... welcome!?” Cherries Jubilee said, with a big smile, clearly hoping that she had guessed correctly at what Zecora had said and had made the correct response. Zecora had no idea either way, for all she knew; Cherries Jubilee could have just insulted her, though unlikely, considering the ponies previous behaviour. The sun had long set, and it was time for them to turn in. Zecora was thankful for all that Cherries Jubilee had done for her, even though she was not able to express it in terms that she would understand. Zecora tucked herself into the bed that Cherries Jubilee had given her for the night, and quickly drifted off to sleep. She hadn’t realised just how tired she was. That night, she dreamed of home, and the broken tribe that she had left behind. There was nothing more that she could do for them, there were only ten or so females and twenty children, not enough for the tribe to continue, they would all scatter, hopefully to be taken in by other tribes, though it was not exactly likely. Zecora couldn’t help but feel a little guilty, but there was nothing to be done. It was the way of things. Zecora awoke the next morning, with slight panic as she had forgotten where she was. She rose from her bed and remembered the kindly pony that had taken her in, she walked down to the lower level, and discovered that Cherries Jubilee was already awake, muzzle deep in a book. She looked up at Zecora and smiled. “Goeie...” she said, and began flipping frantically through the book. “...More?” Zecora couldn’t help but smile back. “Goeie more!” she responded back, greeting the earth pony in kind, and nodding her head in approval. She hadn’t the faintest idea where Cherries Jubilee could have gotten it, but she had located an equestrian-to-afrikneigh dictionary. She had no idea that such a book would even exist so far from those who speak it. “Hoe... is... jou?” Cherries Jubilee stumbled over. Zecora couldn’t help but smirk; she understood what she was trying to say, though that wasn’t anywhere close to being correct. “Nee nee nee!” She shook her head. “‘Hoe gaan dit met jou?’.” “Hoe... gaan... dit... met... jou?” Cherries Jubilee repeated. Zecora nodded her head in affirmation. “Ek is goed, dankie!” Both of them smiled brightly at each other, it had been a few broken sentences, sure, but it was the first step towards a better understanding. That was all that mattered. ... Surprise looked to her new master in shock, and then back at the chain knife, and then back at her master, she couldn’t believe what she had heard. She had to have misheard! She couldn’t just kill Firefly! “What?” Surprise asked in confusion. “You heard me,” her master said coldly. “Take it and kill Firefly, and do not return here until you do. You swore yourself to me, do not forget what happens if you disobey.” Surprise gulped loudly, oaths like these were magically binding, Surprise had her own free will, in a sense, she could always say no, she could refuse to do a task that her master had given her, and then she would drop dead about thirty seconds after doing it. Oaths of fealty were magically binding, and were not to be made lightly. For to break such an oath was death, Surprise picked up the chain knife, however begrudgingly, and hid it about her person in the only place she could, her thick, messy mane and begrudgingly trotted out the door. Maybe... maybe there was a way around it, maybe she wouldn’t have to kill Firefly, perhaps, maybe just perhaps, she could find a way to do this without killing Firefly, but without disobeying master at the same time? Surprise could only hope; she didn’t want to hurt Firefly at all. She trotted to the edge of the forest, and spotted Firefly walking out of it. “Firefly!” Surprise called out excitedly. “Ugh...” Firefly grunted in annoyance. “You know what? I don’t care anymore. I’m just going to come out and say it!” Surprise stopped dead in her tracks. “Wha... what?” “I don’t like you, Surprise! I never liked you. I felt sorry for you because you had no friends, well you know what? Little did I know there’s a reason why you don’t have friends,” Firefly said, spitting with anger at the white Pegasus before her. “It’s because you’re freakin’ weird.” Surprise dropped to a seated position, her mouth fell open. “Firefly... I...” Surprise did not get a chance to finish her line; before she knew it Firefly was in her face and slapping her hoof across her cheek. “Shut up,” the pink Pegasus said coldly. “Don’t talk to me again. Ever.” She turned and snapped Surprise with her tail and walked away. Surprises mind was a mirror, and Firefly had just taken a hammer to it. However, the straw haired Pegasus mare was not sad, she was angry. Her eyes narrowed, and flames erupted from her heart, she pulled the chain knife from its hiding spot and held it in her teeth. “Firah-fuh!” Surprise called out. Firefly sighed. “WHAT?” She cried out in annoyance, that was when Surprise leapt on her, pinning her to the ground. Firefly’s eyes widened in fear. “Wait... Surprise! What are you doing?” Surprise bit down on the chain-knife’s start up mechanism, revving the device to life. “Wait! No! Surprise! Stop!” Firefly called out. Surprise ignored her; she revved the knife again, and plunged it right into Firefly’s chest. Firefly’s blood and organs began to fly everywhere as they were ripped open. Firefly let out a gut wrenching scream of pain, but it only determined Surprise even more, she dug the revving chain knife deeper into the Pegasus mare below her, blood splatter coated the Pegasus mare’s pure white coat and straw yellow mane. She continued to drive the chain knife into her helpless victim even after she had long expired, slicing and chopping and sawing off every limb, mutilating every square centimetre of Firefly’s body. She hated her one time bestest best friend for what she had done to her, and now, now she would have her revenge. Eventually, Surprise stopped, but only when there was nothing left to cut, no significant piece of Firefly’s remained for her to mutilate, she was not only satisfied, she had actually enjoyed it. Covered from head to hoof in Firefly’s blood, she walked back into town, chain-knife in her teeth, it was well into the afternoon, and everypony was out in the street, mucking about in their business. They all stopped and looked at her; there she was, covered in blood, walking amongst them with anger in her eyes. They were all afraid, and they had every reason to be. Surprise flung open the door to her home and walked up to her master, who was standing and waiting for her to return. He raise an eye brow at the blood coated mare, she had changed much, but not in the way that everypony else had noticed. Surprise spat out the chain knife, allowing it to scatter onto the floor, she looked up at her master and smiled at him with a malevolent grin. “Who do I kill next?” she asked simply. Prince Zephyr smiled at his servant, because the thing that had changed about her was her eyes. They had changed from their ordinary shade of purple that had matched her cutie mark to something completely different. Surprise’s eyes were now a deep, blood red.