//------------------------------// // Trouble in Zebrica // Story: Spellbooks, Dating and Why Humans don't like the Arcane // by Emerald Oracle //------------------------------// "Excuse me, Sir, but Captain says we will be landing in about twenty minutes." The voice of one of the crew members roused the sleeping forms of Luna and Kenny, wrapped in each others limbs. They groggily disentangled themselves and sat up in the plush bed, Kenny stretching out his muscles and Luna running a spell through her messy hair. Once Kenny was limber and Luna's hair was back to it's starry state, both their eyes snapped open as they remembered the most important part of the morning. The battle for the bathroom. Every morning during their trip, Kenny and Luna would begin the day with a squabble involving the W.C. connected to their room. At first, it was Luna's complaints about how Kenny would use up all the hot water available, seeing as she had not adjusted to her new sleep schedule and woke up much later than he did. This motivated her to try much harder to get up in the mornings and beat him to the shower, then spend an hour washing herself. This hour was not spent out of unnecessary pampering, Celestia had a whole three-hour slot in the mornings for her shower, but rather the simple fact that having fur and an incredibly large mane and build made washing a long and difficult process, only made slightly easier with the aid of magic. After she was done, Kenny suddenly found himself without hot water, and had to resort to the risky process of heating it himself. The first time he tried he scalded himself with the steam he produced. A painful burn had run up his thigh, and it took an entire day to heal with his salves. For the last couple days every morning started the same. They would both wake up, then one would try to incapacitate the other till one claimed the bathroom as his or her own. Today it began again. Without warning, Luna leaped forward off the bed towards the open bathroom door. Kenny grabbed her fetlock as she attempted to get a head-start and brought her back down onto the bed. Whilst pinning her leg, he vaulted himself over her, blowing her a kiss while he passed over her head, and landed on his feet and running for the door. He made it one step forward when he felt the familiar sensation of magic grasping him and he was flung backwards. Luna smiled smugly right up until she felt Kenny grip her neck as he went flying past. Her spell may have broken, but Kenny still had momentum. Luna was pulled back into the headboard alongside Kenny, both of them smashing painfully into the mahogany piece. Surprisingly, it held, and Kenny was the first to recover. He froze the air around one of Luna's hooves, sticking it to the headboard. He knew it wouldn't hold for long, but he thought it would be enough for him to reach the bathroom door. He hopped off the bed as Luna began to come to. She was quick to realize that her hoof was now encased in ice and smashed it with her other hoof. Then she heard the bathroom door click shut. But it would not be the end. She teleported into the bathroom and caught Kenny with his pants down. Without a word or look, she teleported him out of the bathroom and back onto the bed. Lastly, she fortified the door with a spell. She had won. "Good morning, Mganga, it is nice to see you." Luna bowed to the old, greying Zebra. His mane was styled into the traditional mohawk that his tribe wore. Woven into the fibers were countless feathers and beads, no doubt having significant cultural importance. Before she rose, the zebra pulled her into a friendly hug. "I can see that you've gotten no less affectionate since your last visit." "Ahaha, Princess Luna!" He said in his velvety, deep voice, his laid back accent bringing a new life to the Equish language. He released her from his embrace. "It is nice to see ya'! Ya' mus' tell me about this 'uman I 'ere yer datin'." Luna blushed a little when he had mentioned Kenny. They were good friends, having met when Luna had first returned to Equestria years prior. The charming and relaxed zebra was one of the first to welcome her home. Now she would see him again at the docks of the trade city, Zzyzx. "Why would I when you can him yourself?" Luna began, "He, as the new ambassador, will be arriving shortly to meet with the chieftains on Equestria's behalf. I am here as his escort and colleague." One of the chieftains nodded to her as he arrived to their meeting place aboard the Harbinger's deck. The rest all milled about on deck, enjoying friendly conversations with their fellow poltical leaders. "I thought there were rules against consortin' on ta' job." Mganga's voice pulled her attention back to the aging zebra. "Not for ambassadors, we believe that having a loved one along the way can do wonders for maintaining a civil mindset while abroad. Two minds are better than one, especially when those two minds happen to get along. Now, pardon me for asking, but why are you here Mganga? You have always stayed out of political matters. I believe I remember you saying once that, 'If I want to talk about land rights, I can ask the ground.' A lame jest, but it got the point across." "Aye, Luna, I am not one fer' all that mumbo-jumbo, I prefer ta' keep ta' my work. No, the spirits have called me 'ere. I am to meet a fellow Spirit Walka', some mon who 'as excelled above all others on this world. Then I 'ear that you were comin' and came to see ya' before he arrived." "Another Spirit Walker...?" Luna trailed off. Spirit Walkers, if her memory served her, were a special sect of zebras who converse with the spirits of nature to ensure the survival of their tribes. They are very important to Zebrican society as there prayers were vital for a good harvest. In Luna's time, such things were considered heresy, but after years of study by unicorns there claims have been proven true. Now that she thought about it, all this talk of spirits sounded awfully familiar... "By the goddess's! You can't possibly mean-?!" "Good morning, ladies and gentlecolts!" Kenny strode on deck, garbed in a previously unseen set of long, royal purple robes that snugly hugged the form of his upper body, golden embroidery decorating the entirety of the thin silk with swirling images of roaring fires and crashing waves. It opened in a deep V shape from the front, finally coming together with two gilded buttons at his navel, revealing a pristine white blouse underneath with a significant amount of frill poking out. The robe opened up again in a straight, rectangular shape, allowing a modest view of his long legs. Said legs were covered by white trousers, cutoff at the top of the shin by a pair of black boots with a simpler set of gold embroidery at the top edge. To compliment his boots, he wore a pair of matching gloves that cutoff just before the elbow. All in all, he held an expensive and regal air about him. His hair, both facial and otherwise, had been trimmed extensively till he looked every bit the part of some exotic prince. A low whistle was heard from the crowd of chieftains. "I apologize for the slight delay, which was due to circumstances beyond my control," Luna caught the sideways glance he gave her and returned it with a smug grin. "I sincerely hope I have not kept you waiting too long, and would like to thank you for your patience and understanding." Luna had to give it to him, he was doing incredibly well; though, she suspected his success was due to his rich and privileged upbringing. Then Mganga shouted, "Da' Spirit Walka'!" and everyone present suddenly began whispering in their own various tongues as Mganga bowed before a surprised and suddenly much less composed Kenny. "Uhhh... What?" The other chieftains all gave him looks of curiosity and amazement. "Are ya not da' mon who has conversed with da' Great Spirits? I am Mganga, the Elder of the Spirit Walka's." Kenny's eyebrows shot up at the mention of Mganga's name. "I have communicated with the Elementals, yes." The chieftains conversations grew more fervent. One eventually spoke, "Where are you from, ambassador, to know of our sacred practices?" Mganga answered for him, "He is from another world, both differen' an' alike to our own." "How do you know this?" Luna asked. "The Elementals told him," Kenny answered. "Just as they told me that I would meet a zebra shaman named Mganga" "Can somebody explain what's going on?" All this talk of spirits was out of her league, and was in need of some clarification. Luna, Mganga, and Kenny were all seated at a conference room inside the Ambassadorial Suite at the Ahoofja Palace in Neighgeria. Neighgeria, being the largest and wealthiest of Zebrica's states, was commonly the host for meetings of both the Chieftains Council and Ambassadorial visits. "Which part?" Kenny answered, "The political meetings over the next week? Or, perhaps, the meeting set for me and your associate by beings of another plane?" He said the last part with a chuckle. Luna glared at him. "Jokes aside, the spirits 'ave fortold of your arrival, Mr. Lee." Mganga bowed his head in respect, causing Kenny to pull on his collar in discomfort. "They 'ave told us of your skill and knowledge." "That's great and all, but I'm really far from the best. I've only been able to communicate with the Elementals, I haven't even attempted talking with the dead and the spirits of the celestial bodies." Kenny wasn't lying, Master Hiro could even harbor spirits within him. Kenny was an amateur. "None of us 'ave been able to communicate with spirits on the level you 'ave. They have told us how you now 'ave their favor, and wield their powa'." "You mean control of the elements?" Kenny snapped his fingers whilst lighting a small candle flame on his thumb. "It's not much, I only have limited control and my commands cannot go against the will of the Elementals themselves or I risk losing my power." Mganga seemed uninterested in such things, instead admiring in awe the small flame Kenny had conjured. "You can directly wield the power of the spirits..." Mganga whispered. Luna just sat awkwardly at the table, unable to bring anything to this conversation. She had always been distrusting of Zebrican 'magic', and even after being shown that what they claimed was true she wasn't sure about it. Kenny had shown her his magnificent control of these four essential elements, she couldn't deny belief in something that was demonstrated in front of her. Now Kenny was practically vouching for Mganga's unique brand of magic. Luna decided she was done being left out of the conversation."That's all well and good, but can we move on to why all this is important?" Mganga answered with, "This mon is supposed to be able to teach us how to expand our powers beyond quiet prayers and wishes. He can control the elements directly, a skill none of our Spirit Walka's can do." "Prayers and Wishes?" Kenny asked. "Our power is to leave our bodies and ask the spirits for gifts of rain and protection from natural disaster. The wisest of our order can ask for their power to aid in the healin' o've the sick and wounded." "Man, that blows." Kenny shrugged, "Well if you insist, I guess I'll teach you what I know, but it'll have to wait until I'm done with my Ambassadorial duties." "Of course," Mganga said as he rose from his seat. He bowed before continuing. "I thank ya' on behalf of all of Zebrica's Spirit Walka's." He left the room and Kenny leaned back in his chair with a long whistle. "Heavy." He said with a grimace. "Are you sure about this Kenny?" Luna asked. "If your not up to it I'm sure Mganga would under-" "I have to," Kenny cut her off. "The spirits told me about this on our way here. I've already agreed." "Then why do you seem so unhappy?" "Because I'm afraid I'll screw up. I've never taught anyone anything. I'm just as likely to teach one of them how to blow up as much as teach them how to control water." Flash spoke up from the door,"Well maybe I could help! You can start by trying to teach me, and we'll refine your methods for when your doing the real thing!" "When did you get out of the shower?" Kenny asked. "About five minutes ago. So, what do you think?" Luna shook her head. This wouldn't work if the subject couldn't use magic. "That's a great idea!" Luna gave her boyfriend a look of disbelief. "Get ready and meet me out back, okay?" "Yes sir!" Flash said with a salute. He left to get his armor from his stuff in the room next to Kenny and Luna. "Kenny, you do realize that pegasi can't use magic right?" Luna asked. "This isn't like unicorn magic. It's a field of magic that anyone can master, should they be disciplined and properly trained. Don't worry Luna, worst comes to worst I'll just tell Mganga that I'll teach him when I can pull my act together." "If you say so..." "Alright, so the first part of shamanism is respect and civility with spirits." Flash listened intently in the hot Zebrican sun as Kenny paced in front of him. They were in an exquisite garden filled with all of Zebrica's most interesting flora. Holly slept a little ways off in the shade of a baobab tree. "I will summon a lesser spirit, and I want you to try and communicate with it." Kenny stopped moving and sat down right in front of Flash. He placed a single hand on the ground and muttered a few words. When he lifted his hand a small creature made up entirely of pebbles formed itself. It stood a couple inches high and the small pebbles of its body swirled around a larger pebble that encompassed the center of its mass. One solitary pebble at the top sported two glowing green eyes. "Hi, little guy!" Flash said with a smile. The pebble monster's eyes suddenly crossed in anger and its pebble body shook in anger. The spinning stones suddenly launched relentlessly at Flash. He covered his eyes as the whistling stones impacted painfully with his skin. He cried out in pain each time a stone hit an unarmored part of his body. Once the spirit had been satisfied with the beating it promptly disappeared into the ground. "Amateur mistake, you judged the spirit on its size," Kenny chided, "Just because it is small doesn't mean it likes being coddled. Spirits of the elements are prideful by nature, if you expect to get anywhere with them you have to appeal to their self-worth. Any manner of belittling them, now matter how harmless, will only get you in trouble." "Couldn't have told me that before it pelted me with rocks?" "Sorry, I'll keep that in mind." Kenny summoned a wind spirit, a small dust devil with yellow that glowed from the depths of the tiny cyclone. Flash nervously gulped before speaking, "Hi, uh, spirit?" He tentatively offered, unsure how to address the dust devil without pissing it off. Hello, young pegasus. Flash's eyes widened when he heard a deep masculine voice emanate from the creature. It just looked up at him, speaking not another word. Flash decided not to dwindle on how such a tiny creature could have such a deep voice. "What do I do now?" He whispered to Kenny. It is often considered rude to someone a spirit without reason. Flash quickly returned his focus to the dust devil before it sandblasted him or something. But I will forgive your transgression, seeing as you are still a novice in such matters. If you want to increase your power, I will need something in return. "Okay, so what do you want?" Usually I would ask that you give me a physical form in which I can experience this world, but the human has done so already. I am at a lost as to what I could want now. "Well, what if I kinda kept you around? I figure you can't be a dust devil forever, so what if I just brought you back whenever you wanted?" The spirit's yellow eyes widened at the suggestion. I like this offer. I accept, but now I am weary and will rest. Enjoy your new power, pegasus. The tiny spirit suddenly leaped into Flash, vanishing into his chest. "What just happened?" Flash meekly asked as he inspected the spot the wind spirit had penetrated him. He felt a surge of electricity flow through him from the spot, weak but noticeable. "Lucky bastard!" Kenny said, standing with a stupid grin on his face. "I didn't realize the spirits here were so neglected. Here let me see what you got." Kenny put a hand to Flash's head and closed his eyes. He stood there for a while and felt through Flash's spirit. "Weird," Kenny muttered. "What? Whats weird?" Flash hurriedly asked, there was a noticeable hint of hysteria in his voice. "There is way too much power here for a minor spirit to be able to grant." Kenny released Flash, opening his eyes and using them to instead fix Flash with a serious stare. "Either you've done this before, or you were born with some degree of magical power. I'm willing to bet the latter." "Really?" Flash said with awe. He raised his hooves to inspect them, as if they could hold the answer. "Either way, we should focus on training what you have now. Now, the wind is all about movement. It is constantly flowing and changing. It is flexible and carefree. In order to gain mastery of it you must become the wind. Do you feel that sense of anxiety? A desire, no, need to move? That is caused by the wind's presence within you. Let it go, let it encompass your being and enter your body." Flash breathed in deeply, closing his eyes. Pegasi had a natural need for movement, they were a much more physical and athletic breed than their unicorn and earth pony cousins. He grasped onto it and did the first thing that came to mind. Liftoff. When Flash opened his eyes he was hundreds of feet in the air, bordering on a thousand. If his memory served him, he had only flapped once. That one little action had awakened another feeling in him, however, a sense of urgency. He found himself asking why he had stopped. I don't know, He thought. Without another thought, he angled himself down and flapped again. This time he felt it. He felt his wings scoop the very air up into a compact ball and release it behind him. The force generated was far more than ever before. He shot like a bullet back to earth. When he felt himself near the ground he flapped once to slow down. He managed to just barely slow his descent enough to impact the ground without hurting anything. He stood on wobbly legs, his entire body flushed with adrenaline. He felt amazing, like he could take on a bear and a manticore. "That's weird..." Usually such a statement would terrify Flash, but he was to absorbed in his new abilities. "I wonder if the spirit intended for it to affect your flight so much." "Whatever! That spirit made me feel like a new colt! I bet I could fly to the ends of the Earth and back!" Kenny could tell he meant it too. He looked like he was about to try right then and there. "Let's not get too hasty now," Kenny said, laying a hand on Flash's shoulders. "I think that's enough for today, and I have a meeting soon. I would show you some movements to help you guide the magic through your body, but what I know doesn't translate well to quadrupeds. For now I want you to focus on finding more subtle ways of letting the magic out. Do it slowly and carefully. There are aspects of your power you have not touched, and the last thing I want to here is that you electrocuted yourself." Flash was suddenly much less enthusiastic. As a pegasus, he had been zapped by lightning a couple times. It was not fun. "While I agree with Twinga on the subject, I am sad to say that our time for today is up. We will continue tomorrow at six'o clock sharp, unless there are any objections?" The speaker was Kiongozi, elected king of Zebrica and leader of Neighgeria. He was also one of the three Zebra chiefs, each representing one of the separate tribes of zebras. Along with with the zebras, there were two giraffe tribes, four antelope tribes, and one hyena. The Zebra's were the most powerful of the tribes due to sheer size of Kiongozi's tribe, the Mwanariadha. Zebrica, it would seem, was very democratic. The chiefs made up a council of representatives and had decided early on that the weight of votes depended on a tribes population. This system had worked thus far, for while the Mwanariadha were the largest tribe, they were still a small fraction of the entire population of Zebrica. Luna was glad to see that Kenny was holding up in the first meeting. He had been confronted mostly by talk of tariffs on trade goods being exported to Equestria. Zebrica had experienced a particularly large harvest this year and found themselves with a surplus of produce. The Council agreed that the best option would be to sell the produce in Equestria, but the trip across the sea was dangerous for the less advanced Zebrican ships. Twinga, one of the giraffe chiefs, believed that a lowered tariff on Zebrican produce would convince Equestrian merchants to transport the goods themselves. She had been eager for an answer. Kenny had responded admirably. He neither accepted nor rejected Twinga's proposal, instead simply stating that he will speak with Celestia about upon his return. He made no promises beyond this one. Twinga had then asked if Luna could send a letter to Celestia directly for a quicker exchange. Luna had ascertained that she could not. Kenny then offered, since Twinga was eager to have a real answer, to consult the spirits on carrying a letter to Celestia on the trade winds. This had sparked a brand new conversation, concerning Kenny and his supposed alignment with Zebrica's own shamans, or as they were commonly called, Spirit Walkers. Twinga had just mentioned that on Kenny should travel across the expanse of Zebrica to learn from as manu others as possible, as well as spread his own techniques. "Now," Kiongzi began, "As per tradition, a feast will be held in celebration of our guests from both near." He gestured to the other chiefs who smiled in response, "And far." He pointed to Luna and Kenny. "So now let us go to the dining room." Everyone rose from their seats around the table and left the conference room. Luna and Kenny following behind the crowd. They traveled through the palace until they came to a large and extravagant room that contained a single long table with plenty of settings for those present along its length. Kiongzi took his place at the far end of the table and motioned for the others to join him. Once everyone was seated, Luna and Kenny were opposite eachother at the other end from Kiongzi, the wizened zebra clopped his hooves together. Servants filed out and carefully placed appetizers in front of everyone. The dish served was one that caused Luna's stomach to churn. On her plate, garnished wondrously with a red sauce, were three large caterpillars. It was at least cooked, as could be seen by the light amount of steam rising from the bug carcasses, but despite its enticing smell and that everyone else thanked Kiongzi for the appetizer choice she found her appetite stalled for a completely different reason. She looked up to find Kenny popping one into his mouth and chewing merrily. When he caught her look he whispered, "What? It's good." She gazed around the table to find everyone else was enjoying the dish. She stopped when she noticed that Kiongzi was staring at her with an unreadable look on his face. She nervously smiled back and returned her gaze to her food. She couldn't possibly refuse it, that would be an insult to her host. She willed herself to be strong and quickly levitated one into her mouth. Initially, all she could taste was the spicy red pepper sauce, but once she bit in a new flavor unlike anything she had tasted before washed over mouth from the juicy caterpillar. It was not horrific as she expected but she could list better things. Once she realized that she could actually stomach the bugs, she finished off the other two before a servant came and whisked the plate away. "Not too bad, huh?" She heard Kenny say from across the way. "No, it was much better than I expected. Still, I can't place the flavor though..." Kenny thought it wise to say he thought it tasted just like a chicken kebab. The next dish was an okra soup, a staple in this country. Then came the main course. It all came on covered platters. Luna's was a delicious looking plate of heavily spiced vegetables native to Zebrica served on a bed of wild rice. She looked up to see what Kenny got. She saw him drooling over a rack of ribs. Luna fainted.