Voodoo That Zebras Do

by Stratocaster


Warm Welcome

Chapter 2: Warm Welcome

Many years ago...

"Come on, Zecora! Do it again, do it again!" the young colt jumped excitedly.

"Oh okay, Zeru my friend," replied Zecora. "Now watch as I make this branch twist and bend!"

The filly added a dash of bitterroot to a small pot of dubious potion ingredients. The reaction caused the potion to churn and bubble as if it had suddenly become acidic, and it released a greenish plume of vapor into the air between the two zebra foals. Zecora then reached for a straight tree branch grabbing it in her mouth and held it over the bubbling pot. The magical scent caused the sturdy to bend and contort until it finally took on a recognizable shape. Zeru marveled at the branch that was now shaped like a bird.

"That is so amazing!" the colt beamed. "I wish I could make potions like that! You are so lucky, Zecora! You're going to be a master shaman someday!"

"It is really my mother who is the pro," shrugged Zecora. "But I am flattered that you think so."

"Hey Zecora!" called another filly amongst a group of foals walking by in the village. "We're all going to play down by the docks! Why don't you come with us?"

"I'll be right there!" replied Zecora. "Just let me clean up my wears! Zeru, will you come and join me at the docks? It is the perfect place to just throw rocks."

"Uh sorry, Zecora." Zeru frowned. "My father needs me home so I'm going to be busy." He scratched his mane anxiously. "But, um, can I still play with you tomorrow?"

Zecora reacted with surprise. Her friend had been asking her to play for the last four days. "I suppose I can spend another day with you." She said. "But why do you suddenly seem so blue?"

"Well, it's just that," said Zeru with a heavy sigh. "I've been meaning to tell you this. My father has been training me for a walkabout. It's when I have to go on this big journey around the world where I learn from different masters about fighting styles. It's a tradition for colts who are training to be village guardians, especially in my family. I'm supposed to leave in a few days."

"Is that what's wrong?" replied Zecora, concerned. "How long will you be gone?"

Zeru lowered his head sadly. "Probably several months. But my ancestors have done it for longer. It could even be a few years."

Zecora looked dejected. She almost couldn't bear the thought of her best friend being absent for years. "I do not want you to leave," she said, trying to act composed. "But family comes first. That's what I believe."

"I'm really sorry, Zecora." Zeru said. "I just wanted to spend as much time with you as possible before I leave. I don't know what will happen to me on this walkabout. I'm really scared. If I don't see you again then I-"

"No! We will see each other again!" said Zecora forcefully. "That is for sure, though I do not know when."

Zeru looked away. "It's just...I'm afraid you might not want to see me again. Like I said, this will probably take years. I'll understand if you'll have made new friends when I get back."

Despite the somber moment, Zecora clutched her friend in her hooves and hugged him tightly. "No matter where we both go, through and through," she said softly. "You will always be my friend, Zeru."

Zeru held her as well, holding back a tear. He then looked at her with a refreshed smile. "Will you be here when I get back?"

Zecora touched his cheek. "Without a doubt." She said. "I hope you have a good walkabout."

...

Present day...

"Uh welcome aboard, mares and gentlecolts. Uh this is your captain speaking, Captain Airscrew, yes that's my real name. Uh we're about to take off in a moment to our destination of Port-au-Prance. Uh we should experience some mild weather given the tropical climate. Uh feel free to ask for any refreshments. Keep your hooves to yourself, Flight Lieutenant. Uh we'll begin takeoff procedure so uh sit back and uh enjoy the flight."

Twilight, Rainbow, Zecora and Spike sat on the right side of the compact passenger airplane that sat ready on the Cloudsdale Airport tarmac. The engines of the old aircraft growled to life as the twin propellers on each wing spun with a mechanical sputter. As the plane vibrated from the engine noise, Twilight browsed the outdated travel magazine in the pocket of her seat, while behind her, Spike busied himself with a comic book and Rainbow fidgeted with her seatbelt. Zecora simply stared out of the window contemplatively next to Twilight.

"Urgh! Remind me again why we have to take this rickety bucket of bolts instead of a nice comfy zeppelin?" complained Rainbow.

"Because it's the only flight we can charter to Port-au-Prance." Twilight looked back. "Much of the country is still developing so not many ponies travel there. And as a result, not much is known about the zebra population there."

"I thought zebras came from Zebrafica." Spike scratched his head.

"That's true." Twilight happily explained. "But there were a number of zebra explorers who founded a small settlement in the islands of the Maribbean Sea. It was a bout three hundred years ago when-"

"Twilight please," grumbled Rainbow. "This is aggravating enough without a history lesson. Ugh, my stomach's already killing me just watching those propeller blades."

"Rainbow are you alright?" asked Twilight. "I thought you of all ponies wouldn't mind air travel."

"Yeah, when I'm the one doing the flying!" she glowered. "I hate airplanes! I haven't traveled on an aircraft since my parents took me to Discord World! I couldn't eat anything for a whole day!"

"They say that airsickness is all in the mind." Zecora said. "Try putting the thought of flying behind."

"Easy for you to say, Zecora." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Have you ever even flown before?"

"Not on a machine such as this, mind you," she shrugged nonchalantly. "But I am open to try anything new."

"Sir, I'll have to ask you to return to your seat," came the voice of one of the flight attendants. "We're about to take off."

Zecora glanced up toward the aisle. Looming near her row was a tall stallion with brownish tan fur dressed in a gray trench coat. Without a word, he passed the flight attendant, tilting his fedora forward to obscure much of his face. When he passed her row, Zecora could swear the pony gave her a knowing look from a narrowed eye with a noticeable scar running down across it. Zecora glanced away, pretending not to notice. As the stranger returned to his seat in the rear of the plane, Zecora became a bit tense as her thoughts returned to memories of her homeland and the mission facing her.

"I do hope that we land in Port-au-Prance soon." She spoke soberly. "The news of my mother's letter brings a sense of doom."

"It'll be alright, Zecora." Twilight looked at her reassuringly. "My friends and I have faced worse after all. And with your magic and your mother's combined, we'll be practically unstoppable."

"I trust you are correct, dear Twilight," sighed Zecora. "But let us just make it through this flight."

A sudden lurch in the fuselage indicated that the plane was beginning to roll down the runway. The engines picked up power as the aircraft's speed increased until it finally inclined and ascended toward the heavens.

"Oh jeez!" gagged Rainbow as she quickly grabbed a sick bag from her seat pocket and used it accordingly.

"Ah gross!" Spike reacted to her upchuck. "Twilight, switch with me!"

"Sorry, can't hear you!" Twilight replied as she donned a pair of earmuffs and settled down to sleep.

For the next couple hours, the airplane soared through the Equestrian skies on smooth winds, eventually crossing the southern coastline of the pony continent. All the while, Spike struggled to put up with Rainbow's airsickness. At one point he tried to treat her to an in-flight meal which only made her queasiness worse. Spike ended up holding her mane as she spewed in the plane's lavatory. Twilight remained asleep, having grown disinterested in the inaccuracy of the travel guides.
Meanwhile, Zecora stared out at the bright blue sky harking back to her foalhood in Port-au-Prance. Because her mother, Zaria, was a revered and beloved shaman in her home village, Zecora became the envy of many friends, whom she would often dazzle with exhibitions of the magic her mother taught her. Times were happy for her all those years ago.
Resting her head on the plane's wall, Zecora couldn't help feeling that if she had not been stung by the fear of Zaria practicing voodoo, she might have stayed in the mystical bayou her whole life. But now the thought of returning to those memories seemed impossible, and that of seeing her mother again seemed almost as frightening as the threat of voodoo itself. But Zecora knew that these thoughts would only be distracting, so she decided to put them aside as she grabbed the menacing hoof inches away from her neck.

"If you are going to kidnap me and do your worst," she said simply without looking directly at the assailant. "Then you should probably explain yourself first."

The scar-faced pony in the coat and fedora backed away from the seat as he procured a large knife, much to the gasping of some of the awake passengers. As the assassin stared a ghastly glare at her, Zecora leaped from her seat, careful not to disturb the still sleeping Princess of Friendship, and faced off against her foe in the cramped aisle. The scarred pony began to lunge repeatedly at her with his knife as the passengers screamed in terror. But Zecora utilized her heightened senses to swiftly dodge the crude attacks and plan a way of subduing the assailant. As always in dangerous situations like these, she relied on her cunning as destructive magic was beneath her.
Zecora reached for one of the pockets of her satchel. With a graceful flick, she threw a hoofful of magic green powder into the stallion's face that caused his vision to become blurry and wild. He stumbled where he stood as he forced his eyes to regain their composure. But as he faltered, Zecora spun the stallion around and prepared to pin him on his back in the hopes that somepony would help her incapacitate him soon. However he was not through yet.
The stallion exhibited greater physical strength and tossed Zecora off of his back, forcing her to leap away. With his vision returning, the assassin brought back his grizzly knife plus its twin in his other hoof. He gave a heave and tossed both knifes one at a time toward the zebra. Zecora knew she could catch one of the knives but that she would be endangering some of the passengers behind her if she dodged the other. In the split second as the stallion prepared his pitch, Zecora inhaled deeply as she prepared a handy spell.
As the twin knives came spinning towards her, she let loose a current of air infused with magic, powerful enough to blow the knives back away from her. The magical gust was also angled to cause the blades to spin upward and embed themselves in the luggage compartments up above. Thankfully no passengers were harmed, save for one disgruntled pony whose food was blown into his face. Zecora wobbled a bit in the aisle. Breath spells quickly drained a chunk of energy from the user and were often unpredictable.

"Looks like I underestimated you, witch doctor." The scarred stallion spoke with an intimidating grin. "But that's not to say you won't make it to Port-au-Prance alive!"

Zecora brought her breath back to regularity and responded. "How do you know me you cowardly fiend?!" she ordered. "Why attack somepony you've never seen?"

"It's best if you don't know, Zecora." With a throw of his hoof, the stallion opened the emergency door in the rear of the plane. Immediately air rushed out of the cabin and into the atmosphere. "I'll give your mother your regards!" With a wave, the stallion spread his wings and zoomed out of the hatch, but not before passing over the right wing of the plane.

The passengers screamed as the air was sucked out through the opened door, clinging onto their seats to keep themselves from hurdling away. Zecora stumbled to the floor as the plane was shaken by another harsh lurch. The noisy drone of the engines was suddenly diminished. Sure enough, the right propeller engine began to stall and stutter with one of its metal panels torn open. The entire aircraft suddenly listed slightly sideways, just as quickly as the emergency hatch was thrown open.

"Huh?! What?!" Twilight finally awoke and darted around. "What's happening?!"

The vacuum of air then pulled open the door to the lavatory, revealing Rainbow hanging by the toilet bowl and Spike grabbing onto her tail, in the gust. "I knew things would go bad quickly!" yelled Spike.

"Twilight! There has been damage done to the plane's wing!" Zecora shouted, stuck clinging to the leg of a seat. "You and Rainbow must do something!"

"Rainbow!" called Twilight. "Help me fix the engine outside!"

"Can't...move...too...sick...ulp!" Rainbow uttered, still dizzy from her nausea. The deprivation of oxygen did nothing to help her.

Twilight groaned at her incapacitated friend and took to the air herself. She could only fly long enough to exit the hatch and cling onto the wing, before she could be blown away by the aircraft's increasing velocity. The angle of the plane showed that it was already plummeting towards the ocean. With the wind battering her face, Twilight failed to clearly see the damaged engine with the sputtering propeller blade. But with a quick clairvoyance spell, she could see that the panel on top of the engine had been pried open. There was also a disconnected fuel line that was now waggling in the air. Carefully, Twilight summoned her magical aura to envelop the wounded engine. She used her telekinesis to bring the fuel line back into place and close the metal panel over it, sealing everything with a repair spell. Twilight hoped that her magic worked, along with what moderate knowledge she read about aircraft mechanics.
Miraculously, the engine roared back to life and the propeller sped up back to its spry blur. The plane immediately leveled out with the sight of ocean ripples just in view below. But the lurch back into place caused Twilight to slip off of her position hanging on the back of the wing. She yelped as she hurdled backwards toward a collision with the plane's tail wing. But before such a collision, Twilight was precisely caught by the hoof by Zecora standing in the hatchway. With a strained heave, she pulled Twilight back into the cabin and the young alicorn quickly closed the hatch with her magic. The two of them both lay on the cabin floor out of breath as the passengers cheered in relief.

"What the hay just happened?!" blurted Spike. "I leave for a minute and suddenly the plane is about to crash?! Why does this crap always happen to me?!"

"Zecora, that damage to the engine was caused by somepony, wasn't it?" Twilight asked as she sat up, shaking her head. "Did you see anypony on the wing?"

"It was caused by a pony with a scar on his eye." Zecora explained as she recovered as well. "And for some reason, he wanted me to die. He knew my name and possibly my mother too. He wanted to be rid of me, even by sacrificing all of you."

"Somepony attacked you and we haven't even reached Port-au-Prance yet?" replied Twilight. "This isn't good. It means that whoever is behind this voodoo scare obviously knows about us intervening. And they probably have others working for them."

"If my mother is in danger, then we must make haste." Zecora stood up. "We cannot let her warning go to waste."

"Agreed. The sooner we get to your village, the better." Twilight nodded.

"Oh man!" whined Rainbow, still kneeling to the porcelain shrine. "Now I feel sicker than ever! BLAGH!"

"Nice big help you were." Spike glowered at her.

"Uh we apologize for that, mares and gentlecolts. Uh we apparently just had a bit of turbulence back there. Uh we're about to make our descent into Port-au-Prance in about a half hour. Uh so please return your trays to their upright positions. Uh and sit back as we prepare to land. Lieutenant, I swear to Celestia, if you keep poking me I am going to crash this thing into the ocean."

...

After the long awaited landing, the airplane finally arrived in the alluring island country of Port-au-Prance. The flight took its passengers over miles of lush tropical jungle and flooded swampland, surrounded by a coast of pristine beaches with crystal blue waters. Near the center of the island, the plane landed in a small airfield that had been built in a forest clearing. Much of the passengers, who were mostly curious Equestrian tourists, exited the plane and went off on various safaris of the mystical zebra settlement. But four of them were there on more crucial business, to save said zebras from the spread of evil magic.

"Phew! Fresh air at last!" Rainbow breathed deep and stretched her wings as they stood by the tarmac. "Man all that puking really made me hungry. Please tell me your village has some good food, Zecora."

"The best, my dear Rainbow." Zecora smiled. "You have not lived until you try swamp fungus gumbo!"

"Uh, sounds...heavenly." Rainbow said hesitantly.

"How are we even gonna get to that village anyhow, Twi?" asked Spike.

"I contacted a guide while I was booking the plane tickets." Twilight explained. "He said he was a native of Zecora's village and that he knows his way around the swamps."

"It is best to be guided by a local face." Zecora added. "The Port-au-Prance wild can be a dangerous place."

"Well I hope he gets here soon." Rainbow said as she fanned herself with her hoof. "It's hotter than Celestia's sun in this place!"

"Maybe you'd like another plane ride home?" glowered Spike.

"No no, I'm good."

"He should be meeting us at the airfield." Twilight looked around. "I guess we'll know him when we see him."

"Are you Princess Twilight Sparkle?" came a low voice from behind her.

Twilight instantly got chills upon hearing the stranger. She turned around in surprise. "Oh! Hello!" she greeted awkwardly.

The voice came from a tall figure adorned in light black armor and a cloak that covered his back and head. "I received your letter. I will guide you through the swamps to my village."

"Oh! Uh, thank you very much!" smiled Twilight with relief as she extended her hoof. "It's a pleasure I'm sure."

Unknowingly ignoring Twilight's hoofshake, the cloaked zebra turned around and approached Zecora. The female zebra gazed up at the male one curiously, imagining the face beneath the dark hood. Before she could say anything, the guide unveiled himself and smiled pleasantly at her.

"I wanted to surprise you at the village," said Zeru. "But I just couldn't help myself."

An awkward silence continued as Zecora looked at the stallion questioningly. "I am sorry, have we met?" she asked, confused. "Forgive me for not introducing myself yet.

He chuckled. "No need. I guess my walkabout was longer than I thought."

Zecora's eyes suddenly bugged. She had been trying to make the connection to the strangers face, but she knew deep in her mind that it couldn't be. And yet, her heart knew that it definitely was. "Can it be true?" she gawked. "Is it you, Zeru?"

The stallion stared at his foalhood friend happily. Once a scrappy little colt, Zeru had grown into an impressive figure of a stallion. Years of training in multiple martial arts around the world had made him strong and muscular. His mane had been shaved with nothing left but a rattail, and the light armor of a village guardian proved that he had succeeded in his family's destiny. Zecora couldn't comprehend that this was the same playful colt she had befriended so many years ago, but she knew it indeed was. To her, he looked quite handsome.

"I missed you, Zecora." Zeru said warmly. "You look amazing."

Zecora stared in awe at her long lost friend a bit more. But she managed to shake off her gawk and return the welcoming smile. "You as well, my friend." She said simply, containing her giddiness. "It is great to see you again."

"I suppose we have some catching up to do." Zeru said as he turned away. "I'll take you all to the village now."

As the other three followed him, Zecora stayed where she stood for a moment. Deep down she was genuinely ecstatic to gaze upon her dear friend again after so long. And yet, she knew that it also brought her more heartache, remembering how she and Zeru parted ways. In a rare occasion, Zecora struggled to think of what to say.