• Published 28th May 2016
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Hùndùn - LoZLttP13



A powerful young Sorceress, her faithful apprentice, and her five new friends are tasked with preventing the return of the all-powerful God of Chaos.

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I-XV. Zecora

"Alright. Do you have three quills?"

"Check."

"Two inkwells?"

"Check."

"Eight sheets of parchment?"

"Check."

"Your notes on your Spellcasting studies and your outlines for next year's Alchemy studies?"

"Check and check."

Twilight grinned. "Good work, Spike. You really did come prepared."

Spike smiled back at his mentor as Twilight handed him a small stack of papers. "Here's your midsummer test," Twilight said. "Like I promised, if you can get ninety-five percent of the questions correct, I'll get you a bag of chocolates and a cupcake at the Sugar Shack. Get all of them correct, and I'll get you the bag of chocolates and a whole cake."

Spike nodded as he took the test. "Thanks, Twilight! You're the best!" he said.

Twilight nodded at the plushest armchair in the library and said, "I'm going to be reading until you're finished. It should only take a couple hours. Good luck, Spike!"

And with that, Twilight strode to the armchair, where a thick hardback book rested. She picked up the book, curled up on the chair, and began reading; Spike saw from the title on its cover that it was The Complete Poems and Plays of Ellen Nevermore.

Spike made a small laugh. Of course Twilight would be reading that; Ellen Nevermore's plays were her go-to reading material for occupying any of her long waiting periods, from train rides to medical appointments to waiting for something to finish baking. The volume was over a thousand pages long, so even a reader as fast as Twilight could easily kill several hours with it.

Spike took a deep breath, sat at the writing-desk, and began twisting the lid off one of his inkwells. Twilight had promised him a whole cake if he could get every single question on this test correct, so he was absolutely determined to do so. The only thing Spike thought could have motivated him to get nothing wrong on the test even more was if Twilight had promised to let him watch her bathe as the reward.

Spike read the top question of the first page: "What are the names, atomic numbers, and atomic weights of all the known elements?"

Spike smiled. This would be easy; thanks to Twilight's excellent teaching, he knew the Periodic Table by heart. He scribbled on the top sheet of his blank parchment, "Atomic number one: hydrogen; weight: one point zero zero eight. Atomic number two: helium; weight: four point zero zero three...."

Spike soon fell into a trancelike focus as he continued to write the entirety of the periodic table.

While Spike worked, Twilight read one of Nevermore's most famous plays, Silent Scream. She always thoroughly enjoyed the chills that ran through her body as she read the story of a young, troubled Angel who ventured into a disconcerting abandoned town in search of her dead boyfriend. Praised by scholars as one of the most original, unsettling, and beautiful literary works ever written, it was also widely adored by the Role-Playing Gaming community for being one of Gaben Bellevue's primary inspirations for Steam; its hopelessness and the famous twist that the mechanical, steam-powered town was sentient and was itself the monster of the story were widely credited as instrumental in Gaben Bellevue's crafting of his game's world.

Twilight had finished the iconic play and was in the middle of one of Nevermore's more lengthy poems when she heard Spike loudly clack his pen against the desk as he cried, "I'm done!"

Twilight looked up, then turned to their clock. It was about eleven o'clock. So Spike had taken a few hours.

Closing her book and sitting up, Twilight walked to Spike, who was grinning at her. "Good work, Spike," she said. She held her hand out to him, which he placed his answer sheets in.

Twilight scanned down each of the sheets, carefully ensuring that each of them was correct. After about fifteen minutes, she finished her evaluation of the final answer and nodded in approval. "Great job, Spike!" she said cheerfully, turning to him. "You got every one of them right."

"Yes!" Spike cried, pumping his fist.

As Spike stood up, Twilight asked, "So, what kind of cake do you think you'd like?"

"Ice and sea, probably," Spike replied.

Twilight sighed with a small smile as she rolled her eyes. "Of course," she said.

Spike shrugged. "What can I say? There's nothing like rock candy."

"Remember, though, Spike: it's going to be a small cake."

"Fine, whatever," Spike replied, waving his hand dismissively.

Twilight put her play collection away, then she and Spike exited the library and made their way to Avalon's town square.

However, as they were striding down Avalon's streets, Twilight and Spike were struck by how quiet it was. After a few minutes, they began to look around, and they saw that nobody else seemed to be out.

"That's odd," Twilight said. "Avalon's usually really busy now."

"Maybe everyone's on some kind of holiday?" Spike suggested.

Twilight's brow furrowed as she continued looking around for some sign of any other Beings. Spike said, "Is there any celebration going on today?"

"Not that I know of," Twilight replied.

After a few moments, Spike said, "Maybe the zombie apocalypse has begun, so the zombies ate everyone and we're the only survivors."

"There's no such thing as zombies," Twilight said flatly.

"I was joking, Twilight."

Twilight rolled her eyes again, but she began to feel slightly uneasy; after all, why would all of her neighbors just suddenly disappear like this?

Soon enough, they reached town square, which was just as eerily silent and empty as the rest of the streets had been. Twilight and Spike stepped up to the front door of Sugar Cube Corner, where Twilight sharply knocked upon it. "Hello?" she called. "Is anyone there?"

There was a frightened squeak, then Twilight saw a pair of blue eyes beneath a head of curly pink hair peek up over the window's edge at her. Pinkie's eyes widened as she whispered, "Twilight!"

Pinkie opened the door, then gestured for Spike and Twilight to enter, anxiously hissing "Come in! Hurry!" as she did so.

Growing a little worried themselves, Spike and Twilight quickly entered the shop as Pinkie closed the door behind them. Once the door was closed and locked again, Pinkie whispered, "Come with me," as she walked towards the glass front counter, gesturing for Spike and Twilight to follow.

Pinkie led them behind the counter, where they found Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Apple Bloom crouching fearfully under it. Applejack sighed as she said, "Thank Celestia you two are safe!"

"What's going on?" Twilight asked worriedly.

The girls all hissed, "Shh!" and motioned for Twilight and Spike to crouch beside them. After they did so, Twilight repeated more quietly, "What's going on? Why are you all hiding behind the counter?"

"She's out there!" Fluttershy squeaked, scrunching her eyes closed and trembling with terror.

"Who?" said Twilight.

"Zecora!" Apple Bloom whispered.

Applejack glared at her sister and hissed, "Hush, Apple Bloom! Ah told you never to say that name!"

"'Zecora'...?" Twilight said, raising a brow in puzzlement. "Who's she?"

"She's an Elf that lives in the Everfree Forest!" Rainbow whispered.

"What's wrong with her?" Twilight asked.

The other girls gaped astonishedly at her. "What's wrong with her?" Rainbow said. "I just told you, Twilight: she lives in the Everfree Forest!"

Twilight raised a brow again. "So?" she said.

"Ain't nobody should live in the Everfree Forest!" Applejack said. "That place ain't natural! Ah got the heebie-jeebies real bad just by bein' in there!"

Twilight was getting more confused every second. "That's it?" she said. "You're scared of her because she lives in the Everfree Forest?"

"It's not just that!" Rainbow said. "She also has these creepy white fake Marks on her arms, her hair is really weird, and they say she does nothing but brew potions over a cauldron all day!"

After a moment of wide-eyed surprise, Twilight sighed with exasperation. "Oh, please," she muttered, standing up. "Honestly...."

"What are you doing, Twilight?!" Pinkie said. "Come back down here!"

Twilight didn't answer her; instead, she walked to the window, where she peered outside. She heard her friends continue to whisper, "Don't, Twilight! She'll see you!" but she remained there, watching for this Elf woman they were hiding from.

After a few minutes, Twilight saw a figure step into view. A rough-spun brown hood shielded her face and most of her body from view, but Twilight could see a pair of long legs and bare feet emerging from under the cloak as she walked.

The legs and feet were a very deep brown, reminding Twilight of dark chocolate. Twilight also saw a pair of golden anklets around the figure's right ankle. After a few moments, the figure stopped and removed her hood. Twilight could see intricate, white rings of tattoos around her arms, and when her head was exposed Twilight could see that it was completely shaved except for a mohawk, which was striped black and white like a zebra's mane.

The hooded woman began speaking, and Twilight saw from her body language that she seemed to be calling to see if anyone was there. Just before the woman turned to face Twilight, however, Twilight suddenly felt her wrists get grabbed as she was roughly pulled back to the counter. "H-hey!" she cried, but her captor didn't release her until they were again huddled beneath the glass counter.

"What were you doing, Twilight?!" said Pinkie, who was the one that had brought Twilight back. "She might've seen you!"

Twilight folded her arms and frowned. "What's wrong with that?" she asked flatly.

"What's wrong with that?!" Rarity cried. "Why, she could've done something to you, Twilight!"

Twilight sighed. "I don't think Zecora's planning on doing anything to anyone," she said. "She looks like a completely ordinary Everfree to me."

The other girls' eyes all widened in surprise. "An Everfree?" they asked.

Twilight nodded. "Yes. She's just an Elf from the Everfree Kingdom, that's all."

Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "Then why does she stir a boiling cauldron all day long?!"

"Because she's an Alchemist," Twilight replied. "Lots of Everfree practice Alchemy. After all, their Prince is Sekhmet, the God of Medicine."

"She's an Alchemist?" Rarity asked. "But she isn't using any instruments or burners or-"

"Everfree don't use the instruments Equestrians use," Twilight interrupted her. "We study the Athenian school of Alchemy, which uses burners and retorts and beakers. In the Everfree school of Alchemy, they use ancient tools, such as cauldrons and mortars and pestles, and measure ingredients with their hands."

"What about those creepy Marks around her arms?!" Pinkie cried.

Twilight answered exasperatedly, "Those aren't Marks; those are tattoos. They're artificial markings made by piercing your skin with ink. They're traditional in Everfree culture."

"What are those garish things for?!" Rarity asked. "To mutilate your own skin like that...!"

"They're Ritual Circles," Twilight said, growing steadily more annoyed every second. "Everfree Elves tattoo the Circles they frequently use onto their arms so that they don't have to redraw them over and over again."

"What were Zecora's tattoos for, then?" Rarity asked.

Twilight opened her mouth as if to reply, but she was silent as she realized that she didn't know what the Circles tattooed around Zecora's arms were for. "I... don't know," she said, looking down. "The characters and designs were Everfree, and all I know is East Dragon Imperial and Elvish...."

"So she could be a witch!" Rainbow said, frowning angrily. "I bet those Circles are for blowing people's heads up!"

Twilight frowned at the word Rainbow had just used to describe Zecora, as "witch" was often used as a derogatory racial slur for Elves. Before she could reply, however, Fluttershy tremblingly whispered, "Or... maybe they're for brewing poisons!"

Pinkie piped up, "Yeah! I even wrote a song about it!"

Rainbow sighed, "Here we go...."

Pinkie nervously danced as she sang,

"She's an evil enCHANTRESS!
She does evil DANCES!
And if you look deep in her EYES,
She'll put you in TRANCES!
Then what will she DO?
She'll mix up an evil BREW
And she'll gobble you UP
In a big, tasty STEW
So, WATCH OUT!!"

Upon completing her song, Pinkie held her hands high up in the air, curling her fingers like claws, and breathed so heavily that Spike and the other girls could see her ribs through her shirt. After a few silent moments, Twilight said, "Wow, catchy."

"It's a work in progress," Pinkie replied, grinning.

"But, girls," Twilight said, "have you actually seen Zecora do anything bad?"

"Yeah!" Rainbow said. "About once a month, she comes into Avalon and lurks around the streets! Then, she shouts something really weird-sounding, knocks on some people's doors, then leaves without another word!"

Twilight rolled her eyes exasperatedly, then sarcastically moaned, "Ooh, terrifying!"

After groaning into her hand, Twilight said, "Girls, have you considered that Zecora might be just walking through the streets, lurk-free, to do some shopping?"

"Yeah!" Apple Bloom agreed, standing up. "Maybe she's just tryin' to be neighborly!"

"Hush now, Apple Bloom!" Applejack scolded her, gently pushing her towards the stairs. "Go play somewhere else while the big girls talk!"

Apple Bloom glared towards her sister as she muttered, "Ah am a big girl. Ah'm not a baby anymore...."

Applejack said to Twilight, "Somethin' just don't feel right about Zecora! Ah can feel it in my bones!"

"Well, I think that if someone were brave enough to actually talk to Zecora," Twilight replied, glaring at Applejack, "I bet she'd see that Zecora's not evil at all!"

As Applejack began to shoot a counterargument at Twilight, Apple Bloom softly smiled as she whispered to herself, "Yeah! Ah'll go talk to her!" She then quietly crept to the front door, opened it, and silently walked into the town square.

Zecora was still there, knocking on someone's door. She didn't see Apple Bloom, who spied on her as she hid behind a barrel that stood near the Sugar Shack. When nobody answered her, Zecora stepped back down to the street and began walking westward, towards the Everfree Forest. Trembling slightly, Apple Bloom swallowed and quietly followed after her.

Twilight was still loudly arguing with Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow as Pinkie Pie continued to dance around them and sing, "... And she'll gobble you UP in a big, tasty STEW! With the DANCES! And the TRANCES!"

In the meantime, Spike was leaning against the counter, crunching on a chunk of cherry-flavored rock candy. He turned to where Apple Bloom had been standing and began to comment, "Pretty ridiculous, huh-?" However, upon seeing that Apple Bloom had disappeared, Spike turned and said, "Hey, girls!"

Twilight, who had been shouting at Applejack, immediately glared towards Spike and sharply asked, "What?!"

"Where did Apple Bloom go?" Spike said.

The girls all immediately fell silent, then began looking around themselves as Applejack fearfully cried out, "Apple Bloom?! Where are ya, Sis?!"

Rarity looked at the still-open front door, then covered her mouth and gasped, "Oh no!" The others immediately turned to the door, as well as she pointed at it and cried, "Apple Bloom's gone after her!"

Applejack's eyes widened enormously with panic. "No! No!" she cried, pushing past her friends to get through the door.

After looking at each other for a moment, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie began running after Apple Bloom, as well. Twilight turned and said to Spike, "Stay here in case Apple Bloom comes back, okay, Spike?"

Spike nodded. "I will, Twilight," he said.

With a small, grateful smile, Twilight ran out after her friends.

It wasn't difficult for Apple Bloom to remain undetected as she followed Zecora to the Everfree Forest. She maintained a fair distance from Zecora, hiding behind alleys and crates to keep out of her sight. In only a few minutes, they reached where the road ended and became a dirt path winding into the dense, dark edge of the forest. Zecora leisurely strolled into the trees, but Apple Bloom hesitated before doing the same. She gazed fearfully at the shadowy darkness under the forest's trees for a few moments, remembering how many hundreds of thousands of times that her brother, sister, and grandmother had cautioned her against ever entering it. Some of the scariest stories she'd ever heard were about this vast, mysterious wood. She'd heard that there were ghosts and zombies here.

However, Apple Bloom shook her head and peered forward determinedly. She took a deep breath, then stepped into the forest after Zecora.

For the first few meters, Apple Bloom thought it wasn't so bad; after all, the trees were quite pretty, and she could hear birds and squirrels chittering in the leaves above her. She smiled as she gazed around. However, something felt a little... odd about it. As though something were just slightly out of place. Apple Bloom couldn't place what it was, but it left her a little unsettled.

Taking another deep breath, Apple Bloom kept pressing forward. That strange, out-of-place feeling grew little by little as she continued advancing through the trees. She kept to the path, though she found herself hoping that it wouldn't mysteriously disappear from beneath her feet.

It grew steadily darker, and Apple Bloom began to squint as she continued navigating and trying to make out what laid before her. Darker, and darker still, the sunlight grew ever dimmer as Apple Bloom's apprehension swelled....

Suddenly, Apple Bloom thought she caught a glimpse of something in the corner of her eye. Her eyes widened as she turned her head. She could've sworn that she just saw a blonde girl in a white dress who looked just a little older than her behind one of the trees.

However, there was no one there.

Shivering, Apple Bloom continued walking forward.

Apple Bloom kept to the path, hoping that it would lead to somewhere less frightening than here. She gradually began to regret ever coming here, and wished that she'd listened to Applejack and stayed out of the forest. Just as the tension within her came to a peak, however, Apple Bloom saw a faint glow. Her eyes widened as she turned to it, and she saw the hooded figure of Zecora walking to what seemed to be light emerging from a window.

"H-hey...!" Apple Bloom called out, to which Zecora stopped.

"Z-Zecora...?" Apple Bloom called, stepping slowly towards her.

Zecora turned around, and Apple Bloom could see that she was frowning. However, the rest of her face and body were hidden by her cloak.

"What are you doing here?" Zecora asked, her voice carrying a heavy, distinctive accent.

"Ah... Ah wanted to meet you, Zecora," Apple Bloom replied, a wide smile on her face.

Zecora was silent.

Apple Bloom's smile slowly faded as she quietly asked, "Z-Zecora?"

"Coming here was a mistake," Zecora said. She stepped towards Apple Bloom, who took a step back and began wondering if she should run.

However, as Zecora began to reach an arm out towards her, Apple Bloom suddenly heard Applejack's voice call out from behind her, "Apple Bloom! Where are ya, Sis?!"

Apple Bloom smiled relievedly as she turned around. She called back, "Ah... Ah'm here, Sis!"

"Apple Bloom!" Apple Bloom heard her sister call out again, and a few seconds later she saw Applejack step out from between some low-hanging willow branches.

There was only a patch of blue-leafed plants and some small boulders standing between them, so Apple Bloom began to run towards Applejack, whose friends began to emerge from behind her, as well. Apple Bloom cried, "Appleja-!" but stopped short when she felt someone grab her arm.

Apple Bloom turned and saw that it was Zecora who had grabbed her, and that she was holding her back.

"You get yer hands off of mah sister!" Applejack snarled, leaning in a sprint towards them.

"No!" Zecora cried, holding her hand up. "Stop!"

Applejack did, skidding to a halt just before the patch of blue leaves. Her five friends soon came to her side and looked fearfully at Zecora, as well.

"Do not come any closer!" Zecora cried. "I warn you, a great danger will fall upon you if you come any closer!"

Applejack's face twisted in rage as she stepped forward and growled, "If you do anythin' to my sister, Ah swear Ah'll-"

"No, stop!" Zecora cried, pulling Apple Bloom away.

Apple Bloom let out a small cry of pain as Zecora tugged her arm back, prompting Applejack and her friends to run towards Zecora through the blue leaf patch.

They all came to a shocked stop, however, as Zecora let out a furious scream. She held her hand up as she shouted something in a foreign language none of them understood, then said in East Dragon Imperial, "Fools! What you've done is most unwise!" She shouted something else in her native language, then said, "Stay there! I must get something for you!" before releasing Apple Bloom and running towards her house.

After a moment of stunned silence, Applejack's angry frown returned as she jogged to Apple Bloom's side as she cried, "Well- ya'll- ya'll can just keep your creepy curses to yourself, Zecora!"

Rainbow loudly voiced her agreement as Twilight stepped out of the patch, as well, and confusedly said, "Curses?"

"Yeah!" Rainbow said, running up to their side, as well. "Zecora was just trying to curse us!"

Twilight frustratedly groaned before saying, "Are you kidding me? You two actually believe in curses?!"

"And you don't?!" Rainbow cried. "Yeah, that's rich, comin' from Miss Magic-Pants herself!"

Twilight frowned at Rainbow. "Curses are superstitious nonsense," she said. "It's not real Magic. Magic, true Magic, comes from within. It's a power you're born with; it's the energy from your soul. It can only be fashioned into substances or energies; nothing more. Curses are just something Beings came up with to explain how things like droughts and diseases happened before we had science to explain them."

Applejack scoffed. "Oh yeah, Twilight?" she said. "So what was Zecora shoutin' at us just now?"

Twilight groaned, then angrily replied, "I don't know, but I do know that it wasn't a curse! There's. No. Such. Thing. As. Curses!!"

Applejack huffed contemptuously. "Ah don't care what ya'll say," she replied. "We Apples have seen curses, and we know they're real! And Ah know that Zecora just put one on us!"

"Yeah!" Pinkie cried. "Because she's an evil enCHANTRESS! With the DANCES! And the TRANCES!"

Twilight roared with frustration before shouting, "I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK! NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU BELIEVE IN THEM, THE FACT IS THAT CURSES DON'T EXIST!"

After panting heavily for a moment, Twilight muttered, "They. Are. Just. Stories. They. Are. Not. True."

Applejack sniffed. "Just you wait, Twilight," she said. "You'll see that some stories really are true."

She then grabbed Apple Bloom's arm and began walking back down the path, saying, "C'mon, missy. You're in a heap o' trouble."

Apple Bloom groaned, "C'mon, Applejack!"

"Hush, Apple Bloom," Applejack muttered. "Just you wait till Ah tell Granny about this."

Apple Bloom struggled to escape Applejack's grip as she protested, "Please, don't tell Granny!"

As Apple Bloom continued to struggle against Applejack, the other girls looked at Twilight for a moment, then began walking after them. After standing quietly for a few moments, Twilight sighed wearily and began following them, as well.