Revenant

by Zimprus Nalune

Unknown

Eventually the edge of the Everfree Forest came into sight, looking significantly creepier than it had before. I slowly stopped running as I neared the forest, suddenly noting that the dirt path I was following was slowly beginning to fade away. While I could still see it clearly outside the forest, there was no telling how much it had been swept away in the forest.

I quickly glanced around, making sure noling was around to see me. Confident I was alone, and that my small flash wouldn't be seen, I shapeshifted back into my normal self, unable to prevent a small grin as the path before me became just a tiny bit sharper. I grinned, noting how being a changeling was just about better than being a pony in every way.

Shifting my saddlebags to be more comfortable, I headed into the forest.

***

For some reason, I found my second experience in the Everfree to be incredibly… boring. The natural appeal of the trees and wildlife had faded, and I almost wished that some pony would attack me, if only to break me away from the monotony of my walk. Past experience and a warning had led me to believe the Everfree was a bit more… exciting.

A sudden rustling from behind me caught my attention. I whirled around and readied my magic, letting out a hiss as a bush continued ruslting.

The shaking continued for a few moments before coming to an abrupt stop. I relaxed slightly, thinking that it had just been a few animals going at it. However, I wasn’t taking any chances, so I kept my gaze on the bush for a little while longer.

I squinted, trying to see what was inside the bush that had made it shake so much. I could see a pair of faint, almost imperceptible icy blue eyes staring at me. Eyes that I probably wouldn’t have been able to spot if I was a pony. I stared into the eyes and let out a low growl…

… Before a small grey unicorn filly walked out of the bush.

The two of us stared at one another, unblinking and immobile. What surprised me was how the filly just looked at me with a blank, emotionless expression, like I was just another pony and not an emotion-consuming monster.

Slowly, the filly turned and began walking back along the path I come in on. A part of me was slightly put off by her. The Everfree was a supposedly dangerous place, and here this filly was walking about like it was nothing. Deciding to just put it down to her living somewhere in the woods, I began to walk deeper into the woods.

Wait.

I had seen her somewhere before. She was… she was…

She was the filly from the posters.

I turned around and sprinted back towards the entrance to the forest. If I saved this filly, I could convince Twilight Sparkle that I wasn’t a changeling. At the moment, she was the only one who suspected me, but I didn’t need her whipping the town into a frenzy.

After a few seconds, it occurred to me that I would have passed the filly a ways back. I slowed to stop and looked around, but the unicorn was nowhere to be found.

Where did she go?

I frowned, partially because an opportunity had been lost, but mostly because I found it strange that a filly moving that slowly could disappear without a trace.

Turning, I continued along the path towards my destination: Zecora’s hut.

***

“Who is this I see?” She asked, seemingly to herself. “And what is it you want from me?”

I gave her a small bow and smiled. “Night Wing. I take it you are Zecora?”

The zebra nodded. “That is my name indeed. Now what is it you need?”

I levitated the letter out of my saddlebag and presented it to her. “This is from Big Macintosh, at Sweet Apple Acres.”

Zecora’s eye lit up. “Ah, a courier you are? From the Acres, that is far.”

I shrugged. “Not really. Just a bit of a run.” The zebra chuckled and moved back into her hut, gesturing for me to come inside.

“Please, do come inside. Let me show you this abode of mine.”

I walked in at Zecora’s invitation, and she shut the door behind me.

The interior of Zecora’s hut was very similar to what I thought it would be. It was clearly carved out of the tree, to the point where the walls must have been rather thin. Various tables were pressed up against the walls, littered with all kinds of plants and specimens. Various masks hung from the walls, no two looking the same. In the middle of the hut was a large, black… pot-thing. It was simmering, and a column of white smoke rose through a hole in the roof, up through the tree and out of sight.

“Night Wing, that is your name?” Zecora asked as she walked over to and stood by the pot. I nodded in response. “I am quite glad you came.”

“Something wrong?” I asked, cocking my head.

“You are an alicorn, yes? I had hoped Macintosh would not send any but the best.”

I raised an eyebrow. “This has to do with the whole ‘disappearing pony’ thing, doesn’t it?”

Zecora looked surprised, and I smirked before continuing.

“Not to be rude or anything, but I should probably get back to Sweet Apple Acres soon.” I tossed the letter to her, and she successfully caught it in her mouth. “So if you don’t mind?”

“Of course, I understand your haste,” she said, somehow managing to speak clearly around the letter in her mouth. “Now the first thing: a paste…” Zecora turned and headed deeper into her hut, going through a wall of hanging beads and out of sight, leaving me alone.

I quickly became bored and started pacing around the room, eyes glued to floor. Eventually I let out a groan and looked around the hut for something to entertain myself.

A few of the masks suddenly caught my eye, distracting me from my wait. I walked over to one that hung on the wall above one of the windows. Its carved-out eyes stared at the opposite end of the room, a huge, empty smiling mouth gave it an appearance of humor, yet there was a serious element about it. The sole color present was a bright green, not too far off from the color of my magic.

Miru…

Again, that female voice came from nowhere. A throb of discomfort accompanied it, and I gritted my teeth. That voice was starting to get on my nerves.

I turned away from the mask and focused my attention on the table below the same window. It was littered with all kinds animal parts, most looking like they were being used as a part of one concoction or another. A few bones that had been carved into tools laid here and there, a few green scales were floating inside a vat of what seemed like honey, and a pile of long red feathers smoked incessantly.

The thing that really grabbed my attention, however, wasn’t a piece or fragment of an animal. Instead, it was a long, snake-like creature, with several oddities. Its coloring was a fire-like red near the head, fading to orange at the center, before continuing on to yellow at the end of its body. The head was split into four sections, the entirety of it operating as mandibles, made clear by the row of teeth in each. Two bright yellow eyes were on the top two mandibles, and might have appeared frightening if the creature had been alive. And to top it all off, a row of several spines ran from the neck of the creature along its back to about two-thirds the way down its body.

Kraata…

With a sharp growl, I turned away from the snake-thing. I didn’t know what had me so fixated on it, but all it had brought me was the voice once more, and another bout of headache. I quickly glanced at the wall of beads to see if Zecora had returned yet, but it seemed she was still busy with whatever.

I refocused on the large black pot-like object that I had seen when I had first entered Zecora’s hut. I stared at it like I had the sna… Kraata, drinking in every detail. The name was on the tip of my tongue, and it was slightly angering how I couldn’t place it. I closed my eyes and frowned, a name slowly coming to me the more I strained to know it.

It was a… a… a cau-

Suddenly, my train of thought was blown apart by burst of pain that was only rivaled by my waking up that morning. I let out a short scream as I grabbed my head as the feeling of multiple polearms being run through my head assaulted me for, thankfully, only a few seconds.

As the pain receded, a hot but nowhere near as painful wave of heat rolled over my body, from the tip of my horn to end of my tail. It was accompanied by a feeling of complete disorientation. I slowly stood up, stumbling but somehow not bumping into anything. My vision was hazy and unfocused, and my groans were almost inaudible.

A muffled voice rang through the hut, drawing my attention to the back of the room. I saw a white blur coming out from the wall of the hut, slightly spotted with grey. As my vision refocused, I saw that it was Zecora, a shocked expression on her face. Her jaw dropped as we made eye contact, sending a bag of blue liquid falling to the floor.

“-geling!” She shouted, her voice coming into focus mid-yell, which meant I had no idea what she was saying. I thought it sounded like ‘changeling’…

Oh no.

I looked down at myself, confirming my fears. The migraine from left field and the accompanying wave of heat had stripped me of my disguise. I looked back up to see that Zecora had dashed back into the depths of her hut, likely to get something to fight me with.

I quickly dashed around the still-unnamed pot, grabbing the bag of blue liquid in my mouth before stuffing it in my saddlebag and sprinting out the door. Once I was out of sight of Zecora’s hut, I shapeshifted back into Night Wing, hoping that some of my cover could be saved.

I ran through the Everfree Forest, back along the path that I had followed previously. My sole focus was getting back to Sweet Apple Acres in hopes that I could salvage something of this day, which was turning out to be a disaster.

I quickly glanced behind me to see if Zecora had given chase. Instead of a zebra, however, a wall of white crashed into me, sending me sprawling in the dirt. I grunted as I hit the ground, rolling on my side before springing back up to all four hooves.

I let out a low growl as I searched the area around me for my attacker. Irritatingly, there was no trace of them. There was nothing but trees and foliage for as far as I could see. How could I miss something so glaringly obvious as white in a forest?

I frowned as I dusted myself off and continued on my way back to Sweet Apple Acres, this time a slower. Big Macintosh was right, something was odd about the woods, and I didn’t want to be caught unawares again.

***

By the time I reached the edge of the woods, the sun was setting beyond the horizon, giving the clouds a pink tinge as they floated across the sky and the sky an orange glow. I decided that I should fly to Sweet Apple Acres in order to get back to Pyrite’s house before it got dark. I took off and flew to the Acres, landing in front of the barn just as Big Macintosh was heading inside.

He turned as he heard me land, and I levitated the bag of blue liquid Zecora had prepared out of my saddlebag and onto his back. “There you are, one bag of whatever.”

Big Macintosh nodded and took a hooful of bits from his yoke, offering them to me. “Mighty thanks, Naght Wing,” he said. “Here’s a little somethin’ fer yer troubles. Yer done fer th’ day.”

I levitated the bits into my saddlebag. “No problem. When should I be here tomorrow?”

“Nice an’ early. We like ta get things done all day.”

I nodded and bid Big Macintosh farewell before leaping back into the air and heading back to Ponyville. Hopefully, I would be able to snack on some love before I went to sleep. This day could have gone a lot better, and I wanted to put it behind me…

---

Whew! About damn time I finished with this!

Hey everyling, Zimprus here with exciting news: now that revisions are done, I can work on furthering the actual story! Whoo-hoo!

...

What, no cheers? Jeez, tough crowd.

On the other hoof, school has started for me, so I may or may not be updating in the near future. I will try my best, but no promises.

Keep on writin', my friends!

Comments

[Zephyrus Scary]

Hmm... I'm not too... sure about this development. If it was me, I'd be more worried about Zecora going about warning everypony I was a Changeling more than being worried about getting that package to Big McIntosh. It's certainly not a pleasant thought, but I'd confront Zecora and make sure she wasn't going to unmask me, whether I had to do it by force or coercion.

So, unless he invents some alibi, this is not going to go well at all...

[nobodyreallyimportant]

powerword: cauldron.
i guess he will have some nightmares tonight after he leeches off of pyrite