Past Actions, Future Consequences

by Rill

Ch.4 A New World - Part 1

On Tranquility’s main deck, chaos reigned. Across the deck, most of the crew ran about as they attempted to control the flames slowly engulfing their ship. High Tide leaped back, barely avoiding the fore boom as the large piece of wood crashed onto the deck. A quick glance confirmed what he heard as the fore sail flapped in the breeze, now free of the boom that had been holding it taught. As it flapped, the inflamed sheet of canvas slowly set more parts of the Tranquility on fire as it sent drops of fire spraying across the deck. Above him, the second officer heard a pony shout. Looking up, he watched the ship’s navigator drop like a hawk toward the sea below. A heartbeat before he would plow headfirst into the Great Ocean, the pegasus pulled up, barely missing High Tide’s head as he tore through the smoke filled air. Without slowing down, the young stallion pulled the hardest turn the officer had ever seen around the Tranquility’s fore mast. Ahead of the navigator, an earth pony abandoned her position as the flames around her closed in. Screaming in terror, the mare threw herself off the side of the ship as flames licked at her hooves. Before she could hit the water, Star Chart pounced on the mare, throwing his legs around her as he grabbed her before she could hit the water.

Coming back to reality, High Tide waited until the mare was back on board before returning to the situation before him. Staring at the burning sheet of canvas, the unicorn’s horn glowed as his magic grabbed the sail and pulled it taut while shouting to the pony behind him. Overhead, a group of pegasi flew by, throwing buckets of water onto the sail to little effect, as the water only seemed to spread the flames.

Jumping at the sound of her name being shouted, Spring Rain looked at the second mate for a moment, her mind barely registering what he yelled as it tried to deal with the chaos around her. It took her a few precious moments before she comprehended what he was yelling at her. Nodding mutely, she focused on the sail above them. Channeling energy to her horn, the mare forced the magic into the form of a hook shaped blade. Without hesitation, she set the magical blade against the far end of the sail and pulled, cutting the canvas sheet in half. Before it could hit the deck, High Tide redirected his magic, sending the burning piece of sail overboard.

Backing up a step, High Tide jumped as he stepped on something soft that cried out. Whipping his head around, the officer saw a younger earth pony stallion curled up on the deck, his eyes clearly focused on something else as he shivered uncontrollably. High Tide stared at the pony before him, his mind blank for several moments before he remembered the young stallion’s name. The second mate shook his head, not wanting to believe that the name belonged to this pony. This couldn’t be the same stallion that had helped defend the ship from a band of gryphon pirates a year earlier. Taking a closer look, the older stallion groaned as he realized that it was the same earth pony who had bucked one of the pirates so hard in the face that the gryphon was sent crashing into the ocean after flying over both the Tranquility and the attacking ship. Feeling his opinion of the younger pony sinking, the yellow and black stallion looked over at the mare next to him. Swearing like the veteran sailor he was, High Tide grabbed the mare, slapping her across the face with a hoof.

Sputtering in shock, the unicorn mare shook her head before glaring at the stallion, “What the fuck was that for!”

“How else was I supposed to get your attention, by kissing you?!” Ignoring the look of absolute disgust that crossed her face, the stallion took a final look at the pony curled up at his hooves. “Look, if you want curl up like a foal and piss yourself in fear like him” the officer gestured to the younger pony below him “do it on your own time! Right now I need you here, and if I have to slap you, I will!”

Rain wanted to punch the older stallion in the face but didn’t. As much as she would enjoy it, she knew he was right, no matter how much she hated admitting it. Instead, she turned to face the older pony. “So you got a plan?”

The second mate looked at her, his glare telling her everything he thought about her sarcastic question. “Just follow my lead.” Powering up his horn, the stallion focused on the ocean to the ship’s starboard side. A column of water as thick as a pony erupted from the water, arching over an intact section of railing before throwing itself against the ship’s burning deck. The seawater crashed into the inferno, hissing and steaming as it met the flames. The officer felt his stomach sink as instead of going out, the flames floated on the water like miniature versions of the Tranquility. The string of profanity that followed lasted for several seconds before he felt a second magical presence join with his. Glancing at the mare, he saw her horn shining brightly as a smirk slowly grew on her face. Turning back to the fire, High Tide watched as more water poured onto the ship’s deck, until it was deep enough to reach his barrel if he had been down there. Next to him, he could hear Spring Rain muttering as she focused on the water. Around the fire, walls of water began to rise in between the flames and the ship. Realizing her plan, the stallion smiled as he switched his focus to the water on deck. Remembering a trick he picked up in the Royal Guard, he cast a shield beneath the seawater, shaping the magical barrier until it formed a rough bowl shape.

The two unicorns jumped as they heard and felt another ship explode. Glancing behind him, High Tide watched as the creature writhed in anger and pain as it got pelted with debris. “Celestia’s pearly tits that thing is annoying.”

“No fuck but we got other things to deal with!”

As she spoke, the officer felt an idea form in his mind that sent shivers down his spine. Turning back to the magical bowl of liquid fire, he heard the creature roar behind him. As the idea solidified in his mind, he turned to the mare next to him, a smile slowly growing on his face. The mare took a step back out of pure instinct at his predatory smile. Glancing at the contained fire, she turned her head to look at the monster several hundred yards ahead of them. Turning back to the officer, his plan started to dawn on her. She felt a smile grow on her face too.

“You fire, I aim.”

“With pleasure” She replied. Together, the pair slowly maneuvered the bowl of fire between the fore and main masts until it hung over the ship’s port side. As they brought it over the bow, High Tide was pleased to see that the ships around them somehow knew to do the same thing. A part of him wondered about that but he pushed the thought aside. Stepping behind the mare, the second mate could barely look at Spring Rain as her horn blazed like the sun. Squinting, he took a moment to adjust the projectile before casting a shield around the entire thing.

“Ready?”

The mare’s smile was all teeth.

“FIRE!” He yelled at the top of his lungs, so every ship in range heard him. As one, a dozen balls of water and fire were launched into the air. High Tide watched their round arc towards the creature, his horn glowing as he kept it on course. Just before impact, the stallion dispelled the shield around the ball of flaming water. The creature, still reeling from the latest explosion, never saw the attack coming. It roared in pain as the Tranquility’s round struck, the liquid fire rolling down its head and back. Roaring loud enough to be heard miles away, the sea monster dove into the ocean, its tail lashing a nearby ship in half as it fled.

His ears ringing from the final explosion, High Tide turned to the mare next to him, only to find himself staggering backwards as she grabbed him in a massive hug. As his hearing returned, the second mate could faintly hear the cheers of the Tranquility’s crew over the mare’s screams of victory. Before he could react, the stallion found his lips locked with hers. The kiss lasted for several seconds before Spring Rain opened her eyes. Seeing who she was kissing, the mare yanked her head back as she pushed against the stallion, knocking him to the deck.

“If you tell anypony that happened, you won’t live long enough to regret it.” She growled at him, before turning her back to him and walking away.

High Tide smiled as he sat up, deciding to keep what happened to himself. He knew from experience that she’d follow through with her threat if he talked but she never said anything about reminding her about it. Glancing to his right, he watched the young earth pony stallion continue to stare off into space as he remained curled against the bow’s railing. Groaning as suddenly sore muscles protested, the ship’s Second Mate slowly stood, surveying the cheering, ecstatic crew. “Come on you” he said as he picked up the cowering stallion with his magic, “Let’s see if somepony can beat some sense back into you.”

Trotting up the steps that led to the main deck, Sea Breeze never saw the one step that tried to trip everypony onboard until it was too late. Rubbing her jaw as she picked herself up, the image of a badly burned alicorn colt that had been stuck in her mind slowly faded as reality finally forced itself upon the first mate. Shaking her head, the blonde maned unicorn climbed the rest of the staircase two steps at a time. Walking out into the open, the officer found herself stunned by the damage to her floating home. Between the Tranquility’s two masts, the deck simply ceased to exist, a large, jagged hole having replaced most of the deck. From above, a pair of pegasi swooped down, their watery payloads flashing to steam with a hiss as they hit the charred sections of remaining deck. Along the empty armory wall, a number of crew sat or in a few cases lay while a trio of crewmembers slowly tended to them.

Turning her head, Sea Breeze frowned as she stalked toward a certain officer who was yelling at the top of his lungs. Walking up unheard behind the raging stallion, she watched as the ponies High Tide was yelling at shuddered under the verbal onslaught, curling into even tighter balls as the cursing continued. Rubbing the side of her head as a headache formed, the female officer waited a moment for High Tide to take a breath. In the moment of silence between verbal lashings, the mare ignited her horn, magically silencing the larger stallion. Unable to vent his spleen upon the ponies before him, the stallion turned to face the only pony on the ship bold enough to silence him like that. His glare, which in the past had caused multiple victims to wet themselves in fear, had absolutely no effect as the mare stared back incredulously. “Don’t give me that look; we both know it won’t work.” Sea Breeze watched as the enraged stallion’s glare slowly cooled. “If you’d thought for a moment, you would have realized that yelling is not going to get these ponies back together. It’s not direct enough.”

Turning her gaze upon the quivering pile of ponies, Sea Breeze channeled energy into her horn. Grabbing a ball of sea water as large as her, she unceremoniously dropped it onto the ponies before her. Not waiting for a reaction, a bolt of energy lanced from her horn. The quartet of ponies jumped and yelped as the miniature bolt of lightning arced between them, leaving them stinging and sore. Finally being dragged back to reality, the group looked up to find the two officers glaring back at them. “Get to your hooves and get to work before I throw you to whatever the fuck that was!” The mare screamed at them. Not waiting for her to follow through, the group scattered. Taking a moment to calm down, Sea Breeze turned around to survey the deck. “So just how fucked are we?”

“Not quite prison level, but close” The second mate replied. “Half of the main foresail was lost to the fire, along with the fore boom. The fore mast is burned and has a crack running up half its length. The main mast is slightly charred but otherwise good, while the main sail somehow escaped serious damage. The bowsprit is completely gone, and the main deck is, well…” High Tide trailed off as he gestured to everything around him. “By all rights, we should all be dead, but thanks to the stowaway we’re not.”

“His name is Shadow” The mare growled. “How’s the crew doing?”

“Other than a few taking a quick mental vacation, pretty good all things considered. A couple crewmembers were injured, but nothing more serious than minor burns and a broken leg. Jet Stream and Sail were popular among the crew. Their loss will hit everypony hard.”

Sea Breeze nodded silently as she recalled the faces of the two ponies, their screams echoing in her ears. Before she could say anything, a young stallion, one of the ponies she had just zapped, skidded to a halt before the two officers.

“Ma’am, we’re taking on water in the hold!”

“Show me.” The mare growled as she and High Tide followed him. Standing along the crumbling edge of the deck, the three ponies looked down into the main hold where a few ponies were moving about in the chest deep water. Without a word both officers ignited their horns, channeling their magic to form a pair of water columns that drained the hold within seconds. Even as they drained the water, they could see streams of water spraying into the hold from the hull. “You said something about not quite prison level?”

“Still not there yet” The yellow and black stallion replied as he surveyed the damage. “I’ll deal with this.” Without another word, the second mate spun on his front hooves, all but bucking the young stallion over the shattered deck’s edge. Before his ‘volunteer’ could scream, High Tide ignited his horn, catching the unfortunate pony a hair’s breadth from the cluttered deck below. Glancing over at the officer next to him, the older stallion raised a lone eyebrow, “What?” Smiling at the sound of a splash as he released the younger pony from his magical grip, High Tide jumped into the void before him, his horn glowing as his fall quickly slowed until he landed with a slight bump. Taking a moment to shove aside the unlucky earth pony he had sent before him, the older stallion started to bark at the ponies around him. Within seconds, the officer’s threats and targeted innuendo had the crew running around. Igniting his horn, the stallion sent crates flying as he moved the ship’s cargo around, exposing numerous cracks and fissures in the hull. Taking a moment to catch his breath, a smile slowly grew on his face as High Tide surveyed the damage. Other than a hoof-full of cracks, most of the damage seemed to be confined to the joints and seams of the hoof thick planks that formed the Tranquility’s hull. Channeling energy into his horn, a glittering yellow shield formed before the unicorn officer. Taking a moment to shape it, High Tide moved the shield into place against the wall of the hold. He knew it wouldn’t be as good as pitch and tar, but it would more than do for the time being.

Despite his habit of hitting on the ship’s mares, as she watched from above, Sea Breeze was glad that they had hired the stallion. Overhead, the Tranquility’s pegasi made another run at the deck, dropping the contents of their buckets across the blackened deck. One pegasus, having come in a little too fast, released her payload a split second too late. Instead of hitting the smoking section of deck, the volley of water missed completely, flying into the large hole in the deck. From below, Sea Breeze heard a string of rather interesting expletives and sexual innuendo from a certain officer who had just received an unexpected soaking, before a shield shimmered into existence just below the missing section of deck.

Walking to the back of the ship, Sea Breeze saw the doctor standing in the open doorway, his eyes closed as he took a moment to enjoy the breeze rolling across the deck. Walking to the zebra, the unicorn mare watched the doctor crack his neck as he fell in beside her. “How is he?”

“For the moment he’s stable. He was conscious for a few minutes so I was able to give him a painkiller laced with enough sedatives to take out half the crew. He won’t be waking up for a while. As for his injuries,” Zetani said as he started to inspect the medics’ hoof work “by all rights he should be dead right now. No pony short of the princesses should have survived something like that.”

“Well, he is strong for his age.”

“Maybe, but I hope he didn’t use up all that strength.”

Sea Breeze felt something inside her slowly sink. “Why?”

Zetani looked up at the mare. Giving the stallion sitting before him a pat on the shoulder, the zebra walked to her, subtly nodding his head for her to follow. “I didn’t want to say this in front of the crew since they don’t need this added on top of everything else from today but if we don’t do something, Shadow won’t see the end of next week.”

“What do you mean?”

“Believe me when I say that, alicorn or not, he should not be alive right now. He’s got third degree burns to over half his body and while I’ve heard of ponies surviving worse, they were in hospitals that could deal with any infections. He’s not that lucky. I’ve got enough potions and supplies to keep any infections under control, but, and I can’t stress this enough, it won’t work forever. The rest here will be fine though I’ll dose them as a precaution. Unfortunately, I don’t have what I need to heal his burns. Unless I heal those burns, anything I give him for the infections he’ll get will only be temporary, and I’ll either run out of supplies or the infection will become immune to my potions. Either way, he dies.”

“What do you need?” Her question was as cold as it was simple.

“There is a rare flower with certain properties. The good news is that we should be able to find it if we change course.”

“Where?”

“Remember when we had to take shelter at that small island because of the brewing storm when we were heading to Crystal Island?”

Sea Breeze nodded as the island Zetani was talking about came to mind. “There?”

The doctor nodded. “I found some while exploring the island. I didn’t take any at the time because it doesn’t last long and we didn’t need it then.”

“Consider it done. You just make sure he gets to that island alive.”

The ship’s lone zebra nodded as he turned toward the injured crewmembers. “I don’t know if you believe in prayer, but if you do, he could use some.”

Sea Breeze watched the ship’s doctor walk back to the group of injured ponies. Above she could see the pegasi forming up for another pass while a pair hovered hundreds of feet above the ship, apparently on sentry duty. As the pegasi shot over the damaged ship, the mare yelled out to one of them. The pony in question abruptly pulled into a vertical ascent, bleeding off excess speed before gliding down to land next to the first mate.

Star Chart nodded his head in respect as he worked to catch his breath. “You called, ma’am?”

Sea Breeze nodded. “We need to change course.”

“Where to?”

“That small island we took shelter at on our way to Crystal Island.”

The pegasus walked up the stairs to a heavy oak table behind the captain. Sea Breeze watched the pony study the maps, along with the first stars of the evening as he muttered to himself. “It shouldn’t be too hard to get there” He said a few minutes later, much to the mare’s relief. “How soon do we need to be there?”

“Yesterday.”

“Not a chance, ma’am.”

Sea Breeze frowned. “Why?”

Star Chart sighed. “If we hadn’t been attacked, it would take us three, probably four days to get there if we were at full canvas. But as it stands, there’s a crack running half way up the fore mast wide enough to stick my hoof in. Unless you want to risk losing that mast altogether, and possibly the ship, we’ll have to pull all the canvas, lest an errant breeze snaps that thing like a twig.” An image of the front mast snapping and taking the main mast with it crossed unbidden through the officer’s mind. “On top of that, we have another problem.”

“What now?”

Star Chart glanced at the only other pony within hearing range. “I know you’ve been busy ma’am, but since the attack, the captain hasn’t moved from the wheel. He hasn’t said a word or shouted an order… if he didn’t occasionally blink you’d be hard pressed to prove he isn’t a statue.”

Sea Breeze stared at the frozen back of her lover. Other than him gently breathing, he didn’t so much twitch an ear. It was a stark contrast to the stallion she knew. This wasn’t the stallion who mangled sailing ballads while guiding his ship through storms that sent other ships fleeing for shelter. “Have you ever taken a turn behind the wheel?”

“Once. For about five minutes.”

“It’ll have to do.” The mare muttered bitterly as she plotted her next move. “I’ll deal with the captain; you take the wheel and get us to that island.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Sea Breeze slowly sidled up next to her lover, gently bumping into him. Main Stay didn’t twitch a muscle. Leaning over, the mare looked into her stallion’s eyes, only to find that they had shrunk to pinpricks. Getting no response by waving in front of his face, the mare narrowed her eyes, thinking for a moment before leaning over and gently whispering into his ear. What she said was between her and Main Stay but her voice acted like magic as the captain slowly came back to life. Turning to her, his raised eyebrow was met with a pair of eyes that told him everything he needed to know. Star Chart watched the captain follow the mare down the steps and into the ship as he took the older stallion’s place.

As the Tranquility subtly changed course, Sea Breeze led Main Stay into their small cabin, the stallion following close behind. Turning, she locked her lips with his; letting all the tension and stress from the day melt away in his embrace. Igniting her horn, she picked him off the floor only to gently toss him into the room’s lone bed a second later. Excusing herself with a short whisper and a longer kiss, Sea Breeze smiled as his gentle snores began to fill the room as she silently closed the door behind her.

From above, the shouted two word call’s effect on the crew of the Tranquility was like a bucket of ice water being emptied over the head of a sleeping drunk. Along the deck, everypony that could ran to lean over the railing in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the welcomed piece of land while anypony with wings took to the air to do the same. Sea Breeze smiled for the first time in nearly a week as the crew ran around the deck, preparing for landfall. All across the deck, tools and equipment were collected and stowed as a group of unicorns led by High Tide started to lift a number of battered crates out of the hold. Glancing at the captain, the mare was pleased to see that the haunted look that had settled over his face after the attack had finally disappeared. While he wasn’t the same stallion he had been before, she could see bits and pieces of him shining through as he shouted orders to the racing crew below, laughing for seemingly no reason other than because he wanted to.

Smiling, Sea Breeze trotted down the steps to the main deck as the freshly replaced door leading into the ship opened to reveal the ship’s doctor. “How’s our patient doing doc?”

Zetani smiled, breathing deeply as the morning sun warmed his fur. “Just gave him the last of the anti-infection potion I had.” The smile slowly faded. “He’s lucky to have made it this far, but without more…” He didn’t need to say the rest.

“Timing couldn’t be better then.” The first mate replied as she gestured to the crew. “One of the sentries just spotted the island. We should be there before noon, and after we beach the ship, I’ll help you with Shadow.”

“We’re beaching her?”

“We have to. There are a number of cracks in the hull below the waterline and if we want to make it to a dry dock in Manehattan, we have to patch them, which we can only do if they’re not spraying water.” The mare said, shrugging. “Besides, we should be safe from that thing as long as we’re grounded.”

Zetani slowly nodded. “If that’s the case, then I got a patient and supplies to prepare.”

---

As the sun approached the top of its daily climb, the island’s sole mountain loomed over the Tranquility as the ship passed between the two tree-covered ridges that formed the outer barrier of the island’s lone bay. Across the main deck, crewmembers raced to secure any loose objects as their ship limped toward a stretch of empty beach. Sea Breeze was disappointed that the scouts had reported the island was deserted. While most ponies didn’t know about the island, and likely wouldn’t have cared if they did, those that did know about it tended to stop by whenever they were in the area. Beside the opportunity to get news of the outside world, Sea Breeze had hoped that a ship would be there so they could trade for supplies.

Glancing behind them, the mare could see a pair of clone ships had followed them into the bay while the rest gently rolled in the waves outside. From the bow, she heard High Tide call out a final warning to brace as the bay’s depth rapidly decreased. Aboard the two other ships, she watched the crews race to find something to grab onto. With seconds to go before impact, both mates shouted at the same time, before Sea Breeze dropped to the deck, joining Zetani to hold Shadow, who was laying on a stretcher, with only his head left uncovered by the blanket covering him.

The crew of the Tranquility felt the keel dig into the shallows a moment before the bow plowed into the beach; sand flying as the ship shuddered and groaned before finally grinding to a halt. As the crew started to stand, a series of loud cracks pierced the still air as the fore mast snapped a dozen feet above the deck to fall crashing onto the beach.

Looking over at the zebra next to her, Sea Breeze sighed as she got to her hooves. Before she could say anything, a pair of cracks echoed across the still bay as the front mast on both of the clone ships fell too. As the echoes died, High Tide’s voice carried across the deck, the crew jumping into action as the second mate cursed and insulted them. With the young colt and his stretcher wrapped safely in her magic, Sea Breeze walked to the empty bow before grabbing the ship’s doctor and lowering them both to the sand below.

As Zetani secured his patient, the Tranquility’s First Mate joined the ship’s unicorns as they lifted repair supplies onto the beach while the pegasi airlifted the earth ponies off the ship. Looking up, Zetani watched the crew of one of the clone ships disembark as well, the unicorns helping to lower the non-winged crewmembers to the beach, among them a black colt and a zebra who ran over as soon as they hit the sand. The doctor found it disconcerting to watch himself and a healthy Shadow skid to a halt next to him. Shaking his head, Zetani pointed to the healthy Shadow, “There’re two boxes with my name on them” he pointed to the small mountain of crates and tools that was sitting next to the Tranquility “I need you to go get them.” Without waiting, the clone tore across the sand.

“Anything I can do?”

Zetani looked up at himself, thinking. “Do you know how to mix potions?”

The clone shook its head. “I only know what he does” it said, gesturing to the unconscious Shadow.

The doctor looked over to the Tranquility as the three crews mixed and mingled. “I’m sure they could use your help.”

“Take care of him, doc” The clone said as he left for the mound of supplies next to the Tranquility.

Zetani watched his clone walk off; exchanging a few words with the two Shadow clones as they came back with Sea Breeze close behind them.

“You ready to go?” The mare said as she approached.

Zetani looked over the items gently hovering above the two smaller clones “Yup.”

“Good, let’s go.”

“I take it they don’t need us?” Zetani said, looking over at his home. Already a number of long, thick ropes had been thrown off the bow. With the unicorn crewmembers lifting the ship, the three crews began hauling on the lines as somepony began to chant, the crews soon pulling in time. “Guess not.”

The noise from the beach quickly disappeared as the group moved deeper into the island. Looking up, Zetani was reminded of some of the forests he had visited while on shore leave. The trees towered over head, the leaves rustling in a gentle breeze that didn’t reach the ground as birds called down from above. Growing up on the grasslands, the doctor had heard of forests, but had never really appreciated them until he had actually walked through his first one.

Pushing through a clump of bushes, Zetani stopped, a smile quickly growing as he surveyed the small clearing. From one side to the other, the ground was hidden under a blanket of orange flowers larger than his hoof. Lowering his head to inspect the nearest one, the doctor’s smile widened as he saw the two white stripes that ran the length of each petal. Behind him, he could hear the others stop as they pushed through the wall of bushes.

“This the flower?” Sea Breeze asked as she took in the view.

“It is, and there’s more than enough.”

“Good.” She set Shadow down in the forest’s shade. “What now?”

Within minutes, the two clones had collected a pile of sticks as tall as the doctor while the two adults set up a large cauldron. Stepping away for a moment, Sea Breeze returned with a ball of water as large as her floating next to her. “Anything else” She asked as a few small tendrils of smoke started to billow from beneath the pot.

Zetani shook his head. “It’ll take a while for the water to boil, so if you want to go check on repairs…”

Sea Breeze thought it over before nodding. “I’m curious” she said, eyeing the cauldron, “once the potion’s ready, does he have to drink it all, or do we have to dunk him in it?”

The doctor shook his head, chuckling at the mare’s suggestion. “He shouldn’t have to drink more than a bowl or two. I figured that since we’re here, I’d make a large batch and save the rest. I’ll keep some just in case and sell the rest when we get to Manehattan to help with the repair costs.”

Watching the first mate and the clones leave, Zetani loosened the strap around his waist, letting the saddlebags hit the ground with a sigh as he was relieved of the weight. It must be nice being able to lift things with your mind the doctor mused as he pushed through the bushes to check on Shadow. While he could have had the injured colt closer to the fire, the doctor left him where Sea Breeze had set him along the outskirts of the clearing, figuring that a small field of flowers was a better sight than a bunch of trees.

Skirting the bushes, Zetani paused as he approached the steaming cauldron, suddenly feeling off, as if he wasn’t alone. He quickly dismissed the idea of something hiding in the undergrowth, since it wasn’t tall enough to hide anything larger than a newborn foal. As he stood there, the doctor’s hoof slowly rose toward the knife he had started to keep strapped across his chest. He heard nothing as he silently made his way to the fire. At the fire, the feeling was almost overwhelming. Slowly drawing the knife from its sheath, the zebra unconsciously started to crouch. It was a stance that had been drilled into him by his father out on the Zebrican plains. Glancing down, Zetani felt his heart stop for a moment. Ignoring the heat, the doctor leaned closer, his eyes focused on a small patch of flames. Among the dancing tongues of fire, one tongue danced slightly out of sync with the others. Feeling his heart start beating again, Zetani sheathed the knife, quietly sighing in relief as he did.

“Siku kuheshimiwa nzuri roho” He said to the fire, bowing his head. A few heartbeats later, a pair of eyes appeared on the rogue tongue of flame. The eyes evaluated the doctor for a moment before the flame slowly grew.

“Siku njema rafiki pundamilia” The creature replied, bowing its head before cautiously looking around. Satisfied, the creature pulled itself from the small branch it had been hiding in.

“Do not fear friend Spirit, we are alone.” Zetani said, smiling as the creature relaxed, “What brings you to this island?”

The Sprite reached down, snapping a twig half its height from the branch it sat on. “We detected a fire on a supposedly uninhabited island and since the volcano isn’t due to erupt for another century or so, I was sent to investigate.”

“Wise.”

The creature shrugged as it gnawed on the twig. “Eh. It was either this or sit around and be bored.”

Zetani chuckled. “So how go things in the Spirit realm?”

“Oh the usual: the elders bicker among themselves, while the young compete with each other to be picked for The Burning.”

The doctor’s ears perked up at this. “Have they set a date?”

The Sprite shook its head. “Not yet. Your chiefs are still working it out.”

Zetani nodded, having been to a few of those meetings because of his father. The zebra physician never understood why it was so much work to simply pick a date for The Burning. Looking down, the Sprite rolled its eyes knowingly.

“What brings you to this rock in the middle of nowhere?”

“Our ship was attacked last week, and we have to make repairs.”

“And the pot?”

“Potion for an injured crewmember. Severe burns.”

The Sprite winced. “Ouch. Hope they get better.” The creature stood up, finishing off the rest of the twig in one bite. “I’d love to stay and talk, but my bosses don’t like being kept waiting.”

The doctor nodded. “Then go in peace and long life.”

“Gentle rains and bounty to you” The Sprite replied, one foot already in the branch.

“Oh, one more thing” Zetani said. “Any chance you could deliver a message for me?”

“Sure, don’t have much else to do.”

“Could you please tell Zona of River’s Bend that his son Zetani is alive and well?”

The Sprite smiled “Of course, friend Zetani” and with a flash, disappeared.

Zetani smiled as he stood. It had been years since he had seen or talked to a Fire Spirit. Stirring the simmering water, the doctor easily recalled the first time he had met one of the Spirits. He may have only been Shadow’s age but he could still feel the heat of the fire on his face, his face sweating as he inched closer to the flames, his eyes wide as a claw tipped hand reached out of a log, its owner quickly following. It took him little effort to remember how the Spirit’s stories came alive in the flames, as he and the other children of the village watched the characters dance and move among the flames.

Crushing a number of herbs together, the doctor dumped the mix into a mortar before grinding the fragments to dust, the scent bringing back memories of watching his older sister learning the skills of a shaman. She had made it look so effortless and simple, to mix a few plants and heal a sick creature, that out of jealousy and awe, he learned how to brew potions as well, a decision that had pleased their father. Eying the fine powder carefully, Zetani dumped it into the bubbling water, which slowly started to turn a dark green. As the potion’s base brewed, the doctor took the moment to check on his young patient, who was, much to the stallion’s relief, soundly asleep for the moment. Plucking a half dozen of the orange flowers, Zetani was surprised when he returned to see the potion glowing a shade of green that reminded him of a fresh spring leaf. He wasn’t expecting the reaction to occur so quickly. Had the Fire Spirit used its magic to heat the water even further? The zebra didn’t know and didn’t particularly care.

Pulling the petals from the flowers, he eyed the potion as it turned a brilliant shade of yellow. Tossing the petals into the stone grinding bowl, he ground them into an orange pulp as he waited for the potion to become clear. Checking the brew every few seconds, he could hear the words of his teacher, a mare old enough to be his grandmother and who had zero patience for any sass. As he watched the potion lose its color, he could hear her gentle instructions, telling him to wait for just the right moment in that rhyming way that all shamans seemed to naturally possess. Dropping the mass of flower pulp into the boiling cauldron, Zetani leaped back, knowing from experience that the reaction would be swift and that any fur it took with it would take months to grow back.

As he skidded to a stop, the cauldron belched, a plume of bright orange steam jumping into the air. Approaching the brew with the caution and respect of one who had learned to do so the hard way, Zetani smiled at the bright orange color as the reaction settled. Tossing a bag of powder onto the fire to put it out, the Tranquility’s doctor smiled at his work, hoping that his teacher would be proud of his brew. Watching it steam, he could hear her words of caution echo in his head: Use this brew with great care. Twice with one pony, you do not dare.

Dipping a bowl into the brew, the snap of a branch a moment later caused him to turn his head as Sea Breeze and her two clone helpers walked up the small hill. “How are things going?”

“I’ve seen worse.” She said, setting the dozens of jars above her on the ground next to the fire. “The crew is doing most of the repairs, while the others keep them supplied. We should be seaworthy – more or less – by nightfall, though we’ll have to wait until morning for the tide.” Zetani nodded. He hadn’t stepped hoof on land in weeks and as far as he was concerned, a night on land would be more than welcomed. “So, what do you need me to do?”

“Start filling the jars while I heal my patient.”

Shrugging, the mare nodded to one of the clones. Walking up to Shadow, Zetani smiled as the colt looked up at him. Lowering the bowl, the zebra didn’t need to say a thing as his patient grabbed the bowl with his magic, draining it and the second bowl in seconds. “How do you feel?”

Wincing, Shadow hissed as he felt his skin itch and crawl. “Been worse” He said, clenching his teeth as he put everything he had into resisting the urge to scratch. Fortunately for him, the sensation passed a few minutes later and with a sigh of relief took in his surroundings for the first time since the attack. To say he was stunned would be an understatement, as he felt his jaw dig into the dirt.

“Beautiful isn’t it?”

Shadow nodded. “Certainly better than…” He trailed off as he looked up at himself. “Uh…”

“A week ago during the attack” The clone said, answering Shadow’s questioning look, “Along with about thirty others. Nice touch making the ships explode by the way.”

“Explode?”

“Yeah, when they got hit; made that thing think twice pretty quickly.”

Shadow tried to remember the attack, only getting as far as his shield failing. “I don’t remember making any clones, and they definitely shouldn’t have exploded.” He looked up at their stunned expressions. “I am not looking forward to meeting the clones that got killed.”

Tapping the clone on the shoulder, Zetani tilted his head toward the small camp. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” Shadow watched the zebra as he loosened the bandages covering Shadow’s burns. “Who were you talking to back there a while ago?”

Zetani paused. How had Shadow heard that? Hadn’t he been unconscious then? “Just a friend.”

“Uh huh.”

Shadow’s expression told the zebra that that wasn’t going to be enough. “It was a Fire Spirit from my homeland. He wanted to know why there was a fire here.” Zetani explained the history of his species’ relations with the Fire Spirits, how they had first encountered each other, and how their relationship helped everyone. As he described The Burning, how the Spirits would set the savannah ablaze, how the flames would rise hundreds of feet into the air as they spread, he could see that he had Shadow’s complete attention. Looking over the colt’s injuries, Zetani was amazed at how well the potion had worked, the formerly blackened flesh was now a bright red, though that would eventually heal on its own as his fur grew back.

“How’s it look?”

“Much better” The doctor said as he stood. “Think you can stand?”

Wordlessly, the colt rolled onto his stomach, wincing as his tortured flesh stung. Pushing against the ground, Shadow slowly forced himself up, leaning into Zetani has his head swam from the move. “So why do they burn your home?”

“The fires help keep weeds under control and help a number of plants to eventually grow.”

“These Spirits sound interesting. I hope I get to see one.”

At this, Zetani smiled.