Zebrabwe's Secret

by GMBlackjack

VI - A Dark Room

Their room had four beds, all of which came with royal quality sheets, mattresses, and even complimentary dinner muffins that sparkled with remnants of some blue magic.

Gustave was completely taken in by the dish. “Absolutely magnifique… ze dates are seared just enough to bring out ze sugary delight, but not too much so zat zey are wrinkled. And ze magic… I cannot even begin to describe.” He poked a muffin and it let out a short electric spark.

Zecora was only halfway paying attention to him. Her gaze was focused on the window, staring outside at the changing sky. The sun was setting, changing the atmosphere to a brilliant orange. She had always loved the desert at evening.

However, her view was soiled by the highly reflective material. What even was it? She hadn’t even received a name from the King. Had he left it off for the sake of rhyme or some other reason?

He really wasn't how she remembered. None of this was how she remembered. He claimed they’d always left the other races out but… had they? If Zecora was being honest, she couldn’t remember seeing a non-Zebra living in Zebrabwe, even when she was young. Not a single one…

Had she been sent out to learn of potential threats only, not of friends?

It was more likely than she would like to admit.

She placed a hoof on the windowsill and sighed. There had been no warm welcome, no celebration of her work. The only Zebra who had recognized her hadn’t been welcoming to her ideas.

Was this all there was?

Zecora shook her head. Enough of that. She could try again tomorrow, hunt down some of the lesser nobles that had an equal station to her own. It would be easier to make headway with them. She flopped onto her bed, stretching her legs.

Before she shut her eyes, she caught sight of Torque shivering. She was wrapped up in all her blankets like a terrified cub in its mother’s fur.

“Torque Wrench? What makes you clench?”

“I’m… cold.”

Zecora raised an eyebrow. Sure, Zebrica got cold at night, but the sun hadn’t finished setting yet, so it was still fairly warm everywhere.

Torque sighed, looking at the ground. “Have ya ever… been in a Changeling Hive in yer travels?”

“I have been once, briefly, but I do not dwell on it, chiefly.”

“Don’t blame ya, places are terrible,” Torque looked up at the ceiling. “This place used to be one.”

Zecora’s eyes widened. “W-what?” Realizing she needed to rhyme something with her surprised outburst, she sputtered over her next words. “That… goes against my gut.”

Torque didn’t notice her struggles. “It’s got the right shape and everythin’. The spires, the ground… it’s all… exactly like it. ‘Cept dead.” She retreated further into her blankets. “Who in their right mind would carve up a Changeling Hive and live in it?”

“Practical Zebras,” Gustave said, finishing his meal. “Why not use ze structures of your enemies?”

“That makes sense to me,” Zecora said. “But it is the secret that should not be. I was a sage of rank high, why would they feed me a lie?” I lived here my whole life.

Torque didn’t respond. Zecora wasn't sure if she was able to—she was staring at the ceiling like it was about to eat her.

“...I shall create for you a sleeping brew, so you may tell those fears to shoo.”

“Th-Thanks, Zecora.”

~~~

Zecora had learned to be a light sleeper on her travels. The wild beasts of the world hadn’t given her much choice: the night was filled with monstrosities that hungered for fresh meat.

Her eyes flew open the moment she heard the scraping outside the door. That wasn’t a Zebra’s hoofsteps, it was far too sharp of a noise. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she wasn’t about to be caught off guard.

She stood up in her bed, quietly. The scratching outside didn’t change, so she assumed she had readied herself without being detected. She had no weapons aside from her hooves and that suited her just fine. Whatever was out there would get a surprise if it tried to come in.

Zecora was not wrong.

But she had failed to consider the fact that she might be surprised.

The door slid open, creaking softly in the night. Gustave shifted slightly but didn’t wake up. Torque was out like a light.

Zecora was alone in seeing the shocking creatures that opened the door.

They had four legs and a sharp knob in their foreheads that was too small to be a proper horn. Zecora’s first instinct was Changelings, which wasn’t that far off the mark. The creatures before her were clearly related, but they did not have the life in their eyes all intelligent creatures had. Their eyes glowed a soulless orange, and their carapaces were completely covered in the alien material. Numerous winding runes swirled all over their bodies, giving them the appearance of certain zebras who painted their bodies.

There were four of them, and they moved like machines. Too quickly for Changelings, their steps far too light…

They approached Gustave first. The lead beast lifted a pointed hoof, aiming for Gustave’s head.

Zecora launched out of her bed, planting her hoof squarely on the lead monster’s skull. Instead of pushing the beast back, as she was expecting, the beast’s head came clean off, ringing like an old bell. The rest of its body collapsed, falling into several pieces, all of which were completely hollow.

No flesh and bone to speak of within these monsters.

Gustave sat bolt upright as Zecora tackled the second one. “What? What is zi—AUGH!” He dove under his covers as a third hollow beast attacked him. A conveniently placed pillow saved his hide.

“Help would be appreciated!” Zecora muttered, finding that her new opponent was guarding its head far better than expected. “I’d rather not this beast be satiated!”

Gustave continued to hide behind more and more pillows. With a sigh, Zecora managed to swirl around and kick the beast’s legs out from under it. The shell fell apart the moment it slammed onto the ground.

Moving quickly, Zecora jumped onto Gustave’s bed and bucked the third monster in the chest, tossing it into a wall just as it managed to break through Gustave’s pillow barrier.

“Th-thank you…”

Zecora ignored him—there had been four. Where was the fourth?

Standing over Torque, driving a hoof into her.

“TORQUE!” Zecora shouted, dropping all pretense of rhyming.

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Oh wow. This just went through about three levels of deep intrigue. No idea where it's going from here. Eagerly looking forward to finding out.