Turmoil Rising

by JFT

Chapter 72: Familiar Faces

The sandstorms didn’t relent, though they were less harsh than when they were still in the canyon. And with that, Twilight’s fans and the zebra horde continued their advance after a brief break, trying to reach their destination to deliver a warning. They managed to endure the first part of the trail, but the second half remained, and for some reason, it felt much longer. It may have been that after the break they took, the momentum of their bodies ground to a halt, and was trying to readjust again, but after more than six hours of galloping, a mere hour wouldn’t cut it to get rid of exhaustion. A few hours passed by now, and finally the light brown blanket disappeared, leaving only the scorching sun in their wake, one that was slowly drifting to the far distant horizon, meaning it wouldn’t be long before it set. And then they finally spotted something that literally stood out in the distance – a giant dark hill rose high into the sky, where it turned white as snow.

“We’re almost there,” the elder zebra on the sand sleigh announced.

“Is that our destination, Madame Zeg’us?” Twilight inquired.

She nodded. “Before you stands Mount Chinjaio, the realm of abadas, and the home of king Amun.”

“Finally!” Rainbow Dash cheered. “My hooves were beginning to kill me.”

“Well, they will for a while longer, Dash. Look how far that mountain is,” the workhorse pointed out, making her groan.

“Indeed,” the zebra agreed. “It’ll take at least another three hours before we get there, but at least you’ll be able to feel solid ground under your hooves soon, ladies. Miss Twilight, I believe you can remove your protection at this point."

She obliged. Her horn stopped glowing and she exhaled in relief; that was one strain she no longer had to deal with it after prolonging it longer than she ever did. As she did that, the zebra horde in front of them sped up, pulling the sled with them, forcing the gang to follow quickly.

After about two hours of running, they finally noticed a change beneath them, as the sandy dunes were replaced with brown earth, and little by little, greenery began cropping up. The towering peak that they observed earlier now seemed far closer than before, and in the distance, they saw massive fields, and beyond those, a thick jungle landscape that spread between the dormant volcano and the mountain ranger.

“Oh, sweet Celestia, it feels so dang good to feel some good dirt under my hooves again,” Applejack said and everybody around her noticed a subtle skip in her gallop.

A thudding sound suddenly stopped them, especially once they realized that one of their friends was no longer present - the kirin lay face first on the ground.

“Autumn Blaze?” Fluttershy showed concern, and they all retreated back to her side. “What’s wrong?”

The mare had a dried-up expression on her face. “I don’t think I’ve had enough sustenance during the break…”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Discord popped out of the shy pegasus’ fanny pack. “You’ve eaten two whole breads and no less than several mouthfuls of oats.”

“But not enough fruit…” Applejack reminded before her head turned to the pink earth pony. “Because SOMEPONY ate all of it, leaving hardly anything for us.”

The mare in question pulled a sour face. “Sorry… But my tummy was making awful noises and I had to make it stop.”

“Yeah, and look what happened as a result, Pinkie.”

“Never mind… whose fault it is…” the kirin barely spoke. “Just get me something… to drink…”

As the group huddled together, the alicorn noticed that the zebras were getting away from them. “Hey wait! Madame Zeg’us! We’ve got somepony down for the count, we need to stop!”

The elder zebra on top of the sleigh garnered the attention of others. “Slow down, boys and girls. The visitors are lagging behind.”

They slowed down, but soon the mare who was ahead of everybody spoke out. “But madame, we have to warn others in the village. Time is of the essence.”

“Alright. I’ll wait behind for them. The rest of you go and inform of what’s happened and set up the audience with King Amun, he’ll want to see the newcomers.”

The mare nodded at the stallions behind her, and almost instantly the horde dropped the sleigh harness and ran off at the head of the outspoken mare, leaving the senior behind, slightly perplexed.

As the Council of Friendship helped their friend recover with the bowl of water, the fashionista decided to take a sip or two directly from the source; she too felt somewhat parched. After several gulps in the stream, the sensation was gone, but with the matter resolved, her attention was preoccupied by something – her reflection. It’s been a while since she stared at a reflective surface, one which the stream now provided. It was blurry, so the details of her appearance were rather blurry, and yet, there was something that she immediately recognized: A grey streak running down her now less-than-elegant mane. It frustrated her. She couldn’t remember how many times she tried to mend the damage, and yet in the end, by a constant stroke of bad luck, it kept returning. It made her angry and sad at the same time.

“My senses tell me that something’s troubling you, miss.”

She was roused from the trance, finally noticing another reflection standing next to hers, one that resembled the elderly zebra, before finally looking to her side. “Am I that obvious, madame?” Rarity wondered, to which she received a slow nod. “It’s just… it’s THIS abominable this!” She angrily pointed at her mane.

She looked up and down. “I’m sorry, you will have to be a bit more specific about what I’m looking at.”

“This grey thing that’s running right down the middle of my mane, madame. It’s been a thorn in my side from the moment it was forced upon me.”

“I’m sorry, are you saying you didn’t receive it naturally? My apologies, young lady, but I was under the impression there was a considerable age gap between you and your friends,” the zebra chuckled.

Rarity’s lip wobbled. “Please, madame, don’t say that! I’m still young! All my life I’ve devoted to making things full of glamor and splendor. I’ve dedicated myself to it so completely that I embody it visually… or at least, I used to… This… thing, is a stain on my image. I’ve been trying my hard to fix it, yet for some reason, it seems that the world has conspired against me!” She slumped on her rear end. “At this point, I wonder if I’ll ever be able to regain my visage of perfection…”

The elder mare rubbed her chin. “Perhaps… fate’s been trying to steer you in the right direction?”

“What do you mean?”

“Perhaps the reason why your efforts have been thwarted is because it was meant to be.”

“I beg your pardon?” the fashionista quickly rose back on her hooves. “I can’t stay like this! Grey and purple, these two colors just don’t go together! And I’m in the prime of my youth! I can’t go about looking like this, or everypony will think my warranty’s about to expire, that I’m about to reach the end line, that I’m about to turn decrepit, shriveled, and oooooooooooo…” Her voice trailed off on a singular note, after all, it took her a moment to realize that she was being stared at with a glare by the elderly zebra.

“Old?” she raised an eyebrow. “Is that what you were about to say?”

“What? Pfff, no, of course not!” she awkwardly tried to deny it. “What I meant was…”

“Don’t play coy with me, miss. I wasn’t born yesterday, and that’s the point. We all cross that line eventually, some sooner than others apparently. But even so I continue to keep going on. Beauty was the first to go for me, but if somebody were to offer me a chance to return to youth, to be about…” The elder eyed the fashionista up and down. “About your age, I would decline it. I’ve already lived a fulfilling life, with all of its ups and downs. And I wouldn’t want to re-experience it something that I cherish.”

“With all due respect, Madame Zeg’us, and I do mean it, but I’ve not gone that far yet. I cannot go around looking like this, it’s not my time yet. I’m a trend-setting fashionista, for the love of Celestia! I cannot be seen like a wilting flower,” the white unicorn pleaded.

“I’m not sure what that “trend” word means,” the elder confessed, “but I believe that in your current moment of weakness, you are forgetting your greatest skill and not putting it to use.”

She tilted her head in confusion. “Madame… I’m not sure what you’re saying.”

“She means that you should use your passion, to turn your current condition into new fashion.”

Both mares were stirred by the voice that came from behind them, the rhyming words did not escape them. They turned, and the hooded familiar zebra was once again within their ranks, something that the rest of the visitors became aware of as well, more to the fact that she seemed to have just appeared out of nowhere since their priorities were focused elsewhere.

“Well, look who’s decided to join the party,” Rainbow Dash said. “What got you to finally stop lagging behind?”

“I’ve been sensing some bad mojo since the start, so I stayed behind since I figured that was smart. Now that we’ve stopped we will have to pick up the pace. So tell me, Autumn Blaze, are you well enough to give chase?”

After several chugging sounds, she finally answered. “Of course.”

“Then let us go forthwith. Grandmada Zeg’us, we’ll offer you frith.”

“Thank you, dearie,” she smiled and trotted beside her.

Applejack was about to speak, more than eager to ask questions, only to be halted when she felt a sudden tap on her shoulders, one belonging to the alicorn, who shook her head at her to dissuade her from attempting.

“Y’all aren’t really buying any of this “bad mojo vibes” excuse, are you?” she asked them all.

“Whether or not we do isn’t important, we all see something’s bothering Zecora, but we all got a hint from her senior that we shouldn’t push the issue, darling,” Rarity agreed with the interceptor.

“Seriously, what is it with everypony being willing to just keep secrets recently? First us with Gusty, then Star Swirl, now Zecora.”

“We understand how important honesty is to you, Applejack, but things aren’t that simple,” Fluttershy reasoned.

“Sometimes I wish they were.”

They resumed the trek at a slightly slower pace now that they had an elderly one at their side, but at least now neither the sand nor its storms were a deterrent to their progress as they moved further inland. On the way they saw strange equine beings with coats that were mostly earthly colors and had scrawny legs compared to zebras, yet they were still able to support their weight, their face was considerably longer, and above their noses grew a pair of horns. And speaking of zebras, they were helping them tilling the fields and gathering the produce.

“I’ve never seen such odd beings before,” Applebloom whispered.

The note of curiosity gave the elder sibling an idea of how to pry out the information. “I’m more confused about something else. There seem to be a lot of zebras here. I thought this place was the home of abadas.”

“It’s for a reason, Missy,” the grey zebra overheard them. “This was the first place that our tribe moved to after we went into a mass exodus from our village.”

“Mass exodus? Why? What’s happened?”

Zeg’us sighed deeply. “A tragedy. Close to two decades ago, the place where our village stands, was struck by one catastrophe after another. First came the pestilence that robbed us of all the food, then came the endless rain that couldn’t fill the void, and last but not least the disappearance of… a certain member of the tribe.” When she uttered those words, she glanced in the direction of the individual at whom the ending was aimed, and like her, the workhorse noticed the shaman suddenly lowering her head. “And with the tribe’s leader missing the entire village fell into complete despair. Things became so unbearable that other members of our tribe decided to leave, and to some of them, the village was the only place they’d known their whole lives. Eventually, even I left, as the whole settlement became completely devoid of life, and I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in doom and gloom.”

“Ah… Ah’m so sorry to hear that, Ma’am,” Applejack apologized when it became apparent by the tone in the elder’s voice that it was a sore subject.

“Don’t pity me, filly. Pity the one who chose to stay behind.”

“Wait, somepony chose to stay behind in the abandoned village?”

“Yes. Many have tried to convince her to leave, saying that there’s no sane reason to stay and endure suffering that could easily be avoided. And she flatly refused.”

“Why would anypony want to stay in a horrible place you describe?”

She uttered a single word. “Hope.”

The words lingered, and the mares waited for a follow-up, but there was nothing. Not that it mattered, as a voice in the distance soon got their attention.

“Grandma Zeg’us!”

It came from the front, on the trail that they walked. A group of abadas was carrying the freshly harvested produce off the field and stacking it in a pile just by the side of the trail, and a lone zebra stood by, waving in their direction. The elder one waved back, and like her, the rest of the followers sped up to get to her… but not all.

As the youngest in the group rushed with the rest so she could keep up, she suddenly slowed down, and that was because she realized that she wasn’t the only one whose pace slowed down, but her ground to a halt. Her mentor was standing still like a statue, or at least it seemed so. But when Applebloom went to check up close, her shorter stature allowed her to see beneath the hood, and she saw the shaman with a shocked look on her face - she was trembling, it almost seemed that she was about to start hyperventilating.

“Zecora? What’s wrong?” she asked.

The Elements and the additions approached the managing mare with Zeg’us. The mare before them had a frizzy mohawk that hung on the right side of her face, bearing a symbol of a fern on her flank, and she was moving the beads about on an abacus that she had with her, calculating the amount of produce.

“Grandma Zeg’us, what going on here?” she inquired.

“Surprised by the new faces, are you, Sanaa? I have to say, I was surprised as well when I first saw them. Apart from being outsiders, I had not expected them to be this colorful.”

“Khm,” Spike interrupted the awkwardness, “Madam, I believe introductions are in order.”

She chuckled. “Of course, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce you to Sanaa, our High Shaman’s eldest daughter.”

“Oh please, Grandma, stop with the flattery, I’m just the manager of the fields. And while I’m happy to meet them, aren’t you worried about repercussions for letting outsiders into Farasi? What if King Abraxas found out you’ve welcomed them?”

“But Sanaa, Abraxas allowed them to enter Farasi. Hasn’t Zola told you?”

“No. And that’s all the more what I was wondering, grandma. How are you here? The caravans haven’t departed for Mansa yet. And why did Zola and a horde of others come running up the road just a few moments earlier?”

The elder gave a confused look. “Wait… they didn’t stop and tell you anything?”

“Why? What’s happened?”

“Sanaa, the kingdom of Mansa has been attacked by outsiders.”

“What?!” She pointed at the characters next to her. “Who are they then?”

“They’re the ones that came to warn us about the attack. Those evildoers came from their homeland.”

“No… I wasn’t informed at all. Zola and others just ran by without stopping. I even waved at her, and all she did was look at me as if she didn’t know me.”

When she said that, it suddenly set off an alarm in the ponies. “Hold on, did you just say she acted as if she didn’t know you? Are you sure she wasn’t just in a rush to warn the king of abadas?” Twilight questioned.

“We were friends from way back when we were just fillies. I know her, even if she did move to the city of Musa. And the last time I’ve seen her was some sixty solar cycles ago; that’s not nearly enough time to just forget a person.”

“It wouldn’t be the only time, girl,” the elder agreed. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen her being odd, especially because I could’ve sworn I saw her in the group of other zebras when they chose to fight against the city’s invaders. I’m not sure how she ended up on the beach.”

“Wait… Madam, did you just say that she was elsewhere completely compared to when she said she was when we met her?” Rarity inquired.

Now both zebras’ attention was directed towards the ponies. “Miss, is something wrong?” the younger one wondered.

“I’d say so,” Pinkie Pie spoke out. “If some things seem off with somepony, like acting as if they’re not themselves or seem to be in more than one place at the same time, it can only mean one thing…”

Before she could answer fully, a sound of panicking and screaming could be heard in the distance.

“Oh no… You don’t think…?” the workhorse suggested.

They quickly galloped off in its direction, leaving the two zebras behind.

“Wait! What’s going on?” the younger one wanted to know.

“Trouble!” Spike answered.

The two had to pick up the pace to try and catch up to them, as the Elements of Harmony entered the dense jungle to which their path had taken them, and as they pushed onward, the sound of chaos grew louder. They finally came across a tall wooden wall with a wide-open gate, and once they passed through, they were met with the sight of the huts made from dried grass, strewn all over the place, the settlement itself looked as if overgrown with exotic plants, and their residents… they were being chased about by very familiar alien-equine creatures.

“So, we were right!” agreed the party planner.

After a while, the two zebras finally managed to catch up to them and were left shocked by what they were seeing.

“What is this?! What are these creatures?!” Sanaa panicked.

“They’re the changelings!” Rainbow Dash exposited. “They were with the Storm King this whole time! I thought it was weird that they didn’t just jump in when they invaded the city.”

“But where did they come from? If they were trailing us all the way, then Zecora would’ve likely noticed them, she was at our back after all.”

The younger mare gave her a confused look. “Wait… What…?”

“They can hide in plain sight, Madam Zeg’us,” the animal caretaker interrupted the inquiry from the other equine. “They have the ability to-”

“ZOLA!” the manager called out all of a sudden, interrupting the explanation.

Her sight wandered across the scene and quickly spotted the zebra mare, who she recognized as her friend. This same mare that had led the front of the group the whole way for Twilight and the rest, and now she stood in the open and that’s when one of the invasive beings came charging in her direction. Immediately, Sanaa galloped in her direction.

“Wait, stop!” Twilight tried to dissuade her.

She ignored her, leaping and tacking the other mare to the group to save her from the invader who nearly got her.

“Are you okay, Zola?” she asked her, to which the mare was just staring at her without a word, and then slowly nodded.

“Look out!” another voice called out.

Even more changeling drones swooped in all of a sudden and right at her rescuer, but before they could reach their target, they were all enveloped by a pink aura and got tossed aside, as the alicorn acted quickly, as she and the rest joined her side. “Sanaa, you can’t go charging in like this!” she scolded her. “These creatures are unpredictable and deceptive! If you’re not careful they will swarm you!”

And that’s precisely what happened, as several dozen changelings suddenly directed their attention to the newcomers and surrounded the air around them, and soon after, a handful of zebra stallions came running out of the cover, and towards the group. They knew the attack was coming, and the princess decided to act quickly, erecting a magic barrier around them… or rather, she tried - she cast a spell, and just as it was about to materialize, it dispersed. She tried again, and nothing happened.

“Twilight, we could use some magic right now,” her dragon companion urged.

“I’m trying! I don’t know why nothing’s happening!"

But as she looked around, and saw that the zebra stallions were no longer approaching, but instead stood still, it was beginning to dawn on her what the reason was. Suddenly, the rescued zebra got back on her feet and simply walked away from the group.

“Zola, what are you doing?!” her friends wondered.

She stopped halfway between them and other zebras, before turning to her, and a wicked smile appeared on her face.

“Zola…?”

“She’s not what she appears to be!” Fluttershy warned her.

---

Aboard one of the zeppelins of his fleet, the Storm King loomed over the map made of dark light, depicting the city of Musa, and explaining his scheme. “The locals will be trapped. No escape.”

“Very ingenious, Storm King,” Queen Chrysalis praised. “If you don’t count somepony who can just teleport herself and others on the other side of the barrier.”

He groaned. “That’s not my problem, queenie! You can’t expect me to take care of all the holes in our plan! If you think you can come up with a better idea, I’m all ears! If I had fully functioning ears anyway…”

“Touchy, aren’t you?” she said with an unamused expression. “Anyway, I wasn’t trying to be dismissive of your plan. In fact, this works to our advantage.”

“Oh yes? Do explain, Chrysalis,” the centaur lord eagerly awaited. “If Twilight and her gang of misfits manage to escape the city’s lockdown, how does that benefit us?”

“Simple, Lord Tirek: Regardless if the lockdown succeeds, in order to make sure our plan works, there are still other two kingdoms that need to be pacified, and the fact of the matter is, we don’t know where they are, and how to get there. We could be combing the entire land to find it, sure, but that would take far too long. So, why not let others show us the way instead?”

“And how are you going to do that?” the walking statue inquired.

“Easy. Twilight and her friends will get beyond your electric fence, that’s a guarantee.”

“Yes, you already said that, but they don’t know the way either. They’re here for the first time just as we are.”

“True. However, one good thing they have going for is that our attack will without a doubt put them in good graces with the locals, which means they’ll help them in any way they can.”

“Ah… I see where this is going,” the Pillar of Anger put it together. “You want to exploit that good grace.”

She nodded, then moved to the side of the map and pointed at the border of the barrier to the south by the oceanside. “Grogar, once the barrier is up, I’ll need you to open a portal at this location. It’s far away enough from prying eyes, and the locals will be too panicky to notice us. After that, we just have to wait for the ponies to turn up and follow them. Can you do that?”

The ram sorcerer remained silent as the three Pillars discussed the plan, while he was maintaining the presence of the map. “No problem.”

A giant monstrous cloud face flew over the city and then spewed lightning at the four tallest golden-plated towers that represented the corners of the settlement. Electricity between them connected and expanded into a large electric dome, trapping all of the inhabitants within its limits. While this was happening, on the coast, outside of the barrier, a portal of dark light opened, and the queen of changelings and her swarm rushed through before it closed again. And then she kept out of sight, observing the goings on inside and waiting, all the while carefully keeping an eye open on the hill that was the only exit from the valley, and soon enough, she saw figures climbing it, ones that were clearly more than just colors of black, and white.

She grinned. “It’s time.”

And in a massive green flash, the changelings shapeshifted into the form of locals.

---

A burst of green flash enveloped her, and the Queen of Changelings was once again in her normal appearance, towering over other equines before her.

“Well… I thought it felt all too convenient…” Autumn blaze quipped.

“Y… you’re not Zola…” the field managed staggered.

“Oh? Did the absence of bright color give me away?” she joked. “You should be more worried about yourself right now, dear.”

The zebra stallions that surrounded the group also flashed in green color, revealing themselves to be changelings as well, and these wore dark spiked armor, something that a trio of fliers recognized.

“Hey, they look like the changelings that were negating the magic of the Crystal Heart back at the Crystal Empire,” the wonderbolt pointed out.

“Of course, they are, Rainbow Dash,” Discord said as he poked his head out of the fanny pack around Fluttershy’s neck. “They’re made from the same stone that they’ve been mining in Dragon Lands.”

“So that they could use it against us,” the animal caretaker gulped finished.

“Recapping how you all ruined my operation aside, I must thank you all for leading us here,” the lead changeling cackled.

“You’re not going to get away with this, Chrysalis,” the alicorn bit back. “Once the king finds out-!”

“The king? He knows nothing. We’re the only ones who know what’s happened, and my changelings have already taken care of all the locals in the surrounding area. I’ve seen the size of this place, and this is just a small settlement tucked away in a massive jungle. We’ll deal with them slowly, one after another, until only the place where the king dwells remains, but by then it’ll already be too late,” Chrysalis boasted about her plan. “Now go on. Call for help. Scream, all you like, but there are none here now that will be able to help any of you.”

Twilight hated to admit it, but she may have been correct in her assessment. Subtlety was something that the changelings were extremely good at, and they came prepared for a covert action. They weren’t. And with her soldiers wearing the magic-negating rock armor, she wouldn’t be able to do anything against them. They were completely at her mercy.

A gentle breeze was in the meantime pulling through the trees; it was completely harmless. But moments later, it started to pick up, the strength of the wind was slowly beginning to push the changelings that were flying off their positions. Soon enough, Chrysalis also took notice of the sudden change in her surroundings. She saw the fliers getting blown away, and even the ones that were on the ground and wearing armor were beginning to show signs of struggle. And just when they thought that the gale was at its peak, an unexpected force that would match a storm thrust through the jungle and picked her and her soldier off their feet, sending her flying. Moments later, the wind subsided, completely disappearing. The group was unable to understand what stroke of luck they just had from this sudden divine intervention sent by nature, but they soon discovered they were only half right.

With a grinding sound on the ground nearby, the group was alerted to a presence that had just joined them. It was an abada, taller than those they saw on the way here, and he wore a headdress made of numerous feathers and a red cloak. And the look on his face was stern.

Out of the group, the younger zebra rushed out and then bowed before him. “King Amun, I cannot thank you enough for the timely rescue.”

“I can see that,” he answered, then gazing at the ponies. “My guess is that Abby’s attempt at keeping outsiders away has failed, hasn’t it?”

“Unfortunately, Your Majesty,” the elder one joined, “and with the help of these colorful ones I’ve come to warn you about it.”

“Wait,” Rainbow Dash forced herself into the conversation, “Chrysalis said that nobody knew we were here, how did you get the warning?”

“I told him.”

Another voice came out of the nearby growth, and another abada entered the settlement clearing; this one was brown, but also black, as he was almost completely caked in dirt.

“Imari?” Sanaa regarded him. “How did you know?”

“Did you forget where I work, Sanaa? I can see really far in almost any direction from the top of Mount Chinjaio. A large horde of zebras trekking through the desert isn’t something that could be considered normal, so I told the king about it.”

The leader nodded, before directing his attention to the newcomers. “And who are you, outsiders?”

The princess stepped forth. “Your Majesty, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and there are my friends, the Council of Friendship.”

“Except me,” the kirin answered, “I’m just here because of unfortunate circumstances.”

“Anyway,” she resumed, “we came to warn you about the villains from our lands that have come here to take what Madame Zeg’us and Zecora’s tribe are hiding.”

With those words, the younger zebra and abada quickly turned to her, but the ruler spoke first. “I see… If that is the case, then I guess that Abby’s hooves are full right now.”

“AND SO WILL YOU!”

The howl of rage was carried on the wind, soon to be accompanied by a loud buzzing sound, and its owner was fast approaching, malice drawn on her face.

“Wingardians!” Amun commanded.

Just as it seemed that the Queen of Changelings was going to reach the target of her hatred unopposed, four sudden quick bursts of wind came from four different directions, completely putting her off balance, making her hit the dirt under her and grinding to a halt. It even took the Elements of Harmony a bit to realize that four new figures were suddenly standing beside the king of abadas, each of them dressed in a shoulder-long cloak made of feathers.

“If you’ve come to our land to do us harm, Creature of Malice, you will find it difficult to achieve your goal. The five of us are more than enough to deal with you,” the leader looked down on her.

As Chrysalis rose from the dirt, only a wicked smile could be seen on her face. “Four against me, maybe. But what about four against… A SWARM?!”

Suddenly, from their surroundings, a buzzing sound erupted, and from the cover of the jungle, a multitude of changelings emerged, eager to attack their target. They charged! Without their leader having to say anything, the four guards rushed each in its own direction, bursting through the invading army. Some of the changelings assumed the forms of other flying creatures, such as birds of prey and dragons, but their speed wasn’t able to match them. Meanwhile, the king focused his sight on their leader.

“I know what you’re thinking. Don’t bother, you feather-headed idiot.” All of a sudden, several of her armored soldiers rushed before their queen to protect her. “Your pawns may be able to keep others at bay, but you don’t stand a chance without your magic.” Much to her surprise, he slowly began to walk in her direction. “Wait, you’re approaching me? Didn’t you hear what I just said?” He didn’t answer, his pace only increased. “Fine,” she smiled. “Let’s watch that speed of yours grind to a halt.”

And then he went off into a gallop. All she did was laugh, but that quickly disappeared, when he became so fast that her sight barely kept up with his movement. He went straight through her “barrier”, and then she went into the air just before he had a chance to hit her, but by then she already lost track of him. She was confused, the anti-magic armor should’ve nullified his power, so why was he able to use it still? She suddenly felt a breeze at her back, one that quickly turned into a gale and something solid contacted her back, knocking her out of the sky and making her fall.

“Wow… he’s as fast as Abraxas…” Rainbow Dash commented.

“I’m faster.” The wind lord was standing right next to her, and his sudden appearance made her jump in surprise. “But we alone won’t be able to stop her by ourselves. Watami needs to be warned as well.”

“I can show them the way, Your Majesty,” Sanaa quickly offered. “And they’ll be able to protect Grandma Zeg’us.”

“Then don’t wait for my orders, High Shaman’s foal.” And with those words, he dashed away.

“Alright, come on!” the young zebra ordered, and others present quickly followed.

“You’re not going anywhere!” Chrysalis roared and quickly flew after them, only to be stopped on the spot, as the king rammed into her. “How… how are you still able to use your powers when I have items that negate magic?!”

He glanced at her. “Because that power isn’t mine alone to own, shapeshifter.”

The younger zebra led the group through the trail that was overgrown, traveling further west and out of the jungle. After some time, they finally stopped for a reprieve, allowing the elder one to rest.

“Imari, why are you still here?” she asked the abada. “Shouldn’t you stay behind and help your people?”

“I would. But there’s something I want to ask the outsiders, and I couldn’t do that in the midst of chaos.”

“Actually, thanks for reminding me. I too have something to ask.”

“And I also have something to ask,” Autumn Blaze suddenly said. “Anypony else thinks we’re a few numbers short?”

They looked about, and the ponies quickly realized that there was a decrease in their numbers by three.

“Hold on, I thought that we were missing something greenish… I wasn’t just imagining. Where’s Seasaddle?!” Rainbow Dash was the first point out.

“I don’t know! I remember he was still with us back in Musa!” Fluttershy looked about. “When did we lose him?”

“Never mind him!” Applejack raised her voice in panic. “Where’s Applebloom?! Did the changelings get her when Ah wasn’t paying attention?!”

“I shouldn't worry about her, Applejack. If I had to guess, she probably went the way of Zecora,” Pinkie Pie pointed out. “And looky here: She too disappeared. The way she was acting since we landed, I bet she’s gone after her. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Wait wait, all of you hold everything!” the younger zebra garnered everybody’s attention. “So, you were serious with what you’ve said earlier? Zecora’s here? She’s really back in Farasi?”

“You know her, miss?” Rarity asked.

“Of course, I do! She’s my little sister!”

Comments

[nightshroud96]

Uh oh, 3 of them are missing now.

[JFT]

11810747
A catastrophe averted at the last moment.

[Wild Stallion]

Nothing I didn't predict but it's nice to be right.

Looking forward to the confrontation with Tirek.

[JFT]

11817358
His slumber's gonna be shortlived.