Turmoil Rising

by JFT

Chapter 73: The Splits

“Wait. So, they crawled out right from under this restaurant?” Starlight Glimmer inquired.

She stared at the opening in the wall through which the changelings had come, all the while levitating the invaders whom she had trapped inside a large magical bubble after she had found them all unconscious. By now though, most of them had woken up and were making hissing and buzzing noises.

“Aye, lass,” Rockhoof confirmed. "Ah think it must’ve been fate that we were ‘ere when dat happened. Were it not for the two of us, dem nasties would’ve taken over the whole place, and none of us would’ve been the wiser.”

“What were you and Stygian doing anyway?”

“Well, after dat lil’ invasion, we decided to check where dey came from. The tunnel’s pretty long, and crawlin’ all the way to the end didn’t help. And we found dis huge tunnel dat connected to ours, and we saw many more changelings, digging more and more of it. We tried to go further to the source, to see where dey were comin’ from, but when we managed to get der our cover was blown and we had to leg it. Ah managed to buy us enough time by collapsing the tunnel so we could sneak back through our passage and blockin’ the entrance in the progress, so hopefully, dey won’t be able to follow us.”

“I wouldn’t be too hopeful, Rockhoof.” The headmare put the prison orb on the ground for a moment, and then her horn glowed, as did the inside of the tunnel, and in a flash, what was once a hole in the wall was now completely gone; no trace of dug-up dirt was present. “There. They won’t even know it ever existed.”

“Well, except for dat lot,” he pointed at the prisoners.

“Don’t worry,” she reassured him, as she levitated the wall bricks back in their place and fixed up the structural damage. “I think I know what to do with them.”

“Ya should be worried more what their queen’s gonna do once she finds out dey went missing. Considering she’s ordered dem to dig that tunnel she might get suspicious.”

“That can’t be right, Rockhoof. That’s actually something that’s been bothering me. Chrysalis isn’t in Equestria anymore. As far as I know, she went to a foreign land, and Twilight and the rest went after her. She’s been gone for several days, so she couldn’t have been the one to order them to dig that huge tunnel.”

“Den who did, lass?”

The question was stuck in their heads. Starlight especially couldn’t come up with a possible suspect, knowing how loyal these changelings were to their queen and mother, but especially seeing how aggressive they were compared to the original ones. But then her eyes halted on the scrawny grey unicorn who was quiet through this whole time, seemingly in deep thought.

“You’ve hardly said anything since you came back, Stygian,” she regarded him. “Is there something on your mind?”

He slowly turned to her. “There’s… something I saw when we were in the tunnel.”

“Odd. Ah didn’t see anything,” Rockhoof said. “Ah just saw you go completely still, so much so dat yer cover fell off and Ah had to carry ya away so dat the changelings wouldn’t get ya.”

“And whatever you saw,” the headmare continued, “it gave you pause? What was it?”

“At the end of the big tunnel, I saw a large pool of green glowing water. There was this giant sinister tree growing out from the middle of it, and…” he paused before answering. “I… I’m not sure. It was like a mass of darkness, rising from the pool, and it was looking at the changelings with its icy stare.”

“Wait,” the pink unicorn made him hold the thought, “a green magical pool with a tree growing out of it, and a presence of a shadowy being?”

“You know what it is?”

“By what Twilight and others described to me. Stygian, I think what you saw was the problem that resides within the Everfree Forest. It’s called Turmoil. Or rather, a piece of it.”

The stallion thought for a moment. “Then… that’s what Miss Rarity told me about!”

“Wait, you’ve met her?”

“Yeah, by pure coincidence. I was in Croup Town when I bumped into her. She was in a hurry and didn’t have time to explain what was going on, so she sent me here.”

“Well, then I guess my words would be pointless since you’ve just seen the problem first-hand. What else did you see?”

“The changelings. The being was towering over them and looking down on them, and they moved swiftly. It didn’t speak to them, but they acted as if they were given orders: They moved swiftly and with purpose.”

“Are you suggesting, Stygian, that IT was the one that commanded them to dig the tunnel?”

“I don’t see any other possible way if Chrysalis isn’t here.”

“But that still doesn’t explain how or why. Chrysalis wouldn’t allow anycreature to command her changelings. So, what happened then?” She saw that he was about to speak but then paused as if the words that were about to be uttered refused to leave his mouth. “Stygian? What happened?”

He finally said something, but it was clear it was something else entirely. “I saw another one rise.”

“Another one?”

“Yeah. The sentient mass of darkness, just like the other one, but whereas this one was cold, that one was terrifying to look at. And when that happened, I felt as if all the air got knocked out of me and…after that, it all went blank.”

“Aye, ya did, lad. Dat’s why Ah had to pick ya up, because ya outright fainted. But truth be told, Ah couldn’t really see anything dat you did, so Ah’ll just take your word for it,” the Pillar of Strength said.

Starlight picked up the trapped changelings. “Then my guess is that what he saw was another one of Turmoil’s manifestations. Both of you were lucky you managed to get away when you did. Considering how close you were to the heart of the villain’s lair. Still, it doesn’t explain why they’re digging the tunnel.”

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

“Is everything okay down zhere?” a voice called out from the other side of the door after the knock on them.

“No worries, we’re done,” the headmare answered.

The cook finally opened the door and trotted downstairs. “Zhank you very much for your help, Miss Starlight.”

“Eh, I’m just the clean-up crew here. You should thank them for being in the right place at the right time.” She pointed at the two stallions. “Anyway, we’ll show ourselves out now. But if something similar happens again, come and call us in advance. Rockhoof, Stygian. Come, we’re getting out of here.” Her horn began to glow, but just as she was about to teleport them away…

“Wait!” the skinny unicorn stopped her. “If it’s all the same, I’ll go back to the castle on foot. I have… things to think about.”

She nodded. “Okay, we’ll meet you there. I’m certain Star Swirl will be delighted to see you.”

“Ah’m sure he will. Ah know Ah was.” The imposing stallion smiled.

And with a flash, they were gone.

Stygian looked then at the cook, and waved her goodbye, before hurrying up the stairs and dashing out of the restaurant. He galloped away from the town’s center, finally stopping within the settlement where there were fewer people around. Finally, away from any form of distractions, he inhaled and exhaled, so he could clear his thoughts. And yet when he tried to do that…

We sense a presence. A presence… one touched by turmoil. So much hatred.

Plagued by fear. And others…

Those words, uttered by those voices. That’s what was hanging over him. Even though he was clearly hidden from their sight, they sensed his presence… or rather, they sensed his burdens. The terrifying thing was that, before he heard that doubting voice in his head, this wasn’t an issue, but now that he was in the presence of those dreadful abominations, thoughts that he thought he had long dispelled, began bubbling up on the surface again. And he hid it from both the Pillar and the headmare. He had to. He couldn’t let them know what he was bottling up inside, not after all that’s already happened. And to make matters worse, Star Swirl was now going to know for sure that he was in town, which meant that he couldn’t just run away either. And he knew how perceptive Starlight was. What could he possibly do at this point so that his emotional state wouldn’t be pointed out in the presence of others?

As he was wandering about with preoccupied thoughts though, he was soon roused out of them by the sound of heavy hooves coming from his left side, but from whom they were coming was not what he expected. It was a young unicorn mare, the one with a curly mane whom he had seen earlier when they left the castle. She was the one making the angry stomping sounds, and for a good reason – an ice cream cone was sitting in the place where her horn was supposed to be, and the icy sweetness was dripping down her face. To say that her face was displaying anger would be an understatement. He looked in the direction from which she came. There was an ice cream stand close by, and there he saw the other two who were with her earlier – the small-winged pegasus mare and the stag, the latter having a horrified look on his face.

“Bramble, are you gonna be okay?” she asked him.

After a prolonged pause, he dragged his hooves away from her. “I… I need to be alone right now…”

The unicorn watched the deer walking away from the stand, while the pegasus ran after the unicorn. Stygian noticed that he wasn’t going to any other part of town, but out of it. He watched him closely and soon realized that he was going in the direction of the Everfree Forest. And then he saw it, looking in the distance above it, was a dark cloud that was casting a sinister shadow below. That was likely where this “Turmoil” resided. Then, he suddenly remembered the conversation he overheard from the young mares – this was a prince from another kingdom… and they just let him wander off on his own into the worst possible place! He had to interfere!

“Hey wait!” he called out, running in his direction.

The despondent young stag raised his head in notice.

“Wait, you’re Zecora’s older sister?!” Pinkie Pie reacted in shock after the revelation from the zebra with a droopy frizzy mohawk, before returning to normal. “Oh yeah, she did mention she had one.”

“Is that so?” She raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised she even remembered that I existed.”

“Then I’m more than happy to confirm that it’s true,” Twilight answered with a smile.

Before she could speak further though, the black dirt-caked abada rushed to her and grabbed her with his hooves, shaking her in excitement. “So, it’s true?! Zecora really has come home?!”

“You know her too?” Applejack wondered.

“Of course I do! She’s my best friend in the world! She’s the only one that doesn’t call me by my nickname!” the stallion said excitedly.

“Dust Bowl…” an angry tone suddenly escaped the zebra next to him.

He came to realize that she was glaring at him for that slight. “Sorry. I meant to say one of the few who don’t call me by nickname.”

“Get in line, Imari. I’m the one doing the questioning here.” The abada let go of the alicorn and stepped to the side, while she came to face her. “So, it’s true that Zecora’s come home then? Good, because I would like to share a few words with her.”

“It’s perfectly understandable, miss,” Rarity agreed. “I know full well what it’s like to not see your little sibling in a long time…”

“You misunderstood,” Sanaa interrupted her. “I do not want to see her again so I can express my affection towards her. I want to see her so I can chew her out, and tell her how much I hate her for what she’s done to our tribe!”

The Elements just stood there, agape, unable to believe what they just heard.

“Oooooooooookay, this went from one to eleven quickly,” Autumn Blaze leaned to the side and whispered to Rainbow Dash.

“That’s horrible! She’s your sister!” Fluttershy responded. “Zecora’s just returned home after so many moons to help protect her home, and you would want to spite her? Why?”

A loud sound of multiple screeching creatures erupted in the jungle behind them, followed by the wrath and fury of their queen.

“That will have to wait,” Zeg’us answered to its notice. “You’ve heard what King Amun said, Sanaa. We have to get to Carthage and warn the kelpie queen.”

“HOLD ON!” the workhorse immediately protested. “What about Applebloom?! She could be anywhere and in danger!”

“Don’t worry, Applejack,” the party planner calmed her. “I think we can take an easy guess that she went after Zecora, that would explain why they both disappeared. You can trust that she’ll take good care of her wherever she goes.”

The Element of Honesty gave her a concerned look, but it mellowed down after a while. “Okay… I’ll trust Zecora. She’s never failed us before.”

A snorting noise followed as if somebody present was doubting that idea. It didn’t take long to figure out it was the younger of the two zebras.

“Lead the way,” the elder one prompted.

“Right, grandma.” She nodded, then turned back to the mud-caked abada. “Imari, go back and warn the rest of your tribe about what’s happening. Your king’s gonna need all the help he can get.”

“Wait, what about-” he protested for a moment.

“Zecora’s not here, as you’ve just heard. Now stop standing about and move, quickly!” At her command, the local dashed back into the overgrowth, disappearing out of sight within seconds, after which she then turned to the rest and nodded to follow her.

They galloped across the fertile fields that stood on the edges of the dense jungle area, traveling further northwest. Unlike earlier, however, the sun was slowly beginning to touch the horizon, and by now they’ve only just started to notice that the dirt under their hooves was beginning to disappear.

“Hold up!” Spike called up.

Riding on the back of his sibling, they stopped close to the guide. It became apparent that the rest of the group was lagging and for several good reasons.

Pinkie Pie’s puffy mane was beginning to sag, as she carried Zeg’us on her back after being handed to her by the shy pegasus, as the elderly mare had to be exchanged between each of the council members so that she could keep up with the rest. “Excuse me…” she breathed deeply, before tossing the passenger on the back of the blue pegasus, whose legs had nearly given out from under her, “but how long before we get to where we’re going?”

“The kelpie’s domain is still a few hours away,” the leading zebra answered. “We won’t reach it by the time the sun sets.”

“Great…” Rainbow Dash dragged her hooves to the rest. “Can we finally have some well-deserved rest then? We’ve been running non-stop for the past twelve hours…”

“Of course not. We’ve still got a good hour or so before the sun sets, so we’re continuing until then.”

“Pardon my language, miss, but: You’ve got to be kidding me!” Rarity erupted, the tone of frustration noticeable in her voice. “We’ve been in near constant gallop since this morning, and we’ve not rested for more than an hour!”

“And I supervise all the fields beneath Mount Chinjaio. From down till dusk. Every. Day. You’ve no excuse saying you’re exhausted when I basically do more work than anybody else here besides the King.”

The elder zebra slid off the wonderbolt’s back. “Now Sanaa, not everybody’s a workaholic workhorse like you.” She turned to the rest. “Do forgive her. She’s always had an obsession with completing her tasks to the maximum. Has ever since she was a wee filly.”

“Grandma! Don’t talk about me as if I’m an infant and not present!”

“Be that as it may, Sanaa, we’re close to the dunes. Once the sun sets, the cold’s going to fall on the desert, and we’ve nothing to keep us warm. If we have to continue, at least let them have some respite.”

“What are you suggesting, Grandma Zeg’us? That we just sit down here and watch how the abadas are fighting against monsters until we fall asleep?”

“I think King Amun has everything under control. Don’t take him and his Wingardians lightly.”

There was a sudden flash of light. It came from the opposite direction of where the sun was… where the battle was taking place. They saw a big part of the jungle suddenly being on fire when there was none before.

The field manager stared at the scene in shock. “What the… I didn’t know those monsters had fire powers too!”

“They don’t,” Twilight gazed in horror. “But I know who does.”

---

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh…” Tirek groaned loudly.

Hours had passed since Grogar had opened a portal that allowed the changeling queen to proceed with her undercover operation. He watched all of it unfold, as he stared into the eye of his arimaspi, showing him the image of a person which he was following, and most of it was spent running through the desert. And at this point, the centaur had gotten bored.

“Is there really nothing going on?” he questioned the old ram.

“Nothing that would be of concern,” he answered.

He groaned again. “It’s been hours! I can’t believe that that bug hasn’t done anything yet. Meanwhile, I’m here wasting time, when I could actually be doing something!” He slouched against the railing of the airship, and gazed into the distance, at the lightning dome-covered city, as its owner, a giant living cloud face, rained beams of lightning at the buildings beneath him, and every now and then, a small figure leaped at it, leaving a light streak behind, failing to catch him, all the while he could hear smaller battles on the streets. “Look them all, having so much fun. The sound of steel clashing, the war cries, the displays of great power… It’s making me feel… GIDDY.” His hooves started to jitter, making the ship’s deck squeak and boom as the metal and wood trembled, making a noticeable noise.

“Knocking it off, boy,” Grogar scolded him. “You’re disturbing my concentration.”

“Fine, I’ll do that.” The Pillar of Anger grabbed hold of the ship’s railing. “I’m going down there, so I can pass some time-”

“Don’t even think about it!” a voice halted him, one that belonged to the weaselly shape that flew to the front of his face. “You’re going to stick to the plan, Devourer. The Scourgelord can handle things by himself. You’ll be of no use if you end up tiring yourself out by the time the last kingdom is reached.”

“I’ve been waiting all day, Doubt! The sun’s about to go down and it’ll be dark soon. For all we know, Chrysalis’ group will stop for the night. What am I supposed to do?!”

Conserve your anger… Harness the rage… You’ll have outlet for your frustration, soon enough…

That voice, that whisper. It garnered his attention for a moment, knowing it came from the small bag that hung around his neck.

“Anger has spoken, Devourer. Do as you are told.” And the vaporous form flew away.

Once again, Tirek groaned with boredom. “Fine. Then I’m taking an early snooze… even with the racket below. Wake me up at the crack of dawn.” And as he lay down, the fiery hair on his head, face, and tail slowly died down as if somebody had turned down the gas on the cooker, but…

“I fear your nap will have to wait, boy. You’ll have to spring into action,” the grizzled ram announced.

At the drop of a hat, the flame on him instantly rose again, and he jumped back on his hooves. “It’s time then? They’re at the last kingdom now? Took them long enough.”

“No,” he corrected him. “The Queen of Changelings has arrived at her destination and is putting up a fight against the locals as we speak.”

“Wait, why did you wake me up then?”

“You’ll have to go ahead of her.”

“Go ahead of… Hold on! What’s that supposed to mean?” the centaur inquired. “You’re telling me I’m to go off before those ponies get to their destination?”

“Yes,” he bluntly stated.

“We already have the plan set up, Shaper,” Doubt protested as it slithered to him. “We’re not deviating from it.”

“Plans never survive contact with the enemy. And in this case, we’ll have to change it.”

It glared at him. “Why?”

He glanced at the shadowy form. “Because I can only keep an eye on one event at a time.”

Some time passed before another word was spoken. “And this… event, is far more important than what’s happening at the moment?” Much to Doubt’s surprise, the sorcerer nodded. “So, what exactly are you suggesting then?”

“The boy is bored. Have him hunt his prey to pass the time. The final result will ultimately be the same, even if the element of surprise is gone.”

The vapor looked at Tirek, and then to the neighboring airship where the nirik waited. “Very well. We’re doing it.”

“What?! Why are you siding with him?!” the centaur erupted in anger, his flaming features glowing brightly.

“You’ve heard him, Devourer. You said you wanted to pass the time, here’s your chance.”

Tirek rolled his eyes. He didn’t expect that his frustration would come to bite him in the rear end. Even so, it was better than waiting here and doing nothing. He turned in the direction of the ship that hosted his army, then charged and lept over the edge, landing on the deck of the said vessel. He then turned and waved back.

“Open the way, Shaper,” Doubt ordered.

The ram’s horns began to glow in dark light, and soon after, a portal opened on the airship where Tirek and his army awaited. From their position they could hear his yell, commanding his anger-controlled masses to march through. By the time the last nirik disappeared, the centaur himself marched through, and after that, the portal shut closed.

“Now explain yourself, Shaper,” the weaselly vapor regarded the ram who still sat in front of his pet, staring into its eye. “It’s clear that the Devourer was a thorn in your side and you wanted to see him gone. But who exactly did you think was worth your time more than the very beings that could ruin our plans?”

“The ponies will reach their destination regardless; even if we’re trying to prevent the kingdoms from interfering we’re only delaying the inevitable. However…” He chuckled, and the physical manifestation of Doubt joined his side to check what he was looking at. “There is one who already knows where, what we are looking for, is, and she’s decided to go her separate way. She will lead us to our goal. You know of whom I speak, don’t you? After all, you saw her torment.”

The grizzled ram glanced to the side, and he noticed what resembled a grin forming upon the vapor’s limited expressions. The Eye of Arimaspi depicted the image of Equestria’s local zebra, frantically galloping.

As Tirek finally exited the portal, he wasn’t expecting at all that he was entering a battlefield. Changelings were flying all over the place, being flung about by the blurry shapes that he couldn’t clearly see. And even their leader was struggling to catch up with her target, that much was certain.

“Well, well, well… Having a hard time, Chrysalis?” he gave a snide remark.

She finally noticed him. “Tirek?! What are you doing here?!”

“Oh, nothing. I just figured I’d come and see how you’re doing, to see if you could use a helping hand,” he mused in a taunting tone.

“SHUT UP! I didn’t call for help! I don’t need you, nor your heckling-!” And just as she said that she got knocked out of the air, managing to stabilize herself at the last moment.

“Yes, I see. Anyway, I got sent to catch up to those trotters. Any idea where they went?”

“Hello?! I’m in the middle of something here and you expect me to keep an eye on them as well?! They disappeared into the jungle! You go and find them yourself!” A sudden breeze brushed past her and she quickly dodged it.

The Pillar of Anger rolled his eyes; if she refused to be helpful, he would have to do things on his own. “All of you, wait here,” he ordered to the nirik army.

He lept in the air at a nearby tree, reaching about halfway of it, and then began climbing it, imbedding his claws into the wood to help his ascension, until he finally got above the canopy. Over it, he could finally see the lay of the land, as the dense jungle sat between what looked like a dormant volcano and a mountain ridge, and miles upon miles of fields, which eventually turned to sandy dunes on the edge of the horizon. Even so, he couldn’t see where his targets could’ve possibly gone, and the sun was going to set soon - he had no choice but to improvise. He hooked his legs on the branches so he could have free use of his hands, and on each of them, he connected his thumb and index fingers, then proceeded to channel his magic to, create tiny fields that filled the circular gap in the formation. He then put one hand before the other until the fields aligned and then looked through them, allowing him to see in the distance, as if through a spyglass. He slowly turned around, trying to spot where the ponies could’ve possibly gone, going as far as the north by the volcano’s edge, slowly trailing to the left in the direction of the mountain ridge. He spotted a lone black and white shape running up north; there was no way that was any one of them. But as he moved further...

“AHA!” he reacted, as he suddenly noticed multiple figures moving in the direction of the setting sun, two of which seemed local, but the rest seemed just too colorful.

KRAAAK!

The tree suddenly shook and the centaur felt it! Something below was doing something to it, and he was too late to sense that it began to bend backward – the tree was falling, and he, with it.

THUUUUUD!

He crashed on the ground, and it fell on top of him, the only saving grace being that the top part of the wood wasn’t as thick as the bottom of it. Even so, it hurt. After twisting and turning, making sure that all of his bones were still in place, he suddenly noticed a lanky, long-faced, horned, equine-like being with a shoulder-long cloak made of feathers.

“You…” He glared at it. “You did this!”

He swiped at it, but the creature managed to dodge his attack. He got back on his feet and charged at it, but regardless of how much he tried to hit it, it evaded his every move. And the longer it took, the more frustrated he got, his flaming hair becoming brighter, until…

“ENOUGH!” and in a howling roar, the centaur breathed fire at the creature, and inferno so big that the jungle caught fire.

“Hey!” a familiar fury-like voice reacted. “I said I didn’t need your help! Go off already!”

“SHUT UP!” he roared. “I’m going to burn this whole place down-!”

No… You will not…

Tirek froze in place – he knew where that restrained voice was coming from, but he could feel its heat rising.

Stop wasting time… After them…

He didn’t want to just let it go like this, but he had to. At least he knew now where the ponies had gone. He noticed the creature that he attacked earlier close by, unscathed by his attack, but the horror was visible on its face.

All he did was sneer at it, before turning to his army. “Alright, all of you! With me!” and he galloped away, the nirik following him.

Despite barely participating in the fight, a momentary intervention from the centaur lord had greatly turned the tide of battle in the changeling’s favor. With the forest on fire, the locals from the surrounding houses began to panic and rushed to the site in an attempt to stop the fire from spreading, only to be ambushed by the alien-like terrors. Now, King Amun’s and his guard’s focus on the battle was completely broken, forcing him to dash between the trees to protect their people as they were attacked.

“You know what… Maybe I can work with this.” She smiled malevolently.

---

“Tirek’s here…” Twilight told them.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Spike complained.

“Ah hate to be that mare, but Ah don’t think that the king can handle both of them at the same time,” the workhorse gave the two zebras a concerned look.

“Twilight, I think we’ll have to go back and kick their rear ends,” Pinkie Pie suggested.

“I don’t think that’s an option, Pinkie,” the alicorn shut her down. “If what Autumn Blaze told us is true, then Tirek’s got one of Turmoil’s fragments with him - that’s how he’s controlling the kirin to serve him. And if our experience is anything to go on, there’s no way we can even hold a candle up against Tirek if he has it in his possession.”

“What are we supposed to do then, Twilight?” the fashionista asked. “Just let things play out?”

She didn’t answer immediately, turning her gaze away from the fire in the distance, and to the zebras. “If we’re lucky, he’ll come after us instead of staying behind. And if that’s the case, Madam Zeg’us, I fear we’ll have to continue the track to kelpie kingdom to make sure he doesn’t catch up to us.”

Some time passed, as the two still looked into the distance at the inferno that had just erupted. “If that’s the case,” the elder spoke at last, then turning to the younger one, “Sanaa, lead the way.”

She finally stirred, looking at her for a moment, and then dashed off, the rest of the mares following her, but not before the pink pony scooped up the old zebra and plopped it on the white unicorn’s back. “Your turn, Rarity!”

Her legs buckled from being unprepared for the load being dropped on top of her. “Agh! Pinkie, a forewarning would’ve been nice!”

They rushed off, but the shy pegasus slowed down once she realized somebody was not following. The lone kirin still sat, her back turned, facing the direction of the fire.

“Autumn Blaze?” she tried to get her attention.

There was a tone of grim certainty in her voice. “They’re with him, aren’t they…?”

Fluttershy placed her hoof on her shoulder. “I’m certain they are. But we can’t face them by ourselves. We have to go.”

She still sat for a bit longer, then finally got back on her feet and followed the animal caretaker, both of them galloping to catch up with the rest.

A lone zebra had been running for hours through the desert, the sand under her hooves not deterring her. She knew the path, she’d crossed it so many times in the past, and even after all these years, it hadn’t changed. The same went for the tall dune that she always had to ascend and descend – that was probably the hardest part of her journey so far, but it was nothing compared to what she would have to face if she stayed behind with ponies. She didn’t want to leave them, but meeting her family this early, especially the one she knew could bite… she just wasn’t ready for it yet. Once she reached the top of the sandy hill, she quickly descended to a nearby familiar rock, where she could take shelter, as at this point, twilight had already fallen. Even if she tried to cross the desert during the cold night, she was too exhausted after the day-long gallop – she needed to rest. She reached into her saddlebags, pulled out some firewood and kindling, and started a fire. The moment the light came on she let out a sigh of relief... only for it to turn into a yep of a shock when she suddenly noticed a young mare standing on the other side of it.

“I barely managed to keep up with you, Zecora…” Applebloom panted.

Comments

[nightshroud96]

Kind of wonder if it will be touched on about how Stygian is basically Spike's Pillar counterpart?