Creatures and Magic

by EpicGamer10075

Chapter 4: Light in the Darkness

It was warm here, in more ways than one.

Located in the dark and scary depths of the accursed Everfree Forest lay a respite in the form of a massive tree with a carved out interior, with the friendly Zebra known as Zecora calling it home. Inside, where she, Twilight, and Tianhuo sat, the slightly-toned-down flames coming off the latter creature who was meditating near the closed door, eyes closed and mind clearly calmed and far away from reality for the time being.

Twilight was thankful for all of that, as she could talk to her old friend in peace, with the Zebra in question having already taken the liberty of making her special brew of tea for the both of them.

Still, that hardly meant the air between them was perfectly calm...

“You can stop glancing at her flame,” Twilight spoke slightly admonishly to the other Zebra, “I trust her power, and that element she has tamed.”

Zecora smiled wryly in response, distinctly taking a sip of her tea, and said, “Don’t think I have no reason to be wary; wood and fire often only leave ash to carry.”

Sighing slightly in acceptance and understanding, Twilight set her own tea on the floor before her and looked over to Spike, who was resting on Zecora’s bed on the side of the room opposite the door, having been given his slimy green potion of medicine and was now thankfully resting rather calmly, with his illness tamped down for the time being. “I hope he’ll be okay...” She muttered, almost only to herself, “This strange illness gives him a lot of pain...”

A soft snort came from Zecora, and she responded in a faintly admonishing tone, “You truly ought to trust me more. This medicine has already proven itself before.” Pausing for just long enough for the other Zebra to slowly look back over to her, she added, “And, I’d say you must work on your rhyme; your conflicted thoughts make more than wasted time.”

Twilight took a deep inhale and let her gaze fall to the floor, a light amusement on her face, yet it hardly covered the disappointment and worry underneath. “He is my brother, you know... and I regret getting him here so slow. I do have every right to speak freely, even when he is healing. No matter... what his kind has done to yours in the past...” She continued, speaking more cautiously, “I will still care for him so that these moments won’t be his last.”

Looking back up, she could feel the lingering pain in Zecora’s eyes, her tribe’s battles with the Changelings clearly flickering in her mind, and Twilight knew to be thankful of how accepting the other Zebra had already been of her younger brother, but it still didn’t quell her sorrow with what she must’ve been putting her friend through. At the very least... she could try and push those thoughts away for the time being.

“I suppose, on that note, though,” She started, picking back up her tea, and trying to shrug off the weight of her earlier words, “Why does your tribe rhyme with such flow?”

Smirking slightly at the very obvious change of topic, Zecora took another sip and obliged, “It was to do with spells--my tribe makes much abnormal use of our magical wells. Many of these uses are all done in rhyme; be it potions, rituals, or any other way our magic shows itself in time, and it was not only a matter of doing it with more speed, as it had quickly seeped into our minds and become our creed.

“Of course, this focus on magic was clearly not all good,” She continued, expression falling as her tone turned somber, “Our bodies were left as weak as dead wood. You have already seen the outcome with my home, as it is now being a place only the dead roam.”

Twilight, despite being very intrigued about the intricacies of magic (and disappointed that the conversation immediately went back to her friend’s dour past), didn’t try and push the topic any farther, instead simply replying, “That makes enough sense; those words can often make songs, no less...”

Zecora nodded curtly in affirmation, but spoke in return, “Indeed, but there is something I’d like to ask in return, as your own kin has a secret I’d like to learn.” Getting an intrigued look and nod back from her friend, she continued, “Your tribe’s names are quite the oddity; all others, including my own, begin with ‘Z’.”

“Ah, I suppose that is rather strange..” Twilight muttered in response, looking down for a moment and seeing her tea quickly growing cold. “Well, it always did offer our names more range,” She remarked as she picked the tea up carefully and held it before her, continuing, “Our names did have a pattern, though; they always meant ‘the end’, or some other woe. I believe you recall my Chief and Shaman?” Getting a quick nod from the other Zebra, she took a long sip of her tea, trying to drown out her fears once more, and explained, “Termina and Omega were the names they were given.”

“That was their mindset, I suppose?” Zecora asked, a tint of horror in her tone, “To bring all other tribes to a close?”

“Yes, I think they believed themselves the absolute best...” Twilight replied, slightly unsure about it as she recalled the many rituals they had forced her into. “It was.. something to do with how other tribes were ‘filled with weakness’.”

“That’s hardly surprising.”

Twilight started and jerked around at the sudden voice, almost dropping her cup in the process, and saw Tianhuo still sitting near the door, her eyes now opened and looking towards the two Zebras. “Warlords often justify their conquests through such self-superiority, as I’ve seen all too often throughout history. Even my own Empress’s predecessor was like that.”

Getting another hint at the Longma’s backstory, but hearing the slight tension behind her words, she decided not to press it, only setting her tea down on the floor while glancing back towards the bed on the other side of the room, sighing lightly in relief when she noticed Spike hadn’t been spooked awake.

“Indeed, it’s common for such a belief to fuel all manners of malice,” Zecora spoke, sounding like she had hardly been startled by the other creature, “From the mundane bullying all the way up to those in the Canterlot Palace.”

Tianhuo nodded and grimaced, a faint growl escaping her lips, and Twilight could imagine that given her rank, she’d have dealt with those stuck-up ponies in the capital city. As long as they were moving the conversation away, though, Twilight did have something to ask, “Along those lines, there seem to be some like that in this town, with that Apple Pony looking at me with a... very distinct frown. Some of the other creatures around here are rather... odd, but that one looked like she wanted to beat me out with a rod.”

A deep, irate sigh came from the Longma, faint flames flowing out of her maw, making Zecora tense slightly, but Tianhuo soon spoke, “I have always despised ponies for their distrust. From their blind leviathan of a legal system that requires reams of paperwork, to the peasants’ which-hunts of those completely innocent; they cannot help but be utterly afraid to show any level of trust to each other, even when their own lives are at stake.”

“I can certainly attest to that...” Zecora muttered darkly in response, taking a large swig of her tea to empty the cup, then set it on the floor to her side. The other two creatures looking concernedly at her, she continued, “None have ever accused me of turning into a bat, but some of the Foals here were running some news; nothing too crazy, just a hobby they got to choose. Unfortunately, it did soon devolved from that innocence, with a pair of children turning it into a system that spewed nonsense.”

Twilight and Tianhuo glanced at each other, and the latter gestured for her to keep going, asking, “How so?”

They both received keen and intense look from Zecora as she begun, “They began to defame creatures that were not of their race, and while I was hardly the only one they ‘put in their place’, it was quite hurtful to my reputation and life, causing me nothing but strife.” Twilight gaped at what she was saying, quickly growing horrified and angry at the very idea of that, but the other Zebra continued, “Thankfully the mayor, an Earth Pony in their own right, manage to bring the falseness of these stories to light, and within about a single week, the Earth Foal behind it all was up a creek.”

Twilight snorted in indignation, turning her gaze downward as she ruminated on how cruel and petty Ponies could be. She hadn’t had too many encounters with them in the past, but every single one was tainted in some level by their unreasonable bigotry.

“The cowards,” Tianhuo spoke, seeming somewhat angry as well while Twilight’s attention jerked over to her, confused, but willing to let her continue, “They cannot be bothered to accept something different from themselves, so content in their little world that anything outside of that terrifies them...” Snorting another small flare from her nose, she took a deep breath, still decidedly angry, but seeming to have been hardly surprised by what had happened.

“Is that the reason; fear?” Twilight asked curiously of her, understanding the idea at least, but struggling to believe that Ponies would be doing all of that horrific stuff because they were afraid of what they were facing. “That alone drives them to make us shed such tears?”

“Fear is often the strongest motivator,” The Longma nodded in response, looking between the two Zebra with an almost pained gaze, “I’ve seen all too many creatures make poor decisions because they were afraid of something. Whether it be the reasonable fears of death or heartbreak, or the more foolish ones of admitting a simple mistake or even speaking to others, creatures can often get driven away from doing what’s right due to fear and causing others, and themselves, much more pain that is necessary.”

Looking towards Zecora, she paused for a moment before saying, “I do not mean to get so personal, but Twilight here has spoken of your past together, and I believe there is some relevance to what I am speaking about now.” The Zebra she was addressing looked to her friend for a moment, and getting a slightly embarrassed and guilty nod from her, looked back to Tianhuo for a couple seconds, seemingly in thought about how much she wanted to relive that past, before somewhat tersely gesturing with a hoof for the Longma to continue.

“I have been told the main conflict between you two was because of your leaders fighting each other, and how you stopped fighting once you were away from the rest,” Tianhuo addressed Zecora again, and Twilight could see her expression harden as she recalled that fight, “It’s clear, then, that you were only fighting out of fear, rather than true loyalty. I know there is more to it than that,” She quickly added when Zecora gave her a sharp barb of a look, clearly wanting to say something, but backed down and let the Longma continue, “I’m sure you both respected your leaders to a degree, and you fought for your people as much as you did your own lives, but the point remains that solely due to the battle between those above you, you two did not meet in peace and simply talk to each other, as fear of punishment and fear of your tribes dying drove you two fight.

“I hardly wish to say that that instinct to fight was irrational, either,” She added calmly, looking more pointedly at Twilight, who somewhat wanted to verbally detest the idea that what they did back then was wrong, “Fighting for everycreature you know is certainly a noble cause, but you cannot tell me that you two did still want to fight back then, rather than work together to keep you and your tribes alive.”

Twilight was given pause, not really sure what to say to that; she always looked back on that battle with horror and regret, believing it was all an inevitability given how her tribe operated. Even after all this time, she could still feel the rage that first went through her when she saw her Shaman die before her eyes at the other Zebra she now called a friend, and wasn’t always sure befriending her was worth forsaking her own family. However, she also knew of the regretful look on Zecora’s face back then, and that really did make her think; if they weren’t forced to fight, then maybe they could’ve been true friends, without this schism between them, and perhaps they could’ve kept her destructive tribe from ever getting near Zecora’s.

Truly, all of those emotions had gotten the better of her back then, but would it have even been possible to do anything more than just not kill each other back then..?

“I cannot speak to the way your cultures work,” Tianhuo interrupted Twilight’s thoughts, pulling her attention back to see the Longma’s careful mannerisms, and Zecora eyeing her warily, “But I can at least speak to my own. Twilight,” She addressed the Zebra, more sharply pulling her focus over to her, “You did say you wanted to know my own backstory, and I find that only fair given what you’ve told me, so here is the perfect opportunity.”

Twilight opened her mouth and gaped somewhat at her, hesitating as she wasn’t sure if she wanted the other creature to speak about her own past so openly, but she looked to Zecora, who looked still a tad wary, but mostly curious.

The other Zebra soon caught her eyes and the question within them, and sighed deeply in hesitation, eventually addressing the Longma, “I may be one to keep my past sins hidden, but it may be best that we may speak of this ‘fear’ unbidden. Your past is your own to spread as you please, but... perhaps you may not want to let be as a fire through the trees.”

Twilight paused for a moment at that last comment, and rolled her eyes at the coincidence before looking back to Tianhuo, who made sure both Zebras were paying attention before she begun, “In my earlier years in my Empire’s Academy, I was actually somewhat of a bully.” She let Twilight almost violently jerk back in shock as that got dropped on her, with the creature before looking the least bully-like of any creature she’s seen before!

“I’m aware that may be difficult to reconcile with the Longma I am now,” Tianhuo said calmly, looking between Twilight and Zecora, who Twilight just noticed also seemed rather surprised, “But I did used to believe myself superior to many others there, and often punished them for doing anything I considered weak. Being unable to light one’s flames or trying to pursue the arts were something I tormented them for, as I saw them useless to our Empire, but...

“I would soon be met with a reality-check.” Her voice was regretful now as the Zebras listened to her, and she continued on, “My mentor, whose name I shall not speak of here out of respect, showed me what those ‘weak’ Longmas were capable of. He showed me there was far more to our society and our lives than fighting, and he said that it was something I already knew, but was afraid to admit.”

“...Why?” Twilight interjected weakly, unable to speak another word to make a rhyme or clarify her question.

Tianhuo looked over at her measuredly, and spoke with guilt, “I had always believed that our combat prowess made our race as powerful as it is, and anyone or anything that wasn’t focused solely on combat I couldn’t believe could actually support our Empire, no matter where or how much I saw them doing so. It was all around me, in the weapon and armor-smiths that make the tools we fight with, the teachers and caretakers that educated and raised for us, the artists and musicians that gave us entertainment in an otherwise dry world, and the diplomats and maids that upheld our Empress’s Palace and our peace with other nations.

“Those that trained solely to fight were but one part of our culture and society,” She continued, talking with more love for her Empire now, but still filled with guilt, “And it was only after my mentor challenged that belief of mine and forced me to see the truth that I actually acknowledged all of it. Soon enough, I had accepted that aspect and the mistakes I had made about it, and many more years of training, each physical, mental, and spiritual, that I truly found who I was and what I was capable of.”

Tianhuo’s voice had become more confident and self-assured as she went on, and both Twilight and Zecora were very intrigued, and the latter decided to say, “And that has lead you to your rank and power, truly now making your enemies flee and cower.”

The Longma showed a faint smile on her lips as she amended, “It’s hardly just power, as I found back then.” Getting a confused look by the others, she explained, “I am not as fast as others of my kind, nor as strong or as agile as many others, and I am not as capable as spewing as much flame or as with so much control as yet others; for I am instead a Harmony of all of those attributes, and others, allowing me to refine each facet of myself to create a creature with no edges, no seams, no swaying toward one aspect or another, and no weaknesses. In many a Longma’s word... I am perfection incarnate.”

The air was still after she spoke that, the world itself seeming to bow in reverence to her, and both Twilight and Zecora were completely silent as they processed what was said to them, but Tianhuo soon interrupted it to clarify, “Of course, I know that’s mostly an exaggeration. I have made mistakes, I have been defeated. It may not be something I speak of in the presence of my subordinates, but while part of that is protect my reputation, I’m not even sure whether they’d believe me if I told them of my faults.”

Even with that amendment, the idea that her kind held her in such high regard was rather overwhelming for Twilight, in a way that simply knowing the Longma’s rank wasn’t before. Zecora, at least, was able to recover from her awed silence and skeptically ask of the other creature, “Why are you telling this to us, then? Especially with how you don’t even bother to tell your brethren...”

“There are those that understand I am imperfect,” Tianhuo chided, sharply looking at the Zebra, “It’s merely those below me that I know it would be pointless to. As for you two...” She slowly looked between the pair of Zebras, and while Zecora was still looking at her warily, Twilight had to shake the overwhelming-ness off before paying proper attention. “You two have show you are willing to put in the effort to spite your superiors in order to do what you believe is right, and for that, you have my respect.”

Twilight froze again at the admission, and struggled to understand what was just said. “W-wait,” She sputtered out weakly, “You, the Champion of your kind a-and proclaimed as perfect, respect me? U-us?”

Tianhuo’s expression was thoughtful as she looked at the other creature, who stared in awe and disbelief at her, taking several seconds before carefully replying, “Twilight, I do not care for a multitude of accomplishments. I do not care that you are weaker than me, nor younger and less wise than myself. No, what I care for is your spirit.” Glancing over at the other Zebra to presumably make sure she was also listening, the Longma continued, “As I said, you both did what you believe is right, in spite of everything around you. In spite of the battle of your tribes and being forced to nearly kill each other, in spite of getting lost and finding them again having ended the battle in such a horrific manner, in spite of being disillusioned with your tribe or watching them all burn...

“In spite of all of that, you two still sought each other out and befriended each other, escaping from your previous worlds to find someplace new to truly thrive.” Tianhuo paused for a moment, and in that silent moment, Twilight realized that she herself was shaking with emotion; some incomprehensible mix of pride, awe, dread, disbelief, denial, and fear, and she felt like she had to say something!

“B-but, I’ve made so many mistakes...” She muttered out, her voice wavering as the flaming creature looked keenly at her, “Even just now, I.. y-you saw how much pain Spike was in as we came here...”

Tianhuo nodded, and spoke in a calm, understanding tone, “Yet even then, you were doing your best to keep him from feeling it. There may have been mistakes there, but we all make many mistakes throughout our lives; even myself.” She hesitated for a moment, then smiled faintly, a hint of regret coming back, “I’ve already told you about my past grievances in the Academy, but there are so many more times where I’ve failed those close to me. Back with Fluttershy, I do feel as though I should’ve been watching her more carefully, as I knew she was already agitated from her late work, and that almost got you and Spike burned.”

Twilight pulled back, gasping in shock. The creature before her still seemed perfect, despite everything she had said about her past, and the Zebra herself couldn’t have imagined that was an actual mistake back then, just bad timing. But... seeing the honest regret and guilt in Tianhuo’s face really forced her to realize that the undefeatable fighting master that slayed a half-dozen magical beasts without a scratch to show for it actually did make mistakes. Even if that event with Fluttershy was hardly her fault, it was all just an honest mistake that could’ve been prevented if any of the creatures involved had done things a bit differently, if the Kirin tried to calm herself more, if Twilight was less pushy, or even if Spike tried to stop her...

“I suppose that makes sense,” Twilight muttered to herself, then slowly took a deep breath to try and collect herself before finally looking back at the Longma and saying with a sincere smile, “Well, thank you for helping me realize that... friend.”