A Twilight in Time

A great thud shook the ground, and with that the sounds of birds flying away. The cries and yells of primal animals had ceased and the forest around her was silent, to where not even the smallest insect would make a sound. All that could be heard was the soft rustling of leaves in the wind.

Twilight attempted to recapture her breath after such an exhausting endeavor. To participate in fending off a hydra would likely earn the gratitude and respect of many and at least one stallion would offer to buy you a drink, but killing a hydra that was six stories high, singlehoofedly could only be told in the tallest of tales.

But here, the Archmagus of House Stardust leaned against one of the lifeless heads of the mighty beast in the middle of an open area of grass surrounded by tall, large redwoods. Her mind became calm in the small peace she was given after her battle, long enough to observe her surroundings.

The life is aggressive, the plants are poisonous, the skies harsh and untamed, the air pungent and damp. The magic in the air draws, naturally, only to the will of fairies. It is every bit as cruel as I remembered.

"Faust damn you, Everfree Forest!" Twilight yelled straight up as to address, not the trees or the sky, but to the entire area as a whole.

Twilight remembered her last expedition to the Everfree Forest. She wanted to uncover the mystery of the odd pseudo-dampening effect the forest had on magic, but it would not give up its secrets so easily. Due to her rank and the help of her benefactors, she was able to raise funds enough to bring forty unicorn guards, an assortment of mercenaries and adventurers, and small team of researchers to take a trek deep within the hostile territory. The exposition was meant to take 3 months, but it soon turned to four weeks. While there had been no fatalities, there were many injuries and the morale was constantly sapped by the four weeks of non-stop rain and constant attacks by the wildlife. It did not help, that their expedition leader was also starting to address the forest as an entire entity, one which she was constantly talked aloud to.

Twilight was forced to retreat out of the Everfree with nothing, but a half-baked theory about timber wolves and fairy magic, something that would not bode well with the endorsers of the expedition. She vowed to return one day, but it seems the forest would not allow her to return on her own accord.

The ponies in the chambers seemed like they were rushing my teleportation, it is not impossible to think that the interruption of the gryphons would give the Everfree enough wiggle room to pull me here.

"You art cunning, patient, and strong, Everfree!" Twilight spoke aloud, "A worthy opponent to be sure, but your manipulations and surprises will gain thee nothing, as your champion here has already failed, and I have no intentions of letting thee weather me down any further!"

And with that Twilight turned her head down to the earth and looked for a sign to lead her out of the Everfree and make her way to the rendezvous point with the rest of her clan. The peace the Everfree gave Twilight broke more and more with every step she made, as her hooves caused a crisp sound of crushing the wild grass slowly bringing the forest back to life. The buzzing of insects became audible again. Then came the roars and howling of predators. Even the birds began to come back into earshot. Soon the wilds returned to its stride.

Twilight walked at brisk pace, but in a way that showed confidence, as if trying to show the forest her defiance and establish some sort of charge over her enemy, but truth be told she had no clue where she was going.

She took a direction at random, as there is no way to discern a way out of the Everfree Forest, and walked that way. Compass needles go wild in these areas and the direction of the sun might not be reliable anymore, as it wasn't being controlled by the council schedule. Sunny Rays and Blue Moon were able to observe the duty of the unicornian council, but there were no guarantees how they would handle their new powers. The stars may aid her escape, but there is no telling when the night would appear or even if it was night, if there'd be clouds to ruin her plans. So with no other option than to wait for her nemesis's next move, she chose to simply head in a straight line until she reached the forest edge.

It was crafty pulling me here like that. Vigilant as always; it's tendrils always looming, waiting to drag me back here. I cannot blame the chamber mages for this. They did their jobs as well as they could have. I hope they receive a warm welcome in Elysium.

Her thoughts went to the friends and family during the siege. Though none of her mentors or tutors were killed, the Star Dust Clan, while it was very large and had many members had a tight sense of kinship and responsibility. Her clan was an odd group. Loose morals. Very different traditions from most of Unicornia. But nevertheless, the one core element of the clan was kinship within the clan among every member. Every member was hoof chosen for their prowess in magic of course, so the respect was always forthcoming when everyone had a benchmark of acknowledgement for simply being included. Even though Twilight was very shy, she always felt comfortable around anyone who was part of her family. Most of the time, outsiders were treated amicably, but not with the same degree of respect or love. How could they if they would never understand.

Twilight's thoughts turned to her friendship with Harpo and all of the times they spent together. The only pony outside of her clan that she would even talk to, yet he was a special one. Day after day, Twilight's studying would be interrupted by a colt and dragging her into some adventure. Her reminiscing was interrupted abruptly by a bad feeling she had.

She jumped back and took up a defensive stance. Her body low to the ground and her eyebrow furrowed, she looked in all directions. She had to stay on guard, as the Everfree Forest was very fierce and always to strike without mercy. On her many trips she made on her own into the Everfree, she learned that paranoia and caution were one in the same here.

She waited with her body low for seconds...

Which then turned into minutes...

Which then became half an hour, before she finally resolved to move on. She relaxed and stood up again, before she was about to take a step forward.

"To be alert and cautious here is good, but I don't think you belong in this neighborhood."

Twilight jumped around at a dizzying speed, returning to her battle stance and looking for the source of the voice. What she found instead was a pony-ish thing with black and white stripes, standing directly behind her. The striped creature smiled and quickly apologized, "I am sorry, dear child, no need for alarm. Be at ease, for I am not here to bring you any harm."

Twilight’s face remained stony and calm, but her mind was racing in confusion. This odd pony, well, wasn't quite a pony. Though its figure resembled an Equestrian, the proportions just weren't quite right for an earth pony.

Nevertheless, now, in this sort of place, there was no room to be relaxed. She kept an eye on this thing, whatever it might be, and continued to assess the situation.

The noise around her dimmed just a bit, but never died down to total silence.

"This thing is...comfortable here. No danger as far as I can tell. I don't like that," She thought.

It was unlikely that whatever was standing in front of her was some trick by the Everfree itself, but perhaps some unknown native creature, or maybe a victim of the hexing flora. It was always better to fear the dangers you could trust your own senses about than the ones that sneak up on you.

Twilight would take a manticore over a invisible snake any day.

"State your name and purpose here," Twilight demanded.

It bowed its head slightly and moved its leg across its chest, "I am Zecora, from a home far away, but I have made this~” She said, gesturing to the wilderness around her “~my place to stay.”

Turning back to Twilight, she continued, “I heard quite some loud trouble being made, so I thought to take a look, and offer my aide."

Twilight stared down Zecora, "Tis an odd place to settle down, don't you agree? There are much better, safer places to stay then this accursed forest."

"The land here is wild and free. To live in peace with nature, where else should you be?" She paced around Twilight slowly, "I live here, making incantations and brews, for helping zebras...and ponies too." She added with a sly smile.

After Zecora finished, Twilight looked intensely at the stranger, emphases on strange. She was caught in both disbelief and suspicion.

"Interesting," She whispered, still studying Zecora with a curious eye, "Never have I met a poet as dedicated to cheap rhyme and rhythm until now." she stared for a moment, not realizing her rudeness, before catching her new acquaintance's smug face and quickly rescinded, "er, not cheap, I mean. I apologize. I meant to say-"

"Worry not, for your words were not acidic. I would say it's rather refreshing, for once, to have a critic," Zecora chuckled. "I may talk odd, perhaps that much is true, but those claims are rather weak, coming from you." Zecora finished, giving another small, sly smile.

"Maybe from a global purview, you might find yourself standing among a considerate amount of peoples you might call your peers. But as long as my hooves dig into Unicornia soil, I will have you know, I am the native to this country and hold right over indigenous dialogue and linguistic articulation. Have we an understanding, madam?" Twilight said with a huff.

She typically wasn’t so blunt, but time was of the essence, and she had no time to gently guide her way through the striped creature’s games.

"If you wish to sound like you are right, do not use a tone so quick to fight," Zecora said in a condescending, almost disappointed, tone.

Twilight audibly groaned and slapped a hoof over her eyes, sagging her head before perking up and quickly changing mood.

"Forgive me then, so that we may put this matter behind us. Debating over who sounds odd is not my priority, though any other day I am more than willing to argue this matter further. I, however, have other duties to attend to. I bid you farewell, Zecora."

With that, the proud unicorn marched off confidently, her nose held too high to notice the shrub she ended up trampling over. It only took the smallest snag of a root to bring her chin to the moist dirt below.

It took seconds for her to see her error; in this terrain, she was the foreigner.

Twilight stood up and wiped the rich soil from her chin, pulling branches aside and leaning around a tall oak to see the zebra still watching with a patient smile.

"Ummm... might I ask-" Twilight began, though was quickly interrupted.

"You may." The zebra cut in.

Twilight opened her mouth to continue again, but paused instead. She squinted hard at the odd hermit, miffed even. The smug smile answering her glares did nothing to charm her over, but for the sake of time, she dropped it.

She sighed and continued on, "-Ask, if you know which way is Vannenhoover?"

Zecora shook her head and raised a hoof, "This Vannenhoover I do not know, but there is one place that you can go." She turned some amount of degrees and pointed, "It is a town just over yonder, I can take you there if you wish, lest you wander"

"Eh- thank you. I've wandered this accursed place for far too long than I'd like in one lifetime. I don’t have much on my person with exception of my robes and my saddlebags. Is there any form of compensation you wish for? We can negotiate a price, but it may take a month's time before it might be delivered to you. Though it’s imperative I reach the walls of Vannenhoover." Twilight began to ramble, shushing only to the sight of a raised, striped hoof.

"Do not worry, for I will not decline. And hold your promises dear, since I will not fine. A common courtesy is not worth just a bit, for whole cup of friendship, not even the largest vaults can fit." The zebra rhymed.

Twilight gave a small bow. "Your generosity is very appreciated, and something I will not forget anytime soon. But time is short short and my family is expecting me, the journey from the Everfree to my rendezvous will take long as it is."

"If time is short, then let us not delay, for you have another obstacle at Ponyville in your way," Zecora said as she started to walk slowly onto a dirt path trail, with Twilight soon following suit.

The two began, was that the hermit chose her paths depending on the flow of the flora. The dirt path Zecora lead on was flanked with invasive vegetation cluttering the area giving little personal space, but the zebra seemed to glide effortlessly through the path covered with low hanging trees and colorful flower groves.

Twilight ducked under a branch, staying close to her guide to ask questions, "What would that be? Monsters? Bandits?”

"Since you are on a deadline I feel you might mind, but the ponies in this town are very kind." Zecora said, suddenly jumping onto a rock. In front of Zecora, a large, stone creek-bed laid out before them, etching a small river carving through the rich forest landscape. Finally Twilight could see the sky after an hour of treking through constant brush. She took a moment to enjoy the uncondensed air and wiped a sweat from her brow. Just for a moment she was almost tempted to drink the water before her, but thought better of it knowing her surroundings. She knows what's in the soil here.

"They will sit you down and offer you to stay, and will try to make you linger there to play." She called, leaping onto another, more larger, rock of the creek while Twilight struggled to keep her balance on the boulder she had gotten onto.

"No hooks nor bait, these ponies play it straight." She called, steadying herself while wiggling in anticipation for her last series of jumps.

And with a hop, skip, and a jump, the zebra found herself on the shore of the creek bed, letting the mossy pebbles covering the bank serve as her cushion.

She looked back to Twilight, who watched her in agitated anticipation.

"They work hard, they play hard, their hearts are of golden, but they will have you lounge and relax, even if your time is stolen."

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, the bookworm lowered her body to pounce. She exhaled one final time, and then leaped, coming to the first, solid landing. Quickly, without giving a moment's pause, she moved with her momentum onward to the next small platform - with a more shaky landing. And from there, she made her final leap and just barely didn't make it. Her hind legs splashed into the icy river water, sending shivers down her spine. The shock of how cold the small, shallow stream was more than enough to send her out of the water and walking off a little farther than Zecora, before stopping and waiting for her guide.

Her mood was dampened, but she tried to push her sourness aside and remain objective. When Zecora took the lead again, Twilight couldn’t help but ask.

"If the ponies of this town are likely to impede on my progress, what would be the best course of action to expedite my visit?" She asked, her head wandering as it lingered at the sights of flowers in full bloom.

Zecora wordlessly began climbing up the roots of an old, overgrown elm tree. After reaching the base of the tree, she seemed to think for a second, before continuing her climb up and onto the branches of the mighty tree.

"Steady your tongue, but talk with your heart, for that is where these ponies always like to start." She said vaguely as usual.

Twilight was so caught up in trying to decipher the zebra’s riddles, that she didn’t even question the Zebra’s ethics of climbing up a tree and tight-roping across its branches. Slowly and carefully, Zecora balanced along the tree branch, and even more slowly than that, walked down the branch. Tossing her head to the side for just a second, Twilight followed her gaze and looked down over a field of sparkling blue flowers, shining bright and waving gently in the wind like the sea itself.

"If luck and reason are not by your sides, look for the library where Sunset Shimmer resides." Zecora finished, lightly jumping to the center of the branch, showcasing her faith in its strength.

Twilight put a hesitant hoof on the thick tree branch, testing it before putting weight on it, "And I am to assume that this Sunset pony will help me with little delay?"

Zecora stopped in her tracks along the makeshift bridge, putting her own hoof to her chin.

"She is rational and fair, though you must look out for the pink mare."

Zecora droned on about how this pink pony was a fun crazed party animal, who would suck Twilight into a sea of madness. Twilight was already rolling her eyes. "Joy, joy," she deadpanned.

More and more it seemed like there were so many strings attached. She was used to a family-like community within her clan, but this town sounded more and more like an insane asylum - like the one in the south end of the guild basements. Everything in this town was to be scrutinized and subjected to analysis. And judging by how close it was to the Everfree, the idea that it was under the effect of magical properties was not out of the question.

Hopefully these ponies are much more cooperative.

All she needed was a map, some supplies and she'd make the journey. A simple process really.