A Zebra's Pen

The muted beat of hooves on grass was swallowed by the rich sound of the Everfree. Zecora trotted along with a smile on her face and a bag full of supplies.

The zebra hummed to herself as she glanced along her list. “It would appear that I now only need to collect the rocknuts before I can head back to my hut.” Scanning the forest around her to get her bearings, she said “They aren’t too far away, if I recall correctly”

Following her memory, Zecora traversed the forest with the ease that came with regular travelling. She stopped when she arrived in front of a large boulder wrapped in thick gray vines that had forced their way out of the boulder’s core. The zebra’s goal was the nuts growing on these strange vines, which could thicken and congeal blood and other liquids, making them useful in catering and medical applications. Zecora had yet to discover how to plant the nuts as they seemed to grow from the middle of boulders and rocks. The nut itself was a small pebble like item, placed inside a gray shell with a dimpled surface and a seam running along the circumference.

She picked as many as she could from the vines before putting them into her bloated saddlebags. “That should be enough to last me for a good amount of time.” She tightened the bags to stop them from opening while she returned to her home.

Halfway through turning away from the rock, Zecora froze, her ears swivelling as they followed a distant sound. The rhythmic pounding of paws shaking the ground told her all she needed to know.

Taking off like an arrow, Zecora quickly reached her top speed and the forest began rushing by. The scenery was a blur but still Zecora skilfully avoided most of the undergrowth.

A vicious snarl came from her left and was followed by a booming howl that clawed at the zebra’s mind. A series of drawn howls came back in reply as they chased their target down.

Swerving to the right, Zecora crashed through a series of thorn bushes. Tilting her head down, she pushed through the thorns, wincing as they dug into her skin, leaving countless wounds as they were forcibly ripped out.

The hounds were closer now.

A howl to her left caused Zecora to veer right once more, but when a howl to her right joined it. She had no choice left but to go forward. Pushing herself to the limits of her speed, Zecora broke into a clearing. She tried to push even harder as she heard three more crashes as her pursuers followed her into the clearing.

A quick glance behind her revealed everything she feared was correct.

It was the Goblins, wolf riders to be specific. She had often heard stories of them laying waste to Zebrican villages. She had only ever met a group of goblins once, and it was not an experience she had wanted to repeat. The wolves they rode were huge beasts, bigger and more muscled than a normal wolf, with thick black fur covering its body and eyes that seemed to glow yellow in the dim lighting of the forest.

The goblins themselves were foul creatures; their rough skin tinged a sickly yellow, difficult to see through the thick layer of muck and dust accumulating on their bodies. Their pointed claws had collected a layer of grime under the nail and you could still see remnants of their last kill stuck on their teeth. The only thing they wore was a wolf's pelt fashioned into a loincloth, slick with grease.

The first one to speak was at the center and leading the other two. His ear had been chopped clean off, the wound left to fester and rot. “Looks like we’ve finally found the one boys, let’s grab her and get going.” He lightly flicked his reins, and with ease his great wolf bounded forward, gaining on the Zebra even though she was almost through the clearing.

With her chance of escape in sight, Zecora put every ounce of her strength into her legs. Her body’s endurance was beginning to leave her, having pushed herself for too long. The only thing keeping her going was the adrenaline coursing through her system.

Still Zecora managed to keep ahead of the earless goblin, and made it safely across the clearing. She was about to leap into the tree line, when an earthshaking snarl rumbled its way towards her, before a huge black shadow launched out of the forest, landing in front of the stunned Zebra.

Zecora tried to turn away from the new threat only to run into a wolf rider. She spun around and realised too late that she had been trapped, the four wolves slowly circling her. The goblins eyes never left her as they slowly stopped their mounts.

The earless goblin spoke up again, “Well you definitely made that more entertaining for us. Wouldn’t you agree, lads?”

The other two goblins chuckled but said nothing, their hands flexing over their scabbards.

“What is it you want from me?” Zecora said, her legs trembling and chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath.

Earless spoke again, his words hitting Zecora like a whip, “That is not for you to know. You will be brought with us as a prisoner and there is nothing you can do to change this. You have struggled enough already, anything else and we may have to get more... forceful.” He motioned to the other two goblins with his hand and they sprung into action.

They dug their heels into their mounts and the wolves leapt forward, pinning the zebra underneath their combined weight. Zecora struggled like a fish after it had fallen out of a fisherman’s net onto the deck of his boat, while the two goblins worked on tying her up with a coarse old rope.

One of them struck her across the temple when she stopped him from tying her feet. This worked, and she stopped squirming. By the time they were finished the only thing Zecora could move were her eyes. They had even wrapped the rope around her muzzle to stop her talking. She was then lifted onto the back of the rider less wolf and fastened there.

“Let’s go meet the boss then shall we?” Earless cried as he rode off, the three other wolves on his trail.

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