Black Feather

Rumble’s heart leapt into his throat. Up ahead, Nyx stumbled, head pitching down toward her hooves as she vomited all over the sand. What the hell?

In a burst of feathers and sand, he sprinted to her, his powerful wings cupping the air and throwing it behind him to aid his hooves in their speed. It was only seconds before he reached her. He skidded to a stop, hooves digging furrows through the wet sand and nearly toppling in the process. He pivoted swiftly to face Nyx, his mind racing as he searched her face for answers.

Nyx stood frozen, hooves spread wide. Her head hung low with her ears swept back. Her eyes were wide and fixed on a spot of bare earth near her hooves, and her breathing came in short gasps. It was like she didn’t even realize he was there. Even her lustrous armor had dulled to a matte grey, contrasting with her deep violet mane which spilled out the slit in her helmet along her neck.

Questions clawed at Rumble’s mind as he searched for words, until a putrid stench wafted over him. Shifting his gaze past Nyx, his mind locked up at what he saw. His head panned slowly to the left, away from Nyx, as he tried to process the scene.

The horrors of the war front would have paled in comparison to the nightmare spread out before him. Eviscerated bodies littered the site. Intestines were strewn about among tree branches like morbid party streamers. Days-old blood painted tree trunks and pooled in hoofprints on the ground. Everywhere that Rumble looked, he was inundated with the aftermath of sadistic violence.

Rumble’s usual detached wit failed him. An empty pit grew inside his gut, his mouth suddenly dry as the urge to grab Nyx and try to fly off nearly overtook him.

“What the fucking hell?” Daisy’s voice spoke from over his shoulder, causing Rumble’s heart to nearly stop. His head whipped around to face her as the rest of the ponies rounded the corner, taking in the scene.

A retching sound caused his eyes to focus on Windy, who was wide-eyed and shaking, spilling her own lunch on the ground. Mint Blossom steadied herself and placed a forehoof over Windy’s shoulder as her gaze fixed on a severed zebra head, its swollen tongue spilled out onto the sand.

Nyx began moving again, slowly, shaking her head at first before steadying herself and spitting bile out of her mouth. She shuddered and leaned into Rumble with her eyes closed, pressing her neck against his own.

It wasn’t long before Windy started to panic. She began trembling, and her face was covered in sweat. “What did this? What the fuck did this? Ponies don’t do this. Nothing does this!”

“Get a grip, soldier,” Daisy snapped. “We can panic later. Right now, we could still be in danger.”

Everypony’s attention managed to find its way onto Daisy, which was a small miracle given the situation. She began giving orders. “Nyx, Rumble, you two secure the area. Flitter, help me figure out what we’re dealing with. Windy, Mint, you watch our backs.”

Flitter walked away from the riverbank a short way, steeling herself as she looked over the dozens of bloody zebra parts which extended into the woods. It was difficult to tell how many zebras the parts would have added up to, but there were at least eight heads. Muscle and tendon showed where skin had been ripped from flesh. One female zebra had been splayed open, her organs pulled out to show the shaft of a spear that had pierced her from groin to muzzle.

Flitter fought back the rising bile in her throat as she walked forward amongst the carnage. She needed to regard this site forensically and not let it get to her. “I… I don’t know what to make of this,” she managed to say. “This is just… I don’t… What happened here?”

Rumble regarded a body with daggers protruding from its eye sockets as he and Nyx circled around the edge of the slaughter. “Whoever killed these zebras used their own weapons against them. Who would be insane enough to attack a zebra camp like this?”

The implication of Rumble’s conclusion sat in the pit of Flitter’s stomach like a stone. She stared in silence for a moment before swallowing dryly. Several bladed zebra weapons lay about, covered in blood. Simple tents sat in a scattered formation amongst the trees. Near one of the tents, an ammunition box lay on its side, one of its liquid metal pouches having spilled onto the ground.

Flitter approached the pool of silvery liquid, gazing into its yellowish mirror-like surface. The face of a terribly frightened pegasus stared back at her, the image marred by splotches of red where a few drops of blood had landed on the metal. She startled, stomping a hoof into the thin pool and causing ripples to cascade over its surface. Her reflection transformed into a wobbly pattern of light, shadow, and color. She needed to keep it together.

Next to the ammo box were several saddlebags and a box of food rations, much of which consisted of some type of dried fruit that Flitter wasn’t familiar with. She lowered her head and sniffed the rations, furrowing her brow at the unusual smell. Moving on, she poked a hoof at one of the saddlebags, noticing its many pockets and compartments. Most of the pockets had containers filled with various powders or tiny flasks of colored liquid.

A fire pit sat at the center of the campsite, its embers cold and long reduced to ash. Next to the fire pit, there was... She paused, shaking her head. It was nothing after all, she decided.

Flitter decided to poke her head into one of the tents. A sleeping mat and thin blanket lay in a heap inside, next to a canvas sack which had been stuffed with grass as a makeshift pillow. A dark-red splash of blood had soaked into the fabric. Streaks of blood were smeared along the ground toward the tent’s entrance between Flitter’s forehooves.

“The beds are strange,” Flitter said with her head still poked inside. Backing out, she motioned for Daisy to come and take a look. “Notice the blood on the beds and yet there are no bodies in them. It’s like most of the zebras were asleep when they were attacked and then dragged out.”

Daisy approached and briefly looked inside the tent. “This worries me. Who is fighting zebras in the Equestrian wilderness when nopony should even know they’re here? And why make a display of it? Look at this place.”

“Withersberg knew they were close by. Maybe some—”

“You heard the mayor. She was asking us if we knew where they might be. Apart from the mayor, nopony in town was even concerned about it. Besides, she sent us down this path to find clues about Sage, not zebras.”

Flitter glanced around at the gory scene and shook off a chill that ran up her spine. “Sage… You don’t suppose he… He couldn’t.”

“No. We talked about this. It’s just not possible. Look around—Sage couldn’t take on one zebra let alone… however many this was. A single zebra would have taken him out without even trying. Though I would wager he stumbled upon this place on his way to Withersberg. It would certainly explain his reaction.”

Daisy was right, of course. Flitter let out a sigh. She had heard stories of how profoundly outclassed most ponies were in hoof combat against a zebra. “Probably. Then who?”

“I don’t know. But I have a strong feeling we’re still in danger.”

“Look around, Daisy. This place hasn’t been touched in days. All the blood is dried. And the fire pit…”

The fire pit. She mustn’t think about it. No… There wasn’t something indescribably frightening sitting right there next to that cold, unused fire pit.

“I know,” Daisy replied. “But I can’t shake this feeling.” Pivoting away, she called out with a sharp whistle. “Nyx!”

Nyx had been walking along the perimeter with Rumble. She stopped in her tracks, her head turning to face Daisy. “Problem?”

“Check your T.E.I. We need to make sure we’re really alone.”

Nyx nodded, and a dim indigo glow flashed from her spell matrix as she glanced around into the forest. “I’m… not sure,” she replied, her voice shaky and laced with fear. “It’s the same as before—lots of contacts but nothing closer than a hundred canters. Alligators, probably. Hopefully.”

Nyx hoped they were alligators. Lovely. Flitter regarded her friend for a moment longer before Nyx’s eyes shifted, connecting with hers.

“You picking up anything, Flitter?”

Flitter had been blocking. It was almost too much to bear, but she tried to calm her mind so she could open up and search the local Lifestream for clues. Fear. It was every changeling’s nemesis. She closed her eyes and reached out. Everypony around her was nearly sick with it, making it hard for her to focus. Unable to ignore the hunger in her belly, she popped a nectar stick into her mouth.

The scene became clear after a moment, though the effort placed Flitter in an extraordinarily vulnerable position emotionally. Her mind scanned the immaterial realm of the Lifestream with the skill of a practiced empath. The physical landscape was like a faint mist overlaying the vividly-colored essence of all life which surrounded her.

Nyx and Rumble were there. Both were on edge and wanted to get away from this place if not for their responsibility of protecting everypony else. Nyx was particularly motivated by the desire to help somepony—naturally, that would be Sage’s family. Rumble was mostly concerned about Nyx, his love for her radiating out like a warm blanket, which Flitter took a moment to bask in. But he was also confused; it was like the stallion couldn’t pinpoint the source of some specific nagging fear. Flitter felt the same way, as her own nervousness threatened to blind her senses once more.

Flitter’s focus panned to the right until it fell upon Daisy. She was doing a surprisingly good job tucking her own fear away, though it was eroding her defenses by the minute. The mare also held a deep pain about somepony close to her. Somepony long lost. And tucked away, beneath layers of duty and responsibility, a deep sense of… gratitude was tied into her motivation center. Daisy was keeping something hidden—something very dear to her.

Windy and Mint Blossom were there as well, their stark terror more than evident and blasting forth like a beacon. Mint was feeling invaded and insecure, which made sense, given the fact that this was her own home turf and nothing like this had ever happened here. Her optimistic, tough-mare confidence was pretty much spent, talk of gators and whatnot holding no comparison to these horrors. Windy… she wanted desperately to connect with something familiar. Something secure. She was homesick, and it was tearing her apart. It connected strongly with Flitter’s loss of her entire species with the Crystal Empire. She hoped this mission wouldn’t last too long, for Windy’s sake.

The intensity was almost enough to break Flitter out of her deep scan before she noticed that odd blind spot. It was like a void where even the blackness itself was sucked away. She focused on Daisy again. Then on Windy. Something was… wasn’t there between them. Something she had to force herself to look toward.

Without warning, fire, death, and every predator she could imagine appeared in her mind’s eye for a split second, threatening to consume her. Flitter stumbled backward, falling on her rump as she caught herself with a forehoof. She opened her eyes, seeing the physical world once more.

“You alright?” Nyx was still standing there, along the camp’s perimeter, watching her. It had only been a few seconds.

“Yeah. Yeah, sorry—I’m fine.” She stood back up on four shaky legs, panting as her heart threatened to jump out her throat and run off on its own.

“Find anything?”

“N-No. Yes, actually. There’s something… missing. Something terrifying that isn’t here, but it’s right here with us. I… I’m sorry, I don’t quite know how to say it.”

Flitter watched, catching her breath as Nyx held eye contact with her for two beats before resuming her course. Daisy turned to walk back toward Flitter, who then held a hoof up, shaking her head.

“Daisy, stay there for a bit. Do you see Mint and Windy?”

Daisy’s eyebrow raised as she regarded Flitter. “That’s kind of a stupid q—”

The commander glanced to her right, where she thought the two mares would have been, farther back near the camp entrance. “Actually, no, I don’t. Where’d they go?”

“They’re right there.” Flitter pointed. Daisy wasn’t even looking at them. She tried to gauge where Flitter was pointing, but her gaze wasn’t lined up. Flitter huffed and walked up right next to Daisy. She pointed once more. “Right there…”

Nothing. Flitter blinked in confusion. “What the hell? Okay, something’s messing with us.”

“Wait wait wait, I think I know what this is.” Daisy facehoofed. “Why didn’t I recognize it before?”

“Recognize what?”

A voice called out from somewhere on the other side of the camp. “Commander??!” It was Windy. “Where’d you go?”

Daisy’s ears swiveled, trying to pick up where the unicorn’s voice was coming from. She closed her eyes and stepped to the side slightly.

“I’m here,” Daisy called back. “Are you still by the entrance?”

“Yeah.”

Daisy took another step to the side. “Stay put, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Flitter, look at me.” Daisy’s eyes were still closed. “Back away, slowly. Don’t turn around.”

Flitter walked backward carefully, keeping her eyes fixed on Daisy’s face. With each step, she felt a menacing presence, ever closer behind her. Something was watching… waiting to devour her.

Flitter’s nervous, pleading voice squeaked, “Daisy…”

“Trust me,” came her reply. “Keep your eyes on me.”

Flitter felt like she was backing into a huge spider web. Soon, she could feel the tendrils and claws of death itself caressing her back as her eyes remained fixed on Daisy. Step after step, the terror probed at her. Flitter’s primal instincts screamed for her to run away as fast as she could. The hot stench of some monster’s breath wafted past her nostrils. Streams of sweat ran down her cheeks. Or was it blood? It was blood. She was going to die.

Her backside connected with a solid object. She screamed and flipped around in a flurry of hooves to face her killer.

“Aahhh!!!”

It was… It was a tree trunk. What the fuck?

Before her stood an elaborate construct which was set up around a chopped tree trunk jutting out of the ground about a canter high. A series of sticks were set into carved notches around the side of the stump, and some kind of string held them upward at angles. The sticks were anchored to a metal shaft which had been pressed down into the center of the cut tree. In the middle of the metal shaft was a loop, and inside that loop, a black crystal hovered and spun slowly in place. Near the cut tree, three slender polished stone pillars rested in a triangular pattern around the stump, each about half a canter tall, with a small platform at the top. On each platform, rested a small wooden bowl filled with colored powder. Tiny motes of magic leapt from the powder bowls and made their way slowly through the air toward the black crystal, where they vanished. On the ground, surrounding the construct, were elaborate mystical circles which glowed faintly as they slowly pulsed with light. Within these circles, various zebra glyphs were written, though Flitter had no idea what they represented.

“Flitter, are you okay?” It was Daisy’s voice. She had opened her eyes, but she was no longer looking in the right direction.

“Where’d she go?” somepony’s voice asked in a hushed tone.

Flitter glanced around. She could see everypony. They had all stopped what they were doing and were looking around in confusion, but none of them directly at her.

“I’m fine,” she replied.

“Where… where are you?” It was Nyx. She had her sword drawn, and her armor was gleaming again where shafts of sunlight shone through the tree canopy to fall upon her.

“I’m by the fire pit. It’s okay—we’re safe, it’s just… I just need to show you something.”

One by one, Flitter led each pony to the strange construct, which thankfully, was no longer causing her such dread. Finally, everypony was gathered round, staring at what had been their nemesis for the past half hour.

“That’s it?” Rumble asked. “What the hell is it?”

“I’ve heard of these,” Daisy said as she examined the structure. “This explains a lot. Like why there’s no wildlife anywhere nearby or even flies on the bodies. It’s a fear altar.”

“Seriously?” Rumble sniffed at one of the bowls.

Nyx flicked his nose with a wing. “Stop that,” she whispered.

Daisy continued. “Some types of zebra magic can have persistent psychological effects. See those circles on the ground? The pedestals with bowls which were placed next to the runes are shaman bowls. This camp had a zebra shaman. They’re a secretive part of the religious caste and closely tied with the War Council.”

Nyx took a couple hoofsteps toward the altar, looking it over from several angles. “So… why?”

“Safety,” Daisy replied. “The bayou is filled with dangerous wildlife, and as much as Blackberry may think the zebras were in over their heads, they aren’t stupid. They would have found a way to sleep without the burden of alligator threats. I’d bet my right hoof that this contraption is keeping wildlife away from the site all the way back to the trail. It also probably keeps wandering ponies away.”

“It sure didn’t scare off whoever attacked them,” Nyx pointed out.

“Yeah, that thought crossed my mind too.”

“Can we just take it down?” Rumble asked, his hoof touching one of the grenades clipped to his barding. “It’s creeping me the hell out. I’m sure we’d all feel better if—”

Flitter shook her head. “Don’t. We’re lucky this thing kept all the flies and scavengers away. This place is important evidence that could help us figure out what happened to Doc Sage. It may be the only clue we get.”

“You think that’s related to all of this?” Daisy asked, gesturing a hoof toward the bodies which lay strewn about.

“I know Sage,” Mint Blossom added. It was the first time she had spoken since they found the camp. The teal mare took a small step forward with her eyes fixed on the fear altar. She still looked pretty shaken up, but at least she seemed to be holding it together. “He would have been pretty upset by what he saw here. But he’s always had a curious nature; he would have wanted to investigate.”

“That doesn’t explain his behavior after he got to town, though,” Flitter said, unconvinced. All the pieces still didn’t add up.

“The fear altar might have really messed him up,” Daisy pointed out. “All of us were about two hoofsteps from a meltdown five minutes ago.” She glanced at Windy Scarlet, who still looked ill from the whole ordeal.

“Granted. But I still can’t picture this scene causing him to lose it that badly,” Flitter replied. “I mean, I don’t know about the rest of you, but as disturbing as all this has been, I don’t feel the urge to cut myself and scrawl a creepy message on the wall with my own blood.”

Rumble winced. “You had to remind us.”

“Jade said he was sick,” Nyx added. “Like sick for real, not just upset.”

Flitter nodded. “Yeah, that’s what bothers me as well. We need to find out why because for all we know, these bodies are contagious.”

Daisy facehoofed. “You’re right. Nopony touch anything. Let’s finish what we started and get out of here.”

Everypony fanned out and returned to their previous duties. As the minutes passed, Flitter paused to examine an area between two tents, closer to the back end of the camp. Her eyes fell upon a zebra whose body was cut open, its insides entirely missing.

Flitter had to fight to keep her stomach settled as she continued to search the camp. She was thankful that the overall level of everypony’s fear had dropped dramatically after the discovery of the altar. Revulsion, agitation, and even sorrow were in the air, but nopony was in a panic at the moment. Now that she could focus much more clearly on what lay before her, Flitter could finally piece together clues, where before, she may not have noticed a small detail such as…

“Hey, come see this!” she called out to nopony in particular. Ears perked forward in Flitter’s direction from around the camp as Nyx, Rumble, and Daisy approached to see what it was that she had discovered.

“What’s odd about this body?” Flitter asked, backing away so the others could get a closer look. Not far from the tents was the body of a zebra stallion lying on a patch of thick grass with his head resting on a small log. Thick, coagulated blood matted the striped fur over most of his body. His lifeless eyes stared vacantly upward with constricted pupils, past the ponies who were circled around him.

“You mean other than the fact that he has what looks like a grin on his face?” Rumble asked.

As creepy as that was, Rumble was right. He was grinning—at least that’s what it looked like. Still, that wasn’t what had caught her eye.

“Besides that,” Flitter said flatly. “How many pieces is this body in?”

“Oooh, you’re right,” Rumble said with a nod of his head. “This one hasn’t been all hacked apart like the others. Looks like he’s been cut up pretty badly though.”

Flitter stepped closer once more and tilted her head to regard the body from several angles. “There’s at least a dozen deep cuts. This zebra bled out but not very quickly. A lot of these wounds have been cauterized by fire. He’s also drenched in blood, and I don’t think it’s his.”

“Not his…” Nyx’s posture straightened, her head shaking in surprise. “Wait wait wait, if that’s true, then doesn’t that mean that this zebra—”

Suddenly, the sound of leaves and underbrush rustling came from the far edge of the campsite. Everypony’s heads snapped to attention, staring as a single zebra emerged from the dense forest, stepping into the partial clearing that was the zebra campsite.

She was lean and fit, with a rugged, athletic build. A thin leather strap circled her front-right fetlock with several colored beads bound to its surface. Around her neck was a single strap by which were tied four sharp canine teeth from some type of unknown beast, and a single red feather was attached to a golden ear stud which pierced her right ear. Additional straps ran down her back and sides, forming what appeared to be some sort of utility harness, with a dagger clipped along the strap near her left shoulder directly in front of three tiny bottles filled with some sort of liquid. Along her right flank was a length of coiled rope.

Her eyes stared, unblinking, taking in the macabre scene. Her head panned slowly, hooves frozen in place as she was confronted by what was clearly an overwhelming situation. It took the zebra a few moments to even notice Nyx and her companions. And when she did…

“Nightmare Moon!! The Destroyer has been loosed!”

By the time Daisy and Rumble had guns trained on her, she tapped a hoof on one of her vials of liquid and threw it forcefully onto a rock, shattering the glass. Immediately, a cloud of thick white smoke billowed out, and Flitter could hear the zebra as she fled deep into the woods as fast as her hooves would allow. The smoke eventually spread through half the camp and carried with it a nasty, acrid bite, stinging everypony’s nostrils and eyes for just a moment before it dissipated. The zebra was gone.

“Well, shit,” Rumble said.

Daisy clipped her rifle back onto her barding. “We need to get out of here. She’s bound to return, perhaps with friends. We hoof it back to Withersberg right now and talk to the mayor. Let’s go, ponies.”

“What about the body?” Flitter asked with urgency.

Daisy glanced down toward the zebra for a moment before her eyes returned to Flitter. “What about it?”

“This is probably the best clue we’ve got. We need to get it back to Canterlot for examination.”

Daisy’s face scrunched up in a frustrated scowl. “There’s no time to mess with that. Besides, we shouldn’t even be touching it, remember?”

Flitter thought quickly. This was too important to just abandon. “Can we at least bury it or something? We can come back for it later.”

Daisy made eye contact with Nyx. “Can you handle the burial?”

Nyx nodded.

“Fine, do it. Just hurry.”

Daisy ran into the Withersberg mayor’s office building, panting hard. Inside, a sea-green unicorn mare sat quietly behind the reception desk, writing in a ledger of some sort. Near the edge of her desk sat a prism-shaped block of finely carved wood with the name ‘Sweet Sashay’ etched in fancy letters. Her head rose to meet Daisy’s gaze, her friendly smile wilting as she took notice of the commander.

“Hello, may I help— Oh my, are… are you alright?” she asked politely.

“Is the mayor here?” Daisy asked with urgency in her voice. “It’s important.”

“Yes, actually, she’s in her office. One moment, please.”

The aide rose from her desk and disappeared behind a door. Hoofsteps came to a halt, and Daisy could hear the muffled voices of two ponies talking, though she couldn’t make out what was being said. She took the opportunity to turn around and poke her head out the front door of the building to see her five exhausted companions waiting, each with an expectant look on their faces. All six had just galloped back to town, bursting through the southwest gate as fast as they could while drawing amused glares from the older ponies who were still sitting on their porch beneath the broad shade trees.

“Next time, read the sign, y’all!” one of them had called out with a laugh.

Daisy gave her waiting friends a nod to let them know that the mayor was here, just as the sound of somepony clearing her throat came from behind her. Daisy turned to see the unicorn sitting back at her desk.

“The mayor can see you now,” the aide indicated as she motioned with a hoof toward the interior door.

Daisy rushed through, into the mayor’s office. It was somewhat small with most of the interior consisting of a polished dark brown wood, from the floorboards, to the desk, to the window frame. The large four-pane glass window which sat behind the mayor overlooked the side street, revealing a glimpse of the distant crowded marketplace some blocks away. The mayor’s office itself was comfortable yet professional, with her desk taking up most of the center floor space. On the wall, hung several framed photos alongside a citizen’s recognition plaque, likely acknowledging some sort of governing achievement. Behind the desk, sat the mayor, Jade Glint, who was leaning back in her chair with a look of curiosity written all over her face.

Daisy sat across from the mayor on the less-plush but still comfortable visitor’s seat. Before she had the chance to say anything, the mayor spoke.

“I assume, since you’re back so soon, that you’ve found some clues about Sage?” She then leaned forward in her chair, her gaze locked squarely onto Daisy’s eyes. “What did you find?”

“Zebras.”

Jade’s face froze as she processed Daisy’s reply, barely managing to strangle out two words. “How close?”

“Dead,” Daisy said, still catching her breath as she searched for words. “We found a zebra infiltration unit. All killed.”

“What? How?” Jade scratched at the back of her neck with a hoof, and her eye twitched slightly.

“We don’t know. It wasn’t…” Daisy paused, considering how much to reveal. “Sage had a good reason to be scared out of his mind. They were butchered.”

Jade placed both forehooves on her desk, staring intently into Daisy’s eyes. “What? Who could have… How many dead?”

“We couldn’t tell. We know it happened a few days ago—before Sage came through. What’s more important for you and your town is that there was one survivor who showed up while we were there. She ran off into the forest before we could do anything.”

“How close?” the mayor pressed. She didn’t look well. Sweat had begun to appear on her face, and she scratched at the back of her neck again. A lot of lives depended on her leadership, and Daisy didn’t imagine the mare had truly considered what she would do if zebras were within a few minutes’ gallop of her gates.

“About a half hour’s walk down the trail. Near where the river comes up alongside the path. Are… you alright, Mayor?”

Jade waved a hoof dismissively with closed eyes and a slight shake of her head. She took a deep breath and paused before speaking. “One survived. So this is it, then. You’re the expert; should we be worried?”

“If it were just the one, I’d say no. She was dressed as a scout, so either she was away when the attack happened or she may have been a member of a second unit. Considering her reaction to the scene and how much time has passed, I’m guessing the latter. She freaked out and ran as soon as she saw Nyx. We didn’t stick around to see who she’d bring back.”

The mayor swallowed dryly at that. “What… what do we do, then?”

“I’m sorry, but you’re going to need to put the town on alert. Try to get a militia going for now. Do you have any firearms? Any good shield casters?”

“Maybe a few shotguns. Several ponies have gator rifles. Comes with the territory. But we don’t have anyone experienced enough to stand up to trained zebra soldiers if they do pick a fight.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. But a light resistance is much better than nothing. Besides, chances are good that you won’t get any trouble; the zebra we saw ran off in the opposite direction.”

“I’m just glad you’re here.”

Daisy let out a sigh, her ears falling back. “I’m really sorry… I need to get back to Gatorton right away to gather my platoon.”

Jade sat in silence at her desk, staring down toward her forehooves resting on its polished wooden surface. The disappointment on her face was clear. “You’re not staying tonight to help?”

Daisy shook her head. “That’s… not the best idea, really. Our supplies are all back in Gatorton. If we leave now, I’ve got over a dozen military ponies and a lot of firepower I can bring back by late morning to help you prepare.”

“I see,” the mayor said quietly.

“If it’s any comfort, I really don’t think that zebra scout is your biggest concern right now. And your town certainly isn’t hers.”

Jade’s face transitioned from disappointment to disbelief. “Not her biggest—”

Daisy continued. “Whatever happened to those zebras concerns me much more than the zebra soldiers themselves. There had to be over a dozen slaughtered. And the way… the way they were killed. Jade, whoever this is, we have a pretty good idea that the zebras butchered each other for some reason. The scout? She’s got her own problems, none of which have to do with your town. Likely, she thinks Nyx did it.

“Wait, Nyx? What?”

“Yeah, it’s a long story, but that’s our problem to deal with. If more zebras do come, they’ll probably be looking for her. She’ll be in Canterlot by tonight, though.”

The mayor let out a sigh. “I feel like I’m gonna throw up.” And she looked it. Her head bobbed a little as if she couldn’t keep her balance, and her eyes seemed to drift for a moment.

Daisy reached out across the desk and put her hooves on the mayor’s. “I know this is overwhelming. The good news is that you’ve already got a fenced town with gates. For now, tell everypony to stay inside if they can. Remember, the zebras aren’t here for you. They’re trying to get deeper inland, and it’ll probably take them a while to process what happened at their camp. So if you can make it not worth the fight, they’ll probably leave you alone.”

“We’ll try,” the mayor replied. She offered a weak smile, her body returning to a more confident posture.

“We should really get going, though. I’d like to get back to Gatorton before dark.”

Jade hesitated before nodding finally. “Alright. Please hurry back.”

“We will. Also, if I could ask a favor—we need to send our flyers back to Canterlot right away with one of the zebra bodies we found. It’s really important they go right now, but we don’t have anything to carry it with.”

The mayor seemed happy to change the topic to something other than the threat of invading zebras. “To Canterlot? That’s a long trip, even by air. You only have three flyers, right?”

Daisy nodded.

“I have an idea.” Jade tapped a hoof on a little chrome colored bell which sat on the far corner of her desk, and it responded with a brief ding. Within moments, the mayor’s aide opened the door and poked her head inside.

“Sash, could you please go fetch Chocolate Cake for me? Also, a freight saddle and a fishing net with some extra rope. Quickly if you can, thanks.”

“Certainly, Ma’am,” the unicorn replied with a single nod before retreating back out the doorway.

Jade smiled and turned her head to face Daisy once more. “He’s been wanting to take a trip to Canterlot for a while. It’ll help your flyers to have a fourth, trust me. With only three, they’d be completely exhausted by the time they got there.”

Daisy puzzled over the mayor’s odd request for cake for a moment. “Um… who’s been wanting to go to Canterlot?”

“Choc. The pegasus stallion y’all met selling desserts earlier in the marketplace.”

Daisy stared flatly at her for a moment before rubbing her face with her hooves. Chocolate. Cake. Of course. “Ah, right. And here I thought you were just really hungry.”

The mayor chuckled. “Sorry, I should have clarified. But now that you mention it, I am rather hungry. Would you like anything before you go?”

Daisy stood and adjusted her barding, which had ridden up her chest a bit. “No, I’m fine. Thank you, though. We really do need to get going.”

Jade stood as well and rounded her desk toward the door. “I understand. I wish you didn’t have to. I just…” She paused, without finishing her sentence. Her face finished it for her.

“It’ll be okay,” Daisy said with a reassuring smile. “And if you do run into trouble, don’t hesitate to send a pegasus and let us know.”

Jade nodded. “I’ll walk you out. I think your ponies will enjoy Chocolate. He’s pretty easy-going.”

Outside, Daisy and Jade found the five other ponies waiting patiently, sitting on the grass and chatting. All five heads turned skyward as a dark brown pegasus descended from above and alighted on the steps leading into the mayor’s office building.

“Hey, Jade. Sashay said you wanted to see me,” the pegasus said as he greeted the mayor. He then glanced around at the assortment of newcomers. “Did I miss a party or somethin’?”

Rumble snickered. “You definitely missed a party.”

Jade placed a hoof over Chocolate’s shoulder. “How’d you like to take a trip to Canterlot? I’ll have someone watch your kiosk while you’re away.”

The stallion’s face lit up like he just won a prize. “Would I… Absolutely. Like, when?”

“These ponies need your help carrying… a package to Canterlot. Right now. You up for it?”

“Oooh,” Rumble chimed in. “That’ll help a ton. I was thinking a dead zebra would be a bit much for the three of us to carry that far.”

Nyx rolled her eyes with a sigh.

Chocolate’s eyes darted from face to face as his mouth hung open in confusion. His gaze came to rest on Daisy.

“He’s always like that,” Daisy deadpanned.

Choc offered an uneasy smile. “Heh. I thought he was serious.”

“Oh, he was. But don’t worry, you’ll be fine. We’ll explain on the way out.”

“If you don’t need anything else, I’ve got a meeting to arrange,” the mayor said as she backed up toward the building’s entrance. “Thanks for everything, Commander. I’ll be seeing you tomorrow. Safe journey to you and your team.”

Rumble stood and gave the pegasus a closer inspection. “Wait, I know you,” he said with a wide grin. “You’re the pony from the dessert kiosk!”

Chocolate Cake smiled. “That’s me.”

“Oh, you’re gonna be my new best friend for the day!”

“Rumble’s found a new dealer,” Flitter said under her breath. Nyx snorted a laugh.

As everypony made their way toward the southwest gate, Daisy filled them in on what she and the mayor had discussed. Chocolate Cake looked like he was seriously wondering what in the world he had just agreed to, but before long, he seemed to relax about the news of the zebras, happy that the military was here to take care of it.

The gate approached, and Mint stepped forward to free the latch. While the others waited, laughs echoed from the nearby house with the wide, shaded porch. “Hey, Choc, you gonna try yer hoof wrasslin’ gators with yer friends?” More laughs followed from the group of older ponies leaning back in their comfortable chairs.

“You shut your flap, ya big ninnies,” Choc called back to them. “Now get off your lazy tails and go see the mayor. Make yourselves useful for once.”

Daisy blinked, staring at the stallion’s bravado.

“I like this guy,” Rumble declared with a chuckle as Mint finished opening the gate for everypony to make their way through. The seven then headed back into the wilderness, leaving Withersberg behind.

The heat of the day had given way into a humid, temperate late-afternoon walk with most of the trail now shaded by the surrounding trees, though the sun could still be seen poking through the upper branches off to their right. Daisy and Nyx had taken the lead, watching carefully for any signs of trouble up ahead, while Rumble and Chocolate chatted quietly, trading banter behind them. Flitter listened as the stallions went over the plan.

“So let me get this straight,” Choc said, his voice laced with skepticism. “We’re going to dig up a dead body—”

“Zebra body,” Rumble corrected.

“—a dead zebra body, among a camp full of parts of zebra bodies. Then we’ll fly it to Canterlot ‘cause it might be related to why Sage went missin’?”

“Yup. Pretty much.”

“And y'all are sayin’ that this particular zebra might’ve killed his buddies?”

“Maybe,” Rumble replied after a moment’s hesitation. “But he’s dead now. You’ll be fine.”

“No, you won’t,” Windy interrupted after trotting forward alongside the stallions. “That camp is nightmare fuel!”

Chocolate regarded Windy for a moment. “Then… to top it off, there’s a zebra scout who saw y’all snooping around the camp before getting away. And there might be more of ‘em out there.”

Windy’s head nodded slowly.

“We’ll be in and out in no time, Windy,” Rumble commented.

The unicorn let out a sigh. “I guess.”

Nyx chimed in from in front of the stallions, letting everypony know she was listening after all. “We’ll head straight to Canterlot and drop the body off at Meadowbrook Hospital. Fluttershy’s medical researchers can take it from there while we update Luna on the mission. We’ll stay the night and be back before the platoon reaches Withersberg.

“As long as we get to Gatorton before dark,” Daisy added as she glanced up toward the sun. “We’re pushing it as it is. Once we’re back, we get the platoon loaded up for an early-morning return trip.”

“What about that scout?” Chocolate asked. “She’s still in the area, right?”

Daisy shook her head. “Like I told the mayor, these zebras are almost certainly not here to cause trouble with the local towns. They don’t want to be discovered. Still, you four should do a quick sweep of the area before flying out.”

Up ahead, the trees bordering the left side of the trail thinned out, revealing the river snaking alongside it. Nyx and Daisy walked out onto the riverbank with everypony else following behind. Chocolate’s steps were less bold, his gaze shifting between the waterline and the trees as he made his way forward.

“I don’t remember this place being so creepy,” he said.

“You’ve been here before?” Rumble asked as they walked along together.

Chocolate nodded. “A few times. It’s a nice place, but I… I’m not so sure this is a good idea.”

“Trust me, you’ll be fine. Have you met my wife? She can—”

“Hold up, Rumble. We can’t take him in there,” Flitter interrupted, bringing everypony to a halt.

Nyx turned to face her. “You picking up something, Flitter?”

“I—wait, no I wasn’t talking about… I mean, Chocolate’s putting out a fair bit of anxiety all of a sudden. It’s probably the fear altar.”

Daisy turned to face Chocolate, eyeing him carefully. “You doing alright, Choc?”

Chocolate’s face contorted from being put on the spot. “Well… it’s just creepy, ya know? I get the sense somethin’s watchin’ us and maybe we best not go poking ‘round where we shouldn’t.”

Daisy paused in thought for a moment before speaking. “Yep. It’s the fear altar. Listen. There’s a zebra device in the camp that’s messing with your head. We can either take you to it, which will scare the shit out of you the closer you get until you actually see it… or a better option is to leave you here. Mint, you and Choc stay put. We won’t be long.”

The bewildered stallion stood there, awkwardly, until Mint Blossom walked up and nudged his shoulder. “Come on. You’ll feel better once we get some distance from that thing.”

As the five remaining ponies moved forward, Flitter could feel the waning interference on her senses. Chocolate’s anxiety wasn’t terrible, but it was enough of a distraction to mute her awareness of the emotional landscape. She needed to keep sharp in case that zebra scout returned before they could recover the body and get the hell out of this place.

The turn up ahead was only about a hundred canters away by the time she felt it. It wasn’t anything like the effect of the fear altar. To Flitter, it felt more like an echo of assorted negative emotions. She couldn’t be sure, but the most pronounced was like a powerful, indignant anger.

“Nyx? Something feels different up ahead,” she said, cautiously. “I think we’re in trouble.”

Nyx stopped and checked her T.E.I. She panned around before resting her vision upon the forest which ran parallel to the riverbank. The forest which contained the zebra camp.

“You’re right—we’ve got trouble. There’s definitely something hostile in the camp right now. I’ve got lots of red contacts in a clump, off in the distance.”

Daisy wasted no time. “Alright, change of plans. Windy, I want you to hang back with the civilians. They are your responsibility. Use whatever tricks you can to keep them out of trouble. Find cover and stay hidden.”

“Yes, Commander.” Windy gave a nervous salute before galloping off toward Mint Blossom and Chocolate Cake, her hooves kicking up divots of wet sand in her wake.

“We need to know what we’re dealing with,” Daisy continued. “Flitter, you fly overhead. Find out as much as you can and report back to me. Nyx, Rumble, you’re with me. We’ll cut through the forest and wait for Flitter there. Let’s go.”

Flitter turned her head to notice Windy Scarlet, having caught up with her charge. She was guiding them toward a small clump of trees and underbrush which sat alongside the river further back toward the main trail. Within moments, they settled into the thicket and out of sight.

In the opposite direction, Nyx led the way further up the riverbank, her ears forward and alert for hints of danger. Rumble and Daisy followed closely behind as they all veered off to the right, up and out of the sandy slope to where the dense tree line stood. They paused, glancing back toward Flitter, who gave a brief nod in return. At that, they vanished into the trees.

Flitter was on her own. She was accustomed to solo reconnaissance, but the quantity of unknowns of this mission didn’t help matters any. What monsters lie ahead? she wondered. What was capable of turning a trained zebra military unit into the abattoir of horrors they had witnessed earlier? With that thought, Flitter swallowed dryly, set her sights above the treetops, and leapt into the air.