Dusk and Rune: Shattered Days

"So you want me to stay?" Rune asked, trying to understand what the Kusaidia were telling him. "But why, don't I have a right to be there when the foal is born?"

"You had no right to mate with her to begin with!" Snapped a younger Zebra mare, who looked like a younger version of Zecora. "How dare you think you eve have any right to-"

"Zecara, enough." Zecora interrupted, then turned to Rune. "I am sorry for my sister, she has always been a little gruff."

"She's your sister?!" Rune exclaimed in surprise, the looked Zecara over again. "Yeah, I see the resemblance now."

"Don't you dare gander at me, you disgusting beast!" Zecara snapped, ready to smack Rune.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" The older of the Kusaidia raised his voice, stamping his hoof to the ground, silencing the room. "We are hear to aid our tribe, not bicker!" With Zecara quieted, the older Zebra turned to Rune. "She is still new to her charge and holds her sister in high regard. But yes, you are not of our tribe and therefore your claim of courtship with Zecora is not valid."

"But then how do I make it valid?" Rune asked, seeing if there was some way to make all of this work.

"You? A member of the tribe?!" Zecara raised her frustration again. "You are Mgeni! An outsider that has done nothing but shame my sister!"

"Sister, hush." Zecora replied, holding Midnight, who was now trembling. "If he wishes to join the tribe, then there is no need to rush."

"If you really wish to join our tribe, then you are free to. you will be considered Kujifunza, a non Zebra who wishes to learn." The older Kusaidia replied. "There are many rituals and practices to consider first. For now, we shall bring Zecora to our tribe, so her child will be born in Zebra lands. We will allow her to send you a letter confirming the birth. But until our Kiongozi, our Chief allows this, you are to remain here."

"Zecora told me once that anyone can join with no issue." Rune asked, feeling there was more to this than the Kusaidia was telling. "Why is this case so special? Was it because I got her pregnant?"

"Yes and no." The Kusaidia answered. "Zecora is the first daughter and second child of the Kiongozi, as well as his former apprentice. We must first explain the situation before you are allowed to be near the tribe."

"I knocked up your chief's daughter?!" Rune's eyes went dead at the realization. "I-I-I've pissed off a lot of ponies in my life, but never a Zebra Chief. I'll...deeply respect your traditions and wait for a response."

"You hold a respectable instinct to survive. That is good." The Kusaidia nodded his head. "You may survive the trials yet, for now, you are to stay away from the Tribe."

"So you want me to stay and run the potion business Zecora has been running here?" Rune asked, trying to read the Kusaidia's mind, seeking any answers he could go on; but shockingly found he was being blocked out. "What will happen to the hut?"

"Zecara will remain and run the hut in her sister's stead." The Kusaidia replied, much to the younger Zebra's protest.

"There is no way I will share a roof with such a vile creature as this!" Zecara protested in rage. "He should be killed for dare touching my sister, I demand justice for this insult!"

"Enough Zecara!" Zecora said, shouting, then grabbing at her swollen stomach in a quick and faint pain. "He is to never be harmed or hurt, Rune cares for me, and I him. I gave myself to him, knowing what would happen. I will explain this to father and come what may. That is enough."

"Sister." Zecara tried a final time to convince Zecora to change her mind, but she saw the serious look in her eyes. "Fine, I won't do anything, but I refuse to share a roof!"

"We can work something out...sister..." Rune responded, teasing a little at the end.

"Call me that again and you'll choke on poison joke." Zecara stared poison daggers at Rune.

"Then we are concluded." The Kusaidia commented, gesturing to the other cloaked Zebras. "We shall send a message when we have returned, and when the child is born."

"But I don't want mommy to go!" Midnight protested, hugging Zecora closely.

"This is not your parent, why do you cling to her so?" The Kusaidia asked, almost confused by the act.

"She is and is not my child." Zecora answered, hugging Midnight. "I am sorry Midnight, but you must stay with your father, you are the only one I can trust to keep him from going wild."

"I will mommy." Midnight sniffled, hugging Zecora again. "Please come back."

"I will, I promise." Zecora replied, kissing Midnight's forehead. "You and your father I will always miss."

Without a further word, the Kusaidia guided Zecora from the hut, leaving Midnight, Rune, and Zecara behind. For a moment, there was silence. Not an awkward silence, but the silence before a violent storm. Midnight cautiously walked towards Rune, as though proclaiming she was taking her side. Zecara then looked around the home, seeing only one bed. The sight of the single bed made her think of her beloved sister sharing a bed with a vulgar pony like Rune only made her violently ill and tortured her thoughts.

"So...how is this going to work?" Rune asked, trying to strike up conversation. "You get the bed, and I get the floor?"

"No, no, no, no, never, no!" Zecara replied. "I get the bed, I get the hut, you get nothing but the front door."

"You can't kick me out, this is half my house!" Rune protested, standing his ground. "What right do you have to do that?"

"What right did you have to get my sister pregnant?" Zecara snapped. "If it wasn't for you, she would've come home to her family!" Rune had nothing to say, he didn't know anything about Zecora's family. He didn't even know Zecora had siblings. Zecara saw that Rune was losing his ground. She saw this as her chance to keep on the assault. "You are some disgusting creature who meddled with my sister and for whatever reason, she is fond of you. I love my sister and I will not kill you as I know you deserve, but I will not allow you t even be within a league of me. You can go find somewhere else to live." Rune tried to take a step forward, but Zecara only glared back, her eyes glowed a faint shade of yellowish white. "Kushinikiza!"

"What the-" Rune tried to reply but felt a sudden unseen force push him, forcing him through the hut door. Midnight ran after Rune, seeing if he was alright. "What..what that?" Rune tried to think of some way to explain this to himself. He had seen Zecora's magic, but nothing like this.

"You Unicorns use Chafu, a dirty and corrupt form of magic." Zecara explained, stepping out of the hut, her eyes still a glow. "We Zebra use a more Natural and more pure form of magic that all races can learn. No begone!" Rune tried to ignite his horn, but Zecara called down her attack again, striking the ground and making small imprints, as if a heavy object had struck it. Not wanting to fight his new sister-in-law, nor drag Midnight into this, Rune opted to retreat back to Ponyville. Seeing he had left, Zecara stopped her assault and returned inside the hut.

"So that's what happened?" Dusk asked, sitting at his table, listening to Rune explain everything. "Is there no way she'll listen to reason?"

"No, she hates me too much." Rune replied, chuckling a little. "I think she was more trying to scare me rather than hurt me. She promised her sister she wouldn't harm me."

"Hard to believe Zebras had such a style of magic." Dusk pondered, thinking back to how little Equestrians knew of Zebra culture.

"Yeah, they seem to be a very secretive group." Rune replied. "But what should I do?"

"Well, what about Midnight?" Dusk asked, seeing the filly in question being quiet. "You're both welcome to stay here again."

"I think we'll have to." Rune replied, still thinking of a plan. "But even if we can't get back to the hut, I still must make something right with Zecara. At the very least apologize."

"But from what you make it sound, she might just throw you out again." Dusk replied, then looked at a small glimmer in Rune's eye. "You have a plan don't you?"

"Don't I always." Rune chuckled, standing up. "Midnight, stay here, I'll come back when I win."

"Okay daddy, but win what?" Midnight asked, sipping her tea.

"Probably the most serious challenge of my life." Rune said before turning and heading towards the door.

On the outskirts of the Everfree, Dawn Rune set himself up; doing quick stretches and mentally prepping himself. As he looked into the dark forest, the sound of shifting plants and prowling animals touched his ears, clearly Zecara wanted to ensure she was to remain alone; or at the very least, keep Rune out. With his preparations done, Rune arched his back, taking a runner's stance as he thought of his next step. Igniting his horn, Rune focused on location the hut through whatever illusion or enchantment Zecara may have cast. Rune knew somewhat about zebra magic, or what little Zecora preformed around him, and he wanted to be sure.

"Looking...looking...look- ah! There it is." Rune said to himself, his expression becoming somewhat disappointment. "No illusions, not traps, Zecara's either too confident or she doesn't know me well enough...or both..."

Rearing back, Rune kicked off the ground, taking off at a near pegasus speed. Within moments, Rune was several feet into the forest before stopping. At the moment of his halt, three vines coiled around his body like snakes. Before they could entirely envelop him, Rune took off again. Zecara was more clever than Rune thought, had she enchanted the entire forest? Knowing that she didn't bother with any hidden spells or illusions, Zecara probably just had enchanted vines and maybe had some of the local beasts under thrall. Rune could only assume Zecara was doing something. As Rune galloped deeper and deeper in the forest towards the hut, there was a sweet, almost alluring smell.

"This is..." Rune commented before noticing a large object lunging at him. Thankfully his reflexes were heightened by his magic. Dodging, then continuing his run towards the hut, Rune looked back to see a large group of timberwolves running after him. "Well that is something..."

Rune continued to gallop, keeping his spell active, Rune was able to outrun the wolves. Though that sweet smell in the air would only attract more beasts. Shaking his head, Rune refocused himself on the hut, which was now in sight. Though right as he paced through a row of trees, the sweet smell vanished, as did his spell. Without his spell to keep his reflexes up, Rune was unable to properly slow down and crashed into a nearby tree. Though despite crashing into a hard tree at break neck speed, Rune felt no pain. Looking around, Rune noticed the wolves stopped following when the reached the nearby trees.

"What is..." Rune looked and noticed most of the trees had some strange glyph marks. "These look like..."

"Warding glyphs." Zecara answered, stepping out of the hut. Though she was not pleased to see Rune, she was not as angry as earlier. "The Tribe puts them around areas such as trees or rocks to mark territory and establish safety. My sister had a few around to keep the animals away. I added a few more to cancel out your disgusting unicorn magic."

"And the sweet smell outside the glyphs?" Rune asked, still seeing the timberwolves prowl back and forth on the outskirts. "It's kinda attracting the nearby animals."

"That's just to keep nosey scum like you away." Zecara snapped, but then composed herself. "But since you somehow made it here, what do you want?"

"I want to move back to my hut." Rune explained. "And I won't take no for a-"

"No." Zecara interrupted. "I may have calmed down a little, but I'm still pissed off at you for what you did and there is no way I would allow you to live here."

"Then how about we settle this more fairly?" Rune suggested. "Lets play a small game, if I win, Midnight and I can return. If you win, Midnight and I will take our stuff and leave."

"And I can trust you because?" Zecara asked, skeptical Rune can be trusted. "What can you possibly-"

"I'll let you name my child with Zecora." Rune replied, hoping that could work. "You may hate me, but you can't hate your own niece or nephew."

"Ugh...fine..." Zecara replied with a scowl, Rune did have a point, and it would mean Rune wouldn't bastardize Zecora's child with some pony name. "What will we decide this on?"

"Chess." Rune answered, walking towards the hut. "Zecora had a board around here, so I assume you play."

"Oh I have, though we use it more to learn and test our intelligence." Zecara answered, following after Rune. "Though I doubt some lowly beast like you could ever-"

"King's Blank to E4." Rune interrupted, already having a chess board all set on the floor and his first move made.

"I see." Zecara replied, sitting at her end of the board. "Let's see...Mwanga to E5..."

"So Mwanga is your term for the Blank." Rune stated, looking over the board. "I can see this will be interesting...Blank to F4...King's Gambit..."

"Mwanga are those who have passed and joined through rite and pilgrimage, they are a foundation, also...Mwanga takes Blank." Zecara replied, moving her next piece. "You're placing a very large gamble on this. I expect you to be somewhat skilled."

"We shall see." Rune replied, moving his next piece. "Unicorn to C4."

"A little aggressive. You call your Kusaidia piece the Unicorn?" Zecara asked, almost complimented Rune's action. "Kiongozi to H4...Check."

"Speaking of aggressive, and I assume Kiongozi is what you call your Alicorn piece." Rune stated. "King to F1."

"Mwanga to B5." Zecara continued.

"Okay, you got my interest." Rune played. "Unicorn take Mwanga."

"Siri to F6." Zecara played.

"You call your Pegasus piece Siri?" Rune asked. "Incidentally, Pegasus to F3."

"Siri are the Agents of the Zebra way, they're hidden and go behind enemy lines." Zecara answered. "Kiongozi to H6."

"Blank to D3." Rune replied with his next move.

"Siri to H5." Zecara played, her tone becoming lighter as she began to loosen up. "Alright, take some time; think about your horrible life choices."

"Okay, I have thought about it." Rune replied, his own tone more focused. "Pegasus to H4."

"Kiongozi to G5." Zecara responded. "You giving up the Unicorn at B5 or the Pegasus at H4?"

"Neither." Rune responded at his turn. "Pegasus to F5."

"Mwanga to C6." Zecara answered. "You left your Unicorn out in the open."

"And you your Pegasus or Siri." Rune replied in a cocky tone. "Blank to G4."

"Siri to F6." Zecara replied.

"Hmm Earth Pony to G1." Rune responded, trying to build a better defense near his King piece.

"Mwanga takes your Unicorn." Zecara laughed, taking joy in knocking the piece over.

"Blank to H4." Rune replied, a small smirk on his face.

"Kiongozi to G6." Zecara responded, not trusting the look on Rune's face.

"Blank to H5...careful, I'm coming for your Kiongozi." Rune chuckled a little.

"You're the one who lost his Unicorn." Zecara replied, seemingly enjoying herself more. "Kiongozi to G5."

"Alicorn to F3." Rune responded, finally moving that piece.

"Hmm...clever..." Zecara pondered her next move. "Almost trapped my Kiongozi...Siri to G8."

"Unicorn takes Mwanga." Rune replied, his smiling not as irritating to Zecara but more as a challenge. "Unicorn threatens Kiongozi."

"Kiongozi to F6." Zecara replied, trying to save her piece.

"Pegasus to C3." Rune answered his next move. "You've developed nothing but your Kiongozi."

"Don't get cocky, you're still one Unicorn short." Zecara almost playfully snapped. "Kusaidia to C5."

"Let's see...Pegasus to D5." Rune moved his piece, his strategy nearing its completion.

"Kiongozi takes Blank at B2." Zecara said, moving her piece across the board.

"Unicorn to D6." Rune answered, ignoring the loss of his Blank piece.

"Kiongozi takes Earth Pony." Zecara exclaimed, her tone sounding as though she was about to win. "Check."

"King to E2." Rune replied, saving the King piece but losing the Earth Pony piece.

"Kusaidia takes Earth Pony." Zecara replied. "Your last Earth Pony. You're running out of forces. What will you do now?"

"Blank to E5." Rune replied calmly, much to Zecara's surprise.

"Really? I have my forced laid down on you, and you move a Blank." Zecara's tone sounded a little disappointed, almost as if she had forgotten what was at stake. "Are you even trying now?"

"Think about it." Rune replied, as if playfully teasing the zebra.

"Siri to A6." Zecara replied, trying to figure out Rune's strategy.

"Pegasus to Mwanga at G7." Rune replied, moving his pieces forward. "Looks like it's almost over...Check."

"Not yet it's not." Zecara replied, his tone a more playful aggressive. "King to D8."

"You still call the King, the King?" Rune pondered aloud. "Interesting...Alicorn to F6...Check."

"And now my Siri takes your Alicorn." Zecara replied, moving without even looking at the board. "You have no Earth Ponies, you're down to a single Unicorn, too bad you wasted tat time moving that Blank to...to..." Zecara's eyes widened a little at the sudden realization. "You sneaking, little..."

"Unicorn to E7...Checkmate..." Rune moved his piece declaring his victory.

"It can't...there's no way..." Zecara looked at the board for several moments, but it was clear; Rune won the match. "Dammit...Fine, a deal's a deal."

"Good game Zecara." Rune replied, nodding his head; his smiling was gentle and almost soothing.

"Ugh...good game...Rune..." Zecara replied, her tone not as disgusted as she thought it would be. "So what now?"

"Well..." Rune replied, getting up and lifting the trap door to his basement room. "I'll get to go back to my own room."

"You have a room down in the storage cellar?" Zecara asked. "I always thought..."

"That I was always bedding your sister?" Rune laughed a little. "No, no, no. Zecora only let me in her bed like barely once or twice a week. Most days, I slept down here."

"I see." Zecara responded, looking into the cellar. "Well, so long as you stay in your space, and NOT in mine, then I will allow you and Midnight to stay."

"Good, good." Rune replied, heading towards the door, "I'll be back later, I gotta tell Midnight about this."

"Fine." Zecara replied, watching Rune leave. As the stallion left, Zecara remembered a few letters Zecora used to send her; some of them explaining Rune. "Sister...I can almost understand what you see in him...but he's still a vile, disgusting Mgeni!"