Solidarity: Me, Myself, and I (A Twilight Sparkle Tale)

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Harbinger of Tribulation
Chapter 2: The Tumultuous Conjecture
Chapter 3: The Stridulant Maxim

Chapter 1: The Harbinger of Tribulation

The land was a deep abyssal obsidian, murky and swarthy. She focused her will and illuminated a small area of the umbra. She saw three oddly colored figures standing off in the distance, nearly out of sight. She urged her legs to press on, but to no avail. As the figures faded she sank deeper into the mire, feeling her essence being drained from her body like a black hole drains light. As she felt the tendrils of madness clasp over face, she saw an ominous visage: a single, solitary eye. Not an ugly eye or even a normal eye, but an eye of pure dark radiance and majesty. It tore through the boglike shadows with its magnificent glare, encasing them in a strange green flame. Then it focused its attention on her. Mouthless, it asked her in a bizarre voice:

What do you desire most, my child?

She felt herself unable to deceive the being. She knew it knew the answer; it just merely wanted her to admit it aloud. She swallowed and replied, "Knowledge. Knowledge and... and..." She stopped.

And what? Power? Control? Foresight?

She nodded, slightly ashamed of her selfish intentions.

Then seek the Solitary Star. Through it, you will have a chance to seek what you most desire.

}----------{

Twilight Sparkle felt herself rising out of the bed before she was even fully aware of it. It was still incredibly dark outside, so it took her a moment to realize she still felt a tight bind on her hind legs. Her sheets were wrapped around her legs like tight bandages, hindering her movements. With a wave of her horn the blanket bonds were swiftly undone. After making her sheets presentable, she took a good long look at her bed and began to wonder aloud, "Who, or what, was that eye? What did it want with me?". The thought of something invading her dreams troubled her, and she started to gaze outside through the large window in her room into the night sky, reflecting on past events.

It was only five months ago that Twilight and her friends defeated Lord Tirek, unlocked the mysterious crystal chest and established the Council of Allies. The responsibilities of the Council branched all across the known territories of Equestria, from the Frozen North to the harsh Deserted Lands to the east. She, as the Princess of Friendship and Overseer of the Council, was charged with establishing connections with foreign dignitaries and representatives as well as domestic defense. She had met with emperors, kings, and even helped bring a war to a halt between two rival settlements. She was known throughout Equestria as "The Bond Maker", and serves as the mediator when it comes to the affairs of the Equestrian Conclave.

Life was stressful for the young princess, as constant attention to other lands' affairs and missing out on personal time was arduous on her. Constant stress often times meant lack of sleep, and lack of sleep over a long period of time could mean the whole thing she just experienced was a hallucination due to exhaustion. She was relieved when Princess Celestia granted her a two month reprieve. It gave her the chance to finally spend time with the townsfolk that had helped shape her into what she was now. She stepped out from her room and was immediately greeted by a middle-age colt guard and Flash Sentry, a young colt that had been hoof-picked by Celestia to guard over the castle. Flash and Twilight were close friends, though both wished to proceed further in their relationship without ever actually telling the other aloud.

Flash and the other guard immediately snapped to attention, saluting. Flash coughed slightly and said, "Princess Twilight, are you alright? We thought we heard a voice in the room a little bit ago."

The young mare waved a hoof in dismissal, smiling warmly. "I'm fine, Flash. I was thinking out loud. I just had a bit of a nightmare is all."

The other colt had a serious expression on his face. Clearly something was wrong. "But your Majesty, we think we heard another voice in there with you. It was faint, almost incoherent. We heard it say something about knowledge and... and some kind of star?" Flash nodded in agreement. Twilight tensed up slightly.

Twilight paused for a moment, contemplating. Then she looked at her guards. "Follow me. I need you to come with me as witnesses to speak with Princess Celestia. She'll want to know of this immediately." She strode back into her room and looked at the small bed besides hers. She wished Spike was still in Ponyville and not at the Crystal Empire's Crystal Berry Harvest Festival. She knew that he was an important member of the Crystal Empire, but he was still her number one assistant and best friend. Twilight grabbed her saddlebags and took some books and scrolls on the topics of dreams, hoping that she could get some reading done before she got to Canterlot. She and Princess Luna had had some conversations on the topic of dreams, but she never expected have a vision like this. She needed to know as much as possible before presenting this information before her friend.

She proceeded on her way out of her castle onto the straight path that led directly to her front doors. She immediately noticed that there was a strange sound coming from overhead, loud and thunderous. A purple streak of light flew over her castle, almost like a shooting star. Coincidentally, the object seemed to explode over the middle of Ponyville, breaking the prismatic spectrum similar to the Sonic Rainboom. The colors, however, were similar to that of Twlights cutie mark, and as they reconvened over their impact point in the sky, they coalesced into a starburst formation, in exactly the same shape as her mark. Normally explosions dissipate after a few seconds but the mark hung over the skies like a great looming sun, lighting the area in shades of lavender, magenta and white.

By now, the citizens of the small village were either looking out of their windows in awe or running towards the castle with concerned expressions on their faces. Immediately, Twilight was bombarded with questions and complaints. Many thought that the young alicorn was practicing magic and one her experiments backfired. Many had no idea what it was, but they were still startled nonetheless.

An old earth pony trotted forward, a scowl on his expression. He had clearly experienced much hardship in his time, as he had a black eyepatch over his left eye. His brown fur was matted and had patches missing, and a good chunk of his right ear looked as though it had been bitten off. His mane and small beard were thin and grey, like that of an ancient cobweb sewn together by a horde of spiders. He pointed a hoof directly at Twilight, glaring past Flash's warning stare.

The earth pony growled in a thick, strange accent, "How DARE you, you false tyrant! I knew it was going to come to this one day, I just knew it in my bones!"

Twilight was taken aback. She wasn't expecting such hostility so soon, especially from somepony who didn't look like they were from Ponyville. "What do you mean?" she said. "What do you think I've done? I'm only just seeing this for myself, too! I'm just as confused as you all are!"

The old colt gave a bark of a laugh, revealing missing teeth. "Ha ha! You speak falsehoods and pull the wool over the eyes of these ponies, but not me! Not old Nansi Quilt Czar!"

Flash gave a rise of his eyebrow, mishearing what the old one had said. "Nancy Quilt Jar? What kind of a name is that?".

The elder roared "MY NAME IS NOT NANCY! IT'S NANSI! NON-SEE!" This was clearly a topic the old horse was sensitive about and had discussed many times.

Twilight said as sincerely as she could, "Look sir, as I said I have no idea what's happening either. Please explain what it is you're trying to get at here, and I'll try to help out any way I can."

Nansi saw the confusion on her face and her tone, and his expression softened somewhat. He proceeded to push past the villagers, their annoyed glares focused solely on his back. He turned and showed what was left of his teeth at them in a menacing growl, and they immediately were intimidated by the old one. He coughed loudly, nearly hacking, and spoke.

"Hear me, citizens of Ponyville! This, " pointing his hoof skyward towards the beacon, "is a warning! If you value your lives and the lives of your loved ones, leave this village and seek shelter elsewhere, before it's too late!"

The village ponies started to ask the old one questions. What does he mean? What does the symbol in the sky mean? What's going to happen to us? Are we safe? He raised a hoof and a wave of silence flooded the crowd.

"A long time ago, long before the beginning of pony life in Equestria, there were the Hoë Liniale, or High Masters. The Masters oversaw over the different aspects of creation and shaped everything we know and love they way they saw fit. This symbol is a sign of terrible things to come to this place, and the only way to save yourselves from destruction is to abandon this place and retreat to a different land!"

The ponies looked to one another for confirmation as to whether or not they had heard something like this before. None had, and so doubt started to form. Doubt turned to anger, which led to angry shouting and arguing.

He closed his eye and started to hum. Or at least it sounded like a hum at first. After a couple of seconds, Twilight realized that he was actually mumbling something in a different language. She heard him chant: "Kom na my, o draaiboulers van groot skoonheid en kuns, Kom na my hulp. Kom na my, o draaiboulers van groot skoonheid en kuns, Kom na my hulp."

That was when she noticed the rumbling in the distance, coming from Everfree Forest. It was faint at first, but started to crescendo into what sounded like a flood of tiny legs. A pool of spiders started to appear before the old one, causing the villagers to panic slightly. Nansi's eye had rolled over, showing only the whites and veins of the eyeballs. The arachnids started to dance around him, forming patterns and shapes as the flowed around his hooves. Then they started to climb onto him covering him in a mass of small, black bodies. His shape started to grow into a large hill, then eventually a small mountain of spiders covered him.

The spiders, with their webs and immense strength, seemed to be forming themselves into the shape of a strange being. It looked similar to that of a pony but it also looked different, with multiple moving heads like that of a hydra. The spiders started covering each other in their own webbing, sealing themselves together and changing the shape of the beast from black to white. The form was nearly crystalline due the hues and shades from the starburst, giving it a beautiful but horrifying visage to gaze upon.

Finally, the strange structure was complete. It was a full grown horse with seven heads, each with fanged teeth and hooves the size of a small house. Its body was colossal and muscular, yet elegant and mysterious. It intimidated and inspired, terrified and was somehow strangely calming at the same time.

The first head, furthest to the left, spoke. It was still the voice of the old colt, but much deeper and more menacing. "This is the form of the Uchchaihshravas, the High Masters of our entire species."

The second head spoke, in a much more feminine voice. "It is because of this being that the world we know now exists, and it is displeased, as well it should be."

The third head spoke, sounding almost like a young child. "We ponies were meant to provide constant praise and adoration for the gifts it has imparted upon us, but we haven't provided gratitude for the High Masters in over 3,000 years."

The middle head stayed silent, and looked to its right for the other head to speak. The fifth, a much older mare, hissed and spoke. "It is because of them that we have life, emotions, and the ability to accomplish such wondrous things like building castles and cities. Even though we as their children have not praised them for so long, they continue to let us go about our merry ways aimlessly."

The sixth, who looked as though he was constantly in pain, whimpered, "At the beginning of our species creation, there were only three different types of ponies: Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi. Each type had their own tasks and ways of life, and cross-breeding was seen as blasphemy against the High Master." At the last word, the head's eye seemed to start twitching furiously.

The seventh, who looked incredibly bored, sighed. "Over the millennia, the mixing of different species of ponies started to become more and more common. Cross-breeding meant impurities in in the eyes of the Uchchaihshravas, and impurities were meant to be dealt with. But one cross-breed grasped the interest of the High Master, and so he let the ponies live life as usual hoping to achieve more of this species."

Twilight stepped forward, careful not to let and webbing or dangling spiders fall on her. "But I don't understand. What was the breed that caught his attention?"

The heads looked at one another, as if to determine who would be the one to say the answer. Each one shook their head, looking towards the middle head. When it moved it's "lips" in the motions of the word, no sound escaped it. No sound needed to be said though, as everypony in the area felt the word shake through them, like a chill crawling down their entire body.

"Alicorns".

At that word, many of the ponies blacked out and fell to the ground, unconscious. Those strong enough to withstand the word fell to the ground, either clutching their ears and crying or rolling around, laughing maniacally while kicking frantically. Twilight erected a magical barrier around herself and Flash Sentry, barely shielding them in time. The barrier was immediately destroyed, falling to the ground like shattered glass. The elder guard had fallen unconscious, his entire body limp.

Nansi Quilt Czar emerged chanting from the base of the left hind hoof of the structure, his eye still rolled to reveal its whites. The chant was different this time though. "Terug te keer na jou huis, dierbares. Ek dank u vir u hulp. Terug te keer na jou huis, dierbares. Ek dank u vir u hulp."

The spiders started to destroy the web that bound the equine-like structure, freeing themselves. The remnants of the web fell to the ground like tattered fabric, and the spiders started to return home. The remaining ponies, still stunned, made no reactions to the spiders as they flowed around them like a river back towards the Everfree Forest.

The old colt, his eye back to its normal emerald, started to collect the spiders webbing in his saddlebag, almost nonchalantly. Twilight stood mouth agape, completely in shock. Never had she seen anything like what Nansi had shown her, especially with that sort of power. She trotted slightly dizzy over to Nansi, ready to ask him as many questions as she could. Without even looking at her, Nansi raised a hoof in the air, causing her to stop where she stood.

He started walking towards the forest. "Follow me, young one. I know you have questions, which I will answer in due time."

Twilight, slightly annoyed at his aloofness, sputtered "But the- but how the - why - what about the...?"

He chuckled slightly. "The other ponies? They are alright. I merely created the Uchchaihshravas structure to stun them. Now they won't all follow us into the forest like a herd of sheep."

She looked around, seeing the manic and depressed ponies that remained conscious on the ground either giggling like lunatics or crying like infants. "And what about them? Will that... thing... you did to them wear off?"

Nansi gave a shrug, "Probably. I'm never around long enough to find out for myself. Now, let's go. My niece is waiting for us in the forest."

"Who's your nie-". She stopped. There was only one pony who had the knowledge and survival skills to live in the forest by herself, and now the chanting she heard Nansi say did sound relatively familiar to somepony else's chanting. His cutie mark even looked similar to hers, too.

Now it all made sense.... somewhat.

The old colt laughed. "So, you know my niece, then? How has Zecora been?"

End of Chapter 1

Chapter 2: The Tumultuous Conjecture

Twilight followed behind the old colt, looking around the eerie setting in which she had traversed so many times before. Normally the Everfree Forest didn't bother her so much, even at night. This night, however, the darkness seemed to be even thicker than before. It was as if she had a piece of black cloth over her eyes making everything seem fuzzy and distant, even though most of it was right in front of her. As a result, she often times bumped into a tree or stubbed her hoof on a rock. She started to fall behind from the old one, and she hurried her pace, immediately stumbling on top of a log. Twilight groaned in frustration. She didn't normally need to use magic to see her way through the forest, but apparently tonight was an exception.

She illuminated the immediate area around her, casting a vibrant lavender light from the tip of her horn. It made a pleasant twinkling sound, like that of a wind chime on a warm summer day, but slightly higher pitched to match the sounds of a humming bird's rapidly flapping wings. Immediately, the area around her lit up into a lavender hue, giving her better sight. This was short lived, as a large amount of spiders fell from the trees above her, writhing in some strange manner of either pain or pleasure. Many began making dancing movements similar to what Nansi had done earlier, but some started to become aggressive to their brethren and began fighting one another. Twilight gaped on in confusion, as she had never seen spiders act like this before as a result of indirect magic.

Nansi Quilt Czar looked up in confusion, then turned around in frustration. He picked up a glob of mud from a nearby puddle, then threw it at Twilight's head, making her stumble over. She lost focus of her magic, darkening the area once more and silencing her magic. The spiders immediately stopped moving, then proceeded to climb up the trees and vanish once more.

Twilight shook her head, getting off most of the mud. Angrily, she said "What was that for?! Why did you throw mud at me?!"

The old colt looked down on the young alicorn, annoyance on his brow. "Your magic was interfering with my chanting. The spiders got confused and started acting wildly, so I had to stop your magic before they ended up either killing each other or having an orgy on your body." This response made Twilight gag. "You're welcome." He said.

Twilight stood up, grunting. "What does me casting my magic have to do with your spiders? It was just a simple illumination spell."

"That spell you cast, while harmless to everything else, casts its own frequency. The spiders reacted to that frequency and became confused. Many of them heard a command to start mating, while others heard the command to kill. The frequencies are surprisingly similar, strangely enough."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Frequencies? You mean like sound frequencies?" Learning about sound frequencies wasn't exactly what Twilight had planned on studying, but any opportunity to broaden her knowledge couldn't hurt.

Nansi nodded. "Exactly. Spiders don't have ears, as you can imagine. They have special sensory organs in their bodies that allow them to 'hear' things we mammals miss all the time. They can determine the origin of the sound based on what they hear, but magic is still very foreign to them. Well, at least the modern type of magic used in the world today." He turned around again, looking at a nearby stick lying on the ground. He then started chanting a quick chant, and spiders came down and started to work on the branch. By the time they finished, it looked like an average torch. He then pulled a flint and tinder from his saddlebags, and lit the torch. The area was immediately doused in an orange light, providing better vision for Twilight. They continued onward as Nansi spoke.

"In my homeland," he explained through the torch in his mouth, "we do not have unicorns, and pegasi very rarely venture out to our part of the world. My land is filled with Earth Ponies, or Aard Kinders, as we call ourselves. In your language this translates to Earth Children." They continued on the path, eventually coming to a small clearing. Nansi stopped and placed his saddle bags and torch on the ground, then chanted a few quick syllables. Spiders came from around them carrying sticks, leaves and other foliage of the surrounding area. Other larger spiders carried rocks, placing them in a circle between Twilight and Nansi, whilst the smaller ones placed everything else in the center.

Throwing the torch into the center, a small fire was started, and Nansi sat on the ground. Not wanting to be rude, Twilight followed suit. She knew she had to take notes on this particular subject, as she had had no dealings with any representatives from Zecora or Nansi's homeland. She used her magic to get a quill and parchment from her saddlebags, noticing that there were no spiders in sight. Hopefully, they wouldn't be bothered by her use of a simple levitation spell.

Nansi began to speak, and she began to write. According to Nansi and his people's mythology, the ponies of his land were one of the first Earth Ponies to exist on the planet. They supposedly had dealings with beings of higher power than that of Princess Celestia, and some even prayed to gods that Twilight had never heard of before. He also went into an explanation as to how some Earth Ponies seemed to have better understanding of the earth and all things from it than others. He explained that it was a sort of spiritual connection that all living things share and that with the right guidance and understanding, one could even communicate to plant life and have it act on its own accord, or even command the mountains to crumble. Twilight had performed magic similar to this before, but she had never considered the fact that the plants had feelings or thoughts. She felt a pang of regret, wondering if the plants saw her as some sort of monstrous beast who forced them to do her will.

After a short time, Twilight felt a strange sense of unease. She raised her head from her piles of papers to look around, scanning the area. Nansi stopped his explanation. "What is wrong, Twilight? Do you sense something?"

She nodded curtly. "Yeah. I think somepony's watching us. They're hiding in the forest."

Nansi chuckled slightly. "Yes, that is my niece. I forgot to mention something that maybe I should have told you before we came here."

Twilight, confused, asked. "What would that be?"

At that the end of that sentence Twilight heard a faint whooshing sound in the distance, like something small was flying toward them from behind. She instinctively ducked, just barely escaping the dart that zipped over her head and flew towards the colt. He dodged with an almost lazy sway, acting like he had not a care in the world. He was even still smiling as he said, "Well, Zecora doesn't exactly see me as her 'favorite uncle.' You might say she sees me as a criminal."

Zecora entered the clearing, with what looked to be strange bangles attached to her front hooves. At first they looked normal, but upon further inspection Twilight saw that they actually had hooked blades coming from the front of them, like claws of a large Manticore. She was also wearing a mask on her face, strangely grotesque and with fanged teeth. Small spikes jutted out from the side of the mask, and circlets adorned the ears of it. It was horrifying, but also intriguing in a way.

The zebra charged the campsite, her clawed weapons looking more and more threatening as she got closer. Zecora leapt into the air and landed next to Nansi, then began her assault. She, to Twilight's surprise, stood on her hind legs and starting punching at Nansi. The colt ducked and dodged, moving backwards and around the campsite. The way they moved looked more like some kind of bizarre, angry dance than combat. Zecora swung at Nansi with her right hoof, but missed as he ducked once more. While her front foreleg was extended he tackled her to the ground, head-butting her mask square on its muzzle. The circlets of the mask jingled like bells, and the mask cracked slightly under the attack. The old colt was powerful despite his appearance. He then wrapped his front foreleg around Zecora's neck, holding her on the ground while she struggled to move.

Twilight overcame her shock from the initial assault and used a levitation spell to separate the two ponies. Zecora struggled against the force of the magic, and Nansi looked squarely onto Twilight's face with a look of annoyance. Twilight felt a heavy weight on her back, and felt a painful pinch on her neck. She was paralyzed, falling to the ground in a limp heap from the spider bite. She immediately started sweating, and her stomach was doing backflips more than Pinkie on a sugar rush while drinking coffee. Her vision blurred, and the last thing she saw were the two Earth Ponies ducking, dodging, swinging, and even biting. Then her vision become completely black as she went unconscious.

***

Twilight was in a long corridor, seemingly endless. She urged herself to move forward, despite the pain she felt in her neck every time she took a step. The pain seemed to pulse along with her rhythm, like a drum so powerful that the sound of its' beat literally harms the body.

She continued forward, and eventually came across a series of mirrors. They were all slightly cracked and dusty, displaying their age and misuse. They did not, however, reflect her image. After the first hundred or so she encountered even more mirrors, these ones clean and undamaged. The first few showed her as she looked normally, but she noticed one key factor in each of them: not a single one of these reflections showed her as an Alicorn.

She started running, trying to see if any of these would show her her true face. The images started to stare at her in disgust, as though she was some sort of disgusting abomination. The images themselves started to become more and more bizarre, as the mirrors showed different varieties of Twilight Sparkle: Tall, short, fat, skinny, one eye, twenty eyes, ten legs, one leg, two horns, horns emerging from her back, extra tails, large teeth, etc.

She started to hear something, and it filled her with complete dread. The images started to speak in her voice, but they were all so distorted and bizarre that they were nearly unintelligible. They were all saying the same thing in rhythm, matching the throbbing pain in her neck in their percussive assault.

ABOMINATION. ABOMINATION. ABOMINATION.

Then came the running.

A thunderous sound of a stampede was behind her, and Twilight turned her head around. Hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands of Twilight's started running at her, all the while still screaming their horrifying chant. She looked forward, panting and sweating furiously, hooves and legs feeling like they could fall apart at any second. She tried casting a spell at the other Twilight's but she couldn't focus past her own terror and exhaustion.

She tripped over something and started falling to the ground, but in slow motion. She eventually stopped moving, completely suspended in the air like a marionette. She was too tired to resist, too scared to think clearly. The other monstrous Twilight's came up from behind, and even more from in front of her. Their sick, demented chanting became too much for her, and her vision started to fade once more as tears streaked from her eyes.

One of the Twilight's walked forward, a bizarre tool in it's mouth. It looked like a vice used in a carpenters workshop, but the insides of the vice had rusty blades emerging from them. The doppelganger looked into Twilight's eyes, and her focus came back immediately. This one had a key feature to it, which the other monsters didn't even seem to realize. This Twilight's eyes were as blue as the ocean on a moonlit night. They had a warmth to them, a familiar warmth Twilight knew all too well. The clone dropped the tool, and the others immediately realized their fate as she lifted her head to speak.

BEGONE, VILE BEASTS. PLAGUE NOT THE MIND OF YOUR PRINCESS, LEST YOU FACE THE WRATH OF THE RULER OF THE NIGHT.

The monstrous Twilight's scattered back into the mirrors in fear, their portals shattering behind them. Luna dropped her guise and Twilight fell to the ground in a heap of relief, though still in immense pain. One clone remained, however, standing vigilant despite the warning given by Luna. The copy started to melt into a black sludge, then reconvene as a mass of eyeballs and appendages, with a solitary green eye in it's center.

Impressive, young one. Frightening such beasts en masse is no easy feat. You must wield much authority to command such lowly things.

Twilight struggled to stand, Luna standing guard in front of her. "Be silent with your pleasantries, creature." Luna said with obvious disgust. "Flattery is a tool used by the weak to entice their betters. Such tricks shan't work on me."

I meant no disrespect, truly. I only dispense such words to those who truly deserve it.

Luna scoffed, obviously not taking the bait. The eye spoke again.

I wish to speak with the young one, my lady. She and I have some business to discuss.

Luna looked at Twilight. "Do you truly have business with this thing? Or is he speaking flasehoods?"

Twilight gasped between breaths, "I don't even know what it is. It saved me from a nightmare, then told me to look for something called the Solitary Star."

Luna turned back to the mass of writhing black flesh. "Twilight Sparkle is under my protection. If you wish to speak to her, then you must speak to me as well."

I speak only to the young one. The knowledge I impart is meant for her ears alone.

"Then your business with her is concluded." Luna waved her horn towards the eye, sending a wave of magic towards it. The magic passed through it, doing absolutely nothing. The eye blinked and started to chuckle, then grew to a hearty, dark laugh.

"Twilight, you must go, now!" The hallway behind Twilight seemed to shrink, as a door became more and more into view. It opened to reveal a completely white space, illuminating the room in a nearly blinding light. Twilight staggered to stand up, and turned to the Princess.

"What about you?" she said. "I can't just leave you alone with it! I want to help!"

Luna turned and lifted Twilight into the air with her magic. She threw her though the doorway as she saw green flames surround the princess. She heard the eye yell in frustration as the door was slammed shut behind her. The minute it was closed though, her vision went black once more.

Chapter 3: The Stridulant Maxim

Twilight regained consciousness, her eyelids feeling as though they weighed more than a morbidly obese Ursa Major on a binge eating diet. With all of her will, she forced her eyes open, feeling every single fiber of her being ache and wriggle in agony. She was only able to open her eyes a fraction of a centimeter before it was too painful for her. She was in Zecora's hut and the zebra was leaning over her, an obviously stained bandage wrapped around her torso. The mask, now in pieces, was behind the zebra. She also saw the strange weapons Zecora had used earlier, but covered in blood and thick blobs of webbing. She felt a cold substance press onto her neck, which only caused her to cry softly in pain. Zecora said something in her usual rhyming speech pattern, but it was unintelligible through the constant ringing and pounding in her ears.

Zecora leaned down to look into Twilight's face, holding a bowl in her mouth. She felt Zecora press the bowl against her lips, urging her to drink. She pitifully lapped at the liquid which tasted slightly sweet, much like a berry punch. She slowly felt her strength return to her body as the drink slid down her gullet. She was scarcely able to sit up slightly and open her eyes more, and she quietly celebrated the feat. Her friend put more pillows underneath her neck for support and comfort. The ringing receded slightly and the pounding wasn't as harsh, much to her relief. She could at least hear sounds again thankfully, and could see a pink liquid bubbling from inside Zecora's cauldron. She meekly and painfully pointed a hoof at the cauldron, which her friend immediately went to and refilled the bowl.

A short time later after Twilight's third helping of the pink potion she was able to move her legs and neck with some effort. Laying there looking at the ceiling of the hut, there was a thought that kept rattling her brain and made her uneasy. She would ask Zecora, but only after she made sure the Zebra wasn't wounded worse than she was. She slowly turned to see Zecora's backside at the cauldron once more and whispered loudly, "Zecora..."

The zebra, smiling to see her patient recovering, trotted over to her friend. Over the past 5 months since the establishment of the Council, Twilight had often referred to Zecora for international advice. The zebra had traveled all over the known lands before settling in the Everfree Forest, so she was relatively familiar with each land and their customs. From her knowledge Twilight was able to successfully gain trust from almost every nations' representative she had met with. As a result their friendship had grown as well, making Zecora an honorary family member and most trusted adviser.

Zecora sat on the ground next to the bed, a look of relief on her muzzle. "So happy, I am, to see you awake. Now I can finally take a short break."

She meant this part somewhat jokingly of course, making Twilight smile through the pain.

"Are... are you okay?" panted Twilight. "Your chest... bleeding."

Zecora looked at her wound, then back at the Alicorn. "There is no need to fret, my dear worried friend. I am far too determined to meet with my end. This wound that you see will recover quite soon." She winced slightly as she adjusted her sitting pose. "Although I admit, it is quite a boon."

The princess admired her friends determination (or was it stubbornness?) and sat up a bit more. "That pony who I was with, the one you fought; who was he?"

Zecora's relief briefly turned into anger, which was rare to see. Zecora was one who rarely ever got angry or even annoyed. To see the mere mention of somepony get her riled up concerned Twilight. "That thing is a menace, a plague on four legs. To get what he wants he lies and he begs. He'll enter your home with the best of intentions, then stab your bare back with his swift misdirection." She rose from the ground, pacing in an angry fashion. "To be around him is like a mad flaming torch. Move too close to the flame and you soon shall be scorched. He's a demon, a beast, a usurper of all. He's a dark one, a master of making slaves fall. He once was a leader, a smart one at that. Anypony who knew him before would say that. They'd tell you the stories of-"

Twilight raised a hoof to cut off her friend. "Zecora, no offense, but every time I've heard a long explanation of something tonight, I nearly went into a frenzy or was attacked by you." She quickly blushed, realizing her rudeness. "No offense."

Zecora huffed slightly, but continued. "To make my tale short, he's a master of lies. He uses dark earth magic to make his pets spies." At this, she turned around from where the bed was to see a small black spider near door. It was crawling underneath the doorway to the outside, no doubt to tell the other spiders and Nansi where they were. That would be a matter for a later time, though.

"Well, then what he probably told me was a pack of lies too. I can't believe I let myself be interested by that stupid story he told me."

Zecora raised an eyebrow. "What story would that be, my friend in the Everfree?"

"He went into great detail about this thing called a Oocha... a Ukachu - Chooka... something that looks like a pony with sevend heads. He even showed me what it looked like with his spiders. It was flashy and all, but now I know it was all a bunch of..... Zecora?"

Zecora was on the ground, a look of pure fear on her face. Twilight gulped down the rest of the potion in order to stand slightly, slowly limping towards her friend. "Zecora? Speak to me! What's wrong?"

Slowly, the zebra shook her head left to right as if in denial. She swallowed, then spoke. "He... he's seen the Uchchaihshravas?"

Immediately, Twilight got scared. Never, not once ever, had Zecora NOT spoken in rhyme. Tonight was full of instances in which Zecora had not acted like herself, and twilight immediately grew suspicious. Was this really her friend? Or was it a guise set in place by Nansi? What if this was some sort of distraction set in place by Nansi so that he could achieve some ulterior motive? Twilight wasn't going to risk going through a spider-bite ridden Hell again, and she backed away slowly from the zebra.

Zecora, blinking and slightly regaining her composure, looked up at her friend. "I know what he told you about the High Makers. Are you sure that he wasn't just being a faker?" She then noticed that Twilight was using her magic to slightly raise a skinning knife from the shelf. The zebra tensed.

"Twilight, my friend, please put the knife down. Please regain your true senses, princess of the crown." Zecora said, reassuringly.

Twilight back up towards the door more, her vision set on Zecora. "Stay away, Nansi! That's a clever trick you've pulled with your spiders, but it's not going to work on me again!"

"It is I, your friend! Nansi is not here! We're the only two present, so there's no need to fear! Just lay down in bed, the poison still courses. It still is quite deadly to young foolish horses."

She wouldn't be fooled again, and no amount of honeyed words would convince her otherwise. She wanted to believe that the pony in front of her was Zecora, truly. But considering what this pony had told her, Nansi was a master deceiver. He could very well be the one who took the guise of the pony in front of her, wearing her skin like some kind of sick body suit. That gash on the chest would make for a very convenient entryway, and she wasn't sure if the eye she saw on "Zecora" when she leaned down to see her face was even the right color. Her neck throbbed faster as her heart pounded harder, her legs shaking in both fear and fragility.

She decided to test the "zebra". She and Zecora had shared a code between each other, one with deep meaning to Twilight, in the event something like this would happen. She had shared this code with only one other pony, but felt that the zebra was worthy of learning it as well. Calming herself slightly, ready for anything, she asked the question that would determine this pony's legitimacy.

"What rhyme have I shared with only the one who is close to my heart?"

Zecora slowly lowered herself into a slight bow, still wincing. She then started to bounce slightly, alternating between her hooves in a skipping pattern. After about a second or two of doing this she lowered her chest to the floor covering her eyes, then revealing them again. All of this movement was causing her bandage to slip up and fresh blood to ooze out of the gash. As the pony before Twilight kept performing the code, relief and grief flooded her, causing her to sob and collapse to the ground. The magic stopped and the knife fell to the floor away from both of them. Twilight then copied the motions of the Zebra, covering her eyes and unveiling them. Both sat up, Twilight assisting the other pony with her magic, moving her bandages back in place. and lifting her towards her. They then tapped their hooves lightly against one another in a game-like fashion, afterwards rising to their feet and shaking their hind ends towards one another.

Through incomprehensible sobs of regret, Twilight apologized to her friend for doubting her, blood staining the underbelly of her coat as they hugged. Her friends body was slightly limp, causing Twilight to panic. She used what little magic she had left in her to stop the bleeding and close up the wound slightly. Exhausted and drained, they both fell to the ground in a heap of blood, sweat and tears.

Twilight heard a loud knocking at the door of the hut, unable to answer through her cries of sorrow. The door was bucked down, a large grey pegasus in royal armor marching through. It was the middle aged guard from Twilight's castle, with Flash Sentry slightly behind looking in. Without saying a word, he immediately lifted the helpless princess over his neck and onto his back, Flash doing the same with Zecora. Both started running back on the path towards the castle, Twilight seeing trees and bushes zip by.

When they reached the castle, a medical chariot was waiting with riders in front. The guards boarded the chariot, gently placing their weeping and bleeding cargo on to the cart. The chariot soared towards the sunrise, its golden body gleaming. Twilight opened her eyes to see her zebra friend smiling weakly at her, tears in her eyes flowing into the wind. They both noticed the sunrise and giggled slightly. Zecora put her hoof on her friends shoulder and whispered slightly, "Sunshine.... sunshine.... ladybugs awake."

Twilight responded in kind. "Clap your hooves and do a little-"

Before Twilight could finish, Zecora convulsed and coughed up blood on to the carriage before laying back down and releasing a long sigh. The princess gently nudged the zebra, to no avail. Numbness of all sorts claimed Twilight, and she fainted into her sorrow once more.