Sun Magic

Sun Magic

Written by Sapphire Quill

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The sun glared down upon a group of zebra, who had gathered on a grassy field deep within the Everfree Forest. Fires flickered on the edges of the field, creating the illusion there was a forest fire, hopefully warding off any curious creatures or ponies. A large fire flickered in the middle of the field, but no smoke appeared over it. Several zebra were mixing some powder together into several bowls, and others were placing them in a circle around the fire. Each had a distinct tint to it, and each had a shape etched into the dust.

A zebra parted from the rest of the crowd, heading towards a small cave hidden under some bushes and vines. Her mane was in a ponytail, which was quite different from the rest, who all had their own mane down. She entered the cave, parting a few vines, to see her sister, head bowed over a small statue of the sun. Her stripes curled into the shape of a sun, upon her flank. While most Zebra had to get the symbol tattooed upon their flank, the mare in front of the statue was born with hers. "Zecora!" The smaller zebra called out, flicking her tail in impatience. "It's time for the ceremony! And you better not rhyme. It takes too much time!" Her sister glanced behind her.

"And yet you have rhymed a rhyme, Njagi." Zecora gently teased, then got up. "But yes, you are right. Rhyming will take up too much time for this, since we only have a few minutes. Now cut my long mane into a Mohawk.” Zecora instructed, handing her younger sister a knife and a bowl. “Place the hairs into this bowl afterwards.”  Njagi nodded, and grasped the knife with her teeth. She pulled at Zecora's mane, and shaved the left side and the right side, leaving a long tuft of a black and white mane trailing down Zecora's back. Njagi then pulled harder at the mane, and sliced it, leaving four inches of mane, limp across Zecora's head and neck. Spitting the knife out of her mouth, Njagi grabbed a pot with a clear liquid inside. It was a liquid harvested from Poison Joke that stuck fibers together. When used with the actual Poison Joke plant, the effects could only be reversed by washing it off. However, by itself, it was actually harmless, and  was often used in Hair Gels. Njagi rubbed the liquid over her sister's hair in an upwards motion, and the hair was stuck up into a Mohawk.

"Thank you, Njagi. Now, let me do yours." Zecora offered, but Njagi shook her head.

"I have no major part in the ceremony, besides making sure that the Dragon doesn't wake up." Njagi bowed her head, and went outside of the cave. Zecora watched her leave, before turning to the Sun Statue. She took several Sun Feathers from the bowl in front of the statue, and fixed them to various parts of her mane, creating the illusion her mane was on fire. She took in a deep breath, then grabbed a jar full of white powder. "Corona, don't let your pride get in the way of our ceremony again," Zecora muttered, walking out of the cave. "This is our last jar of your magical residue."

Zecora walked into the field, her mane rustling slightly in the wind. Clouds were blowing in, but that wouldn't stop the power of the Sun from reaching the ceremony.

Zecora stepped into a ring of white paint, which began glowing once she stepped inside. She cast her gaze across the bowls of powder, each tinted a different color. Grey, Teal, Yellow, Purple, Orange, and Blue, each color gathered from the magical residue leftover from the Elements of Harmony. She held the jar she had been carrying up. "Queen Celestia's Magical Residue, harvested from the shreds left behind when she was attacked by the corrupted Elements of Harmony. When combined with the Residue of the Elements of Harmony, it will be able to strengthen Cor- Queen Celestia's power!" Zecora began pouring a little bit of the powder into the bowls with the multi colored powder. Immediately, they burst into flames, each the color of the powder in it's bowl. Zecora scooped each bowl, and poured the burning powder into the the smokeless fire. It flared up, and turned white, blinding all of the zebra for a moment. The white subsided, revealing a blazing fire, with white smoke curling off of it. A flaming orange orb was starting to form above the fire, sucking all of the magic out of the air.

The zebra began to cheer, and Zecora smiled faintly. For once, things were going right.

Crash! A large bolt fire scattered the zebra, and a glowing figure descended upon the field, flames spreading everywhere.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Corona's voice echoed across the field. The zebra gazed up upon the figure with awe, and knelt, their eyes focused upon the glowing figure.

“Please forgive me, your Majesty. We did not mean for this to be a travesty.” Zecora slipped into her rhyming tongue, her head held high. “We only meant to restore your power, you have no need to be so dour.” Corona’s mane flared, and she lowered her head, her eyes meeting Zecora’s.

“What my sister means, is that this is to enhance your power, not-” Njagi ran forward, her eyes shining with awe, and a little fear. Corona whipped her head around, and looked Njagi in the eye.

“Our little pony,” Corona began, her voice softer than normal. She smiled faintly, and stood up taller. “We see that you are trying hard to keep your sister out of trouble.” She gazed at the gathered zebra, then nodded.

“You all may stand, now.” Corona commanded, before turning to Zecora and Njagi. “So, you say that this is either meant to restore my power, or enhance it?” Njagi and Zecora nodded, then shook their heads, then shrugged.

“You seem to be all powerful now, so maybe your power is just enhanced?: Njagi wondered, her gaze focusing on Zecora. Zecora shrugged, then turned to Corona.

“Your Highness, we meant no disrespect. You will understand, if you stop and reflect.”  Zecora declared, her head held high.

While negotiations continued, a little filly crept from underneath the ashes of the fire, and crawled quickly to the cave, which lay a few feet away. Her pink eyes darted around the cave, before sighing. She curled up underneath a statue a few feet away, and fell swiftly asleep.

Corona lifted her large, swan-like wings. She gazed at the assembled zebra, before nodding. “We have never experienced such unconditional loyalty before. The ponies could learn a thing or two from you.” The corners of her mouth lifted in a dry grin, before resuming. “However, you all should flee these woods soon. The ‘forest fire’ you have created may have drawn unwanted attention.” At these words, a rumble of thunder sounded from the gathered clouds, and rain began falling upon the gathered zebra. Some of the zebra’s striped began to blur with the white paint, and soon several ponies were exposed. Each of them had a sun-related cutie mark, Corona noticed. “Ah, so ‘tis not just the zebra who follow us, but our little ponies as well.” She remarked. She spread her wings, and took off from the ground, her blank eyes studying the assembled ponies/zebra as she flew away.