Voodoo. A dark art for darker people, or so they say. Rumor has it that those who use it make deals with demons and evil spirits to gain powers beyond the understanding of most mortals, at the cost of their souls and bodies. They let themselves get possessed and used as puppets for evil deeds with consent. Only an idiot or a truly evil person would practice such a dark magick. At least, that’s what they all say.
Voodoo, in actuality, is none of that. Practitioners do not invite ‘evil spirits’ into their bodies, but rather invite spirits of the world inside to give advice about what to do, or in some cases, grant power to protect those they love. The spirits, or Loa, are not evil for the most part, but are rather amiable to a degree. Different Loa serve different types of people, Ghede prefer young women for the most part, Agau only mounts those strong enough to handle his power, etc. Loa are more than tools, but rather powerful people in metaphysical form, brought into the physical world to help the summoner via artefacts, and mounting their summoner as a form of possession. This possession is hardly harmful, and in ancient times is shown to not even be possession, but manifesting as armor. Practitioners often used this only for combating strong foes, though.
Practitioners of Voodoo, or Witch Doctors, were renown for their powers of protection and healing. Performing feats no one could comprehend at the time, unless they were Witch Doctors themselves. Eventually, ponies came to Zebrica and attempted to explain Voodoo with their Magic, but found they could not. And so, they labeled the practice as evil, and sought to destroy all Witch Doctors. They weaved stories of how they could dismember from great distance, using only a doll. That they could conjure powerful demons bent on destroying as much as possible. Witch Doctors were made out to be villains of the highest caliber, and the world rejoiced when the last one was killed, or at least they thought he was.
Obviously, he wasn’t. He spread his teachings to a group of students, each learning to specialize in a certain form of Voodoo. One, Zecora, learned Alchemy, and spread the art throughout Zebrica, making it the most famously practiced art in the land. To this day Zecora is a sought after title for alchemists, with only a few ever earning it.
Another, Zain, learned to harness nature without being Mounted. He calmed the violent plains, spoke to animals and saved his entire region from the Stampede that threatened to crush all life in Zebrica, and his name lives on in his followers, and in the capital of Zebrica, Zaine.
Most notably, though least famously, Zarya, who learned all there was to know of Voodoo as a whole. She never taught anyone what she knew, but decided to live on in secret, learning all she could. She lived for centuries, studying, asking questions of the Loa, trying her hardest to learn everything.
However, not everything is eternal. Eventually, she started dying. However, she needed to ensure that Voodoo did not fall the way of the Ancient Magycks of Equus, forgotten in all but myth. She needed to find a pupil.
That pupil is me. I am the last Witch Doctor in the world, and I won’t go out quietly. Call me Zyra, I promise I’m not evil.
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I watched my targets as they made their way inside a tree. There were six of them, making it somewhat difficult for my Mojo to discern which one was the true target, but it wasn’t much of an issue. All I needed to do was to get all of them at once.
There was a small snag though. The sun shone it’s afternoon light, and they haven’t left each other's’ company once, not even to go to the bathroom! That meant I had to deal with all six at once. Not fun, nor efficient. It also meant I’d have to deal with six teenage mares, all of whom bigger and stronger than I, all of them faster and most probably smarter. This town was dangerous, according to Da, so they’d know how to fight. I’d need to have the element of surprise, and somehow subdue them without notice of anyone else.
Much to my annoyance, it also meant I’d have to fight indoors; something not easy to do without property damage. Judging from the bags they all carried, they were staying the night. I sighed as I stood from my watch point; a bench across the road. I had a charm around my neck to help keep me inconspicuous, and that held most casual observers at bay. However, if I were to do anything worth drawing attention, such as knocking using knock-out gas to subdue a group of teens, it’d have the opposite effect and draw everyone’s attention if they were in any position to observe it in any way.
So I had to tread carefully, luckily it was summer and in this country a vacation from school, so children wandering around was not an issue. However, I did wear a grey cloak to conceal my tell-tale stripes. As far as I knew, there weren’t many of my kind in this country, let alone in a small rural town such as this one. I’d draw unwanted attention and suspicion if I showed me stripes, and so under a cloak they went.
I made my way across the road and wondered what I’d do. In the event of an all out attack I had very few advantages. I could gas them, but a cloud of purple smoke is somewhat obvious, even in a strange town such as this one. I was pondering solutions, when I looked up and noticed something. A sign. A sign that solved all of my problems.
GOLDEN OAKS LIBRARY
It was a public place, which meant no one would suspect someone going in, even a child. As such, I confidently strode to the doorway, reached for the knob, and promptly got smacked by said door.
My head was throbbing with pain when one of the teens made a shouted, presumably to ask if I was okay. They might have even been polite. Too bad I was too disoriented to care, more focused on the pain than the target. That is, until I had a realization; a child getting smacked by a door, and a young adult yelling apologies is quite conspicuous, and everyone was looking at me. So much for cover, I needed to get the job done and be gone as quickly as possible.
I threw my head upwards and looked up at the teen, my hood falling to my back as my Mojo pointed straight at her. Perfect, no need to search anymore.
I reached behind me, and pulled out my Needle, an essential tool for the job at hand. I brought it to bear, threw myself forward, and plunged the tip into her chest in one quick motion. Everyone around was suitably horrified, and golden armor marked the arrival of guards, but that didn’t matter, what mattered was what was coming next.
Her eyes glowed a brilliant red, her body convulsed and her mouth foamed as I pulled the Needle from her chest, leaving no wound behind. However, the Needle was not the only thing to come out. A large beast, larger than any I had faced, stood behind us in the road, where I threw the Needle. My Mojo began performing its primary function; to attract the attention of the Bad Vibe away from civilians. As such, it turned its single eye towards me.
As I said before, it was huge. Easily clearing the tall tree/library hybrid of a building with its seven limbs. It was symmetrical, for the most part, it had six legs, a long sinuous tail, and a single pink glowing eye. It held the standard Bad Vibe colors of red lines circuiting their way around an otherwise black body, and an antenna above the eye with a glowing red orb atop it. It was the largest I’ve ever faced to that point, and easily the most destructive. I never had to fight one in a town, let alone one that big, but nevertheless I was undeterred. I may not be that strong on my own, no one really is, but I had friends. Strong friends who could help me out at times like that.
“Ghede?” I ask, hoping he’d be helpful for once.
“Ah wah pickney?” he responded from his place in my bandolier, holding only him and Da.
“I would like your assistance, please.” I politely request.
“Now wah mek would mi du dat, chile?”
“Because this town has kids in it?”
“Hurt, yuh seh? Me ago dweet den.”
“Thanks.”
I grab his totem from my front, a black, round thing with the facade of a cat on it, etched with white lines on a black background. I threw it forward, hoping I still had enough time to do what I had to without being attacked. Then, I throw him forward.
The totem begins decaying as it flies through the air, the wood becoming a disgusting shade of green as the cat head grows, becoming three dimensional. After the transformation is done, what remains is not a totem, but a cat. A cat with a cat’s skull on it’s face, a top hat, and other various bones strewn about it’s body.
“A wi guh fi guh du dis?” It asks, because it is not an it. He was Ghede, the Loa of Death.
The beast before us moved at the words, allowing the two of us to only say one word. But, one word was all we needed.
“MOUNT!” We shouted with all of our might, and a flash of dark light enveloped us, and the beast attacked.
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Author's Note
Yes, Ghede doesn't talk weird, he speaks Patois, and as such is a bit hard to understand. So I'll post translations of what he says here in the notes.
Ah wah Pickney= what is it, child?
Now wah mek would mi du dat, chile?= Now why would I do that, child?
Hurt, yuh seh? Me ago dweet.= Hurt, you say? I'll do it then.
A wi guh fi du dis?= Are we going to do this?
