I still don’t know why I wished for a better day.

I woke up to the sound of growls and whines of pain. Angel was curled into a fetal position, hugging her stomach, her halo cutie mark looking pale and twisted.

Cloud was at her side, desperately trying to help her. Her face showing the fear of her world falling apart with her Angel. I got up and hurried to them.”What happened?!” I asked, trying to find any superficial wound on her belly.

“You poisoned her!” Cloud shouted, her anger was so intense that it could scare a dragon away from its hoard.

Taking a step back defensively I answered, “I did not! I only gave her soup and ice cream, not any rot!”

“The fucking berries were poisonous! You gained her trust and now you tried to kill her!” Cloud snapped, getting to her battle saddle and pointing her gun at me. “Get the fucking out of here now!”

‘Wow, wow! What the hell is going on here?! It’s not my working schedule yet!’ Ishwa woke up from all the commotion. Wearing a sleeping mask on the top of her head and drinking coffee from a pink mug that read, “I’m #1!”.

‘Ishwa quick! Take a closer look at Angel, she's not good!’ I asked hurriedly.

Ishwa shook off her garments and levitated near Angel to inspect her.

‘She looks to be in a lot of pain from something from her belly.’ Ishwa diagnosed. Getting closer to her flank, she seemed to find something else. ‘She has burst veins near the skin around her cutie mark…’

‘That might be an infection. I don’t know, that might be a lot of things!’

Cloud had enough of me standing there in silence and shot the ground near my hooves, her sniper rifle made a loud cracking sound like she fired thunderbolts at me.

I jumped back, avoiding getting shot again. Cloud put her daughter on her back and ran into the wilds. She was heading to Farside City, it was too far away and whatever Angel had seemed to spread quickly. I had to help her!

Ishwa flew ahead, following Cloud while I got our saddlebags and chased after her. I was carrying too much weight, but I could hear the clip-clop of her stammering hooves.

Getting closer to her, I shouted, “Cloud! I can help you!”

“Go away you bastard!” She shot back, galloping even faster.

“I know of a nearby medic! Let me help you, or her end will be tragic!”

She didn’t answer. Her hooves were beginning to falter as fatigue took hold. Ishwa’s magic went to work and made her trip and fall, I jumped over her and caught Angel before she hit the ground.

Turning around, I ran full speed to Stable 80, they had the most impressive medical station I have ever seen. They could help me. They had to help me!

‘How is she Ishwa?’

Her darkened veins began spreading, her whole leg was swelling!

‘Not good! We need to do something!’

Something lighted upon my mind. A good idea, a risky idea, but the only one I got. ‘Ishwa, grab my skull mask, and the left over açaí bits!’

Ishwa did as asked as quickly as she could, worry clear on her face. That's the thing I like the most on her, despite being an immortal spirit of chaos she worries about me, and now, my friends.

‘Got it! What now?’

‘I’ll attempt to summon a Spirit of Time to help. I need you to spread these bits so Cloud can find us.’

‘WHAT?! Are you insane?! Spirits of Time are too strong and you’re already tired from running!’

‘I know.’

Focusing my might on the ethereal plane, I plead for help. It is true that most spirits charge expensive prices for their services, after all, it were the spirits themselves that taught the zebras about trade and commerce. But there are selfless, benevolent spirits too. And one of them came to my aid.

A bright flare erupted in front of us. The whole world was nothing more than white and warmth. From within the great flash came an enormous phoenix, a greater Spirit of Time!

Phoenixes are as ageless as time itself, their endless cycle of rebirth represent the divine blessing upon all females that bring life to the world. They care and cherish every single newborn and child, and this one agreed to help me save Angel!

The phoenix dashed ahead of us, red flames burning brightly, time itself was bent into reverence upon her majestic flight, everything except me and Ishwa slowed to a crawl. I could feel the phoenix power taking its toll on my endurance, but now I could save Angel.

*** *** ***

The phoenix flight ended on the Stable 80 door. It took me seconds what should have taken minutes. I banged my hooves at the door as hard as I could. Waiting for a response the phoenix disappeared into the sky. Looks like that spirit wasn’t willing to follow me, but I was glad it helped me.

Banging my hooves at the door again I shouted. “Please, Help! It is Zhausikuitri!”

A few seconds later the door opened. Its slow crawl made me really impatient. There was not time to lose!

The Overmare was on the front of the door, flanked by four guards armed with assault rifles. “Oh, hello. What can we…”

“No time for formalities, if she does not get medical treatment, this will end in tragedy!” I rushed, leaning to the side so she could see Angel.

“Sweet Celestia, get the medic team now and make sure they have an auto doc ready!” ordered the Overmare to the nearest guard on her right. He saluted and hurried inside. She beckoned me inside and was about to close the Stable door when I interrupted her.

“Her mother is coming this way, she might be agitated, but please send her to me without delay.”

The Overmare nodded comprehensively and said, “Okay, I’ll, but please hurry!”

I ran down the halls of Stable 80, remembering the way to the medical station. There a green earth pony stallion was waiting for me. “Over here please!” He beckoned to a nearby medical bed, a weird machine was attached to it. I laid Angel down with her belly up, two nurses began administering blood serum with some kind of medication.

“I’m doctor Stitches, this is nurse Caring Love, and nurse Kind Touch. We’ll take care of her. Can you remove her barding while we calibrate the equipment to her size please?”

I nodded, leaning closer to Angel’s ear, I whispered, “Angel?” She gave a weak response, leaning her head in my direction. “I need to take off your barding okay? So the doctor can make the pain go away.” she nodded slowly. I remembered her wanting to take that off a while back, now that she would be able to, her face showed a tiny amount of relief.

I unstrapped the upper half of her barding, there seemed to be some kind of bulge pushing the barding from the both sides of her back. When I unstrapped the bottom half the barding shot open and two white feathered wings stretched in front of me!

Angel was a pegasus! The barding she used cramped her wings to the sides of her body, no wonder she wanted to get rid of it. But, if she is a pegasus, and her mother uses the same barding, so that means…

“Where is she?!” Cloud burst into the hallway, unarmed and angrier than ever. The medics approached with their equipment and announced that her treatment would begin immediately so I stepped out of the room and called her mother.

“She is here, safe and…” A hard smack hit my left cheek, leaving a stinging, red and hot hoof mark. I recovered from the assault and looked back to Cloud. She was crying openly, her expression a mix of anger and despair but deep down there was a solid gratitude for helping her daughter.

“Don’t you ever dare to take her away from me again you hear?!”

“Yes.” I nodded and gave her access to the room where her filly was waiting for her.

Ishwa examined my face with a monocle and announced, 'Yup, now the score is 1×1.'

Smiling, I found a nearby chair and settled down, praying to the spirits so that Angel can recover.

*** *** ***

Some hours have passed. Cloud was chased off the room so the medics could work, much to her dislike, and now we were waiting in the atrium. The only noise were ponies eating and walking, nopony dared to chat near Cloud after they saw the way she entered the Stable.

Ishwa was distracting herself around the Stable, she didn’t break anything, but I’m sure a teacher from the Stable school walked around with a coffee stain on her dress.

“So, Angel is a pegasus.” I started, trying to bring up any conversation.

“And?” She replied, her head planted on the table. breathing was her only movement.

“I would guess you too?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

The mood wasn’t improving.

“Cloud, I want you to know that I do not wish you harm. I wish you could trust me, even if trusting a zebra seems hard.”

Cloud moved her head, now I could see her face.

“I too have lost many.”

Still not much response.

“Angel is a strong filly.”

“The strongest pony I know…” Cloud answered softly. “Thank you for bringing her here, I don’t know if she would survive if you didn’t stoped me.”

“No problem, Cloud.”

“... Feather.” She stated weakly.

“What?”

“My full name is Cloud Feather.” She said, for the first time looking into my eyes that night.”

It was time for dinner. The Overmare came down from her quarters to eat with us, it seemed to be a habit of her to eat alongside her fellow dwellers.

“How is the world outside?” The Overmare asked.

“Harsh and dangerous, but manageable,” I replied, focusing my attention on the food. Dinner was composed of bland looking apples and a weird tasting drink, probably vitamin or protein supplement.

“Is the ground fertile enough to feed two hundred ponies?” Now that question got my attention.

“Why you ask?”

The Overmare leaned closer, making sure nopony was eavesdropping. “The stable integrity has been compromised after the last blast.”

I was surprised, how a simple rocket launcher was able to damage a Stable that was designed to withstand a mega spell hit? I voiced my concern to her.

With a sigh, she replied, “Unfortunately, this Stable is not as durable as the others. This stable is built too close to the surface and was built much quicker, so we could start our research about the pink cloud. It was also the first to be closed, as far as I can tell.”

“How so?”

“We’re right next to the frontier, a zebra hit squad took hold of a defensive long range artillery from the Equestrian soldiers and started bombarding everything. After they destroyed all the remaining army around here, they shot the remaining ammunition on us, heavily damaging our structural integrity. I guess that when that armored pony shot missiles at us, we crossed the safe line and now we need to evacuate.”

Well, I guess that now I know what the other memories may have.

“I will try to help,” I said, giving her a reassuring smile.

That seemed to calm her a bit. “Thank you. You two can stay the night here if you want. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go back to my work.” And with that she left, greeting someponies along the way.

We finished our dinner and went back to the medical station where Angel was being treated, there, the medic and nurses were cleaning the equipment. Cloud hurried up to talk to the doctor and learn what happened to her filly.

“How is she?” Cloud asked.

“She’s weak and tired, but she’ll recover. Right now she’s sleeping in the next room while we wait to administer her last medicine in four hours.” Answered doctor Stitches, making some notes on his clipboard.

“What happened to her?” I asked, really curious to know what disease caused such damage so quickly.

The look on his eyes became more serious as he explained. “She was injected with a wild cocktail of drugs, there were all kinds of chemicals running through her veins! Painkillers, steroids, neural poisons, even some kind of mutagenic “virus”.”

The list was horrifying Cloud more and more with every item added. “Is there gonna be any kind of permanent damage?” She asked with worry, her eyes turning a light shade of red, almost crying again.

“Thankfully, our zebra friend... Zhau? Is it? Brought her here in time for us to revert all the effects and cleanse her bloodstream from those Tartarus damned chems. But it doesn’t hurt to leave her in observation.”

“Thank you, doc.” Cloud said, voice almost a whisper, the relief was clear on her smile.

*** *** ***

Time has passed, Cloud was in a better mood and started exploring the Stable, never seeing one in her life. From my own experience from a few days ago, Seeing this little fragment of the old world, made you wonder what other kinds of genius arcane or technological feats would be achieved by now if the world hadn’t been destroyed by the war.

The nurses were about to administer the last medicine Angel needed when they called for the doctor over the intercom. Cloud came galloping to encounter doctor Stitches, fearing something bad has happened. I was sitting beside the doctor who was talking on the nearby intercom, almost as nervous as Cloud.

The doctor turned to face us, a smile on his face. “I’m happy to inform you that Angel is awake.”

Cloud almost dashed to her room before doctor Stitches caught her attention.

“Now remember, she's still tired and weak after the procedure, I recommend she spends the rest of the day at the observation room so you can leave tomorrow well rested.” Doctor Stitches instructed. When he was sure that Cloud understood everything, he gestured for her to go to her filly’s side.

No unicorn or zebra could teleport faster than Cloud ran to Angel’s room. I followed her to the best of my abilities, even Ishwa was falling behind.

When I reached the room, Angel was enraptured in the mightiest, spine snapping, bear hug a loving mother could deliver. Tears running freely, Cloud repeatedly kissed her cheeks, saying how much she loved her and how worried she was.

Angel still was a bit dazed by the sudden attack of affection. When she recovered her bearings, she noticed a small bruise on Cloud’s face from when she fell in the wilds. Angel kissed the bruise, shooing the possible pain away.

‘That filly really is an angel hum?’ Ishwa commented, a sweet smile on her face.

‘Oh, how emotional of you, Ishwa,’ I snickered teasingly. Her feathers and fur stood on end, like when a foal is caught doing a late night cookie jar raiding.

‘What? No! I mean, she’ll need an angel to save her from all the pranks I have planned for her!’ Ishwa recovered, her nervous eyes avoiding contact with my own.

I giggled. ‘You’re too cute Ishwa.’ Blush incoming.

Sure enough, she blushed. ‘And too fun to tease.’ I added with a quiet laugh. ‘Maybe I should introduce you to Cloud and Angel at some point.’ I added.

No comments from her, she was mad at me.

Rolling my eyes, I refocused my attention to Angel. Her memories of what happened were blurry, which to some extent, I thought was a blessing. Her mother was telling her that she was at a Stable and that she would need to stay here until she recovers.

“Does that mean I can sleep in this bed?” Angel asked hopefully.

“Yes dear, we’re all sleeping in comfy, clean beds tonight,” Cloud assured her with a warm smile, deep down I could see she was glad she could sleep in a mattress as well.

A yawning from Angel broke the giggles. “Mom, can you tell me a story? I feel sleepy.”

That certainly got my attention. During my infancy, my mother used to tell me stories from all around Zebrica, and I would love to hear some pony stories as well.

“Sure dear, do you want to hear the story of the mare in the moon?” Cloud asked. I’ve heard that story before, albeit I'm sure it was completely different.

“You already told that one,” Angel answered with a little pout.

“What about the tale of the Little Red Riding Hood and the timberwolves?”

“I don’t like that story…” Angel said with a bit of sadness, it felt like she already heard all the tales her mother had to tell.

“Maybe, you would like to hear the story of a zebra and its curse?” I gave the option. At the sound of “curse,” Cloud frowned, so I reassured her, “Don’t worry Cloud, this story is not scary or perverse.”

“Is that a story from you home?” Angel asked, clearly interested to hear the story.

“Ah yes, you see? Back from where I came from, there were travelers called Story Weavers, which stories full of wonders, they told stories of thieves, kings and hunters. I collected many tales and stories, so the same title, I could claim. This particular story is close to me. But maybe, you would like to hear?”

“Yes please!” Angel said while she nestled down on her sheets, trying to get to the perfect, comfortable spot.

I put my fetish on. I figured that if I was to tell a story to a pony, it would be best if I could speak more clearly. Clearing my throat to adjust to my female voice, I began.

~~~~~~~~~~

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Zebrica. There were two loving zebras, a couple. The mare was Iana, she had long and flowing mane and tail, her stripes were delicate and exotic, a heart of infinite love and care formed her cutie mark. She was the alchemist of a small tribe of zebras that lived in the Uchawi forest, but she wasn’t born there. She left her original tribe behind so she could live with her love, Hawe. He was strong and handsome, his presence made her feel safe. His coat had a lot more black than white and his flank embedded a spear and shield cutie mark, representing his place as the tribe warrior, and an exceptional warrior at that.

Their love was stronger than any rivalry their original tribes had, nozebra had the power to take them apart. After years living together, their love grew and grew to the point that it was almost as palpable as a foal, until finally, it became one. The couple beamed with pride and happiness, their first child was on the way! Little did they know that that single foal would be the cause of the most sad and dreadful moment of their lives.

The time had come, their foal was going to be born tonight! The whole tribe gathered at the entrance to their house, waiting to meet the new member of their community. But something was wrong, the sky was clear and full of stars, to us zebras, the stars were evil spirits, trapped in the sky, trying to escape so they could destroy everything dear to us.

There was a scream, Iana went into labor, a single shooting star crossed the sky.

A second scream, The baby was almost here, more shooting stars joined the first, all converging to the tribe’s direction. Something wasn’t right.

The third scream came with little cries, the baby was here! But a fourth scream tore through the joyous moment as star spawns, monsters made by constellations, attacked the village.

The battle was fierce, a lot of warriors died that day, but the village was safe. But it would not stay safe for long, not anymore. The baby cries had summoned the stars' wrath upon the village, it was cursed!

Time passed by, the foal grew into a playful colt named Zaki. He was the life and joy of his mother, but to the tribe, he was the root of all the loss and pain the tribe suffered since his birth. Every year, at his birthday, shooting stars brought star spawns to the village. The life of the chief’s wife was taken in the last attack, that was the breaking point.

The tribe wanted the colt sacrificed to the Ancestors so that they might forgive their transgressions and save their village. The mother fought with all her might, but the father… The father remembered the horrors the stars brought to his old tribe, with his heart filled with anger and grief he too wanted the child to be offered as a sacrifice.

A single foal did what the Zebrican wasteland couldn’t and separated the two lovers. Iana fled the village, roaming aimlessly in the Ancestors forsaken forest when she finally found a place she could settle…

~~~~~~~~~~

My story was interrupted by soft snores coming from Angel, she was sleeping peacefully tucked inside her mattress, almost like a pod. I removed my mask, story time was over. I greeted Cloud goodbye and went to my room, it was a bit too early to sleep but I didn’t know when I would have the opportunity of relaxing so carefreely. I had a feeling that the days to come would bring a lot of sleepless nights with them.

Footnote: Level Up! (6)

Skills Raised:
Speech: 44
Survival: 56

New Perk:
Spiritual bound: When a companion drops below 50% HP, your spiritual magic capabilities are increased by 25%

Author's Note

Chapter 5!

Secrets are being revealed. Stories are been weaved. And this time it didn't took me 20+ days to publish it!

I hope you liked it!

Please let me know of anything you think I should improve in, so I can make better stories for your enjoyment!

bye!

-T.M.W.D.

Chapter edited by: EverfreePony