Raiders are really resilient creatures…

We were back at the old zebra encampment that was taken by raiders. Grandma Amaka said that this place was a raiders’ nest that endangered the unprotected village. At first, I thought I had cleared them all, but true to grandma’s words, there were more.

“Are you sure bringing your daughter here was a good idea?” Stitches asked Cloud for the tenth time.

“For fuck’s sake! I’m not leaving my filly alone in a village full of strangers! She’s staying with me.” Cloud stomped her hoof at the ground, ending the conversation.

He looked at me and gestured for me to talk to her. Not happening, I answered him, shaking my head.

There were three raiders outside the hut, maybe there were more inside. ‘Can you scout ahead, please?’ I asked Ishwa, who saluted and teleported away.

As I waited for her return, I tied my dagger to the tip of my tail and searched for useful items in my inventory, not finding anything particularly good.

‘There are four more raiders inside. They’re unboxing some kind of potion or drug…’

‘Okay, thanks.’ I turned to my companions to explain the situation. “There are four raiders inside, but they are busy. If we can take out these three outside stealthy, the fight will be easy.”

Cloud nodded, asking Angel to stay under cover and watch our saddlebags. She retrieved two silencers from her bag and attached them to her rifles.

“Alright, I'll shoot the one in the back. Can you take out the ones at the front?” Cloud asked, explaining her plan.

“Uhm, do we really need to shoot them? Couldn't we try a more diplomatic approach?” offered doctor Stitches. It was understandable, he lived his whole life in a Stable, he probably never saw anypony being shot prior to the Steel Rangers’ attack.

“Of course we have to!” Cloud answered, her patience proving to be in low supply. “If we let them leave they’ll just heal and come back later! Here in the wasteland, you need to do whatever you need to stay alive. Besides, a good raider is a butchered raider...” She concluded, a tone much darker than I expected.

“Unfortunately, I agree,” I said, trying to mediate things before it turns into an argument. “Raiders are mad and cruel, if we want to help the village, we can’t let them leave. I know you would prefer the diplomatic path. But this time, your comprehension is all that I ask.”

He didn’t like it very much but he agreed. “Okay, then I would like to stay with Angel if you don’t need me,” he asked.

“Sure.” Cloud dismissed him. “Ready?” she asked me.

“Yes,” I replied, testing the knot of my tail on the dagger. ‘Time to put your new powers into action Ishwa.’

‘Those poor raiders will never know what hit them.’ She joked, ready to activate her powers.

“Three, two, one…” Cloud shot her rifles. The muffled sound of her guns signaled Ishwa to act.

Time slowed around me, bullets flying slowly toward their targets. I ran ahead of them to the two raiders at the left, the closest to us. They didn’t have time to react as I bucked one of them into the bullet’s path and slashed my dagger across the other’s throat. As time returned to its normal speed the two bullets pierced the air and found their targets inside the heads of the raiders, their bodies hitting the ground like meat bags.

Cloud looked at me dumbfounded. “How the hell did you do that?” she whispered.

“Ishwa did,” I whispered back.

She raised an eyebrow quizzically, she didn’t get it. We proceeded to the tent’s entrance, peeking inside. I saw the four raiders, one of them was inspecting some syringes with a suspicious greenish fluid. I gestured to Cloud where they were, she nodded and lined up her shot.

‘Can you slow time again Ishwa?’

‘Not yet… I need to rest…’ She panted. Well, it’s now or never…

I burst inside, surprising the distracted raiders, I ran toward the closest raider and tackled her to the floor. I heard a shot, the farthest raider was down. As I pinned the raider to the floor, Cloud entered the tent and lined up her next shot.

One of the raiders tried to flee but was shot down by Cloud as I broke the neck of the one I was pinning down and ran towards the last one with the syringe, turning in place to buck him.

He injected the strange fluid into his neck and began to twitch and grunt, his muscles began to contract and expand, veins could be seen through his hide and his eyes were turning bloodshot red.

What the hell? I bucked him in the chest but almost fell flat on my face as I lost my balance. He felt as solid as an oak!

He tackled me to the ground and stomped on my hind legs with full force, shattering them.

The pain was unbearable! I tried to drag myself away but he held me still, raising his hoof for another hit.

Cloud shot her rifles at him, hitting his back. He stumbled forward and let me go. As I dragged myself away I saw something terrifying, the two, giant holes in his back were closing!

He turned his attention to Cloud, walking slowly toward her as she shot him again and again to no avail.

“What’s the matter little bitch? Can’t kill me?” He teased with an evil grin.

Cloud backed away from him, outside the tent, giving me time to recover.

‘Ishwa get me a healing potion!’ I asked, desperate to end that pain.

‘We don’t have any!’ she replied in panic, searching for anything to help me.

‘Call doctor Stitches!’ I asked again. At that point, I wasn’t able to think straight.

‘He can’t see me!’ she shouted, pissed and worried. ‘Please just hang on!’

I heard the sound of a soft object hitting a solid surface and Cloud’s screams of pain. She needed help!

In my dazed, worried state I got an idea. ‘Ishwa get my skull!’

‘What are you going to do with that?’ She questioned, worried about my request.

‘Bring it now!’ I ordered.

As she flew away to retrieve the items, two more shots were fired again, another laugh could be heard.

Ishwa returned with my skull and gave it to me. Time to unleash its true powers.

I cut my left front hoof with my dagger and printed a bloody horseshoe in the skull, its eye sockets began glowing with dark purple magic, I could almost feel the mask calling to me as I approached it to my face.

Ishwa immediately knew what I was about to do, but had no time to intervene. ‘Zhau! Don’t do it!’

I’ve put the skull on. I could feel its dark magic coursing through my body as it forced my bones into place, the pain making me scream in agony. The skull changed my body, my black stripes turning into a white skeleton as my white coat turned black.

Dark magic seeping through my eyes, I got up. It was time to play.

Cloud was still fighting that mutated raider when I got out, the drive to kill clouding my thoughts. I stomped my hooves to get his attention. “So, you like breaking bones? Let’s see how easy they break you…” I said in Zebrican. I didn’t really know what I was doing anymore, I was only doing what I was compelled to.

I sat on the ground, and with a simple gesture, dark purple cords could be seen connecting my hooves to something inside the tent, necromantic magic escaping through the holes in the cloth.

The mutated raider charged me with the strength of a train, fully intent on ending it then and there. Two more hoof gestures and he stopped, grunting in pain, four blade-like objects piercing his back. He tried to turn his head to look what that was and despite all his mutated muscles and strength, he was scared.

My hooves were connected to the corpses of the three dead raiders, their bodies disfigured and transformed, hardened hide and bone scythes replacing their fur and hooves. My new puppets.

“What’s the matter, big guy? Don’t be shy, give your friends a big hug!” I heard my voice say, feeling more and more distant from consciousness.

I clapped my hooves together, ordering the corpses to attack. The raider gave a mighty buck at the corpse at his back and dodged the attacks. He charged me again, forcing me to get up and sidestep, his attacks were powerful, but slow enough for me to avoid.

Each kick or punch he threw I dodged and a corpse would cut him. More and more he was beginning to feel weak as he struggled to stay upright. He looked in shock as his wounds weren't closing, and instead, the same dark purple magic seeped from the gaps in his flesh.

“It’s hard to regenerate when your soul is being reaped apart, isn’t it?” I asked with a maniacal laugh, almost losing my mind.

Noticing he didn’t have the endurance to fight anymore, a gave him a bow, and with that all the corpses charged him, dicing him in one single strike.

With the threat gone, I stood there, motionless. I could hear the distant voice of Ishwa calling. But something else... someone else, was in control.

“What the hell Zhau?” Cloud’s voice snapped me out of my stupor. She was bruised and limping but otherwise, she was fine.

A wide grin appeared on my face as I brought the corpses to attention again. “Oh, I almost forgot about you!”

I approached her with my puppets, their bone scythes eager to spill her blood. She began backing away, her rifles without ammo. “What are you doing…?” she asked, slowly reaching for more ammo.

“Wasn’t that what you wanted? Butchered raiders?” As I continued to advance, flavoring in her fear, she backed herself against a tree, end of the line.

I could feel Ishwa tugging at me, trying to bring me back, but to no avail. I raised my hoof, my puppets doing the same when I heard Angel’s voice, her voice resonating in my mind like an echo.

“Mom? Is everything okay?”

She and Dr. Stitches had arrived upon hearing the sound of silence, thinking that the danger was over.

I felt a sharp pain on my mind as secondary voice roared in agony, leaving my body in a hurry.

My stripes changed back to normal and my mind was clear again. Ishwa’s callings came back at full volume.

‘Snap out of it!’

I quickly threw the skull away, its eye sockets releasing their final glow of dark magic.

‘What have I done?’ I asked Ishwa in worry, falling back on my haunches.

‘Thank the ancestors you’re back!’ Ishwa hugged me. I was almost feeling relief when she suddenly slapped me hard on the face, completely bringing me to full attention.

‘What the fuck were you thinking you retard! You know that thing has way more control over you than you gave it credit!’ She scolded me.

‘I’m sorry! That raider didn’t die by anything! I had to do something to protect Cloud!’

I heard a click, Cloud’s rifles were pointed at my head, her gaze fixed on me, her instance giving an aura of wariness and anger.

“Cloud I-I…”

“Stay away you FREAK!” She screamed, fully determined to killing me if I didn’t obey.

Angel and Dr. Stitches approached her as I backed off, both scared of me… especially Angel.

“That was necromancy? You told us at the Stable that you didn’t know necromancy!” Dr. Stitches pointed an accusatory hoof at me, I was cornered.

“I… I lied… but wait…”

“‘Wait’ my ass!” Cloud interrupted. “You looked really happy as you played with that raider! I’m not letting my daughter stay near you any longer! Come Angel.”

Cloud put Angel over her back and began trotting away but was stopped by Dr. Stitches.

“Wait, wait! Angel’s treatment was pretty recent, her body needs rest for it to take full effect, it’s too risky to force her body right now. Let her rest today at the zebra village and you can leave tomorrow.”

“But we can’t stay with that thing!” She barked, pointing at me.

“I know he lied to us, but he’s one more set of eyes and hooves in case we find more raiders on the way back!”

They argued like I wasn’t there. It hurt, but I was in no position to argue, they were right.

Cloud pointed her guns at me again and ordered, “Walk.”

I guess I’m a prisoner now.

*** *** ***

The walk back was uneventful and torturously tense, nobody was in the mood for talking and I was under constant gun aim, my possessions confiscated.

‘I messed up bad…’ I muttered

‘Not even I could do worse.’

‘What do you think will happen now?’

‘Well, I guess your actions will be judged by them… Let’s hope your good deeds outweigh the bad ones…’

We arrived at the village, an imposing aura irradiated from there. It was stronger than anything I’ve seen before, even Ishwa was cowering behind us.

There, talking with grandma Amaka, was a powerful spirit, more powerful than a common greater spirit. It was a Kirin, a hybrid between horse and dragon but he looked totally encased in armor and clothing, not a single fur or skin could be seen. He was talking with grandma, the two seemed to know each other for a long time.

“What happened child?” grandma asked upon seeing me being aimed at.

“Zhau used necromancy and almost attacked Miss Cloud,” Dr. Stitches explained, showing her the skull.

“Ah, I see. Come with me, children.” She beckoned us.

She led us to a great bonfire in the middle of the village, a ritual circle.

“Please, sit,” she said, other zebras coming along as well, curious to see what grandma would do.

“Tell me, child, what did you saw?” she asked Cloud, grabbing a bit of powder from a nearby bowl.

“A crazy zebra that tried to kill me,” Cloud answered coldly.

“Ah, but was that what you really saw?” Grandma pressed on, throwing the powder into the bonfire. The powder ignited and a green smoke cloud began to form above it.

Cloud took a while to answer, pondering the question. “There was something else…”

“Indeed child.” Grandma took the skull in her hooves, inspecting it. “This skull is what we call a “Soul Jar” an object infused with the soul of a living being. It can’t be destroyed by normal ways. But it’s not a normal Soul Jar, it’s also a prison and a curse.”

Grandma Amaka threw the skull into the fire but instead of burning, it emitted a dark purple smoke, almost black, that contaminated and consumed the formerly green colors. From the smoke a twisted form could be seen, it wasn’t a skeleton, but it wasn’t a zebra either… it was something in between. It trashed and kicked, trying to get out, its silent features screamed in agony and grief, even a bit of sadness.

“You see child? That is a spirit of a zebra shaman, one that probably turned into using dark magic, a necromancer.” Grandma explained to us, Cloud and Stitches’ attention being held by her words.

“Now, let us see what truly happened.” Grandma Amaka chanted a ritual in ancient Zebrican, her chanting proved her deep and advanced knowledge of shamanism. When she finished the skull levitated away from the fire and two slender, faceless spirits with dark tendrils growing out of their backs appeared near it. Spirits of Secrets.

She asked them to reveal the truth, it felt like grandma Amaka already had employed these spirits before. The skull began to spin faster and faster, charging with energy. The spirits flew toward the now green smoke and released the skull’s magic into it, creating a foggy image of what happened at the raiders camp.

We watched the vision as it showed through my eyes what happened while the spirits whispered to grandma the details.

When the vision ended, the spirits were gone. Grandma Amaka stumbled as she paid the toll for their services but was caught by the powerful spirit that was talking to her when we arrived.

“I told you to stop calling the faceless Amaka, your body has reached its limit,” it said, its voice serene and a bit tired, like it told that many times before.

“Bah, you worry too much Dice, I’m okay.” She got to her hooves again and returned her attention to Cloud. “You see child? He lied to you, yes, but he didn’t mean to hurt you, he tried to help you.”

Cloud was silent, deep in thought. I didn’t recover her full trust, but at least she knew the truth now.

“Now, you must be hungry after all the work today. Why don’t we eat at the bonfire?” Grandma asked, the whole village cheering.

*** *** ***

The food was tasty and plentiful, but now supper was finished and various zebras began sharing stories, about their past, about their plans, about their hopes.

I approached grandma Amaka who was laying on her pillow while enjoying the stories.

“I thank you, elder. How will I be able to repay your help?” I thanked her with a low bow.

“I only told a story child. But if you want to repay me, why don’t you tell us a story of your own? I’ve heard that you seek the title of Story Weaver, correct?”

That surprised me, she probably heard that from the Spirits of Whispers.

Wanting to fulfill her request, I nodded. “I’d be honored, elder Amaka.”

Smiling, she raised her hoof to get the attention of the others. “My children, let us heard the story Zhau has to tell us!”

The zebras cheered as I took place at the center of the circle, having their full attention, I’ve activated my fetish to help me translate my words so everyzebra and pony could understand.

“Okay, here we go…”

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Years have passed, Iana had found a good tree that she carved into her home, it was sturdy and hidden, its wooden walls helped to isolate her and her colt from the cold, but offered little protection against wild creatures.

Life was difficult for the two, the land only offered a few crops that prevented them from starving, nothing more. Iana was able to find her old tribe and trade with them for supplies, but she couldn’t return, her old village sustained a good relationship with her former home, if they discovered that Zaki was cursed, they would hunt him down.

Zaki grew into a young stallion, cautious and lively but his heart was heavy with grief for his mother. He knew what happened to her and despite all her comforting and reassurance that it wasn’t his fault, he knew it was.

One day while scavenging for supplies, Zaki was found by a shaman from her mother’s village. The shaman recognized him almost instantly for his features resembled his mother’s. Their eyes met and the shaman knew, he was star-marked.

Things got worse, his mother couldn’t trade with her village anymore, and she was planning on moving again to avoid persecution.

Zaki knew his mother has finally adjusted to their home, together they had worked so hard to keep the place safe and comfortable. He couldn’t let her suffer through all that again, so one night, he gathered some supplies and the only possession he had to remember his father by, his dragon bone armor that his mother stole when she fled.

With everything stored in his saddlebags and one last goodnight kiss on his sleeping mother’s forehead, he left.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Everyzebra liked my story, but it was getting late and it was time to sleep. Everyzebra had gathered their things and left, grandma Amaka showed Cloud, Angel, and Dr. Stitches their huts when I was about to find mine, but I was intercepted by that strange spirit that stayed with us for the whole evening, it was really uncommon for greater spirits to stay within the presence of mortals for such a long time, especially one of its caliber.

“It’s good to finally meet you, Zhausikuitri,” it said, its voice had an echo that made it impossible to distinguish its gender or age, alongside its armor, it was completely anonymous.

“You wanted to meet me? Who are you?”

“My name is Dice, I represent the random encounters of the wasteland. And yes, I do want to meet you, in fact, I have a gift for you,” it said, grabbing a four sided dice bound to a delicate necklace chain, it was replete with powerful magical energy. The dice was the most interesting artifact I’ve ever seen, its four faces had special, unreadable runes carved into them instead of numbers.

“That dice is custom made for you, it’s special.” It complemented.

‘What about it?’ Ishwa asked, much more at ease within its presence.

“You’ll both discover when the time is right, just know that we’ll see each other again,” it replied, bowing its goodbye and disappearing.

Ishwa, inspecting the dice closer, said, ‘Now that’s something to look forward to…’

Footnote: Level Up! (8)

Skills Raised:
Melee Weapons: 29
Survival: 60
Unarmed: 48

New perk:
Bloody End: Your dark magic deals +5% damage

New Curse:
The Darkest Place: Every time you kill something with dark magic, you'll lose more control of yourself

Author's Note

Chapter 7!

It took me a while, but it's done!
The four sided die will protect Zhau... but from what?

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