It was anything but warm, Sisipho thought, as a cold sweat froze her in place. What he had asked for was beyond an absurd deal. She heard a voice other than her own thoughts but shook it off. What else could she do in the hope of warding off the dragons?
“So.” The dragon rose above the table, towering over the zebra sitting on the other side cowering under his confident gaze. “Are you ready to make a fair agreement? Or don’t you care about your subjects?” He slammed his clawed hands on the table, accompanied by growls from two fearsome dragons, and leaned closer to the mare with a self-assured grin. “Do we have a deal, Queen Sisipho?”
“Y-yes.” She picked up the pen, shaking with each stroke as she wrote her name, and with each stroke, consigned herself to Tartarus. At the end, she threw the quill down, and said, “We have a deal.”
The dragon’s grin slipped, but the arrogance of his expression still weighed down on her. “See. Was that so hard?” He rolled the scroll up into a loose mess. “Thank you, Queen Sisipho, for being reasonable. You needn’t fear for your zebras now that we’ve got our own gemstone mine. It’s… so very sad that we’ll have to chase out your subjects. If only you’d been compliant sooner, we wouldn’t have to be so rough.”
Sisipho watched him and the other two dragons take their leave out the glassless window before turning back to the table in front of her. This was her fault, she thought. What kind of deal had she just arranged for her zebras?
This would be the day that everyone would know as the worst treaty ever signed in Pretoria’s history. Her ears straightened, and she looked to the west hallway a few meters from her. The terrified look she saw from her guards was enough of an indication.
“Queen Sisipho… are you alright?” the guard on the right asked.
She stared at him for a few seconds. What could she say? “I… I don’t know…” She thought about curling up into a ball there and then; anything she could do to hide her shame would’ve been enough for her. She stood up and took an unsteady step forward. She held a hoof to her mouth and felt her throat tighten, like she was about to vomit all over the floor.
Maybe if she had an embarrassing moment in front of her guards it’d be enough to compensate for her mistake. Not that it would do much other than cause a scene. She approached her guards, yet she dared not look them in the eyes. “C-could you please escort m-me to my room?” How she must’ve looked from their view. Weak and frail she guessed — or even pathetic would be another good word. She didn’t really know why they wouldn’t leave her after they watched her make such a horrible agreement.
The two stared at her but they gave a gentle nod. “Of course, Queen Sisipho,” the guard on the left said. She flinched at the use of her royal rank. But the two didn’t seem to notice the distressed reaction. She followed the two without any other command — a drearily silent walk that added to the uncomfortable intensity. Down the hall, she came up to the western entrance of her palace and waited for her guards to open the large door. When it opened, the fiery sun was the first thing to greet her.
Out into the distance, she could see a city a good five kilometers away from her new home. She looked past the city and at the southward tropical forest not too far away. Sisipho sighed; a memory of a not so distant home. She continued down the stairway and slowly caught up with her guards. It wasn’t long before she reached another building and walked up the steps. When they approached a somewhat smaller building, she glanced at her guards. “Thank you…”
The two nodded and walked past her back down the stairway. She opened the door in front of her and felt the ever-growing sensation to fall to the ground. Maybe the cold sensation of the floor would help soothe her non-physical wounds. She frowned at a familiar voice. “What was I supposed to do? If I didn’t agree, then the dragons, they’d… they would ruin everything.” The voice was quiet and prompted Sisipho to continue in her silent walk.
She entered her room and stared at her bed. The object of her comfort for tonight. She glanced behind her as two servants entered through an open door. They moved towards her and took off her necklace, resting it on a nearby dresser. She fidgeted as they helped her with her dress — when they finished she gave a slow yet gentle nod, “thank you.” The two simply bowed before they disappeared back into the open hallway. With little incentive, she slipped into the covers of her bed. The voice returned, and her frown grew more. “I know… I screwed up. I know…”
Sisipho blinked and felt beads of water trickle down her cheeks from her eyes. “I-I just didn’t know what to do.” It became a gentle whisper, and she pressed her head against the pillow. Sisipho pulled the covers tighter to her and began to quiver. Crying was pointless and it would get her nowhere, but at the moment, it was all she could think of doing. She could only hope that tomorrow would be better than this evening.
~~~
Sisipho watched as the sun rose from its horizon, the light chasing away the shadows of the night from her room. But she did not move, flat on her back, as she stared up at the ceiling of her room. The mistakes of yesterday consumed her every thought. What could she have done to stand up to the dragon? They were the beasts of legend; all the civilizations of the world feared them. Sisipho sighed and glanced out the window towards the city in the distance. “What am I going to do?”
She blinked and slowly rose, sitting upright and stretching her forelegs. She rubbed her eyes and returned her attention to the room around her. Her ears twitched at the wind as it breezed through the open window, and with it came the voice. ‘I promise them this. I will figure something out.’ She clenched the bed sheets covering her stomach. “If only I wasn’t so afraid of the dragons.” The voice reassured her, but her frown deepened.
Getting out of her bed, she stretched her back legs out. A door in the far left corner opened, and another zebra walked in. “Queen Sisipho.” She turned to the new equine and recognized the simple yet charming robes that the mare wore. “Your morning bath is ready for you.” Sisipho smiled and nodded her thanks. “Please, follow me.” Without hesitation, Sisipho quickly caught up to the servant and followed her down the hallway.
The walk was quiet; while Sisipho did appreciate the comfort of this calming moment, she could only imagine what was going through the mind’s of her palace’s staff. It wasn’t long before they reached an open doorway. The mare stopped at the entrance and gestured her to go in. Sisipho nodded and walked in. The door behind her closed, and she was left alone with her thoughts.
When she saw the steam she smiled — a serene sight. She moved up to the side of the marble bath and stirred the water with her right hoof. She sighed. “Perfect.” Without waiting any longer, she slowly stepped in and lowered herself onto her back. She closed her eyes and let the calming silence overtake the room. That quiet air invited the bothersome issues to return, delivered to her like the warm wind on a hot day.
‘So… what can I do?’ The dragons had laid claim on one of her nation’s gemstone mines up in the north eastern part of her land. Pretoria only had so few natural gemstone mines like this one. ‘It’s not like we can fight the dragons… can we?’ She raised her right hoof above the water, lifted it over to one of the candles, and breathed slowly before a blue flicker formed into a ball of flame. The candle flickered with this peculiar colored fire, to which she gently waved her hoof in a curved line, and the wave of fire spread to the rest of the candles.
Sisipho then brought her hoof closer to her, and a small blue flame came alive. She heard another whisper and frowned. “Even with our own abilities… I don’t know if any zebra can withstand dragonfire.” Their fire had always been legendary. So what kind of solution could she come up with in order to fix this problem?
Her ears flickered, and she turned to the door. She stared for a moment before she said, “Come in.”
When the door opened, a zebra mare poked her head out of the gap. “Morning, little sis.” Sisipho giggled at the sing-song tone she greeted her in.
“Morning, Cebisa.”
The door closed, and her older sister sat down in front of the bath; a clipboard in her right hoof. “So. I got your whole schedule planned out for this week. At about ten you’ll have to join Langa on one of your hidden tours. See how the zebras are doing around here.” She flipped one of the pages over. “Then after that you’ll have to attend a discussion after that with Princess Nosipho. No Prince Mandlenkosi today. Then you’re brother…”
Cebisa looked up from the papers. She playfully grinned and leaned closer. “How was yesterday?” Sisipho froze, and stared at her, sinking lower into the tub. Cebisa seemed to notice this and gave a gentle smile. “C’mon. What’s wrong?”
Sisipho didn’t know whether to be honest, or if she could fabricate some sort of lie. She shook her head. “Terrible.”
“Really?” She leaned her chin against the tub’s rim. “Were those dragons that bad?”
She gave a small nod. “I think I made the worst treaty in the history of Pretoria.” She sat up a little more and felt an ache in her throat. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ve really screwed up this time.”
“Well… what did you do?”
With what courage she had, Sisipho found it hard to look at her sister. “I… I agreed that they could… have a gemstone mine.”
The troubled look on Cebisa said it all. “Wait, seriously? They pressured you into doing that?”
Sisipho shook, the disappointment she felt was immense. “W-what else was I supposed to do? They’re dragons! The scariest and oldest creatures on Equus.” Her sister frowned, a gentle concern for her little sister. “I really tried to be brave but… I failed. I failed my country. I failed you and our brother… I failed myself.”
What else could she have done? Sisipho closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She opened them and glanced at her sister’s hoof, resting against her right shoulder, and she smiled at the solace that she brought being here and now. “I… don’t know what I would’ve done either. But hey. At least you tried your best.”
The smile flickered out like a dying flame. “I’m afraid of what Nkosi will say when he finds out about this. Heck, I think Langa will want to strangle me if Nosipho or Mandlenkosi don’t get to me first.”
Her sister pulled her in closer, and she gave an annoyed snort. “Yeah… he probably won’t be happy about this. The other three might be a different matter. But I’m sure they’ll understand why.”
“I hope.” She smiled and hugged Cebisa. “Thanks for being here.”
“You’re my little sis. I wouldn’t abandon you like that.” Sisipho recoiled and gave a surprised squeal when her sister splashed water in her face. “Besides, sometimes, you’re too annoying to forget about.”
Sisipho rubbed her eyes, and Cebisa backed away. “Whatever. If anypony here is annoying, you’d take the award for it.”
She blew a raspberry her direction. The two laughed not a moment later. Sisipho took a few breathes as silence doubled over them once more. If not just for a few moments. “By the way, you’re going to have to tell Nkosi about this.”
Wide-eyed, she stared at her sister. “Why?”
“You know as well I do that he really doesn’t like it when others lie to him.” Sisipho only groaned in response and sunk further into the tub, until her muzzle was underneath the water. “Don’t worry. He’s definitely a stubborn stallion, but he’ll have your back the whole way. That’s what trust is for.” Cebisa walked away. “But for now, I’ve got my own issues to take care of, what with taking care of internal affairs and all.” She waved her goodbye before she turned around and exited through the open doorway.
Sisipho slowly floated up and sighed. She heard that similar whisper again. “I know… I’ve got to tell him. I know he’s not going to like this…”
~~~
A loud whistle pierced the air. Sisipho stood still and gazed at the large encampment in front of her. Zebras moved across the area, some jogging, others standing in line for the morning exercises. For a moment she took it all in and watched the procedures. Her ears flicked as she recognized a fizzling set of pops in the air. And when she glanced to her right she saw a row of zebras with fire flickering from their hooves. Not too far to their left was a group practicing with an assortment of weaponry.
She froze when she heard a voice directing the group. Sisipho glanced his way and gulped at the sight of her older brother, instructing the others with a spear in his left hoof. Sisipho took a moment to herself and thought about walking away in that moment. She sighed when a voice told her otherwise. “I know, I know,” she murmured to herself.
With a deep breath she put on a smile and walked forward. The zebras training with her brother looked her way, and he noticed their distracted gazes. He turned around and smiled. “Sisipho.”
“Hey, Nkosi.” She waved.
He turned back to his soldiers. “Everybody. Let’s greet our queen.” With a united roar, the zebras stood at salute. An array of flaming orbs was thrown from each zebra into the air. Each one phased into another and formed a sun-like mimic before it exploded, Sisipho smiled as it turned into a show of fireworks. She couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Dismissed.” The zebras saluted one more time before they marched away in a line.
They were a few meters away before Nkosi turned towards Sisipho. “Little sister.” He chuckled. “Nice to see you out of the palace.” He raised his forelegs and pulled her into a hug. “What’s the special occasion?”
Nkosi let go and Sisipho gave a nervous smile. “Well… um.” With an uneasy chuckle, she watched as his smile disappeared.
“Okay,” he murmured through a sigh. “What happened?”
“Remember that meeting with the dragons that I was so nervous about?” He slowly nodded. “Well… you see negotiations went over… decently well.”
“Decently?” Her smile disappeared at his questioning gaze.
She sighed, her posture slackened. “Alright… negotiations went bad.”
“And?”
“And… I ended up having to… forcibly settle with them a gem mine of ours.” She shrunk a little when his frown became more apparent.
“Which mine did they ask for?” he slowly asked.
“It was the… one of the rare diamond mines.”
He stared at her for a second, mouth agape, before he frowned. “What?” He blinked again before he sighed. “Sisipho… why?”
“I didn’t know what to do—” He held a hoof up and glanced around them.
He ushered to her with a nod. “Let’s go somewhere a little more quiet.” Probably for the best, she thought, rather than having this discussion being an open theater for the soldiers to see. Quickly she followed her older brother past a few open tents before coming up to a small square building. She moved past him and he closed the door before he turned to her. “So… what in Ifrit’s name made you think that this was a good idea?”
“It was a dragon,” she argued. “He had others with him. And he said there were others waiting.”
“How many?”
“He mentioned a whole group’s worth. But he was very vague about how many were with him.” Nkosi looked out the window. He didn’t speak it, but Sisipho’s ears flattened; watching the gears in his head rotate. “I know… I know I screwed up.”
Nkosi’s shoulders loosened up before he slowly turned around before he moved to a chair a few feet from her. “Listen… I get it. You had good intentions… but that’s an important mine we just lost.”
Sisipho hesitantly nodded. “I know…”
He turned around and opened the drawer to a desk. She watched as he looked back to her with a binder. “And it’s not just an important diamond mine, either.” He quickly situated himself next to his little sister. Sisipho looked on as the pages flickered past until Nkosi pointed his hoof at one of the heavily scribbled pages. “You remember when we discussed the possible idea to make armor that was completely fireproof?”
“But… wasn’t that me just spouting out some nonsense?” Sisipho murmured. “I was assuming that there might be some mineral like that, but the only thing that we’ve used so far is red tourmaline. And it’s only usable on weapons.”
“Well…” Nkosi looked back to the set of pages. “One of the workers stated that they came across something. A gemstone that he accidentally stumbled on while mining. Thankfully he could bend fire, otherwise he would’ve been burnt to a crisp. But he found a gem unlike tourmaline.” The frown he had disappeared and was quickly replaced by an enthusiastic smile. “We may have found a gem that will work.”
“Wait. So I’m not just some crazy zebra?” There was a small smile that seemingly wiped away the melancholic expression she had earlier.
“Maybe so.” He closed the binder before his frown returned. “But now with the dragons having taken it over, it’ll be a miracle if we can find anymore gems like it.” And only did the despondent frown come back to Sisipho.
“I really am sorry,” she murmured. “It’s hard to take on the role of this secret leading force, expecting myself to be a great queen, when I’m so uncertain of myself.” Memories of another came to mind. “I want to be better than Khewzi. I heard that not everyone who knew she existed was fond of her.
“I just… want to be a better queen. For everybody. So they don’t have to worry about me ending up like her.”
Nkosi blinked and looked away for a moment. He returned his gaze with a small smile. “Look. I’ll be honest with you. I think it was crazy that they decided that a fourteen-year-old was good enough to lead Pretoria. I still don’t know how to feel about it.” He moved his attention to the window. “I mean… look at me. I started off as just a normal soldier. Like you, I wasn’t so certain if I would live up to my own expectations.
“But… look at me now.” He chuckled a little. “Three years later, and I’m an Inspector General for the army. But I don’t owe it all to myself. I had something that pushed me to go farther than my own limitations.”
“What was it that kept you going?”
He smiled and raised a hoof to Sisipho’s mane, ruffling and messing it up. She chuckled and pushed it away before he continued. “You know, as smart as you are, you’re kind of dense.” She gave a mocking frown. “It was you, Cebisa, and mom that kept me going. To make you all proud, and in turn, reassure myself that I was good at what I was pursuing.”
At the mention of their mother, Sisipho’s smile shrank away. Nkosi gave a reassuring smile. “I know she’s gone, but… if she was here still, she’d be the proudest mom in the world.” This in turn seemed to revive her grin a little. “Not any parent can say that their daughter became the queen of a country overnight.”
“True…” Sisipho murmured.
“Besides. You’ve got to remember what it is that keeps pushing you to be better.” He pulled her closer into another embrace. “Just don’t think it’s all up to you to do everything. We got your back no matter what.”
A stirring speech, Sisipho thought, that was for certain. She looked up to Nkosi and murmured, “Thanks.”
He gave a swift nod before the two separated. He stood up and walked to the door. “Now. While we get this situation figured out, I’ll get a small group ready. After all, that mine belongs to us.”
“You really think it’ll be a good idea to take on the dragons?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I know it’s not a sound idea. But we don’t have any other choice. It could be years before we find another mine like this one. And I’d rather not let a fix to dragonfire go to waste.” He stopped at the door and glanced back to Sisipho. “And don’t worry. I’m certain the prime minister can sort this mess out. After all, he’s got two helpers at least.”
But that was the moment Sisipho shook her head. “He’s going to kill me, isn’t he?”
He chuckled a little. “He’s a good stallion. I mean… maybe. But, at least you don’t have to answer to Mandelin.”
“You mean, Mandlenkosi?” She giggled, snorting as she correctly spoke his name.
“Yeah, him. But I like I said. They’re the public figures. Let them deal with the backlash.”
“I kind of wish it wasn’t them having to deal with my mistakes,” she said to herself; a small frown crossing her lips.
“Oh well.” Nkosi reached a hoof and messily ran it across her mane, Sisipho laughing as she pushed it away. “Not much you can do about it.” He stood upright. “Now. How about we get some training underway? Something to take your mind off the situation for a bit.” Sisipho stood up and followed him out the door. They passed a few of buildings and an open tent, Sisipho hearing the cries and yells of zebras getting closer; the smell of smoke more pungent as they continued their short walk.
When the siblings passed another one room building Sisipho stopped, as she followed the movement of two zebras sparring with one another, both evading each other’s fire blasts. Others performing the same exercise had their own little rings, or some went hoof to hoof with spears, axes, and hoof-held clubs. “Alright.” Nkosi murmured to himself. “Who’s going to be your training partner today.”
“Couldn’t you just spar with me for a bit?” Sisipho asked.
He eyed her for a moment before he snickered. “And go up against your blue flames? I don’t think so. Besides, you know I can’t bend fire.”
“I know but… I could use it sparingly?” When he shook his head she sighed. “Alright, who’s it going to be.”
Nkosi hummed for a moment, surveying the courtyard of soldiers before he yelled, “Hey, Sibusiso!” One of the stallions glanced his direction. “Get over!”
The zebra in question quickly trotted past a few other soldiers before he stood a couple feet from the two. “Inspector General.” He saluted.
“Queen Sisipho needs to practice today.” He gestured to her. “Mind if you spar with her for a few rounds?”
Sibusiso quickly turned to his queen and saluted to her. “I would be honored, my Queen.” She felt her muzzle warm up a little at the title, but the stallion didn’t seem to notice.
“Good. Take that big training circle over there.” Nkosi pointed past a few other zebras. The soldier nodded before he quickly trotted around the other exercises still in progress — Sisipho followed alongside Nkosi the opposite side of the other arenas.
“So… who’s Sibusiso?” She asked.
When Nkosi smirked she gave a playful frown. “Oh don’t you worry, Sisipho. You’ll find out in a second.”
She shook her head. “Alright.” Once they reached one of the white marked lines in the dusty earth Sisipho stepped into the large circle and stood at the opposite end of Sibusiso.
“Remember!” Nkosi yelled from the sidelines. “Don’t get fancy, Sisipho.”
“Okay.” She called back and smiled. She thought back to the other fights and breathed out. “If he’s like them. Then I should be fine.” The stallion himself slightly bowed to her before he got into a stance. Yellow flames glowed from his left hoof and he stood there waiting for her.
Sisipho extended her right hoof out and her own blue flame flickered in response. When the whisper came to her she snorted. ‘I’ll be fine.’
“Ready you two?” Nkosi glanced their way until he received a nod. “Then begin!”
Sibusiso charged her first and Sisipho reciprocated in kind with a few blasts of fire.
He quickly dodged the side of the first two and jumped over the last, retaliating in kind with some fiery orbs of his own. Sisipho quickly ran to her right and shot her right hoof behind her.
With a blue flame she jetted toward him, and threw a blast at him, one he sidestepped as the two danced in this close proximity, neither landing a direct hit; to which Sisipho tried to sweep him with a flaming wave for her right back leg.
Sibusiso jumped and jettisoned himself backwards, dust flew from his hooves and he responded with a flurry of blasts. Sisipho jumped into the air and twirled herself around, pushing herself out of harm's way with short burst of her blue flame.
She grunted on landing and rolled towards him. She shoot a hoof forward but the blast missed as he slid around it, Sisipho gasped as a yellow orb hit her square in the chest, and she skidded across the ground. “Round one goes to Sibusiso.” Nkosi called out.
Sisipho slowly got back up and glanced to her brother. Her eyes widened a little as a few other zebras stood by him. ‘They’re… watching me?’ She had onlookers for her previous fights before, but they usually dispersed before she claimed victory over her other training partners. So why was this time so different?
“Sisipho.” She focused back on her brother. “Remember, don’t get fancy.” She huffed and returned back to her side. Nkosi raised his right foreleg before he quickly lowered it.
Sisipho jetted forward and immediately gave Sibusiso a barrage of fire blasts. All he dodged with quick steps out of each direct hit before jetting over her. She jumped out of the way of his counter, with a kick she launched herself towards him and slammed a hoof onto the ground.
He jumped back and as Sisipho gave chase, her eyes widened when he burst forward, Sisipho felt the world spin before her. When she landed on the ground she groaned, sitting upright before turning back to her brother. “You’re still trying to be fancy.” He said. “Stop trying so hard and hit him before he hits you.”
She growled under her breath and stood up. More zebras seemed to have joined the “spectacle”, something that, when Sisipho watched the numbers slowly grow, she felt her chest ache. ‘They’re watching their queen lose a fight.’ Her muzzle warmed and she held a small frown.
Once she returned to her side Nkosi waved the two again. She took a deep breath in and slowly paced to her right. Sibusiso followed her approach and circled to the left. Sisipho continued this, watching for any movement from her opponent.
When he stepped forward she shot a fiery blue orb and Sibusiso deflected it, the blue and yellow flames coalesced until they dispersed into embers. He returned the favor with his own but Sisipho broke it apart with a wave of her right hoof.
She fired another few and ran forward; Sibusiso deflected each one and swept his right back leg, which Sisipho jumped over, rolling to his side and quickly shot a blast forward, the stallion grunting as he skidded back on his hooves. “There you go, Sisipho.” Nkosi smiled.
“None of that fancy stuff. Just keep it simple.” Sisipho smiled at the victory, and, while Sibusiso seemed to frown at first, a small smile replaced the earlier expression. “Alright last round, you two.”
When she looked at the gathering crowd, even as mentioned before, the fact that so many of her soldiers were watching her did not quell that gnawing doubt in her mind. ‘I can do this. I know I can.’ Once they set up again Nkosi waved his foreleg for the last time.
Sisipho quickly jetted forward to her target. When he made an attempt to strike she quickly placed her right hoof to the side, hastily avoiding the incoming blast. She hurtled into the air and sent a wave of blue flames to the ground, Sibusiso backed away and sent a flurry of orbs into the air.
She deflected some but dived back down to the ground. She threw a few blasts his way which he quickly jetted to his left. She watched him closely and waited, and when he rushed towards her she shot another flaming orb.
He quickly dodged to the side and kicked a fiery wave towards her. Without haste she lowered herself to the ground and spun herself around, dispersing the wave and sending it towards the stallion. She smiled when he spun out of control and neared the blue wall.
But he shot two bursts of yellow from his hooves and propelled himself upward, Sisipho’s smiled disappeared when he landed behind her. She quickly threw a punch forward but it was blocked, suddenly she felt the world turn sideways and cried when a yellow orb blasted her in the stomach.
When the dust cleared she could feel the gazes of the others on her. Sisipho looked into the crowd and felt an immense ache wash over her, but she did not feel any pain. Her eyes glimmered for a moment, the gaze of her soldiers upon her, and all she could think of was the dragon. She quickly looked away and felt the tears trickle down, embarrassed that she was even breaking down in front of them.
“Everyone, you’re dismissed.” Nkosi ordered before he quickly trotted to Sisipho’s side. “Hey, you okay?”
“What does it look like!?” She yelled, but once the words left her mouth she shook her head. “I-I’m sorry.”
“Hey it’s not your fault.” He kneeled down to her side. “Are you upset about the fight?”
“No…” She murmured. “Th-the way they all looked at me… like I’m some kind of embarrassment of a leader.”
“No, no, no.” Nkosi argued. “They don’t think that of you. And even if they did, who cares?”
“I do.” Sisipho choked the words out. “I-I made a terrible deal. And now I can’t even best somepony else. I’m a terrible queen.”
“Don’t say that, Sisipho.” Nkosi wrapped his forelegs around her. “You gotta believe in yourself. This was one fight among the others you’ve won.” But even his comforting words didn’t seem to change her distressed demeanor. “Come on, I’ll help you up.” He reached a hoof for hers and Nkosi helped her onto her hooves. “Remember what I said earlier?” He murmured. “You gotta believe. Nobody else is going to do that for you.”
She could only nod to which Nkosi simply sighed. “C’mon. I’ll help you outta here.” As they made their way through the camp, Sisipho tried to ignore the stares that came her way; unable to describe the shame she felt well up inside her.
“Sisipho?” She looked up and watched as Cebisa passed through the open gate, a worried frown on her muzzle. She quickly ran forward and glanced at Nkosi. “What happened?”
“A match didn’t go her way… she really did her best though.”
“B-but I—” She stopped when Cebisa too gave her a hug. Unable to finish the words she simply fell into the embrace, doing her best to calm herself. But fighting the tears back, Sisipho did all she could against this wall discomfort.
“You’ll be fine, Sisipho.” She hardly doubted that but just kept quiet. “We’ll get through this mess.” Cebisa pulled away and gave a comforting smile. “Hey, it’ll be just like before. We got through it when… we lost her.” The emotions only felt harder to confine at the unnamed mention of their mother. “But we’ll be okay.” The smile weakened but Cebisa still held on. “But… you’ll probably have to pull yourself together. Prime Minister Langa has been called to hold a meeting here in Namaqua. It’ll be in three days from now and from the sound of it, one of the governors is not happy about losing a portion of his land.”
“Oh…” Sisipho simply murmured.
“Hey.” The soft tone Cebisa held sharpened a little. “It’ll be okay. You can do this. I know you can. Nkosi knows you can. And you know you can. You’ll get through this. And you’ll show everyone that you’re a good leader, and not because of your some filly.” Sisipho nodded, and felt just a small tinge of reassurance. But now that her mistake was being addressed, she hoped she could survive what was about to come her way.
~~~
“...There’s no way this should be acceptable, Prime Minister.” A voice echoed from the assembly room below. The Zebra in the left row stood up. “We’re just supposed to let this mine — a highly profitable one at that, go to waste at the claws of those dragons?”
His gaze pointed up to the other Zebra seated at the upper podium, sitting upright with a fair but middle-aged look. “If we’re to ever think about reclaiming it, then we mustn’t do so with haste, but with a calm and thoughtful approach, Sandile.”
All the while, Sisipho watched from behind a veiled curtain. She shook a little at the display before her, hardly trying to hide the frown on her muzzle. “Then what’s your proposal, Langa?” A more feminine voice came from the right row of Zebras. “Surely you’ve come up with a plan?”
“Yeah.” The stallion from before uttered. “Seeing how it was you who was the one to give the mine away like that.” Sisipho flinched at the accusation. It wasn’t his fault, she thought. She nearly stood up from her seat, ready to run out and defend him. But her gaze met Langa’s, the stallion sharing with her a single glance through the veil, like he knew what she was about to do.
With a hesitant step back, she returned to her chair. “That’s a bit harsh?” A stallion’s voice spoke up from the mare’s row. “These are dragons, after all. It’s not like they’re always open to negotiations. Prime Minister Langa’s lucky enough to walk away without a scratch.”
“Still, that doesn’t excuse him or the prince and princess from backing down like that,” Sandile pointed out.
“Exactly.” A stallion to his left mentioned. “I had to explain to the workers from that mine the reason for the dragon occupation. And they blamed me for it!” His gaze held a slight venomous tinge. “Other Zebras have lost their jobs, their livelihoods. And not just this. But now the dragons have taken a third of my county away from me. Zebras lives are on the line, Prime Minister.”
“And we’ll get back that portion of your land.” The prince next to Langa’s left spoke. “Just because they’re dragons doesn’t mean we’ll back down.” For a moment, Sisipho almost thought she could see the prince give her a momentary glance, only to look at the floor beneath her hooves, unable to meet his irritable stare.
“So when will action be taken then?” There was a quiet but firm murmur among the zebras of the left side.
“While we have been preparing a small regiment of troops, we’re hoping that this issue can be resolved without either side resorting to violence.” The mare at Langa’s right reaffirmed.
“What kind of assistance are you talking about, Princess Nosipho?” One voice rang.
“Oh please.” Sindile waved off. “What kind of moron would be willing to help us against dragons?” Sisipho’s ears flicked at a quick rhythm of hoofsteps somewhere beyond the wall to her right. She saw a muzzle peek out from the shadows behind the veil, a letter handed over to Langa. “Doesn’t anyone remember the history of our relationship with dragons? The violence between us? At least a few of us zebras were able to stand up to dragonfire.”
“True.” A familiar voice spoke up, and Sisipho smiled to hear her brother speaking. “But that’s because those were experienced fire users. Not like the common user can stand up to dragonfire.”
“Yeah?” A second mare’s voice spoke up. “So what do you hope to accomplish? You’re not exactly a wielder of fire yourself, Inspector Nkosi.” The nerve of this mare, Sisipho thought.
Before the argument could continue, a sharp crack of gavel echoed the room. Everybody went silent and turned up to Langa. He glanced over the last few words of the letter and gazed out onto the floor. “Just received word that an ambassador from Equestria is on their way. And from the sound of it, they’re actually here now waiting outside.” There was an answer, Sisipho sighed.
“Do we really need outside assistance, though? Surely we can handle a few dragons?” Sandile suggested.
Langa looked over towards the stallion. “We could. But the letter also states that this ambassador is a dragon.” Just the mention of this stranger’s race quieted the room. Even more so than the gavel. “If this dragon can reason with the others, there’s a good chance we can all walk away from this without losing anybody.” From where Sisipho could see, the room seemed to be split, with some zebras showing relief on their expressions, while others did not appear to be so hopeful.
"A dragon is going to solve our problems?" Sandile gave a half-hearted chuckle. "What if these dragons swing him to their side? Then that's another dragon to our problem."
“We will fix this." He stared at Sandile for a long while. "I promise you all,” Langa began, glancing at the stallion next to Sandile, “especially to you, Thabani. That we will get your mine back and your land.” The murmur of voices grew as Langa stood up from his seat. The prince and princess followed a moment after, and the three disappeared to the right. Sisipho stood up and peeked out onto the floor. The collective of zebras all rose up, some leaving immediately, some not right away, but many others speaking to one another.
She shuddered and took a gulp of air. ‘I… I can’t screw up again.’ She frowned and walked back to her chair, moving behind it and waiting for a second before the wall in front of her was pulled away from her. When she walked out, she turned to her left and watched the three royals approach her.
“You doing okay, Sisipho?” Nosipho asked. “You look a little out of it.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” the prince murmured. “This filly did kind of screw up after all.”
“Mandlenkosi.” The princess elbowed. “Be nice.”
“What?” He backed away. “I’m just saying what you two are thinking.”
“He’s not wrong.” Langa sighed. “But now is not the time to fight with one another.” Sisipho looked to the ground like some kind of dog aware of its owner’s disappointment. Glancing up she did not see anger or irritation in the prime minister’s eyes. But more of an understanding gaze; one such regard shared by the princess. But when she peeked at the prince for a second time, he still did not share the kind look, and Sisipho quickly averted her eyes back to the ground.
“I-I’m sorry… I know I screwed up.” Sisipho spoke with a quiver to her voice. “I-I’ll do anything to make it right.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Queen Sisipho.” Langa approached her and kneeled down to her level. “You’re still learning, after all.” Sisipho met his attentive stare. “We’ll figure this whole situation out.” Langa stood up and glanced out one of the rows of windows. “But for now you’ll have to prepare. The caravan’s probably about ready to get going, and they’ll need you alongside them.”
“What about—”
“I didn’t forget, Nosipho.” Langa gave a soft chuckle. “Nobody there isn’t aware of Sisipho. She’ll be fine.” He turned to the princess. “You’ll go with her?” Nosipho gave a quick nod. Langa smiled.
“Why don’t you let me go?” Mandlenkosi asked. “Nosipho won’t be safe out there with those dragons.”
“I respect your caring words for my daughter, Mandlen.” Langa slowly turned to the prince. “But you’re to remain here, just in case the dragon decides to send others here to Namaqua. After all, I wouldn’t put it past this particular dragon. Seems like he’d have the guts to do something as awful as that.” The prince frowned and went to speak again, but held his tongue, looking a way for a moment before he hesitantly nodded his agreement.
“Good.” Langa returned the gesture to the prince who turned away from the group. “Nosipho, go ahead and meet us at the caravan. I’ll walk our Queen there.” The princess smiled in return and turned away, but not without a reassuring wink to Sisipho, who slowly waved to her.
When Nosipho disappeared from view, she returned her attention to Langa. “Prime Minister Langa, I’m really sorr—”
He held a hoof to her. But his eyes flickered with that ever-constant kindness. “Remember. It’s just Langa.” He laughed a little. “And you don’t need to apologize.”
“But I did such a stupid thing. I was the one who gave the dragons that mine. I should be the one getting blamed by the other zebras. Not you.”
“True,” he murmured. “But this is all a learning experience. And besides, it’s not like this is the first time I’ve been blamed for something I didn’t do.” He looked past her, seemingly lost in thought in that moment, but he glanced back down to her. “Don’t forget either that I’ve been in a similar position, too. Just because the zebras don’t know about you, means that you’re always to blame. I’ve had my fair share of mistakes and it was because I did something wrong.”
He ushered her to follow him down the stairs. “I know you’re uncertain about all of this. About being the queen of Pretoria,” Langa continued. “But you’ll manage. The other queens also managed to rule Pretoria, right?”
Sisipho nodded, but her frown remained. “Even though I’m the youngest queen in Pretoria’s history?”
He blinked for a second and slowly nodded. “Right… I sometimes forget you’re barely a mare.” The two passed the last step down and turned towards the main door, Sisipho covering her eyes a little from the afternoon sun. “No matter what, you need to have some reassurance about yourself.” Langa kneeled down to her size once more. “You’ll make mistakes. Everyone does. But you need to remember to keep your head high, Sisipho. I’m certain you’ll come through in the end.”
A set of hoofsteps caught Langa’s attention, and he turned away from Sisipho. Nkosi stood a couple feet away from the two. “Prime Minister Langa. The caravan is ready to depart.”
Langa stood up on his hooves and nodded. “Thank you, Inspector Nkosi.” He looked towards the carriages to see a small drake standing at the side of one. “Now, let’s go meet our dragon.”
The dragon simply waved to the two. “Hello there.”
“You must be the dragon ambassador, Spike, correct?”
Spike smiled and nodded, folding his wings to his back. “Yep. Here to assist you with your dragon problem. Princess Celestia made sure they sent the best negotiator.”
The Prime Minister playfully shook his head. “Of course. I have full faith in you, Spike.” He pointed to the carriage behind him. “If you could join my daughter for a moment.” As Spike hopped into the carriage, Sisipho felt a hoof on her shoulder, and smiled up to Langa. “I know you’ll do me proud.” But an heir of uncertainty shrouded his gaze. “I know you can protect yourself. But do please be careful. I mean it.”
Sisipho gave a small smile. “Nothing to worry about, right?” Langa nodded in reply. He turned away and the smile Sisipho held weakened. “I really do hope everything goes well… not just for Pretoria’s sake, but my own.” She could only hope that by Ifrit, luck was on her side. Or this negotiation could spark something much worse than any of her mistakes.
~~~
“Okay. So let me recap here.” Spike glanced between the princess and Sisipho. “The dragons technically stole a mine from you, even though you agreed to it in paper; not to mention with a written signature.” Sisipho couldn’t help but give a nervous smile. “But you want to call off the deal because it’s not only an important mine for your wealth, but for your aforementioned, ‘other reasons’.” He mentioned in air quotes.
“That about sums it up.” Sisipho rubbed her left forearm, nodding only slightly.
He gave a short hum. “This might be a little more difficult than I thought.” Spike rubbed his chin. “If you willingly gave them a piece of property, then it’s not like you can do much without trading them something of equal value.”
“Then how about trading them a stockpile of gems?” Nosipho suggested. She tilted her head at Spike’s questioning glance. “What? Dragons like gems, right?”
“Sure…” He began. “But this is a mine, we’re talking about. A gem mine. And once a dragon or dragons claim their territory, not much is going to persuade them from leaving it.”
Sisipho gave a quiet sigh. “There has to be something else we can trade? Maybe another way to get them to leave the mine?”
She was given a shrug in return. “I’ll do what I can.” He shifted in his seat a little. “So. What else can you tell me about these dragons? Were they teenagers or adults?”
“I… don’t know?”
This only seemed to garner a surprised expression from the drake. “Wait. Have you ever seen a dragon before this?” Sisipho could only sheepishly shake her head in response. “Okay. So this isn’t a problem.” He said with a reassuring smile. “How big was he compared to you?”
She blinked for a second as the memory came back. Sisipho looked to Spike and then the dragon in her thoughts. “He was definitely bigger than you.” She scanned the carriage around the three. “Actually, he was just a little taller than this carriage.”
“Okay. That gives me something to work with. What about his spikes? How long were they?”
With a momentary look she surveyed Spike’s own. “They were pretty long.”
“Alright, alright.” He hummed again and a small frown graced his muzzle. “Okay. Sounds like a young adult. That may be a problem.”
“Why?” Nosipho asked.
“Well, think of it like this. A teenage dragon is annoying and has some anger issues. Although I guess that’s a lot of dragons. But a young adult has more than already figured out how to act. Which, of course, is why they took that mine. He plans to make it a hoard. And from the sound of it, seems like dragons of Pretoria don’t mind sharing.”
“Then this only complicates matters.” Nosipho’s gaze hardened. “What should we do if they don’t negotiate with us? I mean, if they’re willing or want to.”
Spike could only chuckle a little, a nervous glance at the two zebras. “That… I mean, is why I’m here. Representing the role of Queen Ember.”
“Queen Ember?” Nosipho murmured. “The name sounds familiar. But we’ve never concerned ourselves with the matters of dragons, except, well, by fighting them.”
“Wait, what?” Sisipho couldn’t help the other nervous grin on her muzzle from showing. “But… huh. That actually explains a lot.” He returned the expression at the sight of Nosipho’s gaze. “No offense, I mean. But have you ever tried to talk it out with dragons?”
“The opportunity has never… really come around to us,” Sisipho said. “But, to be fair, I don’t think we’ve ever given the other side a chance, either.”
“That may be the case, but it is for a good reason.” Nosipho looked to her queen before turning to Spike. “The history between dragons and zebras hasn’t been a pleasant one, to say the least. But dragons were the ones who started it. They targeted us before we had our powers. And they still do to this day.”
“But isn’t that a little bit one-sided?” Sisipho found it interesting that Spike was actually arguing the princess’s statement. “I mean, look at the ponies. They’ve managed to get along with the dragons and even their relationship has had some rocky bumps along the way.”
“It doesn’t excuse the fact that dragons still continue to pester, harass, and even hurt or kill zebras across our whole continent.”
Sisipho leaned close to the princess and murmured, “Maybe we shouldn’t be arguing with somebody that is trying to help us.” Nosipho’s irritable expression turned her way, but when Sisipho shrank away, the mare’s gaze softened.
“I-I know.”
“Hey…” Spike smiled. “I get it. Dragons aren’t always the nicest or… well, kindest of any creature. But, at least some of them are trying.” He pointed out. “Queen Ember used to be that way. But she’s turned over a new leaf.”
“I’m worried that these dragons may not be the same kind ones you’re talking about, Spike.” This seemed to change the drake’s optimistic manner. But even then his smile bounced back.
“We should be able to work it out, no problem.” The three shifted in their seats, and the wooden wheels constant crackle against the dirt stopped. There was a set of hoofsteps outside before the door was opened, Nkosi standing just a few feet away.
“We’re here,” Nkosi murmured, waving the three to step out. Moments after Sisipho stepped out, she took a second to survey her surroundings. The carriages were all lined up horizontally alongside the wall of tall grass only a yard or so away from them. Zebra after zebra got out, some checking their gear, others stretching and even a few with orange embers glowing from their hooves. Her brother nodded for them to follow as she returned her attention to him.
While the three quietly shuffled by, Sisipho thought she could hear laughter in the distance. Sisipho felt a hoof on her shoulder, jumping a little as Nosipho moved in front of her. “Stay behind me, okay?” she whispered. Sisipho slowly nodded, and the two quietly caught back up with Nkosi. Spike was a couple feet away from the stallion before the tall grass thinned out. When Sisipho peeked her head out, she looked out onto a ravine.
A road led down to the middle of the area with a few buildings scattered about, pickaxes and mining carts dispersed away from the tunnel. It was only a second later did she see where the laughter came from the entourage of dragons. Her eyes widened, Sisipho shaking a little as she rested a hoof on her chest. The dragon from before had exited the mines, a couple others lagging behind. “Th-that’s him,” she whimpered.
“Who?” Spike whispered back.
Sisipho pointed to the dragon in question. “That one. The one who just came out of the mine.”
Spike followed her hoof, and his gaze hardened. “Definitely not a teenage dragon.” The dragon joined in with his other ‘friends’, their voices loud — not enough to make out what they were entirely saying. “He also doesn’t look that friendly.”
“So.” Nkosi breathed. “How shall we go about this, dragon?”
“The name’s Spike,” he uttered with a frown. “And… I’m thinking we just go up to them.”
“Are you crazy?” Nkosi quietly hissed. “They’re going to burn us the first chance they get.”
“They’d burn us for sneaking up on them, too,” Spike retorted. “If we make our presence known, the least they’ll do is just yell at us.”
Nkosi sighed and looked over to the two royals. “What do you want to go with?”
Nosipho glanced back at Sisipho for a moment before she returned to Nkosi. “Maybe we should do what Spike, says.” The look on her brother’s muzzle said it all. “I know, I know. It sounds crazy but… I don’t want Sisipho to get hurt.”
Sisipho felt her brother’s gaze rest on her for a moment. He lowered his head and sat in thought for a moment before he grunted. “Okay, we’ll go out into the open and confront them.”
Spike gave a quick nod. “Alright. But first things first. Let me do the talking. Even though they’ll be hostile, if they see me, they’ll at least be curious.” The group stood up, Nkosi raised a hoof to the others behind him, and the soldiers stayed at their positions. And without a second thought, Nkosi led the three out into the open. It was nothing but silence from the four as they reached the dirt road.
Down they traveled, and at first, the dragons didn’t seem to notice them. But just a few yards from the ravine, the group noticed them. They were then paraded with insults and yelling, Sisipho lowering her ears; it was almost a little too much to handle in that moment. Even as they made aggressive motions, they only seemed to be interested in greeting them all with rude comments.
Once they reached the outskirts of the mining area, the dragons seemed to stop when the leader stepped out in front of the line. “Well, well. Looks like we got ourselves a few stripes trespassing on our territory.” Nosipho seemed to growl at the comment, something that only stirred the ache in Sisipho’s gut. “What are you doing here?”
“We’ve come to talk,” Nosipho said. “About the mine you… ‘acquired’ from us.”
The dragon looked to his pals behind him and smirked. “What? About the mine your queen there fairly traded to us?” He chuckled a little. “Sorry. But a deal's a deal. Not much use coming over here to beg for it. After all, you got more mines than we could ever hope to get.”
“It’s still a mine that is ours. After all, you got it through an unfair trade deal.” Nkosi took a step forward. “A deal in which you threatened our queen with the lives of other zebras.”
“Oh, please.” The dragon waved it off. “It was a fair deal. We got the mine, and nobody had to worry about dying. That’s a good enough deal, right?” Nkosi went to argue, but Spike stopped him with an elbow. The stallion only grunted in response. The drake stepped forward and as he opened his mouth, the other dragons only laughed at him. “Who’s… who’s this little shrimp you brought along with you?” The dragon laughed. “He’s not tall enough to even be a sample size.”
“My name is Spike,” Spike said. “And I’m here to talk this out as a neutral member among the two parties.”
The dragons only continued to dismiss Spike with more of their chuckling. “Ah. That’s so adorable,” one of the other male dragons added. “The zebras were scared of dealing with us on their own.”
“So then they turn to one of our own,” a female dragon chimed in. “One who isn’t even knee height to us. And one who looks like he still wets the bed.”
Spike only seemed to shrug it off. “Either way, I’m here as an ambassador from Equestria, as well as one from the Dragonlands; a representative of Queen Ember.”
Even still, the laughter continued, but the leading dragon stopped his joyous noise. And his gaze took on a more serious tone. “Wait… you’re the Spike?” Spike nodded in return. While this confirmation seemed to not faze the other dragons, the main one only began to frown. “I get it. Miss pompous herself can’t be here, so she sent her second best to do all her work.” He snorted. “Why are you Equestrians always acting like you’re high and mighty? Not even taking a chance to come down and see your brothers and sisters.”
“We didn’t even know dragons lived here until now,” Spike argued. “But that’s not the point. The point is, the trade you made with the queens of these lands was unfair, so you either put something of equal value for this mine, or you leave.”
The dragon only clenched his right hand. “Oh I see. So they call on you to come solve their problem. Then what? Is queenie going to extend her ‘hand’ to us? So she can place rules on us like she did the other dragons?” He snorted and smoke billowed out his nostrils. “Not a chance, smallfry. This mine is ours now. And we’re not trading it for anything.”
Spike seemed to frown at first, but the smile returned. “Well, then. Guess that leaves me no choice but to challenge you to a fire-breathing competition.” His proposal was met with an uproarious response from the others. However, the little drake seemed to take this with stride. “I don’t know if you should be laughing now.” The challenge actually seemed to garner a glimmer of interest from the leading dragon.
This elicited a small chuckle from him. “I like your spunk, smallfry. Is it okay if I call you smallfry?” He stepped forward, and the two dragons slowly approached.
It was odd to see two dragons, who were totally opposed, seem to share some sort of odd respect for one another. “Oh.” Spike looked back to the three. “You might wanna take a few steps back.”
Nkosi and Nosipho didn’t hesitate to take more than a few steps away from the ever-intensifying standoff. “You know. It’s almost cute how much you care for those stripes over there,” the dragon mocked. “Almost like you were raised by equines.” The two dragons, as they closed in, walked away from each other in a more vertical line. “Alright. I’ll play your game. The stripes don’t have to get hurt, if you’re really so concerned about them.”
“Just making sure this is a fair duel, is all.” Spike smiled. The two finally stood still. Spike unfurled his wings and stirred some dust up until he was at chest level with the other dragon. And from then on, besides Spike’s noisy wings, it was an uncomfortable silence. Sisipho shook just a little, but held herself together at this standstill of a scene.
“You know,” the dragon sneered, “why don’t I let you go first? You’re the guest to our home. After all, it’d be rude not to give you some form of hospitality.”
Spike’s gaze lightened up just a little. “Don’t mind if I do.” He hit his right fist against his chest. A wave of green fire then came out from Spike’s throat. And before Sisipho could react, the opposing dragon was swamped by the rather sparkly flames.
The fiery inferno held on for a few seconds before Spike closed his mouth. He smiled as the breath dispersed, revealing the leader. He blinked for a second and gave a small smile. “How’s that for a smallfry?”
The dragon dusted himself off. “Not bad for a little guy like yourself.” The smirk didn’t last for long before he frowned. “But there’s just no way you’re beating me.” Out from the adult a ferocious flame bellowed out alongside his roar.
Spike disappeared in the red flame, Sisipho looking away in fright at the horrid show. Even from here, the heat of the older dragon’s flames reached them more than Spike’s. The leader, however, held his belch for a much longer period of time, and as it felt like minutes had passed before the flames trickled away into embers.
Sisipho felt some relief when the drake appeared from within the hellish inferno. He floated in the air for a second before falling onto his rear, seemingly shaken from the display of power. The leading dragon turned to the trio of zebras. “Well, stripes. I guess from the look on this runt’s face, it seems like I win.”
“That’s not fair!” Nkosi yelled. “Spike is years younger than you are.”
“And I’m supposed to feel sad?” He shrugged. “The kid’s fine, anyway. Not like he’s dead.” His smirk disappeared, and he gave a menacing growl to the trio. “Now how about you go home? This place is mine. And zebras don’t belong here.” The dragon turned around and began to walk away from the group.
Sisipho stared on as the chance of reverting her wrong seemed to grow more and more distant. She froze when she heard another yell from her brother. “Nkosi, don’t!’ Nosipho yelled as her brother charged forward. He grabbed a spear from his back and chucked it towards the dragon.
With a swift turn, the dragon caught it in his hand. But the frown remained unchanged. “Really? You’re gonna throw a hissy fit over some mine? Get over yoursel—” The spear blew up in his face, and the dragon roared, the smoke covering his muzzle.
“Nkosi, get back here!” Sisipho cried this time; yet her brother remained in his stance, and began to grab another spear.
But the beast roared again and opened his eyes. And from what Sisipho saw, the explosion had done nothing to him. “Alright, zebra. That was your one and only chance.” The dragon opened his mouth as a light lit up his throat.
Sisipho stood there for a moment. But when she saw the look of horror in her brother’s eyes, she felt her hooves carry her. Nosipho called to her but it was almost like she was in a dream, as the words seemed to slur — the world around her grew slower by the second.
The roar of the flames only grew louder, and as she got closer, the fire shot out from the leader. She cried out in panic; Sisipho shot her left foreleg out, and a burst of blue flame pushed her forward, knocking her brother out of harm’s way.
She stuck a hoof out, and the blue flame shielded her. It was warm — uncomfortably so as the fire raged around her. The blue and orange flames clashed against one another, the hue around her almost becoming a light purple color.
She felt herself skid on her hooves, growling as she did her best to endure this circle of flames. But the heat only continued to grow more and more unbearable with each passing second.
And the more she fought against this endless inferno, the weaker she felt herself become at this onslaught. ‘I-I c-can’t…’ She closed her eyes and felt the ground move again, feeling herself get pushed back farther and farther.
‘Nkosi… Nosipho… Langa.’ The names passed her by one by one. ‘Cebisa… mother!’ Then a whisper came to her--the same voice that had stuck with her since that morning. She felt a strength well up inside her. And something else, besides that voice, that grew more with each second.
‘N-no… I have to do this. I-I have to do this… for me!’ Sisipho felt the surge of fire from within her push the flame back, and she took a step forward. She let it go and rolled to the side.
As the overwhelming heat passed her by she ran as fast as she could, jumping out of the way of another of the dragon’s blast. She jumped into the air; blue flames propelled herself from beneath her lower hooves.
Another stream came her way. Quickly she shot a blast from her left hoof, a blue flaming orb growing bigger in her right one. When the next blast came she shot a blue spiral of her own, speeding upward from the attack’s direction.
She flipped around in the air before righting herself. Sisipho spun herself, facing forward at the dragon, and with a roar the orb turned into a howling surge of fire. The dragon’s eyes widened until he disappeared within the immense heat of this water-like imposter.
Sisipho landed on the ground but kept the intense heat going, and dared not to stop the onslaught forced upon this dragon. Her foreleg shuddered and Sisipho began to pant. The blue flames slowly withered away until there were only light blue embers, changing to red orbs that floated into the sky. Her eyes watered a little at the smoky essence around her, and she coughed a little at the smoke floating around her.
As the smoke cleared away, the dragon she had blasted had skidded a good distance backwards, now nearly just fourteen feet from where Sisipho stood, covered head to toe in a black ashen dust. His fangs were bared, but the glaze in his eyes was not just filled with anger, but an unease that also dressed the expression. “A zebra… with blue fire?” He lowered his arms to his sides. “But… since when!?”
Sisipho took a step forward — while the lackeys to this dragon seemed to quickly take more than a few paces backward, the leading dragon defiantly stood his ground. “Listen here, dragon!” Sisipho shouted. “This mine belongs to the zebras of Pretoria! And I will not stand for the mistreatment of my subjects by those who dare think they can hurt my family.”
The fire inside her seemed to stir more; and with a quick glance back, she saw the pride in her brother’s eyes. She turned back to the dragons and continued. “So leave while you can. I don’t wish to harm you, but I will if you force my hoof.”
Even with this bolster to her words the dragon still remained where he stood, fire billowing out from beneath his clenched jaws. “Nobody, not even a little pompous queen, is going to tell me what to do!” He opened his mouth again, but Sisipho’s ears snapped back, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Nkosi’s hoof to his mouth. He whistled, and the soldiers in hiding rushed down the ravine as quickly as their hooves could carry them.
The majority of them stopped to a halt behind Sisipho — fires billowed from hooves, spears and axes gleaming in the late afternoon sun. The dragon’s flame seemed to die down, his mouth closed for a moment, before he roared. “This isn’t over, you wretched stripes! I’ll come back here and take what is rightfully mine!”
He unfurled his wings and with a single wave shot himself into the air. The others quickly followed behind with more terrified gazes marked upon their expressions. As the group flew away, Sisipho held her position until they disappeared within a far away wall of clouds. She let out a sigh but was quickly interrupted by a union of cheerful cries behind her. She turned around and smiled at the sight behind her, and felt a sense of pride well in her chest.
“Sisipho!” She felt a few tears come to her eyes as Nkosi ran through the group of soldiers. He skidded into her with an embrace, Sisipho unable to contain her belated laughter. “I always knew you were stronger than you led yourself to believe.”
She reciprocated with a smile but that happiness turned to fear. “Are you hurt?” she asked as she quickly checked him over. “Did you get burned by him?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine!” he quickly reassured her, pulling away from his sister’s checkup. “I’m the big brother, remember. I’m supposed to be worried about you.”
“Speaking of.” Nosipho joined Nkosi’s left side. “How about you? Are you okay, Sisipho?”
The mention of this made Sisipho glance at herself — her forelegs and chest seemed okay, and even a quick look at the rest of her body seemed to reveal her safe condition. “I’m fine.” Seeing the unconvinced stare, she giggled. “I’m really fine, Nosipho. I promise.”
The princess only sighed. “If you say so.”
There was another commotion among the soldiers before Spike ran out, his scales still somewhat singed. “That… was… awesome!” he yelled, eyes glimmering with awe. “How in Equestria did you do that?”
Sisipho leaned back a bit, caught off guard by his question. “W-wait. You didn’t know zebras could bend fire?”
He quickly shook his head. “I thought even Equestria was aware of this?” Nosipho chimed in.
Spike rubbed the back of his head, giving a hesitant chuckle. “W-well… technically I’ve only ever met like… one or two zebras. But I didn’t ever believe you could pull this off!”
Sisipho, even after the tense situation, couldn’t help but laugh at Spike’s revelation. But a good surprise it was for the drake. “Don’t worry,” Nkosi murmured. “These two will tell you about it on the way back.” As Nkosi gave a gestured command, he fell back to Sisipho’s side. “I think the peanut gallery is going to be impressed with this.”
“So will my father.” Nosipho added. “He would have been proud to see you take charge like that.”
The influx of her soldiers’ praise was coming in waves. In that moment, Sisipho felt an ease wash over that former fear. And all the same did that same whisper come to her once more, with a loving and yet motherly tone to its voice. Her smile, while bright, softened a bit. She had finally broken past her lack of self-confidence. And she felt all the better for it.
~~~
“That’s so awesome!” Spike leaned forward, hands clenched onto the curve of his seat. “So, zebras got all their cool powers from this super powerful entity known as Ifrit?”
Sisipho nodded. “Yep. I mean, we weren’t gifted the powers right away. The first ever Queen of Pretoria had to earn them.”
“So how did she get them?”
Nosipho seemed to smirk a little as Sisipho went to speak. “Well, Sinethemba’s original village; the one where our capital city of Namaqua was established, was under attack when she tried to convince Ifrit to help defend her home. Back then some of the early dragons that threatened our homes, we called them a Ninki Nanka, were a lot more numerous than the zebras. Anyway, so Sinethemba and her mother were returning home when she smelled smoke on the way back.
“It was only then that she realized that something bad had happened. And that it was a Ninki Nanka that was attacking the village. Oh, Sinethemba tried to defend her home, but she was reckless and charged in without thinking. But when all seemed lost, when she lay their bleeding after the dragon had clawed her, did Ifrit come to her rescue — he killed the Ninki Nanka in a fierce battle. That and, while she was a bit hasty, Ifrit commended her for her courage. And… well, that’s when Ifrit granted us the ability to bend fire.”
Nosipho chimed in, “Sinethemba nearly died trying to achieve this. But thanks to Ifrit, zebrakind was able to survive. And we’re eternally grateful for her contribution to our kind.”
“Wow…” It was funny seeing a dragon’s expression filled with such enamor, Sisipho thought. But Spike seemed to be an okay dragon. And after today, definitely somebody she could trust. “So what can you do with your fire powers? Do you have any other powers besides that?”
“Just the fire powers.” Nosipho slightly shifted. “I don’t know if zebras really have any other kind of power. Unless you’d call knowledge of alchemy some kind of ability?”
“Of course it is,” Sisipho argued. “Just an ability only we zebras can really perform well.”
“Still. This is all amazing.” Spike leaned back into his seat. “Twilight is so going to freak when she hears this.”
“Twilight?” Sisipho murmured. “Who’s Twilight?”
“Wait, you haven’t—?” Nosipho began before she giggled a little. “Right. I forget we haven’t told you, Sisipho. But the princesses recently got a new addition to their ranks. But I can tell you more about that later.” The carriage came to a halt moments later, with Spike being the first to exit, Sisipho following him out of the vehicle. “Sisipho.” The queen turned around to face the princess. “You did an amazing job today. Don’t forget that.” She waved her goodbye. “Sleep well.”
With that the princess closed the carriage door. Sisipho watched as the once former caravan, just reduced to one car, was departing for the other palace nearby. She took a sigh a relief and looked up the steps to her own. “It actually feels nice to be back here. Now that I feel like I can handle this role.”
“Eh, don’t sweat it,” Spike reassured her. “The princess does have a point. You did better than I could’ve just by myself. I’d call that a victory at least.”
“Yeah… you’re right, Spike.” Sisipho smiled at the drake. “Thank you so much for your help, by the way.”
“Oh, it was nothing. Just think of it as a friendly gesture from Equestria.” He opened his wings and lifted himself off the ground. “Welp, I better get back. It’ll be a bit of a flight back before I make it home.” As he moved away, he stopped before turning back around and landing not too far from the young mare. “By the way,” he began. “If you could clear this up for me. When you were telling me your story, it almost sounded like you were speaking of it more than just from some story. Like you were actually there when all of it was happening.” Sisipho blinked and glanced away for a second.
‘How did he catch on so easily?’ There was no way she could easily explain this to him, she thought.
And this only seemed to confirm his suspicions as he smirked a little. “So you’re hiding something, right?”
“O-of course not.” Sisipho smiled. “I just really liked learning about our history, that’s all.”
“Come on.” He crossed his arms. “There’s no way you’re fooling me.” He prodded her slightly more and more. “Can’t you just let me know a little bit about how you know? Is it some secret time travel technique you zebras discovered?” Sisipho snorted as she tried to hold a laugh in, but failed as it came out; and laugh she did for a good half a minute. “Seriously.” Spike pleaded. “Can’t you please tell me?”
Once Sisipho recovered some of her composure she took a second to look around her. Even though she was at the palace — ultimately making her careful survey of the grounds fruitless, she figured it was better to be safe for her sake. “Okay… I’ll tell you.” He smiled but she continued. “But. You can’t tell anybody else about this.”
“No prob—”
“I mean it.” She leaned forward, her muzzle inches away from his. “We’ll know if you tell anybody else this, too.”
With a nervous chuckle he nodded slowly, backing up to give himself some space. Sisipho calmed her expression and with a soft exhale, she closed her eyes. When she opened them. a light brilliant gamboge light flashed over her strong azure irises. She blinked again before the luminous shine seemingly replaced her former eye color; with an aura of embers surrounding her figure. “Uh… Sisipho?” Spike began. “Are you okay?”
Sisipho giggled. “Of course, Spike,” she said. “But… while I speak to you in her voice, Sisipho is not in control right now.” She blinked again and simply smiled. “My name is Sinethemba.”
Spike took his turn to look dumbfounded; he blinked for a second, and then shook his head. “Wait? Queen Sinethemba? As in, the same one from Sisipho and Nosipho’s stories?” Sisipho, or in this moment, Sinethemba, nodded. “Woah… wait.” He tilted his head. “H-how are you here? When you were one of the first queens of Pretoria? Wouldn’t that make you like… super old?”
Sinethemba’s smile weakened, but she didn’t seem to lose that bright expression. “Well… let’s just say that my spirit is attached to this world. And because I am, it means I cannot leave it yet. And for a very long while to come.”
“O-oh…” He rubbed the back of his head. “I-I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Sinethemba smiled. “While it is true that I do wish to leave this world one day, I also see this as an opportunity to guide the zebras. And so, while I use Sisipho as a vessel, I never wish to completely take control from her. She, and those who came before her, all had complete control. Every now and then I’d only take over whenever it was okay with them.” She closed her eyes for a second, but opened them not long after. “I am doing what I can to make sure that each new queen, even though they are free to make whatever decision they so desire, at least can trust me to be their guiding point.”
It was, however, did Sinethemba snicker when she saw Spike’s rather aloof and goofy face. He shook it off and giggled with her. “Sorry about that.” He cleared his throat. “All the same, though, this is pretty crazy, and yet pretty cool.” He lifted himself off the ground as he did a minute ago. “I’ll make sure to keep this under wraps.”
“I do mean it, Spike.” Sinethemba’s gaze hardened a little. “If word was to get out that I existed, then I would worry not just for me, but for Sisipho as well. I know I would never force Sisipho from the controls unless it was absolutely necessary, but others would not see it the same way I do.” She blinked for a moment. “That is why any knowledge of my being must remain a secret. So that Sisipho doesn’t have to pay for my own… ‘life,’ so to speak.”
Spike’s own concerned glance faded fast, and he smiled. “My lips are sealed,” he said with the zipping motion before taking off into the evening sky. Sinethemba watched as the dragon simply faded into the sunset before her ears twitched to a set of hoofsteps behind her.
“You think he’ll keep his promise?” Langa murmured quietly, stepping next to Sinethemba.
“Maybe.” Sinethemba shrugged.
“I know it’s none of my business to restrict you from your own choices, Queen Sinethemba. But…”
“Spike seemed like a good drake. And I… well, Sisipho could always use more friends.” She hummed with a cheerful tone. “Besides. If he says anything to anyone, at least the princesses of Equestria will be understanding.”
Langa shared a chuckle. “I can see what you mean.”
Sinethemba continued to stare up at the evening sky. Her eyes glowed for a second — her legs wobbled before she fell forward; and as she neared the ground Langa caught her, Sinethemba a decent way from the ground. “Are you alright, my highness?”
Langa helped her up, supporting her on his shoulder. “Y-yes. I’m fine, Langa.” She gave a small chuckle. “Sisipho isn’t used to doing this yet. And I’ve only ever been in control just once.” She grunted and stood up on her own. “But her body will get used to this eventually.” She turned to Langa and smiled. “I better get going. But… it was nice meeting you again, old friend.”
The stallion couldn’t help but give a soft laugh. “You too, my queen.”
Sinethemba’s irises faded from their orange color back to the blues of Sisipho’s. The young mare’s legs wobbled again, and Langa guided her down onto a step, Sisipho’s breaths coming and going quickly as if she had just ran a marathon. “You alright, Sisipho?”
“Y-yeah… I think,” she said in-between breaths. “I… I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that.”
“I’m sure you’ll get used to it,” Langa reassured her. His smile grew a little. “I’m proud of you, you know. You did a great job, today. I promised you that things would come full circle, and you yourself made sure they did.”
The smile on Sisipho returned as her labored breathing lessened a little. “Yeah… I did, didn’t I?” She looked up to the sky as Sinethemba had just a second ago. And with the warm sun gazing down on her and her city, on the place she called home, she began to realize for the first time she felt okay being a leader. Sisipho knew it had been tough and was afraid after her failed negotiations, but that even with the danger that came from that scuffle, she had made a change for her fellow zebras and herself.
She was okay. She felt okay. And she knew that things were going to be okay.
Author's Note
Ah... this feels so good. To finally get this out. Thank you so much for those who have read this story. It's my second attempt at a short story after my first one went horribly, so I was a bit afraid to do this again. But I really, really hope that you all enjoyed it. I'll see you all again soon.