*Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, the umbra*

Dawn Wings opened her eyes slowly before stretching her wings and neck out, then yawning widely. Flapping her limbs vigorously, she rolled her shoulders and neck before gliding down from the rafter where she’d slept and landed on the sill of one of the windows facing the castle’s large courtyard.

Hopping off the stone and casually flying down to the flagstone below, she stepped sideways out of the umbra and into the material realm. Once she had landed, she turned towards the rising sun, and croaked her morning oath to her patron spirits before her mind drifted to her agenda for the day.

Despite how hard she had pushed herself the day before, she was completely rested and restored thanks to her regenerative abilities. Although, after her little game with Crayons, she had a feeling it would be a good idea to spend some time away from the village. Even if the encounter had ended well, she didn’t like the way that unicorn kept showing up and getting involved in her business.

So, instead of heading back to town for another day of observing the ponies and trying to pick up more of their language, she planed to explore the forest a bit. It would also be a good chance to get more practice in with her equus form. She had most of the basic motor functions down thanks to the instinctive aptitude she gained as a natural shapeshifter. Still, it was best to get used to her new bod’ under practical circumstance.

Dawn Wings called upon the change, her body reshaping itself till she was in equus form. Tapping the tips of her right then left hind hoof on the moss-covered flagstone, the pegasus spread her wings and, with a couple of strong, downward flaps, lifted off the ground and flew over the outer wall.

Soaring out into the forest, Dawn Wings hummed contentedly to herself. With no destination in mind, she shot out over the trees, looking for anything interesting.

Under the cover of the foliage, a hooded figure watched the unknown pegasus fly away from the abandoned castle and out over the woods. Turning in the direction the newcomer had flown, the figure silently began to follow, as the morning sun glinted off several pieces of gold around her neck and dangling from her ears.

*****

Dawn Wings leaned her body back and flapped her wings to stall her forward momentum before gently setting down on the ground. From the sky she’d spotted a gorgeous waterfall cascading over the edge of a high cliff into a large, clear pool surrounded by all sorts of wildflowers. Deciding that she could afford to take some time to enjoy the scenery, she’d landed along the outer edge of the pool, and began to trot around the perimeter.

All in all, while this world was still very alien, but she could honestly say it had its charms. For one, the air and land were remarkably clean and untarnished, which was a far cry from the polluted wasteland that was Los Angeles. Also, the inhabitants, despite their rather whimsical and somewhat irritatingly cheerful demeanor, weren’t nearly as openly revolting as the humans. The Wyrm’s presence was minimal, though the Weaver’s touch was a bit overstated near the ponies. Still, there were no fomori, no banes, no incestuous, cannibalistic wyrm-tainted werewolves, and no vile multi-national corporations seeking to turn the world into a polluted wasteland.

‘I wish Cloud Chaser could see this place. He’d love it… here…’ Dawn Wings thought before the bottom suddenly dropped out of her stomach. So far, she had managed to avoid thinking about him, but at the thought of her mate, her irises shrank to pinpricks and her hind legs gave out, causing her flank to plop unceremoniously to the ground.

“Cloud Chaser…” She whispered to herself. She’d been so occupied with trying to figure this place out that she hadn’t had time to think of her mate. Until now. Her sweet, goofy, frustrating and courageous mate…

She could feel the tears welling up in the corner of her eyes as she tilted her head back and looked up into the sky.

Like their non-fera cousins, corax mated for life, though for the corvid-breed wereravens, this was bitter-sweet. Natural ravens, even kinfolk, rarely lived longer than fifteen years. Corax, thanks in part to their half-spirit nature, could live for six times that length. Dawn Wings always knew she would outlive Cloud Chaser, but she had hoped that she could be there with him until the day that he died.

Now? Now she was separated from him by a cruel twist of fate that had exiled her to another world.

She could already picture him, waiting for her to return to their nest, wondering what had happened to her. For normal ravens, the loss of their partners would break them, causing them to lose all will to hunt or forage. She could see Cloud Chaser, alone, distraught, and overcome with grief, without the will to find himself a meal.

And what about the others in her life? What about her oath sister Cackling Messa? She had met the nuwisha soon after her first change, and the two of them had been inseparable ever since. How would that silly ball of pranks and laughter react to her disappearance? And what about her garou friends Bright-claw, Tristen Moonsong, Howls-at-dusk, and Alexis Wild? Would they think she died in battle? Would they dedicate songs to her as they mourned her loss? Would Gnawing Hunger, her ratkin friend, mourn her too? What of her freinds among her fellow corax? How many souls would be forced to suffer the loss of their friend and ally?

And what about her? She’d never see her beloved Cloud Chaser, never laugh with her oath-sister, never sing, drink and party with her wild, reckless, idiotic garou friends. She would never get to trade secrets with her kin and swap stories about her exploits.

Unless by some miracle she made it back to Gaia, she would never see any of her loved ones ever again.

The thought was too much for her as her forelegs gave out and she fully collapsed to the ground. The tears now freely slid down her face as she gently sobbed on the beautiful, clean grass and flowers around that gorgeous pool and waterfall.

*****

Zecora heard the sobbing before she came to the clearing by Crystal Sky waterfall as she moved with practiced grace between the trees and brush, making almost no sound as she did. Normally, the zebra shaman wouldn’t have been concerned with keeping quiet as she moved through her forest home. Though the Everfree was rife with predators, most of them ignored her thanks to her mysticism making them to perceive her as “not food.”

Now, she was moving silently because she was following something that was decidedly not one of the local predators, natural or otherwise.

Earlier, she had spotted a pegasus emerging from the old ruins of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Any other time, she would have ignored the outsider, but there was something about her that drew the shaman’s attention. For one, most of the local ponies chose to avoid the Everfree, and fewer still would be brazen enough to enter the ruined castle. That alone would have piqued her curiosity.

But that was not the whole reason she was interested in this stranger.

It had to do with her unusually strong roho, a concept that could be crudely translated as spirit or essence in the Equestrian tongue. Even for a shaman, Zecora was especially adept at sensing roho. And never, even in Zebraca had she encountered a roho quite like this one. With few exceptions, all Equestrians had a roho that was tied exclusively to their species. Some unique individuals, such as the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, had a secondary one, such as Pinky Pie bearing both earth pony and laughter roho.

This pegasus didn’t have a single roho: she had three. Beyond her pegasus roho, she had two others, though they were both subdued. The strongest of these secondary roho was kunguru, the spirit found in ravens. This alone would have been strange enough. But it was her other roho that drew Zecora’s curiosity. Unlike her primary pegasus or kungururoho, this tertiary one blazed with both life-giving light, and searing, destructive fire. The only source of such roho was jua: the Sun. And outside of the Sun itself, Zecora only knew of one being that bore such a roho: the Sun’s own avatar, Princess Celestia. Moreover, the fusion of the pegasus’s roho to her body was nearly complete: she was less a vessel for her roho like a normal being, and more an amalgam of both roho and flesh. Even normal ponies, who’s roho would could be manifested in the world as their tribal magic, were still merely vessels to this force.

To the shaman, such a creature was unprecedented.

So, Zecora had followed the outsider, hoping to determine exactly who, and what, she was. What she hadn’t expected to hear was the sound of gentle sobbing in the direction of the spiritual presence. Coming up to the edge of the clearing, she spotted the brick-red pegasus, collapsed on the ground, her eyes streaked with tears, gently crying as she buried her muzzle under her forelegs.

The sight tugged at Zecora’s heart. There was such loss in her sobs, as well as deep despair. Forgetting her curiosity, the shaman was overcome with another desire; the desire to ease the pain of another living soul. Stepping slowly out of the trees, Zecora began to approach the weeping pony.

Despite her distraught state, Dawn Wings’ sharp ears heard the rustling of branches near the edge of the clearing. Fighting instincts honed over years of scouting and combat against the minions of the Wyrm kicked in as she snapped her head in the direction of the sound, and quickly used her wings to launch herself back and put some distance between her and the source. Emotions were pushed aside as she went into fight or flight mode. As she leapt, she invoked her threat detection gift and readied herself to shift into her crinos form. As she landed in a defensive stance, she detected no threat, so she relaxed slightly as she saw the hooded figure of another pony stop suddenly. Her eyes narrowed as she regarded the newcomer suspiciously.

The newcomer reached a hoof up and, slowly lowered her hood, revealing a black and grey striped face with a high Mohawk like mane, as well as gold ear and neck rings. Dawn Wings cocked her head to one side as her eyes quickly looked over the other pony.

‘Is that a…zebra?’

Zecora stood still, regarding the pegasus. The speed with which she reacted to her presence was impressive, on par with the finest Zebracan warrior-knights. But that wasn’t what had got the zebra’s attention, and caused her to freeze in her tracks. As the other pony had sprung backwards, her roho had suddenly flared. As it did, the shaman had felt a wave of spiritual energy of some sort bloom from the outsider and over her the instant the flare occurred. Though she couldn’t quite put her hoof on it, the energy almost felt like it was… assessing her in some way. And as soon as she felt it pass, the pegasus had relaxed almost imperceptibly.

‘She’s a strange one, that’s for sure. A display like that I’ve not encountered before.’ The shaman thought.

“Wanted to startle you, I did not. Please, I mean no harm, so don’t be distraught.” Zecora said, smiling towards the other pony and bowing her head slightly.

Dawn Wings mind raced, as she tried to assess the situation. The zebra was talking to her, but she still couldn’t understand what she was saying. However, she did notice that the zebra’s words had a decidedly different cadence from the speech of the other equines. It was almost poetic, and sounded like she was rhyming.

Zecora lifted her head, and looked at the pegasus, who was still looking at her intently, though from her body posture, the zebra could tell she was no longer on guard. Instead, had her head tilted to the side, as though in thought.

“You can trust my words, for they are true. My name is Zecora. Pray, who are you?” The zebra said, extending her hoof towards the pegasus.

Having now gotten a closer look at the other pony, Zecora noticed a couple of things. The most striking were her eyes. The irises matched her mane in color, and were so black she couldn’t tell them from the retina. But beyond the color, there was something more to them. They spoke of dark, hidden secrets, a will made of nearly unbreakable stone and a weight that would have broken the back of any lesser pony. The only eyes she’d ever seen like that were those of her mentor Umoya Imbali.

Looking over the rest of the pegasus, Zecora also noticed that she looked lean and hard, to the point of almost appearing malnourished. Most pegasi were naturally built lightly, but there was still a softness to even the most athletic of them. This pegasus lacked that softness. Instead, she was hard and weathered; her musculature was finely honed, like braided cord. Everything from her posture, her body’s roughness, and the fierce, uncompromising look in her eyes told the shaman that this pegasus was nothing like the domestic ponies of Equestria. She was something different. Something born of the wild.

Again, Dawn Wings just stood there, wishing that she had a better understanding of the language of this world. Though she couldn’t quite put a talon on it, there was something about this zebra that the corax found sympathetic, as though she were a kindred spirit.

Throwing caution to the wind, Dawn Wings slowly began to approach the other pony. “I’m sorry, but I don’t speak your language.” She said in English.

Zecora’s head snapped back and eyes shot wide open. Whatever language she had just spoken in, it was nothing like anything she had ever heard in any of her travels. The sound was coarse, hard, and almost terrifying, to the point of being almost painful to the ear. Whoever this pegasus was, she was clearly not from anywhere near Equestria or Zebraca. Zecora continued to puzzle over this as the pegasus stopped five hoofs away from her, before sitting down on the grass and regarding her.

This presented a whole different problem, Zecora realized. Still, she wasn’t willing to let it end with just that.

Lifting a hoof, Zecora pointed to herself. “Zecora.” Then, pointing a hoof at the pegasus, she flicked her nose up slightly.

“Ze-co-ra?” The pegasus replied, forming the unfamiliar sounds of the name out carefully and pointing a hoof at the zebra.

Zecora nodded.

Lifting a hoof, the pegasus pointed to herself “Dawn Wings,” she said slowly.

“D-aw-n W-i-ngs?” The zebra replied, trying her best to replicate the unfamiliar sounds of the pegasus’s language as she pointed to the pegasus.

Nodding slowly, the pegasus smiled. True, this “Zecora”’s pronunciation was slightly flawed, but she got close enough.

Bowing slightly, Zecora extended her right hoof to the pegasus. “A pleasure to meet you, Dawn Wings.”

Looking down at the offered hoof, Dawn Wings slowly approached and cautiously extended her own hoof before touching it to the zebra’s like she had seen the ponies do in town, careful to avoid getting too close to the golden rings she wore. “Hello Zecora.”

The two of them stood there for a moment, each smiling as they carefully observed the other.

Slowly, Zecora turned back towards the treeline, and beckoned the pegasus to follow her with a flick of her head, before she pulled her hood up and trotted to the edge of the clearing.

Dawn Wings regarded the zebra for a moment. ‘Is this an invitation? Does she want me to follow her?’ she mused. A repeated beckoning from the zebra seemed to confirm that, yes indeed; she wanted Dawn Wings to follow.

‘I suppose it would be rude to turn her down. Worst comes to worst, I can probably get away by flying.’ The corax thought as she began to trot after Zecora, her mind inadvertently distracted from her depression by the zebra.

*Zecora’s Hut, some time later*

Dawn Wings stood before a large tree with the zebra, one that at once surprised her and excited her. The surprise was that the tree, despite still being alive, was clearly the zebra’s home. Beyond the few decorations on the outside, there was a door built directly into the trunk, as well as several windows. The whole thing told the corax that her new companion clearly had a strong connection to the natural world, as the way her home was integrated into the tree was not intrusive, but symbiotic.

Her excitement came from the spiritual power radiating from the thing. By accident or design, Zecora had built her home upon a ley line confluence. On Gaia, such places were immensely valuable to the fera, for they served as a focal point for spiritual energy, and were thus both highly coveted and fiercely protected. That the spiritual energy radiating from it felt clean and pure only excited the corax more. If Zecora was living here, and the spiritual confluence was pure, then it spoke volumes on the character of her new companion.

Pushing the door open with a hoof, Zecora beckoned Dawn Wings inside. Smiling, the pegasus gave her a slight bow before walking across the threshold and into the tree.

*Everfree forest, to the northwest of Zecora’s Hut*

“Twilight, why are we doing this again?” Spike asked as he hopped over a large root that had burst from the ground across the path. Earlier that day, Twilight had told him to pack their collected notes on the solar raven, along with several blank scrolls, and enough food for a full day away from the treebrary. After the drake had finished packing, the two of them had set off for the Everfree Forest.

“I already told you.” Twilight said as she pushed a branch aside with her telekinesis. “Every book I’ve consulted has turned up nothing on the solar raven, even the ones from Canterlot. But, since Zecora knows myths and legends that are not written down in Equestiran literature, maybe she might have heard something about this creature. At this point, it’s the only chance we’ve got to learn anything about the solar raven short of capturing it.”

“What about the books at the Great Library? Maybe there’s something there.” Spike said to his big sister, his eyes darting about as he watched for possible threats in the thick foliage.

“I thought about that, but to go there, I need Princess Celestia herself to take me. And I’d rather exhaust every possible option outside that before asking her. I just hope it doesn’t come to that.” Twilight said as she continued along the path.

Twilight had a second motive for heading into the forest, one that she didn’t tell Spike. Both times that she had spotted the solar raven, it had flown off in the direction of the Everfree. Though the chance was slim, there was the possibility that she could encounter the elusive bird while getting help from Zecora. To that end, she had cast her solar detection spell, and was now maintaining it with the barest trickle of her magic. With how vast the Everfree was, the chances of coming upon her quarry were slim. But, if there was any chance to find the slippery thing, she’d take it.

*Zecora’s hut*

‘Howls-at-dusk would be right at home in this place.’ Dawn Wings thought sadly as she looked around Zecora’s hut, imagining her Uktena friend and Zecora comparing notes on the occult. While her initial elation of having some company had distracted her from her earlier melancholy, it returned full force after Zecora had led her into her home and guided her to sit at a low table. Despite her mood souring, the corax managed to maintain a neutral expression as she sat and waited.

Across the room, she could see the zebra busy preparing something in a large kettle, as well as warming some sort of flatbread. Carefully watching her new companion add dried leaves and flowers to the ceamic vessel, Dawn Wings concluded that she was probably making tea. Tea sounded good right about now.

Looking back around the inside of the tree, Dawn Wings tried to focus on taking in everything to distract herself from thoughts of her exile. Though she was loath to apply such a term to a non-fera, this Zecora, had she been one of the changing breeds, would probably have been a theurge. Just one more thing she would have had in common with Howls-at-dusk.

Dawn Wings lowered her head and sighed. She had to stop thinking about it. She could mope about it all she wanted, but the fact of the matter was that she was clearly and truly stuck. Obsessing over what she lost wouldn’t do her any good. Like with so many other hard times in her life, she needed to focus on when and where she was at that moment. For whatever reason, she was here, trapped in this new world, and no amount of crying, whining or raging would change that.

Still, it was easier said than done.

‘Suck it up you fledgling. Just do what you’ve been telling yourself: make the most of it.’ She thought as she saw Zecora bringing over the kettle, rolled bread, and some fruits and flowers on a tray, along with a pair of half-gourds. Setting the tray on the table, the zebra seated herself opposite the pegasus, before pouring each of them a generous gourd of the hot liquid. Despite her less than stellar sense of smell, the scent of the tea was quite enticing, though Dawn Wings intended to let Zecora take the first sip.

“No need to be shy, please drink and eat. You seemed down, so it’s my treat.” Zecora said as she waved at the foods on the tray. Her guest cocked her head quizzically, which reminded the zebra that they didn’t share a common language. Still smiling, the shaman picked up a fruit stuffed chapati bread and took a bite, before setting it down and taking a sip of her tea.

Having seen Zecora begin, Dawn Wings bowed her head to her host before picking up her own half-gourd and taking a slow sip of the hot liquid. The flavor was both minty and flowery, giving the corax a calm feeling as she took a second, much longer sip. Setting down the cup with a contented sigh, she reached over and picked up one of the pieces of rolled bread with her hooves. Taking a bite, she was startled to discover the familiar taste of both thimbleberry and huckleberry in the center. As she took a second bite, her smile started to grow.

Unlike many of her kinfolk, Dawn Wings preferred to catch her own meals in the wild, not scavenge the disgusting leavings of the humans. Despite preferring wild foods (lizards and poison oak berries being a personal favorite), she had always had a weak spot for human baked goods, with fruit pastries being her favorite. It would have been fair to say this was on par, if not exceeding, the things that she would occasionally get when she used her human form on assignment.

After slowly savoring the delightful confection, which she chased with another sip of tea, Dawn Wings looked at Zecora and bowed her head again, this time more deeply.

“Thank you.” She said, hoping that even if her companion didn’t understand her words, she could at least understand her sentiment.

As she looked back to Zecora, she noticed a gentile smile on the zebra’s face, one that the wereraven happily returned. For the next few minutes, the two of them simply sat at the table, sharing each other’s company and enjoying some good food. Though she probably wouldn’t make a habit of it, Dawn Wings decided that it probably wouldn’t hurt to visit Zecora every so often.

*****

Twilight Sparkle quickened her pace as she and Spike approached Zecora’s hut. Normally, she would be concerned about making too much noise in the Everfree, but at the moment, her mind was on something else. Her spell had detected the solar presence in the direction of her destination. Were it not for the regular and almost routine frequency that strange coincidences occurred in her life, the unicorn might have thought the chance of running into the solar raven near her destination would have been too weird. Instead, the mage simply went with it. After all, stranger things had happened.

“Twilight, slow down!” Spike yelled as he rushed after his big sister, his shorter legs pumping hard to catch up with the unicorn. “What’s the hurry?!”

“Its here!” Twilight shouted as she ran. “The solar raven is here!”

“What?” Spike called, “Are you sure?”

“Positive!” Twilight called back as she galloped down the path.

Reaching the tree-hut, Twilight reduced the sensitivity of the scanning spell, trying to pinpoint exactly where the energy was coming from. With a start, she realized that the solar energy was coming… from inside.

Twilight froze. Did Zecora know something about the raven? Had she called it? The unicorn’s mind was racing a hundred miles an hour as Spike finally managed to catch up and stop next to his sister, clutching his knees as he bent over and panted, trying to catch his breath.

“Okay…Twilight…why’d…we…stop…” Spike said between pants as his lungs desperately sought to gather oxygen.

“Its here.” Twilight whispered.

“Where?”

“Inside the hut.” Twilight said as she slowly approached Zecora’s home. Raising a hoof, the unicorn firmly but politely knocked on Zecora’s door.

“Zecora, are you home?” She called.

*****

Setting the half-gourd down, Dawn Wings let out a contented sigh, having finished her second cup of tea. Opposite her, Zecora tapped the teapot and gestured to the now empty vessel, non-verbally asking if the pegasus wanted another refill. Dawn Wings raised her hooves and spreading them a little ways apart while nodding her head. Nodding, the zebra lifted the metal container and poured a small serving of the now cooled tea into her guest’s gourd. Smiling appreciatively, Dawn Wings picked up another piece of fruit and began to chew on it.

As she was swallowing, there was a knock at the door. Both ponies turned their heads towards the source of the sound.

Then Dawn Wings heard the voice. She didn’t need to know the words aside from her host’s name, because she recognized the speaker’s voice.

‘Oh Raven, Helios and Mother Gaia! Not HER!’ Dawn Wings screamed internally as her fera born rage flared, though years of training and intense will kept her face completely calm and composed outside a small twitch of her eye and a slight clenching of her jaw. She quickly flicked her eyes back towards Zecora, and relaxed slightly. From the surprised look on Zecora’s face, her host had clearly not been expecting the mage.

‘Seems like this wasn’t a setup.’ The corax sighed, ‘You’re being paranoid Wings. There’s no way that Zecora and the unicorn know your pony and raven bodies are the same being. There aren’t any other fera here. Just play it cool, and maybe she’ll go away. No need to be alarmed.’

Zecora, on the other hand, was more than slightly alarmed by what she had felt moments before. The instant that her guest had heard Twilight Sparkle speak, her jua roho had flared up explosively, as though the presence of the unicorn had set her off somehow. Turning her head back to the other pony, she could see her tea companion had tensed up, though to any normal pony, it would have been unnoticeable.

‘The sound of Twilight’s voice has made her tense. Why would she react in such a way to her presence.’ Zecora thought to herself as Dawn Wings turned to look at her. Recalling how the pegasus had reacted to her at first, the shaman wondered if her guest was just really wary of strangers. With her inability to communicate in the local language, it might make sense that she’d be a little jumpy around new ponies.

Putting the thought aside, Zecora motioned to Dawn Wings to stay seated as she rose and trotted to the door. Opening it, she could see the eager face of one very purple, and slightly agitated, unicorn, along with Spike, who was standing next to his sister, trying not to look bored.

“Twilight Sparkle, what brings you here. Its not often that you chose to appear.” Zecora said, looking the unicorn in the eyes.

“Uh, hi Zecora. Umm, sorry to be a bother. Can I come in? I need help figuring something out, and I’m pretty sure you can help.” Twilight said as she tried to sneak a peek into Zecora’s hut. Unfortunately, Zecora’s body was blocking most of the entrance. Even with the obstruction, Twilight’s magic was telling her that the solar presence was indeed in the house.

“Normally, I’d not have a problem with your request. However, I must decline, as I have a guest.” Zecora said.

“Guest?” Twilight responded. “What sort of guest?”

“A red pegasus mare, whose tongue I do not know. I found her alone in the forest, suffering great woe.” Zecora said, as she glanced back at Dawn Wings, who was casually pouring herself another serving of tea, though the shaman’s keen eyes could tell she was still on guard. Her roho had calmed down considerably, but there were still flickers of the fury she had felt.

“A pegasus?” Twilight said, cocking her head to the side.

Zecora nodded.

‘A pegasus… not a raven…’ Twilight pondered.

“Would it be alright if I came in and met her?” Twilight asked, her curiosity now really getting fired up.

“I see no harm, so it should be alright. But she’s a bit on edge, so please be polite.” Zecora responded as she stepped to the side to admit the unicorn and drake.

Author's Note

This chapter marks the end of the lighter aspects of the story, and the beginning of things getting dark.