The Long Road

I had been beneath deck for several hours, needless to say it was boring as all hell. I needed out, but I was too afraid to do do so. Lone had warned me, but I needed some fresh air. So I carefully went up the stairs and opened the door. When I looked out, I saw the endless night sky bathing us in starlight, I saw the same empty ship, the same wind billowed sails pushing us across the open sea. In other words, Lone had been right. He could do it all by himself.

Speaking of the terrifying Zebra, I saw him nowhere on the ship's deck. I could only assume he had went downstairs when I was reading, I didn't doubt that he could accomplish such a feat. So I stepped out onto the deck and took a deep breath, the sea air was invigorating and good for the soul. I turned to look up at the captain's wheel, and what I saw astonished me.

Sitting right in front of the moon, was Lone. His silhouette revealed that he was uncloaked, but the astonishing thing was not that he wasn't wearing his cloak, but that wings flared out from his body, casting a god-like shadow upon the ship's deck. I may not be the best in terms of biology, but even I knew that Zebras didn't have wings.

"You came up here again..." The zebra's voice came down, it was calm and unending, just like the sea that our ship cut easily through. That didn't help calm me though, it made me tremble just a little. "I admire that." Now that surprised me. "Come up here..." His voice was hypnotic, commanding, it compelled me to go to him. Up the stairs and over to him I went.

As I drew closer, I saw him for the first time. He was definitely a pegasus, but his coat was that of a Zebra: Black with white stripes. Even stranger, the feathers on his wings alternated between black and white. He was a hybrid. I had heard about Zebra  Pony hybrids, the often didn't survive past infancy, hence why they were so rare to see. Apparently Lone had survived and even thrived.

"I feel as though I must apologize.." His face was still hidden by shadows. "I did not mean to snap at you earlier, Pony. I simply do not like when your kind insults mine..." I could see his brow furrow even in the shadows, I could also make out golden earrings twinkling in the moonlight.

"Umm...Lone?" His name still felt strange. "Aren't you...kind of a pony too..?"

"In body, yes." He raised his head so he could look to the scars, the moonlight illuminated his dark muzzle, it was so scarred that barely any fur grew on it. "But not in spirit. It matters not what you are in body, but what you are in soul. It is one of the things you ponies do not understand..." He lowered his head into the shadows once more.

"But...who you are on the outside does sort of affect who you are....right?" I stepped closer, trying to get a good look at his face but failing.

"No...It does not." The way he said it made it clear that the topic was not up for discussion anymore. After a few awkward moments, I finally spoke.

"How are you controlling the ship...?"

"I am not doing anything. It is the spirits. They look upon this vessel with favor." I could see his silhouetted muzzle form a small smile when he mentioned the spirits. "They know our cause is righteous, and that my heart is pure. They wish to offer your heart purity as well, it would be wise to do so. The spirits are kind to the pure." I wasn't spiritual, really, I wasn't. All of this talk was ridiculous in my mind.

"Who controls the wind? It is Luna? I think that's what we're taught....she likes the sea." I tapped my hoof against my chin, trying to remember the lessons I was taught. Lone only frowned.

"No. Your false gods do nothing of the sort. The spirits frown upon your nation and your reverence of the false deities. Why do you think that the pegasi must move the clouds and the earth ponies must grow all of the crops? Because the spirits do not want your land to be in harmony with them..." He told this with such conviction and hatred, that I actually started believing what he was saying, just a little. "Your...Princesses were once with the great spirits in the overworld, but they grew jealous of the mortals and their corporeal forms. They left the overworld and made their own bodies and kingdom. The spirits hated them for leaving, they despised them for their greed and ignorance. They withdrew their mighty influence from the deserters' kingdom, leaving disharmony to reign..." He was well rehearsed, or at least his story was. Was I convinced? Of course not, the Princesses always said they were the daughters of the Cosmic mother. But...some rogue element in my mind nagged at me, convincing me that this hybrid may be right.