The night sky shone with thousands of stars doting it's black surface. At the late time of night, barely anypony was awake to star at them, and even fewer still were the ones who were awake and bothered to look. And those that did, were surely not those who would notice the strange phenomenon that was now occurring. For the first time ever, Equestria's sky found itself graced with 17 new stars, scattered randomly across it's face.
But all would be able to see the show they put on, as light began to streak through the dark like a miniature star shower. While those that saw it smile, laughed and pointed, unknowing of exactly what they were, and exactly what they were about to bring down upon their peaceful, happy world.
The vault containing the Elements of Harmony was entombed by silence as well as the walls and magic that kept even dust and air away from them. But even with their nigh uncrackable physical and magical defenses, the chest started to glow with a colour shifting purple, blue and yellow light, before dimming back it it's natural state seconds after it started.
In a room hidden in a small mountain village stood a sight equal parts amazing and terrifying. A shelf that contained what seemed to be pony's cutie marks, still glittering with magic energy. Resting against it was a pronged staff with two tines that bent in two unnatural ninety degree angles. And rested against that was a piece of armour that was not there when the owner of the room left. The chest reflected light as if it's black surface was glass, and the rest was filled out with black metal chains.
A cart rested just off the path, filled with baubles and concoctions of miraculous magical powers. If, one were to believe the owners of the cart. But right now the cart was closed, leaving them to collect the chill and dust of the night. Except for a small number of green bottles, who suddenly found themselves given shelter from the dust, in the form a mask. It was a very dull mask, in the form of a pony's face, completely expressionless, made of a strange grey metal, flecked randomly with blue specks.
The library housed in Canterlot held countless tomes within it's walls, ranging from ancient scrolls to soft-backed books of the modern day. It was a marvelous center of knowledge, and thus needed 24/7 supervision. To that end, there was a singular night librarian that watched it that night. Sitting at his desk, mindlessly staring at a bit as he spun it around and around with his magic. He dropped the coin as he was suddenly struck by a nauseating smell. He could tell instantly it was mere ink, but the entire library reeked of it, like he was shoving his head into a sealed vat of the stuff. He got up from his desk, pinching his nose with a hoof as he sought out the cause of the stench. It didn't take him long to find a podium he had never seen before. And on top, a collection of old, yellowed papers he had never seen before. He slowly, cautiously approached. There was no way he could have missed this, there was no way they had simply put this in so swiftly during the day. But nopony else was there. Nopony could have put it here while he was there, podiums and unbound books didn't simply appear. He carefully peeled back the first, black page and stared at the strange runes that spread across it. He couldn't make out anything on the page, but something tickled in the back of his mind. He felt like he could understand... Everything. And then everything went black.
Far away from Equestria stood the homes of griffins, a race with a culture and philosophy as different from the ponies as their physiology was. Both made the concept of hunting for their food so much easier to them. Alone in a tent, in woods that would probably never see a pony in between their trees, was a griffin sleeping off their hunt of the day, oblivious to a ring appearing on their folding table. It was made of steel, with a wave pattern carved around it, terminating at the likeness of a wolf jutting out from them band.
In the unexplored badlands of the world of Equestria laid a black spire, far enough away from borders the others would dare cross to be unknown to the world. Those living inside were a race of truly unique power, power feared by the ponies of Equestria. But they found their talents wasted, betrayed by their ruler's incompetence. The peace of night was interrupted as their home was assaulted, their tower broken open as a hammer embedded itself in the ground at the towers very bottom. Made of strange green metal, jutting out from a central, glowing red gem like thick scales.
Nobles are very rarely liked by those around them, even moreso if those others are other nobles. But nopony, noble or not, has proven to be so unlikable, and no noble had ever been so ignoble than Duke Blueblood. And no matter how ponies may think of him by law he was a noble of non-insignificant stature, and so he was given the privileges that entailed, including a fine silver sword for ceremonial reasons. And now resting in the same display, was a dull iron dagger, with a round, black gem set in the pommel.
The station of Princess Luna's Spymaster was as pointless as it was boring. He was told from the start that his position would be little more than ceremony, as the idea of the Princesses having a council of advisors had fallen out of the norm since her banishment, but he also expected that would mean he didn't need to do anything. But no, if he wanted the title and the pay that came with it, the bat pony would need to sit at a desk in a room all night, reading over reports from the same ponies that always said the same thing; Nothing. They didn't even have the decency to say it in under 100 words. His eyes were currently glazed over, scanning over a report without even reading. He was so bored, he didn't even notice the golden ring appear on his desk, even when it's oddly long, oddly placed purple gem started to shimmer in the candle light.
Princess Celestia lived in one of the finest rooms in all the country she ruled over. Similarly, she was adorned during the day with some of the finest regalia ever produced, pure gold embedded with fine jewels with simple but fine carving. Come the morning with the raising of her sun, she would find another golden addition to her outfit. A sword, whose blade seemed to contain fire, wisps flicking all up and down it as if the metal were panes of glass securing a lantern. The hilt was a circle surrounded a ring that contained an orb that radiated golden light, as if it held a fragment of Celestia's sun.
In the snow far away from lands of the Crystal Empire lay hidden what might seem to the unknowing as a simple piece of carved red and black stone. But those they knew would turn away and run away from it, knowing the evil that may still lay dormant within. Same could be said for the mace that now lay buried right next to it. Rare weapons like it may be to ponies, it seemed fairly bland and innocuous, just like a truncheon with dozens of half triangles on it's fatter part. Though, for some reason it did seem to every so often glow green.
As rare as death may be in Equestria, it was a sad and unavoidable truth that all things die in their due time. And where there is death, there is inevitable ceremonies for those deaths. But until that point, they must be kept safe somewhere. Places like the Manehattan Morgue, where the rare sort of pony who would enjoy the company of those dead and cold would work. The mortician sat at his desk, tired eyes reviewing his work of the day, mostly matching names to cutie marks of those poor souls that found themselves abandoned on the cities unforgiving streets. He was distracted from his mindnumbing work by a spider walking through some drying ink. He was about to smack it, but his attention was diverted by whispers. He turned to a corpse, still waiting to be put away after his long night of overtime. He could swear, it was her whispering. He looked to his table of autopsy tools, and then to one of the mare's hooves. The whispers urged him to walk forward.
Las Pegasus, a city of sin, a black oasis in the otherwise pristine sands of Equestria. By the standards of other places in the world, it was as tame as everywhere else in Equestria. But by the metrics of everywhere else in the nation, it was a hotbed of crime. The constant flux of visitors and tourists gave the petty thieves of the world plenty of marks, and the most daring of them all could ATTEMPT to rob the casinos of a paltry sum of their hundreds of thousands of bits. One such of those heists was currently in the planning, and the heisters would find a boon on their plans in the morning, as in the center of the casino's blueprints was now a lockpick of a most unusual design, with four copper tines that terminated in a point like hypodermic needles.
Ponyville had itself a very fine practitioner of the animal doctoring art, one with a much grander claim to fame than the frail, bashful thing would like. But, that was only one pony and great her knowledge may be, it was limited by her own four hooves. So the realm of saving animals was shared with precisely one other in town, though most would never know her name, let alone give it the same praise as the Element of Kindness. Though she would be sure to turn heads to turn heads towards herself with the shield that now sat on an exam table in her place of practice. Especially with that big white pearl in the center that seemed to glow with a rainbow right below the surface.
Very few in Equestria could fall to the dark depths of addiction. A place so caring to all living souls would hardly let it happen so easily, but of course nothing could ever be one-hundred percent certain. In Ponyville there sat a bar, many seats coated in dust and a plant pot filled with many dead and rotting flowers. The bartender slept behind the counter, as they oft did when abusing their favourite kind of wine. Once awake in the morning and fighting back their senses from a hangover, she'd notice those dead flowers gone, and in their place, one large red rose, with a stem nearly as tall as she was.
Equestria was not a place completely without it's own realms of chaos, in their own silly ways. Baring the long, chaotic reign of Discord, his eventual return, and his other return before his reformation though, it was hardly ever serious though. A perfect example of pony's harmless brand of chaos, was the lifesized gingerbread house/cupcake that sat proudly and strong as the cornerstone of the city's luxury food industry. And the absolute zenith of it lived inside of it, fittingly enough. The Pink mare would find something perfect for her, and her unique, zany form of chaos, in the form a simple two tined fork hidden deep within her impossibly deep mane.
Princess Luna walked through the hall of dreams of all the ponies under her and her sister's charge, determined as she always was to seek nightmares that threatened to break the resolve of those she held to her heart so dear. But never before had she felt the hall of her duties so cold, and foreboding. Every fiber of her being told her that was danger and darkness near, but she could not find it's source. Sadly, she would not notice the black skulls with red eyes replacing the doorknobs before it was far, far too late.
The forest of Everfree was a place swaddled in much mystery, where weather refused to be tamed, where the life of the plants and the animals were hostile to those that would seek to unwrap it, where very few dared to tread. But there was one who knew it more than any other, a lone Zebra that would dare to live deep within it's danger. One also undeterred by the sweet embrace of the night, as she brewed potions that would give her the eyes of a cat to cut through the darkness in search for things both old and new. Something very new was to be found in the Everfree tonight, for as she walked through the swamps that dotted the forest's landscape, she took notice of a new grove of trees she'd never seen before. They had thick trunks and high leaves like a baobab, but one was truly remarkable, and very unlike a tree. It had a base of dozens of trees, before forming one gigantic trunk in the middle, forming a physically impossible gazebo in the middle. What was even more remarkable was that they were leaking golden, glowing sap into the waters of the swamp. The zebra, mystified by their sudden appearance took to the swamp, trudging through it for a good few minutes before she was stopped by several equine figures rose from below the surface, obscured by the black muck, all she could tell about these ponies were that they were staring her down for trespassing into what she now knew was their domain. And for the first time in a long time, she was scared by the Everfree.
Ponyville, the ancestral home of the Apple family, the border of the Everfree forest, the Home of Harmony. Above all else to Twilight Sparkle, it was her home, where she well and truly belonged. She felt no different today, and so her morning routine was no different. Awaken, wash up, get her early morning list prepared the last night, breakfast, make up the day's list with Spike, and then from there the day was truly her own. Well, the list's. Unless there was some kind of on going or just beginning disaster her and her friends would need to deal with. But, things looked up as she walked out her front door. There was no pony there immediately to scream about problematic goings on, no chaos in the streets, no cats living with dogs, and the sky was firmly in place in the sky instead of raining down around them. With a content smile, Twilight started with her first task of the day; Sugarcube Corner, she had ran out of her favourite breakfast muffins.
Thankfully the trip was easy, she knew well the path to her friend's home and work. But as soon as she opened the saloon doors into Sugarcube Corner she knew something was wrong. Pinkie Pie was... Walking around. She was just walking around between tables, with a tray of sweets resting on her back. This might not seem odd to the untrained eye, but this was troubling to those that knew Pinkie. Normally she would be zipping around, ducking behind scenery and appearing again in improbable places to deliver sweets to customers, with the treats appearing to come from thin air. The fact Pinkie was so... Normal at the moment caused a frown to appear on Twilight's lips.
"Pinkie, are you feeling okay?" Twilight asked as Pinkie passed close by with her tray nearly empty. So as not to hold her up, Twilight kept pace and followed beside her as she delivered her last few sweets.
"Okay? Yeah Twilight, of course! Why do you ask? Did I put my mane on backwards again?" Pinkie answered, seeming not even a little distracted. The same couldn't be said for Twilight, who paused for a second or two at the thought of someone putting their mane of backwards... Pinkie probably could find a way to do that, but she didn't want to think about that just now.
"No, it looks right to me. It's just that... You're acting different today." Twilight tried to answer diplomatically. She needed to come up with a better way to tell her she was acting too normal to be herself.
"Different? Different how?" She started, setting her empty tray on the front counter as she had finished her rounds during their talk. "I always give ponies their food. Oh, oh, oh! OR, are you some kind of weird extra-dimensional Twilight, from a dimension where a weird extra-dimensional Pinkie works at a not Sugarcube Corner? Maybe we sell only sugar cubes! Is that it Twilight, are they good sugar cubes?"
Nope, it was normal, hyperactive Pinkie alright.
"No, nothing like that Pinkie. I don't think a business that sells exclusively sugar cubes would do all that well. It's just that... Well, you were walking around and giving ponies their food. Normally you're jumping around and popping out from underneath tables and stuff like that." Twilight explained, taking a seat on a stool next to her friend.
"Oh, that? Yeah, I tried doing that stuff earlier, but it's not working. I think I need a manecut, my mane feels too heavy to do that right now." Pinkie explained, like it made sense, as she poked and prodded at her extended quiff.
That would explain it. Well, no, no it absolutely wouldn't, but to the standard of Pinkie Pie it was as close to explained as she could hope things would be. "Well I hope you can get that fixed, I'm sure Rarity would love to help with that. But can I get a dozen poppy lemon oat muffins? I ran out this morning."
Pinkie smiled and nodded, and stood up on her stool before hopping over the counter into the kitchen. Apparently her mane wasn't too heavy for all the physical antics she got into. Twilight turned her stool forward, a smile creeping over her face as she eagerly awaited her favourite speedy breakfast. Awaited for longer than she expected. The supposed extra weight in Pinkie's mane also affected her baking abilities, as it wasn't mere seconds before Pinkie appeared again. Apparently years of near-instant service had caused quite the atrophy of Twilight's patience, as even before a minute passed Twilight checked the passing of time with her empty wrist. And then the clock on the nearby wall, as Twilight realized she wasn't wearing a watch. Nor did she own a watch, currently or ever. Maybe Pinkie's nonsensical nature was leaking from her body into those nearby. The idea made her chuckle, as strange as they were there was no way Pinkie's powers were malignant. Hopefully.
Twilight didn't have much time to ponder about it, as not long after the thought passed her mind did a box of twelve poppy lemon oat muffins land on the counter in front of her face. "Sorry about the wait Twilight, had to bake some up special for you."
"Don't you always have to do that Pinkie? Not like anypony else likes these things, not even Spike will tolerate them."
"Oh yeah, but things are just slow today since I can't zip around as much as I like right now. I can't wait for my shift to be over so I can see to this mane monster." Pinkie said, smacking the side of her mane, causing a few pots and pans to clatter out the opposite side. Pinkie seemed unfazed, but Twilight decided to let herself stare at the nonsense for once.
"Have you considered NOT storing heavy metal kitchen essentials in your mane Pinkie? Maybe that'd lighten the load a little bit." Twilight offered, letting her eyes pass from the aforementioned kitchenware back to Pinkie's face. The idea made Pinkie pause and hum in thought as a hoof came up to tape thoughtfully at her chin.
"Good idea Twilight, I'll get back to you on that one later. But for now I gotta get back to work and make sure we keep stocked up on stuff since I can't be as super speedy as usual."
Twilight smiled and nodded wordlessly, grasping her muffins in her magic so Pinkie could get back to work without any further delays. The two parted ways with a returning nod from Pinkie, Pinkie walking back into the kitchen, and Twilight back outside to hopefully recover the schedule from the unexpected delay caused by Pinkie's mane. Thankfully Twilight had protocols for Pinkie-related delays. Granted they all expected Pinkie to cause them with nonsense rather than relative normalcy, but they should be easily adapted.
Twilight levitated the scrolls out of her bag on belongings, careful not to knock the box of muffins balancing on her back, and started to ink in corrections and changes to her schedule in the margins. She was so focused she didn't even notice she was about to walk right into someone. And then, rather fittingly, she walked directly into someone.
"Oh, sorry about that- Zecora?" Twilight started to apologize, but was given pause when she saw exactly who it was. Zecora didn't often leave the Everfree, only every so often to visit the town for supplies she couldn't scavenge from the forest. So the sight of Zecora wasn't in and of itself surprising to Twilight. Nor was the sight of her cart, she often bought things in bulk to save trips in and out of the dangerous Everfree. But her cart was PACKED. Literally overflowing, with make shift packs made of rope containing pots hanging off the side, and the cart itself stacked high. It didn't surprise Twilight in the slightest that Zecora was sweating, Applejack and Big Mac working together would struggle with the load she was pulling.
"Greetings to you Twilight, I hope that I did not cause you fright." Zecora offered as an answer to her question. She didn't sound like her usual self. Her voice was slow and dejected. The sound quickly made Twilight hops onto her hooves, disregarding her box of muffins left in the dirt.
"Not at all Zecora, is everything alright? You sound upset, and... I'm pretty sure that's your entire shack behind you there." She said, pointing at the large load behind her, as if it needed to be pointed out. With a sigh Zecora turned to look where she pointed anyway, taking a few moments to look over the massive pile.
"I wish it were my whole shack, there is sadly so much I could not pack." The zebra started, letting her head fall into a sad hang. "But even if it were whole, it would not matter for it is my home they stole."
"Stole? Wha- Someone kicked you out of your home? That's just not right, park that thing next the library, maybe me and the girls can help out with whoever is bothering you." Twilight answered, her neutral face taking a quick downward turn into an indignant frown. Zecora didn't offer an answer, just nodding her bowed head before she started her cart in motion with an exerted grunt. "I'll go get them, have Spike let you inside for a drink, you look like you need it." Twilight added at the sound, quickly shoving her box of muffins into her saddlebag as she made towards Sweet Apple Acres, now too focused on the problem at hand to care if her muffins became crushed.
Getting the girls together was an easy task, they had their own little system in place to make things as speedy as possible. With practiced ease, Twilight got to the farm and gave Applejack a code phrase to get Rainbow Dash who often hang out around the farm, a repetition of the phrase to her sent Rainbow Dash to Fluttershy's cottage while Applejack went into town. Meanwhile Twilight would get to Sugar Cube Corner and get Pinkie, who would normally go get Rarity. But today she wasn't as fast and efficient with her heavy mane, so she went right to the library while Twilight got Rarity. By the time they both arrived, the other elements were gathered in the library/living room. Twilight couldn't help but feel a little proud of the efficiency she managed to achieve with such a simple system. That quickly faded when she saw the exhausted zebra nursing a glass of water on her couch.
"Right girls, thank you so much for coming on such quick notice. I'm sure you noticed Zecora sitting over there, and that giant cart of her stuff right outside." Twilight started, but was rather quickly interrupted by Rainbow Dash.
"Starting a collection of eggheads here and needed some help moving her in Twi? Er- No offense Zecora." Dash joked, tacking the part on the end on after she realized Zecora might not be as receptive to her friendly ribbing as Twilight. Zecora, for her part, didn't even seem to notice, just taking another sip of her water.
"No, this is actually something pretty serious this time," Twilight said, causing Dash to cringe and inhale through her teeth that she'd made light of a situation at the wrong time, "Somepony kicked Zecora out of the Everfree, so we have to figure who, why, and get Zecora her house back." Twilight finished, a self-assured smile creeping it's way onto it's face.
"What kinda pony would kick Zecora out of the Everfree? Ah thought she was the only pony that would wanna live in that awful place." Applejack wondered out loud, turning toward Zecora hoping she could offer some clues about who they'd be looking for. Noting the moment of silence after the question she missed, Zecora peaked up to notice all the eyes in the room pointing her way.
"If you wonder who is responsible for this plunder, I must say I do too. They came from the swamp with new trees, and they chased me off with ease. With bows and spears, I have never known such fears." Zecora offered as the group listened intently, until she mentioned that they chased her away with weapons causing Fluttershy to cringe back behind her mane to hide, and Dash jumped into the air with angry flapping wings.
"Whoa, hang on, they actually threatened you spears and junk? These are the biggest jerks I ever heard of!" Dash yelled at no pony in particular, just venting out what anger boiled in her stomach from the very idea of someone threatening another creature with something serious like that.
"They chased me away, that I can say. But to say threaten is a miss, for they could not speak but hiss."
"Wait, hiss? Like Changelings Zecora?" Twilight interjected, a sudden sense of worry growing in her mind. At least it died quickly as Zecora shook her head no.
"I can say not, these beings were full, they had not even one hole. But also, there was not one wing or horn, so it must be that I have drawn Earth Pony scorn."
At least one major threat put out of the question, the level of worry in the room lowered. At least as low as it could go when you were dealing with a forcible eviction at spear point.
"Right, so earth ponies with spears and bows, that either can't or didn't speak and instead hissed, and lived in a camp of trees in the swamps. Is that right Zecora?" Twilight asked, trying to gather all the info of their foe. Zecora offered a nod, making Twilight hum in thought.
"Maybe we should call the Guard Twilight? I mean... They have weapons. That sounds really dangerous, not even the kind of dangerous we normally deal with." Fluttershy asked, parting her mane to one side so one eye could peek out as she spoke.
"That's not a bad idea Fluttershy, we could use the backup this time. And, a bunch of other times actually. What don't we ask for the Guard more often?" Twilight asked herself, and then shook her head. "Anyway, good idea Fluttershy. Spike!" Twilight called, turning toward the nearest door, which the dragon curtly came through.
"Yeah Twilight?" He asked, already pulling out a scroll and a quill. She had a certain way of yelling for him when she needed him that.
"Spike, take a letter." Called it. "Dear Princess Celestia, I send this letter as of matter of urgency. A rather serious crime has been committed near here in the Everfree forest, and thusly we would like to request a member of the Royal Guard to help with it, since this deals with matters outside of our usual purview. As recent as last night, the zebra shaman known as Zecora was driven out of her home by what she says is dozens of earth ponies with spears. This is, needless to say, extremely worrying. Since this is a criminal matter of unusually high aggression, we thought it would be important to have somepony official with us in case this manner cannot be rectified civilly, and must enter the legal system. Signed, Twilight Sparkle."
With a practiced hand, Spike rolled the scroll up and set it aflame with his dragon's breath foregoing a wax seal thanks to the early mention of the letter's urgency. Within a few moments as the girls turned toward one another discussing if they thought Celestia could lend some guard, how much she might send, and if any guards could arrive fast enough from Canterlot, a familiar pressure and heat started to grow inside Spike's stomach. The heat and pressure escaped as a burp of smoke, fire, and a rolled up piece of parchment, once more without a formal wax seal. Twilight was easily able to grip the scroll in a magical field before the smoke even disbursed, and brought it to herself to read aloud to the assembled group.
"Dear Twilight Sparkle, I agree with you that this is extremely concerning, I have not heard of such hostility in Equestria since the age of the Three Tribes. I agree that it would be best to send you some backup in case this is a matter that they insist be resolved only through violence. Luckily, there are some ongoing guard drills going on nearby to Ponyville. Before I sent this letter, I have dispatched orders to the Drill Master to dispatch some of his number to you. Assuming he is able to get that letter before you, the orders are for them to meet you at the documented North-Western entrance into the forest by Fluttershy's Cabin. I wish you the best of luck, and hope for your continued safety and health. Signed, Princess Celestia."
Once finished reading, Twilight rolled the scroll back up tight, and tucked it away somewhere safe in the library so it could be properly sealed and filed later. "Alright girls, you heard her. Let's not keep the guard waiting. We've got an eviction to make! … Retract. Reverse? Let's just go."
With that, the group made their way out of Twilight's library, and towards the Everfree. Just like the letter said, they could see a small group of three Royal Guard before they reached the edge of the forest. A white unicorn, a grey pegasus, and a white earth pony, all with matching golden armour and helmets. When the group got closer, the unicorn stepped forward and saluted the Elements.
"Royal Probationary Squad 3 at your service, Twilight Sparkle. On order from Princess Celestia, Drill Master S. Laughter has assigned us to escort you to into the Everfree. As such, me and my squad are now officially under your command."
Twilight forced herself to smile, waiting for the unicorn to finish his speech and place his hoof back on the ground. "I appreciate the formality and your help, but I assure you they aren't necessary. You can keep your command, just take my word as... Advisory, at best. I'm sure you know what best to do."
The unicorn nodded and then turned back, addressing the other two guard. "Alright, you heard her, you are still in my command, as usual. Orders currently as follow; Birch Bark takes the front, Rain Cloud, you're on recon and advanced scouting. Understood?" The two other guard saluted and nodded their head with exact timing with each other. Satisfied, the unicorn turned back and nodded to Twilight. "I'll stay behind the group. After you, ma'am."
Satisfied with their escort, Twilight started forward, and the guards quickly fell into formation, the earth pony taking the front and the unicorn behind them, each placing a pony's length between themselves and the group, as the pegasus flew above the group, breaking through the canopy of the forest.
The first leg of the trip into the Everfree was uneventful, with them making as good time as ever to Zecora's hut, following the familiar path tread into the ground by Zecora, her cart and the occasional visitor to the shaman they made good time to the shack. Only to find it dark, with the front door wide open, and the windows broken out of the frames. Peeking her head inside, Twilight would find it completely empty, only immovable furnishings sprouting from the walls like the shelves and the bed remained. The only thing left were ashes and coals from the fire that once boiled Zecora's cauldron.
"I guess they didn't want Zecora's house, they just wanted her gone, and everything she owned." Twilight explained, while the guards peeked in through the empty windows.
"What jerks! I didn't think they could get even more... Jerk-ish!" Dash piped up, impatiently taking to the air with frustrated wing flaps.
"Calm down, Rainbow Dash." Rarity said, her magic gripping Rainbow's tail to try and coax her back down to the ground. "I'm sure in the end we'll find this is just some kind of misunderstanding. We usually do, don't we?"
With a humph, Rainbow came back down to the dirt with her face turned into a scowl. "They're still jerks no matter what. Chasing Zecora out with spears goes way beyond just a misunderstanding."
"Well... I can't say I disagree with that. But all the same, I'm sure we'll find that there wasn't nearly as much maliciousness as we are seeming to assume."
"Aw c'mon Rarity, I know it's your element and everything, but aren't you being WAY too generous to these guys?"
"I'm just saying, I don't think anypony is capable of just being so horrible. May haps I am being too generous to the pony race, but I could never see this happening unless somepony thought they had a very good reason for doing it. Now if it were, say, a Diamond Dog, or a minotaur, I'd be right there with you."
Rainbow opened her mouth to rebuff, but eventually shut it. She had made just the right combination of good points and confusing language so that Rainbow couldn't argue.
With nothing and no pony to be found at the site of Zecora's hut, the group started on again towards the swampy parts of the Everfree near it's center. Much to the frustration of Rarity, who had no end of complaints about the humidity, mud, smell, and insects. The complaints and the caravan of ponies came to a halt when Rain Cloud called out from above, breaking back through the roof of the forest. "I think I see the weird trees the letter mentioned. And there's one pony, but I can only see a shadow."
Rainbow jumped into the air, quickly flying up next to the pegasus guard to confirm for herself. "Whoa! That is a really weird looking tree. It's like... A dozen trees underneath one big-huge tree." Rainbow said, gliding back down to the group on the ground. "Oh yeah, and they were right about the shadow thing. It looks like only one jerk is still around. Bet the others are off bullying other things out of the forest."
"Wait, back up a minute Dash." Twilight said, holding a hoof out toward Dash. "A dozen trees underneath a big tree? That doesn't make sense, can you explain it a bit more please?"
"Well, it looked just like that Twilight, I swear. It's like, there's a big circle of trees, that are really thick and round, but instead of leaves, there was a really big tree growing on top of all of them. And the shadow was coming out of the area underneath the tree, like they were living underneath it with lanterns and stuff."
Twilight hummed, tapping her chin while trying to think of any tree she knew of that could do anything similar to that. But try as she might, dredging through all of her arboreal knowledge she couldn't conjure a picture in her mind of anything like Rainbow was describing to her. Maybe that's what this was all about? The trees? With a final hum, Twilight started walking again. "Alright, we're close now so no need to keep waiting around here, especially if there's only one left. Lets get to the bottom of this so Zecora can get her home back."
The group was close, so they knew they'd get there soon. Sooner than they thought though, as they quickly found the ground was tamed not too far from where they paused after seeing their destination. Dirt paths trod into the earth, the brush cut away from it's sides. If they got here only a day prior like Zecora said, there was no way any pony, even an earth pony, could have made this much progress in the Everfree so fast. They didn't have long to ponder about their efficiency in bringing infrastructure to the Everfree when they walked it down to a path that lead straight through a swath of swamp, leading to the central tree that did indeed look exactly like how Rainbow described. From the clearing they now found, they could see that the swamp was spotted with several more trees like the ones that made the base for the larger tree hovering sitting above the ground. She was right even down to the camp underneath it, and with the angle they could see it at now, it wasn't even lanterns lighting it up, but tall torches sticking out of the ground, which surrounded a large pool of golden sap that filled from a rain of it the slowly drizzled from the center of the tree.
That all and all was a fantastical sight, even in the world as they knew it where several fantasies had proven to be reality. But the thing that stunned every pony the most was what came out from underneath when they had made it halfway down the path they would bring them to it. Something not entirely not unlike a pony, but very different indeed. Like Zecora said, it looked like an earth pony, no wings, no horn, and if they were covered in mud like how Zecora said they were everypony there would have told others they were an earth pony. But now clean and in the light, they could see what it really was.
Some sort of lizard-thing, their entire body clothed in scales, their eyes all one yellow colour beside their thin, slitted pupils, colourful feathers poking out between scales on their scalp instead of a mane, and a thick, muscular appendage hanging off the end of their body instead of a tail made of hair. If these... Things followed the same gender dimorphism as ponies, this one was a female. A short, curved muzzle, and legs not as thick as the guards that escorted them. It might've been safe to assume such a thing given how closely their body resembled an earth pony mare, but they also looked not unlike a Zebra mare, with darker stripes of scale banding their legs, curving around their torso, and sweeping from their head toward their tapering eyes. It was probably one of the strangest things any of them had ever seen. Discord had also been cobbled together from biology of different creatures, but he didn't look like a pony, no pony could ever look at him and think they were alike. But this thing, just looking at it made the group feel... Strange. It was uncanny, like something saw a pony, a Zebra, and a lizard and wanted to smoosh them together into one thing, and succeeded completely and yet totally failed as the same time. The strangeness continued when the figure approached the stunned group and... Spoke, for the lack of a better term.
Thing creature opened it's mouth, loosing several hissing sounds, their forked tongue occasionally poking out past their lips, their pupils flexing almost imperceptibly, with their tail flicking slightly behind them. After it finished, the creature started at them expectantly, as if they would understand whatever it said. But, not one to let a simple language barrier get in the way of things, Twilight stepped forward in front of the rest of the group to speak to it.
"Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle. Do you live here under this tree? Maybe with some others?" She asked, a hopeful smile creeping across her lips. Hope wasted as the creature frowned at her and her words. Guess she wouldn't get lucky and have this thing speak the exact same language as them through miraculous and unexplained means.
As quickly as it came to them, the creature turned around and walked down the path back toward the tree. Cautiously, Twilight held up a hoof to halt the group and followed it. The creature either didn't notice her or didn't care she followed, in either case Twilight was happy for it as she looked around the base they had made out of the tree. It was so much like her library in some ways, it settled her nerves just a little bit. And the scent didn't hurt at all, the large pool of sap in the center of it gave off a heavenly sweet smell, like honey, syrup, and roses and lavenders all bundled into one. Twilight was almost tempted to dip her muzzle into the pool for a quick drink, and it seemed like the lizard creature had a similar idea, but with more tact. While Twilight was observing her surroundings the creature had produced a carved wooden bowl from one of the shelves protruding from the walls. They dipped the bowl into the pool of sap, letting it fill nearly halfway full before pulling it back up and approaching Twilight.
Being careful to balance the bowl in it's hoof and balance on their hindlegs the creature reached out with it's free hoof, looking down at Twilight's hooves. Thinking best to follow what it seems to want her to do as not to create some unknown social faux pas against this strange being, Twilight lifted her forehead and held it toward the creature. Taking hold of her fetlock, the creature guided her hoof into the sap, making her stir it with the very tip of her hoof. For as good as it smelled, it was still sap. Uncomfortably warm sap at that, so it wasn't the most pleasurable of experiences, but she grinned and bit her tongue as not to cause some kind of offense. After a few dozen times stirring the sap in the bowl, the creature pulled it away and returned to the edge of the pool.
Twilight watched with interest as they poured half of the bowl back into the larger pool and then brought the bowl to it's face. Tilting their head and the bowl back, the creature poured the remaining sap into it's mouth. Once the bowl was empty, they licked their lips slowly, making sure there wasn't a single dribble of the sap that had been missed. They stood still as a statue for several moments. Their stillness caused some concern, the rest of the group approaching, staring at it as if trying to figure out if it had been frozen by the sap. Save for the guards, they seemed mysteriously absent, no where near the gathering of elements. When did that happen?
The creature started to move again suddenly, their head snapping back down to a normal position with a contented hiss ringing out through their sharp teeth. A shudder rolled through their body, starting in their neck and going all the way down to the tip of their muscular tail. Once it was done, they opened their eyes and stared right back at Twilight, ignoring the gathering that had formed around them.
"Welcome to Black Marsh." It said in near perfect Equestrian, their S sound still carrying a subtle reptilian hiss. It also put the final nail into the coffin for their gender, though their voice was thick and gravelly, it was unmistakably feminine. "What brings you here to our home?"
Stunned by their sudden understanding of their language every mouth present fell open, causing the lizardmare to cock her eye ridge. Reaching out she put her hoof to Twilight's chin, helping her close her mouth. "Keep your mouths clothed, you will attract bugs."
Clearing her throat Twilight brought sense back to the rest of her group, reminding them to close their mouths without the need for help. "Y-Yes, I suppose we will. Uh, my name is Twilight Sparkle, can you tell me your name before we go on? And... Well, what you are, maybe?"
The lizardmare smiled as much as a lipless lizardmare could, showing her teeth. "Ah, you do not know us, yes. That will take some getting used to. We are the Saxhleel, the People of the Root in the common tongue. Most would call us Argonian however. As for a name, I do not have one yet. There has been much to do, the Hist have not given us a Naming Day yet." The argonian, as they now knew her, explained while walking a circle around the pool of sap.
"Hist? Who are they, village elders or something like that?" Twilight asked, following the argonian in her circle, though both stopped as the argonian considered her question.
"Well, that is not... Exactly the truth, but not exactly wrong either. You stand among the Hist now, and have touched the very soul of one." She answered, turning around to face Twilight and watch as her face twisted into confusion.
"I don't understand, how could I have touched a soul of one?" Twilight asked, and only received an answer in the form of the argonian sweeping one of her forelegs out toward the pool of sap. This didn't do anything to answer her question just yet, but after a few seconds of mulling it over she gasped, picking up the hoof the argonian made her stir the sap with earlier, staring at some of the left over residue still clinging to her and then quickly looking up to the ceiling where the ceiling leaked the golden sap. "The trees?"
The argonian nodded, turning away from Twilight once more to continue circling the pool of sap. "Yes, the trees you see here, the ones that look like this one, are the Hist. They have bore us, and guide us through the visions of the sap."
Twilight continued to stare up at the leaking sap, contemplating what she had been told. A soul. She had touched the soul of something, supposedly. If this were some years ago, she wouldn't have believed that trees had souls, let alone souls that could be touched and drunk, but given the power of the Tree of Harmony, she would be remiss to judge another mysterious, mystical tree.
"What do you mean the trees bore you?" Twilight asked, finally letting her gaze lower back down toward the argonian.
"I mean what I have said. The Hist created us, eventually the Hist will name us. If we used terms you are most likely to understand, the Hist are our parents. They put us unto this world, shaped us with what they had learned, and guide us with their immense wisdom."
"So, did the... Hist tell you to throw Zecora out of the Everfree?"
"Zecora... A name? I know them not, you must explain."
"Zecora the Zebra, she said you chased her with spears because she walked into your swamp." Twilight answered, before quickly cringing back away from the argonian as they loosed an angry hiss, their mouth hanging open as their tongue lashed about.
"You speak of the striped one. Intruder, attacker. We allowed them into our home, and for this trust we were rewarded only betrayal! When she gazed upon the Hist she-" She started to yell, emotions clearly raising. But she stopped partway through her rant, turning around and letting out another furious hiss. After that, she started to yell in her own language, a mysterious combination of hisses. Whatever she said she seemingly repeated a single sentence, and once she finished repeating herself the swamp suddenly burst to life.
Leaves started to rustle from above, branches shook, and water splashed as more and more argonians seemed to simply materialize from the biome around them. At first it appeared to be dozens like Zecora described, but their number grew more and more by the second, until it seemed like hundreds of them were surrounding them, poking up from the surface of the swamp, crawling out from underbrush, standing on the branches of surrounding trees, each one armed in some ways. Spears, daggers, crude cudgels, even bows and arrows. When the sounds settled and it seemed no more would come, the argonian near the elements repeated herself once more, and then sprinted for a nearby table to grab and brandish a curved dagger in the air.
Author's Note
I greatly over estimated how difficult it would be to write for Zecora when I made her important to the plot. My original goal of weekly updates seems to be far out of the question.