For months Twilight had been training in all things zebra nobility. Being an astute student and many times over accomplished scholar, she breezed through the classroom-style learning of Zebrabrayan, Zebrican history of the last one thousand years and how to be a proper Zebrican noble. She also trained extensively in traditional and modern martial arts both with traditional zebra weapons, like the short-handled spear, the wedge-axe, the sickle throwing blade and the long thrusting spear, which was almost exactly the same as the ceremonial Canterlotian longspear, just with a shorter and narrower blade, along with modern Zebrican weaons, such as the selective fire rifle, which took a little longer learn as Equestria only used lever action rifles as their military heavily relied on unicorns who preferred to use their own magic at range and short swords if the enemy closed ranks, and pegasi who used their flight to soar over enemy ranks to get above enemy commanders or other important targets, and fire down on them from on high or use their weather magic to create from the tops of clouds ice javelins or large, heavy hailstones to hurl at or drop on their targets, or if no clouds were available, use the old tried and true tactic of swooping down onto their targets, snatch them up, rapidly ascend to a high altitude and drop them, earth ponies were the only Equestrian troops to regularly use lever action rifles.

Currently Twilight was standing in the middle of a fighting ring, which was a simple circle, two meters across, drawn in the dirt. In her left hand she clutched the grip of an oval-shaped shield made of woven reeds. In her right hand she held a slender fighting stick. Today she was preparing to test her mettle against one of Zebrica's best stick fighters. The only clothing she wore was a simple loincloth as in traditional stick fight combatants wore very little, some opting to forego any clothing altogether. Attached to the cord that served as a belt for the loincloth were a series of pouches that were filled with olive oil mixed with colored chalk, meant to serve as a stand-in for the toxic herbs ancient Zebrican warriors would spit into the faces of enemies. Stick fighters in traditional matches wore little or nothing at all as a way to show their opponents they had nothing to protect them from blows and as a way to honor their ancestors who would shed their armor and clothes when fighting duels to show off their battle scars and stripes fully.

On a raised dais, High Queen Anga Inayong'aa presided over the match. Nearby stood an ancient zebra mare whose mane had almost entirely turned white and stripes had lost much of their luster, named Anansi. The old mare mare had been Twilight's trainer and had not taken it easy when training the lavender alicorn. Twilight rubbed at her cheek, neck and shoulders at the memories of receiving some pretty nasty welts from fighting sticks when she dropped her guard during training.

From a nearby hut an absolutely massive zebra mare strode out. Her name was Tumba and she glared at Twilight with a sense of superiority. Tumba wore an elaborate multicolored robe with a matching headdress that draped over her shoulders and fluttered with each step that covered her mane. At her sides were two teenage zebra fillies who wore simple white flowing togas with matching headdresses, they carried a wicker shield and fighting stick for the larger mare.

Tumba strode to the edge of the circle and pulled off her headdress, allowing her braided man to fall free. Beads of ebony wood, sea shells and gold kept the braids from unravelling. The zebra mare then peeled off her robe, revealing her heavily muscled and naked form, wearing only a cord with several pouches hanging from it. The mare's body was covered in black and white handprints, signifying the number of victories she had won, white for opponents who had submitted or surrendered and black for opponents who had been knocked out or otherwise unable to stand, along with dozens of red stripes painted on her fur signifying the number of time she had drawn first blood in a match.

Tumba paused at the edge of the ring, pressed her forehead to the foreheads to the two teen fillies, shared a quick embrace and kiss before taking her fighting stick and wicker shield.

Twilight mentally noted that these two fillies must be family of the mountain of a mare.

Tumba stepped into the circle and raised her shield and stick high over her head.

The crowd cheered and chanted, "Tumba! Tumba! Tumba! Tumba!"

As the massive zebra mare turned in circles, waving her shield and stick to further spur the adoration of the crowd on. Twilight silently observed her opponent. Her time as the personal protege of Princess Celestia was more than just magic and scholarly training, though both did take up much of her time under the solar princess, Celestia extensively put her through strength and endurance training, plus various martial arts training while her magic was restrained. "You will not always be in a situation where you can use your magic. In those situations, you must rely on the oldest tools a pony has, your hands, hooves and wits", she recalled her mentor telling her again and again during their training sessions. Twilight had modeled her build after her teacher, having a bit of pudge that covered and disguised her muscles, though in Twilight's case it was more because she spent more hours reading at a desk than running laps on a track, and in Celestia's case it was because of her propensity to indulge her sweet tooth.

With a gesture, Tumba silenced the crowd. "High Queen Anga Inayong'aa, I dedicate this victory to you!"

The High Queen said nothing, but simply raised her left hand with three fingers extended.

A tall platform was brought out and set up a meter from the ring. Anansi scaled to the top of the platform and raised her right hand.

"No escape!", Tumba shouted. "I invoke the rule of no escape! If I am to face this soft northerner, then I want her to have no means of fleeing." She then pointed her fighting stick at Twilight. "Surrender now, soft pony, or face the sting of my wood!"

Ananasi gestured with her left hand. Zebras gathered up around the ring, forming a wall with their bodies and wicker shield. They readied fighting sticks. "No escape has been invoked!", Anansi proclaimed with a loud voice. "If either combatant tries to flee or is shoved into the crowd, they will be beaten with fighting sticks until they return to the fight. The rules of the fight are the same as always, face your opponent with honor, the fight goes without stopping until one combatant submits by tapping their hand on the ground at least three times, surrenders by dropping to their knees and casting their shield and stick aside, or by being rendered unconscious or otherwise unable to stand on the hooves." Anansi pointed a finger to the sky and waved her hand in a circle. Drums and flutes began to play, zebras stomped to the beat as they chanted and grunted in synchronicity. Tumba flipped her fighting stick around in a figure eight pattern as she began circling the ring. Twilight circled to keep the distance between herself and the massive mare, she lifted the wicker shield in front of her and readied her fighting stick.

For what felt like hours, but may have been closer to minutes, the two fighters circled one another. Tumba frothed as she champed her teeth in preparation for violence, her nostril flared as she snorted. Every few steps she stamped a hoof and drug it back, digging a shallow furrow in the dirt. Twilight fought back against ancient pony instincts as she got ready for violence, being an alicorn, she had to be extra on guard against her emotions lest they get out of hand, still she snorted, nickered and occasionally stamped a hoof.

Anansi lowered her hand and a zebra struck a gong signalling the match had officially started.

Tumba wasted no time and charged across across at Twilight. The crowd let out a loud cheer. As she swung her fighting stick down expecting to strike the pony on her shoulder, the zebra was surprised that it only struck ground.

Using her pegasus speed, Twilight deftly dodged out of the way, creating space between herself and the zebra.

Looking over, Tumba locked eyes on Twilight. This mare was fast. Tumba was a veteran stick fighting champion, she had spent twenty years facing against opponents in the ring, only taking time off when a short and skinny zebra stallion from the desert clans, named Hassan, had stolen her heart and she married him, and when she had gotten pregnant with their two daughters, Al-Gallib and Zeta. Many a stallion and mare had whispered many a harsh word for her choice of husband, what with her being a proud daughter of the Central Savannah clans. Zebras of the Central Savannah clans were taller and larger than the average zebra.

Tumba swung her fighting stick back and forth in a wide arc, not allowing Twilight a chance to plant her hooves and corralling her. In all her years she had wanted to face an alicorn in the ring to test their mettle and jumped at the chance to battle Twilight. Tumba had faced many opponents over the years, and as she had gotten older, she had slowed a bit. Yes alicorns were much faster, but Twilight was half her age, and that meant she lacked experience, something Tumba could exploit.

Twilight watched Tumba as the mare closed in on her, swinging her fighting stick in wide arcs. She began to slowly circle away from the large zebra mare, using her shield to deflect blows. She saw that the zebra was deliberately corralling her and decided to allow herself to be corralled. She remembered a series of lessons Celestia had taught her. Experience counts for much, but sometimes pride and vanity can cloud the judgement that experience brings. When you find your opponent is laying a trap, sometimes the best way to counter the trap is to be in the middle of it. Always stand where you have the strength and make your opponent come to you. Make your opponent face you on your terms, never theirs So Twilight baited Tumba forward by falling back to the edge of the ring where the zebra was corralling her.

Tumba grinned as Twilight fought defensively, ducking behind her shield and circling away to the edge of the ring. She also knew better than to get over confident, not only had she won fights by baiting in much faster, stronger or more experienced fighters by making them grow overconfident, but had also been baited in by smaller and much less experienced opponent. She prepared a counter-trap just in case she was being baited in. She had seen firsthand how fast an alicorn can be and had heard rumors on how strong they can be, so the loosened up her shield arm in preparation to drop her shield and grapple with the purple pony if she tried to outrun her or quickly grab a pinch of the oily chalk and spit it in the pony's face if she rushed her.

Twilight weighed her options as she observed her opponent. Tumba was loosening up her shield arm. Twilight could try to use her greater speed to get out of the trap and attack, but that would leave her open to a grapple, she could use her speed to close the distance and attack, but that would leave her open to getting punched in the snout or getting some of that oily chalk spat in her face. Strength it was then. She would wait for the attack, then use her earth pony strength to block the attack then counter strike.

As Twilight waited for Tumba to attack, she caught something to her left in her peripheral vision that was out of place, a silvery glint. She darted her eyes to the side and saw a hand clutching a curved dagger slip behind the wall of striped bodies and wicker shields. Metal weapons were expressly forbidden from stick fighting matches, there had been instances in the past where members of the crowd had attacked other members of the crowd or even fighters in the ring because they got overexcited or because they grew angry with what was going, so possessing a metal weapon during a stick fighting match was something that was not only expressly forbidden, but was also illegal by Zebrican law. It was standard practice for over three centuries to check any metal weapons with the guards when attending a stick fight in the event a zebra got over excited or grew angry or simply had too much to drink and decided to behave brashly. She didn't know if this zebra had forgotten to check their blade with a guard or if things were about to get very dangerous. She needed to get to the center of the ring in case somezebra decided to rush herself or her opponent.

Tumba saw Twilight dart her eyes to the side and interpreted it as the pony getting distracted by the noise of the crowd. She'd teach this alicorn the dangers of taking your eyes off of your opponent. She swung her fighting stick level with Twilight's cheek.

*clack*

Tumba's eyes went wide with surprise. Instead of the blow connecting with the pony's cheek that would have caused a nasty welt, Twilight had brought her own fighting stick up to block and redirect the blow.

Twilight thrust her fighting stick forward, catching Tumba in her right breast, causing the mare to yelp in a mixture of pain and surprise. She thrust again at the striped mare's face, causing her to duck away and swing her stick around in a defensive manner. Seeing her opening, Twilight took it. Ducking her head behind her wicker shield, she braced her right hand against the top of it and surged forward in a shield rush, just like Shining Armor had taught her.

Digging in deep with her earth pony strength, Twilight body checked Tumba and kicked out at the mare's left leg with her right hoof.

Tumba felt the air rush from her lungs as the alicorn body checked her. When the hoof connected with her left leg, sweeping it from under her, years of instinct kicked in and she let herself fall backwards, almost immediately shifting her weight up to her shoulders so she could roll away and back up to her hooves.

Twilight pressed the attack, holding the shield out in front of her as she struck out at the zebra's legs, forcing the mare to lower her shield to protect her limbs. With a short strike, she caught Tumba across the cheek.

With a stinging welt raising on her cheek, Tumba spun away from her attacker. There was a sting at her right wrist, forcing her to drop her fighting stick. She knew that Twilight had outplayed her and left her disarmed in front of the High Queen, the venerated stick fighting grand master and the entire crowd. She was impressed by Twilight's mettle and ingenuity. But at the same time her pride had taken a wound that demanded recompense.

Tumba took a breath. She disengaged from Twilight. Made space. Room to observe and think.

The crowd that had been just a second before stunned into silence were now cheering and chanting Twilight's name.

Tumba took a split second to observe Twilight. The lavender mare, while keeping an eye on her was also glancing around at the crowd. The zebra took a second to access what was going on. Was this panic? No. Here eyes and ears didn't show the signs of panic. Though zebras and ponies were different in many ways, they still had the same tells. Was she looking to the crowd for affirmation? No. When a fighter did this, they showed signs of cockiness and Twilight looked more laser focused. So what was it? Then it hit her, Twilight had seen something off, something that was potentially dangerous and was now looking for it. She saw it clear as day, Twilight stood in a commanding position in the center of the ring, in a position where a potential attacker could be seen coming.

Tumba wracked her brain, trying to see if there was something she missed. When Twilight was over by the edge of the ring, she had seen her darting her eyes, the lavender mare had seen something out of place and was watching for it, still is watching for it.

Like Equestria, Zebrica had its problems with organized crime syndicates, especially in larger cities. Tumba herself had about five years ago gotten on the bad side of a pony gangster who was working with zebra gangsters when she refused to take a fall for a match. When they came to "collect", she beat them all within a hair's breadth of their lives with a half-broken fighting stick.

There were also the occasional assassination attempts. Usually assassins were sent by nobles to other nobles to send a message, occasionally to kill a rival.

Tumba approached Twilight, who immediately took an aggressive stance. "Peace be upon you.", she said as she got close. Bracing her shield against Twilight's, she raised it to cover both of their mouths, grabbed the alicorn's mane, pulling her head in close. "You saw something when I had you over by the crowd, yes? Tell me, what was it you saw?"

"I saw a zebra's hand clutching a curved dagger." Twilight hooked a finger on her right hand in a 'J' shape, demonstrating the shape of the blade.

"A serpent's fang!", Tumba spat. "An honorless weapon for honorless curs! We must be on our guard! They usually come in no less than three in number. Let us continue our match and make it look like we're still trying to win while we wait for them to strike. You watch my flank and I watch yours, deal?"

This was not a criminal sybdicate looking to 'collect' a debt or a noble sending a message. No, this was an honest to not-so goodness attempt on somezebra's life.

"Deal!" Twiight took two steps back to allow Tumba to retrieve her fighting stick.

High Queen Anga Inayong'aa gestured a guard closer to her. "Something is amiss. Tumba is not one to civilly approach an opponent mid-match, especially after she had been disarmed. Choose three of your most sharp-eyed guards and have them make a quick round."

The guard gave a quick bow to the High Queen and hurriedly departed.

Twilight and Tumba traded blows and counter-blows as they circled one another, keeping an eye out for the assailants.

"They aren't showing themselves.", Twilight said between a series of attacks and counterattacks.

"We need to bait them in.", Tumba replied.

Tumba struck Twilight's fighting stick hard, snapping it in two. Twilight dropped her broken stick and grappled Tumba's arm. The two mares spun each other around the ring, trying to overpower the other. Tumba swept Twilight's legs from under her and the two rolled on the ground trying to best the other. They came to a stop at the edge of the ring, Twilight on top, giving a convincing impression that she was trying to wrest the stick from Tumba's grasp.

The first assassin struck. Surging from the crowd, the zebra grasping the handle of the curved dagger in both hands raised it high over his head for a brutal downwards strike aimed at Twilight's neck. From where she lay, Tumba struck with her fighting stick at the assassin's knuckles, causing him to drop the blade. Rising to her hooves, Twilight struck out at the assassin's neck with a chop, sending his unconscious form unceremoniously crumpling to the ground.

There was a commotion in the crowd as a guard struggled with another assassin, a zebra mare. As the guard tried to wrestle her to the ground, she plunged her blade into his chest. Before she could withdraw her blade, a dozen zebras from the crowd descended on her, angered and outraged that a fellow zebra had shown dishonor by bringing a live blade to a stick fight, attacking her with fighting sticks. By the time the guards were able to break up the knot of angry zebras of who had taken out their wrath on one who would sully honorable combat, the mare was a battered, broken and bleeding mess, barely breathing.

A third and fourth assassin launched their attack at the same time, charging from the crowd with daggers held high. Tumba kipped up from the ground and swung her fighting stick with all of her might into the assassin's throat nearest her, a mare. Bright red blood poured from hre mouth as he stumbled to the ground, grasping futilely at their neck. Twilight grabbed the assassin's wrist nearest her, a mare, and quickly flipped her to the ground, knocking her out cold with a swift kick to the temple.

Tumba caught movement off to her side and saw another assassin leveling a handgun at Twilight. She threw down her shield and fighting stick as she charged at Twilight. She reached out her arms and tackled the alicorn aside.

*blam-blam-blam*

Tumba's eyes went wide as her pupils shrank to pinpoints. Three points of burning pain erupted across her back, driving the air from her lungs.

Twilight quickly caught Tumba in her arms, spun down to the ground and threw up a shield over them both. Bright red blood and mucus came out of the zebra mare's mouth and nose as she wheezed and gurgled. A spreading crimson pool from her back began to soak into the soil.

Tumba tried to speak, tried to tell Twilight to flee, but she couldn't get any air.

Al-Gallid and Zeta tried to rush to their mother's side, but a pair of guards tackled them to the ground and covered their bodies with their own just in case any assassins decided to get back at Tumba by attacking her daughters.

The assassin, seeing that he had failed to get his quarry, dropped the handgun and fled.

Twilight quickly cast a diagnosis spell. "Ssh! Ssh! don't try to speak. You've been hit in both lungs and they're collapsing. Don't try to speak or move. I'm going to try to stop the bleeding and keep your lungs from collapsing."

using her magic, Twilight probed the zebra mare's lungs. She pushed the bullets back out their entrance wounds. Dropping the shield as she needed the focus, she began the delicate process of re-knitting the arteries in the zebra mare's lungs. Once she was satisfied that the zebra's lungs weren't going to fill with more blood, she closed the wounds in her lungs and created a weak field to force her lungs to expand.

The crowd gathered around and stared in amazement as Twilight worked to save Tumba's life.

Anga Inayong'aa refused to be evacuated and instead made her way down the dais and to Twilight's side. Guards scattered throughout the area to track down the assassin who had fled and search for any other co-conspirators. Anga Inayong'aa pointed to the unconscious assassins and snarled, "Take those curs to the local dungeon! I want to be personally present for their interrogation!"

Several zebra medics came with a stretcher and gently lifted Tumba onto it. Twilight went with them so she could maintain the field that was keeping the mare's lungs inflated.

***

Four later Twilight was an exhausted and anxious mess. Though she wasn't allowed into the operation room, that didn't stop her from pacing nervously in the hospital's waiting room. Zebra guards that had been stationed in the waiting room to protect Twilight shot unsure glances at one another, they didn't know what to do to help the lavender alicorn that was clearly on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Every possible worst case scenario played out in her head as she descended further and further into anxiety-induced delirium. She saw self-induced, anxiety-driven visions. She saw Tumba's fans angry at her rising up to strike her down. She saw Tumba's family cursing her name and spitting on her. She saw the royal family of Zebrica imprisoning her or banishing her or building a prison in the place they banished her to and then launching an invasion of Equestria.

Tumba's husband, Hassan, approached Twilight and she trembled, fearing the worst. He prostrated himself at her hooves, grasping her ankles and weeping. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for saving my wife's life!"

"Bwah?!"

"I just heard from the surgeon. She was just sent to the recovery room now. He said if it wasn't for your quick action, My sweet-sweet Tumba would have died! I owe you a debt of gratitude and my family owes you a life's debt! The door to my home is always open to you. Ask anything of me and I'll grant it to you. Nothing is too great or too small."

Twilight collapsed into a chair and practically melted out of it. Exhaustion hit her as it felt as if a great weight was lifted from her shoulders.

The doctor walked into the waiting room and cleared his throat. He offered a bow as he spoke. "Twilight Velvet Sparkle the Fifth of Equestria, soon to be of Zebrica? Tumba is awake and has asked to speak with you."

Twilight stepped into the recovery room with small, uneven, unsure steps. "Tumba? Y-you asked for me?", she said softly in an unsure tone.

"Come closer.", Tumba said softly as she gestured with a hand. "Everything is still blurry and I'm seeing three of you. They must have given me the good drugs."

Twilight stepped to the bed and steely fingers on a striped hand griped her wrist. "I...uh, I've already talked to your husband."

"Did he already swear a life's debt?"

Twilight swallowed hard.

Tumba let out a weak chuckle then winced in pain. "Silly fool! Silly desert-dwelling fool! Silly desert-dwelling and incredibly handsome fool! Oh how I love him! He swore a life's debt before I could offer it. Feh! He's a clerk not a warrior!" She let out another chuckle. "Looks like I'll have to take up the debt, unless your life is ever threatened by reams of paperwork."

Twilight let a bitter chuckle slip from her lips. "You don't owe me anything. If anyone owes a life's debt, it's me who owes it. You saved me from that zebra with a pistol."

"Ah-ah-ah!", Tumba scolded as she waggled a finger at Twilight. "After I took the bullets meant for you, you could have fled to safety. Instead you stayed by my side and ensured I wouldn't die. Because you went above and beyond what honor called for, I owe you a debt of a life for a life, and until the very last drop of blood from my veins is spilled on the ground and the very last breath is forced from my lungs, I will not leave your side. As a daughter of Clan Atreu of the Central Savannahs, my oath is my bond. Today not only have you earned a life's debt from me, but you have earned the allegiance of my clan and the allegiance of every clan in the central Savannahs. Whoever those assassins worked for have just earned some powerful enemies."

Tumba took in a deep breath. "We never got to finish our match and my honor as champion dictates that we finish it."

"Here?! Now?!"

Tumba chuckled again. "No, silly pony. When I have healed and am strong again. Now send in my husband, I want some skinny loving."

***

Maneo Laini looked back and forth between a pair of mirrors made from onyx and polished to a high shine. Shown on them were not his reflections but the images of two zebras sitting in dungeon cells. Curling his lip in disgust, he cast some dust into a pair burning fire pots, making the flames blaze bright green. "Fools! Cowards! They didn't have the common sense to kill themselves when they woke up in a cell, and the one who fled...well no matter, all in good time." He began weaving two dolls in the likeness of the two zebras in the black mirrors.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha! Hoo-oh-ha-ha-ha!" A voice that sounded like ancient parchment being crinkled cackled. An ancient zebra hag shambled out of the shadows. Serpents and worms and other slithering things wriggle and writhed in her sparse hair. Cobwebs clung to her ragged black robes. Spiders and scorpions skittered in and out of her robes. As the light and shadows of the room danced across her form, her flesh took on a wispy, ethereal quality, giving occasional glimpses of her true form, an aged, almost mummified, almost skeletal wretch of a hag.

"Why do you come here, hag? Why do you bother my presence, thing banished from life and death? Why do you bring filth into this sanctum?"

The hag raised her arm, allowing the shadow of her hand to extend across Maneo Laini's face, revealing his true form as a black-furred pony that had turquoise cat-like eyes and a mouth full of sharp fangs. "Mind your tone. When I found you were but a shadow of your former self. You were just such a meager thing, such a tiny thing. Spitting curses at the lavender one who had ripped you from the lesser sister and stripped of all power. You were such a tiny, black mote when I found you and almost ate you. It was by my own wisdom that I saw you for what you are. It was by my own kindness that I fed you, let you suckle at my own breast, nursing you back to strength. It was by my own generosity that I gave you the body you now inhabit. Mind your manners and show respect, for what has been given to you can be taken back." She clenched her fist as she withdrew her shadow, giving a small demonstration of power.

Maneo Laini recoiled and clutched his chest. "Many apologies, Mchawi Mwovu wa Maeneo ya Weusi. I am in a foul mood this day. But that is no excuse for my manners, my mistress. I humbly beseech your forgiveness."

The hag unclenched her fist. "All is forgiven, this time. What puts your mind ill at ease, Little Shadow."

"Twilight Sparkle survived the assassins. Worse still, she has gained the debt of a great stick fighting champion and has most likely earned the fealty of their clan as well. And of the assassins who struck, two have been captured and one has fled. They didn't even have the courage to take their own lives. Now I must clean up their mess." Maneo Laini cast the two dolls he made in the likeness of the two zebras onto a nearby table.

The hag reached her hand out and let its shadow fall across one of the dolls. She clenched her fist. The zebra's image in the black mirror took on a horrified expression before blinking out. "There, I have claimed a small portion of the debt you owe me from that mare. I leave the other for you to reap your vengeance. As for the one who fled..." She flicked a finger. "You need not worry about him any longer. When he is found, living nightmares will have claimed his mind and will be on death's door by the time the High Queen's guards find him." She turned and began to shamble off into the darkness.

"Where are you going?"

"I go to claim my debt from the changing queen's mind. She thinks she can hide away from me by building her hive around the Black Stone Throne. She promised me the last heir of Mi Amore and failed to deliver. Now she thinks she is the master of the Demon-Emperor's throne and seeks to hide from me, when it was I whom showed her how to bend its secrets. There is also a unicorn mare who harbors much darkness in her heart bent towards the lavender one. Hopefully she is open to some deals. You focus on bending the mind and will of the High King for now and I promise you when the time is right, we will bring the lavender one low and parade her corpse as a trophy before the sisters.", the hag rasped before disappearing into the darkness.

Maneo Laini gave a small scoff. "Once I regain my full power, you'll regret not destroying me when you had the chance, you ancient wretch of a zebra." He wrapped a length of cord around the neck of the doll made in the likeness of the remaining zebra in the black mirror. Its eyes went wide and its hands went up to its neck before fading away.

***

High Queen Anga Inayong'aa scoffed in disgust as she looked over the pictures of the two assassins that had been locked away in a local dungeon after the guards found them dead. The first was found in a corner curled up in a fetal position, it was clear she had clawed at her face and head, hands still clutching her face and an expression of terror frozen on her features. The other was found his body still clutching at his throat and his eyes bugging out of their sockets, the breath obviously strangled out of him. The autopsies on the corpses had turned up no internal or external injuries that would have caused their deaths, no drugs or poisons found in their systems. The queen knew from the descriptions what she was dealing with. These were the calling cards of an ancient shamaness who had listened to the whisperings of power from the darkness and struck deals with them for eternal life and power. In return she had been banished from life and death.

Years ago a potent shamaness and alchemist, named Zecora, had risked her very life and sanity to cast that wretch down into the depths of the pit. Zecora then claimed to start having visions of a tree calling out to her. Many had thought she had succumbed to insanity after dealing with such a black-soul'd beast. Most assumed she went on the long walk out into the wilderness like so many shamans of the Highland Range did when their minds succumbed. It was a real risk that every shaman of the High-Zebric risked as they were much more in touch with the spirits of the world. The High Queen knew that Zecora was not called to wander out into the wilderness like so many of her kith, but was instead called to the north, to Equestria, though she knew not if she still lived, nor where she currently resided.

Anga Inayong'aa slipped the photos into a folder and began putting information about this wretch into it. She started making multiple copies of the information. Several would be given to secret couriers and sent to Equestria, in the hopes that at least one would reach the hands of Celestia and Luna. Though it rubbed the High Queen's ego the wrong way, this hag not only managed to escape the depths of The Pit, but also obviously had co-conspirators and with the assassins obviously have been hired by the hag or through some middlezebra, it was obvious that if she was operating here in Zebrica, she possibly was operating withing Equestria too. Regardless of where she was and/or where she was operating out of, this hag was a threat to the whole world.

"Shadout!", Anga Inayong'aa called out in a loud voice.

Shadout, a young mare barely eighteen summers old and devoted acolyte to the ancient gods of Zegypt, entered into the High queen's chambers. "You called for me Pharaoh of Alexzebria, High Queen of Zebrica, High Shamaness of the Endless Savannahs and current incarnation of Ma'at?"

Anga Inayong'aa pushed the folder across her desk to the young mare. "In two months time I will be appointing you as the personal handmaiden of Twilight Sparkle. Study the documents within and inform Twilight Sparkle as needed. The hag has returned and is lurking somewhere. Keep your eyes sharp as assassins lurk and dark servants skulk. Trust only myself and Twilight Sparkle. If you spot anything out of the ordinary, come to me immediately."

"As I hear, I obey.", Shadout said as she retrieved the file, gave a deep bow and backed out of the room.

All across Zebrica zebras gathered around TV sets, radios or crowded into theaters. They watched the rematch between Tumba and Twilight that had been recorded in a secure location the day before.

It had been a month since Tumba had been near-fatally wounded. Her rapid recovery had been in no small part due to Twilight's quick intervention.

Twilight and Tumba circled one another around the ring as drums pounded out an intense beat and flutes played shrill, lilting tunes. The crash of a gong signaled the beginning of the match and the two closed on one another.

Twilight scored the first blow on Tumba's snout, causing a small crimson trickle to ooze out of the mare's nostril. Zebras across the land jumped to their hooves, some cheering, some booing. Loud chants of 'Twilight!' and 'Tumba!' erupted from the mouths of the zebras, each side trying to over power the other's in duels of voices.

The fight wore on. Both combatants had bright red welts on their bodies.

Fighting sticks broken twain and wicker shields heavily damaged, the two panting, frothing mares cast them aside. Now it was no longer an armed contest, but and unarmed brawl.

The two combatants pummeled one another with punches and kicks. Arms locked together, the two grappled and spun around the ring, trying to get the upper hand over the other.

Twilight gained the advantage. Planting her hooves, she flipped Tumba in a hip throw. Rolling with the throw, Tumba tightly grasped the lavender alicorn's as she sailed over her opponent's hip and drug the mare down with her.

Twilight and Tumba tumbled side-over-side on the floor as they each wrestled for dominance.

With a sharp forearm strike, Tumba momentarily stunned Twilight. Scrambling onto the alicorn's back, Tumba wrapped her arms around Twilight's neck.

Earth pony strength and endurance combined with alicorn might and resilience meant that Twilight wasn't down for the count yet. Getting her hooves under her as Tumba hung on, Twilight attempted to flip the zebra off of her. Tumba, being the more experienced fighter, hung on like a tick to a rhino's hide.

Twilight finding that she couldn't flip the zebra that was currently maintaining the chokehold, instead grabbed Tumba's thighs and fell backwards, using her weight along with her opponent's in a devastating slam.

With a loud wheeze, the air rushed out of Tumba and she loosened her hold. This gave Twilight the opening she needed. Prying the zebra's arms away, Twilight spun in place to get face to face with Tumba.

As Twilight grabbed Tumba's right arm to initiate a reverse-chicken wing, she found that she had fallen for Tumba's trap too late. Bringing up her legs, Tumba wrapped them around Twilight's neck and secured the alicorn's left arm with her left.

Caught in the triangle choke, Twilight tried to lift her opponent off the ground. Every time she attempted to lift the zebra, the striped mare's weight made the hold tighter.

Twilight struggled to escape the locked-in hold. Her legs trembled and her knees buckled. Twilight slapped the floor of the ring three times. The match was over. Tumba released the hold, allowing Twilight to fall to the floor.

All across the land, zebras that had gathered around TVs, radios or in theaters leapt to their hooves and cheered, chanting Tumba's name over and over. They cheered even louder when the two combatants embraced one another in a show of good and congratulatory sportszebraship.

This victory would earn Tumba another white handprint, because Twilight had drawn first blood, she earned a red stripe.

Many zebras speculated if their betrothed princess would continue stick fighting.

***

Twilight and Tumba sat together in Tumba's home, sipping at a skin filled with strong Zebrican milk-wine. The air in the home was filled with the strong fumes of ointment that they had rubbed on their own and each other's aching joints and healing welts and bruises.

"I ache in places I didn't think I could ache.", Twilight said after removing the tube of the skin from her mouth and offering it to Tumba. Her head was spinning from the strong drink.

Tumba took the skin from Twilight, placed the tube between her lips. After taking several swallows, she said, "It's all part of the experience." She glanced around the room at the several empty skins, then to the neighboring room where her husband and her daughters were gathered in front of the TV. She then passed the skin back to Twilight.

The shouts coming from the TV room, accompanied by a chorus of shouts from across the village signified the match had ended.

Tumba chuckled as she patted Twilight on the thigh. "Sounds like the fight is over and Hassan is ready to celebrate. Try not to stay up too late."

For several minutes Twilight sat on the couch. As she stretched her legs out to get comfortable, her serenity was interrupted by the sound of a bed squeaking and the braying cries of a zebra mare being rutted. Picking up the skin of milk-wine, she stepped out to the porch and sat on a wicker chair to enjoy the Zebrican night. She lifted the milk-wine skin to salute the now muffled sounds of the couple expressing their love for one another in a very physical way. "Here's to your you love.", she said in a slightly resentful tone. "I doubt there will be that much passion in my marital bed."

Twilight gave a halfhearted sigh just before downing the remains of the milk-wine.

*poke-poke-poke*

Twilight woke with a snort. She didn't realize that she had fallen asleep. "Ow!" She brought a hand to her temple as she shielded her eyes from the bright sun. It felt like Celestia, Luna and half of the Canterlot cloggers were dancing double time on her brain. She smacked and made a face in disgust. Her mouth tasted like how a timberwolf's breath smelled. Looking over she saw who poked her awake. "Uh...Zeta, right?"

The teen zebra filly nodded her head. "Mother said if you're hungry, breakfast is cooking."

"Thanks.", Twilight replied. "Tell your mother I'll be inside in a minute."

Twilight stumbled into the home made of bricks and mortar. The smells of curry, cinnamon and other spices went up her nose.

Tumba was standing in the kitchen, a robe of multiple colors draped across her muscular for, and an apron on top of it. She softly chanted out a rhythmic melody as she poured what looked like haycake batter onto a large griddle, only it held several dark seeds. She occasionally stopped to take a deep swallow of a dark liquid in a tall cup or stooped over to kiss her husband.

Hassan trotted over to Twilight, a light spring to his step, and shoved a tall-sided cup filled with a thick, dark liquid into her hands. "Here, this'll help with your head and wake you up."

Twilight sniffed the thick, dark liquid. The smell of coffee and spices filled her sinuses. She gave the cup a swirl, the coffee was thick, almost like a thin syrup, and it looked angry, if coffee could look angry. Not wanting to offend her hosts, she raised the cup to her lips and took a sip.

Twilight almost gagged on how strong the coffee was. It felt to her like the dark drink had just punched her in the back of the throat. "Kaff-kaff!" She could help but cough.

"Swallow, don't sip.", Tumba said. "Zebrican coffee is stronger that that brown water you ponies call coffee." The zebra mare tipped her head back as she downed the last swallows of the thick, strong coffee. "Ah! Nothing like a good mellow morning blend after a night of drinking with a good friend and celebrating with your husband."

If this is mellow, I'd hate to see what strong is like. Bracing her self, Twilight held her breath, tipped her head back and downed the cup in several strong swallows.

"Good stuff, huh?", Hassan said as he slapped Twilight on the arm.

"Good stuff.", Twilight said with a wheeze. Almost immediately the intense rush of caffeine filled her body, it was stronger than what she was used to and she became acutely aware of her body waking up. Her bladder screamed at her with a strong pressure. She crossed her legs to fight against the pressure "I need to use the little filly's room."

Hassan clapped his hands. "Al-Gallib! Show our guest to the lavatory, please."

Twilight followed the oldest filly to the bathroom. Standing over the oval-shaped bowl that was the toiled, she squatted down and relieved her bladder. She had learned quickly when coming to Zebrica that they used squat toilets rather than water closets or outhouses like in Equestria. "Aaaaaaaahhhh!" Twilight let out a quavering sigh of relief as he bladder emptied. Instead of toilet paper or moistened rags, zebras used bidets, just like the Prench.

Twilight stood awkwardly over the bidet with one leg propped on it as the stream of water washed her clean, followed by short blast of hot air to dry her off. Stepping over to the sink, she washed her hands, then scooped up some water into her hand, slurped it into her mouth and swished it around, before spitting it back into the sink. She really wished she had brought a toothbrush. No matter, she brush her teeth after getting back to her room in Alexzebria.

Twilight walked back to the kitchen. She paused to look at a series of photos on the wall. The first photo was of Tumba and Hassan in wedding dress, the stallion only wore a loincloth, and the mare also wore a loincloth, along with dozens of necklaces of dark wooden beads of different sizes. Twilight had studied Zebrican marriage rituals, so she knew that when a couple married, they wore very little at the actual ceremony. It harkened back to a time when the zebras would publicly consummate their marriage shortly after the ceremony as it was believed it led to increased fertility between the married couple. For a moment she wondered if like back in Canterlot, if Zebrican nobility all gathered around the bed of a newly married noble couple to witness them consummate for the first time...that was really awkward after Cadance and Shining Armor's wedding party, and everypony except for Celestia and Luna looked really uncomfortable.

The next pictures were the usual family portraits. A couple very much in love standing in front of popular honeymoon locations, only in Zebrica instead of Equestria, so no pictures of Horseshoe Falls or City of Lights or The Golden Canyon in the background. There were pictures of Tumba with a gravid belly and Hassan lovingly embracing her, the shorter and skinnier stallion looking almost comical next to the taller and muscular wife. There were pictures of the mare and stallion holding a yearling foal and a newly born foal. The usual pictures of zebra fillies giving broad, almost comically over-large snaggle-toothed smiles.

Twilight looked over the photos. Though she was still learning to read Zebrican, she was able to discern the dates. Al-Gallid, the oldest, was born twelve years after Tumba and Hassan were married. Zeta had been born about a year after that.

"There you are. You were gone a long time and I thought you might be having problems, so I came to see if you needed help.", Tumba said, causing Twilight to nearly jump out of her fur in shock.

"Oh...Uh...heh! Uh, sorry", Twilight apologized. "I had finished up in the bathroom and was on my way back to the kitchen when I saw your family photos. You love each other very much, don't you?"

A small smile crept onto Tumba's lips. "When I first met Hassan, I initially didn't think much of him. He was a skinny and awkward stallion. However he was the first stallion I had come across who wasn't trying to lure me to his bed because of my celebrity or because they wanted strong foals for heirs. He simply wanted to sit down with me at a coffee parlor and sip some coffee because he didn't want to sit by himself. He wasn't intimidated by my size or overcome by my fame, he just wanted somezebra to sit with, sip some coffee and have a conversation, and that intrigued me. Soon after we became fast friends and every time I came back here to his hometown, I'd look forward to sipping coffe and talking with my friend. Things went on like that for two years then one day when I arrived at our usual parlor, he was early. The poor stallion was a ball of nerves and shivering like a scared kitten." She gave a wistful chuckle ran her finger along her wedding photo. "He got down on both knees, presented me with a pair of gold bracelets and professed his undying love for me. Needless to say I was knocked off of my two hooves and just like that, that skinny file clerk had stolen my heart, not some tall and muscular warrior from the Central Savannahs or some gourd-bellied merchant who had wealth dripping off of them, a skinny, spindly little clerk. We've had our share of problems, sometimes we shouted and screamed at each other, sometimes we got so mad at each other that we sometimes momentarily forget we love each other. Sometimes I'd kick him out of the bedroom and make him sleep on the couch, sometimes it was me that wound up on that couch. But we'd always remember that we love each other."

Tears stung Twilight's eyes and bitterness crept into her heart. She turned away from the family portraits on the wall and looked down the hallway, pausing to listen to the sounds of the house. "I guess I will never know love like that.", she said, her voice mirroring the bitterness she felt in her heart.

Tumba stepped next to the lavender mare and wrapped a muscular around her shoulder. "Mother and father were from enemy clans who hated each other for so long none could remember what slight had transpired, only the hate. Every generation or two tempers would boil over and our two clans would get into bloody conflicts. Over the centuries as technology changed, we went from stabbing at one another with spears and hacking one another with axes to shooting one another with rifles, always with the same results, mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters would come home, their bodies in boxes, many times their bodies mangled beyond recognition. Things went on like that for almost four centuries until forty years ago when members of the two clans crossed paths in one of the bazaars in the capitol of the Central Savannahs, Savannah City. Nozebra really knows what happened to trigger the firefight, but all agree about what happened. For thirty seconds the bazaar exploded in a firefight, three zebras from mother's clan and four from father's clan lay dead, along with one hundred bystanders who had nothing to do with the firefight, among the dead were ten foals. The old High King and High Queen marched down to the Central Savannahs, along with three full brigades of soldiers. The old High King confronted the elders of both clans and said that the old blood feud ends there and then. He demanded that they find a peaceful way to resolve the old blood feud or he'd kill every, stallion, mare and foal, slaughter all of their livestock, burn their crops and salt the fields to send a message that old blood feuds have no place in a modern Zebrica."

Twilight blinked at the story. There were accounts of blood feuds back in Equestria, but there hadn't been any fighting between the differing families and guilds in nearly eight hundred years, at least none that resulted in bloodshed or loss of life. Had Celestia done something similar? She cleared her throat. "How does this history lesson help my situation?"

Tumba gave a half-chuckle. "Initially all of the clans balked at this. Some even voiced their descent. True before that it wasn't unheard of for members of two enemy clans to fall in love, run off together, get married and live out their lives together forever separated from their parent clans, it never stopped the old blood feuds. Then when the old high king and queen arrived with three full divisions at their backs, threatening annihilation if the blood feud between the two clans stopped, all the clans took time to reevaluate old blood feuds. Many were able to resolve them over skins of strong drink, games of chance or bouts of strength and skill. Some, like mother's and father's original clans, chose to pledge the youngest, unwed members of their clans and conjoin. Mother and father were among the youngest zebras of their clans who were unwed and were immediately pledged, and were wed when they came of age. The way they tell it, mother and father didn't know how to love each other, but they learned to. I am the third-born of fifteen."

"Wow!', was all Twilight could exclaim at the number of siblings Tumba had.

"My point is...", Tumba continued. "You will learn to love the stallion you're betrothed to. Where mother and father were forced to become betrothed to end a blood feud, you chose to become betrothed to the Crown Prince to prevent an unnecessary war, and just like with my mother and father, your wedding will make both nations better and stronger for it."

"So what happened to the clans of of the Central Savannahs?"

"To hear the old timers of my grandfather's and grandmother's generation tell it, the number of clans were reduced by fifteen. However the numbers may have reduced, the strength of those clans increased and today many zebras now marry not only outside of their parent clans, but also outside of their parent provinces. More zebras are born today than ever before of mixed zebra heritage. And that's a good thing, don't you think?" Tumba then pulled Twilight in tight for a one-armed hug. "Now let's get back to the kitchen before breakfast gets cold and Hassan drums up a search party to come find us."

Author's Note

I decided to have zebras for this story not only be vaguely African, but also vaguely Middle Eastern and vaguely eastern Mediterranean. If in the show if Equestria can be vaguely American, vaguely Canadian and vaguely Central European, then I figured Zebrica can be just as culturally and ethnically diverse for this story.