Fury of the Storm

Twilight continued chewing on her lip, beside herself with worry. She knew that they would have to deal with Anonymous as soon as possible, but... not like this! To think that he was still conscious and dreaming inside of that statue, looking for his window to try and escape! Right under everypony’s noses! And now, he’s hurt not only Princess Luna, but the two Zebrican guests who came to help deal with him in the first place, all without ever lifting a single awful finger!

Her nerves were only helped somewhat when everypony and the statue were raised up into the ship, bringing her face-to-face with Captain Celaeno, waiting for them in the cargo bay.

“Well ahoy there, princess!” Celaeno calls out to Twilight, smiling. “Long time, no see!”

Twilight beamed despite the situation, and bounded forward to give her friend a hug, which she returned.

“It’s so good to see you again!” she chirped.

“Likewise.” Celaeno looked up to the rest of the ponies. “You all ready for the trip?”

The Element Bearers all affirmed as such. Letting go of Twilight, Celaeno stepped forward and gave the statue of Anonymous a good look, followed by a self-satisfied smirk and a flick of her claw to it’s nose.

“End of the line for you, ‘ya sick bastard,” she laughed at it. “You’re going away for a very long time.”

“I assume everything has been prepared?” Luna cut in, grabbing the captain’s attention.

“You know it, princess!” She shot Luna a wink. “We can take off whenever!”

“Then secure the statue and take flight without delay. Time is of the utmost essence here.”

“Aye aye, ma’am,” she chirps, throwing up a salute before getting down to business. “All right, crew, haul this wretch off to the special brig!”

The special brig was little more than a thick steel shipping box, bolted and welded into the ship’s normally wood-panelled metal frame. And the box was further reinforced with multiple dark metal plates—the same black metal used by the Storm King’s forces—that had been roughly hammered flat and crudely overlaid before being riveted into place. Celaeno and her crew had built this container during the repairs they made after the events at Mt. Aris, and made it specifically to store the vile man when the time came to deal with him for good. And sure enough, the statue fit perfectly within the enclosure. Celaeno and her crew took no small amount of pleasure in loading Anonymous in, and they worked quickly to close the heavy metal door and secure it with the multiple bolts, padlocks, and door bars they had put in, with some extra chains wrapped around the enclosure and padlocked together for good measure. The only open entrance to it now was a small viewing hole around the top-centre of the door, and even that could be closed with a metal slider and a padlock for even more of a good measure.

The moment the door itself had been shut on the statue, Prince Zakurai could be heard exhaling in relief, and more than a little surprise. When Twilight glanced over to see what was going on, she saw both Princes looking far less uncomfortable than they had been a moment before.

“A-are you all right?” she inquired.

“Much better,” he admitted, taking a moment to wipe his brow. “Goodness, his presence is far less... intense now. What in the world is that container made of?” he asked, pointing to the black metal in question.

“The thickest steel in the land, and as much of the Storm King’s metal as we could find!” Celaeno boasted, her crew echoing her pride all around.

“That black metal?” he inquired, stepping forward to touch it.

“Mm-hmm.” Celaeno nodded. “Don’t ask me what it’s made of, because nobody knows. But whatever it is, it’s really good at blocking out magic.”

“I can see that,” he notes, a light shiver running through him as he brushes his hoof across the metal.

“Anonymous wore a full suit of armour made of this metal,” Twilight informed him, the mere mention of his name grabbing his undivided attention. “It blocked magic before he could ever absorb it. He hid his powers for months that way. Even I didn’t realize what he was until near the very end of the invasion.”

“He hid his powers...?” Zakurai’s expression twisted in bewilderment and discomfort as he mulled that new information over, pulling away from the container and letting the crew finish locking it. “I don’t understand. Why would he ever want to hide his Gift?”

“To trick us,” Twilight explained. “To keep us guessing. Even at the very end, he never stopped surprising us, never stopped catching us off guard.”

“As clever as he is powerful,” He infers, sparing a haunted glance back at the container after a moment’s pause, muttering to himself. “But to hide his own Gift...?”

Zakurai said nothing further, choosing to gaze at the container with an unreadable expression. Twilight wasn’t sure why he was so bothered by the idea of Anonymous hiding his condition like that. Was it some kind of cultural thing? A Prince thing? Maybe he just couldn’t imagine ever needing to hide his own powers, let alone wanting to?

Leaving him to his thoughts for the moment, Twilight looked around to observe everypony else. Her friends helped out all around, aiding the guards with getting everything inside the bay in order. Prince Zabraxas barked orders at the honourguards, said zebras rushing around to get their own areas in order. And continuing the theme of ordering, Celestia and Luna issued their own orders to the guards, the latter princess and Zabraxas speaking every so often to better coordinate their efforts. But after a while, the two princesses began speaking in hushed voices to one another. Whatever Celestia told her caused Luna’s expression to become grave. She cast her gaze towards Twilight and Zakurai for a moment, said something to Celestia, and the two nodded in agreement about whatever they were discussing.

“Twilight, good Prince.” Luna beckoned the two over, and they met in the middle to listen to her words. “In a day’s time, possibly two, I shall send correspondence via letter. It is my wish that the two of you read my letter together, for it will concern possible threats to this journey.”

“Threats?” Twilight gasped.

“I will say no more until I confirm the details of the matter. For the moment, simply maintain your vigils.”

“I understand, Princess,” Zakurai replies with a polite nod.

Zakurai’s tone made it seem like he knew something that Twilight didn’t, and Luna’s knowing look in his direction all but confirmed it. She wondered if it was related to whatever they were discussing in their language, before they moved Anonymous. Whatever it was, she distinctly remembered how upset it made Zabraxas. She’d have to ask about it later.

In only a few minutes’ time, everything was finally ready for departure. Supplies were loaded and unpacked as needed, Celaeno and her crew had left to man their stations, and the guards were fully prepared and at maximum readiness. Satisfied with the results, the princesses along with everypony else not essential to the journey boarded the cargo elevator, and descended without delay.

“Be safe!” Spike exclaims, waving at Twilight.

“Keep in touch,” Celestia suggests more than she orders.

“We will!” Twilight says to both, waving back as they descend.

“Oh, shoot!” Queen Novo shot back up for a moment, placing a scroll and a special crystalline clam shell medallion in her hooves. “Almost forgot to give these to you, dear. Captain Walker’s expecting these to identify you all.”

“I-Identify?” Twilight asked, puzzled.

“To verify that we are who we are?” Zakurai infers.

“That’s right.” Novo nods to the Prince, becoming more serious. “Where Anonymous is concerned, I am taking no chances.”

“I understand,” he hums, giving her a diplomatic smile. “Your aid is greatly appreciated. I won’t forget this, Novo.”

“You’d best come back some time after this is all over, dearie!” she laughed. “I’d love to have you at Mt. Aris!”

“I assure you, I’ll make every endeavour to see you again,” he replied, noticeably happier for having spoken to her again.

With one last hoof shake between the two, Novo flew back down. The empty cargo lift raised back up, and once the bay doors closed in their wake, the airship’s engine started up immediately, it’s vibrations thrumming gently under everypony’s—and everyzebra’s—hooves. A quick jostling of inertia later, and the ship was officially airborne again.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash immediately peeled off towards one of the loaded crates, helpfully marked “COFFEE”. Just in time for Zakurai to fall back onto his rump, his short-lived talk with Novo not nearly enough to offset the exhaustion that fought to catch up with him.

“Gods, I never thought sleep would be my main issue during this journey,” he begins, trying to keep his eyes open. “Of all the problems I had considered, this was not one of them.”

“And you’re sure there’s nothing to be done about those awful dreams?” Rarity asked.

“If there is a solution, I would love to hear of it. But I don’t think one exists.” He lets out a small, sad laugh. “And here I was, thinking our first meeting would go so much better than this.”

“Don’t you sweat it!” Pinkie chirps, coming in for the sideways hug. “We’ve got toooons of time to make up for it!”

Twilight hums, mulling over some thoughts on how to let him sleep without dreaming. Most of the solutions she knew of needed magic, though, which was an obvious non-starter. She’ll have to brainstorm for a bit with the others.

Zakurai fights back a yawn, just in time for Rainbow and Applejack to return with a mugful of fresh coffee, plus some sugar packets and small containers of milk and cream.

“They packed the machines in there and everything!” Rainbow Dash laughs.

Zakurai sniffed a few times, the smell alone having it’s intended effect of rousing him. “What in the world is that?” he murmurs, looking at the offered mug.

“Pure happiness, is what,” Applejack chuckled. “All yours, pardner.”

Gingerly taking the mug in his hooves, Zakurai sniffs a few more times before giving it a small sip. His eyes widen and an approving hum leaves him, and the girls begin laughing a bit as he sips away on the still-hot drink, the additives left unused. The caffeine was already having an effect, injecting him with new life.

“Gods above, that’s good,” he groans. “I think I just found the first thing we’d be willing to trade for.”

Their shared laugh does much to lighten the mood.

INTERVAL II
Escape From Butcher Bay

I finally peer out from my door, sometime later in the afternoon. The stomping of hooves had quieted down about an hour before, so I assume that the ponies’ preparations had come to a halt. And indeed, both hallways seemed clear enough. Taking things at a very slow and careful pace, I step out into the hallway proper.

“I-is it safe?” Zelac murmurs behind me.

“Maybe,” I hum. “I’m not sure yet.”

That seemed to be good enough for him: he followed me out of the door and stuck close to my side. As I begin walking around to gauge what has changed, I try my best to ignore the constant, crawling pressure of the alien. Shortly after I felt the cargo lift ascend into the ship, it’s severity had lessened by at least an order of magnitude; I can only assume that it is the result of whatever they were containing the alien’s statue with. While it was immensely helpful, the sensation was still present: enough to remain irritating and unpleasant. If only it had been blocked out in it’s entirety.

I am not looking forward to tonight’s dream. But given what happened to that blue mare from before, I think it’s a safe bet that she will not be present: I doubt she would want a repeat of the alien’s enormous drain on her strange moonlight. But I didn’t know if she was on board or not, regardless of the dreams, so I was not out of danger yet. If nothing else, at least the dreams will likely just be me and the Princes again.

Tch. I say that as if it’s ideal.

As we travel around, we see the additional pony guards taking up posts of their own, usually opposite of their honourguard counterparts. Those strange bat ponies were nowhere to be seen now, however: it was now all the ‘normal’ winged and horned ones, with the odd wingless and hornless pony in attendance. This close, I can clearly see the details of their racial trimorphism: the ones without appendages were quite muscular and noticeably larger; similarly, the winged ones were lithe and agile, with the horned ones left with comparatively little physical advantage. In a way, it was a strange parallel to the imperial, plains, and mountain zebra tribes, respectively. It certainly was far more stark of a difference than the zebra tribes, at any rate! I don’t see any evidence of hybridization, though. Are these guards purpose-bred? Purpose-selected? Is hybridization even possible for them? No, it must be; those royal ponies clearly had all of their race’s extra appendages! But then, why were none of those types of ponies in the crowds from before? Are they the ones purpose-bred? If so, do they cull outliers like the Princes cull Gifted outliers? Is such a thing even feasible, even with the benefit of sorcery? Or...

No, there’s too many unknown variables for my speculation to be productive. The only thing I am certain of is that I need to know much, much more. But given the language barrier, and my heavy doubts that Zakurai will be doing any translating on my behalf, that means I’ll be forced to make my own observations. Nothing new under the sun there.

The cargo bay is my next destination, but right away I notice a serious increase in the number of guards, and not one of them is anything less than fully alert. Even some of the avian crew are here as guards. The honourguards that are present immediately shoo me away, and do not give me a reason for blocking my access. I could infer the reason well enough: they must be keeping the alien in there. Reason enough for me to avoid the bay, though I am somewhat disappointed: it was one of the better places to simply sit in quietly when I needed to avoid others.

I notice excited chattering as I approach the mess hall next, but I don’t recognize the multitude of new female voices. I do, however, recognize the voice of Zakurai, though too late: I wouldn’t have stepped into the hall if I’d heard him earlier. But the gathering of pony mares at the table catches sight of me, preventing me from just quietly turning to leave without risking some kind of incident.

Wait, these mares, they’re the five from that lineup of twelve! And with them is that purple hybrid royal, devoid of her ornamentation. They all begin chattering curiously upon seeing me. And then Zelac goes and pokes his head out next, making their chatter more lively.

“Ahh, good afternoon, convicts!” Zakurai calls out from his spot on the table, strangely energetic and wakeful after all he’s gone through. “Don’t mind them, I’ll be making an announcement soon—”

“Ohmygoshohmygosh,” Zelac squeaks, squeezing past me and darting forward towards the group. “It’stheponiesfromthemeeting!”

I do not like how that pink mare is twitching. And I definitely do not like how she zoomed forward to meet Zelac in the middle. That mare’s eyes were full of youthful playfulness and fun, but there was a certain edge of madness to them that made me very uneasy. If Zelac noticed, he didn’t seem to care. The two of them pranced in place, jabbering at each other with wide smiles and stars in their eyes, language barrier be damned. Zakurai looked on in intrigue, while the other mares all gathered around, beckoned by their pink compatriot.

“Goodness, son,” Zakurai exclaims, about as surprised as I was. “I didn’t think you’d be this excited to see them.”

He can say that again. With everyzebra—and everypony—distracted, I shuffle over towards the breadbox, having formulated the excuse of coming here for a few rounds of pita if I’m asked. I’m careful to make my body language much more clear as well, making my discomfort and distrust of the ponies as obvious as possible to hopefully avoid any interactions. Especially with the sorcerers.

Unfortunately, that pink one doesn’t take a hint, and zooms straight over towards me next, wearing a huge, beaming smile as she gets right into my face.

Absolutely not.

“Back, back!” I snarl, ears and tail pinned as I step back and away. “Back the hells up!”

That response was more reflex than intent, and thus came on far too strong. The mare flinches, a flash of heartbreak in her eyes. That wasn’t very polite. But then, rushing me wasn’t very polite, either. If she weren’t obviously important, if I wasn’t a prisoner of the damned Princes, I’d have dropped her with a jab to the throat right then and there.

Zakurai says something to the pink mare, I assume something about not rushing zebras like that. The pink one pouts for a moment, then says something to me with big, watery eyes.

“She says she’s sorry for surprising you like that,” he translates. “Now, apologize to her.”

Arguing about it will not go over well, I could already tell. So with a small, resigned sigh, but without lowering my guard, I do just that.

“My... apologies,” I manage, looking over at the Prince next. “Listen, I just want to eat something. Let me grab some bread, and I’ll be out of your manes.”

That hum of his was disappointed. I couldn’t care less what he thinks of my conduct. In the end, he does indeed let me take some food, though I have to keep my distance from, and my head turned towards, the other mares who have gathered around, especially the sorcerers.

“Y-you go on ahead, sir!” Zelac chirps, waving me off. “I want to stay here with them a bit longer!”

If that’s how he wants to die, fine. I, meanwhile, will be having absolutely no part of this. Once I get my opportunity to leave, I do so immediately and promptly. Though I haven’t forgotten about Zakurai’s intent to make an announcement later.

“He says that his name is Zelac,” Zakurai translates, “And that’s he’s... Well, I think you can see for yourselves how excited he is to see you all.”

Indeed, that Zelac zebra could barely contain himself, his smile an easy match for Pinkie’s and that sparkle of curiosity in his eyes an easy match for Twilight’s. He shook with excitement in his seat next to Prince Zakurai, bursting with energy and questions.

“Let’s not give this guy any coffee,” Rainbow whispers to Applejack with a knowing smile, which she returned with a nod of agreement.

Twilight had seen these zebras from afar during their first meeting: it was hard to miss them given their lack of armour. But seeing one of Zabraxas’s ‘reforming’ prisoners up close was exciting in it’s own way, especially for one like this Zelac, who was so eager to speak to them. He was a tiny bit smaller than the average pony stallion, only around half an inch or so, and his sparse stripe patterns reminded her of Zecora, in a way: it was nothing like the much denser and thinner patterns on that other much larger and more standoffish zebra that came with him.

Twilight suppressed a frown at the thought of Zecora. When she shared the news of the Princes’ arrival with her, she had immediately reacted with suspicion, even a little hostility. She’d cut Twilight off and demanded to know which Princes were coming. She didn’t recognize the name Zakurai, but she did recognize Zabraxas, and told Twilight in no uncertain terms to never mention her name to anyzebra, or even infer that a zebra was there at all. It was the first time Twilight ever remembered Zecora looking truly afraid. She didn’t know at the time why she’d been so afraid of Zabraxas in particular, but seeing that metal collar clasped around the neck of Zelac and the other zebra prisoners was starting to give her a good idea.

She only wished she’d shared more details before storming off.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she flashed a polite smile towards Zelac. “It’s very good to meet you, Zelac. I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

Upon hearing the translation, he squealed with glee, planting both hooves on the table and speaking in rapid fire, far faster than Zakurai could reasonably understand. He had to pull him back a bit, which only temporarily dampened his spirits.

“I’d announced your name and title to the prisoners before our arrival here,” Zakurai explained with a small chuckle. “Needless to say, he’s full of questions.”

Noticing the obvious problem, Rarity speaks up next. “Certainly more than you could reasonably translate.”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Zakurai agrees. “I certainly hate being the bottleneck in this surprising display of your specialty of friendship, but I’m afraid I don’t see a good solution here.”

“Ain’t there some kinda spell ‘ya can use ta’ translate or somethin’, Twilight?” Applejack pipes up.

Zakurai immediately tensed at the mention of a spell. “I wouldn’t advise that.”

“No?” Twilight asked. “Why not? I do know a spell for it, but it’s—”

“It’s not you, your highness,” he reassures. “I know your intentions are good. But, well, magic has a very... poor reputation in Zebrica.”

Rainbow Dash leaned forward a bit more. “Uhh, how bad are we talking here?”

“Very bad, sad as it is to say. You see, there is a race of evil sorcerers in our lands called the abadas. They are the source of many a frightening foal story, a good number of which are quite warranted, I’m hesitant to admit. It just so happens that they also have magical horns, very similar to that of your unicorns.”

“Oh, my,” Fluttershy whimpers.

“That won’t... complicate matters too much, will it?” Rarity hums, self-consciously touching her own horn.

“Not with any of our honourguards, of that I can assure you,” Zakurai replies, a hint of sadness colouring his next words. “The prisoners, on the other hoof? Well, to be quite honest with you, I’m rather shocked that mister Zelac here is as unbothered as he is, miss Rarity.”

When he gestured to where Zelac was, everypony was surprised to see him missing from his spot. But they weren’t kept wondering for long: he’d moved over to Fluttershy at some point, the mare in question giggling a little as she received some very gentle and reassuring nuzzles to her neck.

Zakurai questions him, and his brows rise at his soft reply. “He, er... he says he didn’t like seeing her upset,” he translates, genuinely surprised at the zebra’s actions.

Not to be left out, Pinkie immediately squished herself between the two and hugged them both close. Zelac laughed with her, never once looking put off. Seeing him behave like this gave Twilight an idea.

“Zakurai,” she began, looking back at the Prince. “Would you mind asking him about his feelings towards magic?”

Understanding where she was going with this, yet nevertheless looking doubtful, he nods his agreement and asks his question. Once again, he reacts with surprise at the spirited response Zelac gave.

“Goodness, I...” Zakurai blinks, then awkwardly scratches the back of his head. “He’s not just unbothered, miss Twilight. He’s actually asking if you do know a magical means of translation.”

“Well,” Twilight chirps, beaming at Zelac. “It just so happens that I do, if he’s willing to try.”

He beams right back, asking her what needs to be done for it to happen. The spell Twilight knew was an enchantment: she could embed her own understanding of Ponish into an item that can be worn, like a ring or an amulet. And when somepony does wear it, it interprets the meaning of whatever they say, and plays a translation out loud. It wasn’t perfect, and it certainly wasn’t a real-time method, but it was also a stepping stone to a more potent version of the enchantment, which contained a complete understanding of both languages and could translate perfectly between the two in real time. That version was used by unicorn historians to preserve old languages, but she sadly didn’t remember the details out of hoof: she would need to ask for a copy of the spell.

Fortunately, there was a new spell she did know that could help in that department: the message spell that Celestia had always used to send her letters through Spike. She’d learned it as part of her preparations for this journey, and she was elated to finally have a good first use of it. Once she relayed both her plans and her intentions to the others, she quickly composed a letter with her magic and sent it, Zelac looking on in wonder at her hornwriting. He really wasn’t afraid of their magic.

Zelac stated his willingness to wait for the ‘proper’ version of the spell, though his excited trembling could have fooled her. Pinkie sat next to him, synchronizing her trembles with him as a little joke that the two were rather enjoying. Twilight only had to wait a minute before the response came, the curious zebra oohing and aawing at the flare of dragonfire that gave way to the scroll she requested. She wasted no time in reading through it, with Zelac hovering nearby and gaping at the arcane symbols with wonder.

“Two way dragonfire messages?” Zakurai notes aloud with some wonder of his own. “That’s incredibly useful.”

“You have dragons in Zebrica as well?” Rarity asked before Twilight could.

“I’m not quite sure how similar they are to yours, but yes, we do,” he confirms.

“Ah’m guessin’ they ain’t as, er, friendly as ours?” Applejack queried.

“They hate us,” he confirms once again. “To the point of waging war on us for territory. I’ve had to repel dragon attacks quite a few times, in fact. So you can imagine how surprised I was to meet young Spike.”

“Waitwaitwait, you fight dragons?!” Rainbow exclaims.

“It’s not as epic as you’re imagining, I’m afraid,” Zakurai says with a friendly, disarming chuckle. “Dragonfire is magical, so it doesn’t harm those of us with the Gift. In fact, most dragons end up running once they realize a Prince has arrived.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask for a while now, darling,” came Rarity’s sudden change of subject. “You keep calling your abilities ‘the Gift’. Why is that?”

Twilight kept an ear out for the answer while she focused on memorizing the spell matrix. As for Zakurai, he relaxed a bit in his seat, his countenance becoming at once both thoughtful and proud.

“Because that’s precisely what it is, lady Rarity; a Gift.” His pride made it’s way into his words. “The Gift that ended the reign of the Old Line for good. The Gift that ushered in a new age of peace for all zebrakind. The Gift that allowed the Four Lines to preserve this peace in perpetuity, that we may never again fall back to the chaos of the Old World.”

“Wow,” Rainbow quietly exclaimed.

“You’ve mentioned these ‘Lines’ before,” Rarity hummed. “You were in the ‘First Line’, if I recall?”

“And Zabraxas is of the Third, yes,” he finishes for her, nodding at her before proceeding. “Four distinct lines of royal blood, each carrying their own Gift. Each with their own perspective on how to protect and serve Zebrica, and all united in that common goal.”

“But the way you spoke about this ‘Old Line’ rather makes it sound as if they were all descended from it, Zakurai.”

“That is because they are, miss Rarity. Each of the Four Lines are the direct descendants of the original Four Princes, each the son of the last King of Zebrica, Zidiim VII. Prince Zaktu, of the First Line, wielder of the Purifying Flame.” His hoof comes up, briefly conjuring a small ball of red fire in his frog to demonstrate. His eyes beamed with pride as he looked into the fire, and everypony looked on with new wonder at his power before he dismissed it and continued. “Prince Zanaan of the Second Line, who commanded the Well of the Stars. Prince Zoban of the Third Line, who summoned the Frozen Blades. And Prince Zaabal of the Fourth Line, the source of the mighty Light of Order.”

Applejack let out a low whistle. “Wow. That’s some history y’all’ve got, pardner.”

“I’m sure yours is no less beautiful, miss Applejack,” he replied with a polite smile.

“Wait, lemmie guess what happened next!” Rainbow exclaimed again, actually quite excited by his retelling. “They rebelled and took down that king, right?”

“They did,” Zakurai confirmed. “The Old Line was becoming ever more stagnant, you see, and Zidiim VII wanted to renew his family’s strength. To that end, he abducted four mares from the three zebra tribes, and...” He cringed a bit. “Well, I don’t think I need to expound on what he did to them. But according to legend, this sacrilege was a step too far for the gods, and so they blessed the newborn Four Princes with the Gift, just as their mothers had blessed them with the gift of conscience, long absent in the Old Line. When they came of age, they fought the Old King and emerged triumphant, and in so doing ushered in the New World.”

While nopony liked hearing about the fates of the original Princes’ mothers, Rarity and Fluttershy were especially repulsed at that part of the story. Rainbow Dash, however, remained excited in spite of that momentary pall.

“I won’t pretend that the New World started on a good note, even if that’s the narrative many would prefer to go with. One can’t undo over a millennia of damage from the Old Line in just one battle, after all. I can tell you, however, that after three generations of rule under the Princes, Zebrica made it’s recovery. And every generation after that saw our land flourish. Some, more than others, of course. But always a positive trend.”

Rarity once again hummed her understanding, but Applejack beat her to the next question.

“So what’s up with these ‘Elder’ folks ‘ya were talkin’ about before?”

“Oh, them? They’re simply elderly Princes, miss Applejack. Even the Gift can’t stave off age’s effects, but there’s no reason they can’t still apply their decades of wisdom and experience towards aiding Zebrica. The Elders remain in the Quaternary Palace to govern the Empire, which relieves some of our burden as Princes. Thus enabling us to apply our Gift towards the good of Zebrica, as often as we can.”

“Ah guess that makes sense. But then, how do y’all hoof the reins over to the young’uns? There some kinda ceremony or somethin'?”

“There is, miss Applejack: the grand Ceremony of Succession. When the time comes for a Prince to retire, every Prince and Elder gathers at the Quaternary Palace to officiate the transfer of the title to the most promising member of his Line.” Zakurai looks lost in a very pleasant memory. “The day I accepted the mantle of Prince from Elder Zeddicus was one of the proudest moments of my life. I don’t even think the crowds of zebras that came to watch were as happy as I was.”

“It sounds like an awful lot of pressure,” Fluttershy remarks.

“A tremendous amount, lady Fluttershy. But I was raised for this role, trained since I was a foal. I knew what I was getting myself into.”

“And these Ceremonies,” Rarity further questioned, “Have you officiated any yourself?”

“As a matter of fact, I have—”

His eyes light up with recollection, his words halting to show for it. And then, he starts to laugh.

“Uhh, what’s so funny?” Applejack queries.

“Oh Gods, I’m sorry,” Zakurai replies, a few errant laughs escaping before regains his composure. “It’s just... that Storm King of yours tried to attack Zebrat in the middle of that very Ceremony.”

Even Twilight was distracted from her nearly-complete reading upon hearing that, exclaiming in surprise with the other girls. Zelac tilts his head in confusion, but opts not to comment immediately.

“Oh.” Rainbow Dash was the first to clue into why that was funny, snickering to herself at the thought. “Oh jeez. You mean, the ceremony where all of you were together?”

“Ahh, you noticed that, eh?” Zakurai made no effort to hide his amusement, and by now the amusement was quickly becoming contagious. “Yes, I was officiating the transfer between Elder Zedillian and Prince Zalman then, along with my fellow Princes. Right as the transfer completed, his forces descended from the skies to attempt their assault. We thought that a fantastic opportunity to let the young Zalman prove his mettle in a real fight.”

“So how badly did they lose?” Applejack asked, her smile and tone heavily amused.

“Oh, I lost count of their airship casualties after the first two dozen or so. Zalman’s impressive grasp on the Well of the Stars was particularly destructive for their vessels. According to the citizens, the attack lasted all of seven minutes before he was forced to retreat.”

“Seven minutes?” Dash exclaimed, breaking out into laughter.

“We were content to let him flee in shame, but Prince Zabraxas was hellsbent on making him pay for the attack. He took nearly half of the Imperial Navy and a huge force of the Imperial Legion, and chased that Storm King out of Zebrica the entire way. He lost a great deal more of his airships that way, or so I am told.”

While Applejack and Rainbow Dash were laughing it up at the story of his crushing defeat, Rarity and Twilight were more concerned by the implications it made on exactly how effective Anonymous’s leadership was in comparison to the Storm King. But that was a subject they could explore later: right now, they didn’t want to ruin the good mood.

“Okay, I think I’m ready to do this now,” Twilight announced, rolling the scroll up in her magic. “I just need something to enchant that mister Zelac can wear.”

“Ah,” Zakurai piped up, reaching up to unclasp his neck ring. “Will this do, princess?”

Zelac gasped at the offered ring, which Twilight took in her magic right away once Zakurai set it down onto the table, looking it over thoroughly.

“Yes, that should work great! A-are you sure you want to give it up for this?”

“I have plenty of them back home, princess,” he laughed. “I can live without that one. And besides,” he turned to Zelac and spoke something in Zebrikaans to him, something that caused him to let out an embarrassed laugh while rubbing the back of his head. “‘No child of the mountain should be without their stripes of gold,’” came Zakurai’s answer to the unasked question. “A little saying we have in Zebrica. One of many I hope to tell you of over the coming week.”

Exhaling, Twilight set the ring down and began preparing the spell in earnest. The first step was a spell circle, drawn out in some chalk around the ring. Next was a magic circle surrounding the first one, full of information on Ponish: the alphabet, subjects, objects, verbs, sentence structure, and more. After that was another circle, this time with the same details on Zebrikaans. Of course, a zebra needed to fill that out, to which Zelac eagerly offered aid, with him and Zakurai taking a few minutes to complete that portion with their mouthwriting. With that aspect taken care of, Twilight initiated the spell proper. The golden ring floated above the ground as the symbols glowed a bright purple and began to rise off the ground to match the ring’s altitude. Each circle began to spin around the ring, their rotational axes offset in a way that reminded Twilight of an orrery. They spun at such a speed that they became spheres of symbols, the outermost one compressing downwards into the next one and continuing until there was only a single sphere of symbols. Only then did the symbols funnel out into a thread, snaking across the surface of the golden ring. This continued until the sphere disappeared, leaving only an incredibly dense mass of symbols on the ring, still swimming across it’s surface at high speeds. But slowly, their speed reduced in lockstep with the intensity of the purple glow of magic. Until at last, the symbols came to a stop, faintly flashing purple one last time before the glow faded completely. The completed ring came to rest on the ground at last, it’s surface covered with the now-engraved symbols.

For a moment, nopony and nozebra said anything, still recovering from the lightshow that was the complete spell. Zakurai was the one who broke the silence, clearing his throat slightly.

“Well, that was, er...” He seemed at a loss for words for a moment. “I-I’ll admit, I hadn’t expected your Equestrian magic to be so... marvellous to behold.”

Twilight offered only a polite giggle in response, content to take the compliment.

“Out of curiosity,” Zakurai continued, “Were I to touch that again, would we need to repeat that entire ceremony?”

“Nope!” Twilight chirped. “You’d absorb all of the charge out of it, yes, so it would stop working. But this spell was designed by archivists to preserve a language forever. All it needs is a little recharge, and it’ll last for an entire day!”

“Truly? Twilight, that sounds nothing short of miraculous.”

“Well, it was one of Starswirl’s spells,” she couldn’t help but note with a hint of her own pride. The reference was lost on Zakurai, but everypony in attendance knew where this could go if left unchecked.

Fortunately, Zelac piped up, eager to try it out. After being given the go-ahead, he bounded over and closed it around his neck without delay, though he had to take it off once to place it above the metal collar he already wore, owing to the ring fitting much more snugly. Rarity stepped up to charge the ring, and though she managed quite well, it took more magic than she expected. The symbols on the ring glowed blue to match the colour of Rarity’s magic.

When Zelac spoke, the effect was strange: at first, his Zebrikaans-speaking voice came out at it’s usual volume, but it’s volume lowered a second later, to be replaced with a simulacrum of Rarity’s own voice, as if acting like a separate pony doing the translation.

(“So how will I know if it’s working—?” Ah! Aaaaaaaaah!”) His exclamation was surprised at first, but soon became one of unmatched excitement.

“Can you hear us?” Twilight asked.

The symbols glowed when she spoke, and the same delay elapsed before she could faintly hear that same voice, speaking Zebrikaans in Zelac’s ear.

(“I can! I-I can! OhmygoshohmygoshIcanunderstandyou!”)

Hearing Rarity’s voice behaving in such an excited way drew several laughs out of Rainbow Dash. “Oh wow, that’s weird!”

Rarity huffs at her in response, but remained pleased with the overall outcome.

“‘Least it works,” said Applejack, as pleased as everypony else was.

(“Holygodsthisissoexciting! I-I don’t even know where to start!”)

“Fortunately, I do,” Zakurai interjected, giving Zelac a proud little smile. “How do you feel about helping me with my announcement, Zelac?”

I should have known that Zakurai’s accursed announcement would come sooner rather than later. And here I was, genuinely expecting Zelac to have delayed things with his insatiable curiosity. Paired with the curiosity and excitement of those pony mares, I honestly expected another half an hour of additional time to waste.

Regardless, here I stand on the deck of the ship as it sails at high speeds through the Equestrian skies, summoned by the honourguards and lined up with the other prisoners. With the notable exception of Zelac. Accompanying the honourguards were their Equestrian equivalents; I can infer from their presence that those ponies would be present as well, or at least that royal hybrid. Which made Zelac’s absence all the more puzzling.

They didn’t... kill him, did they? Or worse, weave some vile sorcery upon him? I hope not. I didn’t particularly care about him, make no mistake, but losing both such a useful tool and my nightly squeeze in such an inglorious way would be... disappointing. And more than a little frightening.

Finally, the procession of royalty arrives in earnest. Both Princes assemble before us, Zabraxas in particular looking both faintly annoyed and far more tired than Zakurai did. As I expected, with them are the six pony mares, and—

Zelac...?! What in the hells is he doing with all of them?

As he approaches, I catch sight of a new accessory he's wearing: a golden ring around his neck. A glowing blue golden ring.

He’s been exposed to sorcery.

I can’t help but tense up at this development, swallowing dry to show for it. What in all the accursed hells is that thing he’s wearing?! And why does he look overjoyed to be wearing it? This colt should be shitting himself in fear over this! What is he thinking?! Is he thinking? Has the damned thing tampered with his mind, too? Gods above, do I even want to know what vile sorcery has been woven into that thing?

Around me, the other prisoners were getting tense as well. The brief flash of uneasy surprise across Zabraxas’s face tells me even he didn’t know about this development. None had much of an opportunity to let it get to them before Zakurai began speaking.

“Good afternoon, everyzebra,” he began in earnest, walking up to take the proverbial centre stage. “I know things are proceeding a bit faster than we all anticipated, but let me assure you that all is well in hoof. We are now on our way back to Zebrica, and we carry with us the great evil that threatened the ponies of Equestria: the fearsome creature known only as Anonymous.”

Anonymous? It’s name is Anonymous? And here I thought the name ‘Twilight Sparkle’ was ridiculous.

As I expected, the other prisoners don’t react all too well, and Zelac is no exception. He is calmed somewhat by a comforting hoof on his withers from that purple mare, however.

“Worry not: he has been sealed in stone and is under our constant vigil. He will not escape from his confinement, and make no mistake: he will be dealt with severely upon our return to Zebrica. In truth, however, the news of this evil is not why I have called you here today.” He gestures to the ponies behind him. “I called you all to formally introduce the heroes who defeated this great evil: the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.”

The prisoners look on with fear, mixed with intrigue and a dash of awe. I opted for just the intrigue.

Zakurai briefly introduces the six mares, calling them up one at a time. First was the purple hybrid: that Princess Twilight Sparkle he had mentioned in his last speech. I don’t know what, exactly, an ‘Element of Harmony’ is, but apparently she held the Element of Magic. And her official title was perhaps the most baffling thing I’ve ever heard in my life: she is the Princess of Friendship. That was just... beyond parody. Title aside, I couldn’t help but notice that the six-pointed star image on her flank was very similar to the star on that bizarre crystal tree palace I’d seen on the journey towards Canterlot. Given the apparent significance of these marks of theirs, it seems very likely, then, that she would be that palace’s owner.

Next was one Applejack, the Element of Honesty. Her appearance and mannerisms screamed farm work, and she certainly had the physique to show for it. Her eyes were very discerning, however, and she looked to have no tolerance of lies or fakery in any capacity, which certainly fit with her chosen Element. I’d need to be careful around this mare.

Fortunately, I don’t believe I would need to be nearly as careful around the aptly named Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty. Her ego and predilection towards showboating were glaringly obvious, even before she was introduced. But shortly after the introduction, she showed off a little by flying at incredibly high speeds around the airship, telling me that her ego was, at the very least, not simple vanity: she actually possessed the skill to back it up. Somehow, I doubted it was enough skill to fully justify it.

I was somewhat at a loss for words, describing the contrast between the boisterous Rainbow Dash and the extremely shy yellow mare that came up next: Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness. She was, in a word, beautiful. Easily comparable to that pink hybrid royal mare from before, except this mare wasn’t even trying to look nice. And her natural good looks were only enhanced by her timidity, naturally evoking the male instinct to care for her. Of course, I didn’t make it this far by blindly following my instincts, so I could appreciate her looks without being utterly taken by them. And besides, if she’s part of a group of national heroes, let alone one responsible for turning the gods-damned alien into a statue, then she clearly isn’t as demure as she was presenting here.

Briefly glancing at the other prisoners, I can see the mare practically turning green with envy, all while the imperial stallion looked positively lovestruck. The mare became envious to the point of quietly grinding her teeth when the next pony approached, said pony also attracting the gaze of that plains stallion.

And that pony, the second of the sorcerer mares, was very attractive in her own right: a mix of natural beauty and elegance and a great deal of effort invested in maintaining her looks. Rarity was her name, bearing the Element of Generosity. Just like the blue hybrid mare—who I was starting to believe wasn’t on board at all—this Rarity had far more to her than just the outward appearance of a vapid, high-maintenance mare: there was an incredible degree of social intelligence shimmering in her eyes as she scanned our ranks. If she was a social climber, I had no doubt that she was a damn good one. Small wonder that plains mare looked so envious: she was clearly outskilled and threatened by her.

Hah. Mares threatened by more attractive and more talented mares. Some things truly are a universal constant.

Our eyes lock during her scan, her gaze lingering on me for longer. She’s reading me, no doubt about it, and is undoubtedly intrigued by what she sees. The very last thing I need to deal with right now. I signal with my own gaze that I’m not interested, to which she simply gives a faint, playful smile before her eyes move on. I hadn’t deterred her at all.

Wonderful. I’d need to be especially careful around her, beyond just the simple reality that she’s an accursed sorcerer.

Finally, there was the Element of Laughter, one Pinkie Pie. At the exact second Zakurai finished introducing her, she darted forward with a massive smile and got into our faces, speaking rapid-fire in her language and beyond herself with excitement and glee. I keep my jaw clenched when she darts up to me, my gaze telling her in no uncertain terms to stay back. This time, she seemed more receptive, though it only lessened the intensity of her excited jabbering, rather than stopping it.

“To ponykind,” Zakurai resumes once the mares are back in line with each other, “Friendship is of paramount importance to them, a critical pillar of their culture and society. Every one of the Element Bearers wants nothing more than to cement a fruitful new friendship between our people, that we all might benefit from this point forwards. But there is only so much that I can do, Prince though I may be; I will require your aid to further develop our people’s nascent friendship.”

“Your conduct here will affect your time spent in service to us,” Zabraxas clarified, saying the quiet part out loud. “You will give them the respect they are due.”

“Yes,” Zakurai continued, hiding his mild displeasure at his fellow’s interruption well. “The Element Bearers all wish to make your acquaintance, to learn from and befriend each of you. And to facilitate this, one of your number has volunteered to serve as the bridge between us.”

I should have known that Zelac’s naïvete would make him volunteer for this nonsense. He stepped forward on Zakurai’s urging, visibly nervous yet committed to making a good impression.

“H-hello, everyzebra,” he began. “I’ve, ah, volunteered to help the, er, E-Element Bearers. H-help them make friends with us all.”

That pink mare offers some cheers from behind. The moment she spoke, I saw the symbols on his neck ring glow more intensely, and I could hear the faintest of words being spoken near Zelac, as if somezebra were speaking into his ear. I recognized the language as the pony language: Ponish, I think Zakurai called it.

The understanding of what that neck ring’s sorcery is doing clicks into place: it’s translating between the two languages!

“Prince Z-Zakurai’s the only zebra here who knows Ponish. But, well, l-like he said, he’s just one zebra, a-and can’t always be there to translate for our guests. So I, ah, v-volunteered to translate for him!”

He shows off the neck ring with a small flourish of pride, going on to confirm that it does, indeed, translate between Zebrikaans and Ponish. I hate to admit it, but that is... incredibly useful. Not nearly useful enough to make me want to go anywhere near the accursed thing, but I suppose if you aren’t scared of sorcery, like Zelac apparently wasn’t, then it would be an easy thing to embrace. He then goes on to say that the purple Princess made the thing with her magic and Zakurai’s neck ring; additional confirmation that she was, as I initially surmised, a powerful sorcerer.

Still, this is going to be troublesome. Zelac will undoubtedly want to introduce me to his new... friends, as soon as he can. But I can’t afford to be near the sorcery in that ring. If I touch it...

I swallow dry as the memory of that one very unfortunate abada intrudes into my mind. I quickly crush the errant thought. Fortunately for me, the other prisoners are wary of magic as well, so I can easily cloak my real reasons for avoiding sorcery as being the result a deeply traumatic experience with abadas. I don’t think he or any of those ponies will be in a position to refuse accommodating me once I let slip that particular half-lie.

“His offer extends to both honourguard and royal guard alike,” Zakurai clarifies after taking centre stage again, pausing to elaborate in Ponish for said latter guards. “I realize that many of you are anxious around sorcery, and for good reason. Magic, however, is also an integral part of Equestrian society, so this is an anxiety we must overcome if our newfound relation with Equestria is to flourish.” He pauses to smile. “I have high expectations for you all. I hope you will do your utmost to welcome our new friends.”

Finally, he waves across the crowd with his hoof. “That is all. You are dismissed.”

About damned time. The honourguards, credit where it’s due, stay composed, though I suppose that’s more a function of their sworn duties than their actual feelings on the matter. The other prisoners waste no time in taking off, the mare especially moving as if a fire had been lit under her tail. I opt to follow her lead in an attempt to sneak out without further incident, the other stallions held up only by rubbernecking at their newfound respective pony crushes.

Idiots.

Fortunately, my escape went without incident. I exhale slightly as I re-enter my room, taking a moment to gather my thoughts, lies, and cover stories. I’d need them to get through this—

knock-knock-knock

“Z-Zobachi? Sir?” came Zelac’s voice. “I ah, I-I know you’re probably really nervous about all this, b-but I’d really like for you to meet these ponies! They’re really nice!”

Shit.