It was just another cool and overcast day in Ponyville. Everyone was going about their business, heading to work, or meeting up with each other. However, it seemed that the commercial district of the small town had gained a brand new building overnight. It wasn’t a very large building. It was a small two story building that was similar in the style of a certain home that had appeared in the same fashion as the one in the Everfree Forest. However, this was more for business rather than home life.

Within the new shop, was a rather purposefully worn looking interior that housed all matters of spooky and strange. Voodoo charms and trinkets, potions of all kinds, and even voodoo dolls of various types of ponies hung on the walls on the first and second floors of the establishment. The place looked like it hadn’t been cleaned or tended to in quite some time. But, that was its intent. And at the other end of this new store in the back of the building, sat Kalfu behind the large wooden countertop in a rocking chair with a blank voodoo doll template just resting against one of the pillars of the countertop on the surface of it.

Now, Kalfu wasn’t a big believer in voodoo dolls, as he believed that was more of the Hollywood standard that was created to make voodoo more appealing to those who saw it happen on the big screen. Even those who commonly practiced voodoo back in his world denounced the idea of such things. However, if he was commissioned to make a voodoo doll for someone for the right price, who was he to deny them that service? However, the dolls that adorned his walls were more for security purposes than anything. Through the button eyes of these dolls, he could view their surroundings, like a CCTV camera system.

As he sat there rocking slowly but steadily, the sound of the bell overhead of the main entrance rang out before he lifted his head and stood. He straightened up his outfit before placing both his hands on the countertop and flashed the potential customer a smile “Welcome to Kalfu’s Voodoo Emporium. What can I do for you?” he asked in his Louisiana southern drawl, playing the part of the traditional voodoo man from his world. The one who entered was a rather disheveled looking stallion. Kalfu took immediate notice of the worry and fear in his eyes and the fact that he was jumping at every little sound that came from around him.

“T-The sign out front said that you grant wishes. Is that true, mister?” he asked as he now stood in front of the countertop. Kalfu nodded, a smile still on his face even though he was gazing upon the man’s soul at the moment. And Kalfu didn’t like what he saw. Not one single bit. But, this was a business. He would grant the stallion his wish for sure. But…he better be very specific about that wish. Otherwise, Kalfu couldn’t be responsible for the outcome. That’s the thing about voodoo magic, one’s desire had to be very specific and on point or it could cause trouble down the road.

“Why yes, yes I do. It could be any wish that you want, sir. Just tell me what you desire and I can make it happen.” he said as he held out his hands to his side, emphasizing that he could indeed what someone could wish for. The stallion leaned in close and whispered “I…I killed my wife’s lover quite recently. And the guards are getting very, very suspicious of me even though I hid his body thoroughly. I just…I just wish for the problem to go away. Can you do that…?”. Kalfu simply nodded “I can most certainly make that wish for you. However, this isn’t free. I don’t demand bits for these kinds of transactions, however. Your price would be the most precious thing that belongs to you. Not monetary value mind you. But something personal, something…. you can’t live without.” he said with that still wide smile on his face. This was the ultimatum he gave. If one wanted a wish that badly, they’d have to pay a steep price for it.

“Something personally valuable to me huh..? I will be back soon then…” he said before heading out the door. During the time he was gone, a few customers had come and gone to either browse or buy a couple of trinkets and a potion or two. It wasn’t until a couple of hours later that the stallion returned with a small box. He walked into the store and placed it upon the countertop in front of Kalfu before opening it up and pulling out what appeared to be a model airship of sorts. He placed it upon the countertop and slid it toward Kalfu “This…is the very last memory I have of my father before he passed away.” he said as Kalfu picked it up and began to examine it.

The amount of care and love that was put into this item, it radiated such energy that this would indeed be a more than adequate exchange for a wish. Kalfu nodded before taking the model and placing it behind the counter before offering his hand out to the stallion “If this is what you are offering, then simply shake my hand…and we have a deal.” he said as he waited for the stallion to do so. The stallion reached out slowly to shake his hand, hesitant at first, but sure enough, takes Kalfu’s hand and shook “Yeeeeesssssss. .Are you ready?” he asked with a wide smile.

The stallion was suddenly surrounded by a fiery green vortex as he slowly began to vanish. He looked over at Kalfu with fear and confusion on his face “W-What are you doing?! I wanted the problem to vanish, not me!’ he shouted as he tried to run to the door, but his hooves were anchored to the floorboards. Kalfu chuckled and nodded “Indeed, you said you wanted the problem to vanish. But see voodoo magic has its own sense of justice….twisted as it may be. It appears that YOU are the problem. You should have been a bit more specific on your wish, sir. Maybe you could have escaped your issue. Or perhaps, you shouldn’t have done what you did to begin with. But, you paid for your wish. And there are no refunds.” he said as he watched the stallion disappear into nothing. Where did he end up? No one knows. But he got what he wanted, even though it wasn’t what he asked for. Such a selfish stallion.

All was quiet for a few more hours. Kalfu rocked in his chair as he was reading a book until the bell above the door rang out once more to signify a potential customer had wandered into his humble little. He stood up and got ready to greet them. But it wasn’t just any customer, it was that lovely zebra friend of his whom he hadn’t seen in quite some time. “Aaaah, Zecorra my dear. It has been far, far too long since you have graced me with your presence.” he said as they both embraced, the zebra smiling up at him while she hugged him as tightly as she could.

“You know, we are practically neighbors, but we never really get to see much of each other do we, handsome?” she asked before she rested her head against his chest as she took in his touch and scent, simply enjoying the hug. To her, it had been far too long since she had gotten to enjoy his company. And when she saw this little building of his in town, she knew that it belonged to him. Once they hugged for a few more minutes, she released him from the hug before she looked around “My goodness. You are selling your craft now? It is definitely an untapped market to be sure. Just don’t go pushing me out of potions selling now. A mare’s gotta eat you know?” she teased as she gazed around at all the nicknacks and dolls that seemed to be staring right back at her.

Kalfu didn’t really think about that, as he remembered that Zecorra was also a potion maker, and he didn’t want to deprive her of her own business either. “Perhaps….you could come work with me here then? I wouldn’t mind having an employee or two. And I have a separate room I use for my own potions that you are more than welcome to set up shop in, my dear.” he said as he led her to one of the side rooms that had a large bubbling cauldron in the middle of it with all kinds of ingredients lining the walls in jars and various containers.

The zebra tilted her head before stepping in and curiously gazed around at all the stuff he had for her to use should she decide that she wanted to work for Kalfu. She was ashamed to admit that he was more well stocked in ingredients than she was. She prided herself on her potion making. “I could really come here and make my potions…and get paid for doing so as well? I can really come work for you…?” she asked as she turned to look back up at Kalfu with a hopeful gaze. Not only would she get to work in an actual shop, but she’d get to spend time with Kalfu who she definitely had some feelings for. “I’d..be more than happy to be your potion maker…” she said as she nodded multiple times.

Kalfu nodded in return with a big smile before clapping his hands a couple of times “Very well then. You are hired, darlin’. I can’t wait to have you working with me here. You can start next week. How does that sound?” he asked. Zecorra nodded again enthusiastically before running up to Kalfu and hugging him tightly once more “I can’t wait…truly.” she said as her tail swayed behind her, indicating she was truly excited to start her new job. It wasn’t until the front door swung open and slammed shut that Kalfu peeked his head out to see what the commotion was. The last thing he expected to see was a young filly running in and hiding behind one of his displays.

The filly sat behind the display and curled up to make herself look as small as possible. Kalfu came around to stand in front of her, his long coat swaying slightly as he stopped. He crouched down in front of her and rested his elbows on his thighs before offering her a warm smile. Much more genuine than the one he’d give at his countertop when doing business. “What’s the matter, sweetheart? Is everything okay? You look rather…distressed.” he said as he looked over the little girl. When she lifted her head, those beautiful golden yellow eyes gazed up at him from behind a few strands of a long white mane, the girl’s fur being a rather dark grey.

“D-Daddy is drinking again…and he hurt mommy. So mommy is in the hospital. So now he…is turning his anger on me. I am scared, mister…” she said as she began to sob, tears flowing freely from her eyes as she had been trying to be strong, but couldn’t hold back her sorrow anymore. “He even tore up the doll that mommy made for me when I was smaller. I-I loved that doll so much!” she said before she suddenly dove into Kalfu’s arms and clung tightly to him. The man’s heart ached from the girl’s plight. And it hit home for him as he grew up in a similar situation. He placed a hand atop the girl’s head before combing through her mane gently and nodded “Then how about I let you leave here with one of my little friends huh?” he said as he gestured to the many dolls that hung on the walls.

Zecorra watched as Kalfu tended to the little one. The way he was comforting her and treating her, it made the mare smile in delight as he seemed to be able to handle children quite easily. He has had a bit of practice while raising scootaloo after all, but he seemed so…natural at it. The filly nodded before Kalfu took her hand and showed her all around the walls that had the dolls hanging from them. It wasn’t until they came to a wall that the filly pointed out to a doll of a rather intimidating stallion dressed in black royal guard armor that made her eyes sparkle and a small smile spread across her muzzle before she pointed out at him.

Kalfu’s eyes soon fell upon the doll she was pointing at before he flew up for a moment and got him off the top of the wall before floating back down. He hovered in the air for a bit, whispering something to the doll before landing down and holding out the doll to the filly who graciously accepted it into her arms, hugging it as close to her form as she could. “This brave and protective stallion is named Azrael. He will make sure that both you and your mother are well protected from your father. I promise you that.” he said as he gently caressed and wiped away the filly’s tear streaks that were still on her cheeks, even though she was now smiling up at him now.

“But mister…I don’t have any money for this wonderful doll…” she said as she looked down at the floor, holding the doll back out to him. Kalfu shook his head however and pushed the doll back to her “While it is true I run a business, I can help out those in need from time to time. And I can definitely see that you are in need, my dear.” he said as he looked her over once more, looking for the obvious signs of abuse. And find them he did. They were hidden at first, but he could see the bruises on her arms and legs which really, really made his blood boil. But for her sake, he was still all smiles for her.

“It wasn't until the door slammed open again that an angry stallion who was holding a bagged bottle stormed in and started screaming “Where the fuck did you go you little bitch?!” he shouted as he huffed and growled. The filly let out a cry of fear before she stumbled back and hid behind Kalfu’s legs, peeking out from behind the hem of his coat as she gripped onto it tightly. “There you are…” he growled as he stormed toward her and reached out. The girl slammed her eyes shut hard and expected him to grab her by the mane as he always did. But the pain never came.

The filly slowly opened her eyes to see Kalfu firmly gripping the wrist of her father to the point where he was applying heavy pressure to the biomes to the point of almost breaking his wrist entirely. Kalfu glared furiously at the stallion before looking over at Zecorra “Could you please take this little one in the back room and close the door? I need to have a talk with this stallion before I let him take his daughter…” he said as he watched Zecorra take her into the room mentioned.

It wasn’t until a day later that the door opened once more to Kalfu's little voodoo shop. Kalfu lifted his head from where he was sitting to see the little filly he had given the doll running up to him and diving into his lap and hugging him tightly, her mother coming in behind her wrapped in bandages as she was still recovering from her last confrontation with her husband…who seemed to be missing. “Well hello again, darlin’! You are looking in greater spirits today? Did the armored warrior help you out as I said he would?” he asked as he gently ruffled her mane a bit/

The filly nodded multiple times with a big smile on her muzzle “Mhmm! He sure did. In fact, he is my new daddy now!” she said as a stallion came inside and placed a gentle hand upon the mother’s shoulder and nodded towards Kalfu firmly. Her mother seemed to finally be at peace and even smiled up at the stallion in return for the gentle touch before Kalfu nodded back in approval. “Thank you so much, mister. He is far nicer than my last daddy. Thank you, thank you!” she said over and over as she rubbed her face into his chest before running back to join her new father who grabbed her hand and held it warmly.

As the two of them walked out, the mother walked over to Kalfu and hugged him as well “I don’t know what you did, sir. But not only did you save me. You saved my greatest treasure, my little girl. The Voodoo King truly has smiled upon my family this day…” she said before hugging him once more. It took a moment, but Kalfu could see the mark of his followers on the top of her right hand. Perhaps it was fate that he helped out this family after all.

After the family left, he looked up at the wall of dolls where he had taken the one down from before, only to be replaced with an exact doll of her father, liquor bottle included. “Enjoy your eternal torment up there, asshole. Death is too good for you…” he said as he saw the tattered soul of the father struggling and writhing in pain as needles were stuck into its form. Perhaps he should make this a real thing after all, creating voodoo dolls to torment those who deserve nothing less than just that.

Author's Note

I figured a voodoo shop would make a fine addition. Plus, it gives Zecorra a reason to spend more time with the voodoo man~.

May the darkness grant you peace.