(The wind that pushes destiny)

by xXRED1234

Rating: teen
Tags: Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Mystery, Suicide / Self Harm, Adventure, Violence, Death
Length: 22295

A zebra will try to forge its own destiny

Effort does make a difference.

And if you see that it doesn't work.

You're just not trying with all your might.

Mi entrada al Concurso No-Pony de 2024.

Published 2024-08-31 19:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-08-31 19:50:00 UTC

(The wind that pushes destiny)

Am I doomed to walk the favored path that was created for me?.

That was the first thing I asked myself the day I got my cutie mark. At first, like every young pony, I was excited, at least for a fraction of a second. Of course, why wouldn’t I be? It’s the discovery of your special talent, what makes you stand out from others, right? Unlike most young zebras who got theirs at a relatively early age, that wasn’t the case for me. The average age at which a mark appears is relative; it always changes depending on which pony or zebra we’re talking about, but generally, marks reveal themselves between the ages of 6 and 12. I got mine at 17.

The day came when I simply accepted the fact that I would never get one. So, I decided to forge my own success through hard work, to show that I could rise above others, that effort can surpass natural talent.

But I had a problem.

In my childhood, there was never anything that significantly caught my attention. I used to walk through the world like a speck of dust, pushed by it seeing without resistance, simply letting myself go. Bullying wasn’t uncommon in these cases; a zebra without a cutie mark while all your classmates had theirs is quite simple. They call it “herd instinct”—attacking what is different, and with that, you gain social approval. It’s a win-win! Yes, the teasing was a pain in the neck, but it never escalated. I would be lying if I said the teasing didn’t affect me; in fact, it made me lose even more interest in everything around me. But even though it affected me, I never let it show on my face. That was the last thing I needed—my vulnerability on display. When you play with a toy you want to break, and in your eyes, it never gets destroyed, it becomes boring to keep playing with it.

The thing is that, as time went on, the colts simply started to ignore me completely. There was no point in making fun of someone who didn’t react. “Damn, I wish I could hit them right now, scream, insult, cry, seek comfort from my family,” but I couldn’t. Like I said, any reaction was just a trigger to keep the game going.

Over time, my family also accepted the fact that I would never get a mark. At first, they were very worried when they saw time passing and my mark never appearing. They would always talk to me and tell me that if I had any problem, I shouldn’t hesitate to tell them, but it was an unnecessary waste of energy. Sharing my problems would only bring more issues, especially since it had been a long time since my parents’ words stopped making sense to me.

By accident, one day when I decided to go home early, I overheard an argument between my parents. I don’t remember it exactly now, but in essence, it was about my uselessness in society, about how zebras are already considered “weak.” Political power, social influence, physical strength, magic power, etc.—not in those exact words, but you get what I mean. A zebra, already below other races by default, was now also useless to her own kind because of her lack of a special talent.

My mother was always the one who argued in my favor, but when I looked into her eyes, I knew that deep down she thought the same thing. Every time we made eye contact, she couldn’t hold it for long. “Mom, you’re so obvious,” though at least I appreciated the effort.

Could I really let all my vulnerability show to a family that, despite their efforts to support me, I knew truly thought the same as all those lowlifes at school?… I think now it’s clear why I simply let things pass: “I am a speck of dust pushed by the wind.”

Some might ask how a young girl could have such a pessimistic way of thinking. Honestly, I don’t even know myself. Maybe it was the result of this life I had to live, or maybe I was just born this way—I’ll never know. Everything I did, every job, every activity, every task, I did with the strength and determination of a mere speck of dust, which, in less poetic words, means that I didn’t put effort into absolutely anything.

Little by little, that mask I imposed on myself—that unbothered, bored expression—became a reality. It was no longer just a facade; it was simply “me,” the boring and useless Lendary, too dull to be mocked, too dull to talk to, too dull to even notice… so boring, without emotion, without purpose.

Maybe that was a good thing. Over the years, my face became a blank canvas—neutral and unyielding, like a mannequin that made others uncomfortable enough to leave me alone. Every zebra who still had memories of me or simply noticed me because of my unsettling face began to feel fear, or, well, not exactly fear, nor intimidation. It was more like an instinct to stay away from something… “the uncanny valley,” I think it’s called. Ha, now it makes me laugh to remember it. Zebras literally saw me as something no longer entirely alive. I think “mannequin” suited me well back then. It was the only joke that survived the years, although they no longer said it aloud—just behind my back and in whispers, things like, “She looks like a display mannequin from biology class,” “Did that mannequin just blink?” “Are you sure she’s really alive?” Blah, blah, blah—senseless nonsense.

I'm sure they’ll ask again, “How could they not recognize you after all those years with your classmates?” Easy—I transferred schools when I was 12. Don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t because I unloaded all my insecurities onto my parents and they transferred me because of that. It was a simple, convenient turn of events when my father got a new job that forced us to relocate.

My mask, which was no longer a mask, helped keep the mockery of my new classmates to a minimum, replaced by that “uncanny valley” feeling.

I think I’ve gone off-topic… let’s get back to the point. How did I get my cutie mark? Well, at 16, I finished school without fanfare or glory; there was nothing remarkable to remember. The next step was to choose a college or university or directly find a job that hired minors. “A minor without noteworthy grades, experience, or a special talent—good luck with that.” I went with the obvious choice and chose college.

With the years slipping away from my hooves, I had to think seriously about my future. Someone like me—a "speck of dust pushed by the wind," a walking mannequin—didn’t have many chances to thrive independently. My father wouldn’t give me much time to leave once I turned 18, and my mother wouldn’t argue much about it, either. Although everything around me still seemed as bland and meaningless as always, I had to choose something that would pay enough to live on and hold onto it as if my life depended on it—because it literally did. All my effort and sense of being had to be directed at that, no matter how boring it was; I had to settle.

What was the most lucrative profession in the zebra kingdom? Politics, obviously. But I’d rather starve than lick anyone’s hooves to climb up the ladder. Politics is much more complex than it seems; it’s not just about studying. You need “many” contacts, social skills, and a knack for stroking others’ egos. All things I didn’t have. So, what else could I choose? A job that allowed me to work mostly alone and earn enough to live comfortably. The answer was clear: one of the things genetically tied to zebras after decades upon decades of practice—witchcraft, potions, voodoo, runes, things like that. These were highly valued in the zebra kingdom. Add the fact that zebras have the greatest monopoly on the information needed to learn it.

As a race incapable of manipulating magic and without notable physical strength, sorcery was our only alternative. So over time, our kingdom became the place with the most resources and books on this subject. Just knowing how to make potions opens up many commercial opportunities.

As soon as I finished basic studies, I searched for the university with the largest sorcery library in existence—"the Asha Kandisha Central University of Sorcery."

A set of buildings seven meters high and covering an area of 600 square meters, recently built and funded by the zebra queen herself. The largest in the kingdom, and fortunately, it was public thanks to the "charity" and "benevolence" of the great, powerful, beloved, and highly acclaimed ruler of the kingdom. If any sarcasm is detected in my words, it’s purely coincidental.

The entrance exam for the university was quite simple, in my opinion. That struck me as odd, knowing who funded it and considering its size. Just learning that it was public raised many questions. Please! The university’s name even bore the queen's own name. You’d think it would have an entry fee and a more demanding exam—at least charge for the exam! But no, it was all free, nothing suspicious at all.

Anyway, I decided to ignore it and take advantage of the opportunity. Classes began a week after I was admitted. I remember the first time I passed through those beautifully carved wooden doors, I could see the interior—the reception area lit by skylights, giving it an almost angelic glow. In the center of the building were spiral stairs leading to the other floors and, much further back, two tunnels that connected to the other buildings, one on the right and another on the left.

The university consisted of three buildings, each three stories tall—Blocks 1, 2, and 3—each focused on a branch of zebra sorcery: runes, potions, and magical artifacts. Each floor was divided into experimentation, theory, and assessment.

The welcoming ceremony was as boring as expected. They gathered us all in the auditorium, and the director gave a simple speech, congratulating us on our admission as the first generation of Asha students—"I hope no one ever calls me that"—and said he eagerly anticipated our success. As much as I wanted to be sarcastic about his speech and call it empty words, the truth is the director seemed very convinced by what he was saying. He sincerely wished for our success here. It was surprising and suspicious.

After the ceremony, we were separated into groups and assigned different classrooms. I prepared beforehand, covering myself with a cloak to hide my blank flank. Not that I cared about the mocking or the looks; it was just to avoid distractions.

Each student had their own room and a basic monthly allowance to live without relying on outside sources. The only condition was that we meet the institution’s expectations. That gave me the perfect excuse to stop seeing my family.

Now, if I didn’t manage to stand out here, I’d really be in trouble. I wasn’t an intellectual, and reading bored me terribly, but it was that or live on the streets in the future.

It was an entire year—demanding and exhausting study. My life was confined to the damn library and laboratory, from 6 a.m. to midnight. I knew nothing else. The difference between school and university was that attendance wasn’t mandatory here. All that mattered was demonstrating progress, so I almost never attended any classes, except on rare occasions when I needed an explanation about runes.

On my countless trips through the library, I noticed different students who, like me, preferred to avoid classes and study on their own. Among them, one person stood out. I can say he was by far the most well-read person in this library. His table was covered with mountains of books.

There was something about him that intrigued me. I never saw him anywhere other than the library—and that’s saying a lot, as I was one of the people who spent the most time in that wretched place. I don’t even remember seeing his face at the welcome meeting. More mysteries in this university, but that was the last straw. I had to know what was going on. This institution, so beneficial, was too good to be true. I decided to sit at his table and initiate my first informal conversation since entering this place.

No need to introduce myself; that would be as pointless as breathing into a bag to calm down.

“Hey,” I said monotonously.

The zebra didn’t notice me, or if he did, he ignored me, completely absorbed in his book, practically with his face glued to it.

I know this game. Let’s see how long he can ignore me. I narrowed my eyes and raised my voice a little more.

“Are you new here? Are you a student or one of the staff?”

The zebra continued in silence, his next move being to raise a hoof and turn the page of his book.

Interesting, he’s determined not to speak to me. I haven’t seen anyone else talk to this guy in these long, unbearable twelve months. I’m not giving up so easily and wasting the time I took to approach him.

I looked closely at the stack of books that decorated the table. Even with all the books I’d read this year, it wouldn’t come close to the amount this lunatic had on his table. When does he plan to finish all this?

“That’s quite a lot of books. How long do you think it’ll take you to read them all?” I tried to feign curiosity with all my might, but I failed miserably.

The stallion closed his book and put it aside. I thought he’d finally say something, but he just picked another one from the pile and continued reading.

He’s starting to annoy me. Maybe he’s deaf, and I’m just making a fool of myself here. If that’s the case, there’s only one way to find out—the one thing any meticulous, compulsive reader hates with a passion.

“TAP, TAP, TAP.” I started lightly tapping on the wooden table, creating the hollow sound of empty wood.

No response, but his ear twitched slightly.

Bingo. I kept tapping on the table, irritatingly.

“TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP.”

“What do you want?” The stallion finally had enough of the noise and spoke to me with a defeated, irritated sigh.

“Oh, so you were listening to me? I thought you were deaf, or maybe I’d become so insignificant that I’m now invisible to zebras’ eyes,” I said mockingly, and as if just noticing his irritation, I asked, “Am I bothering you? Because if I am, I’m very happy.”

“I don’t have time to waste talking to you.”

"Now you're speaking my language. Nor have I come here to talk about your favorite damn storybook. I've been in this institution for a year and your face hasn't appeared anywhere else but this library. I never saw you at the welcoming ceremony," I said with distant intrigue, bowing my head. "Who are you?".

The zebra snorted with amusement and turned another page. “My name’s Morcly.” He paused for a second, and his eyes took on a slight gleam of an intention I couldn’t determine. Then he spoke firmly, “And I’m also the zebra who will change the world’s history.”

He sounded quite convinced.

“How humble.” I mocked emotionlessly and narrowed my eyes a little. “But that’s not what I asked.”

The stallion didn’t look away from his cursed book and answered simply, “I’m 18 years old, a zebra who likes to read, learning about magical teleportation artifacts. This institution has the largest library, so I came here. Is that enough information for you?”

This guy kept talking to me without looking away from the book. Saying he was strange would be an understatement—and that’s coming from me, the oddest person around here. His way of speaking was very pragmatic; no matter how much I talked, he never looked up at me, not even when he responded. He wasn’t disturbed by my inflexible face or simply didn’t care.

He folded a page as a reminder, closed the book, and went to his pile to pick up another.

I began to think again. What he said before—"just came here, no reason?" Then came my next question: how on earth did they let him into the university without being a student or employee? The entire institution is heavily guarded.

When he returned to the table, I asked, not quite believing, “Are you related to the director or something? How did they let you in so easily?”

The stallion sighed, clearly annoyed by my persistence. “I prefer not to waste time talking to random, unimportant zebras.”

It was the only thing we agreed on, I thought apathetically.

The table returned to an uncomfortable silence; the stallion resumed his exhaustive reading, and I sat there, scanning the library, watching other students either continue studying or engage in soft, relaxed conversations.

“So does that mean you’re important?” I asked him again in a low voice.

BAM.

The stallion closed his book with a loud noise, raised his gaze, and finally made eye contact. “Look, girl, you shouldn’t worry about that; like I said, I don’t have to tell anyone anything, especially not you. You’re in no position to demand anything from me.”

The stallion stood up from his seat and slowly walked away from the table. “This institution is pretty good; it gives you lots of freedoms. It would be a shame not to take advantage of them, don’t you think? Especially someone like you. With that blank side, you’ll surely have to work much harder than the others.”

I stayed seated, looking straight ahead without changing my expression. I was a bit surprised; how did he know I didn’t have a mark?

The stallion kept moving away until he was about three meters from me, then stopped and looked at me critically. I returned his gaze out of the corner of my eye.

“And who knows, if you succeed, I might stop considering you just some random zebra. If you reach that position, you’ll get the answers you want.” He smiled smugly, as if daring me to something.

After practically mocking me to my face, he simply left. “Damn nerd,” I muttered, glancing at the books he’d been reading. “Teleportation, space-linking, zero-point field, the nine dimensions.” A bunch of topics related to space and higher dimensions—a branch of study I didn’t care about; it was too complex to be of any use. Like everything else in this place, I just ignored it once more.

In the following days, I didn’t see that stallion again, and every time I asked about him, the guards denied his existence.

The rest of the time passed without anything else worth mentioning; the first year had ended, and it was time to showcase all the students’ progress. For the final evaluation, we had to create something that would impress the professors. Needless to say, anyone who failed would be immediately expelled.

All year, I had focused on making potions. I knew that doing something like a voice-changing potion or an illusion one would be mediocre at best. If I wanted to stand out, I had to think outside the box. I racked my brains to create something that would astonish everyone. That day, I arrived at the evaluation floor with a large saddlebag full of ingredients and scattered them all over my demonstration table.

The exams began, and each student was given ten minutes to perform their experiment. As I predicted, most went for simple things like changing their hair or eye color temporarily or carving runes that caused minor illusions or weak levitation. If this was the bar I needed to surpass, it was clear I would win. I guess all that reading does have its advantages.

Finally, it was my turn. The examiners started the timer and looked at me with critical eyes. I didn’t waste any time and began preparing the potion that would earn me the long-awaited approval. I checked my table, where I had various ingredients I had gathered myself: mana crystals, hyper-energized ground coffee beans, sulfur, manticore venom, snake brain, and, most importantly, plant stem cells.

All the students made disgusted faces when they saw the brain in a vinegar jar. If they knew I had extracted it myself, they would be horrified; for some reason, that thought pleased me. The professors, on the other hand, had a more evaluating and intrigued look.

Except for the brain and the stem cell, I put everything else into a pot of water. Letting everything dissolve over low heat took me seven minutes. I was determined to leave everyone speechless. I took a large sample of the liquid with my syringe, went back to the table with the brain, carefully removed it from the jar, and delicately placed it on the stem cells on a glass plate. With almost surgical skill, I took the syringe and pierced the brain, going all the way to the cerebellum, where I injected all the contents.

Seconds passed, and the brain began to glow a greenish color and quickly developed a nervous system that slowly spread through the stem cells until it covered the entire plate.

The examiners were very impressed... at least for the first few seconds, since nothing else happened afterward. Their expressions changed from awe to disappointment. They were about to give their final evaluation, but I quickly stopped them; I wasn’t done yet. From my saddlebag, I took out a small carnivorous plant, and just like with the brain, I placed it delicately on the glass plate, letting its roots make contact with the nervous system. The plant acquired the same greenish glow. With the same delicacy, I took my creation and placed it on the floor.

A few more seconds passed, and the plant began moving energetically, opening and closing its jaws hyperactively. I regained the examiners’ attention, who gave me a few compliments and applause, while from the students, I received a few worried glances. But none of that mattered to me.

I still wasn’t done. A few compliments weren’t enough to make up for all that time rotting in the library.

I dragged the pot closer to the plant, which earned some nervous questions from everyone, but I ignored them. “This will give me the success needed to get answers, won’t it, Morcly?” With force, I gave a sidekick to the pot, causing all its contents to spill onto my experiment.

The room fell into a sepulchral silence, slowly filled by the noise of roots moving wildly and growing at an incredible pace.

The terrified screams of the students were drowned out by the monstrous shriek of the plant, which released a large amount of smoke and grew alarmingly. What was once a small 20-centimeter plant had now become a 5-meter-tall beast.

The students fled like a crazed mob from the evaluation room. Meanwhile, I kept staring at my creation, my expression unchanging, unperturbed, and indifferent, not even when the creature struck one of its roots against my side, “not even when I felt my flanks bruise.” Then everything went dark.

And that’s how we got here... yes, it really was too much internal monologue just to say I got my Cutie Mark by creating a plant monster, but that doesn’t matter now. The next thing that happened when I woke up was seeing the university guards restraining the creature with several ropes while some doctors examined me.

“How dare you do that inside a closed room with unprotected students!” yelled a mare beside me, one of the examiners.

“I hope you’re aware of what’s going to happen now. This is more than enough reason for—” said the other examiner, but he was interrupted by someone else.

“I think it’s more than enough reason to give her a 10,” said a third voice confidently.

The two examiners turned to see the third speaker.

“Director, you can’t be serious; she endangered the lives of those zebras and destroyed this entire room.”

The director showed no resentment, smiling slightly. “The primary goal of this institution is to bring out the greatest potential in its students, and let me tell you, this is the greatest potential I’ve seen this year.” He walked over to me and gave me a friendly smile.

“That may be the case, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore all the destruction she caused,” said the mare.

“Don’t exaggerate; no one got hurt, and the damage to the room is easily covered by the university’s budget. She just needs a little guidance,” he said, raising an eyebrow at the examiners. “Do I need to remind you who funds this place?”

Both examiners sighed in defeat. “Well, you’re the director, after all; you have the final vote.”

The two professors relented and left the destroyed room, soon followed by the guards dragging the giant carnivorous plant, which was still writhing.

The director and the doctors helped me up. “Are you okay?” asked the director formally.

“Yes, nothing serious, sir,” I replied automatically, trying to sound more hurt than I actually was—sometimes it works to avoid scoldings.

The hit didn’t cause enough damage to fracture my ribs, but it would surely hurt tomorrow. My plan had gone exactly as I wanted; I wasn’t foolish enough to risk my stay here by causing this uproar. I was sure the director would speak in my favor. After a year of living here, I realized this school wasn’t normal—the free stay, the vast information, the nerdy zebra who snuck in unnoticed, the freedoms they gave us, all funded by the queen—this was very suspicious. Besides, the director constantly motivated us to keep learning and improving. It was clear the institution was desperately trying to create wizards, even if I didn’t know why. I knew that if I demonstrated my efforts, no matter how much chaos I caused, the director would support me.

The director dismissed the doctors with a hoof gesture. “That’s good. If you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with you later in my office. Does that sound alright?”

“Sure,” I said simply, slowly leaving the room with a slight limp.

“Tomorrow at 4:00 PM, I’ll be expecting you, Miss Lendary.”

I had been walking back and forth around the university for hours; I might have gone around a few times. The students looked at me as if I were crazy, and those who were with me during the evaluation ran away as soon as they saw me approaching them. “I didn’t care about any of that.” I just kept wandering through the halls with my head down until, little by little, they emptied of zebras, and the sunlight faded to give way to the dim light of the moon.

What was I doing? I felt strange… as if something had changed; maybe that hit finally drove me mad. No, I knew what was happening; I was just trying to process it, to check that it wasn’t a dream.

My walk stopped when I reached my room. I entered, threw my bags on the floor, and headed for the bathroom, as if I were on autopilot. With one yank, I pulled off the only robe covering me, lowered my gaze toward my side, and there it was—my cutie mark, as disgustingly colorful as all the others: a simple image of a bubbling cauldron with green sparkles. “How uncreative.”

So many years of being mocked for not having one, and now I got one out of nowhere. Was it a damn joke?! Now that I remember, we rarely did anything related to magic in school, and when we did, I didn’t pay attention because it seemed boring. My teeth clenched. Was it really that simple? It’s not possible. Besides, cutie marks are supposed to be related to what you love to do. “The sorceress is crap!” I would never choose this if I didn’t know it would help me make money.

My legs trembled with anger. What was I supposed to do now? I had thought of myself as a “speck of dust blown by the wind,” letting the current carry me down the different paths of life without caring about anything. Did that change now?
I raised my gaze to see myself in the mirror; a zebra with a blank expression stared back at me. No, it was much worse now. I was a leaf swept along in a river. The currents of wind always change, and sometimes they can collide with others, rise, descend, twist, but a river is linear, with a beginning and an end—nothing more, doomed to follow the same path forever.

I bit my lip so hard it made me bleed. I subconsciously promised myself I would succeed in this world without the need to have a talent! I left my family! I wasted my time reading those damned books! I wanted to prove I could be better with a blank flank!

CRASH!!!

I hit the mirror so hard that I shattered it completely. The sharp sound of glass falling accompanied my ragged breathing. The room fell into an absolute silence, the faint ticking of my clock the only thing accompanying my torment.

I remained in that position for who knows how long, but judging by the reflection of the broken glass on the floor, it must have been hours. My eyes had heavy bags under them, and to top it all off, my alarm clock started to ring, as irritating and loud as ever. I grabbed the shampoo bottle and threw it with all my might at the device to break it.

I crawled painfully to my bed and collapsed, utterly drained. The meeting with the principal was at 4:00 PM, right? Well, then screw the rest of the day! I’m going to sleep.

I woke up half an hour before the agreed time. I didn’t even shower, nor did I put on a robe; there was no point in that now. It seemed impossible, but somehow everything felt even more tasteless than before.

My steps were as calculated as those of a zombie fresh out of the grave. I was lucky not to have tripped over my disheveled hair covering my face.

“Hey, watch out; get out of their way.” “Hey, wait, don’t leave me alone.” “That’s scary. Who is she?” “I don’t know, I don’t remember her.” “Why didn’t they expel her after what happened yesterday?” “She’s gone crazy, just look at her.”

Why can’t they shut up for a damned second? Their useless chatter keeps me from thinking, I thought tiredly.

When I arrived at the principal's office, I straightened my hair as best I could to look as presentable as possible before knocking on the door.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

A second later, I heard a response.

"Come in," said a jovial voice.

I opened the door, and the comforting smell of hot coffee greeted me. The principal was sitting behind his desk, going through some papers. On the corner of the desk, two cups of coffee waited patiently to be drunk, releasing that alluring steam.

“Good morning, Miss Lendary, I’m glad to see you safe and sound.” The principal set his stack of papers aside and gently slid the coffee cups to the center of the desk, offering me one. I delicately grasped the warm porcelain walls and allowed myself a moment to enjoy the aroma, collecting my thoughts.

“You’re probably wondering why I called you here.” The principal took a sip of his coffee and swiveled his chair to look out the window on the wall.

We were on the top floor of the central tower, and from this window, there was a full view of the other buildings and the vast birch tree garden at the front, plus the fountain adorning the center of the institution—a picture worthy of the name it represents.

“I guess it's about needing a guide or something like that, right?” I said, not particularly interested in the topic, focusing more on the coffee in my Hooves. After blowing on the liquid a few times, I took a slow but long sip of that incredible substance. After a full year of drinking it, it had become an essential sustenance.

“In part, yes, it's about that, but it's a bit more important than simply assigning you an instructor.” The principal took another sip of his coffee.

“What do you mean, Principal?” I asked indifferently.

There was a small silence in the room as the principal continued watching the students enjoying their break near the fountain or walking through the gardens.

“These students are the future of our nation. I have fought for years to encourage these young people to seek innovation and advancement in the shamanic arts.” He turned his chair slightly to glance at me. “Do you know why?”

Of course, I knew. I had known for a long time. The use of magic, as I said before, is something zebras cannot do on their own; they must resort to external means.

“We are the only intelligent species in the world that doesn’t have magic within our bodies.”

The principal laughed gently, accompanied by a dry cough that hinted at his years.

“Yes, not a single drop. Ceutí marks don’t count in this case, as they’re a force of destiny exerted upon us.”

Hearing these words stirred a deep discomfort in me at that moment, so I decided to steer the conversation in another direction. Now that I had the opportunity, I intended to get as much information as I could.

“Wasn’t it always like that? This isn’t something new.”

“You’re mistaken, child. Legends say it wasn’t always like this. We, just like everyone else, had magic in ancient times, before the rise of Harmony a thousand years ago.”

“But those are just that—legends, stories to cheer up children,” I said, keeping my bored gaze fixed on my coffee reflection.

“All legends stem from some truth, Miss Lendary. There are still many things we don’t know.”

Bingo.

“Speaking of things we don’t know, there was someone who wasn’t a student but still managed to enter the library like it was nothing.” I asked pointedly.

The principal hummed thoughtfully without taking his eyes off the window. “Oh, really?”

“Yes, his name was Morcly. Do you know anything about him? The guards swear they don’t know who I’m talking about.”

Another silence filled the room while I waited patiently for an answer. The principal took one last sip from his coffee cup and calmly replied, “Unfortunately, I am not permitted to disclose that information.”

That was the last straw. I stopped looking at my reflection in the coffee and met the principal’s gaze. “I’ll be straightforward with you, Principal; this institution is hiding many things, and all this secrecy is getting a little irritating.” Despite my irritation, my expression remained as indifferent as ever.

The principal seemed to ponder my words for a moment, then turned his chair completely to face me. “Very well, I’ll be direct with you too, Miss Lendary. Due to your exceptional experiment yesterday, I saw something in you that I don’t see in others. So, as a reward, I’ll provide you with a bit of information and a proposal.”

The principal bent down and pulled a sealed envelope from his drawer, bearing the royal seal. My eyebrow arched in confusion.

The principal placed the envelope on the desk carefully and continued talking. “Depending on your answer, I’ll know how to proceed.”

“Well, what about the school?”

The principal sat up straight in his chair and spoke in a professional, well-rehearsed voice, “The Asha Kandisha University, as its name suggests, is an institution fully funded by Queen Asha’s capital, exempt from taxes. You are allowed to do practically anything you want, as long as you produce satisfactory results.”

I already knew all of this; I needed more. “Why would the queen go to so much trouble?”

“The true value of sorcery lies in the military. The queen is constantly looking for advancements in this area because, as we discussed earlier, we don’t have magic.”

The principal pulled something else from his drawer—a fountain pen with strange symbols engraved on it. He held it with his mouth and began tracing a rune on his empty cup.

“To improve potions, find stronger artifacts, enhance runes…”

When he finished engraving on the porcelain, he took the cup and dropped it to the floor. The impact caused the rune on the cup to glow, but it didn’t break.

My eyes slowly lowered to the floor, where I looked at the cup with blank eyes. A simple fortification rune, slightly less effective than potions for my taste but more durable.

“What gives our species greater strength is the use of sorcery, primarily quick-activation potions for immediate use, such as body fortifiers. That’s why Sorcerers have extremely high value in the military. That’s why Her Majesty wants to find or create the most powerful ones.”

“I understand that, but why the urgency now? Why not before? Like you said, it’s been over 1,000 years, and you're telling me Asha Kandisha was the first to do something?”

“She’s the first to make it relatively public.” The principal picked up the cup and placed it back on the table. “The queen thought that taking a slightly more direct approach would be much more effective.”

I scoffed a little mockingly. “I hope it pays off. It would be a big waste to build this place for nothing. I think it’s too much effort for too little gain.”

The principal cleared his throat and spoke carefully. “I must admit the queen is rather desperate. I have limited information on the matter, but something happened 14 years ago that triggered a bit of paranoia in her regarding potential threats to our kingdom.”

Fourteen years ago... I would have been about three years old. I can’t remember if anything important happened around that time.

“What happened?”

The principal simply responded by shaking his head. I sighed in frustration. “Alright, just a bit of information. Got it.”

At last, I got some answers. Of course, he didn’t reveal everything; he didn’t even mention the infiltrated zebra. I’ll ignore it again… for now. I looked at the fancy envelope still on the table and continued the conversation.

“And what about the proposal?”

The director smiled, satisfied with the direction the conversation was taking, and laughed calmly again. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about in the first place. Go ahead, open it.”

I immediately took the envelope and ripped it open with my teeth. Inside was a thick piece of golden paper, richly decorated with the university's crest. When I turned the page, I was surprised and confused by the similar wording.

I read the contents aloud: “Central University Asha Kandisha, Cebrican Monarchy. The faculty of Shamanic Sciences, Alchemy, and Magical Artifacts confers the title of Advanced Sorceress.” I frowned after finishing reading and looked at the stallion in front of me.

The director smiled more broadly. “Surprised?”

“Confused would be the correct word. I’m still in my first year; why was I certified as if I had completed five years?”

“You haven’t been certified yet; I’m just showing you what could happen if you accept this proposal. As I said, I see talent in you.”

My eyelid twitched involuntarily at hearing that word.

“As a potion maker, I believe you could be very useful if you join the research and development unit linked to the royal army. If you accept, you will automatically graduate from this university.”

“It’s too good to be true; what’s the catch?” My gaze returned to its indifferent state; this proposal seemed more like a reward than anything else. It couldn’t be real.

The director huffed a bit, indignantly, but the smile he gave me indicated he understood my concern. “There’s no catch, Miss Lendary; you said it yourself, this is a lot of effort and little reward. That’s why, when an opportunity arises, I take full advantage of it, and I don’t need you to complete five years to know what I already know.”

He was flattering me too much, which I would appreciate if that experiment were a true achievement. Now I couldn't tell if it was due to my effort or because of my cutie mark. “I appreciate the recognition, sir, but I don’t think it was that much.”

“I haven’t seen anything like this in 20 years; I’m totally sure of my decision.” I shot back. He stood up from his seat to pour more coffee into his cup. “Now then, Miss Lendary, what’s your decision?”.

I thought about it for several minutes; the director didn’t mind my silence and simply waited while he sipped his coffee. Four years of study would be waived if I accepted. It was very tempting. To be honest, my original plan was to achieve the highest recognition possible and then buy a small shop in the city to work selling simple potions. Having to keep studying to seek advancements and innovations was a complete hassle; “I’m not a bookworm.” But wouldn’t my original plan be just as boring and tedious? The river had already submerged me in the water, and the current had already marked my path. If I had to choose between a mediocre job or being a researcher, then I would choose the best of the worst.

I accepted.

One year has passed. When I accepted the director's proposal, he acted at lightning speed, as if he already knew I’d say yes; it took him less than three days to handle everything and grant me the title of advanced sorceress, though I don’t consider myself one. The following week, the queen's personal guard came to take me to their base of operations, and yes, they also handed me a letter from the queen herself, congratulating me on my personal achievement and saying she expected great things from me, blah blah blah. “If she were truly impressed, she would have come to tell me in person.”

The facilities were quite large, with many zebras who would be my coworkers in this job. The lab had more than anyone could ever ask for, a true paradise for a brainiac; to me, it was just another room, and over the weeks, it would become an unbearable routine.

It was strange... when I started working as a researcher, everything seemed worryingly simple. Before, I struggled to learn even a simple recipe and had to spend hours reading and reviewing to get it right, but now… it was very easy. In the various projects we handled in the lab, it took me only a few hours to understand how each one worked. I adapted quickly to the research level—what once took weeks of exhaustive study and sleepless nights now required just a quick glance at the theory to execute it perfectly.

My coworkers laughed about it; they didn’t understand my confusion. They said it wasn’t strange at all; in fact, it was completely normal. If I were in their shoes, I’d probably think the same. I mean, it’s logical—if they hired me as a researcher, it must be because I’m good in this field.

But the point is, I was never good at this.

There was something specific about their words that short-circuited my mind.

One of my fellow researchers, who often visited my workstation, laughed and spoke to me. “I don’t know why you’re so surprised; you were born for this, just like us,” he said, pointing to my flank to emphasize his point. “After all, it’s your natural talent.”

“NATURAL TALENT.”

What…? Natural? Natural? THIS WAS NEVER NATURAL FOR ME! It was hell; all that time in university was incredibly hard, and all I knew was study, study, and STUDY. It was never easy, it was never fast, it was NEVER, NATURAL! Those two words made my blood boil. I hated those words. No, not just that—I hate natural talent. Everyone born with that ease to do things that are impossible for others infuriates me… and now I hate myself too. Everything I once despised, I became.

Another year has passed… or maybe it’s been two; I don’t know anymore. It’s been a while since I cared about the passage of time. I no longer know what I’m doing, I don’t know when I’m awake or when I’m asleep, I can’t tell when one day ends and another begins.

I couldn’t remember the days that passed, the food I ate yesterday, the work I did a few hours ago, the words I spoke to my colleagues. My brain simply erased those memories; it was all a thick fog in my mind.

Luckily, or unluckily, one day something brought me back to reality.

One night, out of nowhere, I couldn’t breathe. I felt something tighten around my neck. I thrashed and kicked wildly to free myself from whatever was choking me, but to my surprise, my hooves weren’t touching the floor.

When I finally managed to perceive my surroundings, I realized what was happening. That’s right, I was hanging. Unconsciously, I had tried to kill myself, and on the brink of death, I regained my senses.

I swung back and forth on the rope until I managed to touch the ceiling with my hooves. I grabbed onto the rope and pulled with all my strength until it broke; fortunately, I had been hanging from a set of tunics tied together, so it wasn’t too resistant.

I crashed hard onto the floor, coughed violently, and gasped for air. I felt relieved that I hadn’t died, but deep down, a strange part of me longed to slip back into unconsciousness, into the only way I could describe it: an abyss. This was bad, really bad; I needed to do something urgently. Living like this was destroying me—I needed to stimulate my life somehow to avoid falling back into that abyss.

“Do you want to switch positions?” asked the captain of the research section.

“Yes, sir, I request a transfer to the advanced field research team,” I said as seriously as possible.

To avoid returning to the dark pit I had just escaped, I needed to break the routine. The field research team worked closely with the special operations teams; this would surely keep me alert and aware.

“It’s rather unusual for someone to request that change; it’s almost always the other way around,” the captain said, rubbing his chin.

Of course, research and development is much safer than field research. Who would want to be on the front lines without being a soldier?

“I feel I’d be much more useful there, sir,” I said as respectfully as possible.

The captain stayed silent, simply closing his eyes, then turned and began walking towards the training area. Since he didn’t give me a response, I assumed he wanted me to follow him, so I did.

We walked for minutes through the hallways of the research section in silence. I was about to speak again, but conveniently, the captain decided to answer.

“I’ve seen your record, Lendary. You’re good at what you do; you always follow orders without complaint, and you’re only 19. If you showed a bit more initiative, you’d undoubtedly be one of the best researchers.”

I didn’t feel flattered. The reason I never disobeyed an order was because I was working on autopilot, like a machine without reasoning, but I had to keep up appearances.

Finally, we exited the building, and the blazing midday sun greeted us—a hot, uncomfortable heat made worse by the smell of sweat and dirt from the zebras training there.

“That’s exactly why I want to be in the field, sir; this could give me—” Before I could finish, the captain turned to me with a serious look.

“But you’re still very young, and you have no combat or survival training to qualify for that position. You can’t do it now, but maybe in a few months, if you join the recruits, I might give you the chance,” he said directly, then turned to continue walking across the training grounds.

I clenched my teeth and stopped abruptly in frustration.

NO, I don’t have a few months. If I don’t change now, I’ll fall back into the abyss, and I may never get out. My purpose in life had vanished a long time ago—or rather, I never really had one. I thought sorcery would be how I proved my worth despite lacking talent, but now that damned cutie mark had closed that path for me. Still, I didn’t want to die.

I had to convince the captain at any cost.

“SIR, I AM PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF APPLYING RIGHT NOW!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.

The captain, who kept walking without realizing I was no longer following him, stopped and turned to look at me with a frown. All the nearby zebras paused to watch us. The captain seemed puzzled; perhaps it was because it was the first time I raised my voice and the first time I argued over something.

“Why do you want that position so badly?”

“Just give me a chance, Captain; I swear I won’t disappoint you!” I lowered my head in supplication.

The captain sighed and thought for a few seconds. I looked up to see his brows furrow as he looked across the field at the zebras, focusing on one in particular and calling him over, “Sergeant Lubazi, come here.”

I looked at the crowd of zebras watching us, and among them, a duo approached. Two stallions who seemed to have been training for hours.

“Captain, long time no see; what’s going on?” said a stallion slightly taller than me, with short black-and-white mane and bright yellow eyes.

The captain simply nodded and looked at me. “Lendary, this is Lubazi. He’s the leader of the special operations team.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” he said respectfully.

“Lubazi, this mare wants to join the field research team but has no training. I want you to evaluate her right now to see if she has the necessary skills. You've worked with one of them before, haven’t you? So you know what’s needed to apply. Give her a test.”

“Field researcher, huh?” he said, looking me over thoughtfully.

His gaze scanned the training field, and he rubbed his chin in thought.

“Alright, your test will be this,” he said, pointing to his companion. “If you can beat Hondo in a sparring match, you pass.”

The stallion, who had been apparently disconnected from the conversation as he stared off into the distance without focusing on anything in particular, reacted when he heard his name and looked at me with neutrality.

"He's a stealth specialist, but don't underestimate him; he's probably the best fighter on this field."

I returned Moxy’s look with a blank expression. I had never fought in my life. (Thanks for giving me such a fair test), thought irritably, as small drops of sweat formed on my forehead.

"I'll give you a bit of an advantage—you’re allowed to use reinforcement potions, but since he's quite tired from training, I think that's enough of a head start for today."

"Well, it's settled then, Lendary. Prepare yourself—the first battle will be right now," said the captain, like a judge passing sentence.

Within a few minutes, a large number of zebras and creatures had gathered to witness the incredible butt-kicking I was about to receive. Not knowing what else to say to my opponent, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"May the best one win, I guess." What a stupid thing to say; it's obvious he's the better one.

The zebra, for his part, didn’t respond; he simply looked at me with neutrality as he got into a fighting stance. He doesn't seem very talkative. I took a fighting stance as well, or rather, I just copied the pose my opponent made.

"Alright. BEGIN!" shouted Lubazi.

Without thinking, I charged forward directly.

How considerate of them. "He's tired, that's surely enough advantage, right?" Screw you, Lubazi.

There I was, lying on the ground, covered in bruises and struggling to breathe. This wasn’t a fight; it was complete abuse. I didn't manage to land a single hit. And he was supposed to be tired? How do they expect me to win with only a week of time?

It had been an hour since everyone had left. After my crushing defeat, the captain made it clear that if I didn’t pass this test, I wouldn’t get another chance, and I’d have to train alongside the recruits for four months if I wanted to join.

Once again, I found myself in a worrying situation, only this time I wouldn’t have to kill myself reading books; I’d have to kill myself training. Nothing new in my life. Still, I didn't know if I’d have a chance even using reinforcement potions.

Well, I just have to think of this test as life or death. Oh, wait, it is!, before, if I couldn’t succeed as a sorceress, I would probably die of hunger. Now, if I don’t achieve victory, I’ll die because I’ll surely fall back into that existential void and end up killing myself… “Damn, I really have gone crazy.”

I got up with great effort; every movement made my muscles scream in pain. I think even blinking hurt, but I still didn’t head to my room or to the infirmary; I couldn’t waste that precious time. I suppressed the pain in my body and started galloping with all my strength on the speed track. First things first: endurance.

Second day.
"BEGIN."

This time, I didn’t use any potions, which resulted in me getting wiped across the floor once again, but much faster than before.

Once more, I was on the ground trying to stay conscious. That damn stallion had no consideration for me as a female or for my complete lack of fighting knowledge.

Forty minutes later, I got up again and approached a tree, standing on two hooves.
The next step.

Strength. I started hitting it until either it broke, or I collapsed—whichever happened first.
I spent the entire day and night like that, punching the tree.

Third day.

"BEGIN."

I drank a simple reinforcement potion from the labs, and I managed to last more than a minute, but in the end, I was thrown through the air with a strong hit to my stomach, rolling across the ground until I came to a pathetic stop.
Half an hour later, I got up again.

I tied some anvils to chains, bit down on the chain, and began running on the track once more.

Fourth day.

"BEGIN."

Same process—reinforcement potion and attacking until I couldn’t continue. There was no change; once again, I was thrown through the air. I was starting to realize that improving my endurance and strength only made me a better punching bag.

Fifteen minutes later, I got up again.

Going three days without a single minute of sleep was beginning to take a toll; I could barely put one hoof in front of the other from exhaustion.Should I take a break and sleep tonight? NO. I went to the lab and took an energy potion, stronger than caffeine, plus some healing potions.

Back at the training ground, I went through the same routine as the previous days—running with anvils, hitting the tree until midnight. Then, I stopped by the commanders’ offices and requested a manual on military combat and self-defense.

I returned to the training field and read non-stop. After finishing each chapter, I’d stop to try to mimic what was described and illustrated in the book. My legs shook from the stress of using them non-stop. Some would think this is excessive, but it really wasn’t that different from what I had to do in university for an entire year, only here I had to use my body, not my mind.

Fifth day.

"BEGIN."

This time, I managed to dodge a few hits! I don’t think it was thanks to reading the manual; I think the biggest influence was my improved reaction speed. When it came to counterattacking, though, I was as useless as ever. I may have read the entire book, but reading it and putting it into practice are two very different things.

Ten minutes later, I got up again.

Theory is good, but it doesn’t represent substantial learning; I needed to see it in real life and practice it firsthand.

I asked a few of those still training if they could teach me the basics. They were much gentler with me when they saw my injuries, but still, it helped me learn to dodge and counterattack.

Every time someone decided to go rest, I moved to the next zebra, and then the next, and the next. At night, energy potion, and back to training.

Sixth day.

"BEGIN."

I hit him—I hit him! A well-placed right hook to the face. Damn, it felt good to finally hurt him for the first time. Still, it was the only hit I managed to land, but unlike the previous fights, this one was much more intense. I managed to block and dodge many attacks, and withstand those that hit me. What used to be short fights of 2 or 5 minutes turned into long battles of 10 or 20 minutes. Even so, I ended up just like always—on the ground.
Five minutes later, I got up again.

This time, I decided to look around the training field for the most skilled among everyone. There was a slightly older mare who had just won a fight against a younger stallion, so I approached her.
"Ma'am, do you have time for one more fight?" I said in a monotone, tired voice.

The mare turned and looked at me in surprise. "Oh, it’s you. Are you sure you can continue? You don’t seem to be in the best condition. You just finished your fight with Moxy recently; I’d recommend you go to the infirmary."

I suppose she said that because of my irritated, red eyes and my trembling legs. I could still continue, though. My red eyes were due to going six days without a single minute of sleep, and my trembling legs were from the adrenaline and caffeine stressing my body.

"Don’t worry; I’m fine," I replied simply.The mare didn’t seem convinced, but she agreed anyway. "Well, if that's what you want, don’t regret it."She approached me and took a fighting stance, and I did the same.
"On the count of three. 1, 2, 3."

When she said three, I took the initiative immediately as always. She prepared for my attack, and when I was close enough, I tried to kick her head from the side, but she dodged it by lowering her body and sweeping my legs. As I fell to the ground, the mare tried to punch my head, but I rolled to dodge it.

I quickly got up and attacked again with several blows to her neck, all of which she blocked and countered with punches to my face. She caught my last strike and threw me to the ground once more. She was about to pin me in a lock, but I reacted in time and kicked her stomach, which she dodged by jumping back.

I took advantage of the moment to get back up, but the mare didn’t allow me to rest and quickly approached to deliver a powerful blow to my face; I couldn’t block it in time. The hit rattled my brain, but I clenched my teeth, pushed my face forward, and launched my own punch.

The mare was stunned by my reaction—maybe she thought that punch would knock me out.
Sorry, but I didn’t spend six days as a damn punching bag to go down with a single hit. She couldn’t defend herself in time, and I managed to land a solid punch in her stomach. It wasn’t enough to knock her out, but it did make her stagger and clutch the injured area in pain. A second later, she recovered, and I took the initiative once again.

Thirty minutes of nonstop fighting passed until finally, the mare decided to end the match, raising her voice.

“OKAY, OKAY, that’s enough for today,” she said through labored breaths. “Damn, what the hell are you made of? Don’t you feel pain?”

My face was bruised, swollen, with blood trickling down from my forehead, but I remained standing and ready to strike.

The mare looked at me with a mix of awe and fear. “Is this really the first time you’ve trained?”

“Yes,” I could only say that, as one of her hits to my jaw had made me bite my tongue.

The mare laughed, “To have this level after just six days is not normal; are you sure you don’t have a special talent for fighting too?”

The veins in my forehead bulged when I heard that word again. “NO.” I tried to articulate my words as clearly as possible, “don’t… say. that. word. again.”
Unable to speak well, I just left the training field, leaving the mare confused by my reaction.

It wasn’t natural talent that helped me improve—it was my own effort, the result of pushing myself to train and study relentlessly. It was my damn achievement, won entirely by myself, without any other help.

Tomorrow would be my last chance. Even though I had shown clear improvement, defeating Moxy without potions would be impossible, so I had to swallow my pride and prepare my own advanced reinforcement potion.

Guess what I did that night? Yes, exactly the same! I reviewed combat techniques until dawn, and when the sun rose, I kept going without wasting a single second. I punched while having breakfast, ran while eating, practiced while having dinner, read while bathing, downed an energy potion, and repeated the process all over again.

Seventh Day

This was the end. I decided the final fight should be at night to gain a little more time; every minute was precious. I stood in the middle of the crowd of zebras who cheered like an audience at a school fight; the commanders allowed it due to the unusual occasion.

“Well, this is your last chance, Lendary. I wish you luck,” Lubazi said stoically.

“Luck is only for those who lack conviction,” I said seriously, looking at Moxy with my usual blank stare.

He returned my gaze with a neutral and silent expression. “No hard feelings,” he said simply.

I laughed without humor, “Decided to stop being shy? This is the first time you’re speaking to me.” I got no response; the stallion took his fighting stance. “Why do I even bother?” I said, sounding bored.

The field fell silent as we waited for Lubazi to give us the signal.

…

…

…

“BEGIN!”

True to myself, I took the initiative and charged at the stallion, launching a side kick as I had done the day before with the mare. As expected, he blocked it and attempted to sweep my leg from the ground. Anticipating this, I jumped, retracting my hind legs mid-air and extending them with force to deliver a powerful double kick. Moxy spun his body and countered with a kick to my ribs; I managed to block it but was thrown back.

He didn’t give me a moment to land; he ran toward me and punched my face so hard it sent me flying again.

This bastard wasn’t giving me a second to breathe. I landed and the opponent was already on top of me, ready to strike again. I desperately dodged the blow by mere centimeters and retaliated with a right hook, landing it on his ribs, but it didn’t stop him. He quickly grabbed my hoof and used his other to repeatedly punch my face. I raised my hoof to try to block, but Moxy took advantage of this to land a powerful final punch to my stomach.

For the third time, I was launched into the air and landed like a ragdoll.

The crowd fell silent again.

“You gave a good fight, but unfortunately, you have lost—” Lubazi thought it was over and was about to call off the match.

Five seconds later, I stood up again.

“I can still keep going,” I said between gasps.

For the first time since I’d known him, Moxy’s expression changed to one of astonishment, but he quickly got serious again and didn’t let me recover, rushing toward me once more. I dodged to the right, skidding on the ground until I ended up near some saddlebags I’d left there before the battle. I reached my hoof inside.

Even though I’d told myself I’d swallow my pride and fight with potions, I actually hadn’t taken any. But it was becoming clear that I couldn’t achieve this without them.

“I really didn’t want to use this, but I have no choice.” I pulled out a vial of bright red liquid, drank it in one go, and tossed the vial to the ground.

I felt the blood rush to my head quickly; my heart raced, my pupils dilated, my breathing grew more intense, and I bared my clenched teeth.

“Second round?” I said savagely.

I used so much force in my legs that the ground cracked with my first move.

Moxy took the fight seriously after my display of strength. My abilities had increased significantly, but against a highly trained soldier who was fully focused, I returned to being a punching bag.

The physical enhancement potions create a lot of stress on the body, and considering how incredibly stressed mine already was, it was a risky bet. I decided to sacrifice power for durability in my potion to extend its effect.

My increased speed allowed me to keep hitting and maintaining pressure on my opponent; every hit he landed on me, I countered with five of my own, though he evaded and blocked them all. Every time I was knocked to the ground, I immediately got back up and attacked again.

On the training field, only the sound of hooves hitting flesh could be heard. Minutes turned into hours.

Now we were at a standstill; we were both gasping for air. I was completely battered, my body trembling uncontrollably, while Moxy only had a few bruises but was extremely tired.

“Surrender; you can’t win. You haven’t landed a single hit in the last 20 minutes. Your potion has worn off. With my next punch, you might never recover,” Moxy finally broke the silence.

I kept breathing heavily, staring at the ground, swallowed hard, and looked up with a frown. “Try me, bastard.”

Moxy returned to his neutral gaze, leaping toward me and preparing a strong punch with his right hoof.

That punch was meant to injure me beyond recovery.

I made a small jump to the right to dodge, but Moxy turned his body in my direction and jumped again, getting in front of me in an instant before I could place all four hooves on the ground. His punch finally connected with my stomach, sinking his hoof into my flesh. My eyes went white, and I felt bile rise in my throat. The punch didn’t stop and drove me into the ground.

“It’s over,” he said calmly.

Before he could withdraw his hoof, I grabbed it tightly.

“What!” the stallion said in shock.

It hurt, it hurt a lot; for a moment, I felt like I’d die. Over the past few days, I’d become aware of the skill gap. There was no chance, I knew that very well. But I have something no one else does: unmatched focus. If I couldn’t win fairly, then I’d find a way to.

I clenched my teeth and held his hoof even tighter, opened my eyes, and looked at the stallion. “Pain is easy to endure, you know? The trick was in the lie. These past minutes, I let myself get hit.”

My goal was this opening, to make him overconfident. NOW I WON’T FAIL.

Moxy’s eyes widened in panic. “Imposs—”

BAM

I used all the strength I had left and slammed my head into his face, hitting so hard I even felt my own skull crack.

The stallion’s body fell to the ground, unconscious. Everything fell silent once again; all the zebras were in shock.

“Unbelievable,” a voice muttered in the crowd.

Lubazi shouted like a sports commentator, “Despite her condition, THE ROOKIE HAS WON!”

All the zebras celebrated with cheerful shouts.

I could barely hear what was happening around me; my vision was blurry, and my breathing would get blocked every time the blood from my mouth went down my throat. The captain came over to help me toward the infirmary.

“Congratulations, Lendary, you passed the test,” he said with respect. “Welcome to the Advanced Research Division.”
I did it. It seemed impossible, but I did it. I felt nothing from my victory; I was forced to use my own potions to win. It wasn’t my effort that gave me the victory; it was my special talent.

Maybe I’d be a little more excited if I’d won without using my potions.
I closed my eyes, and for the first time all week, I let exhaustion pull me into a deep sleep.

Three years have passed.
A lot has happened during this time.

To start, my new lifestyle has kept me out of the abyss; the missions are exciting enough to avoid falling into monotony. Still, I keep hearing a sound from within me—the abyss is still there, lurking, waiting for my life to become meaningless again.

After five months in my new position, a message reached the queen from outside the kingdom, apparently provided by a bribed official in Equestria.

The information was distributed to all the special forces teams: (A new alicorn has emerged).

Her name was Cadence. Aside from her name, there wasn’t much information about her. Originally, she was an orphaned pegasus from an unknown village, which was attacked by a pony sorcerer. It’s said that Cadence fought that pony, and in that battle, she ascended to alicorn status. She was adopted by Princess Celestia shortly afterward and has been living in the palace ever since.

And not only that, but the message also relayed something that irritated me a bit: (Princess Celestia has chosen a disciple.)

Twilight Sparkle, a young unicorn from Canterlot. “Possibly the most talented and promising unicorn seen in decades.” This news greatly worried the queen.

On the other hand, it caused me unbearable annoyance. That unicorn surely had everything handed to her on a silver platter.

Suddenly, the missions became more frequent.

On many of my missions, I was grouped with a stallion I hadn’t seen in years: Morcly.

So he’d always been linked to advanced researchers, huh? Now I understood all the mystery surrounding him.
I was able to talk to him again; he didn’t seem surprised that I was here. He’d probably been told long ago.

We had a mission to travel to the frozen lands of the ancient Crystal Empire in search of a teleportation artifact and a research book. We were gathered in the forest on the outskirts of the Cebrican kingdom, and Morcly, as usual, was reading a damned book, sitting there in front of a campfire.

I approached him and sat across from him on the other side of the fire.
“Hey, it’s been a while. Do you remember me?” I said indifferently.

The stallion looked up for a second to take in my face, then returned to his book. I thought he’d ignore me, like the last time, so I considered bothering him until he gave in, but to my surprise, he folded a page in his book, closed it, and set it aside, now looking at me with full attention.

“How could I forget that mannequin face?” he said with a smirk.

I opened my eyes slightly in surprise. “You’re not going to ignore me?”

“No, why should I? I said I wouldn’t waste my time with random zebras, but you’re not just any zebra now, are you? We’re both advanced researchers now.” He crossed his hooves and smiled smugly. “Although obviously not on my level, but still, you achieved more than I thought.”

“Wow, what an honor,” I said sarcastically, without humor. The crackling of the fire filled the silence as I gathered my thoughts for the important conversation.

“You also said that if I succeeded, you’d give me answers. I’ve been looking for information for years, but everyone has either hidden it from me or genuinely knows nothing.”

I glanced at the zebras and other creatures socializing around the camp. “I’m sure they don’t know anything either.” I looked back at Morcly. “Just tell me what’s really going on already.”

Morcly snorted with amusement. “It doesn’t surprise me no one told you anything, mostly because nobody knows anything, not even the researchers. Currently, only eight individuals in the entire Cebrican kingdom, including the queen herself, know the whole story. It’s ultra-classified information, but a promise is a promise, so I’ll tell you.” Morcly looked around to make sure no one was listening, then slowly got up and walked away from the camp. “Follow me; I don’t want anyone overhearing, not even by accident.”

I carefully got up and followed the stallion, moving silently to avoid alerting anyone. We left the camp and headed deeper into the forest, moving through the underbrush in complete silence until we heard the sound of rushing water. We emerged from the thick foliage and found ourselves beside a turbulent river.

“I think this is far enough; what, do you want to go to the other end of the world?”

“What part of ‘ultra-classified’ don’t you understand?”

“All I know is that you’re acting paranoid.”

The secrecy seemed exaggerated, in my opinion. Besides, I was supposed to be a talent unseen in 20 years, right? Even if that word made me sick, it was still what they thought of me, so why not reveal this information sooner?
While I was thinking about this, Morcly grunted in annoyance and snapped at me.

“Do you want answers or not?”

I sighed and spoke calmly. “Just say it already. No one will hear us here, and the noise of the water will drown out the conversation. Don’t waste my time.”

Morcly scowled, as if silently cursing me.

“Fine, whatever. Listen carefully. The queen is looking for a way to control magic. For that, she’s been ordering the search for new power sources in recent years.”

“I already know that—the construction of the Asha Kandisha University, the search for powerful sorcerers. Tell me something I don’t know, genius.”

“That’s just one part, idiot. I mean manipulating magic as a unicorn would. I suppose you’ve heard the legends about the time before harmony, when zebras supposedly had magic.”

I thought about what he said for a moment as we walked along the riverbank. I kicked a random rock, which fell into the river.

“Yes, they’re just baseless legends.”

“That’s what I thought too. Here’s where the ultra-classified information comes in. Do you remember King Sombra?”

I continued watching the rushing river, the wind rustling the trees, loosening leaves that fell into the water and were carried away. I frowned and refocused on Morcly.

“Who doesn’t? One of the great tyrants of ancient history, an evil unicorn who wreaked havoc on the Crystal Empire, defeated by the alicorn sisters. What does he have to do with this?”

Morcly closed his eyes and looked up at the sky, as if contemplating his next words. “Hundreds of years ago, a unicorn arrived in this kingdom, seeking sources of power beyond magic. And he succeeded. Nobody knows how, but he managed to acquire a sinister power. The few records of his time here explain that he created a Category 4 dark teleportation crystal—interdimensional.”

“When you say ‘that unicorn,’ are you referring to—?” I asked in surprise.

“Yes, King Sombra. He arrived in the Cebrican kingdom over a thousand years ago, seeking information on magical artifacts—or so the story goes.”

“What does he have to do with the legend of Cebrican magic?”

“It’s believed that he’s responsible for the loss of zebra magic. In essence, creating the crystals wasn’t the important part; it was the price he had to pay to acquire the power. A payment to whatever he brought from the other side. That’s what drained all zebra magic for that purpose. Somehow.”

My frown deepened. “King Sombra permanently stole our magic? How is that even possible?”

The stallion rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “As far as I know, there are ways to steal magic from other beings, but when that happens, the victim is entirely cut off from all magic, both internal and external, and left completely incapacitated. What happened to us was different. He took our internal magic, but we’re still perfectly capable of living without it, and we’re still susceptible to external magic. That’s why we still have the ability to display cutie marks. It’s something that has never been seen before.”

My jaw clenched as I approached another random rock and kicked it harder into the river. “Eliminating magic without affecting the body—that bastard took what was rightfully ours, plunged us into decay as a race, how dare he.” I shouted in frustration.

Morcly approached me and spoke firmly. “Calm down, Lendary, that’s just the past now. Do you understand what we’re doing here?”

I took a few seconds to steady my breathing, calming my mind, took a deep breath, and let out a long sigh. My face returned to its usual blank expression. “What is your true job here, Morcly? What does it mean to be the zebra that will change history?”

Morcly was surprised to hear the words he’d told me years ago, then he sat down, crossing his hooves, laughing smugly. I quickly remembered who I was talking to; this guy was arrogance personified, and unsurprisingly so; he had every reason to back it up.

“My job is the most important of all; the Queen herself entrusted me with it. King Sombra created many of those crystals and hid them all over the world. My mission is to find them and understand how they work.” Morcly stood up again and moved away from the river, heading back into the thick forest.
I followed him closely.

“Though that’s not what our current mission is about; actually, we’re looking for one of King Sombra’s books along with a Category 1 teleportation crystal hidden deep within the glaciers in the heart of the snowstorm. It won’t be easy.” He kept talking as we walked toward the camp.
“If it were easy, I wouldn’t have come on this mission.” I replied in a monotone voice.

“Sure, sure.” He replied, laughing.

We continued our walk in natural silence, accompanied by the birds’ songs and the soft breeze filtering through the branches of the trees, which allowed me to think clearly. So, the legends were true, or at least there were signs pointing to that. A world where zebras were as important as ponies… I couldn’t even begin to picture it in my mind. Now I understood why they didn’t tell this to common zebras; knowing that a pony was responsible for our current situation would feel like the last blow to our pride.

These days, zebras don’t really harbor any exaggerated resentment toward ponies; most just feel less than the other races. If the zebras learned about this, it would ignite a conflict that we clearly couldn’t win.

That reminded me of what he’d said before we reached the river; not even the researchers or commanders knew about this, so why tell me?

“I don’t understand, Morcly. Why are you telling me this if you say that only eight people in the whole kingdom know about it? Doesn’t the queen force you to keep silent or something?”
Morcly waved his hoof dismissively, as if it didn’t matter. “I do what I think is best; anyway, the queen can’t do anything without me, so I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“Arrogance is definitely not something you lack.” I said emotionlessly.

“It’s not arrogance if it’s true, little mare,” he said with that silly laugh. “As for why I told you, well, it’s simply because I saw something different in you, I saw potential, that’s all.”

A vein throbbed on my forehead, and a static noise filled my mind. “Yeah, I get it, I have a special talent with stupid potions, that’s why, isn’t it?” My words came out like poison. Again, I was being reminded of my special talent, which I hated, something that was not a legitimate achievement of mine.

“No, it’s not because of your special talent; I knew from before that you could become more than the others.”

I was in shock when I heard this; the noise faded, and I quickly focused my gaze on him and asked, surprised, “It’s not because of my cutie mark? What do you mean?”

Morcly laughed again, but this time not arrogantly but in a friendly way. “You don’t remember me, but I was in the same school as you. I didn’t usually talk to many zebras, like you, and I preferred to focus on studying rather than wasting time teasing you about your blank flank.”

“At first, I thought you’d be just another zebra, or worse, a pariah of society. In my view, if you don’t contribute anything to the world, you’re just like a rock; communities are governed by the individual’s purpose, and when combined, it creates progress—”

My mind disconnected after hearing his first few words. This guy was going to start one of his monologues; sentimentality and societal backgrounds didn’t interest me. I just wanted to know what he saw in me when I was a blank flank.

“Can you stop going off on philosophical tangents and just get to the point? You’re boring me.” I said with mild irritation.

Morcly sighed in defeat. “That’s why you don’t have friends. Well, when I saw you in college, I recognized you instantly, and that cloak you always wore just reaffirmed that you still had no mark. Plus, it wasn’t very effective sometimes; while galloping, the cloak would lift, revealing your flanks.”

“You were secretly looking at my flanks? That’s not creepy at all, I’m sure.” I said indifferently, with a slight tone of mockery. I didn’t really care if they saw me, but watching him choke on his own saliva was worth it.
Morcly cleared his throat and continued speaking. “Well, the point is, I watched you throughout the year you were at university. There were days when you’d stay from 6 a.m. to midnight reading—who does that?”

“You.” I said simply.

“The difference is that I read many things in that time; you would spend the whole day with just a few books. It was clear you had no talent.”

“I had to constantly reread to understand what the books said.” I confirmed.

“But even so, you didn’t miss a single day that year; you focused completely. That’s what I’m talking about—

your effort is unmatched.” Morcly smiled at me with confidence. “In the end, you proved that what I saw in you was true.”

Unmatched effort, huh? I hadn’t thought of it that way. I hummed thoughtfully. “That’s the first time I’ve heard that. Thank you, I suppose.” I said in my usual tone and continued walking toward the camp.

“Don’t thank me; I’m just stating a fact. Don’t let it go to your head. This mission won’t be that dangerous, but the journey is what we should be worried about. To reach the frozen lands of the Crystal Empire, we’ll have to go through the minotaur kingdom.”

We ended the conversation and arrived at the camp. There wasn’t much time left before we had to start moving again, so I prepared all my things in my saddlebags, and we set off toward the Minotaur Kingdom.
Little did I know this would be the biggest turning point in my life.

We were a small group of five, passing through their kingdom as simple nomadic merchants. We had a cart full of ingredients for disguise, and, of course, they didn’t allow us free reign through the kingdom. We were constantly watched by guards who accompanied us, and I think there were more hidden around the streets; it seemed they didn’t like zebras much.

We had the typical supplies for these kinds of missions: smoke bombs, illusion runes, potions, tranquilizer darts, cloaks for hiding, etc., all stored in the cart along with other common products to blend in better.

It was a stressful journey of a few hours, during which they constantly questioned our true purpose in the kingdom. Although they didn’t detain us and let us pass through their streets, they remained suspicious. It was thanks to Morcly’s skill with words that we kept an innocent image, with the simple pretext that we were just passing through on our way to Equestria to make some extra money.

Even though they let us continue, Morcly clarified that they were likely planning something, as he carried a rune in one of his saddlebags that at first didn’t seem important but would light up whenever negative feelings were present within a 50-meter radius, which happened as we kept moving through their kingdom.

We decided to quicken our pace.

Once out of their kingdom, the journey became much more relaxed until we reached the frozen lands of the Crystal Empire.

Snowstorms constantly raged, blocking the sunlight, casting a gloomy and desolate atmosphere over what was once a great civilization of ancient eras—a tragedy that would be remembered by ponies to this day, not only for the disappearance of their empire but also for the death of their princess, Amore.

Our objective lay within the glacier mountains, deeply buried in the tunnels and crevices beneath tons and tons of thick ice.

We had to descend almost 30 meters to reach the hidden records, freezing for almost two days just to reach the caves’ interiors, carefully using explosives to collapse specific sections without bringing everything down on us. But after all that, the only real difficulty was enduring the intense cold.

When we finally reached the records, we found a small chamber with the artifacts we needed—frozen solid, but intact. We immediately took everything we needed and got out of there.

It was the return journey that really caused us the biggest problem. We couldn't go back through the Minotaur Kingdom with ancient records and artifacts belonging to the ponies—unless we wanted to rot in jail, since we’d obviously infiltrated pony territory without permission.

So, we had to abandon the cart and cross the kingdom by night, with great stealth. Just as Morcly had warned, it seemed the kingdom’s security had tightened. Somehow, they knew we weren't just nomadic merchants; maybe it was because no typical merchant would have explosives in their goods.

We kept our stealth as we leapt over rooftops, crossing the kingdom as quickly as possible by traveling in a straight line. When we reached the capital city and were about to leave it behind, a faint alarm sounded from inside Morcly’s cloak.

We stopped instantly, and I turned to the stallion. “Morcly, what the hell is that? Silence it, or they’ll find us,” I said, trying not to shout.Morcly took out the same rune he used to detect the Minotaurs' emotions. It was flashing—and, luckily, sounding at a lower intensity.

“Change of plans. This rune, besides showing emotions, also acts as a signal receiver,” he said seriously.

“Signal? What signal?” asked another zebra in the group, one not important enough for me to remember his name.

Morcly looked at us all, frowning with clear resolve. “There’s a King Sombra crystal nearby.”

Morcly’s main mission was to collect those crystals, so we had to find it, despite the danger involved.

We changed direction and moved further into the city. When we got close enough to the crystal, the rune would light up with greater intensity.

We advanced through their lands, practically with our tails between our legs. One wrong step, and we’d be surrounded by tons of muscle and horns.

We kept to the shadows, jumping across rooftops until we ended up in front of the great antiquities museum, "Early Earth," one of the world’s most famous museums.It was a big problem, as if the streets were well guarded, this building was even more so. We had no other choice but to attack directly, moving at maximum speed and then escaping.

At first, we tried to be discreet, using all our tranquilizer darts to put most of the guards to sleep, but once we entered the museum, we found the crystal secured behind thick glass. We couldn’t find the keys in time before the remaining guards became aware of our presence, so we just blew the glass panel, grabbed the crystal, and ran as fast as we could.

The sentries alerted the capital’s guard commander to our presence. We were literally stampeded by minotaurs as we exited the museum.

It was a stressful chase that lasted about an hour and a half. We used smoke bombs to cover our tracks and zigzagged through dark alleyways, but our destination was obvious, and they managed to intercept us on the outskirts of the city, within the forested and mountainous areas.

In desperation, we ended up in a mountain gorge and used our last explosives to block the path with a rockslide. I was unlucky, as I was too close to the guards, and their commander managed to grab me just before the rocks fell.

We were both thrown into the river below the gorge.

That was the beginning of everything.

I burst out of the water, taking a deep breath. With all my strength, I swam toward the shore and stumbled up onto the bank. My cloak had been lost in the river's current, but my saddlebags were still strapped firmly to my torso.

I thought I was safe, but the harsh reality struck me when I heard another breath behind me. It felt like a joke; the minotaur emerged from the water not far from me, having removed his armor to avoid sinking.

He coughed heavily to clear his lungs, then slowly scanned the forest until his gaze fixed on me.

He laughed wildly at seeing me exposed. “You zebras, I should have known. When you entered my lands with such a cheap excuse, it was obvious you were up to something. You can’t keep to your own affairs, can you? You’re just a pathetic race,” he said with resentment.

I steadied my breathing and slowly stood up, never taking my eyes off my enemy.

The minotaur narrowed his eyes. “What were you looking for in my lands? What could be so important in that museum that you’d risk all this?” He slowly started moving toward me. “Who do you work for?”

I stayed completely silent.

The minotaur smiled. “Of course you’re not going to answer me.” He kept approaching. “Your little job here involves territory invasion, theft of historical materials, and attempted murder—maybe even murder if that rockslide killed some of my soldiers.” His fists clenched with a sound of tension. “I think I have every right to defend my land, with lethal force.”

He advanced as casually as a manticore hunting a wounded rabbit.
Stay calm, Lendary, you can get out of this if you plan your steps carefully. His weight should make him slower than I am; if I can keep my distance until he tires ou—

THUD

The minotaur charged at me with the overwhelming strength typical of his species, the ground tearing up behind him as he moved.

My eyes went wide, almost popping out of their sockets. I pulled a smoke bomb from my saddlebag and detonated it beneath me, just in time to avoid his massive fist, which shattered the ground.

I emerged from the cloud of smoke and dust with maximum focus. I had never witnessed a minotaur’s strength. I thought they would be slow because of their size, but this one was fast—maybe it was because he was the captain, I don’t know. But what I did know was that, for the first time in my life, I felt something more than just boredom or anger toward the creatures around me.

I felt fear.

Genuine fear of dying to a creature far above what I am. Fear like years ago when I nearly left this world by hanging myself.

“Behind you!” yelled the minotaur.

I couldn’t even turn my head when I felt like a cannonball hit my side. I was sent flying through the air until I crashed into the trees. The saddlebag on that side cushioned the blow somewhat, but its entire contents were destroyed. At least I still had the other one.

The minotaur laughed even louder. “Your race has always been a bunch of lowly fighters, attacking from behind, deceiving the enemy, using those silly potions and artifacts. Do you know why?”
I gritted my teeth harder, not just from the pain.

“Because without them, you’re completely useless!” He walked toward me again with ease.
What the hell did that damned oversized cow know? If it weren’t for the magic that enhanced their physical abilities, they wouldn’t be such a big deal. We zebras have survived in a world of magic without our own magic, and while I don’t care what they think of my race, just being reminded that without those potions, I’d be nobody…

My thoughts were cut short by another blow that I blocked with both hooves, sending me flying 6 meters in a straight line. Once again, I lay on the ground, that blow numbing my hooves.

My pupils narrowed in rage, and I clenched my teeth in resignation. I stood up in pain and pulled out one of my strengthening potions from my good saddlebag.

I observed the bright red liquid, glowing even more intensely in the dark night. I had made this potion myself, forced to create them for the entire squad. If I drank it, I could probably fight or flee.

My talent was the only thing separating me from life or death; once again, the world confirmed that without it, I was nobody.The static noise grew louder within me with each passing second.

I was about to let the liquid drop down my throat when my opponent laughed maniacally.

"That's what I'm talking about; they're not capable of winning on their own. Go ahead, take it, it's not going to change anything. I’ll remind you of the power of natural talent."

I stopped immediately, my hooves starting to tremble. Once again, I hear those words. The strange noise inside my being became unbearably loud as I brought the liquid closer to my lips.

It was that abyss.

"What are you waiting for?!-"

CRACK.

I threw the bottle to the ground, shattering it, and quickly took off the saddlebags on my back, throwing them aside. I took a fighting stance.

The minotaur smiled savagely. "Hey, hey, you can't be serious. Do you want to die?"

As always, this is a matter of life and death. I'll win or die; I don’t care, but I’ll definitely refuse to use that talent I so despise.

I took the initiative and ran towards him.

As I approached, the minotaur snorted mockingly. "What a joke." He threw a quick punch at my face; I dodged it easily, tilting my head and jumping to land a spinning kick to his head.

His head turned from the force of the blow, and his eyes widened in surprise.

I haven’t spent these last two years slacking off in the vanguard team. I haven’t stopped training for a single damn day!

The minotaur didn’t expect that; the force was such that his hooves skidded a few meters on the ground. His face was in shock, he touched his jaw to find a spot of blood, and he smiled sinisterly. "Good."

I blinked.

Huh?

Why am I looking at the sky? Where am I? My head is spinning, what was I doing? I spent a few seconds trying to understand what was happening, but I had to react, rolling across the ground when I saw the minotaur block out the moonlight as he attempted to strike again. That snapped me back to the present.

I got back on my feet, breathing heavily. Did I lose consciousness from just one attack?

No, my whole body is numb and sore, full of scratches and bruises; my head is bleeding. How long have I been fighting? Damn, I can’t afford to get distracted for a second.

That last blow almost knocked me out.

"Your strikes are good, I have to admit, but it’s not enough. It doesn’t matter what you do, don’t you get it? Because you’re fighting the inevitable. What, do you have a fighting cutie mark or something? Don’t make me laugh. Without magic, those talents are worthless, they mean nothing. I was born to be a commander; my strength and agility put me in this position from the start. It’s simple; I’m better than you. You can’t stop my fist from always hitting your face."

I tensed every muscle in my body and shouted, "SO WHAT? I’LL KEEP ATTACKING AND END YOU!"

The minotaur clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Pathetic."

With a burst of speed, he appeared in front of me and started hitting me non-stop.

It was like anvils of steel were being thrown at my face. Even with years of intense training and endurance, I couldn’t withstand the dizziness.

My mind went blank.

I think I have a couple of broken ribs; I can’t breathe, my body is burning. Since when was taking hits this painful? The world slowed down before my eyes; the guy’s fist was coming towards my face like a judge’s gavel, dictating my final sentence.

No.

Right then, I tilted my head to let the blow pass.

Now I see it.

I dodged another punch to the jaw, then moved again to dodge the next, and the one after that. Hundreds of punches were dodged in seconds.

I distanced myself from the minotaur with a leap and spat blood.

"Hehehehe."

I laughed slightly. If feeling fear was rare for me, now I was laughing joyfully—for the first time in my entire life!

"It’s been a torturous fight, but this is over." I raised my gaze to show him my row of teeth in a defiant smile. "I’ve adapted now."

The minotaur growled angrily and, with a roar, charged with even more blows.

I dodged each one, and jumped away again, my laughter growing louder. "You won’t touch me anymore. You know what’s the problem with geniuses like you? You’ve never worked to achieve greatness. You never took the time to think about your fighting style. You probably think you’re so strong that you didn’t need to analyze your opponent, right?"

"Shut up! You don’t know me!" he shouted back, approaching again to throw a right hook. I ducked my head and moved closer to his torso, spinning to deliver a back kick to his stomach.

"You always attack first with your right leg."

My opponent growled louder and tried to switch to his left leg. I ducked to sweep his left leg, destabilizing him and making him fall to the ground.

"I also noticed that you put a lot of weight on your left leg. Now you understand what I’m talking about." My smile grew wider. "That fighting style won’t beat me now!" I shouted, ecstatic.

My enemy frowned even more crazily, recovered instantly, and charged with a powerful right hook.

The fist stopped inches from my smiling face, but I simply tilted to the side and raised my hoof over his arm. When it passed by me, I lowered my hoof and grabbed it tightly. "I’ll stop you when you attack," I said mockingly.

Immediately, he tried to use his leg to hit my chin.

"And before you strike—" I let go of his arm, spun to avoid his kick, and delivered my own kick to his chin. "I’ll dodge and attack exactly the same way!"

I felt powerful, completely ecstatic. I was starting to truly gain the upper hand, my effort was paying off—or so I thought, but reality struck again.

Once more, I heard the noise of the abyss within me.

"I’M NOT THAT PREDICTABLE!" shouted the minotaur, using the momentum of the blow to turn and land a sidekick on my shoulder. "I’ll dislocate your leg!"

The weight of the kick drove my hooves into the ground, and my front leg went limp.

"Now this is my chance!" he struck his fist with all his might against my head.

With my hooves stuck in the ground, I couldn’t get flung away. I slid my face down the minotaur’s arm to get closer and landed a powerful blow with everything I had.

"It was my chance too!"

The blow made him fall to the ground, but he got up slowly.

I took the time to pull my hooves from the ground and realigned my shoulder. We both stayed in position for a few seconds, catching our breath.

I managed to hit him with everything I had; his balance is failing. I just need to push a little more.

The noise of the abyss grew louder as my vision started to blur with black spots. I was collapsing.

NO, I still can, I still can.

My body fell to the ground.

I was a damn fool. I got overconfident. Just because my opponent doesn’t analyze his opponent’s style doesn’t mean he can’t resort to desperate, unpredictable moves. That hit rattled my brain.

The minotaur laughed mockingly. "Taking so many hits has already taken its toll, huh?" he kept laughing slightly, wiped the blood from his mouth, and advanced slowly towards me.

I got up with all the strength I had left, the world was still spinning, and I couldn’t see clearly. When I felt the minotaur’s steps in front of me, I tried to strike with my right hoof.

The minotaur interrupted my movement and grabbed me by the neck. With his absurd strength, he lifted me from the ground without difficulty.

"Where’s your smile now, huh? What’s the point of technique when strength is all—"

I didn’t hear the rest of his words, but I’m sure he was only saying nonsense. I desperately thought of a way to escape. I spat blood into his eye and kicked the other with my hind legs.

The minotaur groaned and threw me like a ragdoll with terrifying force, skidding across the ground until I ended up about 10 meters away, completely still.

I wasn’t even able to turn my head to look at my opponent; I only heard him cursing my existence to the wind and grumbling as he wiped his stained eye. Once he finished, it would be the end for me.

So this is the end. Damn it, I really thought I could do it. All my determination and effort were never enough. At least I’ll die by my own decision.

My eyelids began to close little by little.

"!!!LENDARY!!!" shouted a voice from the other side, laughing.

I turned my head with effort to look at the owner of that voice. There was Morcly; it seemed he had been running for quite some time.

His brows furrowed, and he shouted again, "LENDARY, I HOPE THAT'S NOT THE LIMIT OF YOUR EFFORT!"

My eyes opened instantly with a small gulp, choked by the blood in my throat.

(I decided to forge my own success through effort, to prove that I could rise above others, that effort can surpass natural talent).

A new surge of adrenaline jolted my body, and I got back up.

The minotaur, whose eyes were already clear of blood, smiled mockingly. “Looks like someone came to watch your execution! Is he a friend of yours?”

I breathed with difficulty. “Not in the slightest. He just reminded me of something I promised myself a long time ago, but that’s all.” My eyes lit up.

“I’LL ELIMINATE THAT NOISE IN MY CHEST!” I shouted with such force that the sound echoed throughout the forest, a cry not only of defiance but also a promise to myself.

Everything would be decided in this moment; I would prove that effort would prevail.

We charged at each other.

“FALL ALREADY!” shouted the minotaur angrily as he threw another punch.

Instead of trying to dodge or counterattack, I struck with the tip of my right hoof directly at the back of his hand. The impact dislocated my shoulder again, but my target was different. “I’ll stop you, and I’ll break your hand!” The bone cracked, and I heard my opponent grunt in pain. I stepped forward and hit him with my left hoof in the face.

The minotaur didn’t let the blow make him retreat and hit me with his good fist in the face. “No matter how much you hit, I’ll hit you back immediately!” He prepared to launch a kick at my ribs. “I WILL WIN!”

Just like he did before, I used the momentum of his blow and twisted my body to deliver a powerful side kick directly to the soft part of his skull. The minotaur flew back to the edge of the river.

He tried to get back up painfully. “N-no, I won’t lose to a pathetic zebra.”

With adrenaline still coursing through me, I took a deep breath, got up from the ground, and charged one last time at the minotaur. I grabbed a broken glass bottle that was in my path and jumped toward him.
He stood up completely, his legs trembling, and shouted. “You’re going to lose! Ahg!”

I collided with my enemy, driving the glass deep into his heart.

I held onto the minotaur's neck with my dislocated hoof. My enemy could only take small steps back in complete shock as he looked down at the sharp glass piercing his fur and skin, losing strength.

“Wrong, you were close, but no.” I said with a choked voice and a wet cough.

I leaned my face closer to his with a wild smile. “Listen well, minotaur, this is the fruit of my effort, my constant evolution, no shortcuts, no blessings.”

The minotaur could only look at me with wide eyes. He took another step back; as he did, he slipped and fell into the water with me.

I was underwater for several seconds, releasing my enemy's dying body, which was swept away by the current. With my last strength, I swam toward the shore where Morcly was.

When I emerged from the water, it felt like I had been reborn; it was quite symbolic that at the moment I decided to abandon that way of thinking of being “a leaf carried in the river,” I literally came out of the river in real life.

I dragged myself painfully through the mud to get away from the water, then collapsed on the ground with my gaze turned toward the sky.

Morcly approached me with a look of exhaustion and respect. “You’re insane, Lendary. You keep surprising me.”
The area fell into a calming silence, accompanied by the sound of the water flowing in the river.

hehe, hehehe HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.

I started to laugh softly, but gradually it turned into a fit of joyful and cheerful laughter.
I finally felt truly happy! Satisfied and eager to live! I was no longer “a leaf carried in the river” nor “a speck of dust pushed by the wind.”

NO.

Now I was the wind, and the speck of dust was the fate that only I had the right to handle. I am the only one who will create my own path from now on!

The abyss within me had disappeared.

With a final burst of laughter, my eyelids finally surrendered, and I fell unconscious from immense fatigue.

It's been 6 months after that.

After that battle, Morcly carried me to our team waiting deeper in the forest, and they carried me to the Cebrican Kingdom. I may have woken up long before arriving, but I think I deserved to be carried home after what I did.

Morcly told me that thanks to the collapse and the cloaks, along with the fact that I killed the only minotaur who saw us without them, they couldn’t determine what race had broken into their kingdom; we were safe, for now.

It was no coincidence that security increased after we passed through as nomadic traders; the resentment they had against us was due to other altercations between our kingdoms while seeking ancient artifacts.

I left the position of investigator to fully become a special forces soldier. The captain was against this decision, but I proved to him that I was now perfectly capable of surpassing any zebra put in front of me.

Morcly spread the word of my battle against the minotaur and how I won without using a single potion; the vast majority took it as mere talk or unfounded gossip, but the captain fully trusted the word of the best investigator in the kingdom.

Today, I was supposed to train the new recruits—something simple at first and perhaps a bit stressful since I could relieve my stress by kicking a few backsides—but when I woke up, the moon was still fixed in the sky. For a moment, I thought it might be some sort of tantrum from the goddess of the sun, but I quickly dismissed that thought since all the staff was incredibly terrified by what was happening. And as with everything I didn’t understand or that I was too lazy to investigate, I decided to go to Morcly.

It was a bit difficult to find him since he’s a high-ranking investigator and all that. At least he trusts me enough to give me a tracker, something like the rune that found the dark crystal; I just had to follow where the rune lit up the most, and that’s how I found him.

When I saw him, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes in boredom; he was once again immersed in his books.

“Hey, Morcly, do you know what’s happening? Why hasn’t the sun come up yet?” I joked about the situation. “What, did the goddess of the day, Celestia, get caught up in her sheets?” I laughed louder.

Morcly sighed tiredly. “You know, I would have said it was impossible for a creature to be so detached from popular culture, but then I remembered that you exist,” he said with a mocking smile.

“And I would have said that no zebra could be more antisocial and unbearable than I am, but then I remembered that you exist,” I retorted, earning a grunt that lightened my day—or night, in this case.

“Fine, I’ll get to the point since your retention of information is very low. Do you happen to know the legend of Naigmer Mun?”

I pondered for a while until I finally associated the information. “Hooooo, yes, Naigmer Mun, that’s bad.”

“Very bad. If you look closely at the moon, you can see how the silhouette of Naigmer Mun has disappeared; that can only mean that she has escaped from her prison and is fighting with Celestino, or in the worst-case scenario, she has defeated him.”

“Well, what should we do? Has the queen said anything? Should we support those stupid ponies?” I said while scratching my ear carelessly.

“Actually, yes, there’s something we can do. Pray.”

“………What?” I said in surprise.

“You don’t understand the danger of this, Lendary. If Naigmer Mun wins, the night will be eternal, and without the sun, it won’t matter how much magic exists; the plants will wither, and the ecosystem will freeze. It would be a silent apocalypse.”

It was true; I hadn’t thought about that. If the ponies didn’t win, they would condemn everyone. I spoke a little louder. “Then for that reason alone, we must do something; I don’t want to die frozen.”

Morcly lowered his gaze, resigned to the situation. “Even if we do something, it wouldn’t change anything. They’re alicorns, Lendary; it’s like throwing stones at a god and expecting them to get hurt.”

“So, we have to stay here and wait, leaving our fate in the hooves of someone else?” I shouted in anger.

Morcly frowned. “That’s the danger all races face when they have to depend on the ponies. That’s why our mission must be successful; the ponies shouldn’t have all that power. If the sun doesn’t rise again, it will be our only hope to change things, but for now, we can only continue to depend on them.”

He was right; as much as I hated to admit it, there was nothing we could do now; we could only wait.

The next day, the sun returned as if it had never left, which calmed our entire kingdom, as surely it did the whole world. Two days later, we received information from our informant in Equestria.

(Naigmer Mun had returned, but she was defeated by the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.)

I had heard that name somewhere before, but where?

Automatically, I sought information about Morcly. It seems that there are five trees that grant great power to their bearers; in fact, our kingdom has its own tree with its own bearers, but something happened 20 years ago, and the queen eliminated all information about them.

I remembered; that was what the director told me six years ago at the university. I wondered why the bearers of the other trees didn’t decide to help defeat Naigmer Mun, but it turns out that currently, all the bearers are in conflict and are unable to utilize their full power. The bearers from the Kingdom of Equestria are the only ones who have used it so far, but Morcly was confused; he didn’t remember the pony kingdom having a Tree of Harmony. These were questions that perhaps had no answers.

We were also given information about who the bearers in Equestria were, and one in particular caught my attention: Twilight Sparkle. I felt irritated to hear her name again. Not only is she the greatest magical talent in the world, but she is also blessed with the power of an ancient tree; it seemed that destiny had prepared a path of greatness for her.

“Twilight Sparkle, I don’t know you, but I already hate you.”

A few days later, I found myself walking through the hallways of the royal barracks, wearing saddlebags filled with stationery to write training reports for the recruits. As I passed by, I received one or two greetings. I didn’t hold any commanding rank; I was a regular soldier, but it seemed I had earned the respect of some zebras. I continued walking, staring into space until I reached the inspection room, where I saw a pair of guards escorting a unicorn mare from another hallway. The most notable thing about her was that she had a broken horn, a scar over her right eye, and to my surprise, she didn’t have a cutie mark.

A unicorn with a broken horn in the Zebra Kingdom? Entering the queen's castle? You certainly caught my interest; although it’s rare for ponies to visit the Zebra Kingdom, it’s the fact that she is in the castle that makes it strange. I decided to stop them and ask a few questions.

I stepped into their path and spoke seriously. “What are you doing? Who is she? I don’t remember any visit to the castle being scheduled for the Special Forces.”

“Oh, Miss Lendary, good morning. Um, we don’t know who she is; she arrived in the kingdom with a supposed message for the queen. We are taking her to the inspection room to check her belongings,” the mare guard spoke nervously.

The Special Forces soldiers are a step above regular guards, so it was normal for her to be nervous, or perhaps it was because I had beaten her up in training last week—who knows.

I raised an eyebrow. “A message for the queen? What could it be? I can deliver it on her behalf.”

“Well, she didn’t tell us, so I suppose—”

“I can speak for myself, thank you,” the mare said in a unfriendly tone, attempting to move towards me but was stopped by the guards grabbing her hooves. The mare growled and broke free with a quick jerk.

“Relax, don’t worry, guards; let me handle this. I’ll take care of the inspection,” I said with a soothing smile; obviously fake.

The other guard tried to object, “Miss Lendary, we received her at the door; it should be us who—”

“I said, I’ll take care of her now. Don’t worry,” I leaned closer to the guard until our noses were almost touching, widening my fake smile.

The guard stepped back and tried to object again, but it was the mare who stopped him by pulling his tail and turning him away from me. “Dude, just let her go; trust me, you don’t want to see her angry,” she whispered in a tone meant to keep me from hearing, which didn’t work.

The mare turned to look at me with an innocent smile. “Okay, Miss Lendary, we trust your judgment. With your permission, we’ll be leaving now.” The mare quickly pushed her companion out the door.

“Seems like she’s scared of you, huh?” said the guard with a hint of mockery in his voice, very minimal, I must point out.

“Well, yes, she’s keeping it together, you know? But we’re not talking about me now.” I turned to look the mare up and down, smiling playfully. “Good luck; it makes you look tough; is the broken horn some new trend among unicorns?” I laughed lightly.

The mare growled angrily, baring her teeth and sparking electricity from her horn. She quickly composed herself and returned my mocking smile. “Look who’s talking; I don’t think you can appreciate my appearance very well, Cyclops.”

Oh yes, I almost forgot that in my fight against the Minotaur, the black spots in my vision were due to having burst an eye. The potions would take a long time to heal it, and I had to take them in strict daily doses, so I now wore a patch to cover it.

I huffed in amusement. “Touché; what’s your name?”

“Fizlipop,” she said, returning to her calm state.

“Good, Fizlipop, accompany me for a while; tell me a little about yourself and that message.”

I walked relaxed, passing her by and ignoring the inspection room, which the mare noticed and questioned.

“Aren’t you supposed to check my things or something?” she said with disdain.

I laughed provocatively and glanced at her from the corner of my eye. “I don’t see it necessary; you don’t seem like the type to attack from behind. Besides, if you try something funny, you’ll have to deal with me.”

“How confident; you seem very sure of yourself.” Fizlipop snorted.

“On the contrary, girl, you’re the one who seems very confident and carefree here. Do you really think you can defeat everyone inside this castle?”

“Yes, and quickly.” She said with such simplicity that left no room for any joke or irony. Combined with her completely serious gaze, it made me raise my guard a bit. The mare walked relaxed to match my pace.

With her last word, I decided to steer the conversation. I glanced at her white side with intrigue. “That’s a lot to say for someone who doesn’t even have a cutie mark.”

The mare sighed, unimpressed. “What? You’re going to mock me for that? Come on, say something that surprises me; now I don’t care.”

I chuckled softly, almost inaudibly. “Well, you know what they say, without a special talent, you’re not special, hehe.”

Fizlipop didn’t react to my joke; in fact, she only frowned more. “Please, cutie marks are a waste of time; it’s just a way to keep ponies tied down and trapped in an idealism of illusory purpose—a bubble of self-conformity without change.”

My smile grew with each word that came out of her mouth.

“I like you; I understand you perfectly.” I said with a sincere smile.

Fizlipop huffed incredulously and looked at me with narrowed eyes. “Sure, you do.” she said sarcastically.

“It’s true; look closely at my cutie mark—what do you think it is?”

Fizlipop rolled her eyes, unconvinced, and then looked at my side. Her brow furrowed a bit. “A magic cauldron? But didn’t you say you were from the Special Forces?”

“Yes, the best one, in fact, and without using a single potion,” I said proudly.

“You’re telling me that you decided to ignore the talent you discovered to work on something completely different?” she said with palpable incredulity in her eyes.

Of course, this was strange; there’s no information about any pony doing that, or at least I’m not aware of any stories where a pony or zebra ignored their special talent.

I scratched my nose with my hoof with pride. “Exactly.”

Fizlipop composed herself and returned to her calm demeanor. “That is indeed a surprise; I know we’re not talking about me, and it’s not like I care, but it does pique my curiosity—why do you do it?”

I stopped in front of a large door, and the mare halted a second later.

“It’s a long story, I suppose to summarize.” Before continuing, I raised a hoof to drape it around the mare's neck in a friendly gesture. “My vision aligns very well with yours.”

Fizlipop pushed me away with a small, grumpy shove. “Do you usually get so friendly with ponies?”

I laughed softly again. “Only with the ones I like; you should feel honored, as you’re the first.”

“What I feel is pity that the first creature you like is a complete stranger.”

I clutched my chest and shrank theatrically. “Oh, how cold; you wound my feelings.”

The mare rubbed her temple. “Weren’t we in some sort of interrogation? Can we wrap this up? I have things to do.”

“That’s true,” I dropped my games to return to a calm expression. “Tell me, what are you doing in the grand Cebrican kingdom?” I said sarcastically.

The mare lowered her hoof to look at me bored. “I have very important information that might interest your queen—emphasis on very important.”

I twirled my hoof as a sign that I wanted her to continue. “And? What is it about?”

“It’s just information for the queen, and I will only give it if my demands are met,” she said in a practiced tone, like a businessman selling a product.

I huffed with irritation. "Really? It seems everyone loves mysticism. I'm so fed up with it," I complained childishly. Fizlipop raised an eyebrow as if he were looking at some kind of strange creature. I sighed to calm myself; this wasn’t the best time to act so unprofessionally. Not that I really cared, but since I was acting as an interrogator, the least I could do was be a bit more serious.

"So, why sell it to the zebras? Does Equestria know about this? Better question: does Equestria allow you to share highly classified information outside its borders? It looks like you’re here on your own; I don’t believe you’re a kingdom messenger."

I glanced at her broken horn for a few seconds again. Perhaps it was from a scuffle for trying to spread this information outside the kingdom, although it seemed quite old, so maybe it had nothing to do with it. My musings were interrupted again by small sparks that came out of her damaged appendage, and when I looked at her face, she had a barely-contained fury. For a moment, it felt like the ground beneath me was trembling.

As quickly as the tremor came, it faded when the mare took a deep breath to calm herself again.

"I’m no longer a part of Equestria. I don’t want any ties with ponies. This is just something I’m doing on a whim." She leaned her head close to mine, not with anger but with a palpable seriousness. "So tell me, can I speak to your queen or not? I have no other purpose than that. If you don’t trust my words, then I’ll go to another kingdom—I don’t care."

I admit she intimidated me a little. The drops of sweat falling down my forehead probably reflected that. That power she’d unleashed was considerable for someone with a broken horn, even if it was uncontrolled. Now I could see why she was so confident she could take on everyone in this castle.

Taking that into account, I figured there was no need for further interrogation. If this mare had the power to reach the queen by force, I didn’t see much point in preventing her.

"Well, you convinced me; you can speak to her." I stepped back to give her some personal space.

Fizlipop widened her eyes in surprise. "Are you serious? You’ll take me to the queen?"

"Yes, in fact, we're already here," I said with a smile, pointing to the large door behind us. "All you have to do is knock on the door, and the queen’s personal guard will receive you." I reached into my saddlebag and pulled out a royal seal, a sheet of paper, and a pen, quickly writing a message of passage, signing it, and stamping it with the seal.

I handed the paper to the mare and put the rest away. "Here, this is a passage permit signed by me and with the royal seal. Even though I’m just a regular soldier, I’m still part of the special forces, so my signature holds weight. They’ll definitely let you through," I said in a calm tone.

Fizlipop grabbed the paper, still with a look of surprise. "Wait, just like that? You didn’t even check my saddlebags."

My smug smile returned, and I spoke mockingly. "What saddlebags?"

The mare was even more surprised and checked her sides, where there was nothing. In fact, there hadn’t been anything there for quite some time.

"What, when, where are—" Fizlipop looked around, searching for her belongings until she looked at me, then down at the ground behind me. There lay her saddlebags—I’d taken them off her without her noticing.

"When did you take my saddlebags?" she said, impressed.

I bent down to grab her saddlebags with my teeth. "When I put the helmet around your neck," I said with calm pride. "Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll take this for safekeeping. When you’re done talking to the queen, you can find them in the evaluation office area; it’s easy to find."

Fizlipop’s surprise slowly turned into an ironic laugh. "I guess if I hypothetically wanted to defeat everyone in this castle, it wouldn’t be as quick as I thought."

"If that ever happened, I wouldn’t make it easy for you," I said with a challenging smile.

"No doubt," she said sincerely.

"It was a pleasure, Fizlipop." I turned to walk slowly towards the offices.

"Tempest."

I stopped and turned my head to look at the mare out of the corner of my eye. "What?"

"Call me Tempest. I think that name suits me better," she said with a laugh at the end that I didn’t understand.

I smiled again. "Well, it was a pleasure. Tempest."

That was my first interaction with a pony in my life, and though I didn’t talk much with her, I liked her. Who would’ve thought the first person I’d genuinely say I liked was a pony? Morcly doesn’t sit well with me, and his constant isolation with his books doesn’t leave much room for conversation. But I can say I respect his dedication to his work, even if that dedication comes from his cutie mark. He was also the only one who valued my effort and not my talent.

When Tempest finished her meeting with the queen, she found me in the evaluation office to retrieve her saddlebags as I’d told her. She said she was able to make a deal with her, though she didn’t give me many details.

She was allowed to settle into one of the castle’s rooms and work in some areas of the lab. I’ve seen her only a few times since then, but whenever we manage to meet, whether by chance or through mutual work in the lab, we tend to have interesting conversations.

By the way, even though I'm a full soldier, they still call me to collaborate with research experiments. It’s what I hate the most, but I can’t ignore the queen’s orders. At least it allows me to talk to the only pony I can tolerate.

Six months have passed.

Since Princess Luna’s recovery and the rise of the Elements of Harmony, the world has become much crazier. The god of chaos broke free, the changeling hive attacked Equestria, and most importantly, King Sombra returned after a thousand years of disappearance, along with the Crystal Empire.

And all of them were defeated by the Elements of Harmony.

Currently, I was in the city streets, looking at a news newspaper where you could see the Elements in the Crystal Empire after their victory against King Sombra. The whole little group of friends with Twilight Sparkle in the center of them all, with the headline saying:

"THE TALENTED DISCIPLE OF PRINCESS CELESTIA AND THE REST OF THE ELEMENTS DO IT AGAIN, SAVING THE WORLD FROM THE TYRANT OF SHADOWS AND BRINGING BACK THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE."

I tore the newspaper to shreds.

What a load of garbage, just a waste of paper.

"Hey, I was reading that," Tempest said beside me, irritated.

I sighed to relax and began to walk down the zebra-filled streets. "What does it matter? It’s just cheap propaganda to further raise the Elements of Harmony's name and remind the rest of the world which kingdom stands above."

Tempest matched my pace and spoke sarcastically. "Right, as if they were the only ones who do that. Not to go against you—no one’s more annoyed by it than I am—but nationalist propaganda is common in all kingdoms. If the other Elements in the world could use their power, they’d do the same."

"Yeah, but the point is there’s no one else who can use those cursed trees, and it has to be the kingdom already backed by two gods," I said, grinding my teeth.

"Three, if we count the Crystal Empire princess," she said with a bored expression but venom in her words.

"It enrages me, that Twilight. It’s like the world revolves around her."

I turned and shouted to the third person accompanying me. "Hey, Morcly, what are you waiting for? We need to go."

The stallion was engrossed, reading his own newspaper intently.

A vein bulged on his forehead as he spoke in a calm voice. "Stop bothering me; can’t I read about what’s going on outside the kingdom for one second?"

"You’re literally reading 24/7. You can bury yourself in reading when we get back."

The vein on Morcly's forehead grew larger. "Since when do you have the right to talk to me like that? You’re not my boss. Actually, I outrank you, ignorant mare."

"I don’t care; follow us, or I’ll leave you behind."

Morcly grumbled and muttered insults under his breath as he stashed the newspaper in his saddlebags. "I’m the star piece of this mission, stupid mare," he muttered quietly, though I easily heard him.

"You really are a curious duo," said Tempest with a faint hint of amusement.

"Thanks, I try to make it a more efficient duo," I joked as I continued walking, closely followed by the two of them, heading to the outskirts of the kingdom where Moxy and Lubazi awaited us.

"Does the world revolve around Celestia’s student? Not for much longer. Today, we’ve been entrusted with a new mission, the most important in all history, in the Everfree Forest.

I’ll prove that pure effort can rise against any talented or blessed one who stands in my way, even against you, Twilight.

Because I am Lendary,

(the wind that pushes destiny)

Author's Note

In the fight scenes I was inspired by some anime.

guess which ones?

I'm sorry if there are things that are not understood.

I don't speak English and they translated everything the best I could.

I don't know if there will be parts where the genders of the characters are changed; At least when I translate everything back into Spanish if they change.

I don't know why that happened but to make it clear.

lendary is female.
moxy, morcly and lubazi are males.