The Story of Zetaby Z-A-CChaptersChapter 2: The MonsterChapter 4: The ChangelingChapter 5: The CaveChapter 6: The TunnelChapter 7: The Pony in The BookChapter 8: The TigerChapter 9: The VillageChapter 10: Destruction PT. 1 (The Calm)Chapter 11: Destruction PT. 2 (The Storm)Chapter 12: Destruction PT. 3 (The Slaughter)Chapter 13: RecoveryChapter 14: Team HarmonyChapter 15: Two Weeks LaterChapter 16: EquestriaChapter 1: The ProphesyChapter 3: The Food Supply Is LowChapter 2: The MonsterIt has been a full day since I left my village. The tears have been shed last night, and now it was time to move on, or try too. All the memories...I can still remember my fifth birthday. "The tribe was doing better in those days." I sighed and shook my head. There's time for this later. Now I must move forward and make it to Equestria. Last time I checked, I was two thousand miles from the Equestria. "I would have an easier journey if I were born in one of the southern tribes." I grumbled. According to the map, Equestria is directly south from where I am now. It also says that there is no direct route. I decided to stop by other tribe villages as I came across them. Maybe they would help me with food and other supplies. I have not been so lucky as to come across another village yet. It has been a mile since my last rest. I am not making good progress. I decided the I will stop only at night or if I find a village and it's close to night. But it is still mid-afternoon and no sign of another village, so I will not be resting any time soon. It's a boring journey, and I have resulted too singing. I also need to be wary of my food and water consumption. I should be fine for now I think. Another three miles have passed, and still no sign of another village. I didn't know the tribes were so spread apart. The map says nothing about where the tribes are, but perhaps I should take a break. It is starting to get dark so I might stop for to today. Now all I need to do is find a good place to stay the rest of the night. There are stories of monsters that roam these lands at night. I don't know if the stories are true but I do not want to find out. I see what looks like an abandoned hut, I will go investigate and see if it is a suitable place to stay. "Not unoccupied! Sorry, sorry! AAAHHH!!" There were insect like ponies in the hut. I ran as soon as saw them. I looked behind me and they were just hovering there. I stopped and turned around. Two of them looked each other and shrugged. One went back into the hut while the other one slowly landed, still staring at me. It then looked around and then back to me, and spoke. "It's not safe out here at night. You can take shelter with us." It's buzzing voice was a little disturbing to me. I glared at it. "How do I know I can trust you?" There then was a terrifying roar from somewhere in the distance. "I don't think you have a choice! Hurry!" The roar sounded again and I ran towards the hut. The insect-like pony cast some kind of spell to deter the monster. It was apparently successful and soon it joined us. I looked around and there were two insect ponies, including the one that was outside, and one pony. I sat as far away as I could from them. One of the insect ponies walked over to me, I tried to back away. It sighed. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Doppelganger, but you can call me Ganger for short." This one had a more feminine voice. She pointed to the one in on the right of the pony. "That's Mimic, he's the one that got you to come in here." She pointed to the one on the left of the pony. "That's Double," She pointed to the pony. "And that's...um...I forgot. What's your name?" "What are you doing with the pony?" "Not one for manners I see. Fine, she was out here when we happened upon this...um..." "Wasteland." Mimic finished Ganger sentence. Her eyes widened and she looked at him. "Shh! I'm trying not to offend him!" "Worry not then." I said. "I live in a tribe four miles north of here. The deserts are as he say they are." "Oh...okay then. Yes, wasteland. She was actually staying here before us." I looked at the pony mare, and she nodded, confirming that what they told me is true. Ganger noticed me staring at the pony. "I don't think she can speak." "Hmm is that correct?" The mare nodded. "I see, are you lost? You're a long way from Equestria." She shook her head, and brought out a mini black board from her saddlebags and wrote something on it. When she was done she showed me. "Volunteered?" She nodded her head and erased the word. "So you're with one of those groups that send ponies to help struggling tribes?" She shook her head and wrote something else. "Were? What happened?" She wrote three words that made why she was stuck here and why she couldn't talk become clear. "Oh...my...um well..." She nodded and started to cry. I walked over to her and hugged her. The words she wrote were: Died, eaten, and watched. The poor thing is still in shock. She must have watched her friends die and be eaten alive. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. It was now morning, and we were preparing to leave. "So where are you headed?" Ganger asked me. "Equestria." The pony's perked up. "I've been exiled from my tribe." I shook my head. "What about you three?" "We were thinking about continuing north." "Nothing for you up that way. You would be run out of any village you enter." "Please," Double said. "We're Changelings. We'll just change into one of you zebras." "I suppose that could work, but I still advise you against it." I looked at the pony. "And what of you?" She wrote something down. "Stay here huh? You would better luck going with them or me." She seemed to think about that and wrote something else down. "Come with me? Hmm... I only have enough food for me but you look like you need it more then I do. And I have enough water for the both of us. I have no objections." I smiled and looked at the Changelings. "Are you still going north?" Double and Mimic nodded. Ganger didn't look as sure. "I don't know guys. If he's from the northern area and said there's nothing up there, I think we should listen to him." Mimic shrugged. "Do what you want, we're going north." I shake my head at their arrogance and open the door. Only to quickly slam it shut. Mimic raised an eyebrow. "What was that about?" "The monster from last night!" I whisper-yelled. "It's still out there!" "What? No way, those thing are only nocturnal." He said as he walked over to door. I shook my head rapidly, but he opened the door anyway. "Oh...no." Was all he could say before he was grabbed by the monster and taken out of the hut. I kicked the door closed and told everyone to get back. Ganger was with the mute mare and Double and I were in front of them. Mimics screams stopped and then everything fell silent. "I don't like this." Double growled. "Neither do I. Too quiet." I felt a tap on my flank. "Not now." I said as calmly as I could. "Uh," Ganger said. "It's the pony." "What does she want?" "She said that...oh, she said that is the monster that ate her friends." "I guess it liked how ponies tasted," Double said. "Because it followed her." I glared at him. "It seems to like changelings as well." My eyes widened as I saw the monster appear outside of the right side window. Double was the closest one to that window. "Double, watch out!" He turned to the window and saw it but it was too late. The monster's arm flew through the window and grabbed him. I grabbed his hoof and pulled as hard as I could, that is until I heard a sickening crack-like sound. Double had been ripped in half. I let go of this half and backed away quickly. I looked over at the remaining two, and saw Ganger was watching in horror and the mute mare had her eyes closed. The monster's other arm broke through the wall and grabbed Ganger. And then everything stopped, and I heard the voice from my nightmare. "All of this needless death. I know it makes you mad. You can save them, you know." "H-how?! I'll do anything! How can I save them?!" "What do you mean, how? All you need to right now is walk up to the arm and kick it. And then learn how to make this happen again." "Just walk up?!" "And kick it, yes. Time is stopped, or rather, going really slow. You see, you're the one that's moving fast." "Everything else is slowed down?" "Yes!" He growled. "Now go over and kick it!" "O-okay." I walked over to it and nothing was happening. I reared up and brought all of my body weight on the arm. "Or do that." The voice said. "That also works. Nice work but now you're on your own for awhile." "What?!" And then everything starting moving normally again. The monster shrieked in pain and dropped Ganger. Who quickly grabbed the mute mare and ran to the opposite side of the hut. Failing to get out of the way, the monster grabbed me. It brought me outside and roared. I really had a good look at it now. It was insect-like, but no where near being a Changeling. It was dark green, almost so dark it looked black. It had a mouth full of sharp teeth with mandibles in front of it. The rest is near indescribable. It truly a horrific sight to behold. "I'll give you a hint." The voice said. "Open your right eye." "How will that help me?!" "Just do it!" I did as instructed and the monster let go of me and back away a couple of feet. "S-stay back!" It hissed in response. "I-I mean it!" And then something clicked in my head. I don't know how it happened, but I know that I was either going to die or not. Then only thing I can do is... "I will END you if you get any closer!" ...fight. It felt up to the challenge and stormed towards me. I bucked it when it got close enough. Too my surprise, it seemed to actually have an effect on it. It stumbled back and roared again. "Go away!" It hissed again but stayed still. "I said go away!" I ran up, jumped and bucked it's head. It shrieked in pain again, and ran away. I looked at the ground and it was leaving a trail of bright green blood. I looked back up and it had disappeared from sight. I sighed in relief and closed my right eye, when I did I collapsed. After awhile of laying on the ground, I heard the others slowly walk over to me. Ganger asked if I was okay. I nodded, stood up, and asked her the same thing. She said she was and asked where the monster went. "I don't know, but it is wounded." I heard the tapping of chalk against a board. "Do I think it will come back? No, at least not for awhile. We should get moving though," I looked at where the sun was in the sky. "It's almost passed two." "Okay." Ganger said. "Are you sure you're okay though?" "I think so." "Okay then..." She said with unsure voice. "Onward to Equestria!" "How far away is it?" I pulled out my map. "Hmm...about...one thousand nine hundred ninety six miles away from the border." I looked at them and both of them had their jaws dropped. "Yes, yes I know. That's why we should get going." I then collapsed again. "Or not." I grumbled. Author's Note If you have read the side story to the Person In Ponyland series, involving Match the Changeling. You should know who Ganger is. Also yes, this does happen in the same universe as Person In Ponyland and the rest in the series. But anything involving those characters will happen later in the story. EDIT: I also referenced one of Mandopony's songs. Chapter 4: The ChangelingWe stayed here until Velvet recovered and left soon after. There wasn't much to do in the village, so we just got much needed rest. Velvet tried to speak a few times with little success. She did manage to say "hi" but that was all. We left the village quite awhile ago, and were fifteen miles closer to Equestria. We were taking a small break, for Velvet's sake, and I was looking at the map. "Hmm it seems that we are...one thousand eight hundred seventy three miles a way." "How did we gain the extra hundred miles?" Asked Ganger. "The trip to the village." I stated. "Since it was to the south-east from where we were." "Oh." "According to the map, there's a chasm about fifty miles away." "How are we going to deal with that?" Velvet wrote. "Well I hope there is a bridge. If not then I don't know." "I could fly you two over." Ganger offered. "Right I forgot you had wings. Hopefully you wont need to." I stood up and stretched. "If we're ready to go I think we should." "Right!" Ganger said and Velvet nodded in agreement. "Let's get going then." I said, packing up the map. They don't call it a journey for no reason. After we walked twenty five miles, we found an oasis. I was wary at first, I thought it was a mirage. Fortunately it wasn't and we were able to drink the water, and eat the fruit from the tree, saving us some food and water from my bag. After we were done drinking from the pool we used it to cool off. If we weren't on the verge of heat exhaustion, I would have advised that we kept moving but this was a much better choice. We wasted an hour at the oasis and were now on our way to the chasm. It was getting dark and we were about fifteen miles away from our destination for tonight. We were not so lucky to find some kind of shelter this time however, and are completely exposed to the elements. We will have to take shifts watching out for any predators. I will go first while the others sleep. "Goodnight then." Ganger said. "Goodnight." Velvet squeaked. She has been working on her voice ever since the village. Poor girl, doesn't quite have it back yet. "Ganger, I will wake you when it is your shift." "Yeah yeah, I kinda figured." "Sleep well." I said. She nodded and laid down. Ganger huddled together but I remained standing and kept watch. It was too dark to really see anything, but it was a full moon so there was some light. A few minutes passed and still nothing, but I was thankful for that. I heard something move behind me and looked behind me. It was Ganger. "Is it my turn yet?" She asked. "Not yet. Why did you wake up?" "I never went to sleep." "I see." Some time passed and Ganger was now sitting beside me. I felt now was as good a time as any to ask something that I have been wondering about. "May I ask you something?" "Sure." "What were you and the other Changelings doing out here?" She looked down and sighed. "Promise you wont abandon me out here?" "Why would I do that?" She took a deep breath. "Two months ago the Hive staged an invasion on Equestria. We had a good reason though!" "And what would that be?" "We were starving. The whole Hive was. The purpose of invading Equestria was to have a source of food." "And what do Changelings eat?" "We eat the same things as you and the ponies. But the one thing that kept us going for awhile is love." "Love?" I said cocking my head. "The emotion itself, yes. I don't know how it works, being a simple drone and all and-" "And what better place than Equestria, right?" I said looking at the sky. "Being filled to the brim with it, it's understandable. But why not ask the leaders for help?" "As a drone, I don't concern myself with politics." "I see. I'm assuming that not all went as planned?" Oh look a shooting star. She sighed. "No... I'm not sure what the ponies had but it expelled me and the rest of the Changelings from Canterlot. Mimic and Double are...were the only remaining from my group. The rest died on impact." "Hmm how many were in your group?" I looked at her. "Seven." She said looking down. "And now...it's just...me." "Without us you are alone." She nodded. "Well I guess we will hope the ponies forgive you. You were just following orders after all" "Your still letting me come with you!?" She said with surprise. "You didn't kill any ponies did you?" "N-no. Only scared them. When it came down to it, I couldn't hurt any." She shook her head. "I had a friend in the invasion." "What happened to this friend?" "I-I don't know. We were split into different groups. She could be dead for all I know." I put my hoof on her shoulder. "I have a feeling that she is still alive." "I hope your right." I yawned, and she looked at me. "Hey, why don't you sleep? I'll take my turn now." "Thank you." I turned around to see Velvet sleeping peacefully. "Thanks, by the way." Ganger said. "For what?" "Letting me stay in the group." "Think nothing of it. All things deserve a second chance. You are no exception. I'll tell you something you may not know." "What's that?" I laid down next to Velvet. "I'm actually really shy." She laughed. "The only reason I haven't been acted it, is because I wouldn't survive if I was. The guard wouldn't have trusted two pony travelers unless I spoke for all of us." I yawned again. "Wake me if anything happens, okay?" "G-got it." "Are you sure you can do it?" I asked. "Yeah! It'll be no problem, as long as I take you across one at a time." "Okay... Take Velvet first. Oh and the supplies." "Why?" "Just in case you drop me. You better not though." "Don't worry I wont." I gave her the food and water. "I'll be back as soon as I get her settled on the other side." "Okay, just be careful." She rolled her eyes and changed into a pegasus. "There, better?" I nodded. "If your wings are stronger, then yes." She smiled and went over to Velvet, who climbed onto Ganger's back. When Velvet got adjusted properly Ganger took off. It didn't look like Ganger had much trouble getting Velvet across. I looked down into the chasm and saw eyes looking up. Some at me, some at the other two. Now I really didn't want to be dropped. I looked up and Ganger was on her way back. She landed next to me. "You ready?" "Not so sure." "Why not?" I pointed down. "Look," She followed my instruction and her eye widened. "That's why." "I-I'll just be extra careful." "I would hope you will." I climbed onto her back and we took off. I held on as tight as I could while still looking down at the eyes. The wind blew my mane to the side and revealed my right eye. Just then the eyes vanished and I found it curious. When we landed, I re-covered my right eye with my mane and looked back over the edge to see the eyes returned. I backed away slowly and joined the others. "So..." Ganger began. "What's up with your eye?" I froze and looked at her. "You...okay?" I sighed. "You saw?" "Yeah..." She replied and Velvet came over with a raised eyebrow. I looked down and brushed my mane away and looked at them again. "It's a curse...or something. I just woke up with it." "Hmm okay...?" "It's the reason I had to leave my village." "'Had to'? You mean you didn't start this whole thing on your own?" I shook my head. "I was exiled. Because of some stupid prophesy!" "What pr-prophesy?" Velvet managed to say. "Apparently I'm 'the end of the great countries.' The prophesy told that my 'Grand and horrible rule" would start in the Zebra Dominion, the country we're in now. So I guess they figured they would send me somewhere else and that would fix the problem." "How would you take over all three great countries?" "The curse. It's how I chased off that monster a few days ago. As far as I can tell the only cost off using it is energy, but I don't know." "Alright. Just don't go turning evil on us okay?" She chuckled. I smiled. "I don't think that will be a problem." They both smiled and we began walking. Chapter 5: The Cave"Okay Velvet, once more." We have stopped for the night, Ganger was scouting ahead, and I was helping Velvet with voice exercises. We are now only one thousand seven hundred thirty eight miles away from the Equestrian border and the chasm was the only 'real' danger, much to our relief. "Ah~. Now you." "A...Ah...Ah~" Like cats scratching a chalk board. "Better, better but your voice is still a little scratchy. Now let's just try talking, okay?" "O-okay. Um...how are you?" "Hmm...maybe a little dehydrated, but overall fine. I hope Ganger will get back soon though." She nodded her head in agreement. "She will b-be fine." "Yes she can take care of herself, when she needs too." I sighed. "How about yourself? How are you?" "I-I..." She sighed and brought her mini chalk board and wrote. "I was fine...until now..." "We shouldn't put extra stress on your voice." I smiled. "Do not worry though Velvet, you are improving." She smiled and wrote. "Thank you." down. After a few minutes of silence she tried talk some more. "You don't look like other zebras." I looked at her with a raised an eyebrow. "No, I suppose I don't, do I? The other zebras I have seen don't have a mane like mine. Hmm....I never thought about it very much before." There was a short pause. "Something wrong?" I said in a deeper voice then normal. "The streak in you mane. It c-changed color." She said in what sounded like a surprised voice. It was hard to tell because her voice being scratchy. "Did it? What color?" "B-black." "Interesting." I shook thoughts of home from my head. "Has it done that before?" "Yes..." "Hmm I see." I chuckled. "There seems to be a lot about myself that I don't know about." I looked at her and then the ground. "Sorry?" "Nothing to be sorry about." I shrugged. "Hey, since you're talking, can you tell me how you came upon Ganger and her group?" "My group and I were on our way back to Equeastria." "On hoof?! Are you crazy!?" "It was our only option... We arrived on a sky wagon. After a few hours the wagon got destroyed somehow. The pegasus that pulled the wagon went to get another one but never returned. A day later we heard news of a pegasus corpse a mile away from the village we were at. Our pilot matched the description, and we left the next day. We made the mistake of traveling through in the night time." She looked at the ground. "We got half way to that hut when that....monster showed up." She started shaking and I put a hoof on her shoulder. "I don't need to hear about the monster, okay?" She sighed in relief and nodded her head. "Now, when did the Changelings find you?" "They heard us screaming and rushed over. But by the time they got to us....it was too l-late." "I see, it was good of them to take care of you." "It was a pleasant surprise to know they weren't hostile." "Especially after seeing what that monster looked like." "Don't remind me..." "Sorry." I looked around. "Ganger should be back by now..." Velvet nodded in agreement. "It would be a good idea to rest your voice Velvet. I will keep watch for Ganger in case she comes back." "I could help. I'm not tired." I thought about it and shrugged. "You should really be resting. But I see no harm in it." Velvet fell asleep an hour ago and Ganger just got back. She landed kind of rough, so I looked her over. I couldn't find anything wrong with her so I just gave her space. She got up and looked at me. "You wouldn't believe what I found!" "I-is it bad?" "Bad? It's a bucking oasis! I'll take you there in the morning, right now I'm beat." "Mind telling me about this place?" "I will later. Sorry if I worried you guys." "You did worry us. I think you owe Velvet an apology. That comes later though, how far away is this oasis?" "About two hundred feet away." "That's not too far...all thing considered. Rest up, it looks like you need it." "What about you?" "I'm joining you, just not right now." "Okay then. Goodnight." "Goodnight" "It should be just around this corner." Said the Changeling while leading us to the 'oasis'. She woke us up in the early morning to get started. Two hundred feet was turned into maybe three hundred because Velvet and I can't fly. "And here we are!" Velvet and I looked around and only saw an entrance to a cave. Velvet looked at Ganger with a raised eyebrow, and I looked at her with a blank expression. "It's just a cave..." "Yeah but it's what's inside the cave. C'mon!" And she started walking towards the cave entrance. We reluctantly followed her into the cave, keeping our guards up. Not that we don't trust her, we just just don't want any surprises. I was beginning to understand why it took her so long to get back. We went deep into the cave before any signs of "oasis" appeared. Changelings seem to have a different take on oasis' then zebras and ponies. We were standing in a larger cavern with a large pool against the back wall. There was an opening in the ceiling, allowing light to come in. "Well there's water at least." I said looking around for food. "Um...Ganger? Is there any food?" Wrote Velvet. "Uh not that I've found...yet. But there's plenty of water and just look at this place! Isn't it beautiful?" "It's just a cave." "Well yes...but we can check our supplies, right?" "I suppose we could fill up on water, but what will we do for food?" "We haven't been eating that much, we should be fine." "True. Hmm..." I tapped my chin in thought. I dumped the contents of my bag onto the ground and all three of us looked them over. "We will have to fill these two canteens." I put the two empty canteens off to the side. "And we have two more days worth of food." "See? We're good on food." "For two more days if we don't properly ration it." I grabbed the map and began looking at it. "Any villages nearby?" Wrote Velvet. I sighed. "No it doesn't look like it. We need to closely monitor how much food we eat." "How far until the next village?" I scanned the map some more. "Our luck seem to not be the great..." "I don't like the sound of that..." Said Ganger. "How far is it?" "Well we seem to be in the middle of the wastelands. Meaning the next village is five hundred miles south." "Well at least we need to go in that direction right?" "Yes I suppose you're right." I said, packing everything up. "When I was here last night I found a tunnel. Maybe if we took it, we could cover some ground, without going outside in the heat. What do you think?" "Do we have a light source? And are there any threats?" She thought about it "No and maybe." "I don't want to take the chance of something being in that tunnel. We should continue travelling as we have been." "Come on! We could cut our water consumption in half." I thought about it. "It still seems to unsafe." I looked at Velvet. "What do you think?" "I'm with her." "Ugh fine! Lead the way Ganger." "Cool!" "Somethings wrong with Ganger." Said a mysterious voice. The other's didn't seem to hear it, so I just shook my head and continued to walk. Author's Note As always if there are any mistakes please tell me. Chapter 6: The Tunnel"We should really go back." I said while looking around and walking, cautiously follow Ganger. "Relax, I'm sure there's an exit somewhere around here." "We have been walking for fifteen minutes." I said with a hint of anger in my voice. "Then going back would be a further waste of time." I opened my mouth to say something, but she was right. Turning back now would mean more time wasted. She had better be right about the exit. "I don't know," Said Velvet. "It has been a while and there's still no light at the end." "Aw now you're agreeing with him now? Come on! Just a little farther and I'm we'll be fine." "For your sake you better be right." I saw under me breath, and thankfully the others didn't hear me. Those words weren't entirely my own. Ganger was right about one thing though. We are traveling in a cooler environment, and thus saving us some food and water. Mostly water but still, my point stays relevant. I wish I could tell how late it was, because I'm getting tired. I know Velvet feels the same, but Ganger somehow has a lot of energy. Which I find suspicious considering she hasn't eaten much recently. I whisper my concerns to Velvet and she agrees. We will both be watching her for awhile. We convinced Ganger to stop so we could get some rest. She didn't want to at first, but when I told her how long we've been walking, she seemed to understand. I suggested we all get some sleep and Ganger offered to take first watch. Since she has so much energy Velvet and I accepted the offer. Little does she know I'll be watching her until I take watch. It has been several minutes and Ganger hasn't done anything out of the ordinary. All she has been doing, watching us. She hasn't left for minutes on end, she hasn't looked at either of us in a weird way. Nothing. I guess I should be glad she seems normal, but I still think somethings going on. All I can do is wait and see if she does anything strange. Well strange for her at least. That voice keeps telling me something is wrong with Ganger. It's probably just...what's a good name for him? Hmm...The Conqueror sounds good to me. Yes, it's probably just him trying to drive me mad. I shall try to do anything I can to render him unsuccessful. If that is at all possible anyway. I decided to get some sleep since Ganger wasn't looking suspicious. Maybe I can get an hour or two of sleep before it is my turn to take watch. It seems that I did get some sleep before Ganger woke me up. Shortly after I stood up she collapsed onto the ground. I told her she shouldn't have stayed awake as long as she did, but I don't think she heard me. I shook my head and sat down. There were only two directions to watch. Which meant that it was going to be easier tonight, but on the other hoof I have lower then usual visibility. So it's pretty much pitch dark in here. I really hope that nothing attacks us from both sides. And if we are attacked, I hope we can out run the attacker. But for now I will just stay vigilant. Last night was interesting. Now that Velvet is getting her voice back, she talks in her sleep. Nothing particularly of interest, it's just kind of amusing. Ganger seemed to have a nightmare. Her ear was twitching, and she was mumbling. I couldn't tell she was saying but it didn't matter. I would, however, be lying if I said I was not curious, but I saw it unwise to get close to her. Lest she wake up and bite my ear off, if I were to wake her up that is. Right now we are still travelling through the tunnel. There is no end in sight, and I don't see this tunnel ending for awhile. I could be wrong, I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think I am. We are also very bored. Anything that was worth talking about, has already been talked about. The only time any of them spoke was to ask me for a canteen. It's been like this for an hour. I think we really need to get outside, and soon. We found a cavern, much like the cave, but not an exit. At least not yet, we're still looking. The was no clean looking water but there was, according to Ganger, some edible mushrooms. "How do you know we can eat these?" I asked. "These are the same mushrooms we ate at the Hive." She said while inspecting them. "Then what are you doing?" "Double checking. There is a poisonous mushroom that looks like these." She said as she picked one. "Yeah, see? Brown instead black. These are safe, though they don't taste that great raw." She started gathering the rest and she put them in the bag. "What will make them taste better?" She looked around and shrugged. "Nothing here. Their not that bad, they just have an earthy taste to them." "And that's it?" She nodded her head. "Yep." "Okay. Thank you for making sure these won't kill us." "Oh, the poisonous ones wouldn't kill you. They would just make you really sick." "I see. Well still Ganger, thank you." "No prob!" She said before continuing her search for an exit. I turned to Velvet. "What do you think?" "About the mushrooms?" I nodded my head. "I don't know, I think we should trust her. She is our friend after all." "Friend? Hmm...I guess so." She raised an eyebrow. "Have you not had friends before." I shook my head. "Never. In all my life, I have never had a friend. I don't even know when it is proper to identify somezebra or somepony as my friend." "Then what did you think we were all of this time?" Ganger asked, returning from her search. "Travel companions, but...it seems I have been mistaken." I looked at the ground in thought. "Well at least that's better than what it could be I suppose." "Zeta," Velvet started. "You can be sure that Ganger and I are your friends." "So you really haven't had any friends before?" I shook my head. "Harsh." "Not that I felt I needed any friends." I said. "Everyzebra I have ever met were jerks. So why have them in my life? Though I have found the concept of friendship interesting." I looked up at Velvet and Ganger. "I used to observe such things, but after being chased and nearly beaten I chose to stay inside my home..." "Why would they do that?" "My eyes." I shrugged. "Whoa, good thing I decided to come with you. I don't even want to think about what they would've done to me." I saw her shiver. "Was your right eye always red?" Velvet asked. "No, it wasn't. It's part of the curse. It was the same as my left eye, but it changed the morning of my eighteenth birthday. Which is very shortly before I was exiled." "Eighteen years with no friends." She looked at me with sympathy in her eyes, which widened slightly and she looked away. "What is it?" I asked. "The streak changed color again." "What color?" "It's changing back now but it was black." "The color of sadness." I shook my head and chuckled. "No point in dwelling on it." I turned to Ganger. "What were your findings?" She smiled. "You are not going to believe this. Follow me." And we did. We were walking down this smaller, more narrow tunnel but when we reached the end, I was surprised. We were on the other end of the cave/tunnel system. This was the exit we've been waiting for. What had Velvet and I so awestruck was this beautiful jungle we were now standing in. Ganger looked at me. "And you said I was wrong." She said in a smug tone. "My apologies Ganger. You were right." I looked at what sky I could see. "I can't tell what time it is, but it is still light out." "I'll go see where the sun is." Said Ganger before taking off. She came back a few seconds later. "We're good on time. Wanna get going?" "No, not just yet." I pulled out my map and found the only jungle on it. "Whoa." "What?" "We must either have been stuck in that tunnel for three or four days or that tunnel was magic." "Why do you say that?" Velvet looked at me. "What's going on?" I show the map. "This is where we must be." I pointed to the lone green spot. "And this is the Equestrian Border." I traced an imaginary line. "See what I mean now?" "Whoa." The both said at the same time. "I really don't know how we cut five hundreds miles in such a short amount of time!" I rolled the map up and put it back in the bag. "How for away from Equestria are we now?" "One thousand three hundred twenty three miles." "Still pretty far huh?" Said Velvet. "Yes, but let's continue on. No point in staying here for much longer." "Right!" Author's Note An explanation for the tunnel will be in the next chapter. As always if you see any mistakes, tell me. Chapter 7: The Pony in The Book"So..." Said Ganger while she walked along beside me. "I've been wondering about that tunnel. How could possibly have gained this much ground?" "I too have thinking about it, but I do not know. I think one of the books I've brought with me has something about such occurrences in it." I looked at the sky but it was obscured by the canopy. "Hmm, it's starting to get pretty dark." I looked at Velvet. "You think we should stop?" She looked around and shrugged. "Your voice acting up again?" She nodded her head. "Great." I sighed. "Ganger, you think we should stop?" "Maybe to see where we are, but I don't think we should stop for today. I think we still have an hour or two before night fall." "Considering the canopy and how dark it is now, I figure we have an hour at most before we have to make camp. But I agree lets stop for a little while." We all stopped, and I sat the bag on the ground and searched for the right book. I heard the familiar squeak of Velvet's voice and turned to her. "Yes?" "Having trouble?" She wrote on her blackboard. "Uh...yeah." I scratched the back of my head and chuckled. "I can't seem to remember the name of the book..." I tapped my chin in thought and looked at the books. "The Doctor's Guide to Time and All Things Temporal? What the hay? don't remember packing this." I heard the tapping of chalk. "Who's 'The Doctor'?" "Doctor Who?" Ganger chimed in. "I honestly don't know." I opened the book and Table of Contents. "Hmm, Gateways and other timey-wimey things? What an odd title." I said as I turned to the start of the chapter. "This Doctor seems....weird..." Ganger said looking at the book as well. "Indeed." I said as I started to read. "Um what?" "What's wrong?" "T-theres a button...in book..." I blinked a few times in confusion. "What?" Ganger and Velvet did the same. I press the button and an oddly familiar brown pony stallion appeared from the book. I jumped back at the sudden appearance. "What the buck is that!" "A hologram." Velvet wrote and shrugged. "Pretty advanced for such an old looking book." "I agree." Said Ganger. "Yes, that's nice and all but are you going to listen or should I go?" The stallion in the book said. "A-are you...The Doctor?" "Yes, and before you ask, it's just The Doctor. Nothing else just. The. Doctor. Are we clear? Good. Now, where we?" We all looked at each other and back at the Hologram Doctor. "Hello?" "Um...Gateways?" "Oh, right. Gateways! Yes temporal gateways. A slightly very rare occurrence, especially in this world." "What was that?" "Nothing! Temporal gateways can transport you through time, forwards and backwards, but not through space, depending on the type of gateway. In the event that you happen to somehow stumble into one, you may experience nausea the first time. Your body will adapt to the sensation the more you go through the gateways. But I do not suggest it without some kind of protection, or the TARDIS. Before you ask, that stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. Any questions? No? Good. Now, if none of you are feeling sick then congratulations, you got lucky. The odds of first time gateway users not getting sick are slim." "Then how did we gain five hundred miles?" "What? You traveled distance as well?" We nodded our heads. "And none of you are sick?" We shook our heads. "Fantastic!" "What do you man 'fantastic'?" "You just went through a Class three Gateway! Without getting sick!" "Did we go back in time as well?" I asked this time. "Hmm yes it appears that you did. About two days I'd say." He nodded his head sagely. "So," Ganger started. "We not only gained distance, but we gained time as well?" "Yes." "Awesome!" "Now, if there's nothing else I will leave you to your travels." "What happens if we meet ourselves?" He almost looked panicked when she asked that. "You must not meet your past selves! That would create a paradox!" "Would there be a chance that we would meet by accident?" "No, it became a fixed point in time as soon as you stepped through the gateway. It's locked in an infinite time loop. As long as you keep moving there is no chance of that ever happening." "I think that's all we needed." I said. "Good! Glad I could help. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be going now." And then he was gone. I closed the book. "Well that was...interesting." The others nodded and I packed the books up and we continued walking. It was almost pitch dark now and we were forced to stop. I couldn't understand how we stepped into a temporal gateway without know it. Also I wanted to figure out where in the tunnel the gateway was. But The Doctor's voice came in my head telling me to not go back. And I knew if I did, something bad would happen. We made a small fire, just big enough to keep us warm but too big as to cause the jungle to catch fire. We had walked for about two to maybe three miles today. It was hard to tell in this jungle. One of the good things about being in a jungle is finding berries, and this jungle is plentiful. We decided to pack some when we reached the edge. But for now, I was looking over supplies while Ganger tried to help Velvet with her vocal exercises. Picking berries is helping with our food supply, so our main concern is water. I can hear a stream not to far from here, we will fill our canteens in the morning. "Can you talk now?" Asked Ganger. "I-I think so?" "Don't push yourself too hard, okay?" I said, looking up from the bag. "I think we have enough supplies for another two to three days. Possibly four depending on how many berries we take with us." "What about water?" Asked Velvet. "We will freshen it up when we continue tomorrow." She nodded her head and Ganger laid down. "Tired so soon?" I asked in a teasing tone. "I thought you had more energy than that." "I think it's side effects from the gateway." I shrugged. "Could be. I'm wide awake though." I looked at Velvet. "What about you?" "I'm a little tired, not enough to fall asleep though." "Hmm I see. Ganger, if you want to sleep you can. We'll keep watch." "I think might. Goodnight guys." "Goodnight." Both Velvet and I said. "Anything on your mind Zeta?" Asked Velvet. "Not really. I still can't comprehend went into the past, I don't feel any different." "Neither do I, but it is just two days. If it were a year I believe we would feel it." "I guess you're right. That does make sense, doesn't it?" "Yeah." "This jungle is quite nice isn't it? A little hot and maybe humid but at least we have shade." "I agree. It's a lovely place, shame we have to leave it..." Then there was a quite a startling noise in the distance. It sounded like wild animals fighting. I looked in the general direction of it and then slowly back at Velvet. "Maybe for the better." Her eyes were wide, and you could see the fear on her face. "Don't worry I'll protect you two." She said nothing but nodded instead and got closer to me. I have a feeling I'm not getting any sleep tonight. Chapter 8: The Tiger"Something's wrong with Ganger." I heard The Conqueror say somewhere from the shadows. "What do you mean? She seems perfectly fine to me." I said looking around for him. "Really?" He said in an almost sarcastic tone. "She knew about the Gateway, and shes leading you into a trap." "Except she not leading us. I am!" "Are you quite sure? Who scouts ahead the most?" He chuckled. "You're just the one with the map! Not the leader." "Fine! From now on I'll do the scouting. Ganger is more then capable of protecting Velvet." "Suit yourself. The damage has already been done." I then saw glowing red eyes, and the he emerged from the shadows. "Wake up, it's dawn." "But what do you mean 'the damage has already been done?' That make no sense. We're close to the edge of the jungle, we'll be there by mid day!" He smiled. "You'll find out. Now, wake up!" He stomped his hooves and I awoke. "Another bad dream?" Said Ganger as we got prepared for today's travels. I stared at her groggily. "Yeah. Shouldn't have fallen asleep though. We were all vulnerable to the jungle." "You can't protect us all of the time you know? Besides, you deserve a good rest." "I suppose, But still something could of happened..." I emptied the bag's contents onto the ground. We had a good supply of food but we will need to make a slight detour to get more water. "We should stop by the river to fill our canteens." I heard one of them sniffing the air, and then the tapping of chalk. I looked at her board and she wrote "And bathe." I sighed and Ganger chuckled. "A quick bath wouldn't hurt, would it?" "Well it has been awhile since that oasis, and we are going to be there anyway." Velvet wrote. "It's settled then." and smiled. I shrugged, and put everything back into the bag, and we set off. After a few minutes of walking we arrived the river. I filled the canteens before I joined the others. The first thing I noticed was how cold the water was. The second thing was the fairly recent sign of an attack and struggle of some kind. I seemed to be the only one to notice, and I decided not to tell them about it. I will, however, keep a watchful eye out, just in case the winning creature is still around. I'm not sure how clean we are without any soap or shampoo, but at least it's something. Checking the map after I dried off, we started got our bearings and headed out. It was about nine O'clock in the morning now, so we didn't lose that much time. We were still not too sure how far we were from the edge of the of the jungle. I know I said by mid day but I am still not sure how long it will be. I noticed a rustling in the bushes beside us. "Do you guys hear that?" "Hear what?" Ganger asked with concern in her voice. "Just listen." We stopped and I heard nothing. "It's gone. Stay on your guard. It's still stalking us." We started to move more cautiously now. The rustling happened again and Ganger shot her magic in the direction of it. Shortly after we heard something collapses onto the ground. I went over to see what it was and found a tiger laying there. Ganger came up to me and looked at it. "I only stunned it, we don't have long until it recovers. We should get going." "Right." We turned around and ran to get as much ground between us and the tiger. Hopefully it will lose track of us, then we wouldn't have to constantly watch our backs. It had been about a mile and no sign of the tiger. I decided to make a stop here since we haven't made one yet. "It's about time we stopped. Sheesh! My hooves are killing me from all that running." "I know Ganger, but it was needed." I sighed a sigh of relief. "Let's just hope that tiger lost our trail." "It should have but I hope so as well. I'm kind of hungry." "So am I, How about you Velvet?" "Yes." She said, trying to talk again. I nodded my head and got the food out, evenly distributing the rations between the three of us. "We are getting low again it seems." "How bad off are we?" "We have about a day or two worth of food left. Manageable but we need to start looking for food, as well as making our way to the edge of the jungle." "Ugh, how long until we reach Equestria?" I pulled the map out and found our location and found the border. "It seems we're about twenty nine miles closer now." "So one thousand two ninety four?" Velvet asked. "Yep." I rolled the map up and packed it. "How can we still be so far away! It's been a month! A month of nothing but walking through a bucking desert, fighting of predators, and just surviving! Is there a way we can make this go faster?!" I saw tears start to form. She was starting to feel discouraged, I can tell. "Not unless you want to run the rest of the way." I sighed. "I'm sorry but we can't do anything Ganger. We're all feeling a bit discouraged by the distance, but we can't give up now." "I-I know, it's just so-" She was cut off by a roar that wasn't that far away. "Hold that thought," I said, quickly packing up our food and canteens. "and run!" The creature that roared jumped out from the bushes. Ganger cast a bright light, temporarily blinding the tiger . "Like I said, Always fighting off predators!" "Shut up and run!" Velvet of all of us yelled at Ganger and ran. Ganger and I followed and caught up with her. I heard it trailing close behind us. At this rate we weren't going to out run it. "Velvet! Find somewhere to hide! Ganger we're going to have fight it off!" "What!? Are you crazy!?" "I don't like the idea either but it's our only option! Go Velvet, hide!!" Ganger and I stopped while Velvet ran ahead. We bucked the tiger and sent it flying a few feet, it didn't stay down for long though. It roared again, louder than before, and swiped at Ganger. She dodged the tiger's attacks and tried to counter attack, but she couldn't get close enough. While it was distracted by her, I snuck beside it and bucked as hard as I could. It howled in pain and hit me a couple times to get away. I quickly ran over to Ganger. "Are you hurt?" She asked with much concern. "I saw it hit you." "I'm okay. It didn't use it's claws, so I think I'll only be bruised." "And you're sure about that?" I nodded, trying to stare down the tiger. "Okay then... How are we going to defeat it?" "No idea. But I'm sure we'll think of something." The tiger started to move. We followed it's movements and were slowly going around in a big circle. I thought of something. "How about you blast it with another spell?" She shook her head. "I only know a few basic spells, none of which would be useful, and I already used up a lot of my magical energy. So it's all hoof-to-claw." Her voice was shaky, not that it was hard to tell she was nervous. "I'm not much of a fighter, I have know idea how this is going to turn out." We heard a loud hiss and we looked at the source. The tiger stopped and pounced again, getting alarming close to me. I tried to kick but I was too slow, it swiped and cut my upper left hind leg and some of my flank. "Zeta!" Ganger called out and tried to get around the tiger, but to no avail. "I...fine. it's ugh...just a scratch! Buck this hurts!" "It won't let me pass!" "Stay focused on the tiger! Get to me when you can!" There was no response from Ganger, only the sound of battle filled the air. I looked at where the tiger got me, and it could have been worse but still didn't look good. I passed out a moment later. When I came too, I saw the tiger had Ganger cornered. It brought up a paw to strike Ganger one last time until. "Enough!!" The tiger and I looked around and the tiger was suddenly surrounded by magical aura, and started levitating. And soon after that flew into a nearby tree. I looked for the owner of the voice and out came Velvet from the bushes. The tiger struggled to get up, and fell when it managed to stand. Velvet ran over to me and helped me up. Once I was set, she ran over to Ganger. I looked over at the tiger and it just laid there, staring at all of us. I felt anger stand to creep up on me and I started to walk towards it. It saw me and started to growl, when that didn't work it tried backing away but backed into the tree. It's eyes began to widen and then something strange happened. "Help me!" It spoke. I just sat there, staring at it, or her rather, completely dumbfounded. All anger for her has been replaced by confusion. Velvet and Ganger cautiously walked over to me and stared at her as well. "If you're going to kill me, just do it already!" She yelled. "Quit toying with me and do it!" "Y-you can talk?" I said. She stared at me with her own confusion. "Y-yes." she answered slowly. "I can talk. Is that any reason for you not to finish me?" "We're not going to kill you." Said Velvet, with concern on her face. "Then why attack me?" "Why were you stalking us?" Ganger asked, with something similar to annoyance in her voice. "I was curious! I heard walking close to my den and wondered what it could be." She looked at me. "And then I saw your mane. It looked familiar and I thought...no, nevermind that would be impossible." She shook her head. "And then I was struck by some kind of magic." "And then you followed us!" Ganger yelled. "I cast that spell, stunned you and we ran. You could have gone back to your den instead!" "Do you blame me for getting angry!" She growled. "I am only doing what I can to protect my children!" She then lowered her head. "I tried, I really did. What are you going to do with me? Kill me? Take me prisoner? What?" "We're going to release you." I said with a smile on my face. "You what?" "You're free to go. But if I may ask. How does my mane look familiar?" "I had a friend, along time ago, with a mane like yours. She is also the one that taught me to speak your language. She found me when I was just a cub. I ventured outside of my den and got lost. Trying to find my way back, I ventured further into the jungle. I was attacked at some point and got cornered by boars. That's when she found me. She fought off the boars and checked to see if I was okay. After that, she picked me up and asked me where I lived. I led her to my den and that's when she met my father. He attacked her but I protected her as she did for me. My father asked why I was doing this for a stranger and I told him she saved me. She was a pony, her mane was lighter than your's though." "What happened to her?" Velvet asked. "That's the sad part. Shortly after she taught me to speak your language, she told me she had to leave and go back to Equestria. She said she would return but she never did. I don't know where she is or even if she's still alive..." "H-how long ago was this?" I asked. "Eighteen years ago. Now that I look at you, you do look a lot like her." She smelled me, and her eyes widened. "I see. What is your name?" I raised an eyebrow "Zeta..." "Well then Zeta, I believe I met your mother." "N-n-not possible! She died giving birth to me! She long since dead!" "She could still be dead. But you were lied too." She looked at the other two. "Thank you for sparing me, I must be off now." She gave us a quick nod and ran off. "Be safe!" Velvet called after her and then turned her attention to me. Ganger started to back away and told Velvet to stay put. I just stood up, turned around and started walking. I was lied to about my mother's death? What else was I lied to about? Author's Note Hello everyone! Sorry about that brief hiatus. I got a job and they've been keeping me pretty busy anyway I hope you enjoy and please tell me if you find any mistakes. Chapter 9: The Village"Zeta?" Velvet said but I ignored her. "A-are you okay?" "Leave him alone Velvet. He just needs some time." "I know but he's been silent for an hour. I'm really starting to worry..." Velvet whispered that last part, but I heard her anyway. I groaned in response, and Velvet "eeped". "Zeta," Ganger said, moving closer to me. "You should say something, it would make her feel better." I stopped and looked around. It was getting dark and I'm sure we're all tired. "Do you think we should stop here?" "That's what you're going to say? After being quiet for so long, that's it?" I grunted. "We could continue for another couple miles." I said without turning around. "Guys," Velvet said. "I would by fine for another mile or so. W-we can keep going." "Then let's continue." I said as I started walking. We walked another two miles in silence. They got me to talk when we hit three miles. "...All I'm saying is that you don't have to be mean to us." "I know." "...I guess it's settled then?" "Seems that way." "Um," Velvet started. "...Zeta? Ganger? Please don't do this. Not here." "Should be fine after some sleep." "Who?" Ganger chimed in. "You? Or me?" "Both. It's obvious that we're tired and hungry. We need to get sleep." "I'm fine." Ganger stated. "You're the one who needs rest." All and all, she was probably right. They both seemed fine to go for a bit longer, and I know I wasn't. But the fact that we've been arguing for awhile almost had my patience wore down to the bare minimum. If it wasn't already there that is. I stopped to say something, but shook my head and turned to them, sat down and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. All my life I've been lead to believe that my mother was dead. And then out of nowhere I learn that she left my father and I to go back to her home land. Could he not have told me the truth. Hell The least he could have done was tell me she was a bucking pony!" I kicked the ground with a fore hoof and looked down. "I'm just thinking of why she left. Was it because she didn't want me? Or was it my father? Or like the village? All of these thoughts, all of the different possibilities of what caused and why she left, is circling in my head." I looked up at them again. "It's just...a lot too think about..." Ganger came up to me, and put a hoof on my shoulder and smiled. "I think I understand. In the Hive we don't have much interaction with our parents until a certain age." "That's not the same thing." "No, no it isn't. But imagine going half of your foalhood thinking you don't have any parent. At least you had a father." I smiled a little at that, but it didn't stay long. "That is true, but imagine thinking that your father secretly hates you because you killed his wife." Her smile faded and she took her hoof off of my shoulder. "I don't think I can imagine that to be honest." She said truthfully. "Not that I would want too, but just remember we're here for you." Velvet walked up to us and chimed in. "And if you need to talk about anything, feel free to talk to me or Ganger." I smiled. "I'll keep that in mind." I stood up and stretched. " So, are we stopping for tonight?" Ganger yawned and so did Velvet. I chuckled. "I think I have my answer." We woke up at what seemed seemed to be around ten in the morning. It was a late start, but our goal for now is to get to the edge of the forest and go from there. After waking up a little bit, I took out the map. "According to the map, we only have about three more miles." "No sense in wasting time here!" Ganger said, already walking in the right direction. "Agreed." "Okay, okay slow down you two." I chuckled as I packed up the map and followed. We had to stop for a couple minutes to gather berries because our food was running low. After that we were good to continue. We had about a mile and a half to go now, and the walk so far has been, thankfully, uneventful. There wasn't any to keep us from getting bored however, and Ganger wasn't shy about sharing how bored she was. I told her to stop and she did, Velvet laughed. We took our last few steps and found the Jungle/Desert border. I commented that I wasn't excited to go back out there, and the other two agreed wholeheartedly. I saw a village off in distance, I raised an eyebrow and brought out the map. Ganger noticed this and walked over to me. "It's just straight south from here right? Why are you checking the map?" She asked. "See that there?" I pointed in the direction of the village. "See what?" She followed where I was pointing. "Oh cool, a village!" "An unmarked village." I corrected, what a hint of worry in my voice. "This map has every village in the Zebra Dominion. I...don't think we should go in there." Ganger shrugged. "Maybe it's just new? How old is that map anyway?" "We also need more food. Even if we fill our bag with berries, we won't survive long if that is our only food source." "You have a point." Like it or not they did. This map most likely is outdated, and our food supply is dangerously low. "We can't afford to pass it up. As long as we are cautious, we should be fine." "So we can go?" Ganger asked. "We can go." I confirmed. "But like I said, we should keep our wits about us. Just in case." They both nodded and we started gathering berries before walking over to the village. It was still about a mile away though. When we got close enough Ganger disguised herself as the same pegasus pony she used to help us get across the chasm. I told them too let me do the talking, the agreed and we walked up to the gate. There was no guard, and thought it better to leave, but before I could say anything Ganger called out. There was some ruckus from behind the gate and then it opened. "Travelers?" The guard zebra said. "Yes." I answered slowly. "We are low on food, save for the berries we picked up, and were wondering if your village could provide. May we stay and resupply?" "Travelers?!" Somezebra shouted from behind the guard zebra. Who shook his head and responded. "It is uncertain that we can provide the proper supplies for you and your companions." He then smiled for an unknown reason. "But you may come in and rest." He moved aside and let us in. The first thing I noticed was that this village was in seriously bad shape. All the buildings looked somewhat put together. I couldn't tell what they were made from, though, it didn't look like wood. The second thing I noticed was the owner of the voice the yelled behind the guard. It was a zebra mare that looked really excited. Too excited I might add. She ran off in the other direction, leaving us confused. The guard told us not to worry about it, and told us to enjoy our stay. For some reason the way he said it worried me. The smile he had afterwards didn't help either. I looked at the other and I think they're feeling a little uneasy as well. Another zebra came up to us shortly afterwards. "Hello travelers! And welcome to our village!" He said with a smile that wasn't creepy. "It's not much but please, let me show you three around." We all nodded and followed him. He showed us their leader's hut, the clinic, the restaurant, and the "hotel" where we will be staying. "So, what do you think?" "It's nice," I started. "You made use of everything you had at your disposal." He looked unsure for a moment for some reason, but responded. "Thank you! Now about your resupply." I felt Velvet tap my shoulder. "One moment please." He nodded. "Go right ahead." I nodded to him and turned to Velvet. "Yes?" "I-I don't like it here..." "I don't either." I said. "I would like to get our supplies and get out of here as quick as possible." I turned back to the zebra. "Anyway, as you were saying?" "Your food supplies. You said you were low?" "Yes, about a day or maybe just a bit more than that." "Ah I see. I will see if we have what you need in the meantime, you can stay here and find a room." "Okay, thanks for your help." "Not a problem." We went inside and got a room. It had one bed that looked very uncomfortable, a couch, and a reasonably sized window. A lantern sit upon the small table in the corner of the room. Looking around, I could see that the room itself was what I had expected. I walked over and sat on the bed. Yep, pretty uncomfortable. Ganger and Velvet walked over, Velvet sitting on the bed next to me while Ganger sat on the floor, shedding her disguise. We looked at each other, it was clear we all were thinking the same thing. "I really don't like it here." Ganger spoke first. "Something doesn't feel right, and there a faint smell of..." She sniffed the air and her eyes widened a little. "...blood..." "Blood?!" Velvet nearly shouted. "What would that mean?" "I don't know...but I don't like it." I said, feeling a little drowsy. "Hey...is anyone else...feeling sleepy?" Velvet asked. Ganger and I yawned. "But it's not...nearly late enough for us to be...tired." Ganger stated. "Unless." I turned around and looked towards the window. "Sleeping gas..." "What?!" Both Ganger and Velvet shouted. I couldn't answer. I passed out before I could. When I woke up, I was chained to a wall and the zebra that helped us was telling another zebra to do something. He turned to me and smiled. I looked around and saw both Ganger and Velvet on the floor. I passed out again shortly after I saw them. Author's Note After this there will be no more chapters starting with "The". Chapter 10: Destruction PT. 1 (The Calm)"Well it looks like you're awake." The zebra said, walking closer to me with every word. I looked around and couldn't see Velvet or Ganger anywhere. He noticed me looking for them. "Oh don't worry." He said with a smile. "I'm sure your friend will make a great...dinner guest." His smile turned into a sadistic one. "We weren't sure what to do with the bug so we just threw her out." He shrugged and chuckled. "With the heat and all, I think she'll decompose in a week." He started laughing. "I'll-!" "You'll do what? You're chained to a wall! Face it you're helpless." He turned and started to walk away. "You wont get away with this!" He stopped and looked at me. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that. We've had dozens that said the same thing." He walked away, laughing. "No..." I looked at the ground in disbelief and sorrow. "Giving up so easily are we?" I heard The Conqueror say and closed my eyes. I could see him looking at me with a strange smile. "I...I just don't know what I can do..." "Well it would seem that you are as helpless as he says." He said putting a hoof to his chin. "But then again, you have me." His smile grew a little wider. "I will figure it out on my own. I wont take you help." "Suit yourself." his smile faded a bit and he shrugged. "They are no of consequence to me. But you might want to think of something soon." He frowned and turned around. "You will not live long like this." I wanted to argue but I knew he was right. I had too think of something fast, lest I die here. ||||Velvet's View|||| "Ugh what happened?" I said holding a hoof to my head, trying to ease the headache pain. "You've been captured that's what happened." I jumped and looked over to where the voice came from. It was dark but I could tell it was a male. "It was easy too, you guys shouldn't have relaxed so easily." He chuckled. "W-what are you going to do to m-me?" "Oh, have you for dinner of course." "B-but then why lock me up?" I asked with hope that he didn't mean it in the way I thought he did. Maybe it was some weird prank? There was a pause, like he was taken back by what I asked him. He started chuckling, which turned into low laughter. "Oh no my dear, you're not a guest. You're part of the dinner." He lit a lantern and looked at me, licking his lips. "And you look simply divine." He said with a creepy smile. The only thing I felt I could do was- ||||Ganger's View|||| I was just regaining consciousness and the first thing I noticed was that I felt like I was being rocked back and forth. In a very unpleasant way. "One.....two.....three!" Then before I knew it, I felt like I was floating for a few seconds. And then I realized I was falling. My eyes shot opened and I saw the rapidly approaching ground. I buzzed my wings and righted myself enough to land softer then I would have. "We forgot to tie her wings!" I heard the two that threw me shout. I looked at them with a glare and flew up as fast as I could. I caught them off guard, and threw one of them down into the pit they threw me into. He landed with a crunch and I cringed. The other zebra was about to turn tail and run. I zapped him with a stun spell and walked over to him. I noticed that the spell hasn't taken full effect yet. "You should know better not to piss off a Changeling Soldier." His eyes rolled back and he was off to sleep. I looked around and then There was a shrill scream that filled the air and sounded like "Velvet!" I heard doors open and zebras exiting there houses. Some saw me and the zebra I just stunned and started running towards me. I jumped into the air and flew away. I had no other choice. "Don't worry guys, I'm not gonna leave you there." ||||Zeta's View "AAAAAAAHHHHH HELP!!! HELP ME!!! HELP M-!" I raised my head with a start. I looked around and saw the guards running out of the door. It took a few seconds, but I recognize that scream, and sounded like she was cut short. "Velvet!" I looked at the chains and started struggling against them, but to no avail. I was already angry but now I was livid. I started to imagine what they were doing to her. "No....NO!!" I saw the streak in my mane and my mane itself start to change from red and brown to dark red and black. I continued to struggle against the chains, but still nothing. I looked down and glared at the floor. I also noticed my coat change color as well but I didn't invest too much thought into it. Everything started to get a red tint to it. "Nozebra is going to hurt my friends and nothing is going to stop me from protecting them!!" I turned around and grabbed a chain. I pulled and pulled until I finally ripped it out of the wall. "You're all going to pay!!" There was low rumbling laughter. "Yes." ||||Ganger's View|||| There were clouds rolling in from every direction. All converging on the village I just escaped. They all met in the middle and started to slowly circle around. I looked away from the clouds and started to run into the forest. I had an idea of who could help me. "Now, where was her den?" I heard a yell in the distance, and decided I needed to hurry. I would look for the tiger and see if she was willing to help me. I just hope I'm not too late. ||||Zeta's(?) View|||| "He escaped!" There were guards running toward me with their swords. I stomped on the ground and jagged rocks sprouted up from under the closest one, impaling him where he stand. He hadn't a chance to dodge it, it happened to fast. The other four stopped dead in their tracks. I looked at the blood pooling from the now dead zebra in front of me, and simply walked past him. I looked at the others and smiled. Two of them ran away while the other two stood there ground. "Are you two stupid?" I asked, walking closer to them. "You should have run." "We're not scared of you!" One of them yelled. I stopped and looked at him. "Oh? Then why are you shaking?" I laughed. "I'll make a deal with you. Step aside and you live. Try to attack me and you die. Deal?" "I've had enough of this!" He ran and swung his sword at me. I frowned and dodged it, kicking him in the face when he passed by me. He face planted into the ground. I looked at him. "Hmm, that was easy." I looked at his friend. "Are you as 'brave' as him?" He rapidly shook his head, ran over to his friend, picked him up and ran off. "Smart colt." I said before I started to look for Velvet. I searched the inside of the prison I was being held but they moved her. All I needed was for her to scream again, or something. I just needed something to tell me where she was! I walked out of the building again and looked around for a suspicious looking building. I heard yelling coming from where I remember the market area being. That seems like a good place to start. ||||Velvet's View.|||| I was regaining consciousness. I could hear commotion outside, it sounded like fighting. I looked around and noticed that it was a little darker now. I tried to move around but I was chained to the wall of the cell instead of being able to freely move. I called for help and everything stopped. For a moment it seemed like time had stopped altogether. A minute or two passed, and I heard somepony running toward the door. I looked up, hoping it was Zeta or Ganger, but then the door opened. I saw two zebras enter and glared at me. They started to close in on me. I backed away from them until I hit the wall. The started to open the door and I screamed. ||||Zeta's(?) View|||| I was running to the market area when a group of them ambushed me. The surrounded me, everywhere I looked there was at least two of them. The whole town must've have been here. "It isn't wise too stand in my way!" "It doesn't matter, we're going to stop you!" I looked at the one who spoke and cocked my head in confusion. "Why put so much effort forth to stop me?" I looked around again. "Why have this many? Fifteen?" I scoffed at them. "I'm only one stallion." "You and your friend are our dinner! We're not just going to let you walk away!" The zebra said. "And we'll do whatever it take to take you down." Another one said with a smug grin. "And there is no way in Tartarus that you'll take us all out!" The crowd cheered and walked closer to me, tightening the circle they had formed. "Help!" I heard that word again. It rang out for a few seconds, and time seemed to slow down. "Will somezebra go shut her up!?" I heard from somewhere in the crowd, and saw two break off and run toward where the voice came from. I started to run after them, but was stopped. I tried to break through again but couldn't. "They dare not touch her!" A zebra got in my face "Watch them." And then I heard another scream. "VELVET!!" I roared, causing the surrounding zebras to jump back. I glared at them, and said in a voice that was not my own. "In case you have failed to realize who I am. Let me show you." I brushed my mane away from my red eye. "Do you know of The Prophesy?" "T-that old mare's tale?" One of them said trying not to look at my eye. "The very same. I am The Conqueror of The Three Great Nations. I am The Oncoming Storm. And I am your death!" I jumped and stomped all four hooves on the ground and we were all slowly in cased in a rock sphere, lit by a bright red light shining from the ceiling once it formed. "Bow to me know and I promise you will live. Defy me and die." I called. About five of the thirteen bowed. I looked at them. "Leave." They obeyed and left through the openings I made. A few others tried to leave as well but they didn't get very far. I even let one of them think he had a chance and closed the opening on him. It came down on him so hard that he was left with his back side sticking up. I raised the opening a bit and saw that he was in a "V" shape. Then the two halves fell, causing some of the zebras to vomit. I smiled. "This should be fun." ||||Ganger's View|||| "Come on where are you." I thought as I looked around. It was getting dark now, or at least it is in here. I heard the bushes rustle but but little mind to it. I needed to concentrate on where I am. "Ugh where is it?" "Where's what?" I almost jumped out of chitin and slowly turned around, but saw nothing. I continued to walk, more cautiously then before. Author's Note After long thought I decided not to full on cancel it but updates will happen quite irregularly and I don't know when the next chapter will be out, so here's this until next time. As always tell me if you see any mistakes and I will fix it. Chapter 11: Destruction PT. 2 (The Storm)||||The Conqueror's (Zeta's?) View|||| I look at the remaining zebras and smile. These ones have lasted through my 'game'. It was, however, a shame to see that they weren't enjoying it as much as I was. I look at the various spikes that came up from the ground, or down from the ceiling, and the bodies that have been impaled by them. The game was similar to dodge ball, except there were spikes instead. I told them if the lasted five minutes of this, one of them could fight me hoof-to-hoof. To my surprise and enjoyment, four of the remaining seven survived. All they had to do was pick a champion. I look at them again. They're worn out. They're breathing heavily and laying down. My smile falters a little and I speak. "Do you not have decision yet?" "None of us stand a chance against you!" One of them yelled. I looked at him and frowned. "Pitiful, once your 'food' fights back you're entirely useless." I spit at the ground toward them. "Pathetic! If any of you choose to fight me, I'll be outside." I left through a small opening I made for myself. I heard the others yell and ran for the exit but it closed before they were even close. ||||Velvet's View|||| I lay in a corner trembling and whimpering. I was scared before but now I'm terrified. Those zebra stallions beat me. Without mercy. One of them said they were 'tenderizing the meat'. I just wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear. I heard the outer most door close, signaling that they were gone, and cried. Like a little foal lost in the market. Thoughts started to form in my head. Thought of my home in Ponyville, my best friends Pinkie and Fluttershy and the rest of my friends, my parents. But that's where the nice thoughts ended. Other thoughts of how they would serve me popped up every now and again. Would I be in a soup? Or maybe a stew? I shook my head to shake the thoughts away. And went back to pretending to not exist. ||||Ganger's View|||| I'm lost... I left my friends behind and got lost... They will die because of me... I shouldn't have left the village. I shouldn't have left them. I tried to find my way back but that's probably how I got lost. And for the first time in a long time I thought about giving up. "Something troubling you?" I heard from behind me. I spun around and took a defensive stance. I saw the tiger from earlier. ||||The Conqueror's View|||| I briefly looked at the sphere I was walking away from and smiled. They were either going to starve, eat each other, or find the weak spot I left for them. They're going to have to be smart if they want a chance to defeat me. I frowned and concentrated on what I needed to do. I needed to destroy the zebras. "What? No! We have to find the others!" "You should have thought your priorities before letting me take over." "I wasn't thinking straight." "No you weren't. But if it will cease your whining, fine!" I saw the two zebras from earlier exiting a building and smiled. "Hello there." They looked at each other and back to me and charged. ||||Ganger's View|||| "...And that's what happened. We need to go save them!" She seemed to think about it for awhile before shaking her head. "What?!" I shouted, making her step back. "I'm sorry, but I cannot." She sniffed the air. "Something foul is in the air, can't you smell it?" "N-no, what do you mean 'foul'?" "It's hard to place." She looked behind me. "I would help you more but I have cubs to look out for. The best I can do is take you back to the village." "But I came all this way! I abandoned my friends to find you!" "And I am sorry I can't help you more than this." "Do you not get it!!" I yelled, causing her to jump back. "All of my friends have died! First Match and now those two! I-I just....wanted...t-to help." I collapsed onto the ground and did what no other changeling has done. I cried. ||||The Conqueror's View|||| I look at the two defeated zebras that were infront of me. I fought them with good old fashion hoof-to-hoof combat. "You two did quite...well actually." I nodded sagely. "I shall spare you. For now." I looked at the building that they came from. "Leave now, before I change my mind." They just lie there and I cocked an eyebrow. I stepped closer to see why they would defy me when they were in such a state. I smiled and walked towards the building. They were out cold. They must have passed out from exhaustion. "Well, they did put up one hell of a fight." I thought. "Like bats from Tartarus. Minus the fangs and wings of course." "What's Tartarus?" Zeta asked. "It's a place I'll send you if you don't stop asking questions!!" "Okay okay!" I reached the building and opened the door. From the look of it, it looked like some kind of butcher shop. There was a door leading to the back room but I invested little attention in it. It was dark in here but luckily I could see fairly well in the dark. There were bones hanging from the ceiling. The bones were from numerous animals, but mostly equine. These are some sick individuals in this village. And that's saying something coming from me of all zebras. I heard a noise from behind the door and turned toward the door and begun walking toward it. ||||Velvet's View|||| I heard fighting outside. Shouts, screams, and laughter. I spent all of my energy on undoing the wall restraint, but I'm still sitting in the corner of my cell. After awhile the sounds of fighting fell silent. I had no idea why they were fighting. Maybe one wanted more food than the other one? It's not important. I need to focus on regaining energy so I can escape. The outer door opened. I backed further into the corner and curled up into a ball, trying to make myself as small possible, and watched the door. I wondered if, sense they were done fighting, they were going to do it. Were they finally going to kill me? Or just "tenderize the meat" again? It's been a minute or two and the zebras haven't come in yet. I uncurled and stood up. I slowly walked toward the cell door...and tripped on the chain. It rattled loudly and the occupant of the next room was sure to hear it. I heard hoof steps coming closer to the door. I panicked and curled up into a tight ball, with my eyes tightly shut. The door opened and I prepared for the worst. When nothing happened for a few seconds I slowly opened my eyes. I felt excited at first, I recognized that mane, it was Zeta but something seemed off. His colors were darker. The whites of his red eye were black, and his normal eye was glowing red despite still being the same as it's always been. He seemed frozen in place and was just staring at me. Then he glared and a loud thunder crack sounded. It was like staring at Death himself. ||||Ganger's View|||| After what felt like an hour of crying, the tigress and I were on our way back to the village. She sniffed the air and froze. The white on her coat seemingly turned green for a moment. She turned to me. "It seems I will be able to show you what I was talking about." I sniffed the air like she did but couldn't smell anything. "What do you mean?" "Come, we're close to the edge. Then you will be able to see." I raised an eyebrow, and continued to follow her. The closer we got, the more uneasy I got. The air grew tense, thick, and sinister. And when we reached the edge, I saw why. "I-I think I know what you meant." And then lightning struck and there a loud thunder clap. The tigress and I shielded our eyes and ears, but it hardly helped. I uncovered my eyes and looked at her and back at the village and ran. "Wait!" She called but I had friends to save. ||||The Conqueror's/Zeta's View|||| "They beat her?" I felt a twitch. "How how could they?" "To them she was nothing but food." I said nonchalantly. Another twitch. "It doesn't matter! I...this..." Twitch. "RAUGH!!" There was a strong surge of energy and I felt immense power wash over me. "I'll kill every last one of them!" And at that moment we became one. ||||Velvet's View|||| "I'll kill every last one of them!" I stared at him, afraid. This wasn't the same Zeta I've grown to know. This was...was. "The curse." I heard a voice in the back of my head say. That's right. This is the reason he began this journey in the first place. I can see why they were afraid now, if this was who he was then- "First order of business." He looked at me. "One side." He then turned around and bucked the door open. It flew off of it's hinges and I was barely able to dodge it. He must have noticed. "Sorry... You need to leave, it's not safe here." I just nodded and he left. I was frozen in place. Was this really Zeta? And if it is, do I need to travel with him? "No." I shook my head. "This is apart of him. Yes, I do. I just need to find a away to calm him down. But how?" |||Zeta's/Conqueror's View||| I stepped outside and looked at the sky. It was turning red and the clouds were black. I looked down and stared at three houses, and frowned. I stomped a hoof and looked up. Three meteors were falling toward the houses. I smiled and stepped forward and stumbled. "Careful! You're going to kill us at this rate!" I ignored him and watched the meteors crashed into the houses with a smile. Right before the meteors landed, I heard screams. "Worth it." I smiled and laughed. I saw zebras running everywhere, screaming and yelling. I saw a mare running and I ran after her. I tackled her and noticed something fly off of her back. I looked to see what it was. It was a foal. I smiled and walked toward it, like I was a predator of some kind. "No!" The mother yelled. "He's just a young colt! Please spare him!" I stopped and looked at her. "Very well." I gestured to the crying colt. "Take him." "Oh thank you!" She ran up to him, threw him onto her back, and ran away. I smiled and waited for a couple seconds before I stomped a hoof. Spikes shot through her legs, halting her. I walked up to her, still smiling. "B-but you said-!" "I lied." I said coldly. "It's a form of mental torture." I shrugged. "Now what to do with you?" I turned to the colt and smiled. "You know, to stop cancer you must cut it off before it spreads." "W-what do you mean?" "This." I tapped a hoof on the ground and a spike went through her and the colt. The colt died instantly but the mare didn't. She started crying as expected and I kicked her in the jaw in such a way the it jammed it shut. Now it would be muffled and I wouldn't have to hear her. Her death will be a slow and very painful one. ||||Ganger's View|||| I nearly tipped over my own hooves because I had stopped so suddenly. I couldn't believe what I just saw. Zeta, doing that? To a mare and her child!? This was not the Zeta I know! This was a....a "MONSTER!!" Oh buck, did I really just yell that out loud? I glanced around for a place to hide but there wasn't one. He looked straight at me and pointed behind him, like he was telling me where to go. I waited until he walked off before going to the building he pointed to. I have to get Velvet and get out of here. We are NOT travelling with that....thing, that monster. From this point on. Zeta is by himself, as far as I stand. Chapter 12: Destruction PT. 3 (The Slaughter)||||Velvet's View|||| I poked my head out into what looked like the main room and nearly vomited. All of the bones and draining meat hanging from the ceiling. I briefly thought about going back into the other room but there was no escaping from in there. I continued sneaking around, searching for anyzebra that might be hiding from Zeta. I noticed another room and entered it. It looked like a store room, or a pantry of some kind. With nothing of interest in here, I turned around and was ready to exit the room, but then I heard the door open. I looked around and saw a pile of....something and hid behind it. What if its another zebra? What if its Zeta? Better question is: does it matter anymore? ||||Ganger's View|||| I turned my head and look behind me, too see if Zeta was anywhere near me. I heard something crash and laughter off in the distance. That was enough to confirm his current location. I faced front and looked at the door and reached for the knob. I hesitated and thought. What if there were zebras in there? I was as much as a target as Velvet is. My decision made, I changed into a zebra I saw earlier and entered the building. The first thing I noticed was the smell and the meat hanging from the ceiling. It made me kinda sick but it was nothing new to me. Changelings are omnivores after all. I saw a door on the far side of the room, and cautiously made my way over to it. Once inside (if it was clear), I would drop my disguise and free Velvet. We would then escape this horror and continue on to Equestria. I opened the door and saw the state of the cell door. "Zeta...." I whispered. "How...how did you do that?" I then noticed that the cell was empty, and after a quick search of the other ones I began to panic. She wasn't here. She wasn't bucking here... I then thought back to the dripping meat. Was I too late? Then another thought entered my head. I could feel my pupils shrink. "W-what if Zeta got to her? Oh no...What would he do to here?" I felt intense rage as tears formed and my disguise dropped. "I'll kill him! I swear to Queen Chrysalis herself, if he hurt you I-!" I was noticed something out of the corner of my eye and turned my head. ||||Velvet's View|||| From behind my hiding spot I could hear the voice of one of the guards. But then it slowly started to change into a more feminine voice a subtle buzz to it. "Wait..." I thought. "I know that voice." I slowly walked up to the corner and peeked around. It was Ganger. I walked out of the room and looked at her. She seemed to notice me and turned her head. "Ganger? I thought you were dead!" She ran over to me and gave me a big hug. I winced and she noticed. She stepped back and got a good look at me. "I'll get him for what he did." She growled. "Don't you worry." I cocked my head. "For what who did?" "Zeta! Have you seen yourself!?" She nearly shouted. I furrowed my eyebrows. "That wasn't him." "You don't have to protect him Velvet." She said with pity in her voice. "Oh he'll pay!" "Ganger, calm down." I looked at with concern. "He really didn't do anything thing to me. He actually saved me." I pointed toward the prison door. "Have you seen the cell?" "Then who did?" I looked away. "A couple of the guards did." I shook my head at the recent memories, and stared back at Ganger and put a hoof took my chin. "I actually think seeing me like this is what set him off. We need to calm him down." "You seriously want to help him?!" She shouted. "Have you seen what he's done?!" "N-no... I've been locked in here the whole time..." I said with worry. She calmed down a little. "Well it's better if you don't see it then, though you probably will." She shook her head. "Anyway I think we should just find the map, leave him and go to Equestria ourselves." "What?!" I shouted, wincing as I did so. "You want to abandon him?! Ganger, he is our friend! He needs our help!" "Personally, I think he's-" There was a very sudden, very loud set of screams, followed by a very evil laugh and Zeta yelling something and a loud crash. "Too far gone." She looked at me. "Still want to 'help' him?" ||||Zeta/the Conqueror's View. Twenty Minutes Earlier|||| "MONSTER!!" I jumped slightly but quickly regained my composure and turned toward the voice. I saw Ganger looking for something. Was it she who yelled that? Doesn't matter. I smiled at seeing her alive and well, though she was too far away to see it. She looked at me and froze. It confused me to see her scared but I have more important things to do. I noticed she wasn't far from where I left Velvet, and pointed. As I turned to walk away I noticed her watching my every move. I shrugged it off and hoped she got the message. The two zebra guards I left unconscious were gone. I frowned and looked for them. I noticed a zebra family watching from their house. I stomped a hoof and a pillar of spiky rocks shot out of the house from the window they were watching me from with a crash. I saw red on it and laughed. I wasn't sure how many I killed but I don't care. I looked ahead and noticed the sphere. I nearly forgot about it and it inhabitants. "I wonder if they're still alive?" I wondered out loud. I shrugged and continued looking for the guards. ||||Zeta/The Conqueror's View. Ten minutes Ago|||| I have given up on the search for those two and began with killing the rest. I decided to start with the house closest to me. It was the one from earlier. I walked up to the door and opened it. I heard hoofsteps from another room and investigated. There were a pair of foals hiding in a corner and crying. I smiled and walked over to them. They opened their eyes and stared at me. "Hello little ones." I said. "What happened here?" They were shaking aand couldn't talk. "Come now, it's okay. Where are your parents." one of them, the oldest I think, pointed behind me. I turned and saw two bodies impaled on spiky rocks, and laughed. "W-what's so f-f-funny?" I turned and saw the oldest standing up. "My parent are dead! And its your fault! We saw you from the window." I frowned. "And? Do you really think I care about your retched parents?" I snapped. "Zebras aren't meant too eat meat! And here you all go and eat any travelers. You are all freaks of nature!" "Yeah," The youngest started. "G-g-go look in a m-mirror." "Why you insolent fool. Do you even know who you are talking too?" "I don't care!" "Shush brother." The older one snapped. "No! He killed our parents!" "Maybe I wouldn't have been so inclined to, if your tribe didn't attack my friends and I!" "But-" "No buts! Go be with your parents." "You're...showing mercy?" "Yes." "But you killed them!" They said in unison. "Death is not always absolute." I tapped my hoof. "Go check and tell them to get out of the village. If you have any friends, tell then too." They just looked at me like I was playing some sort of prank, but I turned and walked away. As I was exiting the house, I heard they foals crying and yelling happily that their parent were alive. "Well, that was...something." "Don't worry. If they're not out soon they will all be dead." ||||Zeta/The Conqueror's View. Present Time|||| I got bored of killing off the defenseless and am now standing in front of the sphere of stone. I made a opening, just big enough for me, and entered. There was nozebra here. "Guess they are smarter than I thought. Hmm...what to do now?" I looked around and saw there was a hole. "Guess they're strong too. The weak point is on the other side." I shrugged and turned around. What I saw surprised me. "Oh, hi." There were the zebras I trapped in here and a few others. "I suppose this is the part you you kill me?" There were cheers and shouts, I chuckled. "You can try." I got into battle stance. "Who's first?" They all looked at each other for a moment. "Heh, thought you would have intimidated me huh?" "I-I'm first!" Said one of the zebras from earlier. "Really? You don't sound so sure." "I'm ready!" I smiled. "Very well, same rules as before, hoof-to-hoof only. Any of you break this rule, then all bets are off. Understood?" "And what happens if we break it?" One from the small crowd asked. "Do you want to find out?" They looked at each other and shook their heads. "Good. Now, lets get started." He charged and spun around, try buck me. I dodged and punched his side with my left hoof. It was a weak hit, he barely seemed to notice it. He recover and jumped at me, which I countered by bucking him in the stomach. Sending him flying into another zebra. "I hoped you all learned something. Jump attacks leave you vulnerable." I looked at them. "Who's next?" ||||Somewhere In Equestria. A Few Days Ago.|||| I woke up gasping for air. I look around the room and rub my eyes. "Okay...still at home." I look outside and the sun was just over the horizon. I look over and see that space beside me was empty. "Must be taking care of the animals." I sat up and whistled. I heard the scampering of little paws running up the stairs, and next thing I knew I was tackled by a white furball. "Do you know where she is?" He barked and jumped down from the bed. I got out of bed, and followed him. He led me into the kitchen, where I saw a certain mare was. She glanced over at me and smiled. "Hello sleepy head." I smiled and hugged her "Hi sweetie." She looked at her clock. "You're up pretty early, aren't you." I chuckled. "Yeah I had a weird dream." She frowned. "Again? Do you think it will be the last few?" "I dunno." I stretched. "But it's a long way from here." "How far?" "Somewhere in the Zebra Dominion." I shrugged. "May be directly north from the border." I shook my head. "Not sure." Her pupils shrank. "Not to be um mean or anything but....does it directly effect Equestria?" "Seems pretty bad, to be honest. But I don't want to go into to details. I do want to talk to the girls though." "Oh okay." "Don't worry hun, it can wait til after breakfast." "Oh good." She smiled and hugged me. ||||Zeta/The Conqueror's View. Present Time|||| "Too slow!" I said as I bucked this zebra away. I looked at the last remaining zebra and smiled. "I-I...um...." "You should be proud you know." "O-of what?" "They actually managed to hit me a few time. Pity that they had to gang up on me like that... Oh well." I shrugged and looked at the others. "It's time to end this." I closed all of the openings. "You see that red light?" I looked up. "It's also a bomb." They gasped and I smiled. "A fire bomb if I'm right. If you haven't notice it gotten a little bigger." They looked up and their pupils shrank. "I'm not sure even I'll survive... You see. I hate you and I don't like what I've become. What better way to eliminate both evils then to kill them off at the same time?" "T-that's crazy!" "No it's actually quite logical, bit extreme maybe but," I shrugged. "It makes sense too me at least." I stomped a hoof and the bomb disconnected and started falling. They screamed, I laughed and yelled. "Let's go out together, in a blaze a hatred! All eleven of us!" Some prayed, some bucked the wall, and other just stared. And then it landed ||||Velvet's View|||| "I don't know why you're running towards the loud noise!! Do you really want him to see you?! Better question: Do you want to travel with him!?" "Yes! For the last time! Somethings got into him, and we need to calm him down!" "Ugh, fine. But don't say I didn't warn you!" "I won't!" I ran ahead of her. I didn't see anything until after a few minutes. It was a giant crater with scorch marks. I slowed to a trot when I saw what was in the crater. "Oh...my...Celestia... What have you done Zeta." "Velvet! Hey Velvet wait up!" I heard Ganger catch up to me. "Geez, if I said anything to make you upset I'm sorry but," She turn her head to see what I was staring at and I ran away and threw up. "Oh...my..." Was the last thing I said before I began vomiting. Author's Note Yep. Gearing for the end. See any mistakes? Feel free to tell me. Chapter 13: Recovery||||Canterlot, Equestria. Canterlot Castle. A Few Days Ago|||| "Hark the Protector of the Elements!" A squad of guards shout and bowed. "Aw come on guys. I told you, you don't have to do that!" I saw a guard that wasn't bowing. "Be more like that guy." I said and pointed at him. "You know why I stand." He practically growled at me. I sighed. "Yes, I do. I'm sorry okay? I've told you a hundred times, believe me. I've counted." "That does not make it better! You can-" I cut him off. "Cannot erase nor make up for it. I know." I looked away. "Do not think that I don't know the gravity of what I've done." I looked at him again, with a somewhat pleading look. "I know giving his family most of my paycheck is not enough, but it has to do. And please understand that-" "Enough of your talk!" He yelled. "Allow me to take my leave." I sighed again and nodded. "Very well. I will talk to your C.O. so that no disciplinary action is taken, but no promises." "Do as you please, I don't care." And he turned and left. I shook my head. "Anyway," I looked around and they were still bowing. "Ugh, you may rise." "I don't believe that is your call to make." A voice from behind me said. It was Celestia's. I turned around and greeted her. "Your Highness." She raised an eyebrow and frowned. I usually just call her by her name unless business needed to be done. "What happened?" "It is not has happened, but what will happen. Or so I think." I shook my head. "I need your advice and blessing on a possible mission." "Oh? And what mission is that?" "I had a premonition like dream this morning." I waited for her to respond, but she didn't and I continued. "Some is going to happen in Zebra Dominion. Something akin to what I did a few months ago. But I fear if the Elements and I don't get there in time." I paused. "Lives will be lost." She looked shocked, but regained her composure. "How many?" I looked away from her and swallowed the lump the was trying to form in my throat. "A whole village." There were gasps from the guards, as well as the princess. Her turned to an expression of urgency. "Take any resources you seven will need and get there as quick as you can." "Yes your Highness." ||||North of the Equestrian Border. 1,275 Miles Away from Destination. A Few Days Ago|||| "End of the line!" One of the ponies from the train called. I stood up and stretched. "I do not like how he put that..." "M-me neither." "Oh come on, it'll be fine." I looked at the train pony. "Thank you for taking us out this far." "It's no trouble, we were asked by the princess herself. We wouldn't dare go against her wishes." "Well you could, but oh well." I shrugged. "It was still pretty brave of you." He nodded his head. "Thank you." I nodded my head as well and turned towards the leader of the group. "Well you have the map. Where are we going?" She took it out. "Hmm...you it was directly north from here, right." I shook my head. "No, I said it might be directly north from here." I corrected. "Once we get close, I'll know where to go from there." She rolled her eyes, but nodded. We exited the train five minutes later. "It might be awhile guys." I said. "We may be traveling for days maybe even a month or two." There were a few groans. "Yeah it sucks, but we have to investigate." There were no objections and we began to move. ||||Ganger's View. Present day|||| As I stare at the crater, I count the bodies. There are eleven. All except one is severely burned or charred. One even had skin melting off of it. But the one in the center was perfectly fine by comparison. Or at least from what I can see here. Velvet was still....indisposed at the moment and I was frozen to the spot. "I can't believe he would do such a thing..." I thought and shook my head. I wondered if this is what Equestria would be like if the invasion was successful. I shook my head again as another Changeling's face flashed by, and sighed. After what felt like an hour of being frozen in place, I went to check on Velvet. She was sitting down next to her half digested lunch. I cringed and got closer to her. "Velvet?" She nodded. "Are you going to be okay?" Stupid Question Ganger, sheesh! "I-I honestly don't know.... I mean, I know this isn't the first time I've dead bodies, but....the smell and everything else. And also the fact that Zeta did it... I just don't know..." "I know what you mean." I nodded. "It's....overwhelming. I'm just now beginning to process everything. And the more it sinks in..." I shook my head and put a hoof on her shoulder. She flinched at first but relaxed after a moment. I had no idea what to do, so I just hugged her and hoped that would do it. ||||North of the Equestrian Border. 1,120 Miles Away from Destination. A Few of Days Ago|||| "My horn....needs a....break." She said between pants. "Okay, we can walk for a few more miles. But I think it'll get dark soon, so we might have to make camp sooner than that." "Oh how I wish you would have let me bring my own tent along." I shrugged. "Sorry, but this isn't a camping trip. This is a mission. It makes more sense to have big tent and share, instead seven small tent. And I don't know why you're complaining, I'm the one carrying the damn thing." "Language sweetie." "I don't think the rest of us really mind." "Ah know we don't, but she does. Besides he promised he wouldn't swear anymore." I grumbled a bit ."No, what I said was 'I would try to stop' And I'm tryin'. Sometimes it's hard." We walked a few more miles and made camp. "Rest up everypony. If she can't teleport us, then we have a long way ahead of us." ||||Zebra Dominion Wasteland. 920 Miles Away from Destination. A Couple of Days Ago|||| I don't think I like "Mass-Long Distance Teleportation" spells. But still she out did her self with this one. She was passed out on Applejack's back. We still had most of the day to travel, which is good because I think we're getting close. "So why are we doing this again?" "Really RD? We're doing this again?" "Hey, don't blame me for being curious." "I don't. But asked the same question five times already." I shook my head and sighed. "We're trying to save a village." "Where at though? How far from here?" "About nine hundred eighteen miles. Give or take a couple." Pinkie Pie answered. I nodded my head sagely "Seems about right." They all looked at me and I just shrugged. To be honest I had no idea. ||||Zebra Dominion Wasteland. 910 Miles Away from Destination. A Couple of Days Ago|||| "Alright everyone stop for a break." I turned around and faced them all. "How's Twilight doing?" Applejack set her down, and Fluttershy looked her over and smiled. "She seems to be fine." I let out a sigh of relief. "Good, we'll need her." They looked at me. "What?" It took a moment but it came to me. "No, no. I won't make her teleport us if she isn't up to it." I turned around. "Sheesh, why would you guys even think that?" A few moments of silence passed and I broke it. "So...how long until she's conscious?" "Maybe another hour?" Said Fluttershy, with uncertainty in her voice. "Hmm... Okay then. How about we leave in fifteen?" They all nodded their heads. "Good. Well enough planning for a bit, I'm hungry!" ||||Velvet's View. Present day|||| "Thank you. It helped a little." I started crying in the middle of the hug. I wiped away the last remaining tear from my cheek, and stared at the ground. "Thanks, I'm not really good at this sort of thing." Ganger said, chuckling nervously. " But I'm glad I could help." I looked up at her and smiled, but noticed she was looking in the direction of the crater. "What do you think we should do about the um...zebras?" I thought for a moment. "Bury them." "Really?" "Yes." I nodded. "I know what their intentions were but they didn't deserve it to end like that." "Ok then." She paused. "What about Zeta?" I had to really think about that one. But in the end... "He did save us. So I think we should see if he's still alive." "Seriously? What if this is all a trick? If we fell for it he'd kill us too!" I shook my head rapidly. "No I don't think he would. Think about it Ganger. He gave into his curse and became that monster to protect us. I don't know where you were but could you not hear him? Numerous times I heard him yell, no, scream my name." "No..." She chocked out those words. I raised an eyebrow but let her continue. "No I didn't hear him." "How could you not hear him? All of the zebras in the village-" "I wasn't in the village, okay!? I ran away!" I gave her a blank stare. "You? Running away? Ha! The very thought of it." I chuckled. "B-but I did! I ran back to the jungle. I abandoned you guys!" I slowly walked toward her. She was getting more nervous which each step. When I was close enough I stopped. She closed her eyes and waited for whatever I was going to do to her. Little did she know I was planning on hugging her. She flinched and tensed up. She opened her eyes. "Huh?" "Shhh... I forgive you." "But-!" "Nope. What matters is that you came back. Now, let's gave those zebras a proper burial." ||||Zebra Dominion Wasteland. 20 Miles Away from Destination. Four Hours Ago|||| "I think we're getting close." "How can you tell?" I pointed at the sky. "Does that look natural to you?" They all looked up and gasped. The clouds looked like they were being sucked into somewhere. "What in tarnation?!" Applejack shouted. "Twilight, do you sense any weird magic?" Her horned glowed and after a few minutes it stopped and her jaw dropped. "Twi? You alright?" No response. "Twi? Talk to me! What's going on!?" She blinked a couple of times and shook her head. "Yes, yes sorry. It's just....it's evil magic, almost like Nightmare Moon's. But is also unique because it isn't coming from an alicorn or a unicorn." "So it's a pegasus?" "Or an earth pony? "It could be a zebra, girls. We are in their country after all." "Well no sense in talking about it! We need to move, lives are at stake here!" "Right!" They yelled in unison, and we began to run toward where the clouds were going. ||||Ganger's View. Present Time|||| "That's the last one." I said as I turned to Velvet. "It was.... more difficult than I expected it to be..." "A foal." Velvet said as she was finishing crying again. "I know you told me but....I cant believe it..." "I can't either, and I saw it." I went over and hugged her again. "I know it wasn't the death they deserved but." I paused in thought. "They're at peace now." She shook me off of her and looked away. "Their bodies might be, but their souls aren't." She bowed her head. "I just wish there was something we could do to help them further." "I have a feeling their souls wouldn't be at rest anyway." She looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" "They were cannibals, Velvet. I highly doubt we're the first they captured." She sighed. "I....guess you're right..." There was a few minutes of silence until we heard someone yell. "DAMMIT!! We're too late!" Velvet's eyes went wide. "Who was that?" She whispered. "Why are you asking me?" I whispered back. "Come on, you need to investigate." ||||Zebra Dominion Wasteland. At Destination. Present Time.|||| "Oh my...just look at this place!" Rarity said. "No time for that now! Spread out and search for survivors. Go in groups of two, I'll be fine on my own." "B-but what about the evil creature?" Fluttershy asked with much concern. "That why I brought this." I said as I took my rifle off of my back. "Only down side is that I don't have much ammo." I shrugged, "But anyway, R.D. and A.J. will be group one, Pinkie and Flutters will be group two, and Twi and Rarity will be group three. We all have our radios?" They nodded. "Good. Alright stay in contact and tell me if you find anything ok? Let's move." ||||Velvet's View. Present Time|||| "It's just one thing after another, isn't it?" Ganger sighed. "It looked familiar." I looked at her. "What do you think it was?" "I don't know, but it seems to be controlling those ponies. And guess what?" "We're going to stop it?" I asked nervously. "Yep." She smiled. "Come on, While we still have the element of surprise on our side." Chapter 14: Team Harmony"Hello!?" It called. "Is anypony there!?" We've been following the creature for a half hour, trying to find out when would be best to attack. "Hello?! I'm here to help! I mean no harm!" It called, almost sounding desperate. 'Yeah right." I thought. I looked over to Velvet as it went inside of a building. She had a concerned look on her face. "I don't know Ganger. Maybe he's being honest. He is with my friends. Applejack would know if he wasn't good." I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you keep calling it 'he'?" "Because his voice." She shrugged. "Its too deep to be a female." "Hmm...I guess you're right," I paused as 'he' came out of the building. "But he could still have brainwashed the others." "But I don't think-" "Come on his moving again." "...okay..." We followed him for another five houses until it got dark. He mumbled something but I couldn't understand him. He then took his bag off of his back and pulled something out from it. When he put it on his head, it made his eye (the other one was covered with an eye-patch) glow green. He turned his head in my direction and I ducked behind the corner I was spying on him from. He didn't seem to notice, but I waited a minute or two before peeking back around the corner. He was in the same place but he was looking in the opposite direction. It looked like he was about to turn around, but then a strange noise that almost sounded like crackling happened. ||||Group Two, Fluttershy's & Pinkie Pie's View|||| "This is Element Guard, Report." "This is G2's Pinkie Pie reporting in!" "G2?" A pause. "Anyway what have you found." "Fluttershy reporting also. It's um..." Fluttershy trailed off. "Bad news?" Element Guard asked. "There's a lot of..." Fluttershy trailed off again. "It's ok Flutters. Pinkie what is it?" "Blood." "Blood?" "And lots of it." Element Guard sighed. "How many bodies?" "N-none strangely enough..." "Hmm..." E.G. paused in thought. "That must mean they were eaten or buried. And I don't know about you, but I hope they were the latter." "So do we," Fluttershy said. "That's all so far." Pinkie said. "Alright. If you find anything else, you know how to reach me." "Okie-dokie-lokie!" "Okay." ||||Velvet's View|||| We got a little closer while he was on his...whatever that was. We were so close now that we could hear the whole conversation now. He ended the conversation and the device crackled again. "Group one, SitRep." "Sit wha?" "Situation report." He sighed. "Honestly Rainbow, you should know by now..." "Ha, I was just messin' with ya." "Uh huh... Applejack, report." "Ain't found nothing worth while yet, sugar cube. But from the general look of this place..." Applejack trailed off. "We should have left a lot sooner." "Yeah we should have..." A small pause. "Report when you find something." "Yes sir!" Rainbow said in a slightly sarcastic voice. He shook his head at that and continued to call out. I looked at Ganger. "I really don't think he's dangerous." "And I really don't want to take the chance." She looked at me. "I think we should kick his flank first and then ask the questions." "But-" "Ssshhh!" "Hello?" We both tensed up and looked in 'Element Guard's direction. He was looking in our direction. "Hello? You don't have too be scared." We looked at each other. "What are we going to do?" I whispered. "I don't know!" She whispered back. We heard him walking this way. "We need to move. Come on." "Hello? I can see you, stay where you are." We went wide eyed and she changed into a zebra. "Now!" ||||Element Guard/Seth's View|||| "Wait! Don't run, I only want to help!" I was about to chase after them but then my radio went off. I set the radio so it would automatically pick up my voice and followed the two that just ran away. "This is Element Guard, report." "Twilight reporting. We found a survivor, but he's in critical condition." "Do you know what's wrong him?" "I have yet to do a medical scan on him. I'll go ahead and do that now." "Very good, you two. I've the others continue their search and then they'll regroup on you." "What about you?" "I'm on the trail of what looked like a pony and a zebra. I'll rendezvous with you all with our new friends." I jumped over a piece of wall. "If I can catch them, that is." "Okay? I'll um see what I can do with this zebra here. Rarity?" "Yes, darling?" "You're on defense while I see to him." "Of course." "Okay I'll catch up with you later, I need to concentrate on catching these guys. Element Guard out." "Group three, out." I turned my radio's volume down and continued to chase them. ||||Ganger's View|||| We turned dove into a house and found the darkest spot and hid. I heard him follow us into the building. He's panting kind of, but Velvet is doing way worse than him. I put my hoof over her mouth to try and silence the noise until her breathing was controllable. This house was darker than anywhere I have ever seen. The only light was from the device on his head. He looked around before stopping and looking in our direction. We stayed perfectly still, hoping he would not see us and go away. We didn't have any such luck. "Ah, there you are." He sigh. "You really made me get my exercise, you know that?" The green lights got closer. "Come on with me, I'll get you out of here." He suddenly stopped and the lights backed away a little bit. "Hey now, calm down." I raised an eyebrow and looked over at Velvet. Her horn was glowing and I could vaguely see the scared look on her face. "Velvet? I thought you said you didn't he was dangerous?" I whispered and she nodded her head. "Then why are you-?" I saw tears in her eyes. I then thought back to when we first met. That monster might have had glowing green eye when it attacked her and her friends. Her eye closed and her horn glowed brighter. Next thing I saw was the creature being in cased in her magic and being fling across the house. I heard a crash from somewhere in the house. "All units! This is Element Guard requesting back up!" There was a very small pause. "Yes I know I said I could but now's not the time!" Velvet's horn stopped glowing and I heard muffled crying. "I have a unicorn that's gone feral on me! Deploying flare." There was a large crash and then a loud bang. "Who ever is closest get her as soon as you can. I think I was impaled by something, and I don't want to move." "I-I impaled him? Oh no, I just wanted him to go away!" "I-It could be a trick. U-um...I hope." "Okay!" He called. "You made your point. I'll leave you alone. Just after I-" There was a thump. "Ugh it's in my leg. Shit um...dammit. Hey, does the unicorn know any illumination spells? I-if you do can you cast it. If you don't well then...yeah." "Velvet?" I whispered to her. "Do....do you think we should help him?" She didn't respond. "H-he'll be fine. He said its his leg, he'll be fine." "I'm sorry!" She cried. "I didn't mean to hurt you!" "How about that spell? I kinda wanna see if I need to field dress it or...cut my l-leg off or something." "Oh right sorry!" I felt her start move. "Velvet! what do you think you're doing?!" "I'm going to help him." She said in between sniffs. "If you don't like it just stay here." I blinked a few times. "I um...just slow down a bit, okay?" ||||Element Guard/Seth's View|||| They entered the room and the unicorn stopped for a moment. "That's right. you don't like these." I said. "Here, let me switch them off." The unicorn lit up her horn and then a bright ball of light floated from the tip and stuck to the ceiling. I could now see how bad the wound was and what I crashed into. It was a poorly made chair and one it's legs has impaled close to the bone in my calf. "Oh no..." I heard the unicorn say. My eyes went wide, and I reached for the radio. "Medic! Oh man, medic! Fluttershy get over here now!" "Oh my..." I heard her say. "B-be right there." "Okay calm down." I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Alright," I took the rucksack off of my back and pulled out the med kit Twilight and Fluttershy put together. "I have no idea what to do..." I found the gauze and pulled out my knife. "...But let me try something." I cut a hole in a disinfectant and peroxide infused patch bandages, and put it on. The burning was almost unbearable! Next was the gauze. I cut a small hole in it and then started wrapping it around, cutting a hole with each rotation. I could already see red soaking through. Hopefully Fluttershy gets here soon. After the pain settled a little, I tried to converse with the pony and zebra. " Name's?" "V-Velvet." "Ganger." I raised an eyebrow. "Ganger?" I chuckled. "That's a weird name for a-." I paused in shock at the realization. "Wait, Ganger? As in Doppelganger?" "How do you know my full name." "Oh my god." I laughed. "Drop the disguise, Changeling, I know what you are." She does as told and looked at me with a furrowed brows. "How did you know?" She asked, confused. "Well, the name for one. Or perhaps you didn't remember you were disguised?" I shrugged. "And, well this might have some meaning to you: Match." Her face went blank. "Match?" Then her face lit up. "Match?! Y-you mean she's still alive?!" She then glared and ran up to me. "What did you do to her!?" She yelled. "I swear, if you did anything I'll-" I held up a hand to stop her from talking. "Chill out, sheesh. She's fine. Babysitting the CMC I think." "So the ponies...?" I nodded my head. "Oh sure it was rough in the beginning but, things smoothed out as time went. She became a respected citizen during my ten month...absence." I shook my head. "Even helped establish trade roots with Gloomy Town." I chuckled. "You should be proud of your friend Ganger. She's come a long way." "How do you know my friends?" Velvet suddenly said, with an unsure look on her face. "Well I do live in Ponyville." She shook her head. "I haven't seen you before, I think..." "Nor have I seen you." I grabbed the radio again. "Belay that order. Unicorn no longer feral, instead whoever is on their way escort Fluttershy to my location." "Gotcha boss! I'll get Fluttershy. Applejack?" "You got it sugar cube. Stayin' on course." "And Fluttershy?" I said. "Yes?" "Do you know a unicorn named Velvet?" I heard a gasp (the good kind), and smiled. ||||Group Three's View|||| "Hmm interesting..." "What is, dear?" Twilight looked at Rarity. "He seems to somehow have magic, albeit dark, but still." "Like Seth's? Or even Shadow?" "Well it's different than that, but close." She said with a hoof to her chin. "His is more of an elemental type of magic, where Seth's is still....unknown. Unfortunately." "This is fascinating and all darling, but uh aren't you supposed to be doing a medical check on him?" Rarity said with a raised eyebrow. "Oh." Twilight blinked, like she was resetting herself. "That's was done five minutes ago." She chuckled nervously. "But I'm sure that he won't mind when he hears what I think." "What would that be?" "Remember half a year ago?" Rarity looked down at the ground. "Like I said dark magic. I think he caused this crater, and the of the destruction around here." "That's a big accusation Twilight. Are you sure?" "No. No I'm not. It's just what I deduced. It is entirely possible that what ever did this escaped and he was dragged or he crawled here. But as you can see no blood trail and he has scorch marks and burnt skin. Looking at the crater I'd say is was caused by a fire ball spell, and a big one. That also connects too the elemental magic he's somehow able to do." She looked at a building to her right. "And those jagged pointy rocks with blood on them. Elemental magic. "But what I want to know is why he is in the center of the blast. Surely he wasn't trying to kill himself...right?" "Well when you put it that way, it does make sense but I don't think we should pin him to that just yet." Twilight shook her head. "Neither do I. Anyway I need to report this in." She used her magic to click on the receiver. "This is group three, Twilight reporting in." "See now that's how it's done!" He cheered. "This is Element Guard, go ahead." And then Twilight told him her findings while Rarity looked around the dark village. "Hmm...sounds familiar doesn't it? I think we should take him back with us, according to these two they've been traveling together for awhile. Anyway good job Twi." "Have the others reached you yet?" Rarity asked. "This is Rainbow Dash, I just retrieved Fluttershy. Heading over to you boss man!" "Okay but what about you Applejack?" "Applejack here. Just waitin' outside fer Rainbow." Rarity shook her head. "Anyways, I think that is all." She looked at Twilight "Right dear?" "Yes, that was all." She smiled. "And Velvet, I don't know if you can hear me but, I'm glad you're okay." The radio clicked off and Twilight looked at the zebra in front of her. "What part did you have in this?" Author's Note Next chapter will be focused entirely on Zeta. Chapter 15: Two Weeks LaterMy eyes snapped open and I looked around. I am in a house I think. I sat up and shook my head. "Man that was a weird dream..." I chuckled. "As if I could, or even would do something like that." I stood up and walked outside. My jaw dropped and my eyes widened at the sight. This place is a wreck. There are only a few houses standing, there's a giant crater, and is that...blood? What could have happened? And how did I get so lucky to have missed it. Then a thought popped into my head. "Velvet!? Ganger!? Where are you?!" "They're asleep." I from my right. I jump and looked at what spoke. "Zeta right?" He then chuckled. "Why am I asking, of course you are." "W-who are you." "Seth, pleasure to finally meet you." He the sat down. "Your friends are in the other room, sleeping. Probably shouldn't wake them up though." Memories of the zebras flashed before my eyes. "Are they okay!? Where are the zebras?!" "Dead." "W-what?" "Well, most of them. Some might have gotten away. But you were very precise, Zeta." I glared at him. "What are you talking about?" "Ah, of course you think it was a dream." He sighed. "Well I'll leave it to the others to tell you. For now though, I think we should tell the others you're awake." "Others?" I got into an attack stance. "I thought you said the zebras were gone?!" "Calm yourself, Zeta. They are. The others are ponies from Equestria. The may have some questions for you." "O-ok?" He led me into the living room area, where there were six ponies. They were talking about something but I couldn't hear them. "Hey, hes awake." I look at the ponies in the room. "H-hi?" They all turned they're heads to me. "Um..." I looked around nervously. "M-maybe I should go..." "No." Seth said, as he walked past me. "Come on guys, you're making him nervous..." The purple one spoke up. "S-sorry." She looked at the others and then at Seth. "Do you mind if we have a word?" I shook my head. "Thanks." They all huddled together and after a few minutes they broke and nodded at each other. They all started leaving. As the last pony left I saw Seth had his arms crossed. "Ya coulda just told me in the first place, ya know!?" He turned to me. "Well, it looks like I'm supposed to question you... So I guess we'll start with: Where are you from?" "I-I'm from a village in the northern province of the Wastelands." "I see." He nodded. "Why are you travelling?" "I was...exiled from my village a few months ago." He raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" I nodded. "Why?" "I was born with a curse that gave me serpentine eyes. On my birthday I woke with my right eye throbbing in pain and blood on my pillow, shortly after that I looked in a mirror and saw that it was red." I showed him and he just nodded. So I continued. "Later that day, my father and I went to the village elders' hut. From there, they told what my dream meant in finer detail and exiled me." "Hmm... Were you pelted with rocks? Or made to wear something shameful?" "No. The Lead Elder is a nice old zebra. He played it off as me taking the 'Founder's Challenge'. That way the villagers saw me as brave instead of a menace. He spared me that shame and suffering." Seth smiled. "He sounds nice. What would happen if you returned?" "I don't know. Nothing good I'll have assume. It's better if we don't find out." He nodded. "Probably right." He paused in thought. "I don't know what else to ask. Hmm....are you hungry?" I gave him a confused look and slowly nodded my head. "Okay then. If you have any food left in your bag, that would be good. But if not if sure we have something for you." I went into the room I woke up in, got my bag, and checked it. Some of the berries were smashed but still good....I think. There were some plants in there as well, but they looked questionable. And even smelled a bit. I brought the bag with me, and found Seth. "This is what I have left." He took and dumped the contents on the counter. "Ew...yeah okay...." He began looking through the pile of food(?). "This might be good, but the berries...or whatever that is, has to go." I look at him with a raised eyebrow. "How long have I been asleep?" He shrugged. "Two weeks." "What!?!?" "Are you calm now?" Seth asked with his arms crossed. "Y-yeah, I think so." "Good." He turned to the six mares that came rushing in a couple minutes ago. "Why don't you all introduce yourselves, while I make lunch?" They all nodded. Seth walked away grumbling about something. The pink one bounced up. "Hi I'm Pinkie Pie!" "My name is Rarity." Said the white one in an elegant voice. "The names Rainbow Dash." Said the blue one. He voice is kind of raspy compared to the others. "I-I'm Fluttershy." Said the yellow one in a sweet quiet voice. "Ah'm Applejack." Said the orange one in a weird accent. "And my name is Twilight Sparkle." Said the purple one. "Z-Zeta. Nice to meet you?" "Would be if it were under better circumstances." "Yes. Seth told you don't remember what happened?" "I don't." "I see. Applejack?" "Hes telling the truth, sugar cube." "Hmm... We could try to-" "I think we should leave it for now." We looked at the yellow pegasus. "May I ask why, darling?" "W-well Seth already questioned him. If he didn't ask, there had to be a good reason." She looked like she was going to say something, but closed her mouth and sighed. "Okay, maybe your right." Velvet and Ganger walked into the room a moment later. "Seth said lunch will be ready in another minute or so." Velvet said. She looked over at me and quickly looked away. She then whispered something to Ganger and they had a small conversation in whispers. This confused me but I tried not to think about it anymore. Ganger walked up to me. "Hows it going? Feeling any better?" I tilted my head. "What do you mean?" She bowed her head and walked over to Velvet. I looked at the others. "What just happened?" They shrugged. "O-okay." Seth walked in. "Foods done." We all nodded and followed him. Author's Note Sorry for the short chapter. Like always let me know if the are any mistakes. Chapter 16: EquestriaI sat down at the table and looked at the food infront of me. I am not a picky zebra, but I raised an eyebrow at the meal. Seth sat down and looked at everyone. "Sorry, I worked with what I could find. It was hard to find vegetation... Meat seems to be more prominent here." "Well at least you and I are set..." Ganger said, picking the meat up in her magic. "I didn't know changelings ate meat?" I said. She looked at me and the others and set the steak down. "Something wrong, dear?" Rarity asked. "I just realized that's probably pony or zebra meat..." I heard coughing and looked over at Seth. He spit the piece of steak out and threw it out of the window. The closed window. The sound of shattering glass was loud and gave me a headache. "Well, shit. Sorry guys I just cooked what I could find." He sat back in his chair. "Looks like I'm going hungry..." I looked over at Ganger. She was glaring at the plate. "I think we should tell him. And then we get out of this place." "Tell who, what?" I asked. "Zeta," Velvet started. I looked at her. "Do you remember what happened two weeks ago?" "Not entirely." I shook my head. "I remember the zebras taking you and Ganger away." The others scooted away from me. I tilted my head and looked at my mane. I sighed and calmed down. "Sorry. After that, I only remember fragments." "What were those fragments?" Asked Twilight. "I remember escaping the cell and yelling for Velvet, seeing what those zebras did to her." I noticed I was shaking, and the others were looking at Seth. I looked at him and saw that one of his eyes were red. I closed my eyes and continued. "And seeing Ganger and pointing in the direction of Velvet. And...that's it." "That's it!? You don't remember anything else!?" I jumped at the outburst and looked at who it was. It was Ganger. "All of the lives you ruined, zebras you've killed?! None of it!?" She yelled. I shook my head. "No." I looked outside, at all of the destruction. "So I am responsible for the state of the village?" "I'm sorry Zeta, but yes." Twilight said. I looked down at my plate. "Then I'm sorry to say this, but they deserved it..." "What!?!?" the ponies and changeling yelled. "I have to agree, you know?" Seth said. "H-honey?" "Sorry Fluttershy, but here's how I see it: Velvet, you may not be alive if it wasn't for him. Ganger escaped on her own. She would have survived, but you were helpless. By killing them off, he prevented them from killing again." "If I remember correctly, some got away. What about them?" Velvet asked. "Well hopefully they're scared shit-less and wont do it again." "Or they'll die in the desert..." I said coldly. "Good bucking riddance either way." "When did you become so cold hearted?" I started to say something but Seth stopped me. "From what I heard, you two are Zeta's first friends, right? Just think about it. I'd be- well I was the same way." He looked at the group. "Remember? The first time I died?" They nodded. Velvet and Ganger's eyes went wide. "It's the same thing. The difference here being, instead of a hydra, it was a village. He was just trying to protect you two. Unfortunately, he let his Demon control him." He looked at me. "You're lucky. Your Demon wasn't parasitic like mine." "H-how do you know?" He shrugged. "Because, you would be dead." He hit the table with his fist. "Now, in light of this, do we have a right to hate Zeta?" "But how can we no-" Ganger started. "I said 'hate'. You can be angry at him for doing what he did, but just remember why he did it." Velvet and Ganger reluctantly nodded their heads. The others seemed to understand where he was coming from. "Now shut up and eat, this is starting to put me on edge." It's an hour after lunch. The others went their separate ways, I was told to stay here until the others, or atleast Seth, returned. The door opened and Twilight walked in. "Is it only you?" I asked, with a raised eyebrow. She nodded. "For now. No funny business or-" "You have nothing to worry about Ms. Sparkle." "I'm sure I don't." She cleared her throat. "I just wanted to know if you wanted to be treated." I narrowed my eyes. "For what?" "Your curse. The princesses might be able to help you the same way they help Seth." "How?" She smiled. "With a spell tha-" "No..." "...I'm sorry?" She asked, confused. "There has to be a more natural way. If not, Then I live with it..." "But-" "I do not mean to came off as rude Twilight, but I refuse. I must conquer this curse on my own." After a few seconds of thought, she slowly nodded her head. "I think I understand. Seth mentioned you might refuse so we were kind of prepared." She chuckled. "Anyway, the others should be in here shortly." "And until then?" "Well I'm...not sure." She looked down at the floor. After a few seconds of awkward silence, I thought of something. "Where are you from?" She picked up her head and smiled. "Ponyville, Equestria. But I'm originally from Canterlot." "Are you friends with Velvet? She said she was from Ponyville." "Well no actually." I raised an eyebrow. "More like acquaintances. She left before we had a chance to really hang out." "I see..." The door opened and the others walked in. "Everyone ready?" Seth asked. "I believe we are. Zeta?" "Ready for what?" "We are leaving." "But you used up the last bit of food!" "We're going to use a long distance teleportation spell." Twilight said. "Rarity, Velvet, and I might be out of commission for awhile but with the amount of supplies we have." "Is it safe?" "For one unicorn? No. For two maybe. But with three unicorns, we have nothing to worry about." She smiled and nodded. "Trust me sugar-cube, I'm not too sure about it either but it's the only option we have." "Lest one or all of us die." Seth said. The others gave him a dirty look. "Well? Whatcha waiting for girls?" "Right!" The three unicorns said, as their horns started to glow. The air started swirl around as the glow grew in intensity. it wasn't long before i felt like we were in a vortex. Their horns were almost blinding to look at. There was a loud sound and then everything went black. "Zeta?" I slowly opened my eyes. "You okay?" I blinked a few times. It was Velvet. "Where am I?" I looked around. I was in a bed in a fancy room. "Did the spell work?" "You're in Canterlot. We're home Zeta!" "You're home I was exiled from mine." She frowned. "But you know what?" "What?" "The plan was to make this my new home." I smiled. "I'm glad you remember our goal." She turned towards the door. "Come on, Breakfast is almost ready." I got out of the bed I have been laying in, and followed her. When we reached the dining room, I saw the others. The ponies and Ganger were sitting quietly around the table. Seth was siting closest to the Princesses and talking with them. Seth looked over. "Ah and here he is." "Hello Zeta. My name is Celestia, and this is my sister Luna." "Pleasure to meet you." I bowed. "Seth has told us everything." I froze. "I have suggested the same spell we used on Seth, but Twilight said you refused." "It is true." I said, slowly standing up. "I see... Would you like to stay here or go to Ponyville?" I tilted my head. "Where are my friends going?" Celestia smiled. "I think that answered my question." "You must be hungry." Luna said. "Eat, I'm sure you will find it to your liking." I sat down and looked at my plate. It did look pretty good. I started to eat, but noticed the others were staring at me and stopped. "What's wrong?" "We just want to see if you like the food. That's all." Said Celestia. I raised an eyebrow and sniffed the food. It smelled weird. Like it had an acidic scent to it. Only one thing came to mind. They were trying to poison me! "What is the meaning of this?" Everyone raised an eyebrow and looked at the princesses. "What are you talking about?" Asked Luna. "I have been around many herbs and plants to know these leaves are poisonous! What reason have you for this?" Seth glared at Celestia. "Princess? Is this true." She looked around nervously and sighed. "Yes." Everyone, even Luna gasped. "But I have reason to do this." "Before you start," Said Seth, pulling out a knife. "You remember our agreement?" She nodded. "Yes Seth, I do." She looked at everyone. "You all remember 'Seth's Revenge'?" They nodded. "I decided that it would be best if we never had in incident like that again." "So you turn to assassination?!" Luna yelled. "This is much unlike you sister." "Anything to protect this country!" "Enough!" Seth yelled. "Just remember Celestia, you are in favor of this." She said nothing and nodded. "Very well." "What are you-?" Luna tried to ask. "For the New Lunar Republic!" And he slit her throat. We all just looked at the scene, until I notice them all staring at me again. "WAKE UP!!" I woke with a start and looked around. I was in the dinning room. The others were staring at me with concern. "Are you okay Zeta?" I heard Celestia ask. I glared at her and sniffed my food, nothing was wrong with it. "Did he just glare at me?" "I think so sister." Luna said. Seth chuckled. Must've had a weird dream." I shook my head. "Yes, I did. What happened?" "We're not sure... You looked at your plate and you passed out." Said Luna. "Are you sure you are feeling okay?" "I am now. Thanks for your concern." I took my fork and began to eat along with everyone else. After we were done eating we got on the train to Ponyville. It was an uneventful and boring ride, but it gave Velvet, Ganger, and I a break from walking everywhere. We told Ganger to change into a pony before we left the train. She caught on and changed into a unicorn. When the train pulled up I saw a changeling, a small dragon, and three young fillies waiting. I assumed they were waiting for the others. The doors opened and we exited the train. Sure enough the three fillies ran toward us. The changeling and dragon came shortly after. "Rarity!" The white one yelled and a squeaky voice. " "Applejack!" The yellowish one yelled in a weird accent. I might be safe to assume she Applejack's sister. "Rainbow Dash!" The orange one yelled. she might be her sister as well. "Hi Spike." Twilight said to the dragon. "How's the library?" "Just fine!" "Good." She smiled at 'Spike' and looked at the other changeling. "Hi Match!" "Hey girls! I'm glad you all got back safe!" She hugged Twilight. She chuckled. "The girls and I brought you back something we think you'll like." I looked at the other girls. They all had big smiles on their faces. "Oh really?" She tilted her head. "Yes, really." Twilight chuckled. The girls moved aside to reveal a disguised Ganger. "Hey." Ganger said. Match looked really confused. "I'm...sorry, not to be rude but do I know you?" "You could say that." Ganger said with I sly smile. And then she changed back. "How ya doing Match?" Match froze and her jaw dropped. Tears started to form as she ran to her friend. "Doppelganger, you big idiot!" She hugged Ganger tightly. "I thought you were dead!" Ganger hugged her back. "I thought the same about you, Match. I missed you." "I missed you too. So much." I couldn't help but smile at the reunion. And then I felt something tapping my leg. I looked down and saw it was the white filly. "Yes little one?" "I was just wondering...um...if you knew Zecora?" My jaw dropped. "Aunt Zecora is alive!?" "What!? She your aunt?!" Everyone said. And thus begins my new life in Equestria. Author's Note Alright everyone, another story done. I know it wasn't my best work but I still hope you enjoyed it. This is also going to be my last story for awhile, so yeah... If there are any mistakes feel free to tell me. Chapter 1: The ProphesyIt was the day before my birthday, and well I'm not really excited. Here in my tribe, birthdays are seldom celebrated. The way it works in my tribe is; The older you get, the more you work. It's not so bad though, depending on where you're sent to work. Unfortunately after my birthday I am required to work "full time" and I am to be sent to work in one of the toughest places to work at; The Mine. The absolute toughest place to be sent to is The Quarry. In The Mine you work in a tunnel. In The Quarry, you work in what is basically a rock pit. And you don't have any shade. I feel bad for the zebras that have to work in The Quarry, especially since it's the middle of the summer. And it is really hot in the providence. I give out a sigh and walk to my room to see if it needs to be cleaned. Why am I not at work today? Because in my tribe, it is tradition to give the foal with an up coming birthday two days off. The day before and the day of the birthday. So since tomorrow is my birthday, I have today and tomorrow off. My parents? Well...um...my mother died giving birth to me, and my dad is at work, and before you ask my age, i'm seventeen. After a foal enters adulthood, as I said, is sent to work somewhere. Also the term "full time" refers to working there permanently. After you are told where to work, that's it. Well you could try to appeal to The Elders but they sent you where they need you, so I'm kinda stuck. The sun is going down and my father just got home. He was fortunate enough to get sent to the marketplace. He says it's better then where his father was sent to. His father was sent to The Quarry, and this was back when they had barely an safety precautions. My father also said once that after he had turned "full time" work age his father crushed by a boulder in The Quarry. Father is nice to me most of the time, but I feel that he blames me for mother's death. Have I had any control over the matter, mother would still be alive. I feel that if our tribe wasn't constantly struggling, we wouldn't have to work all the time. If our tribe was better off, father and I could spend more time together. But that is simply not going to happen in the near future. "Hello son." He said in gruff, tired voice. "Have you enjoyed today?" "I was bored after I cleaned my room." I said walking to greet him. "Have you enjoyed today?" "It could have been worse." He smiled. "I brought home a few things for dinner tonight." He reached into one of the hoof made sacks that rested on his side, and took out a potato, some leaves for a salad, two somewhat decent looking apples, and a small bag of berries. "I know it's not much but If I wanted anymore I would have to pay." "It is fine father." I said with a smile. "If there is one thing you have taught me, it's to work with what you have." "That is a good lesson to know indeed my son." "Indeed it is father. Shall I go start making dinner while you relax. You sound tired." "That sounds nice. It was a rough day." "Very well, I will take these into the kitchen and begin." "If you need help I will be in the main room." "Yes father." I took the sack from him and brought into the kitchen with me. I spread the salad leaves out on the two plates I set out on the table. I then scattered the berries on top of the leaves, cut the potato in half and set the two halves onto the plates, and did the same with the apples. I called my father after the plates were ready, and we sat down and started to eat. We had a conversation over dinner. "So son, have you been told where you are being sent?" "Yes. I will be working at The Mine." He sighed. "I was hoping they would send you to The Marketplace. Then we could spend time together..." He said in a disappointed voice. "The Mine is a tough place to work, and not everyzebra in our village favors you." I was born with serpentine eyes, and had no friends because it. "We are just not that lucky father," I bowed my head. "And I know. I hope the village can look passed my eyes." "I share your hope." He said as he finished his plate. "Thank you for making dinner son. I enjoyed it." "It was no trouble father." He got up from his chair. "I am going to bed now. Sleep well son." "Sleep well father." I finished my food and put the plates by the bucket to be washed later. I went into my room and laid on my bed for awhile before I was able to fall to sleep. I woke up due to a series of loud noises. I called for father, but no response came. I walked outside and was quite shocked. The sky was red and chunks of rock was falling falling from it. My tribe's village was destroyed, with dead bodies everywhere. Then I heard a deep, gruff voice from behind me. "Lovely, isn't it?" "N-no! Who are you and what happened?!" "Who I am is of no importance. As for what happened, the answer is simple; You happened." "M-me?" I began to back away. "What do you mean?" The voice stepped forward, and I was shocked. It was...me, but with a darker coat and a red eye, the other had a red tint to it. "Obvious now? Don't know the prophesy?" "P-prophesy?" "The foal born with serpentine eyes, shall bring about the end of the Zebra's beloved country. And then storm into Ponyland and then onto the Griffin Kingdom. Should no zebra, pony, or griffin stop him. He will rule the world with an iron grip." He smiled. "And that's you." "Ponyland?" He sighed with impatience. "The prophesy was made before it was called Equestria." I shook my head and backed away further. "I don't want this! You can't be me!" "You may not want it, but it does not matter. It will happen." "I wont let it happen!" He laughed. "We will see if you have a choice. But for now I think it's time you wake up." "You will see! This wont happen!" "You stubborn, aren't you? I am you from the future after all." "Say what you will, I refuse to believe it." "Suit yourself. Now, wake up." I awoke with headache, and a pain in my right eye. I got up and looked into my small mirror and saw that my eye had turned red. I looked at my left eye but it was the same blue-green as it has always been. I went into the main room and saw father. I told him about my nightmare and showed him my eye. He gasped and told me I need to see The Elders as soon as possible. This worried me greatly, nozebra sees The Elders unless it's an emergency. He told me to clean up a little and the we would leave. I did as I was told and we left. There are five Elders. The lead Elder being the nicest. We arrived at The Elders' hut and walked in. I had my red eye covered the entire way here. I didn't want any extra attention, the attention I get on a normal basis is enough. As we entered, one of The Elders spoke. "Zeta, we have been expecting you." The leader said. "Y-you have?" "Still nervous as ever I see." He chuckled. "Somethings never change." "S-so you know why I-I'm here?" "Yes," Said one of the others. "It is your eighteenth birthday, is it not?" I nodded. "So then do you know of the prophesy?" "I learned of it in a nightmare last night." All of The Elders' eyes widened slightly. "You have had The Dream then?" Said The lead Elder. "This is further along then I thought." "The prophesy does state that this would happen." One of the other Elders said. This one was a mare. "That it does. I just hoped that it wouldn't happen." The leader replied. "A fool's hope." Another said with annoyance in his voice. "It may have been." He nodded. "But that is not important right now. We must discuss this matter. Wait outside, we will call for you when we have reached a conclusion." Both me and father nodded and left the hut, but stopped just outside of the door. We stayed silent for the entirety of the wait but I could tell father was worried. I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried as well. It was several minutes before I was called for me. When father and I re-entered, they all had different expressions then before. "Zeta, we have come to an agreement. Although reluctantly." The leader said. "We have decided that, if the prophesy is true, you must leave this tribe." Another said. "What!?" My father yelled, but quickly composed himself. "Forgive me for speaking out of tone, but isn't there another way?" "We looked at all possible solutions, and exile seems to be the best way." "Exile!?" I shouted. "You mean to tell me that I cannot return?!" "Calm yourself Zeta." The leader said. "Exile may be more of a harsh term, but...yes. It is with much sadness to inform you, that you shall not return to this tribe." I calmed down and composed myself. "I will take this as an adult." I nodded. "But where would I go?" "I suggest going to Equestria, but it matters not to us." "Very well. When am I too leave?" "As soon as you pack everything you wish to take with you." "I understand." I turned around. "One last thing before you leave." The leader stopped me. "Yes?" "Understand that this is not a regular exile. You are not on bad terms with the tribe, this is just what we think would be best." "Is there anyway I could stay?" "The only way you could stay is if we had somezebra to teach you how to turn your curse into a gift." He hung his head. "But sadly he died quite sometime ago." I held back any tears before they had a chance to form. "I see. I shall go now." "You have my blessing Zeta. Be well on your journey." "Thank you Lead Elder. Be well during your overseeing." Father and I left, and went back towards the house. When we arrived at home, I went into my room and got a bag, and put few books in it. I then went into the kitchen and put a few food items in my bag as well. I double checked my bag when I entered the main room and when I found that everything was in check, I looked at father and asked him if he could join me to the gates. He nodded and we left. When we arrived at the gate to the outside world, the Lead Elder was there, as well as a small crowd. He looked at me and nodded. He cleared his throat before addressing the crowd. "My fellow tribe member. We gather here today to honor this young stallion." I looked at him with a confused look. He winked and smiled. "This is Zeta. Today is his eighteenth birthday and he came to me earlier for my blessing, for he is going to take the Founder's Challenge." There were gasps from the crowd. "He knows that he may not return, but he is determined to earn the respect that completing this challenge will bring. He has set his destination to Equestria." "Equestria?!" A zebra in the crowd asked. "Why so far away? Why not go to the border of The Griffin Kingdom and then come back?" "Would you care to share?" I nodded. Playing along with the Elder. "I feel that this long of a journey is what it will make for this tribe to see passed my eyes and view me as a normal tribe member." The Lead Elder spoke after me. "And it saddens me that he feels that way." A few members of the crowd hung their heads. "But it is not my place to question such an important matter." He looked at my father. "I trust you have discussed it and accept your son's wishes?" "Yes Lead Elder, though I have one request from you." "I shall accept the request, no matter what it is. So long as it is not for you to go with him." "I request that he be given a map, to aid in his journey." "It shall be so. I happen to have one here." He walked up to me, and placed the map in my bag. "Are you all set, Zeta?" "I believe so Lead Elder." "Very well then. Be well on your journey and Stay well once it has concluded." "Be well and stay during your overseeing, Lead Elder." I turned to my father. "Be well on your endeavors father." "Be well and stay well my son." He said with tears showing in his eyes. I nodded and turned away from the crowd, took a deep breath and walked out of the gate. It was now that I chose to let the tears go. I will miss father, and my home. Chapter 3: The Food Supply Is LowDue to me being incapacitated and unable to move, we stayed here for a day and a half. That gave Ganger and the mute mare time to bury Double and recover from the events prior. We left the hut yesterday, I am not fully able to walk but Ganger has been kind enough to help me walk. We haven't seen any other villages yet, but after finding out we're in the hottest, driest desert in The Zebra Dominion, it wasn't hard to figure out why. We were also going straight south to cut down on time. But having checked the food and water supplies, we will soon need to search for a village for food and water. We found an old broken down wagon, big enough to hold the three of us. We stopped there and I looked at the map. The map the Lead Elder gave me had all of the villages in The Zebra Dominion, and there was a village about a hundred miles from here. "Hmm...if we go to this village," I tapped the position of the village. "It might add a couple more days onto this journey." I heard the tapping of chalk. I looked at the mute mare. "Do we need to go there?" She asked. Ganger saw the board as well. "Yeah, why add more time if you don't need to?" I dumped out the food and water supplies onto the floor. "This is all we have left. Another days worth of water and enough food for one of us." I sighed. "I dislike it as much as you two, but it's necessary." I looked at the mute mare. "It would really help if we knew your name." She blushed and begin writing. "Ah I see. Nice to finally know your name, Velvet Song." "That's a bit ironic." Ganger stated, earning a blank faced response from Velvet. "Irony is cruel at times." I nodded and looked out of the window. "Well it's only two in the afternoon. We should get going." "Right! Which direction is this village?" "One hundred miles south-east." She sighed. "Well if it means living to see Equestria." "Okay then, let's go." I stood up and was able to walk on my own. "We should move quicker now that I can walk on my own." After a few small drinks of water we started on the journey once again. We had about fifty miles to go, and traveled a little bit after dark. Thankfully there were no more monsters to fight. We found a small poorly made structure and used it as shelter. It was cramped and we to lay down uncomfortably close to each other. The exoskeleton of a Changeling feels weird and is not a comfortable pillow. I would have much rather been behind Velvet. Wait...that sounds...um...anyway, at least Ganger was warmer than one would think. I fell asleep due to exhaustion and woke up in a dream, similar to the one I had back at my tribe. "Hello? Am 'I' here?" I asked, only silence for a few moments. "Am I here alone then?" "Of course not. When are you ever truly alone?" "Never it seems." He laughed. "Never alone. How do you like your gift?" "It was useful." "Hmm yes. I must tell you that the longer you stay in that state, the more it will take out of you. But the more you use it, the less exhaustion will follow. Keep that in mind." "I will." "Good." He laughed. "It must be strange for you, huh?" I looked around. "Everything that has happened recently is strange. I never thought that I would be traveling with a Changeling and a pony." He chuckled. "Certainly strange indeed. I must go now, goodbye and check yourself when you wake up. You don't want to surprise Doppelganger." He laughed and I woke up. "I wonder what he meant." I thought and felt something odd and looked down. "Oh..." I quickly stood up and was thankful that Ganger was still asleep. My sudden movement and the new cold feeling on her back caused her to slowly stir awake. Though I am happy that I am...presentable now. "Is it time to leave?" Ganger asked. I poked my head out of the "doorway" and looked around. The sun was rising. "If you move now, we could get to that village before dark." "Okay, I'll wake Velvet up." She began shaking Velvet. "But," She stopped trying to wake Velvet and looked at me. "If you would like, we can rest here for a few more moments." "Well that does sound nice, but I think we should head out." "Hmm...I agree." Ganger shook Velvet and Velvet wrote out "Good morning" out on her blackboard. We divided up the rest of the food and headed out after we where done eating. It was not much but hopefully it will be fine for today, I have my doubts though. Twenty five miles left to the village and Velvet collapsed. We gave her water and I am now carrying her until she can walk again. We can see the village far off in the distance, and that helped quicken our pace. Hey...Ganger?" I said in between breaths. "Yeah?" "You might to change....into a pony...when we get close." "That...would be...a good idea." We arrived at the gates of the villages, and one of the guards stopped us. "Stop! What business do you have here?" "We seek supplies and medical help!" He saw Velvet on my back and nodded. "What supplies do you seek?" "Food and water, nothing more. We are on a journey to Equestria." "Equestria?" He asked, we nodded and he did not question further. "I will escort you to the medical tent so your friend can get the treatment she needs. From there you be escorted to the market." "But we don't have any money." "It matters not, I will be there to explain the situation." "That is very kind." He opened the gates and turned around. "Come. We must get your friend to the medical tent." We followed him and dropped Velvet off at the medical tent. I told Ganger to watch over things and the guard did not object. Like he said, the next stop was the market. This village seems to be doing better the my...former tribe's. The market place had plenty food. The vendors were even more then happy to give out free food for wanderers. Bag full of food and canteens filled with water, I went to see how Velvet is doing. The guard was nice enough to take me back to the tent on his way back to the gate. When I arrived at the medical tent I walked up to where Velvet was. I pulled out some food from my bag and give some to Ganger and Velvet. Since it was noon we called it lunch, instead of breakfast. I warned Velvet not to eat too fast, I don't want her to become sick is well. The doctor came over to check Velvet. "Ah you brought her some food. Good, good the poor thing looked starved." "Well," I said. "You see, we were doing fairly poor with food. I only brought enough for me, and then I came upon these two. There were more but...they sadly didn't make it..." I shook my head. I do not want to relive that encounter. "I see. Well it is good that you came when you did. She will recover in a day, with food and water. You don't need to use up your travel supplies we will provide her with what she needs." He smiled. "What of the rest of us? You don't have any money." "I see, yes that is a problem." He seemed to think about it. "I'm sure we have enough to spare for one day. Not a problem we will provide you two with food as well." "Thank you, that is very kind." I say. "Thanks." Ganger said. And Velvet wrote down her thanks as well. "Not a problem, as I have said. You can stay here if you'd like. We don't have many patients so just find a bed." "Thanks again." I say, he nods and goes back to what he was doing. I look at Velvet. "How are you feeling?" "A lot better now. Thank you for the food." "You're quite welcome." I smile. "When do you think you will be able to speak again?" She erases the previous message and writes. "I'm going to try to speak now." Ganger and I both nod and she opens her mouth. At first the was a creaky sound and then it just sounded like she was exhaling. She looks down and sighs. "Don't worry, you will get it back in time." She nodded and wrote. "Thank you" down on her board. I looked out side and it was about one in the afternoon. I wonder what this is to do in the village?
Chapter 2: The MonsterIt has been a full day since I left my village. The tears have been shed last night, and now it was time to move on, or try too. All the memories...I can still remember my fifth birthday. "The tribe was doing better in those days." I sighed and shook my head. There's time for this later. Now I must move forward and make it to Equestria. Last time I checked, I was two thousand miles from the Equestria. "I would have an easier journey if I were born in one of the southern tribes." I grumbled. According to the map, Equestria is directly south from where I am now. It also says that there is no direct route. I decided to stop by other tribe villages as I came across them. Maybe they would help me with food and other supplies. I have not been so lucky as to come across another village yet. It has been a mile since my last rest. I am not making good progress. I decided the I will stop only at night or if I find a village and it's close to night. But it is still mid-afternoon and no sign of another village, so I will not be resting any time soon. It's a boring journey, and I have resulted too singing. I also need to be wary of my food and water consumption. I should be fine for now I think. Another three miles have passed, and still no sign of another village. I didn't know the tribes were so spread apart. The map says nothing about where the tribes are, but perhaps I should take a break. It is starting to get dark so I might stop for to today. Now all I need to do is find a good place to stay the rest of the night. There are stories of monsters that roam these lands at night. I don't know if the stories are true but I do not want to find out. I see what looks like an abandoned hut, I will go investigate and see if it is a suitable place to stay. "Not unoccupied! Sorry, sorry! AAAHHH!!" There were insect like ponies in the hut. I ran as soon as saw them. I looked behind me and they were just hovering there. I stopped and turned around. Two of them looked each other and shrugged. One went back into the hut while the other one slowly landed, still staring at me. It then looked around and then back to me, and spoke. "It's not safe out here at night. You can take shelter with us." It's buzzing voice was a little disturbing to me. I glared at it. "How do I know I can trust you?" There then was a terrifying roar from somewhere in the distance. "I don't think you have a choice! Hurry!" The roar sounded again and I ran towards the hut. The insect-like pony cast some kind of spell to deter the monster. It was apparently successful and soon it joined us. I looked around and there were two insect ponies, including the one that was outside, and one pony. I sat as far away as I could from them. One of the insect ponies walked over to me, I tried to back away. It sighed. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Doppelganger, but you can call me Ganger for short." This one had a more feminine voice. She pointed to the one in on the right of the pony. "That's Mimic, he's the one that got you to come in here." She pointed to the one on the left of the pony. "That's Double," She pointed to the pony. "And that's...um...I forgot. What's your name?" "What are you doing with the pony?" "Not one for manners I see. Fine, she was out here when we happened upon this...um..." "Wasteland." Mimic finished Ganger sentence. Her eyes widened and she looked at him. "Shh! I'm trying not to offend him!" "Worry not then." I said. "I live in a tribe four miles north of here. The deserts are as he say they are." "Oh...okay then. Yes, wasteland. She was actually staying here before us." I looked at the pony mare, and she nodded, confirming that what they told me is true. Ganger noticed me staring at the pony. "I don't think she can speak." "Hmm is that correct?" The mare nodded. "I see, are you lost? You're a long way from Equestria." She shook her head, and brought out a mini black board from her saddlebags and wrote something on it. When she was done she showed me. "Volunteered?" She nodded her head and erased the word. "So you're with one of those groups that send ponies to help struggling tribes?" She shook her head and wrote something else. "Were? What happened?" She wrote three words that made why she was stuck here and why she couldn't talk become clear. "Oh...my...um well..." She nodded and started to cry. I walked over to her and hugged her. The words she wrote were: Died, eaten, and watched. The poor thing is still in shock. She must have watched her friends die and be eaten alive. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. It was now morning, and we were preparing to leave. "So where are you headed?" Ganger asked me. "Equestria." The pony's perked up. "I've been exiled from my tribe." I shook my head. "What about you three?" "We were thinking about continuing north." "Nothing for you up that way. You would be run out of any village you enter." "Please," Double said. "We're Changelings. We'll just change into one of you zebras." "I suppose that could work, but I still advise you against it." I looked at the pony. "And what of you?" She wrote something down. "Stay here huh? You would better luck going with them or me." She seemed to think about that and wrote something else down. "Come with me? Hmm... I only have enough food for me but you look like you need it more then I do. And I have enough water for the both of us. I have no objections." I smiled and looked at the Changelings. "Are you still going north?" Double and Mimic nodded. Ganger didn't look as sure. "I don't know guys. If he's from the northern area and said there's nothing up there, I think we should listen to him." Mimic shrugged. "Do what you want, we're going north." I shake my head at their arrogance and open the door. Only to quickly slam it shut. Mimic raised an eyebrow. "What was that about?" "The monster from last night!" I whisper-yelled. "It's still out there!" "What? No way, those thing are only nocturnal." He said as he walked over to door. I shook my head rapidly, but he opened the door anyway. "Oh...no." Was all he could say before he was grabbed by the monster and taken out of the hut. I kicked the door closed and told everyone to get back. Ganger was with the mute mare and Double and I were in front of them. Mimics screams stopped and then everything fell silent. "I don't like this." Double growled. "Neither do I. Too quiet." I felt a tap on my flank. "Not now." I said as calmly as I could. "Uh," Ganger said. "It's the pony." "What does she want?" "She said that...oh, she said that is the monster that ate her friends." "I guess it liked how ponies tasted," Double said. "Because it followed her." I glared at him. "It seems to like changelings as well." My eyes widened as I saw the monster appear outside of the right side window. Double was the closest one to that window. "Double, watch out!" He turned to the window and saw it but it was too late. The monster's arm flew through the window and grabbed him. I grabbed his hoof and pulled as hard as I could, that is until I heard a sickening crack-like sound. Double had been ripped in half. I let go of this half and backed away quickly. I looked over at the remaining two, and saw Ganger was watching in horror and the mute mare had her eyes closed. The monster's other arm broke through the wall and grabbed Ganger. And then everything stopped, and I heard the voice from my nightmare. "All of this needless death. I know it makes you mad. You can save them, you know." "H-how?! I'll do anything! How can I save them?!" "What do you mean, how? All you need to right now is walk up to the arm and kick it. And then learn how to make this happen again." "Just walk up?!" "And kick it, yes. Time is stopped, or rather, going really slow. You see, you're the one that's moving fast." "Everything else is slowed down?" "Yes!" He growled. "Now go over and kick it!" "O-okay." I walked over to it and nothing was happening. I reared up and brought all of my body weight on the arm. "Or do that." The voice said. "That also works. Nice work but now you're on your own for awhile." "What?!" And then everything starting moving normally again. The monster shrieked in pain and dropped Ganger. Who quickly grabbed the mute mare and ran to the opposite side of the hut. Failing to get out of the way, the monster grabbed me. It brought me outside and roared. I really had a good look at it now. It was insect-like, but no where near being a Changeling. It was dark green, almost so dark it looked black. It had a mouth full of sharp teeth with mandibles in front of it. The rest is near indescribable. It truly a horrific sight to behold. "I'll give you a hint." The voice said. "Open your right eye." "How will that help me?!" "Just do it!" I did as instructed and the monster let go of me and back away a couple of feet. "S-stay back!" It hissed in response. "I-I mean it!" And then something clicked in my head. I don't know how it happened, but I know that I was either going to die or not. Then only thing I can do is... "I will END you if you get any closer!" ...fight. It felt up to the challenge and stormed towards me. I bucked it when it got close enough. Too my surprise, it seemed to actually have an effect on it. It stumbled back and roared again. "Go away!" It hissed again but stayed still. "I said go away!" I ran up, jumped and bucked it's head. It shrieked in pain again, and ran away. I looked at the ground and it was leaving a trail of bright green blood. I looked back up and it had disappeared from sight. I sighed in relief and closed my right eye, when I did I collapsed. After awhile of laying on the ground, I heard the others slowly walk over to me. Ganger asked if I was okay. I nodded, stood up, and asked her the same thing. She said she was and asked where the monster went. "I don't know, but it is wounded." I heard the tapping of chalk against a board. "Do I think it will come back? No, at least not for awhile. We should get moving though," I looked at where the sun was in the sky. "It's almost passed two." "Okay." Ganger said. "Are you sure you're okay though?" "I think so." "Okay then..." She said with unsure voice. "Onward to Equestria!" "How far away is it?" I pulled out my map. "Hmm...about...one thousand nine hundred ninety six miles away from the border." I looked at them and both of them had their jaws dropped. "Yes, yes I know. That's why we should get going." I then collapsed again. "Or not." I grumbled. Author's Note If you have read the side story to the Person In Ponyland series, involving Match the Changeling. You should know who Ganger is. Also yes, this does happen in the same universe as Person In Ponyland and the rest in the series. But anything involving those characters will happen later in the story. EDIT: I also referenced one of Mandopony's songs.
Chapter 4: The ChangelingWe stayed here until Velvet recovered and left soon after. There wasn't much to do in the village, so we just got much needed rest. Velvet tried to speak a few times with little success. She did manage to say "hi" but that was all. We left the village quite awhile ago, and were fifteen miles closer to Equestria. We were taking a small break, for Velvet's sake, and I was looking at the map. "Hmm it seems that we are...one thousand eight hundred seventy three miles a way." "How did we gain the extra hundred miles?" Asked Ganger. "The trip to the village." I stated. "Since it was to the south-east from where we were." "Oh." "According to the map, there's a chasm about fifty miles away." "How are we going to deal with that?" Velvet wrote. "Well I hope there is a bridge. If not then I don't know." "I could fly you two over." Ganger offered. "Right I forgot you had wings. Hopefully you wont need to." I stood up and stretched. "If we're ready to go I think we should." "Right!" Ganger said and Velvet nodded in agreement. "Let's get going then." I said, packing up the map. They don't call it a journey for no reason. After we walked twenty five miles, we found an oasis. I was wary at first, I thought it was a mirage. Fortunately it wasn't and we were able to drink the water, and eat the fruit from the tree, saving us some food and water from my bag. After we were done drinking from the pool we used it to cool off. If we weren't on the verge of heat exhaustion, I would have advised that we kept moving but this was a much better choice. We wasted an hour at the oasis and were now on our way to the chasm. It was getting dark and we were about fifteen miles away from our destination for tonight. We were not so lucky to find some kind of shelter this time however, and are completely exposed to the elements. We will have to take shifts watching out for any predators. I will go first while the others sleep. "Goodnight then." Ganger said. "Goodnight." Velvet squeaked. She has been working on her voice ever since the village. Poor girl, doesn't quite have it back yet. "Ganger, I will wake you when it is your shift." "Yeah yeah, I kinda figured." "Sleep well." I said. She nodded and laid down. Ganger huddled together but I remained standing and kept watch. It was too dark to really see anything, but it was a full moon so there was some light. A few minutes passed and still nothing, but I was thankful for that. I heard something move behind me and looked behind me. It was Ganger. "Is it my turn yet?" She asked. "Not yet. Why did you wake up?" "I never went to sleep." "I see." Some time passed and Ganger was now sitting beside me. I felt now was as good a time as any to ask something that I have been wondering about. "May I ask you something?" "Sure." "What were you and the other Changelings doing out here?" She looked down and sighed. "Promise you wont abandon me out here?" "Why would I do that?" She took a deep breath. "Two months ago the Hive staged an invasion on Equestria. We had a good reason though!" "And what would that be?" "We were starving. The whole Hive was. The purpose of invading Equestria was to have a source of food." "And what do Changelings eat?" "We eat the same things as you and the ponies. But the one thing that kept us going for awhile is love." "Love?" I said cocking my head. "The emotion itself, yes. I don't know how it works, being a simple drone and all and-" "And what better place than Equestria, right?" I said looking at the sky. "Being filled to the brim with it, it's understandable. But why not ask the leaders for help?" "As a drone, I don't concern myself with politics." "I see. I'm assuming that not all went as planned?" Oh look a shooting star. She sighed. "No... I'm not sure what the ponies had but it expelled me and the rest of the Changelings from Canterlot. Mimic and Double are...were the only remaining from my group. The rest died on impact." "Hmm how many were in your group?" I looked at her. "Seven." She said looking down. "And now...it's just...me." "Without us you are alone." She nodded. "Well I guess we will hope the ponies forgive you. You were just following orders after all" "Your still letting me come with you!?" She said with surprise. "You didn't kill any ponies did you?" "N-no. Only scared them. When it came down to it, I couldn't hurt any." She shook her head. "I had a friend in the invasion." "What happened to this friend?" "I-I don't know. We were split into different groups. She could be dead for all I know." I put my hoof on her shoulder. "I have a feeling that she is still alive." "I hope your right." I yawned, and she looked at me. "Hey, why don't you sleep? I'll take my turn now." "Thank you." I turned around to see Velvet sleeping peacefully. "Thanks, by the way." Ganger said. "For what?" "Letting me stay in the group." "Think nothing of it. All things deserve a second chance. You are no exception. I'll tell you something you may not know." "What's that?" I laid down next to Velvet. "I'm actually really shy." She laughed. "The only reason I haven't been acted it, is because I wouldn't survive if I was. The guard wouldn't have trusted two pony travelers unless I spoke for all of us." I yawned again. "Wake me if anything happens, okay?" "G-got it." "Are you sure you can do it?" I asked. "Yeah! It'll be no problem, as long as I take you across one at a time." "Okay... Take Velvet first. Oh and the supplies." "Why?" "Just in case you drop me. You better not though." "Don't worry I wont." I gave her the food and water. "I'll be back as soon as I get her settled on the other side." "Okay, just be careful." She rolled her eyes and changed into a pegasus. "There, better?" I nodded. "If your wings are stronger, then yes." She smiled and went over to Velvet, who climbed onto Ganger's back. When Velvet got adjusted properly Ganger took off. It didn't look like Ganger had much trouble getting Velvet across. I looked down into the chasm and saw eyes looking up. Some at me, some at the other two. Now I really didn't want to be dropped. I looked up and Ganger was on her way back. She landed next to me. "You ready?" "Not so sure." "Why not?" I pointed down. "Look," She followed my instruction and her eye widened. "That's why." "I-I'll just be extra careful." "I would hope you will." I climbed onto her back and we took off. I held on as tight as I could while still looking down at the eyes. The wind blew my mane to the side and revealed my right eye. Just then the eyes vanished and I found it curious. When we landed, I re-covered my right eye with my mane and looked back over the edge to see the eyes returned. I backed away slowly and joined the others. "So..." Ganger began. "What's up with your eye?" I froze and looked at her. "You...okay?" I sighed. "You saw?" "Yeah..." She replied and Velvet came over with a raised eyebrow. I looked down and brushed my mane away and looked at them again. "It's a curse...or something. I just woke up with it." "Hmm okay...?" "It's the reason I had to leave my village." "'Had to'? You mean you didn't start this whole thing on your own?" I shook my head. "I was exiled. Because of some stupid prophesy!" "What pr-prophesy?" Velvet managed to say. "Apparently I'm 'the end of the great countries.' The prophesy told that my 'Grand and horrible rule" would start in the Zebra Dominion, the country we're in now. So I guess they figured they would send me somewhere else and that would fix the problem." "How would you take over all three great countries?" "The curse. It's how I chased off that monster a few days ago. As far as I can tell the only cost off using it is energy, but I don't know." "Alright. Just don't go turning evil on us okay?" She chuckled. I smiled. "I don't think that will be a problem." They both smiled and we began walking.
Chapter 5: The Cave"Okay Velvet, once more." We have stopped for the night, Ganger was scouting ahead, and I was helping Velvet with voice exercises. We are now only one thousand seven hundred thirty eight miles away from the Equestrian border and the chasm was the only 'real' danger, much to our relief. "Ah~. Now you." "A...Ah...Ah~" Like cats scratching a chalk board. "Better, better but your voice is still a little scratchy. Now let's just try talking, okay?" "O-okay. Um...how are you?" "Hmm...maybe a little dehydrated, but overall fine. I hope Ganger will get back soon though." She nodded her head in agreement. "She will b-be fine." "Yes she can take care of herself, when she needs too." I sighed. "How about yourself? How are you?" "I-I..." She sighed and brought her mini chalk board and wrote. "I was fine...until now..." "We shouldn't put extra stress on your voice." I smiled. "Do not worry though Velvet, you are improving." She smiled and wrote. "Thank you." down. After a few minutes of silence she tried talk some more. "You don't look like other zebras." I looked at her with a raised an eyebrow. "No, I suppose I don't, do I? The other zebras I have seen don't have a mane like mine. Hmm....I never thought about it very much before." There was a short pause. "Something wrong?" I said in a deeper voice then normal. "The streak in you mane. It c-changed color." She said in what sounded like a surprised voice. It was hard to tell because her voice being scratchy. "Did it? What color?" "B-black." "Interesting." I shook thoughts of home from my head. "Has it done that before?" "Yes..." "Hmm I see." I chuckled. "There seems to be a lot about myself that I don't know about." I looked at her and then the ground. "Sorry?" "Nothing to be sorry about." I shrugged. "Hey, since you're talking, can you tell me how you came upon Ganger and her group?" "My group and I were on our way back to Equeastria." "On hoof?! Are you crazy!?" "It was our only option... We arrived on a sky wagon. After a few hours the wagon got destroyed somehow. The pegasus that pulled the wagon went to get another one but never returned. A day later we heard news of a pegasus corpse a mile away from the village we were at. Our pilot matched the description, and we left the next day. We made the mistake of traveling through in the night time." She looked at the ground. "We got half way to that hut when that....monster showed up." She started shaking and I put a hoof on her shoulder. "I don't need to hear about the monster, okay?" She sighed in relief and nodded her head. "Now, when did the Changelings find you?" "They heard us screaming and rushed over. But by the time they got to us....it was too l-late." "I see, it was good of them to take care of you." "It was a pleasant surprise to know they weren't hostile." "Especially after seeing what that monster looked like." "Don't remind me..." "Sorry." I looked around. "Ganger should be back by now..." Velvet nodded in agreement. "It would be a good idea to rest your voice Velvet. I will keep watch for Ganger in case she comes back." "I could help. I'm not tired." I thought about it and shrugged. "You should really be resting. But I see no harm in it." Velvet fell asleep an hour ago and Ganger just got back. She landed kind of rough, so I looked her over. I couldn't find anything wrong with her so I just gave her space. She got up and looked at me. "You wouldn't believe what I found!" "I-is it bad?" "Bad? It's a bucking oasis! I'll take you there in the morning, right now I'm beat." "Mind telling me about this place?" "I will later. Sorry if I worried you guys." "You did worry us. I think you owe Velvet an apology. That comes later though, how far away is this oasis?" "About two hundred feet away." "That's not too far...all thing considered. Rest up, it looks like you need it." "What about you?" "I'm joining you, just not right now." "Okay then. Goodnight." "Goodnight" "It should be just around this corner." Said the Changeling while leading us to the 'oasis'. She woke us up in the early morning to get started. Two hundred feet was turned into maybe three hundred because Velvet and I can't fly. "And here we are!" Velvet and I looked around and only saw an entrance to a cave. Velvet looked at Ganger with a raised eyebrow, and I looked at her with a blank expression. "It's just a cave..." "Yeah but it's what's inside the cave. C'mon!" And she started walking towards the cave entrance. We reluctantly followed her into the cave, keeping our guards up. Not that we don't trust her, we just just don't want any surprises. I was beginning to understand why it took her so long to get back. We went deep into the cave before any signs of "oasis" appeared. Changelings seem to have a different take on oasis' then zebras and ponies. We were standing in a larger cavern with a large pool against the back wall. There was an opening in the ceiling, allowing light to come in. "Well there's water at least." I said looking around for food. "Um...Ganger? Is there any food?" Wrote Velvet. "Uh not that I've found...yet. But there's plenty of water and just look at this place! Isn't it beautiful?" "It's just a cave." "Well yes...but we can check our supplies, right?" "I suppose we could fill up on water, but what will we do for food?" "We haven't been eating that much, we should be fine." "True. Hmm..." I tapped my chin in thought. I dumped the contents of my bag onto the ground and all three of us looked them over. "We will have to fill these two canteens." I put the two empty canteens off to the side. "And we have two more days worth of food." "See? We're good on food." "For two more days if we don't properly ration it." I grabbed the map and began looking at it. "Any villages nearby?" Wrote Velvet. I sighed. "No it doesn't look like it. We need to closely monitor how much food we eat." "How far until the next village?" I scanned the map some more. "Our luck seem to not be the great..." "I don't like the sound of that..." Said Ganger. "How far is it?" "Well we seem to be in the middle of the wastelands. Meaning the next village is five hundred miles south." "Well at least we need to go in that direction right?" "Yes I suppose you're right." I said, packing everything up. "When I was here last night I found a tunnel. Maybe if we took it, we could cover some ground, without going outside in the heat. What do you think?" "Do we have a light source? And are there any threats?" She thought about it "No and maybe." "I don't want to take the chance of something being in that tunnel. We should continue travelling as we have been." "Come on! We could cut our water consumption in half." I thought about it. "It still seems to unsafe." I looked at Velvet. "What do you think?" "I'm with her." "Ugh fine! Lead the way Ganger." "Cool!" "Somethings wrong with Ganger." Said a mysterious voice. The other's didn't seem to hear it, so I just shook my head and continued to walk. Author's Note As always if there are any mistakes please tell me.
Chapter 6: The Tunnel"We should really go back." I said while looking around and walking, cautiously follow Ganger. "Relax, I'm sure there's an exit somewhere around here." "We have been walking for fifteen minutes." I said with a hint of anger in my voice. "Then going back would be a further waste of time." I opened my mouth to say something, but she was right. Turning back now would mean more time wasted. She had better be right about the exit. "I don't know," Said Velvet. "It has been a while and there's still no light at the end." "Aw now you're agreeing with him now? Come on! Just a little farther and I'm we'll be fine." "For your sake you better be right." I saw under me breath, and thankfully the others didn't hear me. Those words weren't entirely my own. Ganger was right about one thing though. We are traveling in a cooler environment, and thus saving us some food and water. Mostly water but still, my point stays relevant. I wish I could tell how late it was, because I'm getting tired. I know Velvet feels the same, but Ganger somehow has a lot of energy. Which I find suspicious considering she hasn't eaten much recently. I whisper my concerns to Velvet and she agrees. We will both be watching her for awhile. We convinced Ganger to stop so we could get some rest. She didn't want to at first, but when I told her how long we've been walking, she seemed to understand. I suggested we all get some sleep and Ganger offered to take first watch. Since she has so much energy Velvet and I accepted the offer. Little does she know I'll be watching her until I take watch. It has been several minutes and Ganger hasn't done anything out of the ordinary. All she has been doing, watching us. She hasn't left for minutes on end, she hasn't looked at either of us in a weird way. Nothing. I guess I should be glad she seems normal, but I still think somethings going on. All I can do is wait and see if she does anything strange. Well strange for her at least. That voice keeps telling me something is wrong with Ganger. It's probably just...what's a good name for him? Hmm...The Conqueror sounds good to me. Yes, it's probably just him trying to drive me mad. I shall try to do anything I can to render him unsuccessful. If that is at all possible anyway. I decided to get some sleep since Ganger wasn't looking suspicious. Maybe I can get an hour or two of sleep before it is my turn to take watch. It seems that I did get some sleep before Ganger woke me up. Shortly after I stood up she collapsed onto the ground. I told her she shouldn't have stayed awake as long as she did, but I don't think she heard me. I shook my head and sat down. There were only two directions to watch. Which meant that it was going to be easier tonight, but on the other hoof I have lower then usual visibility. So it's pretty much pitch dark in here. I really hope that nothing attacks us from both sides. And if we are attacked, I hope we can out run the attacker. But for now I will just stay vigilant. Last night was interesting. Now that Velvet is getting her voice back, she talks in her sleep. Nothing particularly of interest, it's just kind of amusing. Ganger seemed to have a nightmare. Her ear was twitching, and she was mumbling. I couldn't tell she was saying but it didn't matter. I would, however, be lying if I said I was not curious, but I saw it unwise to get close to her. Lest she wake up and bite my ear off, if I were to wake her up that is. Right now we are still travelling through the tunnel. There is no end in sight, and I don't see this tunnel ending for awhile. I could be wrong, I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think I am. We are also very bored. Anything that was worth talking about, has already been talked about. The only time any of them spoke was to ask me for a canteen. It's been like this for an hour. I think we really need to get outside, and soon. We found a cavern, much like the cave, but not an exit. At least not yet, we're still looking. The was no clean looking water but there was, according to Ganger, some edible mushrooms. "How do you know we can eat these?" I asked. "These are the same mushrooms we ate at the Hive." She said while inspecting them. "Then what are you doing?" "Double checking. There is a poisonous mushroom that looks like these." She said as she picked one. "Yeah, see? Brown instead black. These are safe, though they don't taste that great raw." She started gathering the rest and she put them in the bag. "What will make them taste better?" She looked around and shrugged. "Nothing here. Their not that bad, they just have an earthy taste to them." "And that's it?" She nodded her head. "Yep." "Okay. Thank you for making sure these won't kill us." "Oh, the poisonous ones wouldn't kill you. They would just make you really sick." "I see. Well still Ganger, thank you." "No prob!" She said before continuing her search for an exit. I turned to Velvet. "What do you think?" "About the mushrooms?" I nodded my head. "I don't know, I think we should trust her. She is our friend after all." "Friend? Hmm...I guess so." She raised an eyebrow. "Have you not had friends before." I shook my head. "Never. In all my life, I have never had a friend. I don't even know when it is proper to identify somezebra or somepony as my friend." "Then what did you think we were all of this time?" Ganger asked, returning from her search. "Travel companions, but...it seems I have been mistaken." I looked at the ground in thought. "Well at least that's better than what it could be I suppose." "Zeta," Velvet started. "You can be sure that Ganger and I are your friends." "So you really haven't had any friends before?" I shook my head. "Harsh." "Not that I felt I needed any friends." I said. "Everyzebra I have ever met were jerks. So why have them in my life? Though I have found the concept of friendship interesting." I looked up at Velvet and Ganger. "I used to observe such things, but after being chased and nearly beaten I chose to stay inside my home..." "Why would they do that?" "My eyes." I shrugged. "Whoa, good thing I decided to come with you. I don't even want to think about what they would've done to me." I saw her shiver. "Was your right eye always red?" Velvet asked. "No, it wasn't. It's part of the curse. It was the same as my left eye, but it changed the morning of my eighteenth birthday. Which is very shortly before I was exiled." "Eighteen years with no friends." She looked at me with sympathy in her eyes, which widened slightly and she looked away. "What is it?" I asked. "The streak changed color again." "What color?" "It's changing back now but it was black." "The color of sadness." I shook my head and chuckled. "No point in dwelling on it." I turned to Ganger. "What were your findings?" She smiled. "You are not going to believe this. Follow me." And we did. We were walking down this smaller, more narrow tunnel but when we reached the end, I was surprised. We were on the other end of the cave/tunnel system. This was the exit we've been waiting for. What had Velvet and I so awestruck was this beautiful jungle we were now standing in. Ganger looked at me. "And you said I was wrong." She said in a smug tone. "My apologies Ganger. You were right." I looked at what sky I could see. "I can't tell what time it is, but it is still light out." "I'll go see where the sun is." Said Ganger before taking off. She came back a few seconds later. "We're good on time. Wanna get going?" "No, not just yet." I pulled out my map and found the only jungle on it. "Whoa." "What?" "We must either have been stuck in that tunnel for three or four days or that tunnel was magic." "Why do you say that?" Velvet looked at me. "What's going on?" I show the map. "This is where we must be." I pointed to the lone green spot. "And this is the Equestrian Border." I traced an imaginary line. "See what I mean now?" "Whoa." The both said at the same time. "I really don't know how we cut five hundreds miles in such a short amount of time!" I rolled the map up and put it back in the bag. "How for away from Equestria are we now?" "One thousand three hundred twenty three miles." "Still pretty far huh?" Said Velvet. "Yes, but let's continue on. No point in staying here for much longer." "Right!" Author's Note An explanation for the tunnel will be in the next chapter. As always if you see any mistakes, tell me.
Chapter 7: The Pony in The Book"So..." Said Ganger while she walked along beside me. "I've been wondering about that tunnel. How could possibly have gained this much ground?" "I too have thinking about it, but I do not know. I think one of the books I've brought with me has something about such occurrences in it." I looked at the sky but it was obscured by the canopy. "Hmm, it's starting to get pretty dark." I looked at Velvet. "You think we should stop?" She looked around and shrugged. "Your voice acting up again?" She nodded her head. "Great." I sighed. "Ganger, you think we should stop?" "Maybe to see where we are, but I don't think we should stop for today. I think we still have an hour or two before night fall." "Considering the canopy and how dark it is now, I figure we have an hour at most before we have to make camp. But I agree lets stop for a little while." We all stopped, and I sat the bag on the ground and searched for the right book. I heard the familiar squeak of Velvet's voice and turned to her. "Yes?" "Having trouble?" She wrote on her blackboard. "Uh...yeah." I scratched the back of my head and chuckled. "I can't seem to remember the name of the book..." I tapped my chin in thought and looked at the books. "The Doctor's Guide to Time and All Things Temporal? What the hay? don't remember packing this." I heard the tapping of chalk. "Who's 'The Doctor'?" "Doctor Who?" Ganger chimed in. "I honestly don't know." I opened the book and Table of Contents. "Hmm, Gateways and other timey-wimey things? What an odd title." I said as I turned to the start of the chapter. "This Doctor seems....weird..." Ganger said looking at the book as well. "Indeed." I said as I started to read. "Um what?" "What's wrong?" "T-theres a button...in book..." I blinked a few times in confusion. "What?" Ganger and Velvet did the same. I press the button and an oddly familiar brown pony stallion appeared from the book. I jumped back at the sudden appearance. "What the buck is that!" "A hologram." Velvet wrote and shrugged. "Pretty advanced for such an old looking book." "I agree." Said Ganger. "Yes, that's nice and all but are you going to listen or should I go?" The stallion in the book said. "A-are you...The Doctor?" "Yes, and before you ask, it's just The Doctor. Nothing else just. The. Doctor. Are we clear? Good. Now, where we?" We all looked at each other and back at the Hologram Doctor. "Hello?" "Um...Gateways?" "Oh, right. Gateways! Yes temporal gateways. A slightly very rare occurrence, especially in this world." "What was that?" "Nothing! Temporal gateways can transport you through time, forwards and backwards, but not through space, depending on the type of gateway. In the event that you happen to somehow stumble into one, you may experience nausea the first time. Your body will adapt to the sensation the more you go through the gateways. But I do not suggest it without some kind of protection, or the TARDIS. Before you ask, that stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. Any questions? No? Good. Now, if none of you are feeling sick then congratulations, you got lucky. The odds of first time gateway users not getting sick are slim." "Then how did we gain five hundred miles?" "What? You traveled distance as well?" We nodded our heads. "And none of you are sick?" We shook our heads. "Fantastic!" "What do you man 'fantastic'?" "You just went through a Class three Gateway! Without getting sick!" "Did we go back in time as well?" I asked this time. "Hmm yes it appears that you did. About two days I'd say." He nodded his head sagely. "So," Ganger started. "We not only gained distance, but we gained time as well?" "Yes." "Awesome!" "Now, if there's nothing else I will leave you to your travels." "What happens if we meet ourselves?" He almost looked panicked when she asked that. "You must not meet your past selves! That would create a paradox!" "Would there be a chance that we would meet by accident?" "No, it became a fixed point in time as soon as you stepped through the gateway. It's locked in an infinite time loop. As long as you keep moving there is no chance of that ever happening." "I think that's all we needed." I said. "Good! Glad I could help. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be going now." And then he was gone. I closed the book. "Well that was...interesting." The others nodded and I packed the books up and we continued walking. It was almost pitch dark now and we were forced to stop. I couldn't understand how we stepped into a temporal gateway without know it. Also I wanted to figure out where in the tunnel the gateway was. But The Doctor's voice came in my head telling me to not go back. And I knew if I did, something bad would happen. We made a small fire, just big enough to keep us warm but too big as to cause the jungle to catch fire. We had walked for about two to maybe three miles today. It was hard to tell in this jungle. One of the good things about being in a jungle is finding berries, and this jungle is plentiful. We decided to pack some when we reached the edge. But for now, I was looking over supplies while Ganger tried to help Velvet with her vocal exercises. Picking berries is helping with our food supply, so our main concern is water. I can hear a stream not to far from here, we will fill our canteens in the morning. "Can you talk now?" Asked Ganger. "I-I think so?" "Don't push yourself too hard, okay?" I said, looking up from the bag. "I think we have enough supplies for another two to three days. Possibly four depending on how many berries we take with us." "What about water?" Asked Velvet. "We will freshen it up when we continue tomorrow." She nodded her head and Ganger laid down. "Tired so soon?" I asked in a teasing tone. "I thought you had more energy than that." "I think it's side effects from the gateway." I shrugged. "Could be. I'm wide awake though." I looked at Velvet. "What about you?" "I'm a little tired, not enough to fall asleep though." "Hmm I see. Ganger, if you want to sleep you can. We'll keep watch." "I think might. Goodnight guys." "Goodnight." Both Velvet and I said. "Anything on your mind Zeta?" Asked Velvet. "Not really. I still can't comprehend went into the past, I don't feel any different." "Neither do I, but it is just two days. If it were a year I believe we would feel it." "I guess you're right. That does make sense, doesn't it?" "Yeah." "This jungle is quite nice isn't it? A little hot and maybe humid but at least we have shade." "I agree. It's a lovely place, shame we have to leave it..." Then there was a quite a startling noise in the distance. It sounded like wild animals fighting. I looked in the general direction of it and then slowly back at Velvet. "Maybe for the better." Her eyes were wide, and you could see the fear on her face. "Don't worry I'll protect you two." She said nothing but nodded instead and got closer to me. I have a feeling I'm not getting any sleep tonight.
Chapter 8: The Tiger"Something's wrong with Ganger." I heard The Conqueror say somewhere from the shadows. "What do you mean? She seems perfectly fine to me." I said looking around for him. "Really?" He said in an almost sarcastic tone. "She knew about the Gateway, and shes leading you into a trap." "Except she not leading us. I am!" "Are you quite sure? Who scouts ahead the most?" He chuckled. "You're just the one with the map! Not the leader." "Fine! From now on I'll do the scouting. Ganger is more then capable of protecting Velvet." "Suit yourself. The damage has already been done." I then saw glowing red eyes, and the he emerged from the shadows. "Wake up, it's dawn." "But what do you mean 'the damage has already been done?' That make no sense. We're close to the edge of the jungle, we'll be there by mid day!" He smiled. "You'll find out. Now, wake up!" He stomped his hooves and I awoke. "Another bad dream?" Said Ganger as we got prepared for today's travels. I stared at her groggily. "Yeah. Shouldn't have fallen asleep though. We were all vulnerable to the jungle." "You can't protect us all of the time you know? Besides, you deserve a good rest." "I suppose, But still something could of happened..." I emptied the bag's contents onto the ground. We had a good supply of food but we will need to make a slight detour to get more water. "We should stop by the river to fill our canteens." I heard one of them sniffing the air, and then the tapping of chalk. I looked at her board and she wrote "And bathe." I sighed and Ganger chuckled. "A quick bath wouldn't hurt, would it?" "Well it has been awhile since that oasis, and we are going to be there anyway." Velvet wrote. "It's settled then." and smiled. I shrugged, and put everything back into the bag, and we set off. After a few minutes of walking we arrived the river. I filled the canteens before I joined the others. The first thing I noticed was how cold the water was. The second thing was the fairly recent sign of an attack and struggle of some kind. I seemed to be the only one to notice, and I decided not to tell them about it. I will, however, keep a watchful eye out, just in case the winning creature is still around. I'm not sure how clean we are without any soap or shampoo, but at least it's something. Checking the map after I dried off, we started got our bearings and headed out. It was about nine O'clock in the morning now, so we didn't lose that much time. We were still not too sure how far we were from the edge of the of the jungle. I know I said by mid day but I am still not sure how long it will be. I noticed a rustling in the bushes beside us. "Do you guys hear that?" "Hear what?" Ganger asked with concern in her voice. "Just listen." We stopped and I heard nothing. "It's gone. Stay on your guard. It's still stalking us." We started to move more cautiously now. The rustling happened again and Ganger shot her magic in the direction of it. Shortly after we heard something collapses onto the ground. I went over to see what it was and found a tiger laying there. Ganger came up to me and looked at it. "I only stunned it, we don't have long until it recovers. We should get going." "Right." We turned around and ran to get as much ground between us and the tiger. Hopefully it will lose track of us, then we wouldn't have to constantly watch our backs. It had been about a mile and no sign of the tiger. I decided to make a stop here since we haven't made one yet. "It's about time we stopped. Sheesh! My hooves are killing me from all that running." "I know Ganger, but it was needed." I sighed a sigh of relief. "Let's just hope that tiger lost our trail." "It should have but I hope so as well. I'm kind of hungry." "So am I, How about you Velvet?" "Yes." She said, trying to talk again. I nodded my head and got the food out, evenly distributing the rations between the three of us. "We are getting low again it seems." "How bad off are we?" "We have about a day or two worth of food left. Manageable but we need to start looking for food, as well as making our way to the edge of the jungle." "Ugh, how long until we reach Equestria?" I pulled the map out and found our location and found the border. "It seems we're about twenty nine miles closer now." "So one thousand two ninety four?" Velvet asked. "Yep." I rolled the map up and packed it. "How can we still be so far away! It's been a month! A month of nothing but walking through a bucking desert, fighting of predators, and just surviving! Is there a way we can make this go faster?!" I saw tears start to form. She was starting to feel discouraged, I can tell. "Not unless you want to run the rest of the way." I sighed. "I'm sorry but we can't do anything Ganger. We're all feeling a bit discouraged by the distance, but we can't give up now." "I-I know, it's just so-" She was cut off by a roar that wasn't that far away. "Hold that thought," I said, quickly packing up our food and canteens. "and run!" The creature that roared jumped out from the bushes. Ganger cast a bright light, temporarily blinding the tiger . "Like I said, Always fighting off predators!" "Shut up and run!" Velvet of all of us yelled at Ganger and ran. Ganger and I followed and caught up with her. I heard it trailing close behind us. At this rate we weren't going to out run it. "Velvet! Find somewhere to hide! Ganger we're going to have fight it off!" "What!? Are you crazy!?" "I don't like the idea either but it's our only option! Go Velvet, hide!!" Ganger and I stopped while Velvet ran ahead. We bucked the tiger and sent it flying a few feet, it didn't stay down for long though. It roared again, louder than before, and swiped at Ganger. She dodged the tiger's attacks and tried to counter attack, but she couldn't get close enough. While it was distracted by her, I snuck beside it and bucked as hard as I could. It howled in pain and hit me a couple times to get away. I quickly ran over to Ganger. "Are you hurt?" She asked with much concern. "I saw it hit you." "I'm okay. It didn't use it's claws, so I think I'll only be bruised." "And you're sure about that?" I nodded, trying to stare down the tiger. "Okay then... How are we going to defeat it?" "No idea. But I'm sure we'll think of something." The tiger started to move. We followed it's movements and were slowly going around in a big circle. I thought of something. "How about you blast it with another spell?" She shook her head. "I only know a few basic spells, none of which would be useful, and I already used up a lot of my magical energy. So it's all hoof-to-claw." Her voice was shaky, not that it was hard to tell she was nervous. "I'm not much of a fighter, I have know idea how this is going to turn out." We heard a loud hiss and we looked at the source. The tiger stopped and pounced again, getting alarming close to me. I tried to kick but I was too slow, it swiped and cut my upper left hind leg and some of my flank. "Zeta!" Ganger called out and tried to get around the tiger, but to no avail. "I...fine. it's ugh...just a scratch! Buck this hurts!" "It won't let me pass!" "Stay focused on the tiger! Get to me when you can!" There was no response from Ganger, only the sound of battle filled the air. I looked at where the tiger got me, and it could have been worse but still didn't look good. I passed out a moment later. When I came too, I saw the tiger had Ganger cornered. It brought up a paw to strike Ganger one last time until. "Enough!!" The tiger and I looked around and the tiger was suddenly surrounded by magical aura, and started levitating. And soon after that flew into a nearby tree. I looked for the owner of the voice and out came Velvet from the bushes. The tiger struggled to get up, and fell when it managed to stand. Velvet ran over to me and helped me up. Once I was set, she ran over to Ganger. I looked over at the tiger and it just laid there, staring at all of us. I felt anger stand to creep up on me and I started to walk towards it. It saw me and started to growl, when that didn't work it tried backing away but backed into the tree. It's eyes began to widen and then something strange happened. "Help me!" It spoke. I just sat there, staring at it, or her rather, completely dumbfounded. All anger for her has been replaced by confusion. Velvet and Ganger cautiously walked over to me and stared at her as well. "If you're going to kill me, just do it already!" She yelled. "Quit toying with me and do it!" "Y-you can talk?" I said. She stared at me with her own confusion. "Y-yes." she answered slowly. "I can talk. Is that any reason for you not to finish me?" "We're not going to kill you." Said Velvet, with concern on her face. "Then why attack me?" "Why were you stalking us?" Ganger asked, with something similar to annoyance in her voice. "I was curious! I heard walking close to my den and wondered what it could be." She looked at me. "And then I saw your mane. It looked familiar and I thought...no, nevermind that would be impossible." She shook her head. "And then I was struck by some kind of magic." "And then you followed us!" Ganger yelled. "I cast that spell, stunned you and we ran. You could have gone back to your den instead!" "Do you blame me for getting angry!" She growled. "I am only doing what I can to protect my children!" She then lowered her head. "I tried, I really did. What are you going to do with me? Kill me? Take me prisoner? What?" "We're going to release you." I said with a smile on my face. "You what?" "You're free to go. But if I may ask. How does my mane look familiar?" "I had a friend, along time ago, with a mane like yours. She is also the one that taught me to speak your language. She found me when I was just a cub. I ventured outside of my den and got lost. Trying to find my way back, I ventured further into the jungle. I was attacked at some point and got cornered by boars. That's when she found me. She fought off the boars and checked to see if I was okay. After that, she picked me up and asked me where I lived. I led her to my den and that's when she met my father. He attacked her but I protected her as she did for me. My father asked why I was doing this for a stranger and I told him she saved me. She was a pony, her mane was lighter than your's though." "What happened to her?" Velvet asked. "That's the sad part. Shortly after she taught me to speak your language, she told me she had to leave and go back to Equestria. She said she would return but she never did. I don't know where she is or even if she's still alive..." "H-how long ago was this?" I asked. "Eighteen years ago. Now that I look at you, you do look a lot like her." She smelled me, and her eyes widened. "I see. What is your name?" I raised an eyebrow "Zeta..." "Well then Zeta, I believe I met your mother." "N-n-not possible! She died giving birth to me! She long since dead!" "She could still be dead. But you were lied too." She looked at the other two. "Thank you for sparing me, I must be off now." She gave us a quick nod and ran off. "Be safe!" Velvet called after her and then turned her attention to me. Ganger started to back away and told Velvet to stay put. I just stood up, turned around and started walking. I was lied to about my mother's death? What else was I lied to about? Author's Note Hello everyone! Sorry about that brief hiatus. I got a job and they've been keeping me pretty busy anyway I hope you enjoy and please tell me if you find any mistakes.
Chapter 9: The Village"Zeta?" Velvet said but I ignored her. "A-are you okay?" "Leave him alone Velvet. He just needs some time." "I know but he's been silent for an hour. I'm really starting to worry..." Velvet whispered that last part, but I heard her anyway. I groaned in response, and Velvet "eeped". "Zeta," Ganger said, moving closer to me. "You should say something, it would make her feel better." I stopped and looked around. It was getting dark and I'm sure we're all tired. "Do you think we should stop here?" "That's what you're going to say? After being quiet for so long, that's it?" I grunted. "We could continue for another couple miles." I said without turning around. "Guys," Velvet said. "I would by fine for another mile or so. W-we can keep going." "Then let's continue." I said as I started walking. We walked another two miles in silence. They got me to talk when we hit three miles. "...All I'm saying is that you don't have to be mean to us." "I know." "...I guess it's settled then?" "Seems that way." "Um," Velvet started. "...Zeta? Ganger? Please don't do this. Not here." "Should be fine after some sleep." "Who?" Ganger chimed in. "You? Or me?" "Both. It's obvious that we're tired and hungry. We need to get sleep." "I'm fine." Ganger stated. "You're the one who needs rest." All and all, she was probably right. They both seemed fine to go for a bit longer, and I know I wasn't. But the fact that we've been arguing for awhile almost had my patience wore down to the bare minimum. If it wasn't already there that is. I stopped to say something, but shook my head and turned to them, sat down and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. All my life I've been lead to believe that my mother was dead. And then out of nowhere I learn that she left my father and I to go back to her home land. Could he not have told me the truth. Hell The least he could have done was tell me she was a bucking pony!" I kicked the ground with a fore hoof and looked down. "I'm just thinking of why she left. Was it because she didn't want me? Or was it my father? Or like the village? All of these thoughts, all of the different possibilities of what caused and why she left, is circling in my head." I looked up at them again. "It's just...a lot too think about..." Ganger came up to me, and put a hoof on my shoulder and smiled. "I think I understand. In the Hive we don't have much interaction with our parents until a certain age." "That's not the same thing." "No, no it isn't. But imagine going half of your foalhood thinking you don't have any parent. At least you had a father." I smiled a little at that, but it didn't stay long. "That is true, but imagine thinking that your father secretly hates you because you killed his wife." Her smile faded and she took her hoof off of my shoulder. "I don't think I can imagine that to be honest." She said truthfully. "Not that I would want too, but just remember we're here for you." Velvet walked up to us and chimed in. "And if you need to talk about anything, feel free to talk to me or Ganger." I smiled. "I'll keep that in mind." I stood up and stretched. " So, are we stopping for tonight?" Ganger yawned and so did Velvet. I chuckled. "I think I have my answer." We woke up at what seemed seemed to be around ten in the morning. It was a late start, but our goal for now is to get to the edge of the forest and go from there. After waking up a little bit, I took out the map. "According to the map, we only have about three more miles." "No sense in wasting time here!" Ganger said, already walking in the right direction. "Agreed." "Okay, okay slow down you two." I chuckled as I packed up the map and followed. We had to stop for a couple minutes to gather berries because our food was running low. After that we were good to continue. We had about a mile and a half to go now, and the walk so far has been, thankfully, uneventful. There wasn't any to keep us from getting bored however, and Ganger wasn't shy about sharing how bored she was. I told her to stop and she did, Velvet laughed. We took our last few steps and found the Jungle/Desert border. I commented that I wasn't excited to go back out there, and the other two agreed wholeheartedly. I saw a village off in distance, I raised an eyebrow and brought out the map. Ganger noticed this and walked over to me. "It's just straight south from here right? Why are you checking the map?" She asked. "See that there?" I pointed in the direction of the village. "See what?" She followed where I was pointing. "Oh cool, a village!" "An unmarked village." I corrected, what a hint of worry in my voice. "This map has every village in the Zebra Dominion. I...don't think we should go in there." Ganger shrugged. "Maybe it's just new? How old is that map anyway?" "We also need more food. Even if we fill our bag with berries, we won't survive long if that is our only food source." "You have a point." Like it or not they did. This map most likely is outdated, and our food supply is dangerously low. "We can't afford to pass it up. As long as we are cautious, we should be fine." "So we can go?" Ganger asked. "We can go." I confirmed. "But like I said, we should keep our wits about us. Just in case." They both nodded and we started gathering berries before walking over to the village. It was still about a mile away though. When we got close enough Ganger disguised herself as the same pegasus pony she used to help us get across the chasm. I told them too let me do the talking, the agreed and we walked up to the gate. There was no guard, and thought it better to leave, but before I could say anything Ganger called out. There was some ruckus from behind the gate and then it opened. "Travelers?" The guard zebra said. "Yes." I answered slowly. "We are low on food, save for the berries we picked up, and were wondering if your village could provide. May we stay and resupply?" "Travelers?!" Somezebra shouted from behind the guard zebra. Who shook his head and responded. "It is uncertain that we can provide the proper supplies for you and your companions." He then smiled for an unknown reason. "But you may come in and rest." He moved aside and let us in. The first thing I noticed was that this village was in seriously bad shape. All the buildings looked somewhat put together. I couldn't tell what they were made from, though, it didn't look like wood. The second thing I noticed was the owner of the voice the yelled behind the guard. It was a zebra mare that looked really excited. Too excited I might add. She ran off in the other direction, leaving us confused. The guard told us not to worry about it, and told us to enjoy our stay. For some reason the way he said it worried me. The smile he had afterwards didn't help either. I looked at the other and I think they're feeling a little uneasy as well. Another zebra came up to us shortly afterwards. "Hello travelers! And welcome to our village!" He said with a smile that wasn't creepy. "It's not much but please, let me show you three around." We all nodded and followed him. He showed us their leader's hut, the clinic, the restaurant, and the "hotel" where we will be staying. "So, what do you think?" "It's nice," I started. "You made use of everything you had at your disposal." He looked unsure for a moment for some reason, but responded. "Thank you! Now about your resupply." I felt Velvet tap my shoulder. "One moment please." He nodded. "Go right ahead." I nodded to him and turned to Velvet. "Yes?" "I-I don't like it here..." "I don't either." I said. "I would like to get our supplies and get out of here as quick as possible." I turned back to the zebra. "Anyway, as you were saying?" "Your food supplies. You said you were low?" "Yes, about a day or maybe just a bit more than that." "Ah I see. I will see if we have what you need in the meantime, you can stay here and find a room." "Okay, thanks for your help." "Not a problem." We went inside and got a room. It had one bed that looked very uncomfortable, a couch, and a reasonably sized window. A lantern sit upon the small table in the corner of the room. Looking around, I could see that the room itself was what I had expected. I walked over and sat on the bed. Yep, pretty uncomfortable. Ganger and Velvet walked over, Velvet sitting on the bed next to me while Ganger sat on the floor, shedding her disguise. We looked at each other, it was clear we all were thinking the same thing. "I really don't like it here." Ganger spoke first. "Something doesn't feel right, and there a faint smell of..." She sniffed the air and her eyes widened a little. "...blood..." "Blood?!" Velvet nearly shouted. "What would that mean?" "I don't know...but I don't like it." I said, feeling a little drowsy. "Hey...is anyone else...feeling sleepy?" Velvet asked. Ganger and I yawned. "But it's not...nearly late enough for us to be...tired." Ganger stated. "Unless." I turned around and looked towards the window. "Sleeping gas..." "What?!" Both Ganger and Velvet shouted. I couldn't answer. I passed out before I could. When I woke up, I was chained to a wall and the zebra that helped us was telling another zebra to do something. He turned to me and smiled. I looked around and saw both Ganger and Velvet on the floor. I passed out again shortly after I saw them. Author's Note After this there will be no more chapters starting with "The".
Chapter 10: Destruction PT. 1 (The Calm)"Well it looks like you're awake." The zebra said, walking closer to me with every word. I looked around and couldn't see Velvet or Ganger anywhere. He noticed me looking for them. "Oh don't worry." He said with a smile. "I'm sure your friend will make a great...dinner guest." His smile turned into a sadistic one. "We weren't sure what to do with the bug so we just threw her out." He shrugged and chuckled. "With the heat and all, I think she'll decompose in a week." He started laughing. "I'll-!" "You'll do what? You're chained to a wall! Face it you're helpless." He turned and started to walk away. "You wont get away with this!" He stopped and looked at me. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that. We've had dozens that said the same thing." He walked away, laughing. "No..." I looked at the ground in disbelief and sorrow. "Giving up so easily are we?" I heard The Conqueror say and closed my eyes. I could see him looking at me with a strange smile. "I...I just don't know what I can do..." "Well it would seem that you are as helpless as he says." He said putting a hoof to his chin. "But then again, you have me." His smile grew a little wider. "I will figure it out on my own. I wont take you help." "Suit yourself." his smile faded a bit and he shrugged. "They are no of consequence to me. But you might want to think of something soon." He frowned and turned around. "You will not live long like this." I wanted to argue but I knew he was right. I had too think of something fast, lest I die here. ||||Velvet's View|||| "Ugh what happened?" I said holding a hoof to my head, trying to ease the headache pain. "You've been captured that's what happened." I jumped and looked over to where the voice came from. It was dark but I could tell it was a male. "It was easy too, you guys shouldn't have relaxed so easily." He chuckled. "W-what are you going to do to m-me?" "Oh, have you for dinner of course." "B-but then why lock me up?" I asked with hope that he didn't mean it in the way I thought he did. Maybe it was some weird prank? There was a pause, like he was taken back by what I asked him. He started chuckling, which turned into low laughter. "Oh no my dear, you're not a guest. You're part of the dinner." He lit a lantern and looked at me, licking his lips. "And you look simply divine." He said with a creepy smile. The only thing I felt I could do was- ||||Ganger's View|||| I was just regaining consciousness and the first thing I noticed was that I felt like I was being rocked back and forth. In a very unpleasant way. "One.....two.....three!" Then before I knew it, I felt like I was floating for a few seconds. And then I realized I was falling. My eyes shot opened and I saw the rapidly approaching ground. I buzzed my wings and righted myself enough to land softer then I would have. "We forgot to tie her wings!" I heard the two that threw me shout. I looked at them with a glare and flew up as fast as I could. I caught them off guard, and threw one of them down into the pit they threw me into. He landed with a crunch and I cringed. The other zebra was about to turn tail and run. I zapped him with a stun spell and walked over to him. I noticed that the spell hasn't taken full effect yet. "You should know better not to piss off a Changeling Soldier." His eyes rolled back and he was off to sleep. I looked around and then There was a shrill scream that filled the air and sounded like "Velvet!" I heard doors open and zebras exiting there houses. Some saw me and the zebra I just stunned and started running towards me. I jumped into the air and flew away. I had no other choice. "Don't worry guys, I'm not gonna leave you there." ||||Zeta's View "AAAAAAAHHHHH HELP!!! HELP ME!!! HELP M-!" I raised my head with a start. I looked around and saw the guards running out of the door. It took a few seconds, but I recognize that scream, and sounded like she was cut short. "Velvet!" I looked at the chains and started struggling against them, but to no avail. I was already angry but now I was livid. I started to imagine what they were doing to her. "No....NO!!" I saw the streak in my mane and my mane itself start to change from red and brown to dark red and black. I continued to struggle against the chains, but still nothing. I looked down and glared at the floor. I also noticed my coat change color as well but I didn't invest too much thought into it. Everything started to get a red tint to it. "Nozebra is going to hurt my friends and nothing is going to stop me from protecting them!!" I turned around and grabbed a chain. I pulled and pulled until I finally ripped it out of the wall. "You're all going to pay!!" There was low rumbling laughter. "Yes." ||||Ganger's View|||| There were clouds rolling in from every direction. All converging on the village I just escaped. They all met in the middle and started to slowly circle around. I looked away from the clouds and started to run into the forest. I had an idea of who could help me. "Now, where was her den?" I heard a yell in the distance, and decided I needed to hurry. I would look for the tiger and see if she was willing to help me. I just hope I'm not too late. ||||Zeta's(?) View|||| "He escaped!" There were guards running toward me with their swords. I stomped on the ground and jagged rocks sprouted up from under the closest one, impaling him where he stand. He hadn't a chance to dodge it, it happened to fast. The other four stopped dead in their tracks. I looked at the blood pooling from the now dead zebra in front of me, and simply walked past him. I looked at the others and smiled. Two of them ran away while the other two stood there ground. "Are you two stupid?" I asked, walking closer to them. "You should have run." "We're not scared of you!" One of them yelled. I stopped and looked at him. "Oh? Then why are you shaking?" I laughed. "I'll make a deal with you. Step aside and you live. Try to attack me and you die. Deal?" "I've had enough of this!" He ran and swung his sword at me. I frowned and dodged it, kicking him in the face when he passed by me. He face planted into the ground. I looked at him. "Hmm, that was easy." I looked at his friend. "Are you as 'brave' as him?" He rapidly shook his head, ran over to his friend, picked him up and ran off. "Smart colt." I said before I started to look for Velvet. I searched the inside of the prison I was being held but they moved her. All I needed was for her to scream again, or something. I just needed something to tell me where she was! I walked out of the building again and looked around for a suspicious looking building. I heard yelling coming from where I remember the market area being. That seems like a good place to start. ||||Velvet's View.|||| I was regaining consciousness. I could hear commotion outside, it sounded like fighting. I looked around and noticed that it was a little darker now. I tried to move around but I was chained to the wall of the cell instead of being able to freely move. I called for help and everything stopped. For a moment it seemed like time had stopped altogether. A minute or two passed, and I heard somepony running toward the door. I looked up, hoping it was Zeta or Ganger, but then the door opened. I saw two zebras enter and glared at me. They started to close in on me. I backed away from them until I hit the wall. The started to open the door and I screamed. ||||Zeta's(?) View|||| I was running to the market area when a group of them ambushed me. The surrounded me, everywhere I looked there was at least two of them. The whole town must've have been here. "It isn't wise too stand in my way!" "It doesn't matter, we're going to stop you!" I looked at the one who spoke and cocked my head in confusion. "Why put so much effort forth to stop me?" I looked around again. "Why have this many? Fifteen?" I scoffed at them. "I'm only one stallion." "You and your friend are our dinner! We're not just going to let you walk away!" The zebra said. "And we'll do whatever it take to take you down." Another one said with a smug grin. "And there is no way in Tartarus that you'll take us all out!" The crowd cheered and walked closer to me, tightening the circle they had formed. "Help!" I heard that word again. It rang out for a few seconds, and time seemed to slow down. "Will somezebra go shut her up!?" I heard from somewhere in the crowd, and saw two break off and run toward where the voice came from. I started to run after them, but was stopped. I tried to break through again but couldn't. "They dare not touch her!" A zebra got in my face "Watch them." And then I heard another scream. "VELVET!!" I roared, causing the surrounding zebras to jump back. I glared at them, and said in a voice that was not my own. "In case you have failed to realize who I am. Let me show you." I brushed my mane away from my red eye. "Do you know of The Prophesy?" "T-that old mare's tale?" One of them said trying not to look at my eye. "The very same. I am The Conqueror of The Three Great Nations. I am The Oncoming Storm. And I am your death!" I jumped and stomped all four hooves on the ground and we were all slowly in cased in a rock sphere, lit by a bright red light shining from the ceiling once it formed. "Bow to me know and I promise you will live. Defy me and die." I called. About five of the thirteen bowed. I looked at them. "Leave." They obeyed and left through the openings I made. A few others tried to leave as well but they didn't get very far. I even let one of them think he had a chance and closed the opening on him. It came down on him so hard that he was left with his back side sticking up. I raised the opening a bit and saw that he was in a "V" shape. Then the two halves fell, causing some of the zebras to vomit. I smiled. "This should be fun." ||||Ganger's View|||| "Come on where are you." I thought as I looked around. It was getting dark now, or at least it is in here. I heard the bushes rustle but but little mind to it. I needed to concentrate on where I am. "Ugh where is it?" "Where's what?" I almost jumped out of chitin and slowly turned around, but saw nothing. I continued to walk, more cautiously then before. Author's Note After long thought I decided not to full on cancel it but updates will happen quite irregularly and I don't know when the next chapter will be out, so here's this until next time. As always tell me if you see any mistakes and I will fix it.
Chapter 11: Destruction PT. 2 (The Storm)||||The Conqueror's (Zeta's?) View|||| I look at the remaining zebras and smile. These ones have lasted through my 'game'. It was, however, a shame to see that they weren't enjoying it as much as I was. I look at the various spikes that came up from the ground, or down from the ceiling, and the bodies that have been impaled by them. The game was similar to dodge ball, except there were spikes instead. I told them if the lasted five minutes of this, one of them could fight me hoof-to-hoof. To my surprise and enjoyment, four of the remaining seven survived. All they had to do was pick a champion. I look at them again. They're worn out. They're breathing heavily and laying down. My smile falters a little and I speak. "Do you not have decision yet?" "None of us stand a chance against you!" One of them yelled. I looked at him and frowned. "Pitiful, once your 'food' fights back you're entirely useless." I spit at the ground toward them. "Pathetic! If any of you choose to fight me, I'll be outside." I left through a small opening I made for myself. I heard the others yell and ran for the exit but it closed before they were even close. ||||Velvet's View|||| I lay in a corner trembling and whimpering. I was scared before but now I'm terrified. Those zebra stallions beat me. Without mercy. One of them said they were 'tenderizing the meat'. I just wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear. I heard the outer most door close, signaling that they were gone, and cried. Like a little foal lost in the market. Thoughts started to form in my head. Thought of my home in Ponyville, my best friends Pinkie and Fluttershy and the rest of my friends, my parents. But that's where the nice thoughts ended. Other thoughts of how they would serve me popped up every now and again. Would I be in a soup? Or maybe a stew? I shook my head to shake the thoughts away. And went back to pretending to not exist. ||||Ganger's View|||| I'm lost... I left my friends behind and got lost... They will die because of me... I shouldn't have left the village. I shouldn't have left them. I tried to find my way back but that's probably how I got lost. And for the first time in a long time I thought about giving up. "Something troubling you?" I heard from behind me. I spun around and took a defensive stance. I saw the tiger from earlier. ||||The Conqueror's View|||| I briefly looked at the sphere I was walking away from and smiled. They were either going to starve, eat each other, or find the weak spot I left for them. They're going to have to be smart if they want a chance to defeat me. I frowned and concentrated on what I needed to do. I needed to destroy the zebras. "What? No! We have to find the others!" "You should have thought your priorities before letting me take over." "I wasn't thinking straight." "No you weren't. But if it will cease your whining, fine!" I saw the two zebras from earlier exiting a building and smiled. "Hello there." They looked at each other and back to me and charged. ||||Ganger's View|||| "...And that's what happened. We need to go save them!" She seemed to think about it for awhile before shaking her head. "What?!" I shouted, making her step back. "I'm sorry, but I cannot." She sniffed the air. "Something foul is in the air, can't you smell it?" "N-no, what do you mean 'foul'?" "It's hard to place." She looked behind me. "I would help you more but I have cubs to look out for. The best I can do is take you back to the village." "But I came all this way! I abandoned my friends to find you!" "And I am sorry I can't help you more than this." "Do you not get it!!" I yelled, causing her to jump back. "All of my friends have died! First Match and now those two! I-I just....wanted...t-to help." I collapsed onto the ground and did what no other changeling has done. I cried. ||||The Conqueror's View|||| I look at the two defeated zebras that were infront of me. I fought them with good old fashion hoof-to-hoof combat. "You two did quite...well actually." I nodded sagely. "I shall spare you. For now." I looked at the building that they came from. "Leave now, before I change my mind." They just lie there and I cocked an eyebrow. I stepped closer to see why they would defy me when they were in such a state. I smiled and walked towards the building. They were out cold. They must have passed out from exhaustion. "Well, they did put up one hell of a fight." I thought. "Like bats from Tartarus. Minus the fangs and wings of course." "What's Tartarus?" Zeta asked. "It's a place I'll send you if you don't stop asking questions!!" "Okay okay!" I reached the building and opened the door. From the look of it, it looked like some kind of butcher shop. There was a door leading to the back room but I invested little attention in it. It was dark in here but luckily I could see fairly well in the dark. There were bones hanging from the ceiling. The bones were from numerous animals, but mostly equine. These are some sick individuals in this village. And that's saying something coming from me of all zebras. I heard a noise from behind the door and turned toward the door and begun walking toward it. ||||Velvet's View|||| I heard fighting outside. Shouts, screams, and laughter. I spent all of my energy on undoing the wall restraint, but I'm still sitting in the corner of my cell. After awhile the sounds of fighting fell silent. I had no idea why they were fighting. Maybe one wanted more food than the other one? It's not important. I need to focus on regaining energy so I can escape. The outer door opened. I backed further into the corner and curled up into a ball, trying to make myself as small possible, and watched the door. I wondered if, sense they were done fighting, they were going to do it. Were they finally going to kill me? Or just "tenderize the meat" again? It's been a minute or two and the zebras haven't come in yet. I uncurled and stood up. I slowly walked toward the cell door...and tripped on the chain. It rattled loudly and the occupant of the next room was sure to hear it. I heard hoof steps coming closer to the door. I panicked and curled up into a tight ball, with my eyes tightly shut. The door opened and I prepared for the worst. When nothing happened for a few seconds I slowly opened my eyes. I felt excited at first, I recognized that mane, it was Zeta but something seemed off. His colors were darker. The whites of his red eye were black, and his normal eye was glowing red despite still being the same as it's always been. He seemed frozen in place and was just staring at me. Then he glared and a loud thunder crack sounded. It was like staring at Death himself. ||||Ganger's View|||| After what felt like an hour of crying, the tigress and I were on our way back to the village. She sniffed the air and froze. The white on her coat seemingly turned green for a moment. She turned to me. "It seems I will be able to show you what I was talking about." I sniffed the air like she did but couldn't smell anything. "What do you mean?" "Come, we're close to the edge. Then you will be able to see." I raised an eyebrow, and continued to follow her. The closer we got, the more uneasy I got. The air grew tense, thick, and sinister. And when we reached the edge, I saw why. "I-I think I know what you meant." And then lightning struck and there a loud thunder clap. The tigress and I shielded our eyes and ears, but it hardly helped. I uncovered my eyes and looked at her and back at the village and ran. "Wait!" She called but I had friends to save. ||||The Conqueror's/Zeta's View|||| "They beat her?" I felt a twitch. "How how could they?" "To them she was nothing but food." I said nonchalantly. Another twitch. "It doesn't matter! I...this..." Twitch. "RAUGH!!" There was a strong surge of energy and I felt immense power wash over me. "I'll kill every last one of them!" And at that moment we became one. ||||Velvet's View|||| "I'll kill every last one of them!" I stared at him, afraid. This wasn't the same Zeta I've grown to know. This was...was. "The curse." I heard a voice in the back of my head say. That's right. This is the reason he began this journey in the first place. I can see why they were afraid now, if this was who he was then- "First order of business." He looked at me. "One side." He then turned around and bucked the door open. It flew off of it's hinges and I was barely able to dodge it. He must have noticed. "Sorry... You need to leave, it's not safe here." I just nodded and he left. I was frozen in place. Was this really Zeta? And if it is, do I need to travel with him? "No." I shook my head. "This is apart of him. Yes, I do. I just need to find a away to calm him down. But how?" |||Zeta's/Conqueror's View||| I stepped outside and looked at the sky. It was turning red and the clouds were black. I looked down and stared at three houses, and frowned. I stomped a hoof and looked up. Three meteors were falling toward the houses. I smiled and stepped forward and stumbled. "Careful! You're going to kill us at this rate!" I ignored him and watched the meteors crashed into the houses with a smile. Right before the meteors landed, I heard screams. "Worth it." I smiled and laughed. I saw zebras running everywhere, screaming and yelling. I saw a mare running and I ran after her. I tackled her and noticed something fly off of her back. I looked to see what it was. It was a foal. I smiled and walked toward it, like I was a predator of some kind. "No!" The mother yelled. "He's just a young colt! Please spare him!" I stopped and looked at her. "Very well." I gestured to the crying colt. "Take him." "Oh thank you!" She ran up to him, threw him onto her back, and ran away. I smiled and waited for a couple seconds before I stomped a hoof. Spikes shot through her legs, halting her. I walked up to her, still smiling. "B-but you said-!" "I lied." I said coldly. "It's a form of mental torture." I shrugged. "Now what to do with you?" I turned to the colt and smiled. "You know, to stop cancer you must cut it off before it spreads." "W-what do you mean?" "This." I tapped a hoof on the ground and a spike went through her and the colt. The colt died instantly but the mare didn't. She started crying as expected and I kicked her in the jaw in such a way the it jammed it shut. Now it would be muffled and I wouldn't have to hear her. Her death will be a slow and very painful one. ||||Ganger's View|||| I nearly tipped over my own hooves because I had stopped so suddenly. I couldn't believe what I just saw. Zeta, doing that? To a mare and her child!? This was not the Zeta I know! This was a....a "MONSTER!!" Oh buck, did I really just yell that out loud? I glanced around for a place to hide but there wasn't one. He looked straight at me and pointed behind him, like he was telling me where to go. I waited until he walked off before going to the building he pointed to. I have to get Velvet and get out of here. We are NOT travelling with that....thing, that monster. From this point on. Zeta is by himself, as far as I stand.
Chapter 12: Destruction PT. 3 (The Slaughter)||||Velvet's View|||| I poked my head out into what looked like the main room and nearly vomited. All of the bones and draining meat hanging from the ceiling. I briefly thought about going back into the other room but there was no escaping from in there. I continued sneaking around, searching for anyzebra that might be hiding from Zeta. I noticed another room and entered it. It looked like a store room, or a pantry of some kind. With nothing of interest in here, I turned around and was ready to exit the room, but then I heard the door open. I looked around and saw a pile of....something and hid behind it. What if its another zebra? What if its Zeta? Better question is: does it matter anymore? ||||Ganger's View|||| I turned my head and look behind me, too see if Zeta was anywhere near me. I heard something crash and laughter off in the distance. That was enough to confirm his current location. I faced front and looked at the door and reached for the knob. I hesitated and thought. What if there were zebras in there? I was as much as a target as Velvet is. My decision made, I changed into a zebra I saw earlier and entered the building. The first thing I noticed was the smell and the meat hanging from the ceiling. It made me kinda sick but it was nothing new to me. Changelings are omnivores after all. I saw a door on the far side of the room, and cautiously made my way over to it. Once inside (if it was clear), I would drop my disguise and free Velvet. We would then escape this horror and continue on to Equestria. I opened the door and saw the state of the cell door. "Zeta...." I whispered. "How...how did you do that?" I then noticed that the cell was empty, and after a quick search of the other ones I began to panic. She wasn't here. She wasn't bucking here... I then thought back to the dripping meat. Was I too late? Then another thought entered my head. I could feel my pupils shrink. "W-what if Zeta got to her? Oh no...What would he do to here?" I felt intense rage as tears formed and my disguise dropped. "I'll kill him! I swear to Queen Chrysalis herself, if he hurt you I-!" I was noticed something out of the corner of my eye and turned my head. ||||Velvet's View|||| From behind my hiding spot I could hear the voice of one of the guards. But then it slowly started to change into a more feminine voice a subtle buzz to it. "Wait..." I thought. "I know that voice." I slowly walked up to the corner and peeked around. It was Ganger. I walked out of the room and looked at her. She seemed to notice me and turned her head. "Ganger? I thought you were dead!" She ran over to me and gave me a big hug. I winced and she noticed. She stepped back and got a good look at me. "I'll get him for what he did." She growled. "Don't you worry." I cocked my head. "For what who did?" "Zeta! Have you seen yourself!?" She nearly shouted. I furrowed my eyebrows. "That wasn't him." "You don't have to protect him Velvet." She said with pity in her voice. "Oh he'll pay!" "Ganger, calm down." I looked at with concern. "He really didn't do anything thing to me. He actually saved me." I pointed toward the prison door. "Have you seen the cell?" "Then who did?" I looked away. "A couple of the guards did." I shook my head at the recent memories, and stared back at Ganger and put a hoof took my chin. "I actually think seeing me like this is what set him off. We need to calm him down." "You seriously want to help him?!" She shouted. "Have you seen what he's done?!" "N-no... I've been locked in here the whole time..." I said with worry. She calmed down a little. "Well it's better if you don't see it then, though you probably will." She shook her head. "Anyway I think we should just find the map, leave him and go to Equestria ourselves." "What?!" I shouted, wincing as I did so. "You want to abandon him?! Ganger, he is our friend! He needs our help!" "Personally, I think he's-" There was a very sudden, very loud set of screams, followed by a very evil laugh and Zeta yelling something and a loud crash. "Too far gone." She looked at me. "Still want to 'help' him?" ||||Zeta/the Conqueror's View. Twenty Minutes Earlier|||| "MONSTER!!" I jumped slightly but quickly regained my composure and turned toward the voice. I saw Ganger looking for something. Was it she who yelled that? Doesn't matter. I smiled at seeing her alive and well, though she was too far away to see it. She looked at me and froze. It confused me to see her scared but I have more important things to do. I noticed she wasn't far from where I left Velvet, and pointed. As I turned to walk away I noticed her watching my every move. I shrugged it off and hoped she got the message. The two zebra guards I left unconscious were gone. I frowned and looked for them. I noticed a zebra family watching from their house. I stomped a hoof and a pillar of spiky rocks shot out of the house from the window they were watching me from with a crash. I saw red on it and laughed. I wasn't sure how many I killed but I don't care. I looked ahead and noticed the sphere. I nearly forgot about it and it inhabitants. "I wonder if they're still alive?" I wondered out loud. I shrugged and continued looking for the guards. ||||Zeta/The Conqueror's View. Ten minutes Ago|||| I have given up on the search for those two and began with killing the rest. I decided to start with the house closest to me. It was the one from earlier. I walked up to the door and opened it. I heard hoofsteps from another room and investigated. There were a pair of foals hiding in a corner and crying. I smiled and walked over to them. They opened their eyes and stared at me. "Hello little ones." I said. "What happened here?" They were shaking aand couldn't talk. "Come now, it's okay. Where are your parents." one of them, the oldest I think, pointed behind me. I turned and saw two bodies impaled on spiky rocks, and laughed. "W-what's so f-f-funny?" I turned and saw the oldest standing up. "My parent are dead! And its your fault! We saw you from the window." I frowned. "And? Do you really think I care about your retched parents?" I snapped. "Zebras aren't meant too eat meat! And here you all go and eat any travelers. You are all freaks of nature!" "Yeah," The youngest started. "G-g-go look in a m-mirror." "Why you insolent fool. Do you even know who you are talking too?" "I don't care!" "Shush brother." The older one snapped. "No! He killed our parents!" "Maybe I wouldn't have been so inclined to, if your tribe didn't attack my friends and I!" "But-" "No buts! Go be with your parents." "You're...showing mercy?" "Yes." "But you killed them!" They said in unison. "Death is not always absolute." I tapped my hoof. "Go check and tell them to get out of the village. If you have any friends, tell then too." They just looked at me like I was playing some sort of prank, but I turned and walked away. As I was exiting the house, I heard they foals crying and yelling happily that their parent were alive. "Well, that was...something." "Don't worry. If they're not out soon they will all be dead." ||||Zeta/The Conqueror's View. Present Time|||| I got bored of killing off the defenseless and am now standing in front of the sphere of stone. I made a opening, just big enough for me, and entered. There was nozebra here. "Guess they are smarter than I thought. Hmm...what to do now?" I looked around and saw there was a hole. "Guess they're strong too. The weak point is on the other side." I shrugged and turned around. What I saw surprised me. "Oh, hi." There were the zebras I trapped in here and a few others. "I suppose this is the part you you kill me?" There were cheers and shouts, I chuckled. "You can try." I got into battle stance. "Who's first?" They all looked at each other for a moment. "Heh, thought you would have intimidated me huh?" "I-I'm first!" Said one of the zebras from earlier. "Really? You don't sound so sure." "I'm ready!" I smiled. "Very well, same rules as before, hoof-to-hoof only. Any of you break this rule, then all bets are off. Understood?" "And what happens if we break it?" One from the small crowd asked. "Do you want to find out?" They looked at each other and shook their heads. "Good. Now, lets get started." He charged and spun around, try buck me. I dodged and punched his side with my left hoof. It was a weak hit, he barely seemed to notice it. He recover and jumped at me, which I countered by bucking him in the stomach. Sending him flying into another zebra. "I hoped you all learned something. Jump attacks leave you vulnerable." I looked at them. "Who's next?" ||||Somewhere In Equestria. A Few Days Ago.|||| I woke up gasping for air. I look around the room and rub my eyes. "Okay...still at home." I look outside and the sun was just over the horizon. I look over and see that space beside me was empty. "Must be taking care of the animals." I sat up and whistled. I heard the scampering of little paws running up the stairs, and next thing I knew I was tackled by a white furball. "Do you know where she is?" He barked and jumped down from the bed. I got out of bed, and followed him. He led me into the kitchen, where I saw a certain mare was. She glanced over at me and smiled. "Hello sleepy head." I smiled and hugged her "Hi sweetie." She looked at her clock. "You're up pretty early, aren't you." I chuckled. "Yeah I had a weird dream." She frowned. "Again? Do you think it will be the last few?" "I dunno." I stretched. "But it's a long way from here." "How far?" "Somewhere in the Zebra Dominion." I shrugged. "May be directly north from the border." I shook my head. "Not sure." Her pupils shrank. "Not to be um mean or anything but....does it directly effect Equestria?" "Seems pretty bad, to be honest. But I don't want to go into to details. I do want to talk to the girls though." "Oh okay." "Don't worry hun, it can wait til after breakfast." "Oh good." She smiled and hugged me. ||||Zeta/The Conqueror's View. Present Time|||| "Too slow!" I said as I bucked this zebra away. I looked at the last remaining zebra and smiled. "I-I...um...." "You should be proud you know." "O-of what?" "They actually managed to hit me a few time. Pity that they had to gang up on me like that... Oh well." I shrugged and looked at the others. "It's time to end this." I closed all of the openings. "You see that red light?" I looked up. "It's also a bomb." They gasped and I smiled. "A fire bomb if I'm right. If you haven't notice it gotten a little bigger." They looked up and their pupils shrank. "I'm not sure even I'll survive... You see. I hate you and I don't like what I've become. What better way to eliminate both evils then to kill them off at the same time?" "T-that's crazy!" "No it's actually quite logical, bit extreme maybe but," I shrugged. "It makes sense too me at least." I stomped a hoof and the bomb disconnected and started falling. They screamed, I laughed and yelled. "Let's go out together, in a blaze a hatred! All eleven of us!" Some prayed, some bucked the wall, and other just stared. And then it landed ||||Velvet's View|||| "I don't know why you're running towards the loud noise!! Do you really want him to see you?! Better question: Do you want to travel with him!?" "Yes! For the last time! Somethings got into him, and we need to calm him down!" "Ugh, fine. But don't say I didn't warn you!" "I won't!" I ran ahead of her. I didn't see anything until after a few minutes. It was a giant crater with scorch marks. I slowed to a trot when I saw what was in the crater. "Oh...my...Celestia... What have you done Zeta." "Velvet! Hey Velvet wait up!" I heard Ganger catch up to me. "Geez, if I said anything to make you upset I'm sorry but," She turn her head to see what I was staring at and I ran away and threw up. "Oh...my..." Was the last thing I said before I began vomiting. Author's Note Yep. Gearing for the end. See any mistakes? Feel free to tell me.
Chapter 13: Recovery||||Canterlot, Equestria. Canterlot Castle. A Few Days Ago|||| "Hark the Protector of the Elements!" A squad of guards shout and bowed. "Aw come on guys. I told you, you don't have to do that!" I saw a guard that wasn't bowing. "Be more like that guy." I said and pointed at him. "You know why I stand." He practically growled at me. I sighed. "Yes, I do. I'm sorry okay? I've told you a hundred times, believe me. I've counted." "That does not make it better! You can-" I cut him off. "Cannot erase nor make up for it. I know." I looked away. "Do not think that I don't know the gravity of what I've done." I looked at him again, with a somewhat pleading look. "I know giving his family most of my paycheck is not enough, but it has to do. And please understand that-" "Enough of your talk!" He yelled. "Allow me to take my leave." I sighed again and nodded. "Very well. I will talk to your C.O. so that no disciplinary action is taken, but no promises." "Do as you please, I don't care." And he turned and left. I shook my head. "Anyway," I looked around and they were still bowing. "Ugh, you may rise." "I don't believe that is your call to make." A voice from behind me said. It was Celestia's. I turned around and greeted her. "Your Highness." She raised an eyebrow and frowned. I usually just call her by her name unless business needed to be done. "What happened?" "It is not has happened, but what will happen. Or so I think." I shook my head. "I need your advice and blessing on a possible mission." "Oh? And what mission is that?" "I had a premonition like dream this morning." I waited for her to respond, but she didn't and I continued. "Some is going to happen in Zebra Dominion. Something akin to what I did a few months ago. But I fear if the Elements and I don't get there in time." I paused. "Lives will be lost." She looked shocked, but regained her composure. "How many?" I looked away from her and swallowed the lump the was trying to form in my throat. "A whole village." There were gasps from the guards, as well as the princess. Her turned to an expression of urgency. "Take any resources you seven will need and get there as quick as you can." "Yes your Highness." ||||North of the Equestrian Border. 1,275 Miles Away from Destination. A Few Days Ago|||| "End of the line!" One of the ponies from the train called. I stood up and stretched. "I do not like how he put that..." "M-me neither." "Oh come on, it'll be fine." I looked at the train pony. "Thank you for taking us out this far." "It's no trouble, we were asked by the princess herself. We wouldn't dare go against her wishes." "Well you could, but oh well." I shrugged. "It was still pretty brave of you." He nodded his head. "Thank you." I nodded my head as well and turned towards the leader of the group. "Well you have the map. Where are we going?" She took it out. "Hmm...you it was directly north from here, right." I shook my head. "No, I said it might be directly north from here." I corrected. "Once we get close, I'll know where to go from there." She rolled her eyes, but nodded. We exited the train five minutes later. "It might be awhile guys." I said. "We may be traveling for days maybe even a month or two." There were a few groans. "Yeah it sucks, but we have to investigate." There were no objections and we began to move. ||||Ganger's View. Present day|||| As I stare at the crater, I count the bodies. There are eleven. All except one is severely burned or charred. One even had skin melting off of it. But the one in the center was perfectly fine by comparison. Or at least from what I can see here. Velvet was still....indisposed at the moment and I was frozen to the spot. "I can't believe he would do such a thing..." I thought and shook my head. I wondered if this is what Equestria would be like if the invasion was successful. I shook my head again as another Changeling's face flashed by, and sighed. After what felt like an hour of being frozen in place, I went to check on Velvet. She was sitting down next to her half digested lunch. I cringed and got closer to her. "Velvet?" She nodded. "Are you going to be okay?" Stupid Question Ganger, sheesh! "I-I honestly don't know.... I mean, I know this isn't the first time I've dead bodies, but....the smell and everything else. And also the fact that Zeta did it... I just don't know..." "I know what you mean." I nodded. "It's....overwhelming. I'm just now beginning to process everything. And the more it sinks in..." I shook my head and put a hoof on her shoulder. She flinched at first but relaxed after a moment. I had no idea what to do, so I just hugged her and hoped that would do it. ||||North of the Equestrian Border. 1,120 Miles Away from Destination. A Few of Days Ago|||| "My horn....needs a....break." She said between pants. "Okay, we can walk for a few more miles. But I think it'll get dark soon, so we might have to make camp sooner than that." "Oh how I wish you would have let me bring my own tent along." I shrugged. "Sorry, but this isn't a camping trip. This is a mission. It makes more sense to have big tent and share, instead seven small tent. And I don't know why you're complaining, I'm the one carrying the damn thing." "Language sweetie." "I don't think the rest of us really mind." "Ah know we don't, but she does. Besides he promised he wouldn't swear anymore." I grumbled a bit ."No, what I said was 'I would try to stop' And I'm tryin'. Sometimes it's hard." We walked a few more miles and made camp. "Rest up everypony. If she can't teleport us, then we have a long way ahead of us." ||||Zebra Dominion Wasteland. 920 Miles Away from Destination. A Couple of Days Ago|||| I don't think I like "Mass-Long Distance Teleportation" spells. But still she out did her self with this one. She was passed out on Applejack's back. We still had most of the day to travel, which is good because I think we're getting close. "So why are we doing this again?" "Really RD? We're doing this again?" "Hey, don't blame me for being curious." "I don't. But asked the same question five times already." I shook my head and sighed. "We're trying to save a village." "Where at though? How far from here?" "About nine hundred eighteen miles. Give or take a couple." Pinkie Pie answered. I nodded my head sagely "Seems about right." They all looked at me and I just shrugged. To be honest I had no idea. ||||Zebra Dominion Wasteland. 910 Miles Away from Destination. A Couple of Days Ago|||| "Alright everyone stop for a break." I turned around and faced them all. "How's Twilight doing?" Applejack set her down, and Fluttershy looked her over and smiled. "She seems to be fine." I let out a sigh of relief. "Good, we'll need her." They looked at me. "What?" It took a moment but it came to me. "No, no. I won't make her teleport us if she isn't up to it." I turned around. "Sheesh, why would you guys even think that?" A few moments of silence passed and I broke it. "So...how long until she's conscious?" "Maybe another hour?" Said Fluttershy, with uncertainty in her voice. "Hmm... Okay then. How about we leave in fifteen?" They all nodded their heads. "Good. Well enough planning for a bit, I'm hungry!" ||||Velvet's View. Present day|||| "Thank you. It helped a little." I started crying in the middle of the hug. I wiped away the last remaining tear from my cheek, and stared at the ground. "Thanks, I'm not really good at this sort of thing." Ganger said, chuckling nervously. " But I'm glad I could help." I looked up at her and smiled, but noticed she was looking in the direction of the crater. "What do you think we should do about the um...zebras?" I thought for a moment. "Bury them." "Really?" "Yes." I nodded. "I know what their intentions were but they didn't deserve it to end like that." "Ok then." She paused. "What about Zeta?" I had to really think about that one. But in the end... "He did save us. So I think we should see if he's still alive." "Seriously? What if this is all a trick? If we fell for it he'd kill us too!" I shook my head rapidly. "No I don't think he would. Think about it Ganger. He gave into his curse and became that monster to protect us. I don't know where you were but could you not hear him? Numerous times I heard him yell, no, scream my name." "No..." She chocked out those words. I raised an eyebrow but let her continue. "No I didn't hear him." "How could you not hear him? All of the zebras in the village-" "I wasn't in the village, okay!? I ran away!" I gave her a blank stare. "You? Running away? Ha! The very thought of it." I chuckled. "B-but I did! I ran back to the jungle. I abandoned you guys!" I slowly walked toward her. She was getting more nervous which each step. When I was close enough I stopped. She closed her eyes and waited for whatever I was going to do to her. Little did she know I was planning on hugging her. She flinched and tensed up. She opened her eyes. "Huh?" "Shhh... I forgive you." "But-!" "Nope. What matters is that you came back. Now, let's gave those zebras a proper burial." ||||Zebra Dominion Wasteland. 20 Miles Away from Destination. Four Hours Ago|||| "I think we're getting close." "How can you tell?" I pointed at the sky. "Does that look natural to you?" They all looked up and gasped. The clouds looked like they were being sucked into somewhere. "What in tarnation?!" Applejack shouted. "Twilight, do you sense any weird magic?" Her horned glowed and after a few minutes it stopped and her jaw dropped. "Twi? You alright?" No response. "Twi? Talk to me! What's going on!?" She blinked a couple of times and shook her head. "Yes, yes sorry. It's just....it's evil magic, almost like Nightmare Moon's. But is also unique because it isn't coming from an alicorn or a unicorn." "So it's a pegasus?" "Or an earth pony? "It could be a zebra, girls. We are in their country after all." "Well no sense in talking about it! We need to move, lives are at stake here!" "Right!" They yelled in unison, and we began to run toward where the clouds were going. ||||Ganger's View. Present Time|||| "That's the last one." I said as I turned to Velvet. "It was.... more difficult than I expected it to be..." "A foal." Velvet said as she was finishing crying again. "I know you told me but....I cant believe it..." "I can't either, and I saw it." I went over and hugged her again. "I know it wasn't the death they deserved but." I paused in thought. "They're at peace now." She shook me off of her and looked away. "Their bodies might be, but their souls aren't." She bowed her head. "I just wish there was something we could do to help them further." "I have a feeling their souls wouldn't be at rest anyway." She looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" "They were cannibals, Velvet. I highly doubt we're the first they captured." She sighed. "I....guess you're right..." There was a few minutes of silence until we heard someone yell. "DAMMIT!! We're too late!" Velvet's eyes went wide. "Who was that?" She whispered. "Why are you asking me?" I whispered back. "Come on, you need to investigate." ||||Zebra Dominion Wasteland. At Destination. Present Time.|||| "Oh my...just look at this place!" Rarity said. "No time for that now! Spread out and search for survivors. Go in groups of two, I'll be fine on my own." "B-but what about the evil creature?" Fluttershy asked with much concern. "That why I brought this." I said as I took my rifle off of my back. "Only down side is that I don't have much ammo." I shrugged, "But anyway, R.D. and A.J. will be group one, Pinkie and Flutters will be group two, and Twi and Rarity will be group three. We all have our radios?" They nodded. "Good. Alright stay in contact and tell me if you find anything ok? Let's move." ||||Velvet's View. Present Time|||| "It's just one thing after another, isn't it?" Ganger sighed. "It looked familiar." I looked at her. "What do you think it was?" "I don't know, but it seems to be controlling those ponies. And guess what?" "We're going to stop it?" I asked nervously. "Yep." She smiled. "Come on, While we still have the element of surprise on our side."
Chapter 14: Team Harmony"Hello!?" It called. "Is anypony there!?" We've been following the creature for a half hour, trying to find out when would be best to attack. "Hello?! I'm here to help! I mean no harm!" It called, almost sounding desperate. 'Yeah right." I thought. I looked over to Velvet as it went inside of a building. She had a concerned look on her face. "I don't know Ganger. Maybe he's being honest. He is with my friends. Applejack would know if he wasn't good." I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you keep calling it 'he'?" "Because his voice." She shrugged. "Its too deep to be a female." "Hmm...I guess you're right," I paused as 'he' came out of the building. "But he could still have brainwashed the others." "But I don't think-" "Come on his moving again." "...okay..." We followed him for another five houses until it got dark. He mumbled something but I couldn't understand him. He then took his bag off of his back and pulled something out from it. When he put it on his head, it made his eye (the other one was covered with an eye-patch) glow green. He turned his head in my direction and I ducked behind the corner I was spying on him from. He didn't seem to notice, but I waited a minute or two before peeking back around the corner. He was in the same place but he was looking in the opposite direction. It looked like he was about to turn around, but then a strange noise that almost sounded like crackling happened. ||||Group Two, Fluttershy's & Pinkie Pie's View|||| "This is Element Guard, Report." "This is G2's Pinkie Pie reporting in!" "G2?" A pause. "Anyway what have you found." "Fluttershy reporting also. It's um..." Fluttershy trailed off. "Bad news?" Element Guard asked. "There's a lot of..." Fluttershy trailed off again. "It's ok Flutters. Pinkie what is it?" "Blood." "Blood?" "And lots of it." Element Guard sighed. "How many bodies?" "N-none strangely enough..." "Hmm..." E.G. paused in thought. "That must mean they were eaten or buried. And I don't know about you, but I hope they were the latter." "So do we," Fluttershy said. "That's all so far." Pinkie said. "Alright. If you find anything else, you know how to reach me." "Okie-dokie-lokie!" "Okay." ||||Velvet's View|||| We got a little closer while he was on his...whatever that was. We were so close now that we could hear the whole conversation now. He ended the conversation and the device crackled again. "Group one, SitRep." "Sit wha?" "Situation report." He sighed. "Honestly Rainbow, you should know by now..." "Ha, I was just messin' with ya." "Uh huh... Applejack, report." "Ain't found nothing worth while yet, sugar cube. But from the general look of this place..." Applejack trailed off. "We should have left a lot sooner." "Yeah we should have..." A small pause. "Report when you find something." "Yes sir!" Rainbow said in a slightly sarcastic voice. He shook his head at that and continued to call out. I looked at Ganger. "I really don't think he's dangerous." "And I really don't want to take the chance." She looked at me. "I think we should kick his flank first and then ask the questions." "But-" "Ssshhh!" "Hello?" We both tensed up and looked in 'Element Guard's direction. He was looking in our direction. "Hello? You don't have too be scared." We looked at each other. "What are we going to do?" I whispered. "I don't know!" She whispered back. We heard him walking this way. "We need to move. Come on." "Hello? I can see you, stay where you are." We went wide eyed and she changed into a zebra. "Now!" ||||Element Guard/Seth's View|||| "Wait! Don't run, I only want to help!" I was about to chase after them but then my radio went off. I set the radio so it would automatically pick up my voice and followed the two that just ran away. "This is Element Guard, report." "Twilight reporting. We found a survivor, but he's in critical condition." "Do you know what's wrong him?" "I have yet to do a medical scan on him. I'll go ahead and do that now." "Very good, you two. I've the others continue their search and then they'll regroup on you." "What about you?" "I'm on the trail of what looked like a pony and a zebra. I'll rendezvous with you all with our new friends." I jumped over a piece of wall. "If I can catch them, that is." "Okay? I'll um see what I can do with this zebra here. Rarity?" "Yes, darling?" "You're on defense while I see to him." "Of course." "Okay I'll catch up with you later, I need to concentrate on catching these guys. Element Guard out." "Group three, out." I turned my radio's volume down and continued to chase them. ||||Ganger's View|||| We turned dove into a house and found the darkest spot and hid. I heard him follow us into the building. He's panting kind of, but Velvet is doing way worse than him. I put my hoof over her mouth to try and silence the noise until her breathing was controllable. This house was darker than anywhere I have ever seen. The only light was from the device on his head. He looked around before stopping and looking in our direction. We stayed perfectly still, hoping he would not see us and go away. We didn't have any such luck. "Ah, there you are." He sigh. "You really made me get my exercise, you know that?" The green lights got closer. "Come on with me, I'll get you out of here." He suddenly stopped and the lights backed away a little bit. "Hey now, calm down." I raised an eyebrow and looked over at Velvet. Her horn was glowing and I could vaguely see the scared look on her face. "Velvet? I thought you said you didn't he was dangerous?" I whispered and she nodded her head. "Then why are you-?" I saw tears in her eyes. I then thought back to when we first met. That monster might have had glowing green eye when it attacked her and her friends. Her eye closed and her horn glowed brighter. Next thing I saw was the creature being in cased in her magic and being fling across the house. I heard a crash from somewhere in the house. "All units! This is Element Guard requesting back up!" There was a very small pause. "Yes I know I said I could but now's not the time!" Velvet's horn stopped glowing and I heard muffled crying. "I have a unicorn that's gone feral on me! Deploying flare." There was a large crash and then a loud bang. "Who ever is closest get her as soon as you can. I think I was impaled by something, and I don't want to move." "I-I impaled him? Oh no, I just wanted him to go away!" "I-It could be a trick. U-um...I hope." "Okay!" He called. "You made your point. I'll leave you alone. Just after I-" There was a thump. "Ugh it's in my leg. Shit um...dammit. Hey, does the unicorn know any illumination spells? I-if you do can you cast it. If you don't well then...yeah." "Velvet?" I whispered to her. "Do....do you think we should help him?" She didn't respond. "H-he'll be fine. He said its his leg, he'll be fine." "I'm sorry!" She cried. "I didn't mean to hurt you!" "How about that spell? I kinda wanna see if I need to field dress it or...cut my l-leg off or something." "Oh right sorry!" I felt her start move. "Velvet! what do you think you're doing?!" "I'm going to help him." She said in between sniffs. "If you don't like it just stay here." I blinked a few times. "I um...just slow down a bit, okay?" ||||Element Guard/Seth's View|||| They entered the room and the unicorn stopped for a moment. "That's right. you don't like these." I said. "Here, let me switch them off." The unicorn lit up her horn and then a bright ball of light floated from the tip and stuck to the ceiling. I could now see how bad the wound was and what I crashed into. It was a poorly made chair and one it's legs has impaled close to the bone in my calf. "Oh no..." I heard the unicorn say. My eyes went wide, and I reached for the radio. "Medic! Oh man, medic! Fluttershy get over here now!" "Oh my..." I heard her say. "B-be right there." "Okay calm down." I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Alright," I took the rucksack off of my back and pulled out the med kit Twilight and Fluttershy put together. "I have no idea what to do..." I found the gauze and pulled out my knife. "...But let me try something." I cut a hole in a disinfectant and peroxide infused patch bandages, and put it on. The burning was almost unbearable! Next was the gauze. I cut a small hole in it and then started wrapping it around, cutting a hole with each rotation. I could already see red soaking through. Hopefully Fluttershy gets here soon. After the pain settled a little, I tried to converse with the pony and zebra. " Name's?" "V-Velvet." "Ganger." I raised an eyebrow. "Ganger?" I chuckled. "That's a weird name for a-." I paused in shock at the realization. "Wait, Ganger? As in Doppelganger?" "How do you know my full name." "Oh my god." I laughed. "Drop the disguise, Changeling, I know what you are." She does as told and looked at me with a furrowed brows. "How did you know?" She asked, confused. "Well, the name for one. Or perhaps you didn't remember you were disguised?" I shrugged. "And, well this might have some meaning to you: Match." Her face went blank. "Match?" Then her face lit up. "Match?! Y-you mean she's still alive?!" She then glared and ran up to me. "What did you do to her!?" She yelled. "I swear, if you did anything I'll-" I held up a hand to stop her from talking. "Chill out, sheesh. She's fine. Babysitting the CMC I think." "So the ponies...?" I nodded my head. "Oh sure it was rough in the beginning but, things smoothed out as time went. She became a respected citizen during my ten month...absence." I shook my head. "Even helped establish trade roots with Gloomy Town." I chuckled. "You should be proud of your friend Ganger. She's come a long way." "How do you know my friends?" Velvet suddenly said, with an unsure look on her face. "Well I do live in Ponyville." She shook her head. "I haven't seen you before, I think..." "Nor have I seen you." I grabbed the radio again. "Belay that order. Unicorn no longer feral, instead whoever is on their way escort Fluttershy to my location." "Gotcha boss! I'll get Fluttershy. Applejack?" "You got it sugar cube. Stayin' on course." "And Fluttershy?" I said. "Yes?" "Do you know a unicorn named Velvet?" I heard a gasp (the good kind), and smiled. ||||Group Three's View|||| "Hmm interesting..." "What is, dear?" Twilight looked at Rarity. "He seems to somehow have magic, albeit dark, but still." "Like Seth's? Or even Shadow?" "Well it's different than that, but close." She said with a hoof to her chin. "His is more of an elemental type of magic, where Seth's is still....unknown. Unfortunately." "This is fascinating and all darling, but uh aren't you supposed to be doing a medical check on him?" Rarity said with a raised eyebrow. "Oh." Twilight blinked, like she was resetting herself. "That's was done five minutes ago." She chuckled nervously. "But I'm sure that he won't mind when he hears what I think." "What would that be?" "Remember half a year ago?" Rarity looked down at the ground. "Like I said dark magic. I think he caused this crater, and the of the destruction around here." "That's a big accusation Twilight. Are you sure?" "No. No I'm not. It's just what I deduced. It is entirely possible that what ever did this escaped and he was dragged or he crawled here. But as you can see no blood trail and he has scorch marks and burnt skin. Looking at the crater I'd say is was caused by a fire ball spell, and a big one. That also connects too the elemental magic he's somehow able to do." She looked at a building to her right. "And those jagged pointy rocks with blood on them. Elemental magic. "But what I want to know is why he is in the center of the blast. Surely he wasn't trying to kill himself...right?" "Well when you put it that way, it does make sense but I don't think we should pin him to that just yet." Twilight shook her head. "Neither do I. Anyway I need to report this in." She used her magic to click on the receiver. "This is group three, Twilight reporting in." "See now that's how it's done!" He cheered. "This is Element Guard, go ahead." And then Twilight told him her findings while Rarity looked around the dark village. "Hmm...sounds familiar doesn't it? I think we should take him back with us, according to these two they've been traveling together for awhile. Anyway good job Twi." "Have the others reached you yet?" Rarity asked. "This is Rainbow Dash, I just retrieved Fluttershy. Heading over to you boss man!" "Okay but what about you Applejack?" "Applejack here. Just waitin' outside fer Rainbow." Rarity shook her head. "Anyways, I think that is all." She looked at Twilight "Right dear?" "Yes, that was all." She smiled. "And Velvet, I don't know if you can hear me but, I'm glad you're okay." The radio clicked off and Twilight looked at the zebra in front of her. "What part did you have in this?" Author's Note Next chapter will be focused entirely on Zeta.
Chapter 15: Two Weeks LaterMy eyes snapped open and I looked around. I am in a house I think. I sat up and shook my head. "Man that was a weird dream..." I chuckled. "As if I could, or even would do something like that." I stood up and walked outside. My jaw dropped and my eyes widened at the sight. This place is a wreck. There are only a few houses standing, there's a giant crater, and is that...blood? What could have happened? And how did I get so lucky to have missed it. Then a thought popped into my head. "Velvet!? Ganger!? Where are you?!" "They're asleep." I from my right. I jump and looked at what spoke. "Zeta right?" He then chuckled. "Why am I asking, of course you are." "W-who are you." "Seth, pleasure to finally meet you." He the sat down. "Your friends are in the other room, sleeping. Probably shouldn't wake them up though." Memories of the zebras flashed before my eyes. "Are they okay!? Where are the zebras?!" "Dead." "W-what?" "Well, most of them. Some might have gotten away. But you were very precise, Zeta." I glared at him. "What are you talking about?" "Ah, of course you think it was a dream." He sighed. "Well I'll leave it to the others to tell you. For now though, I think we should tell the others you're awake." "Others?" I got into an attack stance. "I thought you said the zebras were gone?!" "Calm yourself, Zeta. They are. The others are ponies from Equestria. The may have some questions for you." "O-ok?" He led me into the living room area, where there were six ponies. They were talking about something but I couldn't hear them. "Hey, hes awake." I look at the ponies in the room. "H-hi?" They all turned they're heads to me. "Um..." I looked around nervously. "M-maybe I should go..." "No." Seth said, as he walked past me. "Come on guys, you're making him nervous..." The purple one spoke up. "S-sorry." She looked at the others and then at Seth. "Do you mind if we have a word?" I shook my head. "Thanks." They all huddled together and after a few minutes they broke and nodded at each other. They all started leaving. As the last pony left I saw Seth had his arms crossed. "Ya coulda just told me in the first place, ya know!?" He turned to me. "Well, it looks like I'm supposed to question you... So I guess we'll start with: Where are you from?" "I-I'm from a village in the northern province of the Wastelands." "I see." He nodded. "Why are you travelling?" "I was...exiled from my village a few months ago." He raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" I nodded. "Why?" "I was born with a curse that gave me serpentine eyes. On my birthday I woke with my right eye throbbing in pain and blood on my pillow, shortly after that I looked in a mirror and saw that it was red." I showed him and he just nodded. So I continued. "Later that day, my father and I went to the village elders' hut. From there, they told what my dream meant in finer detail and exiled me." "Hmm... Were you pelted with rocks? Or made to wear something shameful?" "No. The Lead Elder is a nice old zebra. He played it off as me taking the 'Founder's Challenge'. That way the villagers saw me as brave instead of a menace. He spared me that shame and suffering." Seth smiled. "He sounds nice. What would happen if you returned?" "I don't know. Nothing good I'll have assume. It's better if we don't find out." He nodded. "Probably right." He paused in thought. "I don't know what else to ask. Hmm....are you hungry?" I gave him a confused look and slowly nodded my head. "Okay then. If you have any food left in your bag, that would be good. But if not if sure we have something for you." I went into the room I woke up in, got my bag, and checked it. Some of the berries were smashed but still good....I think. There were some plants in there as well, but they looked questionable. And even smelled a bit. I brought the bag with me, and found Seth. "This is what I have left." He took and dumped the contents on the counter. "Ew...yeah okay...." He began looking through the pile of food(?). "This might be good, but the berries...or whatever that is, has to go." I look at him with a raised eyebrow. "How long have I been asleep?" He shrugged. "Two weeks." "What!?!?" "Are you calm now?" Seth asked with his arms crossed. "Y-yeah, I think so." "Good." He turned to the six mares that came rushing in a couple minutes ago. "Why don't you all introduce yourselves, while I make lunch?" They all nodded. Seth walked away grumbling about something. The pink one bounced up. "Hi I'm Pinkie Pie!" "My name is Rarity." Said the white one in an elegant voice. "The names Rainbow Dash." Said the blue one. He voice is kind of raspy compared to the others. "I-I'm Fluttershy." Said the yellow one in a sweet quiet voice. "Ah'm Applejack." Said the orange one in a weird accent. "And my name is Twilight Sparkle." Said the purple one. "Z-Zeta. Nice to meet you?" "Would be if it were under better circumstances." "Yes. Seth told you don't remember what happened?" "I don't." "I see. Applejack?" "Hes telling the truth, sugar cube." "Hmm... We could try to-" "I think we should leave it for now." We looked at the yellow pegasus. "May I ask why, darling?" "W-well Seth already questioned him. If he didn't ask, there had to be a good reason." She looked like she was going to say something, but closed her mouth and sighed. "Okay, maybe your right." Velvet and Ganger walked into the room a moment later. "Seth said lunch will be ready in another minute or so." Velvet said. She looked over at me and quickly looked away. She then whispered something to Ganger and they had a small conversation in whispers. This confused me but I tried not to think about it anymore. Ganger walked up to me. "Hows it going? Feeling any better?" I tilted my head. "What do you mean?" She bowed her head and walked over to Velvet. I looked at the others. "What just happened?" They shrugged. "O-okay." Seth walked in. "Foods done." We all nodded and followed him. Author's Note Sorry for the short chapter. Like always let me know if the are any mistakes.
Chapter 16: EquestriaI sat down at the table and looked at the food infront of me. I am not a picky zebra, but I raised an eyebrow at the meal. Seth sat down and looked at everyone. "Sorry, I worked with what I could find. It was hard to find vegetation... Meat seems to be more prominent here." "Well at least you and I are set..." Ganger said, picking the meat up in her magic. "I didn't know changelings ate meat?" I said. She looked at me and the others and set the steak down. "Something wrong, dear?" Rarity asked. "I just realized that's probably pony or zebra meat..." I heard coughing and looked over at Seth. He spit the piece of steak out and threw it out of the window. The closed window. The sound of shattering glass was loud and gave me a headache. "Well, shit. Sorry guys I just cooked what I could find." He sat back in his chair. "Looks like I'm going hungry..." I looked over at Ganger. She was glaring at the plate. "I think we should tell him. And then we get out of this place." "Tell who, what?" I asked. "Zeta," Velvet started. I looked at her. "Do you remember what happened two weeks ago?" "Not entirely." I shook my head. "I remember the zebras taking you and Ganger away." The others scooted away from me. I tilted my head and looked at my mane. I sighed and calmed down. "Sorry. After that, I only remember fragments." "What were those fragments?" Asked Twilight. "I remember escaping the cell and yelling for Velvet, seeing what those zebras did to her." I noticed I was shaking, and the others were looking at Seth. I looked at him and saw that one of his eyes were red. I closed my eyes and continued. "And seeing Ganger and pointing in the direction of Velvet. And...that's it." "That's it!? You don't remember anything else!?" I jumped at the outburst and looked at who it was. It was Ganger. "All of the lives you ruined, zebras you've killed?! None of it!?" She yelled. I shook my head. "No." I looked outside, at all of the destruction. "So I am responsible for the state of the village?" "I'm sorry Zeta, but yes." Twilight said. I looked down at my plate. "Then I'm sorry to say this, but they deserved it..." "What!?!?" the ponies and changeling yelled. "I have to agree, you know?" Seth said. "H-honey?" "Sorry Fluttershy, but here's how I see it: Velvet, you may not be alive if it wasn't for him. Ganger escaped on her own. She would have survived, but you were helpless. By killing them off, he prevented them from killing again." "If I remember correctly, some got away. What about them?" Velvet asked. "Well hopefully they're scared shit-less and wont do it again." "Or they'll die in the desert..." I said coldly. "Good bucking riddance either way." "When did you become so cold hearted?" I started to say something but Seth stopped me. "From what I heard, you two are Zeta's first friends, right? Just think about it. I'd be- well I was the same way." He looked at the group. "Remember? The first time I died?" They nodded. Velvet and Ganger's eyes went wide. "It's the same thing. The difference here being, instead of a hydra, it was a village. He was just trying to protect you two. Unfortunately, he let his Demon control him." He looked at me. "You're lucky. Your Demon wasn't parasitic like mine." "H-how do you know?" He shrugged. "Because, you would be dead." He hit the table with his fist. "Now, in light of this, do we have a right to hate Zeta?" "But how can we no-" Ganger started. "I said 'hate'. You can be angry at him for doing what he did, but just remember why he did it." Velvet and Ganger reluctantly nodded their heads. The others seemed to understand where he was coming from. "Now shut up and eat, this is starting to put me on edge." It's an hour after lunch. The others went their separate ways, I was told to stay here until the others, or atleast Seth, returned. The door opened and Twilight walked in. "Is it only you?" I asked, with a raised eyebrow. She nodded. "For now. No funny business or-" "You have nothing to worry about Ms. Sparkle." "I'm sure I don't." She cleared her throat. "I just wanted to know if you wanted to be treated." I narrowed my eyes. "For what?" "Your curse. The princesses might be able to help you the same way they help Seth." "How?" She smiled. "With a spell tha-" "No..." "...I'm sorry?" She asked, confused. "There has to be a more natural way. If not, Then I live with it..." "But-" "I do not mean to came off as rude Twilight, but I refuse. I must conquer this curse on my own." After a few seconds of thought, she slowly nodded her head. "I think I understand. Seth mentioned you might refuse so we were kind of prepared." She chuckled. "Anyway, the others should be in here shortly." "And until then?" "Well I'm...not sure." She looked down at the floor. After a few seconds of awkward silence, I thought of something. "Where are you from?" She picked up her head and smiled. "Ponyville, Equestria. But I'm originally from Canterlot." "Are you friends with Velvet? She said she was from Ponyville." "Well no actually." I raised an eyebrow. "More like acquaintances. She left before we had a chance to really hang out." "I see..." The door opened and the others walked in. "Everyone ready?" Seth asked. "I believe we are. Zeta?" "Ready for what?" "We are leaving." "But you used up the last bit of food!" "We're going to use a long distance teleportation spell." Twilight said. "Rarity, Velvet, and I might be out of commission for awhile but with the amount of supplies we have." "Is it safe?" "For one unicorn? No. For two maybe. But with three unicorns, we have nothing to worry about." She smiled and nodded. "Trust me sugar-cube, I'm not too sure about it either but it's the only option we have." "Lest one or all of us die." Seth said. The others gave him a dirty look. "Well? Whatcha waiting for girls?" "Right!" The three unicorns said, as their horns started to glow. The air started swirl around as the glow grew in intensity. it wasn't long before i felt like we were in a vortex. Their horns were almost blinding to look at. There was a loud sound and then everything went black. "Zeta?" I slowly opened my eyes. "You okay?" I blinked a few times. It was Velvet. "Where am I?" I looked around. I was in a bed in a fancy room. "Did the spell work?" "You're in Canterlot. We're home Zeta!" "You're home I was exiled from mine." She frowned. "But you know what?" "What?" "The plan was to make this my new home." I smiled. "I'm glad you remember our goal." She turned towards the door. "Come on, Breakfast is almost ready." I got out of the bed I have been laying in, and followed her. When we reached the dining room, I saw the others. The ponies and Ganger were sitting quietly around the table. Seth was siting closest to the Princesses and talking with them. Seth looked over. "Ah and here he is." "Hello Zeta. My name is Celestia, and this is my sister Luna." "Pleasure to meet you." I bowed. "Seth has told us everything." I froze. "I have suggested the same spell we used on Seth, but Twilight said you refused." "It is true." I said, slowly standing up. "I see... Would you like to stay here or go to Ponyville?" I tilted my head. "Where are my friends going?" Celestia smiled. "I think that answered my question." "You must be hungry." Luna said. "Eat, I'm sure you will find it to your liking." I sat down and looked at my plate. It did look pretty good. I started to eat, but noticed the others were staring at me and stopped. "What's wrong?" "We just want to see if you like the food. That's all." Said Celestia. I raised an eyebrow and sniffed the food. It smelled weird. Like it had an acidic scent to it. Only one thing came to mind. They were trying to poison me! "What is the meaning of this?" Everyone raised an eyebrow and looked at the princesses. "What are you talking about?" Asked Luna. "I have been around many herbs and plants to know these leaves are poisonous! What reason have you for this?" Seth glared at Celestia. "Princess? Is this true." She looked around nervously and sighed. "Yes." Everyone, even Luna gasped. "But I have reason to do this." "Before you start," Said Seth, pulling out a knife. "You remember our agreement?" She nodded. "Yes Seth, I do." She looked at everyone. "You all remember 'Seth's Revenge'?" They nodded. "I decided that it would be best if we never had in incident like that again." "So you turn to assassination?!" Luna yelled. "This is much unlike you sister." "Anything to protect this country!" "Enough!" Seth yelled. "Just remember Celestia, you are in favor of this." She said nothing and nodded. "Very well." "What are you-?" Luna tried to ask. "For the New Lunar Republic!" And he slit her throat. We all just looked at the scene, until I notice them all staring at me again. "WAKE UP!!" I woke with a start and looked around. I was in the dinning room. The others were staring at me with concern. "Are you okay Zeta?" I heard Celestia ask. I glared at her and sniffed my food, nothing was wrong with it. "Did he just glare at me?" "I think so sister." Luna said. Seth chuckled. Must've had a weird dream." I shook my head. "Yes, I did. What happened?" "We're not sure... You looked at your plate and you passed out." Said Luna. "Are you sure you are feeling okay?" "I am now. Thanks for your concern." I took my fork and began to eat along with everyone else. After we were done eating we got on the train to Ponyville. It was an uneventful and boring ride, but it gave Velvet, Ganger, and I a break from walking everywhere. We told Ganger to change into a pony before we left the train. She caught on and changed into a unicorn. When the train pulled up I saw a changeling, a small dragon, and three young fillies waiting. I assumed they were waiting for the others. The doors opened and we exited the train. Sure enough the three fillies ran toward us. The changeling and dragon came shortly after. "Rarity!" The white one yelled and a squeaky voice. " "Applejack!" The yellowish one yelled in a weird accent. I might be safe to assume she Applejack's sister. "Rainbow Dash!" The orange one yelled. she might be her sister as well. "Hi Spike." Twilight said to the dragon. "How's the library?" "Just fine!" "Good." She smiled at 'Spike' and looked at the other changeling. "Hi Match!" "Hey girls! I'm glad you all got back safe!" She hugged Twilight. She chuckled. "The girls and I brought you back something we think you'll like." I looked at the other girls. They all had big smiles on their faces. "Oh really?" She tilted her head. "Yes, really." Twilight chuckled. The girls moved aside to reveal a disguised Ganger. "Hey." Ganger said. Match looked really confused. "I'm...sorry, not to be rude but do I know you?" "You could say that." Ganger said with I sly smile. And then she changed back. "How ya doing Match?" Match froze and her jaw dropped. Tears started to form as she ran to her friend. "Doppelganger, you big idiot!" She hugged Ganger tightly. "I thought you were dead!" Ganger hugged her back. "I thought the same about you, Match. I missed you." "I missed you too. So much." I couldn't help but smile at the reunion. And then I felt something tapping my leg. I looked down and saw it was the white filly. "Yes little one?" "I was just wondering...um...if you knew Zecora?" My jaw dropped. "Aunt Zecora is alive!?" "What!? She your aunt?!" Everyone said. And thus begins my new life in Equestria. Author's Note Alright everyone, another story done. I know it wasn't my best work but I still hope you enjoyed it. This is also going to be my last story for awhile, so yeah... If there are any mistakes feel free to tell me.
Chapter 1: The ProphesyIt was the day before my birthday, and well I'm not really excited. Here in my tribe, birthdays are seldom celebrated. The way it works in my tribe is; The older you get, the more you work. It's not so bad though, depending on where you're sent to work. Unfortunately after my birthday I am required to work "full time" and I am to be sent to work in one of the toughest places to work at; The Mine. The absolute toughest place to be sent to is The Quarry. In The Mine you work in a tunnel. In The Quarry, you work in what is basically a rock pit. And you don't have any shade. I feel bad for the zebras that have to work in The Quarry, especially since it's the middle of the summer. And it is really hot in the providence. I give out a sigh and walk to my room to see if it needs to be cleaned. Why am I not at work today? Because in my tribe, it is tradition to give the foal with an up coming birthday two days off. The day before and the day of the birthday. So since tomorrow is my birthday, I have today and tomorrow off. My parents? Well...um...my mother died giving birth to me, and my dad is at work, and before you ask my age, i'm seventeen. After a foal enters adulthood, as I said, is sent to work somewhere. Also the term "full time" refers to working there permanently. After you are told where to work, that's it. Well you could try to appeal to The Elders but they sent you where they need you, so I'm kinda stuck. The sun is going down and my father just got home. He was fortunate enough to get sent to the marketplace. He says it's better then where his father was sent to. His father was sent to The Quarry, and this was back when they had barely an safety precautions. My father also said once that after he had turned "full time" work age his father crushed by a boulder in The Quarry. Father is nice to me most of the time, but I feel that he blames me for mother's death. Have I had any control over the matter, mother would still be alive. I feel that if our tribe wasn't constantly struggling, we wouldn't have to work all the time. If our tribe was better off, father and I could spend more time together. But that is simply not going to happen in the near future. "Hello son." He said in gruff, tired voice. "Have you enjoyed today?" "I was bored after I cleaned my room." I said walking to greet him. "Have you enjoyed today?" "It could have been worse." He smiled. "I brought home a few things for dinner tonight." He reached into one of the hoof made sacks that rested on his side, and took out a potato, some leaves for a salad, two somewhat decent looking apples, and a small bag of berries. "I know it's not much but If I wanted anymore I would have to pay." "It is fine father." I said with a smile. "If there is one thing you have taught me, it's to work with what you have." "That is a good lesson to know indeed my son." "Indeed it is father. Shall I go start making dinner while you relax. You sound tired." "That sounds nice. It was a rough day." "Very well, I will take these into the kitchen and begin." "If you need help I will be in the main room." "Yes father." I took the sack from him and brought into the kitchen with me. I spread the salad leaves out on the two plates I set out on the table. I then scattered the berries on top of the leaves, cut the potato in half and set the two halves onto the plates, and did the same with the apples. I called my father after the plates were ready, and we sat down and started to eat. We had a conversation over dinner. "So son, have you been told where you are being sent?" "Yes. I will be working at The Mine." He sighed. "I was hoping they would send you to The Marketplace. Then we could spend time together..." He said in a disappointed voice. "The Mine is a tough place to work, and not everyzebra in our village favors you." I was born with serpentine eyes, and had no friends because it. "We are just not that lucky father," I bowed my head. "And I know. I hope the village can look passed my eyes." "I share your hope." He said as he finished his plate. "Thank you for making dinner son. I enjoyed it." "It was no trouble father." He got up from his chair. "I am going to bed now. Sleep well son." "Sleep well father." I finished my food and put the plates by the bucket to be washed later. I went into my room and laid on my bed for awhile before I was able to fall to sleep. I woke up due to a series of loud noises. I called for father, but no response came. I walked outside and was quite shocked. The sky was red and chunks of rock was falling falling from it. My tribe's village was destroyed, with dead bodies everywhere. Then I heard a deep, gruff voice from behind me. "Lovely, isn't it?" "N-no! Who are you and what happened?!" "Who I am is of no importance. As for what happened, the answer is simple; You happened." "M-me?" I began to back away. "What do you mean?" The voice stepped forward, and I was shocked. It was...me, but with a darker coat and a red eye, the other had a red tint to it. "Obvious now? Don't know the prophesy?" "P-prophesy?" "The foal born with serpentine eyes, shall bring about the end of the Zebra's beloved country. And then storm into Ponyland and then onto the Griffin Kingdom. Should no zebra, pony, or griffin stop him. He will rule the world with an iron grip." He smiled. "And that's you." "Ponyland?" He sighed with impatience. "The prophesy was made before it was called Equestria." I shook my head and backed away further. "I don't want this! You can't be me!" "You may not want it, but it does not matter. It will happen." "I wont let it happen!" He laughed. "We will see if you have a choice. But for now I think it's time you wake up." "You will see! This wont happen!" "You stubborn, aren't you? I am you from the future after all." "Say what you will, I refuse to believe it." "Suit yourself. Now, wake up." I awoke with headache, and a pain in my right eye. I got up and looked into my small mirror and saw that my eye had turned red. I looked at my left eye but it was the same blue-green as it has always been. I went into the main room and saw father. I told him about my nightmare and showed him my eye. He gasped and told me I need to see The Elders as soon as possible. This worried me greatly, nozebra sees The Elders unless it's an emergency. He told me to clean up a little and the we would leave. I did as I was told and we left. There are five Elders. The lead Elder being the nicest. We arrived at The Elders' hut and walked in. I had my red eye covered the entire way here. I didn't want any extra attention, the attention I get on a normal basis is enough. As we entered, one of The Elders spoke. "Zeta, we have been expecting you." The leader said. "Y-you have?" "Still nervous as ever I see." He chuckled. "Somethings never change." "S-so you know why I-I'm here?" "Yes," Said one of the others. "It is your eighteenth birthday, is it not?" I nodded. "So then do you know of the prophesy?" "I learned of it in a nightmare last night." All of The Elders' eyes widened slightly. "You have had The Dream then?" Said The lead Elder. "This is further along then I thought." "The prophesy does state that this would happen." One of the other Elders said. This one was a mare. "That it does. I just hoped that it wouldn't happen." The leader replied. "A fool's hope." Another said with annoyance in his voice. "It may have been." He nodded. "But that is not important right now. We must discuss this matter. Wait outside, we will call for you when we have reached a conclusion." Both me and father nodded and left the hut, but stopped just outside of the door. We stayed silent for the entirety of the wait but I could tell father was worried. I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried as well. It was several minutes before I was called for me. When father and I re-entered, they all had different expressions then before. "Zeta, we have come to an agreement. Although reluctantly." The leader said. "We have decided that, if the prophesy is true, you must leave this tribe." Another said. "What!?" My father yelled, but quickly composed himself. "Forgive me for speaking out of tone, but isn't there another way?" "We looked at all possible solutions, and exile seems to be the best way." "Exile!?" I shouted. "You mean to tell me that I cannot return?!" "Calm yourself Zeta." The leader said. "Exile may be more of a harsh term, but...yes. It is with much sadness to inform you, that you shall not return to this tribe." I calmed down and composed myself. "I will take this as an adult." I nodded. "But where would I go?" "I suggest going to Equestria, but it matters not to us." "Very well. When am I too leave?" "As soon as you pack everything you wish to take with you." "I understand." I turned around. "One last thing before you leave." The leader stopped me. "Yes?" "Understand that this is not a regular exile. You are not on bad terms with the tribe, this is just what we think would be best." "Is there anyway I could stay?" "The only way you could stay is if we had somezebra to teach you how to turn your curse into a gift." He hung his head. "But sadly he died quite sometime ago." I held back any tears before they had a chance to form. "I see. I shall go now." "You have my blessing Zeta. Be well on your journey." "Thank you Lead Elder. Be well during your overseeing." Father and I left, and went back towards the house. When we arrived at home, I went into my room and got a bag, and put few books in it. I then went into the kitchen and put a few food items in my bag as well. I double checked my bag when I entered the main room and when I found that everything was in check, I looked at father and asked him if he could join me to the gates. He nodded and we left. When we arrived at the gate to the outside world, the Lead Elder was there, as well as a small crowd. He looked at me and nodded. He cleared his throat before addressing the crowd. "My fellow tribe member. We gather here today to honor this young stallion." I looked at him with a confused look. He winked and smiled. "This is Zeta. Today is his eighteenth birthday and he came to me earlier for my blessing, for he is going to take the Founder's Challenge." There were gasps from the crowd. "He knows that he may not return, but he is determined to earn the respect that completing this challenge will bring. He has set his destination to Equestria." "Equestria?!" A zebra in the crowd asked. "Why so far away? Why not go to the border of The Griffin Kingdom and then come back?" "Would you care to share?" I nodded. Playing along with the Elder. "I feel that this long of a journey is what it will make for this tribe to see passed my eyes and view me as a normal tribe member." The Lead Elder spoke after me. "And it saddens me that he feels that way." A few members of the crowd hung their heads. "But it is not my place to question such an important matter." He looked at my father. "I trust you have discussed it and accept your son's wishes?" "Yes Lead Elder, though I have one request from you." "I shall accept the request, no matter what it is. So long as it is not for you to go with him." "I request that he be given a map, to aid in his journey." "It shall be so. I happen to have one here." He walked up to me, and placed the map in my bag. "Are you all set, Zeta?" "I believe so Lead Elder." "Very well then. Be well on your journey and Stay well once it has concluded." "Be well and stay during your overseeing, Lead Elder." I turned to my father. "Be well on your endeavors father." "Be well and stay well my son." He said with tears showing in his eyes. I nodded and turned away from the crowd, took a deep breath and walked out of the gate. It was now that I chose to let the tears go. I will miss father, and my home.
Chapter 3: The Food Supply Is LowDue to me being incapacitated and unable to move, we stayed here for a day and a half. That gave Ganger and the mute mare time to bury Double and recover from the events prior. We left the hut yesterday, I am not fully able to walk but Ganger has been kind enough to help me walk. We haven't seen any other villages yet, but after finding out we're in the hottest, driest desert in The Zebra Dominion, it wasn't hard to figure out why. We were also going straight south to cut down on time. But having checked the food and water supplies, we will soon need to search for a village for food and water. We found an old broken down wagon, big enough to hold the three of us. We stopped there and I looked at the map. The map the Lead Elder gave me had all of the villages in The Zebra Dominion, and there was a village about a hundred miles from here. "Hmm...if we go to this village," I tapped the position of the village. "It might add a couple more days onto this journey." I heard the tapping of chalk. I looked at the mute mare. "Do we need to go there?" She asked. Ganger saw the board as well. "Yeah, why add more time if you don't need to?" I dumped out the food and water supplies onto the floor. "This is all we have left. Another days worth of water and enough food for one of us." I sighed. "I dislike it as much as you two, but it's necessary." I looked at the mute mare. "It would really help if we knew your name." She blushed and begin writing. "Ah I see. Nice to finally know your name, Velvet Song." "That's a bit ironic." Ganger stated, earning a blank faced response from Velvet. "Irony is cruel at times." I nodded and looked out of the window. "Well it's only two in the afternoon. We should get going." "Right! Which direction is this village?" "One hundred miles south-east." She sighed. "Well if it means living to see Equestria." "Okay then, let's go." I stood up and was able to walk on my own. "We should move quicker now that I can walk on my own." After a few small drinks of water we started on the journey once again. We had about fifty miles to go, and traveled a little bit after dark. Thankfully there were no more monsters to fight. We found a small poorly made structure and used it as shelter. It was cramped and we to lay down uncomfortably close to each other. The exoskeleton of a Changeling feels weird and is not a comfortable pillow. I would have much rather been behind Velvet. Wait...that sounds...um...anyway, at least Ganger was warmer than one would think. I fell asleep due to exhaustion and woke up in a dream, similar to the one I had back at my tribe. "Hello? Am 'I' here?" I asked, only silence for a few moments. "Am I here alone then?" "Of course not. When are you ever truly alone?" "Never it seems." He laughed. "Never alone. How do you like your gift?" "It was useful." "Hmm yes. I must tell you that the longer you stay in that state, the more it will take out of you. But the more you use it, the less exhaustion will follow. Keep that in mind." "I will." "Good." He laughed. "It must be strange for you, huh?" I looked around. "Everything that has happened recently is strange. I never thought that I would be traveling with a Changeling and a pony." He chuckled. "Certainly strange indeed. I must go now, goodbye and check yourself when you wake up. You don't want to surprise Doppelganger." He laughed and I woke up. "I wonder what he meant." I thought and felt something odd and looked down. "Oh..." I quickly stood up and was thankful that Ganger was still asleep. My sudden movement and the new cold feeling on her back caused her to slowly stir awake. Though I am happy that I am...presentable now. "Is it time to leave?" Ganger asked. I poked my head out of the "doorway" and looked around. The sun was rising. "If you move now, we could get to that village before dark." "Okay, I'll wake Velvet up." She began shaking Velvet. "But," She stopped trying to wake Velvet and looked at me. "If you would like, we can rest here for a few more moments." "Well that does sound nice, but I think we should head out." "Hmm...I agree." Ganger shook Velvet and Velvet wrote out "Good morning" out on her blackboard. We divided up the rest of the food and headed out after we where done eating. It was not much but hopefully it will be fine for today, I have my doubts though. Twenty five miles left to the village and Velvet collapsed. We gave her water and I am now carrying her until she can walk again. We can see the village far off in the distance, and that helped quicken our pace. Hey...Ganger?" I said in between breaths. "Yeah?" "You might to change....into a pony...when we get close." "That...would be...a good idea." We arrived at the gates of the villages, and one of the guards stopped us. "Stop! What business do you have here?" "We seek supplies and medical help!" He saw Velvet on my back and nodded. "What supplies do you seek?" "Food and water, nothing more. We are on a journey to Equestria." "Equestria?" He asked, we nodded and he did not question further. "I will escort you to the medical tent so your friend can get the treatment she needs. From there you be escorted to the market." "But we don't have any money." "It matters not, I will be there to explain the situation." "That is very kind." He opened the gates and turned around. "Come. We must get your friend to the medical tent." We followed him and dropped Velvet off at the medical tent. I told Ganger to watch over things and the guard did not object. Like he said, the next stop was the market. This village seems to be doing better the my...former tribe's. The market place had plenty food. The vendors were even more then happy to give out free food for wanderers. Bag full of food and canteens filled with water, I went to see how Velvet is doing. The guard was nice enough to take me back to the tent on his way back to the gate. When I arrived at the medical tent I walked up to where Velvet was. I pulled out some food from my bag and give some to Ganger and Velvet. Since it was noon we called it lunch, instead of breakfast. I warned Velvet not to eat too fast, I don't want her to become sick is well. The doctor came over to check Velvet. "Ah you brought her some food. Good, good the poor thing looked starved." "Well," I said. "You see, we were doing fairly poor with food. I only brought enough for me, and then I came upon these two. There were more but...they sadly didn't make it..." I shook my head. I do not want to relive that encounter. "I see. Well it is good that you came when you did. She will recover in a day, with food and water. You don't need to use up your travel supplies we will provide her with what she needs." He smiled. "What of the rest of us? You don't have any money." "I see, yes that is a problem." He seemed to think about it. "I'm sure we have enough to spare for one day. Not a problem we will provide you two with food as well." "Thank you, that is very kind." I say. "Thanks." Ganger said. And Velvet wrote down her thanks as well. "Not a problem, as I have said. You can stay here if you'd like. We don't have many patients so just find a bed." "Thanks again." I say, he nods and goes back to what he was doing. I look at Velvet. "How are you feeling?" "A lot better now. Thank you for the food." "You're quite welcome." I smile. "When do you think you will be able to speak again?" She erases the previous message and writes. "I'm going to try to speak now." Ganger and I both nod and she opens her mouth. At first the was a creaky sound and then it just sounded like she was exhaling. She looks down and sighs. "Don't worry, you will get it back in time." She nodded and wrote. "Thank you" down on her board. I looked out side and it was about one in the afternoon. I wonder what this is to do in the village?
