Beyond My Years

The train ride to Zehara was a long one, just south of Equestria. You would believe, from the way ponies speak of it, that Equestria is the name for the whole world. Not at all! Equestria is just the name of the country of ponies, same with the Griffon Borderlands, the Zehara Plains, the Dragon Mountains, the Changeling Swamp Caves, etc.

The world is larger than just Equestria. But Equestria is the magical crux. Each country has their own ruler or rulers, but only Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are the two Demi-Goddesses who can control celestial bodies, and for this Equestria gets the most notoriety out of all the nations. There are rarely wars between Equestria and other countries, and often Princess Celestia tries to step in and control the battles between other nations.

Of course, the Changelings are a different story. When the Changeling Queen, Chrysalis, and her army attacked, they claimed to be feeding off of love. While that’s true, the Changelings don’t truly understand the concept of love except to their Queen. It really is a hive-mind. Honestly, the only emotions the Changelings understand fully are fear and hatred, which accounts for their putrefying and decayed look before transformation.

But back to the subject at hand: the Zebranic nation of Zehara. While the nation of Equestria is the hub of magic, this doesn’t mean other nations are NOT in possession of magical abilities. The Zehara nation is special, in that only they inherently know how to design and execute spells through potions. It can be a learned skill for anypony, but only Zebras are born with the knowledge of herbal brews and special concoctions that make magic happen. Zebras, like the ponies of Equestria, earn cutie marks at their coming of age, and are the only other species known to do such. Donkeys don’t gain cutie marks, and neither do mules, although it’s unknown why a crossbreed between a pony and a donkey would not inherit the cutie mark trait from the pony parent. A mystery of nature, I believe.

As the train pulled into the station, dust flew up all around us. I was glad no one in our car had opened any windows. There were a few makeshift fans brought up by the engineer but they did little good to cool all of us in the train car down. It was hot, scorching, really. Poor Foamy was panting in a corner, and Dewy was fanning both of us with her wings.

She didn’t seem as affected by the extreme heat, but then again, most Pegasi were immune to more extreme temperatures. They had to, to be weather-controlling ponies. It wouldn’t do good to need to bring in a cold front and be shivering so much your wings won’t beat properly. That kind of thing could cause accidents, like dropping the cold front on a farming town and ruining a crop with frost. Nevertheless, I was grateful to Dewy for the extra fanning.

The train car’s doors opened and a sweltering wave of heat rushed in. We stepped out into the blistering sun and I squinted.

“Shouldn’t there be some kind of weather control over here? I know this is a desert land, but still. How can the Zebras stand this heat?! There’s got to be somepony here who can control this weather!” exclaimed Dewy, sweat starting to break out on her fur and her wings sagging a bit.

“There aren’t any winged Zebras, unless they’re a Pegasus/Zebra mix. They exist but usually only in Equestria. The Zebras are a proud nation and don’t really like interbreeding,” I explained. “So, no, there are no weather Zebras.”
Foamy frowned. “Well that’s kind of racist. Equestria accepts all kinds of ponies. And non-ponies. Why can’t they?”
“Foamy, when’s the last time you saw a Changeling welcome in Equestria? Or a Griffon who wasn’t met with some hostility? Or a MATURE Dragon greeted with open arms?” I paused. “You’re right, Equestria accepts all kinds of ponies. But usually only ponies. You have to admit, our nation is kind of racist too.”

Foamy mused over that on our walk into the city.

The city of Zecronai was one of mostly dirt roads and huts of mud, but it was their nation’s capital. The largest building, and only one made of gold and marble, housed their ruler, King Terapizo the 4th. The name itself means “Ruler of the Striped” in the native tongue. As a proud nation the Zebras still spoke their native tongue, but many preferred Modern Equestrian outside the home.

We had passed a few of the huts and to be honest, they were pretty dilapidated and rundown. The kingdom, although rich in its magical abilities for potions and brews, was obviously not rich in other senses. We were literally walking through a mud pit in the desert. I wondered what I could possibly get from the Zebronic nation that I couldn’t learn from a book of potions and brews back in Canterlot, but I was on a mission and I would not fail now just because of a little doubt.

“Welcome to the Zehara, young ones. Can I help you with something?” an older male zebra greeted us as we passed some shops.

“Actually, we were hoping to learn about the Zebronic culture and about the types of talents exhibited here for cutie marks,” I answered.

“I assume your quest has to do with your empty flank?” he asked, glancing behind me.

“That’s right. We came from the city of Canterlot in Equestria up to the northern Crystal Kingdom and found nothing particularly useful. We’re pretty much on a worldwide journey at this point.” I said sadly.

“Fear not, pony friends, you will learn much about our culture and our cutie marks, but be aware that they differ greatly from your kind of marks,” he said with a smirk. “Ours not only arrive at the coming of age and one’s self-discovery, as yours do, but are much more laced with mystery beyond that. Come with me and I will show you.”

“Thanks, but, who are you, exactly?” I asked, trotting up behind him to where he was leading.

“I am named ‘Unhaido’. It means ‘wise teacher’ in Equestrian.”

Dewy fluttered up to where I was walking and landed. “But if you’re a teacher, then why aren’t you in the middle of a class? Where are your student foals?”

“Look at my cutie mark,” he responded, pointing at his left flank. “It is a circle, and in the center are two interlocking infinity symbols. This is what I meant when I said there was mystery behind the cutie marks we bear. An Equestrian pony who is destined to be a teacher of foals will have a more literal cutie mark; a blackboard or such, however – I am not a teacher of foals. I am a teacher of the unknowing.”

Dewy fell back and scratched behind her ear with her hoof as Foamy sidled up next to her. “What the hay is this guy talking about?” she whispered to him. Foamy shrugged, a half-cocked smile on his muzzle, as though he knew some great secret.

“Keep listening, I suppose,” he answered her.

“A teacher of the unknowing does not teach foals. A teacher of the UNLEARNED teaches foals. I show our ways and customs to those who do not know about the Zebronic nation. As it is my talent and skill, I could easily tell you were unknowing, despite the fact that you are clearly outside visitors.”

Meanwhile I was soaking all this in and formulating questions in my mind.

“Can you teach an unknowing to make potions and brews as well as your more advanced Zebras here?” I asked, hopeful and fearful of his answer.

“Unfortunately, I cannot. All that you can learn from us is also in books. The measure of an Equine’s self-worth and talent cannot be taught. As is in your Equestria, a Zebra can only learn a talent from his or her inner knowledge. That, my friend, is not something I can teach you. Not even if you were born of our land. All I can do is help you to understand our ways and customs.”

My heart sank. We came all this way, on a hot train, through the desert, to the last magic practicing nation outside of Equestria only to find out that not a single Zebra would be able to teach me how to do their kind of magic any differently than I could find in a book in the Royal Canterlot Library.

“Fear not, though, even if I cannot teach you what you came to learn, you are still welcome in our fair nation. Perhaps you will learn something you were not expecting to. You are still an Unknowing, after all.”

Where could I go from here? I wondered, as we continued to follow Unhaido through the dusty streets.

Would I ever be able to find my cutie mark without magic?