Chapter 2:At the Doorstep of a Shaman
Zecora was having a quiet evening, as she put away the many plants she had gathered during her walk through Everfree forest. Tomorrow she had planned to have Apple Bloom come over and continue as her assistant with potion making. As she put the last of the plants into their respective jars, she heard a very low hum that seemed very far away. Zecora paid no attention to it. The ponies that lived in the town outside of Everfree forest enjoyed during their night time parties and that was probably what she was hearing. However, right before she put the sound out of her mind, a loud 'whump!' was echoed through the forest and jangled the bracelets that she wore, then silence.
"That is not the normal din, that I sometimes hear when night begins," Zecora rhymed to herself.
After a few minutes the sounds of the night returned, and again all seemed well. With the peacefulness restored, Zecora trotted over to the small collection of potion recipe books that she had selected to use from tomorrow. She took one in her mouth over to her reading stand to double check if she had the ingredients on hoof. After flipping through a couple of pages, she heard the howls of the Timberwolves racing through the night air.
"Quite odd this night, what would the Timberwolves be after tonight?" she rhymed silently.
Suddenly, she could hear something huge running through the underbrush and being chased by the Timberwolves. She listened to the beat of the beast's feet, yet there was something odd about the rhythm of its steps. She knew that the rhythm was for a two-legged animal, but not many of the creatures in Everfree forest could sustain a pace like that on two legs. Then, a load sound came from the side of the hut. For the first time Zecora was scared stiff. She wanted to see what hit her house, yet she was afraid what it could be. She let out a quick small breath and went for the front door. As she opened her door to her hut, she heard something groan to the left side of her hut.
As she navigated in the dim light she saw a large creature that she had never seen before. It had four limbs, but the lower two were longer than its upper two. The shorter limbs had what looked like sticks coming out the ends of them, five on either side. Even in the dim light she could tell that it was very colorful from its skin. Then another groan came from the top of the beast. As she walked up to that part, she saw that the beast had all the parts needed for a face though the nose was not like anything she had seen on any other creatures. She could see that the beast's eyes were slightly open.
"What are you, coming and crashing out of the blue?' she rhymed thinking that it would understand.
The creature gave a gurgle and passed out. Zecora sighed to herself, not in sadness but in the work it would take to bring it closer to the light. She had become less afraid of the being due only in part that it was now sleeping. With her mouth, she tried to drag the being, but the weight was too much for one zebra to do.
With a small pause, Zecora remembered the travois that she used to carry supplies and herbs back to her hut. She quickly went back into her house to retrieve it. However, she delayed slightly to remove an old book off the self for later.
Upon returning with the travois, the creature had not moved from the spot which gave her both relief and anxiety. She was worried that it had sustained some injury to its head due to the bruise that had appeared. She had seen such injuries before and they were sometimes fatal if not treated immediately. Thankfully she could see the chest move from its silent breathing.
She positioned the travois on the left of the being and went to the other side to flip the being on to it. With her hind legs, Zecora pushed as gently and forcefully as she could so that the being would flip onto the travois without causing more injury to it. After a few strenuous pushes, she was able to get the being onto the travois. As she hitched herself to the travois, she though that even though this would make it easier to move the being the weight of it would still be a little too much for her. Yet, she knew that if she did not bring it in from the night other creatures of the forest would have their way with it. After several minutes of strain and sweat, she was able to move the heavy being into her house but only as far as pulling it kind of close to her big caldron that sat in the middle of her hut. With the same intensity that she used to get the being onto the travois she safely and carefully flipped it face side up. Once she situated it in a comfortable lying down position, she put the travois away and balanced the book on her head and went back to the being that she had brought into her home.
As she flipped through the old book she taken from the shelf, calligraphic ink images of monsters filled each page.
"If you are truly a beast, you should be in here at least," She said to her unconscious guest.
She flipped back and forth through the crinkly pages of the bestiary but none of the ferocious monsters came close to her guest. Many of the more rare monsters such as goblins, trolls and orcs had the capacity for bipedal movement but they were uglier than this being seemed to be. Her eyes started to lower as the night wore on and with a quite yawn she knew that sleep was needed.
"Though you are still a mystery to me, in the morning we shall see, how you act towards me," She said sleepily to her resting guest.
She got up and returned the book before trotting to her curtain door , which lead to her beckoning bed. After settling in, she released the fire flies from the lantern and drifted to sleep.
