CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Corey tapped his hoof on the hard-packed dirt of the bonfire circle. It was midday, and the unicorn was starting to get bored.

Laney had dozed off by his side, but at the movement of his hoof, she stirred and blinked her eyes sleepily.

"Hey, Core," she mumbled, nestling closer to his leg. "Quit moving. Trying to nap here."

Corey nudged her back and stood, shaking the noontime siesta-fest out of his mane. It was time to do something. Normally, Corey had learned, one would go to Pinkie Pie if one wanted fun at a time like this. But this wasn't Pinkie's home territory. He was going to have to find a zebra.

After actually waking up Laney, then stopping in Zamale's hut to pick up Kin and Kon, Corey filled them in on his idea. "I mean, come on," he said, tugging his beanie down a little farther over his forehead. "Everypony from Equestria is out of place here. They don't know what to do, and neither do we. So it's time we found out."

"Back up just a second there," Kin said, holding up his hoof as if to say pause. "Did you say –"

"– everypony?" Kon finished. He and his brother exchanged a look.

Corey rolled his eyes. "Yeah. So what? Equestrian language has grown on me." He shrugged, then arched his back to look over the twins' heads. "So who should we invite?"

Kin rubbed his hooves together awkwardly. "Um, well, I don't know…maybe we could all do something together, just the four of us. I mean, it's been forever since we did something as Grojband, you know?" he asked, grinning at them all.

"Only about five days," Laney muttered, poking Corey in the ribs.

Kon nodded at his brother. "Do you think we could get some pie involved?"

"We'll see," Kin replied, raising an eyebrow.

"But what will we do? It's not like we can practice – we don't have any instruments. And we don't have hands, in case you haven't noticed." Laney held up a hoof, wiggling it around for emphasis.

"Who around here could help us think of something?" Corey wondered, scanning the center of the clearing for anypony who might be around. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small grey-and-white set of figures peeking out from behind a nearby hut. He grinned. "Bingo."

It didn't take very long to convince the foals that it was okay for them to come closer. As they did so, Corey noticed that one of them was the foal of Zecora's brother. "Oh, hey Zuri," he said, proud that he'd remembered her name. "What's up?"

The filly smiled. "Hello again, Corey Riffin. My friends were just curious about you. Not many of us are privileged enough to meet otherworlders." She gestured to the foals that were with her.

Kon waved at them good-naturedly. "It's okay, we don't bite!"

"We aren't afraid of you," one of the fillies spoke up. She had a pretty accent, a short-cut mane, and two gold rings in each ear. She also had a daring look in her eye that reminded Corey of someone he saw in the mirror every day.

"Sure you're not," Laney said, scrambling to her hooves so that she stood over the foals, though it wasn't that effective since she was so short herself.

Kin stood too. "What was that about not meeting otherworlders?" he asked, obviously interested.

Zuri was happy to answer. "Normally, only zebras who have need of it are allowed to sit in on a spirit ceremony, such as the funeral ceremony, where we trade dead with the spirits. Also, the spirits we call usually only stay during the ceremony and then return home. And even fewer of us have been to their world."

"I see," Kin said, murmuring. "Your culture is fascinating."

"Our spirits are not from your world, though," Zuri continued, "so it is taking more time to perfect the songs and rituals needed for your return."

"Zuri!" Zamale's voice came from the direction of the central bonfire. It sounded like he was coming closer. "Sema, kudi m'bela shaman nai tu gawa."

"Baba, we are talking to Grojband! Please give me a moment longer with my friends!" the filly pleaded in the direction of her dad's voice.

"There is no time. Your iba has been waiting for you." The zebra stallion appeared between two huts nearby.

"Hey, it's okay, kid. We'll see you tomorrow, right?" Laney said, ruffling the little zebra's mane softly.

Zuri perked up. "Yes, that is true. Thank you," she said to Laney. To he r friends, she said something else in the zebra language, then disappeared behind the rows of huts with her father.

It was just Grojband and the foals.

Corey was the first one to break the silence. "So you're Zuri's friends, huh?" he asked.

The filly who could speak Equestrian stepped forward. "Yes," she said, twirling her tail softly. "My name is Zema, and these are Zula and Zaran." Zula was a filly, and Zaran was a colt. Both of them waved shyly at Grojband.

"Well, we have a question for you," Corey said. "Are you up for the challenge?"

Zema glowed. "I hope so," she said, grinning.

Corey turned to Kon, who turned to the foals. "What do you do for fun around here?" the grey Earth pony asked.

Immediately, Zema's happy smile turned adventurous. "Well, there is a place we like to go," she said, eyes narrowing. She seemed to have forgotten that she was talking to fancy-schmancy otherworlders. "It is sometimes scary, but also beautiful. I hope you are brave enough to come with us."

Corey shot a smirk at Laney. She glared back at him with a Don't-even-think-about-it-Corey-Riffin look on her face, but he didn't pay attention. Usually Laney's looks just meant that she was planning to ruin something awesome. "I think you're underestimating us," he said, his own gaze returning to the foals.

Zema bounced in place excitedly. "It's settled then. We will take you to the Spirit Yard! The Sha Iha, in our language."

Zula reached out a hoof to her friend. She was smaller than the other filly, but bigger than the colt; she also was more adorned with bangles than either of the other two. "No, Zema," she said, her Equestrian halting. "It is too…dangerous." She flicked her mane, which was quite long, out of her eyes. The movement strangely reminded Corey of Trina.

Zema huffed and pulled the other two foals into a huddle. They were whispering in their own language, so Corey couldn't have understood if he'd tried.

Laney stepped toward Corey and the twins. "Look, Core, if little kids aren't allowed to go there, I don't think this 'Spirit Yard' is a place for us either," she began. But Corey was prepared. He flopped onto his back in front of her and brought out the Bambi eyes again. They were starting to become a useful weapon.

"Please please pleeeeease?" he begged.

"No. We're going home tomorrow, hopefully. The least we can do is go back in once piece."

"But Laaaaaney!" Corey pouted, motioning for Kin and Kon to help him. They swiftly squished Laney between them and made their own Bambi faces. "PLEEEASE?"

"Fine! For Celestia's sake!" the green mare shouted, throwing a hoof into the air. "Some stallions you are!"

"You're one to talk," Corey said, sitting up and wiping the pathetic look off of his face. "We wouldn't have done it if you hadn't acted like such a foalsitter."

"Uh, guys?" Kin asked. "If you don't mind me asking…what's with all the pony talk?"

"What pony talk?" Laney asked, looking at Corey.

"I didn't notice," Corey replied, turning back to the twins, who exchanged another glance of their own. At that opportune moment, the three foals broke their huddle.

It appeared that Zema had sweet-talked the others into the Spirit Yard trip, because as nervous as they looked, they were still behind her. Zaran in particular was blushing like nobody's business.

"Are you ready? The Sha Iha is not far from the camp," Zema said, giving them an extremely Rainbow Dash-like smile.

Corey smiled back. "Let's do this," he said, standing and poising himself to run.

Zema took the lead, winding through narrow alleys and cracks between huts that Corey had to stoop to fit through. He was right behind her; the twins followed him, and Laney trailed at the back with Zula and Zaran. After a little while, the group left the camp. Soon Corey could only see the bleached-white linen of tents and soft brown of the huts in the distance.

Zema stopped at a line that seemed to be gouged into the ground. "Here we are," she said, smiling at everypony. Even though the sun was up, looking at the land before him was making Corey shiver.

The place was definitely spooky. A thin layer of dust coated the ground, which was scuffed and weathered to make an intricate design rise up from the landscape. Sticks and stones littered the dead, brittle grass. Corey looked back at Laney, who had a foreleg around each of the other foals. The twins were standing rigid in one spot, as if moving a single hoof would cause an earthquake or an avalanche.

"This is pretty cool, actually," Corey said, turning back to the Spirit Yard.

"It is where we bury the dead," Zema said simply. Corey picked up the hoof he'd just set over the border. Now that she'd mentioned it, the gouged-out line didn't look so carved into the earth any more. Peering down, the unicorn noticed that it was made of bone.

"So we're standing on dead zebras?" Kon asked, to confirm. When Zema nodded, a huge grin appeared on the large twin's face. "That is SO WICKED!" he crowed, springing into the air. He didn't seem to see Zema flatten her ears and narrow her eyes.

"Wait, though. Zuri said something about trading dead with the spirits," Kin recalled.

"Yes," Zula spoke up in her hesitant Equestrian. "The dead of the spirits are buried here. Our dead are buried in their world."

Zema took a step into the yard. "We have nothing to fear, unless the wolves come," she said. "There is a special thing to show you here."

The group, one by one, stepped over the border. It felt almost sacred, and Corey hated to disturb it, but at the same time, he couldn't stop thinking about what an awesome adventure this was turning out to be. He felt the urge to tiptoe across the whorled ground. If you can call it tiptoeing without any toes, he thought. That's a question to ask somepony later.

They hadn't walked for long when Zema stopped again. "There," she whispered, aiming a foreleg in the direction of a spiraled column of earth.

For lack of a better word Corey could think of, it was amazing. It looked like the ground had been pulled up into thick spikes and frozen before it collapsed. When Corey looked in between the four swirling stones, there was a central hollow where at least ten ponies – or in this case zebras – could stand. "Wow," he breathed. "It's so cool."

Kin rushed to examine the feat of architectural genius while Corey, Kon, and Laney stood with the foals. "I told you it was beautiful," Zema said proudly.

Finally, Laney managed to tear Kin away from the tower and start the group on their way back to camp. "It'd be good to get back before anypony starts looking for us," she said. "We can think of something else to do for the rest of the afternoon." They'd just reached the border when little Zaran tugged on Corey's leg.

The colt was small, with light grey stripes rather than dark ones, and a small scar near his left ear. His eyes were huge, whether with fear or excitement Corey wasn't sure, until the colt opened his mouth. "Bata," he said, his voice trembling. It was the first thing he'd said all day. "Bata, bata, bata, BATA!"

Zema froze. "What is it? What is he saying?" Corey asked.

"Wolves," Zema breathed.

It was then that they started to howl.

Corey grabbed Laney and the colts and practically flung them over the border. "Get them back to the camp," he called, jumping back into the Spirit Yard. "Kin and Kon and I will hold them off."

"Corey, no!" Laney cried.

"Just go!" The orange unicorn watched as three large wolves stalked out from the misty yard of bones, their tails lashing in what Corey guessed was anger. Laney nodded and slung Zaran onto her back, grabbing Zula with a hoof and calling Zema's name. It was up to Corey and the twins now.

Corey stared at the lead wolf, hoping it would be cowed by his authority and go back into the Yard. Unfortunately, it perked its ears and snarled. Okay, that was stupid, Corey though. Plan B?

The wolves bolted across the dusty plain, each of them darting toward one of the colts. Corey ducked; his wolf sailed over his head and landed hard, smudging a section of the beautiful artwork the zebras had drawn in the dirt.

Kon picked up a stick in his mouth and leapt at his wolf, prepared to bash him over the head with it. As he jumped, a screaming war cry echoed from around the stick. Kin pelted his wolf with rocks, as it seemed too jumpy to make a move. Corey's wolf had gotten back to its paws, and it didn't look happy. The stallion had less than a second to make a move.

Running as fast as he could, Corey headbutted the wolf in the side, careful to keep his horn from hitting it head-on. The wolf snarled and turned on him; Corey panicked and reached out with his magic to the nearest item, a good-sized rock that lay on the ground. It smacked the wolf in the eye.

As Corey ran back toward the Spirit Yard, he glanced back at Laney and the foals. She still had Zaran on her back, and Zula was running right beside her, but where was Zema? In a flash, Corey realized that the filly was standing at the bone border, holding a stick just like Kon's, but petrified with fear. Kin's wolf had not been distracted enough by his rocks, and now it was growling at Zema with strings of drool trailing out of his mouth. Not on my watch, Corey thought, and yelled, "Kin, cover me!" Trusting his bandmate to get his wolf off his back, the unicorn lunged at Zema's wolf and socked it in the face with a hoof.

The wolf's head slammed into the hardened dirt, and it lay limply in front of Zema. "Run," Corey urged the filly, looking back to see how Kin and Kon were doing. Kon had his wolf cornered, but Kin wasn't doing so well. "On second thought, no time for that. Get on my back," he ordered Zema, kneeling down to let her climb up easily. In a flash, they were back in the fight.

Corey grabbed Kin's wolf's tail in his mouth and yanked with all his might. It yelped and turned to him, giving Kin a space to get a few pebbles in its ear. It scratched at its ear, and Corey launched himself onto its back. It took him a second to dig through the fur and find skin, but when he did, Corey scraped his hoof against it. It drew blood.

The wolf screamed and tossed Corey, who wrapped himself around Zema to protect her from the fall. With another howl, the wolf dashed back into the mist of the Spirit Yard, tail between its legs. "It's going for help," Kin yelled, dropping another rock. "We've got to get out of here. Lucky we're not too near the camp."

Kon had brained his wolf with the stick enough times that it was dazed, so with Zema on his back, Corey and the twins raced back toward the zebra camp. His heart was pounding. I think I'm running on nothing but adrenaline, he thought. The landscape seemed to fly by, and in no time at all, they were dashing through the huts, on their way to the bonfire pit in the center.

Twilight smacked Corey in the face.

"Ow! What was that for?" he cried, letting Zema slide off his back and run to her friends. "I just saved these foals from three monstrous wolves!"

"Which never would have attacked you if you hadn't gone out of the camp in the first place," Twilight said. Her face had turned an interesting shade of red. "I mean, thank Celestia you're all okay, but that was a very stupid thing to do!"

"Twi, don't yell at them," Fluttershy said softly. "They saved the foals. And they aren't from this world. Maybe where they live, fighting three wolves is really easy. Though it wasn't very nice to fight them…but they did what they had to."

"I'm sorry," Twilight said. "I'm just more than a little stressed out right now. Don't leave the camp again, okay?"

"Sure," Corey said, sitting down to catch his breath. "I'm not planning on it."

Twilight softened. "Anything I need to heal?" she said, picking up Corey's hoof to examine it.

Rarity and Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared from a few huts away. "Oh, we were so worried!" the white unicorn cried, racing to Corey's side. "Are you all right, Corey darling? We heard you were missing, and then Elaine rushed in saying something about wolves –"

"Yeah," Corey said, extremely aware of his face being squashed between her forelegs. "But we made it out okay."

"Darling, you have…blood on your hoof!" Rarity exclaimed. "I…oh…" She swayed, then fainted dead onto the ground, her blue hat coming undone. Twilight quickly levitated her out of the way.

"Well, looks like we were missed," Corey said.

"Of course you were! It's not a real party here without you!" Pinkie giggled, ruffling the bit of mane that poked out from under his hat.

Corey smiled. It was good to know that people cared about him and the other band members here. He was sure that Laney, Kin, Kon, and the foals were in good hooves.

As Pinkie Pie began to hop away, Corey remembered something. "Hey, Pinkie!" he called. "Do you think you could help me with something?"

"Sure!" Pinkie said, turning back to the orange unicorn. "What do you need?"

"Well, while we were over at the Spirit Yard, something occurred to me, and well, I just had to ask."

Corey gestured to the pink pony, and she scooted in closer. "Yeah? Tell me, tell me!"

Turning both ways, the stallion put his mouth up to Pinkie's ear and whispered, "What's the Equestrian phrase for tiptoe?"

Hey, everyone! You got an extra-long chapter today! And we were able to finish after all, so until further notice, we will continue to update every Sunday.

I hope you liked this latest installment of Magic Song. Don't forget to review if you have any helpful comments, or just to tell us about something you liked.

All you Grojband fans should be glad that the band finally got a chapter where they do something on their own again! Woot woot!

Also, I've put up a few story ideas and a poll for you to vote on the two you want to read the most! Only one person has voted so far, and I want to know what you think. Check out our profile for the list and the poll.

Thanks for reading, and see you next time!