Answers and Annoyance

Twilight looked at her friend in shock. She hadn’t been aware that Zecora had a violent bone in her body, let alone the skill to so coldly dispatch the griffin that lay dead at her feet.

“Ze…Zecora, ho, how did you do that?” Twilight stuttered Zecora blinked and turned back to look at the body lying prostrate on the ground.

“In Zebra lands you learn to fight when you are young, if it is old you wish to become.” The zebra told her shrugging her shoulders. “I learned how to fight from my mother, and used my skills to protect my brothers.”

“But Zecora you just snapped a griffin’s neck with your bare hooves, that shouldn’t be possible!”

“Twilight I believe I have information that you desire, information about something very dire.” That got Twilight’s attention.

“Wait you know something about the ponies that we’re after?” she asked excitement creeping into her voice.

“Sadly I doubt that it is enough, but it sure to spread light and make the quest less rough.” Zecora told the group apologetically

“That’s ok Miss, we’ll take what we can get.” Shepard told her, Zecora turned to eye Shepard

“Ah so here at last is the stallion so central, to destroying the enemy’s plans potential.” Garrus leaned over to Tali and whispered.

“I wonder whether she’s trying to annoy us or if that’s really how she talks.” Zecora turned back to Twilight.

“From my forays through the enemy intelligence, I have discerned a shocking amount of negligence. They seem to think that they have you outsmarted, but you are more powerful than they could have predicted.”

“Can you tell us who is the leader of this enemy is?” Shepard asked Zecora, who shook her head.

“All I have heard of are shadows, who never stray in front of windows.” Shepard and Twilight sighed in unison, this mystery just kept on getting deeper.

“I thought you said that you had something that we needed to know or the consequences could be dire!” Twilight told Zecora, her mind was at its wits end with all these conspiracies.

“I did discover a plan, that if executed would mean the end of all that we hold Equestrian” Zecora said, Twilight motioned for her to go on. “They plan on assassinating Celestia herself, by dawn of the day after tomorrow they say the royal mare will be dead and the enemy will take the field himself.” Twilight stood stock still in amazement her jaw hanging open.

“Zecora why didn’t you tell us in the first place!” she almost yelled

“Because each rhyme, must be delivered at just the right time.” Zecora said before she walked back into the rubble of her house, she reemerged moments later with a small sack which she tossed to Twilight. “These potions will help you on your quest, do your best.” With that she vanished into the forest leaving ten confused ponies in her wake.

“Well that was odd…” Garrus said arching an eyebrow before he continued “…Shepard when did we become so good at going in circles?

***

Celestia awoke her head throbbing painfully; she looked around her eyes blurry with sleep and rubbed some of the collected sand from her eyes. She then went about the job of raising the sun although anypony who was watching would have noticed a distinct falter as she momentarily lost control of the giant orb of hot gasses and explosions. When her royal duty was done she went over and sat on her bead holding her hooves to her temples trying to remember what had happened last night. She had gone to investigate how Discord was progressing with the fixing of Luna’s mind, he had attempted to weasel back into her heart, there had been an argument, and the last thing that she had a clear recollection of was Discord handing her what appeared to be a glass of wine in truce.

“Discord what did you do to me!” She shouted in her mind, she was met by chuckling laughter. Grinding her teeth Celestia leapt into his mind with thoughtless abandon and found herself in the room where Luna’s mental form lay sleeping peacefully. Discord stood beside Luna manipulating small nodes of light that scattered hither and yon around Luna’s head. When she entered he turned and fixed her with a wide grin while keeping his hands on the lights.

“So how are we this lovely day my dear Tia?” he asked her in the voice that he knew made her want to magically strangle him.

“WHAT, DID, YOU, DO, TO, ME!” she shouted at him making full use of her royal Canterlot voice, in response he held a finger to his lips and pointed at her sister.

“Try not to wake her up Tia dear, I would have to start all over.” In a much softer voice Celestia asked the same question. “Honestly Tia I didn’t do anything, you’re the one who drank ten bottles of some of my best wine, really you should be apologizing to me.”

“I drank ten bottles worth of draconequus wine by myself?” Celestia asked in wonder, she had never really been a heavy drinker.

“Well I helped a small amount, but for the most part you tried to drain my cellars dry. Then again I don’t really mind because when you’re drunk out of your mind you’re much more fun.” He told her his voice sounded sincere, or at least as sincere as a god of chaos could sound.

“But then why do I still feel hungover, if I only drank it here then the affects should have dissipated once I left?”

“Tia that was authentic draconequus wine from when I ruled the world, I brought it in with me when you originally sentenced me to the life of an inanimate statue. Thanks to my peoples’ magic it had remained real even inside the place that is technically imaginary so you really got completely shi…"

“Discord you can’t abuse your position as a god to get around the censor!” Celestia told him in mock outrage.

“Oh fine, I still don’t understand why you instated that thing anyways nothing but trouble.”

“If I remember correctly you did it Discord, you wanted to see everyponies’ reaction when the normal swearwords were replaced with arbitrary words that you thought would be funny.” Celestia said pointedly

“Oh that’s right I remember now, it was still worth it to see their mouths drop in amazement and annoyance when they first tried to curse.” Her questions satisfied Celestia turned to leave, but Discord stopped her right before she left, stretching his neck unnaturally he put his face in front of hers and said quietly. “Be careful Tia, I sense trouble brewing and I don’t like it.” Slightly unsettled by his change of attitude Celestia forced herself back into her body where it was greeted happily by the hangover.

“This is going to be a long day.” She muttered to herself then she winced at the sound of her voice as she prepared for her royal duties, while she was at it she told one of the guards stationed at her door to get her a large glass of orange juice.

AN
Things are finally going to pick up and there will be actual plot development, I’m sick so I should be able to spare enough time to make my chapters much longer

Next Chapter: Calm before the storm Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 3 Minutes