The wind howled and The Egg rocked. Tarnish, sitting on the floor, was reading his book, Living a Charmed Life, studying the many chapters on zebra magic, and learning how to make charms. It was very difficult to read as the sound of the hail coming down on the roof was deafening. On a cloth topped wagon, the hail wouldn’t be such a big issue, but The Egg was made of metal. The falling hailstones caused a cacophony as they impacted upon the roof.

On the bed, Maud and Limestone lounged together, Maud was reading a book about rocks, while Limestone on the other hoof was reading about the million and one uses for bat guano. Maud had no discernable expression upon her face, but Limestone looked disgusted as she read about the use of bat guano as a food additive. Sodium nitrates gave things a salty, smokey flavour. Grossed out though she might be, Limestone nevertheless was willing to make a fortune in bits by cashing in on a pony’s willingness to eat processed bat guano.

Outside, the wind shrieked and Limestone closed her book after marking her page with a bookmark. She lifted her head, stretched her neck, and then announced, “It’s getting stuffy in here.”

Without even looking up from his book, Tarnish reached out with his mind, found the vent latches with his telekinesis, and flipped them to the open position. A chilly breeze blew through the camper wagon and Limestone sucked the cool air into her lungs in loud gulps.

“I feel out of place,” Limestone said to her sister, Maud. “I get the feeling that if I wasn’t here, you and Tarnish would be waiting out this storm doing something else.” As Limestone spoke, an awkward grin spread over her muzzle.

Looking up from her book, Maud looked her sister in the eye for a second, her gaze lingering, perhaps with sisterly affection, and then she nodded at Limestone. “We might study for a while, but I’ll be honest. If you leave us alone in a secluded place for long enough, we’re gonna do what married ponies do.”

“Not married ponies do it too,” Tarnish said in an absentminded voice as he flipped a page. “Hmm, earth pony sweat can be used an activator reagent… where can I find a sweaty earth pony…”

Maud blinked as she stared at her husband, then with a slow turn of her head, she faced her sister beside her. “We’re gonna be harvested, Limestone. Tarnish is going to go evil in a bad way. Being the most dangerous unicorn alive has gone right to his head and now he is going to use us earth ponies for his nefarious purposes.”

Rolling her eyes, Limestone shook her head. “Maud, stop being silly. He’s going to need henchponies. You and I will be harvesting other ponies.”

“Yes, the Pie sisters, loyal henchponies. You and I can be the enforcers, Marble can be the domestic, because she is far too shy to rough somepony up, and when somepony is uncooperative, we’ll lock them in a room with Pinkie. The plan is brilliant and foolproof.”

Hearing her sister’s steady, droning monotone, Limestone began snickering as she pressed up against Maud. Tarnish’s ears twitched, but he did not look up from his book. Even with the sounds of hailstones bouncing off of the roof, there was a happy, pleasant atmosphere in the wagon, and most of it centered around the two sisters.

“Look at him,” Limestone said as she pointed with her hoof at Tarnish. “He’s really serious about what he’s doing. He’s hardly even paying us any attention.”

“I think there are times when Tarnish feels inadequate as a unicorn,” Maud replied to her sister as she too, turned her head to look at her studying husband. “Honestly, I think he focuses too much on being a unicorn. As a pony, he is quite adequate. As a husband, he gets my rocks off.”

“Thank you, Maud,” Tarnish mumbled as he turned the page. His eyes darted over the words and diagrams, then he lifted his head. He lifted up a block of beeswax in his magic and began to examine it with a critical eye.

“So just what are you doing?” Limestone asked.

“I am going to teach myself alchemy, learn zebra hoodoo, and I plan to learn to make charms and focuses. Foci? What’s the plural of the word focus?” Tarnish’s brows furrowed and he set the block of beeswax down. “It is a sensible thing to do. As I learn to become a botanist, I’ll have access to lots of magical plants and the like, which means I’ll have a readily available supply of alchemical reagents, which in turn means I’ll be able to make high quality charms… if I can figure out what to do.”

“So… you’ll be a witch doctor?” Limestone asked.

Head turning, Tarnish focused his blue eyes upon his sister in law. “Well, uh,” he began, “well… I, uh, I hadn’t thought about that. I dunno if I would be or not. I don’t know how the zebras might feel if a pony went around calling himself a witch doctor.”

“Is it true that zebras can make little dolls of somepony or something and then stab them with a pin and hurt them?” Limestone asked. Her eyes were wide, curious, and her ears were perked forwards over her face.

“Yes, actually,” Tarnish replied, “my book talks about those, but using them to hurt somepony is bad, that practice is frowned upon. The effigies, as they are called, are to be used for healing, for removing hexes, and curing magical maladies. Zebras don’t have horns like we unicorns do, so they lack fine magical control. Their doctors, healing doctors, create little effigies and connect them to the patient. Surgery rituals are acted out, medicine is applied, diseases and hexes are treated on the effigy and what is done to the effigy is done to the patient as well. Overall, the practice is pretty miraculous and the zebras are far, far ahead of us when it comes to magical medicine and healing.”

“And you are going to teach yourself how to do this?” Limestone blinked in astonishment at Tarnish.

“Well, yes… I suppose I am. Like I said, I’ll have access to all manner of alchemical reagents. I’m not a very magical unicorn, but I can learn to harness magic in other ways. Useful ways. After what happened to Maud and I… after what happened to Maud…” Tarnish shook his head, blinked, and then continued, “Seeing Maud so sick scared me. I still don’t know how to deal with it. It’s still messing with my head, I suppose—”

“So you’re learning to be a healer to put your own mind at ease,” Limestone said.

There was a moment of silence from Tarnish and the hailstones smashing into the roof continued their staccato rhythm. When Tarnish responded, he spoke with some hesitation. “I suppose I am.”

“Surviving a near death experience changes ponies.” Limestone gave Maud a sidelong glance. “I read about that in one of Marble’s books. Trauma messes with the mind. Some ponies succumb to it, other ponies rise up to overcome it. They prepare for future near death experiences. Marble reads some weird books.”

“I wonder what made Marble read something like that,” Maud said to Limestone.

“She’s worried about Pinkie Pie,” Limestone replied, “our sister Pinkie has faced off against some pretty bad stuff with Twilight and the others. Pinkie is always in danger. She’s worried about Pinkie.” Limestone blinked, shook her head, and began to tap her two front hooves together. “I think if Pinkie ever slows down, the bad stuff catches up to her. I think that’s why she’s always moving, always in a hurry, always rushing about. We’ve all seen what she’s like when the bad stuff catches up to her.”

Maud nodded, but said nothing about how Pinkie had taken off running yet again.

The door to The Egg opened and with a great deal of caution, Tarnish stuck his head out. There was a fine, misty drizzle still. The ground was covered in hailstones, some of them quite large. He looked around, the rain dribbling from the brim of his pith helmet, and then stepped outside, his hooves crunching the hailstones on the ground.

He took a few steps, turned, shivered in the chilly drizzle, and began to check out The Egg for damage. What he saw made him whistle. The roof and much of the top half was now all dimpled. He stood there, staring, his eyes wide, just trying to take it all in. The shiny aluminium had taken quite a beating.

Limestone poured out the door, almost slipped on the hail, but regained her hoofing as Maud exited behind her. The two mares came out to where Tarnish was standing, turned, and had a look.

“Oh, that looks pretty bad,” Limestone said.

“It now has character.” Maud kicked at a few hailstones and eyed the damage done. “I bet when this was made, this kind of thing was never taken into consideration. This was just made to look pretty.”

“It’s pretty solid.” Tarnish gave Maud a nudge. “Some of these hailstones were the size of chicken eggs. I’m glad we weren’t caught in the open.”

Overhead, the sun began peeking out as the stormclouds were scattered in the high winds. Rays of sunlight streamed down through the clouds, forming shimmering lances of light. There was no sign of a rainbow just yet, but Tarnish was hopeful. He gave himself a shake, sending droplets of water flying from his pelt.

“Hey!” Limestone shouted as she got wet. She hurried away from Tarnish and as she retreated, gave herself a shake. The shake turned into a buck, and then bucking, as she kicked up her heels. She pronked and bucked around the open area on the side of the road, glad to be out of the tight confines of the travel wagon.

Standing as still as a statue, Maud watched her sister frolic. She of course, did not frolic, choosing instead to save her energy for other endeavours. Her smock darkened as the drizzle soaked into it.

“I think we can keep going,” Maud said as Limestone did her best bronco impression. “It’s a little muddy, but with Limestone and I, we shouldn’t have any problems. I have a campsite in mind and I think we can still reach it today.”

“Campsite?” Tarnish asked.

“A little place called Dragonbreath Springs,” Maud replied, “real nice place. Hotsprings. Which means a hot bath. Some ponies complain about the smell though.”

“Smell?” Tarnish blinked a few times. “What sort of smell and how bad could it be?”

“Rotten eggs.” Maud’s eyes locked upon Tarnish. “It’s the smell of geological activity. It will be romantic. We’ll soak in a natural hot tub and see what happens from there.”

“Hey!” Limestone shouted, reminding Maud that she was there.

“We’ll have to leave Limestone in the wagon.” Maud turned to face her sister and watched as Limestone came to a halt. She stood there, a blank expression upon her face, unmoving, staring at her sister.

Limestone smiled. “Eh, you wouldn’t do that to me!” Lifting her hoof, she pointed at the wagon. “Let’s see if we can get going. I sat still for too long. I gotta do something active!”

Sighing, Maud nodded. “I’m pent up too and itching to go. I can’t stand being so still.”

Hearing Maud’s words, Tarnish snorted, laughed, and then went to grab his gear.

The squall, while brief, did a lot of damage. Tree branches lay in the road and it fell upon Tarnish to lift them up and toss them away. The road was somewhat muddy and hooves squished with every step. The wagon pulled well in the mud, the skinny wheels cutting through, and the two mares had very little trouble with it. The only thing slowing them down was the debris in the road, which was considerable.

Overhead, the clouds drifted apart, having spent their fury, and warm sunshine melted the hailstones. The world dripped. Everywhere, rivulets of water trickled down. As they continued southwards, several tall hills popped up on the horizon.

The hills, known as the Sisters, were east of Rambling Rock Ridge and the land between the two landmarks was a beautiful, lush valley, a place they would soon be travelling through. Tarnish had traveled through there with Maud, coming up the westward side, along the Rambling Rock Ridge, but now, they were on the eastward side, and would be taking the road that wound along the Sisters.

Much to Tarnish’s surprise, a lone figure approached on the road, wearing a cloak. Cautious, but curious and courteous, he paused in the road. Behind him, the wagon came to a stop. He wondered what sort of pony could handle being out in a storm like that, and when he saw a horn peeking out from beneath the hood, he had his answer. A unicorn could most certainly keep themselves safe from a hailstorm. The figure had battered looking saddlebags and the cloak was a bit threadbare.

The unicorn had a pelt of a pale, subdued purple, and their cloak was heavy and blue. The figure was smaller and Tarnish deduced that it was female. She moved with confidence, with purpose, and for a moment, he saw her eyes beneath her hood.

The unicorn came to an abrupt stop several yards away. Tarnish lifted up a hoof, waved, and waited. A growing feeling of unease overcame him, and the hairs along his spine began to stand up. He heard Limestone clearing her throat, and then came the sounds of somepony unhitching themselves.

“Howdy,” Tarnish said, trying to be friendly, even though he was creeped out. He couldn’t say why he was creeped out, only that he was. Something about the strange unicorn unnerved him.

“Hello,” the stranger replied. A smile spread over her lips. “At long last, Tarnished Teapot. I was just heading north to pay you a visit. I knew I’d find you along this road.”

Tarnish felt Limestone brush up against his side, all of her muscles were taut and she was ready for action. Something just didn’t feel right. He nodded his head. “You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

“My name is unimportant,” the unicorn replied as she pulled her hood back away from her face. “But if you must call me something, call me the Wanderer.”

“Look, lady, we don’t take kindly to strangers and weirdos harassing our family,” Limestone said.

“Oh, but you are mistaken,” the unicorn replied, “as I did not come here to harass. I came here to help. I’ve heard a lot about you, Mister Teapot, and I’ve learned quite a bit about your… unique problem.”

As Tarnish was about to reply, he felt Maud pressing against his other side. Something seemed off… wrong somehow. The unicorn on the road before them had an aura of wrongness. He took a deep breath, collected his wits, and said, “It isn’t a problem.”

“That’s not what I hear,” the unicorn said in a low, but powerful voice. “I hear that you are cursed with the very essence of poison joke. A lot of ponies are very concerned about your very existence, Mister Teapot. You’ve caused quite a commotion. And that is why I am here to help you.”

“Not so sure I need help,” Tarnish replied.

“What if I told you I could make it all go away?” the strange unicorn asked. “What if I told you I could lift your curse? What if I told you I could make everything better?”

“I’d say you’re a shyster.” Limestone took a step forwards and her ears pointed forwards like angry horns. “And I don’t like the creepy vibe you’re putting off… everything about you feels wrong.”

The unicorn threw back her head and laughed. After a moment, she recovered, and looked Limestone in the eye. “Mister Teapot and I aren’t so different. We have unique magic that sets us apart. I use my magic to help ponies. To the north, there is a settlement where the ponies I’ve helped are building a town. I solve cutie mark problems. I make them go away. Not every cutie mark is a good one, not every cutie mark is worth having, and for some, cutie marks have ruined their lives. Like you, Mister Teapot.”

“My life isn’t ruined, thanks.” Tarnish’s eyes narrowed and he heard Limestone snort.

“Your troubles are only beginning,” the unicorn said in a low, almost condescending voice. “You have no idea how much you scare others. Do you really think they will leave you to live in peace? What you represent? Ponies and poison joke don’t mix. You can’t control it, and if you think you can hold back a force of nature, you’re fooling yourself. You have surges, wild surges… I’ve spent a lot of time learning about you. I probably know more about your magic than you do.”

“I doubt that.” Maud stepped forwards and stood abreast with her sister, Limestone.

“I am like a doctor,” the unicorn said as she stood in one spot, unmoving, unconcerned about Maud and Limestone. “I study my patients. For some, a cutie mark is a disease, and I am the cure. I only want to help. That’s what I do. I can cure the disease. I can fix the sickness. I can remove cutie marks and the troublesome destiny that goes with them.”

“I don’t believe you,” Limestone said in a low growl.

“I can read destinies like a scroll… how do you think I knew that you would be walking along this road?” The unicorn frowned. “You are a chaotic element, Tarnished Teapot. Once your power truly begins to manifest as you grow older and mature, you will become more and more dangerous. Do you think the princesses will leave you alone? You were banished once, and once you come into your own, it will happen again. I’ve seen it. But I can spare you of all of that.”

“Hey, how about you get lost?” Maud said in a flat voice.

“I just want to help,” the strange unicorn replied.

“It’s not wanted.” Tarnish shook his head. “I’m not cursed. I can control my magic. I’m not dangerous unless I act irresponsibly.”

“But you don’t know what I know.” The strange unicorn took a step forwards and gave Tarnish a cunning smile. “I’ve learned to look into the future and the past. I’ve seen things. I’ve seen how this started, and I’ve seen how this ends.”

“Have you seen the part where I start punching your face if you don’t shut up and stop acting creepy?” Limestone asked as she broke away from the others and moved towards the stranger.

“You know nothing!” the stranger spat. “I’ve looked deep into the past… I’ve seen what your magic can do, Mister Teapot. An entire civilisation gone… gone and lost to time. And all because of poison joke. The whole of known civilisation plunged into darkness and light faded from the world.”

“Stop trying to scare my brother!” Limestone snarled as she charged forwards. Her hooves cut deep divots into the muddy road, her teeth were bared, and her ears were pinned back.

Just before Limestone collided with the stranger, there was a flash of light and the stranger was gone. The charging mare came to a skidding halt, looked around, snorted, and ground her teeth together.

“Where’d she go? I wanna pound her!” Limestone shouted.

“She’s gone,” Maud replied, looking around her. “We should be going too. I want to be away from this place. Let’s get out of here.” Maud blinked, then turned to look back at her husband. “Something about her was unsettling. I felt it. Something is wrong with her. I am The Rock and something about her made me feel uncertain and nervous. It was like she was counteracting my natural calm assurance.”

“Think she’s gone?” Limestone asked.

“I have no way of knowing,” Maud replied, “she could be watching us right now.”

“Well, screw her. Let’s get out of here.” Limestone squished through the mud and headed for the wagon. “I want to get as far away from here as possible. I don’t feel right. Something about her is unnatural and makes my earth pony senses feel all weird.”

“I feel it too.” Tarnish shifted on his hooves and there was a worried expression on his face. “I’m still feeling it. I hope she doesn’t came back and I really hope she doesn’t pay a visit to the rock farm.”

Tarnish’s words hung over the trio like an unwelcomed cloud…

Author's Notes:

The Wanderer is a little creepy.