mylittlejamjar | A Bitter Brew for the Holidays [Visual]

[Oh look, it's Zecora, whose hut has taken on a distinctly Nightmare Before Christmas aesthetic thanks to a few Hearth's Warming decorations being mixed in with her masks, cauldrons, and supplies. But Zecora herself looks sinister and ominous in the green light of a bubbling brew, and deeply serious indeed.]

I believe the time has come
To give you all a message from
A sinsiter place to us:
The depths of Tartarus.

For those of you who heard the story
That Celestia in all her glory
Told to us of the Pale Pony,
This may clear up uncertainty.

The Pale Pony -- the true one,
Not she who captured us for fun,
But the true figure of which legends speak
Is somepony we ought to seek.

For her existence may indeed be fact.
This new knowledge that we have lacked
May explain many mysteries
Littered throughout our histories.

She may be the one who hid the Tree
Which bore the Elements of Harmony.
So she may not be quite on our side
But against one foe, we may be allied.

Keep this in mind and seek more clues.
This fight is one we must not lose.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Could we perhaps... Resort to using a temporary death to see her?

[No Doctor don't]

[Go ahead and consider it, Zecora already has!]

A lasting death, or just a day--
In either case, Calice blocks the way.

Right. Even a momentary death might not work.

It makes you wonder if Calice takes those who die simply to fill her hunger for souls or it it is actually an effort to keep us from ever meeting the Pale Pony.

I haven't heard about a tree being involved with the Elements before; can you explain that?

On that subject I do not know
Much more than I have said so.
The Element-bearers from the other world
Might know more of what unfurled.

I'll ask about it then. A little conversation can go a long way.

By the way Zecora, what makes you suspect the Pale Pony has the Tree with her now?

So we heard, in a manner most grave
When we stumbled into Tartarus from a cave.

You... went to Tartarus? Really?

We traveled to a cave
And found something most grave:
An open portal to that place
Not a thing you'd wish to face.
I thought it best
We see the matter addressed.

Oh that's very exciting! [Guess who wants the juicy details now?]

Then you entered and saw Tartarus for yourself?

We did witness that place most fell.
Not someplace in which I'd choose to dwell.

What was it like? Is it as bleak as tales say? Did you see any of the locals?

Not terribly dark,
But grimly stark.
We met two who dwell
In that place most fell.
And one prisoner in chains
Added his own sad refrains.

Who was he? Did either of the locals say anything of significance?

The prisoner who was such a wreck
Is a foe of Equestria named Tirek.
As for the locals, they spoke
Of exactly what I told all ponyfolk.

That was when the Tree was mentioned? What was said that lead you to believe it was there in Tartarus?

I never said the tree was there.
That land is where we learned where
The Tree had gone without a trace,
Taken by the Pale Pony's grace.

Ah I'm jumping ahead aren't I? Sorry. Please go on.

There is not much more to say
That I left unvoiced earlier today.
If we wish to see the Tree
We must find cause with the Pale Pony.

Thank you very much Zecora! We'll just have to keep brainstorming ideas for gaining the Pale Pony's attention.

A Bitter Brew for the Holidays [Visual]

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[visual] 2 (because an obvious question occurs to me now)

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