It was a dark and story night in the town of Ponyville, just as the weather team had planned. A large storm was scheduled for that night, and everypony in town was in their homes for the night. Inside the Apple house, Sora and Apple Bloom were sitting in the former's bedroom, the pitter-patter of the rain drops beating over the roof.
"How big was that dragon?" Apple Bloom eagerly asked, "Was he as big as the barn?"
"He was three times as big!" Sora outstretched his fore-hooves to emphasize his point. Apple Bloom's eyes were practically sparkling as Sora told her the story of the dragon in the mountain.
"And you went and tried to fight him?" Apple Bloom absorbed the information Sora told her.
"Sure did," Sora nodded his head, "I wasn't going to let him get away with hurting my friends! It didn't matter if he was a dragon or not, I'll stand up for my friends no matter what!"
"So you put that dragon in his place and made him leave, did you?" She speculated, a wide smile plastered on her face.
"Actually, when I was fighting him, Fluttershy stepped in and talked the dragon down," The little filly's eyes bulged upon hearing this information.
"You mean to tell me that Fluttershy of all ponies talked down a dragon?!" Apple Bloom stated.
"Yeah, I sure wasn't expecting that to happen," Sora admitted, "It was like her stare brought him down or something. Still, it was a good thing she stepped in when she did."
"Ah betcha you coulda beaten that dragon down no problem!" Apple Bloom said exuberantly. Sora nervously rubbed the back of his head in response.
"Aw c'mon, Apple Bloom," He sheepishly denied her claim.
"Don't be acting all modest now!" Apple Bloom playfully demanded, "You beat the stuffing outta Nightmare Moon, didn't you? She has to be way more powerful than some dragon!"
"I guess Nightmare Moon did have a keyblade," Sora recalled his shock when the dark alicorn dropped that revelation on him, "Still, she didn't use it in crazy ways like some of the other Keyblade wielders I've fought." It was so strange. This world seemed to have some connection to the Keyblade, but Sora nor anyone he knows have heard of Equestria.
"Say, Sora," Apple Bloom continued the conversation, but her tone grew somber, "Do ya really think Applejack got outta the storm?" Apple Bloom peered out the window, raindrops violently pummeling the glass surface. It seemed as though distracting Apple Bloom with a story was only a temporary solution to her worrying of her sister.
"Of course she she did!" Sora answered with certainty.
"How do ya know that?" Apple Bloom questioned, looking at Sora with wide eyes.
"Applejack's tough. I'm sure she found some shelter to wait out the storm."
—
Sora wasn't wrong, Applejack did find somewhere to stay for the night, and she was sharing the space with Rarity and Twilight.
"I dare Applejack to do something carefully and neatly for a change," Rarity spitefully shot at Applejack.
"Oh yeah? Well ah dare Rarity ta lighten up and stop obsessin' over every last little detail, for a change," Applejack shot back.
"I think the 'truth' of the matter is that somepony could stand to pay a little more attention to details," Rarity fired.
"And ah think the 'truth' is somepony oughta quit with her fussin' so the rest of us can get things done," Applejack counter-attacked.
Twilight sighed in dejection, this was going to be a long slumber party.
—
Apple Bloom brought a hoof to her chin in thought, "I suppose ya could be right..."
"Of course I'm right," Sora responded. Another critical look at Apple Bloom showed that she still had some reservations about his consolation, "You're really worried about Applejack, aren't you?" Sora sat closer to the yellow filly and wrapped his hoof around her.
"I know Applejack can be stubborn and all... But she's still my sister," Apple Bloom huddled close to Sora, "I don't really know what I'd do without her."
"You really care about her, don't you?" Sora asked, gently rubbing Apple Bloom's back. The little filly nodded her head. Sora could tell when someone was hurting because someone they cared about wasn't there.
"Yeah..." Apple Bloom trailed off.
"It must be nice, having siblings..." Sora unconsciously stated. The yellow filly snapped out of her funk and addressed Sora directly.
"Ya mean ya don't have any brothers or sisters?" Apple Bloom inquired. Sora offered her a sad smile.
"Yeah, I'm an only child," He told her.
"Really? Ah can't imagine being an only child," Apple Bloom said.
"It's fine," Sora replied, "I'm actually kinda glad I don't have an older sibling."
"Why's that?"
"Well, then I wouldn't have this happen to me," All of a sudden, Sora put Apple Bloom in a hold and gave her a hard noogie. The yellow filly voiced her protests and flailed him limbs, unable to escape Sora's hold. Sora eased up on his torture on Apple Bloom, but still held onto her pretty tightly. The two ponies bursted into laughter at the caramel pony's antics. Apple Bloom was feeling alot better, especially since she had a pony like Sora to keep her company.
—
The next morning, the sky was clear. Both Sora and Apple Bloom got a good night's sleep despite the raging storm. After breakfast with Granny Smith and Big Macintosh, the two young ponies traveled into town, Apple Bloom piggybacking on Sora's back, with the intent of finding Applejack.
"Say, Sora," Apple Bloom initiated a conversation, "Do ya think ya can do some of mah chores for me today?" She supplemented her question with a wide smile.
"Forget it, Apple Bloom," Sora rejected the question, "I do enough on the farm as it is."
"Aww, c'mon, please!" Apple Bloom's desperate plea did nothing.
"Sorry, not happening," Sora replied with a sly smile. Apple Bloom sighed in dejection and slumped her frame. While the two of them trotted through the streets, the little filly noticed something strange.
"Hey, where is everypony?" She pointed out. Sora stopped trotting and took a critical look around the area. He hadn't really noticed it until Apple Bloom pointed it out to him, but Ponyville was uncharacteristically desolate today.
"That's weird," Sora noted. Normally, there were ponies out and about, but there was narry a soul in sight, "Is there some kinda holiday today?"
"None that ah know about," Apple Bloom answered. Sora continued to trek through the deserted town, walking near Sugarcube Corner.
"What could've happened?" Sora pondered, walking up to Sugarcube Corner. As he was wondering, he stopped when something caught his eye. From the corner of his eye, he saw a figure. Whoever it was, he or she was draped in a ragged cloak, digging at the ground with his or her hoof, "Hey, who's that?" Apple Bloom peered to who Sora was glancing at. The little filly let out a surprise gasp. Just then, Sora felt his entire being pull backwards, causing both him and Apple Bloom to yelp in surprise. Next thing he knew, Sora had his back sprawled the floor of Sugarcube Corner, only that the lights were out.
"Wow, it's a good thing I saw you and Apple Bloom when I did," Pinkie Pie appeared in front of Sora's face—very close to Sora's face.
"Pinkie?!" Sora yelped in shock, jolting upwards so that his head impacted with the pink one's cranium. The resulting collision left both ponies rubbing their temples to mitigate the pain. Sora stood up as his focus recomposed itself. In the room along with Pinkie, Apple Bloom and himself were Twilight, Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, "What in the world is going on? Why are you all here?"
Sora's gaze curiously found Twilight's. The purple unicorn awkwardly broke the eye contact "Don't look at me, I'm just as clueless as you are right now," Sora then glanced to Applejack.
"Where hiding from her..." The farm mare moved aside the curtain so that the cloaked figure was in view. Everyone peered outside the window as the figure outside continued digging at the ground. Rather suddenly, the figure turned it's head over to the group, revealing a set of glowing yellow eyes. All aside from Sora and Twilight dropped to the floor in fear. Sora did flinch at the sight of those yellow eyes, however.
"Cloak, yellow eyes..." Sora felt something gripping his heart, something akin to fear, "No... That can't be. They're all gone now. Right?"
"Did ya see her, Sora?" Apple Bloom tugged on Sora's sleeve, bringing him out of his inner thoughts, "Didja see Zecora?"
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack scolded the little filly, "What have ah told you? Never saw that name out loud," Apple Bloom flinched after her big sister's little scolding. The group gazed out the window once again to see the mysterious mare had her back to them. This time, Zecora flipped back her hood, revealing a white coat adorned with gray stripes and a mohawk mane. Once again, the mares are yelped in fear and dropped to the floor.
"Would you all stop that," Twilight lightly demanded.
"Ugh, those stripes," Rarity winced in disgust, "So garish! What pony would even think of such a thing?"
Twilight responded to Rarity with a deadpan expression, "Rarity, she's a zebra," Twilight was met with a string of confused looks from everypony. Sighing in dejection, Twilight felt the need to explain, "Zecora is not a pony, she's a zebra. My books tell me that zebra's come from a far away land. Oh, and her stripes are not a fashion statement, she was born with them."
"WHAT?!" Rarity could feel her vision failing her. With a hoof over her head, she fainted.
"Where does she live?" Sora asked, still gazing out the window, "I've never seen her around town before."
"That's just it," Applejack grew even more fearful, "She lives in the Everfree Forest."
"Well, what's so creepy about that?" Sora questioned further, turning his head away from the window. He still didn't know what was so intrinsically strange about that forest.
"The Everfree Forest just ain't natural," Applejack explained, "The plants grow..."
"Animals care for themselves..." Fluttershy added.
"And the clouds move..." Rainbow furthered.
All three mares finished with a simultaneous, "All on their own!" Sora did not seem at all taken with their fears. In fact, he seemed utterly flabbergasted after hearing their explanation.
"So what?" The reaction he received was not what he was expecting.
"SO WHAT?!" The three mares repeated back at him with utter shock, making Sora flinch back. Maybe that was something he shouldn't have said. The three mares were gaping at Sora like he was the one they should be hiding from. Rarity even fainted again. Thankfully, Pinkie Pie appeared to draw attention away from Sora for the moment.
"The Everfree Forest is where the evil enchantress Zecora does her evil... Things," She spoke in a menacing voice to the caramel pony, bringing her muzzle uncomfortably close to his, "She's so evil that I even wrote a song about how evil she is."
"Another one of Pinkie's songs?" Sora was always confused whenever Pinkie Pie sung, mostly because of the invisible instruments. While Pinkie was singing, she performed a series of exaggerated movements to get her point across.
She's an evil enchantress
She does evil dances
And if you look deep in her eyes
She'll put you in trances
Then what will she do?
She'll mix up an evil brew
Then she'll gobble you up
In a big tasty stew
Soooo... Watch out?!
"Wow, catchy," Sora complimented.
"It's a work in progress," Pinkie said. Twilight, however, was not so impressed. Her analytical mind was ablaze. Every conclusion she came to pointed that this fear was all baseless paranoia.
"Girls, do you even realize how ridiculous this all sounds?" The purple unicorn questioned. All eyes were now on Twilight, "Do any of you have any proof that Zecora is actually evil?"
"Well... Once a month, she comes into Ponyville," Rainbow Dash explained.
"Oooooh," Twilight pretended that she was shocked, letting out a fake gasp.
"Then, she lurks by the stores," Rarity's tone of voice made it seem like what she said was creepy, but Twilight wasn't buying it.
"Oh, my word," Twilight continued her mockingly sarcastic surprise act.
"And then, she digs at the ground," Fluttershy chimed in.
"Good gracious!" Twilight cleared her throat before she continued in her normal tone of voice, "Okay, I'm sorry. What in Equestria does any of that prove? Did you ever consider that she comes to Ponyville to visit, or that she goes to the stores not to lurk but to do some shopping?"
What she said made perfect sense, at least to Apple Bloom. Maybe Zecora was just trying to be neighborly.
"What about the digging the ground thing?" Rainbow argued, "You have to admit that's pretty weird."
"What if she's digging for innocent creatures?" Fluttershy fearfully proposed. Twilight could only groan in annoyance at such a ridiculous claim.
"Sora, please tell me you don't buy into any of this nonsense," Twilight needed to know that at least sompony was thinking rationally today. Unfortunately for her, Sora was still gazing out the window as Zecora trotted out of view towards the Everfree Forest, "Sora?" The caramel pegasus blinked profusely hearing Twilight calling out his name, looking to the studious unicorn with shrunken pupils.
"Oh, um..." Sora couldn't find his voice. Twilight took this as a sign that he was buying into the other's gossip.
"C'mon, Sora!" Twilight put a hoof to her forehead, "Don't tell me you believe all this?"
"N-no... It's not like that..." Sora trailed off, glancing towards the window once more, "It's just... I can't help but think that something must be up," Twilight face-hoofed.
"Ya wanna know what ah think?" Apple Bloom chimed in. She had her own theory on Zecora; however, little Apple Bloom would not get the chance to share it.
"Apple Bloom," Applejack scooted the filly aside, "The big ponies are talking."
"Ah am a big pony," Apple Bloom spat under her breath, her face contorting into a grumpy expression.
Sora looked out the window as Zecora disappeared from view. From the looks of things, it seems like she was heading towards the Everfree Forest. Something took hold of Sora, a sort of fear of something he had encountered in the past. This fear compelled him to leave the building and chase after her. Apple Bloom, having seen Sora leave, was compelled to follow after him.
"You ponies are being ridiculous!" Twilight spat.
"Well, I heard that Zecora eats hay," Pinkie accused. It took all of Twilight's willpower to not slap the pink mare in the back of the head for saying something so stupid.
"Pinkie, I eat hay; you eat hay!" Twilight said that with as much conviction as possible.
"Yeah, but I heard she eats hay evilly," Pinkie threw her hooves up to exemplify her point. Twilight face-hoofed again.
"Hey! Where's Apple Bloom?" The farm mare asked. She was sure the filly was right next to her a second ago.
"Sora's gone too," Fluttershy noted, "Look, the door's open," She pointed to the open door that Sora forgot to close.
"They must have went outside!" Rarity concluded.
"And Zecora's still out there," Rainbow pointed out, acting as if it were the scariest thing ever.
"Sora can take care of himself," Applejack said, "But Apple Bloom... Ugh! Why can't she just stay put?!" There was a collective concern for the little filly among the group.
"Spike, you stay here in case Apple Bloom comes back," Twilight ordered.
"Will do!" Spike saluted the purple mare. With that, the girls flooded out of the building to look for their lost little filly.
—
Sora had to gallop fast in order to catch up with Zecora. He managed to find her near the edge of the Everfree Forest past a field of curious blue flowers. Sora stopped himself to catch his breath. After he regained his lung capacity, the caramel pony looked to the cloaked figure. He took a second to compose himself before he trotted towards Zecora, unconsciously stepping on a few of the leaves as he made his approach.
"SORA!" Multiple voices spoke. Sora jumped in surprise, turning to find the mares running towards him. Zecora turned her head to the commotion, seeing the mares trample over the flowers.
"What are you all doing here?" Sora questioned. The mares did not get a chance to answer as someone else began to speak.
"Beware, beware you pony folk. That blue leaf is not a joke," Zecora spoke, prompting the ponies to look directly at her. Her muzzle was fully visible under her hood, but her eyes were completely blocked from view.
"Ya'll keep your mumbo-jumbo to yerself, ya hear me!" Applejack threatened.
"Beware, beware..." Zecora backed away slowly, disappearing behind a cloud of mist.
"Hey, wait!" Sora reached out and galloped forward. The fog lessened to reveal that the zebra had vanished, prompting Sora to stop, "She's gone."
"Yeah, it's you and your lame curse that better beware, Zecora!" Rainbow Dash bragged, pleased that the suspected enchantress was gone.
"Why are you all here?" Sora repeated his question from before.
"We saw that you and Apple Bloom weren't in Sugarcube Corner, so we came after ya," Applejack answered. Sora's eyes widened.
"Wait, Apple Bloom's missing?!" Concern was more than apparent in his voice. The group then heard the sound of a branch snapping. The ponies all looked to where the sound had come from. There was Apple Bloom, half hidden behind a tree with her hoof on top of a broken twig. The yellow filly looked over to the wide-eyed group, chuckling nervously now that her cover was blown.
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack yelled, running towards the filly.
"Oh, hi, Applejack," The yellow filly waved nervously as her big sister stared her down.
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack scolded, "What in the world are you doing here?"
"I was following Sora," She admitted, knowing she could not lie to somepony like Applejack. The big sister was about to scold the little sister, but a certain caramel pegasus stepped forward.
"What the heck were you thinking?!" Sora shouted to Apple Bloom, glaring at her in anger, "Why were you following me?!" The mares all flinched back in shock, not used to seeing Sora act so stern.
"Sora," Apple Bloom fiddled her words, unable to form a sentence under his forceful glare.
"It's way too dangerous for you to be out here," Sora told the filly. Using his wings to float in the air, the caramel pegasus took hold of Apple Bloom's ear, leading to a verbal outcry from the filly, "You're going home right now!" Sora guided the despondent filly back to the farm, all the while she winced in pain as he continued to hold onto her ear like a stern parent. As the two disappeared, the mares recovered from their shock.
"Wow, I didn't know Sora could get like that," Pinkie Pie commented.
"Well, serves Apple Bloom right," Applejack said, "Who knows what kinda curse Zecora coulda put on her," All of this talk about curses was making Twilight's mane frizz.
"Girls, there is no such thing as curses!" The purple unicorn exclaimed.
Rainbow Dash flew over to Twilight, grazing a few of the blue leaves in the process, "Well, that's interesting to hear coming from Miss Magic Pants herself."
"My magic, real magic, comes from within," Twilight spoke with pride, closing her eyes as she continued her explanation, "It's a skill you're born with. Curses are artificial, fake magic. It's conjured with potions and incantations; all smoke and mirrors meant to scare. But curses have no real power, they're just an old pony tale," Twilight opened her eyes to find that the mares were trotting off, much to her surprise and dismay.
"Just you wait, Twilight," Applejack spoke to the purple pony menacingly, "You're gonna learn that some pony tales really are true," With that, the farm mare trotted away, leaving Twilight alone in the field. The purple unicorn rolled her eyes. How could all of her friends act so preposterous? With a sigh, Twilight trotted towards home.
Despite the eventful morning, the day rest of the day went fairly normally. Everypony went about their daily routines with no issues. However, the Apples did notice that Sora was acting strangely distant throughout the day.
—
The sun was just about to fully grace Ponyville with it's presence. Sleeping in his room in the Apple house, Sora was well acquainted with dream land. With the covers over his head, Sora was just a pulsating lump. The door to Sora's room opened slowly. Peeking inside the quaint room was little Apple Bloom, carrying with her a pot and a wooden spoon. The yellow filly giggled to herself as she tip-hoofed up to Sora's bed. When she was right next to the caramel pony's bedding, she set off her prank.
"Wakey Wakey!" Apple Bloom screamed, banging her spoon on the pot. The sheer shook of the loud noises made Sora jump in surprise with a high pitched shriek. Similar to his first day on the farm, Sora landed on the floor with a thud, tangled in his own blanket. Apple Bloom rolled on the floor, erupting in laughter at her little prank, "Ah got you good, Sora," She boasted.
"Apple Bloom!" Sora seethed under his blanket, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Sora rummaged through his blanket, pulling it off his head. Apple Bloom ceased her laughter and stood up. Upon seeing Sora, her expression changed dramatically. Her amused smile was now replaced with shrunken pupils and a hanging jaw. Sora stood up and looked at the farm filly, noticing her shock.
"Apple Bloom, why are you looking at me like that?" Something was wrong with Sora's current perspective. His eyes were in perfect alignment with Apple Bloom's, while he was standing up, "Hey, how did you get so big?" Sora then noticed something off, mainly how high pitched his voice was, "Wait, what happened to my voice?"
"Uhhhhhh..." Apple Bloom couldn't find her voice. Worried, Sora pushed Apple Bloom out of the way and galloped to the full body mirror in his room. He couldn't comprehend what he was looking at. This was not how he was supposed to be.
Sora screamed.
—
At the same time, Twilight awoke from an unpleasant dream. She didn't want to admit it, but a part of her wondered if Zecora really was evil, that her friends were justified in their paranoia. With her head groggy, Twilight exited her bed and wearily made her way to her bathroom mirror. Twilight could practically feel her mane was messy, and a quick look in the mirror confirmed just that. She couldn't even see her own horn past all the unkempt hair.
"Maybe Zecora cursed my mane," Twilight joked, brushing her messy mane, bringing into view her spotted and floppy horn—Twilight gasped, "Or maybe my horn!"
For the first stage of the morning, Twilight and Spike were frantically searching the library for any clue as to how to fix the purple unicorn's horn. Their search proved fruitless.
"No no no no no!" Twilight tossed another book away after speed reading it's pages, "None of these books have a cure! Ugh! There has to be a reason for this! An illness? An allergy?!
"A curse!" Spike blurted out, to which Twilight narrowed her expression.
"I mean a real reason, Spike," Twilight brushed aside her assistant's claim while skimming through another book, "Something that that is actually plausible."
"How about this?" Spike presented to Twilight a green book with a peculiar title.
"Supernaturals?" She read the title. Spike gave Twilight an expectant smile, to which she responded, "Spike, the word 'supernatural' refers to things like ghosts and spirits and zombies, which are as make-believe as curses. This book is just a bunch of nonsense!" Twilight smacked the book away.
"But what if you're wrong, Twilight?" Spike suggested, "What if this really is a—"
"A phursch!" Said a voice. Twilight's and Spike's perked their ears, motioning their heads to the source of the voice. Both pony and dragon gasped in surprise. Standing at the open door was Pinkie Pie, her tongue swollen and covered in blue spots.
"Pinkie Pie!" Twilight gasped in shock, "What happened to you?!"
"Pee pah Zthecora! Sthe put a cursthe on me!" Pinkie lets out dribbles off saliva as she spoke her incoherent words. Twilight and Spike finched back as they were sprayed with spit.
"Hey, say it, don't spray it, Pinkie," Spike scolded. All of a sudden, a rainbow blur blasted into the library through the window. The blur crashed, revealing to be rainbow dash, who now had her hooves tangled with a wooden ladder. Something was wrong with Rainbow Dash as well. Her wings were inverted, and on her lower section rather than on her back.
"She's trying to say—that Zecora, ugh, put a curse on us," Rainbow exerted, trying to remove herself from the awkward position she landed in.
"I would have to agree," Cam the elegant voice of Rarity who arrived with Fluttershy by her side. Twilight and Spike gasped in shock again. Rarity's mane and coat had grown exponentially in length. The prim and proper mare was now a pony affixed with tendrils of purple and white hair.
"Ah hate to say ah told ya so, Twilight, but ah told ya so," spoke a squeaky high pitched voice. The two turned to find the strangest sight yet, a sight that almost made their jaws drop off. There was Applejack and Apple Bloom, but Applejack was the size of a mouse, standing atop her little sister's head. That wasn't all, there was another pony present, a foal based on the body shape. What was strange about this pony was that he or she was wearing a very familiar jacket and saddlebags, Sora's to be exact. The hood was up so nopony could see whose face it was.
"Apple Bloom," Twilight addressed the filly, gesturing her hoof to the figure next to her, "Who's this, and why are they wearing Sora's clothes?" In response, the young pony grabbed hold of the red hood and pulled it down further, covering his whole muzzle. Wanting an answer, Twilight grabbed the hood and pulled it back herself, leading to surprised gasps from everypony except the Apple sisters. The caramel fur was the same, as well as the spiky brown mane, but there was no denying that he was a little colt.
"Sora?!" Twilight said in astonishment, "Is that you?" Sora blushed in embarrassment and pulled the hood over his head again. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, biting on Sora's hood before she pulled it back, revealing the colt's face once again. Sora flinched, blushing in embarrassment at the attention he was getting from the mares in the room.
"It's a curse Twilight!" Applejack shouted, jumping off Apple Bloom's head and onto a nearby table, "That rotten Zecora did this to us!" Twilight looked around the room, there was no denying that something was going on; however, there was a sprig of doubt remaining.
"What about Fluttershy?" Twilight questioned. The yellow mare had not spoken yet, yet she looked completely fine, narry an outward thing out of place, "Nothing happened to her," Fluttershy looked away as Twilight said this.
"Well, darling..?" Rarity asked. Fluttershy, in response, fiddled with her hooves, keeping her mouth shut.
"Well, c'mon girl," Applejack demand, "Spit it out."
After a brief second, words did come out of Fluttershy's mouth, "I don't wanna talk about it," That was not Fluttershy's voice, that was the deepest male voice anyone in the room had ever heard. The denizens of the library were left speechless.
With all of these embarrassing states the group were in, Spike burst out into riotous laughter, "This is hilarious! We got Spitty Pie, Rainbow Crash, Hairity, Flutterguy, Apple-teeny, Foal-a and—" Spike glanced to Twilight and her floppy horn once again, "I got nothing," Twilight decided to ignore Spike's insults and jump right into the matter at hoof.
"What in the world could have happened?" Twilight questioned, looking at the sates she and her friends were in.
"It was that no good Zecora ah tell ya!" Applejack yelled in her squeaky voice. Twilight groaned.
"I know what you are all thinking, but I'm telling you: curses do not exist!" With that, the six mares again broke out into a huge argument about the nature of magic and the falsity of hex's and curses. While they were arguing, Sora thought back to yesterday. There were still things he needed to know, and listening to the girls argue was going to get him nowhere.
"This is all mah fault," Apple Bloom lamented, noting how heated the argument was getting, "If ah didn't follow Sora yesterday, then none of this woulda happened. Ah gotta fix this," Apple Bloom casted a glance to the front door, finding that it was open. Sora was nowhere to be found as well. Knowing what she had to do, Apple Bloom rushed out the door.
—
Little Sora made his way to the edge of the Everfree Forest, making sure that his hood was over his head so that no one recognized him. He did get quite a few odd looks from passerbys. He was a colt wearing a grown pony's clothes after all.
"I need to know," Sora said to himself, "I need to know if she was part of some convoluted back-up plan or something."
"Sora!" Cried a filly's voice. Sora turned his head to find Apple Bloom galloping towards him.
"Apple Bloom? You're following me again?" Sora questioned.
"I noticed ya weren't in the library while the girls were arguing," Apple Bloom explained, "Where ya going, Sora?" She pulled Sora's hood back, causing him to blush in response.
"Can you not pull my hood back," Sora requested, "This is too embarrassing."
"It's more awkward to talk to somepony when their face is covered up with a hood," Apple Bloom retorted.
"Ain't that the truth," Sora thought, "And that's exactly the point,". There didn't seem to be much harm in telling Apple Bloom what he was doing. After all, she probably wouldn't leave him alone otherwise, "I'm going to find Zecora. Maybe she knows how to fix me and the girls," That was only half true. There was still something that was bothering him, and the possibility he was thinking of scared him to no end.
"Ya think so?" Sora nodded his little head to answer Apple Bloom's questions, "Well, let me help ya," She offered. Sora was afraid of this exact scenario.
"Sorry, Apple Bloom, it's way to dangerous," Sora denied, shaking his head.
"Aww, c'mon! Don't you try to pull that on me, Sora!" The filly poked Sora's chest, "I can take care of mahself, honest!"
"Apple Bloom, you have no idea what's going on here," Sora ignored her protests, "For all you know, there could be heartless in the forest!" Sora's reasoning did nothing to change Apple Bloom's mind; in fact, she seemed to get more agitated.
"Ugh!" Apple Bloom threw her hooves into the air, "You sound exactly like Applejack! She keeps tellin' me ah can't do anything fun because 'ah'll get hurt' or whatever!"
"Apple Bloom, you're a kid!" Sora grew increasingly frustrated with this filly's defiance, "This isn't some kind of joke!"
"You're a kid!" Apple Bloom retorted, taking note of the caramel pony's current state. Sora flinched back, finding it hard to rebuttal that argument. Then something occurred to him.
"Well... I can use the Keyblade!" Sora fired back with a smug smile, summoning his weapon in his jaw. It was far larger than Sora at this point in time. It also seemed far heavier Sora noticed. Normally, the caramel pegasus was able to properly balance the weight of the weapon; however, now that he was a colt, the keyblade's weight forced him to fall down on his stomach with a thud. Sora's hold on his keyblade broke on his fall, leaving it on the ground while it's master was left dazed and confused. Apple Bloom, having witnessed Sora's unimpressive display, broke into a riotous laughter. Sora quickly regained his composure and dismissed his keyblade.
"It's not funny!" Sora fumed, puffing his cheeks in anger. His plea did no good, Apple Bloom continued to chortle at Sora's failed attempt to look cool, rolling on the floor as her laughter increased. With a huff, Sora turned the other way and stormed his way into the Everfree Forest. Apple Bloom ceased her laughter enough to see that Sora was trotting away. The filly widened her eyes in surprise and got back up.
"Hey!" She called out, galloping to the caramel colt, "Wait up!"
—
Back at the library, Twilight was still engaged in a five against one argument regarding the supposed curse put upon them, and the Zebra that was being blamed for it.
"I say we storm Zecora's place and make her fix this!" Rainbow Dash suggested, struggling to regain her balance, "Who's with me?!"
"I am!" Pinkie Pie spat out.
"Me too!" Rarity blew out a few strands of hair from her face.
Fluttershy nodded her head in agreement.
"Count me in!" Applejack affirmed. Twilight slumped her head in irritation. It was just like yesterday. These ponies were far too paranoid to think rationally. In her grumpy state, Twilight noticed something.
"Wait a minute, where's Sora?" The purple unicorn frantically searched the room, but found no traces of a colt anywhere.
"Where in the world did he go?" Rarity questioned.
"Wait an apple buckin' minuet!" Applejack screeched, "What happened to Apple Bloom?!" Neither foals were to be found in the library.
"Oh no, I think Sora might have gone after Zecora again," Twilight theorized.
"And Apple Bloom must've followed right after him again!" Applejack huffed, "Why doesn't that filly ever do as she's told?!"
"Phee goshha sho ashfeer shem!" Pinkie Pie sputtered. Rushing out the door.
"C'mon, ya'll!" Applejack jumped on top of Twilight and climbed atop her head, "We gotta catch up with 'em!" The mares funneled out the door to begin their search. Fluttershy almost left, but she noticed that Spike seemed to be working at a side desk.
"Spike, aren't you coming with?" She asked with her deep voice.
"Well, someone needs to stay behind and look for a cure, right?" Spike reasoned. Fluttershy shrugged and exited the library. After she left, Spike received a stroke of genius, "Twilight Flopple! Oh, I'm good."
—
Sora grumpily trotted the path in the Everfree Forest. He had no clue where he could even find Zecora, but that was no reason not to look. What wasn't helping his situation was the filly following his movements.
"Why are you still following me?" Sora questioned Apple Bloom, not looking at the filly who was right behind him.
"What, ya gonna make me stop?" The young Apple taunted, gliding over to Sora's side, "Some dumb colt wearing a grown pony's clothes."
"I'm older than you!" Sora shouted, getting really irritated with his small frame, "And these are my clothes!"
"Yeah, well at least I didn't get cursed," Apple Bloom retorted. Sora groaned in annoyance.
Sora, in his grumpiness, failed to notice that his right sleeve was sliding outward. The next step he took, his little hoof got caught in his sleeve, thereby making Sora trip and fall on his face. The sudden jolt of movement forced Sora's saddlebags open, spilling their contents on the dirt path. There was a collection of green bottles, a few keychains, along with a few more miscellaneous items. Apple Bloom burst in laughter after seeing Sora fall down once again. The caramel colt shook his head to regain his focus. Hearing Apple Bloom laugh at his misfortune once more made Sora even more grumpy.
"Shut up!" Sora shouted, getting up to put his things back in his saddlebags, "It's not my fault I got small!"
Apple Bloom was having a field day seeing Sora so pouty all of a sudden. As he was stuffing his saddlebags back up, Apple Bloom saw a curious item at her hooves. It was a little trinket made out of yellow sea shells sewn together to look like a star. Attached to the top of one of the shells was a braided piece of string. On that same shell was a little drawing of a smiley face with brown hair. Finding another avenue to tease Sora, Apple Bloom grasped the string with her teeth.
"Hey, Sora," She prodded. The caramel pegasus looked over to the yellow filly. All manner of annoyed frustration quickly turned into pure horror when he saw the trinket dangling from her teeth, "Ah didn't know you like jewelry so much," She teased. Sora's eyes were as small as pinpricks and his throat felt dry.
"Give that back!" He demanded, not out of anger, but out of desperation. Apple Bloom didn't pick up on his tone and decided to probe further for the fun of it.
"Oh really?" She started to swing it back and forth mockingly, "I'll give it back if you let me come with you."
Getting extorted like that, Sora felt something within him snap. In a quick motion, Sora leapt at Apple Bloom, tackling her with enough force to knock the trinket out of her teeth. The two foals rolled on the floor until Sora pinned Apple Bloom to the base of the tree. The face Apple Bloom saw was not the kind and supportive Sora she had grown to know. This pony showed malice, anger, but most of all, pain. Looking up at such an intimidating face, Apple Bloom felt only fear. Under that crushing gaze, she began to cry. Sora, upon seeing what his rage induced, softened his expression into pure regret. Immediately, he backed away to allow Apple Bloom to regain her composure. Sora felt a wave of remorse when he saw Apple Bloom sniffling as she stood up, tears leaking down her face.
"Apple Bloom..." Sora felt awful for what he just did that he was leaking from his eyes as well, "I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have—"
"No, ah... Ah was being a brat," Apple Bloom interrupted him, wiping the tears off her face, "Ah shouldn't have been teasing ya like ah did," Sora wasn't satisfied with that.
"No, I almost hurt you!" Sora turned away in shame, "That's the second time I've snapped at one of my friends. What's wrong with me?". He began to sniffle away in despair until Apple Bloom moved his head so that he was making eye contact with her.
"Sora, listen, you're mah friend. Ah know yer a good pony, and Aah don't wanna lose ya just because ya got angry," Apple Bloom gave him a simple smile. That smile seemed to cast some sort of spell on Sora as he felt his fears leave him. Feeling relieved that Apple Bloom did not hate him, Sora used his oversized sleeve to wipe away his tears.
"Thanks, Apple Bloom," He expressed his gratitude. Apple Bloom widened her smile to see that Sora was feeling better. From the corner of her eye, the filly noticed the star trinket lying on the ground.
"Say, Sora, what's so special about that there trinket?" She pointed to the the charm. Sora followed Apple Bloom's hoof to find his possession on the ground. Without missing a beat, Sora scooped up the trinket in his little hooves.
"It's called a wayfinder," Sora looked at the charm in his hooves, this special item that had great meaning to him, "It was gift from a friend of mine. Someone very important to me," Sora brought the wayfinder to his chest, almost as if holding it close provided some kind of comfort.
"Oh," Apple Bloom suddenly felt really bad about teasing him over that wayfinder thing, "Sora, ah didn't know it was that important to ya."
"It is. More than you could ever realize," Sora could feel something gripping his heart, I have to know. I can't leave anything to chance... Not after what he did to her," He held the charm even tighter. Apple Bloom could see that Sora was very emotionally strained right now.
"Say, Sora," Apple Bloom wanted to change the subject, "Do ya think that Zecora really is evil?" Sora eased the tension in his muscles and considered that question. There really was no reason for him to suspect Zecora of being an evil enchantress. But there was something he noticed when he first saw her, those piercing yellow eyes.
"I really don't know," Sora answered, "There's something about her that I'm unsure about. If what I suspect is true, then we could all be in serious danger," He spoke with dread, something which Apple Bloom caught onto.
"Okay but... You're in no position to be fightin' anythin'," Apple Bloom pointed to Sora. He knew what she was talking about, his current form as a colt. His clothes didn't fit him and he couldn't even hold his Keyblade right. Sora looked down to the Wayfinder in his hooves. He felt so helpless right now, "Listen, Sora, ah just wanna be helpful."
"Apple Bloom..." Sora looked to his young friend.
"What's this, two foals who have strayed from home? Perhaps I should be nice and throw them a bone."
Sora and Apple Bloom froze in place. There was someone else with them. Apple Bloom felt a lump in her throat.
"I-it's you..." She breathed.
Sora was fixated on only one thing from this new visitor, "Y-your eyes..."
—
The mares rushed into the forest as fast as they could. In Rainbow Dash's case, she fumbled around, hitting almost every tree she passed by. After half an hour of searching, she eventually crashed near a rustic looking hut adorned with foliage and a few bones. The mares followed after the fumbling cyan mare, coming up to the hut.
"Well, ah'd say that's where a witch would live," Applejack commented. The mares peeked in through the window to get a look at the interior. It was certainly creepy, strange scary masks, shelves lined with potions and herbs, a cauldron in the center with boiling green liquid.
"Look!" Rarity shouted, "On the table over there!" She pointed to a rustic table in the corner, where there lay black and red clothes.
"Okay, so there are clothes on the table," Twilight related, "What's so strange about that?"
"Those aren't just anypony's clothes. Those are Sora's!" She said in horror. The mares all gasped in shock.
"Are you sure?" Twilight asked.
"Believe me," Rarity spoke with complete certainty, "I'd recognize that fine craftsponyship anywhere," Twilight felt a pit in her stomach. Surely, there was no way anything happened to Sora, he was to battle hardened to be bested so easily. Then again, his new foalhood would severely limit his abilities.
Just then, the wooden door creaked open. It was fairly obvious to the mares who it was, it was Zecora; she had the stripes and the mohawk, yet she was not wearing her hood. Now her full features were visible. She wore gold rings around her neck and left fore-leg along with golden hoop earrings. Her eyes were a dark, greenish blue color. Zecora reached for a nearby bottle and poured some into the cauldron. Then she began to cite some incantations in a language none of the ponies could understand. As this scene was playing out, Twilight began to grow ever fearful.
"Okay, creepy masks, a boiling cauldron, Sora's clothes on the side table. These certainly seem bad," Twilight admitted, wondering if everypony's fears were well founded after all. Despite how it looked, she still held onto hope that it wasn't as bad as it seemed, "But, who knows? I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for all of this. Maybe she's just making soup."
Zecora brought her snout close to her cauldron and gave a big whiff to the concoction, "Ah, the perfect temperature for ponies, I presume. Now, where are Sora and Apple Bloom?"
Twilight gasped in pure horror, "Or maybe she's making foal stew!"
"We gotta get in there!" Rainbow Dash yelled, flopping on the ground. She rushed forward and burst through the door. Zecora stopped her incantations as the cyan mare bounced around the room, knocking over masks and other trinkets. The zebra was more than surprised that this was happening.
"What have you done with our friends?!" Twilight and the others soon barged into the room as well, all glaring at the zebra. While Zecora was under scrutiny, Rainbow Crashed into the cauldron, tipping it over and spilling it's contents. Zecora looked at the spilled brew with disdain and horror.
"No! You know not what you do!" She screamed, "You've gone and spilled my precious brew!"
"We're onto you Zecora," Twilight, with Applejack still atop her head, stepped up to Zecora, "I didn't want to believe that you cursed us, but the evidence is overwhelming!"
"You made me look ridiculous," Rarity pointed a hoof at the zebra.
"You made me sound ridiculous!" Fluttershy uncharacteristically glared at Zecora.
"[You made me speak ridiculous!]" Pinkie accused as well, not that anyone understood her.
"You ruined my horn!" Twilight fired.
"How dare you!" Zecora shot back, "You destroy my home, destroy my work, then rudely accuse me of being a jerk?
"You put this curse on us, now you're gonna uncurse us!" Rainbow Dash demanded. Zecora was seething with anger under all of this accusations.
"It is unwise to venture down this road," She warned, getting into a head lock with Twilight, "Your actions will make my anger explode!"
"Out with it, witch!" Applejack spouted, "What did you do with Sora and Apple Bloom?"
"Hey Zecora, we're back!" Came a colt's voice. Twilight eased her muscles and broke out of the head lock when she saw two foals at the front door. It was Sora and Apple Bloom, they were fine! Sora still had his over sized saddlebags on. When the two saw the state of Zecora's house, the two of them widened their eyes, "Hey, what happened? Why are you all here?"
Applejack gasped, jumping off Twilight's head and onto the table with Sora's clothes, "Sora, Apple Bloom! Yer okay!"
"Of course we are," Sora puffed up his chest, "Why wouldn't we be okay?"
"Because Zecora's an evil enchantress who placed a curse on us," Twilight answered awkwardly. After she said that, the purple unicorn realized how ridiculous that sounded. Twilight felt felt even more silly when Zecora, Sora and Apple Bloom all burst out into laughter.
"C'mon, Twilight, you said there's no such thing as curses, right," Sora teased. While looking at her friend, Twilight just only now realized something: colt Sora was absolutely adorable.
"Sora," Twilight was still processing what was happening, "You can't just stand there and tell being turned back into a colt isn't a curse," She was met with another round of chortling.
"It ain't a curse," Apple Bloom affirmed. Zecora tapped on Twilight's side to gain her attention.
"If you will remember back, the words I spoke were quite exact."
"Beware, beware you pony folk. Those leaves of blue are not a joke."
That was what Zecora said, but it was far too cryptic to understand her meaning.
"She was warnin' ya'll," Apple Bloom elaborated, "About that blue plant. It's called Poison Joke."
"That plant is much like poison oak," Zecora further explained, "But its results are like a joke."
"What in the hay does that mean?" Applejack could not understand Zecora's unique way of forming sentences.
"It means this plant does not breed wrath. Instead this plant just wants a laugh."
"Will somepony please talk normal?" The farm mare pleaded.
"I think what she's saying is that when we ran into Sora yesterday, we ran into the poison joke," Everything was starting to become clear, "All our problems are just little jokes it played on us."
"Little jokes?!" Applejack repeated, "Very funny," Even Sora had to lightly glare at Twilight for that comment.
"Okay, fine. But what about the cauldron?" Rainbow questioned.
"She was preparing a bath for the cure," Sora said. He crossed his fore-hooves, miffed that the brew was knocked over, "She was going to make me big again."
"Wait, that was a bath?" Twilight repeated.
"Yeah, me and Sora were collecting herbs for a remedy that cures poison joke," Apple Bloom explained, motioning to Sora's saddlebags. Twilight shook her head in disbelief.
"But I tried to find a cure in all my books and couldn't find anything," The purple unicorn revealed, "What book has this natural remedy?"
"Here is the book, you see?" Zecora presented to Twilight a very familiar looking book, Supernaturals, "Sad that you lack it in your library," Twilight winced in embarrassment.
"Actually, I do have this book, but I didn't look inside," Twilight opened the cover where she saw the full title, "Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-alls That Are Simply Super," Twilight felt very silly for overlooking something that was right in front of her. More than that, Twilight felt guilty that she assumed Zecora was evil, "I...I... I'm so sorry, Zecora. I had the answer the whole time, if only I had bothered to look inside."
"Maybe next time you will take a second look, and not judge the cover of the book," The mares all looked to the ground in guilt. They had indeed judged Zecora based purely on superficial prospects. They never tried to get to know her. Tuns out she was a very neighborly individual.
"Zecora? Would you be kind enough to mix up another batch of the herbal bath?" Twilight asked. Her horn was floppy all day and she wanted to get it back to normal.
"Mix it up I certainly will," Zecora agreed, "Yet I am missing an herb from Ponyville."
"But whenever Zecora comes to town, the shops are always closed," Sora said. Twilight could see why that was.
"Oh, well... I think we can take care of that," Twilight assured.
—
After acquiring the proper herbs at the market, the group reconvened at the Ponyville spa. It took some convincing, but Twilight managed to convince the staff to use their facilities for Zecora's recipe. A tub was prepared so that Zecora could place in the ingredients collected by Sora and Apple Bloom. The tub was big enough for multiple ponies to enter. Zecora mixed together the treatment so that the afflicted could receive treatment. When the mares entered the tub, the effects were almost immediate. The effects of the poison joke disappeared, bringing the mares back to their original selves.
"Ahh," Rarity was enjoying herself in this relaxing remedy, "I could get use to this."
"Alright, Sora, it's yer turn," Apple Bloom turned to Sora, who had yet to be cured. The caramel colt blushed, "What's wrong?"
"Um..." Sora fiddled with his little hooves, "I really shouldn't get in a bath with a bunch of girls," He said awkwardly.
"Oh for pony's sake," Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. Deciding to take matters into her own hooves, Apple Bloom trotted behind Sora and gave him a forceful shove. Sora yelped in surprise and fell into the remedy, disappearing with a splash. The mares looked at the spot Sora fell in with anticipation. Sora did pop out from underneath the water, back to his normal teenage self.
"Yes! I'm big again!" Sora threw his hooves up to the air in victory. Something then occurred to him as he reverted back to his appropriate age. Looking around the tub, a certain country mare was missing, "Wait, where's A.J?" The mares all gasped in fear, wondering if they accidentally sat on her.
"Ah'm down here!" Called Applejack in her normal tone of voice. The ponies in the tub looked over the edge to Find Applejack. She was given a smaller tub to bath in. Now that she was big again, her posterior was humorously stuck in the small bowl.
"Good to see you aren't tiny anymore," Sora complimented.
"Yeah, and ah see yer not a colt anymore," She said in jest. Sora chuckled. He was in very good spirits right now. While the ponies were conversing with each other, one of of the spa ponies addressed Zecora.
"Miss Zecora, I would love to get the recipe for this bath," She requested, "It's simply luxurious!"
"Well, I certainly learned something today," Twilight commented.
"Really, what?" Sora turned to her.
"I learned that I should never judge a book by its cover. Someone may look unusual, or funny, or scary. But you need to look past that and learn who he or she is inside. Real friends don't care what your "cover" is; it's the "contents" of a pony that count. And a good friend, like a good book, is something that will last forever," Sora smiled at Twilight.
"That's a really good lesson," Sora thought, "Maybe I should take that to heart. It certainly would've saved me alot of stress."
Sora felt so relieved when he discovered that Zecora's eyes weren't actually yellow. He remembers the conversation they had together quite clearly.
—
"Y-your eyes..." Sora said.
"Hold on, I remember you one who is small," She said, "When I saw you yesterday, you were quite tall," Sora, remembering that he was currently a colt, blushed. Zecora chuckled at his bashfulness, "You seem to be quite shy. Don't worry, I'm not a bad guy."
"Um... miss Zecora," Apple Bloom caught the zebra's attention, "We wanted to talk to you about what happened. Why Sora's a colt and all that. And the others too."
"Oh, I know what the problem is here," Zecora gave a curt nod, "Follow me, my home is quite near," She turned her frame and began to trot towards her home. Apple Bloom followed after her. Sora, however, needed to get something cleared up.
"Hold on," Sora requested. Zecora and Apple Bloom stopped in their tracks. With her undivided attention, "When I saw you yesterday, you had yellow eyes. Why was that?" Zecora scratched her head in confusion.
"I do not know what you mean," She admitted, "Perhaps it was a trick you had seen," Sora's pupils shrunk.
"Ah don't remember Zecora having yellow eyes, Sora," Apple Bloom shared. Sora couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"You mean, I just imagined it," Sora did not know how to respond. He simply held his wayfinder tighter.
"Do not fret he with the spiky hair," Zecora put a hoof to Sora's chin, giving the colt a supportive smile, "Perhaps there is something you wish to share."
Sora turned his head away, "I don't want to. It's too painful," Apple Bloom looked at Sora with clear concern.
"I see, your business is your own," Zecora responded, "But despair I cannot condone," She raised Sora's chin so that he could look into her soft eyes, "Your fears are eating your heart. Letting go is a good start," Sora considered her strange wisdom. Maybe she was right, maybe he shouldn't let his fears control him. He was not sure if he could do it, but he could at least try.
"Thank you," Sora told Zecora, "You cheer me up," Sora suddenly sprang onto Zecora with a hug. The zebra blinked in surprise, then she reciprocated the hug. Apple Bloom joined in on the hug as well. Sora felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders, he was glad to have made a new friend like Zecora.
After they broke their hug, Sora took another glance at his wayfinder before putting it back into his saddlebags, "So, you can cure me, right?"