"Is it just me or is the sky prettier than usual?" Asked Twilight while strolling through the town with Spike and Comet.
Her childhood friend raised his head to see better. "Hmm, perhaps Soarin has gotten up early for once and cleared all the clouds away?"
"Maybe but where is everypony?" Asked Spike. "We haven't seen a single soul since we left the library."
"Good question, maybe today's some local celebration?" Proposed Twilight.
"Even if the majority of the town was celebrating, it still doesn't explain why there's nopony in sight." Countered Comet.
It wasn't until they were near the Sugar Cube Corner that they heard something.
"Psst! Comet, Twilight…"
They turned to the direction of the sound to see Pinkie Pie whispering to them from the window.
"Come quickly! Before she gets you three!"
They went inside as the pink mare asked them to.
"May I ask what are you doing here alone in the dark?" Asked Comet.
"Oh, I'm not alone here!" Pinkie said.
At that moment Twilight and Comet noticed that the room was filled with the rest of the mane six plus Rumble and Applebloom. Almost all of their muzzles betrayed fright, save for Time Turner and the two foals.
"Okay then, what are you all doing here, hiding?" Twilight inquired.
"We're hidin' from her!" Said Braeburn, while pointing at something.
All of them walked to the window. There was a pony-like hooded figure, digging something in the ground with her hoof. Suddenly she pulled off her hood and looked at the ponies gathered at the window. She was a zebra with blue eyes a mohawk and rings around her neck.
All but Comet Tail, Twilight and Time Turner, backed down.
"Will you cut that out?" Comet asked a little annoyed by their behaviour.
Apple Bloom walked closer to the lavender mare. "Did you see her Twilight? Did you see… Zecora?"
Before anyone else could say anything Braeburn furrowed his brows.
"Apple Bloom! I told you to don't say her name!" He said.
"As though, this matters in any way." Time Turner said skeptically.
"Well, I saw her glance that way-" Said Twilight.
"You mean evilly glance this way." Interrupted Cheese Sandwich
"...And then the bunch of you flip out for no good reason." She finished.
"No good reason? You call protectin' yer kin no good reason?" Asked Braeburn somewhat angrily. He took Applebloom under his arm.
"Why, as soon as my cus saw Zecora ridin' into town, she started shakin' in her lil' horseshoes." He added.
"Did not!" The filly protested.
"So I swept her up and brought her here, for safe keepin.'" Braeburn finished.
"Ah walked here myself!" Apple Bloom said angrily. "You and Applejack should get it through your heads, I'm not a baby anymore!"
"Tell me about it." Said Rumble unamused.
Thunderlane sighed. "Don't start this today. I'm after a shift and tired as all Tartarus."
The colt rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
"Good thing you have a brother as protective as Thunderlane, kid." Said Soarin. "You don't know what to expect around that creep."
"I know right?" Said Cheese Sandwich. "What kind of sociopath paint themselves in black stripes.
"She didn't paint herself." Said Comet Tail, slightly annoyed. "She's a zebra. It's her inherent trait not a form of artistic expression."
"I've never seen a pony like her in these parts, cept' her. Where's she from?" Inquired Braeburn.
"Most probable answers are either Zebrabwe or Farasi." Replied Twilight. "Though Zebra's diasporas have settled in all the neighboring kingdoms. Where does she live exactly.
"That's the spookiest part of all." Said Cheese Sandwich "She lives in the Everfree forest."
"Quite a brave gal." Remarked Time Turner. "I wonder what prompted her to settle there."
"Probably, the welcoming locals." Noted Comet Tail sarcastically.
"Everything is cool and all, but have any you seen Zecora actually do something?" Asked Rumble still not convinced.
"Rumble just… don't." Said his older brother sounding defeated.
"No,no,no this young colt actually makes a good point." Said Time Turner looking at Braeburn, Soarin and Thunderlane. "Have you?"
"Well… once a month she comes to Ponyville." Said Soarin.
"Oooh!" Mocked Rumble.
"Then she lurks at the stores." Added Braeburn
"Oh,my." Rumble continued on ridiculing
"And then she digs in the ground." Cheese Sandwich said.
"Goodness gracious!" Sneered the gray colt.
He finally looked at his older brother. "What do you think?"
Thunderlane shrugged his arms. "I think it's better to be safe than sorry."
Rumble groaned.
"Can't I at least say hello?" He asked.
"Until we figure out her intentions you're staying away from her." Said Thunderlane authoritatively, starting to get fed up with his brother's antics.
"Have any of you actually approached Zecora and talked to her?" Asked Twilight.
She was met with silence.
"Thought as much." Said Comet.
"Don't judge, dude. Something like this requires guts." Replied Soarin defensively.
"I have guts." Said Rumble. "Can I-"
"NO!" Thunderlane boomed at his younger brother.
The argument between gathered ponies was growing stronger minute by minute, so much so that none of the adults noticed that one of the foals was missing.
"Well, I heard that Zecora eats hay." Said Pinkie Pie.
Comet sighed. "Pinkie, I eat hay. You eat hay!"
"Yeah, but I heard, it's the evil way she eats hay." The mare replied.
Soarin had a feeling something was wrong. "Ehh… guys?"
"What?" Asked Comet, tired of the conversation that seemed to go nowhere.
"Where's Apple Bloom?"
Silence filled the room. Braeburn's face went so pale he reminded Comet of Shining Armor.
"Alright, it's no time to panic." Thunderlane took the initiative. "The elements will retrieve Apple Bloom, while the rest of you will stay put."
"Why?" Asked Rumble.
"Because there needs to be somepony waiting for Apple Bloom in case she comes back." Retorted The dark gray pegasus. "Plus y'all be safe here."
Comet cocked his eyebrow at Thunderlane's mannerism while speaking. Was it Braeburn rubbing off on him?
"While I appreciate the concern, I'm going with you." Said Twilight. "I'm going to put a stop to this superstitious way of thinking about foreign creatures."
Thunderlane nodded his head. "As you wish."
With that they all went looking for the missing filly.
Following Zecora was easier than Apple Bloom initially thought.
Just stay at about 30 hooves away from the zebra and make sure to keep close to the vegetation in case she glances back. Foal's play, really.
She followed her for at least half a mile, until they finally reached the edge of the Everfree forest.
Apple Bloom swallowed a lump in her throat and reluctantly followed the striped equine.
All was going according to plan, until…
"Apple Bloom!"
She looked behind her to see the element bearers and Twilight, among them, her angry looking cousin.
"Get yer flank right here youn' lady before yer sista' flays me!" Braeburn added angrily.
"Beware! Beware, you pony folk! Those leaves of blue are not a joke!" Zecora ominously said from afar.
Braeburn ran over to the filly and put her on his back.
"Y-you keep your creepy mambo jumbo yo yourself, yo hear!" He shouted.
"Yeah! What he said!" Exclaimed Soarin as he walked up to his friend.
"Oh brother." Sighed Twilight.
"My thoughts exactly." Added Time Turner.
Braeburn and Soarin shouted a few insults before making their way to the rest of the group.
"That will show her!" Said Soarin proudly.
"It sure will." Replied Comet Tail snarkily.
After a short argument about whether the Soarin and Braeburn's actions were justified, all of them went on their own separate ways.
They wouldn't even imagine what awaited them tomorrow
The next day Comet woke up groggy and not in a good mood. All the night he was haunted by bad dreams, mostly about his friends meeting a terrible fate.
All this talking about curses started plowing seeds of doubt in his mind. What if Soarin and Braeburn were right? What if his dreams meant something.
"Hello, equus to Comet."
The unicorn looked up to see smiling Twilight. "I asked if you want another batch of fried eggs."
"Uhh, yeah sure. Thanks"
But before she could get to the stove something hit the window with tremendous force. After a few seconds it hit again, this time the wall
They all heard a groan that sounded suspiciously familiar.
"Soarin?" Asked Twilight.
"A curse! She put a-" This time the pegasus collided with the door, opening it and flying inside. Upon entering the library he rammed into the bookshelf.
It was a surreal experience for Comet to watch one of the best flyers he knew struggle with basic aerial navigation.
"Zecora, she cursed us for what we said!" The pegasus exclaimed angrily.
"We?" Inquired Twilight.
Before Soarin could say anything Braeburn entered the library with a disgruntled face.
"Braeburn, you okay buddy?" Asked Comet.
The stallion shook his head.
"There's also something wrong with you?"
The earth pony nodded.
They waited for an answer but it didn't come.
"Are you going to tell us, or…"
"You don't have to feel ashamed of anything." Twilight said supportively, chiming into the conversation.
The apple farmer sighed. "I don't wanna talk about it." He said in a comically high voice.
All of them were taken aback with exception of Spike, who started to laugh uncontrollably.
Comet's 'slap' to the back of his head, stopped the young drake's fit.
"In my case it looks like I fly in reverse." Interjected Soarin. "We've got to that zebra and make her pay for that."
"Steady now, Soar." Said Comet. "I'm sure we can find a book that explains your and Braeburn's predicament."
Spike walked to one of the sections and pulled out a single book.
"What about this one?" He asked.
Comet took a glance at the suggested book and grimaced.
"Supernaturals"? 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 hooey!"
"But what if that's the answer?" Asked the young drake. "What if-"
"Enough!" Said Comet with a firm tone. "Everypony! We're leaving in two minutes and taking this matter to Time Turner. If he doesn't know what to do then i don't know who will."
They did as Comet said and soon enough where inside Time Turner's workshop, explaining the problem.
"I have to say during my lifetime I've seen some strange things." He said taking off his glasses. "But this one takes the cake. Pegasus flying backwards and a pony with a high pitched voice without any exterior factors involved? I'm intrigued myself."
"I take it you don't know the solution either?" Asked Comet.
Time Turner shook his head. The yellow unicorn sighed.
"Guys?!"
All of them turned to the direction of the voice to see a very nervous Thunderlane.
"Rumble is missing. I can't find him anywhere." He said.
Braeburn's eyes widened. "AJ couldn't find Apple Bloom when I was leaving the farm."
Thunderlane's face changed to that of confusion. "What happened to your voice?"
"Zecora." Replied Soarin before anyone could say anything. "Not only did she curse us, she also took Rumble and Apple Bloom!"
"What a bunch of rubbish." Snarled Time Turner. "Braeburn and Thunderlane were so against the idea that it intrigued the little ones. I bet my workshop and everything that is in it that they're on their way to see her right now."
"That settles it." Said Braeburn. "We need to go catch Apple Bloom and Rumble before they do something they'll regret.
"And make Zecora talk." Added Soarin.
Twilight, Comet and Time Turner had mixed feelings about all of this.
The young member of the Apple family had chosen a route that she was familiar with. Easy choice if the only other option is getting lost in the forest. She continued her walk for about an hour before she heard something familiar.
"What are you doing here?"
She turned her head to see Rumble.
"Ah findin' out the truth." Apple Bloom replied.
"The truth?"
"Yeah, you know 'bout Zecora."
The colt grinned "Well then it's a good thing you've just got yourself a companion."
The filly smirked "Just try not to slow me down, alright?"
Rumble chuckled "I won't. I'll even tell you where to go."
Apple Bloom lived up a little. "You know the way?"
He shrugged his arms. "Vaguely. I know that her hut is somewhere in the western parts of the forest." The colt took out the compass. "This will help us."
And so they went to finally meet the mysterious figure they've heard so much about.
After a long journey the element bearers and Twilight found themselves before a dwelling that was built into the natural form of the tree, much like the Golden Oak library.
All of them huddled by the window. Inside they saw a room full of colorful potions and exotic masks. Vines crawling themselves on shelves gave it a nice rustic look.
"Nice masks." Said Soarin. "If you gobble up foals for lunch."
"There has been no recorded proof of zebras eating ponies." Remarked Twilight. "It's most probably just a fairy tale conjured out of fear."
At that moment Zecora entered the hut. She walked up to the iron cauldron sitting in the middle of the room and poured some ingredient from a small clay pot.
The zebra softly chanted something the ponies couldn't understand.
"She's putin' a curse on somepony else." Said Braeburn.
"Don't be ridiculous." Said Twilight. "Zebras cannot cast spells.
"Can't they?" Comet asked unsure. "We don't know that much about them, Twilight. Last time I checked there was nothing about them having cutie marks."
The unicorn pointed at her flank, which in fact presented a spiral shape. "Who says they can't cast spells then?"
"I…I…" Twilight didn't know how to counter Comet's arguments as he clearly had a point.
"She could be just simply making a soup." Time Turner decided to chime in.
Meanwhile Zecora stopped stirring the cauldron and smiled. "Mmm! The perfect temperature for ponies, I presume. Now, where is that little Apple Bloom?"
Thunderlane tensed up immediately. "I've heard enough." He started trotting quickly towards her door.
"Wait-" Started Time Turner but it was too late. The dark pegasus had already swung the door open.
"Where are they?!" Thunderlane spoke loudly.
"Excuse me?" Asked the zebra.
"Apple Bloom and Rumble, where are they!?"
Before anyone could say anything else Soarin had flew inside the hut in a chaotic manner, knocking a few potions and the cauldron, spilling it's content on the floor.
By that time the rest of the group made their way inside the hut.
"No! You know not what you do! You've gone and spilled my precious brew!" Exclaimed the zebra angrily.
"We're onto you Zecora!" Shouted Soarin. "You made me fly in reverse!"
"You made me sound ridiculous!" Braeburn yelled in a high pitch voiced.
"And you've kidnapped two foals!" Added Thunderlane.
"Enough!" Shouted Time Turner. "I'm sure there must've been some kind of misunderstanding."
"How dare you! You destroy my home, destroy my work, then rudely accuse me of being a jerk?" Zecora argued back.
She started bumping heads with Thunderlane, steam coming off from their nostrils.
"Zecora! I think we found everything you've as-" Rumble and Applebloom stopped in their tracks as they entered the room completely unharmed.
"Eeeh… did we miss something?" Asked the gray colt.
"What in Ponyville is goin' on here?" Asked Apple Bloom only to be immediately hugged by Braeburn.
"Apple Bloom! Oh, thanks Faust you're alright!" He said delighted.
Both foals looked at him weirdly.
"Why do you sound like that?" Rumble asked, confused.
Thunderlane stomped his hoof powerfully on the wooden floor, drawing the colt's attention.
Rumble gulped, intimidated.
"You and I will be having a talk later today." Said the older pegasus ominously.
Soarin didn't know what to think.
"But, what about these curses?" He asked.
Zecora chuckled. "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."
"It was a warnin'. About that blue plant. It's called Poison Joke." Explained Apple Bloom.
"That plant is much like poison oak, but its results are like a joke." Added Zecora.
"What does that mean?" Asked Comet Tail.
"It means this plant does not breed wrath. Instead, this plant just wants a laugh." Said the zebra.
"An' in ponish?" Inquired a very confused Braeburn.
"I think what she's saying is that, when we ran in to save Apple Bloom, we ran into the poison joke. All our problems are just little jokes it played on us." Twilight chimed in.
"Okay, fine. But what about the cauldron?" Asked Soarin.
"An' the chantin'?" Added Braeburn
"And the creepy décor?" Finished Thunderlane.
"Treasures of the native land where I am from." Said Zecora painting to the masks. "This one speaks 'hello', and this 'welcome'."
"Not welcoming at all, if you ask me." Replied the dark pegasus.
"The words I chanted were from olden times." The zebra continued. "Something you call a nursery rhyme."
"But the cauldron... The Apple Bloom soup?" Asked Comet.
"Lookie here Comet. That pot of water wasn't for me, it was for all these herbal ingredients. The cure for poison joke is a simple old-natural remedy. You just gotta take a bubble bath!" Apple Bloom said pointing to the opened book.
"But I tried to find a cure in all my books and couldn't find anything. What book has this natural remedy?" Comet asked Zecora.
"Here is the book, you see? Sad that you lack it in your library." The Zebra said, closing it and pointing to the cover.
But Comet recognised it immediately.
"Actually, I do have this book, but I didn't look inside because the title was so... Weird. 'Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-alls That Are Simply Super'. I, I…" The unicorn felt embarrassed. "I'm so sorry, Zecora. I had the answer the whole time, if only I had bothered to look inside."
The Zebra chuckled and smiled. "Maybe next time you will take a second look, and not judge the cover of the book."
"Zecora? Would you be kind enough to mix up another batch of the herbal bath?" Twilight asked.
"Mix it up I certainly will. Yet I am missing an herb from Ponyville." Zecora said.
"The thing is whenever Zecora comes to town all the shops are mysteriously closed." Rumble said with a hint of sarcasm.
Twilight and Comet looked at each other.
"I think we can help you with that." Time Turner said, smiling.
Soon enough both Braeburn and Soarin were sitting inside the herbal bath, inside the Ponyville Day Spa. The rest of the Mane Six and Twilight were taking a regular bath.
"You know… she's not that bad after all." Said Soarin.
"Ah concur." Replied Braeburn this time in his natural voice.
Comet Tail smiled. "Went better than I expected." He said out loud.
"If you omit the fact that we broke into her home and damaged a few valuable items, then I guess it went pretty smooth." Twilight said teasingly.
Comet scratched the back of his head, smirking. "Heh, that was pretty funny… You know what's funnier?"
The mare shook her head. "Enlighten me."
"Tomorrow we will have a huge book delivery and somepony needs to sort them out alphabetically while I read the latest Daring Doo entry.
She giggled. "You're about as 'hardworking' as when you were in the school for gifted unicorns."
"Would you want it to be any other way?"
She seated herself closer to him, something Comet didn't expect.
"Never." She replied, laying her head on his shoulder, causing him to blush, much to the amusement of other members of the mane six.
"Ah bet 10 bits somethin' will happen between these two by the end of the year." Braeburn whispered to Soarin.
The pegasus chuckled. "I bet 20 it'll be by the end of this month."
"Deal." Said Braeburn spitting on his hoof. Soarin did the same, sealing the deal.
The weather patrol pony really hoped he will be right this time.