//------------------------------// // Ch. 13: Talented stripes (Zia Side-story) // Story: An Island built in the sky // by Brotato //------------------------------// Chapter 13 Talented stripes While Hammer and the others were busy at the Bastion, Zia enjoyed her time in Ponyville. Or at least whoever she managed to say hi to before they noticed she wasn't somepon named Zecroa.. They seemed to fear her after realizing that, which she found odd since she didn't look any different besides her white and black striped body. Maybe it was her choice of clothes? Or possibly the harp guitar wrapped to her back? She may never know. As the day went by with little luck in conversation with the other residents, she stopped by Sugarcube corner. It was mid-afternoon when she passed by the delectable smell of baking pastries. It showed the way while her stomach took control of her hooves. She entered the doorway and found the place empty of customers. It would've been thought deserted if she didn't hear pleasant humming coming from the swing doors behind the counter. The colorful confectioneries under the glass window at the counter caught her eye and she heard her stomach grumble that it wanted one. Unfortunately her mind beat her stomach with the fact she didn't have any money to buy the deliciousness hiding behind the glass. As she turned around, something that sounded like a squeaking metal door came from the back room. The humming stopped and the sound of disappointed muttering came afterwards. Her curiosity took control and she peeked under the swing-doors. "Oh dear, this is just awful!" A light blue pony with a mane that reminded Zia of red frosting said. She was busy examining a tray on a counter, but Zia couldn't get a good look at what was wrong with her head low to the ground. Bringing her head back up, she pushed lightly on the swinging door and it made a loud squeak. "Is that you Pinkie?" The pony turned around and spotted Zia, a small smile forming on her face. "Oh! hello Zecora. What brings you here?" She eyed "Zecora's" mane and noticed it didn't have the Mohawk she usually styled. "I love your new-" She then noticed her cutie mark was what looked like a harp and the blue pony's expression changed from a smile to a hoof to her mouth as she gasped. "Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry. I thought you- Your stripes made it hard to- I mean-" she stumbled out an apology completely embarrassed. Zia found the pony in front of her amusing to watch, but she also felt sorry for the poor mare for disturbing her when she could've just left the store. "It's alright, I actually came back here to find out what was the matter." Zia quickly explained to change the subject. "It's not a problem, miss. I only ruined my third batch of lemon cakes." She said as if it wasn't a big deal. Three silver trays were behind her; the one on top was lightly smoking. "Now, we don't get many zebra's in Ponyville," she began happily, mostly to get her mind off her disaster. She placed a hoof to her chest in greeting. "I'm Mrs. Cake." She looked at Zia expectantly for her to give a name. "Zia," she replied simply. She gave a small bend with her forehooves in what she guessed was the pony resemblance of a curtsy. "Pleased to meet you Miss Zia. Now, was there something you wished to buy? I baked some cupcakes earlier so they should be still warm." Zia slumped her shoulders, which took away her smile. "I would, but I forgot I don't have any money on me at the moment. I just came back here to see if you needed help, but everything seems under control. I'll just come by tomorrow." Zia turned to leave. "You wish to help me?" Mrs. Cake said with slight surprise. "I suppose I could use help making a new batch of lemon cakes. If you help me make the next three batches, I'll give you half a dozen, free of charge." Seeing Zia nodded her head in agreement, she pointed toward a sink across the kitchen. "Go ahead and wash up. I'll gathering more ingredients for us." After Zia washed up and took the harp off her back, they began to make the lemon cakes. Zia was an expert when it came to cooking and would usually create from scratch whatever she could find during her stay at the Bastion. Although most of her cooking on the Bastion was soups and stews, before the Calamity she would bake. Though she had to admit not being near an oven for so long had made her a bit rusty. After receiving several burns and her mane mixed with cake batter, Zia finished baking the treats. Four large silver pans of yellow cake sat on the counter and the strong scent of lemons filled the air. She eyed the cake in earnest until she heard giggling coming from Ms. Cake. "I'm sorry dear, but you look ridiculous. Why don't you go use the restroom upstairs and clean that batter out of your mane. I'll box up your share like I promised." Zia focused on a strand of mane that hung limply in front of her face and she saw a yellow glob attached to it. Most likely from mixing the batter too roughly since it was difficult for Zia to do it with her mouth. She nodded her head and trotted upstairs to rid herself of the lemon-scented batter from her mane. Zia came back down wither her mane kept as close as possible to the way it was before the baking. She began to wonder how these ponies even manage to get by using so many objects obviously meant for human hands. Zia found Ms. Cake behind the counter with a small pink box on top of it, wither her harp beside it. She nudged both objects forward with her nose as a sign to take them with her. "Thank you so much for the help, Zia. I hope to see you tomorrow. I'll be making several chocolate bundt cakes for somepony and could use the help." Ms. Cake helped Zia keep the box on her back and waved her goodbye, wishing again for her to visit tomorrow. Zia trotted down the street with the pink box on her back and her harp hanging against her chest, wrapped in the same cloth. The day had gone by fast from all the baking and she was surprised to find the sun had started to fall when she left. As she followed the street leading to her room, she noticed to her right flashing lights. Her eyes lit up as she saw the chalk stand-up sign next to the entryway of the building. "Come for a one in a lifetime chance to sing/dance/play your heart out in a contest for the best performer in Ponyville." Zia quietly said out loud. "Only one rule: You can only sign up alone. No duets, triplets, etc. First place wins five-hundred bits." Zia would've been excited if she knew what a pony could do with that much money. The thought of performing in front of a crowd intrigued her more than the reward though. She always loved to sing with her harp guitar in hand. or hoof in this case. Curious to find more information about the contest, she made he way toward the building. Inside it was mostly empty except for several customers and the bartender on the other side of the room. Dozens of small circular tables meant for two lined the floor. On the far wall perpendicular to the bar was a small rise most likely to be used for today's contest. The light clank of glass would come from the bar, breaking the silence as one of the customer took a swig of their poison. All of the curtains were closed and whatever lighting there was, it was mostly focused on the stage. A single dim light hung above the bar, letting him work without knocking over any of the bottles. Soon as the door closed behind her the bartender glanced up from his work and raised an eyebrow upon noticing Zia. She walked passed the rows of small tables and stopped in front of the bar to greet the bartender, but he did it first. "Evenin' Miss. What can I get'cha?" The bartender's voice reminded her of Rucks, only younger. He placed his hooves on the bar and waited for an answer. "You can call me Zia, and I'm actually here for the contest." Zia replied quickly and quietly, to not disturb the others from their drinks. It didn't work as the other customers were giving gazes of their own and she wasn't sure if they were out of distrust or curiosity. The bartender seemed to notice this as he threw a rag at the nearest one. "The hay is wrong with ya? Mother ever teach ya that it's rude ta stare?" Grumbling that he had to get another rag, he focused his attention back to Zia. "You wish to join the contest, hmm? Might I ask what you'll be doing?" Zia responded by nodding toward the instrument hanging around her chest. "Nothing too fancy. Just some singing with my harp." The bartender stopped cleaning the glass mug in his hoof upon hear that. "Hun, I don't mean to break your spirit, but we have ponies who will be doing just singin. I hear one earth pony will be torch juggling. You can understand how hard that can be with only your hooves." Zia took a moment to think about that and had to agree that trying to toss multiple torches with hooves was impossible. However, she was determined to at least try. "Where do I sign up? I'm going to at least do my best!" Zia said with growing enthusiasm. The bartender cracked a smile and pointed to a large sheet of paper to the right of the bar. She walked up to it and quickly noticed the long list of ponies already signed up. Fumbling with the pencil that hung on a small chain next to the roster, she scribbled down her name as legible as possible. "The contest should start in an hour." The bartender said when she walked back toward him. His gaze shifted to the front door as more ponies were starting to come in and Zia looked as well. Several of them seemed to be contestants. "If you have any preperations to make, now's a good time. If you want, I can hold onto your package." He pointed at the pink parcel on Zia's back. "Oh, why thank you. Go ahead and take one if you want." Zia reached back and grabbed it with her teeth to place it on the bar counter. The bartender peeked inside the box and grinned. "That's mighty kind of ya. I'll sneak one while the contest is going on. It would be rude of me to eat something so delicious when I should be workin." He placed the package somewhere behind the counter and motioned a nod toward the red curtains behind the stage. "Good Luck, Miss Zia. You're gonna need it." Zia tested her guitar harp several times, enjoying the soft twang it gave off. She was seated against a wall where chairs lined up, away from all the other ponies. Several of the other contestants had instruments of their own and she could spot one testing her violin. Another held a small pony doll in its lap with a hoof hiding behind its back. The array of different talents the group had was impressive. "Careful with those!" The voice broke above the sea of other noises. Zia looked for the source and spotted a tan pony with fiery red mane yelling at another smaller pony who was picking up several large sticks. The red pony sighed in irritation and focused to look around the room. His gaze finally shifted to Zia's, who looked away out of losing interest at the commotion he started. "Hello... what have we here?" The red pony said to himself before casually trotting over to Zia's sitting form. He held a friendly grin on his face. "Hello my dear. My name Flame Brand. May I be so bold as to say you look very stunning Miss..." "Zia," she replied simply, too focused on tuning her instrument. Flame Brand repeated the name like it was some sort of captivating new idea. "Are you alright?' Finally looking up from her harp in mixed annoyance and confusion. "Apologies, it's rare to meet a Zebra in Equestria. Especially in a small town such as Ponyville." His gaze took in her form and the odd, yet colorful sense of style the zebra had. "I've always found Zebras to be quite exotic." The look on his face made Zia cringe and lean back against the wall. She clearly didn't enjoy his company anymore, but he wasn't getting the clues. Thankfully somepony announced that it was time to start the contest, causing Flame to turn toward the voice. Zia took this moment to sneak away before he noticed her joining the gathering crowd. Feeling safe amongst the other ponies, she kept here head low until it was her turn to play her piece. As each contestant finished, they appeared back behind the curtains. Some had big smiles on their face while several were disappointed. One came back covered in what smelled like tomato juice. She was impressed with several of them. The pony with the doll on his lap got tons of laughs with his act. A pegasus with a xylophone used her wings to play a fast-paced tune. When she came backstage, Zia gave a quick compliment for her amazing performance. Flame Brand was called up and she quickly found out he was the torch tossing pony the bartender mentioned about. He held one torch in his mouth which was lit on both sides, while he tossed three others over his head. Zia was mesmerized, yet confused as to how he was holding the torches without risking one to fall. He continued this for another minute before catching all three in his right hoof and doing a quick bow. The crowd erupted in applause. They continued to even after he snuffed out the torches and left the stage. The entire scene didn't help her confidence at all. Several more ponies continued their performances until it was Zia's turn. She took several nervous deep breaths before forcing herself to walk on stage. Several gasps came from the packed crowd as they saw her appear on stage and sit on the small stool presented to her. All eyes were upon her and she had thoughts of running backstage to get away from them, but held still. Looking toward the bar, he saw the bartender gave her a small smile and a nod of his head. "H-hello everypony," Zia started quietly. She cleared her throat and sat up to prepare her song. "The song I will be singing is one I created myself. It's called 'Build that wall'. The room turned quiet as they waited for the song to start. The sound of soft humming came from the zebra which reminded them of a mother humming to a child. She played her harp guitar along with the humming, but stopped momentarily when she spoke. The words came out slow and soft, but loud enough for everypony to hear. I dig my hole you build a wall I dig my hole you build a wall One day that wall is gonna fall Gon' build that city on a hill Gon' build that city on a hill Some day those tears are gonna spill So build that wall and build it strong cause We'll be there before too long Gon' build that wall up to the sky Gon' build that wall up to the sky Some day your bird is gonna fly Gon' build that wall until it's done Gon' build that wall until it's done But now you've got nowhere to run So build that wall and build it strong cause We'll be there before too long The last word seemed to echo through the room as she rested the harp on her lap. She had closed her eyes to focus on the task and found it helped her relax; to ignore the dozens of staring ponies. When she opened her eyes, she found the crowd with expressions of awe and for once, she enjoyed the staring. It took a moment for everypony to notice the singing had stopped. The crowd erupted in cheering while several also applauded. Zia couldn't help herself in smiling at the reaction. Giving a small bow, she trotted happily backstage. The contestants had mixed reactions her amazing singing when she appeared through the curtains. Some gave their support while others were none too pleased. "The crowd sure enjoyed your singing," Flame Brand pointed out. "I'd say you may even beat me." He leaned in close to whisper. "Tell you what. If either of us win, we split it fifty-fifty. I'll even treat you to a nice restaurant I know of. My treat of course. How about it?" Zia stepped back and glare at him. "I'll pass," a disgusted look on her face. Thankfully he dropped the subject with a grim look on his face at being rejected. The last of the contestants finished their pieces before the announcer stood on stage to give the winner. "We had some amazingly talented ponies, don't you agree!" The cheering from the crowd answered back. "Now, without further ado I have the scores from our judges in the back." Zia grew nervous suddenly. She didn't remember seeing a judging table or anything of the sort. Maybe they're were hidden with the crowd. She hoped they were close enough to clearly hear her singing as she feared she didn't sing loud enough. "And the prize for the best talented pony in Ponyville goes to..." Her hammering heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. She always hated when they did this sort of thing to draw tension instead of just tell who the winner was. "Zen?" When nopony came on stage to collect their prize, the announcer appeared, his head poking through the curtains. "Anypony named Zen here?" Zia felt her face blush as she walked up to the announcer. "Excuse me. I think you got my name wrong. Are you sure it's not Zia? I wrote my name in cursive and my writing is a tad, uhm... rusty." The announcer, a light-orange pony with a microphone for a cutie mark, looked at her. "Hm, I guess Bright was right. One of the judges and I tried to figure out what your name was, but could barely read it. Many apologies Miss Zia." He motioned for her to follow him on the stage to collect her prize. The crowd ad turned to confused murmurs at what was going on. When Zia and the announcer reappeared, they quickly noticed the mix-up and broke out into more cheering. Tears of joy sprang from Zia's eyes as she clutched the small trophy in her hooves. The announcer told her that the bits would be given tomorrow at the bar, all she had to do was ask the bartender for them. She half paid attention as she gave small waved to the crowd. To her it was the best time she ever had ever since being in Ponyville. Flame Brand snapped one of his juggling sticks in frustration. He was beyond mad at this point. A zebra comes out of nowhere and steals the show. A show he perfected to the point even Manehatten's theaters asked for him to return. How can singing and playing that flimsy looking instrument be better than his? Even worse was how she shrugged off hid advances like he was a nobody like every other pony there. "How could she just brush me away like that? Was I too creepy? I admit she looked very beautiful. Maybe Zebra's find it off-putting to be called exotic. Maybe if... Silver, are you listening to me?" "Of course, sir," Silver lining, his personal servant, said with mock interest. The smaller pony was busy putting his things away in the carriage. Flame sighed in frustration at his monotone uninterested voice. "No matter. I will find a way to get the zebra Zia to love me!" He stood proudly in determination. "Or so help me my name isn't Flame Brand!" 'It isn't, sir. You changed your name for the sake of entertain-" Silver didn't finish as one of the broken sticks hit him on the head.