We continued on towards the Everfree from Twilight's tree -- I could see the forest some distance off, perhaps about five miles or so. I was starting to get tired of all this walking.
"Twilight, can we take a short break? I'm getting tired -- my legs ache from all this walking."
"Okay, Brenda, just a short break. Zecora's hut is a fair piece inside the forest, and I want to make sure we can get out of there before nightfall -- the Everfree is dangerous enough during the day, but at night -- well -- let's just say you don't want to be in there -- manticores, cocatrice, timber wolves -- that sort of thing."
We sat in a grassy field for about fifteen minutes before Twilight urged me to get back up. I stretched my legs out a little bit, causing my knees to crack. Twilight winced at the sound.
"You didn't break anything, did you?" she asked, a worried look on her face.
"I've always had bad legs ever since I was a little girl -- I used to wear a leg brace to correct my posture -- even when I sleep, my legs ache almost all the time."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Brenda -- maybe I might be able to help you ease some of that pain -- but healing magic can only do so much, and what you have sounds like it might be nerve damage -- if that's the case, my magic won't be able to help you very much."
"I appreciate your offer, Twilight. How much further is it?" I asked as we continued walking. A small cottage came into view and we headed towards it. I could see various animals and birds in the area around the cottage, and then a butter yellow pony with wings caught my eye. She seemed to be cooing to the birds, coaxing music from them. A small white bunny watched her as she did this.
"Fluttershy, may I present Brenda Walker," Twilight said. Fluttershy meeped as soon as she saw me and flew into her cottage. I knew she was shy, but it seemed as though she was scared of her own shadow. "Brenda, I'll go have a talk with her -- I'll be right back."
A few moments later, both the ponies came out. Fluttershy hid behind her mane, staying close to Twilight. "Umm...hello?" she asked timidly.
"You are called Fluttershy?" I asked her. "What a cute name!"
"Thank you, Brenda," she said very softly. I had to strain my ears a little to hear her speak.
"You know where Zecora stays?"
"Oh, yes! But ... why do you want to see her?"
"I need something to calm my nerves, and I was told Zecora has medicines or something."
"Well, she lives quite a bit further in the forest, but I'm not sure just how far exactly."
"Okay, Brenda, we'd better get going again. No telling how much more daylight we have left."
We resumed walking after saying a quick good-bye to Fluttershy and made our way into the forest. The trees were very tall and clustered very thickly. A path had been made which curved left and right -- straying too far from it would get you lost very quickly as any sense of direction was easily confused by the twisting path. The canopy allowed precious little sunlight to make it to the floor of the forest and various animals and insects made lots of noise, some of which were starting to rattle my nerves.
"Not much further now, Brenda," said Twilight with some optimism. We spotted a clearing ahead and a door carved into a tree, looking somewhat similar to Twilight's tree, but this one was a little smaller. Twilight knocked on the door and a small Zebra answered the door.
"Twilight my dear, what brings you here? Someone new I see, her appearance is new to me," Zecora observed.
"A Zebra who talks in rhyme? What other surprises are there in this world?" I asked. Her voice seemed to have a distinct African lilt to it. "What part of Africa do you hail from?"
"Zecora comes from Zebrica, Brenda -- you call it Africa where you come from?"
"Mike told me there are 53 countries in Africa, which is something I didn't know," I stated flatly.
"Your world is different from mine, your map must have a different design. You seek help from Zecora, is this true? I shall see if there's something I can do."
"I need a cigarette to calm my nerves -- I haven't had one since before I went to bed last night," I said.
"To ease your stress, this leaf you must chew -- I'm afraid this is all I can do for you." Zecora gave me a small dark green leaf, which I started chewing on. It tasted heavily of mint and had a pleasant taste to it and it seemed to restore some of my energy, making me feel a little stronger.
"Thanks, Zecora."
"I've heard legend of humans like you, who came from the same land that I do."
"My ancestors were brought to the land I came from against their will. They were sold to white people to be used as slaves." Twilight blanched as I mentioned this and Zecora hung her head for a moment.
"So you're descended from slaves, Brenda? I didn't know," Twilight said softly. "I'm sorry to hear about that."
"My great-great-grandfather was a slave until after the Civil War," I said. "I was born in Arkansas."
"What's that?" Twilight asked.
"It's one of the states in the country I came from."
"How many countries does your planet have?" Twilight asked. "If Africa has 53, then there must be a lot of them!"
"I don't know, I never paid attention to stuff like that -- Mike said something about 200 or so, though."
"Wow, that's quite impressive. I would like to visit your planet some time to see what it's like," she mused.
"Hurry along now, it will be turning dark soon. There's not much time before the rising of the moon," Zecora admonished.
"Thanks for your help, Zecora -- maybe I might be able to come back and talk some more with you. I'm still waiting for my husband to return."
"Fare well, then, Brenda. Take care, Twilight!" Zecora called after us as we left.
"Does she always talk in rhyme?"
"Most of the time, yes. Feeling better now?"
"I don't know what kind of leaf that was she gave me, but it also eased the pain in my legs as well," I stated.
"Okay, that's good to hear. We'll be heading back to my house and I'll fix something for you to sleep on in my guest room -- oh wait, I almost forgot. I'm having a slumber party tonight! Perhaps you might want to join in?"
"Well...I suppose I could -- it will give me a chance to meet your friends and get to know them better." Twilight smiled broadly as I agreed to join in the fun. I haven't been to a party like that in quite a long time. "I wonder why Zecora didn't freak out when she saw me."
"She has seen lots of things in her time, and you remind her of humans from her homeland." We passed by Fluttershy's cottage at this point, and the sun was starting to set. "I'm glad we made it out of there in time." After about another half-hour of walking we made it back to Twilight's house. Spike greeted us upon our return.
"Glad to see you made it back in one piece," he grinned. "The others are upstairs in your room, Twi. They've been waiting for you for a little while."
"Thanks for letting them in, Spike. I guess we can get the party started, then!" she beamed. "Brenda, this is going to be fun!"