It seemed as normal of a day as any other in Ponyville.
The stores were open, Pinkie Pie was prancing on rooftops with her song of the day, birds were singing and once more Twilight discovered with dread that her back up back up ink and paper supplies were less then adequate.
The purple unicorn trotted down the walkway, using her magic to hold up a check list of things she needed to buy. She hummed with amusement as she noted that Spike had jolted down some things that she was sure she didn’t ask to be written down. Nothing too bad, just some candy and birdfeed for his new pet- though she would have to ‘forget’ to bring back a new photo of Rarity.
Honestly, how was this crush of his supposed to be secret?
In her distraction, she bumped into another pony roughly enough for her to knock herself and the other to the ground. “Ow, ow- oh geez are you oka-” Twilight blinked in surprised, and became much quicker at helping the other up to her hooves. “Zecora!”
The zebra smiled kindly at her, picking back up the saddlebag she dropped from the ground. “Twilight I am glad to bump into you, though are your injuries few?” she spoke in rhyme flawlessly and without missing a beat.
“I’m fine, I was about to ask you the same,” Twilight giggles. She peers at the bulging saddlebag with interest. “Big shopping day huh?”
Zecora’s smile faded, causing the light mood to fade rather quickly. “Shopping no, and I should not be stopping. A great danger nears, the greatest in years-”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Twilight held her hoof up, interrupting Zecora. “Danger? Did something happen?” True Zecora lived in the Everfree forest, but she was more than equipped to protect herself from the creatures that lurked within. “Whatever happened, my friends and I can help…”
Zecora shook her head. “Great omens, one after another. All the signs point to the queen mother. I must leave, trust me when I say, I feared the colors the sky had to display.”
“Zecora, you’re seriously not making sense…” Twilight looked confused at what her friend was trying to tell her, when the Zebra took her hoof and tilted the mares head up into the sky.
“Look.”
She saw no unusual colors, but she did see a terrifying amount of birds flying away from the forest in terror. She realized she saw earlier flocks in the afternoon, but simply dismissed them without thought. After all, Fluttershy was the real expert on these birds, not her. “Why are they leaving?” she asked, not really expecting an answer- but she got one.
“The question is Twilight Sparkle, why aren’t you? Miss Sparkle…” she adds, pulling a hood over her head. “Goodbye.”