//------------------------------// // Zecora (Edited) // Story: Home is where True Peace and Love Is // by MetalBrony823 //------------------------------// After Luke was done in the pet store with Spike and Twilight, he continued walking with them. The human was ever so satisfied looking at more animals in Equestria. Then he thought of his own pets back home, wondering if they know that he just disappeared out of thin air to Equestria yesterday. "So, what did you think, Luke?" Twilight asked him "I thought it was awesome." the human replied. "Good." Twilight felt a little more proud of herself for showing this peculiar human what he would like to see in his first experience in Equestria. "So, we were wondering, do you have any pets at him?" "Yep. Four as a matter of fact." "Four? that's kind of a lot of pets." Spike remarked. "Well I wouldn't say a lot. I have two dogs and two cats at home. Very nice animals to be with. I even wonder if they know that I am gone, and that they will be okay." "Oh, Luke. I'm pretty sure they know your fine. Besides, you know there is nothing you can do to get back home now." Twilight then glared back at the baby dragon. "Spike, don't say that." she reprimanded him "No no. It's okay." The human said "I'll be fine. I'm pretty sure I will go back home someday." "Right. So what was it that you love about animals so much?" Twilight asked curiously, changing the subject of the problem Luke was having. "It just.... it just came to my very soul on the day I was born. I had this special.... connection with animals ever since, and see what many of them are like, both in real life and on documentaries on TV." "That's good. Sounds like you can be a big help to Fluttershy." Spike noted. Luke was flattered to hear something like that. "Thanks. I bet she is. So, what other cities are there in Equestria?" "Besides Ponyville and Canterlot, there's Manehattan, Filydelphia, Appleoosa, the Crystal empire, and other places." "Hey, that sounds like some names of cities that my home has." "Really? What are they?" "They are called, Manhattan, and Philadelphia." "What are the like?" "I never really been there, been Manhattan is part of New York City, the largest one in my home country. Philadelphia is also one of the largest cities in the US, but not as big as New York. Nevertheless, they might be so crowded and filled with crime in some areas. But, besides that, New York has the Statue of Lady Liberty, the symbol of freedom." He gestured his hand as a salute on his forehead. "That's really amazing." "There is a statue in Manehattan kind of like that, but it's called Mare Liberty, not lady." Twilight noted. "Really? Did she raise a torch in the sky with her right arm?" "Yeah, how do you know?" "Because Lady Liberty has the same thing like that." "Wow, sounds like your world is kind of like ours." Spike said in amazement. "That's beyond me. Maybe it is equivalent to Equestria. But like I said, this world is beyond different then my home on so many levels." Twilight and Spike knew that he wasn't wrong about that. "You said that your world has no magic what so ever, right?" The baby dragon asked Luke nodded his head "yeah. My world can get pretty boring, Spike. Nothing against it, of course, but I just wish it can be more like this place. That would be awesome. No matter, I think I will like it here." Twilight smiled "that's good." "So have you been to Manehattan?" Luke asked "Oh yes. A couple of times. It's a very beautiful city with lots of coaches and cars on the roads and many ponies walking by you." "Cool. So, Twilight, how long have you been a princess. And Spike, how long have you been Twilight's friend/assistant?" "Oh for quite some time now." She replied modestly. "It ain't easy, but I am getting the hang if it, especially trying to learn how to fly." "And I have been Twilight's best friend and assistant ever since I learned how to do things on my own after I was growing out being a baby." "Uh, no offense Spike, but are you still a baby dragon?" "Yeah. I meant a baby baby if you know what I mean." "I got ya." "Oh, Luke. I forgot to tell you that there is somepony here that you would like to talk to and be with." Twilight remembered "Really? Who's that?" "A zebra named Zecora." "A zebra?" The human thought. He knew that all zebras come from Africa, and maybe there is a place like Africa in Equestria. It might sound a little different than the second largest continent in his world, but it's the same idea. "Well, i would like to meet someone from.... where is she from?" "Zebrica." "Ah, that kinda makes sense." "Yeah, you will really like her when you get to know her. You can ask her about her homeland and talk about Africa and Zebrica to eachother, and maybe mix potions with her." Spike explained Luke started to grow a bigger smile on his face. "She makes potions? Like an alchemist?" "Uh-Huh. Potions, herbs, and cures for any diseases that doctors like Nurse Redheart don't even know about." "Do you visit her? Or does she visit you guys in Ponyville?" "Of course. She always drops in town from time to time." "And we do visit her occasionally." Spike added. "Where does she live per se?" "That part is actually quite dangerous." Twilight noted. "She lives in a hut that lies within the Everfree forest in the outskirts of Ponyville. It can be pretty dangerous in that place." "What's in there?" "Many strange and dangerous creatures and monsters." The human started to become a little fascinated by this. He have been fascinated to cryptids and other strange creatures along with normal animals. "What kind of creatures?" "Cockatrice, Manticores, cragadiles, parasprites, hydras, timber wolves, and others." "Wow. I have definitely heard of the first two and the Hydra, but not parasprites, and Cragadiles. And timber wolves sound like any other wolf in the world. Just another subspecies of the grey wolf family." "Oh ho, not these kind of timber wolves." Spike said. "These wolves are made out of wood, and have very bad breath that you can smell from miles away." "Oh. I get it. timber wolf as in actually made out of timber as in wood." "Exactly." "And what is a cragadile?" "It is like a crocodile, except bigger and has skin made of rocks." "Wow, that's crazy. And parasprites?" "They are a nuisance." Twilight said with a mild groan. "We had a little incident with them a little while ago. These creatures look really cute and adorable, but don't let that fool you, they are pests, they will eat anything, and I mean anything they can get their mouth on." "God. That does sound crazy. How do you get rid of them?" "Pinkie Pie knew about them before we did, and she played music with many instruments to draw them away from Ponyville back into the Everfree forest." She remembered something and became a little sheepish "And then it went on to another town by mistake." then she zoomed closer to Luke's ear. "Don't tell the princess' though." "Don't worry. My lips are sealed. Besides, I wasn't there to observe that anyway." "Right. So back to Zecora, how does she survive in a place so dangerous as that forest?" "Oh she's a professional. She knows the creatures and animals in and out. So she is fine living there." "Do you think I can meet her then?" "Oh of course, but if you plan on going alone then don't." "You'll never know what you will encounter in the Everfree forest." "Oh, then I might as well take Fluttershy with me. She can take me to her." Twilight and Spike had an uncertain look on their faces "I wouldn't be so sure about that." she said "Why not?" "Fluttershy is deeply afraid of that place." "Oh. I understand. I would really like to meet her." "Well, I suppose I can take you there." Twilight offered. Then without warning, a beam of rainbow came right out of nowhere, incidentally crashing on Twilight and Spike. "Ow... Rainbow?" Yes, it was the self-proclaimed most awesome pony in Equestria it has ever seen herself. "Sorry, Twilight, sorry Spike." she said sheepishly, helping them back up. Luke was a little spooked but a little surprised "That was kind of a painful landing." he remarked. "Ah, hey Luke." "Hi." "Rainbow, what are you doing here?" Twilight asked in irritation. "Me and Spike were in the middle of having a conversation with Luke." "Sorry, guys. I was just looking for Luke." "Really?" "Yeah, I was wondering if I can hang out with you." the cyan pegasus replied. "I wanted to know you more and I really like you, and I think you are really awesome, you know." "Thanks." "And I couldn't help but notice that you wanted to see Zecora, right?" "Yeah, If there is a place like Africa in Equestria, then I might want to know more about it, and meet an inhabitant from that place. So, why not her?" "Good point. Well, since you told us that you love that Africa place, I suppose I can help you going through the Everfree forest to reach her hut if you would like." "That's very kind of you, Rainbow Dash, but I already volunteered to help him with that first." "Aw, but I wanted to try my new moves against those monsters out there." she got on the ground, stood on her hindlegs and tried to do the karate crane kick, but she staggered and fell. Luke quietly snickered while Spike and Twilight smirked while nodding their heads in disbelief. "Ow, still working on it." 'Uh huh." "Well, I don't know if I would need that much protection. I read about many monsters that live in that place. I think I will be just fine on my own." "I wouldn't recommend it." Twilight said. "It is that dangerous." "What about that sea serpent that helped us when we defeated Nightmare Moon? Steven Magnet, remember?" "Right, but that was just one creature that was just friendly to us." "What about the manticore that Fluttershy tamed when it had a thorn in it's paw on the same time we met Steven?" Spike added "True. But still, it would be dangerous for you to go, Luke, since you are still very new to Equestria after all." "Well, that's true." "So, how about we all go. Fluttershy, me, Twilight, Rainbow, and our friends together." Spike suggested "Okay, that sounds good." Luke agreed. "When?" "In a little while." "Okay, I might as well tell Fluttershy that." "Can we still hang out together?" Rainbow asked the human. "Of course we can, Rainbow. In the meantime, is there anymore questions you would like to ask, Twilight?" "hmm, I think I asked you as many as I can about you and your world." "You didn't tell me about it." Rainbow reminded. "Right. Well, i think we can do it on our way to Zecora's if that's alright with you, Rainbow Dash." "That's fine, but wanna hang out sometime like just you and me?" "Yeah, one of these days, we will." "Awesome. We can have a good time together, I promise ya." "Cool." "So you want an escort back to Fluttershy's?" "No, I think I can find it okay." "You sure?" "Yeah." "Alright." "See you guys later." he said "Bye Luke." all three said in Unison. Then the human happily went home. He could hardly wait to meet this Zecora character that Twilight told him about. He was a little cautious about going to the Everfree forest if it does sound that dangerous as it sounds like it. "Hmm, I think i'll be fine." Luke thought to himself. "Besides, These guys are heroes of this world after all. And I get to see really cool monsters that I wish exist in my world. That would be awesome to see these creatures. Hell yeah, That would be cool." A little later on, Luke was telling Fluttershy about the plan that he, Twilight, and Spike made to visit Zecora in the Everfree forest. "Oh my goodness. I don't know if you should go. It might be too dangerous." "Come on, Fluttershy." Luke said "I know you are scared of the forest, but you got me, and the others to keep you company." "Well- yes, but I am not as scared anymore. I've been through that place a number of times and... i am pretty much used to it." Fluttershy admitted. This made Luke a little more relieved to hear that. "Oh, but you can still go through it without any trouble." the human noted. "If you came in and out of the forest dozens of times, then I'm sure you'll do fine. Besides, Twilight told me of Steven Magnet the sea monster and the Manticore you just helped with." It was coming back to the yellow pegasus. She remembered when she did help that Manticore out and then became a friendly, tamed beast. Then she remembered that other monster that he mentioned. He was rather kind to help them across the bridge to confront the princess of darkness that day. "Well, I guess you're right." she admitted. "Okay, I would be more than happy to come with you. Besides, I want to make sure you will be alright on the way." "Good. Thanks." "Anything for a new friend." then she hugged him gently. Then the door opened. "Oh, that must be them now." she answered it, and she was correct. Her best friends were there and were ready to go. "Hey, Fluttershy, ready to go with us?" Applejack said. "Yes. I'm ready." the yellow pegasus replied. "So am i." "Perfect. It's just right over there." Twilight pointed. Luke looked at the direction as he peeked outside where it lead to. "It was here the whole time?" "Of course." said Rarity. "You didn't realize it before?" "Well, I never heard of it until now. Like I said, I am still new here." He sung. "Oh yeah. We forget." Rarity remarked sheepishly. "Anyway, onward then." "Bye, critters. I'll see you all in a little while." Fluttershy said to them. She closed the door and they were off. They all stopped for a moment when they noticed Luke staring at it in awe. "You okay, Luke?" Rainbow asked him "What? yeah, I'm just fine. This place looks so spooky." "Oooh, you're scared of the dark." Rainbow teased. "I am not!" Luke retorted. "I'm just kidding, Luke. Lighten up." "Right, let's just move." as they were walking through the trees, Luke felt like he was in one of the Slender games, except they were just video games and not real. But this, is a different story. Nevertheless, he was being brave about it, and kept a sharp eye on whatever might happen. "Hey, guys?" he said "Yes?" they all said in unison. "Who is... what's her name?.... Nightmare Moon? I heard Twilight and Rainbow talk about her, but I'm curious. Who is she?" "Well... you would hardly believe it but she is... was is more like it, Princess Luna." Rarity answered Luke was mildly shocked by this. "Really? Luna was evil?" "Not anymore." Spike noted. "She was jealous that Everypony was active during the day and not during the night, so that's when she became Nightmare Moon. Then Celestia was forced to banish her to the moon for one thousand years!" "Oh my god. That's.... quite a shocker. I wish I could have seen Luna like that. That would be really neat." "I don't think you would want to." said Applejack "She wanted to make the night eternal, but then we formed together as friends ans stopped her before she could do anything evil, and returned her to normal." "Wow. That's awesome." then he heard a growling out of nowhere. "What was that?" he cautiously looked around his surroundings, so did Twilight and the others. They heard it again, then out of the nowhere, a manticore sprung out and looked quite fierce. almost all of them did a battle pose, except Luke who was too stunned to even move and Fluttershy, who suddenly recognized it. Then unexpectedly. He playfully jumped on Fluttershy and licked her face with love "Oh, hello there." she said. "Yes, it is really good to see you again. yes it is. yes it is." "Oh, this must be the manticore that Fluttershy tamed." Twilight commented Luke was a little more relieved but kept his distance from him just to be safe. "He must have smelled our scents when we came here." Fluttershy said, getting back up after the beast got off of her. "Luke, here is one of my friends, Fluffy." The manticore studied the human and sniffed him with loud breathing from his nose. "Uh, hello." the human said sheepishly "It's alright, Luke. He won't hurt you." Fluttershy said. Then Fluffy circled around him like a regular house cat would do, then licked his face, making him laugh. "Oh look, he likes you." Pinkie said. "Stop it." Luke laughed, then the creature stopped what he was doing and rubbed his head against the human's body. "It's nice to meet you, Fluffy." he said. the manticore made a soft roar of affection as Luke began to rub the side of it's body and under it. "Yeah, look at him. He's really starting to grow attached to Luke all of a sudden." Twilight said. "It's like they just met, and they already get along." Applejack added "Well, it was nice meeting you big fella, but i think me and my friends should get going to Zecora's hut." said Luke The beast gave him one last lick on his face and Fluttershy hugged the creature. Luke thought it was just too adorable. He definitely knows that Fluttershy has a special connection with all creatures like this one here. "Don't worry, Fluffy. We'll see eachother again. Back at the cottage maybe?" The beast nodded and licked Fluttershy's face. "Good." then the beast flew away to another part of the forest, and the others continued forward. "So how much farther?" the human asked "Not to far now." After a little short walk, there was a large tree fashioned to be a house with rather intriguing decoration. Luke recognized this as an Africa type of esque. This had to be the place. "Well, here we are." Rainbow said "Perfect." Twilight knocked on the door, and it revealed to be a rather adorable looking zebra with a neck bracelet and her mane was in a shape of a mohawk. Her cutie mark was like a sun of some kind. "Ah, hello my dear Twilight." she said in a noble African-like voice. "What brings you and your friends to my wonderful home's light?" "Hi, Zecora." Twilight and Spike said. then the zebra noticed Luke who was looking a little nervous. It was unlike any other creature she has soon before. "Oh, and who might this creature be? for this is the most peculiar one I have ever seen." the zebra added "Um, hello." the human said sheepishly "Zecora, this is Luke. He's a human, and he wanted to meet you." Fluttershy clarified "Oh. A human?" she said in amazement "Well, it is certainly a pleasure to meet you. Do come in, come in." then they all went inside. and made themselves at home. "So, I hope I am not bothering you with anything, am I?" "Of course not, Luke. Meeting a new face never gives me a spook. I am Zecora, I come from a homeland called Zebrica." "Nice to meet ya." the human said happily. "I really like your house, with the decorations and potions and all." "Thank you. creating potions and elixirs is what I love to do. Luke smiled "So what brings you to my home? for you saved me the trouble of being alone." "Well, I was just curious. You see, I come from a different world, and I got teleported here by a shooting star making a wish. I didn't think it would actually work, but it did. Anyway, there is a continent on my world that I am really interested in called 'Africa' and it sounds like your land Zebrica, so I thought I might as well meet someone from a place like Africa if that's okay with you." Zecora laughed humbly "That is quite okay. For I am so glad you have came here to meet me today." "Good. So what kind of potions do you create mostly in particular?" "Many cures and potions that many ponies may endure. I create these potions day after day. However, I mostly lost track of what they are that it is a little hard to say." "Right. That's exactly why I hate math." "Yeah." Rainbow said, then he and Luke high-fived eachother. "So tell me, young Luke, what is it like in your world that you came from before your unexpected fluke?" "I don't know if I can really describe everything. But, what I can say is that it is pretty boring with no monsters or magical things on it. Nothing against it, but I just wanted to see something more exciting." "I understand, for you must be really happy that you came to this land." Zecora remarked "Yeah I am. It's really awesome. Everyone in this world is so friendly. Especially Princess Celestia and Luna. But still, I got a family back in my world and.... I hope they are alright." "Oh that is completely understandable. Many family bonds are inseparable. Fear not, young one, for they will be fine under your world's sun." "I know. I talked to my mom on the phone and told her what happened, b I don't k ow if she believes me fully. I don't want her to think I am criminally insane." He rolled his eyes in a crazy movement and mimicked the sound of a cuckoo clock while moving his finger around in a circle Everyone laughed at what he did and thought it was really funny. "Your funny, Luke." Rainbow said "Thanks. But still, I don't want her to think I am crazy." "Nonsense, I am sure that your mother will not think you are insane, for your love and faith in you still remains." "I bet it does. I might call my dad about what happened if my mom didn't tell him already." "We'll wait outside if you want to head back to town." Twilight said "That's fine, Twilight. Go ahead." "Come on, girls." Then they all stepped outside of the hut to wait for him. "So what can you tell me about Africa, the land that sounds like my homeland, Zebrica?" "Well, it's the second largest continent in the world, and it is home of some of the coolest animals in my world. Lions, leopards, cheetahs, rhinos, elands, African grey parrots, rock pythons and other animals that many people might have seen but don't know what they are." Zecora was more asked and it kinda sounds like a parallel to her home as well. "Very fascinating, sounds like a land that is very intriguing." "It is. I always dreamed of visiting there someday. I really want to go to some of those places so badly. Do they have those animals I mentioned in Zebrica too?" Zecora said to him "Oh yes. You are beyond right with that guess. There are many things in Zebrica to do, but of course, one of he, is escaping a predator trying to eat you." Luke chuckled "yeah. I know. Are there any talking creatures besides zebras?" "Indeed. Zebrican buffalo, rhinos, giraffes, elands, and wildebeests. There are quite a few more species to describe, but naming them all would take a long time." "Wow. That's awesome. I really wish I can visit a place like that." "Ho ho, visiting my home you should definitely should, that experience might bring you good." "I know, I'm pretty sure it will. Then Zecora was noticing her cauldron boiling over a little. Luke went over and looked at the boiling liquid inside. Without warning an explosion cloud erupted. His face was covered in black smoke, but it did not hurt him. The zebra rushed to his aid "Luke, are you okay? Please let me know with something to say." The human spat out the smoke marks from his mouth. "I'm fine.... I'm just a little smokey." Then he heard the others come in "What happened" Fluttershy said "Luke are you okay?" Rarity asked "I'm fine. I'm not hurt. I just need a towel." "Here you go." Twilight said pulling out a random towel out of nowhere. He wiped most of it out of his face and shook his head violently. Making it completely clean again. "Thanks." "Hm-mmm" "And no need to worry, a cloud of steam just exploded on me. Black steam." "Alright." "I hope I did not hurt you, for I wouldn't know what to do." "It's okay, Zecora. I'm fine." The human remarked "just warn me before something like that happens. Either that or I think I should keep my distance. The zebra smiled in relief. "And again, I hope I didn't come here at a bad time." "Heavens now. If you would, the I would have known." "good point. So what was in that cauldron, anyway?" "That would be anti-stress serum. For ponies who have high anxiety, this liquid will surely help them." "Ah, I see. Well, I don't think I have any more questions to ask you about. Zecora replied "that is no problem because you made my day, with our interesting facts that we did say." "I know. I like you, Zecora." "Thank you. For I like you too." "So, am I welcomed to come here from time to time and we talk some more? I hope I am not being weird or anything." "Luke, you are always welcomed here." Zecora said "I would love to hear more of the interesting conversations between you and me my dear." "Awesome. Okay, guys. I think I'm ready to go now." "Perfect. Let's go." Said Fluttershy "Bye, Zecora. It was nice talking with you." "I bid you goodbye, but you are more than welcome to come here from time to time." "I know." Then he closed the door to let her finish her brew for the serum, and happily went back home to Ponyville. Mostly Fluttershy's cottage on the outskirts of it. "So what did you think, darling?" "She's really nice and interesting, Rarity." "Oh yes." Fluttershy made a gulp. "Especially if she had to live in this scary forest." "Come on. I'm here Fluttershy." Luke reassured by patting her back The yellow pegasus smiled and said "thank you." "Your welcome."