//------------------------------// // Lesson 101 In Common Sense // Story: Book 1: A New Element of Friendship // by Medley of MLP //------------------------------// A New Element of Friendship Lesson 101 In Common Sense         It looked like a beautiful day today. What am I saying, it usually is. However, today was very quiet in the morning. Very quiet… Odd, usually there’s something that comes flying in to-         “Woah! Oof! Sorry Med!” Spike yelled as he climbed off me very quickly.         Well, there’s my morning alarm for the day. I got up and stretched out a bit, looking around the tree, still wondering how they managed to build a home inside a tree, not to mention an entire library. Though the irony factor is staggering when you consider how one would normally make books.         “It’s alright Spike, I had to wake up as it already stands. I’m glad I could help out Twilight though with the library on Reshelving Day and help her organize it again when Rarity dropped by with Opal. I swear, that cat sometimes…” I smiled and chuckled a bit as I made my way down to the kitchen.         “Yeah… She seemed really happy that you stayed though, if a bit confused. Why did you stay? Celestia was just setting the sun when we finished,” Spike asked as he started making pancakes.         I opened my mouth to give an answer before I shut it, thinking about it for a moment. I had no idea why I stayed behind at Twilight’s, though I did feel a bit happy that she liked me staying over.         I eventually responded with a, “I have no clue Spike. Maybe it was getting late and, well, no one was thinking logically?”         Spike raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing else as Twilight came down to join us for breakfast.         “Good morning Medley. Hopefully Spike didn’t wake you up by accident,” Twilight slightly sleepily said as she sat at the table.         “He did, but I’m not mad I now expect this sort of thing to happen. It was purely an accident and I got to wake up early, so it all worked out,” I chuckled as Spike looked a bit sheepish still.         “Here we are! Six buttermilk pancakes with syrup and dandelions!” Spike exclaimed as Twilight levitated over the silverware and plate. I helped Spike served everyone and soon we weren’t really making conversation, enjoying the food. Which, I might add, were so yummy! I know that sounds like something Pinkie would say, but it’s true! I really need to have more of Spike’s pancakes when I can… Mmm…         Anyways! After we finished out delicious breakfast and Spike was cleaning off the dishes, Twilight turned to me.         “Why DID you spend the night here? It wasn’t that late for you to make a quick fly-by to your own home,” Twilight parroted Spike’s earlier question.         “I… wasn’t thinking right? I DID spend the day helping you and Spike reorganize the library twice, so I was probably too exhausted afterwards,” I answered.         Twilight raised an eyebrow before smiling softly as Spike went over to us, Twilight putting him on her back as all three of us made our way out to Ponyville, which was still oddly quiet.         “Wow, what a gorgeous day!” Twilight smiled as she looked up at the sky overhead, which had little, if no, overcast.         “Rainbow Dash must’ve gotten up early for once and cleared all the clouds away,” I snickered softly.         Twilight rolled her eyes at that one, but giggled softly when it was mainly true. When Rainbow wasn’t napping, she was practicing for the Wonderbolts. Rarely did we see her actually do her job, usually before or after. I had more of a chance, considering we both worked on the weather and Fluttershy was exempt due to health issues (i.e: too scared to do her work).         “I bet all of Ponyville is going to be out and enjoying the sunshine,” Twilight commented as we went along, though the sense of unease at the abrupt quietness increased dramatically at that point.         “What? Where is everypony?” Spike asked as we stopped and looked around.         It was like Ponyville became a ghost town overnight, the wind blowing gently as shutters slammed shut, the only sign that everypony was still around. I even saw a tumbleweed tumble by, pretty much making it look like an abandoned town. Though it was odd that a filly was out, looking around in the same kind of curiosity we were before being quickly pulled in by the tail by their mother.         “Is it some kind of pony holiday?” Spike confusedly asked as we timidly went onwards.         “I doubt that a holiday would be this quiet… or desolate for that matter. Not even for religious holidays,” I shot the idea down.         “Does my breath stink?” Spike questioned as he burped a bit into his claw.         “Not more than usual,” Twilight dryly answered as she looked around some more.         “Is it… ZOMBIES?” Spike frightfully stood up, looking around fast.         “Spike, calm down, will ya? It isn’t zombies, trust me on this,” I smiled as I shook my head at him. He was a baby dragon, but still.         “Pssst!” We heard a voice whisper to us as we looked around, not seeing who it was.         It was while we were looking at the open top doors of the Sugarcube Corner that we saw Pinkie whisper-yell at us to quickly come inside before “she” got there. Obviously we followed that piece of advice, jumping inside to a darkened serving area.         “Who? The zombie pony?” Spike clung on for dear life, both at the idea and to Twilight.         “Z-Z-Zombie pony?” Pinkie quivered a bit, thus disproving that theory right off the bat.         “Spike, there are NO zombie ponies,” Twilight lightly admonished him before looking around in the dark, asking, “Pinkie, what are you doing here all alone in the dark?”         “I’m not alone in the dark,” Pinkie straightly said as she turned on the lights a bit to show the rest of our friends and Applebloom surrounding us.         “OK then… what are you all doing in here?” Twilight phrased the question slightly differently.         “We’re hidin’ from HER!” Applejack softly exclaimed as she pulled the curtains back, letting us get a better look of this mysterious figure that has sent the town into hiding.         What I saw from out the window was a pony-like figure pawing at the ground, wearing a cloak that covered most of her up, though I could see some black and white stripes near the bottom of her hooves and a few gold rings.         “Wait a moment… she looks familiar…” I commented as I looked harder, trying to remember who exactly that was.         It was only after she looked right over at us, her eyes glowing an ominous yellow underneath the cloak that I grinned slightly, now getting a better picture of who she was.         “Well now… This is an unexpected blast from the past. A bit like Trixie, but in a more positive way,” I chuckled as I could imagine her slightly smiling a bit on the inside.         “Wait, you know her?!” Rainbow Dash exploded into a frenzy, giving me a glare.         “Well, yeah. What, I’m a well-traveled stallion, I know ponies, especially those who specialize in healing,” I calmly commented back.         “Y-You mean,... you know… Zecora?” Applebloom looked up at me in fright.         “Applebloom! I told you never to say that name!” Applejack scolded Applebloom, making me a little ticked off.         “It is kinda odd for her to be glancing this way,” Twilight added onto my earlier statement.         “Glance eeeevily this way,” Pinkie interrupted, trying to sound spooky.         Twilight rolled her eyes and continued, “And then everyone but me and Medley here flipped out for no good reason.”         “‘No good reason?’ You call protectin’ yer kin, ‘no good reason’? Why, as soon as mah sister saw Zecora ridin’ inta town, I saw her shakin’ in her little horseshoes,” Applejack shook Applebloom to the side repeatedly to make her point.         “Diiiiid nooooot,” Applebloom shakily shot back, seeing as she was still being shaken back and forth.         “So I picked her up and brought her here,” Applejack continued as though Applebloom didn’t say anything, putting her on her back.         “I walked here myself!” Applebloom climbed off Applejack’s back, looking a bit disgruntled.         “Fer safety!” Applejack argued as she looked down on her sister.         “Applejack! I’m not a baby! I can take care a myself!” Applebloom replied, looking fed up.         “Not from that creepy Zecora,” Applejack argued steadfastly.         The rest of our friends agreed, calling her a creepy, mysterious and spooky pony. I was starting to get a little ticked off myself, thankfully not yet as Twilight seemed to not be buying it at all and stepping up with me to take a closer look out the window, the group piling in quickly behind us to also observe. All we really saw was Zecora taking off her hood to reveal a black and white striped Mohawk, confirming for me that it was indeed Zecora, as zebras tended to have different placement of their gold bands and have a different hair style, from what I’ve seen in my, admittedly, small travels across Equus.         “Will you cut that out?” Twilight complained as the group collectively gasped yet again.         “Just look at those stripes! So drab looking,” Rarity vainly pointed out.         “She’s a zebra,” I pointed out the glaring obvious, with just a small hint of anger behind it, which the group most likely didn’t get, wrapped up in their paranoia.         “She’s a WHAT?!” The group exclaimed loudly.         “A zebra. And her stripes aren’t a fashion choice Rarity. It’s what she was born with,” Twilight helpfully added, which Rarity immediately fainted at.         At this point, I was starting to get more than a little upset. I had made a friend in Zecora, and seeing everypony except Twilight bad-mouthing her made my wings flare up a bit, causing Twilight to give me a curious look as the rest of the group ignored the ever-increasing anger by adding more fuel to it. It soon got to the point when Applejack mentioned she lived on the edge of the Everfree, I looked up eyes blazing a bit. Only now did everyone feel the anger rolling off of me, as they looked curiously at me.         “Um… M-Medley… W-Why are y-y-you s-so sc-c-ary look-king?” Fluttershy trembled as everypony took a few steps back.         “You ponies… I expected better out of full grown mares, Twilight being the only exception to this. Spreading rumors, believing in hearsay… That’s something I expect from little fillies and colts. Oddly enough though, the only filly in this room is acting much more mature about this, seeing as she had the common decency to use ZECORA’S NAME,” I angrily stomped a hoof as I turned and started to go outside, tossing a comment back at them, “When you’re ready to apologize to her, visit the both of us. Until then, I don’t want to talk to any of you. Sorry Twilight.”         The mares and Spike were stunned at the sheer anger I had left behind, though amidst the stunned silence, it seemed Applebloom snuck out and cautiously followed me.         “S-Sorry about mah sister, Mr. Medley… She can be real stubborn…” Applebloom tried to excuse her sister.         I sighed heavily as I took a deep breath. “It’s alright Applebloom. It’s just… bad-mouthing a friend like that got me a bit riled up, you know? You can join me if you want. Zecora’s a friendly zebra and would love the extra company.”         She smiled a tiny bit as we both made our way to Zecora, who looked at me in recognition and Applebloom in curiosity.         “It’s a nice surprise to see you in town, but why are you and her the only ones around?” Zecora asked as all three of us walked towards the Everfree.         “It’s just ponies being superstitious to a whole new level, to which I apologize for my friends taking part of. Oh, Zecora, meet Applebloom, little sister of my friend Applejack, who is currently bunkered down with the rest of my friends,” I introduced Applebloom to Zecora, who gave a little wave to her.         “Applebloom and Applejack? Why similar name’s back to back?” Zecora asked.         “Well… we are family and we do sell apple products… Though I think I remember Applejack tellin’ me somethin’ about some fancy Orange cousins up in the cities,” Applebloom answered.         Zecora soon stopped us as we came upon some bright blue flowers, which I soon recognized as Poison Joke, quickly pulling us onto a path that had the least amount of them infested.         “Beware the leaves that are actually oak. They love to play a most cruel joke,” Zecora supplied an answer before Applebloom could even ask why.         Applebloom looked a bit confused, as I nodded, as we both listened to her and steered clear of the Poison Joke.         “Applebloom, you better get back to your sister quickly. They aren’t going to be too happy once they see you’ve disappeared and are near Zecora, despite me being here as well,” I spoke up as I could hear some distant voices and stomping.         Applebloom looked conflicted, but nodded hesitantly as she scurried on back to the group, who I could see stopped and got Applebloom… in a big patch of Poison Joke. It seems Applebloom was smart though and let herself quickly get on Applejack’s back to avoid contact with the Poison Joke.         We were just far enough away that Zecora sighed and said, somewhat ominously, “Beware! Beware, you ponyfolk! Those leaves of blue are not a joke!” before both she and I quickly made our way to her hut.         The last thing I saw the group do was look around worryingly and frightfully before I lost sight of them. I sighed and shook my head, probably wondering what would happen to them later on.         “I love my friends, but sometimes they can be so paranoid about non-ponies,” I sighed as we arrived at Zecora’s hut.         “Non-ponies, you say, that’s odd to note. How many other species can you quote?” Zecora asked curiously as she let me inside and soon was getting tea ready.         “Well… we really only had one griffon visitor. That kinda ended with her leaving in an annoyed state at all of us for ‘taking her cool buddy’ away,” I recalled.         “Well, you know my stance and my outlook. After all, it’s never safe to judge a covered book,” She smiled slightly, though I could see a bit of pain in her eyes.         I nodded sadly as remembered as well the first time I met her, along with many others since then. I was still young and foolish at the time, so she had forgiven me a bit for that. I think it helps that I came to her for advice and help and trusted her with a few secrets of mine, getting my first non-pony friend in the process. It was only a year though before she had to pack up and travel again because of low supplies, but we at least sent letters to each other over Yuletides to catch up.         “You did the best you could with your remedies, don’t feel too bad. Think of it this way: it took a new and still experimental spell in order to give me a small fix on my voice while your cures worked every time I had a sickness, even more so than the doctors. It helps that you weren’t biased against me because I was a Pegasus living in a Unicorn city,” I tried to cheer her up, not wanting her to think she still couldn’t do anything about my voice.         “Why thank you, my dear friend. I just wish that horrible spell had an end. I still don’t know how that spell was made, but I guess we’ll find out another day,” She sighed as she lightly shook herself out of the bad memories.         “So Zecora, two things: May I stay here for the night and mind telling me what you’ve been up to as of last letter? I’m quite curious,” I grinned as I accepted the now freshly made cup of tea she made for me and her.         Zecora flashed a similar grin and approved, having us both stay up late into the night to catch up on lost time. We soon had to stop though to get some sleep and food, much to our forgetfulness. I was really happy that she was staying in Ponyville longer than she usually would stay in a town or city. But this was due to the fact that the Everfree had the widest selection of natural growing herbal plants in Equestria and she heard rumors about Ponyville being a center of friendship and tolerance, not to mention selling what few ingredients she couldn’t find in the Everfree that weren’t extremely rare. It was a content smile that saw me go to sleep without a worry… except for how my pony friends would react to this odd situation. That was admittedly a worrying thought, though I didn’t think too much on it. This entry was added by Twilight, taking place after Medley had stormed out of the building         I think I could speak for everypony when I surprised that I saw Medley, one of the most calmest ponies I had ever seen, give us all a cold look and chew us out over making rumors about one pony. That was, except for me. I personally never believed in rumors about ‘witchcraft’ or ‘curses’ or anything of the supernatural sort. There is no scientific basis for them to be even possible! Wait... I should stop myself there before I get into a scientific rant on that. Anyways, everyone was stunned silent for a moment, not able to really find anything to make a comeback on, before Rainbow Dash was the first to snap out of it. And she looked really angry, if her yelling was anything to go by. Thankfully, I had managed to find a silencing dome spell and set that into the room just as she bursted.         “What the Tartarus was that all about?! He never told us he was friends with that… that zebra!” Rainbow Dash bellowed.         “What business was it ours that we had ta know about every onea Med’s friends? Didja ‘onestly expect a zebra a all thin’s comin’ here ta Ponyville? And what were tha odds of them bein’ Med’s friend, huh?” Applejack rebuked on Medley’s behalf, causing the two to argue.         I groaned in irritation at the two having yet another little foal argument when I noticed that somepony was missing from the group. It took me a while before I gasped when it hit me, halting the argument.         “Where’s Applebloom? She was here a moment ago,” I asked, looking around.         Applejack frantically looked around before she took a shocked breath, looking at the door, causing everypony to look that way as well.         “The door’s open!” Fluttershy softly pointed out.         “She went outside?!” Rarity exclaimed.         “And Zecora’s still out there!” Rainbow Dash added.         “That silly little filly! I told her ta stay put!” Applejack worridly shook her head as she charged out the door, the rest of them quickly following suit.         “Spike, stay here in case Applebloom comes back,” I turned to my trusty assistant Spike, who nodded as I soon joined the girls into chasing after Applebloom.         We soon made it into the Everfree, but couldn’t find her, even as Applejack called out, “Applebloom?”         It took us a while of searching, but we soon found her coming back to us, letting her be put on Applejack’s back as she fussed over her. I smiled a bit at the sisterly affection before I froze slightly, as everypony else did, hearing an ominous voice call out, saying, “Beware! Beware, you ponyfolk! Those leaves of blue are not a joke!” before I thought I could see a piece of brown and white moving out of sight. I was stung a bit that Medley didn’t choose to come back, but he was a full grown pony, he could handle himself, not to mention his odd singing ability that the other pony residents of Ponyville caught onto yet, except for the girls and I, along with Spike.         After some insulting hurled at Zecora by the girls (Fluttershy and I being the exception), who was long gone it seemed to me, we eventually talked with one another, Applejack being the first.         “And you… why couldn’t you just listen ta ya big sister?” Applejack reprimanded her.         “I...I…” Applebloom tried to speak up, but Applejack cut her off.         “Who know’s what kinda nasty curse Zecora coulda just put on you?” Applejack continued on her earlier statement, looking very cross.         “Just like in my song!” Pinkie exclaimed.         Before she could launch into her song, I had to interrupt with an irritated, “You girls, there’s no such thing as curses!”         Pinkie looked put out that she wasn’t able to sing her song as Rainbow scoffed and said, “Well that’s interesting to hear coming from Miss Magicpants herself.”         “MY magic, real magic, comes from within. It’s a skill you’re born with. Curses are artificial, fake magic. It’s conjured with potions and incantations, all smoke and mirrors meant to scare. But curses have no real power, they’re just an old pony tale,” I explained rationally.         What I wasn’t expecting was the group to suddenly frown a bit, as Fluttershy, much to our complete surprise, asked, “Then what do you call Medley’s strange singing ability?”         Applejack nodded, leading the rest of the group out as she turned to me to deliver what seemed like the final nail in the coffin of that argument. “Just you wait Twilight. Yer gonna learn that some pony tales… really ARE true.”         As I trailed behind the group and picked up Spike, I began to think about this. Normally, I would’ve been right, with the scientific facts to back me up. But I knew that what Medley had couldn’t be just a curse, it was experimental spellwork that just had an odd effect on him. Maybe it might have something to do with him being a reincarnated human? I puzzled that over the night, along with worrying over what was happening to him, with him seemingly gone at Zecora’s. That statement in of itself made me a jumbled mess of emotions, from sadness to angry to… something new. But it was directed at him choosing to spend the night at Zecora’s just after spending the night with me and Spike, and not too long ago at Pinkie’s. Why was he staying overnight at other mare’s houses? Why wouldn't he want to stay here for the night with me and Spike? I soon went to sleep, but worries still attacked me in my sleep, causing me to dream of horrible scenarios that I’m not going to write here, partially because I don’t want to frighten anypony who may end up reading this and partially because… well, I plan on adding this to Med’s journal at some point, giving him an alternate view and what he missed out on. Yeah… that's it.         It soon was morning as I woke up, fighting hard to open my eyes. My mane felt like it was a mess, but that was to be expected, with how much I suspected I tossed and turned. I yawned a bit as I went to the bathroom to try and brush my mane down. However, ‘try’ soon became a key word, as I couldn’t feel my magic being used at all. Now fully awake with worry, I shook my mane a bit to get it down, working relatively well, before I gasped and looked up at my horn.         “W-W-What the- What happened to my horn?!” I yelped in complete surprise, my horn flopping up and down with bright blue spots on it.         I quickly went down to the library to search for answer, Spike soon joining me as I told him to look up something to cure my horn.         “No, no, no, no, no!” I cried as I looked through book after book. “None of these books have a cure! Ugh! There has to be a real reason for this! An illness? An allergy?”         “A curse!” I heard Spike call out as he read through one of my fantasy books.         “I said a real reason. Something that points to something real!” I chastised him for still thinking about it being a curse.         “How ‘bout this one?” Spike held up the book so I could see it better.         “Supernaturals? Spike, the word ‘supernatural’ refers to things like ghosts and spirits and zombies, which are as make-believe as curses,” I explained to Spike, setting the book down. “This book is just a bunch of hooey!”         Spike looked saddened for a second before looking up. “What if you’re wrong Twilight? And if you’re right, what does that say about Medley’s singing?”         I got a bit defensive on that, ready to lecture him on the *vast* differences between Medley’s singing and curses before Pinkie popped out of nowhere and tried to speak. I once again say try, as her tongue was bigger than normal, not to mention it had similar blue spots on it.         “Pinkie, what happened to you?” I worried over her, taking note of her tongue and excessive amounts of spitting.         I also say excessive amounts of spitting as she tried to speak, but all that came out was a rainstorm of spit.         “Hey, say it, don’t spray it Pinkie!” Spike complained as he brushed off the spit.         We then heard someone slamming into the wall and looked out the window, only to see Rainbow Dash try to fly in, but was stopped by the window. I could at least somewhat admire her ability to try and talk with us, even as she slammed repeatedly into everything.         “She’s… trying to say that… Zecora…” Rainbow Dash then flew in, smashing into the nearly empty bookcase, continuing with, “Slapped us all… with a curse!”         “I’m afraid I have to agree,” I heard Rarity agree with Rainbow, but as I turned to face her, I was met with the worse case of dreadlocked fur and mane.         “I hate ta say I told ya so Twilight, but I told ya so!” Spike and I squinted a bit and looked over at Applebloom, who had… a mini Applejack? “It’s a curse I tell ya!” What the heck was going on?! I looked over at Fluttershy, seeing nothing wrong with her and saw that Applebloom hadn’t had any problems either. It flashed in my mind how Medley would look right now if he were here with us before quickly stuffing that in the back of my mind, not wanting to be sad and angry.         “But, Fluttershy seems just fine!” I knew I was grasping at straws, but it was still true.         “There doesn’t seem to be a THING wrong with her,” Rarity agreed as she tried to keep the mane out of her eyes.         “Fluttershy… are you OK?” I asked softly, to which she turned her head away from me.         Alrighty then, new questioning. “Is there something wrong with you?” I asked worriedly as now I got a small nod from her.         “Would you care to tell us?” I asked a bit too bluntly it seems, as she scrunched up and hid within herself.         “So… you’re not going to tell us?” A nod from her. “Yes you’re not or yes you will?”         As she was shaking her head, Applejack ran over to us and interrupted with, “Good gravy girl! What’s wrong with you?”         Fluttershy looked away shyly and replied in the deepest voice I ever heard from anypony, much less a mare, “I don’t wanna talk about it.”         We were all quite surprised when we heard her speak like that. Guess that would be something you wouldn’t want to tell to anypony. It then hit me suddenly as I started to get their attention, before Spike could make an immature joke at our expenses.         “Everyone, I just remembered: Medley’s probably sick in some kind of way, just like the rest of us!” I exclaimed, now looking a bit worried.         “How do you know that? After all, Applebloom looks just fine, and she came back to us healthy too,” Spike pointed out, looking up in strange fascination with my horn.         “Well, just in case, and because we need it pronto, keep on looking for more books with a cure for this!” I snapped slightly at him, getting a bit too irritated not being able to use my magic.         Spike grumbled a bit as he went off to search again as Rainbow Dash managed to get out of the ladder she crashed through on her entrance inside.         “I think we’ll find a cure to this curse at Zecora’s place!” Rainbow Dash said as she crashed into the wall yet again.         “It’s not a curse!” I stubbornly held onto that idea.         “I agree with Dash! We’ll go to Zecora’s, rescue Medley if she’s got ‘im there for some kinda voodoo and force her to remove this hex!” Applejack proclaimed, standing as proudly as she could the size of a toy action figure.         “It’s not a hex either!” I yelled, getting a bit frustrated with the girls, missing Medley to keep the peace. Or at least, provide some much needed common sense.         We all then started to argue over if it was a curse or not, getting really heated into it. Against all odds, Rainbow Dash was convinced it was still a curse while I tried to point out that there wasn’t such a thing as curses. The same with hexes or voodoo or anything else that wasn’t spells or magic.         “I don’t care what you say Twilight!” Rainbow Dash started saying her ending argument, “It’s time to pony up and confront Zecora! Come on girls. Are you with me?”         Rarity and Pinkie Pie agreed to go along with this crazy idea. Fluttershy was voting the Fluttershy way. That is to say: indecisive. I had to quickly give a glare at Spike for laughing at Fluttershy’s predicament, and at least he looked sorry for doing so.         “How about you Applejack?” Rainbow Dash turned to see if she agreed, only to discover her not there, with a confused, “Applejack?”         “She’s gone!” mumbled Pinkie as we all looked over at the pile of books, with one mini pony missing.         We all then quickly checked to see if somepony accidentally squashed her. When that was cleared we then checked to see if anyone sat on her. The next bit was strange, as Pinkie decided to look through Rarity’s hair at the insistence of Rainbow Dash. Rarity, rightfully so, was a bit uneasy about PInkie’s searching. I then noticed somepony else missing.         “Applebloom is gone too!” I noticed.         “I bet they went after Zecora to go rescue Medley,” Rainbow Dash deduced.         “Well we better go find them,” I sighed slightly as I led the group, leading with a, “Come on girls. Let’s go.” Added journal entry ends         I was pleasantly surprised this morning, as Zecora made some of her delicious dandelion stew, a common breakfast for her due to them sprouting everywhere and no one minded a few going missing. Plus, they were pretty useful for some of her concoctions, though I never could remember which ones. Try as I might, I can only recall songs perfectly, not potions or flight patterns. Heck, the most could do was memorize the weather schedule. But I digress.         I soon heard some knocking at the door, which made me curious. Though it did sound like someone was a bit timid. I couldn’t blame them that badly, it was practically neighboring the Everfree Forest. When I opened the door, I was pleasantly surprised to see Applebloom’s face.         “Hello there, Applebloom! What brings you here of all places?” I asked.         “W-Well… Um… Yer friends started arguin’ about Zecora again and I just wanted to say hi to her and maybe… I dunno… Help her out with somethin’?” Applebloom looked like a strange combination of fearful, curiosity and hopeful all in one.         I smiled as I let her in, Zecora looking a bit surprised. “Hey Zecora, mind letting Applebloom help you out today with your gathering? I know I was gonna, but Applebloom here wanted to get to know you better. Plus, we have many months to meet and chat later on,” I smiled awkwardly as I then felt the tension in the air, so thick you could cut it with a knife.         Eventually, Zecora nodded and Applebloom sighed in relief, as Zecora helped Applebloom identify different plants that she uses so that she could help pick them.         “You two can go on ahead, I’ll stay back here and mind the place, so to speak. I do worry about the girls, especially with superstition and paranoia,” I explained as I cleaned out the cauldron, getting it ready for another batch of stew.         They both nodded as they headed out, leaving me to start making the stew. I smiled a bit as I poured some chrysanthemum pollen into the cauldron, glad I was able to do this one thing. I took a small sip and nodded in approval before I felt… something, watch me. I turned to the window in curiosity and soon yelped a bit in surprise, wings flaring up.         The reason for this? My friends looked completely bizarre! Twilight’s unicorn horn was flopping about a bit, Pinkie’s tongue was sticking way out of her mouth and Rarity had dreadlocked mane to the extreme! The only pony that I saw looked normal was Fluttershy, but I highly doubted that she wasn’t affected. I soon went outside and saw them in real-life, which soon resulted in me getting a tackle hug from the one and only… Wait.. Pinkie was still standing there.         “Oh thank Celestia Medley, you’re alright! Are you alright? Did your voice change? What happened to you last night? Please tell us what’s going on!” I heard someone speak rapid-fire like, only to look up in shock that it was *Twilight* of all ponies who did that.         “Um… good morning to you too?” I slowly was starting to get my brain working again. “Um… Twilight? Kinda… Need air now… Help…”         I thought I saw Twilight blush slightly as she put me down, soon rearranging herself to normal before launching into her questions again, this time a bit slower.         “I’m alright Twilight, nothing’s changed with me or anything. As for what’s going on, you kinda stumped me there. What brings you around here any… Wait, please tell me you aren’t buying into it as well?” I ended on an irritable note, my wings still flared up a bit.         “Of course not! Besides, as I’ve explained over and over again, this isn’t a curse or a hex or anything like that. However, they still aren’t convinced at all,” Twilight hurriedly explained to try and calm me down, which worked a bit.         “...Twilight… where are Applejack and Rainbow Dash?” I asked, a bit worried over what foolhardy stunt they were going to do.         It seems my answer came in the form of a tiny Applejack steering Rainbow Dash towards the hut, whose wings seemed to be flipped upside down, causing them both to fly all over the place. I stood there stunned for a moment at the strange sight before realizing that Applejack was aiming towards the door to bust it down and ‘defeat the evil enchantress’. Luckily for me, when they got near the ground, Twilight managed to stop them and set them down quickly with her magic.         “What the- Medley? Why are you out here? Don’t tell me she’s got you under some kind of potion that made you her minion!” Rainbow Dash cried as she unsteadily got back on her wings, floating over to Fluttershy who gently put her on her hooves before Rainbow Dash attempted to try flying again.         “Yeah, and what’s in that big black pot thingy? I just know she cooked her up in some kinda stew,” Applejack piped in, landing on Twilight’s head.         “Enough,” I spoke clearly and sharply, the best I could do for yelling, my anger clear and out there. “Stop believing in what is obviously a lie and actually look at the Tartarus-damned facts. She has done nothing to deserve this kind of treatment except for her different look and for her living location. And you’re all supposed to be tolerant and friendly with other kinds of species, not trusting in hearsay and superstition. Amazingly enough, Applebloom was the only one out of all of you to actively try and talk with her. Shame on all of you for having a filly teach you something that should be quite clear and firm in your minds.”         Everyone’s face looked guilty and saddened to some degree now except for Rainbow Dash’s and Applejack’s, but even then I could see they were doubting her being ‘evil’. It just so happened at that time that Zecora and Applebloom came back from their gathering and quickly made it over.         “What in the- What happened to all ya? And why are y’all standing right out here, lookin’ like you were arguin’ about somethin’?” Applebloom asked as everyone looked to turn and stare, Applejack quickly jumping on her sister’s back and gave a threatening glare at her.         “But Meldey… how did we all change, and yet you and Applebloom haven’t whatsoever?” Twilight asked, trying to make sure of everything it seems.         “You *did* hear the warning Zecora gave, right? Now, what were you surrounded by and stepping in?” I replied with a question, smirking slightly.         She thought about it for a moment before her face lit up and answered, “In a big patch of some strange blue flowers! After that, we all had these strange things happen to us. Yet you and Applebloom don’t have anything wrong with you because you listened to the warning.”         “That plant is much like poison oak, but it’s results are like a joke,” Zecora explained with a smile of her own as the expressions of realization dawned on everypony and the guilty looks intensified to the point where even Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked sorry for assuming.         “Also known as Poison Joke, it seems. Fitting, since no one likes poison oak and no one like a prank being pulled on them this mean,” I added in.         “I’m now wondering how sentient it is to pick up on our highest held traits and turn it back on us… But that’s for later. For now, how do we get rid of this? I couldn’t find a cure anywhere in the library,” Twilight looked a bit worried again at possibly finding out there was no cure.         Zecora smiled a bit more and pulled out a book that I read occasionally, mostly on healing potions, and said, “To cure this affliction, it’s simple indeed. A good old fashioned bubble bath is all that you would need.”         “Wait… I recognize this book… But I thought it was a book just filled with myth and rumors, not actual remedies,” Twilight replied, looking like she was feeling a bit awkward for dismissing a book out of hand.         “Maybe next time, you’ll take a second look, and not judge the cover of a book. Both physically and mentally, I must add, before things get very bad,” Zecora turned to look at everyone, soon with everyone apologizing for how they acted.         “Zecora… Would you be kind enough to mix a batch of the herbal bath?” Twilight asked softly as she looked up at Zecora.         “Well, Zecora and I were just replenishin’ almost all the ingredient’s needed for it,” Applebloom started.         I continued with, “But it seems whenever she went into Ponyville, everything mysteriously closed up shop, and the streets were emptied of anypony who could’ve given her directions to the shop to make things quicker.”         “Oh, well, I think we can help you with that,” Twilight grinned slightly as everyone seemed to have cheered up a bit.         We soon made our way into Ponyville, and after talking with the flower shop, both to convince them that Zecora was good and that we were looking for an herb, we made our way to the spa and relaxed in the water. Since I didn’t have anything wrong with me, I had planned on making it back to my home. I soon was caught in the combined magical clutches of Rarity and Twilight, both of whom seemed to grin, and just a bit evilly as well.         “So Medley dear… Have *you* ever encountered this ‘Poison Joke’ before?” Rarity grinned as I fretted a bit.         “Once… a long while ago when I was out helping Zecora gather some for her herbal brews,” I tried not to give too much info away, but that was when Twilight stepped in.         “Oh? And, pray tell, what happened to you? I seemed to have flopped on my magic, Rarity’s mane and coat were a mess, Pinkie couldn’t speak, Rainbow kept on crashing into everything, Fluttershy had a deep male voice, and Applejack turned tiny. Since your special thing is music, what could’ve happened to you?” Twilight’s eyes glinted a bit, and I wasn’t too sure if that was a good thing or bad thing.         Zecora happened to hear and giggle, replying, “It seems that during the night, he changed and made for a completely different sight. For you see, his face was quite pale, when he was a she: a female!”         Everyone started to laugh at that, not cruelly though, as I blushed hard. That was an especially odd day for me, as it took us a day to fix the problem. It was especially awkward when we had to go into the neighboring town and I got hit on. Frequently. And not just by the stallions either.         Sooner than one would think, Celestia was setting the sun as we all bade each other a good night and went to our homes. It seems that today was making an improvement from the last time someone of a different species came to town. It probably helped though that Zecora looked almost like a pony to begin with. Which now has me pondering how ponies would react to a hippogryph. Some food for thought and for my dreams it seems. Ah well, at least I can say I’ve connected more of my friends together, especially with one that is notoriously hard to find. End of Chapter 11