//------------------------------//
// One Weird Parade 
// Story: Rainbow Unicorns: Bridle Gossip 
// by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof 
//------------------------------//

It was a quiet afternoon in Ponyville, with the locals getting back to their normal routine after yesterday.  A quiet that was interrupted by the strange sight of eight figures marching through the street in the center of town.  One was glowing even in the daylight, keeping any from being able to tell who it was, and another was a green color with neon orange for a mane and tail.  The one that drew the most attention and fear, however, was Zecora.  The dreaded Witch of The Everfree Forest had returned for a second day.

Word quickly spread that she had returned, and ponies soon vanished from the streets.  it was not long until it had once again looked like the town had recently been abandoned.

Still, the eight of them continued on, making their way through town and toward the flower shop.

Rarity stepped up to the front door, reaching out and gently knocking on it with her hoof.

"Rose?" she called out gently.  "Lily?  Daisy?  It's us.  Please open up."

There was no answer, but the group could hear gasping, the sound of hooves running, and some things being knocked over.  Rainbow Burst let out a huff and walked up.  She then slammed her hoof into the door repeatedly, banging as loud as possible.

"Open up!" she yelled.  "We know you're in there, and you have something we need!"

The group heard some panicked neighs, followed by three loud thumps as though something heavy but soft had fallen, but there was still no answer.

"I think they fainted," offered Fluttershy.

"Of course," Rainbow groaned, throwing her head back and rolling her eyes.  She turned her attention to Pinkie Pie.  "Got a bullhorn?"

With a grin, Pinkie's horn lit up.  In a burst of pink light, sound of noisemakers, and spray of confetti, a bullhorn appeared.  It fell toward the ground, forcing Rainbow to jump out and grab it before it hit.  Rainbow let out a sigh of relief as she lifted it up, checking over the bullhorn before bringing it to her mouth.

"Hey!" Rainbow Burst shouted.  "HEY!  Everypony pay attention to me!  I may not be able to see you, but I know you all can hear me so listen up!"

She waited a moment, counting to ten as she looked around.  Disappointingly, none of the other ponies in town came out of their hiding places.

"Most of you know who I am, and that I moved here not too long ago.  You also know the others, who have been here for years, if not their whole lives.  You know us, and that you can trust us."

She pointed a hoof to the zebra.

"This is Zecora.  She is a zebra, and not a witch!"  Her muzzle wrinkled as she furrowed her brow.  "Although it is kind of weird she lives in the spooky forest..."  She gave a shake of her head, returning to her speech.  "Anyway, she's not a witch, and is not going to curse any ponies, or turn them into stew.  In fact, she could probably teach us some really cool potions or powders."

Rainbow paused, taking a breath.

"I know we look kind of strange, but that's because of a plant we came across in The Everfree Forest.  Zecora says she can cure us, but she needs to get certain ingredients in order to do that.  So, you all have a choice.  You can either come out of hiding and help us, ponies you know and trust, or you can continue hiding like foals who are scared of some boogie mare!  What's it gonna be?"

Setting down the bullhorn, she and the others waited.

A second passed.

Ten.

Fifteen.

Thirty.

After more than a minute, doors began to open.  Including the ones to the flower shop as the three flower mares.  A pink coated one with blond mane and tail took the lead.  Rainbow was not sure what her name was.  Either Lily or Daisy.  Maybe Rose?  Admittedly, Rainbow had never really cared about them that much, and the three were always together, so it was kind of hard to remember which mare had which name.

"What do you need?" the flower mare asked.

There was a collective sigh of relief as ponies came out to help.  The book holding the cure, titled Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-alls That Are Simply Super, was open and shared with the other ponies, telling the crowd what they needed to complete the cure for Poison Joke.

It was not long until they had everything they needed.  As a bonus, they did not have to go all the way back to Zecora's hut.  Instead, they were able to go to the spa, using one of the hot tubs.  Which also meant that they could all actually fit in it at once, as opposed to climbing into Zecora's cauldron one at a time.

Rainbow Burst cannonballed into the tub, letting her entire body be engulfed by the medicated hot water all at once.  As the water covered her, she felt another sensation.  It was like the tingling of when a limb fell asleep, but across her entire body.

When her head came up out of the water, Rainbow reached up with a hoof and felt on her forehead.

Sure enough, there was her horn, exactly where it should be.

 "WOO-HOO!" Rainbow cried out, throwing her hooves up.  She then fell backwards, flopping into the water.

To one side of her, a bright glow from beneath the water disappeared, leaving the room noticeably darker as Flowershy emerged as a pony instead of a ball of light.  On the other side of her emerged Rarity, her coat and mane back to their normal coloring.

Pinkie Pie popped up not far off, taking a massive gasp of air.

"Yes," she called out.  "I can talk again.  I mean it was cool to be able to make sound effects just by opening my mouth, but it also made it super hard for other ponies to understand me.  Plus, how can I sing if I can't talk?  And how would ponies know the lyrics so they could sing along?  I'm telling you, it was the worst curse ever."

"It wasn't a curse!" Twilight replied as she splashed at Pinkie with one wing.  She then smiled.  "But, yeah, it was pretty frustrating not having anypony understand you."

"What language were you talking anyways?"

Twilight shrugged.

"No idea."

Rainbow stopped, looking around.  She counted off the others.  One, two, three, four, and she made five.

"Where's Applejack?" she asked, still looking around.

"Over here!" Applejack's voice called out.

The other five moved to the edge and looked over toward where they thought they heard her.  Not far from the hot tub was Applejack, sitting in a bucket.  Although, it looked like she might have actually been stuck in it, with her wings and most of her back in said bucket while her legs and head poked out.

Pinkie suddenly gasped, eyes wide.

"We should throw Zecora a party!" she declared.  "We need to thank her for curing us, apologize for thinking she was some sort of evil witch, and finally welcome her to Ponyville!"

She hopped out of the tub and shook herself like a dog.  Her entire coat poofed out, the fluff making her looking nearly three times her normal size.

"I'll see you guys at the party," she announce.  She then turned away, a serious look on her face.  "I've got some serious party planning to do."

Her horn lit up, and in a puff of magic, noisemakers, and confetti, she disappeared.