Chapter. 13 – Of Flowers and Curses (Part. 2)
Relentless pounding on her head was all Sunset knew as she slowly regained consciousness. Well it was the sound that was relentlessly pounding on her head; the actual pounding was coming from her front door.
Emitting a pained groan, Sunset opened her eyes and the world slowly came into focus. She found herself still in the main library area of the building with her new pet, Owlicious, once again resting on her back.
As if responding to her groan, the pounding on the door seemed to double, and so did her headache; it was sooo loud!
“Ok, ok I’m coming.” It sounded like she had just used the legendary ‘Royal Canterlot Voice’ even though she did not put any more effort into her shout than normal, or felt any strain on her voice. At least it had the desired effect and the door was no longer being slammed against.
“Ok, what’s so important it couldn’t wait unt–” Sunset had no words for what she saw. Standing in front of her was an equally wide eyed Fluttershy staring at Sunset; her eyes travelling all over Sunset, but did seem to linger on the top of her head.
“Oh, Fluttershy. Umm, is there something wrong?” Fluttershy said nothing, but still couldn’t take her eyes off of Sunset, “ok? Well can you come back at nine? That’s when the Library is supposed to be open, is that all right?” Those words seem to penetrate Fluttershy’s defensive staring and reached her brain; she frantically shook her head before indicating heavily to let her in, all the while not saying a single thing. Sunset sighed but acquiesced to her request and let her into the library. After all it was the nice thing to do. “Would you like some tea while you prepare yourself to tell me what’s wrong?” this Fluttershy nodded to.
Sunset retreated upstairs to her kitchen and went through the motions of making a pot of tea; all the while wondering what could possibly be wrong with her latest, acquaintance? Friend? Sunset hoped it was more than the former at least.
As she brewed, Sunset could hear her door being opened and closed another three times; with the familiar voices of the mares from yesterday appearing with each subsequent opening. They all seemed distressed and from the gasps she was hearing, Fluttershy had finally told them what was wrong. Sunset made sure she had enough tea for everypony that had decided to raid the library so early. Though she had to wonder to herself exactly how she could hear all of them this well; normally the sounds of the library do not travel all the way to her kitchen.
Coming down the stairs with a tray full of cups and a pot, what she saw almost caused her to drop it out of her magic. “What happened to you all?”
Standing amongst a now mess of a library were the five mares from yesterday and, with the exception of Fluttershy, all of them appeared to have changed in some way. Pinkie Pie’s tongue had swollen to such an extent that all she could do is drool and spit at people when she tried to talk; as was evident thanks to the puddles around her hooves.
Rainbow Dash’s wings appeared to be inverted; which apparently caused her to loose her sense of direction, as she was crashing into everything and knocking books all over the place.
Rarity’s once lovely coat and mane appeared to have transformed into dreadlocks all over her body, preventing her from seeing; she was even tripping up over them occasionally as she walked.
The last one was particularly hard for Sunset to get her head around; Applejack appeared to have shrunken down to the point where it was entirely possible for her to fit inside one of their mouths. Right now she was standing on her little sisters back, who did not look happy to be here.
“The same thing that’s happened to you! Zecora cursed us all.” Applejack’s voice was significantly higher pitched thanks to her now reduced size, though she still had the country accent and determination.
“Cursed? I’m not cursed, I would think I would know if I’ve been cursed.”
“Oh yeah, then how do you explain the change in coat colour and your ears being all bat like, huh?”
“What?” Sunset looked at herself and found she was still lavender in colour and her mane and tail was still purple; her natural colours. Sunset could feel herself beginning to panic; so with two quick flashes of light the tray filled with tea and snacks found itself teleported down to the central table for everypony, while she herself had disappeared into the private bathroom where there was a mirror.
Indeed her ears had grown quite dramatically and now had the appearance of a bat’s. But that wasn’t the cause of her building panic, well most of her building panic. She had been compromised.
‘What to do, what to do? Can’t kill them all, their all too prominent in the community. Mass memory wipe has the same problem of people noticing a potential difference in attitude. It would take too long for me to individually go through them to remove the information one by one; it would take me half the day. ARGH, HOW DO I FIX THIS?!’
“Oof. Ahem, Sunset darling, I know it’s a lot to take in, but hiding in the bathroom won’t fix this. We all came here hoping to find a cure for this curse. If we can’t, then all of us can go together and demand Zecora change us back.” It was Rarity speaking to her through the bathroom door, thankfully locked preventing anyone’s entry. That Sunset was able to hear Rarity trip was no doubt thanks to her ears transformation.
‘Curse? There’s no such thing as curses. Potential hexes and a few other potion based spells, but they require more time than this to prepare. This wasn’t Zecora’s doing. And anyway that was only the ears…wait, can I use this? Can I blame my change in colour on this apparent curse? Heck it sounds like they’re doing it already for me. Once we get the cure for whatever is wrong with us sorted, I can pretend to have a delayed reaction and use the bathroom or something. It’s possible that our bodies could glow with the antidote and then all it would take is timing. This could actually work.’
With a shuddering breath, Sunset steeled herself before opening the door to the bathroom and stepped out into the delicate situation she now found herself in.
“If nothing else darling, at least your curse has giving you a marvellous coat colour. Quite the difference from your actual one; but still if it wasn’t for the ears I’d almost be tempted to say the curse didn’t affect you at all.”
It was a strange mix of emotions Sunset was trying to imitate. She was frowning slightly as one no doubt would when their coat was changed so drastically; but at the same time she couldn’t help but feel flattered at the complement of her natural coat colours. Shaking her head the two unicorns went back down stairs and started to look through the collection of books for the cure to whatever this was.
“We’ve looked through every remedy book within the library right now. Between the six that I know are, currently, out on loan and another eight that I haven’t seen at all but are supposed to be here; I’d say we’re out of leads, I’m sorry to say girls.” After several hours of frantic searching and going over checkout lists it became clear that the library didn’t have what they were looking for.
“It was a long shot anyway sugarcube. Such magic’s are probably too dangerous to just have lying about in a public library.” Sunset was still not use to hearing the high squeaky voice of the tiny Applejack currently standing on the centre table. That her changed ears keep flicking away from the high pitched noise was also an odd sensation.
“I’ve been telling you that since we got here! Enough of this egghead stuff; let’s go to Zecora’s and kick her flank until she gives us the cure!”
“Now now Rainbow, threatening anypony like that will not result in us getting the cure for these inflictions. We will need to be diplomatic to get the best possible outcome out of this”
“Oh come on Rare! She’s already got us over a barrel with this curse. There’s nothing left for us to do but to strike back!”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s a nice idea. If we apologise to her, then perhaps she will be kind enough to undo the curse.”
Sunset sighed while supressing a slight shiver; hearing such a deep and masculine voice coming out of the timid pony was something you really could not get used to. “Sorry Fluttershy, but if this Zecora really did put a curse or whatever on us then why would we need to apologise for. I know I haven’t done anything to warrant such a reaction.”
“None of us have done anything to deserve this.”
“Rainbow is right I’m afraid. I cannot think of anything that we’ve done that would warrant such a retaliation. We go out of our way to avoid her honestly.”
“Well maybe that’s the problem, Rarity. Yesterday was the first time I’ve seen her, so she comes into town, what, once a month maybe; and it just so happened to be on a day that every shop is shut. If I hadn’t ordered those cupcakes from Pinkie the day before I would not have had anything to bring for Fluttershy’s tea party.”
“The whole town always shuts when she comes to town. She’s evil and we avoid her because of it.”
“Rainbow, maybe that’s why she cursed us? Maybe she’s finally sick of not being a part of the town. That doesn’t explain why she did whatever she did to me. I’ve been here for less than a month and if she came to use the library I’d have welcomed her as much as any other pony in town.”
“But then that just proves she’s a bad pony, Sunset. If she’s willing to do that to you who’s done nothing to her at all; then just think of all the horrible stuff she must be planning for the rest of us.”
It sounded like Pinkie was trying to add a few pieces but was failing due to her swollen tongue. Eventually she got Fluttershy to sing a very strange song about Zecora; something along the lines of evil brews and turning ponies into stews? Sunset glanced over to Rainbow Dash who simply shrugged her shoulders at the antics.
“Anyway, the point is we have no option left but to go and confront Zecora. What do you think AJ?” Rainbow turned to the central table once more, hoping to get additional support from the farming earth pony; however she wasn’t there. “Where’d she go?”
Shining Armor was once the youngest Capitan of the Royal Guards and held that prestigious title for five years before finally marrying his marefriend Cadance. As soon as the vows were sealed with a kiss, his service status changed from military to royalty and he had to retire from his position. He still helped out unofficially –his royal status giving him more privileges than he had before– with the training and upkeep of the soldiers. But he had to learn his new political life quicker than either of the princesses would have liked; it was tough but he felt he was adapting well. Then he gets requests from Princess Celestia like the one he is currently reading.
“Dear Shining Armor,
“I am writing this missive to you as your Princess and not as your aunt, I’m afraid. I am in need of background information on a specific pony; and I fear that this already difficult challenge will be made more so due to a fixed deadline.
“The mare in question is the new librarian stationed within the small town of Ponyville, and the name she goes by is ‘Sunset Shimmer’. While I suspect you will find everything in order with this name; I highly suspect it is fabricated.
“This is not the problem with her; I am aware of her mid and recent past and how she became the new librarian, I myself offered her the position. The information I am seeking is her early childhood.
“She was initially raised in an orphanage; though I am afraid I do not know which one, or even which city or province. The true lack of information about her is what makes this a difficult task, as I have stated previously, her name might not even be real. I’ve enclosed with this letter a detailed description of her currently with a good approximation of what she would have looked like as a filly. The only piece of good news is that I have a detailed description of her cutie mark.
“I know this sounds like a daunting task, made even more so when I tell you I require this information delivered before the Summer Sun Celebration next year; giving you effectively one year from the penning of this letter to do this in.
“You have been the biggest supporter of the Royal Intelligence Service and it is only because of yourself and Cadance that it even exists as it is. While they have proven themselves useful to me in numerous instances, there is more than enough backlash persuading me to return it to crime scene investigations. Use them in this task and prove to me once and for all that this service is something Equestra needs.
“I wish you luck in this mission and hope your faith has not been misplaced.
“Signed, Princess Celestia.”
Shining had to pause and think over the letter in front of him; if he was being silly it sounded like this ‘Sunset Shimmer’ was a spy or something. That was ridiculous of course; if she was a spy that Celestia knew about, then why was she asking for her early history? Celestia herself would have already checked it.
Turning to the next page of the letter Shining found a picture of the mare in question and below it a detailed description. ‘Wow, small world. Basically bump into you twice in one day just a few weeks ago and now I’m looking into your past.’ His eyes travelled further down the page, past the sketch, to the written description; skimming through the flowery sentences and picking out the key words needed.
‘Let’s see, violet eyes, single coloured coat of rich amber, mane and tail both long in length and of red and yellow strips in a fire pattern style. Height is, ok yup she’s basically my height; wonder if that’s normal, or situational? Normal, it shouldn’t be too hard to find information of an unusually tall filly. Hmm horn length is slightly longer than is standard, with a thicker base as well; she must have quite some power behind her, and used it regularly growing up. So she’s definitely had specialised training of some sort then. Heh, maybe she is a spy after all.
‘Hmm, magic aura is of a deep reddish pink in colour and her cutie mark is… what? A large field of rich pink; on the outer circumference are five white stars scattered around six white streaks in the centre. That is a strange cutie mark; I wonder what her talent could be with a mark like that? Star gazing maybe?’
The final page within the letter was a hoof drawn picture of the cutie mark in question. “Jeez, this thing must cover most of her flank, and such a contrast to her coat’s colour, it feels wrong. When she got that she was certainly no longer a blank flank, that’s for sure.”
“What was that about covering flanks?” The voice came from behind him and across the room from the ornate writing desk he was currently sitting in front of. Shining Armor turned in the chair to see his best friend and wife looking at him from her own, similar, desk next to an ornate stained glass window.
“Oh, nothing much; just got a request from Celestia to do an early background check on the new librarian of Ponyville. You’ll never guess who it is. Remember that mare I told you about a couple of weeks ago; the one we both saw at the train station, and then I bumped into again at Donut Joe’s with Spike?”
At this point Cadance had walked over to his desk to see for herself. “You’re kidding. Oh wow, no you’re not. Do you mind if I read it?” he shook her head, no. “Hmm, Sunset Shimmer, well she certainly looks as her name would suggest. Just like…” Cadance trailed off, mumbling the last sentence; her expression shifted slightly, changing into something more associated with reminiscing.
“Cadance, are you ok? Wait, do you recognise her?”
“I’m, not sure Shiny. I know the name, and her description is similar to a mare I use to know; but it can’t be who I’m thinking of.” Her brow was furrowed in deep thought; but there was something else there as well, an expression of loss perhaps?
“Are you sure? If there’s even a slight possibility it’s the mare you’re thinking of, then why don’t you share your thoughts with me? So we can completely rule her out if nothing else.”
“Sigh, Shining you know I’m a lot older than you are, right? Thanks to me being an alicorn; and during that time I’ve met many ponies. The Sunset Shimmer I’m thinking of was around when I was a filly pegasus living in the Crystal Empire before it disappeared and I ascended to alicornhood.
“She belonged to a minor noble house and was exceptionally talented in magic; managing to join the Crystal Choir at the relatively young age of twenty six. I knew her back then because she was always the one assigned to look after me.
“Being fourth in line to the Crystal throne, as well as a pegasus, I was ignored politically; and so was free to go into whatever career path I wished, and thus did not have a dedicated tutor. As I said previously the Sunset Shimmer I knew was the youngest member of the Choir, and so was not very well liked; doubly so because she was only a minor noble. So she was always given the task of looking after me when I was left to my own devices.”
“Oh, that’s why it can’t be her; she’s been dead for hundreds of years. So I take it this ‘Crystal Choir’ was a magic group; considering you said she was exceptional at magic.”
“Haven’t I ever told you? Oh, forgive me Shiny, we’ll need to get a night together to discuss a bit more of my past then. But to answer your question yes, the Crystal Choir were the magic specialists of the Crystal Empires military; with a Choirmaster being the equivalent to Equestria’s Archmage.
“Sunset was the youngest member in over a century to be allowed to join, and the decision was controversial. But she prospered, and we were good friends because of all the time she spent looking after me.”
Shining’s face now held the universal image of someone who knew they were about to broach a sensitive topic, and could possibly upset his wife. “You told me that it was because of King Sombra that you became an alicorn; do you mind telling me how your Sunset Shimmer died? Do you even know?”
“Yes Shining, I know how she died. I guess it’s also time for me to tell you how I became an alicorn as well, since they’re interconnected.” Her voice was soft and horse, clearly fighting back tears from a difficult topic. “It was during Sombra’s final assault before he took over. The palace was completely surrounded by his followers, but Sunset claimed she knew of a way to escape; through a portal she had been examining and experimenting with.
“To cut a long story short, she led me deep underneath the palace to an abandoned storeroom where a strange mirror was located. She herself did not have enough power to activate it, but there was a reason why Sunset had moved the mirror so deeply underground.
“She tapped directly into the leyline underneath the palace and used herself as a conduit to send power into the mirror, activating the artefact and changing it into a portal. Sniff, unfortunately that was the wrong thing to do; not only was she slowly disintegrating in front of me, but something was clearly going very wrong with the portal.
“It was glowing so brightly, sparks were flying out of it; but worst of all, the portal that you were supposed to walk through created a swirling vortex and started to pull the both of us in.” While Cadance was not crying it was clear the memories were painful; Shining enveloped her in a protective embrace that she latched onto, hard.
“She was sucked in first but somehow managed to stabilise the portal before it ate me as well. The next thing I know, I’m waking up within the throne room here in Canterlot right in front of Celestia, and an alicorn. Beside me was the mirror, unpowered and badly damaged; but still glowing and radiating heat and thaumatic energies. There was also no sign of Sunset Shimmer at all.
“She sacrificed herself to save me, Shining. I’ll never forget her or the look of shock, worry, acceptance and love for me on her face as she was dissolving into light in front of me.
“So what’s your mare’s cutie mark? I want to eliminate the small hope I have that this is my Sunset Shimmer.” The single piece of paper in question sitting on his desk was lifted by his magical aura and brought over for his wife to see.
“Wow, yeah I see what you mean now; that cutie mark must be covering her whole flank. But this is not my Sunset’s cutie mark; hers was a split red and yellow sun.” Pulling back from the embrace, she delved into a set of her breathing exercises, calming her down. “So, I take it you are going to be using your Royal Information Service for this?”
“Yeah, if I can prove to Celestia that an information gathering service can do its job impartially and effectively she’s promised more funding. And with more funding they can start to look at old cases.”
Gently, he was embraced this time in a warm and loving hug by his wife. While he did not cry, his eyes did mist over and his voice cracked ever so slightly. “She’s still out there Cadance, she’s still alive; you not braking down is proof of that, that one little sliver of love for Spike. While that one thread still holds on, I shall keep looking.”
“Just no more ideas of searching all of Equestia by hoof please.” Cadance’s voice was slightly muffled as her muzzle was in the crook of his neck. Shining Armor at least had the decency to look a little embarrassed.
“Not my brightest idea, I admit. But this one will work; just as soon as I can prove to Celestia her fears are unwarranted.”
This had been a long and drawn out battle, but slowly Shining Armor was proven correct. That Princess Celestia is now actively asking for their use must mean that she is ready to start believing in the value of such a service. “Well Cadey, I best get too it. The faster this gets done the faster everything else can fall into place.”
“I’ll go with you; nothing I’m doing is of great importance. Besides who’s going to stop you cracking the whip to get this job done in a week without me reining you in?” He rolled his eyes to her giggle, but together they left their study in the castle with the military wing firmly in their sights.
Sunset was once again running through the Everfree Forest, though this time she had a fixed destination in mind; she was heading right for the house tree that most likely was Zecora’s home.
She was at the front of a pack that consisted of her remaining friends; one blue pegasus had lost control of straight lines and had flew off in a random direction, another friend must have went on ahead with their little sister to face Zecora alone. Sunset berated herself for ever possibly thinking that the miniaturised pony had been sat on.
Following the more official path they arrived at the house tree, causing all the girls behind her to gasp at the décor. Rarity seemed to be the biggest critic, as soon as she could see it anyway. “Oh, my. Well this looks just lovely; if you enjoy creepy!” there was no supressing the shudder that ran through her body. It was emphasised thanks to all the dreadlocks.
Sunset saw that it hadn’t changed since the last time she saw it. There were still bottles filled with glowing liquids hanging from branches, and strange tribal masks scattered around the place. She could see why some people could be, unreceptive to the look.
Carefully walking up to the door, Sunset was about to knock; when all of a sudden Pinkie Pie grabbed her around the barrel, before tossing her over to the other girls who had stationed themselves by a window.
“Sunset, were you about to knock on the door of an evil enchantress’s house?”
Before Sunset could defend herself from the deep reverberating voice of Fluttershy, a strange humming could be heard from within the tree; this shut up all conversation and forced eyes to look through the window. It got noticeably louder, before there was the distinct squeak of a door opening. With the squeak from the door, the humming was transformed into a deep feminine voice gently singing in a strange and foreign tongue. It sounded quite pleasant.
Looking through the window it was clear to see that this Zecora had come back into the room; and she was not a pony; she was a zebra. Black and white stripes in an irregular pattern covered her whole body including her Mohawk styled mane and slightly braided tail.
She was wearing large gold earrings and two spiralling collars, one as a bracelet on her front forehoof, and the other around her neck. Finally he cutie mark was of a spiral surrounded by small triangles; honestly it looked like a sun done in a tribal style.
She had just finished pouring something into a very large cauldron like pot right in the centre of the room; and was currently stirring it with a wooden handle –presumably a large spoon– quietly singing the foreign song over the brew. Apart from the song not sounding threatening, the sight was not an encouraging one.
“Hmm, the perfect temperature for ponies, I presume. Now, where is that little Apple Bloom?”
Sunset did not just hear that. This zebra could not be making stew out of a filly, could she? Sunset did not have time to wonder more on this before the front door was smashed through by Rainbow Dash. From the fleeting glance Sunset managed of the out of control pony, she appeared to be wearing a set of reigns made out of, leaves? ‘Wait, was she also flying upside down? And was something orange connected to those reigns?’
The girls still outside gave each other a quick nod before storming the front door all at once. What they found upon entering the house was a complete mess. Broken bottles scattered all over the floor, with several bookcases having their shelves cracked or dislodged. Even the mattress had somehow been crashed into and was now sitting up against the wall with a few feathers leaking out of a large gash.
The girls arrived just in time to watch Rainbow Dash crash into the cauldron and deposit its contents all over the floor; the bubbling green liquid giving off a pleasant, if rather soapy, smell. More importantly for Sunset, it did not smell of a stew. There might be a chance this Zecora could still live past this day.
“No, my brew! You ponies know not what you do.”
“Give it up Zecora! I’ve ruined whatever horrible curse you were planning to use on us, so give up and give us back Apple Bloom.” It seemed Rainbow Dashes destructive flight path had not affected her spirit in any way, even if she was a little wobbly on her hooves.
Orange movement on Zecora’s ear revealed the location of a tiny Applejack currently trying to wrestle the appendage flat to Zecora’s head; it looked to be a battle of epic proportions.
Zecora and the girls started to argue about curses and who’s fault was who’s but Sunset wasn’t paying any attention to it; all she wanted to know was the health of the missing filly, Apple Bloom. The room was too far gone to gather any real clues thanks to the mess and spilled liquid on the floor.
“Where, is, Apple Bloom?” Sunsets voice wasn’t loud, but it seemed to fill the room; causing the argument, including a head-butting battle between Zecora and Rainbow Dash, to pause in surprise.
The soft spoken words were themselves harmless, they did not hold power; it was the tone that spoke of dangerous things to come. While the voice sounded the same and the words spoken were in themselves non-threatening; all eyes were upon Sunset Shimmer and her completely stone carved face and focused eyes.
Whatever was going to happen next is something of a mystery; Sunset quickly spun round to face the door just moments before a young voice called out.
“Zecora I think I got everything that was on your lis…what in Ponyville is going on here?”
The innocent voice swept over the area and did its magic; Applejack called out to her sister, voice full of relief. All the other mares from Ponyville let out collective sighs of stress and tension, as the hostile atmosphere in the room dissipated. Sunset’s demeanour relaxed, and what had to have been a stone carved mask was metaphorically removed and a calmer impassive face was in its place.
“Apple Bloom you’re ok.” In her shrunken state it really did sound like Applejack had been drinking helium. It was quite uncomfortable for Sunsets enhanced hearing.
Apple Bloom walked past the purple furred mare still standing by the door without a thought; happily walking right up to Zecora.
It seemed the whole thing was one big misunderstanding, that their afflictions where caused by the blue flower known as “Poison Joke.” A plant that Sunset had heard off, but only ever seen the powdered form of it; she hadn’t even known it was found within the Everfree Forest.
Zecora had tried to warm them of the plant, not place any sort of spell on the group. It also helped explain why none of the fillies were affected; all of them were standing on an adult ponies back, high above the plants themselves.
Everything else about the zebra continued in such a fashion; the décor was indeed a tribal style from the lands she called home, a country called Zebrica. And the chanting performed over the pot was a nursery rhyme in her native tongue. Even the brew itself was actually for all the ponies affected by the Poison Joke.
“Super Naturals; Natural Remedies and Cure all’s that are Simply Super.” This was a book that was supposed to be in the library. Not this exact copy, Sunset checked, but the library was supposed to have a copy of this book, but it has been let out and obviously forgotten about. ‘I really do have to think of a way to get those books back.’
Still Zecora was more than happy to brew up another batch for them; if only she could gather the remaining herbs that were required. They were common enough, but did not grow nearby; she needed to visit a few shops in Ponyville.
“Oh, well as one new comer to Ponyville to another, let me and the mare’s here help with that little issue.”
The rest of the day went surprisingly smoothly; the group walk through town with Zecora, a few words were spoken here and there, and it looked like ponies were finally beginning to see that Zecora was not an evil enchantress.
The second batch of remedy was made and with the assistance of Rarity booking out the large hot tub at the local spa; all the mares affected got the bubble bath treatment required. With only a slight bit of fancy spell work and timing from Sunset, her colour changing polymorph was restored without anyone noticing; turning her back into the amber furred pony that the mares around her were getting to know. All it took was one complete dunk into the deep bubbling tub.
“Wait, you’re the mare from the library! You froze me and my friends in place, you threatened us with books; why were you trying to help my sister and her friends save me? Even if I didn’t need saving.” Apple Bloom’s eyes were wide and more than a little fearful, but her face was full of confusion.
Sunset sighed, “I didn’t mean to scare you or your friends; I did what I did to prevent any of you fillies from getting hurt. The books I pointed out to you were falling down right onto your heads before I caught them all. I never intended to hurt any of you.”
“You stopped all those books from hitting me and my friends?” Realisation dawned on Apple Blooms face and sadness replaced the curiosity. “Gee, I’m sorry Miss Shimmer; we all thought you were threatening us. I guess we didn’t listen to what you were saying after we were frozen. But don’t worry; I’ll make sure to tell all of my friends that you’re not an evil bookworm after all.”
Sunset chuckled as she looked over to the zebra standing at the edge of the large multi-pony bath. “So Zecora, it seems both of us have finally become a part of Ponyville. Or at least we’ve both gotten past the ‘You’re an evil X’ part of entering the town.” She tried to make it sound exaggerated and humorous; it was meant to be taken as a joke.
Fortunately everyone seemed to get the joke and even Sunset joined in with the laughter. The group was small, but Sunset could see herself actually enjoying the company of every pony here in one way or another; yes she was integrating into this town nicely.
She was making friends.