//------------------------------// // "Come and Knock on Our Door" // Story: Zarram's Nightmare in Equestria // by BrendanandJohn //------------------------------// The now disguised Zarram clumsily walked next to the two Pegasi, as they walked over the old stone bridge that granted entrance into the peaceful hamlet known as Ponyville. While he could barely see out of the hastily made eyeholes that Rainbow Dash cut out of the sheet, Zarram could make out what seemed like many other of these small, interesting creatures. Some of them had wings, some of them had horns, and some were just like normal horses, or at least as normal as one could get in this plane of existence. They were all around the same size, about up to his waist, maybe a bit taller, and each was as brightly colored as the last. "Hey, rainbow one." Zarram called out following behind Rainbow dash "You realize that I'm twice your size? We aren't exactly being sneaky." "Don't you worry about it, you." she said, nonchalantly. "There's enough crazy stuff that goes on in this town where this won't even be questioned." "I'm just saying, it would make me feel a little bit more relaxed if you could at least come up with a reason for why you're walking around town with a person twice your height in a ghost costume." Zarram took note of the shuffling behind him as it sounded more like dragging than walking. He turned around to see a nervous looking Fluttershy, head bowed down and eyes darting all over the place. "Look, this whole thing is giving your friend here a nervous episode, maybe we could just go back the way we came and I can live in that forest for the remainder of my days?" "Don't worry about her, she's always like that. Isn't that right Fluttershy?" The nervous yellow Pegasus looked up at Rainbow Dash and mumbled something. Regardless of what ever was actually said however, Rainbow Dash only heard 'Absolutely, pal.' "See?" She continued trotting down the dirt road leading the strangest parade that this world has ever seen "And if you go back to the forest how am I supposed to know that you won't prey on us later? You are a monster after all?" Right before Zarram had the chance to object to Rainbow Dash's statement, the group was stopped by a small orange Pegasus. "Hey Rainbow Dash... Umm, who's that?" the purple maned filly asked as she looked up inquisitively at her idol. "Who, the ghost?" Rainbow Dash replied nervously searching for an answer "Um, it's... uhhh... He's... He's Fluttershy's cousin!" Fluttershy's ears perked up and her eyes darted toward Rainbow Dash as she began to speak softly, "But Rainbow Dash, my cousin is i-" "In denial!" Rainbow Dash shouted, rushing over to Fluttershy, stuffing her hoof into the poor yellow Pegasus' mouth while completing her sentence. "As you would know, Fluttershy is one of the shyest ponies around, and her cousin is the same way. That's why he has a blanket over him." She smiled at the filly after she finished explaining. "But, what about the carrot?" the little Pegasus asked as she pointed to it with her hoof. " Oh, that? Um... He's also a Unicorn stuck in a Pegasus's body, and that's exactly why we need to go and see Twilight." "Oh, okay." She paused and looked down dejectedly "Maybe I'm the same way..." The orange filly waved to the group as they parted ways. "Who was that?" Zarram asked. Rainbow Dash turned her head to look at him to answer his question "Scootaloo? She's just a kid here, nothing else that's important now. I just want to get to the Library and find Twilight." "I see..." They approached a giant tree that seemed to be at the heart of the town and stopped. Various pink tinted windows of all shapes and sizes decorated the trunk, along with several balconies allowing one to stand outside. At the very top was a platform with a telescope mounted on it, which most likely allowed one to stargaze for hours on a clear night. At the base of the tree was a door with a candle design imprinted on it, and right next to it was a sign with a book. "I guess this is the place, huh." Zarram asked "You know, the library with a candle on the door instead of a book..." Rainbow Dash nodded and approached the door, shouting loudly before knocking "Hey Twilight! We need your help!" The Rainbow maned pony's assault on the door continued until a lavender colored Unicorn opened it, saving it from further abuse at the cost of her own head. The Unicorn flinched in pain as the Pegasus' hoof hit her cranium three times "OW! Rainbow Dash, that hurt!" She rubbed her head, ruffling her dark purple mane in the process, and continued to speak. "What do you ne-" "I'll explain inside! Rainbow Dash exclaimed pushing Twilight inside the library, Zarram and Fluttershy following closely. As soon as the group was fully inside the walls of the library, Rainbow Dash sped over to the door, slamming it shut and locking it. "Rainbow Dash, what's going on?" Twilight asked looking over at a frightened Fluttershy and the tall disguised figure that were now in her house. "And what is that thing?" Raindow Dash hovered around the confused Unicorn and frantically started explaining the situation at hand. "A monster came out of the forest and attacked Flutterhy and we found him looking through her house and him and Angel were fighting and... " she stopped to catch her breath, leaving Twilight no more informed than she was moments ago. With a loud sigh, Zarram flung the sheet off of his body while beginning to explain who he was "My name is Zarram, Magistrate of the Crystalshard Academy." He dusted his robes off as he finished his introduction, straightening out the sleeves and smoothing out some wrinkles as well. Looking over the interior of the library made it evident that the owner of it takes magnificent care of the books, something that Zarram has always had a deep respect for. The walls were literally lined with a large array of books, ranging from do it yourself construction to children's books about the fairy tale behind why the sun comes up every morning. Where there were not shelves reserved for books, a beautiful vine design flowed throughout the empty space on the walls. "I would assume that you work here, so..." Zarram stopped when noticed that Twilight staring at him mindlessly, mouth agape. "Can I help you?" She shook her head, snapping back to reality "Yes, you can actually!" she said excitedly. "You're like nothing anypony has ever seen before, or at least I think." The pony paused for a second and contemplated something before yelling out for her assistant. "SPIKE! Get me 'The Guide to Anything and Everything Equestrian: Bestiary' and my notebook!" "Listen, I'm sure that you might be a little more level headed than the wallflower and the flamboyant one over there, bu-" "I have so many questions for you. A bipedal sentient race, how outlandish!" She giggled "SPIKE GET HERE QUICK!" Zarram sighed "Fine, then I have a question for you too. Do you get those highlights done by the same person that does her hair?" he asked with a smirk, pointing towards Rainbow Dash. "Hey!" yhe cyan pony exclaimed angrily from the background. Just as Zarram finished insulting Rainbow Dash's mane, a small purple dragon walked down the stairs carrying a large bestiary in one arm, and a note pad in the other. As he reached the base he gasped in surprise at the sight of Zarram, dropping what he was carrying. Before it hit the ground, a pinkish purple aura encased the books preventing them from touching the floor, and levitated to the lavender mare. "Who is that?" the baby dragon asked with vigor while maintaining an inquisitive tone. "This is out guest Spike, he's going to teach us things that no pony knows!" "I see... why does he look weird?" "Spike, don't be rude. I'm sure he looks normal for... whatever he is..." Twilight looked over Zarram trying to figure out his species. "What are you exactly?" "I'm undead." Zarram stated blandly " I see... but, an undead what?" "Mage..." Twilight's ears perked up when he revealed that "You mean you're a magic user? You can teach us about YOUR magic too!" "I wouldn't count on it." Zarram stated sourly. "Unless you want to know about how to make sparks shoot out of your hand, my magic seems to be mostly useless here." "I see." The Unicorn jotted down some notes as she continued speaking to him "Why is that?" "I have no idea!" He shouted "Listen, I really don't mean to sound rude, but I have no idea where I am, and to be quite honest with you, I don't care, I just need to get back home." "Uh huh." Twilight jotted down some notes. "Wait, what did I say that needed to be written down?" "Oh, nothing, but I'm just... studying you..." Zarram sighed once more "Can you help me or not?" he asked, adding in some extra inflection at the end of the sentence. "If you can, I'll let you draw me like one of your equine women." Twilight thought for a moment, using her magic to tap the pencil she was writing with against her head "I'm truly sorry, but I have no idea how to help you. I don't even know where you come from, but I do know someone who might." "And who might that be?" the undead mage asked impatiently. "Princess Celestia!" "Really? You have connections to a princess? That's great!" The mare smiled and nodded "Indeed. She's my teacher." "That's even better, she's educated! And if she can't help, I'm sure the king or queen can!" "King or queen? we don't have one of those, just the Princesses" Twilight said, correcting Zarram "Wait, princessES? Shouldn't one of them be a queen than?" Twilight looked at him as though such a statement could be considered heretical "That's not how it works. Celestia is the Princess of the Sun and Luna is the Princess of the Moon. They rule as equals." "This is a very backwards place..." Spike grabbed a parchment and pen from a nearby desk and walked up Twilight. "Should I send a letter to the Princess now?" Pondering for a moment, Twilight devised a plan that would sneak education in for both her and Zarram. "No. I think that I'll take him to Canterlot to see the Princess personally." "But Twilight, I don't think that it's a good idea to take someone like that out to Canterlot. People might get scared." "Oh Spike, it'll be fine." she chimed "Now you an Owlicious take care of the place while I'm gone." She trotted next to the two Pegasi that were standing near the door. "And you two make sure no one worries about this, he's perfectly safe." The two nodded in unison, Rainbow Dash saluting afterwards. "Come on now, let's get moving, daylight's burning!" Twilight exclaimed, leading Zarram out the door.