I woke up with a hard jolt, giving myself a slight pain. I grunted in discomfort at the rough awakening. What a nightmare. The way that thing tried consuming me sent shivers down my spine. Hell, I felt as if I was close to pissin myself when it grabbed me. I shuddered and shook my head. It doesn’t matter. It was only a dream. Why’d I get so worked up anyway? It appears I’m forgetting already. I could feel the memories of the dream fading away as my mind grew more alert. Oh well.
After calming down from the nightmare, I noticed something odd. I wasn’t in the middle of the forest anymore. I guess in my startled state I hadn’t processed it at first. I knew I had fell asleep outside but I was somewhere new now.
I was in a bed. I half expected that my experience as a pony was just a dream as well, until I reached to rub my eyes and was only greeted with hooves. I huffed, feeling upset with my lack of fingers. I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes with my foreleg. I blinked a bit before worrying about where I was. Why was I in someone's bed? Someone clearly must have found me near the road and carried me home.
My eyes scanned around as I took in my surroundings. The bed I was in was large and warm. It was covered with a thick fur blanket. The spots seemed like leopard almost. Do ponies even like the idea of using fur? My thoughts were interrupted as I smelled something savory wafting in the air. I crawled out of the bedroom- which was more of a deep nook in the wall, and tried to find the source of the aroma.
The bedroom let out into a little hallway. I went into the main room of the house. The room was wide and circular. Bottles of unknown fluids dangling from the ceiling. Large masks were dotted along the walls. This place felt awfully familiar...
My eyes widened as my gaze then fell on someone standing at the other end of the room. Her back was facing me. She was busy pouring some sort of fluid, probably broth, into two bowls. It smelled heavenly. She sang a little tune in another language. I couldn't understand it but sounded familiar to me for some reason. As the figure moved, her golden jewelry jingled against her black and white body. I was in mild shock at being in the presence of a real live cartoon character. And my one of my favorites to boot!
I’d know that zebra anywhere. I could hardly believe it, but when she turned and looked at me with those pointed cyan eyes, I couldn't deny it. I was face to face with Zecora. “Whoa” I mumbled, in shock at seeing the zebra, my eyes still wide as I gazed up. She’s real! And I’m in her house. Cool! She's...way taller than I thought she'd be.
My comment seemed to stir her. The striped mare sighed and offered a gentle smile as she lowered herself slightly. She spoke softly, as if she was afraid she'd scare me. "Oh, come now. Do not fret. You are safe here, my little pet," she said. She really does speak in rhymes, huh? Neat.
“Uh-uh… I-“ I found myself stuttering, unable to speak for a moment. I shook my head. “Good… morning?” I said with an awkward grin. “H-how’d I… get here?”
She didn’t seem phased by my inquiry. I just she figured I would be a bit confused after waking up. She promptly explained the situation. “I was walking through the forest late last night,” Zecora said. “when I met a curious sight. You were fast asleep, shivering by the road. So I brought you into my humble abode.”
“Oh so you took me in so wouldn’t freeze? That's great. T-thank you,” I said.
She nodded and stood up, before patting my head with a hoof. She then walked back over to the food. It smelled great. She motioned for me to come over to her. I did as requested and sat down beside her. She then grabbed one of the bowls with her hoof and tried to hand it to me. How the hell did that work? She was seriously gripping the cup with her hoof. I reached out for it but my hooves apparently conspired against me. She let go of it, assuming that I had a hold onto it. The bowl immediately slipped out of my hooves with a small thunk as it hit the floor, broth spilling on the dirt floor.
“Oh shit- Sorry” I said sheepishly.
She paused and sighed, shaking her head.
“Do not worry, my bowl did not break,” she said. “We’ll call the spilled soup a simple mistake.”
She wasn’t mad at me for dropping the food but I still felt bad. My ears folded back as I nearly whined. She went through the trouble of making me food and I wasted it. Perhaps my pitiful expression spurred feelings of pity in the zebra, or maybe it was a joke, but the next thing I heard was Zecora asking me a question. “An unsteady hoof simply won’t do. Little one…. shall I spoon-feed you?”
I nodded my head slightly, giving a sheepish ‘yes.’ Normally I’d object to being babied but maybe it was the fact that I’m not ‘myself’ anymore or something, but I enjoyed the treatment the zebra gave me. My tail even twitched occasionally, outwardly showing my joy while I was spoon-fed the soup. It was actually pretty good. I swear the broth tasted faintly of meat. But it couldn’t have right? Either way, it was tasty, and I was happy.
After eating, I became lost in thought for a moment. I looked up at the mare and tilted my head, my ears tilting reflexively. “…Do you talk like this all the time or what?” I said rather bluntly. I was a bit surprised at myself.
She paused and huffed. She took a deep breath before giving a curt “No.”
Great, I offended her. My ears drooped as I pouted guiltily.
She then continued speaking, “You must understand,” she said. She let out a long sigh. She then slipped back into her typical rhythm. “My manner of speak is a conscious choice,” she stated as she briefly gestured over herself before pointing to her face with a hoof. “So focus is not drawn to my appearance, but instead, my voice,” she said, cutting her eyes at me as I found my eyes drawn to her stripes for longer than I thought.
I wasn’t trying to be rude. I thought her coat pattern was lovely! “Oh, that makes sense….” I responded. I hesitated but then apologized. “S-sorry if I was rude.”
“It’s alright, I’ve heard worse,” she said quietly. She cleared her throat before continuing. “Now enough about me,” she said. “Can you tell me who you are? And… where is your family?
“Oh…. Um..um,” I said. I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t just use my real name, could I? I definitely couldn’t explain why I was in the middle of the Everfree Forest either. “I don’t…know. I can’t remember anything,” I eventually mumbled.
Zecora’s eyes widened in surprise at that response. “Oh…That’s unfortunate,” She mumbled with concern. “You really don’t recall? We simply can’t have that at all.”
I shrugged. “I… forget stuff a lot,” I said half convincingly.
“This won’t do,” said the mare. “I must figure out what to do with you…” She then sat there in thought for a short while. I could practically see the wheels turning in her head. “Okay,” she started, “getting you to Ponyville will be the goal. The Everfree is no place for a lost, confused, little foal.”
“Oh…” I said, sounding half disappointed to be leaving already. But then again, I was just some stranger she picked up. She probably just wanted to get rid of me- Wait, did she call me a foal? “Hey, I’m not a baby!” I squeaked, my voice still sounding unnatural to me.
Zecora chuckled. “No, you’re a big strong colt,” she stated in a teasing sort of tone.
I huffed quietly. But then thought about it. So that’s why she seems so huge to me… I’m in a child’s body now. Well, I guess that’s why she’s so eager to get me someplace safer.
“But everyone needs help,” she stated. “So off to Ponyville, you’ll be taken care of there,” said the zebra. “You follow Zecora now, there is no time to spare.” She stated. She put on a cloak and walked to the door. She then signaled for me to come with her. And so I did, letting the mare lead me out of her hut and through the woods.
It took a while to traverse the forest, but we eventually made it out. She nudged me forward slightly, motioning me to press on. “Go on, little one. Those pony folk can help you. But sadly I must bid you adieu,” she said. I felt confused and turned to look at her but when I did, she was already back up the path into the forest. She offered a final ‘good luck’ before disappearing into the woods again. Weird… But at least I’m not in the woods anymore.
I pressed on, although I was a bit miffed at being alone again. Why didn’t she want to take me into town herself? She seriously assumed I knew my way? Ugh. At least the road didn’t wind too much. I shouldn’t get lost. I took a deep breath. “Ponyville, here I come,” I said to myself.