Featured Characters: Zecora
Lloyd woke up and jumped down from the window in Golden Oaks Library to go in a brunch. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and a perfect day for a stroll through town. The nice weather was a little surprising, considering there had been a huge thunderstorm the day before yesterday. Twilight had informed him that Applejack and Rarity had stayed with them in Golden Oaks Library that night to take shelter from the storm. Apparently, it had been Twilight's first slumber party, and according to her, it was a success. She did mention that a tree had crashed through her window, but no actual damage was done to the library itself.
The sunny weather was certainly a welcome change of pace, especially after the storm. The green unicorn wouldn't have been surprised if he had seen the many residents of Ponyville outside enjoying the sunshine.
That was why Lloyd was very confused when he saw the streets were completely barren.
"What? Did Blacky kidnapped everyone here while me and my brothers are sleeping?"
He wandered the streets for a few minutes, searching for any signs of life, only to turn up nothing. He eventually found himself outside of Sugarcube Corner, his favorite place, still there wasn't a single pony in sight. At least there hadn't been, until he spotted a familiar purple unicorn with a baby dragon on her back. Judging by the looks on their faces, they were also wondering why the town was so empty.
"Yo, Twilight! Over here!" Lloyd waved to them to get their attention. As soon as Twilight saw him, she trotted over, looking quite relieved to have finally found someone.
"Lloyd, Am I glad to see you! Where is everypony? Do you know what happened?" She asked him.
"Afraid not. I know about as much as you do. Did everyone just went to a trip to different places?"
"Lloyd, your joke's really bad." They heard Mico's voice and turned to their left and saw the blue stallion, Mico. Besides him was JR, Macoy and Justin.
"Since when you are standing there?" Lloyd asked as Justin responded, "While you both are asking questions."
"Oh." Lloyd said as Twilight looked baffled to their immediate appearance. "Now let's focus on the main situation. How strange, Ponyville may not be a bustling city, but it's usually a lot more lively than this..." Twilight put a hoof on her chin to think. It was then that a faint noise coming from Sugarcube Corner drew their attention. They turned to see a familiar pink pony peeking her head out of the door.
"Psst! Twilight! Mico! Spike! Other! Come here!" Pinkie Pie whispered as she waved her hoof, gesturing for them to come to her. Twilight, Spike, Mico and his siblings did not move, staring at the party pony in bewilderment. "Come! Here! Hurry! Before she gets you!"
"Before who-?"
"Shhh! She'll hear you!" Pinkie shushed Lloyd before he could finish his question and continued to beckon them into the building. Mico and his siblings shared a glance with Twilight before they followed Pinkie into the store. The inside of the store was pretty dark until Pinkie turned on a flashlight, blinding Twilight and Spike while leaving Mico and his siblings unaffected.
Mico, Justin, JR, Macoy and Lloyd had Blindness Immunity and Enhanced Sight allowing them to see that Pinkie wasn't the only one in the pastry shop. Around them, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash were also in the store. There was one more pony, which is a filly, standing next to Applejack. Mico remembered her from when AJ introduced them to the Apple family on his first day here. Her name was Apple Bloom, if he remembered correctly.
"Who'll get us!? The zombie pony!?" Spike asked fearfully as he clutched onto Twilight for dear life.
"Z-Z-Z-Zombie pony!?" Pinkie shivered nervously at the mention of a zombie pony.
"Spike, there are no zombie ponies! Pinkie, what are you doing here alone in the dark?" Twilight asked, unable to see the group of ponies surrounding them.
"I'm not alone in the dark." Pinkie corrected before pulling the window curtains open a crack, letting some sunlight in, revealing the other ponies in the room. Twilight let out a gasp once she saw them, shocked by their sudden presence.
"Okay, then, what are you all doing here in the dark?"
"I've been wondering that myself. Care to fill us in on why Ponyville became a new ghost town?" Mico added.
"We're hidin' from her!" Applejack pointed to the window before drawing the curtains further, allowing everyone to peek through. Mico, along with his siblings saw a cloaked figure in the middle of the road digging at the dirt.
(Insert theme song here pls)
The figures's shape was similar to a pony's, and they clearly had hooves, so it most likely not White Entity, as she would be her namesake. The stranger seemed to realize they were being watched and looked directly at the window the group was peeking through. Everyone, save for Mico, his siblings and Twilight, backed away to hide from the stranger's gaze.
Macoy then chuckled as he said, "What's the problem? It's just a pony. Not some kind of villains like Nightmare Moon." He continued chuckling until Lloyd slapped him, "It's not a laughing matter!"
Apple Bloom used Spike as a stepping stool to be at eye level with Twilight before whispering, "Did ya see her, Twilight? Did ya see... Zecora?"
"Apple Bloom! I told you never to say that name!" AJ chastised her little sister.
"Well, I saw her glance this way-"
"Glance eeevily this way!" Pinkie interrupted Twilight, getting up in her face. Twilight promptly pushed the pink pony aside.
"...And then a bunch of you flipped out for no good reason."
"No good reason!? Ya call protectin' yer kin no good reason!?" Applejack hugged Apple Bloom tighter as she spoke, annoying the filly. "Why, as soon as my sister saw Zecora ridin' into town, she started shakin' in her little horseshoes." She then began shaking Apple Bloom back and forth to emphasize her point.
"D-d-i-i-d-d n-n-o-o-t-t!" Apple Bloom's did her best to speak through her sister's constant shaking.
"So I swept her up and brought her here." To emphasize once again, Applejack lifted her sister up onto her back.
"I walked here myself!"
"For safekeeping!"
"Applejack, I'm not a baby! I can take care of myself!" Apple Bloom climbed back off her sister's back as they argued.
"Not from that creepy Zecora." The farm pony argued back.
"Hold on, wait a minute. Can somepony please explain to me what's so creepy about this 'Zecora'?" Lloyd broke up the bout between siblings with a question.
"She's mysterious..." Fluttershy answered first.
"Sinister..." Rainbow added.
"And Spooooky~!" Pinkie dramatically ended their list of adjectives.
"That still doesn't really answer my question..." Lloyd rolled his eyes as he turned back to the window with Twilight and his siblings. The rest of the group peeked out from behind them, forcing the 6 to hunch over uncomfortably. They watched as 'Zecora' continued to dig at the ground for a bit before she took off the hood of her cloak. Mico and his brothers was surprised to see the black and white stripes that covered the mysterious pony. It turns out she wasn't a pony at all, but actually a zebra.
Of course, everyone but Twilight, Mico, Lloyd, JR, Macoy, and Justin gasped in horror in response to Zecora removing her hood.
"Will you cut that out?" Twilight's voice gave away her irritation.
"Just look at those stripes. So garish!" Rarity pointed out.
"She's a zebra." Both Twilight and Justin responded in sync.
"A WHAT!?" Everyone except Mico, JR, Lloyd and Macoy shared the same level of surprise, apparently never having heard of zebras before.
"A zebra, and her stripes aren't a fashion choice, Rarity. They're what she was born with." Twilight explained. Shocked by this revelation, Rarity brought a hoof up to her head as she fainted on the spot.
"Jeez Rarity is racist." Mico murmured to Macoy, causing him to chuckle.
"Ya said she was born with those stripes, but born where? I never seen a pony like that in these parts, except...her!" Applejack shivered at the mere thought of Zecora.
"Well, she's probably not from here, and she's not a pony. My books say that zebras come from a faraway land, but I've never seen her in Ponyville. Where does she live?" During Twilight's explanation, Nero caught Spike in the corner of his eye sneaking into the kitchen, most likely getting something to eat.
"That's just it. She lives in... the Everfree Forest!" The second after Applejack answered, a loud crash echoed throughout Sugarcube Corner, startling the girls.
"SPIKE!" Twilight scolded the baby dragon from outside the kitchen. Apparently, the source of the noise came from a few pots and pans that he had knocked over.
"Uh, sorry." Spike winced as he apologized, a cupcake and a candy cane held in his claws.
Applejack continued despite Spike's interruption. "The Everfree Forest just ain't natural! The plants grow..."
"Animals care for themselves..." Fluttershy added.
"And the clouds move..." Rainbow contributed.
"All on their own!!!" The three of them cried out in unison as Rarity fainted once again.
"Seriously? What do you mean? How is that even unnatural?" Justin scratched his head, trying to wrap his head around the situation.
"Normal!? How can any of that seem normal to you!?" Rainbow Dash flew right up to the hooded figure, inches from his face. "You've seen it for yourself! Applejack and the rest of the Apple family plant crops, Fluttershy takes care of the animals, and I keep the clouds in check around Ponyville. Heck, just the other day you saw everypony prepping for the storm that the pegasi had scheduled. You even helped out a bit! Ponies have been in charge of this stuff for generations! Don't you take care of this stuff back in your world?"
"Nope, I spectated millions of world, and everything doesn't need assistance from the races of respective worlds." Justin said, taking a step back as his hood falls off again, "Here we go again."
"WHAT!?!" Everyone but his siblings shouted, even Twilight.
"I mean, why would it be called nature if it wasn't natural? From my perspective, Equestria is the one that's unnatural, not the Everfree Forest." He continued.
"Wha-!? But...how!? That doesn't make any sense!" Rainbow struggled to comprehend an entire world where clouds moved on their own.
"It just kinda... happens. Look, I know nearly everything, but it's just gonna waste our time. That's just how nature actually is."
"W-Well, bottom line is that by Equestria's standards, the Everfree Forest is just... weird!" Rainbow concluded. Much to Justin's annoyed look.
"And that wicked enchantress Zecora lives there doing her evil...uh... stuff! Why, she's so evil, I even wrote a song about her!" Pinkie chimed in.
"Oh my God not another song-" Mico complained before getting cut off.
"Here we go..." Rainbow groaned.
"SHE'S AN EVIL ENCHANTRESS~! SHE DOES EVIL DANCES~! AND IF YOU LOOK DEEP IN HER EYES, SHE'LL PUT YOU IN TRANCES~!"
A trembling Applejack had latched onto Apple Bloom for dear life. Apple Bloom pushed herself out of her sister's grasp, and the apple farmer continued to shake in fear.
"THEN WHAT WILL SHE DO~? SHE'LL MIX UP AN EVIL BREW, THEN SHE'LL GOBBLE YOU UP IN A BIG TASTY STEW SOOOO WATCH OUT!!!" Pinkie finished the song by posing on top of a table while panting heavily. Everyone stared at her in stunned silence.
"...Wow. Catchy." Twilight was the first to break the silence.
"It's a work in progress." Pinkie smiled confidently, having regained her breath.
"This is all just a lot of gossip and rumors. Now tell me, what exactly have you actually seen Zecora do?" Twilight questioned, still skeptical about their claims.
"Well... once a month, she comes into Ponyville." Rainbow pointed out.
"Then... she lurks by the stores." Rarity added.
"And then... she digs at the ground." Fluttershy finished.
Mico, his siblings and Twilight looked at all of them as Justin murmured something to Lloyd, "Are they that stupid." Lloyd then laughed at his whisper as if it was a comedic joke.
"...Y-you girls aren't serious... right? Is that why y'all think... she's creepy? She just visits Ponyville..., stops by the stores and suddenly... she's considered 'evil'?" Lloyd said between his laughter, in which his laugh became even more unfunny to their perspective.
"I'm with Lloydy, how is any of this bad? How do you know she's not just coming to town to visit?" Twilight supported.
"Yeah! Maybe she's just tryin' to be neighborly!" Even Apple Bloom sided with them.
"And maybe she's not lurking by the stores, maybe she's going to them. Lurk-free. To do some shopping. Right 'Mics'?" Justin added.
"Yep."
"Yeah, everypony likes to shop! Ya know what I think-?"
"Apple Bloom! Hush and let the big ponies talk!" Applejack cut her sister off before she could finish, brushing her aside.
"I am a big pony." Apple Bloom grumbled to herself as she sulked over to the corner of the room.
"What about digging at the ground? You've gotta admit that's weird." Rainbow argued.
"What if she's digging for innocent creatures?" Fluttershy assumed. Meanwhile Pinkie was still singing the song about Zecora she came up with.
"I am sure there's an explanation for everything Zecora does, and if anypony here were actually brave enough to approach her, they would find out the truth!" Twilight said.
They continued arguing about it as Lloyd tuned them out. He went back over to the window to peek at Zecora, who was still digging at the ground. He couldn't help but find this whole thing ridiculous. 'Why would the girls think that thing is evil?' Lloyd thought. It was even more laughable that Apple Bloom, a child, had more sense than the adults. He was tempted to just walk out there and confront Zecora himself. He was about to do it, until he saw that Zecora had finished up and was leaving.
Just as he was about to look away from the window, Lloyd caught something in the corner of his vision. He spotted Apple Bloom tailing Zecora out of town. He did a quick scan of the room and realized that Apple Bloom actually goes out.
'Welp.'
"Uh, everyone? I think we have a problem. Apple Bloom's missing." The green pony interrupted their argument. Once he had their attention, he pointed his yellow bare hoof to the open door.
"She went outside!?" Rarity cried out, in which Lloyd nodded.
"That silly little filly! I told her to stay put!" Applejack was the first out the door, followed by the rest of the girls. Twilight told Spike to stay in case Apple Bloom came back, and the baby dragon gave a salute. With that, they followed the rest of the group out of the bakery, chasing after Apple Bloom.
The group followed Apple Bloom's trail into the Everfree Forest. They soon found the small filly, as well as the mysterious Zecora not much further ahead.
"Apple Bloom!?" Applejack quickly called out to her sister. While it did get Apple Bloom's attention, it also grabbed the attention of Zecora. "You get back here right now!"
"Beware! Beware, you pony folk! Those leaves of blue are not a joke!" Zecora called out to them in return as she backed away, deeper into the forest and out of sight.
"What?" Mico questioned with dumbfounded look.
Mico looked down and finally noticed that all of them are standing in a patch of vibrant blue flowers. With the exception of only Apple Bloom, Justin, and JR.
Applejack, on the other hand, didn't seem to take her words as a warning, and instead, a threat. "Y-You keep yer creepy mumbo jumbo to yerself, ya hear!?" She yelled back at the zebra as she scooped up Apple Bloom. The girls, sans Twilight, all shouted similar threats. Well, except Pinkie, who was singing that song she wrote once again. As for Mico's brothers, they don't seem to mind.
"Oh brother..." Twilight muttered.
"Beware! Beware!" Zecora's exotic voice echoed through the forest, chanting the same warning.
"Yeah! Back at you, Zecora! You and your lame curse are the ones who'd better beware!" Rainbow yelled back.
"And you!" Applejack turned her head to face her little sister, who was still sitting on top of the farm pony's back. "Why couldn't you just listen to your big sister? Who knows what kinda nasty curse Zecora coulda just put on you!?"
"Just like in my song! EVIL ENCHANTRESS~! WITH THE DANCES~! AND THE TRANCES~!" Pinkie hopped around in the flowers, singing her song again.
"You guys, there's no such thing as curses!" Twilight argued, shaking her head.
"Says the magical talking unicorn. Listen Twilight, I agree with you that they're overreacting about Zecora, but you can't say curses don't exist when you literally have a talent for magic." Lloyd butted in.
"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." The purple unicorn explained.
"Just you wait, Twilight. Yer gonna learn that some pony tales really are true." With that last statement, Applejack and the girls turned back around and left, making their way back out of the forest. Twilight, Mico and his siblings shared skeptical glances before following them.
'Curses, huh? Like that'll actually happen.' Lloyd thought with a smirk.
The rest of the day had been uneventful, and soon the sun had set, being replaced by the moon. Mico turned in for the night, and awoke the next day.
The second he woke up, he could tell something was wrong.
Mico doesn't know what is it, it felt unfamiliar, but also the opposite at the same time. It wasn't a completely foreign feeling, though. It felt kind of like when he was using all of his elemental energy, yet slightly different somehow. Obviously, it couldn't possibly that, since he never activated it yesterday. At least, he didn't remember activating it.
He shrugged it off as he goes outside to go jogging, which was his first thing to do in his morning routine. Not to mention it is also 4:00 AM.
Just as he made a single step outside, he crashed to a random tree. "W̸̥̳̤̮̯̯̼͔̌̀̿͛̈́̽͐͛̓̾̾͂͝͠H̷̺̟̝̘̼̹̫͑͌̽͊̐̄̈́͒̅̇͐A̶̛̩̎͊̔̈̎̀̑̉̀͛̍̕T̴̡̯̺̩̳̽́̏̒̈̂̈̈́͊͒̑̅͐̚͠!̴̨͎̯̝̞̹̖̓!̵̘̳̲̘̒̃̓̐́̈͂̽̅͌̊̉͜͝", Mico then falls to the ground on his back.
"I wasn't e̷̹̦̘̖̮̎x̴̨͈̭̬̘͖̯͙̮͓̤͒̓̓͂͗̂̃̀̌̕p̴̛̛͈̲̺̆̊̏̆́̔́̍̇̅̾͆͝ě̶̛̝̭̟̲̭̮͉̣͉̦͖̹̼̪̯͂̃̈́͂͐̄̕ĉ̸̟̙̔̎͆͌̎̐̕͝ͅt̸̯͉͕͚̤͕̪͖̲̻̙̘̮̀͑͒̈͗̽̐̇͒̓͒̈́̋͘͘ĩ̶̼̤̦̭̣͉̮̖̹͈̯̭̹̣̋̌͑̽͑́̋̕͘̚͘͝ṇ̵̛́̀͋̍̓͌̈̎̌͘̚̚͘g̵̫̻̰̎́̄̒̀̓̓͒͌͝͠ that." Mico said as he got back up, "W̶̲̟̓͒e̵̜̣̋̑̒͠l̷̡̡͔̝̅̈́̇͗p̵̧̧̩̮̩̻͇͎̘̻̋͝."
"My ǵ̵̢͎͓̭̞͙̦͍̖͍̜͂͋̐̓͐̀̚̚͠ḽ̶̗̺̠̦͇̲̭͙́̀̀̈́i̸̖̋͗̄͐̆̐̐͗͜ṭ̸̗̝̪̖͉͐͂͒̓͊̃̑͛͜c̵̡͍͈̜̺̙̈́̒͂͋h̸̨͍̰̪̺̥̱͓̻͙͠͝ ̵̛̞̫̱͕́̅̌̃͌̎͒̑͒͘v̸̻̘͉̒́ǫ̶̡̛̩̬͚̮͈̯̈̈́̈́̿̔i̶̢̥̻͍̹̲͙̪̗͐͒̾̓͌̇͆͐̕̚c̵̬̍̊̉̂͊̂͊͘͜͝͝ḛ̶̢͙͇̗͔́̀ͅͅ also appears out of nowhere ḯ̷̖̩̥͓̖͂̊͊n̶̥̫̅͐́̄̑s̴̲̉̆t̷͔̹̬͒́̀͑͌ë̶̙́́́̕͝a̴͉͓͗̽͜ͅḋ̴̦̌̉͛͗ of my control." He said as he runs back to the library.
When he got back to the library, he first checked his appearance. To do that, he lit up his horn with yellow aura, materializing a mirror in front of him. However, when he looked at his own body, it shocked him.
His cyan streaks in his mane and tail are instead glowing blue, but it disappeared after a second, same for his glowing blue eyes, which became normal yellow again. The stripes in his horn are glowing with blue aura.
"Boy, since when did this started." Mico said, his eyes wide with shock.
Shaking his head to clear all the thoughts, he goes to the bath while grabbing his toothbrush and started brushing his teeth. Things seemed to be back to normal until when he finished brushing his teeth, he made one step forward to the door, which teleported him outside of Ponyville.
"AGAIN!" Mico shouted as a robed pony approached him. "Hello Mico." The robed pony replied to him in a feminine voice as he tilted his head to the stranger, its height was very tall and the robe is color black.
"Oh h̵̜̬͉͓̳͓̺̭́͌̽͒̾́͜͠͠ẻ̴̛̱̲y̵̩̥̼̑͗̒ mom." He replied as he gulped.
"Go now, I'm just here to know if you're okay."
"Of course mom, I'm just okay." Mico responded as he teleported with a cyan flash.
Getting to the Golden Oak Library was easier said than done, thanks to Mico's powers going nuts, in addition to having raw power. He randomly sprouts blue spectral wings that'll sent him crashing into buildings, his strength made his steps powerful enough to crack the ground beneath him, and his speed was uncontrollable, making him move at supersonic speeds out of nowhere and causing him to crash into even more buildings. To make things even more annoying, he would randomly use a random magic spell. Still, Mico persevered, and eventually reached the library.
"Okay, finally. Now just gotta go to the front door-OH CRAP!!!"
His spectral wings appeared and flapped so hard it lauched him a few meters from the ground. While midair, his spectral wings started flapping, sending him through the library's second story window. He crashed into the stairs, tumbling down until he reached the ground floor. After coming to his senses, he looked around to see that Twilight wasn't the only one here. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Spike, an Apple Bloom were all present. Not only that, but also his 4 siblings. Seeing them all made one thing clear.
"Looks like I'm not the only one affected here." Mico said aloud.
Twilight's horn flopped around like it was made of rubber and was covered in blue spots. Pinkie's tongue was inflated, preventing her from speaking coherently and making her spit everywhere. Like Twilight's horn, it was covered in blue spots. Rarity's mane was long and messy, covering her whole body like a wet mop. Rainbow Dash had crashed into a bookshelf and gotten herself tangled in a ladder, and her wings were angled weirdly. As for Fluttershy and Apple Bloom, nothing seemed to be wrong with them, at least at first glance. Same goes for Spike, but he hadn't been in the forest with them, so that was to be expected.
When he goes for his siblings, Lloyd had the same effect as Pinkie, only that instead of having inflated tongue, "Wait a second, where is-?" The former said, his voice cracked and old rather than soft and young, his question was interrupted when he started coughing before it stopped after a few seconds.
"I hate to say I told ya so, Twilight, but I told ya so!" They all turned in the direction of Apple Bloom, where the voice had come from. The voice wasn't from Apple Bloom herself, but the pony riding on her back. The pony in question was Applejack, only her whole body is pea-sized. "It's a curse, I tells ya!"
"But Fluttershy seems just fine!" Twilight said, looking over at the shy pegasus.
"Same goes for Apple Bloom. Either of you notice anything weird about yourselves?" Macoy asked the two of them, he had an ugly appearance; his mane was long, but not as long as Rarity's, his mane was also darker along with other horrible-looking features.
"I've been the same since yesterday, as far as I can tell." Apple Bloom responded. Fluttershy, on the other hand, remained silent.
"Fluttershy? Are you okay?" Twilight asked her, and Fluttershy turned away, not wanting to look her in the eye.
"Is there something wrong with you?" Twilight asked again, and Fluttershy nodded nervously.
"...Would you care to tell us?" Fluttershy, once again, kept her mouth shut.
"So... you're not gonna tell us?" Fluttershy gave a curt nod in response.
"Yes you're not, or yes you will-?"
"Good gravy, girl! What's wrong with you!?" Applejack butted in, hopping on top of a stack of books to reach eye level with Fluttershy.
"Yeah, c'mon, Fluttershy. Whatever it is, it can't be worse than the rest of us." JR added as he glanced to Macoy's direction, the pegasus' eyes widened but didn't lasted for 2 seconds and he glanced back to Fluttershy. She remained silent for a bit longer before finally giving a vocal response.
"...I don't wanna talk about it." Fluttershy said, her voice deep and masculine.
"Snrk... BWAHAHAHA!!!" Spike burst out laughing. "This is hilarious! Heh, look at all of you! We got Hairity, Rainbow Crash, Spitty Pie, Apple-tini, Hideous Diamondhero, Flutterguy, Acute Diamondhero, Crack Diamondhero, and...uh..." Spike paused when he reached Twilight, unable to come up with a nickname for her. "...I got nothing. 'Twilight Sparkle', I mean seriously, I can't even work with that."
"Hmm..." Mico looked at Twilight's horn for a second, which flops around. It didn't take long before an idea sprang into his head. "...How 'bout Twilight Flopple?"
"Oh yeah! That's perfect!" The baby dragon cheered.
"Don't encourage him!" Twilight snapped. "This is no joke, you two! Now Spike, start looking for more books so I can find a cure!" Spike groaned at having his fun be shut down, but he did giggle a bit when Twilight's horn flopped around a bit more.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had managed to get untangled from the ladder and flapped her wings, hovering in the air. At least, she tried to, but was having much difficulty trying to control what direction she flew in. "I think we'll find a cure to this curse at Zecora's place!"
"It's not a curse!" Twilight scowled as Rainbow crashed into another bookshelf.
"I agree with Dash. We'll go to Zecora's and force her to remove this hex!" AJ proclaimed from atop her stack of books.
"It's not a hex either!" Twilight insisted. As the girls continued to bicker amongst each other, Mico noticed Apple Bloom tiptoeing out of the library. He stepped away from the others and followed her, wincing as a couple of his hoofsteps left holes in the library's floor.
"Hey, kid!" Mico got Apple Bloom's attention once he was outside, making the filly jump in surprice. She turned to face him, eyes darting around in a desperate attempt to find an excuse.
"O-Oh! Mico! I-I was, uh..."
"Relax, squirt. I'm not gonna go all 'Mr. Authority' on you. Let me guess, you're gonna go find Zecora and ask her to fix this?" A couple seconds passed before Apple Bloom hesitantly nodded.
"This is all my fault! If I hadn't followed Zecora in the first place, none of this woulda happened. I've just gotta try and fix it!" Mico put a hoof in his chin as it morphs into a dragon claw, thinking about what he should do. He came to a decision and said, "Alright then, I'll go with you. We'll go find her together."
Apple Bloom's jaw dropped as she stared at the stallion. "Y-...You'll come with me? You ain't gonna tell on me?"
"Yeah, you seem pretty dead set on trying to fix this, so who am I to stop you? The Everfree Forest can be dangerous, so it'd be better if you didn't go alone. Į̴͈͔̟̙̬͉̦̙̪̥̏͝f̵̢̤̀͠ ̸̨̖̜̺͙̺̦͔̋̃̂̾̄̈́́̾̔͠Ỉ̷̧̞̩̣̯̹̰̏ͅ ̶̳̦̘̤͉̲͙̾͆̄͑̈́͂̅̿ļ̷̨̲͍̯̟̹̘̻̟̣̟̮̺̦͆̓͋̌͝ȇ̶̖̼̏́͑̓̏̌̾̅̔͒ẗ̵̨̖̝͔̠̮͍͖̠̫͚̳̳͛͊̇̒̈́̈́͛̑̅̈́̊̌̚͘ ̷̳͂̍ţ̷͈̺̮̝̭̦̯̻̟̪͈̀̋̑͊̓̅̓̀͝h̵̨̢͉͇̻͖̱̥͊̈́͐̿̈́̌̏͆́̀̒̃́̚̚ě̵̡̛̗̼̣̰͖̠̪̩͚͕̍͊̇̒͒̽̋͛͗̋̌̕͠ ̵̨̨̡͓̦̙̝̺̲̼̝̺͉̗̍͜ò̴̢͉̖̺̼̜͉̄͌̈́̈͊̄̓͌̏̅͘ṫ̸̢̡͖̱̫̠̹̯̹͎̲͍̭̹́̌̌̓̍̌̋̑̈́̎̕͜͠h̸̡̨̛͙̼̤̞͙͕͔̹̖̫̘͒͌́̃̈́̅̈́̔̔͋͑̀̆ͅĕ̴̲̠͈̭̼̃r̵͇̋̎͐̿͗̏̔͝s̴̩͉̼͔͌̀̑͊̑̀́̀͘͘͠͝ know, they definitely won't let you go, with or w̶̳͕͉̠̙̎̈̓̓̕ͅi̵̧̝̠͚͙̜͋̈͌t̵̨͉̠̞̗͇̯̭̻͗͑̐͌͛̈̈́͐̄̀h̴̛͚̥̠͓͓͖̝͂͌͛ö̸̜͓̯̟̭͓́͊͝u̵̠̒̒͒̅͋t̷̨̘̬̜̦̟̲̒͑̂̓͒̒̈́͒̑̐̑̔ͅ somepony else. Plus, after seeing how overprotective Applejack was yesterday, I think it's time for a little teenage rebellion."
Apple Bloom looked at Mico with confusion. "I'm... not a teenager."
"Eh, filly, teenager. Same difference." He shrugged as he unintentionally shoot a lightning bolt from his horn, making him flinch a little. "Anyway, we should get going bef̶̛̖̫̐̑̀̈͊ö̵̳̳̫͚̺̿̒̓͛́̾͘r̷̩͓̟͖̟͕͚͙͒̾̌̈̊̏͆̚͘͜e̶̛͎͚̗̬̬̻̘͙̿͐̇͒̓́̔͌͘ ̴͓̪͓̬̦̜̜̺͊̋̉̉͊̑t̴̡̧̬̱̹͚̗̖̠͎̊̊̏̈́̑̾̇̐͘͝h̶͈̻̙͐́̊̐̈̚ę̴̛̣̮̖̼̤͑̈́y̶̡̨̗̫̝͊̔͜ ̶̨͔͚͔̒͒̄̏ř̸̬̚ë̷̼͓͈̙̣͇̺͔̲́̆̚ą̸̨̺̙͓̥͓̈́̐͗̈́̕͜͜ͅḽ̷̯̦͘͝ize we're gone." A smile spread across Apple Bloom's face as she nodded enthusiastically. The two of them began trotting away from the library as they began to find Zecora.
Unbeknownst to them, Mico hadn't been the only one to notice Apple Bloom sneaking out of the library. Applejack had spotted her sister leaving and, not being big enough to follow on her own, hid inside Apple Bloom's mane. She also overheard what Mico said, and was absolutely furious about it. Not only had he not stopped Apple Bloom from running off after Zecora, but he encouraged her to do so. Teenage rebellion!? Why, she had half a mind to give the 'Worst Thing Alive' an earful. Thanks to Justin, he joined(shrinked himself to be the same size as Applejack's current size) with Applejack to find their younger siblings. However, unlike Applejack who is angry, he is pretty chill, because he knew Mico can be trusted as a middle sibling in his family.
In fact, Applejack fully planned on yelling at him(I'm talking about Mico, not Justin).
Mico and Apple Bloom reached the entrance to the Everfree Forest, though they had been delayed a few times thanks to Mico's powers randomly activating on their own. They were about to charge into the forest but were stopped when they heard a voice call out to them.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" The voice called out. It took Mico and Apple Bloom a second to realize the voice had come from the latter's mane. A tiny pony popped out from underneath the head of hair, a seething glare on her face, a tiny Justin also popped out beside the pony, with him having a smile.
"Applejack?" Mico stared at the farm pony, a little surprised. Then again, she had already shown how protective she was of her sister, so he probably shouldn't be. Even with Justin accompanying AJ, his level of surprise didn't grow in the slightest as he now behaves like an average gentle sibling.
"I can't believe you, Bluey! You were gonna let my sister go into the Everfree Forest!? And without any protection!?!" Applejack yelled.
"What, I'm not good enough for protection? I go and make a new adventures for my living, okay?"
"You barely have any control over yer powers right now!!"
"Oh please, it's not as ḃ̸̨̧̨̘̮̠̗ͅa̵͈̳͑͗d̵̡͕̠̪͇͂̓̓́͐̀̈́̕͝ ̷͇͕̭̠̪̒́̈́̓̕͜a̸͓͂̔̅̕͠ŝ̶̡ when I woke up in 4:00 AM. I've gotten it under contro- NOT AGAIN!" Mico was cut off as his horn made a red spark, which causes a spring board catapulting him upwards, headfirst into a tree branch. He fell back down into the dirt before getting back up, brushing some of the dirt off. "...for the most part."
"And you!" Applejack turned her attention to her sister. "This is the second time you've run off after Zecora! You turn around right now, missy!"
Apple Bloom looked up at her sister before a cocky smirk took form on her face. "No."
"NO?! You can't ignore a direct order from yer big sister!" Ignoring Applejack's protests, Apple Bloom took her sister off her head(which unfortunately included Justin, cuz he is near Applejack) and placed her on the branch of a nearby tree. While it was around the size of a foal, AJ's size made it so that leaping off that branch would lead to injury.
"Sorry, Applejack, but I'm the big sister now." Apple Bloom giggled as she turned to leave. Nero followed her, a little surprised but still satisfied she had taken charge like that. However, Justin leaped off the branch and landed, leaving no injury behind, surprising the 2 in the process, "Welp, gotta tell this to our friends, goodbye!" He said as he ran off, leaving a sky-blue blur behind.
"We'll come get you on our way back. Just sit tight, and don't go anywhere." The blue pony called back to the farm pony. As expected, Applejack demanded they come back, to which she was ignored.
'Looks like I was right. Applejack really isn't the big sister anymore.' Mico thought as he and Apple Bloom trotted towards the Everyfree Forest.
It didn't take them very long to find where Zecora lived. After a few more incidents involving Mico's powers, the duo found themselves standing outside of a hut adorned with odd looking masks and decorations. If Apple Bloom had been trying to hide her nervousness, she wasn't doing a very good job.
"This place does look a little creepy..." The filly admitted.
"Don't you worry. I always protect everyone I care about." Mico said as he gave Apple Bloom a pat on her shoulder, which seemed to reassure her. They walked up to the front door and Mico gave it a knock. Fortunately it doesn't made his powers go haywire, he then tried again, this time a bit louder...
...Only for his Enhanced Strength to turn the 2nd knock into a kick, knocking the door off its hinges.
"Uh... whoops." The blue unicorn winced. After he started examining the damage, a familiar zebra came running in from the other room. A look of shock understandably found itself on her face.
"Who was so immature, that they felt the need to break down my door!?" Zecora shouted.
"S-Sorry, that was an accident! My magic has kinda had a mind of its own lately." Mico apologized.
Apple Bloom stepped into the hut after Mico, and Zecora recognized her as soon as she laid eyes on her. "W-We're sorry for bargin' in like this, Ms. Zecora, but we need yer help!"
Zecora looked between the two of them before she relaxed, realizing they meant no harm. "There is no need to fear, for the situation has become quite clear. I assume the damage to my door was simply an accident, and that you came seeking aid for your current predicament."
"Uh... yeah, pretty much hit the nail on the head." Mico said as he and Apple Bloom shared a look. Was she speaking in rhymes? "So, do you know what's causing this?"
It turned out Zecora did indeed know what caused Mico's affliction. She went on to explain that Mico, as well as the other girls, had been affected by a blue plant known as 'Poison Joke'. He recalled the patch of blue flowers they had run into yesterday, and what Zecora said about the 'leaves of blue'. Zecora also explained that she could make the cure, but she was missing some ingredients. Most of them could be found in the Everfree Forest, save for one herb. The herb in question could be found at the flower shop in Ponyville, but whenever Zecora went to buy it, all the shops were 'mysteriously' closed.
"So, what exactly is this remedy, anyway?" Mico couldn't help but ask.
"The process is quite simple to cure Poison Joke's wrath. All you need to do, is take a bubble bath." She rhymed.
He blinked a couple times. "...Now that's simple."
While Zecora started brewing the remedy, she asked Mico and Apple Bloom to gather the ingredients she was still lacking, using a pair of saddlebags to carry them. They had to trek a bit further into the forest to get them, but they managed to make the journey without any incident. Well, not "getting attack by Mico's enemies and/or wild animals" kind of incidents. Mico's powers continued to be unpredictable, though. His spectral wings even sent him flying into a nearby lake, which was why he was currently dripping wet as they walked back to Zecora's hut. Apple Bloom tried and failed not to laugh at the look on his face.
"This is definitely in my top ten worst moments in my life, even worse than my mom being angry." Mico groaned.
"Really? If this is only in the top ten, then what's the worst one?" Apple Bloom asked curiously.
A memory flashed through Mico's mind. He remembered Black Entity hypnotizing everyone on a city he was in and turn them against Mico and his companions, fortunately he got them out of the former's influence.
"You don't wanna know, kid." He shrugged it off.
"Hey, I'm not a little kid!" Apple Bloom argued, scrunching up her face to glare at the devil hunter. She just ended up looking adorable, which made Mico laugh.
"Right, right, sorry, I forgot. You're the big sister now." He joked as they finally reached Zecora's hut. Mico sighed in relief knowing his powers wouldn't be going haywire this time.
"Zecora, I think we found all the things ya asked for-" Just as the pair had entered Zecora's hut, they were met with quite the sight. The inside of the hut had been trashed, and Zecora stood in the middle of it. In front of her was Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy. Applejack, still tiny, stood on top of Zecora's head and wrestled with her ear. Macoy, JR, Lloyd and Justin were also there, Macoy and JR covered their face with their hooves.
"...What in Ponyville is goin' on here?" Apple Bloom responded.
"Apple Bloom! You're okay!" Applejack gasped in relief at the sight of her sister.
Apple Bloom shared a confused look with Mico. "Uh, why wouldn't I be?"
"Because Zecora is an evil enchantress who cursed us and was gonna cook you and Mico up into soup!" Twilight explained as she jumped in front of Apple Bloom, taking a defensive stance. Mico, his siblings, Apple Bloom, and Zecora all shared a look before bursting out into laughter.
"Wow, Twilight. Even you started to believe those rumors?" Lloyd chuckled.
"Yeah, you know there's no such thing as a curse!" Apple Bloom added on.
"Oh, come on, you two can't just stand there and tell me this isn't a curse." Twilight gestured to the whole group, as well as her own horn.
"This isn't a curse." Apple Bloom proceeded to stand there and tell her exactly that. She then brought the ingredient-filled saddlebags over to Zecora, who began explaining the situation to them. Well, except for Justin, as he actually knew it already.
"If you will remember back, the words I spoke were quite exact. 'Beware! Beware, you pony folk! Those leaves of blue are not a joke.'" The zebra recited what she had said the day prior.
"She'd been trying to warn us about those blue flowers we ran i̷̥̼̘̱͇̹̣̰̝͕͂̉́̂ǹ̷̺̉͊ť̴̠̉o̸̪̼̼̻̲̓̓̽̄̀̄̓̕̕ ̴͓̺͕̺̙̹͐̀̌w̸̨͕̤͕̐̇̏͋h̷̼̥̫̩͗e̶͇̫̥͖͗n̴̗̣͖̜̜͈̫̪̑͋̓ ̵̨̱͍̻̪͂̚w̷̠̒͑̕e̴̢̡̡̡̼̜̩̤̻̮͂ ̷͍̊̂̉̈̔̄̀̎͂c̷̛̜̦̤͚̍͐̅̀̾̿̀͛̄ḥ̸̨̫̭͋͜ą̸͚̮̙̦̯̮̯̹̬̕s̴̢̺͓̘͇̏̀̓͂͘̚͜ē̷̫͓̦̙̿͊́̄̚ḓ̴̯̗̹̜̈̓̎ ̷̣̰̳̮͍͚̞͒̔̀͛̕a̶͍̳͉̘̻͍̺͇̗̖͐̏̒̆̓̋̌̕͠f̴̝̫̮͚̥͇͇̞̎̽̒̈̀̇t̶̛̟̙͔̘͎̤̿̆̅́͜ȩ̷̤͈̹͓̲̙̈́͌̍͘͜r̷̛͖̜͙̥͕̍̀́̐͘͠͝ ̷̝͊͋̀͆̔͛̄͝͠͝A̴͔͙͋̿̓͌̇́ṕ̴̺̭͎̰̈́͝p̴̡̧̜̝̞̤͕̭͉͘l̶̻͈͖̤̻̯̼̟̬̃̿ê̴̢̨̞̲̺̟͎̿̔̏̚ͅ ̵̰͓̱̘͍̰̗̮͗̈́̎̀̔̈́͂͝B̶̠̾̍͆̃̒̈͘͠͠l̷̩͚̺̳̱͚͇̳͆̅̉̾̃̿̒̿̏ǫ̶̯̞́͑͗͜͝o̸̧͔͈̪͂̀͌̋̌͂ḿ̴͎̠̫͉̩̦.̷̩̜̞͉̺̗̠͐͆͊͂̑͆̈́̎̎ ̸͗͒̾͑̽̑̔͜͠ ̷̰̓̑̅̍͑̕Ţ̴͕̜̦̲̘͇̬͍̤̃͐̆̃̄͐̃h̴̠̲́̊̀́e̷̯̲̗̼̩͎̓̈́y̸̧̲̙̳͖̫͍̣̫̰̎͛̑̏̌̅̒̕'̶̪͈̼̰̙̬̲͛̉̀̎̆͐̔̀̕ŗ̴̠̜̰̲͈̇̐̒̂̔͂̋ȩ̷̨̠͈̥̺͉͒͌́̀̈́͘̕ ̵͙̝̌͌̅̊̋̓̑c̶̙̲̯̙͈̒̏̿̆́͂́a̶̲͔̭͈̭̳̯̜͜͝l̴͓̲͍̙̱̖̇́̍̈͋̚̚͘̚͝l̴̢̥̜͚̭͎̍̈́͝ę̶̫̬̤̩̭̦̯͂̀͗͆̒͛̈́̌͌d̵̛͉̫̽̅̓ ̶̡̨̤̭̭̼̘̫̻͖́̇̃̉́̈́͌̀͘͝P̵̼̉͑͗̑̅͐̋̌͊̚ǫ̴͉̻̃͑͌̂͊͐͊̿i̴̟̊͌̾s̷͖͎̻̅͑̈̿̎̄́̎́̉͜ͅo̶̍̕͜n̸̠̟̤̮̖̩̠̺̽̃̒̄̚͜͝ͅ ̴̘̘̮̦̞͙͎̲̗̐͌̊͑̃̈́̎͒̕͜͝J̵̨̞͕̞͈̅ͅọ̴̗̮͈̞͔̥͍̎͋k̵̜̊̇̅͋͑e̸͖͔̜͊.̸̛̛̠̞̗̬͓̠͓̑͛̅̒̓͐ͅ" As Mico explained, his voice took on a glitchy voice part way through as his magic forced him to morph into a blue snake, with yellow eyes and is about 8 feet long.
"That plant is much like poison oak, but its results are like a joke."
"What in the hay does that mean?" Applejack asked, confused by Zecora's rhyming.
"She's b̷̮̳͓̮̣̯̭̃ą̶̩͍͓́͆̀̐s̴̡̬͕̖̻̔͜ḯ̴̛̛͇̱̹̰̈́͂́͠c̷̢̢̨̝̖̱͚̭̞̿̀͌͗̎͗̓͌ͅä̴̛̟̟͈̺̹́͘l̶̺̗̠̼̬̈́̉͊̾̿̂̌́̎̕l̵̻͋͗̽̾̉̾̿̐͑̚ȳ̴̖͖̗̞̞̱̩̦̒ ̸̛̭̙̈́̔̊̚͝s̷͎͋̆͘á̶̱͆̐̉y̷̧̱̪̟̬̏̅́̅͑͗͝î̴̬̖͓̝̝͎n̶͔̜̮̠̝͔̖̼̎ĝ̷̢̺̳͖̗͈͖̙͔́̏͛̾̄͠͠ that because we ran into the poison joke, it caused all these problems with ǫ̴̱̼͍͎̘̺͙͈̽͜u̷͙̠̪̬̼͚̳͛̄͛̈́̆ŗ̸͖͚̰̣̤͌ͅ ̴̜̖̟͂͆b̶̛̟̖̾͑͑ǫ̸̣̠̫̱͓̥̭͕̑̈́͗̓͛̿̀͒͘͘ͅd̶̼̄͋̅̑̍̃̂̕i̷̛̟͚̙̞̦͇̔̐̈̑̈́̀̇͘ę̸̘̩͈̺͙͓̍͆s̴̨͉̣͖̅̒̀́͐̈́͘ ̶͖͊̅̎̀̚ą̸̲͉̤̠̊͂͆̆s̴̺͔̜̗̣̞͌̉͗͒̿͗͗͒͌̾͜ͅ ̴̙͉̳͍̻̣̲̮̆̂̿̋̽̈́͗̽̄̚s̶̮͖̙̼̤̗͆̿͛͝o̷̙͍̗͇̰̰̰̐̿͌́̒͑̈́m̴̨̢͔̯̯͎̗̈́̒̒͊ḛ̷̠̹̞͑̄̏̅̌̀̏̋͗̂ sort of joke." Mico, once again, clarified. The girls all seemed to accept the answer about the Poison Joke, but didn't seem to be convinced about Zecora not being evil.
"...Okay, fine. But what about the cauldron?" Rainbow asked.
"And the chanting?" Fluttershy also asked.
"And the creepy decor?" Rarity also also asked.
"Treasures of the native land where I am from." Zecora gestured to a pair of masks in the corner. "This one speaks 'Hello', and this, 'Welcome'."
"Not welcome at all, if you ask me." Rarity grimaced as she eyed the masks. Macoy assumed she was grimacing, but it was hard to tell when he couldn't see her face through her shaggy mane.
"The words I chanted were from olden times, something you call a nursery rhyme."
"But, the cauldron... the Apple Bloom and Nero soup?"
"Looky here, Twilight. That pot of water wasn't for us, it was for all these herbal ingredients." Apple Bloom pointed to a nearby book with the recipe for the Poison Joke remedy. "The cure for Poison Joke is a simple ol' natural remedy. Ya just gotta take a bubble bath!"
"Besides, if Zecora were somehow ẹ̸̡̡̨̹̼̘̩̤͐̏̇͗̔̈͝v̶͇͓̹͓̼͓͚͗̏̑̅̓̌̆́͝ͅi̵̻͎̥̺͕̇͐̓̽̍̀̄̈́͜͝͝l̷̦̬̜̯̙̠̟͂͆̆͜͝ ̸̛̼͖̹̏̓̍͝ą̸̺̺͕̑̋͜ͅņ̶̺͂d̶̡̪̜͖̱͇̥͌ ̵̧̹͓̬̠̩̩̓̋̇̿͌́̐w̵͔̭̤̑a̶̛͖͑̎́̽́̉̽̚n̶̫̰̈́̆t̴̢̰̲̭͍̠̪͒̒̍̇̄͝ë̷̢̟̤̙̟̏̈́d̷̛̹̱̰̘̱̣̩̏̾̐͋͒̊̀̌̋ͅ ̸͚͔̓̾͗͂͠t̷̢̖͕̳̠̥͆̐̈́̒̕o̴̢̘̮̦̹̖̒̀͛̉̌͜ ̷̪̫̮͚̉̒̈́͘c̵̡̡̩̯̠̈́͌͝o̸̙̼̮͖͍̲͂͝o̵͚͎̟̘̺͚̜͉͂͐͝k̴̹̀̎́́͘ ̷͖̗̍̔̓̾̾̇͛̍́̒u̵̧̢̘͙͔̘͓̓̽̽̏̀͐͜͜͝s̵̛͈͇̩̭̝͍̋͆̈́̄̉̚͘͝͝ ̶̭̞̳̭̮̞̜͚̰̅ͅḯ̸̦͔̼́̾̓̇̓̓͋͠n̸̨̻̭͕̬̼̫͖̾̌̏̂̄t̸̢̢̮͇̣̩̬͗̒ȍ̴̬̳ ̶̙͇̞̫̻͇͙͉̣͖̂̐͂̆s̶̹̺̺̩̐͆̅̊͐̀̀͋̚ȯ̶̡̡̞͙̩͚̞̭̹̎͋͘͜͝ứ̸̡͎͙͍̑̎̍͒͘p̸̱̣̫͕̎̒̎̅̃͌̋̀̑,̴̼̳͌ͅ ̸͎͇̥͓͂d̵͍̼̈͐͗͌ȯ̵͙́̿́͑̔̓͜ you honestly think she could overpower us of all ponies?" Mico gestured at himself and his 4 siblings as Twilight looked over the recipe for the cure.
"...But I tried to find a cure in all my books and couldn't find anything! What book has this natural remedy?" Twilight turned to Zecora with her question.
"Here is the book, see? Sad that you lack it in your library." Zecora closed the book and showed the cover, revealing the title of the book as 'Supernaturals'. Twilight stared at the book in silent shock as her ears began to droop.
"Actually, I do have this book. But I didn't look inside because the title was so...weird." At Twilight's words, Zecora just smiled and opened the book to a different page, which Twilight read aloud. "Supernaturals; Natural remedies and cure-alls that are simply super."
Twilight hung her head low, looking ashamed. "I... I'm so sorry, Zecora. I had the answer the whole time, if only I'd bother to look inside."
"Maybe next time, you will take a second look and not judge the cover of a book." Zecora stated with a smile.
'Oh, she was definitely waiting to use that metaphor.' Justin thought as he noticed something on JR's flank, his face turns from happy into a suspicious one.
Zecora was kind enough to fix up another batch of the herbal bath, however she needed help getting the final herb from the shop in Ponyville. The group agreed to explain to everypony that Zecora was, in fact, not an evil enchantress, and to help her find the herb she needed.
Unsurprisingly, the townsfolk scattered the second Zecora stepped into town.
Thankfully, Twilight managed to convince Daisy, the owner of the flower shop, that Zecora was friendly. After getting the herb and fixing up the new batch, they went to the Ponyville Day Spa and requested to use their bathtub, since it was big enough to hold all of them at once. Well, except for Justin and JR, as they didn't come into contact with the Poison Joke.
"Man, I could get used to this..." Mico let his body unwind, no longer having a random look on his body and he can control his own magic/powers properly again. While this bath was just meant to cure the Poison Joke, it was surprisingly relaxing. It felt good to just lay back and enjoy the tranquility of the therapeutic water.
At least he had a little bit of peace, until Pinkie Pie cannonballed into the tub, splashing everyone.
'So much for resting my eyes.'
"Miss Zecora, I would love to get the recipe for this bath. It's simply luxurious!" Mico, along with his siblings overheard one of the spa owners, who had a thick Swedish accent, asking Zecora about the herbal bath.
"Applejack! Hey, where's Applejack!?" The 5 siblings was stirred from their thoughts by Apple Bloom's voice. Mico shared a look of horror with the other girls in the bathtub as they frantically searched for Applejack.
"I'm right here, little sis." Everyone looked outside of the tub when they heard her Southern drawl. She was sitting in a small cup just outside of the tub, now she barely fit in it, having returned to her normal size. "I ain't tiny no more!"
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. Everyone seemed to be relaxed once more, until Pinkie burst out from underneath the water. "OH MY GOSH! I never realized how horrible it is not to be able to talk! I mean I love talking so much and when I couldn't talk anymore my tongue was all aaaaah~! It was the worst! Don't you agree, Fluttershy!?"
"...Yes." Fluttershy gave a smile, her voice having returned to normal.
Seeing that everything seemed to be back to the way it was, Justin also joined with them. "Ah, this feels so good. I should do this more often."
"I agree, I wouldn't want to have me embarrassed on my aged voice. I always wanted to go here like weekly." Lloyd said while scratching his neck.
"Yes, I couldn't agree more. a trip to the spa always does wonders for me." Rarity agreed.
"Hm? Oh, I was just talking about the bath. This is actually my first time going to a spa." Justin responded.
"WHAT!?!" Rarity had closed the distance between them in a second, placing her hooves on his shoulders. "You've never had the luxury of enjoying a fabulous trip to the spa before now!?"
"Uh, no, why?" He was a little surprised by the sudden invasion of personal space.
"This simply cannot do! Lotus Blossom! Please prepare my usual! I must show Justin the wonders of the spa treatment!" Rarity called to the spa owner.
"Wait what!? Hold on, I regret saying anything-"
"Say no more, Justin! I promise you will love every second of this venture! Now let us be off!" Rarity dragged him out of the bathtub and further into the spa, forcing him to endure that only Jesus knows what.
'Atleast I still have free time.' Justin thought as he saw something on JR's flank again, who was looking at him and Rarity.
JR then leaned closer besides Mico, Macoy and Lloyd and whispered, "She forgot to include us there too." However, Mico shrugged it off as Lloyd stopped scratching his neck and responded, "Don't mind them, atleast we experienced having spa atleast 10 times."