It was a bit of a tedious time for Fire over the next couple of days. First his mother wanted to hear about the incident once the prisoners were taken to Canterlot. At least Spike returned to Ponyville once his royal duties were completed.
Fire awoke three days later to find it a beautiful day outside. He walked through Ponyville, enjoying himself when he didn’t have a day of work. His guards would be taking over patrolling the town today. Hopefully they wouldn’t have to deal with anything really bad again anytime soon. The unicorn thief was still out there somewhere, Fire had heard a number of items went missing somewhere, but they hadn’t had a spell in place to detect teleportation in that town, so Fire couldn’t be sure.
As he walked through Ponyville he sighed contently.
“Beautiful day,” he thought aloud. “Peaceful little Ponyville where everypony is friendly and happy, usually. They can enjoy a good sunny say today.”
But as he looked around, he saw the place was… deserted. Not a pony walked the peaceful country road. Then there was the sound of a door closing nearby and Fire went around the corner. Something was off.
“Is it some sort of pony holiday?” a voice asked nearby.
“Not that I know of,” another voice said.
Fire looked and saw the sources of the voices were Twilight and Spike. The baby dragon was on the mare’s back.
“Twilight!” Fire called running over.
“Oh, Fire!” Twilight said with a smile as she saw him. “What’s going on? Where is everypony?”
“I don’t know!” Fire told ehr.
“Ptts!”
They heard something and looked around. From Sugarcube Corner nearby, they caught a brief glimpse of-
“Twilight!” Pinkie was briefly visible as she jumped up over the second half of the door that could open on both the top and bottom.
“Fire!” Pinkie bounced back up to get their attention. “Spike! Come here!"
She crouched again and beckoned with one visible hoof that could they see from the top half of the two sectioned door.
They didn’t immediately respond and she got more urgent. “Hurry! Before she gets you!”
From the sound of it there was something dangerous going on. Fire and Twilight (with Spike in tow) galloped into the building.
Pinkie soon shined a flashlight on them. Their eyes took a moment to get used to the two sudden changes of light.
“Pinkie, what is going on?” Fire asked.
“Yeah, are there Zombie Ponies?” Spike asked.
“Zombie Ponies?” Pinkie shook in fear.
“Spike! There are no Zombie Ponies!” Twilight said before turning back to their pink friend. “Pinkie what are you doing alone in the dark?”
“I’m not alone in the dark!” Pinkie stated.
Suddenly the room lit up a little and they noticed Applejack, her little sister Apple Bloom, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash were in the room with them. That caused them to gasp.
“Okay then, what are you all doing in the dark?” Twilight asked.
“If there’s danger out, it's my responsibility to handle it!” Fire said.
“We’re hiding from her!” Applejack pointed out the window.
Looking out, they saw a figure in a brown robe that covered most of her body. They could see the ends of her hooves, and Fire glimpsed that they had… stripes on them? As well as a golden bracelet. Then the figure looked this way, and her eyes seemed to light up yellow. It was menacing and caused everyone but Twilight and Fire to gasp in fright and look away.
Apple Bloom got on top of Spike’s head and looked at Twilight. “Did you see her Twilight? Did you see... Zecora?”
“Apple Bloom!” Applejack scolded. “I told you never to say that name.”
“Well, I saw her glance this way,” Twilight said.
“Glance evilly this way,” Pinkie said.
“And then a bunch of you flip out for no good reason,” Twilight continued.
“No good reason?” Applejack was flabbergasted. “You call protectin' yer kin no good reason?”
“I admit her gaze was a little menacing,” Fire said.
“Sure was!” Applejack agreed. “Why, as soon as my sister saw Zecora ridin' into town, she started shakin' in her lil' horseshoes.”
She shook her sister to demonstrate.
“Did not!” Apple Bloom shakily said.
Applejack then got her sister on her back, continuing to demonstrate. “So I swept her up and brought her here.”
“I walked here myself!” the younger sibling objected.
“For safe keepin'.” Applejack finished.
Apple Bloom was not very appreciative as she got off her sisters back and frowned at her. “Applejack, I'm not a baby! I can take care of myself!”
“Not from that creepy Zecora,” Applejack said.
Fluttershy looked down. “She's mysterious.”
“Sinister,” Rainbow Dash added.
“And spoooooky!” Pinkie said dramatically.
Twilight groaned as Fire glared outside. Not in a hostile manner, just a defensive one. Then Zecora removed her hood and revealed all her fur was a mix of black and white stripes.
Everyone but Twilight and Fire gasped at this once again.
Twilight gazed at them in irritation. “Will you cut that out?”
“Just look at those stripes!” Rarity said in disgust. “So garish!”
“She's a zebra!” Twilight told them.
Everyone looked at her in confusion. “A what!?”
“A zebra,” Twilight said. “And her stripes aren't a fashion choice, Rarity. They're what she was born with.”
Rarity fainted dramatically at the thought of that.
"“Born where?" Applejack asked. "I've never seen a pony like that in these parts, 'cept... her.”
“Well, she's probably not from here, and she's not a pony,” Twilight explained. “My books say that zebras come from a faraway land.”
“It’s true,” Fire said. “I went there once when I was a foal. My mom took me there while she was on a diplomatic mission to meet with the tribal chieftains of that land. They had a bit of a scary tasty in decorations and I couldn’t understand a lot of what they said but they didn’t seem bad.”
“I've never seen her in Ponyville,” Twilight continued. “Where does she live?”
“That's just it, she lives in... the Everfree Forest!” Applejack said in fear.
There was a crash nearby that sounded like thunder, causing them all to jump.
“Spike!” Twilight exclaimed.
Spike, who had snuck into the kitchen for a sweet looked embarrassed. “Uh, sorry.”
“The Everfree Forest just ain't natural. The plants grow…” Applejack said.
Fluttershy spoke in a similar tone. “Animals care for themselves...”
“And the clouds move...” Rainbow put in.
They each finished together. “All on their own!”
Rarity fainted again and Fire reached out a hoof to catch her with one hoof while hoofplanting with the other.
“Girls, that how nature works! It’s all natural! We live peacefully here in Ponyville but that’s how it is in the forest. Plants in forests don’t need ponies to care for them, wild animals ALWAYS fend for themselves, and clouds ALWAYS move on their own until we alter their course!”
Pinkie Pie frowned. “Well, that wicked enchantress Zecora lives there doing her evil... stuff! She's so evil I even wrote a song about her!
Rainbow Dash knew what was coming “Here we go.”
Pinkie Pie started her song.
“She's an evil enchantress
She does evil dances.” Pinkie danced in front of Twilight and looked deep in her eyes which soon gained a green spiral.
“And if you look deep in her eyes
She'll put you in trances.”
Applejack held Apple Bloom, making it look like the filly was shaking. But the filly freed herself, revealing her sister was the one shaking. Rarity, meanwhile, jumped into Fire’s hooves and shakily clung to his neck as he held her bridal style. Spike frowned at that. Fluttershy also wandered closer to Fire fearfully.
“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 held up her hooves in a menacing manner then breathed heavily in fear.
“Wow. Catchy,” Twilight sarcastically said.
Pinkie smiled. “It's a work in progress.”
Rarity looked at Fire as she was still in his hooves. “You’re the Sheriff, Fire! You can arrest her!”
“Not without her committing an actual crime!” Fire objected as he put her down.
Twilight nodded. “This is all just a lot of gossip and rumors. Now tell me, what exactly have you actually seen Zecora do?
“Yeah, if you’ve seen her commit an actual crime then I can arrest her!” Fire said.
Rainbow Dash hesitated. “Well... once a month, she comes into Ponyville.”
Twilight gave a dramatic, “Oooooh.”
“Then, she lurks by the stores,” Rarity said.
“Oh, my,” Twilight said in the same unconvinced tone as before.
“And then, she digs at the ground,” Fluttershy told them.
“Good gracious!” Twilight said not swayed.
Then she turned serious. “Okay, I'm sorry. But how is any of this bad? Maybe she comes to town to visit?”
“Yeah!” Apple Bloom agreed as she walked over to Twilight side. “Maybe she's just tryin' to be neighborly.”
“And maybe she's not lurking by the stores, maybe she's going to them, lurk free, to do some shopping?” Twilight suggested.
“Yeah! Everypony likes to shop. You know what I think?” Apple Bloom asked.
Applejack, however, glared at her younger sister. “Apple Bloom! Hush and let the big ponies talk.”
Fire frowned. “Hey, she’s entitled to her opinion too!”
“Yeah!” Apple Bloom said. “I am a big pony!”
“All of you are just scared of Zecora because she’s different from the rest of you!” Fire told them. “That’s no way to act! Remember that Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and unicorns all used to be enemies?”
Rainbow Dash tried to convince Twilight and Fire. “W-what about digging at the ground? You've got to admit that's weird.”
“Maybe,” Fire admitted. “But-“
“What if she's digging for innocent creatures?” Fluttershy asked fearfully.
Pinkie Pie continued to sing her song in the background as Twilight spoke.
“I am sure there is an explanation for everything Zecora does. And if anypony here were actually brave enough to approach her, she... or he would find out the truth.”
“I’ll do that,” Fire said making for the door.
“No!” Rarity exclaimed as she grabbed hold of him from behind and held him back. “If she were to put you under a trance, she’d have a powerful immortal alicorn on her side! Who knows what she’d do with you?!”
Fire frowned. “Alicorns aren’t immortal, Rarity! That’s just what a lot of ponies think because my mom lived so long!”
“Don’t go!” Rarity shouted dramatically. “I can’t bear to lose you!”
None of them noticed Apple Bloom step outside through the door.
“Well, I’m brave enough! I’m gonna find out myself!” the filly said.
However, as she stepped outside, she didn’t go directly for the zebra and instead resorted to sneaking closer to her. The fear of all the gossip being true held her back and Zecora began to walk back home.
“You ponies are being ridiculous!” Twilight said.
“Yeah!” Fire agreed. “Don’t just blindly believe rumors and gossip!”
"Well, I heard that Zecora eats HAY!" Pinkie said.
"Pinkie, I eat hay, YOU eat hay!" Twilight countered.
“We ALL eat hay!” Fire added.
"Yeah, but I heard it's the EVIL way she eats hay,” Pinkie argued.
“That doesn’t even make sense!” Fire said, his mane lighting up a bit. “Uh, that’s it! I’m gonna go out there and get to know her myself! Maybe we’ll have a nice cup of tea that she’s maybe brewing and be fast friends! Somepony needs to give her a royal treatment after all this mean gossip it seems!”
"Hey! Where's Apple Bloom?" Applejack interrupted, and they all noticed her little sister was gone.
"The door's open!" Fluttershy pointed.
"She went outside!" Rarity cried with a hoof over her heart.
"And Zecora's still out there!" Rainbow Dash added in the air.
"That silly lil' filly! I told her to stay put!" Applejack said before racing out.
All of them followed, but Twilight and Fire stopped and looked back at Spike. "Spike, you stay here in case Apple Bloom comes back."
"Will do!" Spike replied, saluting her with a frying pan on his head.
“Come on Fire!” Twilight said stepping out.
“Right behind ya!” Fire replied following.
They went along the path going to the Everfree forest, making it just in time to see Apple Bloom following Zecora into the forest. The filly was almost to the cloaked zebra. Fire and the mares stopped in a patch of blue flowers.
"Apple Bloom?" Applejack yelled.
Apple Bloom gasped as both she and Zecora looked back at the sound of the voice.
"You git back here right now!" Applejack shouted.
"Beware! Beware, you pony folk!" Zecora said. "Those leaves of blue are not a joke!"
"Y-you keep your creepy mumbo-jumbo to yerself, ya hear?" Applejack spoke hostilely to the zebra as she picked up her sister.
“Yeah! Yeah!” the other ponies agreed, except for Twilight and Fire.
“Was that supposed to scare us?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I don’t think it was,” Fire Sword said to which no pony heard.
"Oh brother," Twilight said.
"Beware! Beware!" Zecora warned for the last time as she disappeared into the mist of the jungle.
"Yeah, back at ya, Zecora! You and your... lame curse are the ones who better beware!" Rainbow Dash continued to fight back with words.
“That didn’t sound like a curse,” Fire said. “Beware sounds more like a warning!”
“Well, we’ll warn you to stay away from our town!” Applejack shouted after the zebra before turning to Apple Bloom. "And you! Why couldn't you just listen to yer big sister?"
"I...I..." Apple Bloom tried to speak but was cut off.
"Who knows what kind of nasty curse Zecora could have just put on you?" Applejack asked.
"Just like in my song!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed before singing her song again.
"You guys, there's no such thing as curses!" Twilight tried to explain.
"Well, that's interesting to hear coming from Miss Magic Pants herself." Rainbow Dash flew through the patch of flowers and up to Twilight before prodding her horn.
"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." Twilight explained.
She looked and saw to her chagrin everypony but Fire was walking away.
"Just you wait, Twilight." Applejack warned. "You're gonna learn that some pony tales really are true."
Fire sighed. He looked after Zecora, having half a mind to go after her right now and get to know her for himself. But all this chaos really put a damper on that idea. Maybe tomorrow. They returned to Ponyville which went back to normal for the most part. But Fire had a feeling that something was gonna happen. He returned home to Warm Heart Tower and slept in his bed, trying to shrug off the feeling.
Finally sleep came. But it wasn’t peaceful sleep.
...
Evil laughter filled the darkness and Fire saw a pair of bright red eyes emerge from the shadows, followed by a flaming mane and tail. The flaming pony sprang at him, and Fire woke with a start. He let out several deep breaths and looked around, seeing himself safe in his room, dawn just creeping in. He sighed in relief and rested his head back against the covers. Another hour or so passed as he got his last bit of needed sleep. When he awoke the next time, he felt nice and refreshed. He sat up and stretched before getting out of bed and going into the bathroom nearby. But his golden eyes widened as he saw his mane.
“I’m… blue!” he exclaimed.
His mane which had been red, yellow, and orange before now had shades of blue and orange.
Fire gritted his teeth. He hadn’t wanted to believe that Zecora cursed them, but what could have caused this? Could the girls have a similar affliction?
He flew down to the ground floor and found his servants.
“Morning your highness!” the cook said with a pleasant smile before gasping. “Your mane!”
“I know!” Fire said. “I need to check on something! I’ll be back!”
He flew out onto Sweet Apple Acres, finding Apple Bloom running out in a hurry.
He flew over and asked, “Apple Bloom is Applejack…”
He gasped as he saw the filly’s big sister… shrunk down to a very small size… equal to a mouse… on the filly’s back. Looks like the little sister had become the big sister.
“You got cursed too, Fire!” Applejack said noticing his mane. “I told you so!”
Fire wasn’t convinced, however. But something was definitely going on.
“Hang on!” he lit up his horn (which shined blue instead of his usual red, just like his mane) and lifted Apple Bloom and (by extension) Applejack onto his back. At least his magic was still working, even if it was discolored.
“Let’s go find the others,” he said flapping his wings.
He flew them both to the Golden Oaks Library. Fire got a glimpse of Rainbow Dash flying around uncontrollably above, the Pegasus screamed.
“Rainbow!” he yelled and flew up higher, lighting up his horn again and catching Rainbow Dash in his altered blue magic.
“Woah! Thanks Fire!” Rainbow Dash said in relief. “I can’t fly right.”
Fire landed with her in tow as well and soon the others arrived. Fire’s mouth fell open at the sight. Rarity’s fur, mane, and tail were frizzled and soggy as if she’d gone through the bath and had it twisted everywhere. The mane got in her eyes and prevented her from seeing. Pinkie’s tongue had swelled up and was covered in blue spots. The only one who didn’t seem to have changed was Fluttershy, but she still had a worried expression on her face.
“All go furs!” the party pony mumbled, unable to speak clearly with her tongue in its current state. But sounded like she meant to say, “I’ll go first.”
She did so and tried to tell Twilight something, but only ended up throwing spit all over the floor. Fire levitated Rainbow Dash inside and took Rarity’s hoof as she couldn’t see clearly with her disformed mane in her eyes. However, she still stumbled as her fur got in the way of her walking as they made their way in with Fluttershy and Apple Bloom (with Applejack in tow) following.
Fire looked at Twilight and saw she had her own symptom as well. Her horn was no longer solid and looked as though it had turned to jelly and was covered in blue spots just like Pinkie’s tongue, and Fire’s mane was half blue as well. What was with all the blue?
“I hate to say I told ya so Twilight!” Applejack said on Apple Bloom’s back. “But I told you so! It's a curse I tell ya!”
"But Fluttershy seems just fine!” Twilight said looking at the still standing Pegasus.
"Yes, there doesn't seem to be a THING wrong with her." Rarity added through the drapes of her mane.
Fluttershy just stared at the ground. She looked at Fire and walked over to him, pressing her head against his neck. Fire blushed before remembering that he’d made her feel safe.
“Fluttershy?" Fire asked, wrapping a hoof around her. "Are you okay?"
Fluttershy closed her eyes and just looked away.
"Is there something wrong with you?" Twilight asked.
Fluttershy looked at her before closing her eyes again and nodding.
“What’s wrong?” Fire asked in concern.
No response.
"Would you care to tell us?" Twilight said, getting irritated.
Fluttershy just looked at her and looked away.
"So... you're not gonna to tell us?"
Fluttershy only nodded in response.
"Yes, you're not, or yes you will?" Twilight asked.
Fluttershy shook her head.
“I think she means-“
Applejack ran across the table she was now on, up to Fluttershy and getting on top of a book before shouting and startling her. "Good gravy, girl! What's wrong with you?"
Fluttershy finally spoke, in a deep male voice that caused everypony's mouth to fall open. "I don't want to talk about it."
Spike snorted then laughed out loud and gestured to each of them. "This is hilarious! Look at all of you! We got… Blue Fire, Hairity, Rainbow Crash, Spitty Pie, Apple-Teeney, Flutterguy, and... uh..." Spike looked over at Twilight, trying to think of a name for her. " I got nothin'... Twilight Sparkle. I mean seriously, I can't even work with that."
“Twilight Squishyhorn,” Fire offered with a shrug. “Yeah, we’re so hilarious.”
Twilight gave a sarcastic laugh. "This is no joke, Fire, Spike! Now start looking for more books so I can find a cure!"
Spike groaned as Rainbow Dash continued to pull herself out of the ladder she crashed into. When she finally broke free, she looked at Twilight while still flying without balance.
"I think we'll find a cure to this curse at Zecora's place!" she said.
"It's not a curse!" Twilight exclaimed as Rainbow Dash crashed again.
“Okay, Rainbow you need to stop flying!” Fire said using his magic to force her to the ground. “Just try walking.”
Rainbow Dash sighed and got on her hooves, though that wasn’t much of an improvement as she fell on the ground after a single step.
"I agree with Dash! We'll go to Zecora's and force her to remove this hex!" Applejack concurred.
"It's not a hex either!" Twilight stated impatiently.
“Yeah, there’s no way a zebra could have done this!” Fire said. “And look at all this blue! My mane, Twilight’s horn, Pinkie’s tongue! What was it that Zecora said yesterday? Those leaves of blue are not a joke?”
“She put blue on us!” Rarity exclaimed. “Things to make us sad and blue!”
“No, I don’t think that’s the case!” Fire argued.
Other shouting filled the room as Apple Bloom watched.
“This is all my fault,” the filly said. “If I hadn’t run after Zecora none of this would have happened. I have to fix this!”
She began moving to find Zecora and do so, but Applejack noticed her little sister moving.
“Where does she think she’s going this time?” the shrunken pony asked before leaping off the table and onto her sister’s tail as she snuck out.
The arguing continued for a few minutes inside.
"I don't care what you two say, Twilight and Fire!" Rainbow Dash said. "It's time to pony up and confront Zecora. Come on, girls! Are you with me?"
"Ah am-pft!" Pinkie Pie spat, but it was clearly in agreement.
"And I as well." Rarity stated.
"Uh, I don't know. Seems awfully dangerous." Fluttershy said in her male voice which caused Spike to giggle again.
"How about you, Applejack?" Rainbow Dash asked turning to where Applejack had last been only to discover she wasn't there. "Applejack?"
"Pf-she's gone-pft!" Pinkie Pie spat.
"Aah!" Rarity screamed. "Or somepony stepped on her!"
She looked at her hooves and so did the others in horror. They were relieved to find no sign of a squashed mouse sized pony on them.
"Or sat on her?" Twilight suggested after that.
Everypony checked their butts as well. Nothing there either, thankfully. But then where could-
"Rarity's hair!" Rainbow Dash said for a final suggestion.
Pinkie Pie leaned over and began searching through the hair, causing the unicorn to yelp.
"Oh! OH! Pinkie, what are you doing? Ah, really. Aah! You ever hear of personal space?"
"Nope." Pinkie shook her head to say no on finding Applejack. But she likely hadn't heard of personal space either.
"Apple Bloom is gone too!" Twilight suddenly noticed.
"I bet they went after Zecora!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Well, we better go find them." Twilight began walking out. "Come on ponies, let's go."
Pinkie Pie stood on a strand of Rarity's hair, causing the unicorn to be unable to move.
"Oh dear." Rarity announced as she struggled to break free. "This is so unseemly. Aah!"
Rainbow Dash flew upside down on the floor, again trying to use her wings. "Hey, a little help here?"
"Oopsie! Sorry." Fluttershy said in her male voice, as she and Pinkie Pie helped Rainbow up, but she just crashed again.
“Here,” Fire said taking her in his magic and levitating her. “You should probably just sit still for a while. We wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”
Rainbow sighed as she was levitated. “Fine.”
They all galloped out the door, but Fluttershy hung back noticing Spike wasn’t following.
"Uh... Spike? Are you coming?" Fluttershy asked.
"Nope! Uh... gotta stay here and look for a cure." Spike before gasping as they left. Then an idea occurred to him and he gasped before writing it in a book. "Twilight Flopple! Better then Squishyhorn I say, Fire, my arch-rival in love!"
…
On the edge of the Everfree Forest, Apple Bloom ran along the path leading into it they’d gone through yesterday.
“Hold it right there!” a voice from above called, causing Apple Bloom to freeze in her tracks.
She looked up and saw that Applejack had climbed onto her head.
“Turn around right now, Missy!” Applejack ordered.
Apple Bloom was about to comply but then realized something with a smirk and said, “No!”
“No?” Applejack exclaimed in surprise before speaking with authority. “You can’t ignore a direct order from your big sister!”
Apple Bloom, however, shook her head and caused said sister to fall off of her head. She then caught Applejack in her teeth before she could hit the ground and took her to a nearby branch, leaving her there with a triumphant giggle.
“Sorry Applejack, but I’m the big sister now,” she stated as she walked away.
“Apple Bloom! You come back here right this instant!” Applejack ordered to no avail then resorted to another trick. “I’m gonna tell Big Macintosh on you!”
But looking at the distance between the ledge and the end of her branch, she realized she wouldn’t make it.
“Pony feathers.”
All she could do now was hope for help.
…
Soon Fire and the mares arrived at the edge of the forest as well.
"Come on girls, and Fire! We've got to get to Zecora's. Hurry!" Twilight said as she led the way.
However, Rarity tripped on her loose strands of hair and rolled in the mud, getting it all over herself.
“Easier said than done,” she said getting up.
Fire stopped and went back for her, using his magic to lift her up.
“Oh!” she exclaimed and flailed her hooves as she was levitated onto Fire’s back.
“You could really get dirty or hurt in your current state,” he told her. “Let me carry you.”
“Oh, thank you, Prince Fire,” Rarity said with a grateful smile and blush that were mostly hidden behind the messy mane in her face. “Very gracious of you.”
She hugged his neck from behind with her hooves and Fire blushed as well.
"Leh." Rainbow Dash stuck her tongue out at the mushiness next to her.
“I-uh try to be. Though I admit the recent sleepover during the storm wasn’t my most gracious moment with the ladies. I’m sorry,” Fire said with remorse.
She sighed. “I suppose I was acting rather unrefined at the time as well. It's alright darling.”
With Rarity on his back and Rainbow Dash in his magic, Fire continued. Then they heard a faint cry for help. He might have missed it if not for Rarity’s weight slowing him down.
“Hey over here! Don’t leave me!”
Fire turned the direction of the sound, seeing Applejack stranded on a branch. He allowed her to climb onto his head and then made his way to where Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie stood in the forest. Finally, they arrived at Zecora's hut.
Pinkie Pie looked at it. "Plis place plooks horrible!"
"Oh my." Rarity responded as she used a hoof to get her mane out of her face while still on Fire’s back. "That place really DOES look horrible."
They walked towards the window to see many scary looking things inside like masks.
"Nice decorations, if you like creepy!" Rarity said.
The backdoor opened and Zecora walked in, making them duck under the windowsill. They looked up after a moment to hear Zecora chanting in another language.
"Sthe sthtole my sthong! Shthe shtole my sthong!" Pinkie Pie angrily mumbled.
"She stole your song?" Rarity asked.
"Oh Pinkie." Twilight responded in agitation. "Doesn't sound anything like your song."
"Ah. Hmm..." Pinkie Pie ran over to Fluttershy and begged her to help. "Pbth!"
Pinkie Pie began to whimper. Fluttershy sighed and began singing in her new male voice.
"She's an evil enchantress
And she does evil dances
And if you look deep in her eyes
She will put you in trances
Then what would she do?
She'll mix up an evil brew
Then she'll gobble you up
In a big tasty stew
Soooo... watch out. "
Fluttershy sang while Pinkie Pie danced out her moves.
"You saw those terrible things." Rarity told Twilight. "NOW you believe us Twilight, Fire?"
Twilight and Fire looked inside of the hut. It did indeed look bad.
"Scary looking masks, confusing incantations, and a great big bubbling cauldron?" Twilight sighed. "Everything IS pointing to Zecora being... bad. Or... what if Zecora is just making soup?"
That frustrated the other mares that Twilight still didn't believe them.
"I saw masks like those when I was there with my mom," Fire said. "I think they are supposed to symbolize things in her culture."
They looked up as Zecora took a taste of what was in the cauldron and said some disturbing words. "Mmm! The perfect temperature for ponies, I presume. Now, where is that little Apple Bloom?" Zecora asked herself.
That caused the ponies outside to think she was a villain for sure.
"Or... what if she's making Apple Bloom soup?" Twilight exclaimed.
Every pony including Fire gave gasps of fright.
Fire then formed a determined face. “I guess you guys were right! Okay, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity you all stay here! You’re too clumsy or too small to be able to help!”
“What, no way!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
Fire dropped her to the ground then levitated Rarity and Applejack off his back and head respectively.
“Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, with me!” He said facing the door.
They all nodded. Fire then headed to the door and burst through it.
“Alright Zecora, I didn’t want to believe it, but it looks like the others were right and you are an evil enchantress!" Fire said.
"What have you done with Apple Bloom?" Twilight demanded.
Zecora looked at them and was about to answer when-
"Not letting you get all the glory, Fire!" Rainbow Dash said as she flew in.
"I'm gonna save my little sister!" Applejack said on Rainbow's head.
Rainbow Dash knocked over her cauldron and Applejack fell off.
"No! No!" Zecora exclaimed as she watched the contents spill. "You know not what you've do! You've gone and spilled my precious brew!"
She knelt over the spilled fluids, and Twilight continued throwing accusations at her. "We're onto you, Zecora. I didn't want to believe that you cursed us, but the evidence is overwhelming!"
"You made me look ridiculous!" Rarity stated.
"You made me SOUND ridiculous!" Fluttershy said in her male voice.
"You made me speak ridiculous!" Pinkie spat pointing to her tongue.
"You ruined my horn!" Twilight stated.
“And you made my mane and magic blue!” Fire ended.
"How DARE you! You destroy my home, destroy my work. Then rudely accuse me of being a jerk?" Zecora responded defensively.
"You put this curse on us, now you're gonna uncurse us." Rainbow Dash demanded.
"It is unwise to venture down this road. Your actions will make my anger explode!" Zecora shouted.
"Where IS Apple Bloom?" Twilight demanded again and began shoving her head at Zecora's.
"Zecora!" the filly’s voice called as she suddenly entered the hut through the door. "I think I found all the things ya asked for." Apple Bloom walked in and noticed the situation. "What in Ponyville is goin' on here?"
Applejack gasped as she stood on the floor and ran over to hug her giant (compared to her) little sister. "Apple Bloom! You're okay!"
Apple Bloom smiled. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Twilight put herself in front of the filly. "Because Zecora is an evil enchantress who cursed us and was gonna cook you up into soup!"
“Yeah, that’s what it looked like anyway!” Fire said. “She said her cauldron was the perfect temperature for ponies!”
Zecora and Apple Bloom began laughing.
"Oh Twilight, Fire. Did those silly fillies finally get in yer heads? You know there's no such thing as a curse." Apple Boom stated.
"Apple Bloom, sweetie. You can't just stand there and tell me this isn't a curse." Twilight replied with a smile, presenting everyone’s symptoms.
"If you will remember back, the words I spoke were quite exact," Zecora said.
“Beware beware you ponyfolk, those leaves of blue are not a joke,” Fire replied before remembering the strange blue plant. “Wait... you mean, the blue plant?”
"It's called Poison Joke." Apple Bloom explained.
"That plant is much like poison OAK. But its results are like a joke," Zecora explained.
"What in the hay does that mean?" Applejack asked as she walked up to the zebra.
"It means this plant does not breed wrath. Instead, this plant just wants a laugh." Zecora replied.
Applejack was confused by the unfamiliar tongue. "Will somepony please talk normal?"
"I think what she's saying is that when we ran in to save Apple Bloom, we ran into the poison joke. All our problems are just little jokes that played on us." Twilight responded.
"LITTLE jokes?” Applejack elaborated the word little which fitted her current size before saying sarcastically. “Very funny."
"Ok, fine. But what about the cauldron?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"And the chanting?" Fluttershy put in.
"And the creepy decor?" Rarity questioned.
"Treasures of the native land where I am from." Zecora gestured over to the two masks on the wall. "This one speaks 'hello', and this 'welcome'."
"Not welcoming at ALL, if you ask me." Rarity replied.
“Guess if you know what to look for,” Fire said. “I never got a full breakdown on what every kind of mask meant when I was in the Zebra Lands.”
"The words I chanted were from olden times. Something you call a nursery rhyme." Zecora explained.
"But the cauldron! The Apple Bloom soup?" Twilight asked.
"Lookie here Twilight. That pot of water wasn't for me, it was for all these herbal ingredients." Apple Bloom pointed to a nearby book that contained ancient recipes for cures. "The cure for poison joke is a simple all-natural remedy. You just gotta take a bubble bath!"
Twilight read over the book. "But I tried to find a cure in all my books and couldn't find anything." She said as her horn kept wobbling. "What book has this natural remedy?"
Zecora walked over to the book and closed it, showing the cover. "Here is the book you see. Sad that you lack it in your library."
Twilight, however, looked disappointed in herself. "Actually, I do have this book, but I didn't look inside because the title was so... weird."
She then read the title. " Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-Alls That Are Simply Super." Seemed she'd made the same mistake with the book that the others made with Zecora. "I...I... I'm so sorry Zecora. I had the answer the whole time, if only I had bothered to look inside."
Twilight looked down.
“I think we all neglected to do that,” Fire bowed his head in shame. “I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt but looking at the inside of this home and hearing you say those things… I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions like the others."
Zecora chuckled. "Maybe next time you will take a second look, and not judge the cover of the book."
The others looked ashamed as well, finally seeing they were wrong about Zecora. Apple Bloom laughed, as she had been the only one to give her the benefit of the doubt until the end.
"Zecora? Would you be kind enough to mix up another batch of the herbal bath?" Twilight asked.
"Mix it up I certainly will. Yet I am missing an herb from Ponyville." Zecora accepted.
"But whenever Zecora comes to town, all the shops are MYSTERIOUSLY closed." Apple Bloom stated.
"Oh, well... I think we can help you with that,” Twilight said.
They made their way back to town. Ponies were out and about, but as soon as they saw Zecora as well as Fire and the mares with all their symptoms, they began running and exclaiming in fear.
"Look Rose! How awful!" A mare screamed.
"The wicked enchantress has cursed them all!" The mare named Rose exclaimed.
"The horror, the horror!" Another mare yelled.
All of them began screaming and running to their homes. But Fire, Twilight and others just walked up to the flower shop and knocked on the door. When it was answered, there was a small opening and Twilight spoke. "Daisy, we need to talk."
Fire lit up his horn and cast a spell to allow his voice to be heard through the entire town.
“Everypony please remain calm. There is nothing to fear from Zecora! As Sheriff of Ponyville I can promise you that! We just visited her thinking she cursed us. But we were wrong, she actually knows a way to cure us! She’s a friendly zebra, she may look scary, but on the inside she’s just the same as any other good pony!”
The towns ponies came out and soon after they heard the whole chain of events, apologized.
“We’re sorry Zecora!”
“We shouldn’t have been so quick to judge!”
“Sorry!”
Zecora smiled forgivingly. “It is alright ponies of Ponyville. I only hope we can now be proper neighbors with no ill will!”
Soon they got the ingredients for the bubble bath and headed to the spa where the cure was put in some hot water.
"Now after all the troubles you have seen, you may finally become nice and clean!" Zecora said.
Everyone jumped into the water and their symptoms began to dissolve. As they bathed, Twilight made a letter to Fire’s mother.
Dear Princess Celestia
My friends and I all learned an important lesson this week: Never judge a book by its cover. Someone may look unusual, or funny, or scary. But you have to look past that and learn who they are inside. Real friends don't care what your "cover" is; It's the "contents" of a pony that count. And a good friend, like a good book, is something that will last forever.
Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.
She spoke and Spike sent the letter.
"Miss Zecora." One of the spa ponies said nearby. "I would love to get the recipe for this bath. It's simply luxurious!"
"Applejack! Hey. Where's Applejack?" Apple Bloom exclaimed.
Everyone gasped and looked around, fearing they'd hurt Applejack.
"I'm right here lil' sis. I ain't tiny no more!" Applejack announced from where she sat on top of a bucket she'd been bathing in, now in her normal size.
"Ooh. I have never felt so lovely in all my life!" Rarity said.
“And you are very lovely, Rarity,” Fire complimented her.
She blushed as she looked at him. “And you are as handsome as I typically see you, Prince Fire Sword. Even the blue looked good on you!”
They looked at each other, the air seeming to fill with sparkles around them.
"Oh my gosh!" Pinkie cried out, snapping them out of their trance. "I've 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 'cause my tongue was all 'ehhhh'. It was the WORST! Don't you agree, Fluttershy?"
Everypony looked at her hopefully as she smiled silently for a moment then spoke in her normal sweet voice. "Yes."
Every pony laughed.