Waking Up in Black and White

by _Kenzu_


A Quest, Trial, and Test

A Quest, Trial, and Test

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The walk down the neighborhood cul-de-sac was a quiet one. The only sounds made were those of birds chirping or the sound of a distant car driving by. At least, that’s what I would guess anyway. Music pulsed through my headphones and into my ears as I trotted clumsily to the beat. Walking with hooves on flat tile was one thing; broken cement was quickly becoming another thing entirely. I had to be careful as I followed the cracked and uneven surface of the old sidewalk.

The small neighborhood had been showing its age over the recent years. When I was a kid, there were plenty of large families. But as the time moved on, and the economy started to take a turn for the worst many families that grew began to move away, leaving the neighborhood with a bit of an empty feeling to it. Houses that were once bright and colorful with large families in them were now faded and only contained a small old couple. Nothing really stood out as interesting in the small suburb, well, that is except the zebra now walking alongside the road.

As I walked I looked around the neighborhood in complete fascination. Even though it was the same old neighborhood I was simply amazed to see how much was different from a pony’s perspective. I had walked down this street hundreds of times, but for some reason it felt like I was walking on a completely different one. I looked up at a couple of old pine trees, filled with pine cones ripe with seeds that appeared to be just about ready to fall to the ground, but my attention quickly turned elsewhere.

There was a small garden in front of one of the houses I passed. In it were many varieties of bright and colorful flowers, along with a few tomato plants. What caught my attention though was the Crimson Sage. There was plenty of it, and it seemed to be just about ready to be picked and used, given another day or two of maturing….

I shook my head out of my trance and continued to walk. It didn’t last very long however when I spotted what looked like just an old weed growing beside the sidewalk. It didn’t look anything out of the ordinary, but those roots it had would have been perfect for many different mixtures… I just had to dig it out. Using my teeth, I pulled the thick weed out with a tug, then carefully placed it into my gourd and happily continued on in my journey.

Things continued like this for the next half block. There were just so many things I had never noticed on my walk before. I found it all simply amazing as I looked around. The plants, animals, even some of the insects seemed to be more interesting than I normally would have thought. I stopped paying attention to what was in front of me for just a moment, which apparently was long enough for me to walk straight into a large pillar of meat.

I backed away in surprise as I looked at the large figure staring down at me. It felt like the man was a giant compared to myself. He looked down to me with probably as much surprise for me as I had for him. I could tell he said something along the lines of ‘what on earth are you!?’ as he looked down in shock, but my headphones did a good job of drowning whatever unflattering language he said out.

“Umm…uhh… hi?” I said nervously as I began to walk around him, forcing a sheepish grin. “Don’t mind me… umm... Just walking by.” I didn’t give him a chance to respond. As soon as I got around him I started to trot briskly down the path, and turned the corner. As soon as I thought I was safe from prying eyes I turned around to see if he had followed me. Thankfully, no one was in hot pursuit.

“So much for my first impression…” I lamented to myself. My first time speaking to a human and I had completely choked. If that was how I reacted to just one person seeing me, how was I going to… react… to a…. crowd? A shiver ran up and down my spine as I came to that realization.

‘I can’t turn back now. I’m already three quarters of the way there.’ I could see the main road that connected the quiet neighborhood street with the rest of town, and around that corner would be the store. Just a couple more yards and I would be there. I didn’t want to waste another second, so I began running in that direction, hell bent for leather.

‘This was a bad idea, this was a bad idea, this was a bad idea…’ my mind repeated to itself as I made my way up to the store parking lot. I took my headphones off as I got closer to the door, leaving my sanctuary of music with them. I didn’t really want to, but I knew I’d eventually have to talk to someone, and deafening music wouldn’t help me there.

As I walked up to the sliding doors I hesitated for a second. Half of me still wanted to turn around and head back to the safety of my house, but my stomach sided with the other half that wanted to go in. I took a deep breath and stepped onto the pad for the doors. Immediately the doors swung open with an audible ping, letting everyone in earshot know that a new “customer” had entered the store.

The first thing I noticed was that the store was filled with noise. People were talking, registers beeped with every item they scanned, carts clanged against each other as people pushed them into their corrals. But as soon as I had noticed it, I realized that it had almost stopped instantaneously when I took my first step into the store. It felt as if everyone around me had stopped and just stared at the oddly dressed zebra that had walked into the store. I looked to each person and felt butterflies erupt in my stomach as if I had just taken the center stage of a large play.

My eyes went wide as I looked at the faces that stared at me with more expressions than I could count. I could see fear, awe, anger and suspicion as people looked and began to whisper amongst each other. Once again I felt the familiar feeling of my legs beginning to lock and my mind going blank as my panic was about to take over. Instantly my fear outweighed any determination I had to get food. I glanced back to the door, ready to make a bolt for it when I felt just the smallest amount of calmness form in the back of my mind.

I didn’t waste a second as I grabbed onto the feeling with every bit of mental energy I had and dragged it to the surface. ‘Trust yourself’ I thought to myself. ‘You have come all this way, do not give up today.’ My expression cooled at that thought. I took a step forward and gave a reassuring smile to the instant crowd around me.

“I’m sorry; I did not mean to cause a fright.” I said whimsically “I’m here to shop if that’s alright.” It seemed to do the trick. With those words most of the shoppers and employees went back to their own business, though I still felt stares on me and could hear whispers behind my back as I journeyed further into the store.

I began to cut a path straight for the produce department. I was sure if there would be anything that would be acceptable to my new vegan diet, it would certainly be there. As I walked I held firmly onto that small amount of calmness and confidence I had managed to summon up. Without it I was almost sure I would end up running out of the store in terror.

“Mommy! Mommy! Look!” I heard a small voice from behind me call with a large amount of enthusiasm. I looked back to see a little girl, probably only three years old, pointing straight at me. Her face was alight with fascination. “Zebra! Zebra!” She declared proudly.

If it wasn’t for the fact that her mother was holding onto her arm, she most likely would have already tackled me. Her mother on the other hoof seemed to be too distracted with the sales shelf to actually look to see what her daughter was talking about. She continued to scan the shelf of tomato cans for the best sale.

I smiled coolly at the toddler and waved a hoof to her. “It is nice to meet you, little one, but wait until your mother’s done,” I said in a friendly tone.

The child’s face lit up even brighter than it already had been as she gasped in amazement. “Mommy! It talks! Zebra talks!” At that moment her mother finally decided to take interest in what her daughter had been so enthralled with and looked down.

Her expression, as I expected, went pale as she looked straight at me. Instantly she tugged her daughter’s hand, and directed her down the aisle away from me as she began to walk. “Come on,” she hissed in a not too quiet whisper “I don’t want you near that animal.” Both the mother and her obviously confused daughter quickly turned the corner into another aisle, and out of my sight.

I shrugged it off and continued on my way to my destination. It hadn’t been the first time somepony had looked down on me after all. I knew there were a few who still were nervous to be in my presence amongst the small village…

Once I made it to the produce department, my vision was assaulted with all sorts of new information. The sight of all the colorful fruit and fresh produce sitting on brightly lit shelves to highlight their luster made my mouth water again. They had always said that stores tried to make their food as attractive as possible in order to make a sale. I couldn’t argue with them about that when I looked at this. Much of it looked as if it had been freshly picked only the day before.

‘I bet Applejack would just kill to have a stand like one of these…’ A thought appeared in my head of Applejack’s old wooden cart stand. The cart had been in her family since her grandmother was her age, or at least that’s what she had told me. It certainly looked like it was well worn with use from the years when I had seen it. ‘Hmm? Where did that come from?’

I shook my head as I found myself in front of the granny apples. I couldn’t place my hoof on where that thought had come from, but my empty stomach dragged me back to reality. ‘Must have just been an over active imagination’ I told myself as I refocused on the matter at hoof.

I walked over to the basket stand, grabbing one by the handle with my mouth and returned to the apples. After picking a couple of the apples up by their stems in my mouth, I placed them into the basket greedily. A half full basket later, I moved on to the carrots along the wall. Before long I had an almost full basket. I looked down at my work, my stomach giving an approving grumble as I turned for the registers.

I only noticed out of the corner of my eye as the produce manager discretely walked up to the place I was just standing at with a broom, dust pan, and spray bottle of some sort. I sighed as I heard him go to work cleaning the area diligently. I honestly never had that happen before, but I supposed it would be something I’d have to get used to.

There was a crowd of people at the front end as there always was during the day. Just as when I walked in I knew eyes were watching me, and whispers could be heard from behind my back. I merely shrugged them off this time as I started making my way to one of the registers through the audience of curious onlookers.

“Umm... Did you find everything alright during your shopping?” The clearly baffled cashier asked me. The manager, so I assumed, stood right beside her, putting on a forced smile. I could only guess that he was here to make sure that there would be no incidents. Exactly what kind of incidents though I wasn’t sure, then again, it didn’t look like he was too sure either.

“I believe I’m ready to pay,” I said as I smiled at the female cashier, who grinned nervously back to me. “Just these will do for me today.” I stood up on my hind legs and deposited the basket onto the conveyer belt with some difficulty. I was quickly beginning to realize that most places were just not built with ponies in mind.

“Yes mam...?” The cashier said, knocking herself out whatever stupor she was in and began ringing up the produce.

My masculinity protested, wanting me to correct her before I realized that she had gotten nothing wrong. I stopped for a moment as I thought about the change in gender that I had found myself with. It was something I had yet to really confront, and I didn’t really know if I would ever want to really confront it. I knew that was a ridiculous thought though. Sooner or later I’d have to face the loss of my masculinity, but right now was not the time for that.

I opened my backpack and shuffled around it with a hoof before finally digging out my wallet. I pulled my debit card out, balancing it on a hoof as I looked up to the machine. “Uhh…” I felt a twinge of embarrassment at my current situation.

“Here miss, why don’t I help you with that?” The manager offered before I had a chance to attempt swiping it. I didn’t object to the assistance as I offered the card to him and let him swipe. I honestly wasn’t quite sure how I was going to do that.

‘From now on I carry cash…’ I thought as I retrieved the card out of his hand. As soon as the order was finished I picked up the bagged produce and made my way to the exit. I turned back to the manager, not wanting to be rude. “Thank you for your generosity, the end of this day I wish to see“and with that I walked out the door, leaving the confused employees and shoppers behind.

I began to make my walk home, out of the small shopping plaza when another store caught my eye. The small specialty store lay just on the end of the plaza, seemingly out of the way from most of the other shops. I always poked around World Market before, and I knew there were all sorts of unusual items in there. I wasn’t sure if it was my curiosity, or my desire to investigate it, but before I knew it I found myself walking straight through the doors.

The reactions as I walked in were almost identical to the grocery store but I quickly managed to summon the feelings of calm and confidence back to the forefront of my mind. It was actually a little comical to see all the stares as a grabbed a new basket and began to make my way through the isles.

What was probably an hour later, I finally emerged from the doors, tapping my almost full gourd backpack with pride. I cringed when I looked at the receipt, realizing I must have spent a good chunk of what I had left in my debit account, but I felt it had been worth all the fuss. There were so many aisles full of exotic treasures. I began to grab for items that just seemed to call out for me. I began to collect spices, roots, and some items I had never even seen before. I felt as if I was a foal in a candy store again, trying new flavors of candy. I couldn’t wait to try these ingredients for new remedies or mixes. ‘Huh?’ I paused as I caught myself in thought.

I shook my head again as I snapped out of my excitement. I put a hoof to my head as I tried to make sense of what I had just been thinking. I had never known how to make anything beyond a peanut butter jelly sandwich. Making a potion? I was sure that was out of my league. ‘… But, then again… I am inhabiting the body of a potion brewing expert’ I thought to myself as I started trotting down the path back to my neighborhood.

Once I got onto the old sidewalk again I finally let the feeling calmness I had been using sink back down to the back of my mind and put my headphones on. I welcomed the music back as I let myself disconnect from the outside world. Before I could realize it I found myself looking back down the street back in the direction to the store though. I still had a creeping fear that I was going to be followed, but to my relief I found no one behind me as I walked back onto the steps to the old wooden porch.

As soon as I was inside I slammed the front door behind me shut with a slight buck and breathed in relief. I wasn’t sure how I managed to do it, but I had made it through the entire trip, unscathed even. Normally in most situations I would have cut and run at the first sign of trouble, but now I beamed with a little pride as I looked back in hindsight to my accomplishment.

I took out an apple from my gourd as a reward to my actions and bit into it, savoring the flavor. I felt an explosion of tastes in my mouth after the first bite. I wasn’t sure if it was just because it was fresh produce, or the fact that I had new taste buds, but it tasted absolutely heavenly. It tasted sweet… yet at the same time tart, with a bit of a tangy side to it. I devoured the fruit hungrily, my stomach finally a bit satisfied with food.

I took my hoodie and backpack and set it down beside the living room couch. The gourd was much heavier since I had packed in my conquests from the successful trip. “Hmm don’t think I've made a potion before…” I thought out loud as I looked down to the backpack, “but I'm sure I am willing to explore.” I looked back to the kitchen as curiosity consumed me.

In the show, Zecora’s skills at making potions and tonics surpassed even Twilight’s. I had read thousands of fanfics on the net where the person would usually acquire some of the abilities of the character they had become. I didn’t really know if I actually knew anything about potion making, but perhaps it was something more of a feeling I’d get when I’d start.

I grabbed one of the chairs from the dining room table and brought it back into the kitchen. To say that the kitchen stove was out of date would have been an understatement at best. Since most of my siblings had moved away, the stove found itself in as much disuse as some of the other items in the house. We never really bothered to make large dinners anymore, and when we did, many times it was merely take out.

I got up on the chair and looked at the stove’s knobs and buttons. Normally I would have idly flipped the burner on with a single finger. Now though, the exercise had become a bit more complicated as I leaned over the stove to turn it on, trying not to burn myself. With the stove finally on, I set myself for the next task as I hopped off the chair eagerly.

After a bit of digging, I found the old brewing pot that my mother had kept. As with the stove, the pot had become disused and almost forgotten. Many times even when the house was full it was used just for the thanksgiving turkey, or sometimes my father’s favorite chili. I carefully dragged it up to the stove between my hooves and began the slow process of filling it with water by hand… or in this case mouth.

With the pot ready I dragged my bag full of ingredients into the kitchen, laying the herbs, spices, and other random assortment of items in front of me. I tapped my hooves together as I thought with a bit of disappointment. I had hoped that if I had just laid out everything in front of me something, anything, would come to me. Unfortunately however, if anything I was even more clueless on what to do next than before.

Idly I grabbed the first thing I had a good feeling about, a jar of an unusual red spice. The writing on the front was in some sort of Asian writing, but something about it made me want to try it first. I looked into the bottle, noting how the texture almost reminded me of sugar. Carefully, I poured it into the now boiling water and watched as it turned a red hue, and bubbles started to form.

I turned back to the ingredients, my confidence building as I grabbed another jar, filled with some white flower petals. They seemed to have been dried out, and frail. One touch would have probably been all that would have been needed to break them apart. I poured almost the entire bottle in, watching as the delicate flowers almost disintegrate as they touched the red water. The stew seemed to react to them as the bubbles became larger and more violent “This doesn’t seem like much trouble.” I idly thought out loud to myself with a smile. “At least I got it to bubble.”

I lost track of time as I began to open and close bottles, adding to the mixture of whatever I was making. After some time the brew had turned a lime glowing green color, much like from the shows. I was almost giddy at the sight of it, but it just felt like it needed one last touch. My attention quickly brought itself to the weed that I had picked earlier in the day.

I grabbed the plant, looking at it in fascination. It certainly didn’t look to out of place from the rest of the bottles and herbs I had gathered, but something about it just wanted me to add it in. So without another thought I held it out over the pot in my mouth, ready to test whatever potion I had just made. I wasn’t sure exactly what this would do, but, if I knew Zecora, it would be impressive.

‘Ok.’ I announced to myself before letting the plant drop out of my mouth, ‘testing in three… two…’

______________________________________________

I woke up in a daze, at first unsure of where I was for a brief moment. When I came to my senses I found myself lying plastered against the bottom of the wall on the other end of the kitchen. “Ohh…” I moaned as I shakily got back onto my hooves almost losing my balance from the shock. “What happened?”

It didn’t take me long to answer my own question. The stove and everything around it was a complete mess, covered in green ooze that I assumed was all that was left of the potion. I looked back up in surprise at what had happened to the pot, or at least, what was left of the pot. It lay a few feet away from where I had placed it on the stove, cracked and warped as if someone had put a stick of dynamite in it, which for all I knew I probably had in a way.

The stove itself looked like it had fared only a little better. It now looked like it had been part of a horrible fire accident as scorch marks covered the surface, leading up the wall and all the way to the ceiling. Thankfully nothing had caught fire as a result of the blast. I’d hate to think how I could explain this all to the fire services.

“What did I do wrong,” I moaned and fell back down to the ground in humiliation. “to make that brew so strong?”

‘Some potion’s master I am.’ I thought to myself with a bit of frustration. I should have expected it to blow up in my face. If the real Zecora was here, she probably would have told me how much of a fool I was to think I could master potion making in just one hour. Perhaps I was lucky I had only blown up the stove and not the entire house. Though it could have been worse, at least I wouldn’t be trying to get a foul odor out of my hut like I had to when the cutie mark crusaders had decided to visit my hut to test their skills at alchemy….

I shook my head out of my trance as I surveyed the damage. To say I had a bit of cleaning ahead was a bit of an understatement. I left the kitchen to grab some towels. Normally I would have gotten the mop, but the lack of hands didn’t make that an option any longer. After another hour of hard work though I had managed to get most of the green goop off the floor and stove. I was just about to move on to cleaning the scorch marks when I heard a familiar sound that made my stop in my tracks.

My whole body shook as I recognized it instantly. It was the sound of a car engine pulling into the driveway. It wasn’t just any engine though. It was the distinct sound of my father’s economy car. I knew my parents were due back home soon, but after losing track of time I had forgotten all about them. The idea of letting them see me like this filled my heart with terror.

I never told anyone about my addiction to MLP, especially not my parents. They weren’t the most open minded people I knew to things outside of what was considered normal. In the past I just hid it from them, or downplayed it as best as I could. But there would be no way to hide what happened to me now. A series of scenarios began to play out in my head on the possibilities, each somehow worse than the last.

Before I could think of what to do I heard footsteps coming up the door, voices just on the other side. “I guess it’s too late to run and find cover.” I thought as I heard the front door open. “It won’t be long now till I am discovered…”