My Littlest Pet Shop: Escape from Equestria

by Drizzle Quill

Chapter Nine: Z&B Circus

Far away, in the Everfree Forest, a zebra named Zelda was sitting at a table with a cup of hot, spicy tea, and fuming.

She was reading a book, which she usually didn’t do unless she was terribly upset, because her long black-and-white mane always got in the way. Zelda blew it back now, her aquamarine eyes still glaring, her tea starting to go cold. She knew that most zebras preferred to wear their mane up, Mohawk style, but she preferred it down.

The book she was reading wasn’t helping with her anger. It was a book of old spells by an old unicorn…Star Swirl the Bearded, and that just worsened her pain. But she continued to read. It was something to do that kept her mind off of business and money, anyways.

There was a sudden clatter of hooves, and a pure white mountain goat darted up to the reading zebra, his black eyes wide as he panted for breath. “Zelda, Zelda!”

“Shut up, Biff,” the zebra snarled, turning a page in her book and taking a wary sip of her cold tea. The mountain goat glared at her.

“Someone’s in a mood,” he bleated coldly.

“And you aren’t?” With a final humph, Zelda slammed her book and whipped around to face him, turquoise eyes flared with anger. “We just lost our jobs. We just lost our money. We lost everything that we’ve ever had since we ran away from our homes! And you’re telling me I’m in a mood?”

Biff rolled his eyes. “Sure, I’m a little grumpy too, but you’re just plain out awful. We get kicked out of Fillydelphia’s grocery store, big deal. Then you come into this messed up forest and sit around sulking and reading spell books!”

Zelda took a deep breath. She didn’t quite know how she could put up with the goat some days. But she had to. The zebra exhaled, causing the long golden necklace looped around her neck to flutter outward. “Okay, maybe I was just a little bit rough.”

Biff nodded, his frown turning into a smile. “Glad we’re seeing eye-to-eye again.”

The zebra rolled her eyes and returned to her tea. The goat might be a little dense at times, but he had a big heart. Honestly, they were polar opposites, and she didn’t quite know how she put up with him at times.

The day she had met him rolled around her mind, and Zelda dove into it. Anything to forget her recent let-down at work…

“Cuz, what’ll happen if I don’t wanna be a real Tribe Zebra? What if I don’t wanna learn magic without a horn, or if I don’t wanna live in the Everfree, or I don’t wanna talk in rhymes all the time like you do?”

A small zebra, her mane up in a short, spiky Mohawk, blinked her turquoise eyes up at her older cousin, awaiting the answers. Zelda had only been nine back then, but was a lot more intuitive about the world than any of the other zebras her age.

Her cousin, a much older zebra known as Zecora, sighed and touched one golden-ringed hoof to Zelda’s nose. “I am sorry, my cousin dear. All of these questions I find most queer. A zebra you are, a zebra you’ll be, or one day you shall pay a terrible fee.”

Zelda narrowed her eyes and turned, spitting on the ground in anger. “I don’t wanna be a Tribe Zebra like you are! I don’t wan—”

She yelped as Zecora waved her hoof soundly and the younger zebra’s mouth was instantly closed. Zelda shook her head and glared at her cousin, tears forming in the corner of her eyes as she struggled to say what her mouth could not process. She had always hated the magic the Tribe Zebras could perform, although that was mainly because she had never been very good at it. Most young zebras could perform a simple spell by the age of three. Zelda had only learned her first spell three months before.

Stupid Zecora! Stupid Tribe Zebras! Stupid, stupid, stupid! she screamed in her mind, all of the words she could not say exploding like a fireworks show. I don’t wanna live here anymore!

Tears flying from her eyes, Zelda whipped around to face away from Zecora and took off running as fast as her little hooves could take her. The older zebra did not try to stop her, but instead smiled and waved her hoof, allowing her younger cousin to speak again. Zecora bowed her head and nodded, seemingly at nothing. “If a Tribe Zebra she will not be, she shall face her true destiny, be it good or bad, I doubt she will be glad. But it is not up to me, so we shall see…we shall see…”

Zelda had been running for what felt like hours. She didn’t know quite how long she had been going, but she wasn’t sure it was long enough to get away from those terrible zebras that wanted to control her life. She wanted to live it her way, not theirs!

All of a sudden she slammed into a large white wall of fur and muscle and went flying backwards, slamming into a tree with a terrible THUD.

“I’m so sorry!” yelped a deep voice in front of her. “I didn’t mean to get in your way…actually, that was my job, but…”

Zelda’s turquoise eyes flickered open to see concerned black ones staring at her. The zebra shrieked and scrambled backwards to see the full body of the animal who was looking at her intently. Upon further notice, he was a fully-grown mountain goat.

“Hi,” he said slowly.

“…um…hi?” Zelda whispered softly.

“I’m so sorry I slammed into you just then,” the goat apologized, bowing his head. Zelda shook her head.

“No, it was my fault. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“And where were you going, anyways?” the goat asked with incredible interest that made every bone in the zebra’s body quiver with fear. How could she even have thought for a heartbeat he could be a new ally?

“That depends,” the zebra said sharply.”Where were you headed?”

The white goat looked up at the sky, extreme discomfort showing clearly on his face. “Uh…actually, I’m not quite sure where I was going.”

“Really?” Zelda closed her mouth, cursing herself for sounding so outgoing. “I mean…really? Nowhere at all? Nowhere in mind you’ve always wanted to go, somewhere you’ve always wanted to see?”

The goat looked at her, his jet black eyes intense. “Well, I suppose that I’ve always wanted to go see the mysterious zebra tribe…Iron Will always has talked about them, and how magical they are…”

“Trust me, they’re nothing special,” Zelda interrupted him, rolling her eyes. “I was part of that tribe and—”

“You were part of the Zebra Tribe?” The goat’s eyes lit up, and despite his large appearance, he almost appeared innocent and cute, in a way. “Does that mean you know magic? Can you show me, oh can you, can you, Miss…uh…”

Before replying, mixed thoughts ran through Zelda’s head as fast as lightning. The first was: if he is a runaway too, that means he could be helpful to have on my side… The second: If he thinks I can do magic, and I can just show him a simple spell to win him over, then I’ll have a powerful ally. The third: What would I need an ally for? The forth: Oh…he’s waiting for my name.

“Zelda,” the zebra stammered, smirking and bowing her head playfully. “Zelda the Zebra, a fine spell-caster, and a wonderful ally for any…needy…soul.”

“Zelda,” the goat nodded, rolling the name off of his tongue. “My name is Biff, by the way. Not a very appealing name, but that was what Iron Will wanted…and what Iron Will wants is what Iron Will gets.” Biff rolled his eyes and smiled.

Zelda grinned. Something told her she would have a very satisfying life, away from her tribe…

…and she had. Up until yesterday, when they had been fired.

Now they were out of money, out of home, and they were forced to huddle in the Everfree Forest, just a few miles away from where her cousin Zecora lived. Zelda took a sip of her tea and spat it out – it was ice cold now, after she had been reliving her memories for such a long while. And she couldn’t even re-heat it with her magic – she could try, but it probably wouldn’t do any good at all.

Biff lived in fear of her – sometimes her accomplice, sometimes her hesitant friend – but whenever Zelda needed to keep the large goat under her control, she just threatened him with her magic. And it worked. He never doubted her.

It was a satisfying life indeed, if only she had a way to make some bits…

“Zelda!”

The sudden yell made the zebra’s head jerk up, and she whipped around to face Biff, who was panting. “I’ve got an idea on how we can make a living!” he cheered, clapping his hooves together.

Zelda cocked an eyebrow. “What is it?” she asked coolly, fully aware that some of Biff’s plans could be rather…interesting.

The mountain goat grinned, his beady black eyes sparkling in the sunlight. “Come to the edge of the forest, and I’ll tell you,” he grinned, his voice actually rising a few octaves with excitement, which only happened when he was very thrilled about something.

The zebra rolled her eyes, shrugged, and left her cold tea and book on the ground to follow her accomplice to the edge of the Everfree.

“…and so we could set up a circus for all of the ponies everywhere to see, with your magic, and my…um, skills…and we could find performers, and get tons of bits! We could be the…Z&B Circus! What do you think of that, Zelda?”

Zelda nodded; she had to admit that for Biff, it was a very good idea. But there were a few holes in the plan that she had to point out, even if it meant crushing the large mountain goat’s heart. “First of all, where will this circus be?”

“On the outskirts of Ponyville, maybe?”

The zebra nodded in approval, but she wasn’t done yet. “What kind of performers are we going to use?” Her ear flicked as she heard faint talking in the background, and loud, crashing footsteps. Someone was coming near – two someones, by the sound – and they were going to be discovered soon.

“Well…” Biff stuttered, obviously at a loss for words. “…maybe some talking animals that could do different, incredible talents…”

He was cut off abruptly as Zelda grabbed his tail with her teeth and yanked him into the undergrowth. “Be quiet!” she hissed. “Someone is coming, and we need to see who!”

And, just for emphasis, the zebra rolled her turquoise eyes. “Anyways, who’s ever heard of talking animals with special talents?”