In Ponyville, almost all of its citizens were still in bed. Tucked away in their homes, as they dreamed sweet dreams or horrible nightmares. Yet, there were a few that were up. One of them was Filthy Rich, who was checking the inventory for one of his stores. Then, there was the pegasus mare, who was filling in for Rainbow Dash as she got the early morning weather ready.
Finally, there were the Apples. Each one had gotten up, before the sun had, to begin a hard day’s work. Big Mac was already out working the fields, while Apple Bloom did her best to help. While the little filly couldn’t buck a tree hard enough to get any apples, she could help with picking up the apples that had fallen to the ground. Even Granny Smith was up cooking breakfast for four.
Yet upstairs, there was one ‘pony’ that was just now opening her eyes.
Last night had been one of the worst nights she had ever had in her life. She had moved to the Everfree Forest from her homeland, so that she had better access to the magical herbs and flowers that only grew in Equestria. However, she had found the ponies that lived in the town of Ponyville to be an odd bunch. Whenever she came to town, all the stores would be closed and no pony would be on the streets.
Then, last night, as she made herself a nice stew for dinner, a bunch of ponies charged into her home. They then began to accuse her of foalnapping, but she denied this. Then, came the pain. It was only by luck that she was able to escape, but collapsed. But, now as she woke up, she found herself lying on a very comfortable bed.
Slowly, she began to get up. As she did, she found that her wounds had been bandaged up. While she had medicine that could have healed her, as well as taken away the pain, she did smile at the gesture.
Yet, that smile only lasted a second, as fear began take hold. Why was she here? Was this an act of kindness, or did they have something else in mind? Perhaps they only patched her up, so they could continue to harm her.
Whatever the reason, Zecora wasn’t willing to wait to find out.
Moving slowly, so that the floor boards didn’t creak, the zebra made her way towards the door and opened it. Moving with the same slow carefulness, she made her way down the hallway and down a flight of stairs. When she was halfway down, she spotted an old green mare in the kitchen with her back facing Zecora, making something that smelled delicious. Smiling at her good fortune, Zecora continued to move downwards, until she reached the ground floor.
The door was just a few feet away. Zecora turned her head to make sure that the old mare hadn’t noticed her. Sure enough, she was still working on the breakfast. Now was Zecora’s chance. Once she got out of here, she would return to her homeland. Or, perhaps she would go to the griffin kingdom. Quickly, Zecora reached for the door handle.
“Just what do ya think yar doing, missy?” asked the old green mare without turning around. Zecora blinked. How had she been spotted? She hadn’t made a sound.
It was then that the elder of the house turned to look at her. “Ha! Ya were good, but Ah’m better! Think ya can get by me? Raised enough youngens ta know when somepony is tryin’ ta sneak down them stairs.”
“Breakfast time!” came a joyful shout from the other side of the door. It opened up quickly, revealing a small yellow filly that stood in front of a red stallion. “Hey, look Big Mac, Zecora is awake!”
“Eeyup,” replied Big Mac, his eyes falling on Zecora. This caused the zebra to take a few steps back before gulping loudly.
“Alright ya’ll, get yar behinds in gear an’ sit,” said Granny Smith. Her two grandchildren moved out of the doorway and towards the table. Both took their seats as Granny Smith began to pour them both her homemade apple oatmeal.
Zecora looked at the unguarded doorway for a moment. It would probably be her one chance for freedom. Then, she looked over at the table. Only the filly was looking at her. The other two were eating their meals in silence. It was almost like they were telling her she could leave if she wanted to.
As Zecora moved towards the outside, her stomach began to growl loudly. Behind her, she heard the filly giggle. Looking back at the table, she realized that there was an extra bowl on the table. Not knowing when she would be able to eat next, Zecora closed the door and walked over to the table, so that she wouldn’t have to leave on an empty stomach.
“Hiya, Ah’m Apple Bloom,” said Apple Bloom as she reached out to the zebra. Zecora, however, was startled for a moment by the gesture. “Is something wrong?”
“Forgive me for my reaction, little Apple Bloom,” said Zecora. “But, it was by pony hooves that I almost meet my doom.” She then looked up towards the red stallion and the green mare. “To my hosts that I wish not to offend, pray tell who was the one to help me mend?”
“Oh, that was me and Big Mac over here,” said Granny. “This big old lug found ya lying on the forest floor and brought ya here. Then, he woke me up and together we patched ya up real good.”
Zecora nodded as Big Mac raised his head from his bowl. For a moment, their eyes locked, causing Zecora to blush for some reason she didn’t understand. In a desperate move to hide her face, the zebra mare began to dig into the bowl in front of her. It wasn’t hard, because it tasted so good and she was so hungry. A half a second after her bowl was clean, Big Mac got up to refill it.
“You need ta eat up ta regain yar strength,” he said when Zecora gave him a questioning look.
“Your generosity I shall not waste,” said Zecora with a smile. However, the smile was quickly replaced with a frown. “But, after I finish this bowl, I must make haste. I do not wish to cause you alarm, but there are those in this town that wish me harm.”
“What?” cried Apple Bloom. “Yar leavin’ us already?”
“Again, I thank you all for what you did last night,” said Zecora. “But, I can’t involve you all in my plight.”
“Well yar free ta leave whenever ya want,” said Granny. “This ain’t no prison.”
“But, ya should wait either till night or till ya fully heal,” said Big Mac. “Ya’ll be more easily spotted durin’ the day. Since ponies are lookin’ for ya an all.”
“I-” began Zecora.
“Ya should stay Zecora,” said Apple Bloom. “Besides, if ya wait awhile, this whole thing might just blow over.”
“The little missy’s got a point,” said Granny with a smile. “Besides, I’m sure ya can make more tracks if yar fit as a fiddle.”
Zecora thought about this for a moment. She was still in some pain and her movements might be affected by her injuries. If she was spotted before she got out of Ponyville, then the chances of her getting away would be slim. Not only that, she didn’t have any supplies to help her on her journey. She would need at least a week’s worth of food.
Sadly, every moment that she stayed, her hosts would be in danger as well. After what had happened at her home, she was sure that the ponies of Ponyville would do everything in their power to take her life for a crime she didn’t commit. They would even go through members of their own community that opposed them. The last thing that Zecora wanted was for her rescuers to suffer because of her.
“Are you sure you don’t mind having on this farm one of my kind?” asked Zecora.
“Nnope,” replied Big Mac with a smile.
-x-
Scooter sighed as he walked down the long hallway. It was unusual for him to be up at this time, but his work demanded it. He was a bright orange pegasus stallion with a bright red mane that looked like flames. His cutie mark was a golden chariot with flaming wheels.
He knew he shouldn’t complain. In fact, he counted his lucky star every day that he even had this job. Back when he was young, he dreamed of being one of the greatest flyers ever to live.
However, he had a bad habit of sticking his nose into places where it didn’t belong. This eventually got him in trouble with the law. It was a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time; furthermore, his family was poor, so they couldn’t afford a good lawyer. This resulted in Scooter serving two years in juvenile prison, which prevented him from getting into the Wonderbolts. Heck, it kept him from getting almost any decent job!
Then, one day he was sitting at a bar, trying to drown his sorrows in hard cider, when a mare sat next to him. She was a young pink unicorn with a purple mane and a scepter cutie mark. They started chatting, one thing led to another, and in the end they both checked into a motel. It was a few days later that he found her standing at the doorway of his apartment, offering him a job.
It turned out that her name was Majesty, one of the nobles of Canterlot. According to her, her father had squandered the family fortune, leaving her with nothing but a title and an empty mansion. For years, she had struggled to keep up appearances for the other nobility, pretending that everything was fine.
But, the debts that her late father still owed were catching up. In the end, she married a wealthy stallion named Bit Pincher. There was no love between the two. She wanted his money and he wanted the title.
The job that appeared on his pay stub was chariot driver. All in all, it was a decent job. By himself, he could pull up to three ponies into the air and get to the destination in a reasonable amount of time. Not only did he get a nice salary, but he also got free food and lounging. But, when Bit Pincher was away, that was when Majesty wanted to play.
One day, Majesty told him (while Bit Pincher was away on business) that she was with foal. She was, at first, delighted by this since she needed an heir. But, when she used magic to check on the baby, she found out that the filly inside her was a pegasus. Once she gave birth, all of Canterlot would soon know about the affair. Bit Pincher might leave her and take with him all of his money!
Desperately, she searched for a spell or potion that could help her, while she used her magic to hide her pregnancy. She eventually found one and used it, only to find out it was too late. Now her filly’s wings were smaller than they should have been, and she had a small bump on her forehead.
After that, Majesty turned to Scooter for help. He suggested that he take in the filly. He had always liked the idea of having his own foal.
At first, Majesty agreed, saying it was probably for the best. But, as time went on, she became paranoid. There were times when she would accuse him of only wanting the filly, so he could blackmail her. Time and time again, he denied it, trying to reassure her that he didn’t want her money.
Then, the day came. She left in a rented chariot to a small town called Ponyville to give birth there. She wanted no records in Canterlot that would expose her. Scooter waited on pins and needles as he prepared for his new daughter arrival, using a lot of his savings to decorate a corner of lounging in preparation. But, when she came back there was no foal. She told Scooter that the foal died shortly after she was born.
After that, he tearfully returned everything he had bought. Majesty gave him a couple days to get over their daughter’s death, which he took. After that, everything was back to the way it had been. He still continued his affair with Majesty, but he was a bit more careful.
Now Scooter found himself at Prince Blueblood’s personal estate. He had no idea why Majesty, as well as several other nobles, had been invited there so early in the morning. Especially after being up all night at the castle. But right now, Scooter didn’t care, because he really, really needed to use the bathroom.
Then, as he walked past a door, he thought he heard a voice. At that moment, two forces battled for control. One was the need to relieve himself, while the other was pure curiosity. It was a short battle, with curiosity winning. Taking a deep breath, he placed an ear against the door.
“What you are proposing is simply insane!” yelled a stallion. “There is no way we can force the Republic to join us.”
“I agree,” said Majesty. “Besides, why would we even want those mangy mongrels to be a part of Equestria?”
“Please, don’t be so short-sighted,” replied the voice of Blueblood. “So far, we know they have a cannon that can hit any target on this planet, as well as a device that can contain an alicorn. Not to mention a device that can turn a half starved, filthy bat freak of a filly into the picture of perfect health in a few short hours.”
“Oh, so now you’re back to your senses,” said a third voice. “Last I heard, you were defending those pieces of thrash that are guarding Princess Cadence. So tell me, what changed?”
“Nothing changed,” said Blueblood. “Believe me, it took every ounce of control for me not to vomit after saying what I did. I wouldn’t have to, if the royal guards had just done their jobs and searched the crime scene. What’s the point of going through all the trouble of framing the griffins, if they arrest those things?”
Scooter felt his jaw drop when he heard this. The news of Hard Shell’s death was pretty well known to him, hearing most of it from nobles as they walked by him. But, what he was hearing now sounded a lot like Blueblood did it.
“With the threat of war looming over our heads, Princess Celestia will be forced to focus most of her attention outside the kingdom,” continued Blueblood. “She knows that if we go to war right now, the outcome will not be favorable. So, she will try even harder to get the Republic to join us.”
“That might be true,” said Majesty. “But, have you forgotten what the Republic wants? To replace us with elected common ponies? Is that what you want?” Scooter then heard several ponies mutter in agreement. “They will know that we need them more than they need us!”
“But, what if it wasn’t like that?” asked Blueblood. “What if they needed us more than we needed them? I am the only one if this room who has spent any time with they so I know how limited their resources are. Right now, they will be able to survive for a bit longer without our help.
“But what if something were to happen to those resources? What if all their food and water just vanished right before their eyes? If Luna cared about them at all, they would have to bow before any demand we make. Like making the Republic an Equestrian colony!”
“You fool,” shouted the first pony. “What makes you think they won’t blame us?”
“Because they’ll be too busy blaming this thing,” said Blueblood. A moment later, Scooter heard everypony in the room gasp.
“It isn’t polite to listen to other ponies’ conversations,” said a voice behind Scooter. The pegasus began to turn around, but was slashed from behind by a set of talons. He fell to the floor as he began to bleed out fast. As he looked up, he saw a snow white griffin standing over him with bloody claws. And, the last thing he saw was those same claws coming down towards his neck.