“So you know a bit about me, what about you Zecora?” Twilight decided they should go into the nearby café; they had taken a second to drop off their bags at the house while Zecora waited outside for them. Tress was acting rather withdrawn; it was probably nothing to worry about.
“A shaman I am from a far away land that I call my home, I have wandered from far away as I like to roam.” Today felt like a good day for Zecora. She was finally being slowly accepted by the ponies as they came out to go about their business.
“A shaman, what’s that?” Barb was looking to her mother, but it was the zebra who answered as they took a seat.
“I’m a mixer of magical potions and poultices both strange and grand; I am a zebra that can survive in almost any type of land.” It felt good for Zecora to be able to open up to such a nice family, though one in particular seemed to be provoked by her thoughts. “I’ve since stopped my wanderlust and I feel it less, is there something wrong with Miss Tress?”
“Nah, she always gets a bit moody at times, she hasn’t had the best life. She really needs more friends like my mom and Fluttershy do.” Barb always considered Tress like a sometimes grumpy aunt; otherwise she was a wonderful friend to her mother. She was an aunt that knew how to find really tasty gems and jewels for Barb to snack on when she got hungry.
“Hardships are a thing of life that is to be known, I assure you that their number of friends have recently grown.” Though she didn’t know who Fluttershy was, Zecora thought she’d be just as nice as these three… maybe four. She suspiciously eyed the enchanted toy known as Smart, the magical construct was interesting in the way it was watching the dragon in a protective manner as they sat down at a table.
Zecora was willing to be their friend regardless of the magical field of weirdness she felt surrounding them. This was her first time being in a restaurant in Ponyville and it would take her a moment to look through the menu.
“So what are you getting Zecora? I’m paying for this meal so get whatever you want. I’m thinking a daisy sandwich, maybe a daisy deluxe with hay fries.” Twilight thought she enjoyed the simple things in life way too much, so she decided that something a bit more enthralling then an average daisy sandwich. She was going for the deluxe size then.
“Mom what is it with you and daisies? I think you would eat nothing but dollops of daisy paste between two slices of bread if my grandparents didn’t feed you so many 'exotic' meals. I bet you’d live off that one thing for the rest of your life if you could.” The little dragons query and stern stare were met with one in return.
“What is it with you and ice cream? At least daisies aren’t an unhealthy eating habit, besides I’d miss the taste of grapes too much.” Twilight had at least some high ground on this one. They glared at each other for a few seconds before they started laughing.
“My you two are certainly strange, my day is certainly brighter for a change.” Zecora smiled at the relationship these two shared.
“So where have you been living all this time if not in Ponyville? The nearest town to here is not exactly that close you know.” There was so much Twilight could learn from her new friend from beyond the Equestrian lands.
The waiter, a gentle looking stallion, came up to the table and cleared his throat.
“Sorry, I’ll have a deluxe daisy sandwich and a side of hay fries, with grape juice.” Twilight looked to Zecora who was looking over the menu in interest. She leaned over and started to help Zecora make a choice from the menu as it took a minute or so after Barb and Tress’s orders.
“Hmm… the roasted variety of plant, my what a taste to me that will grant. It says it will come with fries, I hope the menu has no lies.” The stallion politely looked at Zecora’s choice and noted it down, he then asked what kind of drink she wanted. “A drink made of lemon and lime, with a bit of seltzer and some syrup will taste fine.”
They were finished ordering now and Twilight stared pointedly at Zecora, as did Barb behind her out of curiosity about where she was living.
“I’ve traveled many lands far and wide, for a place to live and not to hide. The Ever Free Forest is almost like a place for me to settle down, though I wouldn’t mind a place to go for rest while I’m in town. I’ve carved out a place in a tree in that forest that many ponies here find wild; to me all the monsters in there seem quite mild.” It was true, as long as you didn’t bother the monsters or garner their attention they would mostly leave you be. That and provided you stay out of their territories.
“Can you tell me some of the things you’ve seen in this forest?” Twilight was happy to learn about the creatures she has likely only ever read about, but to actually meet them was another thing. Twilight’s ear twitched as she heard Smart going into a lecture and she heard the word ‘comic’ be mentioned. Taking a glance at Tress, she looked to be okay and was listening to whatever Smart was saying. She turned back to Zecora who politely awaited her to come back from her slight distraction.
“Yes, though many a pony fears the forest I have seen creatures big or small, while the place called Froggy Bottom Bog have monsters quite tall. Cragadiles are tough skinned and can be quite scary, when stepping on stones in patterns is when you should be wary. Timber wolves are simple wooden beast, light a fire and they won’t have you for a feast. A cockatrice is a creature that can turn you to stone right in your place, it is a good idea to not to stare at one in the face.” The zebra stopped when Twilight held up a hoof.
“My friend Fluttershy looked one in the face, but it didn’t turn her to stone. She rescued it from a toilet and she said something about it not turning her friends to stone. She’s really good with animals and can even communicate with them since it’s her special talent. I’ll introduce you to her later; she’s really easy to get along with. She even lives right outside the Ever Free Forest now.” Twilight got a nod from Zecora in acceptance at the idea of meeting the friend that wasn’t here at the moment.
“Quite a talent that truly sounds to be, it would have been especially useful for the likes of Ever Free. I have been out there in the forest alone by myself for quite a few weeks filling with sadness; I think in my loneliness I would have been led temporarily to madness.” Zecora perked up slightly as she addressed Twilight personally after taking a sip of her rather refreshing drink. Fluttershy was a pony she had to meet eventually if she survived looking a cockatrice in the eyes. “If it were not for you, I would still be feeling rather blue. Do you think you can assist me in finding a place to stay? There are times in the forest I’d rather be quite out of the way. During the mating seasons some creatures are quite dangerous in there, for my life is something of which I have no spare.”
“You know we have the room mom and I wouldn’t mind learning more about the places she’s been to. I really haven’t been outside of Canterlot before and well this is all so new to me.” The air was a lot friendlier then it was up in the mountain city, Barb thought the ponies in general looked friendly and accepted her presence without a second thought. Then why did they not like Zecora until she started hanging out with them?
“Don’t worry about it; she can stay with us a few days at our new home. Isn’t that right Tress?” Twilight could have sworn she heard the word ‘regrets’ used and took a glance to see that things looked okay with Tress, but her mind wanted to play a different story. “Excuse me Tress, hello? I have a question to ask you.”
“Huh? Did you say something?” Obviously Tress had not been following their conversation. Twilight didn’t blame her, whatever conversation she had going with Smart had to have been interesting.
“I just wanted to know if you wouldn’t mind letting Zecora stay with us for a few days. You own part of the house too, so you should have a say in it. Barb and I already agreed that she could stay. I really want to have a sleepover with our new friend here.” Barb wasn’t the only one wanting to learn more about Zecora’s travels and she too had to admit an interest in the zebra. Twilight always wanted to try her hoof at camping at least once, now that they had the opportunity they would eventually do that with a few friends. Zecora would have made the experience much better as she knew how to live off the land, but she wasn’t so far removed from society that she didn’t know what a restaurant was.
“I don’t mind at all.” Then Tress turned back to converse with Smart after the gleeful response. This made Twilight wonder what they were talking about, but she didn’t want to be so rude by barging into whatever Tress was learning from Smart. It wasn’t long after that the food was brought out.
“Where were we again, aside from the fact that you’ll stay with us for a few days. Hmm… how about the strange and wondrous plants you can find in this Ever Free Forest place?” Idly Twilights ears twitched as she heard Smart say the word ‘fly’ as she focused on Zecora’s response.
“Ah, yes there are things like the blue flower called poison joke, it is not very nice to pony or any other folk. To touch its pollen leads to trouble, if you get any on you try and find me on the double. There are also roots that fizzle for some of the potions I make; it can be used to make a rhubarb cake. Don’t eat the leaves of the rhubarb plant under any measure; they are poisonous and are most certainly not a pleasure.” Enjoying having such a captive audience, Zecora was happy to share her knowledge with folks as thirsty as she was.
“So why did you leave home?” The reason Barb asked this was because she knew why they left their home, because Twilight needed to be her own pony and wondered why Zecora has traveled so far as to be here in the Equestrian realm.
Twilight heard Smart saying some words from the other conversation, she heard the words ‘enchanted comic’. She was starting to wonder whether or not Tress had second thoughts of staying in this world and might have been asking for a way back, Twilight really did not want that to be true. There was also the thought that Smart could be telling her some of Twilight's embarrassing secrets. She quickly turned back to Zecora to hear her tale; once again the zebra patiently awaited her attention.
“My mother is a smart and intelligent mare; she raised me well on how to survive then sent me away so I could live someplace that would be fair. Males of our species can be quite aggressive in a manner, I’m glad to be untaken because my mother was such a good planner. Males are responsible for taking on more than one date, to put it quite frankly it leads to them have an unlikeable trait.” Zecora tilted her head at Barb while looking into Twilights eyes, she could see that Twilight understood and that was good to know. She wouldn't want to go into great detail about what she just said.
Twilight’s thoughts slowly went to embarrassing places. She had heard zebra culture was a bit complicated, what with everyone saying everything in rhyme and the strange social structures that went with it. Her mind started to wander a bit.
“How’s the sandwich Twilight?” Tress’s voice cut through the air and into Twilights head.
“What? Sorry something was on my mind.” Yes, like all the dirty thoughts of beautiful long black and white manes belonging to zebras covered in mud, Twilight’s thoughts went to how they might need a good shampoo and rinse. After a moment she returned to the thought of her first and best friend leaving to return to from whence she came, it overrode her slightly odd fantasy of emergency hair care in a different region of the world. It took Twilight a moment to notice Tress pointing at her sandwich and she swallowed what was already in her mouth. “Oh, you want to know about my sandwich? It’s good, but the hay fries here are the best I’ve ever had.”
“Care to share some please?” Tress started giving Twilight a look that made her stomach feel like it was filled with butterflies.
The smile, bit lip and big eyes were some things Twilight would definitely expect of Fluttershy. Maybe the shy pony gave lessons on how to be adorable?
“Of course, just please stop looking at me like that. It’s making me feel funny.” Yeah it certainly was, mostly because Twilight liked the way Tress’s mane flowed. Twilight slowly pushed the basket of hay fries towards her friend, maybe her best friend possibly wanting to leave wasn’t something to worry about.
Soon they had all finished their meals, then dessert was suggested and they all agreed on it. They each dove into it with their own spoons attacking it with gumption upon its arrival.
Wherever the apples in the dessert came from, they were the best Twilight had ever tasted and she has had quite a number of delicious apples before this. She wondered if this Sweet Apple Acres place sold honeyed cider.