//------------------------------// // Episode 6 [Zecora]: The question // Story: The Daily Show presents: Equestrian Interviews // by Daily Show Ponies //------------------------------// It was a particularity sunny afternoon in New York, and while most people were outside enjoying the much needed good weather Jon found himself at home preparing for future shows. The public's desires for more Equestrian interviews was as insatiable as ever to the point where "The Daily" Show was now synonymous with "Ponies." To that end Jon was determined to make it so he could have a solid schedule of who would come on the show ahead of time instead of him having to go there in person to ask them at the last minute. This proved to be more difficult than he thought, what with their world being so far away and Jon not knowing who any of them were or what they did till he made contact. This wasn't helped by the studio executives constantly giving him advice on who he should talk to next. Ultimately the decision of who came on the show rested with Jon but that didn't stop his bosses from offering ideas anyway. "Try and interview some kind of monster!" "Why don't you have their leader on sometime?" "Does that world have any politicians? "You've been there before. Have you ever seen a talking dog?" For the most past Jon ignored these suggestions and mainly focused on trying to conduct interviews that were equal parts humorous and informative. That is until one day at work when an intern approached him. "Mr. Stewart, here’s the papers you wanted." The intern said. "Thank you Erick," Jon replied, as he wrote something down in his notebook. "Please go to the graphics department. I hear they need some help with something." "Sure thing Boss." He said, pausing for a moment before speaking again. "But um...before I go can I ask you something…about the Equestrian interviews?" Jon didn't particularity like talking about work even when he was at work, but if his staff needed his help understanding something he felt that it was his duty to assist them. "Sure thing kid," Jon said. "Shoot." "Well, t-the guests you've been getting from Equestria have all been great," Erick said. "But I'm curious...are they all ponies?" Jon almost answered by saying "yes," but as he did he realized it was something he could not answer with 100% certainty. This question would follow him for the next 24 hours, stuck in his head like a catchy song. Whenever Jon visited Equestria on business he saw nothing but ponies. Some of them could fly or use magic while others possessed none of these abilities, but in the end they were all still ponies nonetheless. At the same time however Jon could not deny that he had seen a non-pony citizens at one point. After all the very first guest he had on his show was Spike. A dragon. The question continued to cling to Jon's mind, refusing to let go. So it was on this sunny afternoon, locked away in his study, that Jon decided to pick up his phone and ask the only person he knew who could help him understand. "Hello Jon." Celestia said. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you at this hour." "Oh sorry Celestia," He said, getting up to idly look through his bookcase. "If this is an inconvenient time I can call back later." "It's quite alright," she responded. "I always have time for you." "Thaaaat's great to hear," Jon said. "Just don't feel like you have to bend over backwards on my account." "Wouldn't dream of it Jon. Now what is it that you wish to talk about?" She said. "Well here's the thing," Jon said. "I've been racking my brain on an issue and have so far come up with nothing, so I'm just going to ask you straight up...does Equestria have other talking animals besides ponies?" "Of course we do," Celestia said with a joyous laugh. "Or have you already forgotten about Spike." "Forget? The kid can send mail across different planes of existence by breathing fire on it and he almost ate my assistant's necklace," Jon responded. "Trust me when I say, 'I remember spike.'" Celestia couldn't help but giggle to herself quietly. She still had Jon's accidentally delivered notes on sex robots in her possession; she was keeping them as a souvenir. "No, the thing is I've been to your world a few times," he continued. "And every time the people I've seen have been some variation of a pony." "Well Jon, our world is inhabited by a multitude of different creatures but the most common are in fact ponies." Celestia said informatively. "Very similar to your world being mostly populated by different kinds of humans." "I guess that makes sense," Jon retorted. "Though I have to admit with a name like Ponyville I wasn't sure what I was expecting." Jon continued to browse through his book case till he finally found the book he was looking for. Tt was a fairy tale book, this one being a type of encyclopedia on mythical beasts. In no time at all he was back at his desk and opened the book to a random page. "Now then back to what I was saying," he said, flipping through some pages. "My next question to you is this: are there anyone on the list who isnt a pony." Celestia took a moment to think about that as she had to go over the list in her head by memory. Jon however had the luxury of having the list of names in his hand, ready to jot down some notes if need be. "As a matter of fact there are some," she finally answered. "Would you like me to go into further detail?" "Please do." Jon said, pen ready in hand. "Well off the top of my head we have a young lady by the name of Gilda," she said. "She's a well known flyer from Cloudsdale and she happens to be a Griffon." Jon repeated back what he just heard for clarification and quickly found her name on the list, writing next to it: "Good flyer. Griffon." His next step was going through the book of fairly tale creatures he had just procured. Eventually he found an entry for Griffon, complete with pictures and descriptions. "I see," Jon responded. "She sounds majestic. What else do ya got?" "Well this next individual isn't a resident of my kingdom." Celestia said. "He's something of a motivational speaker who goes from place to place." "A motivational speaker, huh?" Jon said, his interest starting to decrease. "Yes, his name is Iron Will," Celestia continued. "And he’s a Minotaur." "A Minotaur, huh?" Jon said, his interest starting to increase. Jon once again multitasked by looking through his book of creatures and the list of names. Almost at the same time he found an entry for Minotaurs and located Iron Will's name. The picture provided in the book was a bull-faced subhuman wielding an axe and looking very ferocious. Jon's interest was replaced with suspicion as he wondered if this Iron Will motivated people or just simply scared them. He turned his attention to the list and wrote next to his name: "Minotaur. Possibly dangerous motivational speaker." "Anyone else?" Jon asked. "Maybe someone a bit more local?" "Well there is one who lives fairly close to Ponyville," she said. "An interesting character but I don't think she's what you’re looking for." "Try me." Jon said, flipping back to the index section of his book. "Well her name is Zecora and I'm fairly certain her species dwells within your world as well," she continued. "You see she's a zebra." Jon didn't need the book for this one. "A zebra?" He said. "Well yes we do have them here but they're only located in Africa. What does this zebra do for a living?" Celestia took a moment before responding. "What she does is a little difficult to explain," Celestia said, "The best explanation I can give that would make sense to someone from your world is that she's a shaman who works with medicine." Jon sat up in his chair looking as if he would spring to his feet at any moment. "A shaman you say?" He said, looking for Zekora's name on the list. "That does sound interesting. Tell me does she use herbs and plants to make potions and stuff like that?" "As a matter of fact she does. How very astute of you," Celestia said. "Do you have people like that in your world as well." "You could say that," Jon said as he jotted down a phrase next to the zebra's name. "But never on my show...I've made my decision. I have an episode coming up and I would like to have her as my guest." "A fine choice indeed," Celestia said. "I'll send word right away that I wish to speak with her." Jon stood up to put his book back. "You know if you want I can go there myself and ask here." Jon said. "Going to your world every now and again have proved to be very rewarding at times. Plus I don't want you going out of your way because of me." "Well Mr. Stewart, while I am appreciative of your looking out for me I don't think you'd enjoy the hands on approach in this particular case." Celestia said. "Why do you say that?" Jon asked. "Is this Zecora not a fan of humans or something?" "Oh no, no, nothing like that," she answered. "She's a very kind individual. It's just that her dwellings are on the outskirts of Ponyville located in the heart of a rich forest. She lives in a hut...adjacent to a swamp." Jon stopped dead in his tracks as if someone just pointed a gun at him and told him to not move. Slowly he turned to his standing mirror and looked at the suit he was wearing, then imagined the same suit covered in a thick layer of mud. "On second thought," Jon said. "Why don't you take care of this one. I'm tagging you in!" "Of course," Celestia said with a slight laugh. "I'll have her in your studio the morning of your show. Have a nice day." Jon said his farewells and with a tired sigh made his way back to his desk. All at once he collapsed in his chair rubbing his head to ward off any incoming headaches. After a moment of silence he looked over at the note he left beside Zecora's name. Zecora- "Zebra Witch Doctor" "This should be interesting." Jon thought.