//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: Not in Kansas anymore 
// Story: Champion of Equestria 
// by Buddy Hooves 
//------------------------------//

	I groaned in pain as I slowly began to once again join the living. As my hearing came more in focus, I heard what sounded like hooves walking on a wooden surface. It stopped near me, and was followed by a kind, but foreign female voice.

"I'm glad to see that you are awake. For I was beginning to worry about your fate." The voice spoke in a sort of rhymes. I opened my eyes to get a look at her, but everything was too blurry to make out. I started to sit up from what felt like a bed, but was stopped by a hoof placed on my chest.

"Whoa, there! Take it easy there, my friend. For your still too weak as your body mends." She said as she gently pushed me back against the bed, so I was in more of a sitting position.

"Who....who are you?" I asked as my eyes came back into focus. Standing next to me was a zebra. She had a exotic look about her. Two golden hoop ear rings, a ring like type necklace and golden loop armbands were on her body. Her hair was in a type of mohawk, which fit perfectly with her strips. She had what looked like a strange looking brand mark on her flank, that seemed to follow a sort of pattern. She looked at me with kind blue eyes. "Where am I?"

"My name is Zecora, if you must know." She stated as she leaned in close and began to check the bandage wrapped around my head. I must be more hurt then I thought. "And you are currently staying in my home."

"How did I get here?" I asked as she finished checking my head wrap.

"I found you wash up along the the river bed. If I hadn't found you, you'd be dead." She said as she walk over to what looked like a huge pot on an opened flame. She picked up a huge wooden spoon and began to stir. "Not many ponies like you would venter into the Everfree Forest alone. Especially so deep in the timberwolf's home."

I stared at her as I focused on what she had said. Does she always have to try to rhyme everything she says? I thought as I began looking around the room. As I looked, I noticed strange tribe masks on the wall and little vials of stuff on shelves. Yep. She was totally one of those foreign voodoo ladies that lived alone in the wilderness."Thank you for the help." I stated as my eyes danced around the room. "My name's Mark by the way. Mark Stevens."

"It is no problem at all, Mark Stevens." She said with a smile, before giving me a puzzeled look. "I don't mean to pry, but what were you doing out in the forest all alone?"

I let out a defeated sigh as I tried to collect my thoughts in my throbing head. "It's hard to explain." I began as I rubbed the back of my head with a ha...er, hoof. "Last night I was going on with my dull life, when I found this strange crystal in the middle of the park. I remember picking it up before I was zapped with a bright light, and when I came too, I found myself in the forest running for my life!"

As I finished my little recap, Zecora took a bowl and filled it with the green liquid she was stirring in the pot. "A strange tale indeed. For I fear strange magic must be behind this deed." She plainly said as she walked over to the bed and handed me the bowl. I took it with both hoofs, careful not to spill it, and gave her a puzzeled look. "Drink. It is a special brew to help your wounds. So you'll be at yourself soon."

I just rolled my eyes at her as I took a small zip from the bowl. The brew had a taste almost like soup. It was sweet, smooth and was doing wonders for my empty belly. "I can't thank you enough for your help, Zecora. But I still don't know where I am or how I'm going to get back home." I told her as I finished the brew and handed her the bowl.

"Don't worry my friend. Tomorrow I'm headed to town for supplies. You can join me, if you've recovered your might, and I'll introduce you to my friend twilight. If dark magic is behind you plight, she will surely make it right." 

As she walked back to the pot and placed the bowl on a nearby table, I suddenly found my eye lids growing heavy. I shook my head, but found my head filling more fuzzy by the second.

"The brew is starting to take effect, I see." Zecora said as she walked to the door on the other side of the room. "I'll go ahead and let you be. Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Once she closed the door behind her, I laid back down on the bed and closed my eyes. I maybe stuck in a strange land as a talking pony, but at least I was safe. I'll go to town with Zecora, and talk to this Twilight tomorrow. Hopefully she can shed some light on all this crazy...ness... I thought before sleep finally took me.






I stood surrounded in darkness. A strange feeling surged throught me as I tried to focus my thoughts. As I tried to get my bearings, a strange laugh came from the darkness. "Who's there? Come out and show yourself!" I boldly stated as I tried not to show how scared I really was.
"Foolish boy! The crystal is wasted on you." A voice said from the darkness. It seemed to be coming from all around me."Soon it's power shall be mine and I will return." It boomed as the darkness seemed to be moving around me. Suddenly I found myself staring at a pair of green glowing red eyes.






I screamed as I woke with a start. Sweat was pouring from me and my body trembled. It took a few minutes for me to calm down and realize I was still in Zecora's home. It was just a dream, Mark. Nothing to be scared of. I retold myself a few more times before trying to lay back down. I laid there for I don't know how long, thinking about that strange dream and how real it felt. But finally I was able to drift back into the land of dreams.


I awoke again the next morning feeling better then I did before. My body no longer hurt and my head felt cleared. I hopped out of bed and streatched my limbs. As I fought back a huge yawn, I saw Zecora walking into the room.

"Good Morning my friend. I see you're feeling much better." She chuckled as she began to put some things from the shelves into a bag she had strapped around her side.

"Yeah. That stuff you gave me really did the trick! I feel great." I stated as I rotated my neck until it popped. An old habit I had since I was little.

Zecora gave me a curious look before walking over to me and checking my head wound. "Could be. Or you seem to heal quicker then most." She said as she began taking off my bandage. "Either way, I am most pleased." After placing the bandage in what looked like a garbage bin, she gave me a warm smile. "Now what do you say we eat some breakfast? For I would like something most yummy, to fill my empty tummy."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

Ponies eat grass. I mean, duhh, I knew that. But when Zecora handed me a sandwitch with flowers in it, did it dawn on me. I guess I have to get used to being a veggie lover. Oh man. I'm so going to miss meat! I thought as I bit into the sandwitch. It didn't taste bad, far from it. It had a plain taste, as if I was eating a salad on bread. But the human side of my mind missed the taste of cheese, boloney, ham and jalapenos with katsup and mustard. Thankfully she also had a fruit basket, so I was able to fill up on that too.

Once we had finished breakfast, we left Zecora's home (Which I found out to be a nicely sized hut deep inside the Everfree forest.) and began making our way to the local town. We followed a dirt trail that Zecora said was safe as we made our way out of the forest, but I was still jumpy. Being chased by living lumber that thought it was a wolf will do that to you. We walked for what felt like an hour before we finally reached the edge of the forest. Now, I want to go ahead and throw this out there: I was never much of a walker. I was always an inside type person, and never did much travel. Hell, just walking in the Mall for an hour was enough to make my feet hurt. But now that I had hooves, they didn't bother me. 

Anyway, as we continued to walk, I couldn't help but be dumb-founded by the beauty of the place. Clear sky, clean air, and nature all around. No buildings, no cars, no smog, nothing like that in the city I lived in. Hell, even country roads back home never looked this good. I think I might be a country boy at heart. I chuckled to myself as we continued to walk down the dirt road. The land was plain, with small hill bumps here or there. But for the most part it was smooth.

"Once we past this hill, we will soon find ourselfs in Ponyville." Zecora said as she pointed a hoof in front of us. The road took a bump up a small hill, before smoothing back out like the rest of the land. As we made our way over the hill, nothing could prepare me for the site I saw before me.

Ahead of us, down the dirt road and smack dab in the middle of the plains stood Ponyville. A humble but big village of houses of many shapes and sizes, some even had strange color schemes that made them look like they were from a cartoon. Some trees popped out here of there in the town, mostly giving the place a simple but welcoming feel. A few places I saw from the hill had me amazed. A house that looked to be made of candy, a house that looked like it was trying to be some type of dress, a clock tower and building in the middle of town. But the one that took the cake was a strange but huge looking type castle that seemed to be made out of crystals. It's amazing glory could be seen clear from the other side of town.

And then there was the ponies. Ponies of every shape and size were buzzing around the village, going about their happy little lifes.  Some ponies looked normal (for them), some had horns sticking out of their heads and others had wings, flying around in the air. Business owners happily welcomed costumers in their store or around their stalls. Little children, fillies and colts, ran around the place having fun. Other ponies walked around going to or from places while others tended their gardens. And the ones with wings, pagasi, were in the air sitting, walking on, or moving the clouds above. I'm not joking!  They were moving the cloulds like it was their jobs or something. The whole thing made my head spin.

"I take it you've never been to town quite like this here, judging by the expression you bear." Zecora giggled at me as I continued to stare wide eyed at the place with my jaw hanging.

"It's not that..." I quickly lied. "It's just that I've never seen one so.... QUAINT before." Taking all this in was going to make my head pop. The town, the land and ponies all ozzed syrupy sweet goodness. The whole thing reminded me of a Disney cartoon. It was like I died and awoke in a little girls image of heaven.

"Let us continue on our way, before we stand here wasting the day. I still need to get ingredients for my brews, and still need to find help for you." She stated as she began walking down the hill and on toward Ponyville. I shook my head to snap myself back into reality, before running off to catch up. "Hey! Wait up!"

As we walked into town, I began to notice just how different I seemed to the other ponies. It wasn't like I was a deformed monster or anything, just that even I could tell I stood out like a soar thumb. I could tell it had in part been because I was a newcomer in their town, staring like an idiot while I walked around with my zebra friend. But the big reason I noticed was that I was the only pony without  a tatoo on my flank. Every pony seemed to have one, except a few little fillies I spotted running around. Even Zecora had one on her rump. I was starting to feel like the off worlder that I truely was.

"Don't worry too much, Mark." Zecora reassured me as she noticed how out of place I was feeling. "These ponies mean us no harm. They are just a simple, curious bunch. Its part of their charm."

"It's not that I care about that." I plainly stated as I waved a hoof in the air. Highschool had made me used to strange stares I got from people long ago. "It's just that I've noticed that I'm the only adult here without a mark on my butt. Why is that?"

The way Zecora stopped in mid-step almost made me slam into her. She turned to look at me as if I had just asked her how babies are born. "You don't know about cutie marks?" She asked in amazment.

"Yeah, well.... I guess I must have skipped that part of class." I stated nervously as I rubbed the back of my head.

Zecora gave me a long, studing look, almost like I was a strange new bug to her or something. She then finally closed her eyes, and sighed as she shook her head. "You are truely a strange one my friend." Yeah, well I'm not the one trying to rhyme everything I say. I thought as we moved on.

As we started to pass the house that looked like it was made out of ginger bread, a pink mare walked out of it's doors. She was light pink, with darker pink color for her poofy hair and tail. Her eyes were blue, and when she saw Zecora & me, her face beamed with a big old smile that went from ear to ear. I also couldn't help but notice she had balloons on her flank. Her "cutie mark", I guess.

"Zecora!" She happily screamed before rushing over and giving her a big friendly hug. "I've missed you so much."

"Pinkie, it's good to see you as well." Zecora smiled as she returned the hug before releasing the hold.

"Who's your friend?" Pinkie ask as she pointed a hoof over to me. "Is he new here?'

Zecora calmly nodded. "Indeed so. I found him washed up on the river bed deep in the Everfree, chased by some timberwolfs. To find and help him heal safely has filled me with much glee."

After hearing this, Pinkie took one look at me befor jumping with joy and clapping her front hooves together. "That is so cool!" She proclaimed before rushing up near me. Her snout was only about a foot away from mine.

"That must have been really scary. Not as bad as that time Tirek tried to steal all the magic of the world and then tried to take over..... but I bet it was still pertty bad. Hey! We can do a double party to welcome you to Ponyville and for not getting eaten by tiberwolfs. I'm Pinkie Pie. What's you're name?"

I just stared at her for a second, trying to take everything she just said, before I shook my head and answered. "I'm Mark."

"Hi Mark. Oh, wow! You don't have a cutie mark. Does that mean you're full name is Mark Less? I'll have to introduce you to the cutie mark crusaders, they'll get a kick out you. Hey, I know! Why don't we all get together and have one big time party to welcome you?! We can welcome you to Ponyville, have you meet everypony, have thanks for not get eaten, and...."

At that point she began to ramble on and on about a ton of things, all at once. Dear Lord! She's a motor mouth! She's worse then I was when I was a kid. I thought as I just watched her in amazment. How can she talk this long without needing air?! I spotted Zecora in the corner of my eye, smiling away as her friend talked on a word a minute. She was loving my reaction to all of this.

"....and then we can go bowling on tuesday!" Pinkie finally finished.

"Pinkie my friend," Zecora began slowly. "If it's not to to much trouble, I ask that Mark go with you. For I am busy and need to buy ingredients for my brews." She asked Pinkie. I looked at her with pleading eyes, begging, hoping, that she didn't leave me with this pink crazy pony.

"Not at all, Zecora." Pinkie happily answered. "Anything for a friend of mine."

Zecora nodded. "Thank you Pinkie Pie. For Mark is new to our land, and is in need of Princess Twilight's help. Now I must be off. Goodbye my friends, till we meet again." And with that, she waved a hoof goodbye before continuing on her way. Leaving me all alone with Pinkie Pie.

Oh lord, help me. I thought in horror as Pinkie just smiled at me happily, unaware just how afraid her hyper-happy additude was making me feel.