They met Zecora outside her cabin where she was apparently examining a nearby tree or the plants growing around its roots.
"Hello Zecora", Twilight called as they approached.
The zebra looked up and greeted them with her peculiar rhyming singsong:
"Twilight Sparkle,
princess new
I am most happy to see you.
And Rainbow Dash
with whom to speak
I was hoping this whole week."
"Err... you did?" Rainbow Dash asked surprised once she had figured out Zecora's rhyme.
"Yes, indeed.
The wood is drained
for way too long
it has not rained."
Rainbow Dash groaned. "Yes, I know. Trust me, I have not forgotten about Everfree Forest, nor have any of the other pegasi, but we don't have any clouds to work with at the moment."
Twilight gave both Zecora and Rainbow Dash a somewhat confused look.
"I didn't know the pegasi also regulated the weather of Everfree Forest. I always thought the Forest took care of itself?"
"It does for the most part", Rainbow Dash confirmed. "It's not like every single cloud in Equestria was made in Cloudsdale. Apart from Everfree Forest there are also natural clouds along the coasts quite often. Sometimes pegasi there have to get rid of clouds rather than fetching any in that region to avoid storms or floods or both. But the climate of the forest also depends somewhat on the climate around. We don't really regulate the weather over Everfree, but usually we just push some clouds in the direction for the forest to work with. If all is dry around I'm afraid that so is Everfree."
"So it is, but why the sky is unclouded
still to me remains shrouded."
"Many of the cloud brewing kettles in Cloudsdale burst", Twilight explained.
"Most worrisome that is to hear
and if not fixed my friends, I fear
worse trouble still
may be unleashed on Ponyville."
"What do you mean, Zecora?" Twilight asked alarmed.
"A wood in need of water so dire
is high at risk of catching fire.
And if afire this wood in drought
all living within will come rushing out."
Rainbow Dash gave a nervous whistle and Twilight clenched her teeth. The possibility that Zecora had just brought up was very unsettling. There was a good reason ponies usually avoided Everfree Forest and even someone as worldly- and wood-wise as Zecora would settle only within easy reaching distance from the forest's edge. A fire in Everfree Forest would surely send every timberwolf, manticore, cockatrice, hydra and who knew what other creatures stampeding out of the forest. There was little doubt that neither Ponyville nor anything else could last in the swath of such an onslaught.
"Gee", Rainbow Dash sighed. "We wanted answers for one problem and got an even bigger one!"
"Blaming me you are wrong.
The problem was there all along.
Not my word provides the doom
as you so readily assume!"
"She didn't mean it like that, Zecora", Twilight said quickly. "It is just that there seems to be something else really wrong in Ponyville and we were hoping that perhaps you might know some answers where we are just guessing?"
"Tell me Twilight what you fear.
I'm most curious to hear."
Twilight told Zecora in broad detail what had happened. She told of Frank, whose studies in Cutie Marks Zecora found interesting enough to interrupt Twilight a few times with questions. While she did her best to be discrete about what exactly Mr. Rich had said during her visit, Twilight gave a vivid description of the condition she had found him in, of the memory loss and ultimately closed with her suspicion that Mr. Rich's state might be the result of dark magic. When Twilight had finished her report, Zecora pursed her lips slightly before she said:
"And because you want answers on magic so bad
that you wouldn't dare to study that
you walk into the Forest Everfree
to ask about such malevolence... me?"
Twilight turned rather pink. If put like that, her question to Zecora could be seen as rather offensive. Worse even, with her constant talk in rhymes it was a lot more difficult than it would have been with a pony to figure out if Zecora was really offended or just talking in jest.
Rainbow Dash spared Twilight an embarrassing response by blurting out:
"Oh, come on now, Zecora! You know that we know that you are no evil enchantress or anything! But we also know that you know some things about this evil kind of eggheadedness and want to know if you can tell us anything that could help us figuring out what's going on in Ponyville!"
A grin from Zecora relieved Twilight of her embarrassment as it seemed to make clear that Zecora's earlier words had indeed been in good humor rather than in actual offense.
"Indeed I know a thing or two,
but I don't know if they'll help you.
Messing with a pony's mind,
make it forgetful, dull or blind
is not an easy thing to do.
Those who could, are very few."
"But it is possible?" Twilight asked. "That a pony could make another forget almost a whole day and make a pony all depressed?"
Zecora thought about it for a moment.
"I don't know of a specific case
of memory turned into haze
by means of spell, or jinx, or hex
but to be sure I'd need more checks."
Rainbow Dash was squinting at a large cauldron she could see through the open door of Zecora's cabin.
"What about potions?" she asked. "That white stuff you gave Twilight recently messed her up quite a bit."
Twilight gave her a stern frown but Rainbow Dash just shrugged. "What? It really did, Twilight!"
"Aplenty are the brews
which ponies might choose
their minds to loose
you call them booze."
Both Twilight and Rainbow Dash burst with laughter, but Zecora continued quite seriously:
"But to completely forget,
not to remember at all
takes brews difficult to get,
nothing banal."
Twilight shuddered a little, thinking of the glass of cider she had emptied with Mr. Rich. The possibility of some kind of intoxication or even poisoning was something she had not so far thought of. Though she tried to suppress the thought as a matter of prejudice set against the judgment of Mr. Rich, she couldn't help thinking that Swallowtail had every possible access to whatever drink was served in the Rich mansion. But didn't this entire suspicion really come down to her not really knowing Swallowtail, which was no better than the reason for which Frank was now remanded? Worse even, could it be that her suspicion was fueled by her prejudice based on her first encounter with the servant having gotten off on the wrong hoof? Then again, by the same law for which Frank had been remanded Swallowtail could have been remanded just as well, since he hadn't ever even been at the party and he had so much more access and possibilities that would have allowed him to commit the crime.
"Twilight? Are you there?"
Twilight startled as Rainbow Dash waved one hoof up and down in front of her eyes. Apparently she had been so lost in thought that she had missed something.
"I'm sorry; what did you say?"
"Not me", Rainbow Dash said. "Zecora did."
"I'm sorry, I was just thinking about all this, I got distracted. What did you say?"
"As I just said,
a memory lost
may still be in the head
to be recovered by the host.
To recover his memory I may find a switch
if I can talk to Mr. Rich."
"You think you could restore his memory?" Twilight asked excitedly.
"I cannot promise to succeed
if there's a memory to be freed.
But I can try
if I see him eye to eye."
"That's great! Can you come along right now, Zecora?"
But the zebra shook her head.
"It takes some time for me to prepare
to give him some hypnotic stare—"
"Maybe Fluttershy could do it!" Rainbow Dash suggested but was silenced with annoyed stares from both Twilight and Zecora.
"Also, it is getting late.
When I'd be back it would be night.
I'll stay on the inside of my gate
When in Everfree there's no more light."
"Tomorrow then?" Twilight asked hopefully.
"Tomorrow I will see you
and Mr. Rich, if he agrees to."
"I will talk to him", Twilight promised. "If he remembers, maybe he can tell us who took the money."
"If he ever saw the thief at all, Twilight", Rainbow Dash pointed out. "We all saw him at the party yesterday. The thief may have been at his place at that time."
"Maybe, but why should anypony mess with Mr. Rich and his memory after the theft? Maybe Mr. Rich surprised the thief."
Rainbow Dash shrugged.
Turned to Zecora Twilight said: "I just hope that we find the thief. It is just so difficult to imagine anypony in Ponyville did it."
Zecora gave Twilight a musing look.
"One last thing that comes to my mind
have you ever thought of a thief, who is not of ponykind?"
"Not a pony?" Twilight asked surprised.
The thought of anypony who was not a pony as a thief hadn't really occurred to her so far, but now that Zecora had mentioned the possibility, Twilight began to wonder if perhaps all this could be Discord's idea of an elaborate prank, perhaps to get back at Frank for his forwardness when they had met. Twilight nodded slowly.
While the sun was still up, the sky began to turn dusky and Twilight and Rainbow Dash both shared Zecora's view that lingering around in Everfree Forest at nightfall wouldn't be a good idea. So they said goodbye to Zecora and took off, heading back to Ponyville. During the flight Rainbow Dash refrained from giving Twilight any further flying lessons, but as they reached the edge of the Forest she suddenly slapped her forehead.
"What's the matter Rainbow?" Twilight asked.
"I almost forgot I made a promise to Frank. He asked me to strike his tent and pack up his stuff so it won't get ransacked by critters from the forest."
"No problem", Twilight said. "We are passing over the green anyway. You know, I can take his stuff along and keep it in the library until his release tomorrow."
"No chance at all he won't be released?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Twilight shook her head. "How could they? They got nothing on him and without magic such a heist would be impossible for him. Like I said, I would be a more likely suspect."
"You think they are going to lock you up, Princess?" Rainbow joked.
"Seeing the basis for Frank's remand, I think nothing is impossible. But if they look me up I'm gonna sue you for attempted regicide so at least I won't get lonely in jail", Twilight joked, making Rainbow Dash guffaw.
Twilight's landing beside Frank's tent was a bit unsteady, but at least she managed to stay on her hooves as she stumbled a few steps forward after touching the ground.
"Slow down a little more before you touch the ground, Twilight! Lower the wingtips more, stop flapping altogether, bend your knees a little, but not too far. Make sure your rearhooves touch the ground first!"
Twilight nodded as Rainbow Dash performed exactly what she had just recommended.
Using magic it was a matter of a few moments to unearth the tent pegs, to fold the tarpaulin and to assemble the tent poles. As Twilight tried to roll up the sleeping bag however she found there was some uncommon weight to it.
Rainbow Dash noticed her surprised look and gave her a questioning look of her own.
"Something's in there", Twilight said. "Maybe some forest critter already moved in?"
With a reluctant look Rainbow Dash walked over to the sleeping bag, unfolded it as far as she could, took a look and carefully reached into it.
Suddenly her face sported a look of utter surprise and she became a little pale.
"What's the matter, Rainbow? Too creepy a critter for you to cope with?" Twilight teased.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. "I think you should take a look at this, Twi", she said very seriously.
Twilight raised her eyebrows and approached curious about what might have disconcerted Rainbow Dash so much. When she looked into the sleeping bag she immediately understood. Inside the sleeping bag was another bag. One of the kind she had been shown in the Rich's mansion today. And the sound when Rainbow Dash gave it a slight nudge with one hoof suggested that this bag was filled with golden bits up to the very top.