The feelings confused her. She wanted to believe. She truly did. She wanted to believe the Old Mother more than anything. Old Mother had taught her since she was young. Everything she knew about spell and potions, about herbs and spices, about life and death, she had learned from Old Mother.
Except, it wasn’t all true. Most of it was, of course. But these ponies, who looked so different from her kind, were here now. If these ponies were here, that meant there were other lands. Zebrica wasn’t the old place for ponykind in the world. And if that had been a lie, what else had?
Had Old Mother simply not known? She thought it impossible. Old Mother was the leader of the tribe. Old Mother knew what was and wasn’t true. Old mother…
“You lied to me,” she said. “You said there were no others of pony kind.”
“Zecora,” Old Mother reprimanded. The wizened face seemed to darken. “I have never spoken an untruth to you. There are no others of our kind anywhere.”
“These ponies are here. They stand before us.” Zecora glanced at pink-coated unicorn stallion and blue-coated earth mare. “They are obviously ponykind.”
“They are not our kind,” Old Mother said harshly. She leveled a glare at Zecora and the two visitors.
“Please, we just want to learn your culture. You can come learn ours,” the mare offered. “It will be wonderful. Equestira is full of so many amazing things. And I’ve seen you use magic. Everypony back home would love to know how you do it without a horn.”
“We shall not!” Old Mother shook with anger. “Zecora, see these…creatures out of the village. We will not have their kind putting wrong thoughts into foals heads again.”
“Again?” Zecora questioned.
Old Mother turned to the Equestrians, though it was obvious she was speaking to Zecora. “They came when I was a filly, offering a land of peace, hope, and love. They promised so many things, but nothing ever came. They deemed us unworthy of their vessel. Our whole village.”
“No,” the stallion interrupted, only to be quelled under Old Mother’s gaze.
“We will not tolerate their kind in our village again. Not leave.”
The two ponies didn’t have to be asked again. They nearly ran out of the small house.
Zecora looked between Old Mother and the door the visitors had just left through. “I wish to go, Old Mother. As a sign of faith. I shall go, and return, and you will see all is well.”
“If you leave, you will no longer be part of this village.”
“Old Mother, please.”
Silence fell. Shaking her head, Zecora backed away a step. “You are wrong this time, Old Mother. I am sorry. I am going. You will see.”
Old Mother said nothing as Zecora packed away everything she could need for the trip to the new land, and things she may want or need when she arrived. Old Mother didn’t speak as she followed Zecora out the door. Old Mother didn’t say a word as Zecora said goodbye to her family. Old Mother didn’t make a sound as Zecora walked along the path out of the village.
When Old Mother spoke, Zecora stopped. “When you leave this village, never return,” Old mother said. Zecora could feel the prickle of magic on her skin, seeping deep into her very soul. “Though for this land, your soul will yearn. Try and speak, though it’s no use. Your tongue of rhymes will never be loose.”
Goosebumps rose on Zecora’s skin as the magic left. She met Old Mother’s gaze as she took the final step. Turning her head forward, she walked on. She didn’t look back once. Not when she heard Old Mother turn to leave. Not at the turn that would be the last time she saw her village again.
Ahead, she saw the pink and blue ponies who had visited her village. The mare ran up to her. “Zecora, isn’t it? We aren’t sure how to get back to the main town. Can you show us?”
She tried to speak. She tried to tell them she could. She tried to tell them she was going with them. Until she remembered Old Mother’s curse.
“I can show you the path you seek, if Equestria I may peek.”
The Equestrians looked at each other, confused, but slowly nodded. “Okay, we can. You can come.”
With that, Zecora and the other two ponies walked down the road. Head held high, Zecora pushed away thoughts of what lay behind her. Ahead was a shining new world that promised to welcome her with open arms. She only hoped her doubts at Old Mother’s words weren’t in vain.