Zecora is coming to market today
So Applejack tells Apple Bloom, stay away!
When the filly tries anyway, she's quite quickly caught
And AJ sends her right back home at a trot.

Though I have the actual plot line derailed,
We'll push right on through with an alternate tale
Of how Applejack learns about stripes, fur, and skin--
And how little they're worth next to what lies within.

So sit yourself down please, and read to the end
About how an earth pony got her zebra friend.
It's not all in rhyme, though; don't give in to gloom
But after this dear God I am not putting two zebra characters in a room together because GOOD LORD SO MUCH RHYMING; WHAT WAS I THINKING AAAAAHHHH! Er, I mean...
But new personal rule: JUST ONE ZEBRA PER ROOM.

A/N: Special thanks to Rated-R PonyStar for providing me with much-needed editing / pre-reading / input.

So yes as you may have guessed this is a rewrite of the season 1 episode Bridle Gossip in which I take the starting point and go wandering off towards the same general destination by an entirely different route.

Art for this is from Alfa995, the guy who runs the Ask Nightmare Moon HQ Tumblr.

I initially got the idea from this picture by the artist Elosande

A timid and fearful Pegasus, Fluttershy often wishes that she could be more brave and assertive, like her best friend Rainbow Dash. Then, one day, while venturing into the Everfree Forest with two of her closest friends, her wish comes true. The three ponies accidently awaken a mysterious old willow tree that places a spell over them, a spell that switches their personalities.

Now, with their friendships pushed to the limits, can Twilight and the others convince Fluttershy that she was perfect the way she was, or will they lose their friend forever?

This is book 1 of my series. Also, a special thanks to Kired25 for my cover image. Check out his other work.

Author's Note: This story was written for a non-brony audience, so it will contain descriptions and explanations that bronies already know well. I understand that this will not appeal to everyone, but if you would like to experience these characters through fresh eyes, then look no further.
This story is now 100% approved by Twilight's Library!

One normal and completely average morning, everything went wrong. Rarity arrives at the Castle of Friendship to pick up Spike for their weekly gem hunting trip, only to find that Spike has locked himself in his room and Twilight is working herself into a frenzy in the library. As she tries to piece together what happened that morning, and mend a damaged friendship, she'll make a number of startling revelations.

Some of them bigger than others.

Cover art used with permission of Kilala97.

Thanks to The Albinocorn for proof reading.

On a dark day, one may wonder: just what horrors lie beyond the veil of the heavens? What ghastly demons exist that could only spawn in a pony's dreams? What terror!? What blight in the face of all that is good!? What- wait, it's the Mane Six?

What sort of twisted reality contains a lycan Applejack, a vampiric Fluttershy, a ghostly Rarity, and a lich queen Twilight Sparkle, you may ask? Why, it's just the Nightmare Realm, existing one and a half dimensions below and above the normal Equestria, and they are sick and tired of Nightmare Night not living up to its name in the 'real' world.

However, are these nightmares truly nightmares, or do they just like a good scare? Why, it depends on who you're talking to! So sit tight, give way to fright, for coming soon is Nightmare Night!

Long ago, before the fall of Princess Luna, before the rule of Discord, there existed another race of pony; The lamia, or snake ponies, feared by all of pony kind as mighty hunters and predators. When the Two Sisters rose to power, no longer able to stand by and watch as the lamia preyed on their subjects, they decided to put an end to the lamia’s reign of terror. Leading their army straight into the capital of the lamia they slew their leader, along with any lamia they encountered along the way.

Using a shapeshifting ability gifted to them by an ancient relic, the scattered remnants of the lamia managed to stay hidden for over a millennium. In the rare case that one of their kin was discovered, they were hunted down and persecuted without so much as a trial. Adapting to the lifestyle of the ponies, the lamia live in constant fear of one day having their true identity discovered.

Tired of living in constant fear, of hiding from her neighbors, and not caring about the consequences of being caught, one lamia decides to leave home and move to a friendly little town in the center of Equestria. Little does she know that something as small as moving to another town could set off a chain of events that will change relations between the lamia and the ponies forever...

The prologue contains some dark themes, as well as a bit of gore, however, that is the only chapter that contains them.

Cover art provided by artist and co-writer The Spirits Demise.

Full size cover can be found here.

Spirit and I have opened up a Discord server for this story. If anyone is interested in hopping in to get updates on the story, discuss what you did or didn't like about a particular scene, or just to chat in general, feel free to follow the link!

Teenage Derpy Hooves has gotten pregnant, and she doesn’t know what to do. How will her coltfriend react? What will her friends and family say? Can she be a good mom? She wants to be a good mom, but she doesn’t have a job and she can’t even see straight!
She’s heard that a wise mare lives in the Everfree Forest. Better yet, a wise mare that nopony talks to. She sets off into the winter woods seeking her. But can she even make it there alive?

Rated T for discussion of unplanned pregnancy.

Jinglemas 2019 story for Freglz.

Edited by Scoots.

One night in the Everfree forest, a timid pegasus is cornered by one of the most feared creatures known to exist, a Timberwolf. But in the forest lies a dark power greater than Fluttershy could ever imagine. Powerful enough to even give a Timberwolf reason to fear.

While moving to her new home, Zecora find the strangest creature - a large, nigh-hairless talking monkey-thing. Seeing how it lacks basic knowledge on surviving in the wild (and that it's quite tall and probably good at manual labour) she decides to adopt it as her assistant. Hopefully, she won't come to regret her decision.

Since meeting Apple Bloom, Twilight, and their friends, Zecora's life has become much more filled with warmth and purpose than it has been ever before. But old patterns of thought are hard to change, and becoming part of a community can seem impossible to a recluse.

2014-10-15: Edited by Feo Takahari.

Zecora's potion allowed Twilight to briefly look into the ancient past, and now she wants more. When she asks for help in mass producing it, Zecora uses a similar potion to give her a glimpse into a possible future, where the costs of her endeavor may outweigh the rewards.

Special thanks to my pre-readers: Flint Sparks and ZealousHeretic