You stand rooted to the spot as Zecora approaches, licking her lips and eyeing you as if you were a piece of meat... or whatever the pony version of that phrase would be. She spits the whip out of her mouth and speaks.
"Come with me now, and do not resist," she coos. "For I know you will enjoy this forbidden tryst."
"As tempting as that is..." you lie. "I think I'll pass. Thanks for your hospitality, Zecora, but I really must be going now."
Zecora's eyes narrow. "There is no escape, my human friend," she snorts. "Work your magic on me now, lest it be your end."
"Is that a threat, Zecora?" you ask. "Because I find it hard to get intimate with someone if they're being aggressive."
"Enough of these words, you heartless swine!" she yells. "Whether you want it or not, you will be mine!"
You swallow nervously. Angry zebras are scary things. Frozen to the spot, Zecora manages to close the distance with you — picking up the whip again for good measure. As she goes to hit you with it, you close your eyes and await the inevitable sting of pain.
You are surprised, then, to hear a loud crash instead of enduring the awful feeling of whip versus face. Angry snorting fills the air, but you're too scared to open your eyes to see what's going on.
"Who dares intrude on my time of fun?" Zecora demands. "I will see to it that you have to run."
"Leave my master alone, you crazy mare," Zayna snarls — which is another thing you never thought you would hear a horse do. "Or else you and I are going to have a problem."
You force yourself to crack open one eye. Zayna and Zecora are both staring at each other, neither of them showing any signs of backing down. You cautiously make your way over to Zayna, but Zecora blocks your way with the whip.
"Too long I have waited, you insolent mare," she says with fire in her eyes. "I'll deal with you first, try to run if you dare."
Zayna snorts. "Bring it on, bitch," she replies.
And bring it Zecora does. She runs towards Zayna, releasing the sort of scream you'd expect to hear in a horror movie, and attempts to jump on her neck.
Zayna, however, anticipates this and turns around. With one swift movement she brings her hind legs up, sending them crashing into Zecora's face and sending the mare across the room into a chest of drawers. The furniture crumbles to dust as Zecora slumps to the floor, while Zayna turns around and sniggers.
"That showed her," she says smugly. "Come on, master, I think we've outstayed our welcome." She motions to her back. "Get on."
You climb on without hesitation and leave the hut, the problematic front door becoming nothing but a pile of firewood. Zayna gallops through the forest at a breakneck pace, neither of you looking back from whence you came. The sun beginning its ascent into the sky tells you that a couple of hours have passed since your escape, and so you signal for Zayna to stop.
You get off her back and walk around to her front, fixing your gaze on her. She shies away nervously before you crack the biggest grin you can muster and throw your arms around her neck.
"That was amazing, what you did back there," you say with a laugh. "I honestly thought that Zecora was going to have her wicked way with me. Thank you, Zayna."
Zayna nuzzles your cheek. "You have always looked out for me, master," she replies. "So, of course, the least I could do would be to return the favour. It's not much to pay you back for what you've done for me, but at least it's a start."
"I'll always be there for you, girl," you say as you run your fingers through her mane. "And don't you ever forget it." She sighs contentedly as you survey the area. "So... what do you suppose we do now, given the fact that everyone we've met so far has either wanted to beat us up or jump my bones?"
Zayna shakes her head. "I'm afraid I don't have any ideas, Master, but what I can suggest is— duck!"
You look at her in confusion for a second, just as something collides with you and sends you into the dirt. Spitting out a mouthful of leaves you roll over, ready to defend yourself and Zayna — only to find yourself looking at a very familiar face.
"Um... hi," Rainbow Dash says sheepishly. The rest of her friends round a corner of the path, gasping in shock at the sight of the pegasus sitting on you. Dash briefly glances at them before turning to you – noticing the scowl you now possess – and gets off your chest, allowing you to stand. "Look, I know we're the last ponies you want to see right now, but please... just hear us out and then decide what you wanna do."
You look at Zayna, who nods slightly. "You've got five minutes," you growl. "But this had better be good."
"We want to apologise," Twilight says. "We realise now that we completely misunderstood you. Remember when you left Ponyville? You yelled 'ride like the wind, Zayna!' and then jumped onto her back."
"I remember," you reply dryly. "But what does that have to do with anything?"
"You see, darling," Rarity interjects. "When you told us that Zayna was a 'whorse' and that you were a 'riding teacher', we thought you meant it in a rude manner. In Equestria, 'whorse' is spelt 'W-H-O-R-S-E', and is a word used to describe prostitutes and mares who have a tendency to be very promiscuous."
"Whereas I actually meant 'horse', spelt 'H-O-R-S-E', which is the name of the species Zayna is," you grumble. "And when I said 'riding lessons', I meant I teach people how to sit on and control a horse properly. Zayna is such an animal." You pause for a moment before you burst out laughing. "So you're telling me that it was a simple misunderstanding – over a difference in spelling might I add – which landed me in this mess?"
The six ponies blush sheepishly and lower their heads in embarrassment. "Yes," Fluttershy whispers. "Oh, we're so sorry we treated you the way we did. Can you ever forgive us?"
You stop laughing and look at them. All six are looking at you with watery eyes, their ears pinned down to the sides of their heads. Truth be told, you find the sight rather adorable. You clutch your chest and stick your fist into your mouth to stop the groan which is threatening to escape.
"I forgive you," Zayna says. "It is easy to judge others based on what you hear about them, but at least you have taken the time to seek us out and explain yourselves. Now, someone... somepony, rather... needs to find Zecora and tell her all this."
"Provided she's conscious by now," you laugh. The six ponies cock their heads at you and you find yourself explaining what happened at Zecora's hut. By the time you're done their expressions border somewhere between amused and shocked.
"I'm sure she'll be fine," Rainbow Dash says with a dismissive wave of a forehoof. "Anyway, we need to get you two back to Ponyville and work out how you got here."
"And then we need to send you back," Twilight adds. "Don't worry, we'll explain everything to the townsponies when we return. You no longer have to fear us," she says your name, "and Zayna. We will do everything we can to make you feel at home here."
"That's great," you say. "And I forgive you as well, as late as that is. I don't know about you, but I could really use a shower." You glance at Zayna and point a thumb in her direction. "And I think this one can as well, since she's been running a lot."
Zayna giggles. "All in a days work," she says with a grin.
Twilight motions for you to follow her and the others and you oblige, Pinkie Pie bounding around you talking excitedly about the 'Welcome To Ponyville And Sorry For Being So Mean' party she'll be throwing for you on your arrival. As you walk along the forest path with your faithful horse by your side, you can't help but feel that maybe – just maybe – things are finally looking up.
not a fan of making zecora a rapist but the stories still funny......just not so much in this chapter as others.
am I the only one who expects Zecora to gatecrash a meeting where the town apologises, dressed in bondage 0_o
anyone?
oh well only me
I wonder of Zayna is taller than Celestia.
Zayna gave Zecora a bucking of a lifetime! Also, I am very proud of the Mane Six coming to them and apologizing to them face to face about the whole misunderstanding.
You freaked me out with the title name of this chapter. HOW DARE YOU.
All in all, good work!
3228333 probably ...if not she is as tall as her :P
OP the chappy wasnt that short and this is turning into a nice short if i may so add :)
~nightmare
3228407 a bucking eh?
Did you mean...?:
We realize now that we completely misunderstood you.
I'm helping~!
Awww... so the joke is over. I was hoping you could keep beating it into the ground like...
(⌐■_■)...
( •_•)/⌐■-■
A dead horse.
YEAAAAAAAH!!
poor zecora. shes been alone for so long it makes sense she went a little loopy with a male around
top kek m8
I´m looking forward for more. But I have a feeling what the tough decision will be. Well, let´s see what happens next
awesome
3228489
I think you'll find that, because I'm British, 'realise' is in fact correct. But I accept that 'misunderstood' is a better word to use, and have changed it accordingly.
3228496
That would have made the story stale and repetitive.
What can I say? Horse is delicious and nutritious.
3110652
No poem this time, I only write those after I read too much Zecora dialogue, you would need a bit more for the follow up.
So, you discarded the joke or will it be a running gag through the story? Also pretty sure Zecora being out of the loop might come back as a brick joke. She might spread some stories about our heros too, plotwise....
>your horse is sapient now and she likes you
>sexytimes yay
i'll leave now
For a moment, I was like...
What the Frick!? A 1,569-worded apology!?
And then I opened the chapter, and face-palmed
3228626
It feels like Zayna is a bit too eloquent. Or vulgar. The way she twalked in previous chapters was a bit stilted which felt appropriate because she's just now able to do so, but this chapter has her jump in with a strangely good grasp of the language.
And I think I know what the decision is. Do you f... No, that could be taken the wrong way. Do you scr... Damnit, same problem! Do you wreck Zayna's life or your own?
Also, the joke doesn't really have to stop here. Since Zayna is so submissive and hangs around "you" a lot that might give everypony "ideas" about you both that would be really hard to stamp out. I like where this could go!
Zanya looks like she is going to be a rather unique personality in Equeastria, neat.
3228496 Oh no you didn't.... !csi!
3228894
More or less what I was going to say. I would have called it independence, but she's shown no defiance towards her rider as of yet.
Plese change the name of the chapter I thought you were canceling the story.
3229071 I wonder how stallions will react to Zanya?
Would it be funny or dangerous?
3228486 Yep. Knocked her squarely in the jaw, knocking her across the room. That was awesome I think!
Aaaaaaaaaand MURPHY'S LAW!!!!
31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpsrlkG89o1qhbfnmo1_400.jpg
3228893
So what you are saying is that 'You' is about to be shipped with the horse he owns. Awkward...
3229368
3228841
3228893
YouxZayna?
i.imgur.com/cWhhlck.gif
EDIT: This applies to you as well, 3229411.
Dang, I hoped Zanya would join Zecora in molesternating him. Dat would be hot.
3228626
I disagree.
I feel that bringing 'you' close to finding the truth without actually discovering it would be a little repetitive, yes, however I also feel that it was the main spice about the fic. Everyone's seen a second-person fic and a HiE, more often than not the two are put together. But this fic had an entertaining misunderstanding which I feel was resolved way too quickly. In all honesty, I was expecting Twilight and co. to head to Zecora's, find she's been attacked and start making judgments, so I was a little disappointed with the actual outcome.
Back to repetition, however. I find that it's a very effective plot device that's used in writing all the time. Take, for example, a RomCom. The couple keep almost getting into a relationship / recovering their relationship, however something stops them, and it aggravates the audience. However when everything finally works out, it releases the tension causing the audience to feel very satisfied. And that's why I feel that you ended it too soon. Now all I can see is 'you' getting to Ponyville, being friends with everyone, getting weird looks off of the residents before finally getting back to Earth.
HiE ain't usually my thing.
3229416
This story is set before the 'Bridle Gossip' episode, so nopony really cares about her that much.
And just because the Mane Six have accepted 'you', that doesn't mean everypony else will.
And who says Zecora won't be back?
3229428
Did you mention that in the story? Because I'm pretty sure that wasn't made clear. Not to mention that Twilight just shrugs off the fact that Zayna just knocked somepony unconscious, and the main six aren't even concerned about who it was.
Got that one covered in my comment.
You're right, I missed that one from my list.
3229480
It was mentioned in Chapter Two that the ponies didn't really care:
3229082
Other Mares shall be jealous! JEALOUS I SAY!
3229490
Huh. I appear to have missed that one when I first read it.
3229496
Yeah, it was added in after the chapter was published. Blame me, I forgot to add it.
3229368
3229382
No, I'm saying that the other characters could make that mistaken assumption and keep the joke going. I'm not suggesting an actual Human X Horse story even if Zayna can now make informed decisions on her own.
Well, that's cleared up nicely. Interesting to see that the story remains incomplete; I'm not sure where you're going to go from here. I look forward to finding out, though.
Go Zayna!
I would like to ask a question; has Zayna changed in any way other than the fact that she can now speak?
3228333 NEVER TALLER THAN ME
Nope. "I" most certainly wouldn't go back to earth if my best friend would return to being a mute animal because of it. 'Nuff said.
Keep going! ;)
And I burst out laughing.
3229382
that face when thinking about sex with magical talking ponies is ok but thinking about sex with regular horse that became sapient is not
Finally reconciliation with the ponies! Over an misunderstanding, but it'll probably happen when we make first contact with an alien race!
So I'm guessing that he will soon have to choose whether or not to return Zayna with him or not.
3233170
If you make first contact with aliens, you shouldn't assume that your culture norms and words are the same as theirs.
3276043
Exactly there's going to be miscommunication, no matter what happens!
3278709
That's my point. The ponies reacted in a clearly unintelligent manner, we humans would not. We wouldn't expect aliens to have the same norms and words and culture as we do. The ponies idiotically believe their way to be the only way (despite being surrounded by non-pony civilizations). I wonder if they're Tau in disguise.
I can just see a after-chapter image of Zecora waking up and the Jaws theme playing