Rich Soil

by Moonbat

4.2: A Horse of a Different Color cont'd

And They’re Off!

The zebra soon learned that taking care of the largest farm she had ever seen was only one of Applejack’s many talents: Applejack could also run. The zebra galloped harder than she ever had, and she was still just barely keeping up with Applejack. The pain on her neck also had something to do with it. She was now regretting her earlier decision. A high-pitched cry pierced her ear.

“Yee-haw! Cutie Mark Crusaders balancers! I wish my friends were here!”

Just before they had left Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack had mentioned that was the name of the farm, the zebra had felt two hooves on her back. It felt strange and familiar at the same time. The two hooves seemed to teeter while trying to keep their balance. The zebra had plucked the disappointed filly off her back before Applejack could notice and Applebloom could fall down. Upon reaching the ground, Applebloom asked the zebra, “Um, seein as how you offered to teach about balance and all, you think I could get a lesson on our way to school?” The zebra looked down at the filly's face. She was looking up at her new friend hopefully.

“No can do butternut,” Applejack replied, “we’re runnin late, so we gotta be runnin.”

“Actually, I think that would be the perfect lesson,” the zebra replied with a smile. Seeing disappointment on that face twice would cause the zebra’s heart to break. “Whatever you do, don’t let go.”

Now they were running through the forest at break neck speed and the extra weight meant that the zebra couldn’t wipe away the sweat beading on her forehead and stinging her eyes. She hoped they wouldn’t have to continue to gallop much longer. The farm had turned into a forest and the trio darted through it on a dirt road. Even though it was around mid-morning, their surroundings became darker the further they went into the forest.

“A-Applejack!” the zebra called out in a labored breath. “I n-need to slow down!”
As Applejack came to a canter she turned her and called back, “Of course you do, we’re here!” The zebra huffed a few extra sighs of relief.

“Where are we?”

“Why it’s Zecora’s,” piped Applebloom.

“I don’t see anything.”

“Right there!” A yellow hoof appeared from the zebra’s peripheral vision. She followed the arm down its length, focusing past it to see a plain hut almost hidden by the forest. Applejack trotted up to the front of the hut and rapped her hoof on the door. The zebra felt something stir inside of her. A voice called from within.

“Who goes there? Are you stallion or mare? There is one more thing I would like to know. Are you friend or are you foe?”

“Howdy there Zecora, it’s Applejack! I was wondering if you’d like to meet my friend out here.” The zebra heard the wooden door open, but she couldn’t see inside.

“Applejack, what a surprise. You’re a soothing sight for my eyes.”

“Zecora, there’s something I need to say. When I didn’t know you, when you first settled outside Ponyville, I was scared of you. Because I was afraid, I believed all those silly things ponies said about you. After that, I even said bad things about you.”

“Dear friend, you have already made amends.”

“Now Zecora, I need to say this because I feel ashamed. I treated you like that and now I need your help. You see, I ran into somepony else that I don’t know how to help. More than that, I need to help my family care for the farm. If I try to help this pony and do that at the same time, both’ll suffer for it. It’s because you accepted my friends and helped us that I realize how important it is to reach out to anypony that needs your help, whether you know them or not. And now I’m asking you to help me and this stranger and it feels like I’m abandoning her, my responsibility, and you. Can you forgive me? I need to hear it If I can ask you to help.”

“Aw ‘sis,” Applebloom sniffed. The one Applejack had been speaking with, Zecora, left her hut. The zebra gasped.

“What have I done to deserve such confession? I cannot give you what you wish, for there is no transgression. A stranger in need is a friend indeed. Finally, you-,” Zecora stopped when her eyes looked past Applejack and rested on the zebra. A bird warbled slowly, distantly in the morning sun. Time seemed to slow. Applejack said something but the zebra didn’t hear. She had believed that she was the only zebra she would ever meet. The foreign trees, foods, and ponies she had encountered left her adrift without her memories. In all the world she knew, she was staring at another mare she recognized. One who might help her know herself. This zebra would be her anchor her in a sea of uncertainty.

Zecora regained her composure, “Come, child, we have much to discuss.” Zecora pointed a hoof at the zebra. “Applejack, come in, you must.”

All four were seated comfortably in the deceptively large hut. A small end table, cook fire, and cauldron were the sparse furnishings of the main room. Herbs were ordered in jars along the small table. The inside of the hut was also lined with a number of masks of various sizes, along with shelves that contained a few books and a number of non-descript bottles.

“Take this my friend.” Zecora gave Applejack a gold colored band. “You have shone a light upon my heart. I believed I wouldn’t see another zebra before my end. This gift is like the one you impart.”
After the four had talked about the morning’s events Applejack stood up, “Alright, it’s time for somepony to go to school.”

“Aaawww.”

“Now I won’t have none of that, sugarcube. You’ve already avoided a good long stretch of school. Just think of today as a short day. Come one now, I’ll go explain what happened to your teacher.”

“Okay.”

“Thanks again, Zecora.”

“No Applejack, thank you. I surely know what to do.” Applejack tipped her hat and scooped up her sister. She reared up with a “Yee-Haw!” and bolted from the room. The two zebras looked at each other for a long time. “I see you have a rank like me.” Zecora was pointing at the zebra’s right fore-hoof. On her hoof was a series of bands. The zebra knew what they were.

“Yes. I have weak magic, can make powerful potions, and am a beast master. However, I have no memories of how I attained this knowledge.”
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Zecora wanted to know about her new zebra companion. The zebra relayed to her all she knew, as she had with the Apple family. She was without any memory of who she was or how she had gotten to the farm. That didn’t stop Zecora, though. Zecora started talking in her mother tongue and asked her new friend about the bands on her foreleg. For a reason she didn’t understand, the zebra felt a swell of pride when she looked at her bands. She felt that she had earned every one and she told this to Zecora.

“It is wonderful to hear you speak our language so easily. I have not heard it spoken by another in many seasons, you see.”

“I’m just as surprised that I can speak it, but apparently I can.” The zebra wondered what else she could do.

“Your speech tells me your tribe, they are a friend to my clan.”

“Zecora, could you help me?”

“What assistance can I provide to thee?”

“I was wondering if I could practice my brewing with you. I need to know what I know, if that makes sense. If I know what I can do, perhaps it will help me remember who I am.” Zecora brightened.

“I have always wanted another to help with my potions and brew. Local pony folk have little understanding of brewing’s importance. Searching for peace within sounds like a good plan.”

The rest of the afternoon was spent as the new zebra sought to learn what she could as Zecora’s apprentice. While there was much she already knew, she quickly reached the limits of her knowledge and learning began. The lessons were sometimes painful (in the process of making potions she burnt a hind leg and accidentally broke a spice jar), but Zecora had been a patient teacher. In the space of a few hours the zebra felt as though she’d learned many years worth of knowledge.

By the end of the day the zebra couldn’t help but admire the older mare. She had a peace, a stability that seemed to turn knowledge into wisdom, that saw unpredictability as an opportunity, not a threat. Where some would see a collection of raw herbs and liquids that tasted like bile, Zecora taught her new protégé their names, properties, and how they could be worked together for many different effects.

“Now this balm is only spread. Try to eat it and you could end up dead.” The zebra nodded as her teacher explained the properties and application of a new balm. She scribbled in the notebook Zecora had given her. She was learning so much that she needed to write everything down. “This pill must be swallowed, do not chew. Otherwise it could be harmful to you.” Zecora handed her zebra apprentice a strange looking pill. It fit in the frog of the zebra's hoof as she studied it.

“What does it do?”

“It will strengthen your body for you.” The zebra shrugged while she popped the pill into her mouth. She was careful not to chew, swallowing the thing whole. Her stomach gave a twitch, a turn, and then a violent spasm. Zecora rushed over as the zebra started to cough. The zebra's mouth was pried open.

“I said not to bite down! You must have, your mouth is brown.” The zebra shook her head 'no', but was overtaken as she started to gag. Zecora swept out the legs of her apprentice and flipped her on her back. She stared at the zebra, who was starting to choke. Zecora stamped a hoof down on the zebra's stomach below her rib cage. The zebra's mouth went wide, her back arched. The zebra felt the pill start to come up and get stuck in her throat. Zecora stamped her hoof down again. This time the zebra gagged, rolled to her side, and spit out the pill. She lay, coughing as Zecora came around to her side.

“I- I did not...”

“No, there was another reason why this pill made you distraught.” Zecora picked up the pill, seeing that it was whole. She opened the zebra's muzzle and looked inside. “Rest, gather your strength. There is a power here I must study at length.” Zecora helped the zebra to her bed in the back of the hut.

It was a long time before Zecora came back. The zebra was starting to doze off to sleep when she heard, “Are you well?” The zebra rolled over to see Zecora and nodded weakly. Even though she didn't feel up to much of anything, she was curious to understand what was going on. Zecora raised her hoof and blew on it. Suddenly, the zebra couldn't see. She coughed once and rubbed some sort of powder from her eyes. A luminescent green cloud surrounded her. “It seems you do have a story to tell. This powder sticks to magic well. Now, we can see there is a magic surrounding you. This might have caused your choking on the pill we brewed.”

The zebra looked around. She had thought that the entire room was glowing because everything she looked at had a strange green glow around it. She looked at her own hoof, bringing it close. When she did, the powder melted away from her hoof and joined the rest of the cloud clinging to her. Small piles of the powder started forming as the parts of the dust that weren't sticking to the zebra were falling to the floor.

“I have an aura! Wait, why do I have an aura?”

“This magic is perhaps more powerful than this forest's flora. We may find Twilight in Ponyville's agora.”

“You don't know what makes it do this? Do you know of another who can provide assistance?”

“I do not know this magic's genesis. Twilight Sparkle, however, may help us understand its significance.”

“Zecora, I... thank you for helping me.” Zecora came close and smiled.

“Just seeing you has filled my heart with glee. We must hurry to reach Ponyville while there is light. As it is, I fear we will at night.”

Zecora grabbed two cloaks and some supply bags for them. She draped a cloak over the zebra and took all the supply bags herself, just in case the other zebra was feeling weak.

The zebra stopped and her eyes widened. “Zecora? My name's Zoe. Maybe it was the dust, or maybe it was just my life flashing before my eyes while I almost choked to death (thanks again for saving me, by the way) but I remember my name is Zoe!”

As they traveled to Ponyville, speaking the zebra tongue, Zecora came to understand more about the kind of zebra Zoe was. She appreciated Zoe's company as if she were a lost cousin she was meeting for the first time. Zoe already knew this was the start of a beautiful friendship.

Author's Note:

End Ch. 4