The Purloined Pony

by Chris

Page 35

You soon reach the hollow tree where Zecora lives. Stepping inside, you find yourself assaulted by strange sights and smells. Spices you cannot name waft through the air, while bizarre and frightening masks litter the walls.

As you look around, Zecora suddenly appears in front of you, holding a cup of tea in her hooves. You almost refuse when she offers the drink to you, but then remind yourself that none of the nasty rumors ponies used to spread about her are true. She’s a bit odd, certainly, but she’s no evil enchantress. Feeling a little guilty, you take the tea and taste it; it’s not half bad.

Zecora gets a cup for herself, and once you’re both sitting, begins to talk:

“I know you’re here to ask about

The boggies. Well, they’re awful louts,

But if you seek the place they rest

I can’t do more than simply guess.”

You consider pointing out that neither of those rhymes are perfect, but let it slide; you’re here to ask for help, after all. “Well, is there anything you can tell me about the boggies, then? Any help you can give would be very, um… helpful.” You cringe at your inability to come up with a good synonym on the spot, but Zecora doesn’t seem to notice.

“The boggies cannot bear the touch

Of glass; I hope that’s help enough.”

“Glass? Like, the clear stuff in windows, glass?”

She nods:

“It gives their skin a nasty burn,

And so its touch they’ll always… um....”

Zecora looks a bit flustered, unable to come up with a rhyme. You quickly offer, “Spurn?”

She smiles and nods. “Yes, spurn! Thank you.

“Please forgive my troubled speech,

These boggies have me slightly freaked.

Perhaps when they are far away

My mind won’t be so taut and frayed.”

You smile reassuringly at her. “Well then, we’ll just have to get rid of these boggies before your nerves get any worse, won’t we? Don’t worry, I’m sure that we’ll be able to deal with them, now that we know their weakness.”

You leave her home and head back to town quickly. Although you keep your eyes peeled for boggies, you are able to make it back to town without incident. Now you just need to figure out how to use your newfound knowledge to stop the boggies and rescue Applebloom.

*****

Go to page 38

Comments

[Ganondox]

Hehe, Zecora failing at rhyming is the best.

[Prismmirror]

Love the humor in this story. It flows naturally into the dialogue, so it feels like real bits of conversation.