Ponies Give Me Hope

by Kuyashii

4 Out of Place

We followed the path as it wound over wooded hills and through valleys with bubbling streams. Before I knew it, the sun was almost directly overhead. Several hours must have passed since they found me out in the forest, but I barely noticed the passage of time. Everything was still far too surreal.

We eventually emerged into a large clearing, dotted with makeshift structures and tents. There were dozens, if not hundreds of ponies bustling about their daily routines. I saw a wide variety of ponies representing every color of the rainbow, some of them with horns like Twilight, some flying about with the wings anchored in the center of their backs, and others without any distinguishing traits besides their flank marks. As soon as our little party emerged from the forest, many ponies turned to greet the returning three with cheerful smiles, but froze when they saw me. I attracted a lot of stunned and mystified stares; it wasn’t altogether unlike high school for me. Apparently, even though Twilight had some kind of past encounter with humans, it wasn’t a common experience.

Pinkie Pie promptly burst into song the second we crossed into the huge meadow, but I was experiencing a sensory overload; I didn’t hear a word she said. The four of us made our way through the growing throng, having to travel in single file until we arrived at a small hut made of mud and sticks with a tall chimney in the center of the roof.

“Zecora?” Twilight called, knocking on the makeshift door with her hoof. There was the clatter of glass and the sound of something wooden falling over, before the door opened to reveal a black and white striped pony with a tall, spiky mane. The zebra smiled, glancing around at the massive collection of ponies that had gathered at her door, all of them studying me.

“Hello Twilight! What is it you need? A potion for healing, or something for feed? For this many ponies I couldn’t hope to provide, enough food for all; I may just run and hide. ” Yes, it was a rhyming zebra. I suppose I should have expected as much.

Twilight giggled. “Oh, no. I just need some medicine for my friend here. I found him in the forest while we were on patrol. His name is Max!”

At the mention of my name, a low murmur went up from the gathering of ponies. Some of them tried gingerly sounding it out.

“Ah, a potion for healing; that I can do! Wait just a moment, while I mix a brew.” With that, Zecora disappeared into her hut. She emerged a minute later with a glass flask balanced on her nose that was filled with some sort of deep red liquid. It wasn’t orange juice, but I still hoped that it could sooth my thrumming headache.

“Thanks!” Twilight’s horn began to glow again, and the flask levitated through the air toward me, coming to rest on my back. I awkwardly contorted my arm to grab it before it could topple off. Zecora bowed her head slightly and returned inside, while our group set off again through the sea of ponies, arriving at a small hut seated atop a hill overlooking the town. A few minutes later, I found myself in a little bed made of soft blankets and surrounded by bookshelves in what I rightly presumed to have been Twilight’s home. The two other ponies peered in through the door. Lily frowned, still disapproving of my presence.

“Alright, time to take your medicine!” Twilight smiled, her horn glowing yet again, and I suddenly found the flask pressed against my lips. I cautiously took a small sip of the liquid, and discovered that it was incredibly sweet, like the richest blend of berries and fruit I had ever tasted. Quickly gulping down the rest, I found that the world around me returned to a blurry jumble of colors and shapes.

“You can rest here for a while. Dinner won’t be for a couple of hours. I hope you feel better,” Twilight said softly while moving toward the door. It could have been something in the potion, but all of a sudden I felt exhausted. I only briefly fought my heavy eyelids before the warmth and comfort of my little nook in the blankets drew me in, and I fell asleep.

Comments

[CrystalMoon884]

I am hooked!!!!!!! So going to read this on the three hour drive to Chicago!!!!!!! This is amazing!!!!!!!!!!

[AstralFlare42]

Pinkie Pie promptly burst into song the second we crossed into the huge meadow, but I was experiencing a sensory overload; I didn’t hear a word she said. The four of us made our way through the growing throng, having to travel in single file until we arrived at a small hut made of mud and sticks with a tall chimney in the center of the roof.

“Zecora?” Twilight called, knocking on the makeshift door with her hoof. There was the clatter of glass and the sound of something wooden falling over, before the door opened to reveal a black and white striped pony with a tall, spiky mane. The zebra smiled, glancing around at the massive collection of ponies that had gathered at her door, all of them studying me.

Zecora lives in a tree somewhere in the Everfree.

[Kuyashii]

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In the show yes. Prior to the events of this story, she fled her former home along with the rest of the ponies. They're all out of place.