S1 E9: Bridle Gossip (What If?)
"Ding, dong!" Rang the school bell, announcing the end of another day of classes at Ponyville Elementary. All the colts and fillies poured out of the one room school house, already talking amongst themselves, making plans to hang out, or just walk home.
For three fillies in particular, the school walk home was always a chance to not just hang out, but also come up with plans. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo had only recently formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but they were determined to get their cutie marks as soon as possible. For them it was never a bad time to discuss how they might get those cutie marks they so desired.
"So girls, whadya wanna do today?" Apple Bloom asked her friends, as they left the school house. "I'm just buzzin' with ideas that are sure to get us our cutie marks. But I wanna hear if either of you have any really good ideas."
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at each other and exchanged nervous glances, then they looked at Apple Bloom. Reluctantly Sweetie Belle spoke up first as she said to Apple Bloom. "Uh, we can't really hang out today. Rarity says Mom and Dad don't like me staying out late all the time, and that I need to start concentrating more on my school work. I guess my grades have kind of been slipping."
"Oh," Apple Bloom replied, lowering her head and frowning for a moment. But she then perked right back up as she cheerfully commented. "Well, at least Scootaloo and I can still hang out together."
But Scootaloo sighed and shook her head. "Can't, my parents are going out of town for the next week and they don't want my sitter worrying about me doing anything dangerous. I know they mean well, but they can be so overprotective sometimes. It's not like I can't take care of myself, the worst that's ever happened is I've come home covered in tree sap and pine needles once or twice."
"But! But!" Apple Bloom protested, she could not believe her two best friends were already telling her they couldn't hang out. It was just like when Twist had gotten her cutie mark. Apple Bloom had nothing against Twist and still considered her a friend, but when one friend had a cutie mark and the other didn't, it was sort of hard to find common ground. Not to mention the fact that Twist had been spending a lot of time at her aunt Bon Bon's bake shop since getting her cutie mark.
"Sorry Apple Bloom, but parents are.... well parents," Sweetie Belle replied. "Spring break is coming up soon though, then we can hang out all week long! Won't that be fun?!"
"Y-yeah, I guess," Apple Bloom sighed. "See ya girls tomorrow?"
"Same time, same place." Sweetie called, and the three fillies reluctantly split up.
Apple Bloom was more than a little unhappy at the thought of not being able to hang out with her new friends as much anymore. "I know we can't hang out all the time, but I was really hoping we'd have more time to spend on our cutie mark adventures." The farm filly thought to herself, as she made her way into town, trotting the familiar path to Sweet Apple Acres.
But as Apple Bloom trotted along, she found it hard not to notice something. Usually the streets of Ponyville were very busy in the early afternoon, ponies of all sizes and species would be trotting to and fro, and various stands would be set up offering all sorts of products. It had become so common that Apple Bloom had gotten used to the sounds of ponies chattering, laughing, and sometimes arguing with each other. Today was different.
For some reason, the streets of Ponyville were completely empty. There wasn't a single pony anywhere in sight, and not a sound to be heard. Apple Bloom found this quite odd. "Today's a lovely day, Rainbow Dash actually woke up early and cleared away the clouds for once," She said to herself, her voice easily carrying amidst the abandoned streets. "Where could everypony be? Is there some kind of holiday goin' on that I don't know about? Is everypony plannin' some kind of surprise party or somethin'?" She gulped as the next words left her mouth very slowly. "Or maybe it's zombie ponies?" A noticeable shiver ran down the filly's spine as soon as she had spoken those words.
Apple Bloom looked around, something was definitely not right. The doors and windows of every building in Ponyville were shut, giving the impression of a ghost town instead of a thriving melting pot of ponies and non-ponies alike. "Hello? Is anypony there?" Apple Bloom called, but the only response was the wind as it blew past her in a gentle breeze, a lone dust ball tumbling past.
Suddenly, Apple Bloom's ears picked up the faint sound of breathing! Someone or something was out there! Who or what Apple Bloom didn't know, and to be honest she could care less! All she knew was that she was not alone! So without hesitation, the filly dashed towards the source of the breathing! But when she finally laid eyes upon on who it was coming from, she froze in her tracks! Standing just a few hoofsteps away was a mysterious figure whose face was obscured by a thick brown cloak, which also covered the figure's back and most of its legs (though Apple Bloom could see enough to determine that the figure had only four). "H-hello?" Apple Bloom greeted, hoping to catch the figure's attention.
The figure seemed to notice Apple Bloom's call, for it suddenly turned around and faced the farm filly, casting a glare that seemed to penetrate deep in the soul of the one it was focused on! Apple Bloom didn't bother to stick around to see what was underneath that cloak, she instantly turned around and ran, screaming at the top of her lungs! "No wonder everypony's disappeared," She thought to herself, her heart racing a mile a minute. "With a creature as scary as that, out on the streets is the last place a pony should be!" And she began to look for a place to hide!
Apple Bloom hadn't been running for very long when a voice suddenly called out to her! "Psst!" It whispered.
Apple Bloom froze in her tracks, but she couldn't see anyone. Even the mysterious cloaked figure from earlier seemed to have disappeared. But just as Apple Bloom was about to shrug off that whisper and head home, it came again. This time it was a little louder. "Psst! Apple Bloom, over here!" It called out.
Now Apple Bloom knew she wasn't imaging things, and it sounded like the whisper was coming from Sugarcube Corner. The filly carefully trotted closer. Sure enough, the whisper was coming from Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie to be precise. "Apple Bloom, in here, quickly!" Pinkie frantically whispered.
Against her better judgement, Apple Bloom obeyed. She trotted up the steps and dashed inside Sugarcube Corner as quickly as her legs would let her. Almost immediately, she noticed that all the lights were off and only Pinkie Pie could be seen amidst the inky darkness. "What's goin' on, Pinkie Pie?" The farm filly asked. "And what are ya doin' all alone in the dark?"
"Oh, I'm not alone in the dark, silly." Pinkie replied with a chuckle, and opened the curtains just a little. The amount of sunshine that seeped in allowed Apple Bloom to recognize all of her classmates, and a couple of adults.
Apple Bloom blinked and rubbed her eyes. No, she wasn't seeing things. "Uh, what are ya all doin' here? If this is supposed to be a surprise party, my birthday's not for several weeks still." She said to everypony gathered.
"This isn't a party, we're hiding!" Scootaloo protested, to which all the colts and fillies nodded.
"Hidin' from who? Is this some kind of game?" Apple Bloom asked.
Scootaloo groaned and pointed her hoof to the window. "Her!" She accusingly exclaimed.
Apple Bloom looked towards where Scootaloo's hoof was pointing, and she nearly gasped in surprise! There was the same cloaked figure from earlier, and said figure was now mysteriously digging at the ground with what looked like a hoof. Before Apple Bloom had a chance to say anything though, the figure removed the hood of the cloak, revealing a creature with fur in alternating stripes of white and black. "Is that a zebra?" She asked, recognizing the creature from picture books she had read.
"She goes by the name of Zecora, or at least that's what everypony says," Sweetie Belle replied. "I don't really get why she looks like that, Rarity would surely consider black and white stripes a terrible fashion choice."
"Zecora, huh? Don't see why everypony seems so afraid of her. She's different, but I don't see why that's such a bad thing." Apple Bloom innocently commented.
All of the colts and fillies gasped in shock, they could not believe Apple Bloom had stated such a thing! "Have you been living under a rock for the past few weeks or something?!" Ruby Pinch complained. "Zecora's an enchantress, whatever that means!"
"She lives in the Everfree Forest, and she only comes down here every so often for reasons nopony wants to find out!" Dinky Doo added. "The only reason my mom found out is because on one of her mail delivery rounds, she saw Zecora heading into the Everfree Forest. She says she overheard her mention something about a hut or something."
"It's true, Derpy wouldn't stop talking about it for weeks," Rainbow Dash replied, sounding noticeably frustrated. "She just kept going on and on like a broken record about that hut. I didn't think she'd ever shut up! Normally her energy isn't so bad but these past few weeks it's been quite frustrating to say the least."
"So, this 'Zecora' lives in the Everfree Forest in a hut, and that's why everypony's so scared of her?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Uh-huh." The colts and fillies nodded one by one.
"She's so creepy and mysterious that I've heard lots of stories about her," Pinkie added. "Heck, I even wrote a song about her."
"Oh boy, here we go." Rainbow Dash sarcastically replied. But Pinkie didn't seem to mind the complaint, she just began to dance as she sang:
She's an evil enchantress
And she does evil dances.
And if you look deep in her eyes
She puts you in trances!
Then what will she do?
She'll mix up an evil brew!
Then she'll gobble you up
In a big, tasty stew!
SO, WATCH OUT!
Pinkie concluded her song by standing on one of the tables, raising her front hooves into the air, and panting. For a moment, everypony was silent, before Apple Bloom commented. "Wow... that's... uh... catchy... I think. But, you don't actually believe any of that stuff, do you?" She asked Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, hoping that she wasn't the only pony who wasn't convinced Zecora was so creepy.
"It all sounds like good ghost story material, but even for ghost stories it sounds a bit too silly," Pinkie confessed. "I just keep things dark because nopony else really bothers to come around when Zecora shows up. No sense keeping the lights on if nopony's in the mood for tasty treats."
Rainbow Dash just shrugged. "A little hard to say for certain either way when you don't even live on the ground."
"If she lives in the Everfree Forest, it's no concern of mine. But I've tried to talkin' to her and she doesn't seem interested in chit chattin'," Applejack confessed. "Probably why she chooses to live in the Everfree Forest in the first place."
"Well, I think it's completely ridiculous," Twilight finally spoke up, a noticeable frown on her face. "I get that she's a stranger, but isn't everypony technically a stranger until you get to know them? I mean, what have any of you ever actually seen Zecora do?"
"Well, every so often she comes into Ponyville." Ruby Pinch explained.
"Oooooh." Twilight exclaimed in an overly dramatic tone.
"Y-yeah. And then, she lurks by the stores." Dinky Doo added.
"Oh, my." Twilight exclaimed, once again in an overly dramatic tone.
"And then, she just digs at the ground for a bit." Truffle Shuffle finished.
"Good gracious!" Twilight exclaimed, yet again in an overly dramatic tone. Then in a normal tone she added. "I'm sorry. But how is any of this bad? Maybe she comes to town to visit?"
"You think so?" Apple Bloom asked, she really wasn't sure what to think of Zecora. She was glad to see none of the grown-ups she knew believed Zecora was evil, but she had to admit her classmates had a point about Zecora's aloof and mysterious nature. If the zebra really wasn't bad, why did she live in the Everfree Forest and avoid everypony?
"The only way anypony would know for sure is if they were to approach Zecora and get her attention." Twilight affirmatively replied.
"That doesn't sound so bad, all anypony would have to do is just go find that hut of hers and pay her a visit," Apple Bloom suggested. "Heck, I'll bet I could do it."
Applejack quickly shot down Apple Bloom's suggestion. "Absolutely not, Apple Bloom! You know the Everfree Forest is a dangerous place! It ain't natural! Plants grow, animals take care of themselves, and clouds move all on their own! If Zecora chooses to live there, she probably knows how to take care of herself in spite of those problems! But that doesn't mean you can just go waltizin' in there to look for her!"
"But Applejack, you've been in the Everfree Forest before and you turned out alright!" Apple Bloom protested.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I liked goin' in there in the first place!" Applejack replied, sounding noticeably angry. "There's all kinds of dangerous creatures that call that place home! Manticores, ursa minors, ursa majors, I could go on and on."
"Besides, Zecora lives there! Do you really want to find her if there's even a chance that she might be evil?" Sweetie Belle asked, shuddering slightly at the very thought.
"Honestly, I don't see any proof that she's evil. Sounds like everypony's just makin' a big deal out of nothin'." Apple Bloom replied, even though she wasn't too sure of her statement.
"That's only 'cause you don't know what ponies are saying about her," Truffle Shuffle protested. "They say she eats hay."
"Uh, I eat hay, and you eat hay! We all eat hay!" Twilight corrected.
"Yeah, but I've heard about the evil way she eats hay!" Truffle Shuffle immediately replied.
Twilight groaned and face hoofed. "Okay, now you're just being completely ridiculous! There is no evil way to eat hay! Do you even realize how stupid that sounds?! If anything, the fact that Zecora eats hay means she's like us in more ways than we think. It's true, I've read about how ponies and zebras are part of the same family of creatures."
"If that's true, why does Zecora live in the Everfree Forest?" Scootaloo innocently asked. "You have to admit, that's pretty suspicious for someone like her."
"So what if she lives in the Everfree Forest?" Twilight replied, trying to keep her anger under control. "Until you know for sure you can't actually say Zecora is evil."
"But how's anypony supposed to find out what she's actually like? She only really comes into town once a month and even then she doesn't stay for long." Noi protested.
"That's a discussion that's best left to the grown-ups," Applejack seriously declared. "Now come on, it's high time ya'll went home to your folks. I'm sure they're worried sick about ya. Zecora's probably already left." And she was right, the zebra had disappeared, presumably back into the Everfree Forest she seemed to call home.
As Apple Bloom followed her sister home, she couldn't help but think to herself. "What if my classmates are right after all? What if Zecora really is an evil enchantress?" But she never mentioned this to any of her family members, largely because she wasn't sure they could help her. The grown-ups had proven before that they didn't have all the answers, but did that mean that the colts and fillies were any better?
Reluctantly, Apple Bloom decided to sleep on these concerns. But even in sleep she did not know peace, her concerns about Zecora manifested themselves in vivid nightmares. She dreamed of Zecora laughing wickedly, of innocent ponies running and screaming, and of crazy magic spells the likes of which nopony had ever seen.
Apple Bloom woke up the next morning and made her way to school, hoping to maybe forget about Zecora for a while. "She can't really be an evil enchantress, can she?" She wondered to herself, as she made her way up the steps and into the school house.
As usual, the first item of importance for every school day was attendance. Cheerilee stood at her desk with a sheet of paper and read off the names of her students in alphabetical order. Each colt and filly she called raised their hoof and answered "Here.", and Cheerilee checked their name off the list.
But when Cheerilee got to Twist, there was silence. Twist was clearly sitting at her desk, but she hadn't said a word since she'd arrived. "Twist, is there a reason why you can't speak?" Cheerilee asked the filly, her eyebrows slightly slanted. She didn't want to be hard on a filly who might have a sore throat, but she also didn't want to fall for the possibility that one of her students might be playing tricks on her.
Twist remained silent, even as Cheerilee and the rest of the class stared at her. Beads of sweat worked their way down the filly's face, but she seemed determined not to speak no matter what.
Adopting a gentler tone of voice, Cheerilee softened her expression and said to Twist. "If there's something you want to talk to me about after class that's fine, but I can't help you if you don't speak up. I know some ponies laugh at the way you speak, but that's no reason to just clam up. Please, just open your mouth and say something. Anything. I'll even take a rude comment if it'll get you to start talking."
That unexpected offering seemed to do the trick, for Twist suddenly opened her mouth and in a squeaky, high pitched voice she asked. "Really?" She quickly realized her mistake, and clamped a hoof over her mouth, but it was too late! Ponies stared at Twist for a moment, before several of them started giggling and laughing.
"What's wrong with your voice? You sound like you inhaled a whole tank of helium or something!" Ruby Pinch chortled.
But Apple Bloom wasn't laughing at Twist, she was too focused on what nopony else seemed to have noticed. "Your lisp, it's gone!" She exclaimed.
"I know," Twist replied, continuing to speak in her high pitched, squeaky voice. "I don't know what happened to my voice, honest. I went to bed just fine, but when I woke up this morning my voice was squeaky and high pitched." She blushed bright red and covered her mouth with her hooves to keep herself from speaking anymore.
Cheerilee quickly silenced the giggles of the rest of the colts and fillies by clearing her throat and tapping her ruler against her desk. "That's quite enough, children," She told them quite sternly. "Just because Twist's voice changed doesn't mean you can make fun of her for it. Now, if you'll kindly refrain from any further 'interruptions' let us begin today's lesson."
The children refrained from saying anything about Twist's new voice during class, but as soon as lunch recess was announced and all of them filed outside, Twist was all they could talk about.
"You think Twist is telling the truth about her voice changing overnight?" Noi asked to nopony in particular, in between bites of her peanut butter sandwich.
"Probably, I mean why would she have any reason to lie? She almost never leaves her aunt's sweet shop anymore," Ruby Pinch replied, munching on some crackers and oats. "You wanna know what I think? I think that wicked enchantress Zecora changed her voice! She probably put a curse on her as a warning to the rest of us!"
"A curse?!" Truffle Shuffle gasped. "But what did Twist ever do to Zecora to do deserve being cursed?!"
Ruby Pinch put down her apple and gritted her teeth. "She's an evil enchantress, she doesn't need a reason! She just likes to put curses on ponies for the fun of it! It's only a matter of time before she curses us as well!"
Sweetie Belle gulped. "Do you really think so?!"
Ruby Pinch nodded. "Zecora's probably already whiping up incantations in that hut of hers, I'll just bet she's going to come after all of us eventually. Heck, she probably won't stop there. She won't stop until she's cursed the entire town with her voodoo magic!"
"Have you all lost your marbles?!" Diamond Tiara complained. "You should hear yourselves! Everypony knows there's no such thing as curses or hexes! Twist probably just went to Sugarcube Corner for a Pinkie Pie party and didn't tell any of us."
"If there was a Pinkie Pie Party, we'd know about it," Ruby Pinch replied with a glare, practically nopony ever really believed anything Diamond had to say. "Just because you don't believe in curses doesn't mean they don't exist! What's next, you gonna say Santa Hooves isn't real?" Everypony but Diamond got a good laugh out of that.
Diamond rolled her eyes. "I'm surrounded by idiots," She said outloud. "My daddy is a very smart pony, he runs the most successful business in Ponyville. And if he says there's no such thing as curses, then that's good enough for me."
"You're such a daddy's girl!" Scootaloo taunted.
"I am not!" Diamond protested quite loudly, she always hated it whenever anypony talked badly about her relationship with her father. She loved being his little princess. "I just happen to have a little something called 'Common Sense'. Maybe you should try it sometime."
"Uh, I don't know, Di..." Silver Spoon nervously replied, tapping her gal pal lightly with a hoof. "I mean... what if everypony's right about this? How else do you explain Twist's voice suddenly changing overnight? That doesn't just happen."
Diamond groaned in frustration. "Not you too, Silver Spoon. I thought you were better than that," Barely resisting the urge to bang her head on the picnic bench she was sitting at, the pink coated filly directed her cornflower blue eyes towards all of the colts and fillies. "Seriously, what's it gonna take for you all to stop talking about these silly curses?"
As soon as those words had left Diamond Tiara's mouth, a light bulb went off inside Apple Bloom's head. "That's it!" She realized. "If I can't go find out for myself if Zecora's evil or not, maybe I can make Diamond Tiara do it for me!" Against her better judgement the farm filly then said to the bully. "How 'bout you prove it? You go into the Everfree Forest today after class and look for Zecora's hut. Then bring back somethin' that'll prove once and for all what she really is. And if she's not an evil enchantress, then we'll gladly admit you were right all along and you can gloat as much as you like."
"Are you crazy, Apple Bloom?!" Scootaloo exclaimed, eyeing her friend as if she were a total stranger. "You want to give Diamond Tiara yet another reason to rub it in our faces about how much better she is than us?!"
"Hey, if it means we can finally get some answers about Zecora then I say Apple Bloom's idea might just be crazy enough to work," Sweetie Belle replied, then she added. "Plus, if Zecora really is an evil enchantress, then that means she'll probably put a curse on Diamond Tiara and shut her up for us. It's a win either way."
"I'll just pretend I didn't hear that last bit," Diamond snorted. "If you ponies want proof I'll gladly give you proof! Just be prepared to start admitting how wrong you were when I show you the truth about Zecora."
And so it was that, as soon as school had concluded for the day, everypony followed Diamond Tiara to the edge of the Everfree Forest. Most of them were doubtful she'd actually go through with her plan, but they still wanted to see what would happen.
Diamond trotted forward, putting one hoof into the forest entrance. Nopony said a word, they just waited with baited breath. There was a long silence, only interrupted by the faint breeze and the occasional animal call.
"Well?" Sweetie Belle asked, finally daring to break the silence.
"Well what?" Diamond angrily replied, not bothering to look at Sweetie Belle.
"You actually gonna do it, or you just gonna chicken out and go home?" Snips taunted.
"Maybe she just doesn't want to get eaten by some kind of monster or something." Snails suggested, remembering his own experience with the dangerous creatures of the Everfree Forest.
"If she does, would it be a bad thing if I said it served her right for being a brat?" Scootaloo asked in as innocently a tone as she could muster.
"I heard that you feather brain!" Diamond growled, her teeth clenching in fury that was anything but subtle. "You've got some nerve saying that to me!"
"Feather brain?!" Scootaloo exclaimed, her wings buzzing out in frustration. "Why you little-"
Apple Bloom quickly jumped out in front of Scootaloo and shook her head. "Just ignore her. You won't prove anythin' if you pick a fight with her now."
"That, and we know who'd win," Diamond taunted. "But by all means, go ahead. I'll tell my daddy on you if you do."
Scootaloo wasn't intimidated by Tiara's threat, but even so she reluctantly knew that picking a fight with her was a bad idea. Reluctantly, she said to the spoiled filly. "Just get going already, either step into the forest or leave, I don't care."
"If it'll get you to shut up, I'll go! This'll just take five minutes, ten minutes top!" Tiara boasted, and with that the pink coated filly reluctantly trotted into the Everfree Forest, before long she could no longer see or hear any of her classmates. In fact, all she could see, were trees so tall that they blocked out the sunlight completely.
Now, everypony in Ponyville knows that going into the Everfree Forest by yourself is something you should never do no matter what! Even the most careless of ponies obeyed that unwritten rule, and Tiara knew this fact very well. It didn't take long for her to regret ever opening her big mouth, but she was not about to admit defeat. "I'll find some proof Zecora's not a threat even if it takes me all day and all night to get out." She told herself, while her eyes scanned the horizon for any trace of the zebra, or the alleged hut that she lived in.
Diamond searched, and searched, and searched. But minutes ticked by and she found nothing. The pink coated filly quickly realized just how much she was in over her head. "Hello?" She called out, hoping that someone would hear her.
In the distance there came an unfamiliar and ominous voice that sounded like nothing Tiara had ever heard before in her life. "Beware, beware young pony folk. For those leaves of blue are no joke." The voice warned. Was it Tiara's imagination, or did it seem like the voice had come from a cloaked figure that looked almost zebra like?
The figure retreated into the fog before Tiara had a chance to see who it was, and against her better judgement she ran after it. "Wait, come back! Don't leave me here by myself!" She pleaded in the most drastic tone she could muster up. Diamond was never one to beg, but under the current circumstances all she cared about was getting home. If begging meant that would be accomplished sooner, she was willing to reluctantly swallow her pride and do so. There was no reply, but Tiara pressed on anyway. Deeper and deeper into the forest she trotted, the darkness only increasing as the sun began to set.
Now Diamond was starting to lose her composure, The Everfree Forest was dangerous enough in the day time, but at night it became even more dangerous. "Hello? Is anyone out there?!" She frantically called out. "Please, I just need help finding my way back to Ponyville! I'm lost!" But again the forest gave no reply, no acknowledgement that there was anyone there but her! It was only when the pink coated filly finally collapsed from exhaustion, the cloaked figure she had indeed spotted sooner came to her rescue.
Without saying a word, the figure quickly scooped up the filly and carried her away.
All of the colts and fillies had stayed at the edge of the Everfree Forest all day, waiting for Diamond Tiara to come back out. When she never did and the sun began to set, they had all set off for home. All of them (or at least most of them) were worried about the filly, even if they wouldn't admit it. But they also knew better than to try and wander into the Everfree Forest by night to search for somepony.
Even so, Apple Bloom couldn't help but feel guilty for leaving Tiara behind. "If I'd kept my big mouth shut she wouldn't be lost in the first place," She thought to herself, as she entered the classroom the next morning. "I sure hope Diamond Tiara somehow got home okay. She might be pretty bad, but that doesn't mean she deserves to be lost in that spooky forest for ages."
Everypony took their seats as usual, though Silver Spoon did so reluctantly. With Diamond Tiara's whereabouts still unknown, she had become withdrawn and shy, not daring to say a word to anypony. Either because she was really worried about the pony she considered her best friend, or because she felt that with Diamond missing, she was the next target of scorn for the colts and fillies of Ponyville Elementary.
Cheerilee was just about to begin roll call, when to everypony's surprise Diamond Tiara stumbled in! There were noticeable bags under her eyes, and her mane and tail looked disheveled, as if she hadn't bothered to brush them after getting out of bed. Needless to say, there was a collective series of gasps from all of the children!
Silver Spoon practically leaped for joy upon seeing her friend again! "I knew you'd come back, that Everfree Forest is no match for you!" She exclaimed, embracing her friend in a hug.
Diamond returned the hug, but said nothing. She seemed to make an effort to say nothing at all as she took her seat, a fact that did not go unnoticed by the rest of the class.
"So what happened to you, yesterday?" Snips asked in an innocent tone.
"Did you find any proof that Zecora is an evil enchantress bent on cursing us all?" Ruby Pinch added.
Diamond did not respond to either question, aside from shaking her head at Ruby's comment.
"Hey, what's with you being quiet all of a sudden?!" Scootaloo demanded of Tiara. "I don't buy for one second that you're not going to rub your victory in our faces! Now talk, what did you find out yesterday and why are you acting so weird? Come on, say something! Call me a feather brain again, I won't mind it, I promise."
Tiara finally opened her mouth, but instead of words all that was heard out of her was a simple "Woof.".
"Uh, what was that? If you're trying to trick me by acting like a dog, cut it out!" Scootaloo protested. "You can think I'm stupid, just don't talk to me like I'm stupid."
As if in response to Scootaloo's comments, Tiara opened her mouth again. "Woof, woof. Woof, woof, woof." She barked quite furiously.
Just like with Twist it didn't take long for all the children in the classroom (except for Silver Spoon, Twist, and Apple Bloom) to start laughing. "I'm sorry, I don't speak dog." Truffle Shuffle teased.
"I guess you can say your voice has gone to the dogs, eh, Diamond Tiara?" Sweetie Belle snickered, putting a hoof to her mouth in a vain attempt to stop further giggles.
"What's the matter?" Scootaloo said to Diamond Tiara in between fits of laughter. "Cat got your tongue? Or should I say: Dog got your tongue? Get it?" She proceeded to laugh so hard that she fell out of her seat and tears even began to form in her eyes.
The laughing fit went on and on until Cheerilee furiously stomped her hooves and whinyed loudly! That got everypony's attention, and when they looked at Cheerilee they were terrified! She looked about ready to charge, her eyes were narrowed and steam was blowing out of her nostrils! That quickly clammed everypony up. Clearing her throat, Cheerilee sternly lectured. "That's quite enough of that, children. And Scootaloo, you can spend your lunch period writing about how wrong it is to make fun of somepony for the way they speak, at least one hundred times on the blackboard."
"Ah man!" Scootaloo complained.
"Well, maybe that will teach you to think twice before you make fun of somepony like that," Cheerilee scolded. "As for the rest of you, I'm very disappointed in you all. You should know better then that. Now then, Diamond Tiara.... why don't you go see the school nurse, okay?"
Clamping a hoof over her mouth, Tiara nodded in obedience and dashed out of the classroom.
As soon as Tiara had left, Cheerilee turned her attention back to the class. "I think you all need a reminder of how to treat other ponies with kindness," She seriously spoke. "Now then, open your history books and turn to page fifty five. And I DON'T want to hear any more rude remarks about Diamond Tiara's condition, understand?"
The colts and fillies gulped. "Yes, Miss. Cheerilee." They reluctantly replied.
When class was dismissed later that day, Apple Bloom could only think about one thing, and that was the guilt she thought she carried for causing Diamond Tiara to end up the way she was now. Tiara had shook her head no when asked if she'd found any evidence that proved Zecora was an enchantress, but Apple Bloom felt that Diamond's current condition couldn't be explained any other way. And that meant there was only one thing to do!
"Apple Bloom, wait up!" Sweetie Belle called, as she and Scootaloo followed their friend to the edge of the Everfree Forest.
"Are you crazy?! You know you're not supposed to go into the Everfree Forest by yourself!" Scootaloo added, attracting Apple Bloom's attention.
Apple Bloom turned to her friends and told them. "But this is all my fault. I was the one that suggested Diamond Tiara go into the forest in the first place. If it weren't for me, she wouldn't be barkin' like a dog right now. I have to find Zecora and make her undo whatever it is she did to Diamond Tiara, maybe even get her to undo whatever she did to Twist. Even if she's not an enchantress, she's bound to know how to turn everypony back to normal."
"But what if you get lost, or worse?" Sweetie Belle asked with concern.
"Or what if Zecora puts a curse on you as well?" Scootaloo added. "Come on, let's just go home. I'm sure within a week everything will be back to normal, and Diamond Tiara will be back to her usual bratty self."
Apple Bloom didn't listen, she just trotted further and further towards the forest entrance. Any hesitation she might have normally had, was replaced by determination. Determination to get to the bottom of things and hopefully make everything right.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle tried to call out to Apple Bloom again, but she didn't reply or even acknowledge their presence. Not willing to leave their friend and fellow crusader alone, the two fillies reluctantly took off after her, following her into the Everfree Forest.
"You girls didn't have to come along ya know," Apple Bloom complained, as the three fillies trotted through the foliage. "I can manage just fine by myself, I'm not a baby."
"Are you kidding? We crusaders have to stick together, no matter what!" Scootaloo said serious, her wings buzzing at the statement.
Sweetie Belle, for her part, looked all around. She was quite worried, everywhere she looked she could see nothing but trees. "So, uh, what's the plan?" She nervously asked.
"Simple, we find that hut or whatever it is that Zecora calls home and confront her," Apple Bloom seriously replied, taking the lead. "And we don't leave until we get some answers and a way to turn everypony back to normal."
"You really sure we should be doing this?" Sweetie Belle asked, shaking ever so slightly. "I mean, this place is dangerous. Maybe we should just turn around now and go back? Nopony will ever have to know about this but us."
"Come on, don't be such a baby," Scootaloo said to Sweetie Belle. "We've got to be brave, like Rainbow Dash. She's not afraid of anything."
"And neither is Applejack!" Apple Bloom boldly proclaimed, before she spotted a cloaked figure in the distance, obscured by a mysterious fog. "Look, there's Zecora!" She shouted.
If the zebra was at all concerned about the crusaders spotting her, she didn't show it. She simply retreated back into the fog while shouting to them. "Beware, beware, you young pony folk. For I tell you, those leaves of blue are not a joke. I ask that you please listen to me. Heed my warnings, turn around and flee!"
"You and your curses are the ones that better beware, Zecora!" Scootaloo bellowed, even as Zecora vanished from sight.
"Come on, girls! We can't let her get away!" Apple Bloom shouted, racing towards the fog. "Follow me!"
The three fillies trotted deeper and deeper into the Everfree Forest for what felt like ages. But at last they came upon a tree that had a door and a window carved out of its trunk. A strange green glow was coming from the window, which quickly attracted the fillies' attention. They scrambled to the window, but it was too high up for them to see through it.
"Now what will we do?" Sweetie Belle asked, before she heard the sound of leaves rustling and hooves clip clopping on the forest floor. She gasped! "It's Zecora! Quick, hide!" She dove into a nearby bush and pulled her friends in, just seconds before Zecora came trotting past.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders watched from the safety of their bush, as Zecora trotted right up to the door and went inside, locking it shut behind her. She began to chant something in a language that the fillies couldn't understand, but it sounded rather creepy.
"I have an idea!" Scootaloo suggested, and whispered it to her fellow crusaders. "Sweetie Belle, you get on top of Apple Bloom, then I'll climb up and use my wings to boost me up to the window."
"But I thought you said you couldn't fly yet?" Sweetie Belle asked Scootaloo.
"And I still can't just yet, but I can buzz my wings enough to lift me off the ground for a few seconds. And a few seconds should be all I need," Scootaloo explained. "Now come on, it's the only way we're gonna find out what Zecora's up to."
Reluctantly, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle did as Scootaloo requested, the two fillies found it hard to keep their balance but somehow they managed. Jumping up into the air, Scootaloo strained herself a little, but managed to buzz her wings enough to give her some upward momentum. And that proved to be all she needed to reach the window ledge, and grab hold of it. Her back legs still dangled, but her front legs firmly clenched the window ledge, allowing the tomboyish pegasus to peer into the room.
"Scootaloo, what's goin' on in there? Can ya see anythin'?" Apple Bloom called.
"Hang on, give me a second," Scootaloo called back, before she began to scan the room. Her eyes immediately noticed a couple of wooden masks that lay scattered on the ground, they looked like nothing Scootaloo had ever seen before and even looked like they were staring into the filly's soul. Then her eyes spotted a rack with all kinds of bottles and jars, their contents unknown. But most noticeably of all, the filly spotted a giant black cauldron in the center of the room. "There's all kinds of creepy, voodoo stuff in here. And a giant cauldron of some kind," She whispered to her friends. "Wait, I see Zecora! She seems to be chanting something."
"What's she saying?" Sweetie Belle nervously asked her friend.
"I don't know, it's in some kind of foreign language that I don't speak." Scootaloo replied.
Seemingly unaware that she was being watched, Zecora poured an entire jar of some unknown substance into her cauldron. She chanted for a little bit, before she looked at the cauldron and said to herself. "Ah yes, this is the right temperature for ponies, I presume. Now then, where did those fillies get to?"
Scootaloo gasped, and in her shock she lost her grip on the window sill! She fell to the ground with a thud, fortunately she wasn't harmed. Rushing over to her friends she shouted at them. "Zecora's trying to cook us in a stew!"
"What?!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shouted together.
"Come on, we've gotta stop her!" Scootaloo shouted, rushing to the door. "No one's turning the Cutie Mark Crusaders into zebra food!"
Reluctantly, Apple Bloom realized that if Scootaloo had seen and heard those things, they must be true. Zecora really was an evil enchantress. So she joined her friends in rushing to the door and with a mighty kick, the farm filly knocked it down!
"It's over, Zecora! We won't let you eat us!" Sweetie Belle shouted at the top of her lungs.
"You messed with the wrong ponies!" Scootaloo added, as she and Sweetie Belle rushed to the cauldron. It proved difficult to budge. "Apple Bloom, give us a hoof here!" Scootaloo called.
Apple Bloom looked at Zecora and said to the zebra. "I didn't want to believe you were evil but the evidence speaks for itself!" Then she rushed to join her friends, and despite Zecora shouting protests in the language they couldn't understand, they eventually managed to knock the cauldron over and spill it!
Zecora was horrified! "No!" She exclaimed, her voice shaking the room and causing some of the bottles and jars on the shelf to tip over. "Young ponies, you know not what you do! Now you've gone and spilled my lovely brew!" She complained.
"Serves you right for trying to eat us!" Scootaloo stubbornly protested. "Now talk, why are you trying to eat us?! What did we ever do to you to deserve this?!"
"And what did you do to Twist and Diamond Tiara?!" Sweetie Belle demanded.
"What?!" Zecora angrily snorted, her eyebrows narrowing. "You barge in here and ruin my work! Yet you dare accuse ME of being a jerk?!"
"Don't try to confuse the issue, we want answers and we want 'em now!" Apple Bloom stubbornly protested. "I held out hope that you weren't so evil, but everythin' I've seen and heard is proof that you really as evil as everypony says you are! Now change Twist and Diamond Tiara back to normal!"
"Young ponies, it is very unwise to venture down this road!" Zecora warned, glaring at her intruders. "Your actions will only make my anger explode!"
"That supposed to scare us or something?" Scootaloo mocked. "Just give the answers we want and we'll leave you alone."
"That's quite enough of that, young mares!" A familiar voiced called out, soon revealing itself as Twilight who looked rather unhappy if the slant to her eyebrows and the frown on her face was any indication. And standing beside her was Applejack, who also looked most unhappy.
"Twilight, what are you doin' here?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Funny, I could ask you all the same question," Twilight replied in an unhappy tone. "You three have a lot of explaining to do."
Applejack glared at Apple Bloom and furiously shouted. "Just what in tarnation were you thinkin' runnin' off into the Everfree Forest with your friends?! Didn't I tell you the forest was too dangerous for a pony like yourself?!"
Apple Bloom gulped, suddenly feeling much smaller. "I was just tryin' to find out how to undo the curses Zecora put on Twist and Diamond Tiara that made 'em talk so funny."
Twilight, Applejack, and Zecora stared at the fillies for a moment. Then they all threw back their heads and laughed.
"What's so funny?" Sweetie Belle asked the grown-ups.
Zecora was the first one to speak when the laughter had died down. "If you will remember a while back, those words I said were quite exact." She told them.
"Uh, what do you mean?" Scootaloo asked, scratching her head in confusion.
"Maybe it's better to show you than to tell you," Twilight replied, and used her magic to levitate over a book displaying a picture of a strange, blue leafed plant. "Do you see this plant here? It's called poison joke."
"It is similar to poison oak, but its effects are simply a practical joke." Zecora explained.
It took a moment for those words to sink in, but once they did everything suddenly made sense for the three fillies. "Oh." They realized.
"That's why Diamond Tiara and Twist were talking the way they did," Twilight told the crusaders. "Diamond Tiara stepped in some poison joke yesterday while she was wandering the forest on her own. It's a good thing Zecora found her when she did and brought her home."
Apple Bloom breathed a small sigh of relief, even as a whole new wave of guilt washed over her. She didn't want to think about what might have happened if Zecora hadn't found Diamond Tiara.
"So Zecora was trying to warn us!" Sweetie Belle realized. "She was trying to tell us to watch out for the poison joke! But, what about Twist? She didn't go anywhere near the Everfree Forest, how did she end up coming into contact with the poison joke?"
"Well actually, I had a talk with Twist's aunt. And it turns out that Twist actually did go into the Everfree Forest," Applejack explained. "She was collectin' leaves for her aunt's favorite tea. But she decided to do it on her own instead of askin' her aunt to go with her. Needless to say, her folks ain't too happy about that."
"Is there any way that poison joke's effects can be cured?" Apple Bloom asked, hopefully.
Twilight and Applejack nodded. "A special herbal bath," Twilight told the fillies. "Zecora came to see me today because every time she comes into town, all the stores carrying the plants and supplies she needs are mysteriously closed."
"And indeed, that cure was what was in my brew. But now it has been spilled thanks to the likes of you." Zecora added.
"That explains the cauldron and those words were you saying," Scootaloo realized. "But what about the chanting, and the masks?"
"Treasures of the native land where I am from. This mask means 'hello', and this one means 'welcome'," Zecora explained. "As for the chanting, they are words from olden times. But it's something you ponies might call a nursery rhyme."
"Oh." Was all Scootaloo could bring herself to say.
"Gosh, I feel so stupid now," Apple Bloom complained. "If I hadn't jumped to conclusions like that, we could've avoided all of this. And now I've ruined the only chance Twist and Diamond Tiara have of goin' back to normal."
But Twilight smiled as she said to Apple Bloom. "It's alright, Zecora and I have been working with the spa to develop a poison joke remedy on a larger scale. And I just got word from Aloe and Lotus that the first batch of the cure has been successfully tested. Twist and Diamond Tiara are back to their usual selves."
"So then, why was Zecora makin' another batch of that herbal bath?" Apple Bloom asked. "None of us feel any different."
"Poison joke's a delayed reaction," Applejack replied. "You may feel fine now, but in a couple of hours you might start breakin' out in spots or find yourself growin' an extra tail or two. Chances are you three ended up unintentionally steppin' in some poison joke on your way here. It's pretty easy to miss if you're not payin' attention."
"But if I have some help cleaning up my spilled brew, I should have time to mix up another just for the three of you." Zecora suggested, looking at the three fillies.
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked around, they were reluctant to say yes due to how much of a mess they had made. But Apple Bloom simply said. "I guess that's a fittin' punishment considerin' we jumped to conclusions," Looking up at Zecora the farm filly added. "And Zecora, we're sorry we judged you without gettin' to know you. I guess we were all just so fearful of you 'cause we didn't know you, and that caused us to start makin' up rumors."
"It is quite alright, my dear Apple Bloom," Zecora reassured the filly, patting her on the head. "Mistakes can be made by me or by you. But maybe next time you will take a second look, and know not to judge the cover of a book."
"Yeah, I sure won't make that mistake ever again, I hope," Apple Bloom replied. "Now come on, crusaders! Maybe cleanin' up this place will get us our cutie marks! It's worth a shot don't ya think?!"
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shrugged, and reluctantly along with Apple Bloom they set to work on cleaning up Zecora's hut.
"Oh, and one more thing, Apple Bloom," Applejack added. "You ever go off into the Everfree Forest again without tellin' me, I'll tell Big Macintosh on you. And I can imagine he'll have quite a few choice words for your behavior."
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Awesome chapter
Brilliantly re-written chapter/episode. And, yeah, your reasons for the re-write make pretty good sense. Also, great job on treating the moral somewhat seriously while visiting at least A LITTLE karma on early-Diamond (not much, ultimately, but at least some). And, yeah, I'll certainly be looking forward to the next chapter/episode, but am more than willing to be patient.
Hm now I'm curious as to how or what you change in Flight to The Finish, I'll look out for that one.
............I didn't like this...............
On the one hand, it is still a good story and you do have a knack for taking the source material, twisting it up, and make something new with it. I give you props for it.
But I did not like that the focus changing from the adults to the children. Because while it is true that kids can make idiotic mistakes, they are not exclusive of it. I have seen WAY too many adults make such stupid decisions that it makes me wonder if kids are smarter than them.
I would give this a so-so rating.
Thanks for the Lion King reference, that made me smile.
Anyways, it's been a long time since I was reading stories on here and when I saw this, I knew I would be in for a good read. A very good start with this one I'd say.
7901902
Ba dum tish.