Ch2 My New Friends

Book 3/Chapter 2
My New Friends
Year 00, Month 11, Day 05

The small herd of ponies continued up the slop of the mountain as they laughed at Pike’s statement. As they laughed, Hotham spoke, “Spiced Pear?... That was your name?”
Pike sighed, “Yea… it was… I changed it since my cutiemark was a climbing pick which obviously meant I wasn’t meant to farm pears. But since Pa was determined that I stay a farmer he wouldn’t hear it. But then when my little sis decided to stand up to him by disobeying his words, I felt it was time I do the same.” He looked down in disappointment, “I ain’t seen them since. That had to be ‘bout twenty years ago. I still wonder if it was the right choice.”
Everest nodded as he spoke up, “If it was what you truly wanted, then it shouldn’t matter. A dream can only be met when one seeks it himself.”

Pike smiled, “Sounds like something Fuji would say… shame he couldn’t join us for this.”
Hotham nodded, “Well, he wanted us to go on without him so… it’s not like we abandon him.”
Zeil sighed, “Yea… but I can’t help but feel a little responsible.”
Angel started to say something that would most likely agree with his statement, but before she could, Hotham gave her a look that said don’t, so she stayed silent as Kiloman shook his head, “Do not feel that way my friend, Fuji couldn’t predict this turn of events no more than the rest of us. Honoring his decision is all we can do for him. He wanted to help you to the other side of the mountain so even if we fail to reach the summit, we can always bypass it to complete your goal first.”
Zeil smiled as Kilimanjaro’s statement as Angel gave him a suspicious look, “I wonder… why are you trying to reach the other side of this mountain anyways?”
Ignoring her recognizable hostility, Zeil replied, “It’s the next stop on my way home.”
Kiloman asked, “Home… are you on your way to Equestria?”
Zeil nodded, “I am, yes.”

Pike thought to himself, “It’s a long distance to Equestria. None stop, it’s slightly over a year and a half by hoof.”
Zeil nodded as he replied with a determined tone, “I know… but, that doesn’t matter to me. What matters is that I get back as soon as possible. I have to.”
Everest smiled, “I know that look… you have a special somepony waiting for you there don’t you?”
Zeil nodded, “Some zebra, but yea… I have to get back to the mare I love.”
Pike was surprised, “A zebra in Equestria, I have been gone for too long. So for you to make such a journey, she must be a real keeper.”
Zeil nodded, “She is… Kind, selfless, and… I owe her my life in more ways than one.”
Although she was skeptic, Angel replied, “To make a trip like that holds a lot of risk… what make you so sure you can make it back in one peace?”

Zeil replied with determination, “Because I won’t stop… not till I see her again.”
Kiloman spoke next, “A mare to make one so determined, I would assume it is love in its truest form.”
Zeil nodded, “It is…”
Pike smiled, “I often wonder what my true love would be… I would hope, a good old fashioned country mare. One who is sweet, honest, and not afraid of a little hard work. Not that I would make her work all the time… just saying if I decide to go out and take care of the farm, she would be by my side as I did.”
Angel chuckled, “I though you said farming pears isn’t what you wanted to do?”
The rest of the group laughed as Pike replied, “Well… if I decided to settle down I would probably be harvesting some kind of fruit. I don’t see myself as the retired, none working pony. I'd lose my mind with boredom.”

The group nodded as Zeil replied, “Sound like a fitting bride for you.” he looked at Everest, “What about you big guy? What’s the type of mare for a mountain like you?”
Everypony in the group cringed at the statement as Hotham spoke, “Um… Zeil… Everest ain’t the type to be with… well… Sheila’s.”
Not understanding, Zeil gave him a funny look, “Sheila’s? What do you mean?”
Kiloman answered, “Well… um… He is the kind who prefers the company of… well… a fellow he, if you know what I mean.”
Zeil thought about the statement for a few seconds before realizing what it meant, “Oh… OH! Oh… um…” he looked back at Everest, “Sorry… I um… I hope I didn’t offend you.”
Everest shook his head, “No offense was taken, I understand that others like me aren’t as common as you would suspect, but… I hope that this doesn’t change our friendship in any way.”

Zeil shook his head, “Of course not, we can’t help what our heart wants.”
Everest smiled with joy, “That’s good, I wouldn’t want things to feel awkward between us. But to answer your question… I would like a stallion who is strong, confident, and at times sweet. One who isn’t afraid to be sensitive when he need to be, and is always thinking about others over himself.”
Angel smiled, “Sounds like a dream… completely different from you Hotham.”
Hotham was surprised, “Wh-what?”
The group laughed as Angel nudged him with her shoulder, “I’m just kidding. Your fine just the way you are.”
As Angel and Hotham smiled at each other, Zeil could easily feel the love Hotham had for her, but just like before, no emotion could be felt from angel. Zeil couldn’t understand it, but since it didn’t seem too concerning to him, he just ignored it as the rest of the group continued up the mountain’s slop.

As they continued trudging through the snow with the sun shining above, Pike reached into his bag and pulled out some shades as he put them on. Seeing this Hotham spoke, “Sun getting to your eyes?”
Pike nodded, “Yea, don’t need to get snow-blind this early in the climb.”
Zeil nodded, “I heard of that, it’s when the sun reflects off snow and burns the eyes right?”
Pike nodded, “you know your stuff, the light can irritate your eyes but it’s not a good idea to continue if you start feeling it too soon. Being blind on the mountain can be a death sentence.”
Zeil nodded, “Don’t worry, I know better than to look into the snow too much, the same thing can happen in the desert and I’ve traveled a few of them before too.”
Kiloman added, “Snow blindness is not the only danger that risks climbers… for example, Altitude sickness, lack of oxygen, along with falling.”

Zeil thought to himself as he asked, “So… have any of you had any of this issues before?”
Pike nodded, “I’ve had snow blindness once, and fell a few times but those were small falls so a few broken ribs were the worst I’ve had.”
Kiloman added, “I’ve had altitude sickness once, but that was a long time ago.”
Everest spoke next, “On my first attempt at the Titan’s Citadel, I suffered from lack of oxygen. I had to turn back before getting even a quarter of the ways up.”
Zeil was surprised, “I guess even the most experienced climbers run into problems too.”
Pike was curious, “Speaking of witch, we’ve hit a point where oxygen is low… but you haven’t huffed or puffed even once. Are zebras used to thin air?”

Zeil thought to himself, at first he assumed it was his time at the temple that helped him get used to it, although what he was willing to bet it was the fact that his body was reformed for six months in that type of environment. However, Zeil still felt that his species should be kept on the low, so he only replied, “The temple I was at was high on a mountain so I guess that’s why I’m used to it.

As they continued, Angel spoke up, “Altitude tolerance isn’t the key to reaching this particular summit. You still have to be worthy in… her eyes.”
Zeil gave her a confused look, “Her?”
Hotham spoke up, “The spirit of the mountain. There is an old mare’s tale on this mountain about a climber or… something like that.”
Angel sighed in annoyance, “Really Hotham… you didn’t listen to a word I said the other night did you?”
Hotham rubbed his head in embarrassment, “Well… I was a little tired that night so I didn’t quite hear all of what you said.”

Angel rubbed her head as she sighed, “Fine, I guess I'll tell it. A number of decades ago a mare named Angela became the first to try and climb Angela’s Peak. But the day she left, was the last day anypony ever saw her.”
Zeil asked, “So, she died?”
Pike shook his head, “Nopony knows, No body was ever found.”
Angel continued, “Not long after, a second pony decided to challenge the mountain. He succeeded, and in honor of the first to try, he decided to name the mountain after Angela. Since then, many have hoped to challenge Angela’s peak, but unlike most mountains where experience or skill decided the survivors. This one will actually choose who makes it to the summit unscathed… or that’s how the legend goes, if you believe that sort of thing.”

Zeil gave her a suspicious look, “So… your skeptic?”
Angel shrugged her shoulders, “I think it’s all the matter of fate. Anypony can simply try to climb a mountain, but unless destiny wields it… you will never make it in one piece, this or any summit. Sad to say, not everypony can reach a peak on skill alone.”
Hotham gave Angel a stern look, “Now that’s a little harsh eh Angel? I’d like to think as climbers we all are trying to challenge fate one way or another. After all, that’s exactly what Angela did. And despite its unfortunate outcome, we commemorate her as we do all climbers by taking the same challenge, she did all those years ago.”
Angel could only smile at Hotham’s response as Everest spoke next, “You know… I’d like to think that Angela succeeded and made it to the peak. Though… it’s possible she didn’t make it back afterwards.”
Kiloman nodded, “I would think she made it there then decided to go elsewhere. Perhaps she is still alive, living with a family in a faraway land.”
Angel shook her head, “That’s unlikely, this story is over eighty years old. Even if she did make it, time would have taken her by now. And I don’t mean to sound cruel, but that seems a little too optimistic for my taste.”

Hotham shook his head, “Maybe… but if she met somepony special, then she could have persevered to stay with him longer… Love has been known to defy even the laws of nature.”
Hearing the obvious flirting, Angel blushed slightly as Everest added, “Ah… Love is truly a blessed thing.”
Thinking the statement was directed towards them, Hotham and Angel looked away from one another as they both blushed with Hotham speaking up, “Wh-what?... I… I mean, sure it is…”
Seeing their reaction, made their affections for one another all the more obvious, however Zeil’s ability to sense emotion still seemed to have no effect on Angel. He didn’t quite understand why, but rather then questioning everything about his new reformed abilities, he only disregarded it in hopes that it was a simple fluke.

Slowly the path became steeper and steeper until the group finally had to pull out some tools to help with their climb. As they continued Hotham spoke, “Let’s keep movin’ mates, I'd like to set up camp as high as we can for the night. I already know we won’t reach the snow cap till tomorrow, but we can still make good on time.”
Zeil looked around the snow covered mountain as he replied, “Uh… the snow cap?”
Everest chuckled, “We haven’t reached it yet. This snow is from the winter season, the snow cap is snow left year round. That snow won’t melt, even during the summer.”
Zeil asked, “So… how do we know when we find it then? There is snow everywhere here.”
Angel sighed in irritation, “The snow will be thickest on the cap. So when it gets thicker then we have reached it. Till then… just try to keep focused, I’m not going to wait on you ya know.”

With that Angel turned away as she continued up the mountain as Zeil rubbed his head in annoyance that her spiteful self had returned. Seeing this, Pike spoke up, “Don’t worry too much Zeil. It takes time for an Angel such as her to accept you in her graces.”
Zeil replied, “Well let’s hope that she won’t have time to do that. I'd like to get there as quickly as possible.”
Pike nodded, “Welp, it should take five days right? If the weather stays like this then those days should pass quickly, then again, it will get tougher the higher we go.”
Without explaining, Pike continued up the mountain behind Angel as Zeil followed too.

After a number of hours passed, the group found themselves on a flat platform as Hotham looked at the next cliff they would have to start climbing. As he looked at Angel, “How’s the altitude?”
Angel nodded as she started flapping her wings as hard as she could till she was finally able to lift herself off the ground. Afterword’s she stopped as she huffed in exhaustion, “We’re moderately high up… I'd say… at least ten thousand feet or so. Moderately close to my flight limit.”
Hotham looked towards the setting sun as he sighed, “Pity… I was hoping to reach the snowline before sunset.”
Kiloman nodded, “No worries, this is our first time climbing Angela’s Peak so it’s nothing we can properly schedule. None the less we did reach the point we intended. If I’m not mistaken isn’t Angela’s Peak near Eighteen thousand feet? This should mean we are a little passed half way.”
Angel corrected, “Twenty… I think… needless to say we should use this platform as our camp site.”
Zeil smiled, “Half way in one day, that’s pretty good.”
Everest shook his head, “We started the climb at four thousand five hundred feet. As far as height goes we only traveled about a sixth of the way.”
Zeil sighed in disappointment, “Well that figures.”

Hotham smiled, “Needless to say this is where we should set up our camp for the night. Everest? Start unpacking the tents. Zeil, Kiloman, you two start clearing out the snow so we can have a dry place to place the tents and burner.”
Zeil asked, “Sure, what are you going to do?”
Hotham looked around as he replied, “Angel and I will go and see if we can find a vantage point.”
Zeil was confused, “Vantage point?”
Everest spoke up, “I'll tell you about it later, Let just focus on the camp for now.”
Hotham smiled as he added, “You’ll see if we find one.”
With that Hotham and Angel trotted up the side of the slop as Everest, Kiloman, Pike and Zeil started working to set up their camp.”

About half an hour later, as the four finished pitching the last tent, Hotham and Angel returned as Hotham spoke, “Hey mates? Looks like we found a point, wanna come take a look?”
Everest, Pike, and Kiloman nodded as they started following Hotham as Zeil could only follow in curiosity. After a few minutes of traveling up the path, Hotham and Angel led the rest of the group to a high cliff that looked out into the distance as Hotham sat down and gestured to the distance, “Here ya are. A good view, though I hope the rest of the climb holds a better one. As the group trotted to the edge of the cliff they looked into the distance in awe as Zeil was amazed. As he looked into the distance he could see both the Tavern he was at that morning and when he tried really hard, he could even catch a glimpse of the green bamboo forest in the distance that he had to travel through days prior.

Seeing this far out, Zeil marveled at the sight as Kiloman smiled and spoke, “Have you ever wondered why we do this? We all have our reasons for risking our lives like this. This… this is the reason I do it. Look out there, see the world as it was meant to be seen. Open, peaceful, borderless. It’s amazing to see what one is capable of seeing from a single vantage point.”
Pike nodded, “Well that’s just what you do it for… I do it to challenge myself. To climb to the highest reaches is both challenging and satisfying when you succeed, and I enjoy seeing what I can accomplish with enough determination.”
Everest nodded, “Reasonable reason. I am merely reaching for my goal, and my dream. Each peak I cross is one more step to train myself for the one mountain I want to conquer.”

Zeil nodded, “Wow… I didn’t realize there where so many reasons for climbing mountains.”
Trying to build trust, Zeil looked at Angel and asked, “So… why do you climb Angel?”
Although she seemed passive in her response, Angel still replied, “As if it was your business, I climbed because nopony thought I could.”
Hotham gave her a confused look as she replied to his confusion, “I meant nopony other then you.”
Hotham smiled as he looked at Zeil and spoke, “As for me, I do it for the cultural experience. To meet all the different kinds of ponies, species, cultures, and even beliefs. It’s just interesting to see how different everypony is from me. And challenging myself by testing each mountain is just a better reason to travel. I like to see the world and what it holds. Similar to Everest and Kiloman but still slightly different.”

Zeil nodded, “I’ve seen many cultures and how they are… but… I’ve never really taken the time to try and see them to a better extent. I think… Zecora is the first time I paid attention to such things. In fact… Zecora is the first time I started noticing that there actually was a world around me.” Angel gave him a curious look as he continued, “She showed me that there was more to life than just following what I was told to do. She showed me that everything around us had its own form of magic. Everything has its place and its way of living. A sort of… bond with the magic around it. And with that understanding… I became a different stallion… all thanks to her.”
Angel continued giving Zeil an unsure look as Hotham smiled, “Too right… I’ve never heard of it like that before, but it is true to say the least. That’s kind of what Fuji climbed the mountain for.”
Zeil was curious, “Really? How so?”
Everest replied, “With every peak we would reach, Fuji would meditate there for a few minutes. He said it was a way to connect with the worlds around him.”
Hotham shrugged his shoulders, “I never understood it… but to each his own.
Remembering the Ibex master’s teaching, Zeil nodded, “I guess in a way it was his way of attaining peace.”
Looking at the setting sun, Pike spoke up, “Well lookin’ at the time, we better get back and start the burner. It will be hard enough trying to light it at this altitude, but if the cold of night hits first then we will never get dinner cooked.”

All but Angel and Hotham turned towards the trail as Kiloman asked, “So… what’s for dinner Pike?”
Pike replied, “Oatmeal.”
Zeil added, “Pear flavored?”
Pike gave a fake laugh, “Oh ha ha… very funny.”
The group laughed as Everest noticed Angel and Hotham weren’t following as he turned to the two and ask, “You two coming?”
Hotham replied, “We’ll catch up with you blokes later… Angel and I are going to watch the view for a little bit longer.”
Everest nodded as he and the rest of the group continued back to the camp.

About an hour later as the group sat at the camp, Zeil and the rest of the party laughed as Pike continued, “Yep, took the whole water silo down right there on the field. Both my sis and pa had no idea what happened.”
The group laughed as Zeil replied, “Wow, and I thought my ki…” He cleared his throat then corrected, “Family was always starting trouble with neighbors.”
The group continued their laughter as Pike toned his down to a simple chuckle, “But then… the dern fool did something that I didn’t expect… heck, I respected him for it.”
Everest asked, “Really? What?”
Pike continued, “He owned up to it… that apple stepped forward and told pa everything. And all just to keep my lil’ sis from getting into trouble. I can’t say I liked the apples at all back then… but at that moment… I decided that they ain’t so bad… at least, not that one.”

Everest smiled at the story, “Such love struck ponies… broken apart by something as tragic as a family feud… sounds like a tragic fairy tale.”
Zeil thought to himself, “Actually it sounds more like a play… it seems familiar actually. Like I’ve heard it somewhere before.”
Kiloman added, “Either way… its sounds like some life you’ve lived. Equestria must be quite the place.”
Both Pike and Zeil replied at the exact same time, “It is…”
Realizing they both answered with the same thing, the two stallions looked at each other and smiled as Pike added, “Quite the place… I couldn’t think of any other to call home.”
Zeil nodded, “I couldn’t agree more.”

Kiloman thought to himself for a few second before replying, “Then… I would very much like to see this place for myself. A home that would lead a zebra to stay apart from Zebrica, must be a beautiful place to live.”
Before any of the group could reply, another voice spoke, “Sounds good to me mates, if you think its fine then s’pose we could take a detour there sometime.”
The group turned to see Hotham and Angel approach the camp as Pike replied, “Sounds good, I think it’s time I visit home anyways. I'd give me time to catch up with my sis, since I ain’t seen her in a while.”
Zeil handed Hotham a bowl of oatmeal as the arriving duo sat with the group with Hotham replying, “Then… how about after this?”
Angel gave Hotham a surprised look as Kiloman replied, “After this?... are you insinuating we travel to Equestria after reaching the other side of Angela’s peak?”
Hotham took a bit of the food before replying, “Why not? We can travel with Zeil and accompany him home.”
Zeil was confused, “Travel with me?... Are you su-“
Angel interrupted, “Are you kidding me?”

Everypony looked at Angel as Hotham replied, “We had no plans for our next climb, and you know well I’m always lookin’ to travel to a new place.”
Angel sighed in hopelessness, “As if I ever have any say in it.”
Hotham shook his head, “Now don’t be like that Angel… you know that if you decided not to, then just say the word and we won’t. There is still plenty of time to make a final decision on the matter, and I won’t do anything that you blokes won’t agree with.”
Seeing her disagreement on the subject Zeil spoke up, “You don’t have to do that Hotham… as much as I appreciate it, you don’t have to make any planes for my sake.”
Hotham Smiled, “And why shouldn’t we?... that’s what friends do for one another right? We do what we can to help one another. Ain’t that right mate’s?”
The rest of the group excluding Angel nodded their head as Zeil saw this and replied, “Friends… well… I won’t do anything to stop you… but… at least take Angel’s concern on the matter.

Although it didn’t sway her trust in him, Angel did like his words as she smiled, “Thank you Zeil… at least somepany is willing to listen to my concerns.”
Kiloman tried to correct her, “Ahem… some-zebra…”
Angel replied with a distrusting tone, “We’ll see…”
Zeil gave her a confused look as nopony else paid attention to the comment while Hotham replied, “Alright, alright… if it makes ya feel any better, we can sit and think on it. We have four more days till we reach the other side of the mountain anyways so let’s just wait before making any decisions. Right?”
The group nodded in agreement as Angel replied, “Thank you, that’s all I ask. Now if you can catch us up, what brought up the topic of Equestria in the first place?”

Kiloman replied, “Well, Pike was telling us about the fruit feud he and his family was having with some apples.”
Pike sighed in irritation, “Alright, first off, it’s not with simple apples it’s the entire Apple family. And second it ain’t a fruit feud.” He thought about it for a second, “Okay, in a way it was a fruit feud, but it’s more about the most successful farmers, not the type of fruit we grow.”
With that, the group went back to the previous subject as Pike told the story of his family feud back in Equestria. Slowly, the sun started going down as one by one the group started breaking off to get some sleep for the next day’s climb.

It wasn’t long before the whole group was reduced to just Zeil, Hotham, and Angel as Angel yawned and spoke, “Well, I guess it’s my turn to call it a night. Are you coming to bed too Hotham?”
Hotham shook his head, “In a sec, I wanted to speak with Zeil a little more before turning in.”
Angel shifted her disapproving glance to Zeil as she replied, “Really… fine… then I'll see you in the morning.”
With that Angel trotted to her tent as she climbed inside and closed it behind her. After Angel was out of earshot, Hotham spoke, “So Zeil… can I ask you a personal question?”
Zeil nodded, “it depends, what’s the question?”

Hotham hesitated as he put the words together before speaking, “The mare you’re trying to get back to… are you sure its true love?”
Zeil nodded, “Yea… I’m sure as I can be.”
Hotham continued, “How do you know… and… did you ever tell her how you feel?”
Zeil answered both questions at the same time, “I know, because I feel it, and… yes I told her exactly how I feel.”
Hotham asked, “How?...”
Zeil hesitated for a few second before replying, “Well… it was more like… she told me first. But… I knew we both felt the same so… I just kinda went with it.”

Hotham sighed in disappointment as he replied, “Oh… well… ya see, I… have feelings for Angel…”
Zeil smiled as he replied sarcastically, “Ya don’t say?...”
Hotham gave him an unamused look, “Oh ha ha… sure, ya had me pegged since day one. Anyways… I was wanting to tell her at the perfect moment… but… I can’t tell what moment that would be.”
Zeil thought to himself, “Well… a wise pony once said, no better moment then the present.”
Hotham shook his head, “Nah… it just ain’t special enough… I want to do it at the perfect time.”
Zeil thought to himself as he replied, “Well… why not chose a time when you’re looking at the scenery? I could tell that it is a special time for both of you, so just tell her the next time you’re looking over the world.”
Hotham had an idea, “Better yet, I could tell her at the summit.”

Zeil nodded, “Yea that would be a great time to do it.”
Hotham smiled, “Then it’s settled, once we reach the summit, I'll tell her how I feel.”
Zeil was a little concerned as he asked, “Hey Hotham… did she happen to mention why she seems to hate me? I’m not saying we should be best friends or anything, but… I just don’t want there to be all this conflict between us.”
Hotham chuckled a little, “I'll talk to her… she didn’t say why she seems to distrust you, but… I can tell that she doesn’t like you very much at all. Have you two met somewhere before?”
Zeil shook his head, “No… I’ve never seen her in my life.”
Hotham thought to himself, “Well… even if ya did you’re not the type of bloke to provoke anypony intentionally.”
Zeil asked, “Do you think there is anything I can say to make things less hostile between us?”

Hotham thought to himself, “Well if I know her well enough, she li… well she’s fond of… uh…”
Zeil could sense Hotham’s confusion as Hotham tried to remember, “What is it she likes again?...”
Zeil was confused, “You don’t know?”
Hotham shook his head, “No… I know what she likes… but for some reason… I just can’t think of it… it will come to me in my sleep I’m sure of it, but… for some reason I just can’t think of it right now…it’s on the tip of my tongue but I can’t remember.”
Zeil shrugged his shoulders, “Well… whenever you remember just let me know.”
Hotham nodded, “I will… wait… actually there is something I know about her… the true reason she climbs.”
Zeil replied with intrigue, “True Reason? I thought it was because nopony thought she could?”
Hotham replied, “Well that’s what she says, but there is more to it than that. She said the reason she climbs is to… exist. She said that when we were growing up, she felt like she had no true purpose but by making it to the top of the world, she felt she was proving that she really did have a purpose after all.”

Zeil thought to himself as he replied, “She didn’t have… depression when growing up. Did she?”
Hotham shook his head, “Not that I know… she seemed like any other filly to me. Why?”
Zeil replied, “It just seems like that’s something somepony who was troubled would say… as if, she felt that the peak of a mountain was all she had in the world.”
Hotham shook his head, “Unlikely, She and I were inseparable when growing up. We used to get into all sorts of trouble when we were foals.”
Zeil replied, “Then… I wonder why she said that…”
Hotham replied, “She could have made it up, if I had a reason that I didn’t want anypony to know, I would probably do the same.”
Zeil nodded, “I guess…”

Hotham stood up as he spoke, “Well… I’m going to hit the hey. I'd suggest you do the same so we can get to an early start in the morning.”
Zeil nodded as he stood up too, “Sure I'll do that.”
Hotham turned the fuel on the burner down till the flame went out, then started to trot to his tent as Zeil stopped him one last time, “Hey Hotham?”
Hotham turned to Zeil, “Yes?”
Zeil continued, “I was wondering… why did you accept me so fast? I didn’t even know you and you just approached me out of the blue.”
Hotham thought to himself, “I’m not sure myself… for some reason, I just felt that I needed to help you. That and I usually have good intuition when it comes to knowing which ponies are good and which should be avoided. Either way… I was happy I did approach you. Despite how little we know about each other… I’m still glad to call you a friend.”

Hotham turned to go to his tent, “Well… I'll see you in the morning mate. And… about Angel… don’t worry ‘bout her so much. She’ll come around.”
With that Hotham continued back to his tent as Zeil quickly stopped him, “Hotham wait!”
Hotham paused as Zeil spoke, “Since you’re honest with me… I want to be honest with you. I’m not a zebra… I’m actually a changeling.”
Hotham was curious, “Those ain’t the bug things that feed on love are they?”
Zeil nodded, “They are…”
Hotham asked, “Are you here to feed on my and Angel's love?”
Zeil shook his head, “No…”
Hotham shrugged his shoulders, “Then what’s the problem? If ya ain’t here to steal our love and you are truthful about why you are here… then why are ya hidin’ it? Everything else you said is true ain’t it?”
Zeil nodded as Hotham continued, “Then nothing’s changed. I still trust you and even if you are a changeling I see no reason to trust you any less.”

Relived Zeil smiled, “Good… I was a little worried tha-“
“What? A friendly addition to our group of a different race would be treated any differently from the likes of us? This doesn’t change a thing, and if it did change at least my opinion of ya, then the rest of the team would think poorly of me. After all, we are all different in our own way, and you were different when we thought you were a zebra, so nothing’s changed.”
Zeil thought to himself as he replied, “Well… I guess your right about that.”
Hotham smiled, “Cheers for being honest with me mate. Good to know that you really are a good friend. See ya in the morning.”
Zeil smiled, “Yea… see you then.”
As the two left one another, Zeil looked up the mountains slop towards the peak as he replied, “Friends… I didn’t think I would make so many in this one journey. Feels good… but, why do I still feel like something is wrong… like… I’m still in danger.”

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