Chapter 11 (Bridle Gossip)
The next morning, I visited Moondancer’s house to see what she’s up to. Thankfully, she didn’t turn into a hermit yet. We shared a small talk before I left.
Afterwards, I visited the library to see Dusty Pages. She was still at her desk.
“Hello again, Spike,” Dusty greeted. “How’s Twilight? It’s been a while since she showed up here.”
“She actually lives in Ponyville now,” I replied. “I just came to Canterlot to talk to the Princess.”
“Heh. Well, I’m gonna miss her and her Best Book Borrower title. I could always rely on her returning the books on time.”
“Say, can I ask you a personal question? How long have you been working here?”
"Why do you ask?"
"It's just that no matter how many times Twilight and I visited this library, you seemed to be the only pony who's working at this desk. I'm just curious how long it's been since you first started here."
“Oh, Spike, it’s longer than I can remember.” Dusty chuckled.
“And you never took a vacation or anything? Working everyday doesn’t sound very healthy.”
“Didn’t need a reason to.”
“But didn’t you ever wanted to take a break from the norm? Tried doing something different?”
“You sound just like First Folio.”
“It won’t hurt just to take a day or two off. You can let the other staff ponies know. I’m sure your perfect record won’t be stained.”
Dusty thought about it. “Alright, young one. Tell you what. I’ll consider it.”
“Thank you.”
I stayed in the library and read a bunch of atlases. I studied where certain locations were, like Griffonstone, Yakyakistan, the Dragon Lands, and more. Surprisingly, I was able to find the entrance to Tartarus within some of the books. I took note of the locations. I'd check some of the books out, but I didn't have a library card.
I then took the train back to Ponyville. I arrived just in time to see the girls having lunch together.
“Spike, you’re back,” Twilight said. “Come sit with us. We’ve missed you.”
“You missed me? I didn’t think you all had feelings for me,” I teased.
“Oh, Spike.” Twilight rolled her eyes.
I propped up a chair and sat next to Twilight. She gave me half of her sandwich. The daisies didn’t taste too bad with enough ketchup.
We ate and talked about different things. Twilight talked about her sleepover with Rarity and Applejack during the storm yesterday. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash talked about how they organized the storm, and Pinkie went on about how important the color of frosting was on a cupcake.
That’s when I decided to break the ice.
“Girls, may I ask you something?” I asked. “What are your thoughts on zebras?”
The Mane Six stopped and looked at me like I just ate a plate.
“What? Something wrong?”
“Why the random question, Spike?” Applejack asked.
“I think it’s because Spike and I read a book about zebras,” Twilight replied. “They’re actually very interesting creatures who live in Zebrica. They can make potions, they speak in rhymes, the list goes on.”
“Wait,” Rainbow Dash said. “What do these zebras look like?”
“I think they’re just like ponies, only with stripes on their fur.”
“They really need to reconsider their style choices,” Rarity said.
“They were born with stripes, Rarity,” I retorted. “You girls never seen a zebra before?”
“Uh...well...” Fluttershy mumbled. “There is one, but...”
“Who?”
“She’s a tad odd,” said Applejack. “She lives in the Everfree Forest. That’s where the plants grow, animals nurture, and clouds move all their own.”
Man, wait until they hear what it’s like in my old world.
“How is she odd? What’s her name?” I scratched my head.
“Oooh, we do not speak her name,” Pinkie whispered.
“Is there something Twilight and I are missing here? What’s wrong with that zebra?”
“Well, she comes around once a month and starts digging the ground…” Rainbow Dash said.
“That doesn’t sound weird. Zebras do that to look for water.” I took another bite of my sandwich. “I guess you girls think she’s gonna charge at somepony. But do you ever see her do any weird stuff?”
“Well...no...” Fluttershy replied. “B-But what if she comes and kidnaps somepony? Or place a curse on the whole town? O-Or make birds sing offkey?”
“Look, I don’t think she can do any of that. Has anyone ever tried talking to her?” I asked.
“Nopony’s brave enough to approach her, darling,” Rarity replied.
“Well, lucky for you all, I’m not a pony. The next time she shows up, I’ll talk to her.”
“You shouldn't do that Spike!" Pinkie rebutted. "What if she puts you in a trance? Or make you do an evil dance?”
“Oh, Pinkie, that’s not gonna happen,” I said.
"You're only a kid, Spike," Rainbow Dash said. "Even I wouldn't come close to her. Take my word for it."
The girls were left uneasy, except Twilight. She also found the evil zebra story too difficult to believe.
“I’ll come with you, Spike,” Twilight said. “If anything does happen, I can shoo the zebra away before she does anything ‘evil.’”
I accepted Twilight’s offer, even though I knew it wouldn’t be necessary.
The next day, Ponyville was practically a ghost town. I figured it would be that way.
Twilight was astonished. “I knew the girls weren’t comfortable around a zebra, but the whole town?!”
“I swear, the ponies didn’t act like this when I showed up, and I’m a dragon,” I said.
“It’s different, Spike. You’re a baby dragon. You can’t scare an entire village away.”
“Let’s just find that zebra.”
“We should try looking around the shops. Rarity told me she would ‘lurk’ around the stores.”
Twilight and I checked each shop to no avail, but then I noticed a hooded figure pawing the ground.
“I found her, Twilight.” I then called out to the zebra, “Excuse me, ma’am?!”
The zebra looked my way. The cloak she was wearing gave me an eerie feeling, but I knew the zebra meant no harm. I approached her with confidence.
“Hello,” I said. “My name is Spike, and welcome to Ponyville. What’s your name?”
“My name is Zecora, little whelp,” the zebra replied. “Are you alone? Do you need help?”
“Sorry, he’s with me,” Twilight replied as she approached Zecora. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I’m a recent resident here in Ponyville. I never saw you around these parts, Zecora.”
“I live in the forest of Everfree.” Zecora removed her hood. “Is that why the others think I'm scary?”
“Probably. A lot of dangerous creatures reside in that forest, like that Ursa Minor a while back. It would make sense that they would be afraid of somepony like you.”
“Well, I can assure you that I mean no threat. I’m sure the others will realize it yet. Perhaps one day, you may come to visit. That doesn’t sound troubling for you two, is it?”
“Not at all, but could you give us directions to your home?”
Zecora told us the safest and fastest path in the Everfree Forest, and she told us what plants and animals to avoid, like poison joke and cockatrices. She then headed back into the Everfree Forest.
“Now we just need to convince the rest of Ponyville to see that Zecora doesn’t harm anypony,” said Twilight.
“First, let’s go find the girls.” I pointed to Sugarcube Corner. “I have a feeling they’re in there.”
We headed inside, and just like in the show, the girls were in there. They have seen Twilight and I talking to Zecora, and they were left speechless.
“Well, wallop my withers,” said Applejack. “You must've gotten nerves of steel to be able to talk to her.”
“Well, it helps not to be a xenophobe.”
“Uh...is that a fancy word for pony?”
“It means somepony who’s afraid of other cultures,” said Twilight.
“Where is the zebra now?” Rainbow asked.
“Heading back to the Everfree Forest,” Twilight replied. “She said it was okay for us to come over sometime. Why don’t we go now? It would be nice to share cultural differences between different creatures.”
“How ‘bout some other time?” Applejack asked. “Applebloom and I need to head back and finish our chores.”
“Oh, where is she?”
“Right...here…? Uh, oh! Where IS she?”
We all called for Applebloom.
“Did Applebloom say anything about where she was going?” I asked.
Applejack replied, “She wanted to speak to Zecora as well, but I couldn’t let her. She must’ve snuck out!”
“She might be heading to the Everfree Forest! We gotta stop her!”
The girls and I ran out of Sugarcube Corner and into the forest. It didn’t take long before we found Applebloom. My heart sank when she was about to step in some blue flowers.
“STOP!!”
Applebloom stopped dead in her tracks. Applejack rushed to pick her up.
“What do ya think yer doing, wandering the forest by yerself?! You could’ve gotten hurt!” Applejack scolded.
“I just wanna talk to Zecora,” Applebloom replied.
“We’ll go together and meet her someday, but not today.”
“Glad you’re safe,” Rainbow Dash said.
I nodded in agreement, but then I saw…
“Rainbow Dash! You stepped in poison joke!” I yelled.
Rainbow Dash flew out of the flowers. “Oh, no. What’s gonna happen to me?”
“Nothing good, I’m afraid.”
“Wait, those blue flowers?” Rarity asked. “I might’ve stepped on one, too.”
“Oh...so have I,” Fluttershy added.
I slapped my forehead. “Oh great.” I sat down, but I regretted doing so, because something brushed my tail. I turned to see what that something was. The same blue flowers. "Oh, man."
“Nopony move!” Twilight shouted. “Zecora told me these poison joke flowers are dangerous. Everypony watch your step and try not to touch each other until we get out of this forest!”
We did just that. Twilight levitated me with her magic while the others tried to walk without touching any of the other poison joke. Pinkie, Applejack, Twilight and Applebloom were the only ponies who didn’t come to contact with the flowers.
“Now what do we do?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“You'll have to take a shower or something,” Twilight replied. “I’m sure it’ll wash off.”
“It’s a little more complicated than that, Twilight,” I said. “Maybe we should talk to Zecora. She'll know what to do.”
“We don’t have time, Spike. It’s getting late. If you still have an infection tomorrow, then we’ll visit Zecora.”
The girls returned home. When Twilight and I came home, I took a shower. I knew it wouldn’t work, but I couldn’t go out at night without Twilight worrying about me. I remembered there was a book in the library somewhere that talked about a poison joke cure, but I’ll have to find it tomorrow. That is assuming I don’t transform into a weird creature.
It was already morning. I felt like I only slept for five minutes.
Twilight yawned. “Good morning...Spike?”
“Morning.” I yawned as well. Then I noticed Twilight staring at me. “Oh, no. What did the poison joke do?”
Twilight pulled out a mirror and showed me. I gasped at my reflection. Instead of a dragon, I was a pony. I was purple with a green mane, and I didn’t have wings or a horn. I didn’t have a cutie mark either.
“Oh, no! I’ve been ponified!” I yelled.
“Calm down, Spike,” Twilight reassured me. “Let’s find a cure for this.” Twilight began looking through all the books.
“Try looking in Supernaturals: Natural Remedies. It might have something.” I suddenly tripped out of my bed. I was a pony for less than five minutes and I already wanted to be a dragon again.
Twilight searched and found the book. She flipped through the pages and found the cure.
“Oh, wow,” Twilight said amazed. “The cure seems really easy. All you need to do is take a herbal bubble bath.” She picked up a book about herbs and searched for the plants needed. “Looks like most of these plants reside in the Everfree Forest. Maybe Zecora can help us—”
BAM!! “Ow!”
BAM!! “Ow!”
BAM!! CRASH!!
We turned to see Rainbow Dash crashing into the library.
“Twilight! That poison stuff messed with my wings!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “I can’t control them!”
“And I can’t see anything!” Rarity came in looking like a shaggy dog, which freaked us out.
“Is everypony alright?” Applejack rushed into the room with Pinkie Pie and Applebloom. They were all their normal selves. Applejack then noticed me.
“Twilight, ya didn’t tell us ya had a lil’ brother.” Applejack chuckled.
“That’s not funny, Applejack!” I rebutted. “Where’s Fluttershy?”
“Applebloom and I went to see if she was alright, but...”
Fluttershy walked in. She looked normal, but I knew what happened to her.
“What’s wrong with you, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.
A deep voice came out of Fluttershy’s mouth: “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Pinkie Pie guffawed at our misfortunes. “This is hilarious! We got Harity, Rainbow Smash, Flutterguy, and...Spike. Yeah, I’ve got nothing.”
Now I know how Twilight felt in the show.
“This isn’t funny, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “The poison joke affected everypony except you, Applejack, Applebloom, and me. Now, I managed to find a book about curing this. All it takes is a herbal bath, but there’s a catch.”
“What's the catch?” Rainbow asked as she slid across the floor.
“Most of the ingredients are in the Everfree Forest.” She grabbed the plant book. “I think we should visit Zecora. She’ll know exactly where to find them. Follow me.”
I hopped on Twilight’s back. I then saw Rainbow Dash crash into a bookshelf.
“Rainbow, just stop flying!” I yelled.
“I can’t! My wings won’t stop flapping!” Rainbow retorted.
“I’ll help ya!” Applejack pulled out a lasso and tied Rainbow’s wings to her body. “There. Now ya can’t fly.”
Twilight ran off to the forest with the rest of the Mane Six and Applebloom following close behind.
Pinkie gasped. "I got it! Spikelight! Since Twilight and Spike look alike."
"Pinkie, please." I looked at my hooves and then Twilight's back. The colors almost matched.
You know what? She has a point.
“Stay close to me, girls,” Twilight said. “Zecora gave us directions to her house. We should be there soon.”
I heard a trip and a thud.
“Easier said than done, darling,” Rarity said as she got up.
“Wait for me!” Rainbow Dash called out. It was hard for her to keep up without her wings.
“What does Zecora’s house even look like?” Applejack asked.
“I've read in a book that zebras usually decorate their homes with masks and bottles,” I replied. “If we find something like that, we might find Zecora.”
It didn't take long until we all arrived at our destination. The tree matched closely to my description.
“This must be where Zecora lives.” Twilight knocked on the door. “Zecora! Open up! We need your help!”
Zecora opened the door. “How can I help you, pony folk?” She then noticed what happened to me. “Oh, no. Did you step in Poison Joke?”
“Yeah, so did Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy,” I replied. "But it was by mistake."
Twilight pulled out the book, “We need help gathering these ingredients. I’ve read that you need to mix them with a bath to cure the poison joke effects.”
Zecora read the book. “These ingredients are not very rare. I just happened to have most of them here.”
We all entered Zecora’s home as she fetched the ingredients for us. As she was mixing the cauldron, the girls learned a lot about Zecora. The decorations she had were treasures from Zebrica that she took with her when she left. Her way of speaking was how the other Zebricans spoke, and the cauldron is used for all the potions she makes.
“The cure for Poison Joke is almost done. All the ingredients are here but one.” Zecora stopped mixing. “Complete this potion I will, I just need an ingredient from Ponyville.”
“But all of the shops mysteriously close when Zecora comes to town,” Applebloom said. “How can we convince the other ponies to stay open?”
“I think I know what to do,” said Twilight.
We returned to Ponyville with Zecora. The rest of the ponies freaked out after seeing Zecora again. It didn’t help that they assumed we were cursed by Zecora. Thankfully, Twilight was able to talk to everypony about accepting Zecora, and she gathered the last ingredient needed for the potion. We then went to the spa and used the big bathtub for the cure. All of us who were affected by the Poison Joke jumped in. Pinkie jumped in as well, even though she wasn’t affected.
The cure itself worked instantly. Rarity’s back to her old look, Fluttershy sounded cuter, Rainbow Dash was able to fly perfectly again, and I was glad that I turned back into a dragon. I never understood how could anypony get used to not having hands or feet, let alone fingers.
After seeing what the bath can do, one of the spa ponies asked Zecora if she could get the recipe for it. Zecora agreed.
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I wonder if she'd be interested in being this Brony-in-Spike's body date at the Grand Galloping Gala?
Nice.
That is interesting, the effects of PJ on Spike; I expected the stuff to turn him back into a human or a more Anthro Spike look.
I wonder who will be the first to see past his 'disguise' and find him to be different...(AKA a brony)
Dude, this fic started good, but know you are rushing stuff and just telling some parts, like that conversation with moon dancer, you either don't mention that, or put the conversation in the story, or the last part of it at least.
IMO, it is because ancient Zebras didn't know that germs cause disease
They blamed evil spirits (Who knows, maybe in EQ they DO spread diseases)
Healers wore masks so the spirits wouldn't know that they were zebras
Know, the masks around her hut are just to show that she is a healer
Like a Red Cross or a caduceus
I appreciate that he was messing up. You see in most fics like this the authors never think about the main characters being wrong or messing up. "Spike" here knew about the danger of the flowers and still got infected which is something small but really makes him seem more "alive" as a character. Honestly, I was worried when he started telling that librarian to go on vacation. He messed up there and while I complained about it a few chapters ago that sticking would have been for the best. He would forget about her for a while and in a few years... or whatever the timeline is, he would see her stressed out and realized he messed up. That would make a better character scene because the mistakes are what make's a character.
I know rhyming is hard but that was an insult.
Spike still has to actually remind Twilight about her friends back in Canterlot before too long, or Moondancer might still turn into a hermit. Possibly becoming even more bitter because Spike visiting might be taken as an implication that Twilight knows but doesn't care.
Granted, it will probably take a while for Moondancer to get to that point, but Twilight needs to at the very least send a letter herself at some point, or make a point to try to visit during her next trip to Canterlot.
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Ok, I guess that Canadian thing makes sense, but I still doubt bringing in your own food cart to a national event like this was a good idea. As for talking with Celestia, I doubt that happened. We know that it was a disaster, and I feel like Celestia would have warned applejack that no one would buy the food.
10124114
You are missing the point, AJ wanting to sell food isnt the problem. The problem is she is trying to sell food at a private function not a festival. Lets say the Canadian Prime Minister was hosting a private dinner. Such an event would definitely be catered by an official catering company. Now lets say you tried to show up to that with a food cart. The security isnt going to let you in.
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lets be honest, better way would for the apples to cater for the even t. at least partially.
and considering how long until the gala actually happens, there IS more than enough time to set that kind of thing up.
"Or make birds sing off key?"
Unironically something that would make me fear Zecora if that was something she could do.
Spike kind of has the conversational subtlety of a freight train.
10400643
Can freight trains even carry a conversation?
I was originally hesitant to accept the poison joke turning Spike into a pony. But then after Pinkie mentioned he looked like Twilight, I completely agree with it.
Serves Spike right for stealing all Twilight's lines.
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Hah! Serves him right indeed! Pranks are awesome at times.
Will it do the same on Ember or Smolder I wonder? Probably a good prank on Garble.
One day I really wanna hear flutterguy sing What a Wonderful World.
MY MAN
I buck me in the earlope... I learned something new today
Nice 👍
Yet...
Mad respect for ryming with Zecora 👏 I cant ryme on english... Learning to write in english 4 years now but damn... That hard! Mad respect my dude
Do we get a smoothy with that?
Also buy her supplys. Maybe she makes Spike a mustage potion so he can wooo
Marshmallow buttRarityClapping this cheeks? Dont mind if i do
Time to wooo and date Rarity Marshmallow butt Bell
Or legal for that matter.
*Guard ponys come and Arrest Dusty for her behavior*
Guards Pony: Thanks for helping us find this criminal scum! We make sure she will be snuggeld into submission by the guards in the detail *wink*
Spike: " Aaaa justice is served & that Pony is going to have a goooood time ~♡"
Fungeon for the win!
Tm-Cadance, for your own health and minimum of risk we suggest not to work yourself to hard. The snuggel police is always watching!
Hmmm... I can think of a Fungeon or three
O snap! Twilight will have a meltdown when she finds Spike is denied knownlage. Especially since interspecies
Kamasutrarelationship advice is needed to woo that mare.That dragon going to tap that
marshmallow buttLaughing like a Hyena... Or the joker...
Dear Nightsky... I think i fall in love with Pinkies Pie ♡
Wait... Isnt Spike a adult Or Teen Pony earthpony...
Damn Spike has balls of steel to mount Twilight infront of everyone... . . . .. .. .
KING OF THE UNICORN MOUNTAIN ♡
Mane Five unless Spike get a promotion...
This time
David-Spike im very dissapointed... You lost your chance to wooo Marshmallow Waifu
Now he needs to find another way to
'Tap that mmmm'
Or having one big instead of two medium with features
Spike was awesome this chapter ♡
10273348
Plus Apple dishes don't exactly scream fancy and it's a fancy party which means only the expensive fancy food will be eaten.
Pinkie Cupcakes fan made videos... Enough said...
In one of my stories they meet Zecora prematurely, as in pre episode one.
I think Zecora is waaay under used.