Twilight looked up from her map, looked around the area of the Everfree they were in, and nodded. She then pulled out a pencil and began adding to it.
"Are ya sure this is a good idea?" AJ asked, momentarily setting down her back pack.
"Don't worry, I've done some research and conclude that most of the dangerous creatures only come out at night."
AJ raised an eyebrow. "Most of them?"
"...More or less..."
AJ just shook her head, wondering how she got herself roped into this. Twilight had decided a few days ago to chart a sort of 'Atlas' of the Everfree forest. That way, if any of them had to come back again, they would have a better understanding of the area. She had brought with her various cameras, compasses and notebooks to both survey the area and record the various plants and wildlife she found.
"Remind me again why you wanted me to go?" Aj asked, looking around nervously for any monsters.
"Because your the strongest of our friends." Twilight said, writing down more data. "If I do happen to get into trouble, I'll have you here to help me out."
Twilight looked up and saw AJ giving her a flat look.
"...That and you were the only one available to help me carry these supplies. Twilight admitted with a nervous grin.
AJ just grinned and went back to looking around. They had remained on one of the few natural 'paths' in the Everfree, but the area was still darkened with the tall trees casting ominous shadows around them.
"You do realize that braver people than yourself have tried to chart this place and never succeeded, right?"
Twilight waved a non-chalant hand. "That's usually because they didn't have adequate supplies, got scared off too soon, and they didn't often battle against monsters and evil mages of the sort."
AJ had to give her a point there.
Still, she remained on the look out for anything that would jump out at them.
*CRACK*
AJ and Twilight jumped when she heard the distinct sound of a branch snapping.
"Ok, whose there!?" AJ said, getting her magic ready. "Come on, show yourself! I know you're there!"
The bushes shuffled again as Twilight stood beside her friend, her magic ready.
The bushes shuffled as the thing got closer. AJ and Twilight got tense.
The first thing they saw as the creature stepped out was.......
....a familiar pink bow.
AJ's eyes widened in shock as she recognized the thing.
"Applebloom!?"
Applebloom gave a nervous grin. "h-hey sis. Hey Twi..."
"What are you doing out here!?" AJ stomped towards her sister. "Didn't I tell ya it was too dangerous to come with me!?"
Applebloom hung her head in shame. "A-ah'm sorry sis! But I just wanted to see the Witch!"
AJ shook her head and groaned. "Not that silly story again."
"'The witch'?" Twilight echoed, tilting her head in confusion. "What witch?"
"The witch that moved into the Everfree forest a few weeks ago!" Applebloom exclaimed. "Didn't you know?"
"Huh?"
AJ sighed. "It's just some dumb rumor that started a few days ago. Some people thought they saw someone moving around the forest and imagined her a some kind of witch! What load of applesauce!"
"It's true!" Applebloom jumped up. "Rumble said he saw her shadow a few days ago! A-and Twist saws she knows a guy who saw her moving trunks here before that!"
"Applebloom..." Twilight stepped forward. "I'm sure that's just a story made up by someone to scare some people. You can't believe every rumor you hear."
"Besides.." AJ spoke up. "Who in their right mind would willingly live here?" She gestured to the forest around them. "They'd have to be plum crazy!"
*SNAP*
*RUSTLE*
The trio quickly looked around. Applebloom went pale.
'Ah would reckon now would be good as time as any to pack up now?" AJ asked, casting a glance at Twilight who nodded and began to rapidly pack up her supplies.
Twilight had just finished when the rustling continued again, causing the girls to tense up.
After a moment of nothing, the girls relaxed a little....
.....just as a cragadile jumped out of the bushes and roared at them!
AJ shot a blast of magic at the beast before yelling over her shoulder. "RUN!"
Twilight grabbed Applebloom's hand and took off followed by AJ then the even angrier cragadile.
They raced into the forest, dodging trees and jumping over rocks and logs.
"Hey!" AJ ran in another direction. "Over here you overgrown rock!" She looked over at the other two. "Keep going! I'll catch up in a bit!"
"But-" Twilight tried to argue.
"GO! I'll be fine! Just keep mah sister safe!"
With the cragadile's attention on her friend, Twilight raced off, dragging the younger girl behind her.
"W-where are we going!?" Applebloom asked.
"Away from the cragadile!"
"Fair enough!"
The kept going as the sound of the cragadile grew faint before they finally stopped to catch their breat.
"Ok...I think...we lost it...." Twilight wheezed.
"But what about Applejack!?" Applebloom asked. "We've gotta go back for her!"
"Don't worry." Twilight reassured her. "You're sister's strong, both literally and figuratively, I'm sure she'll be fine." She took a quick look around. "The only problem now is figuring out how to get out of here!"
They began walking through the forest, this time being more careful of their surroundings.
"W-what if we run into that witch?"
"I told you: there is no witch. But if there is something out here, then I'm ready for it!"
Twilight began moving some bushed aside and stepped forward....
......only for the ground to crumble away, sending her tumbling down a small cliff!
"TWILIGHT!" Applebloom shouted, before sliding down after her.
Thankfully, the cliff wasn't too big or too steep, and Twilight still rolled the way down before landing in a bush.
However, she had still received several bruises and cuts from her tumble, and her head was starting to spin.
"Twilight!? Twilight!? Are you ok!?"
Applebloom's voice began to fade and Twilight struggled to keep her eyes open.
Her vision fuzzy, Twilight could just make out a figure in a brown cloak approaching them.
She blinked, and then her world turned black.
The first thing Twilight was aware of was that her body was aching. Her memories were hazy. There was AJ and....some sort of reptile....running....falling?
"Hey, I think she's waking up!"
She knew that voice! It was Applebloom! But what was she doing here? Slowly, she began to sit up...
....until she felt a warm hand on her shoulder gently pushing her back down.
"Please, you need your rest, if you wish to be at your best."
Confused by the rich, accented voice, Twilight began to blink open her eyes, clearing her vision and looked around.
What she saw was a large, round room filled with various potions, plants and books. Several strange and exotic masks and other relics also decorated the walls, though Twilight couldn't place their origin at the moment. In the center of the room was a large cauldron brewing with something over a fire.
Finally, she focused on the two other figures in the room. The first she recognized instantly as Applebloom with a look of relief on her face.
The second was new to Twilight. She was about a tall as Luna,with light grey skin with several....strips? along the legs and under her blue eyes. She wore some sort of traditional white dress with black markings with a purple sash tied around the waist. She wore several large gold bands around her wrists, ankles and ever her neck! On her ears were large, gold hoop earrings. What really caught Twilight's attention was her hair. Not only was it striped with white and grey, but it was styled in a mohawk!
"Uh...hello?" Twilight managed to weakly ask. "Where am I?"
"You took a mighty fall, thankfully it wasn't such a close call."
The stranger went over to the table, picked up a cup and ladle before going to the cauldron and pouring some of the mixture into the cup before handing it to Twilight.
Twilight sniffed the strange concoction, not seeing anything like it before. But since she wasn't in any position to be picky, she slowly drank it down.
The various herbs and spices tasted strange on her tongue, but it soon filled her belly and warmed her up. It also seemed to heal the pain too.
It was then Twilight noticed several 'patches' of sorts along her arms, legs, and stomach.
It was also at that moment she realized she was just wearing her undergarments and she quickly clutched the blanket back to her chest, blushing.
The stranger chuckled at her antics.
"You do not need to fret, my dear. We are all women here."
It was then Applebloom stepped forward and introduced the stranger.
"Twilight, this is Zecora. She found us after you fell and has been using her plants and skills to heal you up. Turns out, she's the Witch of the Everfree!"
Zecora chuckled again.
"I assure you, I am no witch, and possess no magic. I am merely a healer, who keeps wounds from turning tragic."
With that, she gesture for Twilight to move the blanket so she could check her work. Twilight reluctantly did so and Zecora began scraping away the patches there, and nodding with approval when she saw there was nothing but healthy, undamaged skin underneath.
"Nothing more than some bruises and scratches. Cured quickly thanks to my special mixture patches."
Just as she began examining the work on Twilight's arm, the door flew open, revealing a determined Applejack.
"Let my friend and sister go you witch!"
Zecora, startled, took a step back while Applebloom stepped forward.
"Applejack, it's ok! Zecora is-"
"Get away from her Applebloom! I saw her taking you and Twi back here. And I saw that Twi was unconscious-"
"APPLEJACK!"
Twilight quickly jumped up from the bed and ran over to her friend and grabbed her arm.
"It's alright! She helped me! I was hurt and she was healing me!"
AJ just blinked, taking in those words while looking Twilight over.
"Err...Twi?....Do I wanna know why you don't got your clothes on?"
Twilight blinked, realized she was still in her underwear, and began blushing madly while attempting, in vain, to cover herself up."
'Okay...I'm going put on my clothes...and then we'll explain."
Thankfully, Zecora had taken the liberty of washing, drying, and even folding Twilight's clothes while she was out.
Soon enough, they were all sitting at the table drinking tea while everything was explained.
"So....you not an evil witch?" Applebloom asked.
Zecora shook her head. "As I have stated before, I am a simple healer, not a witch of lore."
"Then, why in the world would you live in the Everfree Forest?" Aj asked before taking a sip.
"This forest has many unique plants to use for my potions. However, working with them can be dangerous and often lead to explosions. But that is why I work out here. The people I might hurt are nowhere near."
"Oh..." AJ hung her head. "Then...I'm sorry about they way I yelled at you, and what I said...."
"It is quite alright. I'm just happy we didn't have to fight."
It was Twilight's turn to speak. "And thank you for healing me. I've never seen anything like it before."
"It was my pleasure. Helping those in need is my own treasure. In my homeland I've studied this for years. Using plants to heal the body and making sure the wound disappears."
"If I may ask...what made you decide to come here? Now?"
In summary (because the writer doesn't want to beat herself up over trying to keep rhyming), Zecora explained that her people believed in divination using the stars. A few weeks ago, she noticed some changes in the positions in several key stars and and began using several divination techniques before she realized the stars were telling her to come here, to near Canterlot.
"Why do you suppose that?" Twilight asked.
"For that I cannot tell. Right now I am content to wait, and see if all is well."
They chatted some more, with Twilight explaining her Atlas idea with Zecora agreeing to help with mapping the area and recording and identifying the different types of plants and animals! Soon it got late at the girls left the carved out tree, waving goodbye to their new friend.
"She sure was nice!" Applebloom noted.
"Yeah...I feel real bad how I treated her." AJ sighed. "It's just...after I took care of the cragadile I saw her carrying you back to her home. And you weren't moving..."
Twilight put an arm around her friend's shoulders. "She said she forgave you. Thanks for being so concerned about us."
"I can't wait to tell all about her to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle!" Applebloom said.
AJ smiled. "Yeah...looks like we've got some rumors to correct."
Twilight smiled. "And tell them about our new friend!"
With that, the girls went to some well deserved rest.
