> Waking Up in Black and White
>  by _Kenzu_
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Black and White and Feeling Just Not Right
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1
 
Feeling Black and White is Just Not Right

_____________
 
Morning
 
        That cursed time that people always say is the best part of the day. I don’t know who had come up with such a convincing can of worms, but I suppose it must have worked. Everyone does it.
 
I groaned as I felt the first rays of sunlight pierce the darkness of my bedroom, assaulting my closed eyes with unwelcomed light.  The same warm welcome the morning always brings, and like every morning before… I rolled over to try to ignore it.
 
The idea of waking up early was completely lost to a night owl like me. There wasn't much sense in waking up in the morning and losing valuable sleep that could have been better used to stay up later at night. Especially since the night was much more relaxing than any morning I’d ever seen since I graduated.
 
I shifted underneath the covers again, letting them cover my head to force away the prying light. Heh, the covers this morning felt a little heavier than they normally did, but a lot warmer as well. I didn't think much more about it as I began to feel the slow comforting sensation of unconsciousness retake me.
 
I was just delaying my inevitable wake up call and I knew it. Still I suppose I couldn't be blamed for trying.
 
This was my regular schedule for how days went lately. Since I had started college, every day began to feel more like a few scripted events rather than a normal day, like it had been back in highschool. Wake up call was always at 8 A.M with the alarm clock going off, shortly followed by me hitting said infernal device every five minutes as it reset to make it out of bed at 9 A.M.
 
9 A.M to 10 A.M consisted of taking a shower and hurriedly grabbing books, paper and anything else I needed for another day in the stimulating life of an information technologies major. 11 A.M to 2 P.M was allotted for desperately trying to cram all the information on the inner working of a motherboard and hard drive into a single binder for the eventual midterm.
 
3 PM to 8 P.M was snatched up by my part time job working in the back of the college bookstore. It was mostly heavy lifting and labeling to make sure everything was going where it needed to be. If I wasn’t doing that there was always a freshman that needed a new chemistry manual, or a senior coming in to return his entire college career’s worth of books. A bookstore part timer had a lot more work than most people would initially think.
 
8:30 P.M to 9:30 P.M was possibly the worst part of the day, my night class. To be more specific, Chem lab was the worst time of my day. Chemistry was certainly lost to me. I wasn't even sure why I needed to know all the isotopes of carbon, or the chemical bonds they could create. Nothing like that would help in moving any further in a field of music and sound development.
 
It wasn't that I hated the teacher himself. It was just mind numbingly brutal to watch the hours slip by till I could finally go home. It didn't help that the professor seemed to enjoy making the periodic table and chemical equations sound even more dull and drab than they already were.
 
10 P.M to 3 A.M was the part of the day I always worked for. It was the precious “me” time before starting the entire day over again at 8 AM. This was almost entirely spent on the computer wasting my time, particularly in Logic Pro trying to make some form of dubstep or symphonic music.
 
That was the routine I lived out life by with very few exceptions. Of course there were those rare exceptions, and weekends where I would live dangerously and head down to the movie theater to watch the hottest thing with a couple friends, or head to the beach with its famous white sands during the warmer months, but those events happened few and far between. Sometimes I forgot to check for new events with everyone altogether.
 
I was a bit of a social recluse, spending a lot of my time on my computer, Ipad, or some other piece of handheld technology. I probably had more online friends than actual friends, but in this day and age that was rather common. Though if anyone had taken the time to get to know me, or more simply, search through my computer’s web history what they’d find would most likely surprise some people.
 
Ponies.
 
Ok, ok, I’ll say it, I was a brony, not that I would openly admit it to many people. For most of the public, the idea of twenty plus year old men watching a cartoon show targeted for three year old little girls wasn't an easy concept to come to terms with. There were plenty of satires on TV now of the fandom in general, more poking fun at the idea than openly malicious.
 
For myself, I had a few of my own unique problems about what was socially acceptable in the local community. The small town of Pensacola Florida was more of a traditional stylized southern town, and like most towns in the Deep South, anything that didn't line up with the traditional value system wasn't widely appreciated. Things star wars nerds, trekkies, and the occasional brony were almost an endangered species in the area.
 
That however was all before the thing that had happened nine days ago. Every person on the planet had probably done their own personal spit take when the two rulers of Equestria, Princess Celestia and her little sister Luna, randomly threw a press conference on television to announce they needed the elements of harmony immediately.
 
No, no, this wasn't any sort of Hub network television special. CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and possibly any other news agency with a name was broadcasting it live and in real life in New York.
 
                I missed the actual live airing, but websites like Ponychan, Equestria Daily, even Fimfiction were keeping up with almost every little detail of what had happened since then. Apparently ten days ago, Lauren Faust, the creator of the current generation of My Little Pony had woken up as none other than Princess Celestia. Shortly thereafter Tara Strong, the voice actor of the main character had become Princess Luna.
 
                To say that the media had a field day on the coverage since then was an understatement. Each day it seemed there were more cases of what was being called “Ponification” which in turn had caused more and more news reports about the “pony problem” or “The Equestrian Invasion” as some news groups had started called it, depending on which source you chose.
 
For me, it seemed more like a movie or some strange twist of a story than actual reality. It just seemed like an interesting distraction. Nothing in my life had really changed at all, other than the calendar days going bonkers whatever reason. Now every week was its own year, which had thrown my overall weekly schedule to hell and back.
 
Some said that it was the effect of this “magic” messing with our world. Others thought it was just another huge prank caused by some elaborate virus a master hacker from who knows where had made it. The more out there theories of course, linked it directly with the pony issue in New York City, because everything was always tied to everything else. Coincidences were never allowed to happen apparently.
 
In the end though, nothing was new for me. So long as I kept focused on classes and my job I doubted life would change much.
 
Just as those thoughts had entered my head I finally felt sweet unconsciousness take me again...
 

‘BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP…’


        


DAY 10 8:00 AM

 
Or not…
 
“Ugh…” I mumbled, trying to cover my ears from my nemesis. I managed to crack an eye open to stare at the illuminated alarm clock from across the room. After a couple… incidents with the snooze button, I kept my alarm clock as far away from my bed as possible to keep from sleeping right through it. The only flaw in the strategy was that I had to actually make an effort to get out of bed to hit the snooze button.
 
I closed my eyes again and rolled over, trying to ignore the racket for as long as I could. Just five more minutes and the clock would automatically go to snooze on its own, if I could make it through that long.
 
“Ugh… Make that infernal sound cease,” I muttered into my pillow, “so that I may sleep in peace.” I stopped trying to bury my head into the covers momentarily as soon as the sound I had heard was finally processed.
 
‘Wait…. What?’
 
Something seemed wrong with my voice. It was far too deep for how I normally spoke. Great, I must have caught some sort of bug the other day. No wonder I felt so out of it last night.
 
“To wake up sick in bed,” I groaned, “only means a long day ahead” I paused for a moment as I took the sounds in. My ears twitched strangely with each word. The feeling itself was strange and unsettling. My ears had never twitched before, and it felt like they had… moved?
 
“W-what happened to my ears? Something’s wrong I fe-.” I stopped myself in mid sentence.
      
I was certain now that something was wrong with my voice. It was far too deep, and alarmingly feminine to be my own, but what worried me more was how the words had been spoken. It was one thing to have an illness effects on your voice, but no sickness caused a person to suddenly develop a completely different accent.
 
Groggily I pulled my head out of my pillow to look around. Nothing about my room had really changed. As far as I could see, the floor was still littered clothes and empty bags of junk food, remnants of long nights of gaming and building music in Logic Pro. I still needed to invest in a trash can beside my computer.
 
At that thought I shifted my attention to the work desk where my computer sat, still in idle with said sound program running just as I had left it the night before. I glanced to the dresser and alarm clock which was silent again. Five minutes had already passed?
 
All in all everything looked just as it had the night before. However as I gazed down to my own bed, I was in for a bit of a rude shock from the bed sheets.
 
My mind began to start running into full gear, but was still unable to process exactly what I was seeing underneath my bed sheets. I was six foot, so normally I wouldn't have been surprised to have my feet hit the back plank of the bed, but as I stared at the small lump under the covers that was my body, I was stunned to see it only reach about half that distance.
 
“W-Wha….?” I mouthed to myself, my voice still sounding foreign to me. I guess it must have been the drowsiness but I still couldn't come to a conclusion to what I was looking at.
 
It was like waking up to see that someone had come during the night, taken your legs, and made off with them. A twinge of fear went through me as I made that thought. Slowly, I stretched a leg as far as I could, which thankfully complied as it moved the sheets underneath, easing my mind slightly.
 
There was something very wrong with the limb though. First off, my leg felt differently, and it was quickly obvious from how the sheets moved that it was not the same shape as before. The more alarming issue was a different sensation that came from just above my rear as I felt something I’d never felt in my life before move as well. An extra limb, what?
 
I gave an audible gulp as I moved an arm to toss the covers off myself. Upon seeing it however, the confusion I had before quickly turned to chilling fear as it came into my view.
 
My “arm” was now just a long stump covered with striped black and white fur. In the place of my hand was now a simple black hoof. I examined the new appendage further in awe as I moved it experimentally. It looked exactly like an animal’s foreleg. Upon studying it though, I noticed that was where the similarities ended. Experimentally, I raised it above my head, out to my side, and everywhere in-between. It acted like an arm… sort of, but it was still a leg, a foreleg?
 
“This is just too much to take, surely I can't be awake.” I said in wonder. I quickly put a ha-hoof to my mouth when the realization of what may have been happening dawned on me.
 
‘A strange accent, twitching ears at the top of my head, striped hooves?’
 
Ponification.

It was happening world wide, even if there was probably a one in five hundred thousand chance of someone contracting it. My luck wasn’t that bad, but here I was with hooves and a voice that was beginning to sound more familiar each time I heard it….
 
‘No, nope, nope nope nope! It can't be, it isn’t, its just some crazy dream.’  I assured myself
 
My attention quickly returned to what laid beneath the covers. If it was true there was one sure way to find out. With another very audible gulp I threw the covers off myself and stared down in a mixture of disbelief and, frankly, mild panic at this point.
 
“This just can’t be as it seems!” the voice, now almost obvious to me, shouted. “I must still be in my dreams!”
 
What I saw when I took off my covers was a small equine body, much smaller than a regular horse's. Pale white, with only a couple dull black stripes covered it’s…my… body and legs. There was also a tail with long flowing striped hairs that twitched reflexively as it came into contact with the still warm bed sheets.
 
What had immediately caught my attention was distinct spiral sun marking adorning my flanks that I knew only too well. I quickly turned away before I could check downstairs for changes in plumbing I was almost sure had occurred. There was no need to think of what was obviously a gender swap.
 
“Is this… me?” I mumbled under my breath. “It just can’t be.” I gasped again as my hoof quickly found itself to my mou- er-  muzzle for a second time. Another jolt of surprise and horror hit me when I realized I had ended the sentence with rhyme. Had I rhymed every sentence this entire morning?
 
I briefly went over everything I had said since I woke up, only to confirm that it was right. I had indeed spoken in rhyme without even thinking of it. I began to feel myself physically tremble as I thought of what that meant. The only pony I knew that rhymed was…. no, nope, not happening. This had to be a dream.
 
I must have sat there staring in disbelief for what felt like hours before I was brought back to reality. Immediately the alarm clock began blaring again to remind me that my five minutes of peace and quiet were over.
 
‘Oh… right, one thing at a time I guess…’ I thought to myself. I almost refused to speak those words out loud in case they ended up twisted into another rhyme of some sort.
 
I simply looked at the direction of the angry little clock before I reminded myself I had to physically move to turn it off. Shakily I picked myself up onto all four… legs. Just like so many other feelings this morning, standing on four legs was an immediate strange sensation. It was nothing like having two legs to balance on, but it didn't seem uncomfortable. I quickly had to refocus as a hoof suddenly sank slightly into the springs of the mattress.
 
Before long I inched my way towards the edge of mattress, almost losing my balance for a moment before peering over the edge down to the floor. My bed was about a good 2 feet from the floor, not much of a drop, but when you find yourself half your original size it felt like jumping off the roof of a building. I fidgeted my hoof, unsure of what to do before I finally had enough nerve to make the step. Steadily I brought my right foreleg down to the floor, followed quickly by the rest of my body face first with a loud thump.
 
“Ouch!” I yelped, more from surprise than actual pain. “Oh… my aching head,” I groaned unconsciously rubbing away the dull pain, “I should have stayed in be-” I quickly shut my mouth before I could finish the sentence.
 
‘Stop rhyming!’ I scolded myself in my mind.  
 
I picked myself up again and stood shakily on the carpeted floor. Well, step one had been achieved, I had made it onto the ground, now for the alarm clock. All I had to do was make it across my self made obstacle course of laundry. ‘Perhaps there is some merit in keeping a clean room after all.’ I thought to myself sarcastically.
 
I brushed the thought aside as I steadily trotted towards the dresser.
 
“Oof.”
 
Or at least I would have if I had known how to control four legs. Without thinking my hind legs had moved forward along with the rest of my body causing me to fall flat on my face for the second time in a row. I got up again, this time more carefully before I tried moving.
 
I tried again, this time moving one hoof forward and putting some weight on it, only to quickly feel my balance slip from under me. Before I knew it I was on the floor again, thankfully this time I more of plopped down on my flank rather than my face. I didn't bother getting up this time. This wasn't working at all. I needed to figure out a new approach.
 
A grumble escaped my throat as I dragged my stomach across the floor slightly when it hit me. If I couldn't walk I could at least drag myself to the clock! After all it was what babies did before they learned to walk. A small voice in the back of my head protested the idea of acting like a baby, but still it was more progress than walking!
 
I turned to my right hoof and dragged it slowly across the floor, and to my surprise actually found myself move an inch closer to my goal. ‘Ha-ha!’ I thought to myself in triumph. ‘Take that gravity!’ Four legs aren't going to stop me after all.
 
Steadily I wiggled my way slowly towards the dresser till I found myself before my destination. I looked to the top where the object of my mission had suddenly begun chirping loudly again.
 
‘Ten minutes, it took ten minutes to get from bed, to the dresser. Ugh, worst, dream, ever.’ I groaned inwardly.
 
I looked back down to my legs, still sprawled out on the floor and then back to the top of the dresser. Guess it was finally time to try using what those things were made to do again.
 
As carefully as possible I made my way back onto my four hooves, managing a shaky standing position that probably looked more like a pony that had one too many drinks. I looked back up to the clock that was almost two heads still over me.
 
‘Alright, alright, I can do this’ I psyched myself up mentally as I thought up a plan for getting to the top. I put my right hoof on the top of the dresser, quickly followed by my left, and with a big push was at eye level with my nemesis. With a rewarding ‘thunk’ sound by my hoof, I smacked the off button and all was quiet in my room again.
 
“Phew,” I sighed in relief as I let myself off the cabinet. With the pain from the alarm clock gone I could finally think again. I looked back to my forelegs and hopped off the top of the dresser. With all this done it was now time to get back to bed and sleep through the rest of this dream. There was just one problem with that. I could feel my ears physically flatten against my skull in dissatisfaction as I realized I had to make it back through the room to get there.
 
It was still a weird feeling.
 
I turned my head away in frustration. “Well that’s enough gawk, I’ll just relearn to wal- *gasp*” My body froze completely as I noticed what I was starting straight into when I turned my head.
 
It was my mirror.
 
‘No, it can’t be her. I… it just can't.’ What stared back at me was no human at all. It wasn’t even a pony.
 






I stared straight into the zebra’s sky blue eyes, and saw silent panic on her face, the same panic that was on my face. Her mane was styled into a black and white Mohawk, which seemed to have suffered my morning bed head. Three black stripes flowed off from her eyes; with one large stripe one covering her nose and mouth. I knew exactly who it was, but still didn’t believe it. I was staring straight into the face of Zecora, the only zebra that had ever been MLP FIM.
 
My legs suddenly stopped working once again as I found myself crashing down onto my side. I heard a painful shout as I fell back. It was my tail!
 
My tail had taken the brunt of the fall and bent backwards at an awkward angle. Immediately I felt a hot spike of pain to go up my spine. I never knew having a tail could hurt so much!
 
I stopped rubbing my flank tenderly with a hoof as what I had just thought had made it through my head. I felt pain, lots of pain just now. You never feel pain in a dream.
 
‘No… no, nonononononononono.’
 
I closed my eyes, refusing to see the reflection in front of me. I didn’t want to believe that this was true, it couldn't be true, but it was. It was too much for me to even try to think of never mind accept. The dulling pain from my flank and tail was the only thing that made me aware I was lying prone on the floor.
 
“It’s not a dream… It’s not a dream….” At some point I noticed my voice muttering that phrase over and over like a broken record.
 
After a couple more minutes on the ground shaking I began to wonder. ‘What was going to happen to me now?’  
 
I wouldn't be able to go to college like this, much less have any luck to operate equipment with me han… hooves. How was I going to explain this to everyone I knew, most of all, how would I explain this to my parents?  That thought alone made me pull my hooves in as I began to shake at the results of a heart to heart with them.
 
When I had first heard about ponies coming to earth, I entertained myself with the idea of what sort of pony I would become. But now that it had actually happened, any excitement I had evaporated instantly. I didn’t actually want to be a pony, there were too many things in my life that made that a non option, but now I was her!
 
I was Zecora.
 
One thing was for sure though, this morning stopped being anything but ordinary. ‘On the bright side… I think this qualifies as an excused absence from class.


> To Learn, Explore, and Walk Once More.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I just laid there staring at the ceiling for Celesita knows how long, still trying to process what had just happened to shatter my life. I didn’t want to move. I didn’t want to speak. I didn’t want to do anything that reminded me of the zebra whose body I now inhabited, so I just laid there and stared at the ceiling.

In my mind I tried to will everything back to normal as I closed my eyes. Of course as expected nothing at all was different when I opened them again and turned to see my right hoof in my vision. I had a feeling of complete helplessness. I was a zebra mare from a hit kid television show and there wasn’t anything I could do or say to change that now.

After a second eternity passed the panic and fear finally began to die down as acceptance of the situation slowly forced its way in. ‘Sitting here feeling sorry for myself isn’t going to help in any way’ I thought to myself in defeat.  Steadily I rose to my hooves and looked back to the dresser mirror that towered above my head. ‘Better to just get this over with’.

I got up on my hind legs again and stared at the image in the mirror. There was no doubt about it. Zecora stared straight back at me in awe. Something seemed off about her though, but I couldn’t put my hoof on it. She looked like she was missing something to her. It only took me a second to realize what it was though. Her signature golden rings on her neck and right foreleg, as well as her earrings were missing. ‘I’ll worry about those later.’ I sighed. First, I had to do something else to at least get a little bit of reassurance of myself.

I began to move my mouth slowly forming words and watched as the reflection of Zecora did the same. At first, no sound whatsoever came out. Trying a second time, I heard a small, almost Fluttershy like whimper. “I…” I finally managed to croak out, “I can’t raise any more objection. This is truly my ref-“I cut myself off before I could finish another rhyme. “This is me, Zecora the zebra.” I told myself.

I put a hoof on the mirror as Zecora did the same, feeling a shiver run down my spine as the real and mirror image touched. “And I don’t speak in rhymes.” I declared to myself. I felt my spirits lift up a little at that declaration. Things were still far from getting better, but I felt as if I was starting to lift myself out of the broken heap of stress that was lying on the floor moments earlier.

Content with myself for the moment, I slid off the dresser, again losing balance but quickly correcting myself before another face plant. “Whoever said four legs was easy, lied” I grumbled as I stood up shakily.

I turned my attention back to my desk where I had left my desktop running the night before. Maybe there was something on the internet that could help. After all, there was plenty of news out there on the subject of people turning to ponies, and any information that could help me probably wouldn’t hurt. A part of me wanted to look deeper into this whole ordeal.

Carefully I maneuvered my way back across the room. Admittedly the walking part was becoming a bit easier as I practiced, though I still had to be careful not to trip underneath my own hooves. Slowly, I climbed into my desk chair and gazed at the computer, bumping the mouse to bring it to life when something to my right caught my attention.

There, sitting completely undisturbed on the top of my desk were two large earrings and ten thin golden rings of varying sizes. “This… I must be wrong, but have those been here all along?” I asked rhetorically in a bit of confusion. I put my hoof to my forehead frustrated as I realized what I had said. “I mean… when did those get over here?” It was true though. I didn’t notice them there before. Then again, at the time I was slightly distracted by falling out of bed to look closely at what was on my desk.

I went to grab for one of the larger rings without thinking, almost pushing the entire stack of rings off the desk with my hoof. 

“Oh, right, hooves… not very good for grabbing.” I said to myself, with remorse at the reminder of my lost hands. I wedged my hoof underneath one ring and pulled it up to my face to inspect it closer. “She cheated.” I said in an almost amused tone as I stared at the golden ring.

There was a hinge, almost unnoticeable from a distance, on one side of the ring, and a crease on the opposite side to allow it to snap on and off. Experimentally, I grabbed one end of it with my mouth and pulled the ring open with my hoof. With a snap it opened revealing the hinges on the inside. I balanced it over my neck, between my two hooves and shut it with an audible clicking sound. With greater ease I managed to slowly put on the others as well.

The earrings and arm rings were slightly harder to put on, but after couple minutes of experimenting I managed to get them on successfully. How Zecora did this day in and day out completely eluded me. Guess it just took practice. With the proper attire on I looked at the mirror one last time. I looked exactly how Zecora always appeared in the show, though my mane still was thoroughly roughed up by my morning bed head.

With that out of the way I returned to my computer. I bumped the space-bar with the tip of my hoof, allowing the computer to spring to life from its hibernation. I still had my trusty mechanical keyboard, so typing was still possible but just barley. After a few initial attempts at using the keyboard with my hooves, and dozens of unintended mashed buttons, I gave in and grabbed my Ipad stylus, pressing keys with it using my mouth. 

“First thing is first.” I told myself as I fumbled the mouse over to ITunes icon. I grabbed my pair of noise canceling headphones, sliding them over my head and pressed the shuffle button. The rest of the world was instantly shut away to me as I listened to Clic Clac from DJ Scooter. Everyone had their own personal ways of dealing with stress. My own way was to push the outside world away through music. It really didn’t matter on what type it was, so long as it had a catchy beat to it. I’d often lose myself in one or two songs that I’d repeat over and over, forgetting why I was even worried in the first place.

With the immediate need satisfied I returned to my investigation. Opening the web browser, I quickly went to the DerpyNews.com to see if there was any new information. From day one when Lauren Faust had become Princess Celestia the website along with Equestria Daily had done an amazing job at keeping up to date on the current situation with the ponies, sometimes even getting the information out before the actual news networks. 

As soon as the main page to the website loaded, I rubbed my eyes to make sure what I was looking at was correct. The front page showed a picture of Shining Armor and Flutterhsy waving happily. Underneath was the headline in bold “Fluttershy and Shining Armor Attacked.”

I opened the article and scanned through it thoroughly. Apparently they had been attacked by some sort of anti-pony organization. The article continued, discussing the ramifications of the incident and how local law enforcement had started a routine investigation into the group. To my relief I saw that no one was injured though, apparently thanks to Flutterhsy and her element.

I continued onto other articles, including one about some sort of bizarre incident at an Ihop that involved a gazelle, and Pinkie Pie. For a moment, I wanted to look further into the article before I stopped with one thought. ‘Its Pinkie…it’s probably better just not to ask…’ and with that I moved onto the actual news websites.

There were many out there. Articles and interviews from people who had woken up in similar positions that I had now found myself in, press conferences, and anything from politicians and celebrities on their views in order to gain publicity, to personal blogs, many of which came from this “People against Ponies Association”. I felt a twinge of fear resurface as I looked into them further. 

Apparently they were scattered into many different factions of hate and discontent. Some only wanted ponies to not gain unfair rights, while other cells seemed to want ponies out of the world in any way possible, even if it meant physically. If there were people willing to attack two ponies out in an open parking lot in the middle of the day, I didn’t want to think of what else they would be willing to do. I found myself unnerved at the idea of being hunted down like a common animal. 

My stomach interrupted my thoughts as it grumbled in protest. I looked over at the clock, and noticed the time. ‘8:59 AM’ I had been awake for two hours now and still hadn’t had a thing to eat. I sighed and took off my headphones. “Well no use worrying on an empty stomach.” I sighed and jumped out of my chair.

I looked up at the giant grey bedroom door as I walked up to it and gazed at the door knob perplexingly. I hadn’t actually thought how difficult it would be just to get around my own house till this moment. At first, I tried grabbing it with both my hooves like I had with the rings and gently twist it open. After a couple attempts to do this as my hooves slipped off uselessly I had to try another approach. I bit on the doorknob with my teeth and gave it a twist. One moment, and a bad taste in my mouth later, the door swung open to the rest of my house.

I made my way down the hall towards the kitchen, my hoofsteps echoing against the wooden tile that covered most of the house. I wasn’t worried about waking my parents up. Neither of them were in the house this late in the morning. They both had morning jobs and were usually gone before I had a chance to see them. It was nice to usually get some privacy for myself in the mornings, but now more than ever. Of course, that only delayed the inevitable problem of explaining the situation to them till the afternoon when they would return. But that would just have to be a problem I’d have to face when the time came. For now, I just needed some food.

Upon entering the kitchen I looked around, quickly realizing that mostly everything on the counter tops was now out of reach to my diminutive size. Grudgingly I pulled a chair from the dining room and brought it to the refrigerator door. 

The refrigerator door handle was much easier to open than my bedroom door, being only a simple metal handle that ran the length of the door. I wedged my hoof between the door and handle and pulled. To my dismay though, I only then realized that we had not gone grocery shopping in a week. The fruit bin was empty, as were most of the vegetables. The snack foods of course were gone after the first day. I gazed at the sandwich meat for a moment, but turned away as I felt my stomach twist in knots at disgust. ‘Zebras don’t eat meat you idiot, you’re an herbivore now’ my mind scolded me.

I looked through the rest of the kitchen for anything that would be edible for a zebra. My search brought me to the cabinets where we stored most of the canned goods. With a bit of luck I came across a couple cans of fruit. My mouth watered at the thought of getting to try some pineapple, or peaches. Even the canned spinach seemed slightly more interesting to me now. I was about to pick one up when I realized I had to use a can opener for one.

“I should have known we wouldn’t have any food,” I sighed as I shut the cabinet door and jumped off the chair “but I won’t think straight till this hunger is subdued.” I grumbled as I left the kitchen, much to my stomach’s protest. I guess Zecora must have not eaten for a while, but with no thumbs, cans were out of the question.

Defeated, I turned back to my room and tried looking for anymore information. It wasn’t long however till the nagging in my stomach came back to annoy me again. I knew I couldn’t wait for someone to just come home and open a can for me. I had to go out and find some grub.

“Well there’s the grocery store down the block…” I idly mused to myself. The idea to go outside didn’t sound so appealing, especially with the thought of some anti pony organization out there, but at the same time I knew I couldn’t hide in my house forever, and I had to eat something eventually. My stomach growled in agreement.

I got up and turned to the bathroom. If I was going to go out, I was at least going to presentable. My mane still looked like it had a horrible cow lick, not to mention the fact that between rolling on the floor a couple times and digging through old cabinets I probably didn’t smell to flattering either. 

I walked into the bathroom, and turned to the large walk in shower. As I turned the water on with a hoof, I quickly learned that showering as a pony was very different from washing as a human. 

“COLD!!!” I brayed when I turned wrong handle.

Eventually I left the bathroom still wet after trying to dry myself with a towel with only limited success. But after using an entire bottle of shampoo, and getting to know what a bar of soap tastes like, I was finally clean again. Getting Zecora’s mane into her signature Mohawk was not a simple task either… but after some attempts at using my hooves, I finally managed to get it close enough. I looked into the bathroom mirror now seeing the Zecora I had known so well from the show. Clearly I still had much to learn if I was going to master using this body.

I returned to my room to gather things for my trip outside. The first thing I grabbed was, of course my Ipad and headphones. I almost always had my headphones and music wherever I’d go. Some of my friends even told me that my headphones were bolted to my head. I couldn’t argue with them there. “Out of all the ponies I could have become, you’d think you would have been Vinyl Scratch” I told myself as I put my headphones back over my ears. Hopefully Zecora wouldn’t mind my taste in music.

I grabbed my old Garra gourd backpack. I never used it much because it was small, but given my new size it made an almost perfect improvised saddlebag. With a bit of trouble on my end, I managed to tighten the strap to fit around my torso.

Lastly I pulled my favorite black hoodie from its wrack. I didn’t feel right just walking out into public in just my fur, but after putting the hoodie on it looked as if I was wearing an entire cloak. The sleeves completely covered my forelegs, and the back almost went down to my hooves. “Adjustments must be made.” I declared as I took the huge piece of clothing off.

I retrieved my father’s pocket knife in mouth. “Sorry old friend, but your time is at an end.” I said as I began to cut the sleeves and part of the bottom off. After a couple minutes I was satisfied with the results and put on all my travel gear again.

I looked at the mirror to view my work. Now picture before you, a zebra getting ready for an anime convention, and you probably had a good idea of what I looked like. “If Rarity saw me like this…” I said as I thought out loud. “Oh well, function over fashion.”

I made my way to the front door, and pulled it open. I swore I’d never get used to the taste of metal in my mouth. I looked out to the quiet neighborhood bathed in a mid noon sun as I left the sanctuary of my house. 

There was no one on the street, which of course was little surprise. Most people would be at work at this hour. Most kids would not get out of school for a couple hours. But at the same time I had a dreadful sense that I was exposed out here. It wouldn’t take much for me to cause a scene. As far as I knew I was the only pony, er, zebra in the entire city. The idea of being the center of attention unnerved me.

“It isn’t that far of a walk… only just down the block”. I said to reassure myself but the rhyme didn’t help much. Part of me wondered whether the rhyme had actually been intentional or just another Zecora moment. “Ok, no turning back now.” 

I turned my Ipad to shuffle music and took my first step off of the porch and into an entirely new world in a new body. So many things could go wrong, and probably would. But it was too late to turn back now, and with that, I began my trek down the quiet neighborhood sidewalk.
	

> A Quest, Trial, and Test
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Quest, Trial, and Test

______________

The walk down the neighborhood cul-de-sac was a quiet one. The only sounds made were those of birds chirping or the sound of a distant car driving by. At least, that’s what I would guess anyway. Music pulsed through my headphones and into my ears as I trotted clumsily to the beat. Walking with hooves on flat tile was one thing; broken cement was quickly becoming another thing entirely. I had to be careful as I followed the cracked and uneven surface of the old sidewalk.

The small neighborhood had been showing its age over the recent years. When I was a kid, there were plenty of large families. But as the time moved on, and the economy started to take a turn for the worst many families that grew began to move away, leaving the neighborhood with a bit of an empty feeling to it. Houses that were once bright and colorful with large families in them were now faded and only contained a small old couple. Nothing really stood out as interesting in the small suburb, well, that is except the zebra now walking alongside the road.

As I walked I looked around the neighborhood in complete fascination. Even though it was the same old neighborhood I was simply amazed to see how much was different from a pony’s perspective. I had walked down this street hundreds of times, but for some reason it felt like I was walking on a completely different one.  I looked up at a couple of old pine trees, filled with pine cones ripe with seeds that appeared to be just about ready to fall to the ground, but my attention quickly turned elsewhere.

There was a small garden in front of one of the houses I passed. In it were many varieties of bright and colorful flowers, along with a few tomato plants. What caught my attention though was the Crimson Sage. There was plenty of it, and it seemed to be just about ready to be picked and used, given another day or two of maturing….

I shook my head out of my trance and continued to walk. It didn’t last very long however when I spotted what looked like just an old weed growing beside the sidewalk. It didn’t look anything out of the ordinary, but those roots it had would have been perfect for many different mixtures… I just had to dig it out. Using my teeth, I pulled the thick weed out with a tug, then carefully placed it into my gourd and happily continued on in my journey.

Things continued like this for the next half block. There were just so many things I had never noticed on my walk before. I found it all simply amazing as I looked around. The plants, animals, even some of the insects seemed to be more interesting than I normally would have thought. I stopped paying attention to what was in front of me for just a moment, which apparently was long enough for me to walk straight into a large pillar of meat.

I backed away in surprise as I looked at the large figure staring down at me. It felt like the man was a giant compared to myself. He looked down to me with probably as much surprise for me as I had for him. I could tell he said something along the lines of ‘what on earth are you!?’ as he looked down in shock, but my headphones did a good job of drowning whatever unflattering language he said out.

“Umm…uhh… hi?” I said nervously as I began to walk around him, forcing a sheepish grin. “Don’t mind me… umm... Just walking by.” I didn’t give him a chance to respond. As soon as I got around him I started to trot briskly down the path, and turned the corner. As soon as I thought I was safe from prying eyes I turned around to see if he had followed me. Thankfully, no one was in hot pursuit.

“So much for my first impression…” I lamented to myself. My first time speaking to a human and I had completely choked. If that was how I reacted to just one person seeing me, how was I going to… react… to a…. crowd? A shiver ran up and down my spine as I came to that realization.

 ‘I can’t turn back now. I’m already three quarters of the way there.’ I could see the main road that connected the quiet neighborhood street with the rest of town, and around that corner would be the store. Just a couple more yards and I would be there. I didn’t want to waste another second, so I began running in that direction, hell bent for leather.

‘This was a bad idea, this was a bad idea, this was a bad idea…’ my mind repeated to itself as I made my way up to the store parking lot. I took my headphones off as I got closer to the door, leaving my sanctuary of music with them. I didn’t really want to, but I knew I’d eventually have to talk to someone, and deafening music wouldn’t help me there.

As I walked up to the sliding doors I hesitated for a second. Half of me still wanted to turn around and head back to the safety of my house, but my stomach sided with the other half that wanted to go in. I took a deep breath and stepped onto the pad for the doors. Immediately the doors swung open with an audible ping, letting everyone in earshot know that a new “customer” had entered the store.

The first thing I noticed was that the store was filled with noise. People were talking, registers beeped with every item they scanned, carts clanged against each other as people pushed them into their corrals. But as soon as I had noticed it, I realized that it had almost stopped instantaneously when I took my first step into the store. It felt as if everyone around me had stopped and just stared at the oddly dressed zebra that had walked into the store. I looked to each person and felt butterflies erupt in my stomach as if I had just taken the center stage of a large play.

My eyes went wide as I looked at the faces that stared at me with more expressions than I could count. I could see fear, awe, anger and suspicion as people looked and began to whisper amongst each other. Once again I felt the familiar feeling of my legs beginning to lock and my mind going blank as my panic was about to take over. Instantly my fear outweighed any determination I had to get food. I glanced back to the door, ready to make a bolt for it when I felt just the smallest amount of calmness form in the back of my mind.

I didn’t waste a second as I grabbed onto the feeling with every bit of mental energy I had and dragged it to the surface. ‘Trust yourself’ I thought to myself. ‘You have come all this way, do not give up today.’ My expression cooled at that thought. I took a step forward and gave a reassuring smile to the instant crowd around me.

“I’m sorry; I did not mean to cause a fright.” I said whimsically “I’m here to shop if that’s alright.” It seemed to do the trick. With those words most of the shoppers and employees went back to their own business, though I still felt stares on me and could hear whispers behind my back as I journeyed further into the store.

I began to cut a path straight for the produce department. I was sure if there would be anything that would be acceptable to my new vegan diet, it would certainly be there. As I walked I held firmly onto that small amount of calmness and confidence I had managed to summon up. Without it I was almost sure I would end up running out of the store in terror.

“Mommy! Mommy! Look!” I heard a small voice from behind me call with a large amount of enthusiasm. I looked back to see a little girl, probably only three years old, pointing straight at me. Her face was alight with fascination. “Zebra! Zebra!”  She declared proudly.

If it wasn’t for the fact that her mother was holding onto her arm, she most likely would have already tackled me. Her mother on the other hoof seemed to be too distracted with the sales shelf to actually look to see what her daughter was talking about. She continued to scan the shelf of tomato cans for the best sale.

I smiled coolly at the toddler and waved a hoof to her. “It is nice to meet you, little one, but wait until your mother’s done,” I said in a friendly tone.

The child’s face lit up even brighter than it already had been as she gasped in amazement. “Mommy! It talks! Zebra talks!” At that moment her mother finally decided to take interest in what her daughter had been so enthralled with and looked down.

Her expression, as I expected, went pale as she looked straight at me. Instantly she tugged her daughter’s hand, and directed her down the aisle away from me as she began to walk. “Come on,” she hissed in a not too quiet whisper “I don’t want you near that animal.” Both the mother and her obviously confused daughter quickly turned the corner into another aisle, and out of my sight.

I shrugged it off and continued on my way to my destination. It hadn’t been the first time somepony had looked down on me after all. I knew there were a few who still were nervous to be in my presence amongst the small village…

Once I made it to the produce department, my vision was assaulted with all sorts of new information. The sight of all the colorful fruit and fresh produce sitting on brightly lit shelves to highlight their luster made my mouth water again. They had always said that stores tried to make their food as attractive as possible in order to make a sale. I couldn’t argue with them about that when I looked at this. Much of it looked as if it had been freshly picked only the day before.

 ‘I bet Applejack would just kill to have a stand like one of these…’ A thought appeared in my head of Applejack’s old wooden cart stand. The cart had been in her family since her grandmother was her age, or at least that’s what she had told me. It certainly looked like it was well worn with use from the years when I had seen it. ‘Hmm? Where did that come from?’

I shook my head as I found myself in front of the granny apples. I couldn’t place my hoof on where that thought had come from, but my empty stomach dragged me back to reality. ‘Must have just been an over active imagination’ I told myself as I refocused on the matter at hoof.

I walked over to the basket stand, grabbing one by the handle with my mouth and returned to the apples. After picking a couple of the apples up by their stems in my mouth, I placed them into the basket greedily. A half full basket later, I moved on to the carrots along the wall. Before long I had an almost full basket. I looked down at my work, my stomach giving an approving grumble as I turned for the registers.

I only noticed out of the corner of my eye as the produce manager discretely walked up to the place I was just standing at with a broom, dust pan, and spray bottle of some sort. I sighed as I heard him go to work cleaning the area diligently. I honestly never had that happen before, but I supposed it would be something I’d have to get used to.

There was a crowd of people at the front end as there always was during the day. Just as when I walked in I knew eyes were watching me, and whispers could be heard from behind my back. I merely shrugged them off this time as I started making my way to one of the registers through the audience of curious onlookers.

“Umm... Did you find everything alright during your shopping?” The clearly baffled cashier asked me. The manager, so I assumed, stood right beside her, putting on a forced smile. I could only guess that he was here to make sure that there would be no incidents. Exactly what kind of incidents though I wasn’t sure, then again, it didn’t look like he was too sure either.

“I believe I’m ready to pay,” I said as I smiled at the female cashier, who grinned nervously back to me. “Just these will do for me today.” I stood up on my hind legs and deposited the basket onto the conveyer belt with some difficulty. I was quickly beginning to realize that most places were just not built with ponies in mind.

“Yes mam...?” The cashier said, knocking herself out whatever stupor she was in and began ringing up the produce.

My masculinity protested, wanting me to correct her before I realized that she had gotten nothing wrong.  I stopped for a moment as I thought about the change in gender that I had found myself with. It was something I had yet to really confront, and I didn’t really know if I would ever want to really confront it. I knew that was a ridiculous thought though. Sooner or later I’d have to face the loss of my masculinity, but right now was not the time for that.

I opened my backpack and shuffled around it with a hoof before finally digging out my wallet. I pulled my debit card out, balancing it on a hoof as I looked up to the machine. “Uhh…” I felt a twinge of embarrassment at my current situation.

“Here miss, why don’t I help you with that?” The manager offered before I had a chance to attempt swiping it. I didn’t object to the assistance as I offered the card to him and let him swipe. I honestly wasn’t quite sure how I was going to do that.

‘From now on I carry cash…’ I thought as I retrieved the card out of his hand. As soon as the order was finished I picked up the bagged produce and made my way to the exit. I turned back to the manager, not wanting to be rude. “Thank you for your generosity, the end of this day I wish to see“and with that I walked out the door, leaving the confused employees and shoppers behind.

I began to make my walk home, out of the small shopping plaza when another store caught my eye. The small specialty store lay just on the end of the plaza, seemingly out of the way from most of the other shops. I always poked around World Market before, and I knew there were all sorts of unusual items in there. I wasn’t sure if it was my curiosity, or my desire to investigate it, but before I knew it I found myself walking straight through the doors.

The reactions as I walked in were almost identical to the grocery store but I quickly managed to summon the feelings of calm and confidence back to the forefront of my mind. It was actually a little comical to see all the stares as a grabbed a new basket and began to make my way through the isles.

What was probably an hour later, I finally emerged from the doors, tapping my almost full gourd backpack with pride. I cringed when I looked at the receipt, realizing I must have spent a good chunk of what I had left in my debit account, but I felt it had been worth all the fuss. There were so many aisles full of exotic treasures. I began to grab for items that just seemed to call out for me. I began to collect spices, roots, and some items I had never even seen before.  I felt as if I was a foal in a candy store again, trying new flavors of candy. I couldn’t wait to try these ingredients for new remedies or mixes. ‘Huh?’ I paused as I caught myself in thought.

I shook my head again as I snapped out of my excitement. I put a hoof to my head as I tried to make sense of what I had just been thinking. I had never known how to make anything beyond a peanut butter jelly sandwich. Making a potion? I was sure that was out of my league. ‘… But, then again… I am inhabiting the body of a potion brewing expert’ I thought to myself as I started trotting down the path back to my neighborhood.

Once I got onto the old sidewalk again I finally let the feeling calmness I had been using sink back down to the back of my mind and put my headphones on. I welcomed the music back as I let myself disconnect from the outside world. Before I could realize it I found myself looking back down the street back in the direction to the store though. I still had a creeping fear that I was going to be followed, but to my relief I found no one behind me as I walked back onto the steps to the old wooden porch.

As soon as I was inside I slammed the front door behind me shut with a slight buck and breathed in relief. I wasn’t sure how I managed to do it, but I had made it through the entire trip, unscathed even. Normally in most situations I would have cut and run at the first sign of trouble, but now I beamed with a little pride as I looked back in hindsight to my accomplishment.

I took out an apple from my gourd as a reward to my actions and bit into it, savoring the flavor. I felt an explosion of tastes in my mouth after the first bite. I wasn’t sure if it was just because it was fresh produce, or the fact that I had new taste buds, but it tasted absolutely heavenly. It tasted sweet… yet at the same time tart, with a bit of a tangy side to it. I devoured the fruit hungrily, my stomach finally a bit satisfied with food.

I took my hoodie and backpack and set it down beside the living room couch. The gourd was much heavier since I had packed in my conquests from the successful trip. “Hmm don’t think I've made a potion before…” I thought out loud as I looked down to the backpack, “but I'm sure I am willing to explore.” I looked back to the kitchen as curiosity consumed me.

In the show, Zecora’s skills at making potions and tonics surpassed even Twilight’s. I had read thousands of fanfics on the net where the person would usually acquire some of the abilities of the character they had become. I didn’t really know if I actually knew anything about potion making, but perhaps it was something more of a feeling I’d get when I’d start.

I grabbed one of the chairs from the dining room table and brought it back into the kitchen. To say that the kitchen stove was out of date would have been an understatement at best. Since most of my siblings had moved away, the stove found itself in as much disuse as some of the other items in the house. We never really bothered to make large dinners anymore, and when we did, many times it was merely take out.

I got up on the chair and looked at the stove’s knobs and buttons. Normally I would have idly flipped the burner on with a single finger. Now though, the exercise had become a bit more complicated as I leaned over the stove to turn it on, trying not to burn myself. With the stove finally on, I set myself for the next task as I hopped off the chair eagerly.

After a bit of digging, I found the old brewing pot that my mother had kept. As with the stove, the pot had become disused and almost forgotten. Many times even when the house was full it was used just for the thanksgiving turkey, or sometimes my father’s favorite chili. I carefully dragged it up to the stove between my hooves and began the slow process of filling it with water by hand… or in this case mouth.

With the pot ready I dragged my bag full of ingredients into the kitchen, laying the herbs, spices, and other random assortment of items in front of me. I tapped my hooves together as I thought with a bit of disappointment. I had hoped that if I had just laid out everything in front of me something, anything, would come to me. Unfortunately however, if anything I was even more clueless on what to do next than before.

Idly I grabbed the first thing I had a good feeling about, a jar of an unusual red spice. The writing on the front was in some sort of Asian writing, but something about it made me want to try it first. I looked into the bottle, noting how the texture almost reminded me of sugar. Carefully, I poured it into the now boiling water and watched as it turned a red hue, and bubbles started to form.

I turned back to the ingredients, my confidence building as I grabbed another jar, filled with some white flower petals. They seemed to have been dried out, and frail. One touch would have probably been all that would have been needed to break them apart. I poured almost the entire bottle in, watching as the delicate flowers almost disintegrate as they touched the red water.  The stew seemed to react to them as the bubbles became larger and more violent “This doesn’t seem like much trouble.” I idly thought out loud to myself with a smile. “At least I got it to bubble.”

I lost track of time as I began to open and close bottles, adding to the mixture of whatever I was making. After some time the brew had turned a lime glowing green color, much like from the shows. I was almost giddy at the sight of it, but it just felt like it needed one last touch. My attention quickly brought itself to the weed that I had picked earlier in the day.

I grabbed the plant, looking at it in fascination. It certainly didn’t look to out of place from the rest of the bottles and herbs I had gathered, but something about it just wanted me to add it in. So without another thought I held it out over the pot in my mouth, ready to test whatever potion I had just made. I wasn’t sure exactly what this would do, but, if I knew Zecora, it would be impressive.

 ‘Ok.’ I announced to myself before letting the plant drop out of my mouth, ‘testing in three… two…’




______________________________________________


I woke up in a daze, at first unsure of where I was for a brief moment. When I came to my senses I found myself lying plastered against the bottom of the wall on the other end of the kitchen. “Ohh…” I moaned as I shakily got back onto my hooves almost losing my balance from the shock. “What happened?”

It didn’t take me long to answer my own question. The stove and everything around it was a complete mess, covered in green ooze that I assumed was all that was left of the potion. I looked back up in surprise at what had happened to the pot, or at least, what was left of the pot. It lay a few feet away from where I had placed it on the stove, cracked and warped as if someone had put a stick of dynamite in it, which for all I knew I probably had in a way.

The stove itself looked like it had fared only a little better. It now looked like it had been part of a horrible fire accident as scorch marks covered the surface, leading up the wall and all the way to the ceiling. Thankfully nothing had caught fire as a result of the blast. I’d hate to think how I could explain this all to the fire services.

“What did I do wrong,” I moaned and fell back down to the ground in humiliation. “to make that brew so strong?”

‘Some potion’s master I am.’ I thought to myself with a bit of frustration. I should have expected it to blow up in my face. If the real Zecora was here, she probably would have told me how much of a fool I was to think I could master potion making in just one hour. Perhaps I was lucky I had only blown up the stove and not the entire house. Though it could have been worse, at least I wouldn’t be trying to get a foul odor out of my hut like I had to when the cutie mark crusaders had decided to visit my hut to test their skills at alchemy….

I shook my head out of my trance as I surveyed the damage. To say I had a bit of cleaning ahead was a bit of an understatement. I left the kitchen to grab some towels. Normally I would have gotten the mop, but the lack of hands didn’t make that an option any longer. After another hour of hard work though I had managed to get most of the green goop off the floor and stove. I was just about to move on to cleaning the scorch marks when I heard a familiar sound that made my stop in my tracks.

My whole body shook as I recognized it instantly. It was the sound of a car engine pulling into the driveway. It wasn’t just any engine though. It was the distinct sound of my father’s economy car. I knew my parents were due back home soon, but after losing track of time I had forgotten all about them. The idea of letting them see me like this filled my heart with terror.

I never told anyone about my addiction to MLP, especially not my parents. They weren’t the most open minded people I knew to things outside of what was considered normal. In the past I just hid it from them, or downplayed it as best as I could. But there would be no way to hide what happened to me now. A series of scenarios began to play out in my head on the possibilities, each somehow worse than the last.

Before I could think of what to do I heard footsteps coming up the door, voices just on the other side. “I guess it’s too late to run and find cover.” I thought as I heard the front door open. “It won’t be long now till I am discovered…”

> Understand? Perceive? Or Simply Grieve?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Understand? Perceive? Or Simply Grieve?


___________________________________________________

The voice I heard was obvious. My father was home from a long day of work. The sound of the front door’s creaking hinges opening was all the motivation I needed to gallop at full speed for my room. I could hear the heavy footsteps of my father’s work boots echoing through the hall as if calling my inevitable discovery. Suddenly, they stopped as I could only guess that he passed the kitchen.

“What in the hell!?” I heard his voice bellow through the house like clap of thunder. My father was never the type to get mad about anything, but the rare occasions when he did, everyone around knew. I tried to close my bedroom door as quietly as I could the moment I made it through the doorway. “JACE!” My dad called from the other side of the house. I guess not quietly enough.

The footsteps began again, getting close enough to where I could hear them even through the door. I put myself in front the door, leaning against it as my whole body began to shake with each closing footstep. I felt like I had found myself in the eye of a raging storm, with no hope of escape. The footsteps finally ceased just outside the door.

“Jace, what on earth did you do to my kitchen?” My dad asked through the door, the frustration obvious in his voice. My fear boiled over as I watched the doorknob begin to turn. Before I knew it I launched myself against the door, my front hooves clapping loudly against the wood.

“Don’t come in please!” I shouted as I put all my weight against the door. “What you see, may make you freeze.” My dad immediately let go of the door as he heard my voice.

“Jace is someone in there with you?” I cursed to myself under my breath and I shut my eyes. Somehow I had forgotten all about the fact that my voice wasn’t my own anymore till that very moment. “What’s going on in there?” My father demanded. The frustration that was in his words only moments ago had taken a suspicious tone.

I gasped for air as I began to think about my position. There was nothing left I could do to delay the inevitable. I couldn’t hide in my room forever, and even if I wanted to, there was no way I’d be able to keep my father from pushing my small body out of the way and entering by force. I sighed, and pushed the lump in my throat down. “D…Dad I’ll give you good warning… something happened this morning.” I cringed as I finished the rhyme before I could stop myself.

I let go of the door and backed away into the corner of the room beside my dresser, trying to make myself as small as possible in some vain hope that my father wouldn’t notice the small black and white equine. “Just… promise me you won’t get angry.” I said as calmly as I could from my improvised hiding spot.

There was no answer from the other side of the door. I watched as the doorknob began to turn again, the door creaking open slowly as my dad entered. I stared at my dad anxiously as he scanned the room in search for something, or more likely, someone. He was always a tall man, even taller than me when I was a six foot human, but now he seemed as if he was a giant from my new height. He scratched the facial hair on his chin, confused at the empty room, before he finally turned to my direction, his eyes locking with my own.

“uhh... Hi Dad.” I grinned sheepishly as he realized what he was looking at. There was another awkward silence as we just stared at each other. Neither of us moved, or talked, just stared. I could tell my dad was still trying to comprehend  what sort of creature he was looking at, but it did not take him long to come to the realization of what was going on.

I felt paralyzed under him as the expression on his face quickly changed. In his face I didn’t see anger, hate, surprise, not even frustration. What I did see however made me want to crawl inside myself in shame. It was disappointment. I broke eye contact with him and stared down at my hooves.

My dad finally broke the awkward silence in the room. “So, you’re one of those ponies on the news now?”  he said as he crossed his arms. The way he said it hit me worse than any punch in the stomach.

“I…” I was at a loss for words as I looked back up to him for only a moment. “This may seem bad, what has been done. But inside this form, I’m still your son.” I winced as the rhyme seemed to do little to convince my father. ‘Rolled a one on your bluff check.’ I scolded myself.

“May seem bad, look at you,” my dad said as he threw his arms to his side. “This doesn’t explain why you didn’t tell me you watched a show for little girls before you went and sprouted a tail.” My dad continued to look down on me with a slight frown as I curled my hooves closer to my body. “Did you at least think about what you were doing before it happened?”

I shuffled my hooves together, not wanting to make eye contact again. Did he really think I did this on purpose? “I didn't ask for this to happen, it just did. And also-“I caught myself as I realized what I was doing. I would normally never even consider raising my voice to my parents, but something inside just seemed to click.

“And what?” My father countered as he looked to me sternly.

I curled my tail beside me and closed my eyes trying to force the calm thoughts from before back to the surface. I couldn’t believe what I was about to say. “Bronies they are called, the ones who have resolved, to love a show meant for girls, but nonetheless, love for said show has unfurled,” I spoke trying to ignore how naturally the rhyme flowed off my tongue.

I looked back up to my father as I heard a deep grumble from the bottom of his throat. “So why didn't you tell me about this sooner?”

I dug my hoof into the carpet as I stared blankly down to it. “I wasn't sure what to expect, if your responses would deject...” It wasn’t the whole truth though. I wasn’t sure how anyone would take it if they’d found me watching a silly kids show. Many times I had turned the volume of my computer down to a whisper just so I could assure myself that no one would listen as I watched the online streams. 

Other times I would worry if my parents would ever go through my computer and find the sketches that I had drawn of the show, or the small scribbles of fanfic writing I never would bother to post and come to some horrible off the wall conclusion. I knew it was an absurd thought, but it always haunted the edge of my mind. Just like the thought of losing the few friends I’d made since arriving in the evrefree would haunt me in my sleep on occasion. 

“So you kept quiet because you were afraid.” My dad sighed, dragging me back to reality. “Sounds like something you’d do.” It was another low blow.

“I’m sorry for my action, and everything that’s happened, I didn't hope for this reaction.” I tried to assure him as finally had enough confidence to look him in the eye. The frustration from before was gone, but I could still see the disappointment in his eyes.

“Stop rhyming,” he commanded sternly as he locked his gaze with me, “why don't you just speak normally.”

I recoiled a little at his gaze which seemed to be all consuming. “To speak in rhyme is not my intention,” I said as I broke eye contact again, “but... with effort, I can talk at my own discretion.” I stopped talking as my father gave an exasperated sigh. “Err... sorry” I apologized as I flinched. “I guess it’s because I’m Zecora.”

“You are who and what now?” My dad asked confused, a noticeable shock in his voice. The reality of what I had just said began to sink in as I nervously tapped my hooves together. Though unintentional, I had just introduced myself as a fictional character instead of myself in a manner of speaking. What was probably worse was how easily it went by unnoticed.

“Well,” I continued, carefully choosing my words, “Zecora is a character from the friendship is magic show, and she usually speaks in rhymes-”

“And now you’re stuck as this, Zecora, character.” My father cut me off as he rubbed his forehead tiredly. “Just how long do you plan on staying like this?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out as my jaw just hung there. I had no idea how to answer that one. It was certainly a valid question. Would this last till Lauren Faust and the Mane six did whatever they needed to do? If so, how long would that take? A day, week, month…? I didn’t want to think any further than that. I found myself trembling slightly as I shoved those thoughts away.

“You don’t know, do you,” my dad declared, the frustration in his voice returning. Somehow he always managed to read me like a book, apparently even as a zebra. He moved, as if about to say more, but stopped when I looked up at him. I must have looked like I was in a near panic. Instead, he simply turned back to the door. “What kind of mess have you gotten yourself into now…”

“Sorry…” I squeaked. I wasn’t even sure what I was apologizing for. It just felt as if it needed to be said. I stared at the black and white forelegs that used to be my arms in shame. Just how long would they be there?

“Well, nothing you can do about it now.” my dad breathed “Anyway, the kitchen is a mess. Something to do with… this, I guess?” he said as he pointed in my general direction.

“Zecora is a potion master, though her skills, I thought I could learn faster,” I said, slightly embraced. I could tell however that he had stopped listening the moment I said my name.

“Whatever, just, get it cleaned up,” he said, walking out of the room. He didn’t even bother to look back as he grabbed the doorknob. “I’ll be in the computer room… We’ll talk more about this at dinner.” And with that, he closed the door behind himself with a not so light slam, leaving me in solitude once again.

I finally dislodged myself from the corner between the wall and the cabinet. I gasped for air as if I had just run a marathon. The first talk with my father about my hobby couldn’t have gone any better than I had expected. I never expected that he would understand.

Being the only son of a family with three sisters, my parents had long since stopped trying to understand my usual antics and shenanigans. They were used to raising my older sisters, but didn’t exactly anticipate getting a son. Still, they were my parents, and worked as best they could, but simply put, boys were different than girls, and even then, I was probably not your typical son. But now, they would no longer have to worry about details in gender.

I poked my head out of the door and looked out the hallway, seeing no one around. The coast was clear for now. I wasn’t sure who I was looking for. I felt as if now that my family knew, I was exposed to the entire world without any way to hide the shame of what I had become.  I walked out of my room being as quiet as I could on my hooves, but the tile floors made it practically impossible as I made my way back to the kitchen.

Once I returned I looked around at my handiwork. The kitchen itself had been in much better shape since I had left it last. Most of the green ooze that was everywhere had been cleaned from the floors to as high as I could reach on the walls. The scorch marks had been a bit trickier to deal with, requiring actual cleaners to be used. I learned quickly that opening and closing bottles was definitely a challenge with hooves, especially since I dared not put my mouth anywhere near the chemicals. The only thing really left to work with was the counters and upper walls.

I sighed and dragged a chair from the dining room in, using it as a platform and got back to work from where I left off. As I began to work, a sound made my ear swivel to the side before I could turn.

I looked back, seeing my father watching from the doorway curiously. His gaze still made me recoil a bit. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but only sighed and shook his head. I quickly found myself turning my head away in shame as he left the room. 

I tried to ignore my feelings of doubt as I continued my work, but the image of my father still nagged at the back of my mind. I poured all my effort into tidying up the kitchen to try to shake the thoughts away.


____________


Eventually the work was paying off as most traces of the explosion had disappeared. I scrubbed vigorously at a particularly stubborn burn mark on the counter. If I could just get it out, I would be finished. As the last mark finally disappeared, I took a moment to bask in my work. The explosion looked as if it had never happened, other than the simple empty jars still on the counter from my experimenting.

I looked around the room, making sure I had not missed one detail during the cleaning. It was only then that I noticed the footsteps approaching again. I turned to the kitchen door expecting to see my father again checking up on me, but as the figure turned the corner, I couldn't have been more wrong.

“Jace? If your home I have groceries in the car if you could go get them for me.” I heard a feminine voice call from just around the corner, my mother’s voice. I wasn’t even able to move from the center of the floor as she turned the corner to hang her keys on the rack. Our eyes met immediately as she stopped. Her keys fell out of her hand, crashing on the kitchen floor loudly.

“Mo-?” I wasn’t able to finish before I heard what I was expecting.

“What!?” my mom shrieked on top of her lungs causing my eardrums to ring.

“Mom,” I raised a hoof to calm her down and I took a step forward. “Can’t you see? It’s only me.”

She stepped back instinctively as if she had just seen a mouse. “Stay back, I’m warning you.” She said as she dug through her purse. I froze in place immediately. I knew exactly what she was reaching for, her pepper spray. She’d always carry it for her mail routes as a postal worker in case of an angry dog, and right now I was probably just as good of a target. 

My father practically burst out of the computer room next door almost immediately as soon as he had heard the commotion. He didn't get far when he saw the situation.

“Brad, one of those things is in the kitchen!” My mother yelled to him as she pointed at me.  I cringed as I heard the word ‘thing’ come out of her mouth, the same way she would scream about a house pest.

“Honey… we need to talk.” My father said calmly as he grabbed her shoulder, motioning for her to come with him. “In our room?”

My mother tore away from him before extending an arm towards me. “Not until that horse is out of my house!” she demanded. She always knew the best way to word things when she was stressed.

“Mom, it’s me, your daughter Jace, I simply have a different face!” I exclaimed hurriedly as I lowered my head, craning my neck to keep looking up at her. I gave a hopeful smile looking up to her, but it was obvious she wanted nothing to do with me.

“You can't be my son!” she cried, turning back to me banging her hands against her hips. “He’s just a normal boy! Not one of those... things!”

“Karen,” my father said, taking my mother’s shoulders with both hands. He tried turning her around but she kept staring at me balefully. “That is Jace.” The words seemed to stun her as she stared daggers in my direction.
Her mouth quivered as she looked down at me. She seemed almost speechless before she yelled “What have you done with my son?”

“Mother it is true, this fact I give, from me to you,” I recited quickly as my speech devolved into rhyming. “I am your son, let there be no doubt. Even though I am a lout, I still love you dearly. Does my shame not show that clearly?”

“NO!” my mother screamed. Her face was red with anguish as she leaned over. “My son isn’t some sort of animal!”

‘There has to be something,’ I thought to myself, still trying to keep a smile. I just felt I had to prove to her that I was who I said she was. Maybe if I did that, she’d calm down and actually help instead of just scream.

I quickly shuffled through my memories for anything that would prove to her I was who I said I was. “Remember the day, I drew you that work of art,” I turned to look at the wall gesturing to a single picture hanging idly in the corner, “you’ve always held close to your heart. Our family was at the beach, though the water, you would never let us reach,” I looked back to her as I thought back to that day. “I decided to draw in my sketching pad, a scene that would make you glad. Something to be a reflection, of how you had and have my affection.”

My mother seemed to be taken back a moment when she looked at me. “I don't believe you.” She lied harshly.

“Mom…” I felt something wet run down my muzzle before I noticed the tears streaming down my face. I took a step closer to my parents. I just wasn’t sure what to do anymore

“I said, don’t come any closer.” My mom yelled as she quickly pulled her pepper spray out of her purse. Thinking quickly, my father batted her hand away just as she was about to push the trigger.

I stared in a mixture of shock and horror at the two humans in front of me. My own mother was ready to attack me, even when she knew who I was. “But, it’s me...”

“Come on,” my father intervened as he took the spray out of her hand, setting it aside on the counter and out of reach. My mother stopped any resistance as he guided her out of the kitchen and down the hallway

I walked out of the kitchen, as I heard my parent’s bedroom door slam shut. I brushed away the tears that had collected on my cheek, trying to pull myself together, but it was just no good. The thought of my parents’ disgust at me threatened to tear my heart out of my chest. They had found out one of my closest secrets in what was almost undoubtedly the worst possible way, and there was no way to put the genie back in the bottle now.

I sat down on my haunches and just stared back down at the floor, ignoring the small drops of water that hit the tile every now and again. Everything that happened today, I had managed to force a brave face and a smile for. This though was different, and it stung deep. I wasn't sure I could feel like I was any more helpless.


> To Cast Aside The Fears, and Wipe Away Tears.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

To Cast Aside The Fears, and Wipe Away Tears.

__________________________________________

At some point, curiosity got the better of me as I found myself walking closer to my parent’s bedroom door. I could hear their voices inside, arguing about one thing or another. I placed an ear against the door, trying to make out anything beyond the muffled shouts of my mother.

         I knew eavesdropping on anyone was a horrible thing to do, never mind on one’s own parents, but I couldn't help to think it was little bit justified. There was only one thing that they could have possibly been talking about after all, what they were going to do with me now.
   
Hours must have gone by as my parents argued behind the door. After a couple minutes however, I had lost interest in trying to make out their muffled conversation. They must have been speaking quietly as I was only able to make out every other word. Every now and again my mother would raise her voice in a bit of rage, but quickly quiet down again. I could only guess that they knew I was listening in.

           Eventually, I gave up the pointless effort and headed for the living room. Plopping myself on the couch, I stared at the black TV in front of me. At first, I went for the remote control out of habit. After a few failed attempts at using it however, and the buttons on the TV too high for me to reach, I quickly gave up on the idea of watching television. Instead, I turned my attention to the porch window and the world outside

    The late afternoon sun bathed the old neighborhood in an orange light. It was fascinating, seeing all the different shades of oranges, pinks and reds. So much in the neighborhood had changed since I was small, but at the same time much had remained the same. Things I almost never paid attention to before now amazed me since becoming a zebra.

    Little things like the old crooked mailbox at the end of the street, or the large oak that stood on the little island that formed the cul de sac seemed completely vivid and new to me. When I was smaller, well, about the size I was now, I’d try to climb the old oak, much to my mother’s dismay. Many times I was rewarded with a new scratch or bruise as well as a good scolding from older sisters or parents.

    My mind began to wander back to the present with the thought of my parents. I had always worried about how negatively they would react if they had ever found my personal hobbies. When they would watch me geek out over a new sci fi movie, or TV series they would usually tell me that I needed to straighten up and fly right if I was ever going to get anywhere in the real world. Even knowing that though, I still couldn't believe how harshly they had reacted.

    Questions began to surface again as I thought about the afternoon events. What did they think of me now? How long would this last? What would happen to me if I never changed back? Where would I go?

    I gritted my teeth with my usual frustration and fear of not having an answer to any of the questions. Things just seemed to get more and more complicated as the day went on. So I did the only thing that seemed like a good idea. I just laid there and watched the outside world as time went on around me.

_____________________________________________


    “J-Jace?” a voice called from the other room. It was my mother, her voice cracked as she tried to keep a calm tone. “It’s time to sit down for dinner...”

    Dusk had made it faster than it ever seemed to in the past. I hesitantly got off the couch and made my way to the dining room. Both my parents had sat down at the large table, just beginning to eat as I jumped into the chair directly across from them. I prepared to do something that was rare in my house, have dinner.

         Unlike most other households, dinner was more of an unusual occasion in my family. Normally if I was hungry I’d just raid the fridge or cook a TV dinner from the freezer. An actual dinner was more of something done for special events like holidays, birthdays, and of course, happy gatherings. As I sat down and looked at both my parents, pretending to be completely focused on their meals, I could tell the atmosphere this night was anything but happy.

    There was barely a sound in the room other than the clicking of metal utensils. Neither of them said a word since the moment I had entered the room. They snuck glances when they noticed my presence at the dinner table before returning to their meals. There would only be an occasional grunt from my father as he worked the food on his plate with a knife and fork. My mother had made a classic meal of steak, potatoes, and green beans for the dinner, which he had wasted no time digging into.

    I looked down at the plate in that my mom had set in front of me, half expecting to have the same thing. Instead I noticed that all I had on my plate were carefully skinned and sliced apples with a side of steamed carrots. At first I wasn't sure where the produce had appeared from. I didn't remember seeing them in the kitchen before when I was looking for food. It took a moment before my mind came to the conclusion. They were the same apples and carrots that I had bought earlier that day from the store. My mother must have been the one to prepare them.

         I looked back up to her with a bit of unease. I was certain that she didn’t want anything to do with me since her last outburst, so why did she go through all this trouble? She glanced back to me before pretending to return her attention to her own meal. I couldn't make out what kind of expression she had on her face for that one instant. For a moment I thought for sure I had noticed a pang of guilt in her eyes, but guilt of what?

    I glanced back to my father as he cut a slice of steak before taking a bite, savoring the flavor. My stomach still twisted in knots as I stared at him before turning away with slight disgust. The idea of eating meat was completely unappetizing to me now. The thought of not being able to eat sweet and sour chicken slightly saddened me, but at the same time filled me with dread at the idea of ever eating it before.
I dismissed the thoughts, looking back to my food with a bit of bafflement. At first, I glanced at the fork beside my plate, reaching the utensil for a moment with a hoof before drawing it back. For a moment I just stared at my hoof uneasily. A fork was about as useful to me now as butter knife would be for a bowl of soup. I looked up to my parents with a questioning look as I noticed their curious stares, but the moment I met their eyes they both looked back to their own plates.
 
I looked to my plate as I could almost feel the gears in my head begin turn. Using utensils was out of the question unless I was a unicorn, which of course with my luck, I wasn't. I knew there was another way to tackle the problem, but, in front of my own parents? Sighing, I accepted that there was just no better way and bent my head down to the plate. Carefully, I grabbed an apple slice with my teeth and sucked it in savoring the new flavors. The explosion of flavor that came from the apple was almost as abundant as it had been earlier that day. I found myself immediately bending down for another one before I glanced back to my mother.
 
She flinched with slight disgust at the site of me grabbing the next apple slice and pulling it in. I returned my sight back down to my plate as I felt my appetite suddenly diminish a bit. Nothing had been said, but I couldn't help but feel that she was right about earlier. Had I really become nothing more than an animal?
“So...,” my father’s voice interrupted the quiet atmosphere, “when are you going to be leaving?”  I looked up at him with a confused glance.
 
“Wha..?” My voice trailed off as I tried to think of what he was talking about. ‘Leaving? What on earth does he mean by that?’

“For New York,” he clarified, setting his fork down on the table beside him. “The news was talking about how they needed ponies out there for some sort of important mumbo jumbo.”
 
“Well... They would not have need of my addition,” I explained “they require a special team, regardless of my volition. If I were to leave without delay, I would probably get in their way...” The thought of going to New York hadn't even crossed my mind, but what good was I? They wanted the elements of harmony, not Zecora. I did not expect my father to know that though. As far as saving the world, Zecora was almost as much of a nobody as I was, at least as much as I knew from the show anyway.
 
“Well, what are you going to do then?” he asked, his voice taking a more serious tone, making me squirm a little in my seat.
 
“I guess I’ll wait and see, just what will come to be?” I answered, almost as skeptical of my response as my father seemed to be. I unconsciously began to fidget the long hairs of my tail with my hooves as I tried to rethink my words.
 
“So first, you take my son...” a voice made me turn to look at my mother, still looking down at her plate. “And now, you think you can just stay here like nothing is wrong?” She looked up to glare at me, tears streaking from her eyes.
 
“Karen,” My father cut her off “You promised you’d control your temper.”
 
“I promised to get dinner ready.” She countered,” I’m sorry, but I can’t just act like this thing replaced my son, and everything is just fine.”  She said as she got up from her chair and gestured at me. “Look at him. He’s become one of those animals.”
 
“I have looked at him dear, and we’re going to find a way to get through this,” my father retorted with a slight bite to his voice.
 
“The least you could do is admit that he has a problem!” My mom brought a fist down on the table. When it struck my ears flinched downwards.
 
“Please mother, I did not mean to bother,” I began. “I’m sorry that I have in the past been aloof, I did not mean for things to get out of hoof.”
 
My mother’s eyebrow twitched slightly as she turned to look at me. “At the very least have the decency to talk normally! At least I’ve had the decency to let you sit in my son’s chair!” Her voice was rising to a pitch as she continued. Myself, I simply lowered my head and shut my eyes. “The least you could do is look at the mother of the child you stole!”
 
“At least he didn't go joining us into some anti-pony hate group!” My father said as his temper climbed with his voice.
 
“I... you...” The shock was enough to cause me to fall out of my chair.  I opened my eyes and stared at her in disbelief. That's why she looked at me that way, the reason she couldn't stand the very sight of me. She was guilty of having a pony as a child.
 
She made it no secret that she was against a lot of things that were still socially awkward. Gay marriage was always a dark subject for her. When she found out about furries, trekkies, and other net fan bases she nearly had a panic attack. But she joined PAPA, out of the blue?
 
“It was for the best,” she retorted, not even noticing my reaction. “We can't just have all these creatures roaming wild. There are laws against that kind of thing.”
 
My ears flattened against my skull. I didn't want to hear any more of this, not from her, not from anyone. I wasn't just an animal, was I? Of course I couldn't be. I moved discretely off the chair, quietly excusing myself from the room. I didn't want to be here anymore, not in this room, not with these humans.
 
“Well what about your son?” I heard my father through the dining room as I began to walk towards my bedroom. “Are you saying he should be locked in a cage as well?”
 
I tried to tune out the words out as I walked down the hallway. I tried listening to the sound of hooves against tiles, or the air conditioner running. My attention went to anything that would get that damn conversation out of my head, anything just to make it stop.
 
“My son, would agree with me if he was here.” My mother’s voice echoed faintly through the hall as I made my way to my bedroom door. “But thanks to those creatures, he’s gone! They deserve to be locked up if that’s what they are doing to people. You still don't--”
 
*SLAM*
 
I bucked the door shut with a rewarding clap as it hit the frame, cutting off the argument the two humans were having on the other side of the house. The sweet silence finally returned at last.
 
I crawled back to my bed, exhausted from the day’s stress, and promptly collapsed as I buried my face into the pillow. I gritted my teeth as I tried as hard as I could to hold my breath. It didn't take long at all before I could feel the tears coming back in full force again, staining my pillow case.
 
How could this all have happened to me? I didn't want any part of this. I didn’t ask to be involved in any of this pony business. I was supposed to just wake up as I always did and go to my classes just as I would every day till graduation. Why couldn't this day just been like all the others? Normal. Why couldn't I have just been normal? Why did I have to wake up like this?
 
I heard the sound of something coming from my mouth. It was strange at first, like some sort of reverse hiccup followed by a cough. I couldn't believe it when I identified it. I was crying? Of course I was crying. I just had my entire life stolen away from me all because I had to turn off my alarm this morning and look in that blasted mirror. If I hadn’t done that and slept in, maybe, just maybe, this all could have been some silly dream gone awry. But it wasn't a dream no matter how much I wished it was.
 
Maybe my mother was right, maybe the ponies did deserve to be locked up for stealing away lives. It didn't seem right. Just to take somepony’s... someone’s life away as if it were so inconsequential. What kind of right did they think they had to do this without any consideration to what would happen to those humans? What would happen to me?
 
I got up and wiped my eyes with my arm... foreleg, and looked across the room to the dresser mirror. It was dark, but I could still make out the image of the zebra that was lying on the bed, as if mocking my desire for entire day to just be some crazy nightmare.
 
I stared at her, wanting so bad to hate her, to hate everything about her. It was because of her that everything went wrong. Every small, tiny, insignificant detail about today that ruined everything, I just wanted to blame all on her. But, it was no use. As much as I wanted to, I just couldn't hate her for my problems.
 
It wasn’t her fault I was weak. It wasn't her fault I hid a stupid little hobby away from my parents. It wasn't her fault for anything. They were my problems, no one else’s. I had to face them sooner or later, but, they were just too frightening to even try.
 
I buried my head into my pillow again, no longer trying to hold back any of the tears or sobs. I finally had to admit it. I was scared. Scared of what happened to me then, not knowing what was going to happen to me next. There was just nothing to hold onto anymore, and that probably frightened me more than anything. It didn't seem like there was anyone left to go to, I was on my own.
 
I wrapped my bed sheets over myself, holding them as tight as I could as I curled into a ball. I just wanted to make myself as small as I could as I lay there. I closed my eyes, only mustering small whimpers as I finally felt my exhaustion begin to overtake me.
 
‘Maybe everything will go back to normal in the morning.’ I thought to myself, ‘Just wake up, and get ready for my classes, and... just... be... normal...’
 





________________________________

 
I stirred as I felt the cold breeze brush against my fur, disturbing me from my nap. It felt strange though, I didn't remember falling asleep. I didn't remember leaving the window open for that matter either. I groaned as I reached for my misplaced covers, wanting to bury myself in their warmth again. But instead of grabbing onto the sheets, my hooves only grasped air. I tried again, before realizing something else seemed to be off. Not only were the covers gone, but there was no warm pillow or bed either. Instead, I felt the sensation of cold wet grass, and firm earth beneath me.
 
‘That’s not right.’  I thought to myself.
 
Slowly I opened my eyes and looked ahead of me. My comfortable bedroom was nowhere to be seen. I looked around, the scene before me was only lit by moonlight. Out of the darkness, great trees covered in thick overgrowth of vines rose around me and made an almost impenetrable forest. The ground was a maze of bushes and wild growth, carpeted by a thick grass and shrubbery. I could only see a couple of feet through the mass of foliage and darkness of the night.
 
Steadily I got on my hooves in disbelief, trying to make sense of where I was. I certainly wasn't home and yet, the strange trees and foliage in this forest seemed oddly familiar. It felt like I had been here long ago, but at the same time was still completely alien to me. I wasn't sure if I should have been relieved or frightened by those thoughts. I mentally shoved them away as I tried to take in my current position.
 
The first thing I began to look for was a path, a trail, anything that could help me find my way out of wherever here was. I quickly became aware though that nothing could penetrate the thick foliage and roots that made up the forest floor. It was as if I had just been plucked out of my bed and deposited in the middle of an uncharted jungle. In lack of any better option, for better or worse, I found myself beginning to wander in a random direction.
 
The trees loomed overhead ominously as I wandered almost blindly in the moonlight. Every sound I heard made my fur stand on end and my ears swivel in all directions. An owl's hoot or even the slightest chirp of a cricket did not sound welcoming here. The forest seemed almost alive and active with sound. The terrain didn't help either. It was filled with large roots, thick vines, and uneven ground. It was almost a challenge just not to trip up as I walked.
 
As I continued my trek blindly through the brush my hoof got caught by something in the darkness. Kicking a tree root, I stumbled before regaining my balance from a near fall. I looked back down at the unexpected “root”. Without warning, it quickly slid into a bush and out of sight. There was a deep growl emanating from the shrub as soon as the root disappeared.
 
“Who’s there,” I called out to the bush like I actually expected an answer from it. To my surprise an answer did come in the form of some strange creature exploding out of the leaves. It gave out and loud angry screech forcing me to cover my ears. I fell to my haunches in shock as I tried to process what was going on.
 
I saw the creature only for a brief moment before I instinctively turned my head to avoid the look of its glowing beady red eyes. The creature had the head of a chicken, but inside its beak was filled with rows of tiny knife like fangs. Its body seemed to be like some sort of tiny dragon with chicken’s feet. It flapped its small leather wings at me in anger. My television watching, and Dungeons and Dragons experience paid off as I recognized the creature almost immediately.
 
‘It’s a cockatrice, don't look!’  My mind screamed at me as I averted my eyes to the side. It didn't make any sense, how on earth could a cockatrice even exist? I didn't bother to think much about that question for long though as I found myself back on my hooves at full speed.
 
I bolted through the trees, unsure of where I was going. I didn't care at the moment though, anywhere was better than where I was. The only thing going through my mind was to get away from the beast. The loud squawk of the chicken lizard confirmed that it was in hot pursuit. It only served to fuel my desire to escape as I ran more frantically, unsure if I was only throwing myself deeper into this forest.
 
The trees and vines seemed to get thicker the denser I tried to get away, some tangling against my legs as I tried to run. I didn't bother to stop to try to find a way around them. I powered through the branches and vines as best I could, but the sounds of the raging cockatrice behind me grew closer with each step.
 
It was getting harder to see through the darkness as the tree canopy over me began to get thicker, blocking out most of the moonlight. The forest floor was almost invisible to me by this point. I didn't see the rock caked with dirt that stuck halfway out of the ground as I ran in growing desperation. I hit it with full force, sending me tumbling into a web of vines.
 
Just as before I tried again to force my way through them, but the more I struggled, the stronger the grip of the vines had on my limbs grew. The cries of the cockatrice approached at a faster pace, as if it knew I was trapped. Desperately I tugged as hard as I could, but the vines wouldn't budge. I stubbornly kept at it, fear beginning to take over.
 
“Come on... come on...” I whimpered as I tried to pull my right hoof loose, the vines finally began to cooperate as I felt it slacken just slightly.
 
“Squawk!” I turned to face the sound in fear, seeing the bird lizard staring right at me, death looming in its eyes. Its eyes seemed to have nothing in them, like staring into a deep red abyss. I couldn't turn away as I looked at them. It felt as if I was staring into an infinite void.
 
The numbness in my tail jerked me back to my senses as I realized what I was doing. I was staring straight into its eyes of the cockatrice. My body was slowly becoming numb, turning to stone. I tried my best to turn away, but I just couldn't. I felt like my gaze was locked with the bird’s. A crooked grin seemed to form on the edge of it’s beak as it stared at me.
 
“No...” I whimpered as I could feel my strength being sapped away as my rear legs and hindquarters began to go limp.  ‘Not like this, not now.’’ I thought as I could feel the numbness climb up my body.
 
The cockatrice seemed to make some sort of strange cross between a cackle and a croak as it approached me, looking ready to dine on its latest meal. I shook my forelegs against the vines vigorously in defiance. As helpless as I was, I couldn't just let it have its way, there had to be something that could be done. Someone had to be here to help, anyone?
 
As if to answer my prayers a large explosion of green smoke appeared in between me and the cockatrice. The moment it appeared, the gas quickly began to take a strange shape. It grew larger, beginning to tower even above the canopy made by the trees till a colossal green dragon stared down at both the cockatrice and I in anger.
 
The cockatrice broke its stare on me to face the new danger allowing me to turn away. The paralyzing numbness that had encompassed most of my body quickly vanished the moment I closed my eyes again. I dared not reopen them, not letting the bird have a second chance at locking its gaze with me. I heard the sound of crumbling rock, feeling shards of stone fall off my hide.
 
My attention was soon enough brought back to the dragon. It lifted itself onto his hind legs, releasing a mighty roar that shook the ground. Flames erupted from its maw in a dazzling display of green hues fire and smoke before it fell back down to all fours, baring its teeth menacingly at the small chicken-lizard. The cockatrice didn't waste another moment as it turned tail quickly running back into the brush and out of site.
 
‘Out of the frying pan and into the fire, literally.’  I thought to myself with a gulp as the dragon shifted its eyes to me.
 
“Young Jace, have no dread or fear. It is only you and I here.” a voice from... inside? the dragon said soothingly. The dragon’s shape began to erode, turning back into the smoke it had once been before dissipating to the forest floor.
 
‘Wait, I know that voice.’
 
“Yes,” The zebra said as she walked out of the dissipating green mist. “It is the very voice, forced on you against your choice.” She spoke whimsically, walking out of the green smoke. There was no mistake, the face, mohawk, rings, the calming smile. It really was her, Zecora. 





Her attention shifted from me to the vines as she walked up to me. She put a hoof to her chin, as if pondering about them deeply. “Aha! “
 
She merely tapped the side of the roots, and the plant fell limp. With that I felt the vines slacken, releasing me from their grasp as I fell ungracefully on the ground before my doppelganger. I looked up to her as she offered me a hoof up. There was no disappointment, or frustration in her eyes like my parents had, just her reassuring smile.
 
Hesitantly I took her hoof as I got back onto my feet. “But, why? I just don't see...”
 
“How there can be two of me?” She stopped my rhyme, “There is much to discuss on what is what, but we will need to save it for back in my hut.” She walked past me, stopping as if waiting for me to follow. “At night, this is not a safe place to be, so far deep in the Everfree.”
 
I sat there for a moment unsure of what to say, but quickly caught up to her as I heard a caw from a far off bird. The last thing I wanted was to be alone again out here in this forest.
 
We wandered for some time through the winding paths of foliage. Every sound made my ears swivel in all directions as I uneasily looked around for each source. When I glanced to Zecora I was surprised to see that she did not share the same unease I had. She continued forward, occasionally looking back to make sure I was still behind her. Nothing about the forest seemed to bother her. The calm zebra’s ears barely made a movement when there would be a snap of a branch nearby, or a distant howl.
 
The Zebra stopped suddenly, throwing her foreleg out to stop me. “Careful of the poison joke flowers, you surely know of their powers.” I looked down, only noticing the simple blue flowers that embedded the ground.
 
They didn't seem unusual or out of place, not like they had in the television series. It suddenly made sense why the main six had blundered through the patch of plants without noticing them. If Zecora didn't point them out, I would almost certainly have done the same.

“They make good defense for my home, from all the creatures here that roam. They see the flowers that are cast, and think it better to wander past.” Zecora mused as she pointed to the narrow path in between the flower garden.
 
She carefully maneuvered us through the groves of poison joke down the trail to a rather large and ominous looking tree. I flinched as I looked at the sheer size of it, noticing three large masks overlooking what seemed to be a door, carved from the trunk of the tree. It took me another moment before I realized what I was looking at. I was staring straight at my... I mean, Zecora’s hut.
 
“Don't be shy, come inside.” The zebra offered as she gestured a hoof to the warm interior of the hollowed out tree. “From the dangers of the Everfree, we shall hide.
 
I peered into the hut from the doorway. The light seemed rather dim, only a few candles here and there, lighting the entire room. Shelves full of bottles and tonics encompassed the walls, while others hanged from the ceiling on strings. Where there weren't bottles, three large masks hung, contributing to the hut’s foreboding atmosphere. A large cauldron sat in the center of the room, the liquid inside bubbling as a fire smoldered underneath it. It almost looked like something out of a witch movie.
 
“Do not be afraid, the masks on the wall, they all behave.” Zecora seemed to jokingly assure as she shuffled me through the doorway.
 
Finally walking in, I had a strange of feeling as if I had finally come home from a long trip away. Everything about the hut that seemed alien before just felt welcoming. ‘But I’m sure I’ve never even been in a place remotely like this,’ I thought to myself, not wanting to alarm my hostess.
 
“It should not be as much of a shock,” Zecora said, shaking me out of my thoughts. “You’ve already noticed the way you talk.” She closed the door behind herself as she walked into the room. “But first my sincerest apologies,” Her expression changed slightly as she looked down, “Your parents and you, I did not wish to displease.”
 
I tilted my head slightly, puzzled about her apology. “I why can not surmise, the reason you’d apologize.”  

    She moved away from the door as she began to search through a rack of bottles and bowls, as if in search for something. “Until now, in the shadows of your mind, this is what I’ve hid behind.” The zebra pulled out a large bottle off the shelf, placing it gently on a table nearby the cauldron. “But what was happening I could see, such fear I could not conceive.”

    I watched in a bit of wonder as Zecora continued pulling bottles or herbs from here or there. “And all this you observed? My situation, most absurd?” I asked, as my confusion began to mount. “So why in that case, have you taken my place?”

“The reasons for what has become, I do not know,” The poetic zebra said as she opened a bottle, pouring its contents into the large pot. “But what is important now, is how close we grow.”
 
“Umm... what now?” I asked out loud. What on earth did she mean by that?
 
Zecora turned back to me giving an unconcerned look as she continued with whatever it seemed she was making in her cauldron. “As, you may have guessed, we are merging together, how else to explain it, I have no way better. You will become me, to put quite simply.”
 
‘What!?’ I stepped back a moment as I looked to her, still working on her mysterious concoction. I was becoming Zecora, not only in body, but in mind as well? The idea that I was losing myself completely filled with me with dread. What would happen to the part that was me? Would it just disappear into darkness?
 
I felt my body began to shake again as I sat down to keep myself from falling over. I wasn't sure how to take that news. I started gasping for breath as my mind replayed Zecora’s statement over in my head. “So, nothing of me will stay?” I said in between gasps, “I’m just going to fade away?”

    Suddenly I felt a weight press itself on my back. I looked up, seeing Zecora’s calming smile. “Young Jace have no worry or fear, there is no way I’d allow you to disappear. It is most true, this will indeed change you. But I already have become aware that something else has given you a scare.”

    I turned my head back down to the floor. I wasn't sure what to tell her. “Th-there’s nothing to have worry, really there’s no story.” I didn't want to lie to her, but I didn't want to admit I was afraid, even if it was overwhelmingly obvious. “Its ok-”

    “Now, now, please do not lie to me Jace,” Zecora brought a hoof up to cut me off. “It’s written all over your face.” She moved herself back into my field of view, trying to make eye contact with me again. “I am a friend you can always trust if others look on you with disgust.”

    I found myself looking at her again. “Well,” I sat there for a moment, half not wanting to speak, half unsure of what to say. “It is not a matter upon which I wish to dwell... the reactions of my parents was not so swell.” I stopped and looked back to the zebra, watching me attentively. “What happens next, I do not know. Where shall I be, if I go with the flow? So many questions, so many directions.” I took a deep breath, not noticing how quickly I had sputtered my feelings out on the line. “I just don't know.”

Zecora only sat there, as if pondering something for a moment. I sat impatiently watching her, waiting for a response. “An answer to your questions is what you desire, from your home you will have to retire. Perhaps it would be best, to do as your father suggest. Travel to New York and in time, your answers I’m sure we can find.”
 
I stared at her in disbelief. “New York? But you know I'd be of no use, I'd just be a piece of refuse. They need the elements of harmony, not the simple aid of a nobody.”
 
Zecora merely shook her head as she turned back to her cauldron “You have tried to stay strong, even when things had gone wrong.” She began to sort the rest of her ingredients out on the table, preparing them for whatever she was cooking up. “To say that you are helpless and small would be an exaggeration quite tall.”

    She gestured for me to come near as she picked up a yellow flower off the table, placing it over the boiling cauldron. Carefully the zebra began to shake the petals into the bubbling water below. “Things that are small in size, can sometimes trick the eyes.”

Zecora shook the flower carefully, each time letting only one or two pedals fall daintily into the pot. “One petal will not make a powerful brew, but if I were to add a few more, it would create something quite unique and new.” A large flash of green light and dark smoke billowed out of the cauldron, causing me to fall back onto my rump. “There is something taking shape, come and take a look, the fumes are quite safe.”

                I paused before I put my forelegs onto the rim of the pot to look inside the bubbling mass. It was hard to see at first, but a green glow began to emanate through the bubbling water. Slowly the surface of the liquid began to settle as an image began to appear.

                An image of my home began to appear. The moment it came into sight I could tell there was something horribly wrong. The old oak in the cul de sac seemed to have been made completely out of candy canes and sugar cubes. Surrounding it was a road completely made of soap and suds as dark drops of rain stormed mercilessly in the scene.

                I stared at the image further, unable to completely comprehend what I was staring at. Many of the old houses had been flipped on their sides as if they were dominos. Others seemed to defy gravity, floating in the air surrounded by chunks of earth. ‘No way. It can't be.’ I thought to myself. The image hazed before returning to a zebra looking out of the doorway to her house, her eyes red and bloodshot if as if she had spent her entire time moping.

                "If the desire to do nothing is what you truly feel,” Zecora interrupted as a figure appeared in the water. “This is an example of what could become real." The zebra was literally thrown out the front door, her rings were gone. She looked like she had been roughed up pretty badly as she tried recollecting herself on the front lawn.

“Certainly this can not be, what will become my destiny?” I shook my head, not wanting to see the zebra in the cauldron. I didn't want to think I’d be trapped like this forever.

    The zebra walked away as steam began to bubble up from the cauldron again. The thick mist obscured the images, causing me to step away to clear my vision. “It is difficult for me to say. Never in one state does the future stay.” Zecora mused as she walked back to my side.

    “I am just a little uncertain. If I do go, will I avoid the end curtain?” I asked sheepishly, getting a confused stare in response from Zecora. To emphasize my meaning, I slid a hoof across my throat.

    “You may slip along your trail,” she said as she placed a hoof on my back, making sure I kept eye contact with her as she continued to speak, “but you surely will not fail. Others are out there for you to befriend. Trust in them, and you will succeed in the very end."

    I sighed, looking back to the other me. Her face was of unfaltering confidence. I couldn't say the same for myself, but she seemed so certain of my abilities. “Alright, I’ll give it my best.” I conceded as I looked back to the cauldron. "I'll go to New York and do the rest"

“Just remember,” Zecora called “The answers that you go off to seek, may not always make your interests pique.”

    I turned back to face her, unsure of what she meant by her riddle. But before I had a chance to ask her she was simply gone. I didn't have any time to look for her however as a wave of exhaustion hit me. The world around me seemed to dissolve away into darkness like dust in the wind as unconsciousness gripped me.


> A Strong Heart For A Journey's Start
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	CHAPTER 6

A Strong Heart For A Journey's Start
___________________________

Day 11


Wagnesday


My eyes fluttered open as I found myself in the darkness of my bedroom once again safely wrapped underneath the soft bed sheets. Something had irked me out of my sleep. I almost gagged as I felt an odd sensation filling my mouth. I had a... pillow case in my mouth? I spat out the offending object, noticing the small amount of drool that had been covering it.  I must have been chewing on it unconsciously the entire time. I turned my head to look at the alarm clock’s lone light from across the room. The electronic numbers shined bright through the shadows.




 
‘Well guess that explains the darkness.’ I thought with a slight shrug.

I turned my head back to the ceiling and tried to remember the last dream that I had. Or at least what I thought was a dream. I recalled everything about it so vividly. There were so many details I never had in any previous dream. Dreams before had always been hazy, like trying to see through a dense fog with a spyglass. I’d only remember brief bits and pieces if I’d remember anything at all. But this dream had been much different. Every detail in Zecora’s hut had been crystal clear like I had really been standing right there in the middle of it. There did not seem to be a single thing out of place in the almost surreal scene. ‘But it was still just a dream, it had to have been.’
 
I got up as I repeated my last thought. It all had just been a dream. Not just the whole chase through the Everfree. The entire day of being Zecora must have been just one crazy nightmare. That idea began to make more sense the more I thought about it. People wouldn't just wake up in bodies of cartoon characters. Sure there were all sorts of little fan fictions and stories on the net where nonsense like that would happen, but theses things didn't happen in the real world. There was no such thing as magic after all. The idea alone was filled with so many impossible complexities it got to the point of ridiculousness. The only logical explanation left available was that it had to be some elaborate fantasy my subconscious cooked up.
 
I felt my spirits lift as I looked back down to my bed. I was sure I was right. It was the easiest explanation. Far easier than thinking such a fantasy could ever be real. In hindsight the so called “nightmare” hadn't even been too bad other than the whole parent thing. It actually probably ranked among some of my more enjoyable dreams. I actually got to see what it felt like to be a pony at least... well... sort of anyway.
 
 I threw the covers off of myself and looked down, only to have my hopes fade away from me once more. It was too dark to see, but I could still make out the body of the small equine I still inhabited. Nothing had changed from the day before. It wasn’t some fantasy, as impossible as it seemed. This was the real thing.
 
“I guess it is pointless to fight. I can't throw this away with the night,” I rhymed, slightly disappointed. Zecora’s voice echoed through my room as if to confirm what I was seeing. I sighed, resting my head back on the pillow. There was no shock or fear like when I woke the day before. I was too tired to be afraid anymore. All that was left was a weary acceptance of the situation “I guess I cannot deny what I see, I’ll have to come to terms with the new me.” The new me, that would certainly be a concept.
 
I stared at the ceiling again and tried to grasp at the entire dream. The thought of what I... Zecora, told me came back to as I laid there.
 
“If an answer to your questions is what you desire, from your home you will have to retire. Perhaps it would be best, do as your father suggests. Travel to New York and in time, your answers I’m sure we can find.”
 
Leave home on some half baked planned adventure to get your life back. The idea seemed fascinating, but also incredibly intimidating. I loved to travel as much as the next pony, but I was by no means the adventuring type.  I had hardly ever even left my city block, never mind past the state border. Although that was before I woke up as a zebra.
 
I picked up my foreleg and held it up in front of my eyes, looking at its faint outline in the darkness. I knew Zecora was no stranger to being on adventurous and dangerous journeys to far off lands. There were plenty of fictions that explained her origins, and they almost always included some kind of epic quest. Then there was the fact that she called home a place where most ponies feared to tread. Jace couldn't make this journey, but it would probably be no problem at all for Zecora.
 
I picked up my head as I began to think about it further. Maybe Zecora could do the journey. By myself I doubted I’d make it out of the city limits in one piece. Perhaps if I could at least try to think like Zecora, I would have a shot. I just had to try to stop being the nervous human I used to be, and more like the zebra I supposedly was now.
 
‘It’s not like you have much to lose now,’  the back of my mind sniped at me. The image of my disappointed parents still haunted my thoughts.
 
I sighed, shakily got to my hooves, and began scanning the dark lit room for my backpack. Standing on my bed was still somewhat of a challenge as the springs compressed under what little weight I had but I paid no attention to it. If I really was going to go off on this crazy idea, I needed to start packing immediately.
 
It didn’t take too long to retrieve my backpack. I started scavenging for anything in the room that I thought would come in handy a long road trip. My Ipad and charger were thrown in almost immediately, followed soon after by my headphones. I took a moment to grab my wallet and looked at my driver’s license. The picture of the human on it probably would do me little good now, but I would almost certainly need my debit card while it still had some money in it. What loose change I had would probably come in handy as well. I wasted no more time to pack it in with the rest.
 
I turned to my clothes drawer but stopped before I could try opening a shelf with my hoof. My clothes were meant for a six foot human, certainly not a three foot zebra. I looked back down to my small body with a bit of disdain before I turned to pick up my old hoodie, now my new makeshift cloak, off the rack I had laid it on.
 
With the bare essentials, at least in my mind, out of the way my attention turned to food. I moved as quietly as I could down the hallway and towards the kitchen. The last thing I needed now was to wake up my parents. I didn't want them to know what I was doing. They probably wouldn't try to stop me, but I wasn't sure if I could stand up to them on the off chance they did. The memory of the previous day still unnerved me.  
 
‘Perhaps it would be better just to write them a note instead,’ I idly mused to myself as I crossed their bedroom door. Thankfully, there was no sound from the other side. Reassured, I started moving quickly to my destination.
 
Upon reaching the kitchen I opened a small cabinet and took out my mother’s instant green tea. I wasn't much a fan of tea, but she would always comment how much it relaxed the nerves. Preparing to go halfway across the country to do who knows what, I could use all the relaxation I could get. I carefully took a mug out of the cabinet, holding the handle in my mouth before filling it with water from the sink. I tore off the little bag of instant tea mix and let it slowly mix with the water before placing it in the microwave.
 
With the tea out of the way for the moment I moved on to pillaging the pantry for road snacks. I thanked my lucky stars that the grocery shopping had been done the day before. It would now be put to good use. I began to fill my bag with anything that seemed like it would be edible for me. Apples, oranges, an entire stalk of celery, nothing was spared. I didn't stop with the produce either as I found myself searching for road snacks.
 
I searched the cabinets high and low for a particular favorite of mine. After a few moments of searching the darkness I finally found the zebra cakes I was looking for. I paused for a moment to think of the irony while forcing the entire box into my pack. It was a tradition since I was in elementary school to bring zebra cakes along on road trips. I’d always make sure to pack them in my stash wherever I went. New body or not, that was one tradition I was not about ready to break.
 
A ping from the microwave returned my attention to the warm drink inside. Tea was just what I needed to calm the nerves. I always enjoyed having a cup each morning before going on my rounds to find new herbs. Even some of my new friends would occasionally visit for a pot when they were available, though before I never had anything more than a small kettle and flame to warm it. I took the cup of tea out of the large microwave, letting the warmth enter my hooves. This microwave machine was truly something spectacular.
 
I took a sip, savoring the sweet taste, before the kitchen light suddenly turned itself on. I dropped the cup in surprise, spilling most of my tea across the floor. I shook my head out of my thoughts and turned to face the kitchen door. My father merely stood in the doorway and looked at the small zebra that had turned his kitchen into a war zone twice in two days.
 
“So,” he said, pausing to look down to me, “Your mind is made up then?” He had his arms crossed again as he always did whenever he was in deep thought about something. I could tell he had already put two and two together.
 
“Yup...” I answered in a manner not unlike a certain red stallion. I turned back down to the cup on the floor with grimace at the spilled tea that had gathered around it. I set it back straight and simply waved my hoof over the top letting the warmth flow back into the cup. As my hoof left the rim I beamed confidently seeing the tea once again in its rightful place.

“I don’t suppose there’s anything I can say to make you reconsider it.” My father grabbed a table cloth and bent down to help clean the small mess I had caused.

I carefully set the warm tea back onto the table before returning to do more packing. “Nope,” I responded coolly. I was really being a social butterfly this morning.

“Well in that case, have you formed a plan about how you are getting to the big apple?” he asked with what sounded like genuine concern as he got to his feet and tossed the rag into the sink.

I didn't say a word to respond to that. I turned to the herbs and bottles I had laid out in the table the previous day, thankfully undisturbed from when I last left them. I still wasn’t sure what some of them were, but I carefully put each one in the bottom pouch as gently as possible, like I was caring for a small animal. “What you are thinking is true, I’m not sure what I’ll do. But if I figure out where to go, before long I’m sure a path will show.”

“Sooner or later you’re going to need a better plan than that,” My father advised sternly. “It’s a big world out there Jace. Have you thought about how you will even get out of town yet?”

I kept my silence to that remark because I really didn’t have any idea. I admit making things up as I went along wasn't the best plan in the world, but I didn't have much information to go on, and even less as far as funds and friends were concerned.

“Well in that case,” he said as he picked up my packed gourd before I even had time to protest. “Come on, we’ll take my car.”
 
I didn't get an opportunity to voice my objection before he took his keys off the hook and left the room to get properly dressed. I stood there frozen and took a moment to try to decipher my father’s last cryptic words. He actually wanted to help me? I had to admit that was a little bit unexpected.


________________________________________________


 

        It was not long after I found myself in the passenger seat of my father's car. We cruised down the quiet morning streets in silence as I looked for the sun to begin to peak over the horizon, but instead I saw clouds. The sky was blanketed in gloomy rain clouds that just hung overhead. It looked like it would only be a matter of time before it would begin to rain, making me want to double check how insulated my Ipad was.
 
 The only real sound that was coming from inside the car was my father’s country rock station. I didn't say anything to him or look in his direction. I instead stared out the window and watched the sleepy little town I used to live my life quietly for years go by. I gave up really on figuring out where exactly he was taking me. It was already clear I’d find out when I got there, so I began to count the street lights that we passed. The sky was just dark enough that most of them were still turned on.
 
“The bus station,” my father finally said as he turned down the music. I glanced back to look at him, but he kept his eyes on the road. “The plan is we’ll get you on a bus. It’s cheap, fast, and should get you there in only a day or two.”
 
“Uhh…” I wasn’t quite sure what to say. I looked at the gourd I kept on the floorboard in front of me. I was sure I had enough money for a ticket to a bus bound for New York on my debit card, but not for much of anything else, certainly not a return trip. Besides, didn’t they check IDs for ponies – people – paying with cards?
 
 “Don't worry about the book store by the way,” my father continued on. I wasn’t sure at this point if he was talking to or at me. “I called their answering machine before we left. I told them you won't be coming in for work for a while, family emergency and all.”
 
I just let the human keep talking. There was nothing really else I could think to say. My father always was the one to take care of problems, and even a zebra in his home didn’t seem to be any different. I returned to looking out of the window as I saw the familiar buildings pass by and less familiar ones appear out of the morning shadows. The bus station was on the other side of town, part of town I almost never found myself in for one reason or another.
 
“Dad…” I turned back to face him. “I’m grateful for all that you’ve done, but,” I turned back to out the window “I think you’ve thought of everything but one.” I looked down to my backpack, then back to him unsure if he understood what I was trying to get at.
 
“I got things handled.” He kept his eyes on the road as we pulled into the bus entrance. The front of the station itself was fenced off from the rest of the terminal that housed the busses. The parking lot was actually quite deserted this morning, probably still waiting for passengers to arrive. The car suddenly lurched to a halt as we parked, almost causing me to fall out of my seat. “I’ll tell you the plan in a moment.” He said as he opened the driver door.
 
I waited patiently as he walked around to the other side. Hooves were nice and all, but not being able to even open doors and other handles was quickly losing its luster. I slipped my foreleg through the leather strap of the pack and hopped out of the car as soon as my father opened the passenger side.
 
“Now you’ll need to go in there and tell the clerk you need an express ticket for New York. It shouldn’t take you more than a minute or two.” My father instructed as he looked to the front door.
 
I looked over my pack to make sure everything was accounted for before closing the door satisfactorily. “There’s still a problem I can’t delay.” I reminded him, “I do not have any way to pay.”
 
“Don’t worry, I brought money for you.” He pulled out his wallet and grabbed for some spare dollars. “This should be enough to get you to New York and back.” He said as he handed the money towards me. I looked closely at bills with shock. They weren’t tens or twenties, they were fifties and hundreds. Two fifties and four crisp hundred dollar bills.
 
“Are you completely sure, to give me this to insure?” I breathed. I knew my family wasn’t in the poor house, but five hundred was still nothing to take lightly.
 
He gave me a sincere grin as I hesitantly grabbed the bills with my mouth. “You know you’ve never been hard to read, even with those weird rhymes now,” he said half jokingly, “I knew sooner or later you’d want to go off on this trip, so I took the liberty of taking some money out of the bank. I haven’t told your mother about that yet, just between you and me.
 
 “By the way, I’ll tell your mother what’s going on when I get back.” I winced as he said those words, “I know she was… less than agreeable with what happened the other day and last night. But don’t judge her too harshly. She’s scared about what’s going on with you.” He put his hand on my head rubbing my mohawk slightly out of place. He wanted to make sure I was listening to what he had to say, “We all are. We just want to you be safe and sound.”
 
 “I guess…” I wasn’t sure what I was afraid of, but the bizarre image of my mother calling hoards of angry anti-pony humans after one lone zebra came to mind.
                
  “Now, I’m not sure what time the first bus departs, but you need to get that ticket as soon as you can,” my father said as he shooed me towards the door. “If you miss the first bus you’ll have to wait another day.”
 
“Oh… right, yeah,” I stammered out as I began to turn to walk to the doors.

“Oh Jace, one more thing,” I turned to face him again, but was quickly overtaken by  a large shadow as he bent down for an embrace “Good luck Jace,” he said as he hugged me tightly.
 
‘Who…?’ I looked at him half confused as he stared at me. Was he, tearing up? “Th-thanks Dad, for everything.” It was only then I noticed I was tearing up as well. “I won’t be gone too long, I promise,” I whispered barely noticing the lack of rhythm in my words as I returned the hug.
 
As quickly as the moment had begun it ended as my father rose to his feet again. “Your mom won't be too happy when she hears about this, but I’ll try my best to get through to her.” The assurance sounded doubtful, “Just remember whatever happens, you’re still my son, well, daughter now I suppose. Just be careful out there.”
 
I watched him turn back to the car in silence. He waved a final goodbye to me as he closed the door and start the engine. Before I knew it the red Saturn SUV turned onto the main road and disappeared into the dark streets. With it, the only human who really understood what I was going through was gone. I turned back to the front doors of the station. I was on my own from here on out.
 
I closed my eyes and began to meditate on what I had thought on in bed. ‘Remember, just trust and think as a zebra would, and in time, you’ll do more than you ever thought you could,’ my mind advised me. I took a deep breath and pushed the glass doors open, making my way inside the lobby.
 
The inside of the station was vastly less impressive than the outside, which was probably saying something. The building itself had to have been old. The interior looked like it had been designed with an old seventies look in mind, and that was probably the last time it had been kept up as well. Only a hoof full of people sat in the seats that were bolted onto the lobby floor, busy with their noses in books or laptops, cellphones. A few even tried multitasking between a combination of them. No one really seemed to notice me, or they at least if they had, didn’t give much thought.
 
My hooves echoed loudly along the walls of the old tile as I walked towards the front desk. A lone clerk was sitting in front of the desk reading the morning paper. She seemed to be an older woman, perhaps in her seventies. She sat gauntly in her chair as if leaning over it for support, or perhaps just how she sat after years on a desk job.

At first she didn’t notice me at the bottom of her desk. I got onto my hind legs and waited a moment hoping she would notice my presence. She just continued reading her paper. After a little longer of her not paying attention, or just outright ignoring me I tapped the bell gently beside her.
 
She folded her paper and threw it on the desk as she looked down at me with a bit of surprise. The shock wore off quickly enough as she tapped on her computer. “Hmm, its one of you pony things. Were you planning on buying a ticket, or grazing in the field behind the building?” She scoffed as she readjusted her glasses to get a better look of me.
 
“Umm….” I was taken back by the immediate hostility. I narrowed my eyes, and mentally pulled up the confidence from the back of my mind to the surface and let it flow through me. As if suddenly, the intimidation I felt from the clerk’s accusation disappeared. I closed my eyes and gave a stern look back to the offending human. “From that comment I will digress, one ticket to New York express.”
 
“Hmmm…. New York,” the clerk turned away either unimpressed or had nothing to add.  She began clicking away with the mouse on her computer and began a couple of keystrokes. “There’s a bus departing for Montgomery in half an hour,” she said with a lack of interest as she turned her back towards me. “It should link to a bus going to Atlanta, Georgia to Richmond, Virginia and from there to the New England route.”
 
“That route will do me just fine,” I said with a warm grin, “I’ll take it if you don't mind.” When I opened my eyes again I was met with a confused stare from the old woman.

“Sweetie, would it kill you to stop talking like that for one moment?” she said as she adjusted her glasses again. My grin turned sheepish as I let myself down from the counter and began to look for the money my father had given me. “It will be two hundred ten dollars,” she said flatly.
 
I pulled the crisp bills out of my pocket and placed it carefully in front of her. She perked her eyes at the dollars before she took them.
 
“Name?” She asked as she began to type again, filling out the ticket information on the computer.
 
“J-” I stopped for a moment as I found myself lost in thought. Did I actually forget my own name? No, I knew it. I started with a J? No, that didn’t sound right. A Z perhaps, Z something… Z something. “Zecora?” I asked out loud. That name sounded right, but at the same time awkward. I’d have to worry about it later though.
 
“What kind of name on god’s green earth is that?”  The clerk asked as she finished typing, letting the printer print out a pass. “Well, no matter.” She said as her interest seemed to flat line. “Here is your ticket. Under no circumstances should you lose it. If you do it can’t be replaced.” She handed it over with a bit of disdain as she shooed me away from the front desk.
 
I wasted no time to pick the pass up and headed for a seat in the lobby. I looked at the other humans in the terminal again. I was getting some of the same stares I had received in the grocery store the other day. Some had noticed the scene I had caused and began to talk amongst each other. I could have sworn I saw one or two with camera phones pointed at me, but I tried not to pay it much mind. I sat down and fished out my Ipad and headphones. Music would solve my problems. It always did. I pulled up something more relaxing to calm my nerves. A part of me wish I had a bit tea to go with it.

Time began to pass by and most of the other ponies - people - began to return to their own devices. “Pensacola to Montgomery bus Three Fifteen now boarding at gate thirty two,” the intercom crackled to life, “Please have your luggage and tickets ready at the gate.”
 
I stepped out onto the terminal and searched the surroundings for my bus. The terminal was in better condition than the lobby seemed, but only marginally. The same seventies theme seemed to be everywhere. There were not many buses at the station this morning, which made it easier to locate mine. I moved quickly to get myself in line.

 At first there were very few passengers as I walked up to the bus. I stared at the steps with a bit of intimidation. The moment I looked back, I noticed a the line of impatient passengers waiting to board behind me. Quickly as I could I planned a method of attack, placing both my forelegs onto the first step, then my hind legs. I repeated it till I managed to get onto the main floor. 

As I passed the driver he took a moment to gape at me before giving a smirk. He looked like he was in his mid fifties, his grey hair must have already been balding underneath the cap he had. “On your way to the Big ol’ Apple little missy?” He asked as he spit the gum out of his mouth.
 
I grinned for what felt like the first time in ages at the human. “Why that would be a yes, how on earth could you guess?” I joked as I gestured to my pack. The driver merely laughed.

“The name is Rogers.” The man said as he offered a large hand out for a shake. 
 
I held my hoof out to meet it. “Zecora,” I answered. The name came out more smoothly this time, but something about it still seemed a little off. I couldn't quite place it but for some reason I didn't seem bothered by it. I was just too relieved to have someone who wasn’t disgusted by the mere sight of me.
 
 “You’re actually not the first pony on my bus, well; you’re the first one with stripes at least.” Roger said as he pulled back his hand, placing it onto the guardrail.
 
I tilted my head in confusion, “You mean say there’s more, others have come before?”
 
“Well, not here, I had one out in Tallahassee. His name was Star…. Hunter? Something like that, he was one of those winged ponies.” The information sank in slowly. There really were more ponies out there. Not only that, they were headed to New York as well. “Anyway he wasn’t too bad if I say so myself.” Roger said as he waved his hand idly as if to change subjects. I guess it was obvious the news was a bit of a shock to me, “If anyone gives you trouble be sure to let me know.”
 
“Thank you for your care, if I do have any problems, I’ll be sure to air.” I said as I took a step past the driver’s seat. Roger simply nodded and returned to greeting the rest of the passengers.
 
The bus was nothing like the old station. It was completely modern in every way. I never rode a charter bus before but the interior almost reminded me of first class coach in most airliners. The seats were a signature blue, cushy, comfortable and inviting. Overhead some passengers had turned on their personal lamps or fans while they read books, or worked on laptops. I moved toward the back of the bus, trying to avoid making eye contact with most of the other passengers that were on board.
 
I found a secluded window seat in the back and quickly laid my gourd down in the aisle seat. Old habits of wanting my own  space on the bus from grade school died hard I guess. That and the overhead compartments were far too high for me to reach. I turned back to my Ipad and began to pour over some YouTube tracks as I waited for the bus to start. I pressed the play button and settled onto the back of the seat, mouthing the words silently as I nodded my head with the beat.
 
Soon enough the bus engine started up and I found myself staring out the window as we left the station. As we left the covered roof of the terminal the window was suddenly blanketed by a light shower of water. The probably rain had started at some point while I had waited. 
 
The bus left the station with ease as the fences opened and quickly got onto the highway. The streets were still quiet as we began our way out of town, past the city limits. The small town quickly gave way to the more rural parts of the county. I lost track of time as farmlands and sloping hills began to meld together. Eventually at some point we pulled off the highway and onto the interstate.
 
My attention turned to the signs as they began to fly by. The bus quickly began to pick up speed. The rain began to get harder the further we went, splashing the side of the window. It was then that I almost missed a particular sign go by. I took a deep breath as I watched it fly past.


NOW LEAVING FLORIDA


 


WELCOME TO ALABAMA

 
I put my hoof to the window and touched the glass. I could only just slightly feel the cold glass. I watched the sign go past, and with it, the only part of the world I knew. I had a strange feeling as I saw it all go by.
 
‘Heh, that’s weird’ I thought to myself, withdrawing my hoof from the glass and holding it closely to myself. ‘why does if feel like I’ll never get to come back here.’

 
 
	


> Dealing with Fame, and Time to Train
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 7
Dealing with Fame, and Time to Train
(side note, nice listening music for chapter here  )


_________________
It had been some time since the bus left my home town. We had driven for miles along the old interstate road, not that there was really anything interesting to look at through the rain that still came down outside. Other than the neon green signs announcing city names and miles left to go, the scenery didn’t change much. Most of the landscape was little different from my home in the Florida panhandle. With rolling hills, winding country roads, and countless pine trees as far as the eye could see. I’d have sworn I was still there if we hadn't been driving all morning.
 
With nothing fascinating going on outside, I absentmindedly directed my attention to the other passengers on the bus. Most had long since settled in for the dull drive. Some had even fallen asleep while others were distracted by their portable devices. The initial attention on me had seemingly evaporated for the majority much to my relief. But I could feel the eyes of one particular passenger staring holes into the back of my head when I wasn’t looking.
 
I could tell he was a younger man, sitting across from me and one seat back just watching. I could hear his excited whispering as he spoke to who I assumed was his friend in the seat beside him. He was the thin lanky type, probably only in his early- to mid-twenties. I didn't look long, but was sure he was wearing a shirt with a certain pink pony on it. In large bold letters was the word “Party!” One word popped in my head when I saw it, ‘Brony’.
 
Every time I turned back to glance at him he’d quickly return to texting on his phone or looking out the window, conveniently just past me. It was discomforting, but at the same time I guess he had a right to be curious, though that didn't make me feel any better about it.

I tried to place my thoughts elsewhere and away from the “adoring” fan. I shifted in my seat continually to find a comfortable position, but it felt an almost impossible effort just sitting on my flank. I just couldn't see how a certain mint-green unicorn from town found this position so comfortable. I had resorted to curling up onto the chair which to my relief I found much more pleasant.
 
After another half hour went by, even people-watching got old. I decided to turn on my Ipad and looked to the time out of idle curiosity.
 

7:45 AM


I’d only been on the bus for a little over an hour, one very long hour. It felt like an entire day could have past during the same time and I wouldn't have even noticed. A thought struck me when I looked back to the clock. A whole day had passed, though, not quite in that way. It was officially over twenty four hours since I had found myself in a new body.

‘Jeez, only twenty four hours...’ It seemed like more happened in one day than in the entire past year of my life. Yesterday I was only getting ready for another average college day, and today I was on a bus bound for New York. It was sort of mind boggling really. I was headed to the Big Apple, and so were the mane six. But, they weren't the only ones. Apparently others were headed there to. Maybe a hoof full, maybe thousands, and they all had one thing in common. They were like me, at least in some ways.

I began to wonder about the future. What were the mane six supposed to do that was so important? More importantly what would I do? I sighed as I looked back to the rain streaked window again. I stopped bothering to mentally ask the questions before I became distracted by them. There did not seem to be any more point without answers to satisfy them.

    ‘Perhaps I could find some news to help me stay amused.’ I thought to myself as I turned on Chrome. The Ipad’s sky card had always been lovely, even if it did cause me to become easily distracted. I hadn’t kept up with anything since waking up the morning before, so catching up on news sounded like as good of a place as any to start. Fortunately, the bus ride would give me plenty of time to get back to speed.

    I decided to first inspect the Facebook accounts of the few ponies I knew. Almost immediately I found myself on Fluttershy’s account. Nothing much had seemed to change other than a picture posted on her wall. It was a portrait of her and Pinkie Pie together at last. Pinkie's smile practically covered her face as it always did. I grinned slightly as I stared at the image.

Every time I stopped by in town that smile was always there to greet me. I wondered how it seemed she always knew when I would decide to drop by, sometimes even before I knew myself. Though the pink mare always simply told me that, “her pinkie sense had told her.” I never bothered to look into it further. It was just nice to always have a friend there to greet me with a smile and make me feel like I was actually welcomed.
 
The feeling of a presence overhead shook me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see the brony from before, watching me with a large grin, almost as wide as Pinkie’s. “...and you will never believe who I ran into,” he continued on like he had been carrying on a conversation with someone else. It was then noticed the smart phone in his hand, the camera pointed straight at me. “Say hello to YouTube Zecora.”
 
“What?” I was taken aback by the sudden intrusion. My eyes suddenly shrank to pinpricks as I flinched into the seat. I froze for a moment with my mouth unhinged. What did he think he was doing? I had little time to think about it before a surge of calm confidence erupted in great force through my mind. “… Hi?” I responded flatly as I settled back down into my seat and returned my attention back to the Ipad.
 
“Wow, she even sounds like her,” his friend commented approvingly from across the aisle. I mentally grumbled at the comment.
 
The brony leaned further in overhead like that, despite my efforts to ignore him. What exactly did his friend mean by me sounding like her? “So Zecora, where are you headed to? Are you going to New York like the others?” he asked, though the question seemed more directed to his phone then at me.

I gave a quiet moan as I realized the cold shoulder trick wasn't going to work on him. “If you're so eager for an explanation, New York is indeed my destination.” I answered managing a polite smile as I glanced back to him. ‘Just... Be polite. Maybe if I just answer his questions he’ll go away...’ I thought to myself

    “She even rhymes!” Another peanut gallery comment from his friend. His attention was fixated on me, like I was some sort of lab subject. “Dude, this is going to get so many views.” He gave the brony a high five as he moved into the aisle seat.
‘Or perhaps answering their questions will make things worse.’ my mind snipped.
 
“Sorry for that,” The brony said as he turned back to me with a smile from ear to ear. “But man, I bet you’ve been having a blast.”
 
I rose my eyebrow at that comment “If I could intervene, what exactly do you mean?” I guess if I was paying more attention I would have noticed the slight bit of scorn in my voice. “Having a blast” was not exactly what I would have called the last day.
 
“Well, this is Zecora guys,” he said as he turned his camera back to him to show his enthusiasm. “I mean how much luckier can you get? You're probably one of the most popular supporting characters out there.”
 
“I don't know about that...” I mumbled as I looked back down to the reflection in the Ipad. I wasn't popular; it was the zebra I was now who was popular. I was only along for the ride.
 
“If I were in your hooves I think I would have called everyone I know to tell them about it by now,” he mused nonchalantly. I knew this time the brony wasn’t talking to me as he glanced over to his friend. He quickly turned his attention back down to the zebra he had his camera pointed to. “So have any family at home you’d like to say hi to?” I winced at that question.
 
This was quickly getting out of hoof. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about my family to anyone, never mind in front of a camera for the whole online world to see. “‘I’d... rather decline—” I muttered.
 
“Oh come on,” his friend goaded, cutting off my words, “do it for the people watching, they want to know everything going on.”
 
“No.” My ears folded back. I felt my patience slipping. I intentionally avoided looking back up to the camera. I was done with their little interview. Why couldn't they just leave me be?
 
“But people would like to hear it, please? It’s not a big deal or anything,” the brony assured, trying to move the camera back into my field of view for a better shot.
 
I kept my head away, trying as hard as I could not to look in their direction, but the sound of my pack being moved made me glance at the human. He had moved my gourd to the floor and sat right beside me, his camera straight in my face. That was where I drew the line. "How dare you!" I snapped back at him. “What gives the right, to ask of my life’s blight?”

    The grin on the brony’s face suddenly fell flat, replaced by an anxious frown as if he had just been bitten by a puppy he was holding. “What? Look, it’s not like I’m asking you out on a date or anything. I was just asking if you wanted to say hi...”

    “Did you even consider what happened to me?” I declared as I got to my hooves, taking a step towards the intruder, “The pain and pressure of becoming a pony?” It was only then that I noticed I was right in his face.

“But isn't it supposed to be awesome?” he stepped out of the seat, pushing his equally baffled friend back to his own, “I mean... well... I’d jump at the chance—”

    “Do you think that this is some sort of game? That this is innocent and without blame?” I scolded him, sitting back down after reestablishing my personal bubble. “Do you think I am only a mere object to idol? Did you think about me before this body’s arrival?

    “Well, no, but I thought that it wouldn't hurt to make a video.” His voice was quickly lowering in level, just beyond a squeak. The brony lowered his phone slightly. “People out there have been dying to know what's going on.”

    “You should have asked permission, before carelessly showing my condition.” I raised my voice and waved a fore hoof inches from his face. “Being a pony, simple it is not. In this foreign body,” I rhymed as I gestured back to myself apprehensively, “I’m plagued with a basic thought: will I be normal again? Or will I be like this until the end? Is that something you'd want? Something for others to flaunt?”

    Reluctantly he finally turned off the camera. “Oh... well... I mean but,” he stuttered as I gave him a hard gaze. Finally he slumped back down into his chair, lost for words. “I guess I hadn't really thought about it like that... Sorry.” He began to look back out the window; the embarrassment in his face at the mistake seemed to be obvious.

“Oh come on dude, at least upload it,” his friend hoarsely whispered. It earned him a hit on the head from an old candy wrapper I tossed at him.
 
I went back to giving them a cold shoulder. I had enough of their antics for one road trip. I happily put my headphones back on blocking out the rest of the world in music as I pulled the Ipad up from the floorboard. Thankfully it hadn’t been harmed in any way when the brony had moved it off the seat. I went back to staring at the page I had left open curiously. It was the Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie Facebook pages. A thought began to nag the back of my mind as I looked at the pictures of those two together.
 
They weren't worried at all about what others had thought of them. Heck, it looked like they had even embraced it. Yet here I was, half afraid of my own shadow. I glanced back at the bronies as I thought about it. Even the slightest bit of human attention was making me jump.
 
The only thing that had kept me going during this trip was the idea of acting more like Zecora would somehow make everything alright. I didn't have any friends to talk to, none of my immediate family seemed safe to confide in. When I looked at the hard facts, I was practically on my own in every sense of the word. But Pinkie and Fluttershy...
 
They had managed to find each other through the internet, and probably gained hundreds of friends in the process. Even Shining armor had joined them somewhere along the way. They could talk to each other and support one another. People had recognized them and helped them. Humans understood what they were going through. And now they were headed to New York, together.
 
I glanced back over to the side where the brony and his friend sat. The mane six weren’t the only ones getting attention. These two recognized me, or at least, they recognized who I was supposed to be. If they did, I was almost sure others would eventually. I wasn't sure if that was going to be a good or bad thing.
 
I put my hoof to my chin, and pondered my next step. Maybe there were others I could go for help as well, but how would I reach anyone? Or for that matter how could I be sure they’d be safe to talk to? I looked at the Facebook accounts again and returned to the Facebook home page. There was only one way I could think of finding anyone else. I wasn't completely sure about the idea, but it was probably the best option I had for the moment.
 
‘You can always delete it after, if things become a disaster’ I assured myself.
 
I looked back to the screen to the top right at the Login/Register button and tapped register with a hoof. The first question I found a bit confusing: “First Name”.
 
Hurriedly, I began to type down lines of information. I paused for a moment before I typed out a name, but then looked at it with a bit of bafflement. It was a name, but, it just seemed a bit odd.
 
“Jace Banner.”
 
It wasn't my name; at least, I didn't think it was my name. The more I thought about it the less sure I was. There was something that was familiar to it, just on the tip of my tongue. It was like a forgotten memory, but at the same time foreign. I disregarded it and deleted the name before writing a new name down
 
“Zecora”
 
That seemed to fit better, especially when I looked at the reflection of the zebra in the screen again.
 
I wrote down a simple message in my profile. “Hello everyone, Zecora is my name, or that’s who I became. I am on my way to New York, though I may be in need of support. Do not be afraid or shy, if you would like to say hi.”
 
I turned on Ipad’s the camera and faced it towards myself. With the best grin I could muster, I closed my eyes and snapped a profile picture. I poked around my page, making sure there was nothing I had left out. Age, gender all seemed tricky at first, but I quickly managed to fill them in correctly. I was twenty one after all, and of course I was female. And with that I felt there wasn't anything more that could be done. I hoped that would be enough to get someone’s attention.

    With that out of the way, I opened my pack to look for something to snack on. My spirits rose a bit as I took out a zebra cake and savored the sweet cream filling. I continued searching through the net as began to idly munch on one or two more. Eventually net-surfing got old and I layed back down and tried to relax as much as I could for the rest of the trip. I turned down my music and closed my eyes. I didn't notice how tired I had been since the morning until that little outburst. It wasn’t long after that I felt myself falling asleep.

    _____________________________________________________________

    The first thing I noticed was the sound of the bus had disappeared. Everything was quiet as I opened my eyes, finding myself in a dimly lit room once again. I looked around my surroundings; things becoming familiar to me almost instantly. There were shelves stockpiled with mysterious potions and herbs, tribal masks from my... a... home far away, and the air seemed to be filled with the smell of spices. It didn't take me long to put the two together. I was right back in Zecora’s hut. But it was a different feeling this time. This wasn't the real thing, just another illusion. I was in a lucid dream just like the night before.

    Steadily, I got to my hooves and scanned the interior of the room. I walked around the small hut in idle curiosity. There was a lot to take in from the small space around me. Potions and herbs littered the shelves and hung on strings from the ceiling. Some seemed almost familiar, while others looked completely alien. From what I could guess, they all were probably filled with some form of magical concoctions. What they could or would do completely mystified me. I kept my distance from them, unsure what would happen to me if I so much as looked at one the wrong way.

I directed my curiosity elsewhere, bringing it to some of the tribal masks that had adorned the walls. Just like the potions there were plenty to choose from. Each looked unique in its own way from the others; some had happy faces, while others seemed too angry or filled with sorrow.  
 
There was one that stood out amongst the rest. I walked closer to inspect the strange mask before I noticed that it wasn't really a mask at all. I had to shake my head for a moment to realize it was actually a helmet. To be more precise, it was Boba Fett’s helmet. Strangely enough it didn't seem too out of place amongst all the other items in the small shack. I shook my head as I tried to comprehend how such an object that shouldn't have belonged ended up here.

    “Ah, I see you have gone and fallen off into a doze,” a voice commented behind me. I glanced back, noticing Zecora sedately walking up next to me. “But I’m glad for we still have much to discuss and disclose.”

    I looked back to the helmet with mild bafflement “Beskar'gam?” I asked as I idly pointed a hoof to it. I was somewhat of a Star Wars nerd and absolutely ecstatic over anything that had to do with Fett or Mandalorians in general. I sometimes even pondered the idea of buying some of his prop armor, better known as “Beskar'gam” by some of the more avid fans, but the extreme costs kept me far away from ever actually acting on that desire. But still, none of that explained what this thing was doing here in Zecora’s hut.

    She walked over and readjusted the helmet to the wall “I took some time to look through your mind... and thought it wouldn't hurt to redesign,” Zecora said as she took a step back to judge her work. “Our minds are still merging as you know, but the pace has started to slow.” She turned to look at me; the expression on her face had changed.

Whenever I saw Zecora before, in the show or in my dreams she almost always had the same undying calm, confident demeanor. But now, Instead of the bright smile she usually wore, she looked at me with genuine concern.

    I arched an eyebrow at her as I tried to understand. “But how on earth can that be true?” I asked with a subtle frown. “I’ve been taking time to think more like you. I’m on my way to New York and—” I was cut off as Zecora placed her hoof on my mouth.

    “I’m very proud of all that you’ve earned.” The zebra paused for a moment, seemingly to choose her words carefully. “But there is still much you need to learn.” Zecora moved away, to the hut’s only door. She paused for a moment as she donned her thatch saddle bags and looked back to me, as if waiting for me to follow. “My form may now be yours to show, but my skills you still do not know.”

    “Do not know?” I echoed back to her, quite literally. I had a feeling I was going to find out soon enough.

    The first thing I noticed when I walked out of the hut was how sun shone brightly through the thick canopy of the everfree forest. It gave the jungle a slightly less foreboding feel to it, but only slightly. I didn't let the calming appearance of the jungle throw me off though. I stuck to Zecora’s side once more, making sure that she would always be in my sight. The certainty of the jungle being only in my mind was momentarily forgotten.

    We moved along the small goat trail that lead away from the hut through the poison joke garden. Beyond, the forest seemed quiet enough. Only the sounds of an occasional bird chirp or snap of a twig could be overheard by our hoof steps. The trail looked very different during the day compared to the darkness I had stumbled through during the night.

Roots and vines criss-crossed the trail in a vast unorganized network of foliage. I began to wonder how I could have made it as far as I did during the night without tripping up in it, but then again it was still a dream, which was to say it was there at all.
 
Eventually as we walked the trees of the everfree began to break up, giving way to a clearing. Just beyond was a modest hill overlooking the flat landscape beyond. I strained my eyes to see as far as I could. In the distance there was something, a town, Ponyville? Try as I might though, the object in the distance wouldn't come into focus. It was like a dense fog shrouded it from my sight.
 
“Here is a good place to explain, how you and I are both in twain.” Zecora called to me. I glanced back in her direction, “Come over towards me, there is something you must see.”

    I tilted my head as I turned to face the zebra again, “Explain just what? Zecora, I don't mean any offence... but you're not making much sense.” I tried to decipher the meaning to my twin’s cryptic behavior.

    “Your memories failed to detect, the magic you’ve managed to project.” Zecora spoke in a sage like manner. “Did you think much on the potion that did erupt, or of the tea that found its way into your cup?”

    “Hmm...” I sat down and closed my eyes as I recalled the events back in the family kitchen. The memory of the potion came back immediately. It was still embarrassing as I thought about the slight overconfidence I had. Though, the reason why it had quite literally exploded never really crossed my mind. As I thought more in hindsight I began to ponder why it decided to erupt so violently. The ingredients seemed innocent enough, nothing that appeared to be combustible.

    The memory of tea from only a few hours ago was different. There didn't seem to be anything unusual at first thought of the memory. I spilled tea across the floor when my father had surprised me. It wasn’t the nicest way to earn my attention, but I refilled the cup and set it back onto the table. No harm was really done in the long run.
At least, I thought I refilled the cup. I began to wonder about the question. No, I didn't remember getting the pot and refilling the cup, but I was sure the tea had been replaced. I opened my eyes in fright as I began to realize what had happened. During the entire morning I had only prepared one cup of tea, and only one. There was no way to replace it because there simply was no pot of tea to refill it with. “How...I...but...” I asked out loud earning a slight grunt of amusement from my doppelganger.

    “The explanation is not so drastic,” Zecora assured, waving a hoof at me. “You simply performed zebra magic.”

I cocked my head to the side once more to that explanation. “Zebra magic?” I didn't think I had ever heard of such a thing from television show. Zecora had never done any sort of magic in the series, aside from fixing Applebloom’s teeth, but even that was merely a potion. The only possible hint was how she disappeared without a trace at the end of the cutie pox episode. It was not much to go on, by all intents and purposes Zecora looked to be just like any normal earth pony...plus stripes.
 
“It is indeed what I use, on my magical brews.” Zecora dug through her cloak for something. “If not for a few magical tweaks, most properties would be simple and weak.”
 
But I feel that I have to ask,” I began to question, “Aren’t unicorns the magical class?” From what I knew of the show, unicorns were certainly the only magic users other than alicorns of course. Then there were pegasi, but they just moved clouds. I wasn't sure if that would have counted as magic.
 
“Yes indeed amongst the pony kind, unicorns are the magically inclined.” Zecora closed her saddle bag’s flap, apparently finding whatever she had been looking for; it seemed to be a bit of green glitter like sand. “Though zebras have their own skill. To wield it right, one needs the will.” I almost face hoofed when I saw it. It was the same dust that she used in the nightmare night episode.
 
She blew the dust into the wind creating a small cloud. Slowly the dust made an outline, and then a form. Before long a ghostly form of Twilight Sparkle stood before us. She was not the same as the real Twilight though, instead of the brilliant purple that the scholar unicorn had, this one’s coat was a bright shimmering green, its cutie mark non-existent. But still, the confident face of Twilight Sparkle was all the convincing I needed to assure me what I was supposed to be looking at.
 
“Unicorns draw their energy from deep inside,” Zecora monologged nonchalantly. ”It is from this energy that their magic dose reside.” Zecora blew another pile of dust into the air which began to take shape of a simple square box. ‘Smoke Twilight’ looked straight at it with a hard stare. She closed her eyes, seemingly concentrating as hard as she could as her horn began to glow a similarly eerie green. The box quickly complied as it began to lift from the ground, much to ‘Smoke Twilight’s’ satisfied approval before her form began to diminish back into smoke.
 
“But Zebra magic is not the same. It is much more wild, less tame.” A smokey shape of Zecora appeared through the haze. The green zebra did not seem to really do much of anything as she sat on the ground in front of the real Zecora and I. Instead her eyes seemed closed and nonresponsive, as if she had been in a trance. “Ours does not come from the body within, but flows through nature. A delicate touch to control it is needed for sure.”
 
‘Smoke Zecora’s’ eyes suddenly flashed open as she got up from her meditation. There were no pupils to them though as they seemed to glow brightly in the same hue as ‘Smoke Twilight’s’ horn. I closed my eyes for a moment as a bright flash seemed to erupt from them.
 
It was only for a second, but when I opened them again my mouth fell unhinged. The spot where ‘Smoke Zecora’ had been was empty, without even a trace of the green zebra having been there. I looked back to the real Zecora for reassurance as to what I had just seen, but when I looked at her all she had was a smug grin.
 
I turned back to the direction that ‘Smoke Zecora’ had just been in and almost jumped when I saw my green doppelganger staring me only inches away from my face. Her eyes still glowed brightly before her outline suddenly diffused back into smoke.
 
A small amused chuckle came from the real Zecora’s direction. “Sorry Jace, but I could not resist. The powers of teleportation can sometimes be entertaining.”
 
I looked back to the green smoke where the green zebra once stood. There was nothing left of her as the smoke finally began to dissipate and disperse. “I can most certainly say, I haven’t seen magic used that way.” I said astonished.
 
“Zebra magic is unique in its own way.” Zecora explained as she returned to my side. “Our magic is not our own, but comes from the world around us each day. We do not channel this energy from inside; instead we are merely its humble guide.”
 
“So that’s the same magic that you infuse, into most of your potions and brews?” I pondered out loud.
 
Zecora pondered this for a moment before she shook her head. “Those are similar but not in the same. It requires a bit more detail to explain. Potion making is a skill not anypony can master,” she rhymed whimsically. “You do remember Applebloom’s attempts were quite the disaster? Zebra’s have natural talents for this sort of skill, but its something anypony can learn with will”
 
I began to ponder that question. It only took a moment to remember the cutie pox incident, or the accident with the love potion. They were small accidents, things I was sure I had done when I was only a small filly her age. Though never with quite drastic consequences to the local population. Each time the townspeople always began asking questions about how safe my potions were, But I could never stay frustrated at the small filly for being curious.
 
“I suppose that is probably true, but my potion was a disaster to.” I lamented, “Is there any way to learn this skill, so I can use it at my own free will?”
 
“With magic you’ve already shown some ability, but to use it well, you need your mind’s agility.”
 
“What do you want me to do? I really wish to learn, that is true.” I asked with a bit of interest.
 
Zecora said nothing to me before merely turned away and began to walk towards the top of the hill.
 
“Umm, What?” I tilted my head “Oh, err... Hey! wait up!” I called as I began to follow. Just where did she think she was going?
 
Once she reached the top, she sat down contently on an exposed outcrop of stone. She said nothing as she closed her eyes, ignoring my presence completely.
 
I breathed as I finally caught up to her, “So what is it I must do to understand this veiw?” I asked again as I finally caught up to her. My words yielded no response as the zebra sat there quietly. “Umm...Zecora, are you listening to what I’ve said, or am I to be ignored instead?”
 
“Jace, to understand the first of the lessons, you must stop asking so many questions.” Zecora spoke vaguely without opening her eyes
 
“What?” I asked in a confused tone.
 
Zecora kept her eyes closed as she continued on, “Look at the stones, trees, and grass. The mouse, bird, or bass. None of it questions its existence here or far, they simply just are.”
 
“But... Those are just simple things, they don’t know of the questions knowledge brings.” I countered.
 
Zecora merely nodded before she spoke again, “You must listen close. These facts are not known by most. Magic surrounds us here and there, in the water, earth and air. It takes root in the life that grows, deep inside everything its enclosed.”
 
“I’m not sure I understand,” I said, and shook my head. “On these points, could you expand?”
 
“Lie down on the stones here, and what I show will become clear.” Zecora offered gesturing to the flat slab of rock.
 
I sat down carefully on my haunches beside Zecora and mimicked her pose. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be looking for as I shut my eyes.  I began to ponder the question deeper. What exactly was I doing? Did I just have to focus on the earth? Or was there some deeper meaning to it?

    “You worry too much about what you think you must do. For now take this lesson through-and-through. Don’t worry about the how or the why. Just let your senses take control, make you fly. Feel the life around you, let if flow. Yourself, you must let go.”

    I began to concentrate as hard as I could, but still felt nothing “The only thing that I sense... is just my hunger’s dispense .” I sighed in frustration and got back to my hooves.

    Zecora opened her eyes and looked at me with concern. “Jace, I understand your glower, at your lack of control with this sort of power. You must look inside, to where your strength resides.”

I turned away and began to walk away. I tried my best to ignore the disapproving look I was sure I was getting from Zecora. I just didn't understand. Sitting in the grass seemed almost pointless to me. Though I didn’t get far before I felt a wave of exhaustion come over me, followed quickly be a familiar wave of darkness.


> To Think, To Clear, Questions and Fear
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHP 8

To Think, To Clear, Questions and Fear

(side note, nice reading music for chapter)
____

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll be arriving at the Montgomery, Alabama terminal in a few minutes.” My ears twitched slightly to the crackling of Roger’s voice over the bus intercom.
 
I slowly cracked open my eyes and noticed the clearing I had been in moments ago had vanished, replaced again by the warm cushioned seats of the bus interior, just as I had expected it would. What I didn't expect was an odd sensation in my mouth like when I had gotten out of bed this morning. It didn't taste quite like the pillow from earlier, it was much too sweet. It took me moment to realize I was idly chewing on one of the zebra cakes I had been snacking on before I fell asleep. I shook my head and gulped the rest of it down. “So now I awake to chewing on a cake?” I mumbled to myself in disbelief, “This act needs to withhold... it’s getting very old...”  

“At this time, please make sure all your luggage is in order before departing the bus.” the intercom continued on.

                Idly glancing out of the window, I was greeted by large shimmering towers of glass and stone. I gawked and stared for a moment unsure if I was really awake, and what I was looking at was indeed real.  Outside, the rain began letting up revealing large structures that seemed to spiral into the clouds. There were dozens of the huge towers, each by far much larger and more impressive than anything I had seen in my hometown. Perhaps the only thing I could possibly compare them to were the massive spires of Canterlot Castle. I could only guess at that though. I had never seen them closer than the distance of Ponyville.

        Along the streets we passed dozens upon dozens of town cars who were competing for space in the late morning rush,each trying to get from here or there as quickly as they could. The sidewalks were completely congested with humans of all shapes and sizes, and for only a moment I thought I could have even seen a pony or two as well.

My sight seeing was cut short as the bus entered the terminal, its large cement roof and walls cut off the view to the bustling city, replacing it with the dark bus terminal station. It wasn't long after that the bus came to a complete stop and the loud humming of its engine ceased. 

“Before you leave I’d like to thank you all again for riding with Greyhound Buses.” Roger spoke in a scripted tone over the intercom, “We do hope that you choose to ride with us again.”
 
I glanced back to my Ipad which was still sitting securely on the seat beside me and checked the time.

‘9:30 AM’

 I groaned and laid my head back against the seat. I thought I had been asleep for only a couple of minutes, but according to the time I had been out for a little over an hour. I lost track of time again. It was true what they would say; in a dream, time is always relative. What must have only been a few moments to me, must have taken almost half an hour easily.
 
The doors hissed as they opened, signalling for everypo- everyone to get up and make their way out of the bus. That was, everyone except for the lone zebra in the back. I made no effort to move; instead I sat patiently as the crowd around me started filing for the exit. I wanted to be sure the two bronies were off long before I even tried making a move for the door. Soon enough all the humans had thankfully left, leaving me the soul passenger left to disembark.
 
Carefully I packed up my Ipad and the rest of my belongings and left the seat.  Upon reaching the front I soon stopped in frustrated confusion. As before, the obstacle known as steps confounded me as if to mock my new mode of transportation. Cautiously I put a hoof on the first step. The first idea was going down normally, face forward, but I was still a bit uneasy from my initial experience of trying to get out of bed (the face-plant from that morning still hurt). 

The only other option was going backwards, by far much safer. The problem with that though would be not seeing where I’d end up. Before I had a chance to come up with a satisfying solution not involving pain, a hand grabbed my shoulder. 

I quickly looked back in surprise at the sudden physical contact. The hand belonged to none other than Roger. He looked down at me with a grin “You know that whole scene you caused a few hours ago almost made me stop to get those two off your back.”
 
“Oh, I see...” I trailed off before looking away from hi. “I’m so sorry,” I mentally slapped myself as I looked back at how I had reacted to the fans. What on earth was I thinking, causing such a large scene like that?
 
“I noticed you had them handled, so I let you take care of it,” Roger said as he sat back down in the driver’s seat. “Though I have to ask, are you feeling alright? There was a lot of emotion back there.” 

My eye twitched at that remark. “Well, I...” I paused and glanced back to the driver. “It... was only a minor squall,” I lied flatly. “They just got on my nerves was all. Perhaps it would have been a better choice, to have tried harder to lower my voice” That much was honest. In hindsight the whole ordeal still bothered me. It wasn't like me at all to yell at anypony no matter how much they needed it.

 I looked back up to the driver who was giving a hard look.  It was obvious he wasn't convinced at all by my words. A wave of guilt erupted from the back of my mind. I felt absolutely horrid to lie to someone who had been so kind to me up to now. I opened my mouth again to speak, but quickly closed it and turned away as I fought the feelings back down to the pits.

 “Well alright,” Roger said, his voice seething dissatisfaction. “It's not any of my business to know about my passengers personal lives though you know; your next stop should be Gadsden, Alabama right?”
 
I idly glanced back to my bag where I had left my bus ticket. “Why yes, that is the next stop to go. But why do you want to know?” I asked as I glanced back to the driver. His gaze was locked on me, like he was trying to dissect my smallest reactions. The guilt threatened to return as I looked at him, but I quickly snuffed it out again. I didn't want to tell him, or anyone else about my life as of late, no matter how friendly they were to me. 

At best, moping on about having a PAPA parent or losing most of my connections to friends because of my new body would only get me pitied by most humans. At worse, it would only lead to more people hating me, maybe even making it harder to ever reach New York. But even then it was no excuse for my reactions with the bronies. I closed my eyes and tried to come up with an answer for my attitude. 

It was so very unlike me to become that confrontational in front of anypony else. I had a reputation for not having a single mean bone in my body, but those two bronies would likely disagree with that statement now. I could almost see it now, “the evil enchantress strikes again!” There was just something different about it all, about me. I wasn't sure, but something had changed, and not just in body but in my head. I felt an icy twinge go down my spine at that thought. Something didn't seem right about it at all, and it was starting to scare me.

“Well this is the same bus making that trip,” Roger answered, breaking my thoughts from my daydream. “We’ll be fueling up in a couple minutes.”

“Wha?” It took me a second to register what he had just told me. “Oh, alright,” I said as I turned back to look down to the stairs again and started to make an attempt at going down backwards first. I didn’t make it far before I noticed something else. I glanced back out to the open doorway and into the busy bus terminal. My heart skipped a beat when I noticed it was also a crowded bus terminal.

The terminal was packed with people, humans. It seemed like organized chaos as they went here or there trying to find a bus, or enter the lobby. I gulped before I turned back to Roger, “Actually... Is...” I began. “Would I be asking too much to state, if I could just stay in here and wait?” I asked with pleading eyes.

Roger looked back down to me with an uncomfortable glance, “Well technically its against procedure to have any passengers in the vehicle during refuel...” he said as if lecturing me on the safety manual, “but I guess I don’t see any trouble in it this one time.” He spoke as he rubbed the back of his head.
 
“Thank you for being so kind.” I sighed in relief of being spared going out into the sea of people. “I’ll be no trouble, don't you mind.” I reassured as I made my way back up the steps. I wasted no time returning to the safety of my bus seat.
 
I couldn't believe the luck I had as I unpacked my things and tried to make myself comfortable again. I knew Roger didn’t have to do that, and by all means, he probably shouldn’t have. For all I knew he could have gotten written up for leaving a passenger on the bus, or worst case, fired. But he did. It was a small gesture of kindness that I didn't realize how little I had received since I had become a zebra.

 It was all still surprising, having a human who was actually being nice to me. There was no distress or vertigo when I talked with him that I seemed to have with other humans, just a calm and warming safe feeling. So far other humans appeared to have only wanted to scream at me, or hound me for my so called popularity.

I laid back into my seat, but it didn't really help much. The back felt as if it was made of more metal than foam. I quickly gave up trying to futilely sit on my flank and returned to simply lying down on the cushion. But just as it always seemed to happen when I tried to relax in idle comfort, it was dashed away as my mind began to go into another flurry of questions.

I just couldn’t get the pressing question of how I reacted to the bronies out of my head. Neither could I come up with an answer to how the humans seemed so frightening now. Well aside from the ones I had met so far being almost heartless. But another question pressed itself for attention as well. It was something about what my twin was talking about.
 
‘J@*^, I understand your glower, at your lack of control with this sort of power. You must look inside, to where your strength resides’
 
Just what on earth did that zebra mean by that? Another riddle just like the dream before, but what it meant was still as clear to me as mud. And why did she call me by that... strange name? What was it again? J… something. “Ja….” I spoke out loud to try to repeat it. “Ja…. Ja... Gah” I grumbled as I set my head against the window. It was on the tip of my tongue. I knew the name, but every time I tried to think of it, there was just nothing there.
 
I closed my eyes and took a couple deep breaths. Something was wrong everything, I was certain of it. No, that wasn't right, it wasn’t something, it was a lot things. But that was all I could tell. This strange name, my twin’s riddles, everything just seemed so confusing since I had woken up. I couldn't make heads or tales of anything. Then again, the more I thought about it, I wasn't sure what was supposed to be right either. It seemed everything around me was turning upside down, inside out, and falling apart at the seams all at once.
 
Roger’s footsteps returned, but I didn't bother to look up to see him. “Hey hunn, are you ok?” his voice seemed to be filled with concern.
 
I turned away from the window and looked back up in his direction noticing the blurry shape of a human staring at me. “Oh, yes, I’m fine.” I lied quickly, trying to wipe away the water from my eyes without him noticing. “It’s… it’s nothing.” 
 
        “So you don't always rhyme,” Roger spoke slightly amused “Well, anyway I thought you’d like to know we’re about to start letting passengers back on soon,” He said. I didn’t turn back to look, but I could hear his footsteps turn and walk away.

        It was true; at least I wanted it to be true. Nothing was wrong at all. But nothing was right either.

___________________________________________




After another half hour’s time refueling, the rest of the passengers had boarded and the bus was underway once more. Soon enough we were already leaving the shimmering city that reminded me so much of Canterlot behind. I took a deep breath and watched as the road quickly returned to the tranquil countryside scenery again.
 
Many of the humans aboard gave me the uncomfortable stares so familiar from before, but it didn't take long before the ride had settled back into its peaceful boring routine. If there was any consolation prize for me however, it was that I didn’t see a single brony in the crowd on this leg of the trip.
 
I quickly went back to using my tablet to surf the net, always keeping a tab open to Facebook. Anxiously I sat and waited for some sort of response to my new account. Of course the internet being the internet, I didn't have to wait long for them to arrive. At first I was surprised by the amount of hits that the page had gotten. Within two hours time there were dozens of friend requests from people all over the world. Many had a clever rhyme of one sort or another. Others.... gave a good try.

It was surprising, the amount of diversity of people who had responded. I was aware of how large a group the brony fandom encompassed, but even this seemed a bit much. I had gotten everything from the preteens to what could probably be best described as basement creatures. I was still dissatisfied by the lack of one particular group from the fandom yet to answer me. I couldn’t tell if a single response had come from any other ponies. I turned chrome back off and returned to my music once again.
 
As time passed, and the waiting grew ever more tiring, I began to rotate my time between listening to music and just watching scenery. Most of the dark cloud cover had begun to break into a relatively clear afternoon sky. The scenery began to change the further north we progressed as well. Once rolling hills had started to grow into larger ones with tree covered mountains popping up on either side of the road.

I watched it all with fascination. Even though I loved traveling, I had only been this far north once or twice in my entire life when my family had visited my grandparents in the mountains of Tennessee. This would be the first time I had ever gone by myself however.
 
At some point an audible ping from Facebook brought my attention back to my Ipad. There were two new e-mails for me. Curiously, I opened the mail finding a link to Youtube. I was appalled when the video had finally buffered.
 
“Greetings, fellow YouTubers,we are on the bus to Montgomery, Alabama, just leaving Pensacola and you will never believe who I ran into!” An all too familiar voice said eagerly. “Say hello to YouTube, Zecora!”
 
I grumbled and I closed the YouTube tab as quickly as I could. It was indeed the bronies on the bus from earlier who had linked the video to me, despite my effort to shut them up from before. I guess it wasn't enough to discourage them from actually uploading what they had gotten though.



Oddly enough there was a second link to it as well. Part of me wished I had never opened it though when I saw the picture link. A familiar looking zebra sat in the bus seat, her face pressed against the glass, a zebra cake locked ever so firmly in her mouth’s grasp. The frustration that had long cooled threatened to boil over again as I saw it. Not only had they gone and linked the video, but they actually had the audacity to take a picture as well.

It wasn’t long afterwards before the first of what I would have suspected was the start of a new internet meme begin to pop up here and there on my Facebook page.  Things like “Zebra cakes, What Zecora runs on.” Or “This is what happens when you have one to many zebra cakes!”
 
        But it was the comment that had popped up onto the video that stung the worst. They were the same words that had always haunted me when I had arrived in Ponyville. Funny how horrible just two simple words could make one feel. “The horror, the horror!”

I turned off the Ipad and almost threw it into the adjacent seat in frustration. The video was humiliating alone, never mind the picture. Now I had become some sort of laughing stock of the internet. 

I sat like that for the next half hour staring out the window, refusing to give another glance to the Ipad.  Eventually I found myself glancing back to the Ipad. Of course after time went on I finally began to sneak glances back to the tablet.

‘Why has all this anger and sadness been evoked?’  A thought came to mind as I tried to push away the Ipad from my mind again, ‘It was merely a harmless and innocent joke.’  The thought was right. When I really thought about it, the picture wasn't anything to truly be embarrassed by. There were certainly pictures of worse things out there. Perhaps I had just let this all go to my head?

‘Wait, wait, what am I thinking? Of course this is a big deal’ I snapped back to myself. Bad brain, bad! It didn't matter whether the joke was funny or not. If it had gotten around like I feared it had then perhaps nopony would want to be associated with me.

‘Even then there is no reason to be ashamed of how I act for all to see.’ I countered myself with a huff. I found myself finally picking the tablet back up in my hooves as I gave it a hard stare. Would it honestly be the end of the world if somepony did happen by it? Probably not, they could even think it was something... funny?

‘But still, I have to maintain a respectable image of myself.’ I urged on while I turned chrome back on. It didn't take me long at all to navigate to the Facebook page where the link to the picture still was. ‘Otherwise no one will want to be associated with a laughing stalk.’
 
I stared at the embarrassing image intently before I finally felt my face relax a little. A new thought emerged from the back of my mind as I stared at it. ‘Sometimes it's better to stop and laugh, on one’s own behalf’. I sighed as I finally thought over the bit of self argument I had and looked back out to the window. I had to at least try to relax. No one would suddenly hate me for one simple picture. Or at least I think no one would.

‘Well... at least they got my good side...’ I thought as I finally felt a grin form on my face. I looked at the picture again. Why was I so mad about it in the first place? The picture itself was actually kind of funny once I got past the fact the zebra in it was me. I looked at it again imagining it as if it had been some other pony. A smile forming on my face before I finally caved in and laughed at it.

My eyes dilated as I quickly cut off the laugh, earning a couple of confused glances my way from the other passengers. I grinned sheepishly to them and turned back to look back down to my Ipad between my hooves. The strangeness of the situation had not escaped me. My laugh sounded actually a bit odd, if not a little funny, maybe a little cute even? I didn't think I had really ever heard it before. It was the first time I had actually laughed, or probably shown any happy emotion, since I had become a zebra, and honestly, it felt good.

I returned to my Facebook account and ignored the few questioning stares that remained on me. So far my page seemed pretty bare aside from the profile picture and status. That was soon to change. I quickly saved the picture and added it to my Facebook’s wall, along with the video. If I had to laugh at myself after all, I suppose it wouldn't have been so bad to allow others to do the same.

With my work complete I began to direct my attention back to the window outside. Or at least I would have if Facebook did not give a ping demanding my attention once more. It was another message, however it didn't look like it was from the bronies. Idly I took a quick look at it.

“Wow. Talk about being bothersome. Lol.”  The reply to the video said simply. I was right when I saw a completely new username beside it. “Gage”, certainly no one I knew... or at least I didn't think I knew anyone by that name. Maybe I knew somepony by the name of SoundGage once... but that was a bit of a stretch.

        I looked at the comment warily, and began to debate whether to actually respond to it. ‘Well, I suppose it would be good advice, to at least try to be nice.’ I thought to myself. 

I turned back to the Ipad’s electronic keyboard with my stylus and carefully typed a simple reply to the mystery person. “Yes, they were quite the frustration, but had left at the last station." I typed out before pressing the enter button.

I didn't wait long at all for the response to come back. “So, on the bus headed to Montgomery? I’m guessing you’re headed to New York as well?” My eyebrows perked at that comment. Whoever Gage was, he or she seemed to be going to New York as well? That was truly interesting.

I took a moment to consider my next words carefully. Just why would they want to go to New York. I quickly started taping the screen as fast as my mouth would allow before stopping myself. “Are you a pony?” was what was in the chat box. I quickly deleted that though. Perhaps it was a little too desperate to just go out and ask someone out of the blue like that. “Yes, with little time to waste, I've been trying to make great haste."

My attention was completely on the screen as I saw the little typing icon return under Gage’s window. ‘Just who is this person?’  I thought to myself. Part of me fought the urge of asking again.

After a seemingly longer time than before the message finally posted itself. “We’ve all been trying to get to New York.” I paused for a moment as I stopped on those words, ‘We? as in, more than one?’ I thought to myself.

 “Though, luckily I’ll be able to find out soon what exactly is there to see in New York, since I have a contact whose living up there. So, if you want, I can message you some cool heads ups when I find out.”

I sighed in relief as I stared at those words. This gage was offering me help, right out of the blue with no questions asked. It seemed my luck was finally turning for the better. But there was one thing that was still bothering me. I quickly returned to typing,“You’re trying to get there too? May I ask who are you?”

There was a long pause before the typing icon returned to the corner of Gage’s window. Was he trying to hold something back? Finally the response came through however. “Well, as you can tell, my name is Gage Ray LeBoeuf, though ever since earlier today, I haven’t gone by that name once. Although I know who I am on the inside, on the outside, everyone else sees me as a particularly famous disc jockey known as Vinyl Scratch, or DJ Pon-3. I’m currently in Mississippi right now, getting some more funds for my trip.”

        I lsat back in my seat as I stared at the message in amazement. This “Gage” was a pony after all. Vinyl Scratch, I knew that name... I think. I pondered that for a bit. I was sure I knew of a Vinyl Scratch somehow, but I didn't know why. 

        Was it something to do with Ponyville? Yes... well... maybe? I was pretty sure at least. Was she one of my friends from town? No... I don't think so... I knew a couple of the residents; Cheerilee and I were only a single day in age apart. There were others as well, Ms Lyra, and Bon-bon. The two twins Lotus and Aloe quickly warmed up to me after I taught them a few new special concoctions for their baths.

But I still knew there were some lingering doubts about me. While many ponies had become more complacent around me ever since Twilight and her friends had that run in with poison joke, there was still a number who were still leery around me. The one called Lily was notorious for starting rumors.

        “Ladies and gentlemen,” Roger’s voice came over the intercom once again.  “We’ll be arriving shortly in Gadsden, Alabama in a few minutes.” I looked back up to the speaker in surprise.

        ‘Gadsden already?’ I thought to myself before I looked back out the window. Indeed the small countryside had given way to buildings again. I had not even noticed that we were in the heart of another town though the buildings were hardly as big as Birmingham’s towering skyscrapers. Everything in this town seemed quainter, more relaxed, just like my hometown in Ponyville...

I shook my head out of my nostalgia and minimized the chrome window to look at the clock. Before I had known it an hour had already gone by. Oh, well, I guess between my tantrum and Facebook... time flew by. 

 I opened the Facebook window back up. There were still so many things I wanted to ask this Vinyl Scratch. But it wasn't long before I noticed the noise of the engine stopping again. It meant only one thing, time to get moving again.

 I sighed before I typed again. I still wanted to know more about Vinyl, and there was only one way to do that. “Thank You Vinyl, for now I'll have to bring this conversation to an end, but before I go may I request to have a friend?”

I sat there and waited for the reply, ignoring the commotion of everyon - pony, everypony around me. I was glad to see the typing on the other end of the chat window quickly come back to life.

“Hell yeah you can friend request me! :D Well, it was nice meeting you. Talk to you later... Zeccy.”

        ‘Zeccy...?’ I thought to myself as I stared at the words, ‘I know I’ve never been called that before.’ It didn't matter though. I finally grinned in relief. I had  a friend now, a pony friend. Sure it was online, and sure it was unlikely I’d ever get to see them, but it was something by the very least. 

        I turned off the Ipad and stared at the reflection of the zebra on the tablet’s glass screen. She was smiling, and it wasn't a fake one this time. It was a real sincere smile. Honestly, it felt good to see her like that, to see me like that.

         “Perhaps things are not quite so bad.” I mused to myself as I began to pack my things back carefully. “A zebra’s life isn’t so sad... In the end, I have a friend.” Perhaps I could get used to this. 

        I glanced back to the crowd of humans that had already filed off of the bus. Once again I found myself all alone. However I didn't feel so alone this time. I tried to keep that happy thought in my mind as I trotted briskly back to the front of the bus.

        “We’ll just be taking a pit stop here,” Roger’s voice erupted from the driver’s seat as I walked up to it. I was beginning to wonder if the driver ever left his bus at these stops. “You going off the bus for a minute?” He asked with a grin.

        “It's fine; I just need a breath of air.”  I assured before cautiously taking a step, down, Backwards this time. “I’ll be back with time to spare.”

        “Don't take too long.” Roger warned, “The bus starts back up in half an hour. I still got a schedule to keep.”

        “I won't be long” I said as I slowly backpedaled down the steps, only losing my balance on the steep inclines once. The motion was much easier than I expected it to be. 

        The moment my hooves touched the cement I found myself looking into a crowd of people. I froze as I met the stare of one or two that tried to sneak glances of me as they walked by, not even noticing the bus doors hiss as they closed. A child from across the platform made no effort to hide his gaze as his jaw hung wide open. I guess ponies were still a rare site in the south.

        A creeping calm came over me again. Before I knew it I was walking through the crowd with a cool smile. There did not seem to be a reason to be afraid of these humans. ‘I have nothing from them to fret. they are hardly of any threat.’ I thought to myself.

        Soon enough I found myself hurriedly walking through the large glass doors of the station and into the small human town. As soon as the automatic doors closed however I began gasping for air.

‘What on earth was I thinking?’ I thought to myself as I noticed what I had done. I was half panicked one moment, then suddenly calm for no reason the next. All those humans out there, I should have gone back on that bus in terror. But again for the second time today I found myself reacting completely beyond myself.

        ‘Alright, get a hold of yourself Zecora,’  I tried to calm myself, ‘Just try to calm down and think about this.’ I thought to myself reassuringly. It didn't take long at all before I found a park bench only a couple yards away from the station.

‘What is wrong with me?’ I thought worriedly to myself. The thought repeated itself over and over till it threatened to paralyze me in fear. I was becoming something else, not in body, but in mind, something that was not at all me. But how? why?

I sat there for some time as I contemplated the questions further. ‘If only I could see what was going on in me...’ 

The sudden realization hit me like a freight train. ‘Of course!’ I thought triumphantly. I could look into myself, just as my other self had shown me. Granted what she had shown me was merely for that so called... magic, but anything was better than nothing. I just had to meditate. Slowly I closed my eyes and brought my hooves back together as I sat on the bench. I just had to find a calm meditative state. 

‘Take your twin’s advice. Don’t worry about the how or the why. Just let your senses take control, make you fly.’  My mind repeated to itself, ‘Feel the life around you, let if flow. Yourself, you must let go.’
        
        It seemed easier said than done. I must have sat there listening to the sounds of the street corner go by. I still couldn't understand what she meant by this whole listening to your center thing. I was still unsure of how I was supposed to “clear my head”. 

        ‘’Do I think of nothing? Like a stone? But then how do I stop thinking? Was it possible to do that? Wait... what's that?’  I thought to myself. There was something there before me. But that didn't make sense, I had my eyes closed, how could I see anything. It almost looked like a-


_____________________


        ‘HOOOOOONK’

        The sound of a car going by shook me away from my thoughts, almost making me jump from the bench in fright. I grumbled in frustration before I closed my eyes again and tried to focus in on the words my twin had told me again.


_______________________


‘Let your mind slow. All the thoughts, fears, and worries, let them all go’ I let the words fill my mind, pushing all other thoughts away from myself. Perhaps I was merely thinking too much. Maybe all that was needed was to stop asking so many questions.

I began to settle on the sounds of the street instead of trying to answer question after question. The simple start up of an engine, or a bird chirping as it flew overhead. All the little things that made more sense to me. As I listened however the sounds began to slowly fade away from my ears. 

There was nothing left to see, nothing left to hear, just myself in darkness, at least a first. Finally I noticed an object, almost at the corner of my vision. ‘Wait... an object? But I have my eyes closed, I shouldn't see anyth-... right right, no more questions’ I scolded myself. I let it slowly fade into view at the center of my vision

It was a large mirror that sat a few pony lengths away, stark and undecorated in the black shadowy world of my closed eyes. I looked further into the reflection inside, only seeing confused and lonely looking Zebra sulking in a dark clearing of grass.

“Is this what I see,” I asked myself as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. “All that there is of me?” The zebra really in the reflection was a pitiful site. But she wasn't looking back to me at all. In fact, she was facing the other direction, merely staring down to the ground before her. “Something is amiss. Reflections don't do this...” 

I stepped towards the mirror, but the so called “reflection” stayed still. I flinched for a moment before I examined the reflection more closely. This one seemed... off. She wasn't like myself, or... for that matter my twin. It was then that I realized the zebra wasn't a mare at all, it was... a colt? My brow furrowed when I looked at him through the glass.  

Idly I put a hoof on the mirror’s glass, only to have my hoof fall through it. I quickly drew it back again. It was odd. I didn't feel any glass between the frame at all. Curiously I tried throwing my hoof through the frame again, and again met no resistance.

As soon as I was on the other side I noticed how familiar the scenery was. It was the same clearing from my dream. But it seemed night had long since settled in as a large full moon loomed overhead. I paid it no mention as I heard a small weak voice come from the colt’s direction.

“Please... don't take me away.... I only wish to stay...” the strange zebra colt said quietly. He didn't bother to move his head to meet my eyes, only to continue staring at the grass before him.

I looked down at the zebra, unsure of what to say. There was something about the little colt that seemed familiar to me. Those words he used were so much like my own. I tried my best to put on a comforting smile before placing a hoof on his shoulder. “There there, everything will be ok, why would you wish to go away?” I tried to say steadily, just like my twin would have, “That is such a harsh claim, when I don't know your name.”



He finally looked at me with large watery green eyes. “It's... J@*^.” he spoke softly before his head sunk back down to face the ground. The name sparked something in my head. I knew it.

“J@*^... that is a strange name I must deplore...” I said in a slight bout of amusement. It was certainly a strange name for a zebra. I wasn't sure I had known one by that name. Perhaps a human though... YES! There was a human I knew by that name! But... who? “Though I must ask, have we’ve met before?”

        If the zebra’s head could have hung any further without making himself fall over he somehow managed it. “It won't matter after I disappear. Nothing of me is going to stay here. There's nothing left of me but humiliation, even this body is mere imitation... ”

        I felt my eyes shrink again as I studied the colt once again. Everything began to click. The apprehension and fear that was in his face, the way his body sulked at every word. “You’re me, aren’t you?” I spoke in disbelief. This was indeed me, or, perhaps he was a part of me, like my twin. He had all my fears, all the pain I’d been through. It was almost eerie to watch him.

‘Was this what I was trying to find?’ I asked myself. When I had meant to look for my inner self I thought I was being metaphorical. I wasn't expecting to find a whole other zebra here.

I shook myself as I tried to put on a reassuring grin like so many my twin had given me before. “Umm... I know things look bleak, troubling and sad.” I suggested. “But... perhaps everything is not as bad.” I whispered softly as I sat beside him. I tried to think of my conversation with Vinyl Scratch for some words of encouragement. “It... will not matter what your form is to betide, only that you remain true to yourself on the inside.”

        “But how can you trust that to remain true?” My colt self said as he finally looked up to me. “That this change won't affect deep inside you?” He said as he finally looked back to me, his face was littered with doubt. I took a deep breath of air as I felt myself falter at those eyes. I honestly didn't know what to tell him.

        A half hearted grunt came from J@*^’s mouth as he lied down on the grass and closed his eyes, “I thought so...” he whispered quietly. Suddenly his form started to blur, as if the wind suddenly was blowing him away like a column of sand. I got up in alarm, trying to make sense of what was happening to him. Before I knew it though, the zebra known as J@*^ had disappeared completely.

        “J@*^? Where are you?” I called out nervously.

A voice suddenly boomed around me as if to answer.

"You will pass away from this place, as another takes your place. Nothing left for you but to give up, even a zebra cannot refill this cup.”


____________




        “What?”  My eyes sprung open at that voice. It sounded strange. It was my voice, but, it was odd. The tone sounded more malevolent, less friendly. Like it had meant some ill harm to someone.

       I shoved the thoughts away about it and quickly went about checking myself, finding myself on the quiet street side bench again. There was no one around me it seemed. Just myself, and a few passing humans. I shook my head out of my thoughts and tried to organize myself. ‘Just a dream,’ I assured myself, ‘it was all nothing more than a dream.... wait...’

Great, I must have dozed off again. That only could mean one thing, I lost more time. 

I quickly pulled my tablet out of my pack and glanced to the time. Twenty minutes had gone by. I sighed in relief as I picked myself up off the bus seat. The fear of having lost myself in another hour in my own head fell away. I still had plenty of time to get back to the bus.


________________________________


I hesitated for a moment before I stepped in front of the doors. The small station was not as bad as it seemed before. It didn't matter for now; I was more focused on getting back onto the bus and back on task.

The greeter waved me down as I made my way to the gate. He was a burly man, probably worked part time as security in the station if I had to guess. “Ticket ma’am?” he asked politely as he stared me down. I was probably the first pony here, by the very least the first zebra. I looked back at him as confidently as I could.

“Oh... do not fret my dear, I have it right here.” I said as I idly searched my pocket for the ticket. My I felt nothing inside it with my hoof. The shock began to return as I dug deeper into the pocket, but still found nothing. There was no ticket at all, the pocket was completely empty. “It.. it... was right here...” I said out loud as I felt my anxiety build.

        The greeter merely sighed as he looked down to his clipboard, “Well ma'am I don't know what to tell you if you don't have it.”

        “But you must have seen me get off the bus,” I asked hesitantly. With the crowd I had drawn only a few minutes ago I would have been amazed if anyone hadn't noticed me go by. “Can't you let me through with no muss or a fuss?”

“If it were up to me, I’d have no problems with it.” He mediated, “But the rules still apply, I can't let you back on without a ticket.”

        “But, but to miss that bus I can't afford!” I said in slight panic “Just ask Roger if I was aboard.”

        “Umm, who now?” he responded as he rubbed his head in confusion.

        “Ugh, the driver of the bus. He’ll tell you without a fuss.”

        The greeter put his hand on the metal bar to the gate, as if to secure it as if by some miracle I’d break it in a mad dash for the platform. “I’m sorry; even if he was here I’d still have to see your ticket.”

        “What... should I do?” At this point, I was close to hyperventilating, as my only chance to get to New York quickly was about to be taken from me.

        “Well, the bus is due to depart in a little over ten minutes. If you can find it before then we can let you through.”

        That was the only words I needed to hear before I barreled out of the doors at high speed. I didn't even bother looking at the humans as I barreled by them causing a commotion.

        All I had to do was find a ticket.... in less than ten minutes. Yeah, what could possibly go wrong there?


> Access Denied, Find a New Ride
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        CHP 9

Access Denied, Find a New Ride

(side note, theme music will start a little into the chapter) 
________________________________

        If anypony was out on the streets of Gadsden this morning, it would have been a pleasant sight after the morning rain. Birds had come back out, and a breeze had begun to pick up. Nothing at all seemed unusual on this Wagnesday morning. That was, except for the zebra madly running through the streets.

        “Come on, please oh please be here. That ticket has to be near.” I muttered to myself as I returned to the street bench I had been sitting at only minutes before. I scoured the bench of any piece of paper that I thought looked even the slightest bit like the bus ticket. “Gum wrapper, no... fast food bag, no... diaper... ew!” I backed away in disgust at the discarded diaper. ‘Seriously, who leaves a dirty diaper by a bench? ‘

        There was nothing there that even remotely resembled the bus ticket. I groaned as I hit my head against the bench in frustration. “Of course it wouldn't be this easy, why would there ever be a break for me.” I moaned in despair. It seemed as if karma had been out to get me today.

        I sat down for a moment, making sure to place as much distance between me and the used diaper, and tried to think again. The ticket couldn't have vanished in thin air despite evidence to the contrary. It had to have ended up somewhere. If it wasn't anywhere around the park bench, there could only a few options left.

I knew it wasn't along the sidewalk. If it was anywhere along the path I would definitely have seen it by now. I had searched the route between the terminal and bench twice already. That in itself eliminated most of the possibilities. The only other idea that came to mind was that it had somehow managed to slip out of my pocket during the ride.

        That seemed like a logical conclusion. But if it was true, I’d have to somehow get myself through the station gate and to the bus again. I grimaced at the thought about the guard again. Surely the ticket was there, then he would have to at least hear me out. In all likelihood Roger had probably found it by now and the whole problem would resolve itself.

        I got up and let my confidence rally around those thoughts before I turned back to the terminal in a brisk trot. There were still a couple of minutes to make it back to the bus if I hurried. I tried not to think of what would have happened if I didn't make it back on. “Just leave those worries behind, try to keep good thoughts in mind.” I reminded myself.


_______________________





        The scene in the station had changed little since I had run off. It was still crowded with the same group of humans trying to rush from here or there just as I had left it. I ignored most of them as they passed by. My mind was only dead set on getting back to the gate. There the same guard stood beside the same metal checkpoint. 

The man still looked pretty intimidating in size. He probably didn’t even need the grey shirt with the word ‘Security’ so neatly stitched into it to show everyone around he was a figure of authority. As if to emphasize it he carried a pistol safely holstered against the belt of his navy blue uniformed pants. His eyes were locked onto me the moment I ran through the entrance to the station and slowed to a halt in front of him. 

        “I...I think I know where it’s gone at last” I gasped between breaths. “The gate, *gasp* it had never made it past. Just ask the driver where the ticket has gone, I’m sure we will find the bus it is still on.” I looked at him with cautious confidence. I was sure he’d believe me, or at least hear me out if i was right.

        His eyes were unmoving as I tried to explain myself. “Now look here,” he began with a sharp tone in his voice. “I’m sorry but none of the drivers had said anything about having a pony as one their passengers today. I’ve checked with each of them myself.” He said as a matter of factually. 

        “What?” I asked in surprise. “But that can't be true. Why would I lie to you?” my ears flattened against my head as I looked up to him.

        He crossed his arms and walked in front of the gate before he spoke again. “Perhaps because some pony may want to try to weasel themselves out of paying for a ticket.” he said sternly, “One of the drivers was speaking of a pony who had already tried using this lost ticket shit on him down in Florida.”

        “I assure you this is not a scam,” tried desperately to convince him. “I would not dupe you with such a sham!” 

        He gave me a deadpan look before his face contorted. “Now look I don't know about you, but I'm not risking my job just so you can get a free pass. Sob story or not, no ticket no entry.” he said as he idly stroked the butt of his holster. I could tell he meant business now.

I backed away slowly under his orders. “Umm... I meant no disrespect,” I paused. “But what should I do next.”

“If you want on a bus so badly you can go buy yourself a ticket in the main lobby.” He said as he walked back to the side of the gate, satisfied with my intimidation. “Bus Three Fifteen is already preparing to depart. The next bus to New York will show up tomorrow morning. I may let you on that one if you bring a ticket with you then.” He took a moment to emphasize the ‘may’. This security guard seemed to enjoy his work a little too much.

I complied to his orders, turning tail between my legs back to the lobby. The last thing I wanted was to get in a fight with that behemoth of a human. In all likelihood it would end with me in a headlock or worse.

I walked as slowly as I could to the front counter, my head hung low to the ground. ‘I guess there’s no harm in buying a new ticket, but I have to wait a day?’ I cursed mentally as I made my way back up to the counter. I hated the idea of being stuck doing nothing for another whole day, but it seemed I didn't have much say to that.

I made my way to the front desk and pushed myself back up to the top of the counter. The clerk behind the counter jumped slightly at my sudden appearance, unaware that I was at the bottom of her desk. The woman seemed to be in her late thirties. “Oh... umm good morning ma’am, how may I help you today?” She recovered quickly before she gave me a polite business like smile.

 “Oh, my sincerest apologies,” I asked in as gentle a tone as I could manage, “A ticket for New York please?”

“Hmmm... A ticket to New York...” she spoke as she returned smacking her gum loudly, “Looks like its going to run you one hundred and eighty five dollars.”

“One hundred eighty five?” I echoed in a flabbergasted. That would take the last bit of money I had. I let go of the counter and got back onto my hooves. If had to spend that money I’d be almost completely broke, other than my now useless debit card.

“Uhh, are you ok?” the clerk asked as she looked over the desk to me, unaware of my distress. “So should I put you down for this ticket?”

        I sat there and contemplated the issue for another moment. I grabbed my wallet from out of my pocket and carefully looked back into the money pouch. I only had two hundred ninety dollars left to my name. It was more than enough to get myself to New York, but that wasn't what was worrying me.

        “I won’t be gone too long, I promise,” The promise I had made to my father came back to haunt me. If I spent this all here and now, how would I get back home afterwards? I took each hundred out carefully as if my life depended on each one and just stared at them. 
        
        “Hey! Are you going to pay for the damn ticket or not?” A shout came from the line that had quickly begun to form behind me for the front desk. A handful of mutters and whispers all voiced agreement.

        I had to make a decision now. I got back onto the desk and carefully placed the hundreds onto the desk. “One ticket to New York please.” I said dryly.

        ‘Sorry Dad... I think its going to take me a little longer to get back home than I thought.’

        The clerk went to take the two hundreds from my hoof only to have her hand slip off them. I noticed that had pressed my hoof against the counter as if in a death grip on the money, not letting the hundreds out of my grasp. It barely registered to me what I was doing. I just stared at the hundreds again.

        “Umm... Ma’am you're going to have to actually give me the money if you want to pay for the ticket.” The clerk spoke in confusion breaking me out of my daze.

        I didn’t comply with her request, and instead dragged the money quickly back from her and off the desk. In one motion I stepped away from the desk, keeping my eyes on the teller who looked more unsure than was and backpedaled into something from behind. 

I looked up at the other human I walked into before I jumped in fear before I ran out of line, taking refuge on a seat in the corner of the lobby.  I just couldn't do it. My head was wrapped in indecision as I went back to a seat and sulked in misery.

I had to face a decision I didn't want to. I could press onto New York and find a way to sort out all of... this. I’d finally be able to become a normal zebra again. But it left a high price. I’d have no way to get home. However, I could always buy a ticket back to Pensacola and forget everything that had happened. But if I did that then I’d never be able to sort out what was happening to me. I grumbled as I through my forehooves against my face. I really was horrible at making decisions.

        I directed my attention back to the bus and my old ticket. It still didn't make sense to me. How could a ticket have just disappeared? I knew I had it when I had entered the bus back in Pensacola. It had to have still been there. But if that was so, why didn't Roger notice it?

        My thoughts went back to the driver again. ‘Roger...’ Why didn't he stop try to the bus, or at least tell the gate guard that I was with him. For that matter, what was with all those words about no one seeing me on a bus? Surely the guard must have not talked to the right bus driver... right?

        But he said that that he talked to all the drivers. Roger certainly would have informed him I was on the bus, right? ‘No, this is Roger we’re talking about. He’s been nice to you ever since you stepped on that bus. But then why did he say nothing to help me get back on?’ I questioned my own thoughts. So far Roger had been the only friendly person I’d run into.

        I tried to shake the doubts from my head with little effect. Roger had helped other ponies out before, he had said it himself. ‘But if that was so, why hadn't I met any of those ponies?’  My doubtful thoughts lingered despite my efforts to force them out. It was a good point.

 If ponies had been traveling by bus, then they had to have been going to New York. So... unless they had got off somewhere else, then that would have meant they’d inevitably have been on the route through Pensacola. But I was the only pony there. ‘Could that have mean... ‘

        “One of the drivers was speaking of one pony who had already tried using that trick on him down in Florida.” the guard’s voice echoed again in my mind.

        My jaw dropped as I repeated those words again and again in my head. He must have been talking about Roger! No, no, that couldn't have been right. After all, there could have been dozens of drivers that had traveled from Florida to this station... that had carried other ponies. And then dropped them off elsewhere in Florida...

        The coincidences were becoming too uncanny to ignore, even if it had been another driver. But... if that was true, then how could I trust anyone? ‘No,’ I stopped myself, ‘Roger is a good friend, and there was no way he’d betray me like that.’  I had to keep that belief alive. There must have been another reason.

        Maybe it hadn't been Roger’s fault at all. Maybe he just had his hands tied up in the system? I quickly took hold of that idea. I knew he wouldn't let me down if he could have helped it. The buses must have been to blame for everything.

        I looked back to the line at the counter before I turned back to my pack again. ‘If that’s the case, maybe buying a new ticket wasn’t the best idea after all. Perhaps I could just ... walk... my way to New York’. I thought as I began to strap the gourd to my side. With that I began my walk out of the station doors once more and didn't bother to look back.

        I only got maybe halfway down the block before I realized how laughably short sighted my walking “plan” had been. I sighed and sat myself down on the street corner and considered my options. Buses were out of the question now, not alone. A pony seemed to be too easily taken advantage by them. Walking was a good plan, if I didn't mind getting to New York in a year or two. It would probably take forever for me to even get out of the state of Alabama.

        I pulled my tablet out again and turned it back on as I thought of a third option, the all mighty internet. Maybe I could reach Vinyl. She had already offered to help me out before, but I still had no clue where she was. I directed my browser to Facebook and stared at my contacts list. To my disappointment Vinyl was offline.

        “Perhaps a cry for distress as a public address?” I thought aloud. It sounded like only a half good idea at the time, not that I had to much to lose at the moment. It was desperation as usual. Something I was getting far too used to. I idly drew out my stylus and began to update my status.

        “If anyone is out there and can assist, I’ve found myself in a bit of a fix. I missed the last bus call, and stuck in a town quite small. If anyone can help nearby, a meetup would be worth a try.”

        ‘Hope you see this Vinyl...’ I thought to myself before I minimized window and returned the Ipad back into my gourd. 

Just as I zipped it up my stomach grumbled again reminding me I hadn't fed it in quite some time. “Well... not much more to do than wait...” I sighed as I got back up off the cement, “perhaps just eat another cake.”

        My stomach was quick to agree. With that I began to set out for somewhere to sit down and check my rations to see what was available to me. It wasn't long before I found an out of the way tree in a small grass covered court yard that I suppose was supposed to pass for a park.

        I laid out what few items I had pillaged from the kitchen out into a small meal. 
A couple apples and carrots, the celery I had stolen, along with some oranges and a few other pieces of dried pineapple made up most of what I had. My mouth watered at the sight of it all. 

        At first I tried to be conservative with what little I had, but after the third stalk of celery and second apple I didn't give it much thought. Excusing myself from last night’s dinner, I felt like my stomach was running on almost empty. The food had been too good to just pass up.

        As I finished up the last carrot however I finally looked back to my tablet, Facebook still open on it. I sighed impatiently. By now I was hoping at least someone would have seen the page. Idly I looked over the comments that had been collected on the status update. Most comments were the same. Simple expressions of sympathy from one person or another simply saying “Hang in there Zecora.” or “Don't let things get you down.”. As usual though, no ponies were replying.

        ‘Hang on, what's this?’ I thought to myself as I scrolled over a single comment given. 

“Trixie Lulamoon here, writing from the outskirts of Gunterstown, and in the accompaniment of Snips and Snails. We noticed that you’re in need of assistance, just as we are. We propose that we bring our resources together so that we may be better able to reach New York. It would be best if we meet each other in Albertville, it is to the south of where we are, and to the north of where you are. We avidly await your response.”

“Trixie Lulamoon...” I said the name out loud as I studied the picture closely. The more I stared at the pony in the profile the more confused I was by her.

I felt I knew this pony all too well, but at the same time, I was sure I had never even heard of her. But still the memory was there. It was similar to how I knew Vinyl Scratch. But it wasn't the in the exact same way as before. With Vinyl, I thought I might have met her once, maybe even twice... but this mare... I knew for a fact that I had never had a run in with.

I put a hoof to my chin as I tried to come to some sort of conclusion. “She is a proud show mare” I mused as stared blue unicorn’s picture, “with an ego to spare...” But how did I know that? I tried to remember any bit of the mystery pony to try to jog my memory.

Something happened shortly before had been welcomed into town. There had been some sort of large crisis in Ponyville one evening, not that it was unheard of for the little town. Somehow this mare was the cause of all the panic. I shook my head at the conflicting memory. ‘If I had not been welcome in town... I couldn't possibly have known her then.’ I shook my head out of the thought again. 

Finally an explanation came to mind. ‘Of course!’ I thought to myself. It must have been during one of the chats I had with Twilight when she had come to visit for tea. I began to remember the story with this magician. Twilight had gone on about it in slight detail, the boastful mare that had caused such a ruckus in town by trying to fight off a beast from the Everfree. Fortunately Twilight had managed to set everything right, but the end of the night.

I looked back down to the Facebook page with a bit of uncertainty. I could have just ignored her and waited for Vinyl to respond, but that could take ages. Perhaps this magician wasn't the best choice, but I couldn't be picky for now. I debated it only for another moment before I took out my tablet’s stylus. Trixie Lulamoon it was then.


“From my spot, that is not too far away, if I leave without delay. I’ll be reaching the bus stop soon, dear Lulamoon.”

        Guntersville didn't sound like a familiar place. For all I really knew it could have been on the other side of the state. Idly I turned chrome to Google Maps to try to find the little town. It didn't take too long to find it through the search engine. To my dismay I found it rather quickly, and more importantly the distance I had to travel.

        “Twenty six miles....” I groaned out loud. I got up to my hooves and looked down to the road that led back out of town. I guess I should have counted myself lucky it was as close as it was. But still, twenty six miles would take a normal person a day at least to cover. ‘Then again, I now have two sets of legs,’  thought to myself as I began to pack up my things with my hooves. I wasn't sure what a pony’s foot... err... hoof speed was, but even a house cat’s top speed was easily double that of a regular human’s. ‘Perhaps I can make it there by nightfall if I hurry.’

        I looked up to the sun, still making its way to the top of the sky. I still had plenty of daylight ahead of me. If I hurried, perhaps I could make it there before nightfall. Before I knew it I had already started a light gallop down the road once more. Time to see if I’m right I guess.’ I thought to myself.

______________________________________________________


‘...clop...’

‘...clop...’

‘...clop....’

        ‘Just a little further,’ I urged myself on. I had been listening to my hooves against the pavement of the side of the highway for hours now. The sound of one clop on pavement had been giving me the energy to put the next hoof forward.. ‘Just keep putting one hoof in front of the other.’ I took a moment to sneak a glance back up to the sky, where the sun had long since began to dip for the horizon. I sighed as I put another hoof forward. My guess on how long it would take me was apparently, and unsurprisingly wildly off it appeared.

        My hooves ached from what started as a brisk trot, during the first hour, and then it had started to settle into a light canter after more time went by. Finally it had turned into a slow walk as I tried merely to stay on my hooves. Still, I marveled at the amount of stamina this body had. I shouldn't have been surprised though, I had walked long distances like this before I had settled down in Ponyville, this was nothing out of the ordinary. But it still was impressive to me, like it had been my first time traveling again. 

        Still I couldn't say that I had gotten as far as I had all by myself. About halfway through my trip I had resorted to trying to hitchhike along side of the road. As I expected through most of the day, not a single car would stop as I walked alongside the old highway between the towns.

About halfway through the day I had gotten lucky. An elderly farmer had stopped his truck. I guess at first he must have thought I was merely a sheep that had gotten loose on the side of the road given his surprised look when he looked at me. It was nothing however much to the farmer’s surprise when the “stray sheep” actually asked him for a ride.

         “I have seen sheep, deer, hell even horses walking along this route, never seen a talking zebra walking alongside the road.” was all he said when I explained my situation to him. At first he was wary of letting me get into his cab. Something on about having a strange zebra riding along with him had to have been bad luck. 

After almost pleading to him however I think I finally managed to make him cave. He agreed to let me ride in the bed of the truck with his tools till he got off the main highway, but no further. It was only ten miles, but ten miles I didn't have to walk and managed to get some rest for.

        I grinned as I reflected on that thought. He was a nice old man, even if he was a bit cautious around talking equines. All in all he was just willing to help out another creature in trouble which was good enough for me. ‘Just like Roger had...’ No, no, don't think about that brain. I still had to try to think of the good things at least. I was almost to Albertville, and in Albertville was another pony capable of helping me. I just had to keep that in mind.

As I finally met the crest of another hill along the highway I managed to make something out in the distance. My moral skyrocketed when I made out what it was. It was a large beautiful neon green sign with the words I had been hoping to see all day highlighted on it.

        WELCOME TO ALBERTVILLE


        I found myself going back up to full speed when I saw the sign in the distance. Mostly because I noticed I was closing in on it much faster than I should have, along with the fact that I found myself panting and my hooves racing against the pavement. Soon enough I was sitting down looking at the sign in awe. I was starting to doubt I’d actually get here before sundown, but here I was.

        The sight behind the sign quickly drew my attention however. There was a small town beyond the hill. There seemed to be only one word that I could think of when I looked at it though. Southern. There were plenty of the large old plantation style houses paralleling the streets on the outskirts of town. 

        A large mountain towered over the western side of town, basking the entire area in a large shadow, while a river ran lazily through the center of town. The town itself however looked completely modern from what I could tell. Many buildings seemed to be two or three story apartments, hotels and the like.

        My sightseeing was cut off as a strange sound in the distance made my ears swivel to the side. At first I wasn't sure what it had been. It was low at first, but it was becoming louder with every second.

      	'DUB' 'DUB' 'DUB' 'DUB' 'DUB' 'DUB' 'DUB' 'DUB'

        The noise quickly became a deafening. I quickly turned to face whatever was making such a racket. My face turned pale when I saw the silver prius fast approaching. Many cars had passed me before as I walked, but this one was almost exclusively driving along on the shoulder of the road, which put it right on the path for me. Within a heartbeat of seeing it I jumped for cover off the stretch of grass beside the road as the car roared past at high speed.

        “*cough cough*” I wheezed from the large amount dust that the prius had kicked up as it righted itself back onto the main road. “I thought being green is what they strived. Just how do some people learn to drive...” I shook my head as I watched the car move down the hill and back out of site again. I wondered if the driver of the crazy machine had even noticed me.

        I got back onto my hooves and began the long walk once again, much to my hooves’ complaints. Much like Gadsden was, this human town seemed tranquil in the late afternoon sun. Few humans were out on the streets to enjoy the dusk though, much to my gratefulness. The only humans I had seen out were a couple of casual runners.

        The calm air let me think of what I needed to do next. The first of which was obvious, ‘find the bus station dumby’. Wandering around aimlessly in a town I didn't know didn't sound like a good idea. So it was back to my trusty tablet once more. The moment I turned it on however I was in for a rude shock. ‘Low power’ the words in the bottom right warned to me.

        “Oh please not yet.” I tried to encourage the little tablet as I brought the browser to Google maps once again. “you’ll get charged soon, so don't you fret.” I had been too careless with how I used my Ipad all day, and now I was paying for it.

I needed to find the station quickly before nightfall set in. I wasn't sure when Trixie was planning to leave, but I doubted she’d wait all night for me to show up. I shivered at the thought. I’d already made it to another town, the idea of getting stuck here was even less appealing than buying a new ticket. 

        A simple search and a thumbnail later the station was located only a few blocks away. I turned off the Ipad as soon as I could and quickly I made my way off the sidewalk and to the large building in the distance.

        When I finally reached the station I honestly had to admit that it was a sight to behold. It was nothing like the other stations that I had seen in Pensacola or Guntersville, not even Montgomery’s terminal looked quite this impressive.

        Most of the building seemed to be made up of a vast honeycomb of steel pipes and concrete blocks. Large glass windows seemed to make up most of the exterior of the building, allowing a pony to look right into the lobby. The Greyhound Bus logo was emblazoned over the front doors.

        I hesitantly looked inside, seeing the crowd of people once again as the large glass doors slid open. As soon as the fear welled up I pushed it back down however.

        ‘OK... ok... try not to show any fear,’ I reasoned quietly to myself, ‘just find Trixie, and you can get out of here.’ I tried to place the show pony that I had seen before in my mind again. She was blue, with a white main, containing a light blue streak in it.

        As I began my search however a sea of people began to come out of the gate, a bus having just arrived. I felt butterflies erupt in my stomach again as I looked back to the door. ‘Perhaps it would be better just to leave?’ I began to think to myself, before I froze, feeling confidence come back to me from the back of my mind.

        ‘No, I shouldn't back away, not this day. I mustn't run to mope, finding Trixie is my only hope.’ the thought emerged as I puffed my chest out. I could do this, it was just a crowd of humans, very large humans...

        After a few minutes longer I was getting the feeling I was becoming increasingly lost in this station. I couldn't find a single hair or tail of the blue show mare. ‘humm...’ I thought to myself as I sat down. ‘Did she already leave? Perhaps I took too long to get here.’ No, don't think like that brain, come on, happy thoughts. 

        That was when I heard a voice shouting throughout the entire lobby. It was a girl’s voice, but it had a rather tomboyish sound to it. Too much of one to be a southern accent.

“Hey, hey, hey! Let’s all take a chill pill and calm down!”


> Meet and Greet
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHP 10

Meet and Greet

(side note: Background music for beginning of this chapter)
______________


        They sometimes say that fate leads the willing.

“Hey, hey, hey! Let’s all take a chill pill and calm down!”         

They also say that fate drags the reluctant.
        
The tomboyish voice echoed through the lobby causing everyone to look at its owner. I was no different. But when I saw the perpetrator my eyes lit up in amazement. Only a few pony lengths away through the crowd I saw a white unicorn. 

She was quite a spectacle to see with her electric blue mane and magenta glasses perched carefully on her horn. She was wearing a simple black shirt with some sort of strange looking robot on it, along with human shorts which might as well have been a full pair of pants. I stared at her intently. She looked too familiar for it to be coincidence. Beside her was a white earth pony gave her a nervous look.  

The earth pony herself only appeared to have on what I could have guessed were medical scrubs. Her flank adorned a large medical cross that was only too familiar to me. It was not an uncommon site for most ponies who worked in hospitals to have a cutie mark similar to her’s, but I knew this one. I remembered her from Ponyville, it was Nurse Redheart. But what they had been staring at what was what had really caught my attention.

“Don’t tell us to calm down!” A blue unicorn across from them shouted in response to her white counterpart. It was obvious enough without even taking a second look to know who I was staring at. The white mane with a blue streak, her coat color, and those same deep purple eyes matched the picture of Trixie Lulamoon perfectly. As if to confirm it she even had her dramatic sparkling wizard’s cap and cape to match.

The white unicorn tilted her head to the side before she gave a shrug and stepped into a fighting stance, “Really now?” She asked smugly, “I was hoping to be the voice of reason, but if you start charging at me, I’ll fight back!”

“Reason? Funny, because every time we’ve tried to use it, we’ve been denied services. We were even chased out of a travel agency by some crazy guy with a bat!” Trixie countered as she shook her head. Her eyes quickly fell onto two humans behind Redheart and the white unicorn. “At least you’ve got people that others are willing to talk to without automatically wanting to spit in their face.” she cursed as she pointed to them.

“You think you have it bad!?” The white unicorn yelled back, her face beginning to fume, “Just earlier today, I was almost killed! Even with my friends there! Instead of one guy with a bat, how about having to deal with four mental people who chase you through a superstore! Each armed with something very deadly! And not much longer after that, I was almost shot at by an armed gunman!”

        I flinched at those words. Granted I hadn't had the best of times since I had woken up the day before either, but just the fact of hearing someone actually having their life threatened made me shake slightly on the inside. Trixie however didn't seem impressed in the least. She closed her eyes and perked her nose up at the comment before placing a hoof to her chest.

“We sincerely doubt that any of that actually happened,” Trixie spoke, “we may have been dealt a bad hoof of cards, but we know that you just made that up to pump up your own grandeur to make yourself feel better when compared to us.” 

“Make myself feel better than you!?” the white unicorn scoffed at her remark, “Bitch, please. Almost everyone in this room is better than you! At least I can back up my boasts with actual talent!”

        Trixie’s eyes filled with rage before the white unicorn had even finished speaking. T A pink glow quickly formed around Trixie’s horn. At almost the same time the white unicorn’s horn began to glow a blue hue in response. Things were getting too far out of hoof now.

        I didn't want to be any part of what was about to happen. Reflexively I took a step back before a voice suddenly called out.

“The both of you, enough of these threats!” the voice yelled catching everyone and everypony’s attention, “before you do something you regret,” It was only after those words had been said I realized three things.

The first was that the entire room was staring straight at me with dumbfounded eyes. 

The second one was I was suddenly taking deep breaths like I had just finished screaming on top of my lungs. 

The third, and probably most important face however was that the voice that had called out so angrily was my own.

        My mind was quick to respond to the sudden attention. ‘What are you DOING!? GET OUT OF HERE!!!’  it screamed at me. The moment the thought had broke the surface of my mind however it was quickly silenced by a great eruption of collected calm. I began to walk towards the two mares confidently, any intimidation or fear I had a moment ago was lost. But then again, I couldn't even remember why I was afraid in the first place.

        As I trotted towards the pair, I could felt all the eyes of the room descend upon me. The white unicorn in particular only gave me a glass eyed look as if she had seen a ghost. I ignored her staring along with everyone else’s. Trixie however only took a glance at me before she returned her glare onto her dumbfounded adversary. 

The pink hue on her horn returned in full force as she directed it to the still shocked mare in front of her. Or at least she would have, had not my hoof quickly connected with her head, throwing off her concentration.



“This anger you have must quell,” I said coolly as if I was scolding a young filly, “there is no need for spells.”

“Listen, mohawk-mare,” Trixie hissed as she turned her glare to me. “We don’t know who you think you are, but where we’re from, when two people have a disagreement, others know to stay out of the way like they know not to get between a Cerberus and its meal.”

I sighed and shook my head before I gave her a hard look. The anger seething off of her was obvious, and seemed very familiar to me. As impossible as it sounded I was sure I had met this mare somewhere before. “I do not believe those ends, have earned you many friends.” I responded sagely. Trixie’s look hardly budged as she stared me down though.

“Zeccy!” a shout of glee erupted from beside me. I was suddenly thrown to the ground some sort of unstoppable force. To my surprise I looked up seeing the white unicorn giving me a large hug like I was some sort of long lost family member.

My cheeks went red from the sudden and unexpected invasion of personal space. I looked back to her in a bit of confusion,“...Zeccy?” I managed to sputter out as I looked at her joyful face. It suddenly clicked to who I was staring at. I didn't know of anyone who called my ‘Zeccy’, at least not till earlier this morning. It was Vinyl Scratch.

‘Fate... you suck’ 

“Oh, my, God!” another voice from the left caused both of us to turn.

        There before me were two young colts I knew only too well. Snips and Snails. The two brothers had gotten their hooves into plenty of their own bit of trouble during my time in Ponyville, though I never had to deal with them much other than during Nightmare Night.

        The two colts had been so afraid of my ghost stories of Nightmare Moon that they had run off back to home before we had even visited Nightmare’s statue. From what I had been told by their parents they had even slept together in the same bed for weeks. The look on Snail’s face however held no fear in it. If anything his eyes seemed to grow wide with enchantment as he gazed at Redheart.

“It’s, it’s, it’s!” “Redheart!” Snails swooned. He practically floated across the floor to the nurse “Me encanta!” He said as he bowed awkwardly to his hooves and puckered his lips.

        I furrowed my brow as I looked at the strange sight. ‘But, Snails is just a colt... and... he’s speaking spanish?’ I thought as I watched him kiss her hoof awkwardly. Redheart’s face turned beat red as she turned back to Vinyl mouthing the words “Help me!” to her. ‘Well that’s certainly.... strange.’ I didn't get much time to think further into it however.

“Hey there, pretty lady,” a voice from my side forced my attention back to reality. I turned to see Snips staring at me with a large goofy smile as he was rolling over on his hooves. “I’m Enrique! But you can call me Rick if you want to...” he spoke softly in a tone that was far too mature for a stallion his age.

‘Is... is he doing what I think he’s doing?’ I thought to myself in distress ‘But he’s just a colt!’ It wasn't just his age that was bothering me. He was male. Wait... why was that bothering me? It just didn't seem to right at all. I refocused back on the colt still fawning over me as he took a step closer. ‘Oh gosh... he’s still staring, think brain, think think.’ my mind shouted at me

My cheeks were flushed red as I looked down Snips... or, I guess he said his name was Enrique, swooning in front of me. I finally took a step back as I began to grin sheepishly. ‘Come on, just say something, anything.’

“Umm, why hello, little fellow?” I stuttered out as I took another step back, still as big of a friendly smile as I could while I continued to backpedal. “I am not sure I see, if theres somthing you need from me?”

I took a final step back until I realized I had hit something. I glanced back to see Vinyl with a grin as large as a cheshire cat’s, “Look!” she called out amused, “Zecora’s black, white, and red all over!” I swear if embarrassment could kill I probably would have been dead to rights.

I glanced back to Sni- Enrique just as a pink hue began to encompass his tail without warning. He suddenly was flung backwards much to his surprise as Trixie’s magic dragged him back towards her.

“Terribly sorry,” Trixie said in a flustered tone, “he can get a bit obsessive about ponies he likes.” I sighed in a bit of relief from the reprieve I had gotten from my unexpected savior, taking a moment to get back onto my hooves.

“So what’s it like?” Snails called to Redheart. he had caught in Trixie’s magic as well. “Taking care of the patients I mean. It must get lonely, being there in the hospital with nobody but the sick?”

“Zecora, care to tell me about some of the things you see in the Everfree Forest?”  Enrique cried back to me “I’m sure you see all sorts of exciting things,” A chill ran up and down my spine at least two times as I contemplated what he could have possibly meant by those words.

        Trixie's magic did not keep the dangerous duo in her web for long however It began to falter on their constant struggling to free themselves. It wasn't long at all before they managed to break loose once again, and began to return to Redheart and I’s sides.

        I jumped slightly as Enrique rubbed against my side affectionately, far too affectionately for me to handle. Just as he began however two large hands plucked him away along with his brother.

I sighed in relief as I looked back to the two humans who had grabbed them. “Someone, somewhere wants what you two have to offer, but it isn’t these two Romeo.” The dark haired one said to the would be bachelors as they slung them under their shoulders. At first the two tried to struggle themselves free again, but gave up after it was evident there was no way to get free again.

“You have no idea how much we wish to have thought of saying that a day earlier, Mr...” Trixie trailed off as she approached us.

“Luis Bonilla, but just Luis will do,” the dark haired man said as he tucked Enrique under his arm and extended his arm out to meet Trixie's hoof in a brohoof.

“Trixie Lulamoon,” The show mare replied, “Though of course you’d already know that.”

“There they are!” another voice called out to the already somewhat chaotic scene. 

I turned back seeing a frustrated looking teenaged clerk pointing a red polished fingernail at us. She was by no means alone though. Beside her was yet another hulking security guard just like the one from the previous bus terminal. He was wearing the familiar striking blue pants with grey shirt, his hand laying on his holstered pistol in the same way police officers would give the “I’m in charge here” look.

“Gentlemen...” He paused, as if he was trying to figure out the best word choice for the situation. “Ponies?” he finally blurted out. In hindsight I guess it was the closest I would get from him. “I'm gonna have to ask you to leave the bus station, right now.”

. The blonde human holding Snails merely took a step forward to face the guard and clerk, “Sorry about that sir,” he spoke politely. “We were just leaving anyways.”

        I looked back to Trixie as she pulled a bag up as most of the other’s in the small group began to do the same. I paused as I watched them begin to make there way to the exit. At first I wasn't sure what to do. My first reaction was to follow the rest of the small band out, but I hesitated for a moment.

        What did I know about these ponies? So far one had threatened me, and another had...ugh... hit on me. I wasn't sure how well I could trust them. Even if Vinyl had been among them, it still was a bit confusing. On top of that they all made my head hurt. Memories about them popped up, even though I barely knew them. I stood there for another moment as I contemplated it further.

        “Ahem,” The guard grunted. I looked back in his direction as he stared down to me, his hand still gently stroking the butt of his holster. It was only then that I realized that the entire crowd that had formed was still there, watching the only actor who hadn't left center stage. I froze as I stared back to all the eyes, my legs began to shakily knock as I stared back into the crowd of humans.

“Hey, Zeccy!” a voice called out to me, breaking me out of my paralysis. I looked back to Vinyl who had stopped at the door and looked back to me, “You coming or not!?” she waved to me.

“C-Coming.” I squeaked quietly again in an almost Fluttershy-like manner. I wasted no time as I quickly trotted out of the still open hole in the crowd to the exit of the lobby. I guess for better or worse I was going to be following them after all.

        I followed the crowd slowly out of the station at a comfortable distance from the others. Vinyl and her company seemed to be standing around a silver prius that looked oddly familiar. I began to wonder if it was the same one that had nearly run me off the side of the road earlier. I severely hoped I was wrong about that.
        
The blonde human paused for a moment as he put his hand on the door handle to the prius. “Oh! Before we depart, how about we get the formal introductions out of the way?” He spoke before turning to look at me and then to Trixie and the colt brothers, “Well, that is, if you want to travel with us, since I’m pretty sure we’re all going to the same place.”

Trixie continued walking without missing a beat “Vaudeville and Broadway,” she answered calmly. “We’re okay with all of you just calling us Trixie.” She then pointed back to Snips and Snails, “The orange one is Snails, or Pablo as he prefers, and with him is his brother, Enrique, or Snips.”

The blonde human first pointed to himself, Vinyl, Redheart, and the other man while saying, “Well, my name is Luis Bonilla, but you can just call me Luis. Over here is Vinyl Scratch, or Gage. It doesn’t really matter to him what you decide to call her.

Right here is Redheart, or Serah as she prefers. Finally, this here is Merille Robichaux, or just Merille.”

I stared at the other two as they politely waved a hoof and a hand, but my mind was still on something else Luis had said. I tilted my head slightly while I tried to process why he had just referred to Vinyl as him and then so suddenly back to her. It didn't make much sense to me, then again I suppose these changes were affecting ponies in many different ways. It shouldn't have been a surprise to me that some would change genders. I took small comfort in the knowledge I had at least dodged that bullet...

I shook my thoughts as I realized everyone was now staring at me. It took me a moment to realize they were waiting for me to speak up, “Oh! Right sorry,” I flustered, “of course you mean me. My name with grace, is quite simply J...”  I stopped as soon as the J left my mouth. ‘Wait J?’ I thought to myself. It was that strange name again, the name that colt had. But that didn't explain why I had just tried to address myself as it.

 I shook the thought away as I glanced back up to them. “It’s Zecora,” I spoke quickly. That name seemed to come out much more fluid than the first, but I still couldn't help but feel something was slightly off about it.

Trixie seemed to give me a confused glance before she turned back to the others, “So, you’ve got transportation? We have gas money if you need it,” She offered.

Vinyl walked towards the car “Actually,” She began to say, “we have that covered. We recently got around five-hundred bucks before we left Mississippi. Though, if you still want to chip in, that’d be great.”

Luis and Merille began to adjust the back seats of the Prius to accommodate the new influx of ponies they were about to carry. Redhea... Serah now I suppose, looked to the sky to the setting sun. “Hey,” she spoke up, “you all realize it’s getting late. I saw a Holiday Inn while we were coming here, how about we get a room there for the night?”

‘Holiday Inn...?’ I thought in slight disgust. The so called hotel chain (roach motel was being much more accurate) was certainly not my first choice in living conditions. But that thought was almost immediately overwritten when my legs screamed in agreement to Serah’s suggestion. I nodded quickly in agreement with her, “Having rushed on hoof from town to town, I could certainly use a sit down.” I yawned slightly. Any bed sounded good right now, even a cheap one.

I sat down to give me legs their much deserved rest. I honestly didn't notice how tuckered out I had become from the days walk. No sooner had I sat down did I hear a gleeful chuckle and felt a presence at my side. My eyes went wide when I noticed Enrique sitting right beside me, as if taking in the air around us.

I quickly got back up and took a step or two closer to the Prius. To my dismay however the young colt didn't seem to take the hint as he got back up and took a step towards me and sat down once more. 

That was more than enough for me. “Gah!” he yelped quietly as I shoved him slightly back with a hoof to his surprise. He looked up to me with huge puppy dog eyes. I gave him a stern look in return.

 Thankfully this time Enrique seemed to take the hint as he got up and rejoined the others. He glanced back to me as if he was pondering something. I wasn't sure I wanted to even contemplate what he was thinking. I already had more than enough affection from him or any member of the opposite sex I wanted for the day.

Trixie didn't even try to hide her yawn, catching my attention once more. “Ah, yes” she added enthusiastically my comment, “we have wearied from travelling so much over the day.”

“Hey,” Vinyl quickly called out as she raised an eyebrow at Trixie, “when you say ‘we’, you mean you and the two dolts over there with the orange one close to Serah...again. Or is it like that outdated royal ‘we’ that I’ve seen this one guy use back at the Ren Fair?” 

My ears perked up as I looked back to Trixie. I hadn't even noticed the way she had been speaking till now. 

Vinyl’s words seemed to have an immediate effect on Trixie. Her eyes went wide as they began to dart from side to side before she gave an audible gulp, “Yes,” She finally answered flatly.

        ‘Well that was a little unexpected.’ I thought to myself as I looked back to Vinyl.

She opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by Luis before she had a chance to speak her mind, “Well, we have it set to fit everyone. Since I’m driving and Merille will be in the passenger seat, who’s sitting where?”

Serah spoke up quickly, “As far away from Snips and Snails as possible. I’m sure Zecora would agree with me.”

“I guess... that would be best.” I nodded rather quickly before I looked back to the duo. Enrique waved gently back to me before I quickly turned back in disgust to face the mares. “I’d rather not have another exchange. That last one was certainly strange.”

“Excellent!” Trixie announced excitedly, clopping her front hooves together. “They can stay in the trunk, we can take the folded seat, and you two can take the rest of the back seat!”

“So that means we’re set!” Vinyl said while adjusting her glasses, “Alright then, Dumb and Dumber, in the trunk you go!” She pointed to the colt brothers, “Oh, Trixie and Zeccy, I hope you don’t mind some J-Rock and Vocaloid tracks, as my MP3 player is hooked up to the car’s speakers.”

“I’ve never even heard of those genres,” Trixie responded before using her magic to open the door, “Is it like country?” she asked as she waited for us to enter the small car. Serah and Vinyl wasted no time in hopping aboard. I took a moment to look at the large step before I tried my best at clambering on board with the others.

Luis and Merille loaded up the other’s bags in with Pablo and Enrique, and then went to the front seats. I gripped onto my gourd protectively however. It was all I had, and I still wasn't comfortable with others messing with it ever since the incident with the bronies.

Trixie finally entered the vehicle and layed down beside Vinyl. Once again I had trouble getting comfortable as I layed onto the seat cushions between Redheart and Vinyl. I hadn't even bothered attempting to sit on my flank this time. I looked back to Vinyl who was attempting sit down in the human like style. I perked an eyebrow as I looked at her. It was practically impossible to find a comfortable position like that. It must have been driving her nuts, but if she was uncomfortable in any way she didn't seem to show it.
 
“Well Trix, J-Rock and Vocaloid will just have to be something I need to show you then.” The white unicorn laughed while she adjusted herself. I glanced back to Merille in the front seat as he grinned at those words and flipped a switch.

Suddenly the speakers in the car roared to life, blaring out music I had never heard. It wasn't long after that the car engine hummed quietly to a start as well. The music was by no means bad though. I found myself happily nodding to the beat as I hummed, trying to identify it. It almost sounded like something from my anime soundtracks.

“Hey Zeccy.” Vinyl’s voice cut through the music, “I see you like the song. Pretty upbeat, right?”

“Hmm?” I looked up noticing the grin on her face as she watched me. I grinned back, slightly embarrassed at being caught, “Oh yes this music I absolutely adore, but I don’t think I’ve heard of this artist before.”

Vinyl chuckled as she put her glasses back down, “Well, that’s because Hatsune Miku is first of all, really popular in Japan. Second of all, Miku isn’t even real.”

“I’m not quite sure I understand,” my ear folded to the side as I tried to understand what Vinyl was saying. I was never very up to speed with bands or celebrities, nevermind foreign ones. To me music was just music. It was either good or it wasn't. But still, there was a musician that didn't exist? If I had not been talking to a pony that was formerly a human I wasn't sure I would have believed her. “is it some sort of made-up band?”

“Actually, it’s a synthesized voice. Using a real life voice as a base, and then synthesizing it to make a whole new sound!” Vinyl exclaimed with glee. “Most of the time, they use a character to represent the voice. In this case, an anime character.”

I merely nodded as she explained. I understood... I think... “I didn’t think that a voice could be made that way, into such a sort of musical array,” I pondered out loud as I tapped my hoof against my chin.

“Speaking of anime...” Vinyl had paused and looked to my pack for a bit before she looked back to me, “I’m assuming you’re a Naruto fan? Or at least a fan of Gaara?”

I glanced back to my bag at first confused at what Vinyl had been talking about. My gourd? What had been so special about it? It took another moment before I finally remembered the Naruto series. I spent half my fillyhood watching that tv series, ducking out of homework just to watch it. “Oh, yes Gaara is one of my favorites of the show. I’ve only enjoyed certain anime’s although...” 

I paused as I tried to think of a couple other shows, there were a couple... something called Dragon Ball Z... Gundam? The names seemed a bit familiar, but I couldn't help but feel I was forgetting a couple of the details to them. I glanced back to Vinyl who was still watching curiously, “But enough of me, what of you? What sort of things do you like to do?” I quickly added. Hopefully she would go for it.

“Well, before becoming Vinyl, my life was kind of boring.” Vinyl began, much to my relief, waving her hoof idly, “I was a hardcore role-playing gamer. When I wasn’t working a dead-end job, I mainly played stuff like Skyrim or listened to music. If I wasn’t doing that, I usually was at a friend’s house.” 

“Though, by looking at her, it’d be kinda hard to believe.” Serah jumped in, giving me a soft smile.

        I looked back to her, “Oh? how so?” I asked giving the earth pony a curious look. She had been mostly quiet during the car ride till now.

        The earth pony chuckled to herself before she continued, “She’s one of the craziest people I met. In fact, whenever we were at Wal-Mart back in Louisiana, she actually had the nerve to crack a joke whenever we were threatened. Everyone else would have ran scared or gotten help.”

        I flinched slightly when she mentioned being threatened and glanced slightly back to Vinyl who seemed to have tuned out of our conversation and switched to bugging Trixie. “I think I might be able to surmise how that could have come to arise.”

Serah raised an eyebrow at me, “Something similar happened to you, I assume?”

I began to feel uncomfortable under the nurse’s stare. “N..no, nothing has happened to me, I guess I’ve just been lucky.” I half lied. The thought of my mother with a can of pepper spray quickly came to mind. I tried my best to bury the image back to the depths it threatened to crawl out of though.        

Serah stared at me with what was probably the best poker face I’ve seen. “Interesting. I thought for sure that you would get some hardships, but I guess I was wrong.”

I put on a slight smile to reassure the nurse. I couldn't help but feel I was suddenly under the microscope of her attention, “Well, I have faced hardships of my past, but nothing I could not outlast. Poisonous flowers and vines, monsters of all sorts and size. But nothing thats given much surprise.” 

The nurse gave me one last look. For a moment she looked like she was going to ask another question, but at that moment we both heard Pablo yell out something that I didn’t quite understand.

“Doy gracias a dios!” Pablo yelled suddenly grabbing both my and Serah’s attention. There was a slight pause as everyone looked to the trunk before a voice finally spoke up.

“Hey, Trixie, do you have any idea what Snails just said?” Vinyl asked slightly confused.

“Nothing overly important, I’m sure.” Trixie said before she finally lifted her head to look out the window. “So I suppose you want to know who I was before all this?” 

‘Did... she just try to change the subject?’ My ears perked up as I looked at Trixie. A change of subject from Serah was just what I needed.

“Well it would be interesting to find out, but if you don’t want to share it with us, I won’t press the issue.” Vinyl said nonchalantly.

“It would be interesting to share, if you wouldn't mind much or care.” I spoke up quickly before Serah could interject. I glanced back to the nurse, she gave me a suspicious look before resigning back to listening to Trixie.

“Alright,” Trixie caved, “University student, I was taking this fall off in order to get familiar with a few things I should have looked up when I was younger.” She paused as if in thought before she turned to the opening to the trunk “Pablo, Enrique, you interested in telling us what you did before we met?”

“I worked at a power sub-station,” a muffled voice from behind me, which I quickly identified as belonging to Enrique said, “patrolled it at night to make sure nothing went wrong. As for my brother, he was in Junior High.”

        That explained a lot about the little colt’s actions from before. This “little colt” was in reality a full grown stallion. Somehow that did little to comfort me.

“That... explains quite a bit actually.” Trixie trailed off before she faced us again. 

“Hey, I’m not sure about you guys,” Luis called from the front seat, “but I’m really hungry. How about we stop at a diner and get us a quick bite to eat?”

I gulped slightly at those words. I still had some money left, but that was reserved for my ticket back home. I idly shuffled my wallet out and looked at the single fifty I could probably have used for the entirety of my trip “Oh uh, well if thats best I’m unsure, my funds are somewhat insecure...”

“No problem,” Trixie responded quickly. “We can cover the meal for tonight. What do you see, Luis?”

I backed down slightly and just let them continue. It was a little embarrassing to just take Trixie’s money so lightly. I hated the idea of being a freeloader, but I didn't have too many options for now. I’d just have to be grateful for this simple gesture of kindness from an almost complete stranger.

Luis looked to his right and said, “Well, there’s a little place called Rosie’s Diner. How about there?”

“If there is no disagreement.” Trixie said as she looked to all of us. I simply kept my head down and nodded like everyone else. “Alright Luis, Rosie’s it is.” Trixie nodded with delight.

The human pulled into the parking lot and brought the car to a stop. Not long after five ponies, one zebra, and two humans entered the diner. It was a old style nineteen fifties diner, the sort that you see in all the old movies and television shows. It even came complete with the old style soda tabs placed in front of the cashier’s counter. The counter itself was made of a large piece of steel, almost running the length of the diner with red-upholstered stools in front of it. Along the sides were plenty of booths with the same upholstery.

A waitresses approached us as we walked in and asked how many people. I was too distracted taking in the site as Luis had told her how many of us there were. Soon enough we were set at the window seats in the middle of the diner.

I sat down at the table and was soon joined by Serah. Unfortunately the seats across from us were quickly taken up by the two brothers who were quickly becoming tiny terrors. Enrique gave me a slight wink before I took him out of my veiw. ‘I guess earlier didn't damage his spirits in any way,’  I thought to myself frantically.

I gulped as i looked at the nurse who was giving me the same sheepish grin I had. We both didn't waste a moment longer as we hopped out of the seats and joined Vinyl and Trixie.

I glanced back as I saw Pablo almost jump out of his suit before he was stopped by Merille “Hey, let’s talk, us four, ‘kay?” he said as he towered over the two colts. I wasn't sure where I could have begun in thanking the human. That was the second time he took the bullet for me. I grinned slightly as I turned back to the other mares at the table.

Soon enough the waitress returned with menus in tow. As she laid mind down on the table I quickly extended a hoof out for it, only to be faced with a familiar problem. Even with practice hooves were still not very good for gripping...

I quickly began to experiment with the menu, carefully gripping it between my fetlocks and opening it up with my mouth. Just as I had gotten it open, its companion suddenly burst to life in a pink aura as it hovered over to Trixie. 

It amazed me how seemingly effortless everything was for the unicorn. I found myself actually slightly jealous of how effortlessly she wielded her magic compared to my blundering hooves. I had to remind myself for a moment I had some sort of magic myself, but still telekinesis was certainly an envi. The moment her eyes met mine however I quickly brought them down to my now open menu. I was sure however she knew what I was thinking.

Trixie finally looked back up to the waitress satisfied with a choice,“Vegetarian pasta for us, we suppose. We’d risk meatballs, but we didn’t really enjoy the prospect of sausages for my first breakfast... As for the drink, ice tea please.” 

Vinyl wasted no time to start her order, “What she said, and a diet coke.” The waitress didn't respond as she merely kept writing on her small pad.

I glanced down at the menu before looking back up to her. I didn't want to spend much of the money that truly wasn't mine, “I guess a salad will do for me, along with umm... uhh sweet tea?” I asked hopefully.

The waitress nodded, then inclined her head to Redheart, or Serah, as she preferred. Serah didn’t really bother looking at the menu. “I’ll just take a salad as well. With a glass of water.”

Scribbling down the last of the order, the waitress headed to the kitchen.

Trixie brought her front legs onto the table and braced her hooves against each other. She looked away from Vinyl for a few moments before she opened her mouth, “We suppose you are owed an apology.” she finally said.

Vinyl looked stared at the blue show mare and rubbed a hoof on the back of her head, “Ditto. We did get way too out of hand... er well, hoof now, I guess.” she said light heartedly.

“Agreed,” Trixie replied. And suddenly things were quiet at the table once more.

‘Well... I guess it took a little time... but at least they apologized.’ I thought before I put my hooves on the table and relaxed a bit. ‘I guess I would be asking a little too much to get an apology for the “mohawk mare” thing.’

Eventually the waitress came back with our drinks and splayed them out on the table in front us. I carefully prodded my sweet tea over to myself. However pink and blue hues covered the ice tea and diet coke as they floated over to their respective owners.

As I finally finished coaxing the sweet tea over to myself there was a gasp, then the clink of glass on the table. Before I knew it water had covered the entire surface of the table. “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” someone cried.

“Ayyai!” Trixie yelped in surprise. I looked up just as Trixie took hold of the napkin holder with her magic and pressed it against a large puddle of water that used to be Serah’s glass of water.

“You ask for the refill; we’d probably be rejected.” Trixie said as she swiftly brought more napkins onto the growing puddle. 

The nurse gave a silent nod before picking up the now empty glass with her mouth and walked off. Vinyl soon broke the silence when she looked back to Trixie, “You know, we’ll probably be travelling with each other’s company for a while. How about we take the time to get to know each other better?”

The magician nodded in agreement. Serah returned just in time, full glass in mouth, and the waitress in tow, our meals balanced on her arms. Setting us up, the waitress smiled at us, then went to the other booth where the boys had been sitting. “I’ll get your meals in just a minute,” she said to Luis, Merille, Pablo, and Enrique.

“Very well, we shall start.” Trixie took the initiative, “We woke up like this two days ago, and began our travel to New York since yesterday. That was when we met with...” She tilted her head to the other booth and nodded towards the others. “Them. Enrique was still human, but halfway through the trip he fell asleep at the wheel, crashed the car, and turned into a pony. Then we had to march through some backwater town, contacted Zecora, and the rest...” the magician leaned back in her seat. “Is history.” With that said she levitated her fork up to her pasta.

Vinyl raised an eyebrow at the show mare. “Is there a reason that Enrique fell asleep at the wheel?” she asked suspiciously, “Was he narcoleptic or something? Or does becoming a pony suddenly make someone sleepy?”

“Were we to hazard a guess,” Trixie responded between eating a couple wads of noodles, “we would say that it was the latter. Particularly considering that just after, Discord showed up.”

Vinyl, who was drinking her diet coke, suddenly spat out the drink right into Trixie, “Discord!? He’s here!?”

My eyes probably doubled in size at those words. Honestly I would have laughed at the scene as Trixie took another napkin to dry her face. But the thought of Discord being present eliminated any humor, or anything remotely near it. I shook as I thought of what the horror was capable of. 
        
        While most of the Everfree had been spared Discord’s wrath, much of the it’s paths to Ponyville had become a nightmarish scene as the wild trees began to move on their own accord. As they did the scenery in the forest quickly began to change at random. Plants and creatures that were usually harmless and even friendly had become ravenous and dangerous.

        I spent much of the crisis in my hut, locked away from the horrors that laid outside of it. It was one of the few times I was truly afraid of the forest. ‘And now he is back... here.’ I gulped.
        
“Well, here in the relative sense, we suppose, here on Earth,” Trixie assured, not that it helped much. “He’s in all likelihood responsible for this whole mess, unless some poor sod woke up as him and couldn’t handle it.” She looked back to me after finishing cleaning her face “What about you? Anything else to make the musical blowhard spoil my cape some more?” Trixie asked in a total deadpan.

I shook my thoughts of Discord out of my head, “Oh me?” I asked as if to confirm it, “Well, there is not that much at all to say.” I waved a hoof idly “I woke up like this the other day. I only set off this morning, by bus; I’ll admit it was boring.” I glanced back to Serah, eyeing me suspiciously before she turned back to observe her water. I could tell she knew I wasn't being honest... well.. I wasn't being completely dishonest either. 

        I felt the flood of guilt return as I looked to the three mares that had picked me up and taken me in so far. It felt worse than when I had lied to Roger. The bus driver had only been curious when he had asked me about my past, but these three probably had a right to know at least something about me. After all, the most I had done for them was break up a fight.

        I managed to fight the guilt back down however. As bad as it seemed, they still didn't need to know anything about my past. All that mattered was merely getting to New York with them. My personal history would merely give me undeserved pity, which was the last thing I wanted.

“I guess it’s my turn.” Vinyl said as she wiped the rest of her soda off, “Well, to begin, before I became Vinyl this morning, I had actually just graduated from high school, and was working a dead-end job as a cashier. I became Vinyl this morning, actually.” I guess she enjoyed the fact that she had become this unicorn. “The two humans behind me, lifelong friends who helped since this crazy adventure began. I ran into Serah here at Wal-Mart this morning, only to be chased out by that crazy extremist group against ponies. I was in Mississippi when I was caught up in a gas station holdup and was in a laser tag tournament that I lost in. Also, I actually met Zecora on Facebook then. Then we got lost and by chance, met you guys at the station.”

        So it was true, this was really the same Vinyl. A slight smirk formed on my mouth as I thought about the coincidence. ‘Screw you fate indeed.’ I joked to myself.

“Right,” Trixie spoke in a sarcastic tone.

Vinyl stared back down to her food dejectedly, “I remember how you basically called BS on my story back at the station when arguing, but I’m dead serious. In fact, if you want me to, I could show you the news report that was made on it.”

“I’ll wait for the security footage to show up on Spike TV one of these days,” Trixie said mockingly.

I flattened my ears against my head. As unlikely as Vinyl’s story was,it was still a little insulting to blow her off like that. I didn't say a word though as I idly poked my salad.

“Well, I guess it’s my turn now.” Serah giggled a bit, “I worked at a local hospital back in Louisiana. I was more of a paperwork person, but I did see a patient or two now and again. It was actually pretty early in the morning when I became Nurse Redheart, as Vinyl had stated. So, from the hospital, I travelled on hoof to Wal-Mart, since I didn’t have a car. It was Vinyl who came across me in the Pharmacy section, and well... You know the rest from Vinyl.”

I continued to idly poke my salad as I stared at the fork that was mocking my hooves again. It felt an odd sense of deja vu from the night before as I initially tried to grasp for it only to reach my hoof back. ‘*sigh* Well, there’s no point in letting it just sit there.’ I thought as I was about to bed down to dig into the bowl once more.

 What surprised me was as I looked at the fork one last moment it jumped to life in a pink hue. The silver utensil then pierced a few leaves of the salad and floated idly in front of my mouth as if it was waiting.

I glanced at the fork and then back to Trixie, who just had a thoughtful smile on her face. “Oh, um thank you,” I said sheepishly before I took a bite. As embarrassing as being spoon fed was, at least I didn't have to dif my muzzle blindly into the salad bowl this time around.

A chuckle was heard from Vinyl as I looked over in our direction, “... Gallons of shipping fuel right there.” she said, causing blood to rush to my cheeks once again. 

‘Thanks Vinyl... really needed that image in my head...’ I thought to myself as I looked back to Trixie. The blue mare looked about ready to smack Vinyl before Redheart suddenly tapped the white unicorn on her shoulder. When Vinyl looked back at Redheart, her expression immediately dropped as she got the hint.

“Sometimes, I really hate you Karma...” she muttered as her horn began to glow.

        I chewed on my salad idly as I watched Vinyl reluctantly spear a few leaves into Serah’s salad. I guess unicorn magic wasn't all it was cracked up to be after all.

“Gracias!” Pablo’s voice declared, before the sound of his muzzle slapping into whatever dish he ordered echoed through the diner.

I took another bite from the fork as Trixie turned back to face the boys at the other table. She turned back “If that’s what happens to you for teasing us, imagine what we had to do to get that guy.” she spoke quietly

Vinyl chuckled at the statement before noticing that her drink was already empty. “Damn. My drink is empty already. Need a refill.”

I stared at the cup curiously. A cool feeling of calmness rushed over me as I looked at the cup. It seemed like such a bother suddenly only to force a friend to get up for a simple drink. I took it into my hooves, much to everypony’s confusion. “I don't think there’s need for distress,” I commented as she placed her hoof on top of the lid, “It just requires a bit of finesse.” 

It was a simple matter. I closed my eyes for a moment as I let let my thoughts calm. Suddenly the cup felt cold again as the sound of ice in liquid being shaken returned to the cup. I took a moment to admire my handiwork, before I realized what I had just done.

The cup was full of soda again, only I didn't know where it had come from. It just appeared out of nowhere like magic. This time however I knew it was magic, zebra magic to be precise. I had done it again, but, the problem was it wasn't me who did it. It was something else.

I quickly let go of the cup, almost letting it tip over. The words from my meditation quickly returned to haunt me.

‘You will pass away from this place, as another takes your place. Nothing left for you but to give up, even a zebra cannot refill this cup.’

Suddenly a loud squee broke me out of the memory.  “Zecora, I now officially love you forever!” Vinyl shouted as she hugged me, and knocking me out of my shock. I quickly glanced around at everyone.

“What was that about shipping fuel again?”  Trixie interjected. She then lifted her iced tea in front of me and shook it playfully “Don’t suppose you could fill it up with Bailey’s?”

Vinyl finally let go and crossed her hooves over her chest in an irritated gesture before laughing, “Oh shut up Trixie.”

I tried a to laugh with Vinyl but only managed a hesitant chuckle, “Oh.. uhh well I suppose its worth a try,” I said as I took the cup. ‘Alright, come on... you can do this. You’ve already shown you can do it, just remember what your twin said... just relax, and concentrate.’ I tried to encourage myself.

I must have sat there for a few seconds, but this time there was no sound this time though as she looked back to it dejectedly “Or... well... fie.” I said dejectedly as I  ‘let go of the cup. It should have been easy. The other me could manipulate entire clouds of smoke with ease, and here I couldn't even figure out how to make tea reappear in a cup.

        Trixie merely sighed in response and took the cup back to suck the ice cube dry. I looked back down to my salad and thought about all the problems I had been going through today alone. Everything was still too confusing. But not everything seemed horrible. When I looked back up I noticed the other three mares at the table again. All of them were smiling and enjoying themselves. 

        It took me a moment before I noticed I was smiling too when I looked at them. ‘Maybe... things are still confusing, but maybe, that’s ok.’ I thought as I looked back to the three. 


“Others are out there for you to befriend. Trust in them, and you will succeed in the very end." 


The words my other self came back to me as I watched the three mares enjoying themselves.’I guess just trust them, and everything will be ok.’ With that thought I finally relaxed and carried on with the others. Perhaps the worst of things really was over for now.


___________________________

Meanwhile two other mares are having similar problems.
Trixie and Vinyl


> Lost Again In Thought, To Find What Was Forgot
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHP 11

Lost Again In Thought, To Find What Was Forgot

(Author’s note: nice listening music for the beginning of the chapter)

________________________________________________



In hindsight, everything about today seemed a bit ironic. I reflected on it all as I idly sipped my tea with a small grin. When I had woken it seemed like I was fighting the entire world scared and alone. ‘Now I had come full circle’  I thought to myself as I stared across at the table to the other mares who were enjoying their own meals in complete quiet bliss. They seemed almost unaware of how fortunate I felt upon the chance run in with this group.

The ponies in front of me all seemed like a strange mix to anypony’s eye. The nurse, DJ and show mare probably would have never even considered crossing paths with one another, never mind me, had it not been for the circumstances that had brought them to this human world.

It seemed almost relaxing being around others who could relate to what was happening to me. After all we shared the same problems together. Waking up in bodies that were not our own, and having to face the problems of being a pony in a strange world only meant for these humans. It was a wonder any of us had not been driven insane yet.

It wasn't just the large things I could relate to either. I sneaked a glance at the white unicorn as she playfully stuck two straws on her teeth reenacting some sort of story telling walrus. The small musical in the car on the way to the diner was proof I probably had a something I could call a friendly relationship with the DJ, even if Trixie didn't seem to share our taste in music.

Still the most perplexing similarity of all had to have been the fact we each had decided to make our own ways to New York. That question alone should have bothered me more than it actually did. None of these ponies, myself included, were among the ranks of the elements but for one reason or another that did not seem to deter each of us from pressing on towards the big apple.

Just what did we plan on doing once we got there? I looked at the rest of the group and even to the boys sitting a table away from us. We didn't seem like fighters, if that was what was to happen. But all I could trust was that time would only tell. For now, I was just content with the friendly company.

‘This could even come out to be, fun’  I thought to myself as I sipped the last of my tea, ‘So long as they don't pry and jump the gun.’

Still, as friendly as the other mares had been, there were still some subjects that I didn't want them to delve into. Family problems enough would probably make these ponies at least a bit wary of me, but was hardly a worry if they found out about the other problems I had started to notice over the course of the day.

I glanced at the others as I wondered how they would react if they had found out about my unusual personality changes, or the strange thoughts that I had only just noticed since this morning.  Would they still be so willing to help if they knew about them? I didn't even have to take a moment to think it over in more than a single sentence. ‘Hell no’.

If worse came to worse they’d probably come to the conclusion I was mentally unstable. They’d think I was a mare too dangerous to trust, never mind safe to travel with. The worst part about it though, was all of that could have been true for all I knew. I shook the dark thought back down from the pit it threatened to crawl out of and rejoined the group’s quiet enjoyment.

Eventually, like all good things though, the dinner came to an end as we left the diner and returned to Luis’s Prius. It didn't take long before we were back in our old spots in the car. To my great pleasure Enrique and his brother once again found themselves in the hybrid’s trunk.

“I don’t know about you guys, but that was one of the best meals I had in a long while!” Vinyl commented as she cleaned her teeth with a toothpick expertly grasped in her magic’s aura. I was still amazed at the ease unicorns could flaunt their magical ability, admittedly almost to the point of jealousy.

“Indeed,” Trixie spoke up in agreement, “we had become quite famished from the day’s exertions. It was quite refreshing, some incidents aside.”

“Again, Sorry for spilling my drink all over the table.” Red.... Serah managed to speak up quietly from my side. I suppose the whole accident had been overly embarrassing for the earth pony.

“Your apology is suitable,” The blue show mare replied casually.

“I’m still sorry for not being very skilled, it would’ve been easy to get your cups refilled.” I sighed and inclined my head to Serah and Trixie. The accident with Trixie’s drink earlier at the meal still unnerved me a bit.

It was almost as if this “zebra magic” had some sort of mind of its own. It was as if there was a light switch in my head that would flick on and off whenever it wanted beyond my control. One moment the magic would suddenly be there, but it would be gone in the next. What was it the other me had said about control...?

“And I’m sorry for not respecting you as a person, Zecora,” the voice of a certain light blue colt from the back announced, breaking me away from my thoughts. I turned my head away from the trunk as I tried to tune out the instant thoughts of what Enrique had implied once again.

I glanced to trunk, but didn't bother to say a word. There was still an uneasy feeling about being looked at by a stallion, no matter what the age.  But I couldn't understand why, it just felt unnatural to let myself be looked at as just another mare.

“Yeah, what Enrique said, but to Nurse Red—Serah,” Pablo was quick to respond to Snip’s apology, saving me from having to make any sort of quick response.

“Apology accepted.” Serah sincerely said with a smile. “Just don’t go doing that again. Okay?” I gave the nurse a questioning look as she glanced to the car trunk. I couldn't quite understand how she could be so casual with the colts.

“Never again?” a whisper I could only assume was Pablo echoed from the trunk. Trixie was quick in turning to stare the colt down, earning from him an equally small  “Okay.” I was thankful that at least Trixie knew how to handle the two young ones.

The awkward atmosphere finally was broken as the Prius suddenly slowed and turned. Curiously, I looked out the window seeing a Holiday Inn through the passenger window. “Hey, we’re here.” Luis announced as he turned off the engine, “Merille and I will go in and pay for all eight of us, then we’ll come back and help everyone with their stuff.”

I cringed slightly at the prospect of actually entering the hotel. My last stay at one of these so called “inns” had been less... than pleasant. I had stayed at one before while waiting for my sister’s graduation from the state college and found the whole hotel less than impressive by any description. The rooms must have barely been fit to be called habitable. Its curtains and beddings probably had not been cleaned ever since it was opened. Not to mention the fact that the entire place smelled like some sort of suspicious blend up beer and urine. I didn't want to delve further into that though.

The worst of it however was the ponies there. I learned quickly at the time that it was uncommon to see a zebra within the Equestrian borders, but the unwelcoming attitude of that inn’s ponies really had surprised me at first. Each of them looked at me at the best of times with a faux smile and hesitant glances when they thought I wasn't looking. At the worst of times I felt only outright resentment and distrust from them. I wasted as little time as I could before I had left that inn and continued on my with my journey to what I eventually found as a home in the Everfree. Of course, that was all long ago...

‘Hold on a second...’ I paused for a moment in thought as I watched Trixie opened the door with a quick spell. The awkward feeling of something wrong came back to me as I thought about the memory harder. I replayed the memory again in my head as I slowly followed Vinyl out of the compact car and onto the asphalt of the parking lot.

It was an odd sensation, like reading two different stories from the same book, and at the same time. I was meeting an older sister to watch her graduation, but at the same time, I knew I never had an older sister. I was the only filly in my herd. And why was I going to this mystery mare’s graduation? At the time I had only recently left my homeland and entered the Equestrian borders. It was still quite some time before I had truly made any relationships with my friends of Ponyville, but at the same time I was sure this sister existed somewhere.

“Two rooms!” Trixie shouted beside me suddenly, dragging me back to the situation at hoof. I glanced back to the show mare as the two humans nodded to her and walked into the hotel’s lobby.

‘I suppose I’ll just need to think about it later’ I thought to myself as I returned back to the group’s conversation.

“Wait.” Vinyl spoke slowly, “Why would we need to get two...” She paused for a moment as her eyes widened in a moment of clarity. “OH! Now I get why!”

“Correct, this isn’t Europe,” Trixie trailed off a bit cryptically, earning a confused head tilt from Vinyl and I at the same time. “Don’t need four folks piling into the same bed. Eight into one Prius is quite enough. The question remains, who goes to which room?”

“We’ll stick to one room,” the two unicorn brothers spoke in unison as they disembarked from the trunk of the car. I idly glanced at the two. They merely stared at the asphalt under their hooves in a seemingly dejected manner. I breathed in silent relief to those words. The less I saw of those two strange colts, the easier the trip would probably be.

“Got the rooms,” Merille called out suddenly, returning from the lobby. He idly twirled two sets of keys in his hand triumphantly as he walked back to our group with Luis in tow “right beside each other as well,” Merille said as he opened the door to retrieve our luggage.


_____________________________


Idly, I followed the two humans to the room that we were going to stay at, but I barely paid attention to where I was going. I stared down at the ground intently as I let my thoughts wander on about the contradicting memories. They really made no sense when I compared the two to each other. I remembered the mare that was supposed to be my sister crystal clear, but at the same time, it seemed murky.

The more I thought about her, the more the memory started to clear. There was a graduating human in that memory. ‘But, that couldn't have been right’ I thought to myself as I tried harder to remember. The more I thought about it, the more the mare started to become clear to me. I could make out a zebra, amongst the graduating ponies.  ‘Yeah... that seems right.’ I thought to myself hesitantly. It made sense, but something about it still bothered me.

Luis and Merille stopped in front of me suddenly when they reached a door, breaking me from my thoughts. The moment we made it through the doorway I carefully set my pack down beside the door as Luis and Merille went to the task of unloading Trixie, Redheart and Vinyls’ things down.

At first as we unpacked Luis had offered to take my gourd as well, but didn't pursue it as I kept my pack close to my side. It was a small peeve but I still was anxious about others messing with my things.

As soon as everyone had unpacked I began to scan the interior of the room. It was your usual setup for a motel room. Two double beds with a night stand between them on the right side of the room, and the bathroom past that. On the left side of the room there was, from closest to the door to farthest, a desk with a chair and phone, a dresser with a television on it, and a table with a coffee maker on it. The carpet was a light shag brown that almost engulfed the bottom of my hooves. The walls were painted beige, and the window was covered with a dark forest green set of curtains.

It had all the classic features of a regular inn. I was happy at least this time the room seemed to have been kept up.

The door closed as Trixie finally entered the room with us.

As soon as everyone had finally settled in Vinyl quickly turned to us excitedly, “Alrighty then! How about this, me and Zeccy got dibs on the bed next to the window, while Trix and Serah get the other bed!”

‘I... well, that was, fast’ I thought to myself as I felt my cheeks went red at Vinyl’s sudden excitement.

“Very well.” Trixie nodded to Redheart as she walked by. “Just... no drinking in bed... please.” The earth pony chuckled sheepishly as she nodded in return.

I plopped myself down on the bed that Vinyl indicated cautiously and returned my attention to my gourd. With all the madness that had gone on during the day, I finally had time to recharge my Ipad. But just as the thought crossed my mind, Vinyl spoke up again.

“You know,” The Dj pony continued on to no one in particular as she sat down beside me and inspected her glasses, “We’re all going to the same place, yet none of us even know our reasoning behind it. We could have all just stayed put and not do anything, yet here we are. So, I just gotta ask, what’s your reasoning for going on this trip?”

“And leave solving this situation to that foolish filly, Twilight Sparkle?” Trixie  quickly quipped as she shut her eyes and turned her nose to the air, “Please, Trixie does not leave as she closed such things to chance.”

I tilted my head slightly as I looked at the show mare again. She really did seem boastful as her reputation preceded. Even with her Ursa Minor fiasco.

“I don’t know if I have a part to play.” I began as I started to idly fidget the rings on my foreleg. “I just want to know why I became this way. How this form I had come to obtain, and what must be done to go back again.”

I relaxed as the others nodded and returned their attention to Serah. For a moment I was worried that they would not be satisfied with my vague answer.

“What about you, Serah? Sounded to me like you just ended up being dragged along by Vinyl.” Trixie asked the nurse as she lifted her head from the pillow she was laying on.

Serah shrugged and said, “Well, I before I met Vinyl, I was in a position where I had almost nowhere to go... And I when I told her that I was curious about the whole New York situation, she offered to let me go with them. So, with nothing else to do, I took up on that offer.”

“Y tú, Vinyl?” Trixie continued down the line. “What made you decide to travel across the country?”

The Dj beside me sat down and thought for a moment before she began to speak, “To get some answers to my questions. ‘Why was it me that transformed?’ ‘Why into Vinyl Scratch of all ponies?’ and ‘How the hell do I change back, if I can at all?’” As if suddenly to break the conversation a ring tone went off in the room causing all of us to look at the DJ.

I watched with curiosity as Vinyl suddenly did a double take at the phone as her eyes widened in surprise. “Sorry...” She spoke nervously, “But I have to take this call.” With that she wasted no time to hop of the bed and make a beeline for the door.

Trixie got up as she began to walk past Serah, “I need to freshen myself up, in case Vinyl asks when she gets back.” she spoke calmly as she made her way to the room’s single bathroom.

Before I knew it I had become the sole resident of the room aside from the white earth pony on the bed across from me. I took a deep breath as I let my nerves calm. So far the talks with the others had gone smoothly. For a couple moments I thought for sure they were going to ask something I didn't want to answer.

“Hey. Zecora,” Serah’s voice punched through the silence of the room, “could we talk for a little while?” I looked back to her, seeing her eyeing me again like she had before in the car. I cringed internally under that stare.

“Oh, sure that is fine,” I said half heartedly, “what's on your mind?” Something made me feel like I already knew where this was leading, and I knew it would be nothing I’d want to talk to the white nurse pony about.

“It’s something that’s been bothering me lately. We all basically said who we were and everything, yet you seemed to have sidestepped everything that was directed towards you.” She continued to glance at me before staring off into space. “Are you sure everything is ok?”

I began chewing on my lip as she spoke. As predicted it was the same line of questioning from back on the car. I tried to hide it as I returned my attention back to my rings. “Well, as I told you all at the diner before. Everything in my life has been quite a bore.” I spoke easily, trying to keep impatience of my voice down. “There is no need to have worry or concern. There is not a reason to worry. I’ve been absolutely fine, really.” I tried my best to be convincing, hoping that she’d drop the subject.

“Well then, what reason do you have to sidestep every question directed towards yourself?” she asked deadpanned.

I took a deep breath as she stared me down. “Sidestepping, what is with all of this fuss,” I said defensively as I began to fidget with one of the rings. “There’s just been nothing to discuss.”

“I can tell you’re lying.” She sighed and said in a solemn tone, “Every time that you answered, you never made eye-contact and started fidgeting around. Though, at least tell me what your real name is then.”

My ears flattened to the side as I turned back to her. If anything she looked more concerned than before. But it was the question that really confused me. “My name is Zecora, you already know.” my frustration began to seep into my words despite my best efforts to hold the back. “Why you’d ask again, I don't understand though.” I looked at her in confusion.

The answer did not seem to please the mare at all as she shook her head. I turned my head away, unwilling to face her again. ‘Why can't you just leave it be?’  I thought to myself. The earth pony was quickly driving my patience with every question that she’d be better off not knowing about. Not even Roger had questioned my name before. I couldn't fathom why that would have been such an issue with her.

She gave me a stern look and said, “Not the name of the character you became, but your real name. The name you had from before your transformation.”

I looked at her as I tilted my head. My frustration began to mount as I tried to decipher what Serah was getting at. Sure I knew that she was Redheart, but in reality was this Serah. The others had names as well from when they had changed, but I was certain mine hadn’t. There didnt seem to be any others in my memories. My face contorted as I stared at the nurse. I couldn't believe it. Was she mocking me?

Everyone had always simply known me as Zecora, from the ponies back in town to my father. I thought back to the moment in my room when he had found me in this body. Even then he had called me by my right name.

Something in the back of my mind spoke up before I had a chance to respond to the earth pony. “J...” I muttered under my breath unconsciously before I caught myself. “Zecora, that really is my name... is this some sort of game?” the polite front that I was giving her was now all but gone as I suspicion seethed into my words.

She looked surprised at that. “Game? There isn’t any game. I just want to know the name your parents gave you.”

My head began to hurt as the more Redheart began to question me. I didn't understand why, the questions were simple, but the more I answered them, they harder they were to think of. So much so that I could swear I was developing a headache. I just wanted it to stop.“Why... is it so hard to believe that’s my name?” I asked defensively as I looked back to the window, trying to avoid her stare. “and even if it was not, I'd still be the same.”

She put a hoof on my shoulder as she said, “Well, it would be nice to find out who I’m really talking to, and not just some character from a T.V. show. Besides, I don’t think any mother would name their kid Zecora. Maybe a name like Maria, or Zane, or Jace-”

“Thats the only name I have!” I hissed. I quickly knocked her hoof away from me at those names. “Why can't you just leave me alone and accept that!?” It was only after I said it I noticed the shocked expression on her face. It only took another moment to notice the tears that were streaming down my cheek.

I quickly turned my back to her again and sulked as I tried to clear my eyes again. The same horrible guilt I had gotten when I had lied to Roger began encompass my thoughts again, if anything it was worse now. I’d just snapped at a pony who was only wanting to help me out. I wouldn't even be in this room to sulk about if it hadn't been for her and her friends. I just sat there and let the feeling encompass me.

I was surprised when she drew me into a sudden hug. “It’s alright, we’ve all had a stressful day. It was wrong of me to keep prying like that.”

I turned back to stare at the pony who by all means should have been disgusted by me. But what I saw was only sympathy in her eyes. I gave a defeated sigh as I closed my eyes again. I knew I promised myself that wasn't going to tell anyone about my past, but so far Serah didn't seem to hate me. In fact she only seemed worried for me, just like my other self had been in my dreams. ‘I guess she at least deserves to know something..’.

“Well... I-” I began before the hotel door slammed loudly causing us both to turn.

Vinyl burst in the room looking dejected. Her eyes were bloodshot, as if she were crying. She took a quick look at us and said, “Hey Zecora, Redheart. Don’t bother me, I’m going to sleep.”

Something seemed horribly off  in the DJ’s manner. Normally for most of the day she seemed lively and a bit bouncy. But the only feelings she seemed to give off now was simply misery.

“Vinyl, are... you feeling alright?” Redheart asked, her voice dripping with concern as she left my side. My own problems had been forgotten. It didn't seem to help as we heard an audible snore suddenly erupt from the pillow. “Wow... I... guess she’s a heavy sleeper.” the nurse commented in bafflement.

“Girls!” A voice whispered as the bathroom door closed. “You have got to try having a bath! You can actually fit in the tub given how small we are!” Trixie stepped out of the bathroom looking refreshed.

“Really? Those tubs were notorious for always being tiny!” Serah whispered with glee, the sleeping DJ now forgotten.

“I have to agree, they don't look quite comfy.” I smirked lightly, not wanting to drag down the show mare's enthusiasm as I glanced back to the bathroom door.  At least someone had some good news to share since we had gotten to the hotel. So far things seemed to have fallen apart for most of the mares in the room.

“I know, but think about it! We’re tiny too now. Might as well take advantage of it.” Trixie threw her hooves in the air much as I always saw her do before. It took me a moment before I caught that memory of her boastfully applauding herself on stage before, yet knowing I had never seen her performance.

Serah raised an eyebrow at Trixie before she began to giggle, “Wait, you can actually talk in first-person?”

“Well I have to say that it quite a surprise,” I chuckled hesitantly in agreement as I got up from the bed. “you’ve only spoke in third from what I’ve surmised.”

“Remember the saying that Einstein did his best thinking in the bathtub?” the show mare asked, earning a nod from myself and Redheart, though I was not sure I knew any Einstein. “Let’s just say I’ve had a bit of a revelation... But I think it’d be better if I told you all at once, tomorrow, when the musical blowhard is awake.”

Serah gave a worried glance over to where Vinyl was laying, “Yeah. When she wakes up.”

I shifted as I got up from beside Serah, “I agree, but as for me,” I spoke as I hopped off their bed, “I believe its best for me to get some rest.” I took a moment to size up Vinyl’s bed before carefully hopping onto it, trying not to wake my sleeping bunkmate

I didn't bother staring back to the other two mares on the other bed as they began to prepare for bed themselves. Instead I simply covered myself up amongst the covers and tried to get some sleep.


_____________________________


As the lights had gone out on the other side of the room I tried my best to get some shut eye. After the first hour had gone by however, I found that much harder to do than I expected it to be. I tossed and turned in the bed as I tried to get some comfort, but nothing helped. Nurse Re... Serah’s words still echoed through my mind.

	“Not the name of the character you became, but your real name. The name you had from before your transformation.”

I wasn't sure what she had meant by that. I turned my head against the pillow as I tried to come to any possible conclusion. A transformation... just like the others had gone through. The scenario did sound familiar. I remembered waking up in a house the previous morning. It wasn't my homely hut however, it was my family’s home.

I spent the morning trying to adjust to the human world. As time progressed a stallion had arrived to check up on me.... my father. I nodded slightly as I thought about the large zebra. He was always adjusting the large cuff that he kept on his legs.

He seemed displeased by something...

My mother arrived not long after my father. But the human was hardly as accepting of my return to home. There was a lot of screaming. The thought of having a zebra as a daughter had completely disgusted her. It was that fact that I had decided to leave home.

I finally felt my eyes begin to drowse as I settled with those memories. At least I knew how I had gotten here. But just as I let unconsciousness take me back to my dreams, one last thought crossed my mind.

 ‘Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something really important...’
> Beware The Nightmare
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHP 12
Beware The Nightmare

_________________________________


*drip...*

My left ear twitched at the sound of water dripping from somewhere.

‘What was that?’ I thought to myself.

*drip...*

I grumbled and shifted underneath the warm bed sheets and I tried to get back to sleep. One thing was for sure about this hotel, they certainly knew how to make a comfortable bed.

        *drip...*


The same couldn't be said about leaking faucets. My ears kept twitching at each continuous drip of water. I put the pillow over my head in an effort to buffer out the noise, with little effect.

                *drip...*


“Gah...” It was no use. It was like having a mosquito in the room. The sound was just everywhere. At first I wanted to say that it was just the sink, left on by Vinyl or whoever must have gotten up for a late night drink.

‘But....’  a single thought drifted into mind, ‘’now that I think about it, there’s no sinks or water in the room.’

*drip... drip...dripdripdripdripdripdripdripdrip...*


As if on cue the soft dripping slowly turned into a soft pitter patter of sprinkling. Soon after that, it had become a full chorus of heavy rainfall. Something certainly didn't seem add up about any of this.

I lifted my head and opened my eyes in an effort  to make out what was happening. At first, I expected I’d see a sleeping Vinyl Scratch beside me. To my surprise however, the DJ unicorn, along with rest of the hotel room, was nowhere to be found.

‘Oh...’  I sighed and shook my head as I realized, ‘Another dream...’ I thought to myself with disdain.

After the last dream I had, I wasn't too excited about returning to here and facing her. My twin had started to become an unhappy thought in the back of my mind. Talking to her was making less sense with each passing meeting. I simply sat there for a moment, waiting for her to inevitably show herself, but strangely, it didn't happen.

Growing impatient, I glanced around the bed as I tried to make out the surroundings of this new room. There was almost nothing to see beyond shadows and a few dark outlines of objects. A flash of lightning followed quickly by a low rumble of thunder revealed the rest of the room before me.

I relaxed a bit as I made out the familiar surroundings of my Everfree hut. Here I was, safe and sound in my home again. The relief was short lived however as I noticed something, a lot of things, actually, were off.  What was left of the shambles of the room before me was a sad sight to see. Everything before me was wrecked and broken. It was as though some sort of Everfree monster had rampaged through the entire hut.

Broken pieces of wood and furniture were everywhere shattered from what looked like a fit of rage. Entire shelves of gourds and potions were destroyed, their contents pooling across the floor, while the few masks I had brought along in my travels lay in broken heaps.  Another flash of lightning revealed the holes and tears in what was left of the bed I lay in.

However the bed was the last thing on my mind as I climbed out of the tattered sheets.The cauldron had been turned over. The entire pot sat on its side, whatever contents that had once been in it were spread across the floor in a hazy green pool of liquid.
 
‘What in the name of Equestria could have done all this?’ I thought to myself as I righted the old pot back onto its fire pit. Whatever it was, was now long gone, but that didn't explain where it had come from. Most creatures knew better than to come near with the poison joke garden so close by. At least, not without having to deal with its transformative effects for weeks if not longer.

I turned to the door, or, to be more precise, what had been left of it. The wood was splintered and broken in two. Only pieces of it were left hanging to the hinges. Just like everything else, there was something strange about the door as well. The door had been broken- well, out, not in.

Whatever had destroyed my home had been inside long before it begun its attack on my work. With nothing left of the door, I made my way back inside to see if there was anything to salvage from the mess.

“Jace...” My ears perked up as I heard a deep, feminine voice call in the distance. I took a large gulp as I stopped to stare to the treeline through the shambles of the door.

“Jace, what happened?” The voice didn't sound malicious, if anything it sounded concerned for somepony. That did little to help the unsettling feeling I had as I listened to it for a second time. I was almost certain I knew the voice, but the name it had said was strange. I didn't believe I ever knew a Jace.

I peered into the rain and brush as I looked around for the source. “S-Show yourself, whoever’s out there” I called in fake confidence from the safety of the door frame. “You won’t sneak up on this mare.”

No response.

I took a single step through the broken door and into the Everfree. The moment my hoof hit the wet grass I immediately felt unwell about the whole ordeal. Dream or no dream, the Everfree was the Everfree I repeated to myself. There were many untold horrors that could make ponies see and hear things that were not there.

The last thing I wanted to do was enter the foreboding forest alone, not even having my twin here to watch for me, but my curiosity, and perhaps stupidity, had won out this time.

“N-nothing.” A small voice, a young colt by the sound of it, cut through the pitter patter of the rain in the same direction as the first. This voice seemed just as familiar to me as the last, and it was close. I looked around hoping to see somepony near. Instead, I saw an ominous glow coming through the brush. “Nothing happened.” the foal said, but the stutter in his voice hardly sounded convincing.

“Jace, you know you shouldn’t lie.” The mare’s voice scolded. “You can tell me.” Her voice took a cool understanding tone. “I promise I won’t be mad at you.”

“I know...” The colt’s voice whispered under his breath. The voices were so close now I could almost swear I could hear their breaths.

“I brought my G-Game boy to school...” the colt’s voice trailed off. The poor thing sounded almost scared to death. Slowly I pulled the bushes and grass aside to sneak a glance at the ponies on the other side, only there were no ponies to be found. Instead, a simple flame floated lazily before me, at the base of one of the twisted old oaks of the forest.



It was an odd sight watching it hang in the air and not attached to some sort of torch or fire. It was as if it had just suddenly burst into existence. It didn't do much however, only occasionally crackling and sparking. It was a strange little thing, looking like a willowisp from the stories the elders would speak of around a campfire to scare young fillies and colts to go to bed.

“And I left it alone... but it was just only for a minute!” the colt’s voice assured. I tilted my head in confusion. The voice had come from... inside, the willowisp? I stepped closer to the little flame for a better look. It seemed that the floating fire was more than just a simple flame.

I took a look into the fire as I stood in front of it, almost surprised at what I was looking at. Something, a shape, was moving inside the little willowisp. I cautiously moved a hoof to the flame, careful not to get too close to be burned. The moment that my hoof came near the flame, however, it suddenly burst into a ball of intense light.

“Gah!?” I shouted in surprise as I closed my eyes from being blinded.

Slowly I opened them again. The scene around me had changed once more. I seemed to be in my parents’ old home, back in that little village Pensacola. The place was unusual though. Nothing was clear or crisp, the edges to the walls and furniture almost seemed fuzzy, as if I was watching a recording from... what did the humans call them? A video cassette? There were soft patches of fuzz, almost like white noise from a television screen in places.

”But when I got back, it was gone.” The colt’s voice came from right beside me this time. He sounded on the verge of tears. As I glanced to look at him, but I didn't see the young pony that I had expected. Instead, there was a young human child there. He probably was just at the end of his foal hood, eight or nine if I had to guess. His clothes seemed a bit torn as if he had gotten in a small scuffle.

The boy wiped his eyes that were streaming with tears as he continued. “I didn't know what happened, but later I found out that Sean, the big bully from down the hall got it, and he threw it out a window, and then he-” He stopped when a hand fell on his shoulder.

        “Hey now, it’s O.k.” the mare, or really, human female’s voice cut him off. “It’s alright Jace, these things happen...” A lump formed in my throat as looked up to face the owner of the voice.

        “Sis...” I managed to breath. I felt a lump form in my throat as I stared at the human girl. There was no doubt I knew the teenage girl that I was staring up at. My sister, a human perhaps, but I knew for a fact she was my sister.

She was tall for her age, even taller than some of the men, but she never was arrogant about it. I looked straight into her eyes, her face was filled with the same pitying look she'd give me when I did something wrong, but her focus wasn't on me. She simply looked past me as if I wasn’t there, staring straight at the boy I was beside.

I took a deep look back to the sniveling child beside me. I knew him as well, or at least I was pretty sure. This boy was her brother... but he wasn't mine. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that I knew him, all too well.

“But you know you shouldn’t bring things to school that you could lose” She said lightly scolding Jace. “Especially when you know that there are bullies that want to upset you.”

“I-I’m sorry.” Jace whimpered.

        ‘I’m sorry....’ Something inside me clicked with those words. I closed my eyes and shook my head as the memories started to pour in from that day.

        I was young, still only a little filly at the time. The latest thing in all the stores was the Game boy color. With popular games like Pokemon in their heyday, anypony who was anypony had to have one. Unfortunately for myself, I had to wait, and continue waiting as I watched my friends each get one of their own.

        That Christmas however, or was it Hearth's Warming Day, I got what I was all but dreaming of, my very own Game boy. As the first day of school from the holiday break came, I brought it with me in my naive thoughts that it would remain safe.

        The schoolyard bullies had proved me wrong after they had thrown it out the school’s second floor window, and as far as I was concerned gone forever. I was so mad I had thrown myself at them in blind fury, only to have one of the teachers break it up and send a report back home.

        “Hey, hey now it’s alright...” She cooed to calm Jace down “You just need to be more careful with your things. Come on, why don’t we get you cleaned up, then we can see what we can do about it.”

        “O-okay.” Jace responded as he took her hand.

        As I watched the two, the old living room around me began to fade. Just as the room began to disappear, trees and grass began to appear once more. I looked back to the two humans that were there only a moment ago, only to see them gone, vanishing with everything else as the Everfree forest came back into existence.

        It didn't matter much to me. I could still remember what happened afterwards. Once mother and father had come home, they were not too happy with me, or, I guess, the young boy from the memory. They’d spent a lot of bits for me to be so careless with their gift, but my sister somehow made it right.

        A week later, after my punishment of no TV for a week was over, there was a knock on my door. There, my sister was grinning at me, with a certain Game boy I thought was gone forever in hand. I never found out how she managed to find it, but at the time I didn’t care. I hugged her instantly.

        A tear came down from my muzzle as I recalled the events. Just how could I have forgotten that day so easily?

        “Come on Jace, I know you remember it.” My sister’s voice spoke again encouragingly, breaking me away from my self pity. I looked around, half expecting to see my sister standing nearby again. Instead was the glow of another blue light in the distance of the brush.

        “It’s not that easy,” Jace’s voice countered. “I hardly remember anything useful about it as it is. You saw the grade I got on my last exam in my chemistry two class, I just barely passed.”

        “What is this I spy?” I asked myself as I slowly trotted to the glow. “Another nearby?”

        “Yes I saw it, and that’s why I’m here to help you now.” She assured.

        Just as I had suspected, another willowisp was sitting beside a tree. It simply floated idly, as if daring me to touch it. I hesitated for a moment as I approached it, unsure of what to expect.

        After another flash and another blinding light I found myself in an odd place. There were humans everywhere in some sort of large hall. I glanced around aimlessly as I took in the sights. Large signs over small shops serving food were everywhere. It almost reminded me of the market in Ponyville, but amazingly it was all inside this one giant room.

        It almost seemed large enough to make even the palace in Canterlot or the Coliseum in Cloudsdale jealous. Pony engineering was not nearly to this scale.

        Jace was here, but he was much older than before. He looked to be in his teenage years. However, I could still make out the distress that I saw in the young colt from before. Something had him riled up again.

        “I just don't think I can do it,” Jace lamented as he put his head onto the table. “The exam is going to cover everything from the entire of the school year. We’ve only got two nights.”

        “It’s not so bad Jace,” She spoke as she pulled the book before her. “We’ll just start over again with the basics. Now,” she began as she turned a couple of pages. “What are the six alkali metals?”

        Jace simply sighed again as he pinched his eyebrow. “Lithium, Sodium, Potassium, Rubidium.....” he paused as he tried to think.

        “Cesium and Francium.” I spoke unconsciously. Potions mostly relied on magic and the natural properties of plants and fauna, but sometimes certain ingredients called for less natural components. Any self respecting alchemist knew quite a bit of chemistry. Jace however seemed to have a difficult time as he sat there and stared blankly.

        “And...?” she asked hinting. “Come on, starts with a C...”

        “Chlorine....?” Jace asked hesitantly.

        I facehoofed at the remark. Chlorine wasn’t even amongst the same grouping as the alkali metals. Nervermind that, it wasn't even considered a metalloid.

        She simply laughed as she turned the book over to show him what page she was on. “You were close... sort of.” she giggled. “Alright, let’s start with the rest of the periodic table then.”

        “Alright, let’s get started.” Jace began as he took a more confident sitting position.

“Well, the first thing you will need to know completely is the periodic table,” She started as she pulled the book over to Jace, “There are eighteen different groups, but you’ll just need to know the transition metals and the eight basic groups, can you tell me what they are?”

“The Alkali metals, Alkaline earth metals, triels, tetrels pnictogens, chalcogens....” Jace started tapping his hands against the table as he looked off into space, his expression deep in thought. “Halogens and noble gasses.”

“Right! See, you know more than you think you do.” She spoke happily.

I grinned as I watched the two talk more chemistry together, their voices becoming more distant as I noticed the large hall begin to become more crowded with trees and shrubbery. Soon I could barely make out the two as they sat there, the Everfree returning to my sight. The laughing and happy chatter faded to the silent rainfall once more.

        The memory however stayed with me. It was back during my schooling years. I was a horrible student, probably one of the worst in chemistry. In hindsight it was a wonder that I was not kicked out like a few of the other foals earlier in the semester. By the end of the year I had been almost desperate.

        There was a final exam coming soon, and I still struggled with the most basic of the chemical reactions and math involved. If I wasn't to do something soon I would almost certainly lose my place in the class.

        Eventually I turned to the only mare that would bother to listen. My sister’s skill in chemistry was almost spectacular. It took a little begging and pleading, but eventually I finally managed to win her over as my personal tutor in exchange for lunch at the local food court.

        Apparently it had done the trick. Two days later I manage to come home with a B on the final. My parents were pleased for getting a good grade. I on the other hoof was happy to have passed if at all. However I knew if it hadn’t been for my sister, even hoping to pass would have been impossible.

        There was one thought that nagged at me though. Before now I couldn't remember ever having difficulty in alchemy, it was after all, my special talent. So why did I remember needing so much help?

        “Oh.... well if it isn't you again.” A voice, Jace’s, brought me back to the world around me. It was unlike the recorded voice from the willowisps however. It was more crisp and clear. “I’m surprised to see you back in my glen.”

I began to look around for its source, but only found the trees and shrubs that surrounded me. “I thought you had left me here to rot, everything about me to be forgot...” the voice continued.

I turned my head around as quick as I could, catching the sight of another willowisp in plain view. Somepony, or something, was sitting in front of it. Cautiously, I stepped closer to the creature. I couldn't initially make out much other than the obvious pony shape to it. “Why did you bother to return, to one you’ve shown so little concern?” Jace’s voice questioned.

        I flinched slightly as the unknown pony asked that question. ‘Just what is that supposed to mean?’ I asked myself.

“Who intrudes upon my dream?” I hesitantly asked as I moved closer to the figure. “Have you come to plot, to scheme?”

As I drew closer the willowisp’s glow illuminated more of the before it. My eyes widened as I recognized him instantly.  

“You’re... you’re... me?” I sputtered in surprise.

I examined my twin from top to bottom. Indeed it was the sad zebra colt from the dream before. Yet, he looked nothing like me, or my other twin from dreams I had before. Other than the obvious fact of gender, he still sulked like a poor stray dog, while my other twin had always kept her chest high and a confident, understanding face. Still, as I looked into his eyes, there was something there. Some sort of spark that just reminded me of her, and myself.

I shook my head out of the confusing conundrum. “Oh thank goodness you are still here.” I sighed in simple relief. “I thought I’d seen you disappear.”

In the last dream I had seen him, the poor colt had seemingly vanished into the wind. For a good time I thought I would never see him again, but here he was, safe and sound.

If he noticed my outburst he didn't react to it. Just as before, he acted as if I did not exist as I walked up to him. I watched him carefully as I made my way to his side. The colt acted very un pony like, just sitting there in a daze. It was almost as if he was a broken toy that someone had given up in trying to fix and left alone. He continued to stare into the willowisp, entranced by whatever it was showing him. The forest and everything else around him didn't matter at all to him.

        “Its funny.” he spoke absently. However it was hard for me to be sure if he was speaking to me, or merely thinking out loud. “Back then there was no despair. Life was lived without a care.”

        “What is it that you see? Could it be another memory?” I asked the young colt before staring at the willowisp myself.

        He didn't respond as he kept staring. Instead, he brought his hoof into the flame as an intense light blinded me once more.

        I opened my eyes immediately as I found myself sitting on a log, a fire crackling before me as I tried to regain my bearings. At first I was a bit confused. There was sand everywhere here, almost like a desert, but the crashing of a wave, and the chirping of a gull somewhere in the distance threw that idea out the window.

        I looked out to the white sandy beach beyond me.  The sand itself didn't seem like normal sand, instead looking like powdered sugar. It was familiar to me though, as if sand was supposed to look like that.
        
        “Don't let them get too close.” My dad’s voice rung out. I looked to the campfire once more, noticing the familiar faces of the humans around me. My sister, mother, father- it was my family. My mouth went dry as I stared at each of them. It was a strange sensation, having a human family as I clearly wasn't human. Yet, against all logic, it made complete sense to me.

“Yeah, I know.” A colt’s voice spoke from beside me. I didn't even have to glance to my right to know who it had been.

I looked up, and locked my eyes with an older Jace. He certainly was not a young colt anymore. He seemed to be in his late teenage years, clearly on his way to becoming a fine stallion.

“Hey, I like my marshmallows a bit extra crispy as well.” My sister jeered to dad.

“Ok, ok.” Dad chuckled as he through another scrap of wood onto the fire.

“You know you two are just insufferable when you're together.” My mom laughed as she saw the annoyed face that formed on Jace’s face.

I grinned slightly as I watched. The memories were already coming back to me on this. it was the final graduation year for my sister. After this she would be off to some kind of school in Canterlot.

I put my head down as I remembered that moment. We were so close to each other, but with her leaving, I knew I wouldn't be able to see her for at least another four or five years.

        “Things were just right then.” another voice spoke up, Jace’s, caught me off guard. “To bad they had to end.” The human Jace sat there, just enjoying his marshmallows with my, his, family.

        I looked back to my left, where the zebra only glared at Jace, his eyes fixed on every move. “Things were so easy during those days.” he continued. “My sister helped in so many ways.”

I looked back to the siblings at the campfire. The pair looked like they were close as they joked and teased one another in these scenes. They were certainly as close as I was with her, yet I still didn't remember this Jace. They certainly were close, just like I had been.

“But...” the young colt trailed off.

The beach slowly began to shift suddenly. Before I knew it, I was somewhere else, in the old home once again.

“How many times do we have to tell you!” I looked to my left, suddenly seeing my mother there. I took a step back defensively. She was staring at me with the same fury I had witnessed from her only a couple days ago. “You need to drop these games and hit the books if you want to get anywhere!” I flinched as she lashed those words at me.

“The happiness of life began to end,” the colt spoke in a somber tone, “as fear and worry began to transcend.”

“I know!” Jace’s voice roared back. I quickly looked behind me to see Jace standing there. The now young man looked almost as furious as my mother. It was only then though that I realized what had been happening. “You don't need to yell at me about it!”

        “As long as you live in THIS house, I’ll speak to you however I WANT!” My mother lashed out.

        The memory started coming back to me, but the moment it did I wanted to immediately forget it. I was in a fight with her again, my mother. The old mare was furious at me for changing my major in school.

        “The joys in life began to decay,” the colt continued, his expressionless face was unmoved by the dramatic scene. “After sis had up and moved away.”

        The scene changed again. I was in my room this time, unsurprised to see Jace sitting next to me as he typed away on the computer about something or other. It didn't last long before I heard familiar, loud footsteps marching towards the door. I cringed as I watched the door slam open.

        “You're on that damn computer again!?” Dad’s voice bellowed. I looked up to the door and whimpered in fear. It was one of the worst sights I knew.

        This was one of the worst memories I remembered, but oh how much I didn't want to. My father had found out why my sister had left to such a far away college. It wasn't because of the curriculum, nor the careers they offered. It was merely to get away from two overbearing parents.

        I only got to read the message that was sent through the mail some time later, but I knew my father didn't take it well. My parents had gotten into a fight, and after dad had left in a rage he had gone to the local bar for a drink. Now that he had returned he was looking for a fight, any fight, and I was unfortunate enough to be in his way.

        “Yeah.” Jace spoke softly, not bothering to look away from the computer.

        I glanced at Jace while I cowered behind his leg under the desk seat. Outwardly he didn't seem fazed at all by the vicious words, but any confidence he appeared to have was wiped away when I noticed his pale face. The poor guy was too worried to even look back to face his father.

        “Why don’t you go out there and get a life!” Dad slurred as he sauntered into the room. “You aren't going to win anything by sitting in front of that damned computer and talking with other nobodies!”

        My ears instinctually flattened against his yelling. I crept back to the wall as I watched what I knew was coming.

        Jace’s voice was quick to snap back “You never worried about Jessica’s computer habits!”

        Dad walked up to him, looming over Jace in his chair. “That’s because Jessica managed to at least do something with her life!” he snarled.

        Jace glanced up to him, as if debating something he was about to say. “That’s more than you ever did...” he grumbled to himself. I closed my eyes tight as I knew what was about to happen.

        *WHAM*        

        The sound of bone hitting bone and wood echoed throughout the room. This was a night that I had learned never to cross my dad again. In the stallion’s drunken rage I had gotten beaten because of my mouth. He didn’t stop till I started whimpering in pain.

        I shut my eyes and put my hooves over my ears. That was more than enough. I didn't want to listen to any of these memories anymore. I didn't want to remember anything else, all I wanted to do now was forget. Try and forget all the bad things that had just happened.

        “Please, please make this all cease!” I cried out. “I want to be at peace!” As if to answer my plea, the room began to give way to forest once more. It didn’t help much though as I frantically looked around for some sort of safe haven.

        My breathing became labored as I tried to look for a way to escape. Spotting the path, I turned to run back to the safe haven of my hut.

        “Hold it!” Jace’s voice growled at me as the zebra colt jumped in front of me. I quickly found myself tripping over my own hooves as I screeched to a halt in front of him in surprise. His expression had changed from the once sad colt to sporting a angry snarl as I saw the daggers in his eyes.

         “For you there is no reprieve.” He hissed as he approached me, pressing his hoof against my chest, “I didn't say you could leave.”

Immediately my chest exploded in pain as I doubled over from the shock. My eyes I widened in a mix of shock and horror as I noticed something strange happening to my flank.

Slowly, my cutie mark began to fade away before my eyes, but that was not the only thing. The stripes on my back began to fade as well.

“As I thought. Such a simple task, to slide of your mask.” Jace said. I watched in horror as different stripes began to take their place,  forming into a strange cutie mark, one I had seen before- his cutie mark!

I looked back to the colt as he started approaching me, seeing the same cutie mark that now adorned my flanks as well. He took another step towards me as I found myself taking a couple steps back in fear. What was going on here? Cutie Marks don't just change!

        “J-Just how can this all be, what are you doing to me?” I shook my head frantically as I backed into a tree. The pain began to spread to my backside. Slowly, the strands of my tail began to shorten, becoming little more than a tuft of fur, just like the colt’s own tail.

        The colt threw up his head as he laughed. It was a frightening thing, I felt my skin begin to crawl as he turned back to face me, his glare returning. It was strange however, there was water streaming from his eyes, he was crying?

“Do you truly think you can just hide and pretend, that sending me away will give you a happy end? That with a simple wish you will erase the past?” the colt laughed. “You can not hope that such a life can just be recast.”                

I cowered as I felt my energy being drained from me, “But-” I rasped “These memories do not belong. They are so different, so wrong.” I brought my hooves back to my head as I felt the pain of the changes take hold again. Just what was going to happen this time? “They are so hard to restrain, and bring nothing but pain. You're doing this to me, that is what it must be.”

        “Yes! You wanted to get rid of me with little care, forgetting everything, leaving nothing to spare?” he muttered as he stared daggers into my eyes. “Giving into this form without a fight, now I’m sure destroying the hut was right...”

        “Y-You!?” My words stuck in my throat as I tried to stand again. The seriousness of what he was doing was clearer to me now more than ever. This colt had destroyed my home, and tried to feed me these false memories. He wasn't trying to hurt me, he was trying to turn me into himself!

“You are the deadly savage that left my home so ravaged? I asked with new fear of the colt. It almost seemed impossible that he could have done so much destruction.

        “That hut is only a sham, a fake!” the colt shouted as he stamped his hoof into my side, trying to pin me against the tree. “A reminder of the form I’ve been forced to take.”

        “What is it about me that you berate?” I asked. “I’m a zebra... but that is not the focus of your hate.” Just what fueled Jace to hate me this badly?

“You gave us up without so much as a fight,” he said, his voice shaking as he applied more pressure onto my side. “would rather pretend things are alright. You wish to send me away, not anymore I wish to stay!” He shouted, only inches away from my face.

I stared into Jace’s eyes. There was fury in those deep emerald eyes of that poor colt, but there was also so much pain. For a moment, I could understand what he must have been going through. The fear of being alone, and not understanding what was happening to him, but the moment was short lived as I felt another surge of pain flow through me.

I glanced down to my hooves. They felt as if they had caught fire as I watched them change in shocked horror. They started to become thicker as they grew, turning into those more akin to a stallion’s.

        “No!” I screamed as I lashed out at Jace with all of my strength. The sudden effort must have surprised the colt as he suddenly fell onto his back. He didn't get another moment to get up before I pinned him down with my forelegs.

        “Oof” he grunted as I kept my body on top of his. It didn't matter to me if he was in pain. “What are you doing?” He asked, his tone which was only a moment ago filled with rage was now filled with fear. I didn't care however.

         “Fine, I cannot outrun my problems that may be true,” I whispered as I looked back to the colt. He tried futilely to wiggle out of my grasp. “But I can forget these memories along with you!”

        As I made the statement I felt warmth flow throughout my body, but not the pain from before. I only took a moment to look myself over before a sigh of relief escaped my throat.

        Slowly, the stripes on my back began to shift again, returning to a very familiar feminine pattern. The strange musical cutie mark that had adorned my flanks began to twist and turn, returning to a spiral sun.

        I noticed Jace was watching me as well, but his expression was one of fear rather than relief. I smiled to him as my hooves began to shrink back down to their proper feminine proportions. But as my changes finished, I noticed I wasn't the only one who was undergoing a transformation.

        At first I was not sure what to think of what I was watching, thinking it was some sort of trick of the rain. As I began to understand though, Jace’s musical cutie mark began to fade away, leaving only a blank white flank. In a flash his stripes joined it, leaving a white zebra staring up at me in terror. “What....”

“Happened?” He asked as he stared at me in confusion, no, not confusion. It was fear. “What are you doing?”

        “Gahhh!” he cried in pain as I directed my attention to the colt’s tail. I simply continued to watch as his tail began to fade next. Like his stripes, it merely turned to nothingness, leaving him with a tailless rump. “Please!, stop this! It hurts...” Jace whimpered.

        I stared at him as he recoiled in agony as other pieces of his body began to fade, bit by bit. At first I was as confused as he was as to what was going on, until something inside me clicked.

        ‘But that doesn't mean I can't forget them and you!’

        I wanted this to happen to him, for him to stop. Not just stop with the memories though. I wanted him to stop bothering me, for him to go away, forever. I was getting exactly what I had wished for.

        A smile formed on my muzzle as I stared at my work. “If it is your wish to leave my mind, to stay in the past, left behind?” I spoke with resolve. “That is certainly okay. The past is where you will stay.” I focused my attention onto the colt’s back. His mane quickly followed suit with his tail and stripes as it began to fade from existence. With each passing moment there was less of the zebra to see.

“Aaagh!” the colt cried out in pain. “But.. why?”

I shook my head as I stared at the rest of him.  “What is it that you Enquire? I’m giving you what you desire.” I spoke calmly. The rest of his body was fading away, soon the only thing that let me know he was still there was a single disembodied voice.

        “Please, show restrain.” the voice pleaded to me desperately. “I’m in so much pain...” it whimpered.

        “Why?” I asked with a chuckle that sounded a bit more menacing than I initially thought. “You wanted to stay here and live in the past? I’m only giving what you wished at long last.”

        “Z-zec-ra...” the voice whimpered as it faded. "-lea-e ST-P!”
        
        _______________________________________________________________

        I just about leaped out of the bed in a cold sweat.

I quickly took stock of my surroundings. I was back in the hotel room.  Everything was alright. I was back in the safety of the hotel, snuggled happily with my friends here.

“A nightmare....” I gasped as I looked around frantically “It’s alright Zecora, nothing to cause a scare. It was just a nightmare.” I reassured myself, tightly wrapping my forelegs around me.

It offered me little comfort though. I couldn't believe what had happened. Before my eyes, I made that poor colt, Jace, disappear. I drew my forelegs close to myself as I replayed the images back through my head again.

‘No, I didn't just make him go away.’ I thought to myself in horror. ‘I killed him.’ A tear rolled down my muzzle at that thought as I whimpered to myself recalling the nightmare. I couldn't remember killing anything before. All life was sacred to me, even the creatures of the Everfree, but now I had killed, somepony, someone, I was sure I never actually knew.

I had a horrible feeling in the back of my mind that I was missing something, a part of me I just couldn't feel any longer. It was as if a part of me I had known all my life had vanished. It was like going to sleep one night and waking up the next morning with your right hoof gone.

But I still remembered those things from before, and in that dream. I had a sister, a family. The memories were still there, but the feeling I had for them, the love, felt like it had faded slightly. I wasn't sure whether I should have felt horrified or relieved at that thought.

‘BZZZT’


A spark of electricity caught my ear.

Slowly I got out of bed, unsure of what to expect in the darkness. I glanced to my side where I had hoped to find a sleeping DJ, instead, all I found was ruffled sheets.

“Vinyl...?” I asked hesitantly. “Is that you?” I wasn't sure what I wanted to really ask her, but with everything that was buzzing through my head, all I wanted was somepony to talk to.

“What is that mare up to?” I asked myself as I looked around in the darkness. I looked across the room, making out the lumps of Redheart and Trixie still sleeping soundly. Still, no Vinyl though.

‘BZZZT’


Another spark brought my curiosity to whatever was happening around the corner. As quietly as I could I made my way off the bed and onto the floor and moved towards the sound around the corner.

        “Vinyl?” I called as I turned the corner. Before me the white unicorn was working busily in the dark on, something. At first I wasn't sure what to make of it, it looked like one of the electrical devices I'd seen in the room but it was too dark to get a good look. “It’s so late, why are you awake?” I mumbled as I made my way to the white unicorn. She turned to look at me with a bit of surprise before it melted away into a familiar grin.

Vinyl chuckled as she continued her work on strange device. “Well sleepy zebra, I’m crafting a portable Bass Cannon from that old clock radio that was on the night stand.”

I furrowed my eye. Did she actually expect me to know what she meant? “A... Bass Cannon?” I asked. I know only a tiny fraction about music, but I certainly had never heard of anything like a “bass cannon’ before.

Vinyl cocked her head to the side before she broke out into another silly grin. It was at least somewhat comforting to see that carefree face, even if I had almost no idea what she had been talking about.

“It was an old trick of mine that I cooked up by accident back in my days as a freelance DJ. Back in Ponyville, I was trying to amplify my stereo system to create a light show to go with my concerts. They were supposed to make sound waves that move to the rhythm, but what came out was a blast that blew a hole in my wall.”

‘Wait, Ponyville?’  I thought to myself. ‘But that can't be correct.’

I stared at her blankly as I tried to process what she had just told me. It countered everything she had told us about herself at the diner that afternoon

“But,” I began hesitantly. “What you are saying certainly can not be right... Red...” I caught myself before slipped up, saying the rest of the nurse’s name. “Your home was in Louisiana before tonight.”

Vinyl paused for a moment as she shook her hoof at me nonchalantly. “Nah, dude. You’re not talking to Gage. He’s not here right now. You’re talking to DJ Pon-3 herself.”She raised a hoof to me for a bump. “Vinyl Scratch. Nice to meet ya’.”

My mind blanked as I stared at the unicorn I only thought I knew just a moment ago. Gage was gone, just like that? The uneasy feeling came back over me like a waterfall as I sat there and stared at the DJ, the real one.

“What do you mean he’s not here? Did...” my voice shook as I paused to consider my next words. “Did he just disappear?”

I regretted the words as soon as I said them. ‘No, of course Vinyl Scratch wouldn't destroy a pony like Gage...’ I thought to myself in slight reassurance. ‘But, neither would I, and I did so easily.’


      Vinyl just stared at me confused by the question before she finally found her voice again. “He’s not here, as in. Not taking part of this conversation. Don’t worry. He’ll be back in the morning.” She clarified carefully.

I stared at her, unsure of what to think. If she was telling the truth, then there was nothing to worry about, but still...

“This seems all too premature... but he is safe, you are sure?”  I asked hopefully, earning another playful wave of her hoof.

      “Of course I’m sure.” Vinyl spoke confidently. “What? You thought he was vanishing or something?” she joked with a grin, but it slowly turned to a deadpanned stare as we just stared at each other.

      There was an awkward moment of silence before I realized I should start speaking again. “I... didn't mean to make such a suggestion...” I trailed off as I tried to regain the conversation. “I suppose it was a silly question.”

The DJ merely laughed as she turned back to her work I sighed in relief, convinced she had caught my half truth. I looked at her curiously as she continued on with the “bass cannon,” I think she called it? It was a wonder that she had managed to stay so calm about things going on. Did she even worry about where Gage had gone to?

       My thoughts were once again quickly interrupted as she turned to me, forcing the strange device in my face. “Look!” she cheered in a whisper. “My creation is complete! Time to test this thing!”

       “Eep!” I squeaked as she quickly grabbed my hoof and quite literally dragged me to the door. The DJ put her hoof to my mouth before she gestured to the two sleeping ponies in the bed only a couple feet away. I got the message as I stopped struggling from her grasp.

Vinyl opened the door, hanging on every creek that it made as if it would wake Redheart and Trixie. The DJ hurriedly ushered me out the doorway and towards the hotel parking lot. After a short period of searching we stopped when we had found a open space without any cars close to us.

“Check it out.” Vinyl spoke excitedly as she pulled out her cannon again.“If made right, this thing has enough power to blast any threat back at least thirty feet. It should knock the wind right out of them!” She spoke matter of factly as she shoved the device into my hooves. “Go on! Give it a try. Aim for the trees over there and press the button on top of the cannon.”

I looked at the device with doubt. In the light I could see the thing more clearly. The so called “base cannon” was made out of what was once the desk alarm clock from the room. I stared at wires and speakers that were seemingly just barely holding it together in one piece after the DJ’s ‘modifications’ to it. There was just no way this thing could really be safe to just fire.

“I don't know Vinyl. I don't have much faith, that this is very safe.” I looked over it once more, wondering what would even happen if it somehow managed to turn on. “All these wires are thrown to nether, it all just seem so thrown together.”

“Don’t worry. It’ll work fine.” Vinyl scoffed at the doubt. “There’s nothing that can go wrong.” Even with her enthusiasm I didn't feel reassured.

I looked at the bass cannon for a few seconds before I found a button on the underside of it. At first I was surprised I had even missed it. I stared at it for a couple of moments before I looked back to the DJ pony for reassurance. A mischievous grin formed on her face as she put her hoof over mine and shoved it onto the button.




My senses were overtaken as a loud roar of sound and blue light erupted from the small device. I hit the ground immediately. Vinyl’s excited face was the last thing I saw before I closed my eyes, covered my ears, and hugged the pavement.

For a moment I couldn't hear or see anything. Quickly my senses began to return. The first of was my hearing. There was a car alarm going off somewhere around us. “It works!” a muffled voice, who I could only assume was the DJ, cheered.

As I opened my eyes the first thing I saw was Vinyl, looking exceptionally proud of something. Confused, I followed her eyes to whatever she was looking at. “Wow...” was all I could say as I took in the sight. The car alarm had gone off for good reason. The once priceless camaro at the end of the parking lot now had both of its windows blown out. “But... owe...” I rubbed my ears. They still hurt from all the noise.

I turned back to Vinyl who was already beginning to pack up the mini cannon before she pulled my hoof again. “We need to hurry back inside,” she hissed, her once confident tone turned to desperation. She probably had just realized what we had done. “The cops are probably going to be here soon with that car alarm going off like that and I don’t want to spend a night in a jail cell!”

Immediately I realized what she had implied as I looked back to the damaged sportscar. Not only had we just destroyed somepony’s car, the entire block had probably just come out to see what all the commotion was. No doubt the authorities would be just as curious, and certainly less sympathetic to two equines with a sound weapon.

“No need to say those words twice, just once is enough to suffice.” I sputtered quickly.

The hotel stairs began to echo with the loud clatter of our hooves as we bolted back to the room’s door. Thankfully .the unicorn hadn't forgotten her key as she magiced it into the slot, and just like that we were safe again locked away in the bedroom. I took a deep breath in relief from our almost idiotic antics.

I looked back over to Vinyl as she began to giggle as if she had just been told some hilarious joke. At first I was confused. After if we had stayed out there for another couple minutes I was sure that we’d have one to many unwelcomed witnesses. It wasn't long before I found myself giggling as well though. What could I say, it was infectious. Sure we had almost gotten ourselves in danger, but here we were safe and sound, and laughing like it was nothing.

Vinyl took a deep breath as she got off the door, and magiced my bag in front of her. She turned back to me with a wink as she opened the zipper and placed the cannon in.

“Here, you keep it for now. Don’t tell the others about it just yet.” She said as she zipped up my bag. “Let’s keep the thing a secret between us until you need to use it.”

I tilted my head at her for probably was my hundredth time tonight. This mare seemed to enjoy confusing me. “Alright...?” I spoke distantly as I bit my bottom lip. “But why would you give this to me to protect? Wouldn't Gage be a better choice to select?”

The DJ put her hoof on my shoulder to stop me, “Because he isn’t ready yet.” She spoke solemnly, “He’s still a kid fresh out of school, so he’s the youngest out of the entire group. Minus only Snails, as Snips may be young now physically, but before that, he was an adult. I’m scared that he might be reckless with it, and bring more harm than good.”

She turned away as she took off her glasses to take a look at me again. “He still has much to learn about responsibility... Something he can learn from you and Trixie. Only when I give you permission, then you can hand it over to him. Until then, make sure he doesn’t know of its existence.”

I just stared at the party pony blankly before I glanced back to Trixie and Redheart’s bed. “Why not Trixie or even Redheart?” I asked. “They’ve both been trusting and rather smart... I don't believe-”

She sighed and cut me off again by putting her hoof in my mouth. “Trixie...” she gestured  to the two sleeping forms in the other bed. “To tell you the truth, I don’t completely trust her yet. As for Redheart, she seems to have a problem with keeping secrets.” She turned back to me and gave me a hard look. It almost felt that she was staring through me instead of at me. “Since you’re hiding a bunch of stuff already, I know you can be the one to keep that hidden as well... Also, you were already awake.”

“I, err... I don't know what you're trying to convey, I’ve had nothing I’ve tried to hide away.”  I was at a loss for words at her remark. I was hoping they wouldn't have noticed anything I told them, but the DJ seemed to know more than she cared to admit. I turned away as I spoke up again “But... if you want me to keep it secure... your secret I shall try to endure.”

She seemed satisfied with that much as she backed away and gave me some space. The DJ pony hopped back onto our bed and gave me a smile.

“Thanks.” She whispered cheerily, “Anyway, you should head back to bed, since from what I heard, a holiday is tomorrow... Well, today... You get my meaning.”

I nodded my head dumbfoundedly as she turned back to the bed and covered herself in the covers. And just like a light, the DJ pony was out once more. It amazed me how Vinyl could just fall asleep like that.

I watched her for a few moments longer before I turned to get on the other side of the bed. At first I tried my best not to wake the sleeping DJ, but after the third shake of the bed I was sure she must have been in a coma. There just didn't seem to be anything that would wake her.

As I pulled the covers back over myself I tried my best to get some sleep. This time however, sleep didn't come easy for me. I found myself staring at the side of the pillow for almost an hour before I noticed I was still awake. Idly I looked over to the desk to check the time, only to be reminded that somepony beside me had destroyed the alarm clock. I sighed as I let my head fall on the pillow again.

My mind began to wander again onto what had happened in that horrible nightmare. Had I really destroyed that colt? What was worse, I didn't feel the slightest bit of concern for it. I felt, happy even, to send him away.

        I thought on as I turned to look at the sleeping unicorn beside me, still grinning without a care in the world. Then there was Vinyl, not Gage, THE Vinyl. I felt slightly unnerved about how passively she made it sound that Gage was no longer with her.

        Had I done the same? Would that Jace colt ever come back? What if he doesn't? Would I even care if he was gone? The questions just seemed to suffocate me as I sat and stared into the shadows for what was probably hours until exhaustion finally won out.

‘What have I done?’


> A Headache at Daybreak
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Chapter 13
A Headache at Daybreak

_______________________________________________


        It was early, that much was obvious at least. The only reason I knew it was because sunlight had begun to peak over the window. Unfortunately a certain zebra was still trying to enjoy the last bits of her sleep.

        I wasn't even sure I could have called what I had experienced “sleep”. After Vinyl’s little adventure involving the bass cannon I couldn't get any rest. What little I did manage was only between long periods of staring at the ceiling or my pillow. Even then it was more of a restless slumber.

There were times I woke up with a chill running up and down my tail and spine as I looked around the room frantically to make sure I was still in the hotel. The images of that dreadful nightmare haunted my thoughts the entire night. Meeting Vinyl afterwards, the real Vinyl, did little to comfort me. 

I continued to lay there as I put my head between my forelegs, trying to push the nightmare away and think about the day before. Things the other day seemed to go so well at first. Vinyl, Redheart, Trixie, and me. We finally managed to meet up with one another, even if it wasn't really planned. It was a happy coincidence in reality. We were even making good time to get to New York.

 Though the more I tried to think of the future, the more my thoughts drifted back to that lost colt from the nightmare, Jace. He was me right? Or, was I him? No that couldn't have been right. After all, he vanished in that nightmare. I could almost feel him fade away. But, if he really did disappear, does that mean I’m…. dead?

‘NO!’ I shook my head against the pillow in denial. ‘No, of course not. Listen to yourself Zecora. There’s no way you could be that lost colt. You’re a zebra, not a human. You lived in Ponyville for the past four years for Celestia’s sake!’

I searched my memories for reassurance. They were all there of course, everything important. I remembered my hut on the edge of the Everfree, my potions and brews I tirelessly worked on for my friends in the village… ‘my friends….’ They were the closest thing I had to a family in Equestria. 

‘My family...’ I remembered something else just as familiar. A small house in a quiet suburb, a computer with countless of hours of music I’d done my hardest to work on before posting them online. They never made it far, but I did enjoy the little praise I got for them. There was more, a sister, a mother and father. It was those humans, they were my family. I couldn't explain it, but it was true.

“Gah.” I mumbled into my pillow. I was beginning to feel overwhelmed by all this. Everything about me, memories, how I had been acting, and thinking, was all beginning to feel like a large tangled mess. I was happy one second, and an emotional wreck the next. Confident with myself and others one moment, but then as timid a kitten. Which things about me were real? Which things were fake? Why did it feel like I was forgetting? But most importantly, why did I feel like I didn't care at all?

My self pity and doubt were interrupted by a new arrival into the room, Celestia’s sun. The early morning sunlight had only just began filtering through the cracked window, shining brightly on my face.

        “Oh… right, you.” I grumbled as I finally shifted out of the covers. I moved sluggishly as my limbs complained with every move they made. It was an effort to even get myself to stand up on all fours. My entire body felt like a lump of lead as I tried to stretch, earning pops and slight pain from my joints. 

The worst pain however, was from the headache that had built up during the night. It throbbed like I had suffered a buck to the face by somepony. I fought back the fatigue as I pulled myself out of the covers and looked out the window. The sun shone brightly much to my frustration. Nothing sounded more inviting than going back under the covers. But with the sun up, it wouldn't be long before the group would set back out on the road.

I sighed and turned back to stare at Vinyl, still out like a log. “Vinyl, it’s daybreak,” I whispered as I gave her a nudge. “It’s time to wake.” Unsurprisingly it didn't do much of anything to wake the sleeping DJ.

        ‘Should have known.’ I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes. ‘This mare can sleep though an earthquake.’ 

I sighed and slowly heaved myself off the bed. I’d just have to wait for the sleepy wubmaster to wake herself up, whenever that was going to be. Hopefully, it wouldn't be long if we were going to get back on the road today.

        Once I reached the floor, I trotted over to the opposite bed, hoping to have better luck in at least waking somepony else. I turned the corner of the two beds and was confronted with another surprise. Redheart was fast asleep... but she was no longer on her bed. She lay sprawled out on the floor in a pile of covers and bedding that seemed to have fallen with her.
        
        “Serah?” I moved closer to the nurse as I whispered. For once I was thankful that this floor was carpeted instead of tile from my parent. “The sun is already on the rise, it’s time to open your sleepy eyes.”

        Thankfully the nurse was a lot easier to wake than Vinyl. She groaned as I tapped her with my hoof. “Zecora?” she opened her eyes and took stock of her surroundings. “W-what am I doing on the floor?” she asked in a very confused tone.

        “No! Not the bees! Oh god not the bees!” Trixie hollered as she suddenly exploded from underneath what covers were still on the bed. The frightened show mare flailed wildly before suddenly and ungracefully falling off the opposite side of the bed.

“OW! Oof!” came a voice as we heard the sound of the mare hitting floor. 

My ears flattened against my head from all the noise as my headache, quickly becoming a migraine, flared up again. I groaned as I sat back down on my haunches and rubbed my aching head with a hoof. 

“Oh... sorry for being so avowed,” I whined as I scrunched my nose and closed my eyes, “but could you try not to be so loud?” 

        Slowly, Trixie’s head came around the corner of the bed as she looked around, eventually stopping to stare at myself and Redheart. The nurse and I stared back at her, dumbfounded.

“Where are... Oh...” Trixie began awkwardly as she stared at us, baffled. Just as the look of confusion became apparent she brought her chin back up in a dignified manner and trotted back over to Redheart and myself. “A mare needs her morning exercises to keep up a brisk blood flow for a hard day’s journey.”

 “Trixie...” Redheart paused as she got back onto her hooves. The nurse got right back to work as she began to fix the sheets back onto the bed before turning back to look at Trixie. “Did you happen to kick me in your sleep?” 
        
        Trixie tilted her head slightly at the question, “Ah...” she trailed off as her hat and cape were suddenly encased in her magic. “So that was why it felt so real when I kicked that bear off of me. I did warn you that I might kick in bed.” She finished as her cape and hat fastened themselves back onto herself.

        I arched an eyebrow as I watched Trixie. ‘Well, at least she is honest.’ I told myself. It didn't seem to be enough for the nurse however.

        Redheart glanced over from her making the bed with her own raised eyebrow at the show mare. “First you’re screaming about bees, then a bear? Just what kind of dream were you having?”

        Trixie shut her eyes quickly, deep in thought. “For an expert in magic, the mind must be considered a training ground, one of constant danger to guard against, much like the real world.” The blue unicorn continued as she walked past me. “You would do well to learn that.”

        I stared at Trixie for another moment with a subtle frown. It certainly didn't sound like a convincing argument, but with the dreams I had lately, I really couldn't discount her for it. The two in front of me would probably think I had lost my mind if I had told them of all the unusual events that had taken place in my own dreams. At least the show mare didn't have to confront a cockatrice.
        
        Once Redheart had finally finished making the bed neat again, she walked towards the door. “I’m going to see if the others are awake yet. The sooner we leave from here, the better.”

        I nodded to the nurse as she passed and turned my attention back to Vinyl. If Redheart was getting the others we’d surely be back on the road sooner than I thought. I hopped back onto my bed and tried to nudge the sleepy unicorn again. 

        “Vinyl we do not have time to waste.” I prodded. “You must get up and make haste.” 

        My only response was a loud, almost whinney-like snore as she turned over. I rolled my eyes again and I nudged her harder. “Vinyl, please?” I was debating begging now.

        As soon as Redheart approached the door, it swung open, almost hitting her in the face. She quickly jumped out of the way, revealing Merille as he walked inside the room. “Hey, everyone else is up already.” The human shouted. “We were wondering if you wanted to come get some breakfast with us.”

        Somehow Merille’s words seemed to work like magic. Before I could react Vinyl shot out up from the pillow in excitement. “Breakfast! So, where we going? Waffle House? IHOP?”

“Gah!” I fumbled backwards from Vinyl’s sudden bout of excitement. I put a hoof back finding nothing but air bellow it. There was a brief moment of weightlessness before gravity quickly reminded me who was in charge. 

“Oof.” I grunted as I hit the floor. I sat there for a moment as I let the once again throbbing pain in my head dull slightly. “I am glad to see that you are now awake,” I looked back to Vinyl in mild frustration as I righted myself. “but must every morning start with a headache?”

Vinyl didn't seem to pay it any mind as she put her hoof to her chin in thought.  “Hey...” she called out to all of us, “I just got a great idea. How about we start taking pictures while we’re on this road trip! Breakfast can wait a bit.”

I just stared at her for a moment, wondering if she had even heard my complaint before I realised what she was implying.“You want pictures of all four of us?”I asked myself aloud, unconsciously mimicking Vinyl’s movements.

The idea wasn't too bad actually when I thought about it. I still had my Facebook account that I used to get into contact with everypony here. It was almost certain that we’d inevitably run into more of ourselves the closer we got to New York. Of course that would mean that we’d have better chances to run into somepony who knew what was really going on, or better yet, even help us.  “I guess it’s not too much of a fuss.” I agreed.

Redheart clopped her hooves together excitedly. “That sounds like a fun idea! It isn’t often that someone goes across the country.” 

“I have journeyed across the country plenty of times,” Trixie spoke up in an unamused tone before she sighed. “Though I suppose a record of our exploits would do no harm.”

Vinyl pointed her hoof at Merille with a grin, “You got your phone with you, right?” He nodded as she continued, putting back on her glasses, “Could you take a photo of us four sitting on the bed?”

Redheart giggled a bit as she happily climbed up on Vinyl’s bed, back legs kicking for a few moments as she pulled herself up from the edge. It was sort of a funny sight to see. Most ponies sat on their legs, though there were a few known exceptions. The nurse from what I had remembered wasn't amongst those ponies though.

I stopped for a moment to look up at the nurse. “So, if I may?” I asked sheepishly as I clambered onto the bed beside her. “Is this spot ok?” Redheart simply nodded and grinned. I just gave a sheepish grin back to her as I tried to make myself comfortable. I wasn’t that much of a picture pony, but this didn't seem too much to ask.

“On the bed?” Trixie asked suspiciously as she scrunched her face. Apparently it was indeed too much to ask for the show mare though as she eyed Vinyl’s bed like it had been infected. She didn't get an opportunity to object however as a blue aura suddenly enveloped her. 

I looked over to Vinyl as her horn glowed with a similar blue aura. “Yes, on the bed!” She said as she rolled her eyes behind her glasses at the show mare.

“Aye!” Trixie managed to squeak out as Vinyl’s magic plopped the blue unicorn next to the DJ. For a brief moment Redheart and I glanced at each other in confusion. Were these two going to bicker about everything?

“Come on, Trixie,” Vinyl teased with a big grin. “Smile for the camera!”

There was a quick flash as Merille snapped the picture. He took a quick look at it and said, “It came out good, but for some reason, the colors of the room changed to blue.” He flipped the phone over to show us, and, true to the human’s word, the colors of the picture were quite different from that of the actual room.



I stared into the image with surprise. Of all the things that the Draconequus could do, why would he bother messing with a picture? What on Equestria did that accomplish? I tried not to think too much about it as I let myself slowly off the bed.

“Well, we are all travelling to New York to stop Discord, maybe he thought such a simple parlour trick would frighten us?” Trixie said curtly before she pulled herself off the bed as well.

“Now,” Vinyl began as she got off as well, apparently not noticing the step away from her that Trixie took.  “With that out of the way, how’s about we get some food?” 

My stomach gurgled in response to the idea of food. I slowly raised my hoof up with a blush, earning another giggle from Redheart.

“Hmmm...” Trixie smacked my lips together. “Breakfast does sound like an amazing idea right now. What time is it?” The show mare asked as she stretched. “The clock appears to be missing.”

Everypony else looked at to where the clock once sat. My blood went to ice as I looked at the empty spot on the desk, and briefly glanced to my pack sitting still zipped up safe and secure at the end of the bed. 

“That’s weird.” Vinyl spoke up as I looked back to her. “Oh well. I’m too hungry to care.” She said simply as she shrugged.

I did a double take as I turned to face Vinyl. “Hmm.? Don't you recall? The changes you installed....” I trailed off noticing something very wrong with this scene. Everypony was looking at me as if I had gone insane, even Vinyl herself. Actually, the Dj was giving me a look like I had just sprouted a second head.

“What are you talking about?” Vinyl asked confused. “I don’t know how to install anything unless it deals with a computer.”

‘Of course!’ I scolded myself. ‘Vinyl knew, not Gage!’ I mentally slapped myself for my mistake. What was worse was I hadn’t thought to come up with a cover story on exactly why we wouldn't be waking up to the sound of an alarm clock till just now. ‘Come on Zecora, think....’

I just stared at the rest of them with a fake grin. A bead of sweat began to form on my forehead as I tried to think of an excuse, any excuse that could save my flank. Nothing was coming. I was done for, and I knew it.

A chuckle finally broke the awkward silence, “You must have had one odd dream.” Vinyl laughed lightly as she began to walk past me.

        ‘D-did, that, just happen?’ I asked myself as I stared at her like a deer in headlights. ‘Roll with it!’

“Oh....” I joined in her laugh, chuckling weakly as I began to rub the back of my mane. “I guess that’s easier to accept. I... might have broken it as I slept...” I lied as coolly as I could.

‘Please buy it, Please buy it Please buy it.’

“Wow Zeccy,” Vinyl’s chuckle turned into full laugher, “I had no idea you would break things as you sleep. Anyway, let’s get some breakfast. I’m starving!”

I stared at the wubmaster for another moment in disbelief. It actually worked? I sighed quietly in relief feeling like I had just been released from death row.

With everypony satisfied with the explanation of the missing alarm clock we returned to packing our things and making our way back to Luis’s Prius. This time I was almost insistent on carrying my own pack, nervous if either human got too curious about what was inside.

 As usual I took my position in the back of the herd as I watched the DJ and show mare with caution. I couldn't believe my luck in convincing Vinyl about the alarm clock, but Trixie kept watching me like a circling shark. She suspected something. She made no real effort to hide that, but what was it? The bass cannon? 

No, Trixie had that look the other night as well. There was something else that was on her mind. I gulped as I averted my eyes to the pavement. I just hoped I’d find out sooner rather than later.

The sound of the door being magicked open by Vinyl broke me out of my daze as I realised the others were waiting for me to hop in after them. I hurriedly caught up to the group as the door closed behind me.

“You all ready to go?” Luis asked. “We’re going to head over to the nearby Waffle House.”

“I am prepared!” Trixie shouted confidently. “Onward, driver!”


> Revolts and Wonderbolts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 14

Revolts and Wonderbolts

_________________________

It was a short drive and two traffic lights later that the small Prius suddenly swerved into the parking lot of a small diner. Sitting between Vinyl and Redheart I couldn't really make out the place. After the door opened and the DJ hopped out I immediately felt regret as I got my first good look.

The diner certainly looked like it had seen better days. Spray paint covered the dumpsters in the back with all sorts of derogatory language I couldn't even begin to make out. The building itself had lights clearly burnt out and paint peeling off of the walls. A single sign on the roof was the only thing that identified the dinner we had just pulled up to. A couple of letters to it were missing, making it read, “affle Ho se”.

 I couldn't shake the bad feeling I had about this place. It practically smelled unsafe. I took a step back and glanced to the safety of the Prius, only to have Trixie cut in front of me and begin walking to the door as if everything seemed completely normal. The rest of the group followed in unfazed. I took a deep breath as I watched them walk straight to the door before I chased after them.

Trixie magiced the door handle open, taking the lead as the others followed. I, on the other hoof, found my legs turned to lead as I trudged slowly behind.

As I entered the diner my jaw was agape as I looked around. I was surprised to see the diner in worse shape on the inside than on the outside. The smell of grease suffused the air, the walls had a layer of dust caked onto walls. The couple of ball lights that overlooked the counters cycled between on and just burnt out.

It didn't bother the customers much. I watched the humans at the counter as they ordered their breakfasts, unaware of the ponies that had just walked through the door. I felt the all too familiar feeling of anxiety well up in my stomach. Slowly I found myself backing into the doorway as the others made their way up to the counter.

“Ahem.” Trixie announced, getting no response from the cashier. I guess he was too busy with... whatever it was he was doing in the back he didn’t notice. With that failed, the show mare resorted to floating her hat over the counter, waving at one of the cashiers. “Excuse me, I’d like to order some food.”

        It took a couple more moments before there finally was a response. “Uh,” a thick southern drawl was slurred as the cashier turned to look at us. He paused, as if to make sure what he was seeing was real “Sure ma’am. Are the others behind you with you as well?”

        “Yes, they are,” She answered as she glanced back to the rest of us. “I’ll have a double waffle and some apple juice.”

        “Cheese omelette, with toast and hash browns! And some good ol’ fashioned OJ as my drink!” Vinyl almost shouted without missing a beat as she practically bounced up to Trixie’s side. She had a sly, knowing smile, and was her tail wagging?

        The moment as the DJ completed her order she turned back and glanced to me. As soon as her eyes locked with mine I could see the cogs in her head turning. Almost instantly I felt a blue magical tingle envelope my body as I suddenly felt myself dragged to the front of the counter. 

        I looked to Vinyl who just looked back to me expectantly glancing back to the menu. Following her gaze I felt myself actually cringe as I looked at every order.

        It had all the breakfast items someone would expect to see on any normal menu. Just, someone, not somepony. Almost every menu had meat with it, complete with pictorial representations. There were no hayfries, or cucumber sandwhiches. The closest they had to hayshakes were merely regular vanilla. There was however, something very familiar to me. Ham, bacon, steak... if I didn't know any better I thought I had seen myself turn from a dull white to a deep green.

        ‘Must everything here have some sort of, ugh, meat in it?’ I asked myself in disgust. 

        A polite cough from the cashier brought me back down from the menu. I looked back to him and Vinyl before I found my voice again. “I think, just... pecan pancakes would be fine? That is, if no one would mind.” I asked quietly, barely beyond a whisper.

The cashier gave Vinyl and I funny looks before he added it all into the register. As the rest of the group ordered I decided to make a discreet retreat to a booth we’d picked out.
 
The others began to filter into the two booths as I tried to make myself comfortable in the large seats, quickly finding them to be similar in comfort to the seats from the buses. Redheart quickly found her place beside me once again as Merille and Vinyl took the seats across from us. Trixie, Snips, Snails, and Luis sat at the other not too far away.

 After a few minutes of idle chit chat and in the case of myself and Redheart, trying to keep our drinks from spilling all over ourselves, our orders were brought to us. For some reason... I just couldn't get the motor control I was so used to back in Equestria back. 

Vinyl’s eyes were full of excitement as she waited for the cashier to lay her food down on the table, they quickly dimmed as she saw what was on the plate. The DJ just stared at her plate of the cheese omelette, toast, hash browns, and bacon almost dejectedly. It took me another minute to process what must have been going through her head. Did she actually miss eating meat of all things? The thought made me queasy once more.

I immediately shared in the unicorn’s misery the moment my plate was set down. My pecan pancakes stared me happily in the face, covered in a delicious topping of butter and syrup, but what was beside them made me lose my appetite almost immediately. It was bacon, roasted pig fat of all things. The smell of burning fat alone was repulsive to me.

 “Why would they give me meat, that I can’t even eat.” I groaned as I pushed the plate away. Just like that, breakfast was ruined for me.

“Here,” Vinyl sighed dejectedly as she hoofed her own plate over to Merille, “you’ll love it more than I will.” 

Surprisingly the human didn't seem to respond to the gift in any way. He just stared at his plate of ham and sausages as if he was contemplating the universe.

         “Hey, Merille, you don’t feel too good?” The Vinyl asked concerned, “You look like you’re about to— WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOUR HAIR!?” 

        My eyes went to pinpricks as I watched Merille’s brown hair, or, what used to be brown. It was subtle at first, had Vinyl not said anything I probably wouldn't have noticed it at all. It seemed at first only a strand or two had changed from his chestnut brown hair color to a fairly light blue. Now however, the once brown curls of the humans hair was rapidly changing hue, becoming a dark, deep navy blue in entire clumps till there was nothing left of the original color. 

“I.. er.. don't mean to stare, but why’d you dye your hair?” I asked flabbergasted. It was the only thing that could make sense. But how on earth could he have changed it so quickly? Humans didn't have magic. 

        Trixie’s fork clattered loudly against the floor as she looked over the booth at the human. “Excellent choice in hair color if I do say so myself,” Trixie stated proudly, pointing at her own cornflower blue coat.

“El Discord ha llegado para ti!” Snails gasped as he climbed over the booth as well and stared at the human’s new hair color.

As Snails spoke the proud smirk that was on Trixie’s face suddenly fell as she stared at us in horror. “We need to go,” The show mare demanded. Her horn instantly began to glow as she snatched the poor colt in her magic. “Now!”

“But I’m still eating here!” A certain white DJ protested. Her protest seemed to fall on deaf ears as Trixie quickly jumped out of her seat, still levitating a very confused Snails behind her.

“Now!” She hissed as she glared at Vinyl.

Vinyl groaned a bit as her own horn began to glow. With that she grabbed the food on her plate in her magic, not the dishes, just the food, and hopped out of the booth.

        I stared at Trixie stunned. I had just managed to sit down and get something to eat myself, now she wanted to leave? Just like that? “But its barely even noon,” I spoke softly, “Why must we leave so soon?”

        Merille took a quick look at his reflection in the window, and immediately started to  panic as he saw his new blue hair. “What the... WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING!? We’re definitely leaving. Now that I’m turning into Sonic the Hedgehog.” 

        My hooves shot to my ears in response to Merille’s battle cry. Just as i was hoping my headache had faded it was back in full force. “Ok, ok we’ll go,” I moaned. “Just please, enough yelling though.”

        Trixie marched to the door, with her signature expression of keeping her nose up in a confident manner, her tail perked ever so neatly up as if she were above everypony else. I watched the show mare curiously the entire way. Something definitely had spooked her bad, and it didn't seem to be Merille’s hair. Just what had her so frightened?

Snails didn't get an opportunity to protest with Trixie’s decision as she pulled him along in her magical grip. “Madre de dios...” he complained, still suspended in the air helplessly.

“Pablo, not helping,” Trixie quickly reprimanded the young colt.

Upon realizing everyone in the room was staring at her though, her expression quickly changed to a unconcerned grin. “Hello, good morning, wonderfully humid this morning, isn’t it?” She spoke nonchalantly as she made her way past the onlookers and to the front door.

The show mare kept it open, ushering each of us out as quickly as she could. The insecurity I felt as we walked in was beginning to return as I glanced at her distress. She seemed almost frantic.

The moment I took a step outside, I heard the smash of glass and banging of metal.

“The car!” I looked quickly to Redheart as she pointed straight to the Prius. “It’s being vandalized by thugs!” She shouted frantically.

I followed the nurse’s hoof to the lone prius at the edge of the parking lot just in time to see its windshield get smashed into thousands of shards. I gulped as I stared at the situation that had befallen it.

Five masked hooligans were assaulting the car, a few armed with bats or sticks as the worked over the prius’s body. One cracked a steel bat right into the driver side window, taking a moment to grab out what looked like the car’s GPS. His friend turned towards us, eyes burning beneath red letters stitched to a hat.

PAPA

        I froze as I stared into that hat. These were the same guys that my parents had ended up joining, and now they were here for us. I peered at the gang, only then realizing I had hid myself behind Vinyl. 

The DJ unicorn herself seemed to be seething with anger as she gritted her teeth. In one instant she took a single step forward at the crew, but stopped suddenly as if something was holding her back.

“Holy! You weren’t kidding! It’s a swarm of them! A pack!” called out a single goon giving the Prius free body work. One of the humans, very skinny looking, went slack-jawed as his eyes passed over us. 

“Uh...” Snails stepped forward, tail swishing over his snail cutie mark as he held a hoof to his chin. “Actually, we’re more of a herd?”

The PAPA goon stepped forward, leaning down towards Snails. Just as he was about to grab the colt though, Trixie’s magic enveloped Snail’s tail once again. The colt was suddenly flung back to Trixie’s side before the goon could even graze his muzzle.

“Hands off the crazed fanboy!”  Trixie scowled at the PAPA thug, floating Snails back onto his hooves.

Suddenly it was Vinyl’s turn to react. “You fuckers are gonna pay for messing up my friend’s car!”  The DJ shouted as she charged straight at the confused gang. In an instant she connected with one of the confused thugs, knocking him to the ground. 

Her success was quickly cut short as another PAPA caught the DJ mid step and immediately threw her against the Prius. “I’m okay...” she called right as one a bat rolled off the top of the car and conked her on the head. “Less okay...”

        “Vinyl!” I called, shuffling on my hooves before I ran straight for the fallen unicorn. I didn't get far however as the thug Vinyl had knocked down quickly got back onto his feet and tackled me to the ground.  

        “Just where do you think you’re--!” He didn't get a chance to say anything else as pure instinct took over. I spun around and bucked as hard as I could, catching the goon in the gut “—Oof!” The man keeled over the cement with a grunt. Just as quickly as the first buck had come, I landed a second straight on his head. Like that, he was out like a light.

        “Shit, the bitch got Sean?” said one of his friends as he picked up the bat that had landed by the unconscious DJ. “That’ll fucking cost you!” he shouted as he swung the bat in my direction.

        ‘MOVE!’ a voice screamed into my head.

        Before I had a chance to comprehend what I had heard I quickly ducked to the right as the bat swung by, missing me only by inches as it hit the side of the Prius.

        “Stay still dammit!” the thug shouted as he swung again. Just as before I dodged the blow effortlessly, almost too effortlessly. It was a strange feeling as if my body was moving on its own.

        “For fuck sake Conner stop messing around and hit her!” one of his friends complained, before trying to help the goon with the bat.

        “Then help me out, Marcus!” shouted ‘Conner’

        ‘Marcus’ quickly made a grab for my hind leg. He was far too slow for me though. I jumped out of his way effortlessly. 

        At that moment ‘Conner’ reentered the fray as I saw the bat swing down over me. My body reflexively jumped back from the dual opponents before the bat could make contact. I bit my lip as I looked between the two, wondering how to get out of this situation.

        “C’mere little pony,” hissed Marcus, “We won't kill you.” I felt the fur on my back stand on end at how he said those words. I could only imagine what they really had in mind.

        My worry was cut short when both men ran at me again. Marcus made another grab for me as ‘Conner’ swung low with his bat, aiming for my legs. Just as before, he swung too slow. As the bat swooped low I lept up to ‘Marcus’, catching the thug off guard. He fell to the ground as he tried to catch me, and right into the path of ‘Conner’s’ bat. Unfortunately for the thug, his friend didn't seem able to stop the speeding bat. The momentum kept it going right into ‘Marcus’s’ side.

        There was a very loud crack as the bat impacted his chest. He cried out in pain as he dropped onto the cement. I took a moment to look at him in the corner of the eye. The thug was holding his sides. There was a good chance that he had a broken rib judging from how hard he had gotten hit.

        “GOTCHA!” someone shouted. Before I had time to react I felt arms encompass my barrel as I was quite literally swept off my hooves in a bear hug. I looked back to see that the third thug had finally had enough of sitting on the sidelines. He grinned devilishly at me.  His breath came over my ears as he held me in front of himself presenting me to the bat-slinging ‘Conner’.

        I squirmed desperately to get out of his grip, my hind legs kicking uselessly in the air.

        “She’s all your Con,” my captor said as ‘Conner’ brandished his weapon for a final swing. I closed my eyes to brace for the pain of having my skull caved in at any moment.
.
“Ataco!” A young and very familiar colt’s voice yelled. It was Snips! 

The mad colt launched himself onto my captor’s back

“Get this thing off me!” The third thug shouted as snips began to bite ravenously at his back launching himself into the small of the human’s back. The “noble” rescue didn't last as the goon threw his arms back and leaned down to throw pablo, letting me go in the process.

“Why you little!” ‘Conner’ swung at me again. 

‘Not this time’.

 I quickly moved past him kicking him in the knee and letting his own momentum keep him going right into the third goon. Once again thugs met pavement as they fell ontop of eachother. The baseball bat went skidding away from ‘Conner’s’ hand as he tried to brace himself from the fall. 

I didn't want PAPA to have any chance to retrieve his weapon. Thinking quickly I kicked the bat underneath the Prius, and out of reach of the PAPA goons. 

“She’s just screwing with us,” the third yelled.I looked back to the two goons as they tried to pick themselves off each other. Both looked at me with death in their eyes.

“Shut it, she’s just a miniature horse,” the ‘Conner’  berated his friend. “Just try to grab her again, I got an idea” 

With that the PAPA charged in again, this time with only fists. If anything they both seemed to be slower than the first attempt I between the two, catching ‘Conner’ off guard. I headbutted the third in the knee. There was the tell tale sound of bone breaking as he knee buckled, and he went down. 

As the third hit the pavement for a second time I made sure he would stay down. I reared up instantly, hitting him with buck to the head. 

Two down, one left.

I looked at my final attacker, ‘Conner’, as he tried to regain his balance. He looked at me, fire in his eyes before he tried a full force charge. I didn't bother to move this time as I kicked one last time, aiming just below his stomach.

He didn't make a sound as he fell. I waited a moment, expecting the young bat wielder to get up, but as a second or two ticked, he stayed down. Had I really kicked him that hard?

“Oh….” a groan caught my attention. ‘Markus’ was still rolling on the ground in obvious pain. With great effort he managed to stand as He looked back up to me. I noticed something very different about the thug’s eyes now.

        Fear.

        He quickly made an about face as he began to run away from the parking lot, his PAPA hat long forgotten. “Th-This isn't over!” he yelled as he turned the corner.

“You could... use... some help?” asked a voice as I turned to see Trixie approaching. She stopped as she looked flabbergasted around me and saw the carnage. I finally I took a look around to the carnage around me as well. It was really an unbelievable sight as I stared at the three motionless bodies around me.

I took a breath in as I realised what I had done. ‘D-did I...’

No. I noticed their chests still rising and falling as they took in pained breaths. Fortunately I hadn't done anything permanent to them. I sighed in that slight relief as I rejoined Trixie, Snips and Snails.

Not much longer, Merille and Luis also returned.

 “We got the car ready to go. Redheart’s looking over Vinyl’s injury.”  Luis gave us a quick gesture to the Prius. “Just pile in the back seat, we don't have time to put everyone where they’re supposed to be.”

No one raised any objection as we all quickly piled into the car, positioning ourselves amongst the torn cushions. Luis almost floored it as we left the Waffle House, though it took a few tries. The thugs had clearly done a number on the car judging from the moan and whine of the engine.

Snails pressed right up next to Trixie as she meticulously examined her hooves. “Is there a chip?”  she asked frantically. “I need to know if there’s a chip. What about my horn? If I damaged my horn protecting you...” the blue unicorn turned to Redheart, who was still tending to Vinyl. “Is it alright?”

“Yes.” Redheart deadpanned as she glanced at the show mare, “You’re alright. I can tell just by looking at you.”

“Could you can it, Trixie? My head’s already hurting as it is.” An angry whisper of a voice came from Vinyl as she stirred. If her attitude was a judgement for anything, she probably looked much worse than her head injury let on.

“Now you know how I’ve been feeling.” I mumbled to myself silently.

“No talent you said. Hmph!” Trixie snipped as she turned away from Vinyl. “Went charging into a fight and got knocked out instantly!”

I cringed as I waited for another shot to come back from Vinyl. Even after a fight these two still enjoyed nothing more than to argue with each other. 

“Something’s really bothering my rump.” Merille announced, cutting Vinyl off before she had a chance to snipe back at Trixie. “I just can’t seem to get comfortable.” I looked over to the human. He shifted left and right, his face contorting into a pained expression with each movement. “God damn. Did those guys mess up the seats that bad?”

“It was totally awesome!” Snails yelled in excitement, returning my attention to the back seat. The young colt he pressed towards Vinyl and Redheart enthusiastically. “The PAPA hit you like ‘Busch!’ Then Zecora was like ‘Dios es mio!’ but then she totally kicked their flanks!”

I felt my cheeks flush with red at the comment, “All I did was a buck, it was just simple luck.” I turned to look out the window in a pitiful attempt to hide my embarrassment from the bit of attention Snails was giving me.

Something bothered me about the fight other than the fact that there were four thugs that wanted to do… something to us. I didn't really remember learning those moves, but I did them flawlessly. My body just acted reflexively the entire time as if I was just a puppet on strings. I wasn't really sure what to make of it. 

“Really man this is very aggravating. I...” Merille complained, tearing me away from my personal thoughts again, “...have a tail now...”

“What!?” Trixie shrieked, as I flinched from her scream. 

‘At this rate my headache will never go away.’ I thought to myself in frustration.

“That’s impossible, you’re awake!” Trixie yelled in complete bafflement. The show mare was clearly concerned about the human’s sudden transformation.

Merille simply held up a dark blue fluff of a tail from his rear, the same color as his hair, to show it to the group. It was short, much shorter than my own, but there was no doubt that it was indeed an equine tail. “It’s Discord. You think he’d have a set of rules to go by? Ever thought he’s doing this just to fuck with us?”

“It’s a-a... It’s a—it’s a—it’s a...” Trixie sputtered as she stared at Merille’s new tail in what looked like a mix of astonishment and horror.

“So,” a voice chuckled. It took me a moment to process whose, “Merille caught a case of the pony, eh? Not really all that surprising to be honest. I kinda saw it coming.” Vinyl began to say as if unfazed by what had just transpired.

Trixie and I took a moment to process Vinyl’s nonchalant words.

“Well, it could be worse,” Trixie sighed as she began to calm.

I was floored by their reactions. Here was another one of these humans turning pony right before our eyes, and they took it so... casually? The fear of every person in the world being transformed before we got to New York dawned in my mind.

“How could this become any worse?” I spoke up quickly. “It’s starting to look more like a curse...”

“No,” A blue hoof came up to my face. Trixie was quick to stop me, “a curse would be turning into short, white, and Little-Miss-Can’t-Fight here,” she shot as she then pointed at Vinyl. 

Just as she pointed, there was a choking sound from the engine as Luis pulled to into a parking lot. “Or that could happen.” Trixie mumbled.

Luis put both hands on his forehead in frustration. “Looks like she’s dead. Guess we have no choice but to ask for help. If it wasn’t for those damn vandals, we’d be halfway to Tennessee by now.”

“What!?” came a simultaneous exclamation from both Vinyl and Redheart.

Vinyl, who nearly lunged from her seat, climbed over to face Luis, “So you mean we’re stuck here!?” She pointed her hoof out of the window to a building in the distance. “Here!? At a run-down bar?”

I peered my head out over the window to look at the building we had just pulled up to. At first I was a little impressed that Vinyl could make out exactly what it was at first glance.

 It looked like any other out of the way bar, that was till I noticed the choppers and Harley Davidson’s  lined up in front. The walls were a yellow-stained stucco and the trim a homely shade of brown.

“Can't you try starting it up again?” I asked hopefully, before glancing back out the window. If that “affle ose” was a bad place to stop this may as well looked like death staring me in the face. “Surely we can't stop at this bikers’ den.”

Trixie however had other plans. She nudged her way past me as she magicked the door open. “Come on,” She spoke up as she hopped out of the prius, “one of us needs to call for a tow truck or taxi.”

I stared at the show mare dumbfounded before Luis stepped out of the Prius as well. He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and began dialing some sort of numbers, “No worries. I’ll just make the call for a tow truck.”

He held the phone to his ear as he waited for a few moments. Not much longer later, he held the phone away from his ear as he turned towards us. “Damn. No signal.”

I sighed and clambered slowly out of the vehicle and stood beside the show mare. “This may be hard to construe, but what is it you plan to do?” I asked,as I followed her to the ominous looking building, hesitantly glancing at the bikes as we trotted by them.

“Well,” Trixie began, “We’ll just have to hope there’s a phone...” she pointed to the bar, gulping for a moment. “In there.”

“Hey Merille! Don’t go in just yet!” I looked up to see Luis take a half step to the bar. I looked to the entrance to see the door swinging shut.

‘He didnt, please tell me he didnt. No, he couldn’t have. There is no way he could be that incredibly… He did. Merille, why make things worse?’ I shook my head in disbelief. We hadn't been here for more than five minutes and already had a situation forming on our hooves.

Trixie suddenly facehoofed at the sight. “Alright,” she sighed out loud, “we need to get this done soon.” The show mare trotted towards the door before turning back to us. “Luis, Zecora, find Merille while I get a phone. Redheart, make sure Vinyl doesn’t hurt herself anymore.”

Gravel crunched under our slow moving hooves. The blue unicorn suddenly stopped and spun around and looked at the two colts. “You two,” Trixie began. They perked up, listening attentively. “Keep watch.”

Both the brothers ears visibly drooped at the command. I couldn't help giving snips at least a little sympathy his time. He did help me earlier. It didn’t matter though as they sulked back to Vinyl and Redheart’s side by the broken down car. Turning once more,  Trixie opened the door, stepped in, and waited for Luis and myself to follow suit.

The moment we opened the doors my ears were bombarded with loud rock music that some humans seemed to adore. For me however my ear’s instantly flattened as I tried to make out the words to the song. It seemed familiar enough to me though, something called ‘Highway to Hell’. 

The bar itself was dark, really dark actually. It was only being illuminated by dull red lighting from the bulbs hanging over the stucco ceiling. Clearly it was intended to hide the amount of dirt and grime that was probably covering almost everything in the room. Wood rafters criss-crossed overhead. 

The rank smell of alcohol, sweat, and cigarette smoke permeated the entire room, causing me to instantly bring a hoof over my nose in a vain attempt to snuff it out. In front of me was a series of three billiard tables, to the left were a number of tables, and to the right a bar. I took a gamble, and headed to the right.

“I’ll find a phone,” Trixie stated. “You two find Merille, he’s changing, and who knows what he’s going to try doing if he panics.”

        I nodded to Trixie as she began to walk away, melting into a sea of legs and leather.

        I began to follow Luis as best I could through the crowded room. It was difficult trying to stick as close to the human as people shifted suddenly in front or behind me. I couldn't help but cringe as I glanced up to the rough group of bikers as we passed them, each giving me odd looks as i shrunk away. I looked up to the bar table where it seemed a group of the bikers was looking at the television screen with mixed expressions of interest.

 The news anchor’s voice was drowned out by the music, but the title at the bottom spoke plenty loud enough.“My Little Pony Pandemic Reaches Estimated Over 1000 Documented Cases”.

        “Merille, we don't have time to delay, just where have you gone astray?” I thought out loud. I doubt anypony beyond me and the rats that probably scurried around the floor could have heard me.

        I tried my best to scan through the sea of legs that surrounded me. At first, I didn't notice anything outside of, well, what could be called ordinary for a bar. As I poked my head near the bar table however I noticed something particularly blue.

        “Luis,” I tugged on the human’s pant leg, “This looks rather grim, but I think I have found him.”

        Immediately I noticed something very wrong, and it was not only because he was sitting at a bar chair with his mouth inside a pie. My mouth was agape as I stared at him. His once short spurt of a tail now was at least two feet, wagging happily as he continued to eat his pastry. His skin color had changed as well, taking on a very distinct blue color. It took me a moment to process that he was actually growing a coat of short blue fur.

        The most striking change was what I couldn't see however, well, not exactly. The back of the human turning pony’s shirt was strained as two bulges that bobbed up and down excitedly underneath.

        Luis took a moment to adjust to the change he was seeing before tapping him on the shoulder. “Merille? Just what exactly are you doing?”

        Merille, who still had a fistfull of pie, looked at Luis and said, “I don’t really know. I just had a huge craving for pie.”

        I hopped up onto the chair beside the huma-pega- Merille to get a better look of Just what he was doing. “Pie? Merille… you don't think this is at least a bit strange? You are still just beginning to change! You should’ve stayed with your friends nearby, but here we find you eating... pie?” Just what was he thinking!?

        After downing some more pie, he looked at me and put a hand to his chin. “To tell you the truth, I don’t know what came over me. I smelled pie and something guided me right to it.”

        Luis put a hand on Merille’s shoulder and said, “Well, we need to hurry up and leave, because we need to get a tow truck here and pull the car out of the lot.”

        “And to get you away from these prying eyes, before anything worse is to arise...” I muttered slightly.

“What are you doing you little shit!?” Roared an angry voice.

‘Too late…’ I sighed. I spun around seeing a giant of a man marching straight for us. Before I knew what had happened, he reached over with his other hand, gripping Merille by the shirt.

“That pie was mine, then you waltz in here and steal it!?” the biker roared. “I’mma show you what happens to idiots who come in here unwelcome.”

        Merille struggled against the whale of a man, his tail flagging from side to side until the biker ripped off his shirt. Taking a step back, Merille unwittingly dumbfounded the entire crowd when two technicolor baby blue wings flared out in a display of dominance.
        
        For a few silent moments, me, along with everypony in the room stared dumbfounded as Merille presented his new plumage. I was dragged back to reality however as one or two of the bikers looked back down to me, before turning to face the rapidly changing pegasus.

“Those freaks are trying to take over!” one of the bikers in front of me yelled. He threw a haymaker punch at Merille, who ducked underneath it. Fortunately for Merille however it appeared the biker may have already had one or two drinks to many as he kept stumbling, managing to deck another biker in the jaw.

I didn't have time to react as I felt two hands wrap around my barrel, and launch me into the air. I frantically looked around to find myself being hustled out of the building by none other than Luis.

Plowing through the writhing mob of enraged and inebriated bikers, Luis pushed them aside with his shoulder, grunting with each impact. A wild punch came out of the crowd, and Luis ducked, butting his head into the man’s chest before continuing along.

I jerked and slid partly out of Luis’ grip, feet away from the door. Looking behind me, I saw a biker with a hand wrapped around my left fetlock. Rearing back my right hoof, I bucked back, clipping him in the chin and sending him to the floor as he gripped his jaw.

Luis reached the door, sending it flying open, and stumbling a few steps as lowered me to the ground. I tested my hooves. Feeling no pain, I breathed a sigh of relief before taking a sharp breath and turning back towards the bar.

I fidgeted as I shuffled on my hooves nervously, “What happened to our friends? I thought they were on our back end.” I asked as I looked to the bar door.

        As if on cue Trixie burst through the door with a frantic Snips and Snail in tow.

“What were you thinking!?”Trixie screamed at Merille while in full gallop. “You just plunked us right into the middle of a bar brawl!”

Before Merille could even have a chance to respond, we heard a loud banging sound as one of the bikers hit the van with a pipe to get our attention. “I hope you know you’ve just been green-lighted. You know what that means?” He said in a menacing tone.

Before he could say another word, his buddy standing next to him punched him in the face. As the biker fell down in one punch, his buddy gave a thumbs up to Vinyl. Apparently Vinyl had a penchant for gaining friends in low places.

I shot Vinyl a confused glance as she turned to the other one still standing. “Thanks George. Now, how about helping us with getting out of here?”

“George” shook his head and reached into his pocket. “No, I gotta stay here and try to keep them from following right away.” He pulled out a set of keys and tossed them to Vinyl, who caught them in a field of magic.

Vinyl looked at Luis with a huge grin on her face and tossed the keys to him, “I’ll tell you all the story later, but for now, we need you to drive as fast as possible.”

Luis slid the door to the van open, and we clambered inside, grateful for the extra room that it provided. As Luis turned the key in the ignition, bringing the engine to a roaring start, the biker yelled out. “Go, little ponies! This is no place for you.”

I layed down on the floor of the van and sighed in relief as I heard the sounds of shouting and yelling die off in the loud drone of the van’s engine. Other than the bellow of the large engine it was completely silent. No one spoke for a few moments as we grabbed out bearings.

        Eventually though, My ears flicked to Trixie’s direction as she began to speak to the colt brothers again. I was too lost in my own thoughts to hear her, or care for that matter. 

        ‘Just how in Equestria did I manage to get through today.’ was the only thought going on through my head. If more days were going to be like this in our little hodgepodge of misfits, there was a possibility I wouldn't last the week.

“Hey guys,” Luis’s voice cut through the noise, “looks like we’re getting one more surprise today. Looks like we now finally know who the hell Merille became.”

We all looked over the seat and found what was once Merille, now fast-asleep in the passenger seat. His pants were now way too baggy for him, and his shoes now lay on the floor of the van. His skin was now covered with blue fur, and was now the size of the rest of us. Sure enough, sitting in the passenger seat was now a pegasus pony who looked very familiar.

“Uhhh...” Snails worked his jaw for a moment, no doubt contemplating the situation for all it was worth, I knew I was. “Soarin?”