Hidden Secrets

The ponies of the forest used to come to Zecora all the time. They stopped the the ponies of Ponyville started coming, but she still remembered them. She missed them, too, as they had known something the ponies outside the forest never learned; manticores and every other creature in the forest were just as smart as, if not smarter than, ponies. As she filled her tea cup, she heard a knock at the door. Setting her tea down, she went to the door.

The pegasus filly on the other side was a dark blue, with a long yellow mane and several yellow stars for her cutie mark. She was terribly distraught and wore a necklace that was familiar to Zecora. "That necklace belonged to Starlight Heartshine! She was researching a cure for this rhyme!" the zebra burst out.

That only caused the filly to cry even more. "They..." She was sniffling so hard she was barely understandable. "Unicorns in armor attacked and destroyed everything! They tried to 'get' me, too, but I escaped by flying." The filly sat on the ground, her tears streaming anew. "My mother gave me this necklace. She said I would know what to do with it when it was 'time'. If that pony that just left knew what was going on, would she help?"

"The chance of that is very high, but now the time of the moon draws nigh. When it rises, your training must begin. Telling Twilight must wait until morning, to my chagrin. She was hoping to prove of your existence, but I think her master knew of your home, Kiance." She used the old word for student, to emphasize the fact that she would train the filly.

*  *  *

"Spike, wake up! I need to write to the princess immediately!" What now? "I just sent her a letter this morning. Did you learn a friendship lesson or something? Oh, wait. You couldn't have. You were out in the Everfree Forest alone all day." Spike, a bit grumpy from having his nap interrupted, didn't realize that Twilight had been a bit hurt by his remark. "Spike, this is important. I've discovered evidence of ponies living in the deep woods of the Everfree Forest, and I need to tell princess Celestia immediately!"

"Fine, fine." Spike sleepily began to search for the quill and parchment he would be using. After missing it several times, he finally found what he was looking for.

"Dear Princess Celestia, I have discovered evidence of pony life in the deepest parts of the Everfree Forest. So far, I've discovered an eyeglass, a flower pot, a fruit basket, and a small vial half full of horseshoe polish. I feel that multiple teams of researchers would be able to discover more evidence, as well as possibly find the ponies themselves. I feel these ponies would be a valuable part of Equestria. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."

"There. Sent. I'm going back to bed now." Spike went back to bed, but Twilight stayed up a bit. Before he fell asleep, Spike wondered what she was doing, but then he drifted off into dreams of jewels.

Twilight packed her saddlebags. I need to speak to Zecora about one more thing... she thought as she trotted quietly out the door.