What's Wrong With Being Different?

Ponyville was always moving during the day. Ponies talking, the few monsters that the Mane Six had to battle, the galloping of hooves, and Pinkie's almost endless talking were heard everyday. Skittles Twist found that she could sometimes sleep through out the noise. Then again she could sleep through anything, it was her mind that kept her awake.

She had no sleeping schedule. Instead of sleeping at night like the others, she would get tired at random parts of the day. She took this chance to catch up on the sleep she had missed. But on most nights, she would wake up or not be able go to sleep at all. So she would get up and take a walk. It was one of the few things that could calm her. She enjoyed the quiet while she could.

So as Skittles Twist layed in her bed, her eyes were wide opened and mind full of ideas, thoughts, and memories, she started tossing and turning.

"Go to sleep." She told herself. She closed her eyes for a moment.

A few minutes later she was still awake, in the same position as before.

"Ugh! Go to sleep!" She snapped. She flipped to her back angrily.

A few minutes later she opened her eyes again.

"UGH! WHY CAN'T I GO THE BUCK TO SLEEP?" Skittles yelled. She sat up for a moment and checked the time.

It was nearly four in the morning.

"Gah, buck it." Skittles muttered.

She lifted herself off her bed and went downstairs.

In her living room, was a duck sleeping in a small basket with a pillow. His beak was tucked underneath his wing.

Skittles smiled at the duck remembering the time she had gotten him at Fluttershy's cottage.

A few days ago.

Skittle was sitting in Fluttershy's backyard, animals surrounding her with smiling faces.

"I don't know if I'm ready for a pet Flutters." Skittles told the yellow pony. "I'm not exactly the responsible type."

"Oh I'm sure you are. You said you wanted a pet." Fluttershy said. "Besides, you take care of Ozzie very well." She was referring to Skittles's stuffed animal.

"Eh, I guess so. But-" Skittles suddenly gasped and pointed. "OMIGOSH!!! A TAP DANCING DUCK!!!" She zipped over to where a duck was tap dancing.

"This is amazing!" Skittles squealed. She pet the duck's back. "Why didn't you tell me you had an awesome duck?"

"Well, I thought you would want something easy to take care of. Like a dog or a cat." Fluttershy said.

"Oh no, I'll take this little guy. Hmm....what's a good name? Oh! You can be Richard!" Skittles grinned.

Richard quaked at his new name.

"So, d'you have like a bed for him? And some duck food?" Skittles asked.

Fluttershy nodded. She lead them inside and gave her a small bed and a bag of food.

"Thanks so much Fluttershy. I'll keep ya updated." Skittle Twist told the pony as she walked out of her house with the pet supplies and her new pet.

"You're welcome!"

Now.

"This is what happens when you wake up in the middle of the night. This always happens." Skittles mumbled angrily as she opened the front door.

Her face immediately calmed as she looked outside at bright moon and stars.

"Wow." Skittles breathed softly. "Great job Luna."

Skittles stepped outside. She looked around and so no pony.

"Ugh." Skittles sighed in disgust and lowered her head. She began walking around.

"Huh, I guess I've explored every part of Ponyville....." Skittles said to herself. She looked at the Everfree Forest, just a little ways off. "I guess I could go in there."

She began trotting happily toward the forest.

......

Inside, she looked at the old trees and the creepy eyes staring at her.

"Owls maybe?" She reassured herself.

The pony came to some trees. A beautiful blue moss glowed, covering the trees completely. Birds with colorful glossy feathers chirped a joyful tune.

"Awesome." Skittles commented with a grin.

As she walked deeper, a fog appeared so thick that she could not see in front of her.

"Uhh...." Skittles said. Her ears pricked up when she heard a growl. Skittles stopped in her tracks.

"Helllloooo?" She said nervously. She sniffed and a gruesome smell filled her nostrils. Skittles covered her nose with her hooves.

"What is that smell?" Skittles asked herself. "Ugh, that stinks."

All of a sudden a timber wolf appeared out of no where. His mouth filled with drool as he looked the pony with a greedy look.

"Great, now this guy wants to eat me." Skittles said sarcastically. "Better start running." She said as she turned around and bounded away.

She turned around and saw that the timberwolf was following her, his jaws snapping. Skittles frowned and looked in front of her. She was coming up to a tree with a large whole in it. She would be able to squeeze through with the timberwolf getting stuck in the tree.

Skittles grinned. "C'mon ya loser! You're slower then a slug!" She called back to the timberwolf.

He ran faster, but so did she.

"Almost....there..." She said as she neared the tree. She was just about to jump through when she heard a clanging.

"What the?" Skittles stopped and looked back at the timberwolf. He was wimpering and covering his ears.

The fog had cleared a bit and Skittles saw a strange figure appear. It was a zebra with a frying pan. She was banging the frying pan on the Forrest's floor. The timberwolf whimpered more and more as she came nearer, and finally it ran away wimpering.

The zebra set down the frying pan and looked at Skittle Twist with a kind smile.

"Hello my dear pony friend, I am glad that I saved another from their end. I'm Zecora the zebra as you can see, and I live out in these woods with no one but me." Zecora introduced herself then gestured to her house.

"Oh, I'm Skittle Twist. Thanks fer savin' me." Skittles replied.

"My pleasure Skittle Twist, but why are out here where you'll be missed?" Zecora asked.

"Oh that. Yeah I was having trouble sleeping. It's normal fer me." Skittles rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Maybe I have something to help. A potion that won't even make you yelp." Zecora said as she lead Skittles to her house.

Once inside, Skittles looked at the zebra's decorations and supplies layed around the room. Zecora started gathering ingredients for Skittle Twist's potion.

"There's some permanent effects that might help you improve. But I do not want you to miss your groove. There is only positives you see, so that you will turn out more like the others and me." Zecora said.

"What are the effects?" Skittles asked. Zecora held up an old piece of paper.

"Positive solutions: A mixture that will get rid of any strange part of a pony, whether mentally or physically, making them into your average pony." Skittles read. She looked at Zecora. "What does that mean?"

"You will no longer have a problem with your bravery and fears. And your eye color will be as normal as your ears. No more perfect memories of your past, for your photographic memory won't last. With out a strange dark side there will no longer be a reason to hide." Zecora explained.

Skittles frowned. "Are you saying that my photographic memory or the fact that my eye colors are different are a bad thing? Why what's wrong with them? That's like me not saying 'Beep beep beep!' Isn't there another way to make me sleep better?" Skittles said sadly.

"You do not have to this if you wish, I will give you time since there is too much ready on your dish." Zecora said.

"How do you know about me?" Skittles asked the zebra.

"I know that you hurt, but I do not know your past. But know this, the memories will not always last." Zecora said.

"Okay Zecora. I'll think about it. I guess I am pretty different. I'll come back with an answer soon." Skittle Twist nodded at her then let herself out.

.....

As she was walking back, Skittles heard a fluttering sound.

"Ah! Is it that weird wolf again? No no," Skits reassured herself and shook her head. "That sounds like a bird or something."

The pony searched for the source of the noise, and saw a bat flying around.

"Oh, I was wrong, it's a bat." Skittles said.

The bat spotted her and flew up to her. It grinned, revealing two sharp teeth.

"Oh, yer wanna those fruit bats that Fluttershy was talking about." Skittles told the bat.

The bat suddenly flew off and came back with a dark blue feather. It shimmered in the moonlight.

"Oh, thanks." Skittles took the feather from the bat and tucked it behind her ear. "I have another like this that I found. I think it belongs to Princess Luna. Well pardon me, but I'm just trying to get back to Ponyville." The pony walked around it then continued on her way.

As Skittles still heard the flapping sound, she looked back and saw that the bat was following her.

"Okay fine, follow me. I've never had a stalker that's a bat." Skittles said as she kept walking.

The bat followed her all the way to the edge of the forest.

"Alright, see ya." Skittles said as the bat saluted to her and flew off into the night towards the forest.