Magic Song

Chapter Nine: Zecora

Corey fumbled at his muzzle, pushing away whatever was poking him in the face. There was a whisper of turning pages, and the murmur of people trying to stay quiet so others could sleep. He opened one eye fuzzily and saw a blurry pink blob staring at him.

“Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!” the pink pony giggled, nudging Corey once again. “Good morning, sleepy head! Who’s ready for an early morning hike?”

A deep sigh, and more turning pages. “Pinkie, he’s out cold. Let him sleep for a little bit longer.”

“Oh, he looks so sweet, sleeping like that.” Fluttershy’s voice. “But are you sure we should wait any longer? It’s nearly ten o’clock.”

“Yeah. I’m ready to split. If you’d just let me leave earlier, I could have told Zecora everything by now –”

“Rainbow, darling, we really should go all together.”

“Corey?” Another hoof prodded the orange stallion in the back, its touch slightly softer. “Um…do you think you could wake up now, maybe? It’s getting kind of late and we really need to go…”

“Mmmgh.” Corey rolled over and clamped his forelegs over his ears.

“That’s that answered, then.” Corey determined that the soft ruffling of pages came from his right. “We’ll try again in a little bit.”

“Okay!” The pink blur faded out of Corey’s line of vision, the sounds faded just after the quiet snick of a closing door, and he drifted back into a dreary haze.

The next thing he knew, the door had slammed open and he was being slapped around with the brim of a hat.

“Up and at ‘em, Grojband. We’ve got a week, and if we don’t get some information from Zecora fast, we’ll all be in more trouble than a worm in an apple. Move it!” Applejack barked. She leaped over Corey and whacked at Kin. “Let’s go!”

“What the heck…?” Corey slowly sat up, rubbing his head. “Applejack, what was that for?”

The mare looked up from a drowsy Kon and glared at Corey. “Maybe th’ others are willin’ to let y’all sleep in, but Ah’m not. We’ve got less ‘n a week now, and Ah don’t think it’s worth it to waste too much time sleepin’. Now get a move on!”

Corey pulled himself to his feet and dusted his flank with his tail. “As if sleeping on the floor wasn’t bad enough…”

“Th’ others are waitin’ outside. Ah told them Ah’d knock some sense into you crazy colts as soon as Ah got here.” Applejack tugged at Kon’s mane. “Uh...would ya help me with this one?”

Between the two of them, they managed to at least stand Kon up, though he was still a bit wobbly. Kin had to be splashed with a bucket of water, but it worked well enough, and he’d run out the door to see what was going on as soon as he’d shook himself off. “Thanks,” Applejack panted, pushing her hat back on her head. “We’d best get out there now. Don’t want to miss anythin’.”

The others were talking in small groups when Corey stepped outside. Kin and Twilight were standing nearest the door, and when she saw Corey the mare grinned broadly. “So the great dragon finally comes out of his cave! Do human males always sleep this long in Peaceville?”

“When there’s no school, yeah,” Corey said, grinning back.

Twilight’s expression turned into one of confusion. “A stallion your age…still in school?”

"Wait...don't you...?" Corey asked. He'd assumed that it was summer vacation here, too. After all, the ponies didn't look that old. "I mean, you said the princess was your teacher, and..." Twilight's expression didn't change, and Corey decided to give up the subject. “Anyway, Applejack said that we’re going to Zecora’s?”

“Yeah, just a minute.” Twilight clapped her hooves together and waited for everyone else to fall silent. “Um, well, it seems that everyone’s awake, so we can get started.”

Pinkie Pie bounced around the backyard, humming a few catchy bars of a song. “What are we waiting for? We have a quest!” Leaping in between Corey and Laney, she wrapped her forelegs around their necks and whispered, “Operation Go-to-Zecora’s-so-she-can-give-us-information-to-send-Grojband-home-and-save-Twilight-from-going-to-jail is in…” she took a deep breath “…play!”

Laney blinked. “Um, that sounds like –”

“Sounds like what?” Pinkie asked, dancing off across Fluttershy's sun-drenched yard.

The forest wasn’t quite so dark in the daytime, although the fog that encircled the trees made it dimmer than a normal forest would have been. Applejack walked ahead again with Rainbow Dash just behind, following the well-worn path to wherever the zebra they were visiting lived. Kin, Rarity, Pinkie, and Kon followed them; Rarity was fitting earplugs into her ears while Pinkie led the other colts in a rousing rendition of Giggle at the Ghosties (which she’d assured Corey was of her own composition). The orange stallion came behind them, leaving Laney, Twilight, and Fluttershy to bring up the rear. Corey heard snippets of their conversation as he trotted along. He knew it wasn’t polite to eavesdrop, but he couldn’t help it. They were speaking a bit loudly, after all.

“No, I really don’t hang out with other girls back home. It’s kind of nice to have some girl time. The band is great and all, but sometimes guys just don’t understand.”

“I grew up with a brother, so I know what you’re talking about,” Twilight said. Corey could hear the laughter in her voice. “How did you become friends with Corey and Kin and Kon, anyway?”

“Well, I kind of was bullied as a kid, so I didn’t have many friends in the first place. One day these girls were really slamming me, and before I knew it, this dorky little kid in an orange hat came over to me and started telling them off. I didn't know him, and he didn't know me...but he stood up for me, and the rest is really history.” The green unicorn sighed, like she always did when she remembered something happy. “Sometimes I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t met him…I mean, them.”

“Oh, I don’t believe that. You’re so nice! Why would anypony want to bully you?” Fluttershy asked.

Laney hesitated. “People back home are not as nice as the ponies here. They can be really rude and mean. Actually, Core’s sister Trina is one of the most awful people I know.”

“Why? What’s she like?”

“Well, do you know anyone who is arrogant and stuck up and believes the world loves them no matter what?"

Twilight choked back another laugh. "Yes, actually."

"Trina's kind of like that. Ask Corey about it if you want more details. Anyway, after we’d been friends for a while, he asked me if I knew how to play any instruments. I didn’t really, but my dad had an old bass, and he’d taught me a few chords on it. Core said ‘It’s perfect!’ and we started playing.”

“That’s so interesting…I could never play an instrument. The animals might be afraid of it,” Fluttershy said.

Crack.

"Eep!”

“What was that?”

“Somepony stepped on a twig,” said Applejack as she turned around and picked up the broken stick. “And Ah think we all know who it was.”

Everypony looked at Rainbow Dash.

“What?" the pegasus said, incredulous. "I'm flying half the time! How did you know - I mean, why'd you think it was me?"

Everypony continued to stare. Applejack even rolled her eyes.

"Okay, fine, it was me,” Rainbow shrugged, tossing her multicolored mane.

The group ahead started walking again, and Laney let go of Fluttershy, surreptitiously smoothing down her own mane as she did. “See, Flutters? Nothing to be afraid of.”

“We’re almost there, anyway.” Applejack said, speaking over her shoulder at the others. "Let's get a move on. We ain't got all the time in the world."

“Thanks, Fluttershy. I have a reputation to keep,” Laney whispered.

“Oh, it was nothing. I was actually scared, anyway,” the yellow pony said softly.

“You were saying about the band?” Twilight prompted.

“Oh, yeah…well, we didn’t really get popular until we played at a talent show in the next town over. There was another band playing there, the Newmans, who were hoping to make it big, too, and they tried to sabotage our act, but we still managed to beat them. And hey, every good band should have a rival, shouldn’t it?”

Corey smiled to himself. He remembered the win – bright lights, the scowls of the Newmans as they received the small medals of second prize, the huge shiny trophy Grojband had won…the first fangirls they’d ever had…how angry Trina was…

“We do all sorts of crazy stuff, all in the name of music. You should have seen Corey’s face when we got asked to be a jug band. He’ll do almost anything for a good gig.”

“I wonder if Kin told Corey about any of the music books in the library?” Twilight mused. “I wish I could get some to you before you have to go.”

“We’re here!”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash had stopped before a large, gnarled tree. There were strange symbols carved all over it, and jugs of liquid and strings of beads hung about the branches. Corey figured that there would have been an almost spooky air about it, if not for the comforting glow that shone from the windows.

Pinkie Pie came to an abrupt halt, causing Kin and Kon to crash into her. “Oh! Oh! Remember that one time, when we came here, and I was all –” she stuck out her tongue and made a bleeeah noise. “And Twilight’s horn was all –” she flopped her hoof on her forehead, as if it was a horn. “And Zecora was an evil enchantress but actually not, and –”

“If my ears do not tell a lie, I hear the voice of Pinkie Pie!” A figure stepped into the open doorway of the tree house. She had a tall-cut mane, almost like a Mohawk, with gold bands wrapped around her neck and forelegs. Her eyes were slanted and foreign, and she was covered all over with a pattern of black and white stripes. “You have brought some friends, that much is true. These six I know, but who are you?”

Corey looked down at the hoof that pointed straight at his chest, then brought his eyes back to the zebra’s. “Do you always speak in rhymes?”

The zebra smiled. “I do indeed, it is my way. Now tell me all of your names, I pray.”

Twilight stepped forward. “Zecora, sorry about barging in on you like this, but we need your help. These are Corey, Laney, Kin, and Kon. And – well, it’s a bit hard to explain. May we come inside?”

“Step into my home, and do not fear. Although you may not all fit in here.” Zecora ushered the ponies through the doorway and into the hollow tree.

There was a lot to look at. Brightly colored masks decorated the walls, and more jugs and bundles of herbs swung gently from the ceiling. Shelves stood at rakish angles, a dreamcatcher hung from the door, and a large cauldron bubbled in the center of the room. Twilight sat facing the cauldron, and everyone else followed suit, until they’d made a large ring around it. There was plenty of room; the tree was bigger than it looked.

“I apologize, but if I may? I have something important to say. Twilight Sparkle, have I heard right that the Princess was in the forest last night?” Zecora said, closing the door gently behind her.

Corey stared. Twilight dug a hoof into the dirt floor. “How did you know?”

“The whispers of trees and the winds tell all. Now, this argument. Was it something small?” The zebra sat next to the purple unicorn, her eyes full of concern.

“Zecora…” Twilight said, fumbling with her words. “I’m not exactly sure how to tell you this, but Grojband…aren’t from Equestria. They’re from a mirror world.”

“Ah.” Zecora watched the steam rise from the soup in the cauldron in convoluted twists and turns. “So she has knowledge of this Grojband, that they are not from this land?”

“Wait, wait, hold on just a minute. Why are you so calm? Like it’s totally natural that there are four ponies from an alternate world in your house?” Rainbow Dash asked, her expression skeptical. Corey had just been thinking the same thing. The six other ponies in the room had freaked out when they learned where Grojband came from, but not this zebra. What was so different about her?

The zebra gave a small smile to the Pegasus. “In my native land, it is not so rare for ponies to visit from we know not where.”

Twilight's ears perked up. "Oh, Zecora, really? Wow! If today's magic scholars knew about this...How does it work? What kind of magic is involved? How -"

"Now is not the time to share my tale. We must hear of the task at hoof without fail," Zecora said. Her tone was gentle, but even Corey could tell that there was something of Zecora's past that she didn't want to think about.

“Anyway, Zecora, Princess Celestia doesn’t really know about the band exactly. She just knows about the hole that we think brought them here,” Twilight said. “It’s somewhere in the forest, maybe fifteen minutes from here. And she thinks I made it, which is bad for all of us, added to the fact that we’re possibly harboring dangerous fugitives –”

Corey got to his hooves. “What we’re trying to say is, we need to get home and put a stop to all this trouble. Can you help us?”

Everypony looked at Zecora expectantly, but the zebra wouldn’t meet the orange stallion’s eyes. Pulling out a cloth pouch, she dropped a pinch of fine green powder into the cauldron before she answered.

“I am sorry, but I fear there’s nothing that I can do here,” she said softly.

“What?” Applejack’s face fell as she stared at Zecora. “What about all th’ magic you’ve helped us with in the past? We couldn’t have gotten rid of that poison joke without yer help!”

“Or the cutie pox,” Rarity put in.

“Zecora, we wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t something we really needed. Not only would we be in trouble if Grojband were found in Equestria, so would they. And it’s unfair to put them through that,” Twilight said pleadingly. “If there’s absolutely anything at all…?”

The zebra took a deep breath, then let it out. “There is little I can do. In this land, I cannot help you. But…" She paused, and Corey could practically taste the reluctance in her voice. "In my homeland there may be a way to get you home and make sure you stay.”

“Um, are you suggesting that we leave Equestria? Because I wasn’t really serious when I said that yesterday,” Rainbow began.

“I know you did not create the rip, but to fix it we must take this trip. Although it is against my heart, I will also do my part. Who will go and who will stay? Choose wisely, for I see no other way.” Zecora’s eyes flashed as she surveyed the group that huddled around her pot.

At first everyone was silent. The awkwardness in the room like it was an entity in itself. Applejack and Rainbow Dash stared at the ceiling, while Fluttershy hid behind her curtain of a mane. Corey’s insides were chilled to the bone, but he knew what had to be done. He cleared his throat. “Well, we have to go, so it’s really only a question of who’s coming with us.”

“It was practically decided already,” Laney said, grinning at Corey. It was good to see Laney happy again. Normally a new experience would make her uncomfortable for days.

Twilight smiled. “I’ve never been outside of Equestria, but if it helps you get back to Peaceville, I’ll come. It’s sort of my responsibility anyway.” She dragged her hoof in the dirt again, drawing a star shape with quick, strong contours.

“We might as well all go. I don’t see the harm in closing the shop for a few days,” Rarity said, “although I’m still worried about Spike. He’s our next priority, I expect.”

“Ah think Big Mac and Caramel can handle the farm without me for a little while,” Applejack agreed.

“And so can the Cakeses!” Pinkie squealed. “Although they’ll have to find a foalsitter for Tuesday since I’ll be off on a magical quest! Ooh, that sounds so exciting!”

“I…I…okay,” Fluttershy mumbled, still hiding behind her hair, though Corey saw a bright eye blink at him through the pink strands.

“And what about you, Miss Rainbow Dash? Will you follow the path or burn and crash?”

Rainbow snorted, her wings ruffling on her back as she shot the band another suspicious glare. “I’m still not sure I trust these ponies. But I’ll go. For my friends.” She stood and trotted over to Twilight giving her a hug with one wing. “I’d never leave you guys hanging. Or let you go on an adventure without me!”

“It’s settled then,” Twilight said, standing abruptly and walking to the door. “We’d better run back to Ponyville and get our things. We’ll have to leave right away.”

“We’ll be back in about an hour, Zecora.” Applejack pushed the door open and began to usher everypony out. “Everypony, just get what ya need from yer houses. Ah’m sure the Apple family can spare a few blankets and saddlebags for y'all. C'mon, Kin, Kon.”

“Thank you, Applejack!" Rarity said. “Why don't you come with me, Elaine – er, Laney? I’m sure some of my old things can be altered to fit you."

“Can I go with Fluttershy?” Corey said quickly before anyone could claim him. Maybe I can make her feel better about this whole thing, he thought.

“Sure…come on, Corey,” the Pegasus said, galloping after the others. Corey followed her, head spinning with nervousness and excitement. Maybe, when he got home, he could somehow write a song about all this. It would be crazier than the one they’d gotten out of Trina’s dream.