Water Lily's Story

Water Lily found herself staring up at a huge tree. It was unlike any tree she had seen before. It had a door and windows, from which warm light glowed. She was too panicked to remember anything Cattail had taught her about manners. The only way she could think to get the attention of whoever was inside was to throw herself against the door repeatedly while squealing and hope for the best. The door swung open and in the doorway stood a striped black-and-white pony a bit larger than Cattail. Her neck appeared to be made of gold and one of her legs had gold on it, too. She spoke. “You are not having fun, little one?” Water Lily answered in one of few words she knew.

“No.”

“You’ll be safe with me; come inside for tea,” the pony invited. Water Lily came inside the toasty hut and sneezed as she smelled a variety of fragrances that were new to her. They seemed to be coming from a kettle in the center of the room. On the walls were shelves covered with arrays of strange bottles and jars. The striped pony beckoned her to sit down and brought her steaming tea.

Water Lily soon learned that the striped pony was, in fact, a zebra named Zecora. She also learned that Zecora was not made of gold, but wore gold jewelry. Water Lily told Zecora about her castle home to the best of her ability. Zecora knew the place was the abandoned Castle of the Two Sisters, where Nightmare Moon and Celestia once resided together. Zecora promised to take her home in the morning. She let Lily stay in her hut for the night.