The Storm

John had to admit, the place Zecora called Everfree Forest was somewhat beautiful in an unkempt and wild way. The trees vaguely reminded him of willows, and everything smelled of moss and dew; green ferns and shrubs lined the dirt path, a surprisingly pleasant experience, it almost made him forget he was in another world. But what unnerved him was that he got the sense something seemed to be following them, and, the fact that the woods were very thick and he could hardly see beyond ten meters, helped to bolster his sense fear. Occasionally, if he turned around at just the right moments, he could catch sets of bat-like glowing eyes staring at him before they vanished instantly, and he could've sworn some of the trees had faces on them. He also heard wolf-like howls, and John drew his Enfield No.2, in case something tried to ‘tango’ with him. Nonetheless, they soon reached a tree… with a door and windows. John facepalmed and drug his hand across his face. “Why didn’t I see it coming?” he thought.

Hanging from the tree’s lower branches was a couple of corked flasks and vials were swinging idly, and what appeared to be a large African mask was leaning against a big tree root. Zecora pushed open and walked in, holding it open as John squeezed in. inside, there was enough room to stand, but only that. In one corner, there was a small cot like bed with a single white pillow and a faux leopard skin blanket. In the middle of the room was a large black cauldron, where something was boiling and bubbling. Hanging on the walls were a few more masks, and more flasks and vials were hanging down via ropes and strings. John closed the door and sat down on the bed.

“Watch and you shall see, how naturally potion making comes to me,” said Zecora. She walked around, grabbing various flasks, vials, and herbs, and then putting them into the cauldron in the middle of the room. After putting the various ingredients into the cauldron and stirring the surprisingly familiar scented brew, a satisfied looking Zecora walked over to the cauldron and checked the contents. She then grabbed an empty flask and dipped it into the cauldron, filling it about halfway full of the strange elixir.

She then turned and handed it John, who took it and sniffed the potion. It smelled like… aircraft fuel… and Irish coffee? John shrugged, turned to Zecora and said, “Cheers!”  He made a toasting motion with the flask, and drank the brew. At first, John expected it to taste unpleasant. Much to his surprise, it actually tasted like Irish coffee.  John drained the whole flask, which made Zecora’s eyes widen in alarm.

“Ah, that was jolly good,” said John.  As he sat for a moment, he felt a light burning sensation start from his stomach and spread through his body. He then started to convulse uncontrollably, and he dropped the flask, which shattered into dozens of brown clay shards. Before he went black, he could see Zecora scrambling around, grabbing more herbs and vials. John felt a surge of numbness, and blackness silently washed over him.

He remained unconscious for some time, until a floating feminine African accented voice said, “Wake up! Or else you’ll be staying for sup!”

John bolted upright, and saw Zecora staring down at him.

“Thank goodness you’re awake, I thought something much more serious was at stake,” said Zecora.

“Ugh… god… what happened?” moaned John, rubbing his forehead with his hands. He then noticed something very odd about his hands: they weren’t hands! They were shiny black hooves! Then, it hit him. “HOLY… You turned me into a pony?!” said John, his jungle green eyes wide with amazement behind his goggles.

“You’re correct, and your reaction was one I did not expect. However, to Ponyville, that’s where you should go, I think there are some ponies you might want to know,” said Zecora.

John just sat for a moment, like an idiot. He tried to say something, but he just kept opening and closing is his mouth like a goldfish. “Of course she turned me into a pony! That’s what I wanted her to do! I’m such a silly git!” thought John.

Zecora put a hoof to John’s mouth and said, “Come, look here, there’s nothing to fear.”

John slid out of the bed and onto his hooves, before promptly falling on his butt. Zecora helped him up and after a minute of walking around the room, John felt sturdy enough to walk over to a mirror.

When he saw what was reflected back at him, John didn’t faint or collapse, but just smiled. “I’m a pegasus! That’s just neat!” said John, flapping his wings. He also looked at the clothes he was wearing. “It looks a lot like my uniform! I even have my rank patch and brevet and holster!” John felt around in his holster, and much to his surprise, he could feel his pistol inside the holster. The seven year old part of John thought this was FREAKING AWESOME. (He used to read Greek myths, and he really liked the story of pegasus, it was his favorite of all the myths, and he always wanted to be pegasus. He’d even pretend he was pegasus, soaring around and carrying thunderbolts for Zeus.)

“I am glad you like your disguise, but be warned, it will demise,” said Zecora.

“Wait, are you telling me that on the strike of twelve or something, my epic pegasus disguise will vanish and reveal that I’m… human?” said John with a concerned voice. He was also confused about using the word epic to describe his disguise, but he dismissed his odd behavior as part of the side-effects of the potion.

“Yes, this warning I will digress: at the twelfth hour, you will have spent all of potion’s power,” said Zecora.

“Oh, man, this is heavy,” blurted out John. He shook his head and thought, “Wait, what did I just say? Ugh, never mind. It couldn’t have been that important anyways.”  After thanking Zecora and saying goodbye, John stepped outside and into Everfree Forest and sighed. It felt strange walking on four limbs, and not to mention hooves. He started at brisk trot, the dirt road feeling somewhat more firm to his feet. Suddenly, he heard more howls, which caused him to stop in his tracks.

The ferns and underbrush shook violently, and from it emerged wolves… but with glowing green eyes and made out of assorted pieces of wood!