Author's Note

Ugh, this one came out like pulling teeth. But At least it came out. Thank goodness!

Hope you all enjoy!

Interlude- Zecora's Zenless Morning

Zecora the zebra was up just as sunrise happened. She enjoyed getting up at the break of dawn to do some early morning meditation. She grabbed a long pole from inside her hut and went out to the pond near her home to meditate. She plunged the pole into the pond, and sat upon it, balancing easily. She sat upon the pole, and shut her eyes.

On the edge of the Everfree Forest, it was not uncommon to hear tiny bits of sound coming from animals or even from Ponyville- especially on Saturdays. Families tended to be rowdy and excitable on the weekends, so it wasn’t uncommon for the sound of a squealing child or a happy shout to barely reach her ears. But today, it was quiet. So very, very quiet. Not even birds were chirping, nor were frogs croaking. There was only silence, and it was somewhat unsettling.

Her focus remained total, as she’d once taught Twilight Sparkle to do. But when her meditation for the morning was finished nearly an hour later, she found worry creeping into what was usually a rather zen time for her.

“The forest is quiet today, I can hear, so why do I feel a sense of fear?” She wondered to herself. “A potion in my cauldron will tell me true, if this feeling is real it will show why in my brew.”

So, she made her way back to the hut. She needed to gather potion ingredients. She got water in her cauldron, and then started ticking off the ingredients she needed in her mind.

The Seeds Of Truth, some Heart’s Desire, some Lapis Lazuli Crystal, and some Bittersweet flowers. The bittersweet flowers and the seeds of truth would help her see what was happening with clarity, and the heart’s desire would bring what she wanted to know into view, and the lapis lazuli crystal would show the truth.

Unfortunately, she needed to restock on the Heart’s Desire and some bittersweet flowers. So, she had to go and find them. The heart’s desire she could get easily enough, only a little ways down the path in the forest. But the bittersweet flowers she’d have to go into town for. So, deciding to get the longest part of her journey over with, she gathered her bags and began the trek into Ponyville.

Roseluck tended to have a good variety at her flower shop, so she decided to go there. It was still early, but not as early as it had been, and she hoped- perhaps foolishly- that Roseluck would be available.

As fate would have it, Zecora got lucky.

Roseluck was outside of her home, tending to her bushes.

“Roseluck, it is good to see you, tell me now, how do you do?” Zecora smiled.

“I’m doing well, Zecora. Thank you! How are you doing?”

“I’m afraid of a certain plant I have run low, do you have any bittersweet I can take to go? A potion I am trying to brew is in need of it to show me what is true.”

“Oh, bittersweet! I have some of those in my backyard. Let me get you some.” She smiled.

Zecora followed her. “It is quiet, haven’t you heard? I’ve yet to hear a single word.”

“It is really quiet this morning. Normally I see a few ponies around here every day. Lyra, Lily, sometimes Bon Bon. But it’s like they’re all sleeping in today. It’s weird.”

Zecora nodded. “It is a most unusual day to see this many ponies seeming to be away.”

“Tell me about it.” Roseluck said, and gathered the bittersweet flowers for her. “Here you go, Zecora.

“Roseluck, I thank you for your kindness, and hopefully It may help my blindness. Tell me, what do you say? How much do I owe you today?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. This bunch is on me. Looks like it’s going to be a slow day. I’m not going to make much today, I don’t think.”

“Then I suppose all that’s left to say is that I hope you have a lovely day.” She smiled.

“You too, Zecora.”

And with that, Zecora went back toward her hut. After that, gathering the heart’s desire wasn’t any great task, and she returned quickly. She got the fire under her cauldron going, and began putting in the ingredients. The heart’s desire, then the bittersweet flowers, then the seeds of truth. She mixed it together, let it bubble, and the mixture became purple. Finally, when it was just right, she dipped in the Lapis Lazuli Crystal. Dipped, not dropped. She needed it coated in the mixture in order to see what was going on. When the mixture absorbed into the crystal, she held it to the sun, and the crystal’s color changed with the light of the sun. Finally, she dropped it in. The sun that was shone through the crystal would help to shed light on things. The cauldron shone a bright gold suddenly, and she stirred it three times, clockwise. And as she stirred, she spoke.

“With the golden sun shone through, let the crystal help this brew. Let the truth at last be shown, and let it at last to me be known. Tell me now and tell me clear- show me the thing that causes me fear.”

The top of the cauldron suddenly ceased bubbling. In it, an image appeared. A slow rolling mist coming through Equestria.

“Well now, what have we here? And how does this mist correlate to my fear?”

She wasn’t sure what this mist was, but she knew very well that she needed to share her findings. She got her saddlebags on, and decided to leave her hut, headed to Ponyville to report to the Mayor’s office in town hall.

Just because she wasn’t a citizen, doesn’t mean she didn’t have an obligation to help her friends who were. And if those friends were in danger, she would do whatever it took to help them.

When she couldn’t find the mayor in her office, she realized that her fear wasn’t the only one running through town.