The Gray Area

A certain butter yellow pegasus with bright pink hair was quite surprised that Zecora decided to give her a personal visit. Most of the time it was one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, an adorable though mostly aggravating trio of fillies attempting to get their cutie marks, or Twilight. The lavender unicorn was always curious about Zecora's form of magic, after all. The two in question were currently walking side by side down a now-well-traveled path, trees surrounding them.

"Zecora, I don't understand. What kind of animal is it? If I knew I would be a much better help to the poor thing." Her timid voice was barely audible as they walked, the forest having that effect on her every time she crossed its borders.

Zecora perked an ear in Fluttershy's direction but said nothing. She simply turned to the pegasus and shook her head with a grim frown. The sign that simply says, I don't know. Zecora could not even begin to fake knowledge about the strange creature she found in the forest, bleeding and poisoned.

"Fluttershy, it's origin is a mystery. Even to one knowledgeable, such as me." Zecora's voice matched her grim frown, the situation obviously not much better.

Fluttershy nodded in understanding, the tone not lost on her. When the hut came into view, time having passed enough for her thoughts to wander, Fluttershy immediately froze. "Wait, so you think it might be...dangerous? You did find it in the Everfree Forest after all..." The timid pony shrank into herself, half of her face concealed by pink locks. Zecora shook her head once more, answering in her usual style of rhyming.

"Dear Fluttershy, for sure I cannot say. But if it is I have brews to keep it, at bay." The zebra offered Fluttershy a comforting smile which she accepted immediately. Zecora has proven herself a true friend and gave the mare no cause to distrust her word.

With the creak of Zecora's door they entered the hut, eyes immediately falling onto the mysterious creature. Krysta's small frame could hardly be seen among the cloth that made up her bed's covers. This of course was due to her size and state of health.

"I have done all I can, but without you, I have no plan." Zecora whispered to a very curious Fluttershy as she approached the unconscious Krysta. In an act of shocking bravery Fluttershy made it to the side of the bed and looked down upon the poor creature, the sight of the bloody bandages upon it's shoulder causing her eyes to well up.

"You poor thing. I know Zecora said you were attacked by a manticore but I didn't think it was this bad." She affectionately nuzzled her nose against one of Krysta's cheeks, the creatures facial features no different from any others. Two eyes, two cheeks, a nose, a mouth, and two ears.

"It is so tiny." Lifting up the covers a bit Fluttershy inspected the sleep Krysta and nodded. "I am very certain it is a she. She is so strange looking though. Her teats are up on her chest and her limbs are..." Fluttershy looked at Krysta's hands with wonderment in her eyes. "She has claws but they are so soft. They are squishy even! She has no fur, wait...She has fur but it is so thin. The poor thing must be freezing. I wonder why her coat hasn't come in yet with winter on its way. At least her mane is nice and thick. That will help out some."

Zecora watched in amazement as timid little Fluttershy lit up like a Hearth's Warming Eve tree as she learned about this new animal. Each new observation was another centimeter added to her growing smile. The pony's excitement was so great in fact that she momentarily forgot what she was here for, as well as her own rule about being quiet among sleeping animals. Zecora could only spectate as Krysta stirred, woken from Fluttershy's bout of enthusiastic learning.

By pure reaction, Fluttershy's words stopped so quickly one might think a pony simply stopped time by the clop of one's hooves. Her eyes widened as she watched Krysta stir, the girl's eyes eventually opening. Fluttershy openly gasped as she took in those emerald green eyes. The color was natural, the size wasn't a real factor as all animal eye sizes vary, but the depth took her off guard. There was something about the eyes of Krysta that unsettled her.

Said eyes sluggishly moved towards Fluttershy, sending signals to Krysta's brain that it was simply unable to compute right that moment. Eons passed by as the human girl stared at the unmoving pegasis, a pegasis who remained still as possible in hopes of keeping Krysta calm.

After about a solid minute of Krysta blinking at the mare, three things happened at once. A scream, a thud, and a string of curses Fluttershy and Zecora could not understand. Krysta had in fact done all three in the way of, screaming in shock at the sight of Fluttershy, falling to the floor between the bed and the wall in an attempt to back away from the brightly colored pony, and cursing to the gods themselves when she felt the pain in her shoulder.

Fluttershy and Zecora stared on with wide eyes, the entire thing happening in mere moments. If it wasn't for the fact that Krysta was wounded as she was, the other two in the room might have had to stifle giggles. Being that she was still hurt however gave both of them cause to check the condition of their fallen patient.

Pulling the bed away from the wall to make it easier to get at the human they were met with a very angry Krysta, wielding one of the long necked bottles that Zecora had about her home. It was in fact the bottle of Manticore anti-venom that Zecora had placed on the floor next to the bed after using it on the the wounded Krysta.

Both Fluttershy and Zecora wore unsure smiles as they looked upon a seemingly furious Krysta, taking tiny steps towards her. Krysta wasn't having any of it and sluggishly swung the bottle in their direction, wincing heavily at the pain in her other arm which was laying against her side.

"Now now, calm down sweetie. We are not going to hurt you." Fluttershy's calm and kind voice rose up to meet the human's ears like a melody. Krysta was visibly unnerved by it, though neither Fluttershy nor Zecora could tell why.

Okay, so they can talk. I have no idea what they are saying but that is obviously not random animal noises. Are they intelligent? But how!? They're just animals! Krysta thought to herself as she held the bottle out, attempting to register everything that was happening in speeds she wasn't used to. Using the wall as support, Krysta attempted to stand only to have her injured limb fail her, causing her to slide back down the wall with a pained cry.

A streak of black and white shot for the girl the moment she slipped, the ever aware Zecora taking advantage of the situation to gently pin Krysta against the wall. She would not have a stubborn patient that only made it worse for themselves by not cooperating.

Krysta audibly gasped as she was out maneuvered so easily, not surprising to most given the circumstances. As she was held firmly against the wall thanks to Zecora's natural strength the girl could not help but at least try and struggle. Grunts of pain from her wound and effort from her pushing left Krysta's lips, her eyes closed in concentration.

Said concentration was instantly broken as Fluttershy once again nuzzled her cheek with her nose. Krysta's eyes snapped open and her struggles ceased, the gentleness of the touch catching her off guard. So gentle was it that had Krysta not been extra sensitive due to her nerves practically on fire from everything she would have missed it.

Kind, gentle eyes peered into those deep green expanses, the barrier of language unable to stop the Element of Kindness' message. Krysta tsked loudly and looked away, going limp in hopes Zecora would figure it out and release her.

Zecora in fact did realize what was happening and removed herself from the wall and Krysta, pointing a strong hoof at the bed. Though the language barrier would make it impossible for proper communication, both parties knew of each others' intelligence. With this knowledge behind the ever lasting language of the body, an arguably universal language in its own right, Krysta obeyed.

Not, however, before the human girl spoke to herself in a small bout of disbelief. "Ok, Krysta. You have no idea where you are, what happened to your clothes, or how you made it into the house of a black and white striped...thing. They can talk but you have no idea what they might be saying and now one of them is scolding you like mum used to when you got out of bed while you were sick. Sound about right?" Her words were spoken very quickly to herself, spoken out while she worked her way back to sitting on the bed.

Zecora didn't think that was good enough and simply pushed Krysta with a hoof, the still weakened human falling back with little effort. A sound of distinct displeasure came from Krysta as she fell, a glare reaching her eyes.

"Don't push your luck too much, whatever you are. As soon as I am better I am out of here." Krysta practically growled at the Zebra, the tone not lost on it's recipient. Zecora raised an eyebrow at Krysta's responses, turning to Fluttershy.

"This creature has an angry heart, it must be cooled before trust can start." Zecora fully faced Fluttershy as she continued. "Though animals are your talent, this is true. We cannot treat her is if she was from a zoo. I thought this much, when I saw her in the forest's core. Crying as she fought off a mighty Manticore."

Fluttershy instantly knew what she was getting at, nodding in understanding. "That is why you saved her in the first place." Zecora nodded quickly at that, motioning to the bottle of anti-venom.

"Though I started watching from afar, I had to step in when her shoulder was left ajar. A common animal she was not. A fact that was proven when she was caught. The expression she wore, caused my heart to stir. Hardly a simple animal, would you concur?"

Fluttershy nodded with a small, sad sigh. She could only imagine the fear that was coursing through Krysta at the time of the attack. Looking to the girl they had been talking about all this time she was met with those cold, distrusting eyes. Though Fluttershy could never truly understand, in Krysta's world you NEVER received a kindness unless something was expected of you. It was unheard of.

"Whatever it is you want, you won't get it. I promise you that." Her whispered words were laced with venom, causing Fluttershy to shrink back with the tone. You didn't need to know what someone was saying when they used a tone like that. Who could blame her? She watched her village burn, was almost taken by bandits, and was attacked by some horrifying creature after losing everything she owned. It wasn't exactly a good day so far. On that line of thought, Krysta's wary eyes traveled to the closest window in hopes of estimating a time of day. Surprise took over where distrust once dwelled.

It's dark outside? How long was I asleep? What about my village!? Surprise slowly began to melt into fear and sorrow. Each and every new fact another tear into her heart. She was alone except for these two things in the room, her village was most likely gone, and she had no idea where she was or how she was going to get back safely. Nor did she know if it was even wise for her to go back, seeing as how the bandits probably took over the buildings that were left standing to make camp for the night.

Laying back onto the bed Krysta covered her face with her hands, her thoughts dwelling on darker things. After all, life as she knew it had ended. She could not afford to think positively. That sort of thinking only got you killed. Though she never truly prescribed to that sort of thinking before, as life in the village wasn't all bad, her current situation demanded it of her. There was nothing left, period. Now was the time to think of a way to start over. She couldn't afford to let the loss hit her and blur her thoughts.

Yet, she could not stop the tears from slowly rolling down her cheeks. Though her hands covered her face, they could not hide the tears from Fluttershy and Zecora. Both frowned to each other and left the room, confident that the girl would stay put for now. She was far too weak to just get up and go at the moment.

"Poor dear. Her shoulder isn't the only thing that is hurting. I wonder what is wrong?" Fluttershy whispered to Zecora, forgetting that Krysta could not understand her to begin with.

"I know not, dear Fluttershy. The who, what, how, or why. Tell your friends, of this poor thing's plight. We must be careful, lest she fight." Fluttershy nodded sagely and let herself out, only once looking back at the small creature whose face remained hidden by slim fingers.

Zecora watched her go for a moment, turning back only when Fluttershy was out of sight. Turning to her charge she found the wounded girl had cried herself to sleep during the few minutes they hadn't been watching her. A small smile crept upon Zecora's lips as she shut the door and went deeper into the hut to fix something to eat for the both of them. The herbalist hoped this unique creature ate vegetables.

"Woah Fluttershy, take it easy. What is going on?" A confused Twilight motioned for Fluttershy to sit and take a breath. The butter yellow mare had shown up and just started ranting and yelling. Well, in Fluttershy's case, speaking in a voice that was actually audible from beginning to end.

The pegasus in question indeed sat and took a breath. Whatever it was she was either very excited about it or it was something rather serious. It was hard to tell what a justifiable reason for the pegasus to raise her voice was. When she had relaxed some Fluttershy began again, speaking slower than before but with the same volume.

"You have to come quickly! Zecora found this strange animal in the forest! The poor thing is hurt. She is intelligent as far as we can tell but we can't understand each other. Zecora nor I have ever seen anything like her. We thought maybe you might have read something in one of your books. What I do know is she is very unhappy. The poor thing must be so scared."

The prospect of seeing a new animal that even Fluttershy didn't know about was good enough to convince Twilight, much less the knowledge that the possibly intelligent creature was in a bind so to speak.

"Spike! Stay and watch the Library for a little bit. Fluttershy and I are going out to the forest," she called out into the library, poking her head in through the door. Her purple and green dragon assistant Spike answered immediately.

"Sure thing Twilight! I will keep her nice and safe for ya." Spike grinned and gave her a thumbs up, causing Twilight to get slightly suspicious.

"No eating a tub of ice cream while we are gone," she warned with narrowed eyes, onto his tricks.

"Ah nuts..." He answered and shrugged. "Can't blame me for trying."

Walking back through the doorway, Twilight nodded and exited the library, closing the door with her magic. "Alright Fluttershy, let us go get Applejack and we can go." Twilight said in a confident tone before she started to trot towards Sweet Apple Acres. Fluttershy blinked a few times at the lavender unicorn before she tilted her head in confusion.

"Wait, why do we need Applejack?" Fluttershy knew Twilight was a natural leader and could think on her hooves, but that just didn't seem to make sense to her. Twilight began to explain, an air of brilliance around her.

"Well, you say she is intelligent but also don't know what she is. She obviously can't stay with Zecora in the Everfree Forest so we have to coax her out. Applejack's herding skills might come in handy here. And who knows, she might have an idea of what 'she' is. She does know quite a bit about animals after all."

The logic was sound and Fluttershy nodded, agreeing with the idea. Catching up to Twilight as she continued her way towards the home of their friend, Fluttershy could only hope that Applejack's roping skills weren't needed.

"Twilight... get mah rope," Applejack deadpanned as she witnessed the mayhem going on inside of the hut.

Krysta and Zecora were currently flinging things across the room to each other, the food Zecora made up for them being a part of it. At first it was rather comical but after Applejack was beaned in the head with, well, beans, the novelty had worn off. Fluttershy stared on, her jaw almost to the floor.

"Don't try to trick me! I know that it is poisoned! No one just gives their food away! You can't fool me!" Krysta yelled at the Zebra, not caring that she couldn't be understood. Another handful of food was thrown, her aim proven true as Zecora was pelted with peas, zonked with zucchini, and plastered with potatoes.

Twilight fished through Applejack's saddlebags to get the desired object, holding it out for Applejack in her magic. It took less then a moment for Applejack to accept the rope, get it moving through the air, and capture one of Krysta's hands in it. The girl's vivid green eyes snapped to the offender, distrust and anger coursing through them at an alarming volume.

As Krysta made a motion to grab hold of the rope to break it's grip on her wrist Applejack took advantage. Many misunderstood curses later both of Krysta's wrists were tied up in a solid knot and she was sitting on the ground, angry tears in her eyes. Applejack gave her a warning glare from where she was, her hoof planted on the rope to stop the small female from trying anything funny.

"Will somepony please explain what in the hay is going on!?" Applejack suddenly exclaimed, eying Zecora as if questioning why she had to tie this creature up. The weary zebra sat up and took a breath, explaining the situation as thoroughly as possible. Applejack listened to the whole thing before once again taking on a deadpan expression.

"Will somepony please talk normal?" she asked the other two present, never having truly understood Zecora's odd way of speaking. Twilight stepped up and looked down upon the human, eyes scanning every inch of her. What a curious little thing she was!

"Apparently Zecora tried to give her something to eat. She is malnourished by the looks of it, and she has a wound. But she just threw it in Zecora's face. Literally." Looking about the hut she saw food and broken bottles everywhere. Not unlike what it looked like after the Poison Joke incident. "Things just escalated from there."

Applejack looked down at the captive girl, thoughts instantly switching over to big sister mode. "Won't eat huh? Well ah know how t'fix that. But ah think we should get'er away from here before she breaks somethin' else." The cowpony looked about the disheveled hut, pitying Zecore for the day of cleaning ahead of her.

"Beware little ponies, her wrath is unending. Perhaps something must be broken, before there is hope of bending." Now that, Applejack did understand. It was common that sometimes animals need to be broken in before they behaved. It was not unlike dealing with a child in a way. The parent, or perhaps older sibling, needed to prove they were in charge without a shadow of a doubt before they could teach the child anything. Otherwise they couldn't be taken seriously.

Twilight sighed at the prospect of such a thing but knew the method was sound. Just look at Fluttershy's stare. They needed to show this girl that they were in charge before they could start to help her, end of discussion.

Meanwhile, Krysta had stared intently at the floor, cursing under her breath and twisting her wrists every so often. She couldn't hope to untie herself. It boggled her mind that this bright orange animal was able to perform such a feat with only it's mouth! In any case, her mind was mostly on how to get away. Unfortunately, things seemed rather grim for her.

The three elements all looked at each other, waiting for anything else to be added. When nothing was they all nodded and faced Krysta, each with a different expression. Fluttershy looked ready to cry, Twilight seemed intrigued, and Applejack was entirely determined. This particular combination didn't sit well with Krysta, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

Taking the rope back into her mouth Applejack took her hoof off of it to allow Krysta to stand. She did so, albeit shakily. This didn't go unnoticed by the trio. Handing off the end of the rope to Twilight's magic Applejack made her way behind Krysta. The human girl was only about a head taller than the ponies themselves but was that was the only thing she had over them. Height wasn't everything after all.

Krysta watched the exchange with distrusting eyes, her face screwed into an expression of discomfort and annoyance. What were they planning? Where were they taking her? How is that orange one so darn fast!? Applejack had gotten behind her and suddenly swooped under her between her legs, causing her to straddle the mare's back like Spike rides on Twilight. In the brief moment of shock Krysta didn't notice the rope growing taught and her arms being repositioned slight around Applejack's neck.

The rope was held in Applejack's mouth once more, close enough to the knot that Krysta would not be able to choke her should she try. Applejack hardly thought she had the strength to but better safe than sorry. When everything settled into place Krysta's surprise wore off and she began to fight it.

Applejack sent a look to Twilight, the lavender mare understanding immediately. A magical aura formed around the small girl, stopping any movement she attempted. A groan of frustration left Krysta's lips as she tried to break free, eyes wide in fear.

What was this strange thing around her? How could she not move? That purple one...it's horn is glowing! It must be it's fault! But how could it do something like this? Frustration turned into desperation soon after as she found no budge. Moisture formed in her eyes as the pain and the feeling of being so powerless sank into her. As the seconds wore on desperation devolved once again into sheer panic, tears flowing freely from terrified green eyes.

Twilight almost stopped what she was doing but continued as Applejack gave her a swift shake of her head. "I hope you know what you are doing Applejack..." Twilight's saddened voice came laced with regret. She took absolutely no pleasure in this. In fact, she hated it. She was reducing this poor thing to tears and giving her reason to fear them. This is not what she wanted.

For a few minutes more Krysta fought and fought, the weariness showing after a time. Soon her struggles desisted entirely, leaving her panting and sobbing against the back of Applejack's head. Handing off her hat to Fluttershy so Krysta wouldn't knock it off on their way back she motioned for Twilight to stop the magic, releasing Krysta from it's hold.

Applejack too, released the rope from her grip and turned her head back to the crying girl that rested on her back. As if rehearsed, Twilight and Fluttershy stood next to the two of them on each side, each tenderly nuzzling Krysta's neck and sides, frowning all the while.

She was not a mindless animal and could not simply "be broken". Though it was a step, there also needed to be affection and comfort. It was the balance that showed a colt or filly that, though sometimes they get punished, it is never out of hatred or spite. It showed that they care and did what they did for their own good. This is what they needed to show Krysta as well.

Looking to each pony in turn through tear fogged eyes she buried her face into Applejack's mane, struggling no more. She even held onto Applejack's neck so she wouldn't fall off without the need of the rope. They didn't remove it just yet, but it was a start.

Nodding to the other two Applejack started the trek towards Ponyville, taking slow and even steps as to not disturb her passenger. Waving to Zecora, Twilight and Fluttershy followed along, never straying too far from the crying female, just in case she needed another reminder that tough love is still love.