Standing in front of him was a hooded figure who looked at him from under her hood. Check glanced back to the shop before looking back to the hooded figure. "I take it you're the one everypony is hiding from." He guessed.

"True as you can see. From me they flee." She replied.

Check tilted his head. "I take it you're not Equestrian. May I see your face?"

She stepped back and lowered her head. "What you ask I can not do. Or flee you will too."

"I give you my word as a gentlecolt. I will not run away." He assured, as he sat with a soft smile.

After a few moments of thought she lifted her hoof to reveal a mohawk of white and black. Check's eyes widened as he looked at her face. "You're a zebra." He gasped as he sat there blinking. Letting out a huff he got up and turned to Sugarcube Corner. "Wait here… please." He requested before walking to the shop and knocked on the door. "It's me. Open up."

"How do we know it's really you?" Pinkie called. "Maybe you're the enchantress slave come to add us to her evil-"

"Would ya huch and give the fella a chance to prove it?" Applejack snapped.

After a few moments Rainbow opened the door. "Ok. First question. What was I reading?"

Check rolled his eyes. "You were rereading Daring Doo. I didn't catch the name. But it was the one that comes after the book I was reading."

"Lucky guess." She chuckled. "What caught your attention in the book you were reading?"

Check smirked and leaned close to whisper in her ear. A moment later she smiled. "It's him." She called over her shoulder. "So. What's up?"

"I want to introduce you to our zebra guest." He replied.

"Zebra?" She replied looking past him at the mare. "I… I guess so." She hesitantly followed Check to where the zebra stood. "Hi. I'm Rainbow Dash. And you already met Check. " She said with a nervous smile.

"I am Zecora dear. Though I fear my presence isn't welcome here." She replied, looking around.

"Yeah… Most ponies are afraid you might put a spell on them." She laughed, rubbing the back of her neck. Upon seeing her soft smile Rainbow noticed she might have guessed as much.

Looking at each other for a moment the other girls soon came out to join them. "So? What brings you to Ponyville?"

"A special flower is what I need. For a remedy of a fearful weed."

"A plant that you only saw in Ponyville I take it?" Check asked, receiving a nod. Turning he smiled at the mare. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" In response, she smiled and nodded before flying over to a nearby shop and knocked on the door as Check asked about the remedy. "... Poison Joke?... sounds like a pain." He laughed. "It's nice that you're making a cure for it."

Looking over at Rainbow, Check smiled at the sight of her talking to a mare. "Thanks. I'll be right back." She said before flying back over to Check and Zecora. "Good news. She's willing to talk." With that the two head over as ponies poke their heads out of their doors before walking out of their doors, one by one and returning to their normal lives.

To Check's delight, the other five ponies came out with their sisters and sat with him and watched as ponies walked up to talk to the new zebra. "Looks like this was an easy conflict that went on for too long." He sighed. Hearing that the girls cringed. "Maybe next time there's a new pony or any newcomer to town… you'll talk it out first."

"Sorry." The girls whimpered in unison.

"We should have put our best hoof forward instead of letting our fears get the better of us." Rarity added.

With a nod, Check made his way back to the library. "That was rather anticlimactic." The voice groaned. "Couldn't even give me a few exciting moments?" The voice huffed.

"Sorry for disappointing you. But I'm not a racist." He thought back. "I get the feeling you don't know what to do. Or more likely you can't do anything more than whisper in someone's ear." After a few moments of silence he went on. "I get that you've got some kind of plan you want to follow. But it's kinda sad."

After a few moments the voice spoke. "I see. Then why don't we mix things up a bit. After all… doing the unexpected is my specialty." The voice laughed.

"We'll see. How about this? If you stump me in one of our little rounds. I'll follow one order." Check replied. "And to make it interesting. Keep it in the limits of the round."

"So… if I can catch you off guard in a round.then I can have you do something in that round?..." The voice went silent for a moment before finishing. "Deal." He laughed softly. "And I think I know what our next game will be. Tell me. How much do you like books?"

Author's Note

I wonder how the new stipulations will affect the coming games. Also. "Flawless Victory"

Edit redid a few lines and replaced a few words.