As Zecora passed through town, nopony doing business with the outsider. Spike and Twilight heard the lame reasons why, he read the room and saw that only Applebloom and Twilight we're actually responding logically than reacting intolerable like most Ponyville citizen were doing now.

Normally he was in good faith of Pinkie Pie knowing literally everyone in town, along with most of their extended families as well. Spike especially thought Pinkie's lymerics were catchy and funny. Every day since coming to Ponyville, Spike trusted Rarity's sense of fashion and taste, even when he vocally voiced his doubts as the first male dragon model, to which he accepted. The same went for Applejack's judge of character and quality cooking, Rainbow Dash's eagerness and cool attitude towards problems, or Fluttershy's gentle approach to anything. From the weird out of body experience he was having this moment, the things he remembered about these ponies were all truths, but not all the time.

His mind was sending weird signals to his body, he was disagreeing with nearly every word said about Zecora out of all his friends mouths. Frowning, he spoke two words, speaking too softly for Twilight to voice over him.

He completely missed what Applejack and Rainbow dash said about Zecora, but for Pinkie Pie to bash an outsider for dancing and singing funny? For Rarity to be so offended by what was clearly a traveling cloak, and then nitpick Zecora's stripes which was part of her natural skin pigmentation.

The resentment was so palpable that when Spike heard all these reasons, he expressed it in a frown because as hypocritical as all these ponies were being, he could understand their confusion and fears.

Ponyville was a small town, Spike saw nopony having a problem 'rolling the welcome wagon out' for Twilight and himself, but in that same instant seeing Rarity and Pinkie go against a newcomer, was the same moment he realized Special Privilege and Treatment.

"Well that's disheartening."

Twilight nodded, agreeing for different reasons. She shared the same sentiment, that the ponies were being a bit over reactive, hypocritical, and that all this could be solved with a few conversations. Twilight was actually the first one to want to go out and meet this mysterious zebra mare, but while he was so caught up forming an argument in his head, Applejack and Rainbow Dash tag-teamed observations of the mare.

He was done with the conversation, marching for the door when two mares tackled him away, then the other two went for Twilight. After some shouting, and wrestling, they both managed to make it to the door of Sugar cube Corner and out into the street.

To Spike watching all this play out, he saw herd mentality play out in full force, but this was getting ridiculous at the accusations being thrown at a person walking down the street.

Following Zecora, all they wanted to do was extend that first branch of communication.

Too bad Twilight and the rest of them extended themselves right into some branches of Poison Joke.

The next morning after the symptoms developed, the fruitless search for a cure in Traditional Pony Medicine, and after everyone else rushed out to confront Zecora, the whole experience passed so fast, that unfortunately left Spike with a sense of guilt over how Zecora was treated worse than dirt, and he was sleeping in a Doggy Bed at the Foot of the Studet of Princess Celestia.

Of course, his lizard brain, being an adolescent male, Spike didn't make this epiphany until he woke up at 2 in the morning, he had kicked off the blankets, and his feet were exposed to the cold air.

"Twilight, you bitch!"

The mare sleeping in the Full Four Post Bed snored once, drawing in a deeper breath of air, then exhaled and returned to her normal sleep cycle.

[^]

Spike got up much earlier than usual, he only slept for two more hours before his mind was filled with conviction for the new day.

He made Twilight breakfast, then spent an hour gathering books, placing most of them of to the side and settling on two short novels about traveling merchants and the scientific identification and diagrams of Equestrian Flowers.

Next came a large clay jug with a wooden cork, it was a fancy contraption they brought from Canterlot. A coffee pot that could hold an ember beneath the main chamber to brew the drink. Spike used his own flame to ignite the wood brickette.

Two mugs, the books, the coffee, Spike left the Golden Oaks Library and was greeted with a darkened morning street.

The roads were cool, It was a long walk, furth than the dragon realized since he wasn't riding on Twilight's back. One of Twilight's strides was equal to three of his own.

"Guess that's one less..." What, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that his walk in life was going to be much further without a pony's help. Another twenty steps, and the realizations just kept on rolling.

When Spike came to the end of the road, the sidewalk gave was to a dirt trail, and he found himself looking backwards at the rest o town to make sure he still knew his bearings.

There were a few places to enter the Everfree forest, behind Fluttershys, the 'old' trailhead that lead to the castle of the two sisters, and then a north trail that lead to the gorges and a mighty river that cut the forest in half.

He didn't even know where her hut was exactly, but following the trail into the forest from the old trailhead he walked for twenty minutes and easily came across the leading where Zecoras hut was carved into the trunk of a tree, just like Golden Oaks.

Walking to Zecora's front door, Princess Celestia raised the sun, arcing slowly over the Eastern horizon to start daybreak.

"Okay, don't be creepy. Smile, but not too much teeth, ponies don't like too much teeth. You're here because..."

Oh sweet Celestia, why was he here again?

He was feeling guilty about how other ponies treated her, while he got the special treatment. How he was welcomed with Twilight when they first came to Ponyville just didn't seem to fit the memories of reactions of ponies he's known over the last few days.

Here he was being all self-conscious, failing with coming up for a good reason to start a conversation with a mare who he was admitting to himself looked stunning, beautiful, exotic in the same way a unicorns trait is their horn, a pegasus their wings, dragon with scales, and a zebra their stripes.

"Okay, just say that."

Spike shook his thoughts free, he had stood there for three minutes sorting out all the terrible cheesy things to say and committing to serious, mindful, meaningful talk.

He was about to rap his knuckles against the wood when he was suddenly frozen with the thought, Zecora didn't usually expect guests knocking on her door at 7:00 A.M. with coffee in tow to talk about how other ponies treated her...but it could be when he came back.

What was more on par for Zecora was dealing with predators banging on her door, or prowling through her clearing.

It was a curse to be this logical. Logically it made sense, but damn his own reluctance to not figure out his mind was going down a rabbit hole sooner than later!

Spike wiped his face, scratched his head, cleaned his eyes, cleared his throat, stood up straighter, neck back, nose clear, and pack ready, he knocked a rhythm into Zecora's door.

[^]

Truth be told, she felt weary. Waking up cold was a different type of exhaustion, one that stemmed from two things, Zecora finally picked up enough of her home after her...new friends invaded her house due to a misunderstanding with Poison Joke. This sort of problem never existed for Zecora in her life before, she was taught at a young age to identify plants and animals, she was taught to travel light and always mark for dangers. Zecora never stood out because of her appearance, or what she wore, her interests, these were what all these ponies fixated on. The word 'interests' didn't mean the same to the ponies as it did to her, she was interested in potions and herbs, but she would use the word passionate about exploring nature. Zecora is one of the few non-Equestrian's to ever see the Tree of Harmony. She's delved so deep into the Everfree Forest, that the old growths discovered there were as gigantic as her ancestors stories of an old Equestria were. Zecora was taught the song of Discord, the shape changers, the Shadow Slaver King, and many more,

Never before common to Equestria did she feel scared to sing a song from Zebrica, out in the streets during morning walks.

Zecora remember that she stopped singing. Like a veil being lifted off her eyes and music filling her ears, she remembered the tunes to all her lullabies growing up, and would hum them in Ponyville, but after two weeks of isolation, she didn't do it anymore, and completely forgot.

Zecora was laying with her hooves wrapped around her body, the hearth fire in her room went out completely during the night, not even glowing coals from the night before survived, it was all extinguished and ash. Her entire body was cold and what she really wanted was a hug, something heavy and warm to drape around herself. She tried stirring the coals, but only found fleeting traces of warmth. Zecora forgot to add on another bundle to the fire to keep it burning though the night, and now it needed to be relit. The cold sapped her strength.

"Please, send some warmth," Zecora asked.

Her mane was all over the place, a serious case of bed head, wrapping and clinging to her face. No matter how much mussed it to one side, there was stands of hair that refused to cooperate. In the early morning, those few strands of hair felt like chains wrapped around her neck. All she needed to do was free herself, then deal with the morning chill.

It was around the same time Zecora was sitting upright, planning a mental checklist for all the things she would need to get done today, and stock up on for next week, that the sun rose.

Seven knocks to her door, and Zecora inhaled loudly, filling her lungs to the brim. She rolled out of bed and took a hobbled step to the door, the blood wasn't finished circulating though her hooves and she leaned against the wall, knocking vials over, but thankfully not breaking them.

Zecora opened the door, glanced left, and saw Spikes spines and then the rest of him.

"Spike...! What are you doing here? "

"Zecora! I didn't mean to wake you, did I?"

"No, I was just stirring from my dreams, the world is quiet this morning it seems."

"I'm glad I could get here so early... I need you. I need to talk to you about Equestria from someone who hasn't been in Equestria their whole life."

"What kind of question do you seize , where only an outsider's opinion puts your mind at ease?"

"First, would you like some coffee?" Zecora didn't respond right away, he took the clay jug from the pack, held up the small iron latch, lifting it, he blew on the ember, sending a small spiral of smoke up as it grew red hot again. He popped the wooden cork off the top and let the aroma of freshly brewed coffee fill the air between them.

Zecora shook, the scent of roasted oak, vanilla, chocolate, and hot clay made any lethargy or negative thing she was feeling up to that point this morning slip away. "Yes I would, the scent is good, and...the effort to bring it out here, is understood. Come inside, but please tell me that you told someone you were coming out here, I prefer not to have any more misplaced fear."

Spike laughed off the comment, 'I totally forgot to leave a note, dum-dumb,' "I left a message," He said, 'Breakfast, I made Twilight breakfast, that gives me upwards of two hours after she's woken up before realizing I'm not around. She will know that I'm not in the library and correctly assume I'm out for a walk.'

Zecora saw that he brought two cups, one for himself and another for her, the small consideration on top of bringing coffee all this way made her smile stretch wide with a grin. Spike asked if he could set his jug of coffee down, and Zecora cleared a small space for him. She kept eyeing the odd clay design, seeing what it was, but not convinced on how it worked. The ember in the clay bowl, "Spike, did you know I needed an ember this morning? That my fire went out without warning?"

"No, I didn't, funny though, huh? There's half a dozen pitchers, or big thermos' we have back at the library that all can do the job of carrying liquid, but this one from Canterlot just seemed like the one to bring. It's the only one designed as a small coffee maker, and I always liked this one because I could use my own fire to cook with it."

"You say cook, but when you describe this jug, it seems to hold much more potential than it looks. Spike, I have a question for you, about dragons, are you warm?"

"Huh, okay, I haven't been asked that one in a long time. Dragons are cold blooded, but we can a massive amount of heat with our fire breath to keep ourselves insulated. The fusion starts in the throat, then we can press in down past the lungs, or out through the mouth."

"Are you always consciously monitoring the fire in you?"

"The only way I can describe that is it's easy as breathing. It just takes a little more effort to create enough energy to cause flames. Okay, so how long have you been working with apothecary to know how to whip up an anti-Poison Joke cure like that?"

"I have been studying herbs and their practical applications and extractions for seven years, but my interest started in them over a decade ago. Growing up in an area where healers and doctors were few and far between, it was scary to break a leg or not being able to keep moving was the worst fear. Food was more of an issue, too. I see that coffee pot, and wish we had a craftsman who could make something like that. There's so many who brew roots overnight, a common tea is to drink the strained water and then eat the roots for breakfast. How long does the ember last inside? May I have another cup?"

"I haven't kept an eye on the exact time, or left a large enough piece inside to test it like that, but I imagine you could make it last at least two hours. This was a 1000ml of water, six scoops of coffee grounds, then there's a pipe built on the inside that pumps water from the bottom of the pot, up over the coffee grounds through a spout on the inside of the jug. Then whoever designed it made a big hoof-sized handle to make it mobile." Spike noticed Zecora's smile and her fascination with the design. It was a good conversation piece too, it was like a percolator coffee pot with a built in stove underneath. Then, all you needed to do was let the ember burn out or plug the vent with the wood cork to smother the flame.

As Spike showed Zecora this, she sat right next to him, inches apart.

"Are you warm?" She asked again, Spike thought about it for only a moment, then realized what she meant to ask. "You can feel my chest is warm from fire breathing, but the mouth and nose is where the most heat is expelled outwards."

"Can I feel you?" She asked, Spike felt a rush of blood to his face, and his chest swell with heat like when he first laid eyes on Rarity.

"Yes." She gently rubbed the backside of her hoof against Spike's scales, letting out a small giggle that grew to a laugh as she felt his arm. Placing a hoof on his chest, her own smile was the only thing he was able to notice being this close to her.

It was like talking with Fluttershy, "You're smiling, what's making you laugh?"

Zecora curled her lips in, trying to force down the smile, "You're a dragon! A predator with sharp teeth and claws that breathes fire, just by description alone, it sounds like a formidable foe if anyone were to get on the wrong side of one. You're the first dragon I've gotten to talk to, and you're the kindest, most caring one anyone's ever met."

"Thanks Zecora..." Spike poured from up high, letting the steam trail off and then he quickly brought the pot down without spilling any.

"We have a similar way of cooling tea off too. We take two cups and pour the drink back and fourth, the heat transfers into the mugs, or turns to steam, and then it quickly cools."

"I have a gift for you as well, two gifts. Now, the first was one I felt you would like," Pulling out both books, the first was the Species Genus field guide to identifying all the plants and herbs known throughout Equestria. Growing cycles, harvest seasons, notable fungus and rots that plagued certain strains over the last thousand years, strains introduced and cultivated to counter those same rots and infestations. It was more than a spotter's guide, it was the complete history of every plant, and how it's been viewed by ponies. "You could give the ponies who wrote this a run for their money if we put out a detailed page Poison Joke and other things that grow in the Everfree. You're smart and intelligent for sharing what you knew."

"Thank you, Spike." She accepted the book, laying it infront of them, she wrapped a foreleg around Spike, thanking him with a hug and shuddering at the warmth transferring through the touch.

They poured over the book together, looking at all the different types of flowers, leaves, trees, reading the Latin names, just because. Spike wrapped his left arm around Zecora's waist. They looked into each others eyes, and Zecora nodded her head. Bringing themselves closer together, they embraced each other.

Drinking coffee, Zecora pointing out plants she's seen in the area, already ear-marking pages in the corner first thing right off the bat, Spike contributed his limited knowledge of flowers and plants imported and grown around Canterlot that otherwise wouldn't be in the guide. Eventually, as they flipped through the pages and came to the end of the first book, Zecora became excited for the second one, which he could feel and hear her heart beating tick upwards.

"Easy, Zecora, this one is a fantasy-fiction, but it's one of those older stories that ends with another story being told. traveling merchant who would go from city to city, having adventures with customers, dealing with other merchants, seeking out gold and exotic wares, and then free herself after being taken prisoner and all of her possessions stolen, using an ancient magic that was granted to her only for a moment to turn herself into sand, be blown across the world, and finally reappear thousands of miles away in a tropical paradise where she meets an Amazonian prince. He thwarts the uncles and aunts from conspiring to kill him and usurp the throne, making friends with a mare who he later ends up marrying, builds a massive boat from the looted riches the disposed royals no longer needed, and then they sail back across the world, meeting kings, sultans, and other rulers along the way, loading up the entire boathold with gold until he finally makes it home to the Straits of Ji-Halter to deal with the bandits again...and that's just chapter one!"

Spike thought he was going to lose Zecora's interest the moment he started talking about a book he liked, he knew Twilight read this and moved on a long time ago, but this was one he wanted to share. He was glad Zecora listened and happily accepted both books, wrapping him in a tight embrace. "Thank you, Spike."

She reverently set both books off to the left side of her, and asked Spike, "Can I trouble you for the ember in the coffee pot to relight my fireplace?"

"Zecora, I can use my flames to do that, just ask me. Ponies seem to be simutaneously aware that I'm a fire-breathing dragon, and forget I'm a fire-breathing dragon, it's strange but true that ponies might not always know that about me."

"But I wont always have a fire-breathing dragon at my side, I'm living alone."

"Unless you were my marefriend,"

"But that's..." Zecora wanted to say insane, but she didn't want to finish the sentence. She considered it, the potential of having a Dragon boyfriend, not as a predator, but as someone to wrap her hooves around at night and hold through to the morning. There was an unidentified emotion rushing to the forefront of her thoughts, about wanting to be a predator herself, a powerful, muscle-bound hunter that could chase down anything and always fight off another beta for survival. Zecora's own loosely defined power fantasy was filled with images of Spike, and how he was there, protecting her and loving her.

"Well, Spike, let's start back with the next step of getting to know each other."

"What's the next step?"

"You ask a mare if you can kiss her," Spike's smile reappeared, "Can I kiss you, Zecora?"

"Yes."

Zecora and Spike leaned in, they didn't puff their lips out or make the obscene kissy-face, their lips pressed against each other and they kissed. Waves of euphoria washed over both of them as they both relaxed into each other's firm hold, Spike exhaling through his nose as the kiss lasted, warming the both of their lips, Zecora inhaled Spike's scent, becoming familiar with it.

They stopped their kiss, but held the embrace a while longer, the quietness of the room suddenly feeling heavy around them. "Thank you, Spike," Zecora said, "What other things do you think ponies might not know about dragons?"

"We have less organized society structure than most other races, but there's a large amount of species pride and ego that get's wrapped up in being physically stronger, ponies have plenty of strong machismo types, but not to the extent other dragons have gone to before me. Where being the strongest doesn't interest me, because I know a strong opponent isn't the most challenging opponent I might face, just the most physically demanding one."

"What do you mean?"

"I like that you're not afraid of me."

"I like that you came all this way to tell me this, there's some foraging I'll do for wild mushrooms later on, but if you want to join me this afternoon until evening, I'd be more than happy to have some company."

"That sounds great, I want to come and I'll bring a basket."

"Tomorrow let's go hike to the waterfalls near here. It's got a great view and you can find a lot of other creatures from around the Everfree drink from the basin and river below."

"I'd like that, there's nothing on my schedule tomorrow. I'll see you later tonight then, Zecora."

"I'll see you soon, Spike."

Spike saw himself out, Zecora following him to the door, watching him as he walked down the path back towards Ponyville. He looked back and waved, happily walking on as he saw her still waiting there. After another minute, he disappeared around a corner and was hidden from sight by the Everfree Forest.

Author's Note

This is for Bicyclette's Crack ship Contest.
Written in a day.
The NSFW version is up next, so go no further.