Hmm, this is awkward. First things first, drop the sword and lower the lighting rods. Try to recover at least some dignity, though this, disappearing, and destroying her table will result in an uncomfortable conversation. But come on, you're a HERO! Sure your motive was more "no-one touches my stuff" but still, you save the illusionist, that's gotta be worth something. Right?

OH SHIT! This is... bad. Really bad. Apologize, put the sword away, try to explain. That's all I've got for you. Also, what's that Zecora told you about Changelings? They can change shape? Lucky little buggers, they can fly and do magic as well! that would be so useful!

Time slows down. Seconds pass by like hours as your brain slams into overdrive. Your heartbeat stops, sweat sprouts onto your brow in frozen crystals of salty liquid, your blood turns to ice in your veins, and your every errant twitching muscle stops tense and paralyzed as your mind abandons your body. Your consciousness soars into a full situational pan, and the entire world becomes one small clearing in the Everfree. All of your being becomes devoted to this single solitary moment, the result of a thousand thousand pre-existing seconds, reduced to an isolated frame of time and space, right here and now, suspended like a still frame front of your mind. And it's not really helping.

You mean sure, you can now process every errant bead of perspiration on Zecora's sweaty, toned, luscious striped body while fantasizing about rutting her hard and smacking her flank. And yes you can absolutely examine Trixie's new red mane dye, and indulge in a brief fantasy about whipping her rump until the blood dyes her butt-coat red. And you even have the time to entertain a simultaneous fantasy about the two mares making out on the comfy bed in Zecora's hut. All nice and gentle with lots of stroking, purring, petting, and plenty of tongue, Zecora running her tongue down the fur of Trixie's neck while the young mare shivers and... yeah... Erotic fantasies aside, your considerable brain power appears to be coming up with jack squat on how to deal with the actual problem. Namely that your Zebra lover is seeing you with an injured Trixie, a weapon, and a collar after disappearing from her hut and stealing her map and cloak.

The first thing you decide, after all the brain-based pornography, is that you'd really rather not be here. If you were a unicorn maybe you could have teleported away, and not had to deal with this situation or something. Seeing as how you are here, you next decide that you'd like to be somepony other than you. Actually you've had that desire numerous times throughout your existence. If you were a changeling such life substitution would be possible, after all, everypony had heard how one had replaced Princess Cadence to set up for an invasion. A princess! You could look like anypony that you wanted to if you were a changeling! But you're not a changeling and thus are still stuck as you. Moving on to option number three and-

Aha! Ringa-ding-ding! Number three is a winner! A brilliant winning strategy for getting your marefriend off of your back and back in the sack! But before you can implement it you need to exit battle mode.

Time snaps back into it's proper flow and your brain jams back into your skull, as you twitch the muscles in your spine and your rods slam back down onto your back. You actually wince a bit as their strike is a little hard and the spots where they hit sting just a little. Metal on fur and all. They also seem to vibrate a bit as they impact and you could swear that an audible-

THUD

Sounded when they hit your coat. But you don't have time to wonder about that, you're too busy being brilliant. You quickly picture the blade on your hoof turning into blue mist and dissipating into your hoof. It goes much quicker this time around, and you take a moment to appreciate how much your life and death experiences have paid off in blade control as the sparkling blue mist disappears. You then lower your hoof back to the ground as you internally stallion-up. Time to get serious.

Well, what are you waiting for? Zecora's here with her medicinal and pathing knowledge, Trixie needs to rest and heal, and you're just gonna stand there?

Get things moving, have Zecora diagnose her and apply any treatment she can immediately, then bring her back to the hut. Don't acknowledge the possibility that you might be the one who hurt her, instead focus on her safety, and then off-handishly mention that she was hurt by a diamond dog. After all, you are the hero here. And, of course, make sure you make a good impression on both mares now, time to roll out the old compassion, and considering Trixie's possibly spotty remembrance of the events, you could always make your interference with the diamond dog's little torture session out to be something you tried to stop immediately. Would hate for her to know that you sat around for a few minutes, watching while she got beat up, aye?

Okay, fine, buck your life.

No, you are not going to let your rotten luck ruin this for you! Whatever else you do, don't suddenly act all shifty and evasive. You're only going to look guilty that way, and you have no reason to.

Take a deep breath, concentrate on your voice, and tell your Zebra not to judge the cover of the book. Tell her to go look at Trixie's wounds, since she knows more about injuries than you do. Then, tell her you saved Trixie from a Diamond Dog, and perhaps show her the holes in the ground. Then tell her you all need to leave, quickly, before more dogs show up.

You need to take control of the situation, and that means taking control of your Zebra first. Or the discussion with her, rather.

Now! Time to commence the plan! You take a deep breathe as Zecora starts to open her mouth and quickly blurt out-

"Thank Celestia you're here! We were attacked by Diamond Dogs!" Before the Zebra can speak. You point your right forehoof over to the sobbing Trixie, diamond dog collar dangling in a loop from the hoof, as you continue.

"Look at her quick, she needs help!" Zecora follows your hoof over to Trixie, before turning her eyes back to you for a moment. The wide orbs that were there before have now narrowed and her expression is something... guarded, contained, slightly icy... Probably bad news for you.

But she only keeps that gaze on you for a few moments before looking back to Trixie, and galloping over to the Showmare's side. Yes! Guarded look aside the plan to take command of the conversation is a success! For the moment. You obviously don't have complete control or that look wouldn't have existed. Ah well, you'll just have to come up with more awesome plans to handle events as they come! Now to let Zecora work her magic and interject as needed.

Started the zebra soothingly as she reached Trixie, crouching down in front of the still sobbing mare and smiling kindly as she began to speak.

She asked. Gentle, sweet, and soft as she knelt in front of Trixie. The showmare continued to sob with her head buried in her forelegs, and began to blubber something muffled through her legs. Zecora cocked her head to the side, brows furrowed.

Spoke Zecora worriedly. In response, Trixie lifted her head from her forehooves with tears streaking down her coat and let out an unmuffled version of what she'd just blubbered.

"N-no 'sniff' you'll j-just laugh 'hiccup' at m-m-me!" And then plonked her face back into her forehooves, sobbing all the harder. Zecora, choosing to Ignore that Trixie had just lifted her head up to say that she wasn't going to lift her head, smiled a kind smile once more, and reached forward with her front-right hoof to stroke Trixie's mane. Zecora ran her hoof up and down Trixie's silky strands, gently stroking the showmare's admittedly fabulous mane, not counting the recently red-dyed sections, and began to make a soft kind of cooing sound as she comforted Trixie.

She spoke, a gently chiding tone in her voice as she continued to stroke the showmare's mane. Trixie jerked her head up, wincing and squinting her eyes as even more tears poured out and began to shout.

"Y-yes they do! 'Sniff' I-I'm all b-bloody! 'Sniff' And ugly! 'hiccup' A-and my nose i-is runny!" Responded the still sobbing Trixie, reminding you more and more of a sobbing foal... A bratty bully who has such weak internal strength that she requires constant adoration and attention to validate her existence, and when the going gets tough and the act breaks, she's left with nothing but a whimpering shell of a mare... Pathetic... ... Kind of reminds you of you.

You quickly shake your head free of those thoughts. No! You're a superpony now! Special, important! Not like her at all! Nope, you're awesome and she's not! But she is pretty hot. And has got quite a plot. She was probably sought. By stallions a lot. Before she was taught. To let personality rot.

You grin a bit at your internally rhyming, and once again contemplate the merits of sexual intercourse with prissy blue-butt showmares as Zecora keeps working on getting the patient to cooperate.

Spoke Zecora, looking Trixie straight in her puffy water-logged eyes as she spoke, right forehoof continuing to stroke the young mare's mane. Trixie sniffled, and hiccupped, with her lower-lip trembling as she looked up into Zecora's eyes, a glimmer of hope starting to shine in her sorrowful orbs.

"R-really? 'hiccup' I-I'm pretty?" She asked, desperate hope tinging her voice as Zecora smiled kindly, nodding her head lightly.

Proclaimed the Zebra, giving Trixie a grin. Trixie blinked at the older zebra's confident grin, and then the corners of her trembling mouth to start to turn upward, expression a mixture of soft pride and relief as her sniffling started to wind down and a blush began to form on her cheeks.

"W-well. T-the g-great and powerful T-Trixie is 'sniff' very proud o-of her amaz-'sniff'-ing coat and 'hiccup' mane..." Spoke the showmare with a tentatively proud tingle in her voice, as Zecora leaned forward, looking up to Trixie's horn, examining the bruising around it and the gash below.

Spoke Zecora calmly, furrowing her brows in an expression of worry as she looked to the gash, then bringing back her kind eyes and smile as she looked down into Trixie's eyes, oblivious to Zecora's secondary thoughts.

Asked the zebra, and the sniffling yet now smiling showmare blinked at the request, then nodded, gulping down a lump in her throat.

"O-okay." She spoke, before hiccupping once more and lowering her head slightly, a soft little smile on her face and blush on her cheeks.

Zecora leaned around to look to the back of Trixie's head, and immediately her eyes narrowed into an angry glare as her eyes locked onto what you presume was Trixie's injury. In that brief moment she showed a level of rage and anger that you don't think you've ever seen on anyponys face ever before... Good thing you went ahead and identified the villain that made that injury. You would NOT want to be on the receiving end of a look like that. And you can only contemplate what Zecora would do to the diamond dog that made the injury if he was still in hoof reach...

You do in fact have some fun contemplating what Zecora would do to the diamond dog if he was still here, the one involving Zecora's bamboo stick and the Diamond Dog's anus quickly rising to the top of your mental charts, as Zecora looks back into Trixie's eyes and smiles kindly.

She spoke, moving her front-left hoof back to her saddle-... um... basket? And opening it up, before leaning in and pulling out a small glass jar with her mouth, the glass jar covered with a white cloth, a small strand of rope tied around the neck of the jar to keep the cover on. The jar itself was filled with some kind of green paste that you are Purrr-IT-Tey sure is not for eating... How did you just think-spell pretty sure? What the buck is wrong with you?

Anyways, as you began to question your verbal head skills, Zecora moved her mouth down to the small rope around the neck of the jar and pulled it loose, before whisking the cover off with her teeth and letting it fall to the moss. She then moved her right hoof into the paste, holding it up from underneath with her left hoof, as she began to thoroughly coat her hoof with the green goop.

She spoke, still looking down as she rubbed the mix across her hoof, and Trixie gulped a bit, eyeing the green paste apprehensively. Zecora brought her hoof out of the mix, covered with green, and began to apply it to the cut below Trixie's horn, rubbing it into the gash. Zecora's hoof pressed and moved quickly, rubbing all over the cut, coating it with the green. The showmare winced and whimpered softly beneath Zecora's ministrations, shrinking a bit from the touch. Zecora cooed softly once again as she continued to rub the green in.

She gently consoled as she coated Trixie's cut with the paste, until there wasn't even a hint of the cut visible. When Trixie's gash had been thoroughly coated, Zecora pulled her hoof back, a bit of red on it but mostly the paste, and dug her hoof back into the jar. You can't help but raise your right eyebrow as you watch her recoating the hoof she just had blood on... You suppose she doesn't intend to use the jar again after this, judging by her willingness to contaminate the whole thing. Perhaps that was part of the sealing? Exposure to air invalidate long-term use? Might have to ask her about that sometime.

Or she could answer that right now via her actions, as after thoroughly coating her right hoof once more Zecora lets the jar drop into the moss without a second thought. Zecora reached forward with her left forehoof, and stroked Trixie's mane gently once more, before putting a bit of pressure towards the back of Trixie's head to keep her leaned forward. Zecora then got up onto her hind legs and leaned over Trixie to look to the back of her head, bringing her right hoof down to start rubbing the past into her headwound.

"Agh! Ugh, i-it, it 'hiccup' hurts!" Spoke Trixie, the hiccupping and sniffling that had died down with Zecora's gentle praise suddenly making a return appearance.

Zecora didn't take her eyes from her work as she responded, trying to be soft in her words but obviously more focused on making sure Trixie's headwound was completely covered in the green paste. Trixie bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes, sniffling more as she bore with the pain. Finally, Zecora finished coating the back of Trixie's head with the green paste, and then stepped back with a sigh, dropping back to all fours on the moss. Her left hoof moved up to Trixie's chin, and tilted the sniffling Showmare's head up so that she could look into her eyes. Zecora smiled down softly to the young mare, a gentle gaze meeting Trixie's orbs.

She spoke, before giving Trixie a soft smile.

"I... i-it is starting to feel kinda better..." Admitted Trixie, mumbling softly as she bit her bottom lip, and blinked a few more tears away, errant sniffles still making their way through. Zecora's left hoof moved up to stroke Trixie's cheek gently as she responded.

Replied the zebra before an-

"Ahem." Interrupted the tender moment between healer and wreck. You stood with your front left foreleg over your mouth as the two mares directed their gazes at you. Having just finished clearing your throat with intentionally distracting loudness, you lower your hoof back down to the grass and speak.

"That's good, now if she's fit to move we should REALLY get going. There's still a Diamond Dog hole here, and I'd rather not be here when more show up." You state, turning your gaze to the zebra to gauge her reaction. Zecora narrows her eyes and once again there's one of those kind of off-putting guarded looks. But she speaks in a calm and steady voice as she replies.

She spoke, before turning to face you, and looking right into your eyes with a stern, kind of hard look, one that you do not like at all...

She spoke, continuing to give you her narrowed gaze. You gulp. Well... at least she's being straightforward about it.

"Yes maam." Seems the most appropriate response to Zecora's humorless and commanding tone, and you turn to move over quickly to the bush you'd slept behind. It isn't until you're stepping down again that you remember you had a diamond dog collar on your hoof, as your hoof pushes against the leather as it slips over, and the tip of your hoof hits a diamond in the collar on the way down. You wince a bit, the impact not especially painful but kind of annoying, and let out grunt of agitation as you pull your hoof from the collar, lean down, and pick it up in your teeth. You mutter a bit to yourself, already a little aggravated as you move behind the bush and unroll the cloak, letting the collar drop, and then shoving it into one of the wide internal pockets that made this cloak so damn useful.

The map is in the cloak, you double check that, and the flower you picked to maybe be a gift to her, that's there to. You want to make sure you've got everything because you do NOT want to anger Zecora more than you already have. Tartarus hath no fury like a pissed off mare. Though you're pretty sure she'll be pissed anyway when she sees the dirt, wear, tear, and blood on the cloak... You shake your head a bit with a sigh. You'll cross that bridge when you come to it. You pull the cloak around you, hood up because it's more comfortable that way, before straightening up on your hooves, turning, and moving around the bush back into sight of the clearing.

Your eyes go wide and your jaw drops open like a flytrap. Zecora, in addition to her saddle-baskets and bamboo stick, has picked up Trixie. She is carrying the mare on her back, Trixie's cape billowed over the young mare and slightly falling down Zecora's sides. Zecora is even holding Trixie's hat in her mouth. She looks over to you, and with a jerk of her head nods to the direction she just came from, as she turns and begins to walk back into the Everfree. You just remain slackjawed for a few moments at Zecora's obvious physical aptitude... Carrying Trixie like she's nothing plus all her other crap. Then you shake your head, and quickly scamper after her, following her back into the Everfree, eager to be led back home, ready to walk all day if need be just to get back to her hut.

Well...this could be a problem. There only seems to be one way to deal with an angery mare. It's a two step process. 1) Let her vent. If she is upset, you need to let her get the tirade out of her system. Just sit there and listen. 2) Reveal as much of the truth as you know it to her. Explain your absencse due to an uncontrollable urge to go back to the castle. Although she already knows about the rods in your back, she doesn't know about the sword. Tell her how it appeared on yur hoof at the castle and that you were returning there, or trying to, to search for an explanation. Also, the destroyed table and book can be explained as not knowing how to controll the blade at the time.

As for Trixie's presence, the truth is a good idea. You saved her from a pair of cockatirce and, recently, a Diamond Dog. She is obviously injured, and more than a little broken by her ordeal and needs medical help. Get Zecora to focus on that. Once you get back to Zecora's hut, you need to make sure Trixie understands that she owes you now, that her life belongs to you. Once that is over with, be sure to "make up" with Zecora.

Nomad

Thirty minutes. Thirty BUCKING minutes. That's how long it took to get from the clearing to Zecora's hut! You were probably going in circles around the hut this whole bucking time and never even knew it! If you could have just read that damn map then- UGH!!! ... Well... at least you learned something from this whole experience. If you get the urge to go into THE most dangerous part of Equestria and wander around like an idiot, make sure to take a map that you can bucking read!

'Sigh'... At least you're home now. The normally creepy visage of Zecora's hut is, not too surprisingly, incredibly soothing and welcoming after a series of near death experiences. The bottles and charms hanging from the branches, and the still kinda freaky mask over the door, do nothing whatsoever to discourage the relief you feel filling your form as you lay eyes upon your zebra lover's abode. As the promise of rest and shelter rises up before you, every tired ache and groan you've felt since you began this debacle announces itself at once, and you nearly stumble from the sudden wave of exhaustion.

Luckily you right yourself before falling and making even more of a fool of yourself than you've managed already. Shaking your head a bit to clear the blur of fatigue, you suddenly feel way more sluggish and dull, and have to refocus all of your energy on getting to the damn door without keeling over. You watch as Zecora ascends the steps to the door in front of you and pushes it open with her forehead. Once again, you have to admire the fact that she can carry a full-grown mare on her back for thirty minutes with little more than a thin sheen of sweat, breathing not even labored... Damn she's fit.

Unlike Trixie. Trixie has remained groggy, unresponsive, and done little more than groan and mutter on your way to Zecora's hut. Perhaps it's what Zecora put on the cuts, or the head wounds, or just normal exhaustion. But regardless, between Trixie muttering inaudibly, and Zecora having her mouth occupied with Trixie's hat, there hasn't been much conversation on the way back... Hopefully you'll get to talk with Zecora inside. You're sure you'll have plenty of explaining to do.

You continued to admire Zecora's fit body and musculature as the zebra mare tossed Trixie's hat through the doorway, the soft article of headwear fluttering inside. She then reached back over her right shoulder, and gripped her bamboo staff with her teeth. She pulled it out of it's loop, sliding it from underneath Trixie's unresponsive form, and then proceeded to flip her head and chuck it through the doorway. The staff clattered onto the floor inside, which did nothing but illicit a few muttered grunts from Trixie, probably not even related to the actual event.

Zecora then turned and proceeded to move into the doorway sideways, very carefully to avoid knocking the already groggy Trixie's head on the doorway and giving her a secondary concussion to go with her first. The action reminds you of what you did when she fell asleep outside and you carried her in. Only she's not a weakling panting from exhaustion and isn't clumsy enough to hit her own head while making sure Trixie doesn't hit hers. You wince a bit at the memory of your failed mare transport session... That was quite a clonk. But in no time at all Zecora has made it through the doorway with Trixie without knocking either of their heads on wood.

You sigh a little at this, and begin to question your worth as a stallion when a mare so obviously outmuscles you. But this doubt of your self-worth based on pure physical attributes can wait, right now you're just eager to get inside of the hut and out of this dark, oppressive forest. To be warm and safe and-

BUMP

You blink, then your eyes roll down to see Zecora's front-left hoof pressing against your nose, scrunching up your muzzle and stopping you in your tracks. You blink again, then roll your eyes up to look into Zecora's orbs, looking into yours with a firm expression.

She spoke, no hint of question or negotiation in her voice. You blinked again, took a brief moment to admire her ability to hold Trixie up with only three of her four hooves on the ground, and then stepped back, your brows furrowed in confusion.

"Huh?" Was your extremely thoughtful and high-brow response, before a head shake and a nose wiggle cleared your thoughts for a more elegantly phrased question.

"But why?" Okay, still not exactly fancy-speak but at least it came out as actual words this time. You kept looking to Zecora with a lost expression, your right eyebrow raised in confusion, hoping for some kind of answer to why she would lay this horrible sentence upon you. And you got one.

Stated the zebra clearly and concisely, before bringing her front-right hoof up to the door, and promptly slamming it in your face.

THUD!

... You blinked again, face to face with the door to Zecora's hut. ... Okay yeah that's fair... still it's... not exactly how you pictured things going...

You sigh, slumping your shoulders as you look down to the wood at your hooves, standing on the steps outside of Zecora's hut... Well, it's nothing to be surprised about really. Everypony else has always rejected you sooner or later. Why not her?

Still, you don't have anywhere else to go, and she did say to wait. You turn, still with Zecora's cloak wrapped around you, and sit down on the bottom step of the stairs in front of Zecora's hut. You breathe in deep, then sigh out slowly... And stretch out your left hind hoof to touch the tip into the dirt. You begin to draw two sets of lines, two vertical and two horizontal, the lines intersecting to form a square in the center and eight almost squares around it. You then proceed to do the only thing that you can think to do in a time like this. You start a game of tic-tac-toe with yourself.

... ... ...

About thirty minutes later and twenty-two games in you're still losing. You sigh, and start to draw up the next game when a-

CREAK

Alerts you to the opening of Zecora's door behind you. You look over your left shoulder to see Zecora with her saddle-baskets on and her bamboo staff sitting on her back, Trixie nowhere to be seen. You look up to her with wide, blinking eyes, and she looks down to you with the same guarded expression and narrowed eyes you've been getting from her recently. She starts to walk down the steps, passing you at the left, your gaze following her the whole way, breath caught in your throat. Zecora stopped about a foot in front of you, and looking back over her right shoulder at you, finally addressed you.

Hurry. Hurr-E. That was her only communication to you before she looked back forward and started to walk away, back into the Everfree. You for your part hop up quickly and start galloping after her. You're not entirely sure what's going on but at least she's talking to you, and you're pretty certain she knows the Everfree best of anypony. So not going to get lost again... right? Uh, right, yeah, following her, trusting life to her, ahem. Back to that.

Zecora was silent as you followed her, and you're pretty sure that she was giving you the cold shoulder... Or the cold rump as it were, seeing as how she was walking in front of you, her flank sashaying back and forth with that natural sexy movement of the hips that mares all seem to possess. Her plot was hypnotic and you distracted yourself from your worries about your current relationship with your marefriend and the oppressiveness of the surrounding Everfree by focusing on it. Your eyes moved back and forth, watching the sway of her hips, and you couldn't help smiling a little... ... You totally tapped that.

You might have been a little too focused on her plot, because when she suddenly came to a stop you almost ran right into it. Fortunately however you gained enough sense over your fatigue-addled brain to avoid ramming into the mare's rump, and instead quickly tore your eyes up to meet hers as she looked back over her right shoulder.

Spoke the zebra once more as her right foreleg raised to point a hoof forwards. You leaned to the right, looking around Zecora's sexy rump, which you really could go all day about, and saw a river. The water was running at a weak but steady current. The river fairly shallow and clear, with numerous slick and polished stones scattered along the riverbed. The riverbank looked rocky as well, covered with the polished stones, sleek and wet from water sloshing up onto them. A pony would need to be careful walking over rocks like those. Wouldn't want to slip and crack their skull open, spill their brains out across the stones, blood trickling into the river...

Blinking away the suddenly macabre turn of your thoughts, you can't help but pale a bit as you look at the river. It isn't that it looks unappealing... actually the water looks really beautiful. It just also looks cold. And you're not especially fond of the cold. You've spent most of your life trying to avoid it. And y'know the rocks look really slippery and WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!? You are a superpony! Superponies don't get scared of cold water! ... And rocks! Yep there are rocks to. Scary rocks. Rawr.

You gulp down a lump in your throat, then shake your head and bring your hooves up to untie Zecora's cloak, pulling it of and draping it over your left foreleg, not wanting to let it drop to the dirt in front of Zecora. You step around Zecora and move over to one of the larger, drier looking sleek rocks, then carefully lay the cloak down, nice and neat. Then you turn to face the water again, breathe in deep and plant your hooves down on the ground. Right! Time to stallion-up!

With that simple message in your mind you step up to the water's edge, with every intention of just plodding right in. But instead of that you suddenly decide that it would be a good idea to stop at the edge and engage in a staring contest with the water. You look down at the river, glaring at it to try to weaken it's resolve... It's not working. Your intimidation tactics failing, you decide to scout out the enemy's defenses. Gulping, again, you gingerly lift your right hoof up, and slowly move it down to touch the tip to the surface of the water, testing it's temperature and-

BUMP

A sudden pressure at your rump sends you stumbling forward and plummeting into the water, a wet splash engulfing your form as you quickly come to a conclusion about the river. The water is cold. The water is COLD. THE WATER IS BUCKING COLD!!!

"'splutter' Yeow! Agh! What the buck Zecora!?" Was all you could think to utter as you surfaced from beneath the freezing liquid, bringing your hooves up to push your wet mane out of your eyes. Zecora was standing at the position you'd previously occupied with a slightly amused tint to her eyes and a humored curve to her mouth.

Is all you get from the smug zebra as she slips her saddle-baskets down her neck and onto the riverbank, leaning back to pull out her bamboo stick and lay it down next to the baskets on the rocks. She reached down to her left basket and flipped it open with her front-left hoof, the lid gaping open as it hung from the basket. She then reached down into the basket with her left hoof, and pulled out what looked like a yellow sponge. You couldn't help but arch your right eyebrow as you started to shiver, your teeth chattering as you brought your hooves up to rub your forelegs.

Zecora, while you freeze, is taking her sweet time opening the right basket with her right hoof. After flipping the lid, she leans down to move her muzzle into the basket. She emerged after a few moments of rummaging with a small straw-woven basket, gripped in her teeth. It was a small thing and reminded you of those pictures you'd seen of bird's nests in your schoolfoal books. Only, while it was mostly woven from what looked like straw and twigs, there seemed to be the occasional teal, yellow, and light pink ribbons woven in. And then oddly enough there was a purple ribbon on the side of the nest-looking bowl, tied in a bow! Very elegant and classy looking actually.

As for what the bowl actually contained, it was filled with what looked like little lime-green rocks, in rough rectangular shapes, tiny blue spots scattered all over them. Zecora walked over to a large grey rock just on the riverbank's edge, and set down the basket, placing it on the stone. She then moved the sponge up from her hoof to her teeth, gripping it lightly. The zebra reached into the nest-like basket with her left forehoof, and pulled out one of the little stones. She turned, holding it on her hoof, and you watching, calmly chucked it up the river. You watched it go sailing, with a rather confused furrow of the brows, as it hit the water with a-

PLOP

And a few moments later came the bubbles. Light blue bubbles, floating up from a lime-green foam, spreading from the point of impact. The foam spread across the river, upcurrent of you, and began to run down towards you, building quickly and mounting up in a wave of foam taller than you. Your eyes went wide, watching the oncoming tidal wave of soapy bubbly foam and you threw your forehooves up over your face and squeezed your eyes shut. It was a panic reaction more than anything else, you weren't exactly expecting to die or anything, and if you'd been thinking without clearly you would probably have expected what did happen.

WHOOSH

The foam rolled over you without damage. Lathering your fur and mane in soapy lime-green, light blue bubbles popping all around you, and dancing up from your coat. You opened your eyes and blinked, slowly lowering your forehooves to look at them, covered in the soapy lather... Curious you looked down to below the water and clear as day you could see that same lather sticking to your coat underneath the surface of the river, sticking to your fur even as the current ran against it. To say you were curious was... Well, an understatement of sorts. This shit was freaking amazing. And you weren't entirely sure what it was besides some kind weird, herbal soap... maybe?

The sound of a light splash turned your attention back to the riverbank, where you saw Zecora wading into the river calm as could be, not even an errant shiver touching her body. She was carrying the sponge in her mouth, and advancing on you with, once again, an amused look in her eyes. You didn't mind that... better amused than angry.

She got over to you and as she reached you she stood up on her hindlegs, pulling the sponge from her mouth with her left hoof. And then, quite calmly, proceeded to start scrubbing your left side with the sponge. She scrubbed, hard, to the point that it actually hurt a little. Under her thorough and rough attentions the soapy lather started to come off, covered with dirt and flecks of dried blood on the sponge. Zecora brought the sponge down and submerged it into the water, and you watched, admittedly fascinated, as the dirt and muck just detached itself from the sponge, floating down the river on the current... And then the sponge came back up to your sides, and she started scrubbing again, repeating the process.

Through all this she remained silent, and you held your tongue. She was running the show here as far as you were concerned. When she wanted to talk then you two could talk. And you didn't want to slow her down because you were, quite frankly, bucking freezing and she was probably waiting for you to be all clean before chewing you out.

And it is taking plenty of time without interruption... even with her thorough scrubs, the foam seems to take a lot of work to scrub onto the sponge. It's doing it's job efficiently though, as all the muck and grim and blood that was on you is carried down the stream after her scrubbing... Judging by how much is going down after each scrub, you got real filthy real quick. You're almost glad you don't have a hoof mirror. You're not sure you want to know what you looked like.

She scrubbed your left side until it was clean. And then she moved to your right and did the same. You couldn't help but blush when she got to your flank and tail. She scrubbed your tail just as thoroughly as your sides, and your flank. And when she reached down between your hind legs and rubbed over your sheathe... Well, the only thing greater than your blush was the willpower it took to keep your best friend from making an impromptu appearance. You'd have to clean him later yourself of course but now didn't seem the right time to have Zecora handling him, especially when she was being so... rough. Fortunately the one thing the cold was good for besides setting your teeth to bucking chatter-mode was making even your best friend pause for thought on the merits of emerging into the icy water. Between that and your own desperate will you were able to keep him down.

You were more than a little relieved when Zecora finally moved on from your rear and vital parts, but quickly found a new discomfort as she got to your face. You found yourself having to clench your eyes shut and hold your breathe to avoid errant bubbles from finding their way into your nostrils or lather into your eyes. You had to endure her rubbing the sponge hard against your face, then stopping to let the filth downstream, and then bringing the cleaned sponge back up to work on your face again. Luckily that didn't last too long, and you finally breathed a sigh of relief as Zecora pulled your right forehoof up out of the water and started scrubbing it. She rubbed and dunked, and rubbed again, continuing the pattern, and then, when she got up to the knee... she stopped.

After a few moments of nothing happening, save for your making peace with the fact that you were going to be in the cold water forever, you turned your gaze from watching the tail end of lathered filth floating down the stream and looked up to see Zecora gazing at your foreleg with narrowed eyes. Angry eyes. Down at your knee... The scarring.

She spoke, and you found the urge to gulp again. Her voice... cold, unreadable... strange.

"Z-zecora-" You start, only for her eyes to snap up to yours, rage filled orbs burrowing into your sockets as she shouted.

At the top of her lungs. You're not sure what shocked you more. The rage in her voice or the lack of rhyming. She dropped your forehoof, letting it splash into the water, and looked at you with gritted teeth.

She yelled, loud and uncontrolled, causing you to shiver for reasons that had nothing to do with the cold.

She threw her right hoof down into the water, going down to three legs as she sent up a splash, a jet of cold water shooting up from where she planted her hoof and hitting you in the face. You blinked and spluttered, shaking your head as the zebra continued her rant.

Wait, what was that last part? You try to open your mouth on that one but Zecora steams on, not giving you a chance to get in a word edgewise.

Zecora slams her right hoof back down into the water, and another spurt of water shot up from the river, splashing you in the face, causing you to splutter again. You blink your eyes rapidly, brow furrowed as you shake your head. How did she-

She shouted, and as you looked at her once more, blinking away the water, you could see the moisture pooling over the lids of her eyes, and making trails down her cheeks, wetting her coat. Crying... Zecora was so angry and upset that she was crying... ... Well now you feel like crap.

There's only one thing for this. You're not going to like it but, it's all you can think to do... You sigh, closing your eyes... Then take a deep breath in before breathing out slowly... And opening your eyes again, raising your gaze to look Zecora straight in the eyes.

"Okay... You deserve the truth. The whole truth." You speak, as Zecora meets your gaze, tears running down her cheeks, but her glare is strong and unyielding as it meets your eyes.

"I didn't get lost on the edge of the Everfree, and these rods aren't part of a back-based medical condition." You start, bringing your right forehoof up to point towards your back, flexing them up, still covered with the lime-green foam, and wiggling them around a bit, before letting them drop back to your back.

"I woke up in the Everfree lost and alone. I went to sleep in Manehatten and when I woke up I was here. In the forest. I didn't know where I was then. I just know that it was dark and it, well, scared the shit out of me. I figured it out when the storm hit though. There's only one place in Equestria where the weather forms on it's own..." You mutter, dropping your gaze for a few moments as you remember that realization... before looking back up into Zecora's orbs.

"I looked for shelter and found those ruins. I went in to escape from the storm and then started looking for a place to hole up inside. It was dark, I could barely see my hoof in front of my face, and then... then this weird light appeared out of bucking nowhere, in the room where you found me. It was a small blue blip of a thing... kind of like a single star twinkling in the dark... Anyway I got curious and started to move towards it when those wolf-things, the Timberwolves, attacked and... well." You mutter, then raise your front-left hoof up out of the water, still covered in foam, and look down to it for a few moments.

"Then the light flew into my hoof and a sword grew out. Sprouted out of bucking nowhere and impaled a leaping Timberwolf... saved my life. I used it to fend off the others but, well they were ganging up on me and I couldn't see so I wasn't doing to well. But then these rods just, jutted out of my back, tore right through my skin, and then a damn bolt of lightning curled through the window to hit them and suddenly I could direct it. I shot another Timberwolf with it, and that left nothing but a charred corpse. Then I killed the other one with the blade and then I... Well, I kind of had a psychotic break brought about by advanced trauma, and licked it's blood from my blade..." You mutter, lowering your head to look down to the water.

PLOP

The scrubbing sponge goes floating past your right leg, down the river. You look back up to Zecora to see her staring at you with wide shock-filled eyes, mouth agape. You close your own eyes and breathe in deeply, a pit forming in your stomach as you continue.

"Yeah, if you're going to hate me that's a good reason to do it for huh?" You ask, then chuckle humorlessly before sighing, eyes still closed, lowering your head once more.

"Anyways I collapsed on the floor and that's when you found me... And then I woke up in your hut and I was clean and in a warm bed and it felt just so... so awesome. So wonderful. And then I met you and we talked and you fed me and... I'd never had anypony care for me like that before. So I didn't tell you about what happened to me at the castle because I didn't want you to think that I was a freak. I didn't want you to abandon me... ... Well, we got to talking, we cuddled up for a night, you were really cute and I got to watch you sleep for a bit, your chest rising and falling in time with your breath and it was... awesome. And then when I woke up we got talking again and, uh, rutted... I didn't exactly have great technique but I think you came so I guess I didn't totally fail at that..." You murmur further, blushing a bit. You keep your eyes closed, not needing to see how she reacts to memories of your sexual escapades.

"After, um, that, you went to sleep, and I tucked you in... And then I started to read up on the Everfree. I wanted to know if there was something, some kind of explanation for what had happened to me, but I didn't want to tell you because, again, I didn't want you to see me as a freak. And then I started thinking on the blade to see if there was any research on it and it just... appeared again. Slicing through the book and your table, and I'm sorry I didn't mean to do that it happened and I can control it now but I couldn't then! And... well, after that I panicked. After everything you'd done for me I'd destroyed your table and the book, and thought back to when it started happening, and I remembered that it'd started at the castle. So I tried to go there, remembering that you'd made maps of the Everfree, so I took one and borrowed your cloak so that I wouldn't freeze. I thought I would zip there and be back before you woke up, but... that didn't work out. I got lost because I couldn't read it..."

"And I had a few falls, um, fell into a patch of weird looking flowers, started to stumble around and I got into a fight with a couple of chicken-lizard things and I, um, well... won. That's where the blood on my coat and your cloak came from..." You mutter, before breathing in deep, and letting out a choked sigh. There are tears running down your cheeks... you hadn't even noticed them earlier. But they're there, mixing with the river water. You gulp down a lump forming in your throat and keep going.

"And that was when I saw Trixie... I'd met her once in Manehatten a few years ago. It was a very brief, and extremely unpleasant meeting. But she was in the middle of a clearing when I saw her, and she was frightened, and I think those chicken lizard things had turned her to stone... No telling how long she was there. I tried to talk to her and after a, uh, rocky start, we started travelling together looking for you because we were lost, and scared... she didn't admit that though, she just kind of blew past me with her head held high, pretty annoying." You muttered, before shaking your head again.

"Anyways we found a clearing and it was getting late so we called it a night. When I woke up it was to her screaming and there was that Diamond Dog and then he had her against a tree so I summoned my blade, and then I found out that it makes a really loud sound when it hits metal. Hurt his ears and he begged for me to stop, offering anything just to stop the sound. I decided to take his collar... I think I was just pissed he attacked us, and then sent him running into the forest. And then you came and I was happy, but then I was sad because you were mad and everything just felt bad and I know you think of me as a cad who stole your cloak and ruined your book and your table and all that you had and I just-"

The tip of a hoof beneath your chin interrupts you, and a gentle pressure tilts your face up. You open your eyes, tears still escaping from them, to see Zecora's looking into your eyes with a soft smile, and tears running down her cheeks. She leans forward and plants a soft kiss on your lips...

You close your eyes, breathing in her scent once more and open your mouth as you feel her tongue slip in past your teeth and touch your own. You run your tongue over hers and they interlock with one another, sharing a mix of flavors old and new, tangy and strong and foreign, unknown and unidentifiable but delicious all the same. The kiss continues for several moments, and then slowly Zecora leans back, tongue retreating from your mouth as you open your eyes, a faint trail of saliva connecting you and her by the tips of your tongues...

Both you and she were panting slightly, a soft blush staining her cheeks, and judging by the heat in your cheeks one on yours as well. Zecora sighed out softly, closing her mouth and bringing her right forehoof up to rub your cheek gently, tilting her head down and closing her eyes... You sheathe your orbs as well as you feel her hoof gently stroking your cheek, letting yourself get lost in the feeling, basking in the physical contact.

She spoke gently, her soft voice caressing your ears.

Spoke Zecora gently, and you opened your eyes as you felt her left hoof on your right cheek, and looked up into her orbs as she held your cheeks in her hooves, gazing into your eyes intently.

She spoke, her voice soft, compassionate, and full of love. You blink, then smile, relieved, and breathe out heavily, more moisture collecting at the edges of your eyes and running down your cheeks.

"Okay... yes, I will... I... thank you..." You speak, your voice soft and choked up, squeezing your eyes shut as more moisture builds up, and for some reason it doesn't stop coming. You try to make some comment about it, but your throat seizes up, and suddenly all you can do is just stand there in the river, half foam-covered, and cry like a little foal. You feel Zecora's forelegs wrap around you, and her right hoof strokes your back gently as her left moves up to your mane stroking it softly through the suds as she softly coos in your ear, shushing you gently, holding you close in the water as you sob your eyes out...

You have the collar, use it to your advantage. Trixie already has her collar so who would the other one be from? Gift it to Zecora, it will make up for the cape and curb her anger.

You need to do something about your smell. Being in a forest with deadly animals, having a strong scent would not be good.

The Chessmaster

Give the collar to Zecora? Well, why not! A beautiful trophy for a beautiful trophy. After you cleaned the thing, of course. And it'll surely look at least as nice on Zecora as on Trixie.

You'll decide later on what Trixie gets, be it a gift, a hug or a spanking, depending on how she treats you from now on. She's still got some bad brownie points to work off, after all...

After you recover from what feels like your umpteenth unstallionly act in the space of about two days, Zecora fetches another sponge from her basket to finish washing you. You actually get up the nerve to ask her about the strange soap basket, figuring the soap itself is a conversation for when you have the mental faculties to process it. It turns out that it actually IS a nest that was so well made she decided to use it as a bowl. One of her Ponyville friends gave it to her during Winter Wrap-Up.

Which you at first don't get because in Manehatten Winter Wrap-Up's a five minute event between unicorn mages and the Weather Team. Apparently though it's a rather big deal in this Ponyville place, done the 'traditional' way and used as a form of community bonding. Zecora apparently decided to help out this last Winter Wrap-Up, as part of the 'Animal' team? And after her help she was given the nest as a thank you gift, and also an apology for earlier treatment. Zecora said that it was a 'very generous act and that's a fact'. Since she said it with an amused twinkle in her eye you can guess that it was some kind of inside joke.

Regardless, you're soon scrubbed free of the foam, though you do notice that Zecora paused when she got to your mane... and stopped longer at your back... But she didn't say anything and frankly you've had enough bad news and emotional drama for today. You want to get in the hut, sit down, breathe in, and bucking relax! If it's important you're sure she'll bring it up.

And every step out of the river is a step closer to relaxation as you walk back onto the riverbank, the scrubbing finally done. Zecora dries you off quickly with a small yellow towel, kept beneath the bird's nest in her right saddle-basket. You can't get dry soon enough. What was cold in the water is freezing out in the chill air. You shake and shiver and occasionally chatter as Zecora runs the towel over you, scrubbing just as thoroughly to dry you off as she did to clean you up. And you do feel clean. Very clean. Zecora's attentions, while a little painful, have scrubbed away the grime and the blood and the stink, and left you with your coat and mane feeling nice, good... a little sexy even. Now you DO wish you had a hoof mirror.

The same can't be said for the cloak though... It's still stained with blood and dirt, rough and tumble, in a state of disarray... You feel more than a little bad about it. When you ask Zecora if you should wash it though, she simply sighs out, sounding as emotionally exhausted as you, and says-

She spoke, and you nodded, accepting her ruling as you pulled it on. Then furrowed your brows, thinking for a second. You looked back to Zecora, watching her pack up her towel and birds-nest for a moment, then looked back to the cloak now back around your shoulders. Quickly, you started to dig around in it for that flower you found. You can't believe you almost forgot about it, you cut it out just in case she might like it, right? But instead of finding the flower bulb your hooves find the Diamond Dog collar stuffed into it's pocket. You're about to put it back, when you stop, pull it out, and hold it in your hooves, looking it over for a moment... She... she might actually like this more. Diamonds are a mare's best friend right? And they're worth something. And it'll probably cost her something to replace what you destroyed so...

"Um, Zecora..." You say turning with the collar held between your hooves, looking towards the zebra mare, her back still turned as she finishes closing the lids of her baskets.

Asked Zecora, as she bent her neck down and slid the saddle-baskets back up onto her back, then reached over and picked up her bamboo stick in her mouth.

"Uh, I was thinking, since I kind of wrecked your book and your table, maybe... Well, this has diamonds in it and they're worth a bit, well not a bit, they're worth more than a bit! I don't know how much more because I've never had any diamonds but, uhh, you know if you want then you can... have this. For the diamonds and stuff..." You speak, blushing for some reason and looking down at the stones beneath your hooves.

After a moment you hear a muffled chuckle coming from Zecora, then you feel the collar sliding off your hoof as the zebra mare speaks, mouth free of obstruction.

She stated and you looked up to see her with an amused smile, bamboo staff in it's little loop on her back between the saddle-baskets, her left hoof holding the collar and her right forehoof flipping open her left saddle-basket. She calmly brought her right hoof and left hoof together, and scrunched up the collar, folding it into itself, before depositing it into the basket. Then with a flick of her left hoof she closed the basket, bringing her hooves back down to the ground and looking to you again with a smile.

Once you've returned to your hut, you will all need some rest, probably. Try to apologise for the table. Just try to make up in general. Fighting with your Zebra won't be any fun, and you need a way to take your mind off of things.

Maybe once things have settled down a bit, you can ask Zecora about some of the things that kept creeping around in your head, like this "herds" idea. You've seen some crazy sh*t over the last few days, so it's only natural that you be curious. And really, if the other Zebras are half as wonderful as Zecora is, it's hard to imagine that they would have some kind of evil mojo to enslave others... or perhaps they do. It just won't leave you alone until you know. Come to think of it, why exactly did she leaver her people behind- was there anything like that going on, and she fled?

Also, you need to do something about Trixie. Nothing drastic! At least not until she's back to being unbearable. And boy, is she ever... you know, you should talk with your Zebra about what to do with Trixie. Explain to her how little Trixie has shown herself capable of surviving the Everfree alone, and how utterly mean she's been, despite you saving her. And something about "crimes against ponykind", what's up with that? Anyhow: it's obvious that, as of now, Trixie can't be trusted to make do on her own. She needs some guidance. She definitely needs that, and you don't really know what to do if she doesn't want it. However, Zecora probably does knows how to deal with patients who refuse treatment.

break trixe and turn her into your slave

On the way back you are, once again, treated to a rather nice view of Zecora's rump, sashaying back and forth. You smile a bit, watching it move, but then your brows furrow as you think back to something Zecora said in the water...

"Hey Zecora?"

She responds, the light throat noise not worth a rhyme as she turned her head over her left shoulder to look back to you.

"You said that your people had a practice of herds, with multiple mares, or sometimes stallions, to one zebra... But you seemed really angry about the thought that Trixie might be my lover. Was that part of why you left your tribe? Was there something... sinister in the herds design? Did zebras do something or...?"

You let your question taper off, and Zecora looked back forward, quiet for a few moments as you continued to walk... You start to worry that you might have offended her, before she finally spoke.

You blush a bit as Zecora figures looks back over her left shoulder to you with a smirk, having figured out your rump-ogling... It probably wasn't too hard to guess at. But regardless of your flank fixation you turn your head away and see that she's right! In no time at all you are, once again, in front of Zecora's hut. You follow her as she pushes open the door and walks in, and DOES NOT shut the door in your face this time.

As you step back into the warm familiar hut interior you breathe in the abode's scent deeply. The sweet sweet smell of herbs and spices, chemicals and flower petals, and still other unidentified substances fill your nostrils. Your eyes take in Zecora's hut with all it's glory, the charms and masks on the walls, the shelves filled with potions, the rows of books in their shelves, the cauldron in the center strangely bereft of water, and the table that still has the large jagged cut from your... accident. The scrolls and books have all been cleaned up and moved to their appropriate chests and shelves, leaving the table bare with evidence of your impropriety, and strangely enough that mysterious chest you kept look at seems to have been moved somewhere out of sight. But you don't care! You're safe again!

You breathe out a sigh of relief and prompty drop down to the floor, planting a kiss on the wood, uncaring of whatever dirt might have been tracked upon it.

"Thank you Celestia..." You mutter. And then, from out of nowhere, a loud rumble shakes your stomach, filling up the room. The sound of a muffled laugh-snort causes you to look up, to see Zecora, her hoof over her mouth, suppressing laughter as she looks at you stretched out on the floor. She clears her throat, and lowers her hoof, still smirking slightly.

She spoke, and a blush colored your cheeks as you grinned sheepishly.

"Hehehe, you, uh, might be onto something there." You speak, before getting to your hooves awkwardly, bringing your front-right hoof up to your mouth and coughing away embarrassment. Zecora smirked, a humored look in her eyes, as she nodded her head over towards the bedroom door.

She spoke, before turning, and moving over towards the cauldron. You blink, then look over towards the bedroom... Well that makes sense. Trixie was hurt, most comfortable place in the hut... Guess you don't have to be jealous of that considering she's injured...

You're almost about to walk towards the door, when another thought pops into your head. You stop, blink, and lick your lips slightly, turning to look to Zecora as she pulls her bamboo stick from it's loop, and mounts it up against the wall next to a bookshelf.

"Um, Zecora, should I be... careful around Trixie? Take any kind of precautions? I mean, is it really safe to be around her?" You ask, and Zecora turns to look at you with her left eyebrow raised, a confused look in her eyes.

She asked simply in reply, and you gulp a bit before continuing.

"Um, well, Trixie said something about crimes against ponykind when we first met, and you mentioned something about her being a thief and about a plot to have me steal things so... is she dangerous or...?" You ask, raising your right eyebrow. Zecora blinked a bit, looking at you for a moment, then lowered her head again, looking away, thinking for a moment... Before responding calmly.

Finished Zecora, before looking back up to you with a smile.

Stated Zecora, and you nodded slightly, breathing in deep, then out slowly, fear assuaged.

"Okay, thank you Zecora." You state simply, before turning, and starting to move towards the bedroom doorway.

As you walk towards the bedroom, your head suddenly feels kind of groggy... You stumble a bit and then blink, and shake your head. Huh... must be the exhaustion. You simply acknowledged this obvious fact to yourself, and proceeded to enter into the bedroom, where the showmare had made herself more than home.

Trixie was laid back on the bed with her head resting on the pillow, eyes closed, forehooves up over the covers and blankets, laying at her sides. Zecora seemed to have taken pretty good care of the showmare. The blood from Trixie's coat was gone and it actually looked pretty appealing again. Clean and pretty with an attractive luster to it. Zecora probably bathed her in the cauldron. More comfortable with hot water, never mind the subtle hints of cannibalism. Well actually since Zecora's a zebra and Trixie's a pony, it wouldn't really be cannabilism would it? Just carnivorism... Which probably isn't a word but your brain gets the point!

You'd have liked to mentally comment on Trixie's mane, but the truth is you can't really see it save for a small tuft sticking out. Trixie's head has been bandaged. Heavily. With the bandages wrapping around the gash beneath her horn to the back of her head, and all around her horn as well, going from front to back, the unicorn's genetic legacy sticking out from between the bandages. As if that weren't enough there were even more bandages wrapping up to the back from beneath her chin, as if just to make sure there was enough bandaging going on.

Looking closer though, you were able to see some lumps beneath the bandages, like they were holding something besides just themselves over the gash and bruising around her horn and the cut at the back of her head. And around her neck is a circle of soft white cloths, over the bruises, each of them glistening like they were coated in some kind of liquid.

Trixie, for all the bandaging and medical treatment, seems to be quite at home in another mare's bed. You can't blame her, it's a bucking awesome bed. She's laying back with a content expression on her face. She actually looks asleep, her eyes closed, her breathing steady. You smirk a bit. Maybe she should take hits to the head more often. She actually looks cute like this.

You move forward, over to her bedside, raise your left hoof up, and proceed to poke Trixie's left foreleg with your hoof.

Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke.

"Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Wake up. Hey. Hey. Wake up. Hey." You state in accompaniment with your poking, the showmare grumbling slightly, shifting on the bed, muttering a bit, and then opening her eyes slowly, looking up at you from the bed.

"Ugghh... why do... you disturb the... Great and Powerful Trixie's, great and powerful 'yawn' slumber?" She asked, groggily, grumpily, and not a little frumpily. You smile lightly, and avoid giggling at her expense... you kind of like her like this. She's funny when she's not loud!

"Zecora wants to know, what do you want for dinner?" You ask pleasantly, and the showmare closes her eyes muttering a bit. You cock your right brow and lean forward, unable to hear her request.

"What was that Trixie?"

"'grumble grumble' Peanut butter." ... You take a moment to give her a disbelieving gaze, with a side of arched right eyebrow that she doesn't seem to notice.

"Peanut butter?" You ask, letting the disbelief and doubt at her lone culinary choice color your voice, once again your disapproval going completely over her head.

"Yesh... and crackers..." She further muttered, and you nod slowly, the choice slightly more believable now.

"Peanut butter AND crackers... Well, I'll let Zecora know and she'll see what she can do." You state simply, then turn and start to move away, when Trixie pipes up again with her muttering voice.

"Urgh, yes ... show your gratitude..." She muttered, the sound of her form shifting position in the bed slightly reaching your ears as you stop dead in your tracks.

"Gratitude? For what?" You ask, pleasantness still tinging your voice.

"For... my saving you..." She muttered. And in that instant your blood ran cold.

"You... save... me?" You speak, slowly pronouncing every word as your right eye begins to twitch.

"Well you helped... some..." Muttered the still groggy showmare, oblivious to the deadly ground on which now she now tread.

"Some? I helped SOME?!" You hissed, barely fighting to keep your voice from full-out yelling, before whirling around and galloping back over to the bed, slamming your hooves onto the side.

"I saved your damn flank! You needed me to bail your sorry plot out!" You continue to hiss, as a suddenly very awake Trixie's gaze snaps to yours, wide-eyed.

"T-the Great and Powerful Trixie needs nopony! S-she would have been-"

"DEAD." You interject, glaring into her eyes, your right eye continuing to twitch.

"Deceased, rotted, a feast for worms, six feet under, have kicked the bucket, passed the expiration date, met her terminal end, turned a deeper shade of blue, gone to a higher court, met her maker, died!"

You practically spit, leaning forward with every phrase, the showmare sinking back from you into her pillow, eyes widening with fear.

"Or maybe that Diamond Dog would have taken you under and used you like a two-bit whorse! A bitch with her tail up in the air for some Diamond Dog dong! THAT is what the Great and Powerful Trixie would be, a sloppy and sobbing Diamond Dog cumbucket, if I hadn't been there to bail her sorry flank out! So the least she could do, instead of asserting her Celestia damned delusions as facts and treating me like a bucking servant, is express the tiny bit of gratitude, of a nice and proper thank you!" You hiss, glaring into the Trixie's eyes. The terrified showmare is now hiding beneath her covers, the blankets pulled up to beneath her nose, holding them in her hooves, shaking like a leaf in the bed.

"T-t-t-thank you..." She manages to squeak out, shaking as you glare into her orbs... And just like that you feel better. Your eye stops twitching, you smile, and you lean forward to plant a soft kiss on Trixie's forehead. She looks at you with surprise as you lean back and smile pleasantly.

"You're quite welcome Trixie." You say simply and reach out to give Trixie a light pat on the head with your right hoof.

"Now I'll go let Zecora know that you're in the mood for peanut butter crackers. You rest up! Your little noggin obviously took quite a beating!" You say cheerfully, before turning back and trotting out of the room like nothing had happened, Trixie no doubt watching you with confusion in her eyes.

Well now that's done! It's about evening, you're home, Zecora's cooking, Trixie's resting, and you feel great! What do you do?!

Author's Notes:

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Finally! It's finally done! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! ... ... Ahem. Right then.

I'm sorry about the delay on this one. I like to get this done on an at least semi-consistent weekly schedule, and I hate having to make you all wait like this. Things took up my time though, mainly schoolwork, and this chapter was one that demanded numerous elements be addressed in multiple situations, multiple things that HAD to happen to tie everything together. My longest yet actually. There's some irony to being the most distracted when I had the most to do.

I had to push the deadline back and I've pretty much run myself ragged trying to get it done by tonight and not make you all wait another week. I only hope that it isn't disappointing after the wait and that the quality didn't suffer too terribly. I won't lie, lost a lot of energy by the end. Editing was a nightmare and I still had other things to do. I was ready to be DONE. So, like I said, hope the quality didn't suffer too much... Please be forgiving.

Now on a completely unrelated note, I have SUCH a love-hate relationship with Zecora's writing. On the one hand it is so wonderfully cool that she's always rhyming, and on the other it turns simple sentences into challenges to find the right word structure. Instead of saying "I have to go to the bathroom." Zecora needs to say something like "Pardon me, but I must pee." Fun yet frustrating.

Oh! And this is on my mind. I'd like to ask everyone to please remember to be courteous to your fellow commentators. This is a game about player suggestions guiding the overall story, and while I love to watch the discussions, debates, and thought patterns that emerge, I would hate for somebody to get discouraged from future suggestions and contributions. Please keep general politeness and positive thought in mind when discussing strategies and debating the best tactics.