*Examines horn* That was unexpected. Of course, by this point finding out you're a reincarnation of Discord wouldn't raise an eyebrow. Well, this should give us something new to practice with at least. I wonder what Zecora would... *looks at the Illusionist's bleeding and beaten rear* ...buck. Zecora is not going to be pleased with this. Right first things first, ensure the Showmare's silence. After all, if she tells Zecora what you did, you'd have to tell her why.

2. Ensure she doesn't tell Zecora about her reprimand.

seconded.

Poke... poke... ... poke poke poke poke.

You poke your new horn with the tip of your right forehoof. Nudging it again and again, not entirely sure if it's real or not. As your hoof keeps touching a bone-like protrusion with a point, causing little spurts of pain to ring through your head with each touch, you're pretty sure it is. Now you're just unsure what to think about it. It's not that you particularly mind having a horn sticking out of your head, but... well... ... but you've got a horn sticking out of your head! That makes you a Unicorn! But you're not a Unicorn, you're an Earth Pony! And you're not an Alicorn because they have wings and a horn! And... Just what the buck are you supposed to call yourself now!? Unipony?! Earthcorn!? Buck!

Oddly enough it's only now that you're starting to worry about defining your racial identity. When all that random shit was popping out of your body you were just like, I'm an Earth Pony with random shit popping out of my body, and now? Now because you've got a horn you're worried that ponies might start seeing you as a Unicorn... ... Huh. Your priorities might be a bit bucked up here. Are you actually a tribalist deep down? If you are then you REALLY need to get your head back on straight.

"O-oh 'sniff' oh dear Celestia 'sob' Make it sto-o-o-oppppp!!!"

Speaking of tribalists... You turn your gaze over to Trixie, the prissy showmare upon whom you have unloaded a well-deserved flank-focused smack-down. And you have to say... she looks pretty pathetic.

The arrogant bitch-whore, pardon your language, is lying on her side with her muzzle pointed towards you, twitching and shaking on the floor where you let her fall. Her legs are pulled up and tucked into her body, forelegs to her chest and hind legs to stomach, as she rocks back and forth on the hard wooden surface, sobbing her eyes out. Her tail is flipped up, revealing her beaten flank, covered in vicious red welts and a pair of shallow cuts which are still leaking out thin trails of blood, dying her fur. Her hindquarters have been ravaged to the point that it causes her pain to let the hairs of her own hair touch her plot. Even without anything but air making contact with the beaten and battered backside, her flank is obviously hurting like Tartarus. The pure burning pain is etched into her face, in the tears trailing down her cheeks and snot streaming out of her nose, and sounded in the gut-wrenching sobs and whimpering pleas that carry to your ears.

The short of it is that she looks pretty terrible. Though considering that you're the pony directly responsible for her current state of unattractive blubbering, it's probably not fair for you to judge. Probably most mares would look less than stellar when reduced to quivering sobbing wrecks on the floor, unable to even lower their tails to hide their plots, and subsequently their cunts either which if taken the wrong way could make it seem like you did this for perverse reasons. You didn't of course, the beating was entirely for her education. And your venting. Okay and maybe you did enjoy it a bit, but the point is it was for her! You were beating her with her best interests at heart.

Looks and moral justification aside, she's obviously not going to be able to go anywhere or do anything like this... And that little realization makes an all too familiar fear bubble up in your gut.

Oh Buck! Zecora would NOT approve if she saw Trixie in this state! Buck it she thought Trixie was trying to steal shit, which apparently she was, and she still treated her like she was a damn princess! The cunt absolutely deserved your harsh treatment, but you can't kid yourself into thinking Zecora would agree... Obviously you're going to need to do some damage control. Get things fixed up, get things hid! You don't want Zecora to worry more after all. But first, before anything else, you're going to have to make sure the red-plotted showmare knows not to go yapping to your zebra...

You get to your hooves on shaky legs, then close your eyes and groan. Head still kind of hurts from the whole, horn popping out of your skull thing. You let out a frustrated sigh, straighten up, steady yourself, open your eyes, and then start to walk over towards the sobbing showmare.

Trixie's so caught up in the pain of her red-hot flank that she doesn't notice your approach until you're practically in front of her. Her head snaps up to you as you come to a stop next to her head, her eyes wide and lips trembling, snot still running down her nose over her bandages. You grimace a bit at that. Between the tears and the snot the bandages are getting rather wet. Is that a problem? ... ... Might need to look into that. Trixie's concerns however have nothing to do with her bandages, as she shivers and shakes on the ground before you, and lets out a choking plea.

"P-p-please don't h-hurt me any m-m-more!" She let out, before resuming her sobs, gasping breaths and hiccups mixed into her painful cries. And that fills you with relief. She certainly seems open to suggestion right now, being afraid of you. And you aren't scum for liking that she's afraid! No, this has all been done for her sake after all, because she earned it and deserved it. She needed to know that there were consequences for her actions! And speaking of...

You bend yourself down slowly, folding your forelegs to rest the knees against the hard wood, leaning down close to Trixie's tear-streaked, snot-covered face. You look down to Trixie's closed wet orbs, tear-stained trails on her cheeks, and begin to speak in a steady voice.

"Trixie, I'm not going to hurt you." You state plainly, causing Trixie to open her eyes, looking up to you with her own tear-filled orbs.

"You're 'sniff' not?" She asks, tentatively, shakily, and you give her a slight nod of affirmation.

"You've already been punished you for your transgression. If you don't do anything else stupid then I won't have to punish you again. And keep in mind that "stupid" Includes worrying Zecora with the specifics of your punishment. I will inform her of your actions, and why you had to be disciplined. If you try to take initiative yourself and ruin her mood with your biased version of events, then I'm going to have to punish you again. And I won't be nearly as NICE about it as I was this time..."

You speak, gritting your teeth and letting your eyes flash with menace. Trixie's own eyes turn to pinpricks on white as she stares up at you, like a filly cowering from a thunderstorm... You're actually kind of surprised she hasn't pissed herself by now.

"Do you understand me Trixie?" You ask, moving on past the whole peeing thought. Trixie opened her mouth, then closed it, then let out a particularly strong hiccup, followed by a loud-

SNORT!

Before letting out a shaky breathe, and a stuttering-

"U-u-u-u-u-u-u-uh-huh."

You raise your eyebrow at the mare's rather pathetic and kind of gross display, before shaking your head free of the expression, and giving the showmare a smile.

"Good." You say sweetly, then stand up with a self-satisfied smirk on your face.

"Now, let's get you fixed up!"

Ok, we can deal with this... we got this. Trixie is scared enough that she won't talk, the fact that you grew a sword out of your arm insured that. Now fix her ass. You broke it, fix that shit. You have magic use it. Desperation should be enough to help. If there is still some damage left, go find some of that healing stuff Zecora has. That will be last though. She will notice if it is missing.

The Chessmaster

seconded

You step around Trixie's shaking form to her backside and lean down, your eyes narrowed and roaming over her beaten and battered flank. You certainly did a number on it. Between the welts, cuts, dying red of the fur from the blood, and irritation of the skin beneath her coat, her rump is an absolute mess. Buck! This little punishment of yours might leave scars if you don't get it fixed up. And considering that you'll get in trouble with Zecora if you don't, you'd best get to doing just that.

With this simple fact acknowledged in your brain you lean back and close your eyes. Your first idea is, of course, to put the bloody horn in your head to use. Unicorn magic is like a fix-all right? You should be able to use it to fix Trixie. Wish away the damage, mend her bum, something like that.

You focus on your horn, and you... feel it. Every boney inch of it, pulsing with energy, responding to your thought. You can also feel something else along with the horn, something you've never felt before... Earth Pony energy, deep inside of you. You've always known your Earth Pony magic was there, waiting to come out and lend aid if you ever cared for plants, and help reinforce your body against the elements. Still you've never actually felt it before, known for absolute certain that the magic was inside of you... It's rather comforting really.

But that's all secondary. Time to put that energy to work. You roll your shoulders, lick your lips, stare at Trixie's plot, and begin to focus your energies... Your Earthborn power begins to drift up, leaking from every other part of your body and funneling into your horn. You can feel it gathering up like sludge at the base of your skull. Then you feel it slowly moving up through the bone, like the horn's sucking it up, spiraling and twisting along like a snake coiling up a pipe. As the power moves along the bone, a dim, flickering green glow begins to encompass your horn, slinking up with the power. And then, you feel it reach the end of it's arch as it starts to touch to the tip of your horn and-

"AGGGGHHH!!!" A searing pain smashes through your skull like a wrecking ball through a brick wall, and you collapse onto the floor with your teeth gritted and your head pounding in your skull, glow snuffed out and the power disseminated back into your body. The-

"Eeeep!"

Let out by Trixie at your sudden cry and subsequent collapse does not help. It does in fact make the renewed migraine slamming in your head even worse, and cause you to curse the damned showmare's bucking voice even more than you already had. Well... chalk one up for bad experiences. Apparently you're not in any condition to use unicorn magic... hope that changes, otherwise you just got one bucking useless head accessory.

You slowly open your eyes back up, blinking away the tears that have gathered at the corners, and shakily get back up onto your hooves, trying to ignore the pain pulsing through your skull.

"Ugh... Buuuuuuuuuuuck..." You groan, as Trixie looks up at you with wide eyes, her sobs brought under tenuous control, but tears still coming free and fresh, eyes red from the constant crying.

"A-are you a-a-alright?" She asks, tentatively, lip trembling lightly as she stutters out her query. You open your eyes and look down at her with aggravation. Her question does nothing but make your head hurt... however, you close your eyes, take a calming breath, and then breathe out slowly... Trixie is asking about your welfare and your health, showing concern for a pony besides herself, namely you. That is right and proper, and should not be punished just because you're in pain at the moment. You take another deep breath in, then out once more, before opening your eyes and looking to Trixie with a calm gaze.

"Yes I'm fine. Thank you for the concern." You state tersely, unable to keep all the aggravation out of your voice, even as the pounding pain begins to fade to a dull ache. You bring your right forehoof up to rub your forehead... and wince as you accidently nudge your horn, sending a searing jolt of pain into your skull anew. You bite your bottom lip to prevent you from crying out, and take another deep breath in. After a moment you let out yet another sigh of aggravation... and then move your hoof to touch your forehead a few inches BELOW the horn, beginning to rub your forehead in slow short circles.

Trixie, wisely, stays quiet as you stand with closed eyes, rubbing your head with your forehoof... After a few moments of letting your head pain subside, you open your mouth.

"Okay..." You mutter, then lower your hoof from your head, back onto the floor. You open your eyes and turn your gaze to the walls of Zecora's hut, running along the lengths of her shelves.

"Let's see if we can't figure something else out..."

6. Start reading some of the books Zecora has, while waiting for your lover to return.

You have no BUCKING idea what's what in Zecora's hut. All the multicolored bottles and jars are either unlabeled or just have pictures on them, pictures that you presume are probably part of Zecora's language, but you don't know how to read it. The thing about Zecora though is that she's not just a sexy, strong, independent mare with a flank you could bounce a bit off of and a tasty gash you could lick at all day. She's also an intelligent and well-read healer who takes her duties seriously, a scholar and researcher, a studious mind that seeks knowledge and learns for the pleasure of learning, before transferring her knowledge into new healing techniques. And something all scholars, studious researchers, and practitioners of alchemical arts need is notes. Records. Archives of collected knowledge which they are able to use at the drop of a hat. So as your head gets woozy, you are able to come to a simple conclusion.

"Zecora likely has a compendium of her preferred remedies as well as proper methods of application. Written on a scroll? That seems to be her preferred writing form, but it'd fill up pretty fast, not good for large amounts of information, the more she learned the more she'd need and if she lost one it could potentially be damning for her patient. She'd need all that information in one easy to reach place where she could get to it quickly, hence a compendium, so more probably a book..." You mutter as you bring your fright forehoof up to your chin and give it a thoughtful rub.

Trixie watches as you mutter to yourself, her brows furrowed in confusion. She bites her bottom lip, then licks her lips, and opens her mouth, before tentatively asking.

"Umm... A-are... are you talking to m-" She starts to ask, only to be cut off by you, raising your forehoof from your chin and using it to give her a dismissive wave.

"No, no Trixie. No need to worry your pretty little head about this, just keep laying there, I'll be with you shortly." You mutter, having no need or desire for distractions from the incompetent showmare. You lower your hoof back down to the ground, and humming lightly to yourself, trot over to one of the nearby bookshelves, watching your hooves to make sure you don't trip over any of the objects that Trixie so thoughtlessly scattered about. Upon reaching the shelf you narrow your eyes and peer forward, examining carefully as you continue your recent pattern of self-conversation.

"Now if Zecora was going to make a compendium of cures it'd be worn, used often, larger than necessary to accomadate future entries, more like a journal than a professional book, likely no title on the spine, custom labeling if any. Might even be part of a set, Zecora never stops researching, it's very possible she's filled more than one book..." You state as you look over the shelf, then bring your right forehoof up to run along the spines of the books, lips moving as your eyes search.

"Title on spine, title on spine, title on spine, no title on spine but new... maybe? Keep in mind. Title on spine, title on spine, title on spine, pictures on spine... ... The Lusty Zebrican Maid? Hm. Title on spine, title on spine, no title on spine and worn!" You declare, leaning forward and plucking a single book from the shelf with your teeth. It's bound in an aged brown material, and it's pages look fairly old. More importantly it looks worn from use, opened and closed and carried and dropped, edges dulled, likely from aforementioned drops.

As good a choice to start with as any, and possibly better if your logic is correct. You turn, and trot happily over to the dining table, the one where you always eat and where you sliced a mark into the wood that will probably never go away... Dagnabbit. Ignoring that aggravating reminder of your own shortcomings, you plop the book down onto the table, then move your left forehoof up to the cover, opening it up. You start to turn through the pages, peering down curiously at sketches and pictures of various substances, text crammed into spaces next to the pictures, and even-

"Aha! What's this?!" You ask with a grin on your face and a shining light in your eyes.

"She keeps a compendium translated in both Equestrian AND Zebran! ... Or is it Zebrican? I'll have to ask, the point is that it's translated! And useful physical illustrations to... I wonder, how long HAS she been in Equestria? Or are these translations recent, does seem a little crowded..." You mutter, questioning to yourself as you rapidly flip through the pages.

You get to healing salves quickly enough, one of which you recognize from Zecora's little romp in the Everfree and- huh it's scent overwrites natural scents in the area if left open, thereby removing scent trails, what an interesting side-effect. Oh! She used that to stop the Diamond Dogs from being able to trace you all back to the hut when she left the jar! Brilliant! And in any case it looks like there's a variant that's more suited to work on welts and cuts. Let's see... shape, color, composition, proper application...

You turn your gaze back to the mess, narrowing your eyes as you look at a simple search turned into a scavenger hunt... You sigh, shaking your head, and then look at the picture of the jar again. Small squat jar, dark brown ceramic, covered with a white cloth, substance inside is a luminescent green that glows, cleans infected tissue, mends wounds, soothes pain, and also removes blood from fur. Definitely the one you want to use. You give yourself a nod, the bottle's appearance clear in your mind, before turning and starting to trot through the mess. With furrowed brows you lean down and examine the scattered bottles, looking at each one as you walk through the collections of scattered life-saving brews.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no definitely not, no, no, no, no, no, no, aha! This might be it!" You state pleasantly, before picking up the jar in your left forehoof and looking it over. You look over to Trixie who has NOT moved from that spot, from pain or fear of you you're not sure. You take the jar in your teeth, awkwardly getting a grip on it by biting into the cloth, luckily not through. You trot over to Trixie posh little backside, and then get down on all fours at Trixie's flank, setting the jar down on the floor. Trixie proceeded to lean up and look back over her left shoulder towards you, tears mostly dry by now, but an anxious expression clear in her eyes.

"Ummm, i-is... will that help?" Asked Trixie, cautiously eyeing the jar as you leaned over it, and pulled off the cloth top with your teeth, laying it to the side to reveal the luminescent green ointment within.

"Certainly! This will heal Trixie's broken little tush! Hopefully. If I got the right one." You state cheerfully before moving your left forehoof into the goop. It's sticky, kind of cold, almost ticklish. You feel it tingling on your hoof even as you dig a good chunk of it out with your hoof, and push it up against Trixie's posh little rear, right over your first cut.

"EEEP!" Squealed the great and powerful Trixie, eyes going wide. Her legs start to push up, but you bring your right forehoof up and around quickly to her lower back, just past the tail. You don't actually have the strength in your forehoof to push her down, but you manage to stop her ascent as you bark out at the mare.

"Now hold still Trixie!"

"B-but it hurts the Great and-"

"Trixie! This is to help you get better! You do want to get better don't you, make the pain stop hurting?" You ask.

"I- y-yes."

"Then lay down, and let me apply the ointment. Don't be such a foal." You chide, and Trixie, gulping down a lump in her throat and whimpering softly settled down back onto all fours. She turned her eyes back to you, orbs tearing up again, as you dig your hoof back into the ointment.

"That's better." You state plainly, before pulling your hoof back out of the jar, and proceeding to apply it to her sweet little tush once more...

Now you're going to be nice to Trixie: she gets to make up for what she did by putting Zecora's things back, and then telling you what she was looking for. Make it clear to her that she's on thin ice as it is; and that giving her a chance to clean up is, in fact, being nice.

That little CUNT!! She dared to violate Zecora's good will! At least that spanking has set her somewhat striaght. Now then, let's get this mess cleaned up. Making Trixie do it seems like an appropriate punishment for making this mess.

Secondary Objectives:

4. Make her put Zecora's stuff back.

It didn't take long for you to coat the entirety of Trixie's backside in the salve. And her plot glowed green. Literally. It was shining because of the salve, like a full moon on a clear night... or a luminescent plot on a whiny mare. Whatever.

Trixie's grunts of pain had died down considerably over the course of the treatment, and by the time you were done she was only whimpering on occasion. You sighed as you leaned back, done with the treatment, and lowered your left forehoof down onto the wood, eyeing Trixie's flank to see if you missed a spot... and to leer at her pretty little gash while her tail was still up. After all, you deserved a bit of a reward after all that hard work, didn't you? Sure you did.

Smirking a bit at the view, then shaking your head and resuming your examination, you deduce that you've coated her behind as thoroughly as could reasonably be expected.

"There, how does it feel?" You ask, turning you gaze back up to Trixie's eyes as opposed the infinitely more pleasant parts of her. The mare gulps, coughs a bit, clears her throat, and then speaks with her voice a little hoarse.

"U-um, the g-great and powerful T-Trixie's, 'gulp' flank feels b-better." She spoke, before lowering her head back down to the ground, blushing a bit.

"Good, I'm glad." You stated calmly, and you were. It'd help her keep her composure when Zecora came back. Speaking of... You turned your gaze over the mess all around, the scattered objects, narrowing your eyes.

"And now you can get to work cleaning up the mess you made." You stated simply. Causing Trixie to snap her head up and look to you with wide eyes, her mouth opening slightly.

"W-what! B-but Trixie isn't, s-she doesn't, I-it'll take-"

"No buts little filly!" You bark, sharply, getting up to your hooves.

"You made the mess, you fix it. This little escapade of yours is reason enough to throw you right back onto your plot out into the Everfree! However I am VERY KINDLY giving you this opportunity to fix the damage you've done! This is a chance to make amends for your wrong-doing Trixie! A chance to make up for how you've treated Zecora's hospitality... I suggest you take it." You speak, narrowing your eyes. Trixie flinched back, a flash of fear entering her eyes as she looked into yours, and then lowered her head slowly, looking down to the floor.

"O-okay..." She muttered, not meeting your eyes.

"Good filly. Now don't try to put everything right back where you found it, just try to organize it near to the chests, get things out of the way where nopony will trip on them. Get things semi-presentable."

Trixie was quiet for a few more moments, before slowly, shakily, getting to her hooves. Then sulking, sniffling, and almost limping, Trixie slowly moved over to a nearby long-necked brown bottle with a cork, leaned down, and picked it up in her teeth...

Right, so. Damn, man.

Alright mister King-of-the-Everfree, what are you going to do now? Trixie's bloody, beaten and sore, and you have a conspicuous horn smack dab in the middle of your forehead. Welp, here's what you should do. Make sure that Trixie apologizes and repents for her selfish and childish actions, and then, like the nice guy you are, get her laid down to rest, help her with her wounded tush, and then proceed to clean up what you can of blood and the like. Don't try to place things back where they were, you don't know where they're supposed to be, and the mess is a good explanation for why you felt the need to give her a proper spanking. Make sure you do this before Zecora comes back. Trixie is to be back in bed by then, unwilling to tell Zecora that you went crazy on her ass. As for the horn, well, none of the changes your body's gone through lately have made sense. Why should this one? Just remember, all you did was teach Trixie a lesson because she did this to Zecora—malignantly, I might add—and needed to be set straight. Any nick of the blade causing her to bleed was an accident. Aye? Aye.

5. Confine her to your room. (Buck it, now your giving her the room with the bed!)

The mare is TERRIBLE at cleaning. Granted she's already exhausted from your wounding of her tush and you weren't expecting much from a mare who spent her life on the road, moving town to town for the purpose of bragging about how great she is. But still... you expect at least SOME level of basic competence. She moves slow, picks things up slower, often drops them, has put things into piles multiple times only for the piles to collapse, stops to break every five minutes, and is constantly fussing with her bandages. To be fair, the bandages got wet from her tears and snot, so they are probably a bit uncomfortable.

In any case, by the time Trixie managed to get the mess sorted into some semblance of order, you'd already skimmed through most of Zecora's compendium, acquiring basic knowledge of most of the medicinal objects in Zecora's hut. Considering the size of the compendium, that was well over an hour... Somepony's going to have to teach Trixie how to bucking organize...

But at least she does finish. And after she's stacked the last bottle in a semi-stable pile against the wall, she turns, panting, head hanging low, and slowly trots over towards you.

"There! 'Pant' the Great and Powerful Trixie has 'urgh' finished cleaning!" She spoke, more than a little aggravation in her voice. You lift your eyes from the book and raise your right eyebrow. You consider giving her a wallop for her tone, but you JUST got finished treating her tush. Besides, technically she's right, and it does look as though she's finally gotten things semi-neat. You give a nod.

"Alright. Now hold still for a moment." You state simply, rising up to all fours and stepping over to the showmare. Trixie blinks, and tenses up as you approach. It doesn't help her nerves as you lean forward, and as you grasp one of her bandages in your teeth, you can hear her breathe pick up, her breathing starting to come rapid.

"W-what are you doing!?" She asked, slightly panicked, but not backing up you note. Guess tone or not she knows better than to defy your orders. Good. You tug at the bandage, loosening it up, and then pulling it away, unraveling it from Trixie's head in a longs strand. You look into Trixie's eyes and let the bandage fall out of your mouth with a grimace. The taste of Trixie's tears and snot are not a pleasant combination, but unlike prissy unicorns, Earth Ponies have to do a lot with their mouths. And you had to stomach worse tastes than most Earth Ponies. Compared to some of the things you've eaten, these musty bandages were nothing.

"Your bandages are dirty. When they're wet from your tears and snot is not a time to keep them on, could cause health hazards. Besides, from what I saw in the book it looks like Zecora was leaving them on for extended time for caution's sake anyway." You explain calmly, before leaning forward, and using the loose bandage to start to unwrap the rest of the bandages.

Trixie gulped and fidgeted, obviously unsure of your diagnosis, but stayed put. Remaining tense and rigid as you began to unravel bandage after bandage, the little white cotton patches falling to as you pull the wrapping lose from the showmare's head. Finally they were all off, and you saw her face without any obstruction... and it was terrible. Snot, tear stains, etcetera. Once again, your fault. Though you grimace anyway because your fault or not she wasn't a pleasant sight. Definitely couldn't let her stay like that...

"Wait a moment." You say, as you trot around the prissy showmare, and walk over to the table next to the cauldron.

"W-what now?" Asks the showmare, tentatively from behind you, as you look over the objects on the table, luckily untouched by Trixie's mess-making.

"Your face is a mess. Need to clean it." You state simply, before your eyes fall on a fortuitous object.

"Ah, here we go." You say with a smile, then lean down and pick up a wooden bowl in your teeth, the bowl filled with cold water, and a white wash-rag half inside of it. You trot back over to in front of Trixie, and lay the bowl down on the floor. Trixie looks at you with a raised right eyebrow, her face showing a mixture of weirded out and displeasure, as you move your right forehoof down to grasp the wet rag.

"I-is this really necessary?" Asked Trixie, still tense and a bit tentative, as you raise the rag.

"Yes." You state plainly, and the proceed to shove the rag in Trixie's face. She scrunches up said face as you rub it with the cloth, scrubbing the tear stains and snot from her fur. You stop only to dip the rag back into the water and then bring it back up to start anew, scrubbing her features clean of the signs of her misery. Then, you let the rag fall back into the water.

"There, much better." You state pleasantly, your cheerful demeanor at odds with Trixie's own expression, namely a sullen glare mixed with wet face.

"Can Trixie go now?" She asked, aggravation clear in her tone. You smiled lightly at the showmare, then turned and trotted back over to the table and the book, starting to flip through it again.

"Yes, Trixie can go. Back to bed. I'll bring you something to help you sleep in a moment." You state cheerfully, looking through the pages for a potion you came across earlier.

Trixie blinked at this news, eyes widening with panic. Her lips twitched, and a grin of desperation moved onto her face.

"Oh, uh, the Great and Powerful Trixie appreciates the offer, but she was hoping that perhaps she might just wait for-"

"Trixie. Go get your flank in bed before I have to beat it again." You state, with an ice-cold tone and calm expression, sparing only the slightest glance towards the showmare. Trixie's expression paled, eyes widening at your words, and an audible-

GULP

Sounded as she swallowed hard...

"W-well... Trixie will just be going back to bed then..." She spoke, shakily, before slowly moving over towards the bedroom, green plot quivering as she retreated like a whipped bitch. You looked up from the book to watch the satisfying visual... before burrowing your nose back into the book.

You actually have to worry about something else before bringing Trixie her medicine. Trixie's blood. It seemed unnecessarily cruel to have her clean that up herself, so you decided to take care of it. Luckily it didn't stain the wood, and the water and rag that had cleaned Trixie's flank were fully capable of cleaning her plot-blood off the floor. After a bit of scrubbing the mess was cleaned. Aside from a reddish tinge in the water of the bowl, there was no evidence it'd ever been there at all.

With that chore out of the way you were able to focus on finding the potion you'd skimmed over earlier in Zecora's compendium. A medicinal draught that helped heal and mend flesh, that also encouraged sleep in the drinker. You think Zecora may have given Trixie one of these when she first brought her back. Actually finding the potion, with things newly organized, wasn't too difficult, and soon enough you were pouring out a red sticky liquid from a slim-necked brown bottle into an empty wooden bowl. It filled the bowl to about half-way, and you put the empty bottle on the table next to the cauldron, to differentiate it from the other filled potions.

Medicine acquired, you picked up the bowl in your teeth, and with a light sigh, and a tired look in your eyes, trotted over to the bedroom to deliver it to Trixie.

On that, what was Trix looking for? I mean the box obviously. But "Where would she put it‽" implies prior knowledge. She's looking for something specific. And if The Rude and Abrasive wants it, it would be a good idea to find out what it is, so she never gets it. Particularly when "she never gets it" seems to be your Zebra's plan as well.

So priority of work:

Primary Objectives:

1. Interrogate the Illusionist.

Trixie was on the bed when you entered the bedroom. Crying. Laying on top of the bed at the far side away from the door, her shining flank facing up towards the ceiling and her face buried into the second pillow. She was letting out muffled sobs into the pillow, shoulders shaking as she poured her tears into the soft fluffy headrest. You raised your right eyebrow. ... Well that was one face-wiping done a bit prematurely.

You'd treated Trixie's wounds and fixed her tush... it probably still hurt a bit but not that much. So this latest batch of crying was likely emotionally based. Why? What about being beaten and humiliated and threatened and dominated over could POSSIBLY cause a mare to be overcome with grief and misery? Boggles the mind. Your internal sarcasm, not the crying.

With another big sigh you trot into the room, Trixie not seeming to notice you due to her face being buried in a pillow while she sobs her eyes out. You trot over to the bed, and climb up onto it, before setting the bowl down on the pillow opposite of Trixie's. You lower yourself down to your knees and lay down on the bed facing towards the showmare. You reach forward with your front right forehoof to stroke Trixie's mane, and only then does she jerk up, turning her gaze to you, fresh tears staining her cheeks.

"Don't worry. I'm not angry." You state simply, and continue to stroke her mane lightly with your right forehoof, running it through the strands of her hair. Trixie seems to be nervous, and anxious about the touching, stressed and tense. But she lets it happen, and slowly lowers her head back down to the pillow, still sniffling and crying softly, as you continue to stroke her mane... ... ... And you just let this happen for a while, just content to stroke her mane while she gets her grief out.

You continue to run your hoof through her hairs for several more minutes, Trixie slowly getting more relaxed, the crying fading into soft sniffles... Then, after a little more time stroking her mane, you ask her a question, calm and soft.

"Trixie. What were you looking for ?"

Trixie's eyes snap open at that. She looks at you, with fear briefly, then clears her throat, and manages a fake smile.

"Uh, the Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't know what you're talking about!"

"Trixie." You state, not loudly, but sternly, leaning forward and narrowing your eyes, looking into her orbs.

"Don't lie to me. I know you were looking for something special, something that you were trying to steal from Zecora. I heard you say as much. Now what is it?" You ask. Trixie just meets your eyes for a few more moments, orbs wide... and then she tears up slightly again, and averts her eyes, looking down to the bed. She bites her lower lip... then coughs slightly, clears her throat, and starts to speak.

"I... Trixie was... Trixie..." She started, and then had to close her eyes and take a deep shuddering breath. You waited patiently as she let out an equally shaky breathe, then cleared her throat, and spoke again.

"Trixie was looking for the Alicorn Amulet..." Spoke the Showmare quietly. So quietly that you had to strain a bit to hear her.

"Alicorn Amulet?" You asked, brow lifted in curiosity as you looked down towards the Showmare. Trixie nodded slightly, before opening her eyes, and looking up to you with a tired, sad, and just generally exhausted expression.

"Yes. The Alicorn Amulet, a powerful artifact from ancient pony times, o-or so Trixie heard. Trixie bought it in a shop with every bit she'd earned. Scrimped and saved so that she could afford to purchase it, or something like it, and use it to get revenge on Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight Sparkle? THE PRINCESS?!?! Your eyes widened a bit at that revelation. Fortunately Trixie's eyes closed as she let out another deep sigh, and she seemed not to notice as she continued on with her story.

"Trixie became a laughing stock because of her... she wanted to prove she was better than Twilight, make her feel isolated and alone like Trixie had been. But the Amulet made Trixie a little unhinged and she... overdid things..." Spoke the showmare, biting her lower lip as she muttered out that last part, opening her eyes to gaze at the bed, expression one of shame and misery. Probably related to those crimes against ponykind...

"Twilight Sparkle came back and beat Trixie, of COURSE. Then she gave the amulet to Zecora to hide away. Trixie came looking for Zecora... because... because... BECAUSE TRIXIE NEEDED THE BITS!!!" Shouted the showmare, causing you to flinch at the sudden volume change. Suddenly Trixie's forehooves were up and covering her eyes, fresh tears pouring down her cheeks again.

"Trixie had nothing left! She lost her bits, lost her cart, all she had was her cloak and her hat and her second rate magic! And she'd hurt so many ponies, everypony hated her! And she couldn't stomach the thought of asking Twilight for help! The only pony Trixie could think of that could help her was the zebra that had her amulet, Zecora! So Trixie came to the Everfree, to try to convince Zecora to give her back the amulet so she could pawn it off somewhere, so she could try to salvage SOMETHING of her life back! And then she got turned to stone by a cockatrice, assaulted by a Diamond Dog, and then her flank beaten to a bloody pulp by YOU!!!" She shouted, and then she curled her forelegs over her face and tucked her hind-legs back into her stomach, and began to sob anew...

You finally punished the tribalist bitch. Good! The bloodletting was a bit much, though. Might be difficult to explain that one. Best would be to go with mostly the truth when Zecora asks--apart from you cutting the girl deliberately, that is.

After she cleans up, reward her. Soothe her wounds; you're not hurting her because it's fun, after all. Well, maybe a little, but still! You're trying to help her become a better pony. Maybe Zecora even has something to help Trixie sleep--if you find it, offer it to the mare. When she's no longer hurting so much, tuck her in the bed. Be gentle and loving. Stroke her mane until she relaxes, maybe give her another kiss and pat. She's probably going to be terribly confused, and perhaps she''ll cry again. That's normal, it just means that Trixie is dealing with a lot of contradicting feelings.

You've got a lot to work out too, so if Trixie falls asleep, take the time for another whispering session. Does she wake from an ear lick? Maybe if you nibble on it a bit... Tell her you're just doing this out of love. She might not deserve it, but you really want her to get better. She should respect you, she owes you everything, if anything you deserve her love. She's scared--that's alright. Finally being put in her place like she wanted is scary, but you'll be there to help her all the way. You'll be her guide. And maybe you sort of owe her now, too; she gave you the horn. In a way, she's part of you now. You're connected, which is a good thing. You're good for her, you'll always be good for her. Sometimes you'll hurt her, just like she needs, and you'll always keep her safe.

I second every word of this plan. Just remember, those cuts were an accident.

Nomad

You blink a bit at this emotional outpouring from Trixie... and default to stroking her mane with your right forehoof as you think on what exactly to do about this... You furrow your brows, contemplating her words and emotional state... and then you slowly lean forward, until your lips are just above Trixie's ear, and you begin to whisper gently...

"Trixie... I know you're hurt right now. I know you're angry. I know you're scared, and tired, and desperate. And I just want you to know this... I'm here for you." You speak gently.

"It might not seem like it, but I care about you. I know I get angry, I know I can scare you sometimes, but I'm not doing it for the sake of being mean. I'm doing it for you. BECAUSE I want you to have your life back." That statement gets Trixie to lower her forelegs and blink, opening her eyes slightly and raising her right eyebrow, doubt mixing in with the general misery and anger at life. You lean back as she raises her head and look into her eyes, meeting her doubtful gaze head on as you continue to speak softly.

"You're a flawed pony Trixie. Every decision you've made has been a train wreck. From lying about your achievements, to challenging your, um, fairly evident superior and becoming a laughing stock for it, to spending every last bit on an amulet that you then proceeded to lose, to going into the Everfree to get it back, to getting turned to stone, to picking a sleeping place where Diamond Dogs would pop up, and even to searching through Zecora's things. Trixie, you are TERRIBLE at making decisions for yourself." You speak, causing Trixie to gasp in deeply, outrage on her face.

The showmare draws herself up and away from you, standing tall on all fours, towering over you as she takes a haughty stance. She glares down at you, anger and indignation in her eyes, as she fearlessly proclaims-

"That is a lie! The Great and Powerful Trixie does not need anypony! She has made perfectly good decisions on her own!" She almost shouts, forgetting her fear of you in her pride. You look back up into her eyes, perfectly calm, and staring straight into your orbs you give a simple challenge.

"Name one."

Trixie smirked at your challenge and raising her right foreleg up into the air opened her mouth... And then blinked. She looked down, brow furrowing, then snapped her head back up, a triumphant look on her face as she opened her mouth again... And then closed it, blinking a few times, and then furrowing her brows in frustration.

You watched silently as the showmare brought her right forehoof back down to rub her chin, brows furrowing in deep thought. She opened her mouth again for a moment, then closed it... ... And then slowly lowered her right forehoof back down onto the bed. She looked back to you with an expression of confusion on her face... And then one of dawning horror, mixed with comprehension. Her eyes widened for a reason that had nothing to do with your punishment, and her mouth dropped open, and all the strength went out of her legs. The Great and Powerful Trixie fell onto all fours on the bed, mouth open, eyes wide, and all she could do was stare at the bed in front of her. And finally, when she spoke, she only uttered three words.

"Oh my Celestia..."

You sighed gently, then brought your right forehoof up to her mane again, stroking it gently as you looked to the deflated mare across from you. You continue to run your forehoof through the strands of her hair as you gently speak once more.

"I know the realization's hard... But there it is. The fact is Trixie, you need a strong hoof to guide you. You need somepony like me to point you in the right direction, to teach you how to act and what to do. How to be a good little pony, somepony that can salvage her life from the bad decisions she's made. And sometimes you won't like it, sometimes it'll hurt, but you'll be a better pony for it." You speak, then lean forward and plant a soft kiss on Trixie's head, below her horn... Then lean back with a light smile.

"Now here. I brought you something to help you sleep." You state simply, lowering your right forehoof and leaning over to the bowl on the pillow, taking it in your teeth. You move it in front of Trixie, who is currently blushing, whether from shame, embarrassment, or the intimate contact of the kiss, you can't tell.

"I, um, I... thank you." Muttered Trixie, keeping her eyes averted as she leaned down, and began to drink the sticky red potion. She scrunched up her face when she was done, smacking her lips and running her tongue along them, then scrunching up her face more.

"Ugh... it's sour..." She muttered, and you actually chuckled lightly at the showmare's statement.

"Not surprising. Of the many things medicine's known for, being pleasant to taste buds is not among them." You state simply, before getting up to your hooves.

"Now lie down, I'll tuck you in." You command calmly, and you're only slightly surprised when Trixie actually does as you say without comment, laying back down with her head on the pillow, eyes closed. You move the bowl back onto the other pillow with your teeth, then pull down the covers around Trixie, and then slowly pull them over her. She doesn't move to help or hinder, which is fine with you. Now that she's laying down and not talking she looks EXHAUSTED. She doesn't even flinch when the covers touch her bum... either the salve, or the medicine, or both, did it's job.

You finish tucking her in, then get back down onto all fours, looking down to her for a moment. She looks like she might have conked out already... So peaceful. You smile a little, and then move your front right hoof to stroke her mane gently. Looking down at her now... as she's sleeping, and when she's not arrogant, or talking, or crying, or covered in snot and tears... she really is a very pretty mare. You lean down, and plant another soft kiss on her brow... then lean up to her ear, and give it a gentle nibble. You lick around the edge of her ear slowly... then softly, you whisper.

"Remember Trixie... you need me. You OWE me. I'm the only pony who can help you, and you need to be grateful for that. You need somepony to keep you in line, and I'm that pony. I'm here for you Trixie, and I'll help you be a better pony... Now sleep well... Have sweet dreams."

You inform tenderly, and the only response from Trixie is a muttered grumble, and a shifting of position. You smile gently, and then lean down and grab the medicine bowl in your teeth. You get up to your hooves, turn and hop off of the bed onto the floor. You trot out of the bedroom, feeling actually pretty good about yourself, leaving the sleeping mare to her dream-realm...

On another note, if Marshmallow Pony drops by, a white, gorgeous case, make sure that you play off the "Starved and dying" angle in case she asks about any signs of malnutrition. Who knows, she might decide to get, say, generous for such a poor individual such as you. And, well, that's your right, isn't it? You've suffered so much shit at the hands of ponies that it's about time somebody give you what you deserve. Either that, or you should take it. You deserve hot food, nice clothes and a warm bed in the night, don't you? After all, nobody's dealt with as much shit as you have. Take for example the nearby village. Small. Idyllic. Ponyville. The kind of name given by blissful, ignorant country bumpkins. They've never had to suffer through the shit you have. They've never had to starve, freeze and beg for their lives. They probably live wondrously, with food and friends and warm homes and comfy beds. Those things should be yours. You should have these comforts, even if you have to beat the original owners into the ground to get them. After all, you deserve them, don't you?

Rarity is coming and you have a fairly conspicuous body right now. She is going to want to measure you. Here is what you have got to do, Lie. You were found in the Everfree, there was a mad scientist, you both got attacked by timberwolves but you lived. That explains the lack of a cutie mark, and all the other stuff abnormal about you. It also will invoke sympathy, empathy, pity, and a desire to bring you to her friend Twilight Sparkle to help you. You don't really want to get rid of it, but you do want to meet Twilight. She has to be sexy if she is a friend of Rarity!

The Chessmaster

3. Think of a non-Illusionist-blood related excuse for growing a horn.

Agreed. If Zecora brings along her fashionista friend, make sure she has a positive impression of you. You want your Zebra's friends to like you. Yet you also need to make sure not to fire up Zecora's jealousy too much; even if this new mare is jaw-droppingly gorgeous, with a white and pristine coat that makes for a beautiful contrast to your Zebra snugglepillow's striped one. Damn, now you'd just need a solid black mare and you could arrange them in Equestria's finest non-colour plotline...

Wait, no, no sexy thoughts about Zecora's friends! You have your Zebra and your blue Unicorn to play with, that's enough! No need to get greedy!

THUD!

You plop your bum onto the floor and rest your forelegs on the table with a sigh. You slump down and lay your head on the surface, closing your eyes, feeling more than a little drained, emotionally, physically, mentally... You didn't expect this to be your morning. And now you're worried again about what Zecora's going to think... and what her friend's going to think to for that matter.

Alright, first off, the friend... If Zecora brings her friend by, then you can play up your abused state a bit. Bring attention to your thinness and your scars, mares dig scars right? Whatever, this Ponyville place sounds like it's full of ignorant ponies ready to look after their own but shun outsiders. Soooo... try to say you were abused or something? Mad science-pony experiment? And then attacked by Timberwolves? Yeah, and that you got the horn from that same mad scientist! Which she might buy but Zecora wouldn't because Zecora knows better. Buck.

You lift your head, then bring it down onto the table again with a-

THUMP

You lay there a few more minutes, eyes closed, before sighing out heavily. Buck it... You'll make something else up to tell Zecora, maybe close to the truth maybe not. Not even mention anything about Trixie to the friend if she comes. You'll just focus on playing the sympathy angle. After all it sounds like Ponyville's got it good. And haven't you earned some damn sympathy? Some relaxation, some bucking goodwill? Yeah, yeah you have. And if you play up sympathy, this mare friend of Zecora's might be more inclined to... be generous...

You grin. Wouldn't it be bucking awesome if Zecora's friend was a hottie? With a nice flank and a sexy gait, she might be so moved by your story that she felt deep sympathy for you, and then felt the need to comfort you after all that you've been through... And then she could wrap her hooves around your cock and-

You blink, then growl as you-

THUMP!

Your head against the table again.

No, no, no, no, no! You've already had enough trouble with Zecora as it is and might be in more! You do NOT want to give your zebra legitimate reasons to feel jealous!

So goes your mind. But your best buddy in the whole wide world seems to disagree with you, as he starts to harden in your sheathe. You blink again, then lift your head up from the table, and turn it down to look between your hind-legs.

"Et tu penaey?" You ask, looking down to your best friend as he struggles to slip out of his sheathe and get to rutting. You sigh, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and breath out slowly... ... Stupid male need to rut everything and anything with a slit. Or, a hole of any kind really...

A thought dear Blank. If pegasus magic flows through their wings, and your rods are positioned right where those wings would be, does it stand to reason that you could channel magic through your rods? Think about it, no need for thunderstorms or electrical attacks to utilize your rods. Also, wasn't part of Trixie's Manehatten performance conjuring a Storm cloud? Sounds like a good back up to me.

As a side thought, it's a good thing that we included a fedora in our request. The hat will hide the fact you have a horn and leave your magic, once you learn it, as an unexpected surprise.

Nomad

With a sigh you cross your forelegs on the table and bring your muzzle to lay across them, staring out into space as you fight back the naughty thoughts and urge to mate, getting your penis back in line. Idly, you change your thoughts to your upcoming trenchcoat and fedora... Turns out it's a good thing you included the fedora in there. With that on nopony will see your horn and mistake you for a unicorn... ... and, uh, it'll be a surprise ability in case of attack! That to.

You furrow your brows. Thinking of magic, how the buck do those rods in your back work? You can't feel any energy in them, but you know that they can channel it, what with the electricity and shit running through them. Maybe you could try to direct power through them? ... Yeah, cause that worked SO well with the bucking horn that's SUPPOSED to channel magic... Ugh... damn useless headpiece... ... Still, it's got potential. Your rods are a mystery after all, you don't have any bucking idea how they work... ... Speaking of not knowing about how shit works...

Tertiary Objectives:

7. Make a musical instrument out of the sword. Ok so it has no practical use, but what's the point of superpowers if you can't do something useless with them once in a while.

Archivist

You lift your right foreleg off the table and summon your blade, watching it jut out of your hoof, the dark-blue mist with shiny dots in it forming all across your right forehoof. You turn the sword this way and that way, examining the length slowly as you contemplate it's black crystalline surface, and admire it's beautiful jagged edges. Your eyes drink in the mystical, beautiful, slightly reflective blade, and you can't help but wonder... What the buck is up with this thing?

One moment this overly fancy lethal slicer was just hacking things up and looking good while doing so, and then the next it was vibrating and making weird musical noises to the sound of slapping Trixie's prissy blue bum. This thing was a glittery death cutter, and now it's singing like a prima-donna at the opera whenever it touches thing. What the buck is up with that!? What POSSIBLE use could that... ... ...

You slowly lift your head up towards the bedroom... ... You gave Trixie something to help her sleep... So, if there were loud noises... You turn your gaze back to the blade in front of you, just as slowly. You lick your lips, and raise your left forehoof. Then slowly lower your blade down to touch against the wood of the table, flat resting upon it. With your blade on the table you use your left hoof to experimentally give the flat of your sword a-

TAP

thuuuuunnnnkkk...

The blade's vibration is mostly absorbed by the wood, making a comparatively muffled sound, very low. You look back up to Trixie's current sleeping quarters, just to see if you were wrong about her sleeping aids keeping her asleep... You weren't. You're awesome like that. You look back to the blade, and lick your lips again. You lift it up off the table, letting it stay free in the air, and like before, give it a light-

TAP

Tiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnngggggggg!

The sound reverberates around the hut, and while a good deal of the noise escapes through the cracks in the door and the hole with sticks that serves as a window, the sound is still... pleasant. A light ringing in the air, making you think of a bell's chime drawn out. You smile a little more, and then give the blade a harder-

TAP!

TIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGG!!!

Tink!

Tink!

Tink!

Not only is the sound louder, sharper, echoing through the air with more power, but the sound seems to vibrate off the little colored potion bottles that Zecora has hanging in her hut. They seem to catch the sound and echo it back playfully at a reduced volume. It's rather... interesting. Entertaining. Bucking awesome even!

You grin. This could entertain you for hours! Oooooh! You can test frequencies, try tapping your blade against different surfaces and seeing how the application of force and the change in surface bring forth different sounds! You can become a sound-maestro! Commanding the sound to your whim! And then you can try to figure out why that sound's coming in the first place. It has to do with the crystal right? Hm, perhaps Zecora has books on the Crystal Empi-

KNOCK

KNOCK

You're jolted from your thoughts by a pair of loud knocks delivered unto the door. Your eyes widen. Zecora! She must be back already! Odd, true some time had passed, but you hadn't thought that much time. Oh well! She's back anyway! As in here! And you just have to remember which lies and truths you decided to tell! HAHAHAHAHA! EASY PEASY!!!!

Use your gilded tongue to lie to both the zebra about the horn and Trixie, and the element of harmony about your appearance.

When Zecora gets back, inform her that Trixie was searching through her things, that you already gave her a good spanking as punishment, something her parents OBVIOUSLY neglected. Your story must include the explanation of how you gained a unicorn horn. Make sure she understands that you licking the blood off your blade ( Trixie got " nicked" during her spanking) is more of a compulsion than a conscious thought process. After that is done, make sure to find out what Trixie was looking for from Zecora.

Secondary thoughts, if Rarity/the fashionista accompanies Zecora back to her hut for measurements, we need a cover story Chessmaster has a good idea on what to do. We need to gain her sympathies, stay close as possible to the truth so as not to turn Zecora against you. Any question she asks that you aren't comfortable answering, simply state that you don't know or can't remember.

Nomad

Alright! No need to panic, fight down those butterflies in your gut! You know what you're going to do. You are going to tell Zecora and her friend that Trixie was searching through her things and that's why they're so disorganized! And you'll also have to tell Zecora about the blood, maybe, because you licked it and grew a horn. Maybe tell her it was a compulsion? Or lie? No you need to stay close to the truth! And work to get sympathies from the mare that Zecora brings. Right! Sympathy, sympathy, sympathy, and just keep your story simple and close to the truth, and if you're not comfortable answering a question, just say that you don't remember! Right, you're good to go!

Your right eye twitching, despite your PERFECT CALM!!! AND TOTAL LACK OF ANXIETY THAT THIS MIGHT ALL BLOW UP IN YOUR FACE!!! You trot to the door. You close your eyes, gulp down a lump in your throat, and let out a shuddering breath. Right, time to pony-up, you can do this... You know what to say and who to say it to, so just smile, be yourself, and make a new friend.

You take a deep breathe in, open your eyes, let a grin break out onto your face, reach forward with your left forehoof, and throw open the door... ... and then blink. The smile fades from your face. You furrow your brows in confusion, and open your mouth as though you're about to speak, but nothing comes out. You close your mouth, let it rest a couple seconds, then try again. And this time, what comes out is a very clear, very certain-

"... ... ... Huh?"

In the doorway, on the top step, is the strangest thing you have ever seen in your entire life. Considering what you've seen recently that's a good accomplishment. If you're honest with yourself though, if this is what you're seeing a couple days in, then there's probably a LOT of things left in the Everfree to give this weirdness a run for it's money. Anyways, whatever's in front of you, you have no bucking clue what to call it right now except for THING... that just happens to be growing out of Zecora's cloak.

Zecora's cloak is indeed on the top step. With about six thick plant-like tendrils growing out of it. Each of the tendrils is cylindrical in shape, and striped in a horizontal white, black, blue, white, black, blue pattern. At the top of each of the tendrils, stretching at least a foot above you, is a large blue flower, opened wide, and facing down towards you. Out of each of the flowers sticks out a long yellow beak, with white pollen surrounding it back in the flower. As you continue to stare at the plant, each of the beaks grin, rows of sharp pointy teeth showing. Then, in the depths of the flower, above the beaks in the white pollen, slanted red eyes open up, six pairs glaring and malevolent, as the beaks grin, all six flowers looking right at you.

Now that you've had time to take in this creature's appearance, and evaluate it's presence as a plant growth emerging from Zecora's cloak, you feel more able to engage your verbal prowess once more, and attempt to communicate with the strange creature in front of you.

"... ... ... Huh?"

... ... Right, well, verbal fencing aside, you've still got a plant sitting on the front step of the hut. A plant that is NOT a sexy zebra and her mare-friend, which while relieving, is also disappointing. And you may not have a right to be relieved depending on how this plant does things. What do you do?

Author's Notes:

DONE! Done, done, done, done, done, done, done! Hahahahahahaha! FREE! FINALLY FREE!!! ... Ahem.

My exuberance may be not entirely called for I admit. This was delayed several weeks I am aware. And I hate that. Delays ruin flow, take away from the action, erode memory, and generally make things more difficult for me. You know what though? They're going to happen. Have happened before, just happened now, will probably happen again. So I'm not going to gripe or moan about this aggravating set of delays any more than I already have, and instead will just ask you this question.

The next time I've got a significant delay, do you want me to post something up to say that I'm going to be delayed, or would you rather I just keep working on it and not give an update that's not a post?

And now with that question asked, time to address stuff relating to the chapter.

First off, I imagine there might be some confusion about one of my writing choices. Namely, why is there a gigantic plant monster instead of, oh say, the sexy unicorn and zebra that apparently EVERYPONY was expecting to see this chapter? Well there are a few answers, with one of them being in the chapters "Pretty Blue Flowers" and "Jokes and Yokes", chapters 11 and 12 respectively.

In chapter 11, ponies mentioned harvesting Poison Joke. In chapter 12, Poison Joke was harvested. And then nopony mentioned it ever again. No precautions, no gifts, no just tossing it out... If you decide something's not needed anymore then that's fine, but just leaving Poison Joke in there? Just leaving a mutagenic plant with the capability of altering biological structures for the purpose of it's own amusement? Done on skin-contact, alone, without doing anything with it? How exactly can I, as a game master, NOT put consequences to that?

Here's why I can't not put consequences to that. Because this is a game. This is a game centering around a VILLAIN. And villains can get tripped up by ANYTHING. Nightmare Moon's ignorance of the true nature of the Elements of Harmony led to her getting banished. Discord's ignorance of the element's power and not doing anything to stop it led to his getting a nice stone suit. Queen Chrysalis, turning around and ignoring the most important ponies in Equestria, including the one she was DRAINING, and letting them do as they please while she watches her invasion taking off. And Sombra... actually did pretty well, yeah he didn't really make any major mistakes, the other group was just better.

The point is, that what a villain doesn't see coming tends to be what puts them down. And leaving a dangerous plant to it's own devices for eight chapters? Sloppy. Forgetful. The exact kind of opening a hero could exploit. So this is my way of saying yes, just forgetting about things and leaving them alone WILL have consequences. And with that said, if somepony points out that this was not done and that I am in fact wrong, I will be very embarrassed and probably scream. But you won't hear it, so feel free.

On to chapter quality. I'm not sure about it. I had to chop things up, slice and dice, put them all over the place to put things into a reasonable flow. I'm hoping it turned out alright, however this chapter has given me so many problems that I am not confident in it at all. Hope it entertains nonetheless.

And finally, onto happy news. Season 4! Woohoo! It had a good start. Possible SPOILERS in this paragraph by the by. While I feel sorry for people writing fics for Nightmare Moon's rebellion, as they might have to work around now to find a good space to have a century spanning war, for the most part I thought it was very well done, very enticing, intriguing, and a game changer. And it introduced the C-ROCK-adile, which despite his short amount of combat time I think is a very interesting beastie with potential.

Now, how I'm going to implement Season 4? I'm going to take it as lore, and treat it as past, for as long as I can. Trying to sync time with it will give me a bit to worry about, and I may have to eventually just stop at the timeline. But so far, nothing's been introduced that I can't just say has already happened previously, and until it is, I'll try to implement Season 4 lore without it messing with the story. And that's that, I hope this came out alright and hope you enjoy. Sorry for the wait.