You're in a small room inside of a strange wooden hut. You say strange cause the wood doesn't look like it was cut, but rather like it's part of the insides of a tree, growing a room... weird. Light is coming through a small round window above the bed, pretty much just a round hole in the wall with a few crossed sticks in it. The light is dim, because even during the day the Everfree's canopy is thick and enshrouding. Still, you can actually see now so you're not exactly complaining.

You look down to where you were laid to sleep and see that you are indeed in a bed. An actual bed! You haven't slept in one of these for... well, you're not sure what you had as a colt would qualify. The sheets are white and the blanket is an interesting kind of dark yellow with dark grey spots covering it in an erratic pattern. There is a fluffy pillow that was just beneath your head, and really, the whole thing is bucking luxurious. You turn your gaze away from the glorious epitome of comfort to look to your own body see how it has faired since the last night... the results of the investigation make you blink in surprise.

It's really nowhere near as bad as you were expecting. You remember the fight and you feel like crap. But apparently there weren't too many wounds on you, and somepony treated the wounds you had. Bandages have been applied around your lower-body, covering your flank. You wince as you see the visual evidence that a wolf made out of sticks and twigs bit you in the plot. Not your finest moment.

There're a few bandages around your chest and back to... mainly for the thin steel rods that jutted out of you in the middle of a fight with wooden twig wolves, before proceeding to zap one of them into oblivion with lightning. The absurdity of that thought is only beaten by the fact that it was one hundred percent accurate. You shake your head a bit before going back to examining your body.

The bandages are holding the rods down to your back, the muscles in your back noticing it but not uncomfortable, like it was a natural position for the rods to assume. You hardly even feel them on your fur, they're not cold like you'd expect metal to be but kind of warm, pleasant even. And they're not even poking your flank, the hooks with the blunt ends kind of just running along your curves... well flanks, you're pretty sure you don't have enough meat on your flanks to justify even the thought that you have curves.

Moving on from that pleasant thought you reach up with your front-left hoof to touch the back of your head, and grimace a bit as you feel the bandages. You remember that you cracked your head on the stone before the fight with the wolves even really started. You're really lucky THAT didn't kill you and save the wolves the trouble. Speaking of the wooden lupines... You bring your front-left hoof back up to touch your cheek, feeling a soft yet thick white cloth pressed up against it, though you're not sure what it's held there by. The cloth runs along your cheek from just barely touching your lips all the way to slightly beneath your ear. You close your eyes... That's probably not going to go away. Of the many unpleasant things you thought you'd have to live with, battle-scars were not among them.

You open your eyes again with a sigh, and examine your coat. You find that it's actually... clean. You couldn't afford a living place much less bath materials, so the best you could do was stand underneath a Pegasus storm-cloud during scheduled storms and scrub yourself with a sponge and some soap, if you had them. It didn't rain often in Manehatten. Most of the city was stone, steel, and glass. There weren't exactly a lot of plants to feed. You've never been clean, and last night you were covered in sap, and blood, and sweat, and dirt, in addition to the several days worth of filth accumulation that had been there before. And yet now here you were, clean, bandaged, and in a bed that you were sure was made from Pegasus clouds. Whoever lived here had cleaned you up, treated your wounds, and put you to bed... ... ...

Moisture begins to collect at the edges of your eyes. And you close them and try to hold back because stallions aren't supposed to cry. But you do anyway. You put your hooves to your eyes and start bawling like a little foal that just scraped his knee, bending over in the bed as your body is wracked with sobs. And you stay like that for several minutes, making tear-stains in your coat and water droplets on the blankets of the bed as you cry into your hooves...

After a while though you sniff, and wipe at your eyes, taking shuddering breaths as you pull the covers up a bit more on your body, taking a few more breaths as you slowly calm down... a few last sniffles and deep shudders shake your body, before you bring your hooves up to wipe your eyes again.

"Right, right... calm down, be a stallion... right..." You mutter, before you exhale deeply, and roll your shoulders a bit, cocking your head side to side, shaking the nerves out of your body. You look over to the wooden archway into the next room then furrow your brows. You've been bathed, mended, and housed. But you're still in the Everfree. And even with a runny nose earned through unstallion-like behavior, you can smell some pretty strong spices and chemicals in the air. As much as you'd love to just lay back and bask in the softness of the bed, you can't afford to let your guard down. At least, not without taking a look around. Life is cruel after all... when it suddenly starts being nice you need to watch out.

You grunt as you slowly pull yourself out of the bed putting your hooves one by one onto the floor your muscles aching. The blade's gone from your hoof you notice, though for some reason you feel sure it'll come back if you need it. And for some reason you feel kinda sluggish... you shake it off and chalk it up to the soreness. Moving slowly across the floor you go over to the wooden archway, and exercising caution peek around the edge of the doorway.

You are able to immediately reach a single conclusion.This place is bucking creepy. Granted, everything that you've experienced since the last time you woke up has been weird, but this is the strangest shit you've ever seen. First off there all these freaky masks hanging on the walls, multi-colored long things with weird kinda menacing expressions, all sorts of different shapes and sizes. Then are shelves and tables, covered with strange bottles, bags, and bowls of with various substances from boiling liquids to ground flower petals. The only surface that doesn't have anything on it looks like a small round table, that has grown out from a tiny tree with brown bark, held up by leafless branches. Weird.

Small charms and trinkets hang from rope and strings, and weird books with strange markings on their spines line the walls. A long stick made out of some kind of weird wood, looking pretty hollow and kind of thin leans up against the wall to the right of the door to the outside. There's even a bucking cauldron in the middle of the room, big and ominous with a fire beneath it and some kind of bubbling liquid inside of it, green steam rising up from the ominous brew. If the owner of this place was going for a bewitching witchcraft feel, they were certainly doing a good job of it!

Listen well pony, a source of great power rests in this hut. It is an amulet with a red jewel at its center and stylized to resemble an Alicorn. You will soon see a zebra, observe her subtle beauty, hunger for her. You will seduce her and claim her. The Star will use her lust to taint her mind, and bind her to you. Once she is yours, have her fetch the power you feel nearby, it is the Alicorn Amulet and it will enhance your powers and the Star of Woe will prevent the Amulet from corrupting your mind, it will even enhance your mental barriers. Use this place as a refuge...for the moment. You will feel restless, return into the Everfree and follow the scent of brimstone, the dragon at the end is your next challenge, and its fire breath and hoard shall be your reward.

Nomad

As your eyes travel over the trinket and shelf covered wooden walls of the hut, your eyes stop on a small wooden chest located on one of the shelves. You furrow your brows, peering closer at the comparatively mundane object. It's a box, treasure-chest shaped with a steel grey lock, occupying the middle of the shelf between a small raggedy patchwork pony doll and a big green book with a leaf on the binding.

The chest isn't that out of place with everything else you've seen around the hut. Frankly it could have easily blended in with the rest of the trinkets, it wasn't even the only chest in there. But for some reason it's more noticeable than anything else on the shelves. More noticeable than the big bubbling cauldron even. You feel almost... drawn to the chest. Like it's important. Like it's special. Like if you were going to rob this pony that would be the thing you'd rob them of.

You blink and shake your head at that. No! You're not a thief, bad personal thoughts... Still, the chest does look interesting. You wonder what could be inside it? You're feeling a really strong urge to just, go over and try to open i-

CREEEEEAAAAAAKKKK

Your eyes snap to the door as it opens up wide, and you quickly duck back behind the archway as a set of hoofsteps sound from the main room. You close your eyes for a moment, take a deep breath, and then slowly peek around the edge of the doorway, looking into the room...

Hmm, this zebra is a pretty one. Pretty but dangerous. Do not let your guard down, do not play your hoof too soon. She could be a potent ally, or a dangerous foe. Whatever you choose to do, do not give her cause to suspect you of being dangerous until it is too late for her to stop you.

The figure is the most terrifying thing you have ever seen in your life. It stands in front of the bubbling cauldron, shrouded in a dark brown cloak, hood up, glowing yellow eyes looking out from beneath the shadows of the hood. The eyes make you think a little too much of the wooden wolves and their glowing green orbs... You shake of the shiver that threatens your form to watch the shrouded figure. The mystery figure lifts a front-right foreleg out from beneath the cloak, striped with five golden bands forming a bracelet on the leg, holding a small brown bag on the end of the hoof. The figure tips the bag over into the bubbling cauldron, red petals sprinkling down into the mysterious concoction, a plume of green smoke bursting up from the cauldron as they make contact, and then dissipating into the air...

The figure trots over to a nearby shelf, placing the bag down between a red and purple bottle, before turning back to the cauldron. The shrouded figure begins to walk around it, circling it, and speaks in a slow mystical chant, yellow eyes staring into the brew. You can't understand the words, but it's actually pretty rhythmic and somewhat musical, and the movement of the legs combined with the eyes makes it somewhat... Well, almost dance-like the way the figure's stepping in time.

You shake slightly, licking your lips nervously as you continue to watch. Well at least you know what your host is... she's a Zebra. You didn't see many down at the docks, and always from a distance, but you did see enough to get a good idea of how they looked. This one's a mare judging by the voice, which means that the witch view of this hut was probably very accurate. Great. The one to find you was a mystic witch living in the Everfree. Probably just healed you up to boil you in the cauldron! Those flower petals were probably part of a recipe!

As you tremble and allow your paranoia to run rampant, the zebra finishes her chant stopping with her back to you, and moves her front-right hoof down into the cauldron, stirring the brew with the tip of her hoof. You're somewhat surprised by that, considering that the liquid should have been boiling, but she doesn't show any signs of pain. She merely pulls her hoof back out and flicks the droplets from her hoof onto the floor, letting the hot liquid dissipate slowly into the wood. Then her hooves came up, and you watched with a fascinated and curious gaze as she undid her cloak, and let it fall to the floor.

... ... ...

DAMN LOOK AT THAT FLANK!!!

She is the sexiest thing you have ever seen. The zebras you've seen in the past have always been from a distance. This is the first one that you've ever seen this close, and she is just so... hot! You can't even begin to express how alluring her form is. Your mouth is hanging open with drool dripping from your lip as you stare at the zebra mare's fit and sleek body, inspiring mane-cut, exotic striped coat, and her perfect toned flank. You could bounce a bit off that plot! And her jewelry just accents her beauty, five golden bands covering her neck and golden loops in her ears.

More than any of this though is the way she carries herself. Her stance is so confident, yet strangely open, someone so sure of her own strength that she doesn't need to put up blocks and guards. It's not that she doesn't expect trouble, she just knows she's ready to take it on if it comes knocking.

You blink, blush, and look away. Normally you're not so insightful... Or this close to an exotic Zebra hottie witch. You haven't exactly had the opportunity to approach beautiful mares... something about being an unemployed dirty bum who lives in an alleyway tended to keep them away from you. But you're not dirty right now. And you just finished kicking the flanks of three sets of wooden wolf... things. You can talk to a mare, right? Yeah, should be easy... should be easy... Right, okay, you'll say hello. You'll tell her hello in three, two-

"Gaaaaah!"

You shout, as you fall back onto your flank looking up into the eyes of a surprised zebra, standing in the archway that you had just been peaking around, looking at you with worry.

She says with concern as she stretches her front-right hoof to you, and speaks in a strangely rhythmic voice.

"Uh, guh, uhguh."

You look up at this foreign goddess, this piece of equine perfection, with her toned body and enchanting voice, and you have absolutely no idea what to say. You don't know how to talk to regular mares much less this exotic beauty! You've never had sex, you've never kissed, you've never even been on a date! You can't even fathom how to speak to her! What the heck do you do!? Damn it she's right in front of you expecting an answer and you can't even talk!

Now within your heart young mortal is lust can you feel it there good. Now let it merge with the star and in doing so you we able the talk your way out of anything, seduce anyone and if they give themselves mind body and soul you can take their souls and they will become your undying slave and it will allow a hell screech a screech so powerful it will rupture organs and turn bone to dust. Do this and become closer to your destiny as the bringer of the end time.

You feel a strange tingle in your left forehoof, that runs along your insides to your spine, traces along it's length before spreading out through your entire body. Then it collects itself back up into your brain, and finally stops down at your tongue. Your tongue seems to buzz for just a moment, before it stops. And you're note entirely sure where that came from...

You blink your eyes, shake your head a bit, and swirl your tongue in your mouth. Then look up to the zebra mare, still offering her hoof and looking at you with more worry and concern in her eyes. You gulp a bit, then smile nervously, heart pounding in your chest as you lift up your right forehoof to take hers, letting her help you to your hooves.

"Ah, yes, ahem, yes, I'm fine, just a little startled is all." You say as pleasantly as you can, nerves still a bit rattled, before you breath out a sigh of relief at finally forming a coherent sentence. The zebra looks relieved that you've finally stood and spoken, and speaks herself with a gentle voice.

She rhymes, before she reaching a hoof up to your forehead, feeling it with her left forehoof and speaking with worry in her voice.

You blink a bit, and blush at the physical contact. Her legs are so sleek and elegant, yet fit and athletic. She probably has to be careful with them, when she slides them down between her hind-legs and-

"Ahem!" You clear your throat awkwardly as you back up quickly, breaking contact with the hoof as you bring your front-left leg up to cough into your hoof.

"Um, yes, well thank you for asking. Um, I've got a bit of a headache I think, considering I banged it pretty hard. The cuts kind of ache and my muscles are feeling really sore. Feeling a bit sluggish to actually, kinda weird, but considering that I was almost killed, I'd say I'm doing rather well really." You speak with a light smile, flush still on your face as you paw at the floor with your front-right hoof, and look down a bit, having trouble meeting her eyes.

"May I ask though how did I get here... And who is my lovely host?" You ask, looking up with a shy smile as the Zebra blinks, then chuckles a bit, and smiling warmly, bows forward with her front-right leg stretching across her chest.

You cock your right brow just a bit as she speaks. The first couple of times might have been coincidence, but you're pretty sure she's rhyming everything she says. A strange habit, but let's face it, you were expecting witch boiling you in pot type strange. You're not complaining. It's even kind of sexy in a way. As she finishes speaking you give her a wry smile and bring your front-left hoof up to point to your cheek.

"You did a lot more than that. Thank you kindly for cleaning and treating my wounds Zecora. Without your attentions I would probably have died." You speak with a soft smile as you move your front-right hoof to take her front-left leg, raising it up and planting a soft kiss on her hoof, all gentlecolt like. The action sees the zebra's eyes go wide with surprise, followed by a blink, and a blush as she turns her gaze aside.

She spoke, before taking her hoof from yours and looking back to you with a small smile and still a slight blush.

She spoke with an amused smirk, blush starting to leave her cheeks as she gestured with her front-left hoof to a table. Specifically the weird one that looked like it grew from a tree ... You shake your head, deciding to deal with it, before you look back to her with a soft smile.

"That sounds wonderful, thank you." You state simply, before moving over towards the table, lowering your head to hide a blush. She called you charming! You stifle a schoolfilly type giggle and plant your haunches on the floor in front of the table, looking up to the zebra as she reaches for a ladle and starts stirring the pot with it, getting a bowl with and bringing up the ladle to pour the stew in. Watching as she stands on her hind legs to dip the ladle, tail swishing back and forth in front of her perfectly toned plot, showing off her gorgeous hind-quarters, her sleek and mountable flank absolutely begging for a good rutt-

You snap your vision down with a vicious blush to the table in front of you. Shit! Don't DO that! You chastise your brain as you feel a stirring in your groin. You do NOT want your best friend to make an appearance! Stallions were made with hidden penises for a reason and that was because they made things really bucking awkward when they showed themselves! No more naughty thoughts! No!

You make a point of examining the table in front of you as you control your breathing willing your groin to settle, and without more stimulus it does, reluctantly. You sigh out in relief, then blink as you see a wooden bowl filled with stew placed in front of you. The stew is green. Green... And bubbling slightly. With faint green vapors rising from it.

You look up from the stew to the chef, looking at her as she beams down to you, holding her own bowl in her hooves as she speaks.

She states merrily, as she moves over to the other side of the table and sits on her haunches, placing the bowl down in front of her, and without hesitation starts to drink the stew from it. You blink, then look back down to the green bubbling stuff in front of you. Stuff prepared by the nubile goddess from a foreign land you have only just encountered. And recalling what you've had in the past, can this be much worse? Is avoiding the risk worth dashing any hopes you had of scoring with her?

...

You grab the bowl and lift it up to your muzzle, tilting it back as you drink deeply. It's hot, and you almost burn your tongue, but to your surprise you find that it's something else. GOOD. Now mind you it's one of the strangest things you've tasted, with weird spices and unidentifiable flavors mixed within it. But your idea of a gourmet meal is a half piece of bread that's not moldy. So who the buck cares how weird it is, it tastes AWESOME! You down the whole thing in moments, licking your lips as Zecora lowers her own bowl from her lips, her bowl only a quarter drained. She blinks in surprise as she sees your empty bowl, then smiles wide.

"An even greater compliment to the beautiful chef." You say with a smile and give her a wink, with confidence that surprises even you. Zecora's eyes widen a bit, and a light blush graces her cheeks at your compliment, before you push your bowl across the table towards her.

"More please?" You ask, to which Zecora blinks, shakes her head, and then smiles a bit demurely, looking down from your eyes to the bowl

She almost mutters as she reaches for the bowl with her left foreleg, standing up and going over to the cauldron to get a refill. This time you watch her flank as she refills the bowl, watch her swishing tail and toned plot as she gets a meal for you... You lick your lips, and smile softly to yourself. There was something about this that was very... satisfying. You turn your gaze from her as she starts to finish, chuckling softly to yourself as you wait for her to return, and think on how to get closer to this magnificent mare...

Aye. Get to know her better, learn from her, learn about her. You're rightly curious, after all, and she's been nice so far. Be nice back- hide some of the... unsual things that happened to you, you wouldn't want to worry her, eh? And if you find a way to make her even nicer to you, take it. You're just giving her nudge, after all- no harm in that.

Slave is such an ugly word; yet you wonder whether Zebra society has something like that. Do they enslave each other? Do they use magic, or potions, or something else entirely? Would it work on her? Again, there's no harm in sating your curiosity.

Zecora comes back with your refill and you go slower this time. You sit down and eat and actually have a conversation with the zebra across from you. And this conversation illustrates a point very clearly for you. Zecora is an absolutely fascinating conversationalist! Once you get used to the rhyming she's a joy to listen to. In addition to being sexy as all get out she's pretty damn smart. Considering that she lived in probably the single most dangerous place in Equestria she'd have to be.

You find that you're mainly the one asking questions though you don't mind that. There's not exactly much about your life that you'd like to share. You asked her about herself, her rhyming, her people, her home, the things that attacked you, and she was more than happy to oblige. While it's a little difficult interpreting her due to the aforementioned rhyming, you're able to piece things together pretty well.

The things that attacked you, pretty much the first things on your mind for obvious reasons, were called Timberwolves. They were an extremely dangerous natural life-form unique to the Everfree forest, that were held together by advanced regenerative magic, and would actually regenerate from death after some time passed. They were known for their venomous thorn teeth and claws, and Zecora's first concern in treating you was cleaning the wounds to prevent infection. Made you shiver to think what would have happened if she hadn't come along... Then the conversation turned towards the fascinating mare in front of you, and you began to learn about Zecora and Zebra culture.

She was born in a small tribal village on the plains of Zebrica, in the northern half of the continent, where she grew up with her parents and brother. Her mother took care of the home and did everything from cooking to sewing, while her father was a trader, gone for sometimes weeks at a time making trades with the other tribes and bringing back profits and gifts for his family. Most of the masks around the hut were gifts from Zecora's father, and apparently the stick beside her door is made from a really rare wood from the far away lands of the graceful deer. Her brother was following in his father's footsteps, and she was set to follow in her mother's, until she learned that she had an affinity for plant life and potion combinations. After her discovery her family took her before the tribal shaman for evaluation, and she became one of the shaman's apprentices, before she eventually left the tribe. She kind of skimmed over that part actually.

Apparently there were numerous Zebra tribes all over Zebrica, each with a separate political and cultural identity. The Zebra tribes did however work together in something called the Circle of Guardians, a ruling political body that consisted of a respected representative of each tribe. The Circle is officially responsible for negotiation between other countries and the tribes of Zebrica, but has become as much an organization for political and diplomatic discourse between the tribes, bringing them closer together and settling most potential arguments before they become problems.

You're surprised to learn that the individual Zebra tribes tend to have two leaders, one Chieftain and one Shaman. The Chieftains apparently are charged with keeping the village filled with funds and food, and responding in times of crisis, whereas the Shamans are most often the ones who deal with other tribes, and are charged with the health, both spiritual and physical, of their tribe. Traditionally Chieftains have been stallions and Shamans have been mares, but there are no hard and fast rules requiring such, and there have been plenty of exceptions.

Asking about her jewelry, and the gold and gems you've seen other Zebras trade down at the Manehatten docks, you learn that Zebrica is actually very rich in gold. Many of the tribes mine the valuable ore for trade purposes, and of course it is used in decoration. The Zebra people are actually extremely rich due to this abundance of precious metal, and prominent tribe members wear bright and ornate clothing to show their status. Doesn't sound that different from the Manehattenites actually... What does sound different though is the Zebras tendency to polygamy. You're amazed to learn that Zebra tribes often have "Herds" around prominent or useful tribe members. Where multiple mares serve a stallion, or multiple stallions serve a mare who has proven themselves responsible and trustworthy, and has the financial ability to care for that many lovers. You find that a bit strange, but more than a little erotic.

When she got to the rhyming, explaining it in rhyme of course, you were fascinated to learn that it was because that actually fit closest to how her people's native language was structured. The rhyming structure in common Equestrian matched up to the rhythm and form of their native tongue, so for her it was just much easier to talk your language if she did it in rhyme. She doesn't necessarily have to, but it's awkward, difficult, and breaks up the flow for her when she doesn't.

By the time you finish talking the bowls are long empty, the cauldron is out, and hours have flown by. And you are feeling incredible. This is the first time in forever that you have had an actual conversation with somepony. Some social interaction that lasted longer than a kick to your flank, or the five seconds it takes to toss a few bits your way. It's... well, it's wonderful. Right now, you can't think of a more perfect moment.

Zecora sighs contentedly, before giving you a smile.

She speaks with a light sigh, echoing your feelings exactly as she collects her bowl and then yours standing up on her hind legs and moving over to one of her cluttered tables. She's actually got really impressive balance you notice as she moves on her hind-legs and puts the bowls down in the clutter, before returning to all fours and taking another bowl from the crowded table, raising it up in her front-left hoof.

She stated simply as she brought her front-right hoof to run around the rim of the bowl, prompting a curious arching of your right eyebrow. She finishes running her hoof along the rim and then turns and brings the water towards you. As she approaches you see that the bowl has hot water in it, steam rising lightly from the bowl. Huh, you wonder how you missed that when she first picked it up.

You blink, then blush a bit as you realize that she's essentially saying she's about to strip you, before looking away and nodding slightly. You take a shuddering breathe and straighten up lightly as the zebra healer places the bowl of hot water down upon the table in front of you. She moves over to a nearby shelf and plucks a roll of bandages from it with her mouth, and a soft white cloth with her right hoof. When she comes back she puts the bandages onto the table next to the bowl, and the folded white cloth on top of it.

The Zebra healer sits down on her haunches beside you, to your left. Her proximity does nothing to lessen your blush, and you can feel her hot breathe on the fur of your left foreleg as she leans forward and moves her hooves to unwrap your bandages.

You wince slightly as she pulls the bandages, one by one, from your body and lets them crumple down onto the floor as she undresses you. She slowly removes the cloth from your cheek as well, stripping you fully of your medicinal garb before leaning in and looking to your wounds first at your cheek, then at your flank, before finally looking up to you with a furrowed brow and a grave expression.

Spoke the healer, deadly seriousness in her every word and look, to the point that you have paled and are now shaking slightly in fear. You risk a tentative look at your flank and proceed to get rather paler... It's a mess. Fur is missing in patches, showing hints of greenish-grey skin around deep cuts that have been healed over with scar tissue, but clearly have dark green veins of some unknown affliction beneath them. You fight the urge to vomit from the sight of your own flank and turn away, gulping deeply. You close your eyes and deep breathe a few times, before you feel Zecora's hoof coming up to your back, rubbing softly in a circle, helping you calm down. Your heart slows and your breathing calms, and you turn to look to Zecora and give her a shaky smile. She returns with a gentle and sympathetic smile of her own, before her gaze once again becomes serious as she moves her front-right hoof down on your back to point to the rods that grew out from it, still down and pressed against your fur though no longer covered by the bandages.

She asks, to which you have only one appropriate mental response. Crap.

You guess you should have expected this though. Luckily the blade disappeared and maybe she didn't see it in the dark, and you're happy that she's not asking how you won against the Timberwolf things as she calls them. But it wasn't as though you could retract the rods into your back, and she'd obviously seen them since she bucking bandaged them. Well, the only thing to do now is think of a bullshit answer to give her. You don't want to tell her the truth. Oh these? They just grew out of my back and started shooting lightning. Buck no! That would definitely make her cautious around you, not something you want her to be, especially since you've FINALLY found someone you can talk to! So, bullshit, bullshit, what's the best bullshit? Ummm...

"These? They're part of some experimental treatment for my bones. I've had brittle bones since I was a foal and these are supposed to help prevent fractures and strengthen my skeletal structure. Not really sure how they work, but I've had them for a while now, pretty much necessary for me to live." ... Really? That was the best you could come up with?

Spoke Zecora simply, poking your back near where the wings sprouted out, the grim look still on her face. At least she bought the bullshit, but now your heart is starting accelerate again as you enter into panic mode.

Any time she wanted to let up would be great. Any time now. No? Well okay then.

You breathe in deep, trying to keep your panic in control as Zecora dips her front-left hoof into the bowl of hot water, stirs it lightly, and then brings her hoof forward to wipe over the wounds on your flank. It's hot and you flinch a bit, and feel something a little... weird. You risk a look, and it seems as though the water's moving almost... independently of her hoof. Still connected, but sinking in deep into the scars, trying to clean them out and then just... disappearing. Huh.

You shake your head and look away, deciding that you need a distraction, you lick your lips and speak in a fairly shaky voice.

"So, um, why did you leave? Your tribe I mean. How did you wind up here?" You asked, and you hear a sigh come from her lips, as she dips her hoof into the water bowl again, and brings it up to your cheek this time, washing the scars. You wince as she applies her hoof, and after a few moments of silence you're worried you offended her, before she finally speaks.

She says softly, as she finally lowers her hooves from cleaning your wounds. She then calmly reaches over for the clean bandages, taking them into her hooves and starting to wrap them over your wounds, tying them tightly as she continues to speak.

She finished up with applying the new and fresh white cloth to your cheek, running her left hoof along it's edges as she presses it up. You feel a light tingle along the edges, and as she removes her hooves you find that the cloth sticking to your cheek once more. You blink a bit as Zecora gives you a smile, and then stands up on all fours.

She spoke, gently but firmly lifting you up from your haunches with her left foreleg, your eyes widening slightly as you feel the strength in her leg. Then she almost shoves you back towards the bedroom and quite calmly gives your behind a-

SMACK!

With her left foreleg. You jump, blushing deeply from the contact and wincing a bit from the encouragement as you look back to her, the zebra looking at you with a light and amused smirk.

She speaks, and you wonder if you should argue or make a comment on that butt-smack.

Agreed. You must win her, but feel free to take your time. Make her fall for you whether it takes a day, a week, or a month. Learn potions from her and gain her trust.

No. She's being a kind host, has your life in her hooves, is hot as Tartarus, and you're feeling a bit tired anyway... You nod slightly, still blushing deeply and mutter.

"Yes maam." Before moving forward. A thought stops you however and you stay still for a moment before turning your gaze back to the zebra.

"Thank you Zecora. I owe you my life." You speak, to which she blinks and smiles gently, a tiny blush moving onto her cheeks.

You nod your obedience and move towards the bedroom, then to the bed, and then get in underneath the luxurious covers, pulling them over your body and snuggling into the mattress, closing your eyes and taking in a deep blissful breathe, before breathing out slowly, practically melting into the mattress...

Remember how you thought you could help the ponies (or other creatures) who help you? Here's your chance. If the owner is as friendly as he/she seems, you can try to befriend them in return. Perhaps even more. You've lived in an overcrowded city far too long, you long for something... exotic... to eventually claim as your own. If you feel yourself connect to the other equine in a strange, unusual way, don't fight it. It'll be alright, for you and for her; if she eventually comes to act exactly as you tell her to, who are you to deny such a gift? It's not like you did anything evil, you are merely connecting to her...

Once you have bound the zebra to you, have her be you slave and companion.

For some reason the luxury of the bed doesn't carry you off to dreamland. It might have been disconcerting, but you're able to reach a half-state that feels like you imagine being high should feel, so you're fine. Throughout the rest of the day you remain more or less in the wondrous invention, save for the occasional call of nature that needs answering. Even then it's a struggle to leave the bed, because you do not think it's possible to overstate how BUCKING AWESOME this bed is. You do in fact at some point ask Zecora where she got it from, and she says something about a mattress and quill store... though you probably heard that wrong because that makes no sense. But still! Awesome bed.

Zecora comes in to check on you fairly often, bringing bottles and bowls of medicine. These don't taste nearly as good as the stew, but you do tend to feel better after them. There's a bit of panic after she looks into your mouth and proceeds to declare that your tongue may have been infected as well... but she spreads an edible paste inside of your mouth that's meant to take care of that, and after a light tingle you're fairly sure it worked. Throughout the day your soreness and pain steadily decrease, until you barely notice them at all. She's constantly checking your temperature, fluffing up your pillow, checking your covers, bringing you water, and you can't help but think... this must be what having a mother feels like.

Well maybe not a mother... that would be creepy because you totally want to rut Zecora. A maid! That's better. A sexy maid with one of those little costumes, showing off her gorgeous flanks whenever she bends over. A maid that brings you wine on a tray on her back. stockings on her legs, laying back on the bed with her hind-legs open and a blush on her face, ready and willing to serve but still nervous and demure, and softly moaning as you run your tongue up alon-

DAMNIT!

You shake your head violently, a flush on your face as your groin starts acting up again. No, no, no! You're not going to clop in her bed! That would be just wrong! And bucking rude! No, bad penis, stay down! Gaaah!

... Still, penis tamed and perversion aside, it would be really nice to have somepony devoted to your every want and need... really really nice... Somepony who was yours and only yours, nopony elses... and it would be really nice if that pony was Zecora...

Zecora visits once more as the night falls, bringing you a small red bottle of some kind of weird yellow-purplish liquid, that despite it's taste is probably very good for you. After you finish downing the substance, Zecora puts a hoof to your head checking your temperature, and smiles encouragingly.

Spoke Zecora with a light smile as she placed the bottle right at the window, letting the moonlight hit the red surface, casting a pale milky red pattern down onto the bed. You watch the light, fascinated as Zecora turns and moves towards the doorway.

Spoke the zebra, prompting you to tear your way from the impromptu light show and furrow your brows, looking after Zecora.

"Wait, do you have another bed?" You ask, curious, as Zecora stops and looks back to you with a soft smile.

She stated, waving her front-right hoof like it was no big deal. Your jaw dropped and your mouth went wide as you looked at her in shock.

"On the floor?!" You ask, awestruck not at the idea of sleeping on a floor, but rather at this beautiful exotic creature from a far away realm not getting to use her own damn bed because you happened to be in it. It was a disgrace!

"No it is not fine!" You interrupt the toned zebra, pushing off the covers and pulling your still rather sluggish body out of the bed, getting down onto the floor as Zecora turns to you with surprise.

"The night is cold, the floor is hard, and there is a perfectly good bed here! I will not see you forced down onto the floor for my sake!"

"No buts!" You say, waving your front-right hoof in an emphatic dismissal of refusal.

"This is your bed and you're going to sleep in it! I will not push you out of your own bed in your own home!" You say, before smiling at the wide-eyed zebra, and speaking more gently.

"Besides, I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing I was putting you out for the night." You say, to which Zecora blinks, bites her lip for a moment, and lowers her head a bit. You swear you can see a faint blush on her cheeks as she responds.

She spoke, before giving you a bit of an awkward smile and bringing her front-right hoof up to her mouth to cough into slightly.

She stated, a bit nervously you thought before turning and moving away from you, out of the archway, leaving you standing there in the room, thinking a few things.

'YES!' Was one of them. 'Where the buck did that come from?!' Was another. And then 'Oh Celestia's tits I'm going to be in the same bed as her!' Was the third. You shook off thoughts one through three to take deep calming breaths, your face flushed, and turn to almost gallop back to the bed. You get in quickly and shove yourself against the wall on the far side of the bed, giving her plenty of room so as to not appear remotely threatening.

The moments turn to millennia as you wait, covers pulled up over your body, heart pounding, and sweat starting to form in droplets on your coat. The red light from the bottle fades as a black cloud covers the moon ending your only legitimate distraction, and time marches on at a snail's pace that makes you crave and fear every second, as the one that might be the moment where she comes to bed... And almost jump as the lights are extinguished in the rest of the hut. The moon shines light once more, and you see the form of Zecora entering into the doorway.

The beautiful Zebra holds a spare pillow in her mouth, and seems to be hesitating in the doorway. For a few brief moments your heart pounds in panic, that she will or won't come to bed you're not sure. But then she trots forward, over to the bed, and tossed the pillow onto the side opposite of you. She reaches down and pulls up the covers, once again with pale milky red light dancing across them, and slides into her bed. You stay perfectly still as she shifts position, getting comfortable her movements vibrating through the mattress so that you can feel them, before she settles, facing away from you and pulling the covers up to cover her body. Zecora waits like that for a few moments before speaking in a soft voice.

Her voice caresses your ears as you stare at her figure in the moonlight, before gulping, and closing your eyes.

"Thank you Zecora... goodnight, sweet dreams."

You say softly, and then breathe in deeply out slowly, willing yourself to calm down, be cool, and get some sleep... Get some sleep... go to bucking sleep...

You furrow your brows a bit as sleep seems to have trouble coming, and shift your position a little, letting tiredness move throughout your limbs, and try to sink into slumber, opposite of Zecora in her bed... and as after more than a few counted sheep that seems fruitless you sigh, and open your eyes, looking up into the dark, thinking on your situation, on your life, and on the mare right next to you.

MUTATION GAINED: Charming Tongue: Residual magic has been collected to alter the Host's tongue to slightly resonate with perception and mental magic that has an effect on vocal emissions, increasing the attractiveness of the host's voice to listeners, giving a slight increase to the importance of the Host's vocally emitted mood, as well as increasing the validity of the host's statements. Also, the Host's tongue is now purple.

Author's Notes:

Heya. Okay... Zecora is hard to write for. And the number of times I had to write and rewrite this to make it work right... Still not sure I actually succeeded. So if you have any complaints about Zecora's rhyming scheme... don't. Please just don't.

Anyways, I am sorry that this chapter took longer than the others. However this actually might become a pattern. School's coming up and despite all evidence to the contrary I do have a life. I'm probably not going to be able to keep up the previous pace. Still, I'll try not to drag my heels on things.

Now as for explicit content. I rated this story Mature with a sex tag for the sole purpose of being prepared if things went sexual. I do realize that some people might not want outright pornography shoved into their face so right now I'm planning to simply make two chapters when/if things get explicit. One with the explicit pornographic content and the other skimming over it with suggestion it happened. Will see how that works and how feasible it is over time.