So there I was lying on my back about to be savaged by wolf… made of wood, when all of a sudden a zebra(!) appeared out of nowhere and charged towards the wolf on top of me before stopping and turning on a dime and kicking the wolf off of me with its hind legs, it then ran around me to place itself between the wolf and myself. The wolf tried to run around the zebra to get to me but promptly received a staff to the face, courtesy of the aforementioned zebra, causing the wolf to let out a yelp of surprise.

“Get back, return to your territory with the rest of your wolf pack” She, it seems, said in a distinctly African sounding voice. the wolf started to back away before howling to its pack and running off into the forest, the rest of the pack following close behind.

I got to my feet and then picked up my sword and put it on my back before walking over to the zebra, noticing for the first time that she was really small. She roughly came up to my chest in height, and was wearing neck rings as well as several bangles on her left foreleg and really big earrings.

“Thank you, I would have been done for if you hadn’t shown up” I said.

“What else was I to do? I wasn’t going to stand there whilst it made a meal out of you” she responded.

“Ok four things, one, who are you? Two, what is this place? Three, what were those wolves? And four, why are you speaking in rhyme?” I asked, counting off each question with my fingers.

“To my hut we must go, there, I will heal you and tell you everything you wish to know” she said.

“Heal me?” I asked.

“Look at your arm” she said, pointing at my left arm with one of her forelegs “the Timberwolf has caused you some harm”

I looked at my arm and noticed that where the ‘timber-wolf’ had bitted me there were several teeth marks and a small amount of blood trickling down my arm.

“Oh shit, how did I not notice that?” I exclaimed, not even trying to hide my surprise.

“The saliva of Timberwolves dulls the pain, it is so that its prey does not complain” she said.

“So” I said nervously “how about going to your hut then?” it was more of a statement than a question, her response was to simply turn around and walk into the forest.

After a following her for a short while we came across a tree with several windows and a large door as well as bottles of various shapes, sizes and colours hanging from the branches. there was also a couple African-esc tribal masks, including one above the doorway. I had to duck down to fit through the doorway. inside the hut I could see more masks, each one unique, and more bottles, some were hanging from the ceiling but most were on shelves. in the centre of the hut there was a large cauldron.

“Please take a seat at the table” the Zebra said pointing to a table in a corner “a bite from a Timberwolf can make its victim quite unstable”

I walked over to the table and sat down cross-legged on the floor.

The Zebra started putting various things on the table such as a bandage, a cloth, a bowl filled with water and another bowl filled with a mixture of water and an unknown liquid which I presumed to be a disinfectant of some sort. She started by picking up the cloth (with her hooves, I still don’t know how that works) and dipping it in the bowl filled with water and the unknown liquid and started to clean the wound, I visibly winced when the cloth came into contact with the wound.

“Ah, that stings”

“Please do not complain, the mixture will only cause temporary pain” she said before dipping the cloth into the ordinary water and then repeating the process a couple more times, she then got the bandage and started wrapping it around my arm.

“So, what’s your name?” I asked once she had finished bandaging my arm.

“My name is Zecora, the reason I found you when I did was because I often go out to collect herb based flora” she replied.

"My name is ..." I tried to tell her my name, but I found myself unable to, it was as if every time I tried to say my name my voice caught in my throat, 'shit, why can't I tell her my name, come on got to think of a name. Ah, I know, Vuur Koning, yeah that'll do I thought back to when I went to Holland and, as a result, tried (and failed) to learn Dutch, I still picked up a couple of words though.

"You can call me Vuur Koning" I said "I seem to be unable to tell you my real name so it will have to do, anyway, I have to ask, why do you speak in rhyme?"

She nodded before saying “In the land where I come from, where the land is baked in hot sun, it is seen as a mark of wisdom, if the healers speak in rhyming rhythm”

“And where do you come from?” I asked.

“It is a place that goes by the name of Zebrica, and the language calls my kind pundamilia” she responded, I was about to ask her what pundamilia meant but she continued.

“But what about you?" Zecora asked "Of all the things that I have seen, you are something different and new”

“Well, where are we now?" I asked "and I don’t mean in this hut, I mean what is this country called?”

“This land is called Equestria" Zecora said "it is a place that is full of friendship and devoid of fear”

“Have you heard of any where called England?” I asked, uncertainty creeping into my voice.

“Please excuse me whilst I prepare food for my cooking pot, in the meantime, do tell me of this place of which I know not” she said before standing up and clearing the table.

I could feel myself starting to panic ‘I can’t start freaking out now, not when there’s someone else around’, I started to slow my breathing in an attempt to try and calm myself down ‘I can freak out later’, I turned to Zecora and asked.

“What would you like to know?”

“As much as you want to tell me of where you are from, and also, I am curious to hear some of you home-land songs”

“Oh! that reminds me” I said getting my rucksack off of my back and checking inside ‘who knows what could have got damaged in here’ I thought, thinking back to when I got knocked over by the Timberwolf as I started taking all of the stuff out of my bag and checking to see if any of it was damaged, speaking out loud as I went.

“Alright, head phones are fine, laptops ok, camera accessories are ok, camera’s ok, it’s a bloody miracle, phones ok (no signal though), chargers are ok, everything’s ok, thank god”

I now felt a lot more relaxed, I picked up the laptop and turned it on before turning to Zecora and saying.

“You wanted to hear what some of the music of where I’m from is like, yes?”

She was too busy stirring whatever was in the cauldron using a wooden spoon help in her mouth to talk, so she simply nodded.

“Ok, let’s see” I muttered to myself and started scrolling through the different music groups that I had on the laptop ‘Disturbed? No, Sabaton? No, Rammstien? Definitely not, Gorrilaz? No, 650+ songs and there’s ‘ef’ all to listen to, Alestorm? No, Van Canto? Hmm, I wonder’

“Zecora, what’s the music like where you come from, is it like drums and vocals?” I asked, trying to decide which song to play.

Once again her only response was simply to nod.

“OK, I think I know the perfect song to play, it’s quite a calm and gentle song so it won’t be too disturbing I hope”

This time she placed the spoon down before saying.

“No matter what you play, I will listen with an open mind before I tell you what I have to say”

“OK then” and with that I pressed play and as the song played I began to tell her about my homeland. The song finally wound down just as Zecora appeared to have finished cooking, she took out two bowls and poured an equal amount into each before carefully bringing them over to the table revealing them to be holding a steaming pale brown liquid. I had a feeling I knew what it was, I turned to Zecora and asked.

“Mushroom soup, By any chance?” I asked

“Yes, that would be the correct guess” Zecora said.

I carefully lifted the bowl and, following Zecoras example, began to drink from the bowl ‘bloody hell this is good’ I thought, I turned to Zecora to express my gratitude.

“Wow, this the best soup I’ve ever had” I said

“I am pleased that my soup you enjoy" Zecora said "towards your music I also felt a similar level of joy”

I glanced out the window and saw it was getting dark.

“Where am I staying tonight? I mean, I wouldn’t want to be a bother”

“Here you shall stay, tomorrow I shall take you to a nearby town, it is not too far away, you will sleep in my bed, though I warn you, you are a little bit big by about a head.”

“But, what about you?” I asked “thanks for the offer, but you need somewhere to sleep as well”

“I will meditate, it will leave me well rested although I will still be awake” she responded in a tone that said ‘this isn’t up for discussion’

“OK, if you say so” I said before finishing off my soup and standing up, Zecora had finished her soup as well, I picked up both of our bowls.

“Where do you want these?” I asked holding the bowls up.

“put them over there” she said, pointing to one of the shelves “I will take care of them later, you needn’t care”

I put the bowls on the aforementioned shelf before turning and saying.

“thank you for your hospitality, but I am feeling really tired so I am going to go to sleep, OK?”

Zecora simply nodded before grabbing her staff and doing an insanely complex acrobatic display which resulted in her landing upside down on top of the staff, her forelegs together and one back leg pointing straight up, the other pointing off to one side, the staff didn’t even wobble.

“show off” I muttered under my breath, I swear at that moment I saw a hint of a smile flash briefly across her face before she put on a neutral expression.

A walked up to the bed and removed my sword before placing it on the floor and laying in the bed, it was only slightly smaller than I was. I could just fit on the bed without having to adopt the fetal position, my last thought before I fell asleep was ‘I hope my parents aren't too worried’.

bloody hell, trying to rhyme is so hard!
also the song used in this isn't mine, it belongs to Van Canto and whoever wrote it for lord of the rings
*edit* added a scene where I tell Zecora my name.

Vuur Koning Stat increases: None.