Vinyl Scratch was up on her DJ platform doing her thing at the Morning Star nightclub. This was normal. Twilight entered the building, walked by dozens of ponies without receiving a single shocked look, and came up to her, all of which were abnormal.

“Twilight? How did you get in here? And why?”

“Knockout bolt. You hypnotised Rainbow Dash.”

“Yeah, but there’s no way to reverse it.”

“So Zecora can reverse it.”

“I dunno, I wouldn’t think so.”

“Well, I’m checking. Can’t believe I came all this way for no information.”

She went back to the treehouse, but as she relaxed on her bed reading yet another book with no title, a storm kicked up, virtually guaranteeing no Rainbow Dash for the night. Not only that, everything was clean, and she wasn’t even horny. She finished the chapter, then sighed.

“Well, now what am I supposed to do? Anything I want? But there’s nothing I have to read right now, and I’m tired of this one. I can’t believe the one time I really want to be directed about what to read, there’s nothing. Isn’t that ridiculous, Twilight? What fucking luck. No, I don’t feel like clopping. And yes, I don’t care if it’s been three days. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe I’m finally getting over my sexual obsession. You never support me, Twilight, even with things like this. Either you criticise me, or when I actually better myself, you find some reason it’s actually bad because you’re that scared of change. I’m not saying I hate criticism, but sometimes I wonder if you even like me. I know, you’re just trying to help, blah blah blah. Do you have anything that’s actually important to say?

“Yes, I’m worried too that Vinyl’ll do something now that she knows we have plans, but what can I do? She won’t do anything to Zecora, that’ll get her in more trouble than it’s worth. And besides, she doesn’t think I can do anything anyway. No, I’m not going on the Internet. I need some sort of work. Need to feel like I’m really doing something.

“No, I’m not going to bitch about Rarity. Yes, I know it would be good for the ratings. I have nothing to get off my chest, anything I have right now is just general stuff that’s already been said. I don’t really mind her right now anyway, I tell her to stay out of my life and she’s stayed out of my life. The one I should be bitching about is Pinkie Pie. I mean, I don’t really like her that much anyway. She’s too happy, you know? Too bouncy and happy. Not the kind of thing Twilight likes. And when you tell her to fuck off, she doesn’t fuck off, unlike Rarity. She’ll just keep talking to you because she thinks her presence is just so great that it’s for your own good that she sticks around. Does she even realise how highly she thinks of herself? And really, when’s the last time she said anything of substance? I mean, Rainbow isn’t exactly a philosopher, but she’s not an idiot, she certainly thinks on a higher level than Pinkie Pie. I mean, okay, Pinkie isn’t an idiot, really, she’s just... a bit simple, I guess. And not the good kind of simple that’s all boring and practical and other things I like, the dumb and ‘I guess that’s all there is to it’ kind. The kind of boring that’s actually boring, not just boring for ponies who don’t like reading. How much can you really say about her, you know? I mean, I know, that’s her, she shouldn’t change for me, but let’s be honest, she really isn’t Twilight’s style.” She sighed. “I’m sorry, Pinkie. I don’t hate you. It’s just... you’re like sugar in more ways than one, but one of them is that too much of you gets pretty sickening.”

“It’s okay, Twilight.” She heard Pinkie’s voice, but she didn’t know where from. “I’ll leave you alone if you want. If you get a little sick of me sometimes, I understand.”

“Pinkie Pie? Where are you?”

“Right in here.”

“In my bedroom? I know that much. Where specifically?”

“In your head, silly!”

“I’m hallucinating you?”

“That’s right!”

“I’m going to sleep.”

The next afternoon, Rainbow Dash came directly into the bedroom as she did, and Twilight was sitting in the middle of the room and not doing anything obvious.

“Hey, Twilight. What are you doing?”

“Vinyl Scratch said there’s no way to reverse the hypnosis.”

“That’s right.”

“So we’re going to Zecora.”

“But I don’t mind being hypnotised.”

“I do.”

“I asked AJ and she doesn’t care, so you’ll have to drag me inside and force-feed me the thing.”

“Then I will.”

She did the teleportation and knocked the door. Startled, Zecora reflexively shut her laptop then answered it.

“Why do you—”

“I told you, it is none of your fucking business. How do you reverse Vinyl hypnosis?”

She retrieved some sort of mushroom from one of the shelves. “Eat this.”

Rainbow took it and ate it. “Is that it?”

“Yes. Now go.” She shut the door.

“Zecora?” Rainbow said. “What’s wrong?”

“Go.”

Twilight took them back. “So I guess you want to have sex or something,” she said.

“Yeah.”

“Well, I don’t really feel like it.”

“But... you’re....”

“I know. I mean, you understand, don’t you?”

Rainbow kissed Twilight for a few seconds, confident that their tongues coming together would remind her of who she was. “Come on.”

“How hard is it for you to understand, I don’t—”

“You’re making me come or I’m leaving. Um, that wasn’t, like, a pun. Anyway, I do this often enough for you. Do you know how many times you’ve raped me?”

“But you like it.”

“And you don’t?”

“Not all the time.”

“Well, we’re far from even. So do you want me here or not?”

“But you always like it.”

“I’m leaving.”

“We can fuck.”

After the sex scene, there was still half an episode to fill. Fortunately, just a day later, Pinkie Pie came into Zecora’s hut.

“There’s a problem,” Pinkie said.

“You didn’t knock?”

“No. I have a cut on my leg.” There was a bandage on her right foreleg. “Also, I have another cut from some sort of weird magic rabbit or something attacking me as I was making the dangerous journey.” There was also a cut on her right hindleg. “Can you fix me?”

“You could just wait.”

“And probably get an infection.”

“Why, from the cut you wouldn’t have got if you didn’t come here?”

“The bandage is kind of loose too. It was a combination of having hooves and having fur.”

“I can only fix weird stuff.”

“I’ve seen you fix normal stuff before. Now give me the thing.”

“At the moment, I don’t have anything to fix open wounds.”

“Fine. Also, why are you talking normal?”

“Go away.”

“Fine, but if the universe ends, I’m blaming you.”

Not an hour later, Zecora found Applejack at her doorstep.

“Ah was apple-buckin’ an’ Ah did somethin’ weird to mah back raht leg here. You see?”

“No.”

“Lahke, the muscle in the upper part feels kahnda twisted somewhere, and it hurts whenever Ah put pressure on it.”

“You came all the way here alone on three legs and you’re fine?”

“Yeah. Had to get away from this weird evil rabbit, but Ah’m okay.”

“Did it look more like a rabbit or a hare?”

“Ah don’t fuckin’ know.”

“Either way, if you did run away from one of those, it isn’t that bad.”

“So can you fix me?”

“No.”

“No? Can’t fix me, apparently can’t rhahme, are you even the real Zecora?”

“Why did you come to me for this sort of thing?”

“There was nowhere obvious to go.”

“Well, duh, because you’re going to be fine.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Go.”

The next patient was Rainbow Dash.

“You were here yesterday.”

“I know. Now I scraped my wing on a branch. Then I did it again flying away from this rabbit with these weird long ears.”

“That’s called a hare.”

“Well, I need you to fix me.”

“I don’t have any bandages.”

“I know you can fix me. I’ve been here often enough. I know you.”

“I’d rather not waste what I have on a little cut I can’t even see.”

“Is it worth the universe?”

“Leave.”

After that sequence, no one had any more regrets for the day. Fortunately, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had sex that night. Next Chapter: Chapter 70: A Lot To Make Up For Estimated time remaining: 12 Hours, 14 Minutes