Little happened for the next few weeks, at least little that mattered as far as being the Overlord. First some prideful magic mare came into town claiming she could beat an Ursa Major, which is some gigantic star bear. I was somewhat impressed and thought about inviting her to join me but that idea quickly got swept aside when an Ursa Minor, a cub, got dragged into town by a couple of idiots. The first thing that “Great and Powerful” mare did was run for the hills and Twilight was the one who ended up getting rid of it.

Next a dragon took up residence nearby, and I’m not talking about Spike. This dragon was huge, and was spewing smoke everywhere. Apparently the smoke was more a threat to Equestria than the dragon itself so we all had to climb up the mountain it was sleeping on so that each of the ponies could try to get him to leave. I even got a shot at it though I wasn’t really trying. It was all over when Fluttershy finally ponied up and used that freaky stare of hers.

Finally, Applejack and Rarity came over for a sleepover during a storm. Thankfully once I’m at the fortress it takes a lot more than some mares having a fight to wake me up.

Now in the latest of incidents to come to Ponyville, I found myself sitting in Sugarcube Corner with all the lights off while everyone around me freaks out.

“I still don’t understand why we’re all sitting here in the dark.” The only response I continued to get from any of the ponies was “shush.”

I swear if I don’t get an answer soon I’m going to blow the door down!

Applejack stood by the front window looking for something. “I don’t see her, do you Rainbow?”

Rainbow was acting as lookout on the other side. “Nothing yet. Oh wait! Twilight and Spike are here!”

Rarity gasped. “Oh no, we must warn them!” Pinkie swung the top half of the door open and started waving frantically.

“Psst! Twilight! Spike! Come here! Come! Here! Hurry! Before she gets you!” Soon Twilight and Spike jumped into the room. While Spike freaked out Twilight started asking the same questions I had been for the past half an hour only with actual results.

Turns out everyone in town, except Twilight and I, were afraid of some supposedly evil zebra named Zecora. Funny thing is their only evidence to prove this was that she lived in the Everfree Forest. Even Applebloom, Applejack’s little sister, could tell everyone was acting like a bunch of idiots, but whenever she tried to speak up about it Applejack wouldn’t let her.

Twilight vocalized exactly what I was thinking. “Wait, so you’re afraid of her because she looks different and she comes from the Everfree Forest? You do know Don fits that description too, right?”

“Well darling, Don doesn’t have those horrid stripes!” I think Twilight and both rolled our eyes in tandem. While she continued arguing how ridiculous everyone else was acting I managed to catch Applebloom slipping out of the building.

My, my, what do we have here? Looks like somepony doesn’t want to listen to their sister. I looked around real fast to make sure everyone was focused on Twilight while I casted my newest spell on myself. Before going anywhere I tested it by slamming my hand against the floor. No sound was made. Perfect.

I made my way outside and saw Applebloom darting in and out of cover as she followed Zecora out of town. I started to follow as well and it wasn’t long before we made it to the edge of the Everfree. As Applebloom reached the edge of the forest she stopped and looked up at the trees in fear.

I walked up behind her and removed my sound canceling spell so I could speak. “Come on Applebloom. You ain’t scared, are you?”

“Wah! Don, howja-” I didn’t stop walking after Zecora as I scooped Applebloom up and placed her on my shoulders.

“Don’t you want to show your sister what a big pony you are?” She seemed to think about what I was saying for a moment as she wrapped her hooves around my forehead.

“Ya! Zecora ain’t that scary. You came from the forest and you’re not scary.”

Ah, the ignorance of youth. Who am I kidding, this kid is smarter than most of the population of Ponyville! “Well then let’s show them you’re right.” The forest wasn’t as bad as the ponies would lead you to believe. It looked dark and spooky but that’s about all it had going for it.

We were about to get close enough to speak with Zecora when suddenly a very angry older sister yelled out behind us. “Applebloom! You get back here right now!” Before I could react Applejack kicked me aside and caught her sister in midair. I ended up face first in a field of blue flowers.

As I tried to figure out which way was up I heard a tribal sounding voice but could not figure out what was being said. The ponies seemed to ignore whatever it was as they yelled back at who I assumed to be Zecora. By the time I had sat up, Twilight had just finished explaining how curses were fake. Applejack took this moment to walk over and scold me.

“What were you thinking bringing ma sister in here? She could have been cursed by that creepy witch Zecora!”

As I rubbed my back in an attempt to alleviate the pain, I tried my best not to let my anger get the better of me. “I was thinking you were all acting crazier than usual. You still have no proof that Zecora is this evil enchantress. Oh, and by the way, thanks for the kick to the back.”

She just shook her head and started walking away. “Well you deserved it. Bringing a foal in here, I can’t believe it.” Twilight walked over and helped me up.

“You alright Don? Don’t worry about Applejack. She’ll be back to her normal self tomorrow.”

“Ya, I’m fine. I just feel sorry for Applebloom.” Though the way Applejack treats her gives me an idea.

“The Apple Family can be a bit protective of their kin, but we have more important things to worry about now. We need to figure out how were going to get everypony to stop being so afraid of Zecora.”

“Sounds good to me. I don’t want to risk another applebucking.”

* * *

After a normal night in the fortress, I woke up feeling even worse than I usually did. The first thing I noticed was that I seemed to be having trouble grabbing the blanket. Ugh, why are mornings so difficult? Finally I just groaned and rolled over to get it off.

Next I noticed something in my field of vision that when I reached up it turned out to be my nose. I guess I hit the ground harder than I thought yesterday. Looks like my nose swelled up pretty bad.

The final thing that tipped me off to something being wrong was that when I tried to stand up I fell right back down again. I managed to catch myself but when I did my hands didn’t look right.

Is… is that a hoof? Wow, how tired am I? I looked around and found my mirror. After a few seconds of squinting I managed to see a pony standing in it. Haha Pinkie. I get it. Day after the whole ‘zebra curse’ thing you put a picture of some pony over my mirror just to scare me. And just to prove my point I waved at the mirror because if it was a joke there’s no way it would… wave… back…

It waved back. IT WAVED BACK?!?!?

Suddenly I was wide awake as I started looking over my body. I’m a pony! Why am I a pony!? Let’s see, brown coat, Overlord red hair, seems my gauntlet has changed to a bracer. I don’t have an evil Overlord cutie mark thankfully and… wings? Yep, those are wings. I’m going to freak out now.

And I did.

After I finally screamed my head off, Twilight rushed into my room. “Don, what’s going-” She saw me and I saw her horn covered in polka dots and flopping around like something that children shouldn’t know about. I also noticed a strange smell start to fill the room.

“Um, Twilight, there’s something-”

“Don!? You’re a pony? How? Why? When? This doesn’t make any sense!”

“Then this is probably a bad time to tell you your horn is… limp.” The smell was getting stronger and I was now finding it more difficult to think straight.

“Limp?” She turned to look in the mirror. “What are you- DAAAAAAAH!” She then broke down into short utterances as she attempted to keep what little sanity she had. Unfortunately I had no hands to do my usual thing to calm her down and since I was having trouble getting on my hooves (shut up, it’s hard to walk on four limbs after living a life on two) I was instead forced to yell.

“Twilight! You need to calm down if we’re going to figure this out! Just take some deep breaths or something while I try to figure out how to walk.” And as I said this I fell on my face- or muzzle I suppose- leaving my rump in the air. Twilight took my advice and started breathing. By the time she was as calm as she was going to get I had managed to stand up on wobbly hooves. It was all I could concentrate on as the odor continued to assail my mental functions.

“Alright. We need to find a cure. After all, curses aren’t real, right Don?” I couldn’t see straight by this point as I felt some sort of primal urge start to take over. I could hear Twilight speaking but couldn’t make out any of it. I just had one thing on my mind and that was-

Suddenly the cloud in my mind was gone as I fell forward. I glanced up to see Twilight standing over me with a worried look on her face. I could also see something sticking out of my nostrils.

My voice sounded nasally with my nose clogged. “Ugh, what… what happened? All I could think about was...” I let it end there as my face went red.

“Are you okay? I’m so sorry! I should have realized that you wouldn’t have had a built up immunity to my hormones.”

I managed to stand back up on my hooves but walking still wasn’t going to happen. “Wait a minute, hormones? What the hell are you talking about? What did you do to me?”

Twilight was rather embarrassed by whatever had happened but spoke anyway. “Well, pony mares go into heat once a month. When they do they release hormones to attract males. Most stallions build up an immunity while growing up so they never have to worry but you just became a full grown stallion today. Your body couldn’t handle it so it tried to… well…”

And I hit the floor once again. “WHAT!? I nearly- and you- but I- we- that-” I continued having my own version of a Twilight mental breakdown until I managed a question. “So… why am I not… ‘trying’ anymore? I doubt you can just turn your heat off.”

“That’s why I plugged your nostrils. That scent you smelled was the hormones. Now we need to find a cure. I’m sure it’s in one of the books we have in the library.”

“Alright… alright… that’s good. Just one problem.”

“What?”

“I can’t walk.”

* * *

After promising never to speak about our near love affair again and about a good half an hour of trying to help me walk, I had managed to learn and get into the library proper. When Spike first saw me he thought Twilight had finally gotten a coltfriend but I was quick to bash him upside the head. We then spent the next few hours trying to figure out what had happened. During that time I found that not only was I almost completely incapable of doing anything physical but I also had lost the ability to do any spells.

I could have been a unicorn but nooooooo. I hadn’t figured out how to move my wings so they just stuck out of my sides awkwardly. This made it even harder when it came to walking as they made balancing difficult. As such I resigned to just sitting in a corner as Spike passed me books to look through.

Our search was suddenly interrupted by a Pinkie Pie with an inflated tongue. Oh sweet Faust that’s funny. I managed to keep myself from laughing though as Twilight tried to decipher what she was saying. Soon everyone else had arrived each with a hilarious issue and I was having a harder and harder time trying not to laugh. By the time Fluttershy had come in speaking at a level of voice that would put Big Mac to shame I couldn’t hold it in anymore. Thankfully Spike agreed with me though his laughter didn’t end up with him hitting the floor.

“This is hilarious. Look at all of you. We got Harity, Rainbow Crash, Spitty Pie, Appleteenie, Flutterguy, and… I got nothing for you Twilight. But Don here is the best of all of you. Got turned into a pony that can barely walk!”

I suddenly realized that every mare in the room except Applebloom was giving me a weird look. “What? You all look like you haven’t seen a stallion tripping over his own hooves before.”

As I slowly stood back up Twilight got close so she could whisper. “Um, Don? Remember when I said that mares go into heat once a month?”

“Um, ya?”

“Well, when mares live with each other, like for instance Ponyville, their heat cycles… sync up.”

I suddenly felt closer to death then when I went to visit the princesses. “So… you mean…”

“About 90% of the female population of Ponyville is right now in heat.” And with that my head hit the floor, only this time I did it on purpose. That’s it! You win Faust! Just turn me back now and I’ll promise to dedicate my life to being good and peaceful and all that junk. Don’t subject me to this hell!

With my prayer apparently unheard, Rarity tried to speak between spitting out hair. “It’s not all bad Don. You’re actually a rather handsome stallion.” I only groaned in response. Don’t start hitting on me now Rarity! It didn’t take long before an argument had started once again over Zecora. As I got back up Applebloom walked over to me.

“Oh Don, this is all my fault. If I had never followed Zecora in the first place none of this would have happened.”

I sat down so I could put a hoof on her shoulder. “This isn’t your fault. Whatever is going on we can figure it out.” Looking back at the arguing mares I suddenly got an idea. “Hey, I bet Zecora might know what did this to us. If we want her help though we’re going to need to get there before this angry mob.”

“That’s a great idea! But how are we going to do that? You can’t walk that good.”

“Just help me push my wings in so they are folded. That will make it a lot easier.” A few moments later they had been roughly tucked against my sides. “Alright, let’s go.”

Thankfully fillies don’t have the stride a full grown stallion does so I managed to keep up despite Applebloom running full speed the entire time. As we entered the forest we were stopped by a tiny voice.

Suddenly Appleteenie had dug her way out of Applebloom’s mane. “Stop right there. Both of you better turn around right now!” Applebloom and I both looked at each other before sharing a smirk as we spoke in sync.

“No.”

“No? Whadaya mean no?” Applebloom tossed her ‘little’ sister into her mouth and placed her on a tree branch.

“Sorry Applejack, but I’m the big sister now.” As Applebloom walked away Applejack turned to me.

“Don, you better not do this or I might just have to break those wings of yours before you get a chance to use them!”

“I couldn’t stop Applebloom if I tried. After all, I’ve only been a pony for a few hours. See ya!” I ran off to catch up with Applebloom as Applejack yelled at me. It wasn’t long before we made it to Zecora’s place. With the way it was decorated I wasn’t surprised the ponies had mistook her for an evil enchantress. I might have to get some design tips for the fortress once we start rebuilding. She certainly seems to know how to get that creepy feel.

As we walked up Applebloom knocked on the door. Zecora was quick to answer. “I see that two ponies are here to converse. Is this about your friends’ so-called curse?”

“Ya, they’re on there way here ‘cause they think you made them all silly.”

“Ah, it is a good thing I am preparing the cure. But I do not remember you I am sure.” she pointed to me as she finished her rhyme.

Man, she would make one hell of a rapper. “Well I wasn’t a pony yesterday.”

“Where there was once one human now there is none? How strange, of all changes I have not seen this one.”

“But you have the cure, right?”

“Yes, but I am still missing a few things. Without it you will be stuck with your wings.”

Applebloom spoke up before I could. “I’ll get it for you! Besides, Don here can barely walk.”

“Hey!”

Zecora put a hoof to her chin. “I suppose this will have to do. Let me give you a list so what you find is true.” She went inside for a few moment before returning with a piece of paper.

“Now go find where these plants hide while your friend stays with me inside.”

Applebloom turned and gave me a look filled with confidence. “Don’t worry Don, I’ll find this stuff and be right back.”

What have I got to lose? “Alright, just be careful Bloom.” And then she was off to parts unknown.

“Come along Don. I’m sure the fun has only begun.”

* * *

The inside of her house matched the exterior for the most part. Tribal masks, bottles of who-knows-what, she even had a big cauldron in the middle of it all. It’s like she’s trying to scare ponies away. I resigned to sitting near the wall while Zecora watched the brew. I finally decided to break the silence.

“So Zecora, why do you talk in rhyme?”

“Ah, it’s hard to believe but curses are real, and one forces me to speak with such zeal.”

“Actually I believe it. After some of the things I’ve seen living in Ponyville I’m pretty sure anything is possible.”

“So you haven’t had much time to sit still since you arrived in Ponyville?”

“Actually things are pretty calm there most of the time, although there have been a few crazy happenings.”

“I suppose that is an excuse, but I wasn’t talking about your ruse.”

“I’m afraid I don’t-”

“I have been across this land, and I know the stories of where you began. It was once something very few could afford to be in the presence of the Overlord.” As soon as I realized my cover was blown I took up my combat stance. Thing is I forgot I was a pony and fell on my back a second later.

“You have nothing to fear from me, for without my help, here you would not be.”

I managed to roll over but my wings were now sticking out again which took away from the glare I gave Zecora. “What do you mean?”

“Did you ever wonder where your advisor got the venom to fuel your fire? Twas I who gave them what they needed, including the portal to which I heeded.”

“The portal? What are you talking about?”

“Your mighty fortress, tall and proud, is not just some place underground. It stands in a world all its own, and only if I allow it will the gate be shown.”

“Hang on, I remember now. Gnarl told me all about you. You’re a Gatekeeper.”

“Aye, a Gatekeeper is what I am, and I have served faithfully since your rule began.”

“Well this is a lovely coincidence. You see, there’s something I-” I was interrupted by the sound of Twilight and the others approaching.

“We will have to speak another time. For the cure I will need more than rhyme. In my mind there is no doubt that you should tell those ponies to cut it out.”

“Right, I’ll try but those mares are all nuts and in heat. I might not be able to talk them down.”

“I wish you good luck. Try not to fall in the muck.” As I walked out the door I suddenly realized something. Hey, they were actually right about Zecora! I guess they can’t get everything wrong.

Rarity, Pinkie, Twilight, and Fluttershy poked their heads out of a nearby bush. Once they saw me walking towards them they seemed to calm down a bit but it wasn’t long before accusations were being made.

“Fle’s been plobbesed!” A large amount of spit sprayed on me as Pinkie tried to speak.

Rarity of course took the mess of a sentence her own way. “Well of course he’s underdressed Pinkie. He isn’t wearing any outfit.”

Fluttershy’s guy voice still made me crack a smile. “I think she said possessed.” Pinkie nodded her head vigorously which only served to get more spit on everyone.

Twilight was thankfully still the voice of reason. “He’s not possessed! Don, did you figure out what’s really happening?”

“Zecora isn’t to blame for your ‘curses’. She is actually trying to make a cure right now. You all just need to calm down so she can- wait a minute. Where’s Rainbow?”

My question soon answered itself as an upside down Rainbow Crash came flying in with Appleteenie riding on her belly. The two of them slammed through Zecora’s front door and from inside came a lot of sounds often associated with breaking things.

“Oh no!” I ran to the door but once I had seen what was inside my worry quickly became anger. The cauldron that once held the cure was spilled all over the ground surrounded by destruction. Rainbow Dash had somehow managed to get enough control to stand still while Applejack was having a wrestling match with Zecora’s ear.

“That’s it! I’ve had enough of this shit!” I stormed over to Zecora and pried Applejack off of her with my teeth because I wasn’t sure how else to do it with fucking hooves. I turned back around to see the rest of the ponies had entered to see what was happening.

I pointed at Zecora. “You!” I then waved my hoof over the five ponies. “Explain what the fuck is happening to these ones. I’m gonna go outside and talk to this one.” I made sure to shake Applejack a bit as I said this. I didn’t give anyone a chance to say anything to me as I stomped outside. The entire way Applejack made her displeasure clear.

“Put me down! I’ve gotta save my sister before that nasty witch boils her into a stew.” As she said this Applebloom stepped out of the woods with a saddlebag full of plants.

“Don? Why do you have Applejack in your mouth?”

I’m really glad she’s too young to realize how dirty what she just said sounds. “Go inside Applebloom. I need to talk with your sister alone.” She obliged, which I was glad for since I was about to do a lot of cursing. I may be evil but I’m not gonna be the one to introduce that kind of language to a kid.

Once I had stepped a good distance away from the hut I dropped Applejack unceremoniously on her ass. Her tiny stature didn’t stop her from starting the impending argument.

“What the hay are you doing? You just sent my sister to get turned into soup!”

“Your sister is not getting turned into soup! Whatever dumbass gave you the idea that zebras eat meat is stupider than you are right now!”

“Ya, well she still put these curses on us, and I’m gonna make her take them off.” She tried to walk around me but I brought a hoof down in her path. I leaned down so that I was close as I could get.

“First off, this isn’t a curse. If you seriously don’t believe Twilight, who’s special fucking talent is magic, that curses do not exist, then you have a lot less faith in your friends then you let on.”

“Hey, don’t you-”

“Second thing, Zecora isn’t responsible for what happened to us. If you want to blame something blame this forest because it was a plant that made us this way.”

“Ya, well she-”

“Finally, Zecora was working on a cure for us. She knew that this was going to happen and has been trying to help but you decided you had to be a god damn hero and fly in there. That cauldron you knocked over was the cure and now she has to start all over which means you’re going to spend an even longer time as a shrimp and I’m stuck in this fucking pony body! So congratulations! You successfully fucked everything up because you were being too much of a stubborn ass to see what was actually going on!”

By the end of my rant I was breathing heavily. Applejack on the other hand didn’t make a sound. We stood there for what felt like an hour before she spoke up.

“I, uh, I guess I really screwed up huh?”

I was no longer steaming but I still was plenty mad. “Yep, you sure did.”

“Worst part was how I treated Applebloom.”

Not so fast. “I wouldn’t say that. You were just trying to protect her.”

“But she isn’t a baby anymore. I can’t keep treating her like one.”

Normally I wouldn’t care, but I need her to continue pushing Applebloom. “Applejack, without parents you’re the only one who can really watch out for her. Yes, there will come a time when Applebloom doesn’t need you anymore. Eventually she will learn how dangerous the world can be. Until that day though you have to be there to tell her how bad things are, to guide her. Without you, Applebloom won’t be able to realize her potential.”

For a moment Applejack thought about what I had said before looking up at me with a smile. “I think I get what you’re saying. And sorry about everything. I was being a bit of an ass wasn’t I?”

I smirked before saying “I wouldn’t say just a bit.”

“Don’t push it. I may be small but I bet if I buck one of your legs you’ll be on your face faster than you can say timber.”

We both laughed for a bit before I picked Applejack up and put her on my back. “Let’s head back inside. I’m sure by now everyone else has been caught up by Zecora.”

* * *

Since the first batch of cure had been ruined we had to wait another day before we could be changed back. During that time we introduced Zecora to the town so that they wouldn’t freak out anymore. Good thing too because having a Gatekeeper nearby is incredibly useful, especially since they can open the way to my fortress anywhere I chose.

The next day everyone met at the spa to be cured. Despite how much I hated being a pony I let everyone else take a dip first. As Twilight climbed out she called me over.

“Alright Don, your turn.” I walked over to the edge of the pool and looked at my reflection in the water. Before I could dive in though apparently everyone wanted to try and convince me not to.

First, Rarity. “Are you sure Don? I’m sure I could make you some wonderful suits if you stayed a pony.”

Then Fluttershy. “Plus the town would be more accepting of you.”

Rainbow Dash flew in and poked one of my wings. Whatever she did cause it to unfurl completely. “And look at those wings! I’m sure I could have you soaring across the sky in a week.”

Applejack had finally gotten the bucket off her flank. “You’d be able to buck apple trees. That would make work go a heck of a lot faster.”

Pinkie Pie actually didn’t say anything for once. I know, crazy right? Twilight was the last to speak. “And what Rarity said back in the library was true. You are rather… good-looking as far as stallions go.”

Hmm… should I?

Who am I kidding? I wouldn’t stay in this body even if I had to sacrifice the town to change back! I jumped into the air and shouted “CANNONBALL!!!” Once in the water I simply floated for a bit so the cure could take effect before kicking back towards the edge. As I broke the surface I put my hooves on solid ground.

Wait… hooves!?

I picked up one of the disgusting appendages and simply stared at it as I attempted to retain my quickly deteriorating sanity. And when that didn’t work I screamed.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Author's Notes:

What does Don have planned for Applebloom? What more is Zecora capable of? Will Don be changed back into a human? Find out all this and more next time on Dragonball Z!