"Spike. Would you be so kind as to fetch us some more tea?"

The young dragon nodded enthusiastically as he leapt down from his chair, marching of with purpose as he made his way to the kitchen. Twilight was sitting beside the main table of the central chamber of the library, carefully sipping the last of her tea cup. But, unlike so many other quiet afternoons like this, she was not alone. For there, sitting opposite her, was a mare unlike anypony else in Ponyville. She bore stripes of black and white, was possessed of a striking mohawk mane and was adorned in several golden bracelets. On top of all that, she was wearing a simple brown robe, complete with hood, which was lowered down at this time. She was a zebra, which was a rare sight in any part of Equestria, and yet, Twilight looked upon her as she would an old friend. Then again, she sort of was. Smiling, Twilight looked to her companion.

"Thank you for all the help you've been giving me, Zecora. Without you, I doubt I'd have been able to find so many ingredients for my experiments."

The zebra mare smiled back at that.

"Your words are kind, but are not needed by me. For I would have helped anypony through the Everfree."

Twilight giggled at that. Its strange how used to that rhyming I got. Strange...but still sorely missed. Turning, Twilight watched as her young assistant returned, complete with a fresh tray of teacups. Using her magic, Twilight levitated the first of them in front of Zecora, who graciously accepted it before giving a respectful bow. As Twilight busied herself with her own tea, her mind was thinking many things over. I'd have been able to find what I needed even without her. But still, I had to make those introductions early if I was going to get my friends to warm up top her sooner. However, as she began to take another sip of her drink, Twilight's thoughts were interrupted by the distinct sound of somepony knocking on her door. Turning towards it, she smiled. Well, speak of the devil. Putting her cup down, Twilight walked over to her door and began to open it by way of her magic. Sure enough, all five of her friends were there, smiling warmly at her. As Twilight smiled back, Rarity was the first to speak.

"Good morning, Twilight. I know this is rather sudden, but we were wondering if you'd care to join us for tea at the Cakes' today?"

Twilight let out a brief giggle at that before shaking her head a little.

"Thanks for the offer, girls. But I'm afraid I'm already having a tea visit today."

That got their interest immediately, as all of them turned to each other with a great deal of curiosity upon their faces. Letting out a hearty laugh, Applejack stepped forward and spoke up next.

"Well shoot, sugarcube, why didn't ya say so? Care to introduce us?"

Oh Applejack, you have no idea. Clearing her throat, Twilight kept on smiling as she stood aside, raising a hoof and pointing it to her visitor.

"Girls. This is Zecora."

The striped mare smiled at Twilight's friends, giving another bow of her head in greeting. Turning, Twilight smiled faded somewhat as she saw, much like she expected, that her friends' smiles had all vanished. Instead, they looked to the zebra as if they'd just seen a ghost, with Pinkie and Fluttershy especially shaking where they stood. Others, like Rarity and Applejack, tried to open their mouths to speak, but found that they couldn’t, instead turning to each other, hoping that one of them would speak first. In time, a reaction did happen, but, much to Twilight's surprise, it wasn’t what she expected. Instead of speaking, Applejack lunged forward, grabbing both of Twilight's forehooves before pulling her out with one almighty yank. Immediately afterwards, Rarity used her own magic to slam the door closed. After recovering from this pull, Twilight, now outside with her friends, looked at them with utter confusion, even though, deep down, she knew what this was about.

"Wha...what's going on?"

Applejack approached her, placing a hoof squarely towards her door as she spoke.

"Twilight! Don't y'all know who it is ya got in there?"

The young unicorn turned to her door before looking back to her friend, eyebrow raised.

"Yes...it's Zecora. Just like I said a moment ago."

She looked to each of them with an expression that made it clear that she wanted them to explain their behaviour. Many of them seemed to have difficulty getting the words out, but eventually, Rainbow Dash, in her usual manner, simply blurted it out.

"Exactly! It’s Zecora! She's dangerous!"

Twilight frowned at that.

"Zecora is nothing of the sort! I've been with her to the Everfree many times now and..."

But, Twilight was stopped from finishing by Rarity, who gasped at her words before speaking up herself.

"Darling! You...you've been going into the Everfree?! With nopony but...but...her?!"

Twilight turned to her fellow unicorn, still frowning.

"Yes, I have. She's the one who's been helping me find alchemical ingredients for my experiments. I don't know what you think of her, but I assure you, she's just like any of us."

Pinkie bounced out of nowhere, getting right up to Twilight's face, before throwing her own words into the mix.

"She is most definitely not like us! I even wrote a song about it!"

The pink mare opened her mouth wide, taking in a massive gulp of air, ready to bellow out what Twilight knew was an irritating, yet somehow incredibly catchy musical number. However, Twilight was too quick for her, stopping her with a hoof to her mouth, leaving Pinkie looking like a squirrel trying to store nuts in its cheeks for the winter. Moments later, Twilight released her, allowing Pinkie to let out all of that air. Sighing at this, Twilight looked to her friends.

"Look...I realise that Zecora might not be what you're all used to seeing, given that it's mostly just been ponies out here. But she's a good mare, I promise you."

The looks on their faces made it clear to Twilight that they weren't entirely convinced. If I had to guess, I'd say they're just humouring me at this point. Frowning yet again, Twilight took a deep breath and exhaled, her irritation dropping from the effort. The calming trick. Always works. Mental note, remember to thank Cadence for that later...after she's taught it to me of course. Putting her attention on her friends again, Twilight spoke up to them.

"Okay, tell you what. If you can tell me one thing, and I mean one thing Zecora has done to you or anypony else in this town, I'll believe you when you say she's a problem."

Realising that they'd been given a way to convince her, they all looked to each other with looks of determination. Clearing her throat, Rarity went first.

"Well, dear, there was the time she came into town and dug a hole in the street!"

Twilight stood there in silence for a few moments, before raising an eyebrow.

"...And?"

Rarity opened her mouth to reply, only to be struck with a look of uncertainty.

"And...well...um...Applejack?"

Although taken aback that the torch had been passed to her, the earth pony tried wracking her brain for an answer to give Twilight.

"Well...er...she comes off as real scary like!"

Twilight's eyebrow was, as expected, kept all the way up at that.

"So was Luna at one point, yet I don't hear you complaining about me being friends with her."

Applejack's expression at this point was a clear "I hadn't thought of that" look, and she turned to Fluttershy, who, as one would predict, couldn't even get a single word out after becoming the centre of attention. She, in turn, looked to Rainbow, who had no such qualms about speaking up.

"She lives all the way in that creepy Everfree Forest. Even you gotta know that after having spent so much time with her!"

Twilight nodded.

"Indeed. She truly does live in a forest filled with dangerous wildlife, where no sane pony would want to be for too long."

Rainbow's chest swelled out with pride, perhaps thinking that she'd finally convinced Twilight. However, that look soon faded with Twilight’s next words.

"Then again...maybe the reason she can live there is not because she's weird enough...but rather brave enough. After all, a mare who can live near manticores, giant alligators and chimeras has got to be pretty fearless, like an adventurer, or daredevil."

Rainbow's eyes widened at that, thinking over her friend's words. It was a sight Twilight couldn't help but smirk at. Look at her. She got the same way when she realised how impressive Daring Do books are. Now, with all of her friends having said what they could, they looked to each other. Some were disappointed that they couldn't come up with a convincing argument, while others actually seemed ashamed, for which Twilight understood. They've probably never had anypony talk to them about this before. Now that they have to put their dislike into words, they realise there's no reason. I know getting rid of a prejudice you've lived with for so long can't be wiped away with one conversation, but even so, first steps like this are vital all the same. Exhaling deeply, Twilight stepped forward, gaining the attention of all of them, before speaking up.

"Look...I understand that accepting new and different things can be difficult. Believe me, I felt something similar when I first arrived in Ponyville. I was an outsider, and like Zecora, some of you treated me with suspicion for a time..."

Rainbow looked away at that, looking more than a little ashamed, before Twilight continued.

"...and yet, you eventually accepted me as one of your own. Zecora is a good person. And...I want you to trust me on this."

The other mares all looked to each other yet again, seeing the uncertainty they all expressed. Twilight watched each of them, seeing the silent glances they all gave each other, before they finally turned to her. There were no words for a time, but eventually, Applejack gave a single nod, an unspoken acceptance of what she'd asked of them. Twilight gave a small smile at that and finally, after all this time, turned around and opened her door again. Walking inside, she looked on as Spike and Zecora were still sitting beside the table, watching her enter with some degree of concern.

"Twilight? Is everything okay?" Spike asked.

Twilight nodded at that.

"Everything's fine, Spike."

Turning, Twilight stood aside as each of her friends entered, all of whom were looking nervously at Zecora. As for the latter, she simply smiled warmly at each of them, though watched them carefully all the same. I wonder if she always suspected their fear of her, Twilight thought. Taking a step forward, Twilight stood between her friends and Zecora, clearing her throat.

"Zecora...these are my friends."

The zebra got up, giving yet another bow in greeting. Hesitantly, the other mares gave her a simple wave, before Twilight, in an irritated manner, poked Applejack on her side, gesturing with her head towards Zecora. After letting out a nervous cough, Applejack finally got some words out.

"So...er...how y'all doin?"

Zecora smiled at that.

"I am well, can you not tell?"

Twilight giggled slightly as she saw her friends each react in their own way to discovering Zecora's unique way of speaking. Don't worry, Twilight, if you can get your friends to like Trixie, you can get them to like Zecora too. Besides, at least this, way, I don't have to put up with a floppy horn all day. However, as Twilight’s friends began to approach their new acquaintance, her own expression became somewhat more serious, as she looked out of her door once more, gazing up at the sky. It’s important I get this matter settled. Because it won’t be long before Celestia’s visit. Thinking that over, Twilight let out a sigh. And when that happens…there’ll be things I need to speak with her about.