twilightpony | The Mellow Rain

The zap apples on Sweet Apple Acres are still ripening. It won't be long now before that one day harvest.

I went to the Everfree with Starlight Glimmer to call on Zecora for tea. The sun was shining in Ponyville, but the minute we stepped into the Everfree forest we walked into a light drizzle. It felt oddly refreshing and peaceful. By the time we reached Zecora's woodland dwelling and tapped on her door, I was feeling as one with the soft wet understory, full of potential and nascent vitality. It was time we got out of this rain.

We found Zecora at home, meditating while she reboiled a batch of acorns (they keep better when raw). We stood there, just inside the door, getting greeted by Zecora in her rhyming phrases. The vague euphoria of the Everfree rain slowly drained off as I stared at the puddles of water around my feet, watching rivulets trace hidden channels across Zecora's floor. I looked up to catch Zecora watching us in amusement. She invited us to walk over and settle down at her table. So we did. It seemed like the harmonious thing to do.

I regained a wider focus after a few sips of chocolate peppermint spice tea. My favorite! I think Starlight Glimmer was trying to figure out what musical note her cup made when she stirred her tea with her spoon. I asked Zecora if she had found where the zap apples grow in the Everfree and if she had picked any. I told her about Granny Smith's zap apple trees and how she had come to have a grove of Everfree trees on pony-tilled soil.

It turns out the Zecora does know where zap apples grow in the Everfree and she does pick some when they're ripe. But she has to be quick and she picks only as many as she can carry. Where there are zap apples, timber wolves are never far away. She said stealth and timing is important, but she will consider carrying a couple of pots to bang together as a backup defense.

She said that the trees she knows of are baring unripe fruit at the moment and will have ripe fruit soon, probably tomorrow. She also said that the mellow showers we were shaking off happen while the zap apple trees are going through their leafing and fruiting period. She gave us some peppermint sticks to chew on during our walk back home. That helped a lot.