For the record, she wasn't impressed by the Queen Rap Battle

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[Look, it's a zebra! Zecora has unrolled a scroll in her home as a thought occurred to her -- an important one, since a cauldron in the back is belching thick green clouds of something she isn't paying attention to.]

Newponies and old alike
A thought strikes me that I dislike.
A curiosity I present to those
Trapped by changelings. This question I pose
Concerns your health and how you fare
In the days since the invasion scare.
Is anypony feeling unwell
In unusual ways, if you can tell?

Comments

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

I can think of a simple fix
That needs no potions or magic tricks.

[der_vogelfanger]

If it's eating grass, I --

I might try it.

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

My suggestion, generally, was to eat
For curing hunger, it's quite a feat.

[der_vogelfanger]

I used to work for the Star-Flaming Queen. Back then I got sweetbread, and figs, and wine, and -- and I never went hungry or had to eat grass!

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

But then, you were not equine, of course.
Grass is an acceptable treat for a horse.

[der_vogelfanger]

I never thought I'd be an animal, even if my mother always said I ate like one.

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

Not an animal, but a pony.
There's a difference, you can easily see.

[der_vogelfanger]

Ponies are animals where I came from.



Wait, does that mean humans are animals here?

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

There are none, so they have no place.
Neither history nor legends do they grace.

[der_vogelfanger]

Well, that seems a little unfair. I know I don't do much, but it would be nice to have at least a few legends about people like me.

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

What legends and tales would ponykind
And zebras, too, hear from you if they had a mind?

[der_vogelfanger]

[Papageno blinks in surprise, not having expected the interest. He has to think a moment before he replies.] I rescued a princess once!

Or -- ooh, or I could tell you about the Star-Flaming Queen!

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

I'd like to her both, if given the choice.
Though not all at once, if it would strain your voice.

[der_vogelfanger]

Now?

But no one ever wants to hear my stories.

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

I'm interested in all stories
Of woe and love and glories.
So long as I can learn
I will hear each one in turn.

[der_vogelfanger]

Oh, I've got stories to tell you about love and woe, too. But the princess Pamina --! She's the daughter of the Queen of the Night, but she was kidnapped by the evil sorcerer, Sarastro. I was sent to rescue her -- or Prince Tamino was, but he needed me to go with him.

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[Zecora props the scroll up, then settles herself down comfortably, tucking her legs up.]

So you and Prince Tamino
Were the heroes who had to go.
And on your journey, danger
Surely was no stranger?

[der_vogelfanger]

Not even the littlest bit a stranger! Tamino nearly got eaten by a dragon before we even started -- before I even met him. The Queen's ladies saved him, though, and the Queen herself came to meet him and ask Tamino to rescue Pamina. I happened to be nearby, and they knew he'd need my help.

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[Well, this DOES seem like an interesting story!]

And what was your role
To help him with his goal?

[der_vogelfanger]

Well, I was the one --

The queen sent me along to --

Huh. [He pauses and scratches his head thoughtfully. What had they said? 'Help the prince,' pretty much. He'd just sort of accepted that the Queen could order him to go on a quest without questioning why she would. Thankfully, there's something of an answer anyway.]

I was the one who found the princess first! Tamino and I split up, and I found where she was being held prisoner!

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[Privately, his lack of reason makes Zecora wonder if he was sent along by virtue of being present when the duty was being handed out. But no matter if that was true.]

So you rescued the princess from her cage
To her imprisoner's shock and rage?

[der_vogelfanger]

I did! Monostatos -- that's her guard, a very strange-looking fellow -- was going to -- well, he was trying to -- he was going to do something very bad to her. He didn't get a chance, though, because I came in through the window and chased him away, and then I untied her and we ran away together. [That's...okay, all that stuff is kind of true, even if he doesn't dare explain what Monostatos was trying to do. Papageno might have shown a bit less initiative and intelligence in the actual event, though.]

He caught up to us later, but I used my magic glockenspiel to make him and his cronies dance away again. I've still got it here -- and it works on changelings!

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[Understanding perfectly well, Zecora has no intention whatsoever of pressing him on details about Monostatos's intentions towards the princess.]

You have a magic glockenspiel?
I admit, that seems almost unreal!
Can you safely demonstrate
Its magic, without harm at any rate?

[der_vogelfanger]

Oh, it doesn't hurt anyone -- but if I play it, it just might make you dance. [Grin grin. Actually, he's not sure -- it didn't make either Pamina or Donna dance when he used it near those ladies. They weren't his intended targets, though.]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

I'll take the chance that I will dance
It will prove your glockenspiel to be both magic and real!