Looking for Answers Among the Green {Zoro}

[Deleted]

Twilight's lack of knowledge about his hometown meant one of two things: either she was from a small, isolated island, or she wasn't from his world. Zoro's bet was on the latter. And island girl - unicorn, whatever - would have at least known about the Devil Fruits. The idea that she was from another world was both intriguing and alarming, though Zoro was loathe to admit the the possibility of him feeling either. It shouldn't matter, really. Stuff like that just complicated things.

The whole "friendship is magic" bit was... just as odd. It sounded like something a captain would say to rally their crew. If Zoro was being honest with himself, it actually sounded remotely similar to something Luffy would say. He was all about that friendship crap. "... I guess you mean actual magic, and that's not some weird moral boosting thing, yeah?" He didn't see how it could be magic. Friendship... well, it was just a thing. It didn't have any special powers.

... Right?

Zoro was both glad and surprised that Twilight had gathered the leaves to soften the fall. For someone he'd just met, the gesture was nice. Rubbing his forearms, he shrugged idly at her concern, replying simply with, "I've fallen further before. This is nothing, really." The bird shrieked again, reminding him of why he'd fallen, and Zoro frowned back up at the tree, mildly disgruntled by the bird's attack. He accepted the girl's help to stand back up, though he didn't really need it. Absentmindedly rubbing at his shoulder, he trotted over to where he'd left his swords, carefully sticking them back in place in his haramaki. Once he'd done that, he turned and started walking off.

In the complete wrong direction.

[Twilight Sparkle]

"Uh, a bit of both, actually," admitted Twilight with a slight smile. Friendship had, after all, quite literally produced magic back home: activating the Elements of Harmony to allow Twilight and her friends to achieve great things. However, Twilight definitely knew and understood the bit about moral too; there was something deeper to the whole statement, something that went beyond just acknowledging friendship as a tool to activate the powers. It was part of what had made Twilight the slightly more social creature that she was now, not to mention giving her loads of memories and support.

She kept all this in mind as Zoro fell, and she nodded at his comment about the whole falling thing. "I figured; you look pretty athletic. Still," she shrugged, before the bird cry interrupted them both. Twilight looked up at it, frowning slightly. It still acted less like the birds from Equestria, but it did seem to have several traits in common. Maybe there was an overarching idea of what a bird was that it all drew from? Too deep, she supposed.

As Twilight lowered her gaze and her thoughts more earthward, she saw that he had gathered his things and was heading off. Yet even directionally challenged Twilight recognized that he was heading in exactly the wrong direction: "Hey!" she called, waving her hands and jogging a bit to catch up with him. "You're--you're heading the wrong way. You won't get far that way," she pointed in the direction he'd been heading. "The suits patrol the borders. They seem to have some way of finding out if we, uh, go beyond them. Tenebrae proper's back," she pointed in the opposite direction, "that way. I'm heading there, if you wanted to walk together or something.'

[Deleted]

Zoro still didn't quite understand the magic part, but the morale-boosting part was clear as day. Or... it had been. The swordsman could still recall a feeling of family and kinship, but when he tried to recall who it was associated with, he could only really remember Luffy. And Kuina. But that was different. At any rate, Zoro was sure he'd had friends and was sure that Luffy's intense desire to protect his "nakama" was something that had motivated them both. 

Maybe this girl had nakama of her own. If friendship was that important to her, anyway...

He couldn't help but snort at her comment about being "pretty athletic". "If falling from a tree puts me out of commission, I don't deserve to be a swordsman." It wasn't like that wasn't out of the realm of impossibility, but he had a goal. Ordinary people got hurt doing stuff like this. And if he ever wanted to beat Mohawk, he couldn't be ordinary. The scar across his chest was a constant reminder of that.

Zoro might have just kept walking, lost in thought, had not he suddenly heard Twilight worriedly saying that he was going in the wrong direction. He stopped, blinking in surprise as he glanced around. Oh. The teen's face set into a hard scowl, and he turned sharply on his heel, stomping off in the direction the girl had said town was in. "Freaking confusing forest..." he grumbled, making up an excuse for his terrible sense of direction - even as an embarrassed red tinge started to creep over his face.

After he'd had a minute to get over his momentary idiocy, the swordsman started to get curious. Batting away a branch that was in his path, he glanced over at the girl, brow furrowed in confusion as he asked, "How do they know? Are there video Den Den Mushi up around here? If they're video monitoring us..." One hand gripped the hilt of Wado, creating a silent end to his threat.

[Twilight Sparkle]

It took a lot of Twilight's personal will not to say anything about the confusing forest. Truthfully, the forest scared her to a certain degree. It was very similar to the Everfree Forest from back home, but without even the little tidbits that had reminded Twilight of Equestria. Totally foreign. She was definitely more comfortable in a library surrounded by books, and the sooner the field part of the research finished, the happier Twilight would be.

The furrowed brow, however, she had to respond to: "I'm not entirely sure," she admitted, glancing up. "I do know that they've got various suits patrolling the boundaries, making sure that nobody crosses over. I think there' some kind of system for identifying us. Think about it: they always seem to know that we're here immediately after we come over. There's always somepony in a suit waiting, and waiting nearby. So they've got to have some means of figuring out where we are."

Twilight punctuated this with a confident nod. of this, at least, she was pretty certain. The logic of it was just too sound. Sure, she still didn't know how or why they were bothering to do that; she figured that would come out eventually. More research was needed. For now, Twilight settled with what she did know, which included the way back to Tenebrae Estates.

"Come on then!" she said cheerfully, waving for Zoro to follow her. "I remember the way back. I, uh," she reached into a pocket, pulling out her trusty pad. A quick flip showed a surprisingly detailed map, "made sure to get a map, see? So you're definitely safe with me."

Another confident nod, another gesture to follow, and the violet haired unicorn-girl started for town.

[Deleted]

Zoro definitely didn't like the idea of the suits knowing where they were. He liked being able to do what he wanted, when he wanted and how he wanted. So far here, he'd been drugged up, restricted to a hospital bed, and told that he wasn't allowed to leave. Suited men be damned, unless they had another means of stopping him, he'd cut down as many of them as he needed to.

After he figured out where he was, of course. There was no sense in running off, only to find that he was in a hostile land with no easy way back to the sea. He needed to get back to Luffy and - ... he still couldn't remember who else he was supposed to meet up with. It was important, that much he knew. He had people to protect. 

At the sight of the map, he blinked in surprise, inspecting it closely. "Wait, did you draw that?" the swordsman asked, sounding moderately impressed. He knew someone who could draw maps like this... right? Twilight must have a good sense of direction, so he nodded, following silently after the girl.

Well, mostly silent. Zoro was mulling things over, a slight frown on his face as he thought about the feeling of familiarity he got around certain people or events. "You've talked to other people that got dragged here, yeah?" he asked after a moment. "Did any of them... Do some people not remember stuff?"

[Twilight Sparkle]

Twilight nodded. "Yes. I used to practice from time to time. You never know when cartography will be important, after all, and there were several fascinating books on the subject in the library at Canterlot. I used to practice by copying all the--" she stopped herself, realizing that she'd been prattling on. Blushing, Twilight nodded, then rolled the map up, having already figured out which direction she needed to head. She'd already started that way.

For a bit, Twilight figured they'd just continue walking in silence, which suited her, more or less. Part of her wanted to question Zoro and uncover all she could about his homeland, but she'd already deduced quite a lot from their exchanges so far. Plus, she had data to collate. If she weren't so focused on making sure they got home safely and quickly, Twilight likely would have started tabulating data now. She wished that she still had Spike, or even the slightest bit of magical abilities. Really, a second set of hands would help.

When Zoro finally broke the silence, Twilight nearly jumped. She considered his question for a few seconds before answering: "I've talked to a few ponies, but most of them seem to have kept their memories intact. It would make sense for memories to have possibly been affected though. I'll look into it, maybe there's some connection," she offered what she hoped was a hopeful smile, before lapsing back into a slightly concerned expression. "Are you having trouble remembering things? Or did you maybe meet somepony who is?"

[Deleted]

A smile - a genuine one, albeit a little lopsided - spread over the swordsman's face as he listened to Twilight ramble on about maps. Something about this was so familiar... What was it? Someone who was crazy about maps... Something about wanting to make a map of the Grand Line... Did he know someone like that? It hurt his head to think about it, so he simply stopped, instead letting himself relax slightly amidst the sensation of familiarity.
​
The smile was quickly replaced with a frown when the girl asked if he had forgotten things. How were you supposed to tell if you couldn't remember? Rubbing a hand over his face, he sighed before answering. "I... don't know. I keep getting the feeling that there's something I'm supposed to be doing, but I don't remember what."
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​He knew he had to help Luffy, and at some point, he'd have to actually find the rubber brat, but there was something else. "I know I have nakama - er, friends. But I can only remember one. I know I'm supposed to... There's people I need to protect, but I can't..." Zoro exhaled sharply in frustration, glowering at the ground. Why was remembering so hard?

[Twilight Sparkle]

The smile naturally lifted Twilight's spirits. It was, after all, great to know that you might have helped brighten someone's day, no matter how small the gesture or how bright the light got. However, just as suddenly, Zoro frowned, and Twilight felt that same joy drop. Was it something she'd said? She hurriedly went over everything that she'd just rattled off, trying to think if there had been something hurtful embedded in the lecture. Maybe the implied bit about him having amnesia?

Before Twilight could apologize, however, Zoro explained. It was him who suffered from amnesia, though it sounded like a rather odd version of it. Twilight lapsed into a rapt silence, listening closely to each and every word as Zoro described what his mind had become since his Shift. There was a moment when Twilight was struck by how fascinating it was, and she nearly blurted this out, just barely managing to keep it in check. Fascinating though it may be, this was an actual pony, err, person, and people needed to be treated with some respect.

"It's likely that it's something that got fiddled with when you Shifted," she offered, extending a hand to rest on Zoro's shoulder. "Like how I lost my magic. For all we know, those memories could come back. Who knows? Maybe you'll find some of your friends and their friendship will help stir up all those old memories. You could have everything back in just a few weeks!"

And she said it like she actually believed it. After all, for Twilight, friendship was magic. Literally. She gave his shoulder a squeeze and shot a hopeful smile his way, hoping that her words had as much weight now as they apparently had moments before.

[Deleted]

Twilight wasn't bad at this whole reassuring thing. Maybe she was right, and different things got messed up for different people. She had lost her magic, after all. It... made a sort if sense. He did remember some things, which was a sign that he'd eventually remember.
​
Right?
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"Now you just sound like Luffy. Always ranting about nakama and that stuff..." he snorted, gently swatting at the girl's hand. He couldn't help the smile creeping across his face, though. This sort of interaction was familiar, and even if he'd never met Twilight before this, she seemed quite trustworthy. It was ridiculously close to the sensation he got around Luffy sometimes -
​
​Oh right. Luffy. "Speaking of Luffy, you haven't seen a kid with a straw hat and a scar under his eye running around, have you? He's shorter than me, got black hair, scrawny... and he's basically made of rubber." The swordsman tilted his head slightly as he contemplated that. "Though... that might be gone if he got... what did you call it? Shifted? Which means I'm gonna be stuck watching the brat and making sure he doesn't go doing something stupid like trying to swim... Great." Not like that was any different from before. The captain was tough, and he could be smart when he wanted to be, but sometimes he was just so idiotic it hurt.

[Twilight Sparkle]

Twilight smiled as Zoro swatted her hand. The reference to a friend was always appreciated, and Twilight could certainly recognize someone who was grateful for reassurance but "too cool" to actually outright say so. That was Rainbow Dash all over. Which made Twilight think of her Ponyville friends, and how they were all so far away from her. Still, she wasn't about to let that get her down, especially not after she'd just reassured Zoro of that very thing.

Twilight didn't have long to think about it anyway; Zoro had continued quite nicely. "No, I haven't seen anypony like that," she said, frowning as she tried to remember. It wasn't as if she wouldn't recognize the person Zoro described if she met him. The description was very distinct, after all. Though, she felt she should mention that: "Some ponies do change when they Shift though. I used to be a unicorn, remember? So you should look for somepony who acts a lot like your friend more than somepony who looks like him," she paused for a moment, then added: "he's probably got his hat though. I came through with the book I had on me."

Though it wasn't going to be any help to her if she didn't get her magic back. If she did, well, let's just say that spells dealing with igniting someone's hidden talents could certainly be useful. That was too much for Twilight to think about right now, however. She'd just have to push that to the side and worry about getting them home, which she was doing an admirable job of now.

[Deleted]

Zoro blinked, frowning as Twilight pointed out that Luffy might not look like himself. That... was true, if he really thought about it. She's said herself that she had been a unicorn before, and she certainly didn't look like a unicorn now.

But... he'd been human before. And he looked mostly the same. ... Right? He glanced down at his attire, a pensive frown furrowing his brow. "I looked the same, though. I... think." Maybe he looked different and he didn't remember. That would certainly be something.

The mention of looking for someone who acted like Luffy had him snorting in amusement and rolling his eyes. "Oh, that's easy. I wasn't kidding when I said he was made of rubber. If he hasn't lost that, he'll be launching himself all over the place." Though if he had lost his power, that might make things a bit harder. "He's the world's biggest spazz, so he'll be running around like a hyperactive five-year-old." That... could make the search slightly more difficult if he ended up looking more like a kid.

But if he had his hat...

"I'm sure I'll find him eventually," Zoro shrugged. Flashing a grin, he added on, "I happen to be pretty lucky, so if my luck holds out, things will work out." Some people said that was a lazy way of living, but they hadn't seen his luck in action.

[Twilight Sparkle]

It didn't surprise Twilight at all to hear that Zoro looked precisely the same here as he did back wherever he came from. It made sense, really. Some people were bound to be less effected by the whole Shifting thing than others. Though his next assertion, that caused Twilight to let out a bit of a weak smile: "We lost a lot our powers and stuff too. Unicorn, remember?" she pointed at herself then let out a slight nervous laugh, "so your friend probably isn't quite so rubbery anymore. Ah, he'll, probably still do the bouncing thing, though, probably not literally... at least, not more than once."

Twilight had the nearly horrifying picture of someone throwing himself at a wall and attempting to bounce. The idea of the twack and the single rebound was not pretty, if slightly familiar. Twilight had friends that were fairly likely to try something like that, given the slightest chance or inclination.

It did seem like Zoro had a plan... mostly. Twilight had to give him a bit of a nervous look as he admitted to pretty well leaving everything up to luck. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to figure out the best way to say what obviously needed to be said. She did manage, eventually: "It's probably a good idea to try and do something though. That's what I'm doing," she nodded confidently. "And I'll figure things out. I've faced problems in the past; things aren't that different here," she offered a confident smile and then kept moving forward. Yeah, she could totally do this.