Zecora Character Analysis

 

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-Zecora

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Zecora is the embodiment of the mysteries of nature.

A gentle, calm mare. She stands out as a boon of unknown knowledge, an authority in her unique field of expertise unmatched by even the most studious of ponies.

 

Very little is actually known about Zecora herself, as the show utilizes her sparingly. We don't know where she came from or what happened to her relatives or why she left them, we pretty much know absolutely nothing about her past and everything we do know is simply guess work. Her purpose in the show's writing is typically as a macguffin generator, normally only showing her face to provide answers to the main cast when an unknown element arises. This is done to combat the idea that the pure arcane magic that all unicorns are feasibly capable of using is able to solve all conflicts/problems in the show. In other words, her purpose is to undermine the oppressive authority of conventional magic, inserting seeds of doubt that it can be used to solve anything and everything so conflicts have some semblance of actual importance.

 

When making use of her in your own stories, there's a clear thing to keep in mind when trying to construct her personality. Despite how little we know of her, what we do know from her appearances is that she is a calm, collected, knowledgeable individual; almost sage-like way, and above of all else she is -patient-. We can extrapolate this from the fact that her chosen profession is potion maker; one can easily grasp the amount of patience required to sit in front of a pot brewing mixtures she knows while also experimenting with things she doesn't know as being a master of trial and error does not come easily. Despite this, Zecora is one with nature and exudes the essence of maturity and wisdom, only rivaled by the Princesses just from their sheer unnatural lifespans.

 

We can also theorize one more important aspect of her personality, and that is the fact that she herself actually enjoys being alone. This can be gleamed from the basis of her lifestyle. When she initially entered the show, she was ostracized by her peers in Ponyville for being different, however this was only the case for the first episode. Since then, she's been a well known companion to the main cast; so why is it that she still rarely shows her face despite being on friendly terms with them? It is because she enjoys the peace and quiet of solitude. Keep in mind, although she's content with living by her own means, she also quite humble and will never turn down guests, welcoming all who come to seek her aid so long as they show the proper amount of respect.

 

With all this in mind, the question then becomes "how do we turn such a person into a rapist?". It's actually not all that difficult, as her profession in potions and all around mysterious nature allows for a lot of leeway to skew in our favor. She's quite possibly the only pony in Ponyville that could feasibly create various kinds of mind altering drugs while still being in-character, though this is only one aspect to keep note of. Another thing to realize is she has more in common with Anon himself than most people give her credit for. Where as the denizens of Ponyville are a bustling community with an emphasis on camaraderie and friendship, Zecora is the only one who can clearly emphasize with the feeling of being ostracized as an outsider that Anon must share. This comes not just from the fact that she's a loner, but because of the fact she is also a zebra, a different apparently unknown species that is looked on with caution and apprehension. These are feelings well understood by Anon, being an alien race that knows full well he doesn't belong there.

 

When writing her as an antagonist, the things to remember when writing are as follows:

 

-Zecora is not the type to lose her temper.

-Zecora is not a maniacal potion brewing witch.

-Zecora is not a pony who would use force as a means to achieve her goals.

-Zecora is not someone who would give up or be disheartened after an unexpected set back.

 

Simply put, Zecora is capable of foresight and aiming for the long haul. While using drugs to straight up knockout Anon and fuck him are within her means, this is normally an option reserved for ponies that don't respect nature would use. Zecora would be more inclined for the quiet/subtle approach, using her own charms as the basis for her attack. Even while Anon is being accosted by other mares, Zecora would be the type to hide her feelings, only making sure that thoughts of her linger in the back of Anon's mind while quietly imbedding the idea that she's a better alternative than all others.

 

"Zecora understands me" "Zecora is different from the others" "Zecora would never take advantage of me"

These thoughts are the seeds Zecora wants to sow. Like plants ready to be harvested, by the end Anon will come willingly to her bosom without ever realizing he has been played by her since the very beginning. This would be one of her ideal scenarios, this style of attack also takes advantage of how mature she seems as well, as her wise/mysterious nature sets her apart from the mane6 who are the equivalent of young adults at best.

 

The most notably difficult aspect of writing Zecora is of course the fact she speaks entirely in rhymes, an off putting challenge that most authors are incapable of or simply unwilling to tackle. Most rely on excuses or jokes as a means to circumvent this core part of her character and ignore it, but this almost always comes off as lackluster and unpleasant to read. An example of this with another character would be like arbitrarily proclaiming Twilight is no longer a unicorn just so magic would no longer be a problem factor in the story.

 

Speaking in rhyme doesn't come naturally, so I can only offer what little advice I have from my own experience to help solve this issue. Rhymes are the basis of music and inherently require rhythm, so to use them properly in text one must set ground rules.

 

*Comprehend the number of syllables in each word, sentences need to flow naturally without pauses so dividing each line into a beginning half and ending half and then ensuring they have the same amount of syllables is an absolute must.

 

*Learn to speak in a short abrupt manner, this keeps things from growing too difficult and falling apart. The longer a sentence continues on without rhyming, the less impact it has. Run on sentences are only permissible if you're capable of ensuring the full sentence rhymes with itself in some manner instead of just the last word of each sentence, otherwise the rhyme itself gets lost and forgotten amidst the wall of text.

 

*Not all words have rhymes, there's actually a surprisingly large number of them that don't or simply rhyme with something so completely unrelated that it would be impossible to incorporate it in a sentence together. Sometimes it is simply easier to think backwards and pick the word you wish to rhyme first, then build a sentence around it so you don't run into an impassable wall.

 

*This probably goes without saying, but a wide vocabulary is by far your biggest asset. If you have an idea of what you want to say, but the word has limited rhymes, look for alternative words with the same meaning; this opens more options to rhyme with. Grab a thesaurus when you need to, it'll save a lot of headaches.

 

*Zecora doesn't have to say everything so long as she's not the reader's main point of view. Utilize Anon's or others narration as a means to take a break from the difficulties of rhyming in between conversations and also as a way to explain more complex/problematic matters in the story. If something is too important to ignore, have the supporting cast fill that spot to take the edge off of writing by Zecora's standards.

 

If you can make use of this advice, you should be able to churn out a Zecora story to the standard you hold for your other writings.

 

Then maybe we'll all get to enjoy some more jungle fever in the future.