Zecora

Zecora is a female zebra who resides in a hut in the Everfree Forest and first appears in Bridle Gossip. Initially believed to be an evil enchantress by the terrified populace of Ponyville, she later befriends the ponies and frequently helps them out with her knowledge of magical ailments. She speaks with a strong African-esque accent, forming rhyming couplets with all her sentences.

Season 1
Zecora first appears in Bridle Gossip standing in Ponyville and digging at the ground with her hoof. Due to her scary appearance, the ponies in town all hide from her indoors. Twilight Sparkle and her friends spy on her from inside Sugarcube Corner while she visits the town. Twilight tells her friends that Zecora is a zebra and that she comes from "a faraway land." Her mysterious demeanor and appearance lead to widespread rumors that she is an evil witch, and Pinkie Pie even sings a song about it.

Apple Bloom decides to find out more about Zecora on her own and goes after her, making the six main characters venture into the forest. There they find Apple Bloom but unwittingly wander into a patch of poison joke and receive a cryptic warning from Zecora about the blue flowers, which according to her are "not a joke." However, Applejack and the other ponies ignore this warning, yell at Zecora, and warn her to stay away from them.

The next morning, the ponies find out they have various ailments. With the exception of Twilight, they suspect that Zecora has put a curse on them. Apple Bloom follows Zecora into the forest again and meets her at her hut, where she befriends her and helps her gather ingredients to cure the ailments. They secretly witness her reciting a chant while brewing a soup. The ponies misinterpret Zecora muttering to herself that her soup has the perfect temperature for ponies and break into her hut. When the ponies come in and begin to knock things over, Zecora panics and shouts something in her native tongue. Rainbow Dash knocks over the cauldron, leaving Zecora stunned as her potion spills over the floor. Twilight begins to accuse Zecora of cursing her, and Zecora responds indignantly to Twilight destroying her home and making wild accusations. The conflict escalates to Zecora and Twilight butting heads until Apple Bloom arrives and clears up the situation. Twilight apologizes for her behavior and helps Zecora brew another batch of potion. Zecora and the main characters become close friends and Twilight takes her into town to confront Daisy, who causes a panic when Zecora entered the town with the main cast. The ponies add the herbal remedy to a bath at the local spa to revert the effects of the poison joke, and Zecora gains more respect from the community.

Zecora next appears meditating in her hut in the episode Swarm of the Century by balancing on her head on top of a bamboo pole. Twilight Sparkle seeks her aid in ridding Ponyville of a parasprite infestation. While Zecora recognizes the parasprites, she does not know how to get rid of them and simply states that the town is doomed.

Zecora is mentioned in Stare Master, where Twilight Sparkle states that she intends to visit Zecora for some of her favorite tea. However, Zecora does not physically appear in the episode.

Season two
She makes a brief appearance in The Return of Harmony Part 2 in one of Twilight's flashbacks, showing the ending scene of Bridle Gossip.

The episode Luna Eclipsed shows her talent as a narrator of spooky stories. Introduced by Mayor Mare and wearing a creepy costume, she tells a variant of the legend of Nightmare Moon. Zecora showcases magical capabilities as she throws some powder, which generates luminescent and moved illustrations of the story she is telling.

In The Cutie Pox, Zecora shows up shortly after Apple Bloom chips her tooth and takes her to her house, where she creates a special brew to mend the tooth. Hearing of Apple Bloom's cutie mark-related troubles, Zecora tells her she must have patience. After Apple Bloom's tooth is fixed, she subtly suggests using a potion to give her a cutie mark, but Zecora says not even a potion can make a cutie mark appear. Zecora goes on to make a potion for a rooster who lost its ability to crow using a special flower called Heart's Desire.

Later on in the episode, Zecora enters Ponyville, believing the residents are still scared of her. Twilight Sparkle and Applejack explain to her that Apple Bloom has the Cutie Pox. Zecora explains that she had come to Ponyville to ask Apple Bloom about her missing Heart's Desire. She says that the cure for the Cutie Pox lies within the Seeds of Truth, which only grow if a pony speaks the truth about something they have lied about. When Apple Bloom tells the truth, the seeds grow into a flower that cures Apple Bloom once she ingests it. Apple Bloom apologizes to Zecora for stealing the Heart's Desire and asks if she can still visit her; Zecora accepts her apology and says she is always welcome to visit.

In Secret of My Excess, Zecora diagnoses Spike to be maturing, which she says is fueled by his greed. She further warns that as Spike gets more things, he will grow bigger, which will make him want more things. Zecora finishes the warning by telling Twilight Sparkle to stop this cycle or Spike will become a monster.

In A Friend in Deed, Pinkie Pie wishes her a "happy day-after-your-birthday".

Season three
Zecora reappears in Magic Duel, in which she teaches some magic to Twilight Sparkle to help her beat Trixie. At one point, she shows an example of her skills by conjuring water in her cup. In the end, Zecora helps Twilight formulate a plan to beat Trixie. After Trixie is defeated, Zecora takes the Alicorn Amulet that Trixie was wearing and "puts it back in hiding where it belongs".

She later appears in Just for Sidekicks helping Spike with the pets he is looking after. Spike grudgingly pays Zecora for her help with a gem, which she promptly donates to charity, hoping to teach the baby dragon a lesson about generosity.

Zecora is later mentioned by Spike in Magical Mystery Cure. He suggests using Zecora's Seeds of Truth in order to return Twilight's friends' cutie marks back to normal. Twilight brushes the idea off, saying that it would not work. During Celestia's Ballad, Zecora is shown in a flashback.

Season four
Zecora appears in the season four premiere Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1 and Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 2. In the premiere, she is forced to leave her home in the Everfree Forest due to its overgrowth. She also helps Twilight find out what's going on by giving her a magic potion that allows her to view past events.

Zecora makes an appearance in Filli Vanilli, helping Big MacIntosh regain his voice. She also assists Fluttershy in making her voice like it was in Bridle Gossip in order for her to sing in Big McIntosh's place. She also appears in Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2 amazed at seeing Twilight's new castle.

Season five
Zecora appears in Slice of Life on the balcony by the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Big MacIntosh during Cranky and Matilda's wedding.

In What About Discord?, Twilight requests a potion from Zecora in the hopes of breaking a spell that she believes Discord has cast on her friends. In The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2, due to Starlight Glimmer and Twilight altering the timeline, Zecora becomes the leader of a band of savage ponies paranoid of changelings. She realizes that time has been altered after meeting Twilight and Spike, and she later engages Queen Chrysalis in battle when the changelings discover her camp.

Season six
Zecora appears in On Your Marks helping the Cutie Mark Crusaders make potions in her hut. In The Fault in Our Cutie Marks, Gabby helps Zecora make potions during Find the Purpose in Your Life.

Season seven
In Celestial Advice and Fame and Misfortune, Zecora appears in the group photo from the show's opening on Twilight's mirror.

In It Isn't the Mane Thing About You, Zecora gives Pinkie Pie a magical remover potion to clean up a mess of silly string at Sugarcube Corner and Rarity a sudsy shampoo to clean the string out of her mane for a magazine photo shoot. Unfortunately, the two bottles get mixed up, causing most of Rarity's mane to fall out. Zecora tries to make a cure to fix Rarity's mane in time for the shoot, but her lack of expertise in mane-mending magic prevents her from doing so.

In A Health of Information, Zecora comes down with a terrible disease called Swamp Fever for which a cure has not been discovered. She spends most of the episode bedridden, and as her condition worsens, she even stops rhyming. Fluttershy eventually finds a cure for the disease and cures Zecora.

Role in the series
Zecora is a recurring character in the SpongeBob and Friends Chronicles series, and hasn't appeared much since around Alone in a New World, and has appeared in many episodes, and is revealed to have rescued Mare-Zan, an orphaned Pegasus raised in the Everfree from injuries sustained by the Manticore that killed her parents. She also has an old rival in the Everfree from the same hometown in the form of an okapi named Zecillion.