Evil Enchantress, Does Evil Dances (Patreon)

concept art, figuring out how i'd like to draw Zecora

I've made no secret that I really can't stand Zecora's entire concept. She spends the entirety of her debut episode being framed as spooky and foreign. The Mane 6 spend the episode being terribly racist and xenophobic, even calling Zecora's stripes "garish". When a magical mishap occurs, they immediately blame Zecora, break into her house and destroy her things, and ultimately it is Zecora- an innocent bystander- who is tasked with teaching these small town rubes not to be racist. It's a clumsy attempt at an anti-racism parable, made all the worse by the over-reliance on poorly researched stereotypes (Zecora is a mash-up of Hollywood witch doctor, voodoo priestess, indigenous shaman, plus a dash of the Magical Negro trope). Zecora never really gets to be a character all her own, just a device to spout wisdom for the real protagonists. Zecora is also the only zebra we ever see in the show, and lives isolated and segregated in the forest, outside Ponyville.

It racist.

It seems the first of the MLP "Season 10" IDW comics are going to tackle a small Zecora character arc, in which she and Applejack return to her homeland. Although we get some fun tidbits (a new cool zebra character design, the reveal that Zecora's rhyming is not typical for zebras), the rest is......ah. Dumb. Really dumb. Besides the one new zebra, we don't see any more. Not one. Instead, Zecora apparently hung out with a small herd of strange mythical creatures (abadas, kelpies). Zecora also hates them for reasons unexplained and flees at the sight of them. (To be continued, says the comic).

Dumb.

Sooooo I'm just gonna toss alla dat out the window. Zecora is a Vodun medicine mare hailing from West Zebrica. She is the sole survivor of a relentless dry season that slowly destroyed her herd. The foals and  the elderly were the first to succumb to the heat, and then came mysterious illness, striking down herd members so quickly and  mercilessly that Zecora, despite her tireless efforts, couldn't discover a cure in time. Her grief and feelings of failure were unbearable. From each home, she took a totem to remind her of the lives that slipped through her hands, then fled as far away as she could, to start anew,  somewhere she could be alone in her mourning, somewhere she could study the magic of alchemy and commune with the ancient spirits. She is not at all an evil enchantress, and is instead perfectly polite to anypony willing to extend her and her culture proper respect and dignity. As ponies as a whole kinda fail to do that and view her as a spectacle, Zecora is content living alone within the Everfree Forest. She is a dear friend of Fluttershy's, Twilight, Discord, and Applejack, and is always willing to aid any in need of her help. She's entertained a number of apprentices over the years, including Twilight, Apple Bloom, and Midnight Abyss.

I based her garb on that of ceremonial voodoo practitioners in Glidji Kpodji. This is a ceremonial/leisurely look for Zecora, she tends to dress in more conservative, comfy clothes when out and about.

bonus hc: Zecora's eyes are naturally brown, and light up blue when she's performing magic. Her rhyming is a vocal tick, often done to lull the otherwise-skittish ponies....and as an easy way for her to slip actual encantations into what seems like a goofy witch-doctor shtick. Beware, beware, you pony folk.