//------------------------------// // Zebravention // Story: Appledashery // by Just Essay //------------------------------// "To begin, I shall prepare a careful sample. With time, I may brew something more ample." Zecora sat on a stool before her alchemy table in the center of her hut. "To make it easy to consume, a jar of goat's milk should help you ingest the alicornia dust and spider silk." "Uhmm..." Rainbow Dash grimaced visibly from where she hovered over the zebra's shoulders. "I don't suppose there's any chance this is going to taste any good, huh?" "Hmmm..." Zecora rubbed her muzzle, then smirked. "If a good taste you must insist, then an ingredient of cinammon can be added to the list." "Heh..." Rainbow Dash nodded with a smirk. "Now we're talking." She cleared her throat. "So, when do I start guzzling, huh? Am I safe to fly home tonight, at least?" Zecora took a deep breath. "Rainbow Dash, my enthusiastic friend, a great deal of time waiting you will have to spend." "Huh?" Rainbow blinked crookedly. "A great deal of time? Like how much time?" "For me to get this potion just right, you will have to wait overnight." She did a double-take. "Overnight?! You mean all this time, even with bartering around town, you knew that I'd have to wait until tomorrow to sample this cure?" "Unless you've forgotten, Rainbow, it's not a cure, but simply a means of giving your nerves the proverbial spur." Zecora spun on the stool with a calm sigh. "And even if I could let you drink it tonight, I'm afraid it wouldn't be quite right. Yes, it takes time to brew this potion true, but the real reason for delay is centered upon you." Rainbow leaned back, blinking. "Me?" The zebra nodded. "There are plentiful risks involved, as you've heard me imply, and I want you to consider them before giving the potion a try." "Like what kind of risks?" Rainbow waved her forelimbs. "Zecora, I need to be able to use my forelimbs again! Whatever the case, I'm willing to deal with it!" "Your zeal is most appreciated," Zecora said. "But the side effects have not been anticipated." "Like... wh-what kind of side effects?" Rainbow's voice cracked. "As you know, a key ingredient is star spider silk. Those arachnids, I'm afraid, are made of the most perilous ilk." The pony gestured with her hoof as she spoke. "Their venom can paralyze a grown mare. It can even kill a pony if they don't take care." "Yeah...?" Rainbow cocked her head aside with a curious squint. "But I'm not gonna be swallowing the spider's venom, right? What's the big deal?" "The spider's venom is far too potent for even its own body to take. So, for the sake of chemical balance, a new compound did nature make." Zecora pointed at the jar of blue fibers. "The silk of a star spider contains a stimulating agent. When present in the creature's body, it keeps the spider cognizant. Other creatures who consume the fibrous strands will experience excessive stimulation of their brain, organs, and glands." "Oh, I get it." Rainbow nodded. "So—like—that's what'll bring the sense of feeling back into my legs." "But at a cost, I'm afraid to say," Zecora said. "The compound could affect your preception in a negative way." "Affect... my perception?" Zecora's blue eyes hardened. "Hallucinations, Rainbow Dash. From casual delusions to visions most brash." She shrugged. "There is no way to tell, but you could end up suffering a horrible spell." "Oh..." Rainbow's ears folded. "Really?" "That is why I'm preparing a small sample to start. If you fair well, then of a larger potion you can take part. Odds are, you will only benefit from the potion. Yet still, there's a chance it could shatter your psyche and emotion." Rainbow Dash grimaced. "But—like—not permanently, right?" "Permanently damaging? That is highly doubtful," Zecora said, shaking her head. "But the consequences could still be quite the hoofful. Now you might understand why I hesitate. I want the implications of this potion to resonate." "I... I still need to go through with this, Zecora," Rainbow said in a quiet, foalish tone. "I-I wouldn't have come to you in the first place if that wasn't the case." "What you need, Rainbow Dash, is abundantly clear." Zecora gazed at her with a sad expression. "Your doctors and nurses have already shown you, I fear." Rainbow Dash bit her lip, then gazed off into the corner of the hut. Zecora stood up from the stool and trotted quietly towards the hovering pegasus. "That operation that you so terribly dread is the one thing keeping you from ending infirmed or dead. I know that you detest the costs that come with the notion, but you'll find no better avenue with any brew or potion. I'm preparing this initial quaff to help your ailing body, but future samples will cost time, resources and money. Star spider silk doesn't just show up everyday. To find more, a great deal of bits you'll have to pay. If I was in charge, Rainbow, I'd not charge you one bit. But beyond my reach you'll find yourself in want of it. You'll be living your life scrounging from the bottom of the barrel for a limited thing that dangerously mixes chemicals into your marrow." Rainbow sighed. "So... what you're saying is that—in the long run—I'm still down to one choice?" "Logically, safely, economically...." Zecora nodded in a somber fashion. "It is far from using your limbs freely. The price of ingesting the potion will surpass the cost of its creation, and this is assuming your mind can withstand the tiny sample that's at hand." Rainbow glanced between the zebra and her alchemy table. "What... uh... what do you suppose I should do?" Zecora reached a hoof up and brushed one of Rainbow's forelimbs. "Go home, sleep, and meditate on what I've said. Return in the morning when you've drained all sleep from your head. If by sunrise you still wish to take this next step, then I assure you the potion I'll faithfully have prepped."