Appledashery

by Just Essay

Ever Cure All?

“Yeesh, why the hay do they call it ‘Everfree’ anyways?” Rainbow Dash waved a hoof in front of her muzzle as swamp gas and other jungle fumes wafted up towards her in her flight. “I mean, sure, it goes on ‘forever,’ but no trip to this place is ever ‘free.’”

Her eyes scanned the canopy below, in search of a tree that was older and drier than all the rest.

“Maybe it’s ‘free’ for the animals,” she muttered. “But I don’t see how that makes sense. They don’t use bits.” She fidgeted with her numb hooves. “Acorns, maybe? Frickin’ squirrels are robbers, I swear to Celestia…”

More trees and trees stretched beneath. At last, Rainbow Dash caught the hint of dangling Zebraharan artifacts, and her heart skipped a beat. She dove swiftly and touched down on a swath of exposed grass.

“Hey! That wasn’t so hard!” Rainbow gulped and smiled. “It’s like looking for the cider stand at the grocery store.” She paused, wincing. ”Why do ponies like talking to themselves whenever they go into this place?”

Seconds limped by.

She shrugged, and took a step forward… falling flat on her face.

“Ooof! Nnngh… Darn it!” She pushed and shoved with her hooves, but couldn’t budge. With a low groan, she resorted to flapping her wings, and finally carried herself upright. “This is like the grand daddy of all suck.” She winced to herself. “Nnngh… here’s hoping she doesn’t just give me the cold… stripes?”

Blinking, Rainbow approached the door to Zecora’s hut. She raised one hoof to knock--hesitated, then raised the other numb limb. At last, she sighed, rolled her eyes, and headbutted the front door four times. Thud thud thud thud!

“Ungh… owie…” Shaking the cobwebs out, she cleared her voice and spoke up. “Uhm… hey there, Zecora? It’s me. Rainbow Dash. Do you remember me?” She smiled nervously. “I’m one of the ponies who hangs out with Twilight Sparkle! Y’know… the awesome one?”

Silence.

The pegasus bit her lip. “Look, uh… I-I know that we got off on the wrong hoof with the poison joke n’all, but you proved to be pretty darn good at fixing stuff. I mean… like… pony health related stuff, what with getting the poison joke out of our systems and fixing Rarity’s little sister of the pony pox. I was wondering if… uhm… well… you see…”

She hesitated, squinting suddenly towards the door.

“Uhhh… Zecora?” Silence. “Are you even there?” More silence.

She leaned in, squinting through the tiny window frame that the door afforded. Almost instantly, she pulled back with a wince. ”Nnnngh… not cool, Rainbow Dash. Just because she’s got freaky stripes and speaks like a washing machine doesn’t mean you gotta be rude to her.”

“My use of rhyme is a humbling routine. Tell me, how does it resemble a cleansing machine?”

“Well, just saying--cuz it sounds so mechanical and forced at times--Gaah!” Rainbow spun around, bumping her head on a lower branch of the tree hut. “Ouch!”

Zecora stood behind her. She couldn’t help but chuckle into a hoof. Adjusting the weight of a saddlebag full of herbs on her flank, she smiled up at the winged pony.

“Rainbow Dash, if I recall correctly, what brings you to my home so directly?”

“I… uh…” Rainbow rubbed her skull, wincing. “Ow, girl! What’s your house made of? Cedar and concrete?”

“This tree had died and dried out long before my time.” Zecora stepped up and lovingly rubbed the outer bark. “Which is fitting, for in my culture, carving up a living tree is a crime.”

“Yeah, but, like… don’t you lop off flowers and vines and all sorts of vegetation all the time?”

“Not the same, my pony friend, for doing so spreads more seeds in the end.” Zecora gave a slight chuckle.

“Wow. You’re a lot more… uh…”

“Hmmm?”

“I dunno.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I just didn’t think you were capable of laughing.”

“Zebras are fully endowed with mirth and merriment,” Zecora said as she trotted towards the door. “Perhaps you didn’t notice because of how our first meeting went.”

“Err… yeah…” Rainbow gulped. “About that, I’m sorry.” She gazed at the pony with earnest. “My friends and I totally told you that we were sorry, didn’t we?”

“Apologize, you did indeed. Awkward airs, you have no need.” Zecora opened the door with a squeak. “Come inside and we’ll talk of things, and then you can explain what your presence brings.”

“Wow, that’s super kind of you.” Rainbow Dash ducked low as she fluttered high, just below the ceiling. She had to shift left and right to avoid hanging masks, ornaments, and dream catchers. “Yeesh, this place is pretty nifty in its own way. It’s like a crazy cool museum to far parts of the world.”

“To the far corners of Equestria, my travels have taken me,” Zecora said. She stripped her saddlebag and rested it on the nearby table with a relaxed sigh. “It isn’t hard to collect artifacts so liberally.” She turned and smiled at Rainbow Dash. “But, alas, I am not the only pony who’s seen many a sight. I imagine a pegasus like you would have witnessed much from a life of flight.”

“I’ve… uhm…” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Sure, I’ve been places. I…” She gulped. “I could have gone to more places. Especially by now. But…”

“Ah, you have a love of Ponyville that keeps you grounded.” Zecora winked. “Being anywhere else would make your heart feel less well rounded.”

Rainbow Dash blinked. “You’re… you’re pretty spot on,” she said. “All things considered, we barely know each other, Zecora. How do you read ponies like that?”

“Living things all function by a singular code. It’s easy to catch your bearings when you see it all as one road.” Zecora trotted over and began filing her recently foraged herbs away into various containers and glass jars. “I cannot, however, read your pony mind. Tell me what brings you here, if you’d be so kind.”

“What brings me here… yeah…” Rainbow Dash bit her lip. “Hmmmm… well… you see… uhm…”

“There is a pony saying, and I have no doubt.” Zecora tilted her head up with a gentle smirk. “I do believe it goes: ‘Spit it out?’”

“Maybe… uh… it’s best that I show you.” Rainbow Dash took a deep, deep breath and lowered herself onto four quivering hooves. “But… you g-gotta promise not to tell my friends.”

Zecora stared at her, then slowly nodded.

“Okay.” Rainbow Dash stood up straight. “Push me.”

The zebra’s eyebrow raised.

“I can take it. Come on.”

Zecora cleared her throat, trotted over, and gave the pegasus the tiniest of taps.

Th-Thud!

The zebra actually jumped back.

“Nnngh… guh…” Rainbow shoved and thrashed her limbs. Then, with a sigh, she rolled over, spread her wings, and used her feathery appendages to spring herself back into the air… where she hovered.

“Blessed sands a’blowing…” Zecora murmured. “Is all your strength going?”

“Just my legs,” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s… nnngh… always b-been just my legs.” Rainbow Dash stared aside with flaming cheeks. “My wings? Best things ever. Super, even. But… yeah…” She gulped. “The rest of my body? Not so hot. Limp as a noodle. And… uh… it’s getting worse…”

Zecora paced around the pegasus, grasping and feeling her dangling legs before sitting back and rubbing her own chin. “Hmmmmm… a common ailment, I’m guessing? Or something far more distressing?”

“It’s not very common, but it’s happened before. And… uhm… it has some pretty serious effects on a pegasus if it runs its course.”

“Rainbow Dash, at the risk of sounding nosy…” Zecora stared with inquisitive eyes. “In relaying this information, you don’t seem quite cozy.”

Rainbow Dash avoided her gaze.

“My assistance, you obviously seek. But if you want my help, I need you to speak.” She leaned forward. “How much do you know about this ailment that has become so much of a predicament?”

At last, Rainbow sighed. She coiled her wings at her side and landed with a jostling motion of her body. On quiet feet, she shuffled limply over to a stool and sat down.

Zecora stared patiently.

The pegasus looked up, clenched her jaw, and opened her mouth to speak.

Comments

[FloydienSlip]

[Bulbajer]

@FloydienSlip: my thoughts exactly.

[Lilith Evanson]

Are-are we finally going to find out more information on her illness?!

I don't know if I can wait till tomorrow....

[Sheendough]

4013703 Neither do I.

[MellowMabari]

Darn it! You're such a tease. I was on the edge of my seat. Like, literally. I almost fell off.

I swear, if you have someone interrupt them before Dash spills the info, I'll...well, do nothing, most likely. But it'll be the most dramatic nothing you have ever not seen, you can count on that.

Until tomorrow, alas.

[Scohinyha Sanka]

Okay. "Thighs rope to my sleeping bag and other end to the cliff." See ya tomorrow guys. "crawls in to the sleeping bag."

[zaponator]

If the next chapter cuts immediately to the end of Rainbow's explanation, I'm gonna yell.

[DrEggnog]

4013144
Best. Reference. Ever.

[arancaytar]

The pegasus looked up, clenched her jaw, and opened her mouth to speak.

Here goes...