Love Is Like A Cure

by chillbook1

Ivy

Brazen stared at her work, trying to get everything together. A stack of formulae to her right, flower samples to her left, a clear space in front of her. She threw her coat onto her and Twilight’s bed, a sure sign that she was about to attempt something that required her full attention.

Her work supplies lay on a little tray that sat on her lap. The try was the kind that one would serve a surprise breakfast in bed on. She’d have to work quietly, lest she wake the sleeping Princess Twilight to her right. Her… Well, Brazen wasn’t sure what Twilight was to her yet. They certainly weren’t dating, though Twilight thought so. That was the entire point of their little sham, after all.

Brazen inspected each sample carefully, recording every detail of the plant that she could; its weight, its pliability, even its taste, in certain instances. When she thought she was ready, she slipped her hand in Twilight’s bra and withdrew a small glass vial containing a single, shriveled, cracked seed.

Brazen popped open the vial and tapped the seed onto her workspace. She pressed her palms together, then slowly began to force her life energy outwards. Her eye began to glow a ghastly shade of green, which soon came to surround her horn and her hands. A small gust of wind poured in from all around her, carrying tiny whispers that she could never quite make out. The seed gained a similar green glow, and it rose a few inches into the air. Brazen jutted her right hand in the seed’s direction. With a sound reminiscent of a many inches-thick sheet of tin foil ripping, the seed began to tremble and sputter. Brazen snapped her fingers, bathing the entirety of the room with green light. When the light faded, a small green sprout had taken the seed’s place.

Brazen wiped the sweat from her brow with a satisfied sort of exhaustion. She lifted a pot of dirt from Twilight’s lap and placed it onto the tray. The seed soon found home in the depths of the soil, where it would remain for the rest of the process. Brazen snapped her fingers, which accelerated the growth of the sprout. Brazen watched with fascination as the sprout grew taller and stronger, eventually blooming into a flower, the petals so purple that it appeared black. She pinched the flower from the stem and held it in her hands.

“You did it, Z,” said Twilight, although it was hardly her voice coming from her mouth. “Too bad I won’t get to see it.”

“You will, Ivy. Just give me some time,” promised Brazen. She turned to Twilight, unconcerned by her sudden transformation. Her skin had shifted from purple to a dark, leafy green color. Her mane was no longer straight cut and long, but short and curly, not to mention it was now a rosy pink color. Her eyes were the most drastically different, turning to a piercing lime green. They were smaller than Twilight’s, and they had a more arrogant gleam to them. These were eyes that Brazen had spent several years worth of time staring into.

“That’s illegal,” noted Ivy.

“Not anymore. Necromancy on plants and simple creatures is totally cool now,” said Brazen. She presented the flower to Ivy. “Even if it was still against the law, that wouldn’t stop me. You know that.”

“You always were way too stubborn,” said Ivy, accepting the flower with a small smile. “Stubborn, arrogant, stupid. Three things I loved about you.”

“Love. Not loved. Don’t use past tense,” said Brazen. She blinked, and Ivy was suddenly Twilight once again.

“You need to accept that, Brazen. She’s in the past,” said Twilight. The flower in her hand began to brown and wilt, soon crumbling into nothing. “What flower is this, anyway?”

“They used to be called Forget-Me-Rots,” said Brazen. “Or Flicker Flowers. They could theoretically live forever if they remained in their soil. Once separated from a dirt source, they begin a sixty-second death timer. Been extinct for thousands of years. I was able to recover a sample from related plants.”

“Interesting. And you brought one back?”

“Ivy wants to see one.”

“Wanted, Brazen. Ivy wanted to see one,” said Twilight coldly. She closed her eyes tiredly, and let out a soft sigh. “She doesn’t anymore. You do understand, don’t you? She can’t see it and she can’t love you anymore.”

“She may not right now, but she will. I’ll make sure of that,” promised Brazen. Inexplicably, Twilight had vanished again, only to be replaced once again by Ivy.

“I can’t and I won’t. Do you really think I want you to do this?” she asked. “Especially like this?”

“You didn’t have enough time. You deserve a second chance,” said Brazen. Ivy cackled in a very unfamiliar way. It wasn’t teasing or good-natured, but dark and foreboding.

“You’re not doing this for her,” said Ivy, speaking with Twilight’s voice. “Who do you think you’re kidding with that? It’s pretty obvious that you’re doing this for yourself. You’re being selfish.”

“I’m selfish for risking prison for her? I could be arrested for this, and you’re calling me selfish?” scoffed Brazen. “Yeah, I guess I am kinda selfish.”

“That’s not what she meant, dummy. You’re hurting yourself,” said Ivy. She wrapped her arm around Brazen. “How many years has it been? When you fail, I’m afraid you might go off the edge.”

“I’m not going to fail. I’ve been working at this for five years, and you think I’m gonna flub now? Don’t make me laugh.”

“You don’t even know if it’s possible. What if it just can’t be done, Z?” asked Ivy. “What would you do if it turns out that it just cannot be accomplished? If it’s just not possible?”

Brazen pulled away from Ivy, sliding out of bed. She grabbed her coat, suddenly remembering that she was late for work. She didn’t say another word to Ivy as she slipped through their little hut of a home. She practically flew out of the house and, before she knew it, her hooves were pressed against the hot desert sand. Teleporting would’ve been much, much faster, seeing as she had about a two mile commute, but she wanted to get in at least a bit of a walk before she had to spend the day staring at corpses.

“Do you think she’d want this?” asked Twilight, matching Brazen’s stride on her right.

“What’re you going to do when it doesn’t work?” asked Ivy, walking to Brazen’s left.

“It has to,” said Brazen simply.

---

Brazen felt her body jerk, and she shot forward in her bed. She looked to her right, hoping for the impossible. She was unsurprised, but still a little disappointed, when she saw no one there. That dream… Something about that dream made Brazen want to vomit. She was drenched in a cold sweat that she didn’t really understand. The dream wasn’t altogether scary, but something about it made Brazen feel like she was going to die.

“Damn you, Luna,” she whispered to no one. She let out a sigh, then rolled out of bed. She took a quick cold shower, brewed herself some coffee, and grabbed her coat. She threw it over herself, and, after checking to make sure that her diary, ring, and train ticket were all in her pocket, she set out for the station. She withdrew her diary and summoned a pen, and shakily started to write.

Dear Diary,

I had a strange dream last night. I was in bed with Twilight when I finally brought back a Forget-Me-Rot. I gave it to Twilight, who turned to Ivy. The two of them switched places throughout the dream, asking me if Ivy would’ve wanted this,and what I would do if it didn’t work. I guess this is my way of convincing myself that this is a bad idea.

It has to work, it just has to. It’s been three goddamn years, and I refuse for it to all be for nothing. If I can’t do it, I’ll just keep trying and trying until I can. Would Ivy want this? That’s tough to answer. I just have to bring her back, if just to apologize. She died hating me. That hurt me more than anything else could.

I have to make things right.

Author's Note:

Alright, hope you guys aren't getting too sick of Brazen's story, because it's almost over. I give it one more chapter, and said chapter won't be for quite a bit. Sorry if you hate it, but I just had the idea and wanted to roll with it.

Hope you enjoyed and, whether you did or didn't, be sure to tell me in the comments why. Thumbs, whether ups or downs, are useless to me without context; I appreciate it.

Follow, favorite, and comment for a walk in the park.

Comments

[chillbook1]

6304466 Sadly, not all people are as wonderful and supportive your parents. Family is a strange thing. It's a choice we make under the guise that it is outside of our control. Choices are made, paths are taken, and all you can hope for is for acceptance