//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: Potions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Non-rhyming Zecora Version) 
// Story: The Violet Strike, Spike 
// by DreamyBlaze 
//------------------------------//

Next day…

“Sore, so sore!” Moaned Spike and who wouldn't after being shot out of a Giant Timberwolf via explosions multiple times.  “I'm so thankful Sweetie caught me or else it would be so much worse.”

Spike was currently on the roof of one of the hallways with one of his brand new skills he learned when he woke up, Self-Magnetism!  Though when he first learned it, he was stuck on the blanket and by the time he got unstuck Twilight was awake and cranky for not getting her morning coffee.

“A pain to use but a lot of fun once it works!” Said Spike while hanging from the roof, “... And have the metal needed to use this skill in such a place it can be useful.”

As Spike continued cleaning the hallway, Twilight was eating her breakfast slowly.  Last night, Twilight had a dream about one of her birthday parties but for some reason the dream felt like it was missing something important but she didn't know what it was.

Suddenly, someone was knocking at her door.  Curious as to who it was, Twilight got up from eating her breakfast and went to open the door.  When she opened the door, she saw the Zebra Zecora.

“Hello Twilight Sparkle.” Said Zecora.

“Zecora!” exclaimed a surprised Twilight, “What are you doing here?”

“I'm taking caution since you didn't come for your potion.” Said Zecora.

“Potion…?” Said Twilight.  After some time she remembered the potion that Spike couldn't get.  “Ah the stamina potion!  Sorry about that.  I sent Spike to go get but on his way he was attacked by a manticore.  Don’t worry, Spike is okay.”

“Ah, that is good news indeed but since I'm here I'll check on him.” Said Zecora.

“Okay.  He's… somewhere in the castle cleaning.  I would take you but I don't actually know where in the castle he is.” Said Twilight.

“Where is who?” asked Spike who had finished messing around with his ability and went to check on Twilight.

“Spike!” said a surprised Twilight, “Don’t do that again please.  Anyway, Zecora is here with the Stamina Potion from last time.” said Twilight.

“Potion?  What potion?” said Spike, not remembering being told about another potion.

“You know the potion I sent you to get but couldn’t because of the manticore.” said Twilight.

“Oh! That potion.  Totally forgot about it.” said Spike.

“I was worried for your safety as such I came to check if you were healthy.   I also came to give you the potion.” said Zecora.

“Thank you Zecora.  It may come in handy.” said Spike as he received the potion.  He then got an idea.  “Hey Twilight?  Can I take a break now.  There is something I want to do in town today.”

“Sure… but you do realize that you have chores to do right?” asked Twilight.

“I finished a few minutes ago.” said Spike.

“Are you sure cause the castle is pretty big.” said Twilight, worried that Spike was letting go of his responsibilities.

“I did.  I actually found a few short cuts for cleaning the castle and add to that the fact that I’m using a brand new cleaning supplies and it's no wonder I can finish much faster than before.” said Spike, “And no the shortcuts are not sweeping all the trash under the rug.”

Twilight didn’t believe him.  Before was understandable since he had almost all day to clean but now, now it was just a tad bit too fast to be reasonable.

“Fine, you can go and help Rarity but if I find anything even remotely dirty, you will have to clean the entire castle all over again as punishment.  Deal?” asked Twilight.

“Deal.” said Spike confidently.  ‘I did, after all, triple check all the spots I clean to make sure I didn’t forget any spot… did I just did a Twilight?’

After shaking his head, Spike turned to Zecora and asked, “Hey Zecora, can you let me walk with you to your hut?  I want to talk to you for a bit since we rarely talk.”

“That is fine young Spike.  It would actually be nice to talk to someone on my way back.”  agreed Zecora.

“Later Twilight!” exclaimed Spike.

“Bye Spike, bye Zecora!” scream Twilight.

“Goodbye Twilight Sparkle.”  said Zecora in a respectful manner.  After the goodbyes were said, Spike and Zecora left the castle and walked toward the other side of the town.

“So tell me Spike, what do you want from me?” questioned Zecora, emphasising Spike’s name.

“I want you to help me learn how to make potions.” said Spike wanting to get to the point.

“Why should I help you?  You may look like Spike but the aura around you tells otherwise.  The only reason why I didn't mention it to Twilight was because it would be rude but just who are you?” questioned Zecora.  Spike then remembered that because Zecora doesn’t live near town that she doesn’t know that he has superpowers now.

“It really is me Zecora and to explain the aura of power, let’s just say I got superpowers from a relic from the Everfree Forest.” said Spike in calm manner.  “Just ask anyone in town and they will tell you the same thing.”

Zecora just eyed him suspiciously.  Why would a potential enemy outright tell her that everyone in town knows he is someone he may not be?  Before she could make more conspiracy theories, Spike said, “If you still don’t trust me, just use one of your potions to reveal the truth.”

Zecora, still suspicious, agreed to this and took the small dragon to her home to check if what he said is true.





A few moments before reaching Zecora's hut...

“... Is it just me or is something bad going to happen?” asked Spike.

“Most likely it’s only you.” said Zecora, still on guard.  The walk to Zecora’s house was really quiet but Spike understood why.  Zecora is the only pony, well zebra in this case, in Ponyville aside from Twilight that can feel changes in the magic that flows through the air and why wouldn’t she, the zebra is someone who messes with magic without a horn.  Twilight didn’t notice the sudden change in Spike magical aura though because she has not studied that for some strange reason.

A few minutes later, Spike and Zecora reach her house.  After entering, Zecora grabbed a few ingredients and after a while, made a potion that would reveal if this was truly Spike or not.

“Here, drink this.  If you don’t change form or if no evil spirit leaves you then I’ll believe you.” said Zecora as she passed Spike a potion that had a grey color.  When Spike got it close to his nose, he flinch at the smell of the potion.  The potion smelled horrible and this terrified him but because him learning how to make potions depended on this he thought ‘Well, down the hatch it goes…’  Surprisingly, the potion tasted like a mixture of cupcakes, acorns and… fur.  The taste made Spike slightly nauseous and improved the level of quality for his Toxic skill which didn’t really made him happy.

‘Hope that doesn’t happen every time I want to throw up.’ thought a green faced Spike.

Aside from the green hue his face took from the test, Zecora finally realized the this really was Spike.  This realization made her happy because she really liked Spike.  He was the like the little brother she wished she had.  But that moment of happiness ended the moment she realized that she made him nauseous.  Immediately she got the materials ready to make another potion the would cure him of his nauseousness.

“Sorry about that Spike, I just…” before she could finish her sentence sentence, Spike interrupted her.

“You just had to make sure it was me.  Don’t worry, I knew.  Just wished I didn’t get this nauseous again.  Open Inventory.” said Spike.  Zecora was confused with what he said when suddenly a blue screen with small boxes appeared in front of him.  He then tried to grab a square that had a picture of medicine.  What surprised Zecora even more was that when he pulled his arm back, the picture was removed from the square and turned into actual medicine which Spike immediately drank.

“Much better.” said Spike.  “Thank you for existing inventory. Close Inventory.”  As he said that, he put back the medicine bottle back in his inventory before it disappeared.

To say Zecora was surprised was an understatement.  She had never seen somepony do something like that before.  The closest thing to something to what Spike did was Pinkie pulling stuff out off thin air but that wasn’t as visually appealing to what Spike had done.

She shook her head before asking, “Spike, how did you do that?”

“Remember that weird magic aura you mentioned that I had?” said Spike, “That aura comes from a pair of relics I found called the Volt Gun and Volt Glove.  Show Gunvolt.”  He then  showed Zecora the relics.

“You don’t mind if I see them closer do you?” asked Zecora eyeing the relics.

"I would but the I can’t take off the glove.  I can let you see the gun though just be careful not to pull the small trigger.” warned Spike.  He then gave Zecora the gun for her to inspect it.

“This trigger?” asked Zecora.  Zecora then realized something more important.  “Spike, what is a gun?”

“From what the scroll left with the relics said, a gun is just crossbow but better.  If you want we can go outside and show what I mean.” said Spike.

“As much as I would like to see it, there are things more important to do.” said Zecora.

“Oh!  I’m not taking your time from something important am I?” asked Spike worried.

After she giggled a bit, Zecora said, “The important thing is you Spike.  You did ask me to teach you how to make potions.”

“Wait.  You will help me?  Awesome!” exclaimed Spike.  “Yes, now I can make potions to help those who need it.”

“Is that why you want to learn?” asked Zecora.

“Yes.  You see, after Rarity got stung by the Alpha Manticore, I thought that maybe I should learn how to make cures for emergencies.  I mean, regular medicine is good and all but in a moment of great danger, something that reacts faster is better right?” said Spike.

“Okay that is a good enough reason to…” said Zecora before stopping suddenly mid sentence.  “Spike, what did you say stung Rarity?”

Confused by the sudden behavior, Spike said, “She was stung by an Alpha Manticore…”

“Where did you leave her?” asked Zecora.

“At the hospital…” said Spike worried.

“Quick! We must make something to put Rarity to sleep before everyone there loses their hearing.” said a panicked Zecora.

“Why?” asked Spike.

“An Alpha Manticore’s poison is widely known in Zebrica as the pointless energizer.  Just one drop of that poison will leave the drinker both paralyzed and energized.” said Zecora.

“Wait ener…” then Spike remembered.  In Equestria’s past, many ponies experimented with many substances in the name of medicine.  One of this ingredients was Manticore and Alpha Manticore poison.  They discovered that a regular Manticore’s poison paralyzed the victims for about five minutes before they could move again.  An Alpha Manticore’s poison on the other hand, paralyze its victims for almost 4 days before it wore off but that wasn’t the only thing they discovered.  The poison, for whatever reason, also worked as a really potent energizer.  The only problem with was that the part was the energizer and the part that paralyzed were one and the same meaning that they couldn’t be separated.  Many ponies tried and failed to separate the poison.  Now in modern Equestria, Alpha Manticore poison is now known as the useless energizer.  But that is not all.  In many of the test that were done, there would be rumors that both the testers and the scientist would end up depth because the poison energized the testers into talking endlessly.  Many modern scientist recommend not to let anyone that wines or talks a lot to take this poison unless they have a soundproof barrier ready.

“... So that is why I felt I forgot something.” said Spike after remembering that fact.  “Explains why Pinkie couldn’t hear me when I went to the hospital that one time.”





In Sugarcube Corner…

“WHAT!!!” claimed Pinkie suddenly.  Her scream startled the sleeping Cake children, waking them up as well as making them cry.

“Ah! I’m sorry for waking you up after I put you to sleep.”  Then she went back to trying to put the Cake’s children back to sleep.





“Quickly, we must make a knock out potion before there are more casualties.” said Zecora.  Spike saw her throw a bunch of things inside her cauldron.  The few things he recognized were some sunflowers and red grasses but aside from that, he didn’t recognise any of the other ingredients.

“Zecora, why did you throw in a sunflower?” asked Spike.

“This potion I’m making is called the Cold Absorber.  The potion was originally created to quickly tire out predators so we could escape.  What it does is that it absorbs excess energy from any creature that has swallowed it.  The sunflower is so that it taste good.” explained Zecora.

“Cool.  But it won't harm her right because from what you said I can guess that the potion won’t stop removing energy until it wears off and if we follow the laws of physics which says that energy can’t be created or destroyed then where does the absorbed energy goes to?” asked Spike.

“There is a side effect that we potion brewers never figured how to remove.  The creature that drinks this starts to get colder and colder over time.  We are only lucky that it stops getting colder after a certain temperature but most cold blooded creatures fall into a death like sleep from this.” said Zecora not realizing she just said something really terrifying to Spike who just happens to be a creature naturally born cold blooded.

“I’ll just stand here in the corner then.” said Spike with a scared look.

“...Why?” asked Zecora.  Then she remembered that Spike was a dragon.  “Sorry for scaring you like that Spike.  I’ll be careful where I put the potion for your safety.”

“Thank you.” said Spike in a calmer voice.

One trip to Ponyville’s hospital and back to Zecora’s hut later, Zecora started explaining to Spike how to make three basic potions.

“Okay Spike.  The potion you will make are the health potion, the energy potion and curing potion.” said Zecora.

“The health potion and the energy potion are straight to the point on what they do but what does the cure potion do?” asked Spike.

“The cure potion was originally made to cure any ailment that was known.  Now a days, medicine is used instead since they taste better but when it comes to quality, cure potions can cure many things quicker at once then medicine.” said Zecora.

“Nice.  So what do I have to do?” asked Spike.

“To make the cure potion you need a pinch of alfalfa, three cups of lemon juice and two blades of cure herb.” said Zecora.

“... alfalfa and lemon juice?  Really.” asked Spike.  All Zecora did was raise her eyebrow in such a way that is said ‘Are you questioning the zebra that has done this for years?’  “Fine but I want an explanation as to why we need alfalfa and lemon juice.”

While Spike went around her hut looking for the ingredients, Zecora explain why she said alfalfa and lemon juice.  “You see Spike, the real ingredients for a cure potion are blue acorns, pumpkin core, red grass, a drop of cocatrice blood and heal herb but since many of this ingredients grow deep within the Everfree or outside of Equestria, I had to find a way to make the potion without having to deal with waiting for someone to bring them to me via mail.  During my research I discovered that alfalfa and lemon juice made a nice replacement and it made the potion delicious too.”

“You lost me at cockatrice blood.” said Spike.  “By the way, what does a heal herb look like?”

“Heal herb is grass that smells of lavender and makes you feel calmer after breathing it in.”  Said Zecora.   With that said, Spike walked around sniffing at the many grasses Zecora had in her hut.  He found the grass quickly and got.

“So you got them all?” asked Zecora.  Spike nodded his head in agreement.

“Okay, put the ingredients in the cauldron after you filled it with hot water and then mix.  You will always get a cure potion if you do this but depending on how you make it is how effective it is.”  said Zecora.  “Oh, and you can make the potion without the need of cauldron.  You can even use a cooking pot to make it, but the amount for the potion must not be changed okay.”

“Okay.  I was expecting this to be much harder but it’s actually quite simple really.  It’s just like cooking but more precise.” said Spike.

“And don’t forget that they all must be made with hot water.” said Zecora.  After Zecora said that, she sat down and watched Spike make the potion.

Looking at his ingredients, Spike decided to start off with the healing herbs.  After cutting them up with one of the knives from his inventory, he dropped them into the cauldron and waited to see what would happen.  When the water turned green, he added the lemon juice and the alfalfa, after crushing it of course.  What happened next scared him.  The potion suddenly changed colors very quickly before it    released a small explosion that blinded him.  After it went away he turned back to see… a thick green liquid in the cauldron.

“Well done Spike.” said Zecora, “And from the force of the explosion, I can see that you made quite the potent cure potion.”

“Wait, the force of the explosion is how effective the potion is?” asked Spike after looking over the new skill that popped up in front of his eyes called Brewing Mastery.

“Yes but this was only the first potion and to be quite frank, the easiest of all potion to make.” said Zecora.  “Now we will make the Energy Potion.  To make it we need a petal of a lighting flower, thirty oak seeds, two blades of yellow grass and a spoon full of spore from a copper plant.”  said Zecora.

“Wait, wait, wait.  You mean we need a petal from the really dangerous lighting flower and a spoon full of spore from a copper plant which are known for having an incredibly potent smell?”  asked Spike.

“Yes.  This is one the difficult things of being a potion brewer.  Some of the ingredients needed come from really dangerous places.  Don’t worry, I have the things need to be able to get the ingredients.” said Zecora.  She then walked to the wall behind Spike and clicked a secret panel that made the wall move to reveal many items that helped in collecting other items.  She went to the wall and walked in, somehow, and came back with a military grade gas mask and a pair of wood twisers.

“Why do you have so many weird things in a hidden room?  No, better question.  Why and how do you have a hidden room?” asked Spike confused.

“Aside from being a witch doctor back at my village, I was also working for the Zebrican military as part of the clean up force for strange items left behind by old military teams before I decided to move to Ponyville.  The job paid well and there was no need to worry about dead since the bodies disappeared years ago.  As for the hidden room, I used secret Zebrican Magic only we Zebricans can use.” said Zecora with a proud smile.

“If I was Twilight right now, I would so totally start asking so many questions of how Zebrican magic works but luckily I’m not Twilight.” said Spike poking fun at Twilight's usual behavior, “... but do I really have to pick up the ingredients alone?”

“Yes.  My garden is hidden behind some bushes behind my house.” said Zecora in the most blunt way possible.

“... Okay then.  I’ll just get the gas mask and get to work.” said Spike as he got the gas mask.  Zecora nodded and went to clean the spoon and cauldron they used to make the potion. Before she got started on cleaning the spoon though she realized something important.  Spike left without getting the twisers.

“Spike wait!” screamed Zecora in panic as she ran outside.  When she caught up with him, it was already too late.  She saw him reach for the flower.  “Spike!” Zecora screamed in panic. 

“GAH!” screamed Spike, startled by Zecora’s scream.  She startled him so much that he accidentally pulled the whole plant with him.

“What… what is going?  Is something bad happening!” asked Spike in a panic.  Zecora was just staring at Spike who still had just pulled out a flower with enough electrical power in it to kill any creature that is not wearing insulation or resistance to electricity.

“No, how are you holding to the flower without getting hurt?” asked a flabbergasted Zecora.

“My new powers make me mostly immune to electricity.  Sorry if I scared you.” said Spike after getting the ingredient.  “My powers are more than just making things appear in the air.”

“...Can you make me list of what you can do now because if I’m going to teach you, I don’t want another scare like that again, okay?” asked Zecora.  Spike opened his inventory and gives her a list he premade for such occasions.

“I had many made after Princess Celestia asked me to make her one just in case.”  said Spike.  With that, he put the mask on and went looking for the copper plant.





A little bit of pollen gathering  later…

“Let’s do this.” said Spike while standing in front of a the now empty cauldron.  He and Zecora bottled some of the potion when Spike came back with the ingredients.

“Remember Spike, to make the Energy potion you need to put the petal of a lighting flower, thirty oak seeds, two blades of yellow grass and a spoon full of spore from a copper plant in that order.” said Zecora.  Spike nodded before he took the lighting flower and dropped in the water.  He then crushed all the seeds and chopped the grass to small shapes before he dropped them into the cauldron.  Lastly, he dropped the spore in the cauldron and mixed it until the formula reacted.  Though he was expecting a bigger explosion than what he got.

“What gives?  I though I did everything correctly?” asked Spike.

“Probably something went wrong while making it.”  said Zecora. “Though most Energy Potions I have seen and made aren’t Cyan in color but blue.”

“Wait what?  But what can do that?” asked Spike until he realized something.  “Zecora, did we ever cleaned this Spoon?”

“I don’t think so. Why… Oh!  This may not be good…” said Zecora.  While Zecora panicked about the now unknown potion, Spike stared at it thinking if he should test it or not when suddenly a screen appeared in front of him telling he learned a new skill: Observe.

“...What the hay is this skill?” asked Spike.

Zecora stopped we heard him say that and asked, “Skill?  What skill are you talking about?”

“I just got a new skill named Observe.  Let’s check what it does shall we.  Skill Show.”  said Spike.  After looking through the Spike Skill folder, Spike found that skill observe.  He clicked on it and it told him, ‘Observe:  Learn what things are for just by looking at them but since this not the gamer ability, expect this ability to be a hard to get type of ability.  This skill allows you to see what objects can do if you target an inanimate object.  If used on a living creature, it will have the same effect as Target Status Window.  To use it say observe while looking at something or someone.  Quality level 1. (Active)’

“...Well, that’s convenient.” said Spike, not really feeling any emotion at getting this skill until what it meant sunk in.  “OH CELESTIA WHAT AM I SAYING!  THIS SUPER USEFUL!” screamed Spike.  Spike didn’t realize this but he almost hit Zecora on her snout from his excitement as well as scaring her from the sudden shout.

“So what does your new skill do?” asked Zecora.

“It let’s me identify what items do.  I no longer need to guess what things do with this!”  said Spike.

“Really then, try using it on the potion.” said Zecora.

“Observe.” said Spike looking at the cyan potion.  The skill identified the potion as the Quick Ailment Heal potion.  As he read the items description, he learned that this potion heal sicknesses faster but only works on few ailments.  “Okay, this skill is going get overpowered really fast.” said Spike.

“So what is it?” asked Zecora.

“It’s a Quick Ailment Heal potion.  It has the same effects as the Cure potion but it works faster but doesn’t cure as many things.” said Spike.

“So instant effect?” asked Zecora.

“Yes.” said Spike.

“On a few things.” asked Zecora again.

“Yes and why are you asking so many question like that?” asked Spike.

“You see Spike, mixing potions like that will not give you new good potions.  1 out 10 times it will but the other 9 attempts will be poison potions that look exactly the same as the good potion.  Your observe skill is the only thing that will prevent others and yourself from getting badly hurt but please be careful.” asked Zecora.

“I promise not to let anyone near the potion that I make unless they are labeled.” said Spike.  “Now then, what do I have to do to make the Health potion?”

“For the last potion you need 1 nether wart, 1 glistering melon and 1 life core.” said Zecora.

“... What is a life core?” asked Spike.

“A life core is an object that has a lot of magic in it.  It is commonly found on creatures that should, theoretically, not be alive like for example a Timberwolf.” said Zecora.

“So we are going to hunt Timberwolves then?” asked Spike, really hoping to not doing it.  The Giant Timberwolf was a pain to deal with and he did not want to run into another one again.

“Yes and it will be a very simple process.” said Zecora.  She then walks toward a bottle that has a glowing green light in it.  “With this Coreless Energy, we can attract Timberwolves to us.  We just need to find one that is on its own or in small pack.”

“...It won’t turn giant will it?  Also, we won’t actually kill them, will we?” asked Spike, hoping for the answer to yes.

“Turn giant?  Timberwolves can’t turn giant.  Only reason it can do that is because it evolved from an Alpha Timberwolf and those are very rare  Also, no it won’t die.  The timberwolf will be weaker but it won’t die.” said Zecora.

“Doesn’t alpha mean a pack leader?” asked Spike.

“Yes it does and no it doesn’t at the same time.  Alpha is used on any creature that stands as the leader of their group.  Alpha Timberwolves, on the other hand are sub-species of Timberwolves that are stronger than normal and when in extreme danger and enough comrades, evolve into its next and final evolution called Giant Timberwolf.  Half the time Alpha Timberwolves aren’t even the alphas of their pack.” said Zecora.  “Why did you ask if it would turn giant?”

“I have run into two of them in my time here in Ponyville.” said Spike.

“Wow.” said Zecora.  “You are lucky to stay alive then since Giant Timberwolves are, well, giant.  But that is not important.  Let’s go hunt us some Life Cores.”

When Zecora said that, a picture of the CMC appeared in Spike’s mind and knew that this was not going to turn out right.  From his guess, he is pretty sure that Zecora has never actually hunted Timberwolves since her arrival to Ponyville but who knows he may be wrong.

‘Here is hoping we don’t have trouble.’ though Spike before he and Zecora left to hunt.





Spike currently is really glad that nothing has yet to happen.  But he was curious about something so he turned to Zecora.

“Hey Zecora, why are you so excited to go hunting?” asked Spike.

“It’s the first time that I can go hunting with someone since I came to Ponyville.” said Zecora.

“Okay then.  Never took you for someone that liked to hunt.” said Spike.

“And I never thought I would meet a dragon that did not eat meat.” said Zecora.  Spike froze when she said that.

“...Dragons eat meat?” asked Spike with a horrified look.

“Yes since they can’t develop properly without meat or at least until they reach a 18 years of age.” said Zecora.

“...But I’m 18.” said Spike with a look of absolute terror.  Zecora then also stopped walking.

“...Then you better learn how to hunt in the Everfree.” said Zecora.  She turned to Spike only to see him scared.

“But I don’t want to hurt anyone.” said Spike.  Zecora then realized that no one told Spike that meat is something that he would have to eat at some point and that the never truly crossed his mind.

“Spike, no matter what happens, everyone who knows and loves you will trust you.  It doesn’t matter if you eat meat or not.  It is actually more dangerous for everyone around you if you don’t eat meat because not only will you hurt yourself, at some point you will go feral and eat anything in your sight until you are satisfied.  It’s for the best to learn to hunt and eat meat now before some type of problem happens.”  Although Zecora said all that, she could still see doubt in Spike’s eyes.  She then came up with the perfect set of words to convince Spike to not be afraid of doing this.  “Spike.  If you feel that bad to have to kill an innocent creature for your survival just remember this.  What makes you different from others who kill to survive is that you feel bad just thinking about it.  As long as you respect the creatures that you kill, you will never become some type of monster.”

Spike looked up at Zecora with a pleading look, “...Really?  I won’t become some monster?”

“You only become a monster if you only kill for fun Spike.” said Zecora.  She walked up to him and then hugged him to conform him.  “Besides, I have seen many creatures that do this to so remember that you will never be a monster in my eyes.”

“Thanks.” said Spike.  After wiping his eyes, he said, “Let’s finish this before it gets to dark.”

They both then heard a noise near them and they both turned.  They got closer to the noise, which happen to be on the other side of a bush, to see a lone Timberwolf digging into the ground.

“...For once the world feels nice enough to give me something nice.” said Spike.  Zecora turned to him with a raised eyebrow.  Knowing he had enough of this type of talks, she decided to get back to the thing they were doing, hunting the Timberwolf.  She opened the bottle and almost instantly it turned to their direction.

“Spike, when it comes really close, grab its mouth and do not let him go.” said Zecora and Spike agreed.  They waited just a few more seconds.  “...NOW!”

Spike instantly jumped out of the bush and grabbed shut the mouth of the terrified Timberwolf.  Zecora then jumped out and went to the side of the Timberwolf and punched the it close to its chest.  The blow was so strong it took the Timberwolf apart (from Spike perspective, in reality she kicked it in a really sensitive spot).  She then grabbed a green glowing stick that appeared alongside the other sticks and leaves of the body of the Timberwolf.

“Here we go.  One Life Core safely secured.” said Zecora.  Spike was just standing in the same spot with his mouth opened.  The moment Spike grabbed the mouth of the Timberwolf was pointless since Zecora reached and destroyed it a second after Spike touched the mouth.  Spike shook his head and was about to say something when a small earthquake happened.  They both looked around in a panic until they saw a single tree sprout right where the Timberwolf was digging.

“Zecora, is it normal for trees to sprout out of the ground to full size in a couple of seconds after Timberwolf dug into its spot.” asked Spike while looking at the tree from his spot.

“Yes but it usually means bad things.” said Zecora who also has not moved from her spot and was looking at the tree.

“Why?” asked Spike not turning to her.

“Most creatures evolve in some way shape or form and Timberwolves are no exception.  It first starts as a Baby Timberwolf but after a few years of growth and training, it evolves into a regular Timberwolf.  After that, Timberwolf can evolve into one of three evolutions.  The first and easiest form for a Timberwolf to evolve into is the Alpha Timberwolf which can later evolve into its final form the Giant Timberwolf.  It evolves into a Giant Timberwolf when the Alpha Timberwolf is in extreme danger and surrounded by ally Timberwolf.  Second form a Timberwolf can evolve into is the Oak Timberwolf.  It evolves into an Oak Timberwolf after it has lived for roughly 100 years without falling apart.  If an Oak Timberwolf then lives for another 200 years without falling apart, it becomes and Ancient Timberwolf.  Ancient Timberwolf are extremely tough to take apart but if you do manage to take it apart, it will evolve into a Life Spirit.  Life Spirits are Timberwolves that no longer need a body to live since it can feed off of the energy in the air and it’s commonly considered to be a forest guardian.” said Zecora but before she could finish Spike interrupted her.

“This has to do with the Timberwolf because…” asked Spike.

“If you had let me finish I would had told why it relates to this so let me finish.  The third form of evolutions happens when a Timberwolf searches for place to dig after living on its own for a few months without a pack of other Timberwolves.  After it makes the hole, it jumps in and waits until its body falls apart on its own or someone destroy him.  The name of the evolution is Treant.  Treant are tree monsters that feed on Life Magic rarely leave the spot it was born from.  If the treant manages to feed on enough Life Magic, it will evolve into a Great Treant which is much more powerful.  If the Great Treant finds someone it trusts greatly or its left alone for many years, around 150 years, it while plants its roots or give Life Core to the one it trust and evolve into its final and incredibly rare form the Nymph.  The Nymph then lives the rest of its life where the tree planted its roots or will live with the one it gave its core to.  The reason why Nymphs are so rare is because it dies when its tree dies and Nymphs that live with a companion are almost myth since they happen almost once every 1000 years.” finished Zecora.

“So… a Treant is in front of us?” asked Spike.

“Yes.” said Zecora.

“What is the plan?” asked Spike.

“I want to see what will happen to this Treant so I don’t want to kill it.” said Zecora.

“How far will it chase us if we use plan B?” asked Spike.

“Not to far that is for sure.” said Zecora.  “The Treant is far too young so it doesn’t know its true power just yet so we will live that is for sure.”  After she said that, the tree then opened what appeared to be eyes and looked at them.

“So… Plan B?” asked Spike.

“Yes.” said Zecora.  She then got closer to Spike and asked in a whisper, “What is Plan B?”

“RUN!” screamed Spike just when the Treant gave an ear splitting roar.  The Treant then chased after them through a large portion of the way back home (around ⅚ of the way).  In their rush to get to Zecora’s home, they decide to just plow through everything so by the time they got to her house both were pretty injured.  Okay that was a lie, Zecora was pretty injured, Spike was just sore from some the sticks that hit him.

“*huff* Just drop *huff* everything in the *huff* cauldron since there *huff* is no specific *huff* order to make the potion.*cough*  The effects are better if you *huff* do try to make in different ways.*huff*  Please hurry since *huff* I really need it.” said Zecora who had a wide but not dangerous cut on one side of her body and multiple ones everywhere else.

“I *huff* will make the *huff* best potion to *huff* heal you.” exclaimed Spike in tired manner.

Spike got to work on the Health potion really quickly.  He first cut the glistering melon into 8 pieces and then dropped all of the insides into the the boiling water.  Then he took the Nether Wart and quickly crushed it and placed it in the water as well.  Then he used the Life Core stick to mix the potion and when he saw it was really well mixed, he dropped the stick in.  Before Spike could step away from the cauldron though, the explosion happen.  The explosion was so strong that Spike flew out the nearest window and Zecora crashed into the wall.  Miraculously, everything else was still intact.  Once the explosion ended Zecora ran for a cup and got some of the Health potion and drank it immediately.

“Delicious.” said Zecora already feeling better.  Spike then walked in at the right moment to see Zecora’s cuts slowly closing themselves.

“Are the cuts on your body supposed to close that quickly?” asked Spike.  Zecora looked at her cuts and noticed them closing faster than she thought they would for a first attempt Health Potion.

“...And you passed the rank 1 Brewer Test.” said Zecora.

“The what now?” asked Spike.

“You see Spike, back in Zebrica there are test called Brewer Test.  Brewer Test are done to Zebras that want to become potion brewers.  By passing ten test, these brewers would be allowed to make any and all potions and recognized as potion brewing masters.” said Spike.

“Cool.” said Spike.  “Question, why was the explosion so powerful?  I mean aside from the fact that I am awesome, it shouldn’t have exploded like that right or was it that I used the Live Core correctly by accident?”

“Actually, you made the potion the exact correct way.” said Zecora.

“So perfect potions have explosions of that much force?  That has got to hurt.” said Spike.

“That is why I always have many pre made potions.” said Zecora.

“One more question before I leave then.  What is a Live Core specifically?” asked Spike.  “We went looking for one because we needed it but I have no idea what it actually was.  I have been thinking about it for a while and from what you said when we ran into the treant, it made realize something but because I’m not one hundred percent sure if I'm right, I just had to ask.”

“Mmm.  Oh a Live Core is an everyday object infused with a lot of raw Life Magic.” said Zecora.  She turned to look at Spike and noticed he had no emotions showing.

“...Zecora, I want to test something out so can I borrow an item you don’t plan to use.” said Spike in a monotone voice.

“Yes…?” said Zecora.  She went to one of her shelfs and brought out a broken spoon.  “Here.”

Before grabbing the spoon, Spike said “Transform Gunvolt” and then said “Life Mode.”  When he said that, his body started to radiate a lot of Life Magic instead of Electric Magic.  The lines from his body also changed from blue to green showing the magic that was currently flowing through him.  He then grabbed the spoon from a flabbergasted Zecora.

“Ready.” he said more to himself then to Zecora.  He then started to channel Life Magic into the spoon until it reached a similar level of glow to the other Live Core that was used.

“...So I really could make them…” said Spike.  Zecora said nothing since she was now even more flabbergasted at the second incredible thing she saw.  Spike then saw a skill be created before he felt the new Live Core float out of his hand and create… a baby Timberwolf.  Both Spike and Zecora stared at the puppy with wide eyes.

“Woof.” said the puppy.

“Welp, I’m going home.” said Spike acting as if nothing happened.  He then left Zecora’s hut and walked back to the castle, never noticing the puppy following him after barking good bye to Zecora.  All Zecora did was pass out from the overload of surprises that happened that moment.