“Apple Bloom!” Applejack angrily stares down her little sister as she continues. “I done told ya not to make any more of them crazy potions!”
“I didn’t, sis! I swear I didn’t.”
“Really? So you’re gonna tell me that you figured out how all them weird ingredients interact with each other, just on the basis of six tests?”
“Not all by myself; Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle helped out a lot. We figured everything out last night. I can tell you everything you need to know about those eight ingredients, and I can prove it. And if I’m wrong, I’ll do double the chores you gave me for punishment.”
Applejack mulls over her sister’s assertion. “All right … go ahead and explain yourself to me and Zecora.”
“I must admit I’m most intrigued. By all means, Apple Bloom, proceed.”
Apple Bloom takes off her saddlebag and pulls out several pages of notes in additional to the unused potion ingredients. “This first page of notes details the results of the six potions I created,” she explains as she hands a paper to Zecora.
Phoenix Feather + Raven Feather = anti-vitality
Fern + Blue Petal = anti-speed
Mushroom + Toad Stool = wisdom
Phoenix Feather + Toad Stool = speed
Blue Petal + Scorpion Venom = anti-wisdom
Mushroom + Mandrake = soup
“Now,” she continues, “the eight ingredients match up in some way to the eight possible combinations of vitality, speed, and wisdom. I refer to these using three-letter labels, where the letters are all either P for positive or N for negative, and where the first, middle, and last letters refer to vitality, speed, and wisdom, in that order. The eight labels are PPP, PPN, PNP, PNN, NPP, NPN, NNP, and NNN.”
Apple Bloom then pulls out another page of notes. “Now two of the six potions use phoenix feather, and those two potions were anti-vitality and speed; that means that phoenix feather is either NPP or NPN. Similarly, two of the six potions use toad stool, and those two potions were wisdom and speed; that forces toad stool to be either PPP or NPP. More specifically, phoenix feather and toad stool combine to make a speed potion. Now if phoenix feather were NPP, that would force toad stool to be PPP … but in that case, they would combine to make a wisdom potion, not a speed potion. That means that phoenix feather’s got to be NPN.”
Zecora smiles. “So far you’re reasoning sounds okay. What else do you have to say?”
Apple Bloom continues reading from her page. “Now consider raven feather. Since it combines with phoenix feather to make anti-vitality, it has to be either NPP, NNP, or NNN … but it can’t be NPP, since that would combine with phoenix feather to make a speed potion, not an anti-vitality potion. So it has to be either NNP or NNN. The thing is, it can’t be NNN either.”
“Now hold on,” Applejack interrupts. “I know I don’t get everything you’re rattlin’ on about, but how can you possibly know that this ‘raven feather’ can’t be that all-Ns label?”
“Because phoenix feather has the anti-wisdom attribute, and so does both the blue petal and the scorpion venom, since they combine to create an anti-wisdom potion. And there’s only four ingredients with the anti-wisdom attribute; the fourth one has to be mandrake, since its attributes completely cancel out when combined with mushroom, and mushroom has a positive attribute in wisdom as shown by the potion made when combined with toad stool. That’s why raven feather can’t be NNN, so it’s got to be NNP.”
Apple Bloom’s explanation was enough for Applejack to bite her tongue for the remainder of her sister’s presentation.
“Now the fern seedling also has to have the wisdom attribute, for the same reason as that for the raven feather. And because it combined with the blue petal to create an anti-speed potion, it must be either PNP or NNP … but NNP is already taken by raven feather, so fern seedling must be PNP.”
“So far I am most impressed,” Zecora accedes, “but now how do you deduce the rest?”
“Well, the three remaining labels that end with N are PPN, PNN, and NNN; these have to be blue petal, mandrake, and scorpion venom, in some order. But blue petal can’t be PPN since it combines with fern to make an anti-speed potion, and mandrake can’t be PPN since it’s the opposite of mushroom, and mushroom can’t be NNP since we already know raven feather is. That means scorpion venom must be PPN. And now, I know that blue petal has to be NNN; if it were PNN, it would combine with scorpion venom to make a vitality potion, not an anti-wisdom potion. That leaves mandrake to be PNN … and since mushroom is the opposite of mandrake, it has to be NPP. And that leaves only the toad stool, which must be PPP. And … and that’s it, I guess.”
Apple Bloom’s voice trails off, having completed her argument. A broad smile forms on Zecora’s face.
“Bravo, Apple Bloom, you’ve passed the test! Surely, your deduction skills are the best!”
“Well, I couldn’t have done all this without my friends.”
“All the same, you’ve done very well. You have a real gift, I can tell.
Applejack quietly utters ‘We’ll I’ll be,’ then simply smiles at the spectacle.
“I must now put this information to good use, as delaying no longer has an excuse. I thank you again one last time, your abilities are most prime.”
Apple Bloom nods in acceptance and turns to the door, with Applejack following as they depart.
“Apple Bloom,” her sister starts as they walk through the forest towards the farm, “I gotta say, I’m mighty impressed by you an’ your friends. I don’t think any Apple has ever demonstrated such ability in potions or logical reasonin’ before. You got your whole life in front of you, an’ you’re already well on your way.”
“Thanks, Applejack.” Apple Bloom beams, very touched by her sister’s comments.
“Of course, you still got your extra chores for the week.”
“WHAT???” Apple Bloom’s head spins angrily towards her sister. “We had a deal???”
“Yes we did: you agreed to do double the chores if you were wrong, and as it turned out, you were right … but I never agreed to rescind those chores if you were right. You didn’t make no mention of ‘double or nothing’.”
Apple Bloom mutters an incomprehensible ‘ponyfeathers’. Her sister chuckles, then embraces her: “You still got a lot o’ learnin’ left to do … but all the same, I’m real proud of you.”