//------------------------------// // Testing the Drinks of Wisdom // Story: The Redemption of a Never Ending Ambition // by Time Reaper //------------------------------// When Trixie heard that Greed and Weight Lifter were short on money, she wasn’t expecting them to be so broke that they could only live under a bridge, not that it seemed to mind either of her new ‘business partners’ who were trying to put all of their stuff on wooden tables that looked as if they were about to break. “Well” -, Greed said as he got comfortable on a sofa that had many of its parts missing or breaking up, - “put yourself comfortable before we start the training.” Trixie looked at Greed curiously as she tried to understand his words. “Training? Aren’t you going to first teach Trixie a new way of alchemy?” Greed looked at her relaxed and without a worry while holding a finger up, which was pointing at her. “Yes, we are, but alchemy is something that requires both a mental and physical fortitude. You need both a strong mind as well as a physical body and I need to see how well are you both on the mind as well as the body before I can properly plan a way to teach you.” Trixie frowned at that, ready to complain, but the memory of Greed recovering from that wound made her just snort as a response and search for a place to sit down. She started to look around the slum to see where she could sit properly but, to her surprise, there wasn’t much where she could put herself comfortable. There were only two wooden chairs, one of them being used by Weight Lifter (who was on the table, taking out the stuff in their bags) and the other one being empty, the sofa Greed was sitting on and only one bed, which is what brought the most curiosity to Trixie. “Wait? Who sleeps on the bed?” Trixie’s question prompted the dragon and unicorn to look back at the worn out bed, then to each other, and seriously responded at the same time. “We take turns.” And seeing no other place free, she decided to sit on the worn out and not so comfortable bed, making Trixie wonder how those two managed to get some sleep on the thing. It was during this time when Trixie would try to look at how Greed and Weight Lifter behaved on their private time. She started to see how Weight Lifter just started to pull out, with his hooves, flasks, glasses and other similar things to hold liquids; he also pulled out some books, quills, feathers and, most strange of all, flowers and fruits (being the only things he touched with his magic) which then prompt him to start reading the books, hold some of the fruits and then take some notes on one of his ledgers. Greed, meanwhile, just stood there quietly as he started to space out, looking at the roof for a while. It was hard to tell if he was asleep or not, since he was looking away from Trixie, but, she guessed, he was probably awaken as he would, from time to time, pick up a book and read a few pages before putting it back down and then space out again. Trixie wasn’t sure how long this lasted, she felt as if this lasted a few hours but, from all she knew, these were only a couple of minutes. Nonetheless, her patience was wearing thin and she wanted to either learn a new trick for her show or to leave this wretched place. “Trixie thought that you were going to teach her something? When are we going to train?” Greed turned around and gave her a simple look before responding with nod. “I think this is a good moment to start our training” -. He then lift himself up and started to move a few meters away from the place. – “Come, if we are going to train, I would like it to be out of the working zone. We wouldn’t like our stuff to get damaged because we weren’t careful enough.” Trixie nodded while rolling her eyes, finally getting what she wanted, and started to follow Greed a few meters away from the slum they had as a house. When Greed got to a point where he felt safe to teach her, he turned around and asked Trixie (while still holding his humble smile) what did she know of alchemy in general. Taken aback by this question, she tried to respond at the best of her knowledge. “Well, from what Trixie can remember” -, she said while holding a hoof on her mouth as she was thinking about the subject, - “alchemy is looked as a weakened version of what we have today known as magic.” She then started to look at the walls as if they held the little information that she was trying to remember. “Unlike unicorn magic, which can be used in multiple ways with the user being the only limiting factor, most of the time, alchemy has many stiff rules that makes it practically useless when compared to what an unicorn can usually do with common magic.” Greed simply smiled and started to add. “Well, yes, and that is why, what I’m going to teach you on alchemy, will really help you out on your show.” Trixie looked at Greed as if he grew an extra head and wondered what he meant by that as she let him talking. “You see, what many of the scholars don’t understand when studying alchemy, is that it allows you to do things that goes beyond what magic can actually do, but only if you work by the rules and the main one is the Rule of Equivalent Exchange.” Now this got Trixie’s attention. “Rule of Equivalent Exchange? What is that?” Greed simply stood calm and continued. “It’s quite simple, actually, it consist on the idea that, in order to get something, you must first give out something else of equal value” -. He then started to grab some fragments of rock on the floor as well as an empty bottle he found on the ground and continued. – “All of these materials you can find surrounding you are made from certain components and, with alchemy and by understanding them, you can decompose almost anything and then remake it into that of which you want to create but only on an equivalent level of what you used first as a base for the alchemy to work. Did you get that?” Trixie had a brief moment where she almost lost Greed, not that she would ever admit it, but she managed to understand him. She nodded. “Good” -. Greed Continued. – “Now you understand the main rule to do transmutation through alchemy from my homeland.” At this Trixie’s curiosity increased. “Wait, and how is that different from Equestria’s alchemy?” Greed decided to wave his index finger at her in a negative form as he responded with confidence. “Ah, ah. That is something we may cover later, suffice to say for now, Equestria’s base knowledge of alchemy is grounded on a very different, fundamental level; compared to what the alchemy I know off is based on. Very different at their core and is that what will give you a great trick the next time you decide to impress your audience with something never seen before.” It was then when Trixie started to feel that same sensation she got when Greed offered her that deal just a few hours ago. The sensation of being given something beyond compare and that would give her the edge needed to finally defeat Twilight Sparkle. “And what is that trick you are talking about?” Trixie thought that Greed was finally going to talk but he just decided to smile and keep on waving his index finger. “No, no, Trixie. We are too far from that, you still need to understand that fundamental levels of what my alchemy is based on. The Rule of Equivalent Exchange was the first step and we now have to take the next metaphorical step: Everything is connected.” To say that Trixie was confused would be an understatement for that didn’t make much sense to her. Yes, somethings were connected, like magic, plants, etc. But how was possible for everything in general to be connected? Connected to what for that matter? And, most importantly, how was that related to Alchemy? To this, Trixie decided to respond with what many would respond: total anger and bafflement. “What does that even mean and how is that related to alchemy!? Are you trying to make a fool out of The Great and Powerful Trixie!?” Unbeknown to them, Thorax, who heard Trixie’s outburst, would mumble, – “there’s no need for that, you already do it on your own” -, and continued on his analysis over the everfree plants as he then started to pulverize some of them and added them to some of the glasses. Greed, meanwhile, would simply shrug and respond with complete certainty. “Look, this is a fundamental principle for alchemy in general. If you cannot understand this, then you failed in alchemy overall” -. His face then started to smile, showing his sharp teeth, and added. – “Is The Great and Powerful Trixie admitting that she cannot understand this?” Trixie started to blush, taken aback by Greed’s challenge, and she decided to respond the exact way Greed was expecting her to act. “Nonsense, The Great and Powerful Trixie is capable of understanding anything she dares to understand” -. She then gave a thought to what Greed said and added, quite humbly. – “But The Great and Powerful Trixie would appreciate if some clarity could be given.” Greed put his right hand on his chin and decided to think about it for a moment. For how long he did, Trixie wasn’t sure but, in the end, he decided to accept Trixie’s request. “Alright then” -, Greed started to say with the same confident tone he always wore on his face, - “I suppose I could give you some help.” He then decided to get closer to Trixie and, when he was face to face, he asked her with his cocky grin. “Do you know what happens to a plant when it dies, or rather, why it can die?” Trixie tried to think about it but, as hard as she tried, only one logical conclusion came to her head. “It can die because it has no sun to keep it alive?” Greed frowned at that, so he decided to go back to where Weight Lifter was located as he responded. “Technically correct but that’s not the answer we’re looking for.” Trixie was about to shout in frustration when Greed added. “Perhaps you should stick around Weight Lifter if you want to get a better idea of what I mean.” Trixie, once more, was about to complain but the question was challenging enough to keep her mind working, so she decided to follow suit and went to see in what was Weight Lifter working on. Unsurprisingly enough, it was quite boring as all he did was looking at some plants, apparently create a drink out of them and take notes from whatever resulted from the drink. After watching for a while, Trixie decided to take a look at the notes he was making but, before she could even grab them, Weight Lifter quickly levitated them back into his saddlebag as he started to glare at Trixie, making her to make a sheepish grin before trying to justify herself. “Sorry, but Trixie is quite bored and hoped that, whatever you have written would give Trixie some idea of what Greed meant with his ‘everything is connected’ nonsense.” Weight Lifter looked at her for a moment as he tried to give a thought to Trixie’s current mental challenge. In the end though, his mind didn’t give him a proper answer. “Sorry but I don’t think I can figure that one out” -. His mind tried to crack the code once more but frustration was his only response. – “I... actually can’t figure it out as hard as I try. Greed actually wants you to figure it out? Are you sure it wasn’t a trick question?” For a brief moment, Trixie considered the possibility but, after seeing the sleeping Greed and remembering how he was looking at her after showing his regenerating ability, she quickly dismissed the idea. “No, Trixie is certain that there is an answer to this riddle and she plans to find it.” After that, Trixie remained idle for two hours before giving up and tried to see what Weight Lifter was doing. Again. “So” -, Trixie said as she tried to process the unicorn’s explanation, - “you are seeing what kind of drinks can be made with those plants and fruits?” – After seeing Weight Lifter nod, Trixie made the next question. – "And from where did you get them?" - She got shocked when Weight Lifter responded that it came from the Everfree Forest, after digesting the answer, she made the real question that should be made. - “Is that ethical or legal?” Weight Lifter shrugged as he aimed his right foreleg at Greed’s sleeping figure. “Well, according to the one who decided to spend multiple sleepovers reading Equestrian laws, yes, we can do it (especially because nopony else has done any type of drink with content from the Everfree) but we’re taking our time to ensure that the drinks will be as safe as an alcoholic drink (or infusion) can be.” Trixie gave the drinks a glance as she noticed how some of this tea like drinks (like the light red one or the yellow one) looked quite nice but there were others (like the deep blue or the smoking purple drinks) that looked more like downright poison rather than a relaxing drink. “And are you sure those two are safe to drink?” Weight Lifter looked at the blue and purple drinks with complete uncertainty on his features as he tried to make a comprehensible answer. “I’m… actually not sure. The blue one is made out of concentrated Poison Joke while the purple one was made of…” – He then started to read through his notes to see what was the fruit that created such horrible looking drink but he then started to frown. – “Actually, I cannot find the note regarding them.” He then turned toward the sleeping beauty known as Greed. “Hey! Greed!” The purple dragon started to move and looked into Weight Lifter’s direction. Trixie took note that Greed had a habit of sleeping with his glasses on. “What did we use to create this purple drink?” Greed watched the dubious drink for a brief moment before looking back at where the other drinks were located. After some brief thinking, he quickly responded. “I think that one was made out of some blue berries we found on the Everfree and it originally was between blue and lavender, so it’s interesting to see the drink being purple now.” Weight Lifter quickly started to look back at his notes, while Greed decided to get closer to the drink, and quickly found what he was looking for. “Oh yeah, here they are. It says here that eating them may cause the user to feel in a state between awaken and happiness but it can also cause rash on the skin.” As Weight Lifter said this, Greed took the drink and started to smell it, much to Trixie’s disgust. “Weight Lifter, when did we make this drink?” Hearing Greed, the unicorn decided to look back at his notes and answered quickly. “About two days ago, why?” Greed then decided to make one more sniff to the drink before answering with glee. “Because I think it’s already fermented.” Weight Lifter quickly took note of it as he saw Greed dumping the whole drink on him, much to the two unicorn’s worry. “Are you insane?” – Shouted Trixie with complete worry in her voice. – “Aren’t you worried this could kill you?” Greed smiled briefly as he simply answered with a complete lack of worry on his voice. “Don’t worry, I doubt a simple drink can kill me off that easily. Besides, someone must drink this stuff to know if it’s ready for the bar and I don’t plan to put others in risk when I know I can easily survive this stuff.” A few seconds passed as Greed’s face started to smile but his body then started to throw small red sparks, followed by Greed no longer looking happy and then talked to Weight Lifter with complete calm. “Weight Lifter. I think we better mix this thing with other drinks, otherwise, I doubt it’s safe to give to future customers.” Weight Lifter quickly took note of it and started to see what kind of drinks could be compatible with it as Greed told him how it tasted and what he felt after drinking the beverage. To hear that he felt invincible and capable of seeing the flow of light wasn’t taken lightly, especially for poor Trixie who couldn’t grasp how Greed was using himself as a guinea pig for something as dumb as a bar. “Greed” -, Trixie started to say as soon as her mind processed what she just saw, - “could you please tell Trixie why you, having an ability that goes beyond what any other living thing, in all of Equestria, could even dream to have, are wasting all of that on something as pointless and stagnant as a drinking bar?” For a brief moment Greed looked at Trixie with a puzzling look, made even harder to solve since Greed never removed his shades. He then moved his hand behind his neck as he started to give a warm smile and chuckled a bit. “I suppose that is a good question, after all, why to aim for a little bar when I could strive for more, right?” – He then started to look up to the sun and his smile started to increase as his sharp teeth started to show. – “I suppose it could be said that it’s the first step of my overall plan.” This caught both Trixie’s and Weight Lifter’s attention as they started to pay more attention to Greed’s figure overall and, for a brief moment, it looked as if his body started grow a little bit but both of the unicorns dismissed the idea and forgot about it as Greed continued to talk. “I am Greed, I want everything but, in order to get what I want, I first need to make a name that everybody can get to know. To be known, I first need to tons upon tons of money; and, to have so much money, I first need to work for it.” He then started to look back at both Trixie and Weight Lifter with his confident face, as it radiated a feeling of trust that made them want to follow him. “That bar is just how I decided to start all of this but do not think I plan to stay there. I plan to reach the top of the world and, I promise, you’ll be there with me to watch it.” He then looked at the drinks, plants, fruits and other instruments they gathered from the Everfree Forest and continued. “And, regarding the drinks, look: if I didn’t drink them, then they would be the dinner of some creature from the Everfree so I was just ending their life cycle.” As she heard this, Trixie decided to think about what Greed just said and mulled on his words for the next following hours as she saw how Weight Lifter would make a beverage that Greed would later drink to see if it was safe or not to drink (yet) with some of Greed’s comments regarding the effects of the liquids he ingested before his abilities nullified the ailments. “This one” -, he said talking about the yellow liquid Weight Lifter made as an infusion, - “tasted like honey but I think it gave me an indigestion” -, hearing his stomach still grumbling even though he should no longer feel any side effects brought some concern to the three figures, - “and I think I need to go now, I’ll be back soon!” And, just like that, Greed ran for the closest place he could use as a bathroom while Weight Lifter quietly decided to write down a potential name for the drink: “Sweet Express.” Seeing all of this forced Trixie to release a chuckle as she decided to keep on thinking how Greed was now giving back what he took. And it was here when the epiphany came to her. Trixie’s eyes grew wide as shock filled her face, her mind finally understanding what Greed was trying to make her understand. “Everything is connected.” Weight Lifter looked at her with curiosity as he wanted to know if Trixie finally figured out Greed’s riddle. “Trixie finally gets it: the plants get their food from the sun, they are eaten by another creature, which is then eaten by another one and so on and so forth until it reaches an apex predator, who will then die and give all that energy back to the ground, which will be then used to create a new plant and the cycle begins anew.” She then remembered Greed’s words of what he plans to achieve and realized that even all of that was connected. “Trixie sees now” -. She then started to remember her own lifestyle before Ponyville, how she used to work hard to get some bits and even her plans to get revenge on Sparkle and realized the truth. – “If Trixie wants to achieve her dreams, she needs to put more than just words into it. She needs to give more than just a show; she needs to give her best in order to get what she wants so much.” “Well, I’m glad to know you got it so fast.” Trixie turned to see Greed just coming back from wherever he went to and he was looking at her with his usual confident grin. Trixie just smiled and started to move as if she were in the middle of one of her stage shows. “For The Great and Powerful Trixie, there is no riddle too hard to solve neither challenge too hard to surpass.” Weight Lifter snickered at that. “Yeah, right. And Greed giving you so many hints had nothing to do with it.” Trixie blushed as she snarled at Weight Lifter for his comment. “Oh, shush you. The Great and Powerful Trixie would have still solved it eventually.” “Anyways” -, Greed interrupted before the situation could escalate, - “what matters now is that you finally understood both the main rule of alchemy as well as its most important principle. By understanding the meaning of these two, we can now start practicing alchemy.” When Trixie heard this, she started to look at Greed with anxiousness, wondering what kind arcane secrets he would show her. Her mind started to create images and dreams of herself using vast and powerful magic that would swoop down Twilight Sparkle and would earn her the love and appreciation of all the ponies in Equestria. “Oh, Great and Powerful Trixie!” – Begged the Twilight in Trixie’s mind. – “Please show mercy and accept me as your student for you are the greatest unicorn in Equestria.” She could dream of Princess Celestia recognizing her superior skills. “I Princess Celestia, hereby decree that The Great and Powerful Trixie shall become a professor at my school for gifted unicorns where she’ll be the first unicorn in history to teach alchemy.” Trixie couldn’t stop herself from dreaming on the possibilities. She was certain that the journey would be hard but it would be so worth it. That is why it was required from Greed to throw a piece of chalk at her head to bring Trixie’s mind back to the land of the living. Trixie was about to shout at him, but she then noticed that he was looking at her seriously while his right index finger was pointing at the chalk he threw at her. “Alright then, now that I have your attention once again, I think we can continue our training.” His smile then came as if he were anticipating something great to come from Trixie. “Draw a circle.”