“Pass me the lavender, hun,” Brook asked with a proffered hoof.
“Course, Brook,” Rockhoof replied. “Which—”
“The crushed lavender, please.”
“Right.”
Grabbing the requisite bowl of the noted ingredient off of a nearby shelf, Rockhoof passed the fragrant herb to Meadowbrook, who promptly tossed the concoction into the cauldron. She stirred it evenly with a long wooden ladle three times clockwise, which caused a sweet scent to emanate and fill the room.
“Thanks, hun. You’re the best assistant a gal could ask for.”
“Thank ya kindly, but I would think Mistmane, or Stygian would be better choices.”
“Not necessarily. You listen to me and are perfect for any material grinding. Those two aren’t bad, but Mistmane has too delicate a touch for the mortar and pestle, and Stygian has his own ideas about how a potion should be brewed.” Meadowbrook huffed. “I love the goofer, but he can be a bit of a know-it-all at times.”
A snort. “Like with the sphinx riddles?”
Meadowbrook released a hearty laugh. “I was just thinking about that. Ended up absolutely gobsmacked when Somnambula swooped in and answered all of the sphinx’s riddles before he even had time to think about it. Thankfully, Stygian can take the hit to his pride with grace, unlike another we know of.”
“Flash or Swirl?”
“Yes,” Meadowbrook answered simply. “Could you pass me some coriander, hun?”
“Seed or leaf?”
“Leaf.”
Rockhoof grabbed a few stalks from a nearby bowl in his hoof and passed them to Meadowbrook, who threw them into the pot, transforming the concoction to a dark shade of yellow.
“Do you really think this will work?” Rockhoof asked.
“Hopefully,” Meadowbrook answered. “A true sight potion to find a route out of this place isn’t something I would typically make for such a task, but since you told me none of my other ideas would work, I don’t have too many options left to work with.”
“Aye. I’m just glad you believed me.”
“Why wouldn’t I? You’re trustworthy and, besides that, you’re terrible at lying.” She giggled. “Remember when you tried to hide the reason you kept sneaking out of camp so often?”
“A-aye,” Rockhoof relented, his face burning.
Meadowbrook shot Rockhoof a mischievous look. “Now, now. No need to be embarrassed. Just because I don’t—” The concoction emitted a melodic note and shimmered brightly drawing Meadowbrook’s attention to Rockhoof’s relief. “—Oh! It’s done.”
“Are ya sure I couldn’t try it first?” Rockhoof asked hesitantly.
“Absolutely not. You said so yourself that other potions don’t behave the way they should in here. I could never live with myself if you were harmed by one of my own brews.”
She withdrew a small glass vial from a pouch in her saddlebags and ladled a mouthful into the container. Swirling it at eye level, she watched the concoction with a focused expression. When the potion began to emit a golden glow, Meadowbrook hummed in satisfaction.
“Now, just need to drink and then we should be out of here shortly.”
As Meadowbrook tipped the vial toward her mouth, memories surged to the surface of Rockhoof’s mind. Meadowbrook convulsing. Ooze bubbling from her mouth. The slowing of her movements as—
He grabbed the vial out of Meadowbrook’s hoof, and, before she could react, drank it in one gulp. It tasted herby and like liquid sunshine.
“Rockhoof!” Meadowbrook exclaimed.
“I’m sorry, lass, but—”
His heart thumped hard in his chest as he felt his lungs struggle to breathe. He collapsed onto the floor, his legs giving out. He clutched his chest forcing his organs to function through sheer will.
Meadowbrook was by his side in mere moments, holding his head between her hooves. She was trying to ask him something, but his hearing had deafened.
Darkness edged in from the corners of his vision. The last thing he saw was the tear-stricken, distraught face of Meadowbrook.
“That’s rather unfortunate. I’m not really sure what I can do then if none of those potions worked,” Meadowbrook commented after Rockhoof had finished citing the list of past failures.
“Is there not some kind of dispel potion?” Rockhoof asked.
“That’s something more in line with spellwork, not potions. There aren’t really any recipes for something of that sort, even though…” She trailed off, appearing thoughtful.
“Have an idea, lass?” Rockhoof smirked, knowing the expression.
“Well, if I just… and maybe… Rockhoof, could you—?”
“What do you need?”
“To start, some basil and lotus flowers. After that, we’ll see what happens.”
The next few minutes were a blur as Brook gave out orders and Rockhoof followed them to the best of his ability. A shimmering clear concoction began to form within the cauldron that Meadowbrook tended to. After the experimental potion had bubbled for a few minutes, she spooned an amount into a vial from her pouch and swirled the contents lightly within the container. It pulsed white light twice.
“So, you think it’ll work?” Rockhoof asked.
“I don’t know.” Meadowbrook tucked the vial securely into a pouch on her saddlebags. “Theoretically, it should dispel whatever magic is sealing the door in the foyer.”
“Meaning that, if the potion works…”
“We should all be able to leave this place.” Uncertainty crossed her face. “But it’s untested, assuming this kind of purpose is even possible for a potion. They really aren’t meant for this kind of thing and I worry what other effect it may have in place of its intended function.”
“We won’t know if we don’t try. If you’re worried, I could test—”
A harsh glare. “Rockhoof, you know my policy on testing new potions. If I’m unsure of the effect, I’m the only one that uses it.”
Pushing back the memories of past loops, Rockhoof replied, “Course, Brook. I would never overstep into your domain.”
She nodded once. “Good. Now, I suppose we should make our way to the door and try this one out.”
“As we should. After you,” Rockhoof said gesturing toward the door.
Meadowbrook took the offer and trotted into the hallway, with Rockhoof following close behind. They walked side-by-side, keeping an eye out for anything dangerous, until they reached the main foyer. A large open area with vaulted ceilings, with multiple staircases and corridors shooting off into the different parts of the mansion.
The entrance stood prominently to one side of the room, a massive solid-oak double door blocked by a shimmering barrier. Carved into the wood were six circles centered on a central one. One of the outer circles was lit up with a pale blue glow.
“That’s new,” Meadowbrook said.
“I don’t remember that being lit up before,” Rockhoof added.
“Well, we can examine it further when the dispel potion hopefully does its job. Step back, Rockhoof.”
“Brook—”
She pinned Rockhoof with a harsh glare. “You know my stance on this matter.”
With a begrudging nod, Rockhoof stepped back several paces. Once Meadowbrook was satisfied with the distance, she took the vial out of her pouch, popped the cork and poured the contents onto the barrier. The shield flickered a few times before dissipating into nothing, leaving clear access to the door.
“We did it!” Meadowbrook exclaimed excitedly as she turned to Rockhoof, who returned her elation with a big grin. “Now, we just need to—”
Suddenly, black smog exploded outwards from the door and flooded the area, obscuring Meadowbrook from view.
“Brook!” Rockhoof shouted.
He charged into the smog as it began to disperse, grabbing onto Meadowbrook, who had collapsed to the floor in a coughing fit. Red scars criss-crossed her body as her fur began to blacken. He held her close, shouting her name as the same effect began to spread along his forehooves.
She smiled up at him, tears in her eyes as her body began to disintegrate along the edges of the scars. His hooves came together suddenly as Meadowbrook became nothing more than dust.
Pain coursed through Rockhoof’s body as he watched the scars begin to spread along his body, darkening the fur it touched. Just as his hooves began to break apart before his eyes, he felt his consciousness fade.
“I know you want to talk, Rockhoof, but I have—” Meadowbrook started.
“Potions won’t work, Brook.” Rockhoof said from his position at the head of the prep table. “Please trust me on this.”
“... Okay.” She took a seat across from him, close enough to touch. “Can I ask how you know they won’t work?”
“I cannot. If I do, my heart will be stopped.”
Meadowbrook’s eyes widened. “What?!”
“It’s a condition placed by upon me by this horrid place, lass. Nothing to be done, and not what I want to talk about.”
She looked like she wanted to inquire further, but instead relented. “Alright, then what did you want to talk about?”
“I wanted to say I was sorry.”
“For what?”
Rockhoof turned away, frowning.
A hoof stretched to encapsulate the other. Meadowbrook rubbed Rockhoof’s hoof affectionately as she leaned closer toward him.
“Talk to me, hun,” Meadowbrook pleaded.
“... I keep failing you.”
“In what way? Is this about us being trapped in this house?” A bittersweet smile spread across her face. “Or is this about my romantic feelings for you from before?”
“The house,” Rockhoof answered. Then added under his breath, “Maybe the second too.”
“I don’t resent you for that.”
“You found out in the worst way possible.”
“I’ll admit, finding the stallion I had been crushing on in a compromising position with the stallion I hated was… not the best, but I let it go because I didn’t want to lose you from my life.”
“It wouldn’t be a huge loss.”
“Hun, no. Look at me.” She grabbed Rockhoof’s face with her other hoof. Rockhoof reluctantly moved to look back. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”
“I should have been more upfront with you. You didn’t—”
“You aren’t obligated to announce your preferences to everyone you meet, just the same as I don’t have a right to know about them because I had a crush on you. Even past that, a relationship between us was doomed from the start, considering what I found out about my own preferences later.”
“I still don’t get it.”
“And you don’t need to. All you need to know is that I need you in my life, but not in the same capacity as the way you are with Som and Flash. I want us to be close, but I now realize that I didn’t want us to be close like that.
“Just keep being you, hun.”
Rockhoof leaned into Meadowbrook’s hoof. “Thank ya, lass. For the reassurance.”
“You always seem to need to apologize for that at least once a moon. I had thought you were due soon.” They both laughed. “Was that all?”
“No, the other bit is harder.” He grabbed Meadowbrook’s hoof with his own, setting his face into a determined line. “I need you to wait.”
“For what?” Meadowbrook asked with a confused tilt of her head.
“Do you remember about the condition I told you about before?” She nodded. “It comes with other things. Things only I can do and it seems to be the only way to get out of here. It allows me to have a chance to save the others, but… I can’t save you. But that just means for right now!” Rockhoof quickly added. “I won’t give up until I can. I need you to know that I would never—”
“It’s okay, Rockhoof,” Meadowbrook gently interjected. “I’ll wait as long as it takes. I have faith in your ability to see this through. Always will.”
“Thank ya, Brook.”
“Anytime. Now, you seem a bit stressed. How about we chat for a while before you go gallivanting off? For a dear friend?”
“For you, I suppose I could, though, ‘Dear Friend’ donnae seem to fit us well.”
“It will suffice for now.” A mischievous grin. “Lest you want another incident like in Som’s home village.”
A choked nervous laugh escaped from Rockhoof as Meadowbrook released a peal of infectious giggles. While they continued to speak of days gone by and days yet to come, a single green light lit up in another part of the mansion.