Chapter 8: Seeking the Solution:
A heavy thump reverberated around the silent library, causing Claudia to look up from her reading. “What was that?” she asked, glancing across the table at the princess who looked pale in the mixed candle and moonlight. “Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost.”
Cadence shook her head, both to disagree with Claudia's statement as well as to clear her head and quiet the worried monologue that was raging in her mind. “I... I don't know, Claudia... this... I... I wasn't prepared for this...”
“Prepared? What are you talking about, Cadence?” the dragon stood up and moved around the table to look at the book that Cadence had knocked to the floor. Bending over to pick it up, she noticed the small black notebook from earlier tumble out from between the pages. Grabbing it as well, she turned it over in her claws, “Was this what you were reading? Cadence, we really need to look for a cure and spending valuable time looking at your husband's old journal is a waste!”
“Chastise me later, please,” the pegasus said, “but... I think you should read it. I think... maybe... this could be the answer we've been looking for.”
Claudia huffed to herself, keeping a scathing comment tucked firmly in her cheek, but she flipped the book open and began reading. I'll just humor her a little. Something obviously startled her, but the likely hood of us finding anything useful in her husband's journal is slim to... Her train of thought trailed off as she began to read the odd entries. Her eyes grew wide as the obsession in his words waxed and waned as the entries progressed. When she reached the end, her claws were shaking. This was a new look at the stallion Cadence had decided to spend her life with, and it was a look that Claudia had not expected.
“It says he made a love potion,” Cadence said, her voice quiet. “a love potion to... help me see the depths of his devotion. Is... is that what this has been?”
Taking a deep breath to calm her own shattered nerves, Claudia spoke slowly, “We don't know that for sure, Princess. I'm sure there's more to this than meets the eye. Besides, if it's true that he made his own potion, he'd have to leave notes somewhere, right? And I've looked through most of his personal books already and I haven't found anything. I'm sure love potion is just a code for... something else.”
Cadence shook her head, taking the book back from Claudia. “As much as I want to believe you, my friend, I'm... sure that whatever Silver Scales was working on- be it an actual love potion or something completely different- it wouldn't be in his already published works.” Carefully, she turned to the last entry and began flipping farther into the book, but the pages were blank.
“Maybe Silver Scales didn't write down his research notes in this journal, Cadence,” Claudia reasoned. “Perhaps there is another book, either in his old rooms or your quarters now, that holds the information on the... love potion spoken of.
The pink mare was about to agree when she noticed scribbles written upside down on the left-hand page of the journal. Turning the book over, she realized they were lists of alchemical ingredients and all had at least one scratch mark through them. Many had more than one. As she began flipping back through the book, she found multiple alchemical circles and other technical script that she couldn't decipher. “I think I just found his notes, Claudia.” She passed the book back as the dragon extended her claws.
“I think you might be right... and that we should show this to Sharp Retort.” Clapping the book shut, the purple dragon hurried to open the library doors. “If we hurry, we might be able to catch the alchemist before she heads to bed for the night.”
~~~
It had been a long two days for the dark blue alchemist and she was ready for a well-deserved rest. Maybe I'll even sleep in tomorrow, she thought as she locked up the last of her rare ingredients in a magic-resistant cabinet. A quiet yawn passed her lips and she stopped to wait it out instead of bumble her way through her own shop. Blinking tears from her eyes, the small mare moved to open the door. She wasn't expecting anypony, she made sure never to schedule appointments after midnight, and was quite irritated to find that there was somepony waiting outside her door. It didn't matter that it was the Princess and her aide, nor did it matter to her that both looked like they'd stepped on a grave. The already snappish mare was exhausted and not willing to deal with any more work.
“What are you two doing?” She asked, pushing her way between them to shut her office door and lock it. “I don't have any more potions for you to take tonight, Princess, and I won't for a while, so unless you are one hundred percent sure you've found the potion you're looking for, I hope you're not looking for me.”
“This is really important, Sharp Retort,” the princess said, her wings rustling against her sides.
“You've been saying that ever since I got roped into this mess, Princess,” Retort glared, turning the key in the lock and sliding it into her saddlebags.
Cadence looked indignant and opened her mouth to argue when Claudia stepped between the two mares and shoved an old book into Retort's face. “We came down here to show you this. We think it might be the answer to Cadence's magical mystery.”
Retort turned her dark blue glare on the dragon, but took the book in her hoof. Expecting to find some simplistic or even amateur potion, she was surprised at the complexity and sheer elegance of the alchemical script on the page. She felt like she was looking into one of her own notebooks and only a second look at the script convinced her that it was not.
“Where did you find this?” the alchemist asked, not taking her eyes off the smoke-stained pages. “Whose book is this?”
“It's Prince Silver Scales' alchemical and personal journal,” Claudia explained. “We found it while looking through his quarters for some library books we needed, well, thought we needed, at least.”
“I thought the Prince was a unicorn,” Retort asked. “Why would a unicorn be interested in Alchemy?”
“The short answer is that it's his special talent,” Cadence explained. “Though I never realized how deeply he dabbled in the art.”
Thoughts of a warm bed and quilted sheets fled the blue mare's mind at the prospect of picking apart the magic of a fellow alchemist. For a moment she almost forgot the Princess and Claudia were in the hall with her. “Ahem,” she coughed and looked back up at the pair, “So you think that the Prince is the one behind your condition?” Saying the words aloud made the already skeptical earth pony raise an eyebrow. “It doesn't seem likely to me.”
“Well...” Cadence shifted uneasily on her hooves, “we aren't sure it is, but in his journal, Silver Scales mentions the desire to create... a powerful potion. And in the end it seems he succeeded. Could you please look through the notes he left and see... what kind of potion it is as well as if it is actually possible to create?”
Sharp Retort almost couldn't hide the glimmer of excitement from her eyes. She loved this kind of work, but suddenly she was hit by another yawn and thoughts of her busy week rushed back into her mind. Sighing, the alchemist promised herself that when this was all over, she'd take a well-deserved vacation. In the meantime... “Of course, Princess. I can't tell how long it will take to piece together these notes. They are well detailed, but scrambled. I will send you word when I have something to show you.”
“That's all I can ask for,” Princess Cadence smiled and turned back towards the stairs to the upper levels of the palace, Claudia following after like a loyal hound. When the hall was empty again except for her, Retort pulled her keyring back and out unlocked her shop door. “Sleep is over-rated anyway.”
~~~
Sharp Retort spent many long hours pouring over the text scribbled in Silver Scales' journal trying to understand the exact nature of the potion he had been trying to create, not realizing that the true purpose was outlined in detail at the other end of the same book. The alchemical circles were the most telling as each type of magic had it's own style of circle and mind-altering spells were the most unique of all. The experienced alchemist knew this on the spot, but the subject of mind-altering magic was extensive- from spells made to convince the victim to disclose secrets to spells made to alter a pony's perception of the world and everything in between.
Eventually the blue mare came to the conclusion that if she was going to figure out the exact purpose of Silver Scales' secret potion, she would have to make it herself. Fortunately, the final potion was easy to find. It was the first set of ingredients not to have been struck through several times as well as being marked by stars in the margins of the page on either side. “A pinch of cloud, a bright rainbow's glow. Stir with a pegasus feather, fast not slow. Hmph, he even made it rhyme. How clever.”
The elements for the potion were rare, even in the Capital City of the Crystal Empire, but there was one supplier in town who always seemed to have more than his fair share of rare ingredients. “I think it's about time to pay my old friend Half Penny a visit,” Retort smiled slightly as the first morning bell rang.
~~~
The market place was bustling, even so early in the morning. Many housewives did their shopping early, both to get the freshest produce and to catch the best deals in the open market. Retort wove her way between the stalls, ponies, and crates that clogged the otherwise spacious main roads looking for on shop in particular. It wasn't on the main road, but was tucked in an alley between two larger and much brighter stores. A rickety sign swung over the main door, distinguishing it from the other back alley doors. Half Penny Alchemy, the sign read. The paint darkening the carved words was faded and peeling, but Retort felt it only added to the charm of the little shop.
She pushed the door open, causing a little bell over the door to jingle which drew a pale blue earth pony out from the back room. Half Penny smiled and nodded to the younger mare, “Good Morn to you, Ma'am. And what brings you to this side of town so early?”
“Oh you know, the usual,” Retort's voice didn't carry its usual air of sarcasm as she spoke to a fellow alchemist. “I was wondering if you had some... special ingredients around.”
The taller stallion arched an eyebrow, “special, how?”
“Special... rare,” the mare vaguely elaborated. “I'm looking for ethereal elements, if you have any in stock.”
“I might,” the stallion said, “but they are horribly difficult to get a hold of, so there is no guarantee I have what you're looking for.”
“I'm not looking for much, just a few ingredients. Rainbow glow, cloud, and pegasus feathers.”
Half Penny whistled softly, “those are rare in these parts, Retort. Especially the pegasus feathers. I'm not even sure I have any.”
“I'm sure I could convince you to check for me,” the mare moved up to the counter and set a small stack of coins down in front of the stallion.
Glancing between the coins and his customer, Half Penny slid the golden bits into his hoof and slid them into a pocket of the apron he wore. “Sure, I'll go check for you now, though I can't promise anything.”
“I would never expect you to,” Retort smiled as she moved back into the shop. She browsed the shop, looking for some of the other, less common ingredients that she needed for other potions that she made. Half Penny's often had what she was looking for, but not always in an easy to find place. She was still searching a shelf in the front of the store for pink sea coral when the shop-keeper returned.
“You're in luck, I do have some pegasus feathers,” he said, laying the hoof-full of feathers out for the young alchemist to inspect. One was a bright yellow, two were green, and the rest were either blue or violet. All extremely common variations. Still, it was better than nothing.
“How many are you willing to part with?” the mare asked, gently picking one up to stroke between her hooves. It wasn't an uncommon practice to dye bird feathers in brighter hues in an effort to make a profit by counterfeiting them as the much rarer, higher quality pegasus feathers, but these seemed to be real horse feathers.
The shop-keeper thought about it for a moment, “I suppose that depends on what you're willing to pay.” His response didn't surprise Retort at all, she'd placed the ball in his court and he'd simply tossed it right back to her.
Sneaky stallion, she smiled to herself. “The problem is I haven't bought pegasus feathers in a long while and I have no clue what the asking price is. I would hate to try and cheat you out of a honest living. Especially when we're dealing with such costly goods.”
Half Penny was quiet for a long moment before he responded, “I won't take anything less than 20 bits per feather.”
Retort whistled quietly under her breath, but didn't let any discomfort show on her face. She smiled and shook her head, “I'm sorry, but I can't pay any more than 15 bits.”
“Look, I know you work at the palace, you can pay whatever it takes to get your ingredients. 20 bits or take your business elsewhere.”
“Half Penny, be reasonable. You and I both know you're the only alchemist in town that stocks rare ingredients like pegasus feathers. And even if somepony else managed to get their hooves on some, they'd be as fake as the glass in your windows. I'll pay you 18 bits a feather, no more.”
The blue stallion nodded slowly, “very well, 18 bits each, no more, no less.”
“I knew you would be reasonable, my friend.” Retort smiled as she passed the shop-keeper her bits and gathered up seven of the feathers. “Now, about the clouds...”
~~~
An hour later Sharp Retort exited the small shop, her saddlebags full of alchemical elements, including the clouds and rainbow glow needed to recreate Silver Scales' strange potion. Excited and ready to work on dissecting the complicated potion, despite a lack of sleep the previous night, the mare trotted back to the castle.
Back in her underground shop, Sharp Retort carefully lit several candles and covered them with clear glass domes that had three tiny holes bored in the top to let air flow through. The potential for strange and occasionally explosive alchemical smoke was extremely high, especially when working with prototype potions, but the mare still needed light to see by. Satisfied that she had plenty of light to work by, the mare moved to set up the rest of her workspace, and she started by locking the door.
I don't need any unexpected visitors walking in on me, she thought as she set up the journal on her book stand, making sure it stayed open to the correct page. She next pulled out the three ingredients specified- Clouds, rainbow glow, and pegasus feathers- as well as several beakers and measuring devices. The Prince was unfortunately vague when describing how much of each ingredient was necessary. I suppose I'll just have to use some trial and error. No big deal.
She quickly started mixing variations of the potion with only the first two ingredients- cloud and rainbow glow- setting aside the potions that stayed stable and tossing out the several that were too unbalanced that they imploded, filling the small room with rancid pink smoke.
When the alchemist was sure that she had several potions to work with, she began stirring them with the few pegasus feathers she had, taking into account the admonition to stir quickly rather than with the slow, controlled movements other potions required. These potions turned a blue-violet color that looked vaguely like grape juice in contrast to the cotton-candy like potion they started out as. But one could hardly call that a potion, Retort mused. A potion is classified as a liquid or semi-liquid used to achieve a result. The end result from these first two ingredients being mixed is most certainly not a liquid. I suppose it would have to be classified as a second stage element, which then it would make sense that the activating catalyst is another element and not, say, just as simple as stirring the potion with a silver stir stick.
Turning around, the mare moved across the room to a counter that was conspicuously clear of any alchemical agents except for a small rack of silver vials, each filled with a clear liquid. Lifting the rack carefully, Sharp Retort brought it back over to the counter she had been working on, careful not to let any of the potions get stuck behind it. Picking up the first beaker of grape-purple potion, she carefully poured a small dose into the first clear potion in the rack. Swirling it once with a stir stick, she moved carefully down the line, making sure to pour the exact same amount of liquid into each of the seven vials. After stirring the last bit of potion together, she retrieved another rack of the clear potions and began again, this time with a different beaker of the grape-potion.
She did this three more times with a new beaker each time. The clear vials contained magically neutral agents that when mixed with alchemical ingredients or potions would slowly turn a certain color depending on what kind of ingredient or potion was mixed in. After completing the five different tests, Retort moved to check the first batch.
Each vial had turned a different color, as was to be expected. Each vial contained a different agent created to seek out certain properties in a potion. Using one would be insightful, but a potion's true purpose could only be divined by using a combination of these potions. The more a potion was tested, the more accurate the resulting discovery would be.
Retort pulled down a large almanac of test results taken from other experiments with similar agents. It was the only book that she always kept in her possession and one she would die, or kill, to keep. Carefully she opened the book and began searching for the potion that would most match the first vial's new color and slowly she continued down the line until she found a single potion that closely fit all seven vials she had tested. Glancing at the book the mare looked confused. That can't be right... Shaking her head, she was at first able to convince herself it was a fluke, but as she searched for matching results from her other four tests, the results came back the same.
Finally the mare sat back and sighed heavily. “What we have here is a powerful love potion.”
~~~
The next night Claudia and Cadence again met in the castle under croft where Retort had her office. The two were surprised that the alchemist had called them back so quickly, neither of them had expected to hear hide or hill from the mare for at least a week, but neither were going to complain. If Retort had wanted to see them, it was for a good reason, whether for good or ill was yet to be seen.
Retort quickly ushered the pair into her office and shut the door, “Alright, well, it seems like the potion Silver Scales was attempting to invent was a Love Potion.” She glanced between the princess and her aide and sighed, “I'm guessing this doesn't surprise either of you?”
“It was what we were expecting,” Cadence admitted.
The blue mare sighed, too worn out to make a snappy remark, “I won't ask how or why, the point is I don't think you, or anypony for that matter, could have expected the power behind this potion.” Motioning for the two to follow her, Retort moved back into her work space and pulled out one of the beakers of grape-colored potion. “I ran several tests on many different versions of this potion and while they did vary slightly in potency, all were far more powerful of a Love Potion than any I've ever run into before. Most love potions have to be renewed somewhere between every two days to two weeks. However, I would wager to guess that this potion would only need to be renewed about...” the mare paused to think a moment before continuing, “oh, I'd say, every three weeks to a month- at best.
“However,” Sharp Retort continued moving slightly on her hooves, “this doesn't explain how you, Princess, could have been enthralled for nearly a year on what we can assume is one dose of this potion. It is simply impossible. Yet....”
“Wait,” Claudia interrupted, “how can you assume that Cadence has only been given one dose?”
The alchemist sighed, “It's only a theory, but if she had been dosed regularly then she would not have broken out of the spell- not now, not ever. That is how a potion like this works- when a pony still in the thrall of a previous dose is administered another dose of the same potion, the potency of the potion is renewed, in spite of any resistance the body has worked up to resist the potion. The fact that I could come up with these ingredients, but supposedly the administrator of this potion could not, or did not, can mean one of two things. Either the pony administering the potion has decided to stop, which is unlikely, or the potion was never administered on a regular basis and is starting to run it's course.”
“But neither of those make sense!” Cadence argued, “I'm still under whatever spell has been woven on me during the day! It is only at night I regain a sense of myself. What do you make of that?”
Sharp Retort was quiet as she thought, “there is only one reason I can think of,” the pony admitted after a long pause. “There is some minor reagent that you come into contact with during the day that you are not in contact with at night. It is not a full version of the potion you were originally given, but it is enough to reawaken its effects.” The pony waved a hoof, “But you have distracted me! The point I was originally trying to reach was that the potion I've created here is simply not powerful enough of a spell to have enthralled the princess for this long.”
“So we can assume this isn't the spell we're looking for,” Claudia sighed, running a claw over her head spikes. “Well... that was disappointing.”
“There could be ways to make the potion stronger,” Retort surmised, “using an element that is closely linked to the subject could increase the potency of a potion, a lock of hair or tear for instance...” Retort's words were cut short as she noticed the princess shuffle her wings in agitation. “Or a feather...” the alchemist looked sharply at the princess, “Did you ever give Prince Silver Scales one of your feathers?”
Cadence looked startled, but nodded, lifting her right wing to show an empty space between two of her long pinion feathers. “I gave it to him a long time ago,” she admitted.
“Then I need one of your feathers,” Sharp Retort said, holding out a hoof. Cadence looked about to object when Claudia tugged one free from her left wing and passed it to the alchemist who immediately turned back to the counter where a clear beaker of pink-colored clouds was sitting.
“Ouch!” The princess glared at her friend. “I would have given her one myself and you didn't have to yank it out so hard!”
“Sorry, Cadence,” Claudia said, ducking her head slightly, “I just feel like we're so close to solving this... I guess I was a little over excited.”
“Hmm,” Cadence rolled her eyes before she started coughing. A pink smog had erupted from the small beaker in front of Retort, filling the room and tinging the light a soft pink. “What... was that supposed to happen?”
Retort shrugged, covering her mouth with a hoof as she pulled the feather out of the solution. She was caught up in the discovery, well, rediscovery, she admitted. Lifting the beaker with her other hoof, she swirled the liquid which was giving off a soft pink light that was just brighter than the candlelight. “Huh,” she motioned to Claudia to grab a rack of clear vials from her other work station. The dragon quickly retrieved them, setting the selection gently down next to the alchemist who quickly began siphoning the potion into each of the seven vials.
Without turning to face Cadence, the blue mare said, “I'll need a little time to work with this new potion, Princess, but I can tell you right now that while this may not be the potion that has been afflicting you for the past year, I can say with relative certainty that it is powerful enough to be. I might even go so far as to say a potion this powerful is more of a poison.”
“Will you be able to create an antidote?” Cadence asked.
“I'm not sure yet, princess. Creating an antidote could take as long as conceiving this potion did, but I'll see what I can do. This potion isn't too complicated, the problem will come from creating an antidote that is just as powerful. It would be easy to...”
“Can it be done?” Cadence asked, her voice firm.
“It can be,” Retort relented. “I just may not be the pony able to do it, though I will try my best.”
“That's all I can ask,” the princess smiled and turned to leave. “Send for me when you have completed your studies.”
“Yes, Princess,” Retort said distractedly, she was already mentally picking apart the strange potion. What a crazy love potion, so simple yet so powerful. I may be in over my head this time...