The Potion
by Prak
“To have a guest is always a pleasure, but the company of a princess is truly a treasure.”
“That’s nice of you to say, Zecora, but I’m not here as a princess,” Twilight Sparkle said after taking a sip of herbal tea. “Actually, I want to discuss a business proposition.”
“I see. Very well, my friend. To what business shall we attend?”
“It’s about that potion you made to show me that past. First of all, I need to know if anypony can use it once it’s been infused with alicorn magic.”
Zecora set her teacup down and stared quizzically into Twilight’s eyes. “To imbue the potion is the only plight,” she said slowly. “Any may drink it once the brew turns white.”
“Great! That’s just what I needed to know. So here’s what I was thinking,” said Twilight. “This potion could do wonders for all of Equestria. It can show us parts of the past that were never even recorded. There’s no limit to what we can learn!”
“Your goal is a noble one to seek, but what is the proposition of which you speak?”
“I want you to help me produce more of the potion. You’re the only one who knows how to make it, after all.”
“Forgive my rudeness, but I must press. How exactly is this business?”
“Well, it’s going to take a lot of that potion to get anywhere, and I know we’ll need more ingredients.”
Zecora glanced at a rack of glass jars, many of which were nearly empty. “The herbs I require are rare, you see, and seldom found in the Everfree.”
Twilight nodded. “That’s what I thought. Are the herbs more common anywhere outside the forest?”
“In my homeland, they are less rare. Perhaps you could have some brought from there?”
“I don’t think that would be much of a problem, but that brings me back to my original point. We would have to pay for it, and since this is a personal project, I can’t use funds from the treasury. The way I see it, a lot of other ponies will want to be able to look into the past, so if we sell part of what we make, we should earn enough to buy more ingredients.”
“A clever plan you have devised, but I must confess, it seems unwise.”
Twilight’s teacup faltered in the air for a moment, although a quick reinforcement of her magical grip prevented a spill. “What do you mean? How is that unwise?”
“Please wait a while, my dear princess. To discuss it now would cause you stress. Come back tomorrow when the sun is high. When you return, I’ll show you why.”
* * * * *
After a full day of waiting, Twilight once again arrived at Zecora’s door. She gave the customary knock, but the zebra did not come to the door. Instead, Zecora’s muffled voice invited her to enter on her own.
Twilight opened the door and stepped inside to find her friend with a ladle in her mouth, carefully filling a flask with dark green liquid. After she finished, she set the ladle down carefully and breathed deeply before turning to greet her guest.
“Welcome, Twilight. You’ve come at the right hour. The potion is finished, except for your power.”
Twilight leaned over the flask, staring at its contents through narrowed eyes. “Zecora, it’s not that I don’t trust you or anything, but isn’t it supposed to be purple at this point?”
Zecora chuckled and said, “Purple is the color to see what has been, but green will show you what may yet happen.”
“I see. Here goes, then.” Twilight’s horn ignited with dark energy. Her brow furrowed, and she grunted from the exertion as she forced magic into the potion. When she opened her eyes, the mixture had turned white, just like the other potion.
“And this one is going to show the future, rather than the past?” Twilight asked.
Zecora nodded as she set a cushion onto the floor. “A possible future, you will see, but do not take it for certainty. Focus on your goal as you swallow. The vision will be of the path you would follow.”
Twilight sat down on the cushion, then levitated the flask to her lips and took a swig. The warm liquid rushed down her throat, but the heat spread upwards as well as down, first filling her mind, then pushing out to her eyes.
* * * * *
A moment later, she was still standing in Zecora’s hut, but both of them were standing next to a bubbling cauldron in the center of the room. Wooden test tube racks holding dozens of empty vials were arranged neatly on a table nearby. Twilight tried to move away, but her body didn’t respond to her command. Instead, her head turned toward the table.
“Is it ready?” she asked without meaning to. While she could hear herself speaking, it felt more like telepathy than vocalization. Zecora nodded, so she lifted a rack holding a dozen glass containers and held it above the cauldron. Zecora carefully ladled out a small amount of purple liquid into each one. The process was repeated until every vial was full.
Twilight’s eyes closed tightly, but she couldn’t feel the pressure, nor could she feel the dull rumble in her skull from the dark magic she knew her possible future self was channeling. Her eyes opened again to find nearly a hundred white potions laid out neatly before her.
The world suddenly turned white.
* * * * *
The blinding light gave way to color again as Twilight felt her senses return. She was back on the opposite side of the table from Zecora, a single large flask between them.
“Welcome back to the here and now. Was your vision fair or foul?”
“I can’t really tell. I saw the two of us making the potion, but I didn’t see us doing anything with it.”
“Then go ahead and take another sip. Think further ahead to guide your trip.”
Twilight nodded and took another swallow. The world was consumed by light once more.
* * * * *
She sat at her desk in the library, staring ruefully at two racks filled with empty vials. The research journal on the desk was mostly filled with indistinct scribbles, but she lifted a quill and began making more. While her body went about its business, she started to wonder if the writing was encoded.
The sound of the door opening and closing drew her attention. With a casual flick of her magic, she covered up the vials and closed the journal before standing to greet her guest.
“Ah, just the zebra I was hoping to see,” she said as she trotted over to Zecora. “My supply of the potion is empty. Are you having any luck with selling the rest?”
Zecora grinned as she pulled a large sack from her saddlebag. As it hit the table in the center of the main room, it made the satisfying sound that only a bag full of bits can make. Twilight squealed joyously and danced in place for a moment before being interrupted.
“As you can see, our sales have been booming, but we must make more, for a shortage is looming.”
“Right. With this many bits, we should be able to order three times as many ingredients as we had before and have them rush delivered!”
Zecora clucked her tongue and glared at Twilight. “Do not forget that my time is not free. I need money to live, so some of this is for me.”
“Oh, of course. Sorry about that. I just wasn’t thinking straight. Twice as many ingredients should be fine.”
* * * * *
The rest of the conversation was lost as the world flashed white again and returned to the forest hut.
As she regained control of her senses, Twilight saw that Zecora had made tea while she was in the vision and placed a cup in front of each of them. She took a sip to chase away the unpleasant taste of the potion and grinned at her companion.
“Good news! Everything works out great. I get a lot of research done, and ponies actually want to buy our potions. We were selling out and making a lot of money!”
Zecora’s eyes opened a little wider and she sat up a little straighter, but she quickly deflated again. Her mouth curved into a faint, mirthless smile before she spoke. “Twilight Sparkle, my dearest friend. You may not have seen the end. Take another sip, and see where it leads. If you still have no doubts, we will proceed.”
Twilight was still smiling as she nodded and returned to the realm of possibility.
* * * * *
This time, she was sitting at a local cafe, having tea with Rarity. Before she could find any context for the situation, her future counterpart turned her head to look at Fluttershy, who was sprinting toward them.
“Goodness, darling! Whatever is the rush?” Rarity said as Fluttershy stumbled to a halt.
She stood in place for a moment and gasped for breath. “Twilight, you have to come quick. It’s Applejack!”
Twilight leapt up and spread her wings. “What do you mean? What’s happened to Applejack?”
“She’s in trouble. Something’s wrong with her. Her eyes are glowing, and she won’t wake up!”
Twilight sprang into action immediately, flapping furiously to reach Sweet Apple Acres as quickly as possible. She landed roughly and must have sprained something, but even though she knew she was limping, Twilight felt none of her potential future self’s pain as she rushed through the farmhouse and up to Applejack’s room, where the rest of the Apple family was gathered around her bed.
Granny Smith and Big McIntosh sat on opposite sides of the bed, and while Big Mac showed his usual stoicism, Granny’s coat was stained with tears. Apple Bloom was leaning against the bed next to Mac, and despite his comforting hoof on her back, her small body was wracked with sobs.
Applejack was lying on her back, squirming and giggling. Her eyes glowed with an unnatural light, showing Twilight, for the first time, what she looked like under the potion’s influence. One of the special corks she had used to bottle the potions sat atop the bedside table, but there was no trace of a vial.
“Quit tickling me, Mommy,” Applejack said between peals of laughter, her voice pitched far higher than normal.
“How long has she been like this?” Twilight asked as she sat down at the side of the bed.
“All night, I reckon,” Big Mac said.
“We could hear her laughing up here half the night,” Granny Smith said. “We didn’t think nothing of it, but she was still like this when we woke up.”
“I went and brung the doc over this morning,” Big Mac muttered. “He thinks she took some kinda bad medicine. Found a bottle or something next to bed. Bunch more in a drawer. Took ‘em with him to see what was in ‘em.”
Twilight started to say something in response, but the vision ended in another bright flash.
* * * * *
As the hut came into view once more, Twilight didn’t even look at Zecora. She swallowed the last of the potion with reckless abandon and delved back into the future.
* * * * *
Instead of taking her back to Applejack’s room, the vision brought Twilight to an open field, where she was surrounded by other ponies. To her right, Scootaloo and Fluttershy were openly sobbing. To her left, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were hanging their heads. Narrow streaks of darkened hair beneath their eyes marred their white coats. A coffin sat in front of her, directly between a small, empty podium and a freshly-dug hole.
However, instead of the three apples she expected to see, the carvings on the sides and lid of the coffin were of a cloud with a large, multi-colored lightning bolt beneath it.
“Why?” Scootaloo cried into Fluttershy’s wing. “Why did she kill her?”
Fluttershy stroked Scootaloo’s mane for several long seconds before replying. “It wasn’t really Applejack. It was that potion she was taking. It changed her. I don’t think she knew what she was doing.”
“But all Rainbow did was try to take that stupid potion away from her. She was only trying to help,” Scootaloo wailed.
A nudge from the other side drew Twilight’s attention away from the grieving pegasi. “Do you know where Pinkie is?” Rarity asked.
“Yeah. She’s on the other side of the hill with the Apples. She said it wasn’t right that nopony else was going to go to Applejack’s funeral,” Twilight said.
“I know it isn’t,” Rarity said with a sigh, “but we had to choose, and Rainbow was the victim.”
“Excuse me a moment, please, Rarity. Princess Celestia just got here, and I want to have a word with her before the service starts.” Rarity nodded and hugged Sweetie, who had just started crying again, as Twilight walked away.
Celestia spotted Twilight’s approach and waited to the side of the assemblage. “Princess Celestia, I need to talk to you about what happened,” Twilight said.
Celestia leaned down slightly and nuzzled her cheek, but as a mere passenger in her own body, Twilight could not feel it. “I know this is a difficult time, Twilight. I share in your grief, as well. However, this is not the time for us to discuss such things with one another. As princesses, we must appear strong for our subjects.”
“Yes, I know, but—”
Celestia gently tapped Twilight’s muzzle to quiet her. “I’m afraid I have even more troubling news that I must share with you before we can begin.”
“What’s that?”
“The guards managed to track down the distributor of that strange potion that was responsible for this tragedy. It was the zebra residing nearby in the Everfree Forest. I believe you knew her, correct?”
Twilight nodded, and Celestia continued, ”However, when they arrived at her home to arrest her, she was already dead. She had hung herself, just like Applejack. ”
“I see,” Twilight said. She tried to continue speaking, to ask how all of this came to be, but her mouth wouldn't respond. Her future self seemed to have nothing more to say, but her vision swam as tears filled her eyes. Though she could not feel them, she was certain they were already making their way down her face.
“With any luck, however,” Celestia continued, ”the formula for that accursed concoction will have died with her. Now, you should go join your friends so we can start the service.”
* * * * *
Twilight returned to the hut to find her face soaked with the tears should couldn’t feel in the vision. Zecora still sat across from her, but she was avoiding eye contact and blinking back tears of her own.
Without a word, Twilight stood up and walked to the door. She spared a glance back, and this time, their eyes did lock onto one another. She sighed softly. “Thanks, Zecora. That really put things into perspective.”
“I am always happy to help when I can. So what now becomes of your ambitious plan?“
Twilight smiled and tilted her head down. A burst of magical energy from her horn struck the flask, reducing it to a pile of ash. She lifted her head, finding Zecora smiling back at her, then opened the door and stepped out into the forest.