Okay, so I know what y'all are thinking. "Whaaat? Another update? So soon? Does this girl not have a life?" Well, honestly, I kind of don't, but that's besides the point! You see, I'm really into this story and I'm having fun with it, but I'm going to be gone for the rest of the week, unable to update. So, since I'm pretty much obsessed, I stayed up late tonight to finish this chapter. Yay for obsessions! Again, I thank the few people who chose to review my story! You guys are awesome, since reviews really motivate me to write more! Props to you guys! Okay, sorry for this long intro. Please, do go on and don't mind me. ;))
Everfree Forest looked especially dark and menacing on this chilly evening and Spike was starting to rethink his "genius idea." The trees were looming all about him, their branches casting threatening shadows as they creaked and groaned in the soundless wind. He felt surrounded, and he was getting nervous, and would jump with a startle whenever he heard a twig crack below his feet or saw a swift shadow of an animal dart between the trees. The air was cold and stagnant, making it difficult for Spike to breath. He squinted to try to see through the darkness, but it engulfed him and he was struggling to find his way. He knew it had to be here somewhere, he was sure of it.
Spike felt a tingling run up and down his spine and he shivered violently. He didn't like this place, not one bit. He clung to the hope that he'd reach it soon, and his aimless wanderings would be over and his fears would be quelled. But he didn't feel like he was getting any further, and drowsiness was clouding his mind and obscuring his judgment. Fear was the only thing that kept Spike from falling asleep. "Not here, not this place," he kept murmuring to himself.
Suddenly, Spike had the odd sensation of something coiling around his neck. He gasped and grasped at his throat and felt what might have been a rope, except it moved on its own. Spike tried to scream out, but the rope only tightened even more and strangled his cry, making it come out as a muffled whimper. He made a move to yank the rope off, but he felt binds wrap around his wrists and ankles, pulling him mercilessly to the ground and growing ever tighter. Spike was starting to get light headed. He needed air, he needed to breath. Frantic ally writhing, he tried to loosen his restraints, but in vain. Brightly colored spots appeared before his eyes and everything else grew dull and hazy. The last thing he remembered was pain searing across his body and fear cutting through his throat. And he saw no more.
Spike awoke with a start, only to be met with a bright light and a splitting headache. He couldn't tell where he was, but the sense of danger he felt before was gone, and this eased and comforted him. The bright light caused him to repeatedly blink and he couldn't see straight just yet.
"Is this…," Spike breathed in with a whisper.
"Dis ees my 'ome, and to few eet's known ," a voice uttered in response.
Spike's vision came back gradually, and he could make out somepony standing over him. Somepony with a black and white mane that stood up straight in the air, and with striped designs that ran across her body in a beautiful pattern.
"Zecora!" Spike shouted gleefully, relieved to have finally found her, or rather, to have her find him. "Boy, am I glad to see you!"
Zecora smiled slightly, gazing down at Spike with a protective gleam in her eye. "You seem to 'ave found de Strangling Nightshade. They 'ave theeck, ropelike vines dat make minds fade. Dey eat de prey dey knock unconscious," she stated in a serious tone, then softened and added in a chuckle, "But, no worries, dey don't eat dragons, it makes dem nauseous."
Spike scratched his head, straining hard to comprehend Zecora's chanted verse, and it took him a while to finally get what she was telling him. He swallowed hard, not wanting to think of his fate if the plants actually did eat dragons. He looked around the room quickly, not wanting to pry, but wanting to gain a better hold of his environment. He was lying on a very comfortable cot with a warm, cheetah-spotted bedspread blanketing him. Gourds hollowed out to hold spices and nuts were hanging all about the room and were as prevalent as colored bottles filled to the brim with swirling liquids. In the middle of the room, a large, black cauldron rested over a crackling fire, and some sort of brew bubbled and broiled inside, emitting enticing smells. Spike relaxed, thinking to himself that he had most definitely come to the right place! Twilight might not have wanted to make his potions, but Zecora sure could! She was brewing stuff all the time!
Zecora watched him out of the corners of her eyes, not uttering a word. She walked over to the cauldron purposefully and took a deep whiff of whatever was inside.
Spike rubbed his claws together with anticipation. "So, what's that? Some sort of magic potion?" he inquired with interest, eager to hear her answer.
Zecora turned to him and gazed at him deeply with her turquoise eyes, which danced in the glow of the fire. The glow also caused shadows to darken her thoughtful face as they ebbed and flowed across it, making her look mysterious and sagacious. She arched a brow and gave a small frown. "Mageec potion? What ees dis notion?"
Spike lifted a claw in the air to object but faltered. What could the brew be besides a magic potion? "Uh, what is it then?"
Zecora stared at him for a moment before answering. "Our suppah, my friend, and don't eet smell grand. Hazelnut soup, flavored wid spices from my 'omeland. I 'ope it 'elps your recent striking and dat you find eet to your liking." She bowed her head respectfully and lifted it to meet Spike's disappointed gaze.
"Oh, uh, that's good too. But what I really want is a potion, not soup. Aren't you supposed to know this already? Pinkie Pie told me you could see the future and stuff." Spike claimed, folding his arms as if he was issuing a challenge.
Zecora shook her head. "Ala! Not more of dis gossip, I 'ope," she frowned and then sighed. "No, I am not learned in de ways of mageec ponyfolk. I know not of potions and de future I can't see. I am 'appy to be de non-mysteecal me."
Spike was crestfallen. His plan was falling apart before his eyes. "But-but then…what's all this?" he asked angrily, sharply gesturing to the ingredients hanging around the entire room.
Zecora followed his claws and was saddened by his lack of understanding. "Dose are for my remedies, my natural medicines dat I use. I use dem to heal de seeck and eenjured, ones dat had a fate like you."
Spike reddened, noticing how ungrateful he was being after Zecora showed him so much hospitaliy. "I'm…sorry," Spike sighed, "thank you for helping me and stuff, but it's just, I thought you could make me something and…now…" he trailed off.
Zecora said nothing but only focused on the bubbles teeming in the soup. "Eet ees ready, my friend, so 'ave a bowl and anuthah. Why don't you tell me more of dis "someding" ovah suppah," Zecora suggested, wisely understanding that there was more to his story.
And so, with a piping hot bowl of savory soup resting in his hands, and steam rising up in tendrils pleasing his nose, he felt at ease venting to Zecora all that had occurred.
He told her about the magic potion book he found, and reading it all day long, and about the love potion and Rarity, and how Twilight wouldn't make it for him. He choked a little when he spoke about the fight they had and how he had snuck out to come here, and then shivered at the memory of the forest and the Strangling Nightshade, which, Zecora verified, only came out during the shade of the night to strangle its prey. Go figure. All the while, Zecora listened intently, nodding occasionally, but said nothing. When Spike finished, she let a great pause hang in the air to let his story sink in. But the silence grew longer, and it was making Spike feel awkward. He shifted under the covers uncomfortably and gently coughed a few times to remind Zecora of his presence.
Zecora paid no heed of Spike's fidgets and allowed the silence to continue. She took her bowl of soup in both hooves and, with sobriety, lifted it to her lips to take a drawn out sip. Finally, she chanted her words of wisdom.
"I dink I agree wid your pony friend, dis love potion weel nevah meet amends. But dat does not mean you should not try, foh a life wid trial ees one to go by. Take a look at de recipe and find out what you need, gadder all de theengs and follow what you read. Make de brew you so desire, and to add magic to de fire, find a 'orned pony to 'elp, and den see de flames yourself." Zecora finished then closed her eyes, satisfied with her advice.
Spike just gawked at her, his gears slowly turning in his head trying to make since of her rhymed reason. "So…what you're saying is…I need to make the potion myself…but when I need to use magic, get a unicorn pony to help me? And there'll be some sort of magic fire?" Spike inquired, unsure of what he said. He firmly curled a claw and planted his head to rest on his fist as he squinted his face to think some more.
Zecora chuckled at his concentration, and nodded to indicate that Spike's interpretation was correct. "Yes, but do not take me foh a liar. Yoh words ring true, except foh de mageec fire."
Spike glanced up at Zecora, hardly daring to believe that he heard all of it right. He couldn't possibly make the potion! He already read the instructions, and it was going to be no easy task. He might have to trek all across Equestria just for some of the ingredients! It would take weeks for some of the ingredients just to "mature," or whatever it was the book was going on about. Was the love potion really that worth it? Part of him wanted to give in to Twilight's argument, feeling daunted in the face of this difficult task. But the other part of him desperately wanted to be with Rarity, and his love for her often drove him to do reckless things. The latter part was also urged on by the knowledge that Zecora believed he could do it. If someone as intelligent as her had faith in him, then why shouldn't he be able to succeed in his aspirations? And, even though she said she couldn't see into the future, Spike had a feeling that Zecora could see more than she let on. A sort of foresight, if you will.
Spike swelled with a new-found confidence. He lifted his former frown into a grin, and clenched both of his claws into determined fists; his eyes were ablaze with victory in sight.
"Alright, Zecora, I think I might actually be able to do this! Maybe I can make the potion, and maybe Rarity will fall madly in love me! I'll go out on this epic mission and complete what I'm meant to do and-uh wait," Spike wavered, "am I meant to do this?"
Zecora pondered the question, then affirmed it with a quick nod and a smile.
"Right, great! I am meant to do this! So I will do this! I'm gonna go on out there and do this! Yeah! Yeaaah! Spike roared with vigor. He proudly marched himself out from under the cheetah-spotted bedspread and strutted to the door of Zecora's hut. He breathed in deeply, and pulled the handle with an energetic purpose, and looked out into the great unknown.
…it was still night-time in the great unknown. Spike gave a little cry and shirked away from the door, covering his head with his hands and racing back under the bed sheets.
"On second thought…I think I'll spend the night. You know…an awesome adventurer needs an awesome amount of sleep…yup," Spike lied, closing his eyes while nodding his head.
Zecora muffled a chortle, and instead smiled in agreement. She knew that the Strangling Nightshade must have started a fear in Spike's heart of the Everfree Forest, and she didn't want him to do more harm to himself, physically and emotionally.
Spike gave a great yawn and rubbed his eyes sleepily. He curled up under the covers in a tight ball and breathed out in contentment. "Yup…an awesome amount of sleep…" he mumbled before slipping into an evening of dreams.
Yes, I probably butchered Zecora's accent, and the rhymes weren't too hot either, but hey, I tried.
*Fun Fact*: I got the name "Strangling Nightshade" from the real, honest-to-goodness plant "Climbing Nightshade!" I like how in the episode "Idle Gossip," they used the name "Poison Oak" and turned it into "Poison Joke" and I wanted to do it too. :))