The Master Alchemist

Chapter 2--Welcome to Illogical Debate; AKA, the real world.

Applebloom unceremoniously dropped her face on the desk and groaned audibly. She was tired and cold from travel, and she'd just been informed that there was still more to go. Of course, nothing could be simple or efficient; why else would it be a bureaucracy? Today was her first lesson of life--nothing can ever be clear-cut when dealing with a government. It was ironic that the democracy of Zebraland which was 'free' and had many 'liberties' functioned worse than the monarchy of Equestria. It would have been easy to pull the eternal night card on the zebras and force them into submission; after all, ponies controlled the life and death of everything on the entire planet just with the alicorn magic. But the princesses had to be 'fair' and 'righteous'. Sweetie Belle or Rarity would have called it an uncouth approach. Or whatever fancy-shmancy words they used.

At that thought, she wished either of those ponies were here now. All those fancy words might come in handy. Applebloom was patient; that was a virtue she'd learned many a time, from Applejack in farming or salesmanship to Zecora's alchemy or Rainbow Dash's Mantis kung-fu. But this was just downright taxing; zebras (as Applebloom had learned to her dismay) were extremely stubborn. They couldn't have the meeting here--oh no, that would make things to easy! So, once again, Applebloom and Zecora left the appointment room after Applebloom had finished facedesking and fond themselves on the road. This time, however, they had the company of a caravan.

Camels with large humps pulled trains of the things through desert and jungle and plain, all manner of climate in the unforgiving areas between military checkpoints along the highways. The road was paved, but still a hard one to walk. Applebloom had tried to strike up conversation with caravan members or even the camels, but most (especially the latter) clearly showed their dislike for idle chit-chat.

On the third day of the rough journey, just as the caravan hit smack in the middle between two roadblocks, a rustling came from the reeds that grew thick on either side of the road. Applebloom knew something was wrong, and though she was confident in Zecora's training in stealth combat and her martial knowledge, she would rather not deal with anything or anyone slinking around.

"Mind the gap; we'd like to avoid a mishap," Zecora drew Applebloom's attention from the brush and to the small stream the group was crossing. "Open wide your eyes, and see as much as the fly,"

Applebloom nodded, taking the advice silently. With a deep breath, the pony pulled back her vision, hearing, and smell, and took in everything at once in equal amounts.

What she saw did not surprise her in the least.

"Watch it!" she cried, and the bandits chose that moment to jump through the stalks on either side and charge. All manner of creatures attacked--blindingly quick cheetahs, a few zebras, and even a few of Applebloom's own. On both sides, weapons flashed, and with a glance to her left, Applebloom saw her similarly readied master.

They jumped into the fray at the same time, managing to take a few opponents from behind, as they had stayed behind the two wagons. A unicorn floated an obsidian spear and stabbed at Applebloom, who nimbly dodged to the right and swung a knife to the left. The blade caught horsehide and opened a gash. Showing remarkable pain tolerance, the yellow pony's adversary wheeled his spear around before his body and struck blindly. Applebloom crossed the knives in her hooves and caught the blade in an X. Sparks danced over her special hoofboots that allowed her to hold her weapons with greater dexterity. However, the unicorn telekinesis was too strong. Using the locked weapons as leverage, Applebloom drove herself forward and spun around, launching a sidekick with a hind leg. She made sure not to tilt herself to far back and remained balanced.

A hoof in the gut plus the gash in his side forced the unicorn's attention from his magic, letting the spear drop to the dirt. A moment later, his body followed his weapon.

Meanwhile, Zecora was face by a daunting and dashing cheetah and several other foes. A flurry of weapons left them with cuts and scrapes, but nothing serious. Applebloom made sure that they all were injured by blade before moving on to assist the caravan masters. After all, the poison of her teacher's knives ought to be taking effect soon.

Indeed, while Applebloom and a guard finished off a scowling zebra, several thuds against the packed road gave the young pony a wicked smile. That smile grew as she surveyed the defeated bandits, but the smirk shrank when the burning wagons and dead camels came in sight. Camels were not exactly the greatest fighters, despite their stubborness; this showed by the dead around them. At least they had died while taking down their murderers. That did not stop the churning of Applebloom's gut.

That was the first time she'd ever killed or witnessed killing up close. She thought about this while staring at the carnage. In her mind, she pictured her sister. What would AJ think of her if she saw her here? This ain't glorious battle; this's killin', plain and simple. For once. This inner conscience also saw the irony--after all, isn't that what she wanted? Something simple? In a way, killing was simple. While the techniques might be a little complex, it was really pretty easy to kill. But honesty--thats what her sister had taught her. Maybe it'd been a little strenuous at times, taxing... but it had always been worth it. Applebloom looked at the bandits and saw what she didn't want to be: dead and rotting on a road that no one cared for. When she realized what she was doing, she almost laughed out loud; she was being smart! For once, she had some thought. She appreciated Twilight and Sweetie Belle and Rarity in that moment even more than she ever had before. They were smart; this was the price they paid, too. Huh. Maybe Dash was right about the egg-heads being crazy.

"In a sickening way, it is beatiful," Zecora interrupted her student's few seconds of reflection. "but death still is a heavy toll, on mind, body, and soul. It happens so quickly, even if one dies from being sickly; the Grim Pony cares not if you are lonely. Hmph." She then said something in an odd language that Applebloom didn't understand.

"What was that?"

"Quando il gioco è finito, il re e il pedone va nella stessa scatola. 'When the game is over, the king and the pawn go into the same box.' That's an old Griffin dialect that died when the Princesses we did elect. A few words about how life does not matter when death takes us, but that thought should not break us."

It was interesting how Zecora so easily chose words that were always right for the moment. The constant poet, Applebloom mused.

Then, she looked up. "Zecora!" she cried, "You're saddlebags..."

The master alchemist looked at the bags and her eyes went wide. She cursed and searched frantically, until she found the bottle she needed.

Or rather, its remnants.

"Buck."