Potion Mare

Melody groaned as she rolled over onto Lily. She sat up and quickly looked left and right for the other version of herself, One. One was sleeping on the other side of the fire. Melody almost felt jealous at the sight of her. She compared her clean coat to hers, nice and sleek. Melody’s coat was rugged and dirty, blood caked in more than one place. She sighed and brought herself back to reality, turning her body over toward Lily. It hurt to see the poor mare like this, but it was necessary. Lucy would kill her otherwise. Melody clambered up and looked through her redesigned robe that Lily had sewn months ago. She retrieved a map that she had bought at the last town and flipped it around until she identified her current location.

She was headed for a cave 536 miles away from her location where a zebra mare that could undo the curse of the amulet supposedly lived. Her stomach rumbled, and a pang of hunger ran through her.

“Fuck. It won't even be Lucy to do me in, I'll fucking starve to death out here.” Melody muttered under her breath, patting herself down and sighing as she once again realized she had no food. There were 8 dungeons marked on the map, supposedly containing un-stolen loot, and one of them was within a mile. She took a mental note of the location and decided to take stock. She really needed some paralysis potions. She could barely keep the Lucyfied Lily in check without them, and resolved that the best course of action was to search terms cave. But what to do about this foreign, yet familiar version of herself, One?

Melody turned and stared at her, studying her as she slept. Thoughts ran through her head. Could she really trust her? She sighed and trotted over, nudging her with her back hoof. One opened her eyes wearily and immediately grabbed for her sword. Melody sprung into action, kicking it to the side into the snow.

“Hey you prick. If you want to earn my trust, you're going to come with me. I need to find food and potions, and I need them fast. There's a dungeon nearby.” Melody said grumpily. One widened her eyes in alarm, but quickly contained her panic. One slowly nodded.

“Alright. Let me up and we'll go. What are you doing with Lily?” One asked, pulling herself to her hooves. Melody stepped away.

“Bringing her with us, of course. I can't leave her here.” Melody replied, lifting Lily’s body onto her back. “Cmon, this way.”

One bit her tongue and followed, keeping comments to herself as they marched in silence, clutching her sword to her side inside her robe. When the mares arrived at their location, Melody reached back and untied Lily from her back, tying her instead off to a large rock near the entrance. Melody grabbed for her wand, and muttered an incantation. A bright light shown, and a purple bubble bearing the alchemic symbol of life surrounded Lily. One gave an impressed look.

“Shield spell? Good idea.” One said. Melody narrowed her eyes but said nothing in response. She made her way over to One and thumped her head. “Let’s just go in and get out.” Melody said with a tint of toxicity in her voice. One gave a soft sigh and rolled her eyes.

“Alright, but let’s get this done quick, I don’t like the feeling of this place.” One said warily, slowly slipping her sword out and getting it at the ready. Melody took the lead and lit a stick from the entrance on fire, lifting it in one hoof. She remained silent as they began their expedition into the cave. One took up the back, resisting the urge to poke the bats that they passed on the ceilings. The walls of the cave were damp, and the whole place smelled like mold. Glowing purple mushrooms lit the path every now and then, Melody stopping every now and then to collect a couple and stuff in her robe.

One, growing tired of trotting, poked Melody’s shoulder. “Hey, I see a water pool up on that next turn. Let’s stop for a bit.” Melody gave a gruff sigh, never liking to leave Lily alone for too long. Although, she was growing tired herself…

“Sure, fine.” Melody spoke, trotting into the opening in the wall. She gave a yawn and relaxed against the wall of the cave as One trotted right up to the water and dipped her feet in. Melody heard a soft mechanical click, and suddenly, there was a rumble as the entrance behind her slid shut, a stone tablet covering it. Water began to pour in from the walls of the cave, and Melody simply muttered, “Oh, fuck.”

One jumped back in fear. “Ok, shit, sorry. I should have seen this coming, fuck! Where’s the exit!?” One said in a panic, Melody busy concentrating on finding a way out.

“It looks like we’re going to have to find a way to move this stone out of the way, otherwise, it’s a watery grave. That’s not something I’m ready for.” Melody spoke, feeling along the walls and beginning to worry. One joined her in her task, biting her lip as the water flooded halfway up their legs.

“God damn it..” Melody muttered, diving under and swimming toward the bottom of the pool in the middle of the room, deciding to follow classic puzzle solving rituals she had learned. Sure enough, there was a hatch marked with ancient symbols. Attached to the hatch was a code lock, which could be rolled into place along 3 separate axises. Melody pressed back up to the surface, breaking the water and spitting out some.

“We only have at MOST a minute left of air in here. Please tell me you have a water breathing potion.” One begged. Melody shook the wet mane out of her eyes and took a mental note to get a cut if she survived this.

“THERE'S A CODED LOCK DOWN HERE. Do you remember seeing ANY symbols on the way here? Anything?” Melody said, no longer able to stand on any solid ground. One thought long and hard on the question, long enough to waste 20 seconds of air as Melody gritted her teeth, sucking in what bits of air she could.

One screamed, “GOLD, WIND, WATER DROP!” She gasped in a desperate breath and plunged herself down into the water. Melody nodded as their last bit of air escaped. She swam down into the center of the room, rushing to move the symbols into place, trying to exert the least amount of energy possible as black started to swim into the edges of her vision. Melody’s lungs burned for oxygen as she searched desperately for the water droplet stone. It was nowhere to be seen, Melody whipping her head left and right. Melody saw One lift something up onto the lock before One’s body went limp.

Melody coughed out her bits of oxygen, pulling at the hatch. It didn't budge. Her lungs were on fire now, and she could feel water beginning to slip into her mouth. She reached into the robe, grabbed her wand, and closed her eyes tight. She sent up a desperate prayer and attempted a levitation spell. She heard water gushing before she blacked out.

When Melody came to, One was laying next to her and coughing out water. She felt the urge to vomit out some as well, and turned the opposite direction. Along with everything else, her fur had been drenched, effectively cleaning it. She puked up what felt like gallons of water as her lungs desperately sucked in air. Melody finally drank in enough oxygen to lean up and pant. Melody began laughing hysterically, One coughing on the ground next to her.

“What's so funny?” One asked as she coughed up more mucus-y water. Melody turned toward her, and continued with light chuckles.

“I'M ALIVE!!” Melody shouted simply, completely ignoring the contents of the cave they had just landed in for now, cradling her mortal life in her mind for the moment. One sat up and retched one last time. Melody grabbed her by the shoulder. “You almost got me killed just now. But you also saved my life. If I kill you, does that count as killing myself?” Melody said, narrowing her eyes. One lifted her head and met Melody’s fiery gaze.

“I thought you said we were weren't the same?” One replied with a smirk. Melody couldn't help but chuckle in response, shoving her away. Melody staggered to her feet, surveying the room. They were standing on a platform, the water around them having drained out through grates in the floor. In front of them was a large stone door with a golden knob. One looked at it and shrugged to Melody. Melody trotted forward and opened the door.

Melody’s muzzle dropped at the sight that laid before her.

On the other side of the door was a sight that left even One in a stunned silence. On both sides of the door were torches hanging high above the two mares. Melody trotted forward slowly, and rubbed her eyes with a forehoof. Much to her disbelief, they came out of the hall into a full alchemy lab. One blinked a couple of times to solidify what she was seeing.

“Oh. My. Gods.” Melody said, feeling almost lightheaded with joy. Covering the walls on all sides of the room were bookcases, filled to the brim with books on almost every magical subject under the sun. Some were molded from all of the moisture, but not beyond repair. One and Melody exchanged glances of complete disbelief. There were several alchemist tables at different points along the walls, with accompanying baskets of herbs and materials. A large enchanting table bearing marks of years of use sat at the front of the room. On the lower right of the table was a book titled, “The Dark Magicks: Enchantments and Summons.”

A shiver ran down both Melody and One’s spine instantaneously as they turned their gaze to the glowing blue summoning circle in the middle of the room. What at first Melody had assumed was a pool of water, was a dark purple void, swirling with a thick evil essence. Black wax stained the floor inside the hollows designated for candles. One gulped and Melody drew her sword.

“What do you… What do you think happened to the previous owner?” One muttered to Melody, readying her weapon as well. Melody nodded to the portal, sweating as she felt a heavy presence before them. Hate, malice, and raw evil essences began to drift around the room. Melody swallowed another lump in her throat.

“I think we’re looking at it.” Melody spoke with a quivering voice. "And I think we're about to meet them." Purple tentacles rose from the open portal, and the two mares got themselves ready for a battle.

The tentacles sprung into action, knocking Melody off her feet. One rolled backwards to avoid a swiping tendril. It made a wet slap as it collided with Melody and knocked her free of the other tentacle, slamming her into the far wall and knocking books off of the wall behind her. Melody struggled to her feet and sliced at a tentacle as it honed in on her. Her mind flooded with visions of Lily, giving her just the edge she needed. The tentacle split right at her sword blade, and flopped on to the ground, The creature let out a telepathic screech that brought Melody to her knees. The tentacle flopped around on the ground, severed.

It began to change form as Melody struggled to her hooves. It turned into some kind of lizard creature, about the size of a wolf. One went flying past Melody and slammed into an alchemy table. Melody took flight to avoid a jumping bite attack from the shadow lizard. A tentacle swatted her like a bug and tossed her to the ground. She felt one wrap around her neck, and one around torso. Melody let out a gasp as she was lifted into the air, the tentacle attempting to tear her apart.

“GOT YA!” One shouted and took a running leap, swiping both of the tendrils in half. The damaged tendrils retreated back into the portal. The other two parts of the tendrils dropped to the ground along with Melody shouted her thanks to One who landed on the first shadow lizard, crushing its head under her weight. Two more formed from the lopped off tendrils as Melody coughed, hopping to her hooves and surveying the specifics of the situation. There were three tentacles left, one of them distracted by attempting to break One’s neck as she was flung against the bookcase.

The other two tendrils swung their way toward Melody. One of the tendrils knocked her back against the other, which grabbed around her chest and began dragging her toward the portal in the center of the room. “NO! NO! FUCK!” Melody shouted, attempting to get One’s attention as she managed to grab her wand out of her robe. She bit her lip and concentrated. A blaze of fire surrounded her body and incinerated the tendril wrapped around her chest, just short of the portal. Melody struggled up, flames nipping at her fur. Only one tendril remained, the other having been hacked in half by One’s surprisingly useful sword management.

One was busy fighting off the lizard creatures, going hoof-to-hoof. One stored her sword in her robe and began cracking their skulls with her back hooves, delivering hard kicks and tossing them around the room. It looked like she was having WAY too much fun doing so. The last tendril slithered around the room, creeping along the floor like a purplish snake. It sprang toward Melody, but she was ready. She readied her wand and set it ablaze with a fireball. Melody dropped to her knees, that last magic attack having taken a lot of energy out of her. She raised her head just in time to watch the portal close up.

“YEAH! FUCK YOU!” Melody shouted at the creature. She knew it couldn’t hear her since it was mostly dead, and also knew that it probably couldn’t even understand pony-speak. One crushed the last shadow lizard and helped Melody to her hooves with a grin.

“We make a good team.” One said smoothly, Melody tucking away her wand as she stood up.

“Whatever, One. Let’s loot this place.” Melody chuckled out, trotting along the walls and examining the books. She searched for anything on potion recipes. One trotted the opposite direction, beginning to collect the potion supplies necessary for a paralysis potion. She looked underneath one of the alchemist tables to find a potion brewing station, and lugged it out onto the floor, getting to work on something to restrain Lucyfied Lily. Melody smiled softly at the help she was receiving, but said nothing.

“Score!” Melody shouted as she lifted the top off of a basket she had bumped into. She reached in and found a stockpile of fruits and veggies, mostly red apples and carrots. One set a couple of potions to brew, and grabbed an apple. She took a bite.

“Nice find. Let’s take a little break.” She said. Melody shrugged and grabbed a book of spells off of the shelf, plopping down with a musty carrot. One sat down beside her, crunching on the apple. It wasn’t the best quality, but it was still alright. Melody got comfortable and began reading. One leaned her head against Melody’s shoulder and stared at the book. Melody cocked an eyebrow in response, but said nothing, simply holding the book in one hoof and the carrot in the other, content for the moment.

Over the course of the next two hours, Melody learned a spell which allowed her to shrink and grow objects. She found a jar, and filled it with tiny carrots and apples. Growing and shrinking was surprisingly less strain on Melody than making fire. She only needed to take occasional breaks to rest her body. One had gotten busy making the rest of the paralysis potions, and when finished, moved on to some others. She ended up with 5 Healing Potions, 8 Paralysis potions, 3 Fire Breathing potions, and 2 Protection potions. After around 30 minutes of searching, they discovered a ladder hidden along the watery entrance of the underground lab.

The two mares climbed for what felt like forever in the tight, cramped space, before they finally arrived at an opening hidden behind a bush, not too far from the cave. One pushed the hatch open and clambered out, stretching her legs. Melody hefted herself over as well.

“Ugh. Finally. Let’s go pour one of these down Lily’s throat and then set up camp, it’s almost nighttime.” One said in a tired voice, yawning as she trotted up the hill to the cave entrance. Melody followed, yawning as well. Lucyfied Lily had fallen asleep in the bubble. One undid the spell without a wand, Melody widening her eyes and taking a mental note to ask about that when she wasn’t so tired. One forced the tip of the bottle between Lucyfied Lily’s lips and poured it down her throat. Lily didn’t even wake, but her body froze.

“Thanks.” Melody said, curling up near the edge of the cave entrance. One grabbede a couple of sticks and set them ablaze, making a small fireplace in the middle of the cave opening. One curled up next to Melody and sighed, wrapping her hooves around her. Melody rolled her eyes, but was too tired to protest.

“Goodnight.” Melody said wearily.

One replied with a soft snore.