“I can’t do this!”

“You have to!”

The Pegasus glared at her friend. “No, I can’t! I can’t risk hurting her even more than I already have!”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “She’s a strong mare if that were to happen.” She sighed. “If it helps, I think you’ll do great!”

Rainbow Dash’s glare increased into Stare territory. Twilight winced, yet racked her brain. What she needs is a little courage. Wait, isn’t there a potion called Liquid Courage?

Rainbow could almost see the lightbulb; it was so obvious that she had an idea.

“Follow me!” The alicorn trotted off without another word, leaving her friend to follow.

Rainbow Dash groaned as Twilight sifted through her potions for what felt like the bazillionth time.

“Patience. It’ll turn up,” Twilight responded without even looking up.

“Just give it up already! It’s not here!”

Twilight sighed and turned away from the jars and vials. “Maybe you’re right. But I was positive I had it!”

The Pegasus rolled her eyes and said, “Well it’s not here now. Hey, isn’t Applebloom interested in potions? Maybe she took it.”

Twilight tapped her chin with a hoof in thought. “Perhaps. But it doesn’t store well. The temperature and humidity must be perfect, or the entire thing spoils. Odds are that Applebloom doesn’t know that and it’s already gone bad.”

Rainbow hung her head. “Well, I guess I should go back to the hospital. I can’t really go home, so that’s the only place I can go.”

“Nonsense!” Twilight exclaimed. “You’re staying with me. That’s what friends are for. Plus, I have this enormous castle with nopony to share it with me. I can set you up in one of the guest rooms and I will not take no for an answer!”

Rainbow rolled her eyes again, but didn’t argue. “But what about that potion? Can you make another?”

“Regrettably, no. It takes multiple specific ingredients. Ingredients which I don’t have readily available.” She tapped her chin again. “However, I have most of the ingredients. I only need essence of wormwood. It’s somewhat rare, but I think I’ve seen it in the Everfree Forest.”

“Of course, it’s in there. I’m sure that with our luck, there’ll be a couple manticores camped around it.”

Twilight decided that that didn’t warrant a response. She simply grabbed a saddlebag with her magic. She would need something to carry the last ingredient back with her. “Tell you what, if you’re feeling tired from all this exertion by the time we reach the edge of the forest, we’ll take the easy route and see if Zecora has it. Does that sound good?”

Rainbow nodded and gingerly stretched, preparing herself for the trek to the forest.

Rainbow’s hooves were dragging and she felt dizzy. She hadn’t been this active since before Keres. She shivered at the mere memory of that cold, cold voice, but the sudden movement nearly drove her off of her hooves.

Twilight glanced over, concern clearly written on her face. “Maybe you should take a break. We have been walking for a while. You probably need to rest your legs.”

The Pegasus didn’t answer. She simply sank down to the ground, trying not to jostle her still-healing wounds.

“If you want…” Rainbow glanced up at her friend, pricking her ears to hear her better. “I can go on ahead and pick you up on the way back to the castle. That’ll give you time to rest, and I will be able to ask Zecora for the ingredient before nightfall.”

Rainbow thought about it for a moment, but finally nodded.

Twilight smiled and gestured over to a nearby tree. “Just wait over here and I’ll be right back.”

Knock knock knock

Twilight waited patiently for Zecora to open the door, but she heard nothing from inside the hollowed-out tree.

“Zecora? Are you there? I’m trying to make a potion and I need essence of wormwood.”

No response.

Hmm, that’s odd. Well, I know she’s not out, since she usually leaves a sign on the door. Should I barge in?

After finally making up her mind, Twilight pushed open the door. It was unlocked. That was the first strange thing.

Twilight had warned Zecora about something roaming around the forest. She hadn’t given her specifics, because she didn’t want to worry her friend. But Zecora had promised that she would lock her door. So, why isn't it locked?

The second thing that stood out to her was the fact that the entire room was trashed. Books were strewn about, destroyed beyond repair. Broken glass littered the floor along with puddles of different colored liquid. What happened here?!

Finally, Twilight noticed the big cauldron that stood in the middle of the room. The fire underneath crackled merrily, reminding the alicorn of Hearth’s Warming. However, the lid on top had been weighed down with heavy rocks.

With a sweep of her horn, the stone flew off, coming to rest at the alicorn’s hooves. This entire situation seemed eerie, sending Twilight’s paranoia through the roof. But she was determined to find out what was in that cauldron. It must have scared Zecora if she had trapped it so efficiently.

The handle glowed as lavender magic slowly lifted it up. Twilight peered inside.

She must be hallucinating. She had to be. She saw Zecora, bobbing in a boiling potion that Twilight didn’t care enough about to identify. Her head was bloody from a gash, but her eyes haunted Twilight. They were open wide; her beautiful blue irises were dull and glassy. Her mouth was agape, seemingly in the middle of a scream as she met a no-doubt painful end. The rest of her body was bloated as she was simultaneously drowned and boiled alive.

Twilight’s lunch made a second appearance.

She stood shakily after she finished vomiting and wiped her mouth with a hoof. She knew who had done this. Twilight narrowed her eyes and growled.

"Keres will pay!"

Author's Note

Sorry if RD seems a bit more OOC than she has in my story. I just really wanted a reason to have Zecora found (ideally by Twilight). And, no, I was not referencing any alcohol whatsoever with the name Liquid Courage. I just needed a decent name for a courage potion and that was the first thing that came to mind.

Let me know what you think! I do my best, but sometimes I overlook things. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I'm noticed that my writing reflects what I've been watching lately (horror movies), so I'm sorry if it's been a bit darker than expected.