*A/N* This is a one-shot fic. The idea came to me whilst watching a certain Futurama episode one evening. I thought this idea would be funny...let's just wait and see...
"The Diamond Dogs are defeated! Arise my fair maiden!"
"Oh Sir Spike...thank you for saving me! Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?
"I think you know what I'd want, ahaha..."
"Ohhh...anything for you my big, handsome, brave--"
*THUD*
"OW! What the..."
Spike's adventures in dreamland were cut short by an object hitting his head. Clambering around on the floor, he located the merciless object - a book. Turning back around, he notices a familiar lavender unicorn, throwing books down from one of the bookcases.
"What gives Twilight? I was so close that time!" Spike cried.
Twilight turned to face him, noticing the rather large red mark on his forehead. "Ehehe...oops. Sorry Spike, it's just that I'm looking for a certain book which will be able to help Applejack's crops." Twilight went back to scanning book after book. "Equestrian Guide to Etiquette, nope! The Memoirs of Shergar Holmes, nope!...AHA! Got it!" With that, Twilight ran back down to her laboratory shutting the door behind her.
Spike just stared at the blank space which Twilight observed, musing his thoughts. 'One day I'll finish that dream...one day."
Smoke filled the laboratory, emitting from a fluid that had spilled onto the floor in the centre of the room. Applejack was leaning against the wall, whistling a tune when Twilight came trotting back down the stairs.
"I've got it! I know what went wrong last time!" Twilight cried.
"Uhh, Twi darlin'. I know your tryin' ta help me out but maybe this isn't such a smart ide--"
"NONSENSE!" Twilight's left eye twitched slightly. "This can be revolutionary for Sweet Apple Acres! If I can get this right, it'll allow you to grow zap apples quickly and at any time of the year!" she said, grasping Applejack's shoulders with her hooves.
"I know Twi, I know but...zap apples are mighty special. Why d'ya think they only grow once a year? I 'preciate the offer Twi, but--"
"AJ, listen to me. Zap apples are the most sought item on your farm, correct?" AJ nods. "And when you do sell the apples and the jam, your income goes sky high, right?" AJ nods again. "Then use this spray! The instant you spray it on a tree, it'll grow zap apples within seconds!"
"Well, the farm could do with some extra money right about now..." Twilight put on her best puppy dog look and stared intently at Applejack who can't resist. "OK! Alright Twi, I'll try it out." Twilight pulled her friend into a hug and jumped up and down, squealing with excitement. The mares released the hug and Twilight went over to a small pot in the centre of the room.
Twilight set the book on a stand and opened it up to a certain page. She began reading the ingredients out loud. "Two stems of Poison Joke, check. Three ounces of baking soda, check. One jolt of electricity..." Twilight quickly performs a small electric charge spell. "Check. And finally, three leaves of Pyro-dill...uhh...un-check?" Twilight quickly turns the pages of her book, scanning the pages before slamming it shut, her face looking confused.
"Uhh Twi...you OK sugarcube?"
"I'm missing one ingredient! I need three leaves from a pyro-dill to complete the spray but this book doesn't have a picture of them...or a description! How in Celestia am I going to find them?"
Both Applejack and Twilight paced for a good few minutes thinking of anything that could help them.
"Twi, don't go makin' yourself stressed over this. If we can't find 'em, we can't find--"
"I'VE GOT IT!" Twilight exclaimed, scaring Applejack out of her skin.
"Gosh darnit Twi! Don't do that!
"Heh...sorry AJ. I've got an idea! The only pony I know who knows everything about plants and herbs...isn't a pony! We need to go and visit Zecora, she'll know what to do!"
Twilight and AJ quickly made their way upstairs and out of the front door, slamming it behind them with force, waking the recently-snoozing dragon.
"Huh...wha?......Not again...I felt her lips...I FELT HER LIIIIIPS!" Spike screamed.
Twilight and Applejack quickly made their way through the Everfree Forest, dodging many swamp puddles, upturned tree roots and giant insects before reaching Zecora's hut. Twilight approached the front door and swiftly knocked on it three times. The door opened to reveal said zebra.
"Twilight and Applejack, so good to see you. Come inside, I've just made a brew." she said.
Twilight and Applejack trotted into the hut, following the zebra, and sat on a soft cushion placed near the window. Zecora went over to a steaming pot and poured three cups of a familiar brown liquid. She brung them over to the mares.
"Here you are girls, some freshed brewed tea. The best in the forest, wouldn't you agree?" Twilight and Applejack nodded whilst sipping their beverage. The three talked for a while, reminiscing about the past few days' events. With the stress that Twilight was putting herself through to get this spray made, the tea and chat did wonders for her emotional health.
One question had always been floating around in Twilight's mind whenever she visited Zecora. She had to ask. "Zecora? Why do you always rhyme when you talk?
Zecora chuckled. "Well Twilight, the reason is clear. Rhyming sounds clever when heard by an ear. I was brought up to always speak in rhyme, now I speak it all of the time. When I asked why I had to rhyme during my youth, my parents would scold me, saying not to was uncouth. My father made me rhyme at the age of eight. He said if I didn't, we would suffer a terrible fate."
"A terrible fate? What in tarnation does that mean?" Applejack asked.
"I never asked so I never found out. But I've always had the lingering of doubt."
A silence filled the room. It was so quiet, the sounds of the forest sounded like they had been amplified ten-fold. Zecora broke the silence.
"So my friends, what is it you need? I doubt the reason you came here was to just drink my tea." she said with a smile.
"Oh of course, I nearly forgot. Zecora, I'm trying to make a spray for Applejack so it can help growth on her farm. I have all the ingredients bar one. Do you know where I can find some pyro-dills?"
"Pyro-dills are extremely rare. I know not of where they grow I must declare. They are considered a myth, gone out of existence. But the truth has been stretched, far into the distance."
"So, do you know what they look like? Have you ever seen them before?" Twilight asked.
"Once I have seen them, a long time ago. It was in a high place, where the wind ferociously blows. Their stems are bright green and their petals are orange. They were a beautiful sight, even though they were...were..."
Zecora's facial expression changed from happy to horrified. Horrified that she cannot make a rhyme. She paced back and forth, trying to think of a rhyming word but the more she paced, the more she panicked. Her breathing became laboured and she began to sweat.
"Uhh...Zecora. Are you OK?" Twilight asked. Zecora turned away from the mares and said nothing. Twilight and Applejack both looked at Zecora worringly and began to slowly approach her. The floor began to rumble lightly, growing into a full scale tremor.
"TWI! WHAT'S HAPPENIN'?" Applejack shouted.
"FEELS LIKE AN EARTHQUAKE! ZECORA, WHAT'S HAPPENING? ZECORA?!" Twilight screamed.
Zecora turned around slowly to show her face...except there was no face. A bright white light covered her face. Her body was distorting and moving upwards towards the light, swirling towards it. Like how water goes down a plughole. The ground shook even harder and the hut was starting to fall apart. The whole of Zecora's body had been sucked into the light but the light remained, pulling in the random objects with a strong vaccum.
"IT'S SUCKING US IN! HOLD ON AJ!" Twilight screamed. Both mares held onto some upturned tree roots and gripped for dear life as the hut began to disintegrate around them. The ground beneath them started to stretch and swirl towards the light. The sound of the vaccum was deafening. Suddenly, the support beam to the hut fell down and struck Applejack on the head, causing her to lose her grip and sending her into the light where she disappeared with a high pitch scream.
"AJ! NO!" Tears streamed down Twilight's face at the loss of two of her friends. She looked around to see the entire forest distorting and leaning towards the light. Her grip was loosening and it was only a matter of time before she lost it. Looking around again, the houses and buildings of Ponyville were flying through the air towards the light which was growing in size.
Facing the inevitable, Twilight closed her eyes and thought of all her friends before letting go. Falling into the light, she felt her entire body become weightless as her sight was blinded by the light. The noise got louder and louder and louder. Twilight couldn't bear it any longer and screamed her lungs out. Then...it stopped.
"Huh?" Twilight said.
She opened her eyes to reveal a world of white. She looked down to her hooves to see there was no ground beneath them - she was floating. She looked around to spot anything...there was nothing. No light, no dark, no sound, nothing. She closed her eyes and huddled into a ball, hoping that this was just an awful nightmare.
'Just wake up.'
'Wake up Twilight, come on.'
'Please wake up...'
"TWI?" a familiar voice eminated. Looking up, she saw Applejack floating in front of her. "What in tarnation happened? Where are we?"
"I don't...don't know. I don't think we're anywhere."
"Twilight and Applejack, are you OK? I hope you are not injured, I most certainly pray!" another voice said. The mares turned around to see Zecora floating behind them.
"Zecora! You're OK!" Twilight exclaimed before kicking her legs, making her float towards the zebra which she embraced in a hug along with Applejack. Twilight broke the hug and looked around again.
"OK, something bad happened. The last thing I remember was that light in the hut!" Applejack said.
"That's right, just after Zecora couldn't rhyme...wait..." The gears turned in Twilight's head. "Zecora! You couldn't rhyme! That's when it started. Just like you said, when you don't rhyme, you will suffer a terrible fate. I think that was it!"
Zecora looked dumbfounded. "What you are saying is completely absurd...although it does make sense in a word..."
"So, what do ya think happened Twi?" AJ pipes up.
"Well, the moment Zecora couldn't rhyme, the ground began to shake harder and harder. Then that light appeared and everything got sucked into it and I mean everything. When you fell in AJ, the forest, the sky, even Ponyville was getting sucked into the light! It's like the whole plane of existence imploded on itself!"
Applejack looked at Twilight with a blank stare. "Uhh...The universe couldn't deal with Zecora not rhyming so it kind of killed itself."
"WHAT? Don't be a silly filly Twi, that's impossible!"
"Look around you AJ? What do you see? That's right...nothing. There's nothing here, no sound, no light, no dark, no up, no down. No life...no time...nothing. My magic doesn't even work here. I'm sorry but...we're stuck here...for the rest of time."
The three mares stay silent for a while before something catches their attention. Twilight looks into the distance to see a pink blur zooming in fast. Fast was right as it quickly hit Twilight in the face.
"HEY TWILIGHT! This place is freaky-deaky right?" Pinkie shouted.
"What, Pinkie? You got sucked in too?!" AJ asked.
"Yep, that's right! The whole town was shaking so I ran outside and starting screaming and laughing because it was making my voice sound silly then I started flying and I went through this light and ended up here! Ooh, do you want to play a game? It's boring here!" she asked in under 5 seconds.
Twilight looked at Applejack and Zecora who both shrugged. "OK, Pinkie, sure. What game?"
"Ooh, ooh! Hide and Seek! I'll count first! 1...2...3...4...5"
Both Twilight, Applejack and Zecora all sighed and face-hooved before floating off in different directions...
*2nd A/N* Seriously guys, this is just a random idea I had when watching TV. If it doesn't work...meh...oh well.
