Chapter VIII

Cheerilee’s voyage became more difficult with each passing day. Though most of the scratches had healed over time, the larger cuts had only begun to sting with greater intensity. The gash that the timber wolves had given her were now looking an angry red and hurting constantly. Touching the wound caused a stab of pain to surge through her that made her want to scream, and left her hoof covered in a yellow, foul smelling ooze.

By then, she had become feverish. She felt tired, had to force herself to eat, and was prone to dizziness to the point where she was almost constantly seeing double. She became delusional, continually talking to herself, not even noticing that she was. At first the words had been encouragement to continue, but had since degenerated to inane babbling. Her legs felt like lead as she kept up her trek through the forest, her mind solely focused on her next step, and her next step only. Cheerilee had not even noticed that the Forest had become less dense with each passing day, and the sun was actually starting to show.

She felt something against her hoof, followed by pain in her chin and pressure on her chest. She had tripped over a root and was now prone on the forest floor. When she tried to get up, she found that she was unable to do so. Cheerilee hardly even cared any more, the fever addling her thoughts. She barely noticed that she was being picked up and carried.

The mare’s mind began to register the change in scenery. Whoever was carrying her had brought her to some kind of shelter. She couldn’t really make out her surroundings, but picked up the smells of all kinds of different herbs. Sweets, bitters and sours assaulted her nostrils as she was put down to lie on something soft. There was a strange noise near her ear that she figured she was supposed to understand. She opened her mouth to speak, but could only utter nonsensical noises. Moments later, she began to take notice of a figure standing over her. It was holding something to her nose that smelled strong, but not unpleasant. She inhaled the scent, making her eyes flutter momentarily and, surprisingly, gave her a brief moment of relative clarity in her mind.

“Now, you will answer me loud and clear,” a deep but clearly female voice said. There was an exotic quality to her accent. “Tell me what you are doing here.”

“I was taking the trial,” Cheerilee replied slowly and hazily. She tried to focus on the figure before her, but she still couldn’t pierce the haze.

“What is this trial of which you speak, that it has brought you to a place so bleak,” the voice spoke again. It was calm, but there was a stern urgency to the questions.

“I wanted to get better, so I can teach. I need to learn. I had to get better.” Cheerilee felt her focus beginning to waver, returning to her rambling. The figure bent over her pressed something against her snout once more, causing her to inhale the strong scent of before. She regained a bit of lucidity.

“There is something that I wish to know, about a crime you committed a long time ago. Tell me the truth, whole, why did you abuse that poor little foal?,” the voice asked sternly. Cheerilee detected a dark undertone in the question.

“I didn’t do it,” she squeaked.

“I should warn you that telling me lies, is something that only fools would advise,” came the reply. “In your answer you should be prudent. What drove you, Cheerilee, to abuse your student?”

“I didn’t do it,” Cheerilee replied, annoyed. “I was set up. I did nothing wrong. Lies, lies all of them.”

The other figure was silent for a while. Cheerilee, having given up on trying to focus, closed her eyes. She could hear rummaging to her left. Hooves were moving across a stone floor, and several cabinets were opened and closed, before the figure moved back to her, placing something next to her head.

“You will tell me, one more time. Did you, or did you not commit that crime? Diamond Tiara claimed your abuse, was it true or was it a ruse?!” The mare’s voice was urgent. Her head cleared again as the strong smelling substance was once again placed against her snout. Though her limbs felt weak, she flailed her forelegs as she spoke.

“I didn’t do it!,” Cheerilee exclaimed as loud as she could. “It’s all lies. All of it. I didn’t do it, I swear. I didn’t do it!”
As she spoke, she noticed a sound similar to the soft ring that could be heard whenever a unicorn used magic. Afterwards, there was silence.

“Masimba,” the figure uttered quietly, before hurrying about the room with a spring in her step. Within moments, Cheerilee felt something press against her lips. A sweet, syrupy liquid was poured into her muzzle. Too tired to resist, she swallowed, after which she fell into a dreamless slumber.

*****

Cheerilee had no idea how long she was drifting between wakefulness and sleep. She tried to open her eyes several times, but found herself unable to focus her eyes each time, making her dizzy and nauseous. She had felt a sharp stinging sensation in her flank at some point, but began to feel gradually better afterwards. The figure that had been talking to her occasionally spoke to her as she was required to ingest something once in a while, and although she couldn’t understand her words, she felt comforted by them.

When Cheerilee finally began to regain proper conscience, the first thing she noticed was a hoof, decorated with several golden bands, on her forehead. For the first time in what felt like ages she opened her eyes, to find the world come into focus. She was in a bed, in a room with a multitude of strange masks adorning the walls, smelling strongly of herbs. She had been washed, and there were bandages around her wounds. Cheerilee was looking directly into a pair of teal eyes that belonged to a familiar, striped face.

“Zecora?,” Cheerilee asked quietly, her voice hoarse from lack of use. She tried to sit up, but the Zebra placed a hoof on her Chest, urging her to lie down again.

“It is good to see you are getting well, but most of the fever you have yet to quell.” Zecora gave her a friendly smile, her voice having taken the cheery sort of tone that Cheerilee remembered.

“Fever? I-I.” The purple mare struggled with words for a moment. “Thank you. I’m afraid I don’t remember what happened. How long have I been out?

“When I found you, your wounds gave off quite the fetor. You might have succumbed had I come across you later. I hope what I will tell you will not cause you despair. For seven days you have been in my care.”

“Seven days?” Cheerilee brought a hoof to her forehead.

“The infection ran deep and your fever was high, many a cure I have had to apply. You are in luck that your body is strong, for others may not have lasted as long.”

Cheerilee opened her eyes to look at Zecora again. She was stirring the cauldron that stood in the center of her home, a minty smell filling the room. Her eyes fell on a flower that was standing next to her, with pink leaves and a white center.

“Seeds of truth,” Cheerilee mumbled. “I remember this plant. You cured Apple Bloom’s cutie pox with this.” Zecora simply nodded in return. Cheerilee brought a hoof to rub at her temple.

“You interrogated me.” It wasn’t a question. Though she remembered little of the past days, those few moments were still very clear in her mind. Zecora let out a sigh, nodding again.

“Why?”

“I apologize for what you had to endure. Of your innocence I wished to be sure,” the zebra replied. “Your words caused the Seeds of Truth to sprout. Of your honesty I now have no doubt.”

“You had to be sure? For what? You mean you would have left me to die otherwise?”

At this, Zecora’s head snapped towards Cheerilee with a look of shock on her face. “Though I would have had a reason to shun, that is something I could not have done.”

Cheerilee nodded slightly.

“What would you have done, though?”

The zebra looked thoughtful for a moment. “I can honestly tell you that I do not know. Perhaps I would have nursed you, then told you to go.”

“I see,” Cheerilee responded. Zecora had returned to stirring her cauldron. Suddenly, Cheerilee’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute. Zecora, if all it took for you to discern the truth was to make those seeds grow, why aren’t they used in court?! If we had one of those I would never have been sent to jail!”

“There are many in Equestria who are eager to persist,” Zecora began to explain, “that the seeds of truth do not exist. Though the flower is sweet and fair, it is also extremely rare. The seeds here that I possess, combined, took me almost eight years to find.”

Cheerilee tried to speak, but no words would come out. She remembered when Zecora had parted with some of her seeds to cure Apple Bloom’s cutie-pox without hesitation or even hinting at the prospect of recompense. She had admired the zebra’s generosity, but the value of the seeds put the gift in a whole new light nevertheless.

“If they are so rare, why did you waste one of them on me?”

Zecora turned to Cheerilee with a raised eyebrow. “I do not know on what you have based, the idea that I have put one of my seeds to waste. Even though a seed I have lost, to find the truth was well worth the cost.” The zebra frowned, her eyes turned to the ground. “The memory of your actions burned like an ember. There are many in Ponyville who still remember.”

This caused Cheerilee to flinch. Ponyville was the only town that was within reasonable distance of her location. She would have to pass through there sooner or later to catch a train back to Manehatten.

“Zecora, now that you know the truth, could you-,” She bit her lip, hesitating for a moment. “Could you help me?”

“It would be my pleasure to help you, but what is it that you want me to do?”

“I need to catch a train in Ponyville, back to Manehatten where I live. Which means I need some sort of disguise.”

“There will be a time to think about stealth, once you have returned to good health,” Zecora said reassuringly.

Cheerilee nodded slightly, resting her head. After a brief moment, Zecora spoke up. “I do have a question, if it would be alright. Why is it that your saddlebags glow with light?”

Cheerilee frowned for a moment. “My saddlebags? Oh! The gems. I had completely forgotten about those.” She turned her head to see Zecora giving her a curious look. “I’m surprised you didn’t search through my bags when you brought me here.”

“I had my suspicions and the urge was strong, but I convinced myself that it would have been wrong.”

Cheerilee smiled. She had only spoken to Zecora a few times when she still lived in Ponyville, but hadn’t really given her a lot of attention. She started to regret neglecting to truly get to know her before as she found out what a noble soul the zebra really was.

“That was very considerate of you, Zecora. Thank you. You can have a look. It’s just a few gemstones that I found.”
Zecora arched an eyebrow as she nudged open the lid of the saddlebags, gasping audibly, her eyes wide as she lifted one of the gems to her eyes between two hooves. “I can hardly believe what my eye sees, where in Equestria did you find these?”

Cheerilee arched an eyebrow. “They’re just a few stones. I got stuck in a cave a few days ago that was full of them. Why, what’s wrong with them?”

The zebra didn’t reply for a moment, frowning at the gem-filled bag. “I think, Cheerilee, that you should be aware that stones like these are extremely rare. Glimmerstones they are named, and for their properties they are famed.”

Cheerilee tilted her head. “What kind of properties are those?”

“From stones like these one can make jewelry, that will allow you to resist sorcery.”

“Wait, really?” A confrontation with a certain unicorn putting her under a paralysis spell came to the forefront of Cheerilee’s mind. “Are you able to do that?”

Zecora nodded. “Though it is a difficult process, I believe I can achieve success. If you will allow me a stone or two, I can fashion one for you.”

Cheerilee thought for a moment. She looked around Zecora’s hut, her eyes drifting across the many bottles with potions and ingredients of all sorts. With all of the books she had read, Cheerilee was no stranger to plants and some of their properties. A smile made its way to the purple mare’s muzzle as she decided to sweeten the deal.

“I’ll take that jewel, though I have a better idea. You take as many of those stones as you like, within reason. In return, I want to learn about potionmaking.”

Zecora brought a hoof to her chin in thought. “Though I cannot teach you all that I know, there is much knowledge that I could bestow. The offer you make has great appeal.” The zebra smiled warmly, nodding her consent. “You have yourself a deal.”

Author's Note

What's this? Two chapters on a single day? I'm spoiling you! ...Okay, not really. The previous chapter and this one were actually written as a single chapter. I just felt that they worked better when split up.

Quite frankly, this chapter was a pain in the patoot to write for one reason, and one reason only: Zecora. She's an awesome character, but writing her dialogue made me want to tear out my hair. RHYMES EVERYWHERE!

Also, about the concept of glimmerstones...Especially after the 'Just for Sidekicks' episode that aired recently, I have simply idea how currency works in Equestria. The whole point was that I needed a gem that was considered rare, but had properties as described in the chapter.

Finally, 'Masimba' is, from what I gathered, the Zulu word for 'crap'.