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Post by Horizon Flare on Nov 5, 2011 12:03:17 GMT -5
Horizon grumbled loudly by himself as he strode the narrow, little-used path to Zecora's hut somewhere in the shadowy embrace of Everfree. His each step was accompanied by a curse, a swearword, or some exotic way of insult, and Horizon had a very wide vocabularly, so he wasn't going to repeat himself soon. The reason for his annoyance and foul-mouthed mood was none other than Rainbow Dash.
"Rainbow CRASH! The jade's a blasted plague on the firmament. Everypony's always like, 'ooooh, RBD's she's sooooooo awesome an' fast an' pretty an' agile an' a bloody peach, too!' She be makin' me put on me pummelin' gloves on fer good an' proper. Moon an' Daystar me be hating' her, an' hayfire an' brimstone too!" He looked ahead and saw Zecora's hut starting to come into view. He whipped the air with his wings angrily and swatted around with his tail.
"Stripes! It be me, Horizon, if ya remember. Ya home?" He called out. The Zebra was an incredible alchemist and knew all about herbal medicine. She, if anypony, could help him. Horizon knew he wasn't as fast as Dash, but it seemed that ponies only cared abou speed, and not acrobatics and REAL skill of flight. He bet that Dash couldn't pull off a Horizon Flux, or a Falling Sky Spin! "Me be needin' help with a thing, if ya happen to be 'round!"
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Post by Zecora on Nov 5, 2011 19:55:16 GMT -5
Zecora scanned through her collection of shelves for a third time. Not there. It had been not too long ago, though! The amber had been resting on that shelf when that black pegasus had visited, she was certain! Now, there was simply an empty spot in its place. With a defeated sigh, the zebra slumped against the wall, unsure of what had become of the gemstone that she had recently found. A loud call broke her from her dismay. There was something familiar about the voice, as well.
Opening the door to the hut, she saw the pegasus awaiting her. Zecora hardly expected to see him again, or even this soon for that matter. Trotting out of her home, she approached the agitated aerobat.
"Greeting once again, Horizon Flare.
You must live a life of danger, I declare.
Hopefully it is not a matter of distress that troubles you.
Please tell me of this 'thing' and I'll see what I can do."
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Post by Horizon Flare on Nov 5, 2011 20:06:33 GMT -5
Horizon's wings beat the air and he let out heavy breaths, as if trying to keep himself calm, and there was a glint of barely restrained storm in his eyes that slightly receded when the Zebra came to view. "Stripes! Luna be venerated, ya be home!" He leaped into the air and stroke his wings once, landing softly just a few steps in front of the Zebra. "Aye, that be me. Horizon Flare's me name, danger's be me game, heh! Anyroad", he scratched the back off his head with a hoof.
"Hatin' to be askin' o' 'nother favor o' ya, but me be needin', eh.." He hesitated for a while. This had sounded a lot smarter inside his head a minute ago. "Somethin' to be enhancin' me speed! I mean, you know. I desire my wings to carry me with even greater quickness!" He changed to a Trottinghamn accent mid-sentence without any warning. He had a habit of fluctuating between different accent and dialects, but the change was rarely so.. obvious.
"So, ya got anythin' fer that?"
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Post by Zecora on Nov 7, 2011 22:48:40 GMT -5
The request wasn't exactly a usual one, but she had received stranger ones before. Some ponies seemed to think she had the cureall to almost anything! Not that Zecora minded the reputation, though. It was almost flattering.
"A burst of speed is possible to gain,
with an increase in energy that you can sustain.
Wait here for a moment while I obtain
a brew whose effects are of this vein."
Turning about, the zebra paced back into her home. After a few minutes of shuffling papers and pots being heard from inside the hut, Zecora returned with a corked, green bottle.
"A bitter root is what this mixture holds,
which is said to heighten previous thresholds.
Temporary endurance and vigor it will provide,
if, this peculiar concoction, you choose to imbibe."
After finishing her explanation, she began to offer the bottle to Horizon, only to pull it back.
"Be warned that these effects are only for a stallion.
For mares, it hardly works in this fashion."
She stared at Horizon a bit longer before laying the flask in front of him.
"Some have tried to use mixtures like this to cheat in the past.
In athletics and dares to be the one that would outlast.
Needless to say, that those who try to deceive
deserve the rightful punishment that they receive."
Her tone was sharp, ringing with a palpable tartness. Zecora took a deep breath, her previously belligerent demeanor dissolving back to her usual pleasantness.
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Post by Horizon Flare on Nov 8, 2011 11:33:07 GMT -5
The Pegasus' smirk turned into almost Cheshire-esque grin when Zecora said she could do what he asked of her. Now, he'd show everypony that Horizon Flare was the top ace in the sky, not some silly filly called Rainbow Dash! He followed after the Zebra to her hut, and waited by the door, looking around with the same curiosity as the first time he'd been here. When she returned soon, the Pegasus almost jumped out of excitement and premature triumph.
"Gotcha, Stripes. Roots an' stuff, an' this'll give me the.. 'dash' me be looking' fer?" He had a wolfish grin on his features when he spoke, inwardly chuckling at his jest. "Aye, careful, roight", he agreed with the Zebra in a rather absent-minded fashion when she pulled the flask back. After she offered it to him again, he took the thing in his mouth and nodded.
"Don'tcha worry, Stripes! Me's got this, an' ain't no scheme of mine to be usin' ungentlecoltly business to bein' the victor in some business. Just to get the edge me be needin' in me daily regimen, savvy?" Blatant lies, but convincingly spoken ones.
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Post by Zecora on Nov 8, 2011 20:53:24 GMT -5
"All precautions are necessary to take
to avoid an unfortunate mistake."
Whether it was eagerness or carelessness, Zecora hardly appreciated his inattentive reply. The follow-up seemed genuine enough, even if his promise was all she had to go with. There was a spark in his eyes that appeared to betray his words, or was that just his excitement?
"I'm sure a daredevil like yourself has much more in mind,
such as pushing your limits with a potion of this kind."
The suggestion was friendly enough, though her suspicions still stood.
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Post by Horizon Flare on Nov 9, 2011 9:44:58 GMT -5
"Aye, aye. Bein' careful an' cautious with this thing", the Pegasus promised, opening his wings and beating the air twice, as if putting emphasis on his words. He grinned at the Zebra and shook his head to the comment of him being a 'daredevil with much more in mind.' "Nah, that ain't me", Horizon responded, nodded and turned away towards the path that lead back to Ponyville.
"Cheers fer the brew, Stripes! See y'all later, aye?" He hollered over his shoulder and burst into a gallop, awaiting eagerly the moment he would reach Ponyville and let all those blinded fanponies see that there was only room for one Pegasus Ace in the skies, and his name was Horizon Flare!
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Post by Horizon Flare on Nov 14, 2011 11:31:28 GMT -5
Only a few hours had passed until the Pegasus returned to Zecora's hut, this time bursting through the canopy in a storm of leaves, twitches and even small branches. He had visited the place enough times now to locate it from above, instead of having to use the small trail through the forest. The stallion crashed on the forest floor, vines tangled in his wings and looking like a black, red and green ball of feathers and mane and legs more than a pony. He let out a few select curses and ruffled his feathers and beat his wings, throwing the miscellaneous small objects around.
"Huh. Mayhap that wasn't the brightest o' ideas.." He groaned and stepped forward, a lash of pain instantly burning through his hind leg. The pony clenched his teeth and limped through the opening to Zecora's hut, much ignoring the injury - it wasn't the first time he had hurt himself.
Horizon knocked on the Zebra's door forcefully a few times. "Stripes! Ye there? It be I, Flare here, an' me's got a real hard place 'round right here!" He hoped Zecora would be home, and not off somewhere collecting herbs or whatever stuff a medicine mare like she would be off doing.
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Post by Zecora on Nov 15, 2011 15:47:43 GMT -5
Zecora was starting to settle down for the night, the empty cauldron cooling now though the scent of a fresh stew still wafting from it. Before she got too far into pouring through her notes on the herbs she had collected, a knock sounded from the door. Setting her book aside, she trotted to the door and creaked it open to greet whoever it was that had come out here.
Who would the guest happen to be? It was Horizon...again. Wasn't that pegasus just here a few hours ago? The stallion appeared to be in disarray, whether it was from a rough landing or perhaps the predicament he brought to her. The THIRD predicament, that is.
Zecora hardly looked amused to see the pony before her.
"Horizon, while I surely do appreciate your company.
Upon all your troubles, you cannot expect me to take pity."
The reply, while stern and frustrated, still tinged with concern. What had the stallion gotten himself into now?
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Post by Horizon Flare on Nov 15, 2011 16:08:59 GMT -5
"Ah, well.. umm", he began, not really knowing how to present his worries to the Zebra without gaining her eternal scorn. The skills of a herbalist would surely have been useful in the future, and the mare certainly would never concoct anything for him after this. He bit his lip, ready to smash his head into the nearest wall to punish himself of his carelessness. How could've he mix up the bottles? Such a rookie mistake.
"Well, me be bein' blunt an' straight with it, then", the Pegasus leaned against the frame of the door, arching his hind leg to keep it from touching the ground, afraid to put any weight on it. "So, me be comin' to ye lookin' fer a way to be givin' me an edge 'gainst Rain-bloody-Dash, whom everypony's all giddy 'bout. Aye, me lied, nevermind that. Long story short, Rarity's accidentally drank the drought, an' her mane's all gray and she ran like the bloody wind afore collapsin'. Sooo... ya be in possession o' a cure, then?" The Pegasus lowered his head defensively as he spoke.
"An' ya ain't ever gonna be havin' to be seein' me 'gain, Stripes. Do this fer Rarity, 'kay? Me be at fault an' she be sufferin' 'coz o' me stumblin', aye.. so.. uh.. please?"
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Post by Zecora on Nov 17, 2011 15:33:34 GMT -5
The more that the stallion explained, the wider the zebra's eyes grew. After he had finished, they then narrowed and filled with contempt.
"You foolish pegasus! You've done the exact opposite of what I have said!
How could you see fit to use my medicine for your own games instead?
Now Rarity is ill, you say, from your own careless mistake?
I do not know how much more of this nonsense I can stand to take!"
Zecora was clearly upset by the breach of trust that Horizon had made. It was a great deal of time before she managed to calm herself enough to reply.
"You are lucky that I hold my friendship with Rarity over my current disdain for you.
A simple cure does exist that, the side-effects of the potion, it will undo.
Not far from here lies a plant that grows high in the canopy.
The simple consumption of it will do the trick quite amply."
She galloped inside of her hut, returning briefly afterwards with a sheet of loose parchment. It appeared to be a crude map of the forest, marking their current location as well as that of the medicinal plant. A simple drawing of the leaf was on the corner of the paper: wide and bright green, with black ovals descending the ridges to the stem.
"I wish you luck in finding it and returning then,
but after that I do not want to see you again,"
Zecora stated with a tone of finality.
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Post by Horizon Flare on Nov 17, 2011 15:56:54 GMT -5
"Aye, aye, me ken 'ready, no need fer lecturin'", the Pegasus said arrogantly and with an annoyed tone. He didn't appreciate it when somepony criticized him, even though what the Zebra said was very true - his self-esteem wasn't great enough to take her words to heart. Instead he narrowed his eyes and looked down sullenly, like a child who doesn't get his way. The Zebra disappeared inside, and the Pegasus waited for her outside, leaning against the outer wall of her hut.
When Zecora appeared again, he quickly grabbed the map, gazed it over and tucked it somewhere in a flash - like he had simply made it disappear. The stallion turned around, limped a few steps, and looked over his shoulder at the Zebra. "Deal then, Stripes.." He hesitated, fell quiet for a moment and spread his wings, preparing to take into air. "Sorr 'bout the mess", he murmured, before his wings beat the air and a cloud of dust flew off around him.
Horizon flew through the hole he had made into the canopy when he first landed, and began his flight towards the place where the Zebra's plant would grow, as swiftly as he could. Time was of the essence, and he was horrified of how Rarity would react to her mane should she wake up. The Zebra's words rang in his mind as he soared; she spoke truly, but.. He wasn't used to honest and being responsible pony was all new to him. Treading the path of deceit was easy compared to this straight-backed farce.
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