User:Mega Sean 45/Sandbox/The Name of the Blossom

The Name of the Blossom is the third episode of the alternate seventh season of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic and the one hundred forty-sixth overall. The title is a reference to the 1980 Italian novel The Name of the Rose.

Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Zecora travel to the zebra kingdom of Zebria to retrieve a missing ingredient for an antidote she has to make for Fluttershy’s ill animal friends.

Production
This episode is made because Zecora really lacks a backstory episode.

This is also the first episode Zecora sings.

It is the first Pinkie/Fluttershy episode.

Production-wise, this is the first episode written in the season.

Summary
Over at Fluttershy’s cottage, Fluttershy was in her kitchen, cooking up a surprise recipe for her animal friends. As she tries to stop Angel, Harry, and her other animal friends from sensing the food, Pinkie Pie eventually shows up, and Fluttershy explains what she’s doing. Pinkie Pie asks if she could help out in making the recipe, and as Fluttershy agrees for her to help, Pinkie shows Fluttershy a unique spice that Scorpan gave her from his homeland and urges her to use it. Fluttershy’s afraid and tells Pinkie that she doesn’t use ingredients she doesn’t know about for her animals, but Pinkie persuades her that it would make Scorpan “super-duper happy” if she does. Fluttershy eventually agrees, because it would make him happy, and she places the ingredient inside of the bowl. As Fluttershy begins to stir, the recipe begins to bubble.

Fluttershy and Pinkie both serve the recipe to the animals, and they all got excited for it. When all the animals start eating, Fluttershy says it’s their favorite yearly recipe: Tumbleleaf Jig-root cookies with a new spice added in that Pinkie claims she doesn’t know the name of because it’s a “mouthful”. As Pinkie was laughing over her pun, all the animals in Fluttershy’s cottage started to go berserk, and started to break everything. Fluttershy was really worried about what was going on, and needed to get to the bottom on why her animals are going savage, which is too strong of a word for Fluttershy to hear.

After some discipline and cuts, Fluttershy and Pinkie both brought the savage Angel to Zecora hoping she would have an answer to their problem. Zecora claims that animals have an illness that only comes from a plant known as Sendak’s Teeth, native to Cethens. Fluttershy worries that Scorpan might’ve given Pinkie the poisonous plant on purpose, but Pinkie claims that she forgot to mention about using the plant wisely, but she was too excited to use it and not thought about being careful. Zecora tells them that she’ll be able to brew the antidote, but unfortunately, she’s missing one ingredient: savannah blossom, which can only be grown in the savannahs of her homeland of Zebria, located passed the Undiscovered West of Equestria. While Pinkie’s excited to be going somewhere ponies known have ever gotten before, Fluttershy becomes nervous, but Zecora tells her that she cannot do it alone, and should for the sake of her animals. Fluttershy agrees, and the three head off.

After taking a train to the most West that the train can reach, they rent a carriage to travel West. After a long journey of tons of walking and putting up with Pinkie’s constant chatter, Fluttershy asked Zecora about her life back in Zebria. Although, Zecora keeps trying to change the subject, which makes her feel a little suspicious. The trio has finally made it to Zecora’s homeland, where it made Zecora feel pretty nervous; so nervous that she covered herself with her brown cloak. Fluttershy asks to why she put on the cloak, but again, Zecora changes the subject insisting that they need to locate the savannah blossom. When Fluttershy asks where they have to begin, Pinkie starts to excitedly wander around Zebria checking out the culture, and asking every zebra random questions about their lives. While Zecora and Fluttershy both tried to calm Pinkie down, Zecora reunites with her oldest friend Zeth who saw through her disguise, and Zecora was really happy to see, but Zeth didn’t feel the same way, and instead insults her for returning home and tells her to be lucky that he doesn’t reveal who she is. Fluttershy asks Zecora what has happened and why she has left, but Zecora just drops the subject and tells them that they need to head to the savannah to look for the flower. While Pinkie continues to bother the other zebras, Fluttershy insists Zecora to get a head start on locating it while she tries to stop Pinkie.

As Fluttershy asks Pinkie to calm down, she explains to her about her suspicions over the tension between Zecora and Zeth, but Pinkie thought that was probably a “zebra-thing”, but Fluttershy thought otherwise, and maybe that Zecora’s old friends felt betrayed when Zecora left home, and that they missed her. Pinkie starts to feel bad for Zecora, and thought it would be nice to give Zecora a ‘welcome home’ party and invite all of her old friends, even though they have no idea who all of her friends are, so they decided to start off with Zeth.

Zeth explains to Pinkie and Fluttershy that they used to be really good friends and that they were both apprentices under their teacher Zenghorn. They both worked together to make healing potions for zebras fallen ill, but Zecora always wanted to prove herself the best to Zenghorn, and wanted to be superior to Zeth. Fluttershy and Pinkie were confused though because it didn’t sound like the Zecora they knew, but Zeth asks them if they really knew her. Zeth wanted to prove it to them, so he takes them to see his mentor Zenghorn.

When Zeth takes Pinkie and Fluttershy to meet Zenghorn, Zenghorn explains about his two beloved students of his past, and how much they wanted to make Zebria a better place by terminating all types of illness. Unfortunately, Zeth and Zecora weren’t able to agree on how the potion should be made, so they went their separate ways to make their own elixirs. Unfortunately for Zecora, her elixir turned out to be very poisonous and made all the zebras sicker than ever before, but luckily for zebra kind, Zeth’s elixir turned out to be very effective and all the zebras were saved. However, Zecora brought shame upon herself as everyone started to blame her for getting them sick, so Zecora decided to run away. Pinkie and Fluttershy both cried over Zecora’s tragic backstory, but they tell them that Zecora has really helped Ponyville out in so many different illnesses. While Zenghorn was impressed to hear the good her student has caused, Zeth, however, still didn’t believe it, and knew that she wanted to be alone so she could be superior to him. But as Zenghorn was telling the story, Pinkie was drinking some of Zeth’s potions on his shelf without permission, which causes numerous side-effects to Pinkie, but luckily for her, that final potion she drank was the antidote to all of it. Pinkie also lists the ingredients within each potion, and explains that she has gifted taste buds and knows any kind of ingredient just by tasting them.

Pinkie and Fluttershy started to persuade Zenghorn that even though Zecora has made a huge mistake in her past, she has learned from it, and because of that, she was really helpful to the friends she made in Ponyville, and just wishes for her to be forgiven, and would want to make amends. Zenghorn agrees, but doesn’t how to persuade the other zebras to do so. Pinkie suggests that Zecora should make a new elixir that’s ten-times better than Zeth’s, and as Zenghorn agrees to it, Fluttershy becomes worried that Zecora won’t be able to do it, and that they should’ve talked to her about it first.

When Zecora returns to town after finding a supply of the flowers, Pinkie and Fluttershy explain to them what has happened which makes Zecora furious and wishes the three of them to leave Zebria immediately. Pinkie and Fluttershy try to persuade Zecora that she needs to face her fear of regret and try to make amends with her old friends; otherwise she may feel that regret for the rest of her life. Zecora disagrees, and claims to be happy with the friends she made in Ponyville, and is never going to come back to Zebria except for emergencies like this one. Pinkie and Fluttershy beg for her to give them a chance and to prove to them how much she’s improved.

Zecora though eventually agrees and that she really wants to restore her honor for Zebria. With the help of Pinkie and Fluttershy, Zecora starts to brew the elixir for Fluttershy’s animals as Zecora sings a poem as she brews.

While brewing though, Zeth comes in and confronts Zecora; reminding her about the poison she made a long time ago and that no zebra is going to give her a second chance, but Pinkie and Fluttershy both stand up for her, saying she’s the best brewer they’ve ever met and that nopony (or in this case zebra) can beat her work. Zeth begs to differ before he walks out, but as he walks out, Pinkie looks over at him suspiciously. After Zecora completes the potion, she brings it out to the crowd of zebras who wait to see her accomplishments. Zenghorn brings forward an ill zebra who is in need of an elixir, and Zecora knew it would be her last chance to redeem herself. After the zebra drinks the potion, she starts to smile, but then gets even more sicker than before, which makes everyone surprised, and Zecora very confused and full of more regret. The zebras start to insult Zecora, which causes Zecora to tearfully accept it and promised to never come back. Fluttershy tries to cheer up Zecora, saying that she still trusts her, regardless of the mistake, which helps Zecora feel a little better not completely. Just after Zeth gives the sick zebra the antidote, and claims that he will always be superior to Zecora. Just then, Pinkie begins to object claiming that it wasn’t Zecora’s fault. Just then, she drinks the poisoned elixir and claims that the ingredients used in it weren’t the ingredients Zecora used in her potion. She then tastes the antidote Zeth claimed to have made, and tells everyone that the elixir she just drank was the elixir Zecora made, and that a certain some zebra switched them, and the only one who was in the cottage while Zecora was making the potion was Zeth.

Zeth starts to get nervous, claiming that he doesn’t know what Pinkie was talking about, but after Pinkie explains the ingredients of Zecora’s elixir in a particular order, Zenghorn begins to believe her, claiming that no other zebra uses a technique like that other than Zecora, and that causes the other zebras to believe him. Zeth got even more nervous, and as Zenghorn was interrogating him, Zeth admits that he set up Zecora since the beginning, explaining that Zenghorn always admired her work best, and that he got tired of it and really wanted to impress him, but the only way to get his teacher’s full attention was to get rid of Zecora. Zenghorn tells Zeth that he is no longer his student, and all the zebras begin to yell angrily at him, claiming he was the one that poisoned them all along, which causes Zeth to feel shameful. However, before Zeth leaves, Zecora tells him that she always admired his work more than she admired her own, and wishes for him to not give up on being a herbalist, and to use his potions for good, much like Zecora has always been, and also apologizes to Zeth for being too superior to him. Zeth forgives her, and apologizes for setting her up, and that he always admired her work too, but just wanted to get attention and compliments from his teacher as much as Zecora has as well. After the two share a hug, Zenghorn also forgives Zeth and apologizes for dismissing him, and the other zebras cheer for both him and Zecora.

Zecora thanks Pinkie and Fluttershy for helping her restore her honor in her homeland, and Fluttershy thanks Zecora for the elixir to help cure her animals, and as for Pinkie, she throws the Sendak’s Teeth spice away in what she thought was the garbage can, but turned out to be one of Zeth’s currently brewing potions.

Credits

 * Andrea Libman as Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Zebra 2
 * Brenda Crichlow as Zecora, Zebra 1
 * Garry Chalk as Zeth, Zebra 3
 * [Scott McNeil as Zenghorn

Quotes

 * Fluttershy: No, no, no, Angel! This recipe is a special surprise supper for all of you! You can’t know what it is until I’m finished.
 * [Angel gives Fluttershy the sad eyes]
 * Fluttershy: Yeah, that isn’t going to help this time.
 * [Angel continues to give Fluttershy the look]
 * Fluttershy: Tempting, but, if you’re going to stare at me like that, I can show you my special stare!


 * Pinkie Pie: Going to somewhere we’ve been to before is so amazing! I could make so many new ideas for parties! Maybe I’ll throw a surprise party for my next friend about this trip!
 * Zecora: Umm… I’m not sure if you checked, but your calendar should say my birthday is next.
 * Pinkie Pie: In that case, you’ll have to forget about the whoooole trip and your whoooole culture when we get back!


 * Fluttershy: Um, Zecora? Why are you putting on your cloak?
 * Pinkie Pie: Duh! Because she’s cold! Don’t zebras get cold in blazing hot weather like this?


 * Zecora: Why I believe it’s Zeth, my oldest friend! It is so wonderful to see you again!
 * Zeth: Zecora, I can’t believe you would again show your face, I thought you would’ve found your place.
 * Zecora: I know I left filled with so much regret, but I really did miss it here, do you want to take a bet?
 * Zeth: Your rhymes were always so lazy. A lot of zebras around here always found you crazy. You better be lucky that I don’t reveal who you are, or else you will wish to be not here but far.


 * Zenghorn: It is nice to meet the new friends of a student, although she coming back here is not very prudent. If there are any questions you wish to ask me about her, I would provide word of caution as she finds the final ingredient for your cure.
 * Pinkie Pie: How about, why is there a bone in your nose?
 * Fluttershy: Pinkie! It’s not nice to tease someone’s look.
 * Pinkie Pie: Right, that’s Rarity’s job. My bad!


 * Zenghorn: Both of my students are such inspirations, so all I can do is wish them my congratulations! I knew Zecora would never poison all the zebras on purpose, but I do apologize to you Zeth for ignoring your work, I’m speechless.
 * Zecora: That doesn’t rhyme, why do you bother rhyming if you don’t do it right?
 * Fluttershy: Whoa, Zecora. You didn’t rhyme there.
 * Zecora: We don’t rhyme because we have to; we just rhyme because we want to.


 * Zecora: Zeth, I know the future could be anything it could be, but… I really hope you come and visit me.
 * Zeth: You know for sure that I will, because doesn’t it stink to be the only zebra in Ponyville?