Starswirl the Bearded didn't like to be treated disrespectfully. Not at all. In his opinion, somepony who had travelled to the ends of the known world and invented hundreds of spells and potions deserved some respect.
And arriving late at work was considered highly disrespectful around here.
“I suppose you had far more important deeds to commit than arriving punctual at our appointment?”
“Uh, I'm terribly sorry, sir. I got caught up in a tavern, where I had sought shelter from the sudden burst of rain.”
“A tavern, you say? I hope you are not too intoxicated too work, then.” His expression had stayed stern, but his voice had received a slight sarcastic undertone.
“No, I didn't actually drink anything...” I said while looking away, so I wouldn't have to face my mentor directly any more.
“Fine. I will be forbearing with you this time; though the next time you will miss our appointed date I will have no choice but to punish you.”
Surprised I looked up again. I wouldn't have thought he would be so clement and connive at that.
“U-Understood, sir. I will not show this misbehaviour again.”
“Very well then. Now let us recommence with our lesson. The week before I began to explain to you the meaning and principles of the sacred science of alchemy. What exactly can yo remember, young scholar?”
“Um...” I had trouble remembering anything at all. I was known to have a terrible memory; Frequently I had forgotten to restock my supplies on groceries and was left with nothing to eat but some old, dry slices of bread and a few carrots to go with it, so naturally I had, unfortunately for me, forgotten most of what I was supposed to learn in the lesson before, and I fiercely tried to piece together what little was left of it in my mind.
“... An alchemist is working with herbs and chemicals and creating potions with them, which have a lot of different purposes.”
His features seemingly softened a bit, and his voice lost some of his harshness.
“That much is true. Carry on.”
“And his ultimate goal is... creating gold from other, inferior metals?”
“No! Have you really forgotten everything I taught you? I am deeply disappointed, Spring Rain. A colt with this attitude is not worthy learning the secrets of hermeticism. Discipline and diligence are vital for any scholar.“
His shout was still ringing in my ears, and I was beginning to feel frightened, frightened he would cast me out, and frightened by his demeanour. Still I tried to compose myself, and said, trying to keep the shaking in my voice to a minimum:
“I-I'm sorry! Sir, I'll promise to be more assiduous from now on, and work hard to … to understand alchemy completely!”
He seemed to have calmed down a bit, but his face still bore a grim and sceptical expression.
“And devote each and every hour of your free time to your studies?”
“Uh... yes, of course! I will, sir!”
That was a tough deal, but what other choices did I have? There weren't that many places to work around here... Most jobs were inherited here, from father to son. My own father used to work as a farmer before he chose to come here, searching for his luck in the town. Urban air makes you free, they say. Might be true, but it surely doesn't make you rich as easily as you might hope. He had to sell what little land he owned to get by in the first months, and had to take various smaller jobs at first, doing errands, cleaning the streets and so on. Later, he taught himself reading, the local priest, whose acquaintance he had made, had helped him with that.
My family had never been really religious, that is why I don't know much about our religion. Instead they used to say “Don't think someone up above will do your work, at the end of the day it just boils down to what you alone managed to achieve with your own hooves.”
After he had learned how to read and write, he tried to apply for more advanced jobs, but it was difficult. He was mostly disregarded because of his heritage, and ultimately got a job at the bottom end of the court's administration hierarchy, where he would copy decrees and edicts. It was a tedious and monotonous task, but it was still better than cleaning city streets.
For some time, he had a fairly decent income, allowing for us a rich salad once a week and even some books with which he taught me reading. I couldn't go to school here, as they only permitted unicorns there, rarely a pegasus. Unfortunately, when the council decided to start cutting expenditures, my father's job was the first to be removed. Though we had some savings, things started to go downhill from then. He looked for other jobs, but there were scarcely any at that time. He even tried working in the ironworks once, but the physically very hard work was too much for him.
Eventually, he got sick. I believe it was the toxic smoke coming from the chimneys and ovens. Only the strongest of all ponies could endure that over a longer period of time, and even on them, time was taking its toll. So when I grew old enough to get a job on my own, there was none my father could have passed on to me.
It was only by chance that I found out about this place, and got the chance to learn about alchemy. Once when I was walking uptown to the market, I heard an argument, followed by the sound of a small explosion. This piqued my curiosity, and so I went to examine the origin of the noise. It lead me to a small side street I had never visited before, and there I saw a light brown unicorn standing outside arguing with nopony else than Starswirl the Bearded himself.
“Fine, I'm going, I'm going. There's no need to shout.”
“Yes, abscond, and do not dare to show your face here in this place ever again! I will find an apprentice more worthy to learn about the sacred secrets of alchemy!”
“Good luck with that. Pff, like anyone with a sane mind would ever want to touch these dusty old boring books anyway...”
At this point, Starswirl's expression changed into the harshest one I had ever seen anywhere. I felt a surge of fright building up inside me, and normally I would have left in such a situation, but some odd sense of curiosity made me stay.
The unnamed, supposedly former apprentice tried to remain collected, but even I could see the terror in his face. I suppose he finally realized that he was provoking a fight, in which he only could get the short straw.
“Watch your words, foul-mouth. You do not know who you are dealing with.”
After the alchemist had spoken these words, the brown one at last got on his way, with a moderate trot at first, which quickly became a full gallop.
Not knowing what Starswirl would be capable of doing when in a bad mood, I had decided to not test my luck and start going, too, but he called me out and I didn't dare to ignore him.
“And what are you doing here, young one? What is your name?”
“Uh... It's Spring Rain, sir. I, … um, was just by chance here and didn't mean to eavesdrop...”
“Spring Rain, tell me, are you interested in learning about Alchemy?”
Back then, I was taken aback by this question. At that time I didn't knew much about alchemy, and had only heard about it once. It was just some mysterious magic to me, and sometimes still is today. I don't know why I answered “Yes, I am, sir”, but I guess my curiosity overruled my fears for the second time that fateful day.
“Are you willing to become my new apprentice, then?”
When he had asked me this peculiar question, a lot of different feelings were welling up inside me. Then, when he had asked me the next Aside from my mentioned curiosity for new things and fear from getting into trouble, I felt a mix of confusion and surprise, with a bit of excitement. I always had heard of others that Starswirl was a great magician and talented inventor, but also a completely unapproachable and withdrawn person, and now he was asking me of all people, a simple earth pony, who just happened to pass by his laboratory to become his assistant? Just what did I do to deserve this honour? I'm sure a lot of ambitious unicorns have learned years at the best
Somehow I still managed to get a simple “Yes” out, and that leads me back to today. I don't know where I would be now if I had declined that offer. As I said, it's hard to find a good job here if you are unemployed and don't inherit your father's job or business.
Probably would have tried my luck and move out and look for work in other towns. A lot of ponies tended to do that, but the next town is far away in the south and I had also heard that not a lot had been successful, with some even landing in the gutter and becoming beggars. So I considered myself lucky to have this job, or rather apprenticeship and was willing to devote myself to it, as I hadn't much to do anyway.
“Very well. Then sign here with your name to affirm your agreement.”
“Eh... write my name, sir?”
I felt how blood surged into my face. I didn't know how to write! I only had learned how to read, but to be able to write and to read were completely different things. I just hoped that this didn't mean the end of my live as an apprentice before it really started, and worriedly looked to Starswirl, but he had simply lifted his eyebrows while retaining his general grim expression. I don't think I've ever seen him with a happy face or even a smile.
“Yes, that is what I asked you to do. Why would you ask, young scholar?”
“It's because … Sir, I've never learned how to write. I only know how to read, I had never the opportunity to visit a school” Or get private lessons, like the really noble folk.
He seemed genuinely surprised upon this confession, but to my own astonishment didn't seem to get angry.
“It is not possible to become a good alchemist without possessing the ability to express oneself in written language” – I already saw my hopes crushed here, but it seemed like it was my fortunate day, as he hadn't finished yet – “but I will help you master it. With diligence and discipline you should be able to learn it in just a few weeks.”
I hesitantly nodded. That was incredibly grateful from him, but as far as I knew to really learn how to properly write a few weeks wouldn't be enough at all... My father needed two years, and even then still only had a somewhat mediocre grasp on it. Then again, he only could spend a few hours a day on it, so maybe if I really focus on studying I could make it, after all my work depended on it, so I had to try.
“Good. We will postpone the appendage of your signature until then. Let us now proceed. I will now show you basic processes essential to know for any alchemist and further explain the reason why they are important. The most important of all are...”
He walked up to a strange contraption of different kinds of glasses, flasks and glass tubes, turned on a burner below one of the bigger receptacles and continued to speak.
“... amongst others, calcination, cohobation and congelation. There are others, equally important, but for now you will concentrate your studies on these three.”
His speech went on and on, eventually just becoming a distant mumble in my ears. I really wanted to focus, but he used a lot of strange and obscure words I didn't understand, and his somewhat monotonous tone wasn't helping.
So I was glad when my lesson was interrupted by vigorous knocks on the door.
“Open the door! In name of the greater god above, open the door! This is an emergency and allows for no further delay!”
Starswirl seemed upset that someone had disturbed him at this hour, when the chemistry normally already is closed.
“Go and look who has the audacity to disrupt me in this moment, young one.”
So I did, and I was then greeted by a grey coated messenger pegasus, wearing a brown cap which covered most of his short, blonde mane.
“Honourable Sir, I in name of my town desperately ask for your help! Our Lord and General Fair Judge has fallen ill with the flu and we are out of medicine. It is of utmost urgency that some antitussive drug immediately will be brought to our noble town of St. Marelington!”
The named had already approached the seemingly distressed envoy and spoke:
“Spring Rain, hear me: Go and pack your saddlebags with what you deem necessary for a week-long trip. Take some drosera with you, it is an herbal remedy powerful against any sort of cough. It is located in the left upmost drawer next to the counter. You will be going in an hour to St. Marelington.”