The Cutie Alchemist

by Visharo

Mi Amore Cadenza

Moons passed, The Fall turned into The Cold. Another word to grow the already massive collection. It happened on a particularly exhausting day, Starswirl was returning from a collection hunt, bringing back multiple items, most of which were edible. Just moments away from stepping into the now completely barren world into the chaotic home filled with bored fillies, he saw it. Specks of white falling from the sky.

It was so foreign and unnatural that Starswirl had to stop and stare. The longer he stared the more white appeared. More and more and soon the sky was nearly impossible to see. It was cold to the touch and it seemed to be sticking to the ground. A large noise from the hut took the unicorn's attention. He shook his head and marched forwards before a gust blew his way, sending him into a fit of shivers. He gasped dramatically and sped up.

The moment he opened the door, he was greeted by three expectant faces. Starswirl smiled faintly before turning around and closing the door before any of the cold got in. He sighed heavily, wondering what would happen in the future moons. He soon got quickly lost in his thoughts.

"Swirly!" A chorus of voices brought him back. Starswirl, despite living with other ponies for several moons, had to keep on reminding himself that there were others, others that needed his help. He turned around, expecting the worst. Before him were three fillies, their ages quite varied, and their eyes were filled with shame.

"What happened?" He tried his best to make his voice sound condescending. A word and skill he learned recently, although the latter was still a work in process.

Sunset burst into tears, her fillyish sobs broke Starswirl's resolve. Celestia immediately went to the orange filly and tried to comfort her, while Luna just stared at the ground. The four of them stood like that for a few countings until Luna mumbled something.

"Can you say that again?" Starswirl leaned forward so he could hear her better. Somewhere in the back of his head thought perhaps something was happening to his hearing. It was quickly dismissed.

"The...glass cup thing...broke." Luna's voce trembled and she idly kicked the floor. The stallion could see tears forming in the dark filly's eyes. Before the dam could break however, Starswirl decided to embrace Luna. It was so unexpected, that everypony froze, including Starswirl, but he didn't break his hold.

"It is alright Luna. I forgive you." That word resonated deeply within the hut. It was a word that had never been uttered on Equus, but it seemed right. Before he found the cup, Starswirl would normally pore his thoughts on the word, but now, many moons later, he accepted it as normal. "Come here too."

He had gestured to Celestia and Sunset and it didn't take long for the young mare and filly to join the hug as well. Despite being very young and her brain not completely grown, Sunset knew that all was alright. They sat on the floor, embracing each other, dried tears on their cheeks, and warmth in their chests. As Starswirl reached with a finger to brush away a tear that had somehow formed, he noticed a light.

Softly breaking away from the group's embrace, he slowly made his way to the light, making sure to keep the fillies behind him. He ignored their questions and whimpers and got ever so closer. There on the floor was the cup, however it looked different.

The cup itself, ignoring what was happening, Starswirl could make out cracks on the glass. There was no better word to describe it. The cracks expanded on the front, creating two shapes on either side. Something about it looked familiar but the unicorn couldn't place a finger on it. Then he focused on the light.

Despite the cup being broken, it still worked. As Starswirl watched as the cup filled up with a deep, bright pink. He couldn't describe it any better, there seemed a heftiness to the color. He could feel the fillies slide in next to him and together, and with bated breath, the four of them watched the process. This one seemed to fill up slower then the other ones Starswirl had watched, but they waited patiently. Soon enough, a picture was emblazoned. A blue crystalline heart with golden trims on either side.

With a bright flash, causing a temporary blindness, a new pony appeared. Starswirl opened his eyes, curious to see what the new pony looked like, then gasped. The pony had wings!

"Mi Amore, can you help me with the padding? I can not seem to work this...magic." Ever since Sunset figured out how to work a horn, the other three unicorns have been trying to work their own magic. However, the only pegasus on Equus, who seemed only slightly younger than Luna, leaving Sunset still as the youngest, seemed the most competent with her body. Using her wings to maximum efficiency. It awed the stallion to no end whenever she used the feathery appendages.

"Swirlyyyy! You know I hate that name!" Mi Amore whined but trudged over to where Starswirl was gathering moss. He decided, because of The Cold, to pad up his hut, making it more suitable for himself and his residents.

"But you were the one who said that was your name." The stallion said plainly. It was true, after the initial shock, the new pony announced herself as Mi Amore Cadenza and that she was a pegasus. She then got quickly overwhelmed by the four eager faces.

"Because that is my name!" Mi Amore grumbled while piling some of the scraped moss, using her hands and wings to lessen the workload. "I just don't like it."

"Then change it." Starswirl shrugged, not caring either way. After he said that, he reflected on how much he had changed over the past few moons.

"You can do that!?" The mare beside him was in so much shock, the moss she was carrying fluttered to the ground. Starswirl made a disapproving sound and cleaned the moss of any dirt that had gotten on it.

"Why not. My name is Starswirl the Bearded, yet everypony calls me Swirly. Celestia started it and now it seems to have stuck." The stallion shrugged again. He had gotten used to the name.

The duo fell into silence, the pegasus no doubt contemplating on what he had said. It was after gathering as much moss they could carry and during their walk back, that Mi Amore gasped loudly, nearly startling Starswirl into dropping his bundle of moss. He made that disapproving sound again. She smiled sheepishly before saying.

"Cadance! That will be my name now!" Mi Am...no, Cadance looked extremely proud and in the remaining countings in the walk back, she looked happier. Starswirl smiled as well, he liked it when his fillies were happy. Wait. He blinked. His fillies. Where did that come from?

More moons had passed, the five of us huddled in that hut, that small hut. It was crowded and the hut was made for one. Outside was a nightmare, that word surfaced in a conversation one time, with heavy White Cold everywhere. The temperature was freezing, another new word that perfectly describes everything, and that padding they got earlier was slowly degrading.

Starswirl was at his wit's end. He and Celestia, thank Equus for the young mare, were able to handle the three younger ones. Sunset with her sporadic magic bursts and chaotic fillyish innocence. Luna with her quiet brooding. And Cadance with her sassy attitude.

Then, salvation came unexpectedly.

"Swirly? S...Something is happening!" Cadance's panicked voice rang out. The stallion in question got up from playing with Sunset and looked for the pegasus. He found her hugging the doorframe at a really odd angle. "My wings are acting crazy!"

"What do you mean?" Starswirl picked his way through the scattered items and made it to Cadance's side. Celestia came soon after.

"I mean it's trying to drag me away!" Cadance looked around frantically, her eyes speaking volumes. Starswirl didn't need any other incentive and quickly grabbed an arm while Celestia grabbed the other. "P...Please don't let me go!"

The three of them stayed like that for several countings, while Luna held back Sunset. Starswirl and Celestia were breathing heavily, their arms hurting from the exertion of holding the pegasus in place. Then within a split second, Cadance wrenched herself free and the door flung open, sending the pegasus out into the blistering cold.

"Cadance!" Starswirl forgone any caution or fear and immediately chased after her. He still had a piece of mind to yell back to Celestia. "Stay there! Keep Luna and Sunset safe!"

It went on like this for quite a while. Cadance's shrieks and sobs were heard over the roaring wind and every so often, Starswirl would see a flash of pink or purple in the everwhite. Meanwhile, he chased her over fallen logs and past bushes and trees. He could feel the fatigue slowly setting in, but he wouldn't give in. He couldn't. His filly was in danger and nothing would stop him from seeing her safe.

Starswirl lost sense of time before he finally caught up to Cadance. His feet, hands, and face were not feeling and he doubled down, trying to regain the breath he had lost. While he was recovering, he felt arms wrap around his midsection and heard sobs as Cadance buried her face into his chest. He attempted to wrap an arm around her while simultaneously trying not to collapse of exhaustion.

Once he felt well enough to actually return the embrace, he looked up to see where they were. After blinking through tears and White Cold, he made out a pointy shape. Starswirl wrapped his arms around the pegasus and slowly moved closer to the shape. Soon he made his way to a cliff edge and the sight he saw took away his breath.

A six pointed shape engraved into the ground while in the middle, a massive crystalline pillar stood. As Starswirl looked at the magnificent view, he couldn't shake the feeling of something terrible was going to happen. He subconsciously held Cadance closer, as if to reassure her.

The shadows chuckled, its eyes aglow in red malice. It gazed upon the ponies that dared intrude on his territory. It supposed it'd have to enact the proper punishment. The mere thought made the shadow's grin grow wider.

"Finally, time to have some fun!"