The Cutie Alchemist

by Visharo

Zecora

Starswirl leaned back on a very comfortable padded rock. The wooden walls encircle the entire valley after many sunrises of hard work from everypony. Well, mostly everypony. The new pegasus, Derpy he thought it was, kept on crashing, scattering the logs or creating holes. It annoyed Granny to no end but then she would bake these delicious...muffins? He had no idea how she does them but they taste delicious! Granny immediately fell in love and tried to get the method out of her but Derpy would just shrug, smile sheepishly, and say she doesn't remember it. Then the whole cycle would begin again.

He was watching over Sunset and Fizzypop, both of which are much bigger and much more capable, but the threat of that weird creature was still looming over them. The two of them were practicing magic and it made Starswirl smile.

"Check it out, Fizzy!" Sunset sparked her horn and those fiery wings of her sprouted from her back. Starswirl has seen that spell a couple of times now, but each time is just as amazing as the last. The orange filly let out a squeal as she flapped her wings and boosted herself upwards. It only lasted for a few seconds before it dissipated and Sunset fell back to the ground with a solid thump, luckily she wasn't that far off the ground.

Fizzlepop clapped her hooves together and giggled. Starswirl was really proud of her. She had more or less come out of her quiet shell and was having a lot of fun with the others because of it. "Now watch me!" She sparked her horn and out shot a blue sparkle. It flew up into the sky and burst into a colorful and loud spectacle. It left Starswirl speechless.

Slowly, everypony in the valley looked at the maroon filly who looked embarrassed.

"That was so cool! Can you do it again?" Sunset said, her eyes wide and excited.

"No, she can't ever do it again! Ya mustn't ever do that again with that creature around!" Granny rounded on the poor filly and left Fizzlepop in a blubbering heap by the time she was done ranting. Starswirl immediately got up and ran over to her. He quickly shot a glare at the green mare before picking up Fizzlepop and bringing her over to the hut and set her down on a padded sleeping area. It was getting cramped in here with all his fillies growing up. That sudden realization left him with a hollow feeling, he couldn't explain it that well.

"Are you alright? Granny was just being defensive, that is all. She did not mean anything by it."

"I'm..."I'm not a bad...bad filly?" She said between sobs. Her eyes filled with pain and blurry tears, her lovely coat was damp with tears, and her body trembled.

"NO! No, of course not! Do not be silly!" Starswirl hugged her tight, trying to express his feelings through the hug. "You will never be a bad filly, and even if you do become bad, remember, I will always love you." Love. That word came out so easily, and he meant it with all his heart.

She clung to him, crying her eyes out. He held on, keeping her warm and making sure she knew he was there. It took a while, many countings, before she calmed down and fell asleep. Starswirl leaned her down and rested her head on some particularly soft leaves and moss. After making sure she was comfortable, Starswirl walked over to his other daughter.

"Hello Celestia, how are you feeling today?" He whispered softly. He knew she couldn't hear him and it pained him to know that. She still looked pale and sickly and would thrash from time to time. It hurt and he knew Granny was hurting too. Maybe he could forgive her for today. He lowered his horn to Celestia's horn and casted a spell. After he was done, she looked relaxed and had stopped sweating too. That eased his heart somewhat.

He made sure both of them were comfortable before coming back outside. He was pleasantly surprised to see Granny there, waiting for him. By now, he knew her well enough that something was bothering her.

"Ah'm sorry, Starswirl. Ah don't know what came over me, is she alright?" The softness in her voice surprised him. She caught his look and she soured immediately. "Ah have a heart too." With a harrumph, she stalked off.

Starswirl was asleep. Everypony was asleep. It was in the middle of the night. Why would he wake up?

AWAKE

He shot up and clutched his chest. His heart was thumping at unnatural speeds and before he gained full lucidity, he knew something was wrong. He was out the door before his body realized that it was no longer asleep. Unfortunately, that meant bad news for him. His numb legs caught on themselves and he took quite the spill. But there was no rest, Harmony wouldn't allow it.

He stood up, brushed his coat off, spat out some grass, and searched. If Harmony wanted him here, here he would stay. The beautiful moon had moved a considerable distance before the pain of disharmony grew stronger. He followed it warily. Such a feeling couldn't only mean bad things. He rounded a boulder and froze.

There it was. The horrible creature that attacked him and Celestia and left her on that horrible and wretched state. Hie surprise was immediately replaced by seething anger. His horn sparked and before he could blink, he was carrying a staff.

"Who are you! What do you want?" He asked, his guard up.

It merely chuckled. "What I need...? I need looooooooove. Sweet, precious looooooooove." Her chuckle turned into a cackle, a cackle into a howl. Her black chitinous face was covered in tears of putrid laughter. Then he saw it. Or more specifically, her.

"GIVE BACK CADANCE! SHE IS NOT FOR YOU!" His sense of self lost all meaning as he charged, his staff blazing with all his hatred and love. The two powers juxtaposing itself and creating a helix of dangerous magic. In the back of his mind, he knew this was dangerous. The crackle alone of the spell made his hair stand up, but he was too far gone.

The first blast blew a chunk off of a tree when the creature dodged. It hissed with laughter before bounding forwards. Starswirl swung his staff with all the intent and purposes of dealing a death blow. The unstable magic hummed with energy, volatile energy.

The wooden staff, wrapped with a golden inlay, shimmered with power. This he knew. This it knew, and it knew too late. The blow connected and the force released was enough to send Starswirl flying backwards. He slammed into a tree and the breath was knocked out of his lungs, causing him to wheeze and gasp. Despite his dimming vision, he saw the creature fly out of the valley form terrifying speeds, it's screeches fading slowly. Before he knew it, it disappeared with a twinkle.

Crawling over, he made his way to Cadance and nearly broke down from what he saw. She looked exactly like Celestia, maybe even worse. He slowly regained his strength back and gasped in horror. It was definitely worse. Her coat and mane was matted with sweat, smelt of death, and was even turning gray. Her beautiful eyes were dull and lifeless. If it weren't for her chest rising and falling, he would have taken her for dead.

He wailed in anguish and put all his power into a healing spell. Nearly double the power he uses for Celestia. He felt his limbs go limp, his heart slowing, his vision fading, but he didn't dare stop. By the end of the spell, he was far too gone. He collapsed, unconscious. The entire time, he could only think of what King Sombra had said, all those sunrises ago.

"It's what Harmony wants."

Ah, my poor Starswirl. You have suffered much. My condolences, but more needs to be done. Your time isn't over yet.

Starswirl awoke with a gasp. He would have shot up if he had the strength, but he could only let out a feeble whimper. He felt ugly, he felt wrong. Everything ached, even in places he knew didn't exist. Then he gasped, or...he would have, but it sounded more like a strangle.

"Swirly's awake!" Luna rushed over, her face stained with tears. He tried and failed to reach out and comfort her. He couldn't even open his mouth, much less reaching out.

"Starswirl." Granny came into view and she looked grim, the grimmest he had ever seen her. He started tearing. His body shook with uncontrollable sobs and frustration and not being able to do anything. He couldn't even wail out his anger, it came out more as a half broken cough. "Starswirl, ah...ah'm sorry." She broke off to turn away. Starswirl saw the tear.

"You're going to be okay, right Swirly?" Luna asked, her face hopeful but deep inside, she knew. He knew. Something inside of him has changed, permanently.

"How about ya go to Fizzlepop, she still feels down." Granny ushered Luna out. She was not impressed, but was mature enough to leave the two of them together. There was a heavy sigh and out of the corner of his blurry eyes, he saw a green blob drag something heavy, a padded stone, and moved towards where Starswirl was lying. "Ah know what yer gonna say. Cadance is...stable. Ain't no other way of puttin' it. Ah dunno what ya did, but ah know that was the work of that bug. Poor Shining hasn't left her side since. Celestia ain't lookin' better either. Sunset and Fizzlepop still don't know about Cadance, but Fizzlepop..." She sighed again, her hands in her head. She attempted to make contact but Starswirl's depressed face was enough to make her look away. "Fizzlepop is blaming herself for ya gettin' hurt. Ah have no idea how she figured out, perhaps she snuck by me, that rascal, but no matter what ah or Luna do, Fizzlepop blames herself. It's worrying me. Ah don't know what to do, Starswirl. Ah...ah don't have a clue..."

The pause was heavy. Not silent, anything but silent. Starswirl heard his own drained sobbing. Granny was struggling not to let any tears shed and was failing miserably. In the nearby distance, he heard Shining murmuring and it broke his heart hearing him in anguish. In the not so near distance, the fillies could be heard giggling, but it wasn't enough to ease his sufferings.

He closed his eyes.

Then opened them.

"Uh, Granny?" Luna asked outside of Starswirl's vision.

"What is it?" Granny replied after composing herself.

"There's some...pony here. Says she needs to see Swirly."

"Rain Shine?"

"N...no. I don't know her, or what she is."

"What?"

Starswirl closed his eyes.

Then opened them.

When his eyes adjusted, he widened them in surprise. A black and white striped face peered down at him with a friendly smile. The face was pretty enough and had quite a peculiar mane, similar to Fizzlepop's. She also had golden rings in her ears and neck. The sight was disturbing but something about her made him feel at ease.

"My my, Starswirl the Bearded. I have heard much about you. What a state I find you, your magic all askew. That creature you encountered was none other than Chrysalis. She strikes for love with such recklessness and viciousness. Her wounds breaks the spirit and soul. But I, Zecora, will purify and make you whole."

Starswirl closed his eyes.