The Everfree Chronicles: The Alchemist

by Roran Dreamon


Prologue: Banishment

-They say a man never really knows himself, until his freedom has been taken away.

'Those same thoughts, the same thoughts going through my head every single day. Not a single night goes by when that blasted memory springs up and causes me to grind my hooves onto my head, trying to make it stop, but I know to well that they wont, no matter how hard I try to crush my own head, that memory will just keep replaying itself. Every time those thoughts come back, I really just want the pony responsible to feel my pain, and to know what it is like to live like an outcast with no family, no money, not even a roof over your head, but I know it wont happen, I know that i payed the price, and that price is banishment to the Everfree Forest, to spend the rest of my days their till the day I leave this earthly plain of existence.'

Ponyville, 10 years ago

"Nightshade! It's time to wake up and go to school!" shouted Light Breeze, also known as my mother, as she shouted from downstairs.

As I groan and toss in bed, not wanting to wake up after a night of playing with my young alchemy set and reading a thick book heavy enough to probably crush an orange. "Nightshade! If you don't come out from that room right now I will come up their and take the bed sheets again!"

After getting that message, I groan one last time before crawling out from the under the warm sheets, wishing i haven't since its still the middle of winter and it being early in the morning, yea you guessed it, freezing cold outside but moderately warm inside.

I crawl to my bathroom and look in the mirror, wondering if my brother hit my again with his wooden toy sword again in my sleep, to no avail, no lumps or bruises indicate that he took a swing at me, which is good, no harmful levitating into a tree branch again.

While looking in the mirror, I still look the same, a shiny dark grey coat, a silver mane and tail with a red streak going down the middle, and the most absurd features are my eyes...a genetic defect they say, but I don't care, I think it looks cool to have cat eyes of two different colors, left eye is red, my right eye is amber, pretty cool if you asked me.

Looking at my flank, I sigh, still no cutie mark, after almost a whole year playing with that alchemy set, nothing appeared.

After a few minutes of brushing my teeth and straightening my already short mane, I go down stairs and wait for my younger brother, Storm Kicker, a Pegasus, silver coat, white mane and tail with teal stripes.

"Finally you got here...we has been waiting for you for a whiles!" moaned Storm Kicker, his head on-top of his hooves, obviously bored waiting for me to get downstairs.

"You know if you keep acting like a spoiled colt, your not going to get anything great in life" I flatly said.

Clearly annoyed that I woke up late and made him wait for breakfast, he forgets his table manners and just scarfs the food down without waiting for everyone else to get settled in. Already annoyed as is, I levitate his toast away from his plate and slowly nibble on the edges to make him glare in my direction, but enough to know that I angered him.

After breakfast is done, my brother goes back to his room to get ready for school while I do the dishes, sure I might be a bit young to do chores, but with my somewhat impressive magic skills, I easily get it down, lifting several plates, forks and cups into the sink and cleaning each with ease.

"You know Storm, you should try being a bit nicer to me, since I am older than you, and the fact that I am keeping you safe at school when the bullies get to you." I sigh deeply before going back to my room to put my saddle bag onto my back and levitate my small black notebook into its respective place.

"Come on already! If you keep stalling for time we will be late like yesterday!" I shouted downstairs waiting by the door.

As my brother glides downstairs and completely ignores me as he goes out the front door, I hear a faint calling of my name, knowing that mother as usual has to ask me something when she is on the other side of the house to which hardly anypony can listen to on the other side.

"Yes mother? I was just leaving...what is it?" I groan, tired from being woken up late and my brother already annoying me, so what is the worst that can happen?

"You got a letter in the mail...not sure from who, but it does say its for you and nothing else." said mother, her voice filled with both concern and anger, thinking I got into trouble again at school.

As i open the letter, a strange voice fills my head "Nightshade...today...in school during the show and tell...show them your knowledge...show them what you know about alchemy...they will be impressed...and you will be famous..." just as quickly as the voice came it left my head, leaving me confused and dizzy, and thinking was almost impossible with that revelation of a voice.

Looking at the clock in the living room, I notice that it is almost 9am...9am...wait....9am...oh crap that means i only have 30 minutes to get my sorry flank to school! Realizing that my sorry ass will be late, I quickly run myself to school, almost tripping three times in the process.

"Good morning class!" said Mrs. Cheerilee.

"Good morning Mrs. Cheerilee!" shouted the classroom.

I barely make into class as the everypony sits down in their assigned seats, narrowly dodging an angry glare from my brother.

"For today, we are doing Show and Tell! So who wants to go first?" she said, and not a single hoof went up, except for me, which I was somewhat disappointed, since I thought there would be at least 5 other ponies that had something special to show everypony.

"Erm...since I am the only pony here with something special to show, I guess I will go up than" as I get out of my chair and bring with me my saddlebags which held my vials of safety materials that was inside the little alchemy kit I was given.

As I go to the front of the class, I can hear faint whispers from both the other students and from my own head, the same strange voice that was from the letter, "You can do it little one...make me proud...and maybe...we can be friends...and more...."

"Hello class....well...today...I am going to show you about the very vague arts of alchemy!" I somewhat shouted, trying to overcome my nervousness.

Not a single clap or cheer can be heard in the class, only the sounds of a cricket, and a few whispers from other students.

"I notice that no one really cares...that hurts...well...lets get started and finish this quickly since you can care less...jerks." I quickly pull out 5 different vials filled with different fluids and other strange glowing materials.

"As you all can see, these 5 vials are filled with various chemicals, none safe to drink or consume on its own, but..." I mix a glowing teal liquid with a dull brown chemical "they are still not safe to be consumed, but can be used for a new purpose...would anypony like to volunteer?"

I look around, only three hooves this time. "How about you brother, since I am guessing the other two are only doing that since they made me look like a fool in front of everypony."

Storm Kicker groans, still mad at me from this morning, "Brother...if this is about this morning...I will hit you again once we get home."

"Fine, after school... if you can hit me." I laugh a bit, making him more steamed at me.

"As you can see, as soon as I combined the two, it changed to this new mixture, and from my research, this will act like a sleeping potion." I say with glee.

"Sleeping potion? Brother...don't...you...dare use that on me" he slightly shouts.

"Sorry brother...but for the sake of science..." I distract him with a paper airplane and force him to drink the vial, instantly knocking him unconscious and leaving him standing upright while asleep.

"As you can see, this vial when mixed with the two contents, produced a sleeping potion, which he will remain asleep for another 3 hours, or until somepony splashes his face with a bucket of water."

The class now applauds with what I have accomplished, but than the voice comes back "Now is your chance little one, show them the new mixture, the one I showed you this morning, do this, and your destiny will be set out before you."

"And now...for my last part for today...does any pony want to step up?" the entire class raise their hooves, one of them even jumps on her table and starts to wave for my attention, a new pony to this school, a regal black coat with purple mane and tail, her eyes, a teal color, and when i finally call on her to come up, she somewhat laughs a bit before coming up.

"I see that me and my brother are not the only new students to this school...well...hopefully once this is over with, we can be friends?" as I say it, I raise my hoof to hers, seeing if we can do a hoof-shake, hoping for a new friend.

"Let us just get this over with first Nightshade, than we can become friends." said the new student, her voice rather harsh.

I shrug, than I mix the other three vials, causing it to shake a bit before leaving faint wisps of smoke, at first the other students were alarmed, worried that it would explode, but it didn't, only causing a somewhat annoying odor to be left behind.

"As you all can see, this new mixture, if it does exactly how I think it will do, than it will make her turn invisible to everypony for only 5 minutes!" I shout a bit, feeling excited from the rush of feeling accomplished.

Everypony in the classroom made sounds of amazement and awe, while my assistant was somewhat skipping from hoof to hoof, not sure if this was a good idea.

"Don't worry, this is completely safe, as long as no pony tried to ruin the mixture by adding anything else, Celestia forbid that they add even a leaf of nightshade to this, otherwise you should be safe."

"Wait, what do you mean should be safe?" She proclaims, now feeling worried that her life might be accidentally cut short, little does she know that its shorter than she thinks.

"Trust me, as long as no pony messed with any, you will be safe, I promise."

Don't make a mare a promise, if you know you can't keep it.

"Alright, but if this somewhat harms me, or worse...kills me...I will haunt you for the rest of your life." she says, little does she know that every word she just said will come true.

As soon as she drinks it, nothing happened, no faint disappearance, nothing, but after a few minutes, that is when the smell of burning flesh slowly floats around the room.

"What is that smell coming from?" asks one of the students. "I do not know...but..I fear from who it is coming from." my voice now dripping with absolute fear.

That was when the screaming began, at first it was just a moaning sound, than the smell of burning meat started getting stronger and more pungent, that was when the new mare fell down and started withering in pain, faint wisps of smoke coming from her body, but most importantly, from her mouth, from when she drank out of the vial.

I put two and two together, realizing...

Somepony...has tainted the vials...and only one plant causes this effect...

The very plant I got my namesake from.

Nightshade.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH! Somepony! Anypony! Help me!" She was screaming, the pain in her eyes making almost everypony to look away in fear, afraid that they will be next to burn alive.

Me and Mrs. Cheerilee quickly rush to her side, I try to calm her down by using the crushed stem of the nightshade plant, the only known antidote to cure anypony that accidentally consumes the deadly plant. But she smacks me away, fearing that i will only make it worse.

As she slowly stops moving she whispers for me to come closer to her, her body is slowly turning to ashes, she somehow was given a very lethal amount of the nightshade.

"Nightshade...I...I don't want to die...p..please.....please...help me..." her voice very weak, her face covered in tears, her mouth bleeding from the internal bleeding that occurred from the nightshade ingestion.

"Please...you must eat this...this will counter the nightshade already in your system...please...just please..." my voice cracking, afraid to lose my possibly only friend.

Suddenly, she changes, at first she was holding onto my right forehoof, than she pushes it away, for what she said next, felt like someone stabbing me in the heart.

"No...I...I won't....you...you killed...killed me....you...are a....monster....." barely said, her voice already dying down. Shortly after, she dies, her body slowly disintegrates in front of everypony in the classroom, and I am standing their, broken, crying, and petrified with fear.

Ponyville, Town hall 2 hours later after the incident

I am in the corner of the Mayor's Office, still in shock and crying, not even moving an inch, I had to be dragged all the way from the school to here, to try to explain what happened, but what was there to explain.

"Well...this is very bad...not only do we have a dead filly on our hands...a whole classroom of students witnessed this...accident...how are we supposed to deal with this...this....murderer...." the Mayor's voice filled with venom.

"I did not know that this will happen....how was I supposed to know that this was going to happen...somepony tainted my vials...somepony must have..."

I just sat their, feeling defeated, hopeless, and wishing this was all just a nightmare.

"Wh...What will...become of me?" I say, my voice shaking, filled with fear, for my fate has been sealed.

"I am afraid...that we have no choice....you...Nightshade...will be banished from Ponyville...and from every other pony settlement...for the crime...." the Mayor's voice slipping a bit, not wanting to what she was going to say next.

"For the crime...of murder...of another pony"

I lower my head, knowing that no matter what I will say, will change her thoughts, not even an apology will save me.

"How long do I have to say my good byes?" I say weakly.

"You can say your good byes when you are leaving...at midnight, you will leave, and all of Ponyville must attend...by law."

Fine.....a public humiliation, I guess they want to make an example out of me, they will get no pleasure from this, but I will leave this place, but with a message that will be left behind.

Ponyville Outskirts, 9 Hours Later

"Nightshade, by the Laws given to us by our princesses...I hear by sentence you...to exilement...with in the Everfree Forest...where you will spend the rest of your days...until the day you die...you may not return...and you will be stripped from the records all across Equestria..."

Some of the ponies in the crowd are crying, knowing that I was innocent, other ponies are yelling at me, saying that I am a cold heartless killer, while one pony in particular, a small red colt with a large apple for a cutie mark is standing their, looking right at me.

Macintosh, my friend, and also the only pony I can talk to, and not be judged.

He stared at me during the entire speech, not with the icy stares that most of the crowd gave me, nor did he give me the stare of compassion that the few gave me, it was the stare that said "I know you are innocent, but I know that this punishment is within reason".

"I guess...this is good bye...everypony...I am innocent..." I slowly said, half-chocked.

"Mother...Father...Brother....take care....and don't weep for me......" half way saying that, the voice returned, but forced its way into my head, and made me say something that I sometimes regret.

"I...Will Return...and when I do...the ponies...responisble...will pay...dearly...." my voice now cold and filled with steel, scaring a single pony into fainting on the spot.

I slowly trot away, taking with me anything I could pack into my saddlebags, taking my alchemy set, a knife I borrowed from father, a few books, a few blankets and a pillow, and a small provisions of canned food.

"I swear....I...Shall...Return...." my voice still cold, but this time, a new voice slowly leaks out only to a whisper that I can hear "My little ponies...I will return...In 10 years...I shall return...."

Everfree Forest Outskirts, outside of Ponyville, Present Date

A large hill with a lonely willow tree standing on the top, a lone unicorn is standing their, a tattered black cloak and a belt is all that can be seen. His eye's, now teal with its red and amber colors slightly faded into the background.

"Ponyville...you haven't changed one bit...only grown..."

"It has been 10 years....10...long...horrible years...and now...I...have returned."

As I slowly trot down the hill, I turn my head skyward noticing it, what looks like a carrage can be seen flying towards Ponyville, two royal guards carring a unicorn and a baby dragon.

"New arrivals...this...shall be interesting...and tonight...my wish will be granted."