The Alchemist

by Valystine

Chapter 3: Eht Tsimehcla

The day was bright and shiny, not a single cloud to be seen in the deep blue sky. A soft wind blew through the warm air and lightly billowed a young unicorn mare’s tight curly, honey yellow mane, tossing it gently against her neck and into her eyes. With a cloud-white hoof, she brushed the stray hairs out of her eyes and continued to pick various ingredients needed for a plant growth potion she had been working on. The young mare continued her search around her family’s garden and stopped when she heard her name be called.

Swiftly, the young mare left the garden and made her way to the voice beckoning her, the basket she carried in tow within her lime green magical grasp. Passing through a set of large ornate oak doors, the young mare entered a vast, regal-looking hallway. From the imported rugs to the plethora of family oil portraits, there was little doubt that a wealthy family inhabited the estate. Waiting for her in the hall was a tall mare not much older than her with curling locks of golden yellow, dreamy blue eyes, and a creamy yellow coat.

“Mother wants you to go with her and Hartley to take the aptitude test at Lady Scordatura’s Academy for the Magically Gifted in the next hour or so,” Spoke the taller mare.

“You’re kidding right?” Questioned the smaller “mother knows I’m not gifted at magic. Certainly not like you, at least.”

“She’s desperate,” Answered the taller, “she said this family is one of noble, highly gifted unicorns, not one of all-gifted-but-one noble family.”

“She should find a spell to improve her vision because it’s obvious that- no matter how much I study and practice- I’m just not. Good. At. Magic,” Grumbled the smaller.

“I know, Cavatina, but just go to please mother,” Spoke the taller with a sigh “if anything, do it for me. Please?”

“Why? So I’ll never hear the end of it from mother and father? So I can embarrass myself and this family even further?” Snapped Cavatina with an angry glare “I won’t go. Not even for you Almalthea.”

“Come with me, then, and I’ll teach you something before you go,” Said Almalthea with a kind smile.

“Why do you suddenly care about my magical abilities?” Snorted Cavatina “why do you suddenly care about me?”

“Whatever could you mean? I’ve always cared about you, you’re my little sister,” Said Almalthea with a hurt expression “and I love you to death.”

“You know exactlywhat I mean, Almalthea!” Exclaimed Cavatina “you’re just like the rest of them! Selfish, arrogant, self-centered, stuck up! You only help when it benefits you more than the other pony involved! None of you love me at all!”

“I am none of those things!” Snapped Almalthea “I help others because it’s the right thing to do, not to make myself look good! If anything, you’re the stuck-up, self-centered and selfish one around here! And I dolove you! As if you deserve it, though!”

“How am I the stuck up, self-centered and selfish one?! All I have to do is breathe around here and I’m scolded and treated like a lowly servant!” Shouted Cavatina.

“You really want me to answer that question?? Maybe if you’d tried harder, you wouldn’t be such a failure!” Shouted Almalthea in equal volume “oh, wait, I’m sorry, I forgot that’s all you’re good at! You were born both a failure and a mistake, and both is all you’ll ever be! Nothing more, but probably less! You’re the most useless unicorn to ever grace the face of Equus! How do you even flounce around here knowing how utterly useless and worthless you are to this family? Not to mention a complete disgrace with a disregard for every moral and every tradition this family has!”

Cavatina paused, her mouth agape, as she stared half in shock and half in anger at Almalthea. Cavatina’s patience and temper had been wearing far too thin over the years and she had been nearing her breaking point, but now, her elder sister had officially pushed her past it. She could feel the anger she had suppressed for all these years rising up into her chest and burning like a hot flame. Her face morphed into one of extreme pissed-off-ity as her eyebrows furrowed deeply in anger.

“I have tried far harder than you in everything this family does! I work way past my limit and push myself far harder than I should have to!” Snapped Cavatina “why is failure all anypony sees in me, huh? It is only because I’m just a little different? Some family you lot are! I’m a talented young mare who works hard, studies hard and tries hard at everything she does! If I tried any harder, I’d surely pop a brain vessel or two! You know what? That’s it! I’ve had enough of the way I’m treated around here! If you keep it up, I’m going to make you regret it!”

“What’re you going to do? Throw a stupid plant growth potion at me?” Quipped Almalthea in a snarky tone.

“Why you little-”

“Cavatina! Almalthea! What in Celestia’s name is going on here?” Interrupted the voice of an older mare.

“Cavatina is refusing to go with you and Hartley to take the aptitude test,” Said Almalthea in a calmer tone “and making a big deal out if it, might I add.”

“A big deal?! A big deal?!” Repeated Cavatina in angered tone “you’re the one making a big deal out of things! You’re the one who started calling me a failure and a disgrace! She even called me useless, mother!”

“Is this true, Almalthea?” Questioned their mother.

“No, it is not, mother,” Lied Almalthea “I merely suggested helping her practice her magic until the three of you left and she went and blown it out of proportion. She’sthe one who’s been name calling.”

“Cavatina! We’ve taught you better than this!” Snapped their mother “you’ve left us no other choice, my dearest daughter. We love you with all our hearts, but you’re too unstable and too unruly to be living here anymore.”

“WHAT?!” Shouted Cavatina nearly at the top of her lungs “mother, how could you just believe her and not even hear my side of the story?! How could you kick me out just because I’m not as good as Almalthea?! How could you kick me out for being different?!”

“Enough! I don’t want to hear another word from you!” Shouted their mother “you have been a curse to this family the moment you were born! I nearly died giving birth to you and do you repay me?! By being a defective, sick child who uses pseudo magic because she’s so utterly useless when it comes to the real thing- that’s how! Almalthea is no pedestal child, so there is no reason for you to treat and criticize her as such! She’s not perfect, but at least she can actually utilize her birth given abilities! From this moment on, if any one of us ever sees your face around here, we will not hesitate to eliminate you!

“You make your father and I very embarrassed every single waking moment of our lives! You’ve ruined our reputation and have made no efforts to fix it! This is a family of nobel, talented unicorns! Not utterly useless unicorns who walk around practicing fake magic! Cavatina à la Cadence Hauptstimme, you are hereby disowned and banished from this family for the rest of your life! I am only going to give you twenty minutes to gather your belongings and leave the premises!”

Cavatina stared at her mother with an intense expression of shock, anger, and disgust. Her expression then morphed into one of pure, intense hatred as she looked from her mother to her eldest sister. Gritting her death, she stopped a hoof angrily against the marble floor.

“You’ll regret this! I’ll make all of you regret this!” Cavatina shouted “every last one of you will pay for your actions! Starting with you, mother!”

Her mother and sister’s expressions became tinted with fear as Cavatina continued to bellow out threats. Angrily, in a bright flash of lime green, Cavatina disappeared from the hallway. Almalthea looked at her mother with a face of worry.

On the other side of the estate, Cavatina appeared in her room. As anger and hatred began to well up in her chest and swirl around her mind, nearly clouding her thoughts, she began to pack everything she owned related to alchemy.

‘I won’t dare bring anything given to me by them,’ she thought bitterly to herself as she stuffed a stack of books into one of her red and white-laced suitcase ‘I’ll come back someday and make them pay for all that they’ve done to me.’

Satisfied with what she had packed, Cavatina’s horn lit up with lime green magic as she found herself suddenly standing a mile from her house. Angrily, she did an about face and stomped away, mentally swearing she’d form a plan of revenge and make them pay.

***

Thousands of miles away from the Crystal Empire, deep within the Undiscovered West, nestled at the edge of a small clearing sat medium sized cottage. Although very weathered and time-worn, the cottage seemed out of place. It looked as if it more belonged in a small village rather than in the middle of a vast forest. Tall, dark trees loomed all around the cottage and the bright shining sun seemed to completely shun the cottage and everything around it. Half-wilted from the lack of sun, wildflowers sprung up in patches all over the lawn. In neat rows, stone statues of ponies were lined up, each one seeming to stare at nothing with looks of terror on their faces.
Flora aside, the entire area seemed devoid of life. The lack of wildlife only added to the eerie atmosphere swamping the cottage. The cottage itself was in desperate need of maintenance. The stonework needed repair, as time and weather had eroded some of the grey blocks. The wooden shutters only just barely clung to the sides of the dirtied, rectangular windows.
The state of the inside of the cottage was much better than the outside. Save for a couple of cobwebs and a bit of dust, the inside of the cottage was relatively neat and tidy. The decor of the house was simple with a hint of elegance. The couches were framed with wood and the cushions were black and draped with white lace. Two matching chairs sat on either side of the couch. A small, circular red-and-white rug sat beneath a glass table, the iron legs curling elegantly. The carpet, which stopped at the near the kitchen, was grey in color.

On the wall, three oil paintings hung side by side. The leftmost painting depicted a young unicorn mare with cloud-white skin, tight curls of honey yellow and pink eyes standing proudly. The middlemost painting depicted a proud, noble family of six young unicorns and two older ones. The rightmost painting depicted a spectacular white mansion in front of a blue, cloudless sky.
Nearby, the kitchen was a bit small and simple, with utilities commonly found in most cottages. The countertops were black granite and reflective. The stove and other utilities were black in color with silver or white accents. The tile flooring of the kitchen were made of grey stone with pea green and dirty yellow mixed in. Off to the left of the kitchen was a single wooden door. Just past that door was a small staircase which led to the upstairs portion of the cottage. Upstairs, two average sized bedrooms sat neat and tidy. One seemed to have been left untouched, almost frozen in time. The other, however, seemed to have seen regular usage. Across the hall from the regularly used bedroom was a small bathroom.
Back downstairs, past the door near the kitchen sat a large basement. The floor was wooden and covered in a series of magical circles and sigils. The walls were lined- save for space where three ingredient-filled shelves sat- with bookshelves, each one filled to the maximum with an assortment of books. In front of the shelves containing ingredients, in the middle of magic sigil, sat a large black cauldron which was filled with a mix of lime green-dark green bubbling liquid.
To the right- when coming down from upstairs- a small hallway and a wooden door gave access to a network of enchanted jail-like cells. A good number of the cells were empty, but the rest were occupied by an assortment of beasts and ponies. Among them, a certain rainbow pegasus, yellow and pink pegasus and an orange farm pony, as well as a certain student of the Princess of Friendship, were locked behind the cold, grey bars. In separate, nearby cells, three familiar princesses were locked inside.

“This totally sucks!” Rainbow Dash complained.

“I'm not quite sure who that pony is, but soon as I'm able, I'm gonna kick some flank!” Applejack growled.

“M-maybe if we a-ask nicely, they'll let us go,” Fluttershy said quietly.

“Fluttershy I know yer the Element of Kindness, but do you really think that pony’s gonna let us go just ‘cause we ask ‘em nicely?” Applejack questioned.

“It never hurts t-to try, though,” Fluttershy said “right?”

“The most important thing right now is to get a bearing of where we are,” Celestia said from her cell “we also need to figure out their intentions.”

“Their intentions were to obviously foalnap us and put us in these cages!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“I think she meant why they foalnapped us and what they plan on doing with us,” Starlight spoke up “if they’re powerful enough to successfully kidnap three princesses, three of the Elements of Harmony and somepony like myself, they’ve surely got malicious planned for us.”

“You’d be correct,” A voice suddenly spoke.

Everypony seemed to jump or flinch in surprise at the sudden input. The voice- which sounded low, smooth and mature as well as feminine- came from an eerie figure lurking beneath a hooded cape. Behind the figure stood two tall unicorn mares with emotionless expressions on their faces.

The mare standing to the right of the hooded figure was the tallest of the three. She stared at Rainbow Dash and her friends with fierce, blood red eyes. Her coat was grey and her mane and tail- which were styled into simple curls- were black with streaks of red. The other mare behind the hooded figure was the shortest of the three. Her coat was a dappled livid color and her eyes were a dark indigo. Her mane and tail- which were dark navy blue in color- were styled into a single, sweeping wave.

The hooded figure reached up a dark forest green hoof and removed the hood from their head. The removal of the hood revealed a unicorn mare wearing a wicked grin on her face. Her mane- which was a slightly lighter version of the mare with the dark navy blue mane- was styled similarly to their friend Rarity, the only differences being that a curved spike came before the curls and that her bangs included a short curl similar to the larger ones in her mane. Fierce red eyes stared at and sized them seven of them.

“My original plan was to only foalnap Celestia and Luna, but when I saw the rest of you all your own out in the open, I couldn’t resist snatching you up,” The mare spoke “and now that I have all of you, I could do more than triple the original damage I intended to inflict.”

“I will only ask you once; who are you and what do you plan to do with us?” Celestia spoke firmly, holding her head high.

“Ah, don’t worry, Celestia. You and Luna will soon find out,” The mare said with mocking chuckle “as far as who I am, well, the name’s Valystine, but you can refer to me as ‘The Alchemist’. The mares behind me are Rosemary Adelaide and Bone Marrow. Rosemary is the grey coated mare, Bone Marrow is the livid dapple coated mare.”

“They’re only two of my many minions,” The mare added.

“No matter what you do to us, whatever it is your wicked plan may be, you will not succeed in the end,” Luna said sternly “Twilight Sparkle, Rarity and Pinkie Pie WILL save us.”

“Is that so?” Valystine questioned mockingly “I look forward to that moment.”

Valystine looked back at Rosemary Adelaide and Bone Marrow with a wicked smile. With a nod of her head, she gestured for them to approach Celestia and Luna’s cells. Valystine returned her gaze to the cell Rainbow Dash shared with Fluttershy and Applejack, her wicked smile growing larger.

“I have special plans for all of you,” Valystine began, looking at Rainbow Dash “but I think you will be my favorite.”

“U-um, excuse me, m-miss Valystine,” Fluttershy piped up quietly “why are you doing this to us? What do you hope to gain?”

Rosemary Adelaide and Bone Marrow paused their task as they looked over to their master, their eyes, and ears eager to hear their master’s answer.

“What do I hope to gain?” Valystine repeated with a small chuckle “power, first and foremost, but more importantly: recognition, acceptance. Recognition of my abilities and talents, and recognition of the arts I study. Acceptance that it’s okay if a unicorn isn’t particularly good at magic. Acceptance of the arts I study.

“Alchemy is all but forgotten now and all anypony ever praises is magic. Magic this, magic that. I’m good at magic, but it was never enough for them. No, not for them. I was the defective child who couldn’t learn magic as quickly as others. I was the defective child who turned to ‘pseudo magic’- as they called it- but it was her who was brilliant, it was her who was great and it was her who was amazing at magic. She was the best child they could ask for. I was the worst.

“She was a gift, I was an accident. That’s how they put it, and you want to know what I did to them? I turned them into stone statues. Everyone last one of them, except for my siblings, but they’re all dead, except for one.”

Valystine paused for a moment to recollect herself and clear her throat before continuing more calmly;

“Now, to answer your other question. Why am I doing this to you? Because if I can take down and enslave the most powerful ponies in Equestria, I can conquer it with ease and- once I do that- I’ll get what’s duly and rightfully mine.”

“I-I don’t quite u-understand,” Fluttershy said “who is ‘them’ a-and ‘she’?”

“What’s it to you? ” Valystine snapped “you don’t need to know every detail about my life.”

“She was just tryna understand ya,” Applejack snapped back “we’ve dealt with a lotta folk like ya before, ya know. We can help ya get what ya want without the whole enslaving and conquering part if ya j’est let us go, pardner.”

“You’re joking right?” Valystine questioned with a laugh “are you sure you’re destined to be dusty farmpony? Because to me, it seems you’re better suited to be a comedian.”

“Why you lil’-” Applejack cut herself off and took in a deep breath “yer lucky I’m behind these bars. If I weren’t, I’d be kickin’ your flanks right ‘bout now.”

“You have me thoroughly convinced your true calling is comedy,” Valystine quipped, “you tell some rather hilarious jokes.”

“Wait, excuse me,” Starlight piped up “sorry to burst your bubble, but Applejack is right. They’ve dealt with a lot of villains wanting the same things. They were defeated and most changed their ways. It’s not too late to turn back and let us go before you do something you regret.”

“And completely abandon the plans I’ve been formulating since the day Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon? Tch- yeah right,” Valystine snapped “you’d have better luck convincing Discord to give up chaos.”

“Wait, what? You were alive the day Nightmare Moon was banished?” Starlight questioned, her eyes wide with shock.

“That’s what I just said, isn’t it?” Valystine sneered “I’m over a thousand years old, not that it’s any of your concern.”

“How can this be? You’re not actually an alicorn, are you?” Starlight questioned.

“Ha! Me? An alicorn? Now I’m starting to think you’re all truthfully destined to be comedians,” Valystine snickered “no, you idiot. I’m a unicorn.”

“Then how have you lived so long?” Starlight questioned.

“Ugh, why are you all filled to the brim with questions?” Valystine groaned “I’ll let you figure that out on your own, but I’ll give you a hint; I’m an alchemist.”

“Alchemy made you immortal, Valystine? How so?” Cadence piped up- tired of keeping quiet- as she approached the front of her cell.

“Well if it isn’t the princess of love and shiny ponies,” Valystine chuckled “while I’d love to answer more questions, I’ve got get back to work.”

With that, Valystine to turned and began to trot away. She stopped near her minions and watched them force Celestia and Luna out of their cells, then trapping them within their magic fields. Cadence, Starlight and the other half of the Elements of Harmony watched as they were taken away and forced out of the room.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Starlight said with a sigh “we’ve got to figure out how to get out of here.”

“We tried using our magic, remember? It doesn’t work in here,” Cadence said, “this whole place seems impenetrable.”

“We’ve just got to think of something,” Starlight said, stomping a hoof “if we don’t, they’ll do the same thing to us as they’re doing to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna- whatever that may be.”

“I see your point, but- and I hate to admit it- we’re helpless down here,” Cadence said, “whatever happens, I have faith Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Rarity will save us.”

Starlight sighed and flopped down onto her haunches. She pawed at the ground with a hoof as her mind raced with all the things Valystine could be doing to Celestia and Luna. If she could only figure out how Valystine became immortal, Starlight could formulate a plan. Before she could begin to form any sort of plan, Starlight was snapped from her thoughts when a strange but incredibly cute earth pony mare suddenly appeared before her, causing her to yelp in surprise. The mare’s icy blue eyes were lidded and she looked as if she were sleepy. Her mane was styled into synthetic-looking strips of pastel blue, yellow and green curls and her skin looked as if it were made of glass that had been tinted slightly in light blue. Starlight quickly got to her hooves and took a few steps away.

“My name is Sight Seer and I was sent to here by my master,” Said the mare, her voice sounding dreamy and sweet like honey “she wanted me to inform you that you were next on her list.”

“On her list for what?” Starlight questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Allow me to show you,” Sight Seer said, her eyes beginning to glow a bright light pink.

An unnerving sensation washed over Starlight as her own eyes began to glow as well. Her vision soon turned to black, but then slowly faded and cleared to reveal a large room, the floor covered in an array of magical sigils drawn in chalk and the wall lined with bookshelves, except for space where three smaller shelves sat holding various bottles, bags, and buckets. In the middle of the room, a large cauldron sat atop a large magical sigil. Before Starlight could figure out where she was exactly, Valystine appeared in front of the cauldron as Luna and Celestia appeared also in the room, encased in a dingy green, sphere-like field of magic above large sigils on either side of the room while Rosemary Adelaide and Bone Marrow stood by either princess.

Starlight watched as Valystine’s horn began to glow. Different bags and bottles began to float off their shelves and hover above the cauldron. Carefully and meticulously, Valystine put various ingredients into cauldron as she mumbles incoherent words under her breath with a devilish grin and her cold, red eyes seemingly glowing. A puff of smoke of suddenly rose from the cauldron with a bright flash of light. Below the cauldron, the sigil it sat on began to slow glow bright green. In a slow trickle-like flow, the sigils leading to Luna and Celestia began to glow the same color and stopped when they reached the sigil directly below either princess. The spheres containing either princess began to glow until Starlight could no longer see them while the sigils on the floor continued their trickle flow to another large sigil.

In that third sigil, the shadowy outline of a pony-like being began to form. Large, spiny wings grew from the back as an elongated horn grew from the head. Starlight attempted to rush over and stop Valystine but found she was powerless and could not interact with anything. Without warning, the vision Starlight had been experiencing suddenly ended, pulling Starlight back into reality as she sat all alone in her cell. Sight Seer was gone and the air filled with eerie silence.

“Oh, no,” Starlight whispered beneath her breath.