It was an early, cool crisp morning. Mystogan stood in his basement at his alchemy table and set up. A dark blue light lit up the corner of the basement that he stood at. If one would walk in, they would notice syringes laying next to him on the table filled with glowing liquids of different colors with the needles covered by a protective plastic piece. This was a little experiment of his he was working on before he had left home and now continued said project now that he had a bit of free time on his hands. He only had a couple more days until he’d set out westward to explore the land. He said he was going to try and get to know as many ponies as he could, but to him, his work was his number one priority. As Mystogan continued to work, he flicked his ears as he started to hear rain hitting the roof above his home and the sound of rolling thunder. He simply shook his head as he worked.

“Good thing I wasn’t planning on leaving today…”

He said as he lifted up one of the syringes and sucked up the liquid he had created out of mixed ingredients. Once it was all inside, it gave off a brilliant golden orange glow. He placed the needle on the top of it and flicked it a few times to make sure that it would flow nicely through the needle. Once he finished with that, he places a protective plastic-like sheath over it and sets it next to the other liquid filled syringes. He was about to get started on the next one when he heard a heavy knocking at his door. He blinked a few times before heading up the flight of stairs. The knocking seemed to persist with every few seconds.

“Are you home Mystogan?! Please, let me in, the storm is bad out here!”

The voice in question was rather familiar. He quickened his pace to the door and unlocked the multiple locks and opened it to find that lavender unicorn mare he had met the other day. She was completely soaked to the bone. And he even saw that the storm was worse than it sounded from below. Heavy rain, strong wind, he’d be heartless to turn her away should he do so. But he wasn’t that kind of pony.

“Ah, you are the princess’s favored student. Twilight, was it? Please, come in before you get sick. Let me fetch you a towel. I have the fire going in the fireplace as well.”

“Twilight quickly made her way inside before Mystogan shut the door and relocked his locks once more. He made his way into his bathroom and got her a fresh clean towel that sat up in one of the cabinets. When he returned he already saw her sitting in front of the fire, trying to dry off as much as she could. He walks over to ehr and lays the towel over her body and wraps it around her. She looks up at him with a smile and nuzzles into the oversized towel.

“Thank you, Mystogan. I didn’t mean to come by unannounced...but my umbrella got taken by the sudden shift in the wind. And my home is still quite a walk away. And your home was the only closest building…I-.”

She was cut off by a hand that Mystogan raised up. He shook his head and smiled lightly at her. Assuring her that all was well in the matter. He walked over to his kitchen and began to pull out a few ingredients to make his mother’s recipe for that thick hearty soup that she always made for him.

“It’s quite alright. If it were any other pony, I might have turned you away. But you and your friends seem okay enough. Please make yourself comfortable and I will get you some nice hot soup. It keeps ponies from getting colds and it tastes absolutely wonderful. And it is about lunch time after all.”

Twilight frowned a bit when she heard him he’d turn other ponies away, but she couldn’t help but smile since he would have brought in her friends as well as her if they had shared the same predicament. He wasn’t a heartless pony, he just didn’t trust others very well. She nodded and spoke back to him.

“I appreciate this very much, Mystogan. And thank you for offering to feed me. You are very kind to do so.”

She gazes around the main room to see that is was as reinforced and well built on the inside just as well on the outside. One thing she took notice of right away was the bookshelves that covered nearly every single part of the wall on each side other than the doors and windows. It took all her willpower to not get up and grab the first book that was closest to her. All this knowledge solely known by mountain ponies, and she had to have it for herself as well. She shifted her attention to the rather large furniture that laid about the room as well. The couch alone could fit her and still have enough room for three more ponies to sit or lay comfortable. She couldn’t help herself anymore, however. She gets to her hooves and walks towards the kitchen. She leans in as she watched him cook and shifted her eyes before asking him nervously.

“May...may I read a few of your books? I am rather curious about mountain ponies. And with your treasure trove of knowledge just sitting here…”

She gazed at him with hopeful eyes, an adorable sparkle to them only made it harder to deny her. He shrugged lightly and nodded. Making it seem like he didn’t care.

“Help yourself. Though I must ask you not to read the material downstairs. Or should I say...I recommend you don’t even touch it. Should you want to get hurt anyways. That is all my research material and I have coated each book with a form of...safety precaution liquid. Anypony else with the intent of stealing my work will be met with pain. Unimaginable...everlasting...pain.”

Twilight’s ears dropped and her eyes widened wondering what exactly he had in store for another pony who would be unfortunate enough to even touch one of those books. But then she was caught off by the smirk he gave.

“Just kidding of course. But please, leave my research material alone. I will make it public sooner or later.”

Twilight sighs in her mind with relief happy that he was only kidding with her. And she’d respect his wish and only keep to the books in the main room. She grabs the first book from the closest shelf and hopes back happily towards the fire and sits in front of it still wrapped up in the large towel like a blanket. As she reads, she can’t help but also enjoy the smell of the soup that he was preparing. She smiled to herself and turned the pages every now and then to indicate she had moved on to the next part of the book. What she was learning in the first one was very fascinating to her. It revealed that mountain ponies are excellent warriors and crafters. And that their bonds with one another are like family, even if not related by blood. However, the information she was looking for didn’t seem to be in any of the books she had pulled from the shelf. She still wanted to know about this whole ‘Crystal Empire’. That her teacher had spoken of the day Mystogan Had arrived in Ponyville.

“Twilight, it is ready to eat. Come before it gets cold.”

Twilight stands up and drops the towel to the side, having been wrapped up in that for awhile and in front of the warming fire, she had completely dried off. She makes her way into the kitchen and over to the dining table where Mystogan had set out a bowl for her and a bowl for himself with the large pot sitting in the middle. Though, his bowl was about three times more the size of hers. She understood why though since he was over twice the size of her. Mystogan grabs her bowl and fills it to the brim with the special soup and sets it down in front of her as she makes her way to the chair. He then fills his own bowl up. She had even noticed a bread-like item that appeared to be rather flakey. Her gaze of curiosity was caught by Mystogan and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Never had a biscuit before? They are quite tasty. Especially if you add a bit of butter or jelly on them.”

“I have heard of biscuits before. But they were also called cookies. But these are nothing like cookies.”

Mystogan grabs one from the tray that they sat on and opens it up carefully. He takes the knife that laid next to the butter and cuts a bit of it off and places it into the large flakey biscuit. He then sets it next to her on the napkin that rested near her bowl.

“You will want to have these with almost every meal like this, I promise.”

Twilight was genuinely curious now. She took hold of the biscuit and took a good bite of it. She widens her eyes wondering how something so simple could taste so good just by adding a bit of butter to it. She quickly downs the biscuit and begins to go after the soup afterward. Her eyes sparkle as her pupil increase in size at how amazing his cooking was. Mystogan saw the look on her face and in her eyes. It made him smile to see that she was enjoying the food he had prepared for them. As they are, no words were exchanged. This usually meant that the food was too good for small talk. And soon enough, that large pot was empty of its contents. Mostly by Mystogan. But, by her third bowl, Twilight was more than satisfied. Mystogan stood up and took the bowels and pot over to the sink and began to wash them all out. He noticed that the rain hadn’t let up in the slightest in all that time. Not to mention it was getting early in the evening.

“If the rain doesn’t stop before sunset, please feel free to stay the night in the guest room. There are plenty of blankets and pillows in there. So whenever you get tired, just go and get comfortable. I wouldn’t want you to get sick in this weather.”

He finished cleaning up the dishes and places them out to dry on a small towel. Twilight blinked a few times at his generous offer. He was so sweet to offer her a place for the night should the weather not improve. She gets up from the chair and pushes it back under the table and walks over to his side. She gazes up at him with a slight smile. Though she notices that his expression has gone rather...neutral as he spoke again.

“I must return downstairs for my work. Should you need anything, come find me.”

As he walked away, she called out to him before he could go back down into his lab, quickly making her way to his side again.

“Mystogan! Um…”

She said as she circled her hoof on the wooden flooring as she fidgeted with her hands, a light blush forming on her face.

“Thank you...for feeding me and letting me stay here. I am really sorry if I caused you any trouble…”

“You didn’t cause me any trouble, Twilight. I simply did what I felt was right to do. Now then, I am sure you wish to continue reading all the books you can. So please make yourself at home. And don’t worry about me. I usually spend my time in my lab. I hardly even sleep now that I have all this free time to continue my studies. Just remember, please do not read any of my books downstairs.”

“Of course, I shall not break your trust. You have my word, I shall not read anything downstairs. Though..I’d like to see what you do, exactly. From one knowledge seeker to another. May I...come see you do your work? I won’t trouble you. I just wish to watch and learn about what an alchemist can do.”

Mystogan thought it over for a moment. What harm could there be in letting her watch what he does? And it was clear that the unicorn was genuinely interested in seeing how his alchemy worked. He simply nodded and motioned her to follow him. She gasps lightly in delight and follows behind him as they descend into the basement lab.

When Twilight saw that he had more books down here than the main floor. Her urge for his alchemical knowledge bubbled to the surface quickly. But at the same time, she did promise him. And she wasn’t going to ruin that first fragile line of trust. If there was any, to begin with. She took her mind off of the books when she noticed the large table in the middle that holds a rather impressive alchemical set up of tubes, beakers and many containers that held various stones, herbs, plants and many other ingredients that Mystogan used for his work. Not to mention the faint glow of a few torches and a lantern that sat in the middle of the table definitely added to the mood. She watched as Mystogan places a few items on certain spots of the large table into what looked like a casting circle. Once he had them all in the right place, he looked back to Twilight.

“Step back a little. There is a bit of discharge when this is being done.”

Before Twilight could ask, a sudden red and blue light starts flailing about like lightning on the table as Mystogan places his hands over the casting circle. Twilight took notice of the same exact circles that were on his hands but had a finer form of writing within them. How was this even possible? Was this a form of magic? Is that what alchemy was? A manner of magic that the mountain ponies could only obtain? And could it only be done with those casting circles? She watched as the items in question seem to melt down into some kind of liquid that flowed toward the middle of the circle that filled up an indention. Mystogan took one of the empty syringes and sucked it up inside. This liquid glowed a rather deep crimson, almost exactly like blood.

“W-what is that, Mystogan…?”

Twilight asked as she watched him flick the needle and then put a cap on it, just as he did with the others. He places it next to the others that he had in each group, already having made quite a few that were similar. His gaze doesn’t leave his table, but he answers her.

“Just an experiment I have been working on for a few years now. I believe I am reaching a final successful result with this batch. Why make potions that take time with their results...when I direct injection gives you immediate results? As an alchemist, one must think outside the box. See, we aren’t like doctors..oh no. We go a step beyond practical medicine. We even do things that are possibly frowned upon to progress in the field of better alchemy. Animal slaughter is no exception.”

Twilight shuttered and back away a bit as he mentioned animal slaughter. The thought of it made her a bit sick. She shifted her gaze to indeed see animal body parts on the shelf in the room against the back wall, including that manticore’s tail all be preserved in jars with some kind of icy blue liquid. If Fluttershy saw what was in this room, the poor mare would have a fit with what Mystogan has done and continues to do in order to further his alchemical knowledge.

“You see, Twilight…”

He said as he turned to her, his sky blue eyes glowing brighter than the torched that barely lit the room. They looked sinister enough, but for some reason, Twilight didn’t feel any danger from him. He held out his arms to his sides with his hands opened, the circles engraved on his hands giving off an icy white glow.

“Alchemists aren’t afraid to do what is necessary for the greater good. That does not mean we don’t have morals, and that some of our decisions sometimes haunt us. But if we can do it to help save lives or even make other ponies’ lives better. We will do it.”

Twilight couldn’t explain the feeling she was experiencing as Mystogan spoke. The way he spoke, the way he was standing in front of her. And the way he opened up his wings as he spoke with her. He spoke with conviction. Her who body was shaking, especially ehr legs. But, she wasn’t shaking out of fear. In fact, it was the total opposite. It was in...excitement and arousal. Twilight had finally found another pony who wasn’t afraid to excel and progress in the ways of science. She could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest, and a bit of moisture forming between her legs. Could he really be the one she had secretly be hoping for ever since she was a filly? She suddenly starts to fall back as she faints. Mystogan was quick enough to catch her in his arms and lift her up carefully. He shook his head with a light chuckle as he took her upstairs and into the guest room. He lays her on the bed and tucks her into the blankets. He makes his way to the door and closes it quietly after saying.

“Good night, Twilight. I hope you sleep well.”

The door quickly clicks as it closes. Mystogan then returns to his lab to continue his work.

Author's Note

We just saw a bit of a darker side of Mystogan at the end there. But this is how most alchemists think after all.

May the darkness grant you peace.