Alchemist's Apprentice

by Feurisson

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Original Character
Length: 6085

Up in the far north, in a shady, secluded town, a young earth pony is inducted into the secrets of Alchemy. His mentor is Starswirl the Bearded. / Set in medieval times, before Luna's banishment.

Some thought it strange, an earth pony learning from an unicorn how to make various medicines, strange potions and other things that resembled magic to others, but in the end, magic wasn't a thing that was limited to unicorns anyway, and alchemy certainly wasn't the kind of magic you would need an horn for.

Up in the far north, in a shady, secluded town, a young earth pony is inducted into the secrets of Alchemy. One day, he's been sent by his mentor to deliver a healing potion to a town a few days of hiking away. After for the first time getting to know the world outside his hometown, he pleades his mentor to allow him for another trip. He complies, sending him to retrieve a legendary ingredient from far away. After rejoicing at first, the young apprentice soon has to realize that this second trip is going to be much harder and more dangerous than the first one.

Set in a medieval setting before Luna's banishment, using mostly original locations and characters, except for Starswirl the Bearded and possibly the two princesses.

Inspired by this piece of music
First chapter edited by CloppleJack.

Published 2012-08-07 23:34:05 UTC
Last updated 2013-11-21 00:45:12 UTC

Chapter 1

The sky was overcast with light grey clouds, as it was usually the case around here. The sun rarely shone here, it was either raining or very cloudy. Or snowing in the winter.

Here, in a remote town in the far north, mostly isolated from the rest of the world. The few travellers that come here often refer to it as “The Dark City of the North”. That's probably because of the mighty old fortress residing on a mountain just outside the town. Built by King Sword Blade in ancient times, its intimidating appearance and strong fortification has preserved the town's independence over the centuries, the black sandstone it is formed of earning it the nickname “The Black Castle”. Its sheer size makes it visible from a long distance, and its many high towers often cast a shadow on the town. A lot of black smoke comes from the town's many workshops and can on some days cover up the sky completely. This was, besides the fortress and the weather, probably another reason for the town's notorious disrepute.

It is a place I call my home. I was born here, now twenty-one years ago, and also grew up here. Never have I been outside the tall city walls, the streets paved with cobblestones and the mostly timberframe facades are all I know.

I was on my way to the chemist's shop, where I worked, walking past a store selling weeds and potions, glad that it at least wasn't raining, when suddenly a drop hit my muzzle.

Great. Of course I hadn't brought anything to protect me from any sudden rainfall, so I started running, the sound of my hooves echoing on the streets. It was starting to pour already, and my place of work was still a couple of blocks away. Sighing, I turned into a side street and entered the first pub that came along. My yellow coat and messy, dark green mane were already soaking wet.

It was pretty dark inside, the only light coming from two candlesticks hanging from the ceiling. Looking around, I saw that most of the visitors were pegasi, the rest, including the bartender, unicorns. A lot of them were playing cards or just chatting with each other, but after hearing the door creak upon my entrance, everypony turned their heads toward me and stopped talking. I noticed how all of them seemed to be older than me, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable. Being the only earth pony in a crowded room also gave me a strange sensation of being out of place, and so I quickly made my way to a free table at the end of the room. Normally I wouldn't have stayed as I didn't particularly enjoy such company, but the rain outside was still getting worse and it was at least dry and warm here.

I sat down, and the bartender, a burgundy-colored unicorn who had been eyeing me suspiciously while cleaning a glass with a towel in his magical grasp, finally asked,

“Your wish?”

“Um, a cider, please.”

I actually didn't like cider that much, but I had to order something, and I couldn't expect them to have something like goat milk. He opened a cupboard behind him, took a mug out of it and filled it to the rim with the foaming beverage.

“Hey, where I come from, little colts aren't allowed to drink at this age. Are things different here?”

I turned my head and saw a gray pegasus stallion standing in front of me. He was of remarkable height and wore a sly smile. I was about to open my mouth and reply, when he continued, “Just kidding, young fella. I just wanted to ask, do you know a good place to stay the night? I asked my friends here, but nopony could give me a coherent answer.”

At this remark a lot of the aforementioned laughed out loud.

“There's a hostel in the Blacksmith Street. J-just go right and then turn left at the next crossing.”

I was beginning to get nervous, I didn't know what to think of that guy. And I really wasn't comfortable around these kind of guys, I've often heard how easily drunken ponies like them could start a quarrel. Trouble I wanted to avoid.

“Thanks, little guy.” Oh, how it annoyed me when someone still called me that.

“By the way, is the weather always so bad around here? In Trottingham, where I come from, it's almost always sunny. Is this why they call this town 'The Dark City of the North' ?”

He grinned, while I couldn't bring myself to find this funny. I had heard it too often. It's like every traveller who comes here has to make a joke on the weather, or explain how he believed us to be minions working for some kind of ponified evil. Those who bring up the latter have probably heard of the legend surrounding the castle next to our town. It is believed that just before sunset, when the sky is a mix of red and orange, there is a lost soul wandering around in it. The ghost of Earl Sharp Knife, the last king of this town, known for his violent reign and dead for two hundred years now, is supposedly haunting its halls and rooms, with his trusty spear still in his hooves, looking for intruders.

As he was the last member of a proud noble family and left the world without any descendants; the city has been governed by a council since then. His death is still being speculated on. Some believe he was killed by a curse, and that the town has likewise been cursed ever since his death. Therefore, some ponies, especially in the south, sometimes just can't accept that we here are normal ponies just like them. At least this pegasus seemed to be sensible, and otherwise just a normal traveller.

My musings were interrupted when said pony spoke to me again,

“Mind showing me the way?”

“I'm sorry, I have to go to work in a minute or I'll be late. “

Peeking out of the window, I noticed that the rain had finally stopped.

“That's fine, I have some things to do for myself, too. How about we meet at nine in the evening again, here in front of the tavern?”

Why was he so persistent? The inn was not that hard to find. But I didn't had time for questions, and at that time I saw no harm in showing a stranger around the town, so I just said, “Fine,” paid my (still untouched) drink and hurried outside.

The sun still wasn't shining, instead the city was covered up with the same grey clouds, which seemed ready for another shower, so I hurried to arrive dryly this time. The change in season was very much perceptible now, spring had finally arrived. Of all seasons this was my favourite. It wasn't so cold anymore, and there was much less smoke and stench in the air, as ponies were heating less than in winter. Also this meant it wouldn't be snowing anymore, I couldn't stand this strange kind of rain, feeling wet and freezingly cold on my coat. And it wasn't so unbearably hot as it is in in Summer either. Nor was it so stormy as it usually is in the autumn.

Then I heard the bell of the town hall. I stopped and counted six strokes. I was late again! Under my breath I cursed my decision to visit the pub just so I could escape the rain, so I started gallopping towards Chemist's street. I didn't actually dislike rain, most of the time I in fact enjoyed rain – if I was watching it from inside with a cup of hot milk on my side. Running through rain outside got you a wet coat, and I couldn't stand that. Besides you might get a cold. At least, that's what my mother always said to me. She also told me that I was born on a rainy day in early spring just like this. That's probably why she chose “Spring Rain” as a name for me, too.

By now, I had passed a bakery where I normally would go to during break time to buy some filled rolls and was now standing in front of the door of the Chemist's shop. I hoped that the master wouldn't be angry at me for being late, I had only started my apprenticeship a few weeks ago and didn't want to lose it because of such a stupid mistake.

Some thought it strange, an earth pony learning from an unicorn how to make various medicines, strange potions and other things that resembled magic to others, but I didn't pay much attention to them. In the end, magic wasn't a thing that was limited to unicorns anyway, and alchemy certainly wasn't the kind of magic you would need an horn for.

I knocked on the door, and upon receiving no response, I gently pushed it open and peeked inside. There seemed to be no one around, so I silently entered the room, made my way past the counter and opened a second door leading to a private room. I took a step inside was immediately greeted by the sounds of various pieces of apparatus hissing and making other strange noises, and by the grim expression of my mentor, Starswirl the Bearded.

Chapter 2

Starswirl the Bearded didn't like to be treated disrespectfully. Not at all. In his opinion, somepony who had travelled to the ends of the known world and invented hundreds of spells and potions deserved some respect.

And arriving late at work was considered highly disrespectful around here.

“I suppose you had far more important deeds to commit than arriving punctual at our appointment?”

“Uh, I'm terribly sorry, sir. I got caught up in a tavern, where I had sought shelter from the sudden burst of rain.”

“A tavern, you say? I hope you are not too intoxicated too work, then.” His expression had stayed stern, but his voice had received a slight sarcastic undertone.

“No, I didn't actually drink anything...” I said while looking away, so I wouldn't have to face my mentor directly any more.

“Fine. I will be forbearing with you this time; though the next time you will miss our appointed date I will have no choice but to punish you.”

Surprised I looked up again. I wouldn't have thought he would be so clement and connive at that.

“U-Understood, sir. I will not show this misbehaviour again.”

“Very well then. Now let us recommence with our lesson. The week before I began to explain to you the meaning and principles of the sacred science of alchemy. What exactly can yo remember, young scholar?”

“Um...” I had trouble remembering anything at all. I was known to have a terrible memory; Frequently I had forgotten to restock my supplies on groceries and was left with nothing to eat but some old, dry slices of bread and a few carrots to go with it, so naturally I had, unfortunately for me, forgotten most of what I was supposed to learn in the lesson before, and I fiercely tried to piece together what little was left of it in my mind.

“... An alchemist is working with herbs and chemicals and creating potions with them, which have a lot of different purposes.”

His features seemingly softened a bit, and his voice lost some of his harshness.

“That much is true. Carry on.”

“And his ultimate goal is... creating gold from other, inferior metals?”

“No! Have you really forgotten everything I taught you? I am deeply disappointed, Spring Rain. A colt with this attitude is not worthy learning the secrets of hermeticism. Discipline and diligence are vital for any scholar.“

His shout was still ringing in my ears, and I was beginning to feel frightened, frightened he would cast me out, and frightened by his demeanour. Still I tried to compose myself, and said, trying to keep the shaking in my voice to a minimum:

“I-I'm sorry! Sir, I'll promise to be more assiduous from now on, and work hard to … to understand alchemy completely!”

He seemed to have calmed down a bit, but his face still bore a grim and sceptical expression.

“And devote each and every hour of your free time to your studies?”

“Uh... yes, of course! I will, sir!”

That was a tough deal, but what other choices did I have? There weren't that many places to work around here... Most jobs were inherited here, from father to son. My own father used to work as a farmer before he chose to come here, searching for his luck in the town. Urban air makes you free, they say. Might be true, but it surely doesn't make you rich as easily as you might hope. He had to sell what little land he owned to get by in the first months, and had to take various smaller jobs at first, doing errands, cleaning the streets and so on. Later, he taught himself reading, the local priest, whose acquaintance he had made, had helped him with that.

My family had never been really religious, that is why I don't know much about our religion. Instead they used to say “Don't think someone up above will do your work, at the end of the day it just boils down to what you alone managed to achieve with your own hooves.”

After he had learned how to read and write, he tried to apply for more advanced jobs, but it was difficult. He was mostly disregarded because of his heritage, and ultimately got a job at the bottom end of the court's administration hierarchy, where he would copy decrees and edicts. It was a tedious and monotonous task, but it was still better than cleaning city streets.

For some time, he had a fairly decent income, allowing for us a rich salad once a week and even some books with which he taught me reading. I couldn't go to school here, as they only permitted unicorns there, rarely a pegasus. Unfortunately, when the council decided to start cutting expenditures, my father's job was the first to be removed. Though we had some savings, things started to go downhill from then. He looked for other jobs, but there were scarcely any at that time. He even tried working in the ironworks once, but the physically very hard work was too much for him.

Eventually, he got sick. I believe it was the toxic smoke coming from the chimneys and ovens. Only the strongest of all ponies could endure that over a longer period of time, and even on them, time was taking its toll. So when I grew old enough to get a job on my own, there was none my father could have passed on to me.

It was only by chance that I found out about this place, and got the chance to learn about alchemy. Once when I was walking uptown to the market, I heard an argument, followed by the sound of a small explosion. This piqued my curiosity, and so I went to examine the origin of the noise. It lead me to a small side street I had never visited before, and there I saw a light brown unicorn standing outside arguing with nopony else than Starswirl the Bearded himself.

“Fine, I'm going, I'm going. There's no need to shout.”

“Yes, abscond, and do not dare to show your face here in this place ever again! I will find an apprentice more worthy to learn about the sacred secrets of alchemy!”

“Good luck with that. Pff, like anyone with a sane mind would ever want to touch these dusty old boring books anyway...”

At this point, Starswirl's expression changed into the harshest one I had ever seen anywhere. I felt a surge of fright building up inside me, and normally I would have left in such a situation, but some odd sense of curiosity made me stay.

The unnamed, supposedly former apprentice tried to remain collected, but even I could see the terror in his face. I suppose he finally realized that he was provoking a fight, in which he only could get the short straw.

“Watch your words, foul-mouth. You do not know who you are dealing with.”

After the alchemist had spoken these words, the brown one at last got on his way, with a moderate trot at first, which quickly became a full gallop.

Not knowing what Starswirl would be capable of doing when in a bad mood, I had decided to not test my luck and start going, too, but he called me out and I didn't dare to ignore him.

“And what are you doing here, young one? What is your name?”

“Uh... It's Spring Rain, sir. I, … um, was just by chance here and didn't mean to eavesdrop...”

“Spring Rain, tell me, are you interested in learning about Alchemy?”

Back then, I was taken aback by this question. At that time I didn't knew much about alchemy, and had only heard about it once. It was just some mysterious magic to me, and sometimes still is today. I don't know why I answered “Yes, I am, sir”, but I guess my curiosity overruled my fears for the second time that fateful day.

“Are you willing to become my new apprentice, then?”

When he had asked me this peculiar question, a lot of different feelings were welling up inside me. Then, when he had asked me the next Aside from my mentioned curiosity for new things and fear from getting into trouble, I felt a mix of confusion and surprise, with a bit of excitement. I always had heard of others that Starswirl was a great magician and talented inventor, but also a completely unapproachable and withdrawn person, and now he was asking me of all people, a simple earth pony, who just happened to pass by his laboratory to become his assistant? Just what did I do to deserve this honour? I'm sure a lot of ambitious unicorns have learned years at the best

Somehow I still managed to get a simple “Yes” out, and that leads me back to today. I don't know where I would be now if I had declined that offer. As I said, it's hard to find a good job here if you are unemployed and don't inherit your father's job or business.

Probably would have tried my luck and move out and look for work in other towns. A lot of ponies tended to do that, but the next town is far away in the south and I had also heard that not a lot had been successful, with some even landing in the gutter and becoming beggars. So I considered myself lucky to have this job, or rather apprenticeship and was willing to devote myself to it, as I hadn't much to do anyway.

“Very well. Then sign here with your name to affirm your agreement.”

“Eh... write my name, sir?”

I felt how blood surged into my face. I didn't know how to write! I only had learned how to read, but to be able to write and to read were completely different things. I just hoped that this didn't mean the end of my live as an apprentice before it really started, and worriedly looked to Starswirl, but he had simply lifted his eyebrows while retaining his general grim expression. I don't think I've ever seen him with a happy face or even a smile.

“Yes, that is what I asked you to do. Why would you ask, young scholar?”

“It's because … Sir, I've never learned how to write. I only know how to read, I had never the opportunity to visit a school” Or get private lessons, like the really noble folk.

He seemed genuinely surprised upon this confession, but to my own astonishment didn't seem to get angry.

“It is not possible to become a good alchemist without possessing the ability to express oneself in written language” – I already saw my hopes crushed here, but it seemed like it was my fortunate day, as he hadn't finished yet – “but I will help you master it. With diligence and discipline you should be able to learn it in just a few weeks.”

I hesitantly nodded. That was incredibly grateful from him, but as far as I knew to really learn how to properly write a few weeks wouldn't be enough at all... My father needed two years, and even then still only had a somewhat mediocre grasp on it. Then again, he only could spend a few hours a day on it, so maybe if I really focus on studying I could make it, after all my work depended on it, so I had to try.

“Good. We will postpone the appendage of your signature until then. Let us now proceed. I will now show you basic processes essential to know for any alchemist and further explain the reason why they are important. The most important of all are...”

He walked up to a strange contraption of different kinds of glasses, flasks and glass tubes, turned on a burner below one of the bigger receptacles and continued to speak.

“... amongst others, calcination, cohobation and congelation. There are others, equally important, but for now you will concentrate your studies on these three.”

His speech went on and on, eventually just becoming a distant mumble in my ears. I really wanted to focus, but he used a lot of strange and obscure words I didn't understand, and his somewhat monotonous tone wasn't helping.

So I was glad when my lesson was interrupted by vigorous knocks on the door.

“Open the door! In name of the greater god above, open the door! This is an emergency and allows for no further delay!”

Starswirl seemed upset that someone had disturbed him at this hour, when the chemistry normally already is closed.

“Go and look who has the audacity to disrupt me in this moment, young one.”

So I did, and I was then greeted by a grey coated messenger pegasus, wearing a brown cap which covered most of his short, blonde mane.

“Honourable Sir, I in name of my town desperately ask for your help! Our Lord and General Fair Judge has fallen ill with the flu and we are out of medicine. It is of utmost urgency that some antitussive drug immediately will be brought to our noble town of St. Marelington!”

The named had already approached the seemingly distressed envoy and spoke:

“Spring Rain, hear me: Go and pack your saddlebags with what you deem necessary for a week-long trip. Take some drosera with you, it is an herbal remedy powerful against any sort of cough. It is located in the left upmost drawer next to the counter. You will be going in an hour to St. Marelington.”

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The bells of the town signalized it was eight o'clock when we were leaving the few lights illuminating the city behind us. With just an hour to prepare, I hadn't had much time to think about what I would need on such a trip, so I just had packed some apples and slices of bread and some other things I thought could prove useful, such as a journal and a small knife. And of course some money, I was just hoping they would accept my coins over there, or else I would be in trouble.

The carriage Starswirl had arranged for me was actually quite comfy, if a bit spartanic. It consisted essentially of two wooden semicircles with a door on one side and some windows on both, connected by wooden boards. To make for an even floor, some additional boards had been attached on the bottom. It was big enough to fit at least two adults, but right now I was on my own, resting on hay that been spread on the floor to make it more comfortable, and observing how my hometown slowly disappeared into darkness. The countryside was completely silent, the only sound being the steady clopping of the carter outside, and was immersed in murky gloom everywhere the moon didn't cast its rays upon.

I flipped my journal open to a free page and started writing.

Day 1, Tuesday 17th of the Month of the God of War

After hastily having packed, I'm currently heading towards St. Marelington and will most likely arrive there tomorrow midday. As this is my first time visiting another town, my head is full of questions. What will it be like there? Will it be much different from my home? And how will the inhabitants be? I'm hoping they're a friendly folk.

I paused.

I'm both excited and apprehensive about the following day. I hope I can deliver the remedy to the local Lord and manage to stay out of trouble. If I succeed, I might make my family proud. They never got the chance to travel abroad...
But I still somehow got that nagging feeling that something will go awfully wrong... but maybe I'm just worrying too much. I should probably try to sleep a bit instead so I can start well rested tomorrow.

I closed the small notebook and hit the hay. Literally, in this case.

I was awoken with a start when a sudden blow hit the carriage. Apparently it had just crossed a rather big stone in the street.
I wanted to go back to sleep, but the sun was already shining brightly through the only window, making any trip back into the lands of dreams impossible.
Still sleepy, I tried opening my eyes a bit, but the sunrays were blinding me. Groggily, I stood up, surprised for a moment that I wasn't in my room at home before remembering that I was on a trip to the nearest neighbouring town to help someone there. Someone really important, but to my shame I had forgotten who exactly. I blinked, trying to finally fully wake up, and decided to take a look out of the window and see where I was at the moment. I had never seen the countryside before, and so I was really a bit curious if it was anything like I had heard.

And it was, but much more than that.
Despite it being just a simple plain with a few trees here and there, it was still the most colourful … thing, for lack of a better word, I had ever seen in my life.
Grass covered every corner in my sight, much greener than the green in my mane. The same was true for the leaves of the trees, standing lonely apart from each other, mostly in the background, with a few standing closer to the road. Everything was clad into a wide array of reddish colours by the slowly rising morning sun.
I had never seen it before like that... It was really beautiful. And the countryside was so incredibly wide! Everything seemed to go on forever, until it met the sky far away from here. What a difference to the town, where everything was obstructed by buildings or the mountains.
The mountains! I looked to the left and could barely make them out any more... They were all almost invisible, a thick fog covering them.
I would have been content with just watching the landscape passing by slowly, when a grumbling from my stomach reminded me not to skip breakfast, no matter how amazing the view was.
I was just about to unpack my provisions when I noticed a large bag half-filled with oatmeal in the corner. Apparently the carriage driver had decided to share his food with me and after having rested in the night put the bag inside while I was still sleeping. How nice of him. I had to thank him for that later. Together with the apples and carrots I had this would make for a great breakfast.
After a while I noticed the landscape changed from simple plains to farmland. I saw earth ponies working in the fields, both young and older ones.
This probably meant we were arriving soon. Wonder what the town looked like... Would it look very different from my hometown? But I didn't have much time thinking about that again, as I soon spotted the first towers, and shortly after that, the murals of St. Marelington.
The carriage stopped before the city gates – adorned with red and yellow stripes – where the driver had a short conversation with some guardsponies before they nodded and opened the gate.
As soon as we had let the murals behind us, I was staggered by the sheer amount of sights, sounds and smells. I saw ponies everywhere, either walking at a moderate pace at the side of the street, sometimes chatting with each other, or selling and buying various goods at the street corners and sides. Fresh pastries, vegetables, fruits or other things like festive clothes, books or household items, almost everything.
Some of the smells were really appetizing, like the ones coming from the baked goods, filled with fruits or other tasty things, others, as the ones coming from the small ditches located alongside the roads, weren't.
Aside from the different smells, the air was constantly filled with vendors praising their products and customers bargaining, street musicians playing instruments while singing stones unlike all I had ever heard before, and the general chatter of ponies.
I was just starring out of the window while we were driving by. Everything was so much more full of life than at home, everyone seemed more active and everything more colourful!
And the buildings, which I finally began to notice, seemed to be different as well. They were mostly made of wood, not stone, unlike in my hometown, and painted in a lot of different, some bright, colours. This wasn't just another town, this seemed more like a completely different world. I hoped we would at least speak the same language... And as soon as I had finished that thought, the carriage came to a final stop and the door on the opposite side was opened.
I got out and was startled a bit. Standing before me was a tall, intimidating guard, wearing a shiny silver chest plate and a helmet made of the same metal.
“So you’re the mercury bringin’ the medicine for our Lord and General?”
“Y-yes, I am.”
“Good. Welcome to St. Marelington. Come with me, I’ll bring you to him.”
I was glad we could understand each other after all, but he did speak in a strange accent, slurring most of his words and talking kind of fast.
He lead me to a building with a peaked red roof, plastered in pale yellow, two stories high with a copper green clock tower on it. It had a big, two-storey projected porch in the middle with two smaller gables on each side. A single semioval window was sitting atop the huge wooden portal.
Two other guards with spears were standing on each side of it.
“Halt! Who seeks entry?”
“The courier from Sharp Knife’s town in the frozen north. He’s here to bring the medicine for our Lord.”
One of the guard’s expression changed to horror.
“That town? Aren’t they all cursed and work for some kind of pure evil? And now you brought one of them here?”
I sighed. I know I couldn’t expect everyone not to believe that ridicolous myth, but it still hurt how some thought of us. I mean, come on! What makes us so different from then anyway? That we live far away, somewhat secluded in the mountains? Is that how the myth came to be? I don’t even think that everyone thinks Sharp Knife even existed in the first place. A lot are doubting his existence, since there are next to no writings from that period or or other evidence.
My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a shout.
“By ‘elestia! Get a grip on yourself and stop being so superstitious! They’re just like us, they just talk a bit archaically! He has the remedy all of you failed to bring! Let us through or I’ll put that spear of yours where the sun doesn’t shine!”
It’s nice to hear he doesn’t think that, but... did he just call my speech archaic? Also, is “Elestia” a local godness of them? I had no idea that everything would already be so different in the next city... but then again we really don’t live close to anyone, except for the mountains. But according to what I’ve heard from others, only a handful of people live in a few isolated villages, as it’s not exactly a place with friendly life conditions.
Anyway, at least I and my escort were allowed entrance now. The guards stepped aside and the huge, ornamented portal opened with a loud, deep creak.
Behind it was a small room, apparently the entrance hall. It had two windows on each side, the floor was partly covered by a red carpet with a colourful, jagged pattern, and there was another pair of doors in the middle.
The guard lead me through them and we entered another hall, a huge one. The walls were unplastered pure stone here, with paintings of various knights and kings on both sides of the room. A huge carpet with a coat of arms was hanging from the opposite wall. Yellow with a diagonal red stripe, with a crown and a hoofshoe on both sides of the stripe.
A lot of swords and shields could be seen below it, standing in a large rack.
“This is the assembly hall. Once a month or when needed, our lord, General Fair Judge, gathers all knights here and gives out announcements. If requested, they will be spread to the general population afterwards.”
My guide turned to the left, and pointed to the paintings.
“Here and on the other side you can see all our previous lords. Fair and just as our founding father Lord Rightfulness wished it to be, all rulers are knights elected by the assembly, so that the best of them all may reign this principality.”
I saw a lot of variously coloured ponies in full armour, posing in a dignified manner with a stern look in their eyes and a silver crown on their head. Some were wearing yellow-red robes as well. Some were pegasi, but most were unicorns. Again. Not a single earth-dweller in sight. I sighed, but the guard ignored it or took no notice of it and continued to lead me to another room. Mostly empty, it only had two windows on each side and again a door on the opposite side with the same red carpet going through the room. It also held the stairs to the second story. They were wooden, and creaked a bit when stepping on them. Upon reaching the upper floor, we passed yet another ornamented wooden door and finally stopped in front of a much smaller one. Coughs could be heard on the other side.
The guard knocked on it.
A low, raspy voice, barely audible between fits of coughing, asked:
“Who is it?”
“It’s knight Sensible. The courier with the remedy is here!”
“Let him in...”
Sensible (odd short names do they have here...) turned to me and asked:
“Do you have it with you?”
Slightly offended, I started to answer “Of course, it’s right here in my sad-” when I realized I had for some reason forgotten my saddlebags in the carriage. Darn, it had probably already left and I had no idea where it could be.
The guard only gave me a severe, expecting look as an answer.
“Uh... sorry, I have left it somewhere else. I will just go and fetch it, all right?”
I smiled nervously, but he was visibly displeased with me.
“Then go! Go! And hurry, the fate of our lands depend on the health of our lord!”

Author's Note

Yeah, I don't know why it took me almost a year to publish this chapter. Next chapter will hopefully be finished earlier. Point out any story-telling, stylistic or language mistakes in the comments and tell me how I've been doing. Thanks!