Ed, Al and Twilight finally arrived at the castle, after Ed and Twilight being questioned every which way they went, mostly about which country Ed was from and when could they expect another royal wedding, etc. no matter how much Ed and Twilight insisted they were simply friends, the ponies of Canterlot would simply not be pacified.
"Shall we go in then?" Asked Twilight
"I'm ready" Said Al
"Same here" Said Ed "just as long as these Princesses are nothing like Fuhrer Bradley" he added quietly
The three then walked directly towards the gates, and a chill went down Ed's spine as the guards stared down at him and Al, deciding to leave them be, considering they were with Princess Twilight it was no problem to them.
"WHO ART THOU?" came a booming voice from a balcony just ahead where sat an alicorn, with a navy coat, and a mane that seemed to be made from the night sky itself.
"Princess Luna, these two are visitors from a far off country" Said Twilight as rehearsed on the train "They have requested an audience with all of the Princesses, I sent a letter to the Princess just yesterday requesting our visit"
"WE REMEMBER SOMETHING LIKE THAT" Replied Princess Luna in the same booming voice
Ed put his hooves to his ears in an attempt to stop them ringing and them felt a cold touch on his left shoulder, similar to that that he had come to expect from rubbing his shoulder with his auto-mail, and turned his head around to see a pure white alicorn, her mane looked like the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights), taller even than Al, with her gold-shoe-covered hoof on his shoulder
"don't worry" she whispered to Ed "Truth told me what happened"
"What?" Asked Ed confused "you know Truth?"
"but of course" The white alicorn replied, smiling gently "follow me to the throne room and I will explain" and with that she removed her hoof from his shoulder, and walked away "Luna please come with us"
"But Tia" Said Luna
"Please, Luna there is not time for this" Said 'Tia' "Twilight, you too, and bring Alphonse with you"
Once in the throne room, 'Tia' ordered the guards out of the room and called Twilight and Luna over the four thrones at one end of the room, where already waiting was a pink alicorn, who upon spotting twilight ran to her and began doing a strange dance while singing, although Ed struggled to make head or tails of what they were singing
'Tia' cleared her throat loudly and sat in the throne with the highest back, and the other three slowly moved into place, Luna taking the slightly shorter backed one, The pink alicorn the next one down, and finally Twilight the smallest throne that looked like it was newly fitted
"So Edward, Truth sent you to meet us and here we are" Said 'Tia' "However before we begin, I would like to welcome you to Equestria, and formally introduce ourselves" she rose from her seat "I am Princess Celestia, Co-Ruler of Equestria and Princess of the Sun"
"I am Princess Luna" Said Luna, rising from her throne "the other Co-Ruler of Equestria and Princess of the Moon"
"I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, however most ponies call me Cadence " Said the pink alicorn, as she stood "Ruler of the Crystal Empire, princess of Love"
"And I am Princess Twilight Sparkle" Finished Twilight, also rising to her hooves "I am newly appointed and so do not reside over any domain"
"And now for you" said Celestia "you must formally introduce, yourselves as we have"
"OK, I am Edward Elric, State Alchemist of Amestris" Said Ed,There was some whispering between Luna and Celestia at this statement
"And, I am Alphonse Elric his younger brother, I am not however a State Alchemist like my brother" Said Al
"Can you repeat what you said Edward?" Asked Celestia
"I am Edward Elric, State Alchemist of Amestris" Said Ed, puzzled
"Amestris, you say?" Said Luna, staring at him in disbelief
"Yeah, Why?" Asked Ed casually
"I happen to know of Amestris" Said Luna
"Really!" Said Al, excitedly
"yes it is is a small nation, that happens to exist on a parallel plane to Equestria, connected only by the gate of Truth, It is one of three locations it is possible to get to, one the other two being Ponyville, Miss Rarity Belle's Boutique being on the arrival spot, should you manage to successfully traverse the gate" said Luna
"what is the other location? Besides Amestris that is" Asked Ed
"A strange place called Berlin, where no magic at all is possible" Replied Luna
"You also mentioned Alchemy" Said Cadence, speaking for the first time since introductions "what exactly is that?"
"Alchemy can be summed up in one simple sentence" Answered Al
"Which is?" Asked Twilight
The brothers looked to one another and nodded "All is one and one is all" the brothers said exactly in sync with each-other
"And what exactly does that mean?" Asked Cadence, confusion clearly evident on her features
"The all is the world, and the one is me" Said Ed simply
"That means that the world is a continuous cycle of death and birth, destruction and creation, and alchemy is part of that flow, the destruction of old, to make way for the new" Said Al
"Alchemy has three stages: Analysis, Deconstruction and Reconstruction" Said Ed "An alchemist uses a transmutation circle to tap into the energy from the planet's crust and flow power in the circle to allow these three stages"
"Take the average human for example...." said Al, trailing off as he realised that none of the audience knew what a human was "um... bad example, let's just try a practical demonstration brother"
"OK, Do you have any stone we could use for a demonstration?" asked Ed
"GUARDS" yelled Celestia, in the royal Canterlot Voice, which she rarely used, and a group of guards came charging into the room "I need you to fetch a large stone from the Royal Gardens and make it quick" She ordered
Minutes later the Guards returned carrying a large stone between them, their magic colours fusing into a muddy brown colour, the moment the rock touched the floor, Celestia ordered them back out
"Here goes" Said Ed, as he bought his hooves together, a loud, resounding CLOP! filled the room, and Ed Pressed his hooves against the cold stone, blue lightning flashed around the room, and, there where the stone had been, was a statue of the four Princesses, each was smiling down at the room
A great applause came from the four, as they saw what Ed had made, Luna was Smiling, Celestia had a tear in her eye, Cadence just sat with her jaw hanging, and Twilight had the look of someone who was in deep thought
"I thought you said the circle was essential" said Twilight
"It is, unless you've seen Truth" Said Ed
"Anyway" Said Celestia "returning the conversation to the matter at hand, You will need somewhere to stay while you are in Equestria, Truth said he would send the two of you back when you are needed"
"Can we stay with Twilight?" asked Al
"Yes, if that is OK with Princess Twilight, I will allow it" Said Celestia, as she turned to look at Twilight
"I wouldn't mind, but there simply isn't enough living space for four at the Library"
"Four?" asked Al
"Yes of course I forgot to introduce you to my personal assistant Spike while we were in Ponyville" Said Twilight, "but he does live with me"
"Um... how about Rarity, that way we are close enough to the gate's exit that if anyone else manages to get through we are there already to help" Suggested Ed
"I guess we'll have to find out if she will allow it when we get back" Said Twilight
"I just hope we get a better reception this time" Joked Ed