//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Too Big to Bear // Story: Alchemy Vs. Magic // by The Real Darkness //------------------------------// Edward continued to go deeper and the canopy got thicker and thicker blocking out more and more sunlight. Edward stopped for a moment. "If I'm going to explore this place I'll need some sort of weapon and a light source..." He whispered to himself and went next to a tree. He quickly broke a short sturdy branch off. He then took off his glove on his metal hand and doused it in some plant oil he had quickly transmutated from a nearby patch of forest plants. He couldn't identify them though. He wrapped the glove around the end of the torch then transmutated a nearby rock into two pieces flint for a short moment. He laid the makeshift non lit on the same rock which he had made into a small flat surface. Edward then started striking the pieces of flint of the torch. After many tries the end of the torch finally lit. Before he picked it up he transmutated his arm blade like he always did then picked the torch up with his left hand. "Now I can continue..." Edward said aloud as he kept walking through the deep forest. After about an hour of walking, according to his state alchemist issued pocket watch, he came across a shaky suspension bridge. 'I know for a fact that thing will snap like a twig if I stepped on it...' Edward thought. He clapped his hands together after he set the makeshift torch down onto a smooth rock on the forest path. Edward then placed his hand on the first wood plank and it immediately repaired itself. The other planks followed fast before they stretched and made a straight thick wood bridge. Many trees around Edward were suddenly gone except for the roots. He picked the torch back up and crossed staring over the gulch. Once he crossed he kept on walking through a dirt path and didn't come upon any creatures. A big stone building covered in thick moss and vines came into view. Edward was mesmerized. He wasted no time and ran up to it then bursted the doors open. "Empty....perfect. Now what the hell is this place?" Edward questioned to no one in particular as he looked around. There were broken pieces of faded stained glass all over the place. Edward figured nothing could have been important there as he searched for two hours. His pocketwatch stated that the time was 7:43 PM. Edward started to run with the torch in hand. It went out from the wind. Edward remembered the way he took with a half memory. His vision was blurred oddly and he started to look about. Edward looked behind him and saw a circular shape of light. He assumed this was cave. Edward heard a deep growl in front of him and he ran out fast with a huge purple star bear hot on his trail. "SSSSHHHHIIIIIIIIITTTT!!!" Edward yelled as he ran through the forest toward the general direction of the exit. He looked back at the bear and took note. Claws extracted and seemed to be two meters long and a meter thick with huge teeth and a body that was about four times as large as the Ursa Minor's. Edward thought this must of been an adult version of it. He ran into something. "What is the meaning of this sprinting, Fullmetal?" Roy asked. Edward had bumped into Alphonse who was next to the Colonel. "THAT!" Edward shouted as he pointed to the purple star bear. "I believe we should continue this running, Alphonse?" Roy said with a questioning voice to Alphonse. "Agreed...." Alphonse said. "WAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" The three shouted as they ran. "Wait...what if this thing gets into Ponyville?" Alphonse asked. "It could cause death in the quiet town..." Edward responded pumping his legs faster than that of a car's piston. "Good point, F..Edward. Let's fight this thing." Roy said as he halted and turned pointing his fingers toward the bear. "No! You'll set the forest on fire." Alphonse spoke up as he took a fighting position. "You are correct. Edward, do you mind transmutating...oh...a gun or weapon for me?" Mustang asked. "Here..." Edward transmutated quickly as the bear was still running towards them. The product of which was a thins tone rapier which he gave to Roy. He then transmutated a huge hammer for Alphonse and the same old spear for himself. The bear was just upon them as the three separated. Roy went left, Alphonse went right and Edward went straight for it. The bear was focused on Edward. "Fullmetal! You idiot!" Mustang called out from the left side of the bear. "Am I, Mustang?" Edward questioned mockingly as he slid under the bear and stabbed its stomach barely puncturing its skin before slicing multiple times on his way out at the rear of the bear. The bear roared with the minor cuts all along its stomach. "You're lucky you weren't hit, brother!" Alphonse said from its right back leg. "I don't see you guys attacking!" Edward said as he charged towards the leg closest to Alphonse. "Of course, you can't see through solid mass!" Mustang said from the other side of the bear. He was cutting into its front paws trying to sever a tendon. "Who's the idiot now?!" Edward said back teasing him while he sliced the bear's leg and Alphonse would pound it with the giant stone hammer. The bear kept roaring and trying to swipe down Roy. He was inflicting the most damage. The roars were quite deep and loud. They were already fighting in a clearing about two miles from the entrance of the forest. Alchemical static rippled through the forest floor. Many smooth stone spikes came up from under the bear and made deep stab wounds before the bear broke them through its rampage. Edward and Roy managed to get knocked back. Edward flew onto his back and Mustang caught himself before he landed with his free hand. "Edward, can you make a stone wall around this clearing!?" Roy said as the bear turned to him wanting to kill. "Sure, but wh-" Edward was cut off. "Just do it! That's an order!" Mustang responded as he jumped a swipe from the huge paw and brought the rapier down upon it. Alphonse was still pounding the bear hard, he rotated the hammer's head so instead of being like a sledgehammer it would act like a nail. One side of the hammer was flat and smooth while the other was rough and pointed. Alphonse was hitting its ribs trying to cause one to break or fracture. Edward ran to the edges of the clearing and started to make mile high stone walls making them into a circle slowly. He was doing a lot of transmutating. "What the hay is that!?" Rainbow Dash called from above. "Hello, Dash...I think this is what Twilight said is an Ursa Major. Edward just had a nice conversation with it about twenty minutes ago." Alphonse said as he ducked a paw swipe. The star bear would sometimes try to strike Al down, but mostly focused on Roy. "WHAT!!!" a surprised Rarity said at one of the edges of the clearing. Edward was a third done with the stone wall. He made the wall very thick so the Ursa wouldn't escape it. Edward thought that was its purpose. "Hey there, Rarity. How's life goin' for ya. It's shit for me." Edward said calmly as he was close to her transmutating the wall. "EDWARD!ALPHONSE!ROY!" an angry Twilight called next to Rarity. "You sound just like Wenry." Edward complained as he passed by the two unicorns busy transmutating like hell. He was breathing deep, being exhausted some from all the transmutating. Pinkie Pie was seen close to the pair of unicorns gasping before running. Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen and applejack is where Pinkie was. Edward was about done when Alphonse got slammed against the wall. "AL!" Edward called. Roy Mustang was attacking feverishly, keeping the bear distracted. "I'm fine!" Alphonse answered and he got back up and ran to the bear. Edward finished the gargantuan, thick, mile high circle wall. The three were trapped with the bear. Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack were up on the wall since they used Twilight's magic. Rainbow was flying overhead. "Now make some stairs!" Roy commanded. "Fine!" Edward said as he was huffing and puffing as he made stairs. He climbed them. "Alphonse, go with your brother!" Mustang ordered and Al nodded then ran up the stairs to the top where they were with the others. "Now you two distract this guy with alchemy while I try to get up the stairs!" Roy said. Alphonse threw the hammer into the ring pit and Edward carved out a large transmutation on the thick wall with his spear before discarding it. They placed their hands upon it, crouching. "Spikes." Edward said to the brother while Roy was barely evading the bear's attack. The Ursa Major's stomach was cut up and blood was slowly oozing from the cuts Edward made earlier. There were missing skin spots on the side of the bear and its back legs were cut and beaten by Edward's spear and Alphonse's hammer. Its front paws were cut up by Mustang. "Okay." Alphonse responded as spikes were coming from everywhere and the circle glowed bright in response. They would sprout from the trees, the stone ring wall, the ground, and the branches overhead. About thirty would come out at relatively the same time before they retracted and more came from different spots. The spikes left puncture marks all over the bear as it roared in agony. Mustang was making his way up the stairs. He discarded the rapier once he was at the top. Mustang pointed both of his hands towards the bear and was about to snap. The ponies never saw Roy's alchemy at work before so they leaned over the edge and looked at roy to see what would happen. The Elric brothers took that as a sign to stop. They lifted their hands from the circle and it stopped glowing with its blue alchemical light and the spikes were all retracted. They stood. "Burn..." Roy said with a confident smirk as the bear started to race towards them on the wall. Rainbow was still flying, but near Roy instead of overhead. Mustang kept snapping his fingers alternating them. Fire colored zigzagged lines would escape from his pointed index fingers. The lines landed all about the grass in the ring and few would explode. Most started a huge raging inferno. The bear was now rolling around on the ground in agony as the fire roasted him alive. His roars were now pain filled. "So, Fullmetal...You up for any bear meat?" Roy said and laughed. "I'll pass." Edward responded and the brothers joined Roy in laughing while the mares about them just watched in awe at his alchemy. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie showed up and Twilight had teleported them up to see the huge flames that were barely being contained by the stone ring. "We should probably get going..." Alphonse said. "Yea....it is getting late." Edward said as he looked down at his pocketwatch. On the way to the exit Twilight spoke up to Edward,"So..."she started calmly,"Why the hay were you in there!?" "I was curious!!!" Edward shouted back clenching his fist in front of him. The two kept on bickering for a while until they agreed to shut up. "So, that's why they call you the Flame Alchemist." Pinkie said with a big smile as she walked backwards in front of Roy. "Oh if you think that's something, you should see what those two have transmutated before or Major Armstrong, the Strongarm Alchemist." Roy said being modest as he held a smile and kept walking. Pinkie Pie stopped talking as she thought of what Armstrong would look like. They exited the forest with no talk after that. It was only a minute after Roy responded to Pinkie that they exited. "I guess we'll head home now. And Roy?" Edward said. "Yes, Fu- Edward." Mustang caught himself. "We'll be over at Rarity's to 'help' get your measurements taken." Edward said with a snicker and made his fingers quote on "help". Roy didn't respond. The Elric brothers got home and looked to the wall clock sitting between the doors to their rooms. It read 10:12 PM. Edward immediately went to his own room and slept. Alphonse went to his room, but stayed awake. He really didn't sleep at all. The pair couldn't wait to humiliate Roy tomorrow, when he would get his measurements.