Investigation had led him right to the enemy, right to where it had all started. He'd heard some about the fifth laboratory, more than he needed to know, as well as gathered intel on something that could lead to a whole new conspiracy about the Ishvalan war. However, his main concern right now was to infiltrate.
Fullmetal as well as his companions had been captured moments ago, and he was the only witness. Adjusting his glasses, he stalked the guards over to the rubble. They went around the rocks to a small crevice, only big enough for a cat or small dog. He waited for them to do something, perhaps open up some secret entrance. He grinned as the rocks parted with an alchemic light, letting them through.
Quickly, he crept up, ducking behind a piece of concrete at the sound of one of the guards. "Hey, be sure to seal that up," he called to his partner, the one carrying Ed, "We wouldn't wanna let any dogs that might be sniffing around find their way in." The lieutenant colenel chuckled, sneaking off with a plan already in mind. First, he'd need to get Mustang.
~///~
Al had put up quite a struggle, but it had been pointless. They'd been outnumbered by guards that seemed to appear out of nowhere and multiply. They'd disconnected his head and limbs from his seal, making him a useless torso. Ed and the human-ponies had been hit with electricity amped up by alchemy, KO'ing them cold.
They were brought throgh part of the ruins that had concealed a secret entrance, taking them beneath the lab. Now going through the tunnel lit only by torches, Al dreaded what was to come next.
"Miss Lust?" One of the men called to a wall, knocking on it. "We've captured some intruders. One of them is the Fullmetal Alchemist, I think." The door was transmuted open by another man, this one dressed in a white coat with glasses. "Ah, right this way," spoke the scientist, "Miss Lust is busy with a...eh, guest, at the moment. You can put them in a cell for now. Down the hall and to your left, okay?"
Thus began their two minute walk down a large corridor. Al noticed a few cracks in the walls with trancmutaion symbols above them, indicating other doors. The new lab was more elaborate, and definitely came with better security. Finally they neared a cell, a voice shouting out at their approach.
"Who durst to come forth? Come at us, bretheren! Ye shall face the fury of the moon!" There was much stomping and the rattle of chains, followed by some more cursing. The guard opened the door to a barred cell just a couple down from the voice, tossing the prisoners in. "In the name of our celestial embodiment, we shall destroy you for your oppression!"
The guards sniggered, chaining up the alchemist, but not bothering with the girls. The armor was left in pieces, as well. "Yeah, yeah, Miss Lunatic." They laughed, to which the being pounded against the walls of its confines, shackles ringing almost as loud as its threats. "Say, think she just might be a bit peckish?" One of the men joked, strolling over to her cage.
The mighty chimera thrashed about, but was unable to get close enough to harm its captor. "Here ya go, then," he tossed in an apple, but it was swiftly taken by a rat. "Oh, well. Maybe you can eat the rodents, instead." He and his comrade began laughing, walking back down the hallway.
"Filth! Scum! How dare thou speak to us in such a disgraceful manner?!" The chimera went on, shouting at them. "Show all the cowardice you like by fleeing, then! We shall escape soon." A sigh of slight despair could be heard next followed by a few mutters. "Hopefully..." The voice trailed off.
Al wondered what could be over there. He figured a chimera, but then he thought more reasonably: a pony. "Hey, umm...are you okay over there?" He called out, still capable of speach despite he was in about six pieces. "My name's Al. Who are you? Are you...from Equestria?"
~///~
Spike observed the feast layed out before him, drooling. "A-All these...f-for me?" He looked up at the woman, who nodded. "Wow...Twilight'd be so mad if she caught me eating all this. " He chuckled some, then picked up a fire opal. "Oh, man...and if Rarity could see these...she'd...oooh..." His heart fluttered as his fantasies soared to them falling in love, and then something with moustaches and rubber ducks.
"Just remember our little agreement." Lust smiled as the dragon munched away on some amethyst apatite gems with an appetite that could rival Gluttony's. The little one nodded and quickly devoured a bowl of turquoise jewels. "That's good. After all, this little gem is quite special and rare. I won't give it to just anyone."
Biting off a piece of crystal, the chimera nodded once more. "No problem! I mean, if I get all these to eat for eating a rare gem, then it's win-win no matter what!" Chuckling, the homonculus admired his enthusiasm to be a specimen for their latest project. "Oh, hey, I forgot to ask earlier...but...do you know wher my friends are? One of 'em is a unicorn, kinda nerdy, but she's pretty nice. Then there's another unicorn, but she's sooo cute and awesome and...wow...oh, uh, and then there's Pinkie...she's, eh, kinda nuts and--"
Lust stopped him right there, not wanting her newest pet to go off after the others; that was alredy being taken care of, or hopefully already was done and locked in a cell. "Now, now, Spike, they're fine. Right now, let's focus on just you and your needs." She could tell the dragon was going to ask again, but luckily one of the scientists entered.
"Miss Lust? We've gotten the intruders," he reported. Lust glanced at her pet, glad to find he hadn't heard that. "Also, we've gotten...IT done now. All ready for testing." He smiled nervously, only hoping to survive another minute in the homunculus' prescence. Lucky for him, she simply told him "good job" and asked to be taken to it.
Gesturing to her subject, she called, "Spike, come now. It's time for you to fulfill that little request I asked." He stuffed a couple more quartz in his mouth and followed after.
~///~
For a moment, the alicorn remained silent, wondering whether to answer this stranger's query about her. "...We...eh, I...am from Equestria, yes. You may call me Princess Luna." Some clinking echoed as the equine shifted to peer through the bars. "Al...do you know any others from my land?"
The torso would've jumped with joy at the horse's name. It was the moon princess he'd read about from the report, an alicorn with celestial powers of the night. "P-Princess Luna? You're the princess! You can get out of here, right?" He disregarded her latter question, focused now on having her bust them out omnipotent alicorn style.
"No, I cannot..." she hung her head, shifting her hooves in their cuffs. "When I was transported here, some alchemy from that other human seems to have meddled with my magic. I can do nothing now. I...I have failed." Al nearly cried, despite his lack of tear ducts and current decapitated state. "I...ask once more..." Luna called, a bit louder, "Do you know any other ponies?"
A groan came from beside Al, then some rustling as the two girls stirred awake. "Al...?" Twilight looked over, seeing the armor spread across the floor like Humpty Dumpty. "Al! Are you alright?" She quickly grabbed his helmet and placed it on his body, trying to fit the arms and legs on as well. When she and AJ finally got him back together, she heard a familiar voice.
"Twilight Sparkle, is that you?" Luna called to Celestia's star pupil. The girl replied positively, to which the princess celebrated. "Oh, praise the stars! You are safe! I cannot currently use my own magic, so it is up to you to get us out." Twilight laughed nervously, "Yeah, about that..."
~///~
"Oh, don't you worry, Dashie!" Rarity said, trying to cheer up the pegasus who looked more blue than normal, "We don't blame you! You shouldn't carry the burden alone here; it's nopony's fault but those scientists that brought us here in the first place."
Bouncing up net to her, Pinkie offered one of her trademark super-smiles. "Yeah, Dash. Like I always say, 'Blame the freaky alchemy scientists and their weird razzly-dazzly electric transmutations, not yourself~!' " Dash decided not to metnion that Pinkie hadn't once used that phrase, at least not that she'd known of. Instead, she accepted the support of her friends.
"Hey! Open up! It's me, Winry. I need to talk to you guys!" The banging and yelling killed th emood for a moment, but Dash knew this had to be urgent. After all, it ws already nightfall, and the others werent't back. The sudden tone of emergency meant something wrong. She answered the door, dooing a quick intro when Pinkie asked who the girl was.
Winry knelt down in front of them with a serious look. "I-It's...Ed...a-and Al, and the others...They're in trouble!" Everypony gasped, with Pinkie and Rarity doing their usual overly dramatic version of gasping.
Dash knew something was wrong, but this was terrible. They'd been captured or injured or worse while out looking for her. Whatever her friends might believe, this mess was all because of her. "How do you know they were captured? Did you see it? Where?!"
"I didnt actually see it, but Hughes did," Winry explained, "He rushed home to grab some files, then went to see the colonel. I asked what was wrong, and he just said they were going to need help. I knew they were in trouble(I mean, Ed's always getting into trouble, anyways) so I came to you all for some back-up."
Dash already had her wings out, ready to fly off. "Let's go, then. Where's the lab?" Winry raised an eyebrow, then sighed, "No clue...but the colonel must know, so we should go ask him!" They all agreed, rushing out.
"Wait..." Fluttershy spoke up, "What if we're seen? We'll be caught again...o-or worse..." She flinched at ehr own thoughts, looking to Winry for an answer. The mechanic thought, then a light went off in ehr ehad. "Well, you and Dash are pegasi, so you can just follow above. Rarity and Pinkie, on the other hand--er, hoof--will have to get there in cognito...hmm..."
~///~
After hearing the explanation about how Twilight made hersel and Applejack human, along with their past couple days in Amestris, the princess could hardly wait to get out of the country and back home. "So, since I don't have my magic...well, we're pretty much stuck here." Twilight summed the ending up, hearing some mumbling coming from Luna's cell. "Princess? Are you alright? I know it's a lot to take in, but it's true. So, we just need to focus on getting out."
"Ugh..n-no..mmm...ilk...A-Al..." A moan came from the corner of the cell, easy to identify. "Gah...wh-wha...da..." There was a rattling similar to Luna's chains, followed by some mild language and a demand for answers, shouted at no one in particular. "Dammit! Did we get into trouble again?!"
Al calmed his brother down, who was trying to get out of his shackles. "It's fine, Ed. We'll find a way out." He tried as well to free his brother of the chains that kept the alchemist's hands apart to prevent him from transmuting. "If there's one thing we always do, it's find a way."
"Yeah, that's heartwarmin' an' all," AJ cut through, "But why don'tcha move aside and lemme have a go at it?" Ed muttered something about a girl not being able to do it, but with one glare that was as hard as Winry's wrench, he let her. "Alright everypony, stand clear. I got this'un."
Twilight was about to agree with Ed, seeing as the cowgirl no longer had her strong earth pony legs. She was proven wrong, however, when AJ bucked the chain loose, knocking off some of the wall in the process. "Hang on..." She roundhoused the cuff once more, breaking it off, then got the other. "There, easy as Zapapple pie."
"Whoo! Thanks, AJ," Ed stood, smirking, "Now, time to bust outta here, MY way..." He clapped his hands together, pressing them against the bars. With a flash, the metal was transformed into a sculpture of a pony with automail. Al muttered something about Ed's taste in art, but the young alchemist ignored it.
The other prisoner called over to them, her chains jangling. "Will you please get us out as well, skilled one?" Ed got a smug look and strode over, transmuting her chains and shackles into a little metal Luna. "Oh, you have saved our life! We are eternally grateful!" Luna reunited with the two other Equestrians, thanking them as well.
Ed started down the hall, confident as ever. "Now, let's show those damned homunculi what they're dealin' with!"
~///~
Roy was, as always, flipping through paperwork, working later because he didnt have a dat that night and, therfore, no excuse not to work. He was expectng Fullmetal to stop by and let him know how the search for the pegasus was going. Seeing how late it was, he was considering how hot he'd need bake the little shrimp for not reporting in. Of course, Fullmetal not reporting meant one thing: he was in deep, yet again.
A knock at his door brought him out of his thoughts. "Who is it?" He sighed, shuffling around some papers. "Hughes," answered the visitor, entering, "And you probably already guessed why I'm here. Elric's gone and gotten himself captured, along with a few others. I know where they are though. They're--"
A streak of color ran through the open window, skidding to a halt between Hughes and Mustang. Following was another, although in a bit calmer entrance, and finally a knock at the door once more. "Colonel, it's Winry Rockbell. I need to speak with you; it's an emergency."
Mustang let her in, surprised to see what she had with her. The other unicorn and the party pony from before poked their heads out from under the cart of vegetables. He was about to question it, but the mechanic stopped him. "No time to explain the disguise, Colonel. We need to knwo what happened to-" She stopped, realizing Hughes was there, as well.
"Hmm..." Mustang mused, "Looks like we're all going in, then. Of course, this isn't like before; they've got an entire underground operations, from I've deduced."
"Wait," Hughes stopped him, "You figured that out? But you didn't even see it..."
"You think I sit here all day randomly shuffling papers?" Mustang half-joked, raising an eyebrow. "I do my research, Hughes. It's gotta be underground; that part's obvious. The part we need to worry aout is getting in. And I think you know how."
The lieutenant colonel smirked at his superior, adjusting his glasses. "Yeah, I know a way in. So, are we all going?" Mustang stood, pacing to the center. "Yes, we are..." he paused, hearing yet another knock, "And we're going in with somebackup."
~///~
"Here it is..." Lust held the scarlet stone up to the torchlit ceiling, beaming with victory. "This is that rare beauty I was telling you about, Spike." The very description of the gem had the dragon thinking of Rarity, wishing she was here with him. The ebble-sized jewel shone with a power that captivated him, something that he wanted--no, needed--to have, more than anything.
He took it between his claws, awestruck. "So...I just have to eat this?" He looked up to the woman who nodded, adding, "Yes, but...Don't try biting it. It could break your teeth." Heeding the warning, Spike held the gem above his mouth, already imagining the flaovr it would contain.
"NO!" Another one of the creatures--humans, as Lust had told him--skidded to a halt in the large main room. "Don't eat that! That's a Philosopher's Stone!" He ran towards Spike, shouting at him to not eat it, to hand it over.
Lust quickly knocked him back, tossing him into an armored one. "Don't listen to that one, Spike. He's one of our enemies." He voice lulled him, much like the pony of his dreams. "Take the stone. It's yours, Spike...It's all yours..." The blonde one protested, but Spike ignored them. This gem called to him. It wanted him to eat it, and Spike couldn't resist. He took it all in one bite, swallowing it whole. "NO!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, YOU STUPID CHIMERA?!" Spike could barely hear the insult; he felt a fire stirring in his chest, in his while body.
"Spike! Spike, it's me, Twilight!" With a gasp, the dragon turned to face the one who raised him, the one who cared for him. She looked different, like one of those humans. "Twilight...Is that...you?" He got the words out jsut before he fell to the floor.
Twilight called out, trying to reach him. "Wh-what happened, Ed?" She asked frantically. The state alchemist gritted his teeth, swearing. "Dammit...Damn it all! He..." He glared at the dragon, then at the woman standing over him. "You...you're...that homunculus...What have you done?!"