//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Friendship is...Alchemy? // by ShinigamiOkami //------------------------------// Indescribable pain shook her skull around as she tried to get to her hooves. There was a terrible ringing echoing through her ears, pulsing through her whole body, and her vision was scrambled into blots of light and dark. Fearing she may have gone deaf and colorblind, her heart rate accelarted more than it was before, pounding in her ears and making her nearly pass out again. "Nng...o..." she mumbled incomprehensively, "Gah...t...E-eh...heh?" She knew she was obviously in some hazy fantasy world now. It looked like Equestria, but she could've sworn she saw a changeling fly by. Blinking in surpirse, she saw another, then three more, then ten more. Now she knew it couldn't be real; they were talking to her. "Rainbow Dash...wake up...get up..." She tried to shake the voices, but that just resuslted in more head throbbery. "...d-d-d-d-Dashie," said another, turning echoed and distorted to loud and clear, "...d-d-d-D-DASHIE...! ...g-g-G-GET YOUR COLORFUL HINEY UP THIS MICRONANOSECOND!" In a rush, her senses shifted into high gear, tuning into the buzzing of insect wings and the familiar scenery. They were at the edge of Everfree and Ponyville, and above them was a swarm of changelings. Pinkie jumped in fornt of her, a half-worried, half-impatient look on her muzzle. "Dashie, we gotta get outta here!" She turned her head to the side, calling to their friend, "Hey Twi, Rainbow's up! Let's go!" The unicorn, still in human form, limped over and instructed that they were heading out now. Before Dash could ask, once more, what was happening, they galloped off along with the other elements. She followed at a hover, catching up to Twilight. "Hey, where's Ed and the others? Are they...uh...I mean, are they not here?" Twilight huffed, "They're here somewhere. Al went to go look for Ed, and the colonel's up ahead with the rest trying to clear a path for us. Oh, and it looks like Hughes got a pretty bad wound. AJ's got him in a cart. I tried to patch him up with my magic, but...I'm just too out of energy." Worried, Dash looked back to see the country pony kicking it into overdrive. Her cargo was limply bobbing along in the wooden wheel-barrel, one arm hanging out of the side with a bit of blood dripping off the tips. Although the face was hidden, the pegasus could tell who it was. Turning away, she focused on getting out of there. They passed several manticores--or maybe chimeras; she wasn't sure which now--mostly with singed pelts or other damage that stopped them from chasing the ponies. After a few more minutes of charging through, they came to Ponville. The place was in shambles, to say the least. Everything from parasprites to cockatrices to dragons to who-knows-else was romping through the streets. Mustang was currently locked in a literal firefight with a medium-sized dragon, trying to get them a way through the alleys. Rarity, in lue of Twilight, used what magic she could to get the beast away, managing to fling one of its own gems at it. Pausing for a moment in confusion, the beast allowed the colonel to get a blast of fire in its slack-jawed mouth. "Everypony," he shouted to the elements, "Through here. Luna's gonna take it from there. She knows where Celestia is, and where you all can find someplace safe to hide." Grateful, the ponies darted past, except fro Dash. "Go on," the colonel reassured, "I've gotta catch up with Al and find Fullmetal." Relunctantly, the pegasus went ahead to her friends and the moon princess. Luna adressed them in the royal voice, not because of habit, but because it was the only way to hear over the beastly roars and destruction. "YOUR PRINCESS REQUESTS THAT YOU KEEP ALL APPENDAGES WITHIN THE CHARIOT," she announced, having Twilight hook up the harness to her. They stepped in, AJ managing to get a semi-conscious Hughes in next to her. "Rainbow Dash," the princess added, "We would have you fly instead, please?" Dash nodded, stepping back from the chariot so there was room for the others. Fluttershy started to step back, as well, but the cyan pegasus stopped her. "Do you think you can keep up?" She asked, hoping her friend would decide not to fly with her, and perhaps compromise her plans. The yellow pony tucked her wings in tight, hopping back into the seat. Dash sighed, preparing to take off. With everyone packed in, Luna spread her dark feathered wings and pushed up, soaring high at an incredibly fast pace. Not wanting to get left too far behing, Dash took off after her, trailing behind the chariot. ~///~ A vast light lay before his eyes, and he knew precisely what it was: the gate of Truth. Slowly, he moved towards it, trying to reach out. He called forth, but his words were garbled and bounced around the empty space. With a few more tentative steps, he saw a mishapen figure, looking more like a chimera than the Truth. The blurred creature pounced on him, sinking elongated fangs into his automail. Starlted, the alchemist transmuted a blade from his arm, slicing the beast's jaw and tongue. It reared back, then dove forward with blade-like claws. He fought it off until they were both covered with scars and the latter retreated. Victorious, Ed collapsed to his knees and got a better look at his surroundings. The previous blank scenery was gone, now just a hazy grey of trees gradually coming into focus as his eyes adjusted. "Hello?" He called out to the forest. "Is anyone there?" He cast his glances around frantically. He looked up at the sky, confirming his suspicions. "The constellations," he said to himself, "The stars...they're not the same as Amestris. Then this is..." As the realization dawned, he called out again, "HELLOOO! Is anyPONY there?" As he tried to stand, he found he'd taken a good hit to his right leg from that chimera's raked claws. "Gah..dammit..." "My dear, lost one, that language is foul," spoke a voice, "But I shall help you anyhow." Ed turned to the voice, spotting a striped pony wearing odd jewelry around its hooves and neck. "I am known as Zecora, here in Everfree," she continued, helping him up, "Now, pray tell...who and what may you be?" ~///~ Feet clanking against the pavement, Al made his way through Ponyville. Whatever creatures tried to get a bite of him were thrown off with aching teeth, and any dragon's fire proved ineffective as well. As he kept up his pace to find Ed, he heard the colonel running after him. "Any idea where the shrimp is?" Al slowed down to reply, "No...Maybe...I'm not sure..." He stopped, letting Mustang catch up. "I asked the others if they had any ideas...and Pinkie suggested Everfree, for some reason." Roy was about to give the 'you-took-the-advice-of-a-crazy-pink-pony?' look, but Al added, "Twilight backed it up, though, so it's valid." Roy nodded and started toward the forest. "Well, then we better get looking." He gazed a the forest, passing by a cottage. "After all, I can't let Fullmetal die on my watch." ~///~ Nightfall descended over Equestria as the moon rose. Since Luna had been incapable of using magic, Celestia had taken temporarily to her nightly duties. With the sky dark, it was getting hard to see, especially as the grey clouds began to clot the atmosphere. Fluttershy looked back to see if Rainbow was still behind them. There was no sign of the pegasus. She glanced around at her friends, worried. They were all asleep, save for the princess pulling the chariot. She turned her head back, calling softly, "Rainbow Dash...? Are--" Pinkie let out a mumble about sheds, then repositioned herself. Not wanting to wake them, she silently hopped out of the chariot, spreading her sunflower wings and gliding off to find her friend. ~///~ "Gh...ah..." the boy huffed, trying to ignore the pain. He'd endured having his limbs ripped off and replaced with metal prosthetics; this was nothing to him. "I...c-can't..." he backed up from the zebra with a grimace. "I just can't..." "You must! This is the only way to heal you," she insisted, "If you don't do this, that leg is through." Ed shakily sat back down, exhaling. "Alright..." he complied, "Give me all ya got, doc." Taking the glass, he swallowed the contents in one gulp, then slammed the empty cup on the table. "There, now was that so bad? In a few minutes, you'll be glad." A shiver ran down Ed's spine at the thought of what he had just drank: milk. The potion had contained fifty percent milk. He looked down at the wound on his leg, sensing it go numb as the bloodflow slowed. "So...this'll just heal on its own? How does that work?" The zebra chuckled, grabbing a couple of herbs and mashing them with a mortar and pestel. "It is a simple way to relax the muscles in there, then it uses other magical poultices for repair. I mix them with other chemicals, you see. Some call it medicine, witchcraft, magic...even alchemy." She winked, as if knowing already his reaction. "Well," the boy started up as he stood to test his leg, "It certainly is a science. Alchemy is the basic understanding of elements and chemicals, then breaking them down and reconstructing them into something else. At least, that's the definition in my world." He waited fro questions about where he had come from, but she just nodded in understanding. "I see you are very knowledgeable, Ed," she ventured, "You know of both worlds, as do I, as I said. But perhaps you can recount what brought you to Equestria? And, in return, I can take you to Princess Celestia. I'm sure she has someplace safe for you to stay, and your friends may already be on their way." A feeling that his brother was most likely looking fro him crossed his mind, but the others had probably gone to find the sun princess. Hopefully Al would know the boy was alright. ~///~ Roy kept moving forward, the armored Elric following behind. "So, more specifically that 'in Everfree forest'...do you know where he might head?" He asked, stopping to get his bearings. They were heading northeast, if the moon's position was the same as it was in Amestris. The stars certainly weren't, and he figured Edward had already noticed that much, at least. He turned around to see what could only be described as a look of pure concentration on the helmet's features. "What...are you doing?" He said, to which Al let out an unnecessary breath. "Well, I was trying to talk to Ed with our brotherly telpathy. It works sometimes..." He hung his head, wondering where his sibling could be. "I'm not sure where he is...but...I think he's close...and safe. He's safe." Accepting that answe for now, he started back up on their search. "Oh, Rainbow Da-ash...?" A voice sounded from the trees, sounding worried and frantic, "D-Dash...? Is that...you? OH, please don't be lost...o-or...ah...EEEEE-" Mustang and Al ran over to the scream, hoping whoever it was was unharmed. A yellow blur darted past them, followed by an ox-monkey. Roy let loose a cannon of flames, hitting the mark on the third round. Al followed up with a solid hook to its pierced nose. With the chimera down, Fluttershy came down from her hiding spot in an oak. "Oh, thank you, Al and colonel, sirs. Umm...you haven't possibly, maybe, perhaps seen Rainbow around...have you? I-If not, then that's fine; I can find him. I'd like some help, too...b-b-but if you'd rather not, then whatever you wanna do is fine with me." Al bent down to calm down the pegasus, petting her mane. "No, we haven't seen her...or Ed. But hey, we can look for them together! After all, they can't be too far, right?" Fluttershy smiled and went with them to find their friends. ~///~ Zecora led the boy out of her home, wishing him good luck. "Are you certain you do not wish me to be your guide?" She asked once more, to which he declined. "Alright, but just be careful, and don't injure your hide." The boy nodded and thanked her, going back on his way. "LOOK OUT!!!" A dash of rainbow slammed into him, knocking them both to the ground. "Hey, watch it," Ed groaned, pushing the pony off his recently healed leg. "Sorry," Dash apologized, getting to her hooves, "I didn't have time to slow down. Although I'm glad I found you. Now c'mon, they're probably over halfway to the castle by now. We've gotta catch up!" Eager to get out of the forest, Ed followed. "So, which way?" He waited for an answer, seeing the pegasus glance around for a few moments. "You...do know the way back, right?" He started to get nervous, but the pony quickly calmed him down with a wave of a hoof. "Yeah, of course I do. Weather ponies have to have excellent senses of direction. It's..." she closed her eyes and focused, the pointed to what she believed to be the path home. "That way! Hurry up!" She darted off, a not-as-fast Ed trailing behind. "W-Wait! I can't fly, remember?!" The pegasus ignored him and pressed on. "Ugh," he sighed, "This is gonna be a long trip, isn't it?" ~///~ The chariot took its place outside the outskirts. The shield was up, although some more powerful creatures had managed their way in. "Come, everypony, the secret hideout is this way. Our sister, along with Winry and Hawkeye, are waiting. Follow us." Luna instructed, leading the ponies in the blind darkness with ease. They trotted for what seemed like hours through the backstreets of downtown Canterlot until they came to a patch of garden. Luna struggled to make a spark of magic with her horn, failing dejectedly. "Looks like we are just knocking, then..." After tapping her hoof against a statue for a few moments, it twisted on its pedastal and lifted up just large enough for them. Luna ducked under and went down some winding stairs, the others not too far behind. After Armstrong entered, holding Hughes, it clamped shut and winded back into place. After going under about ten feet, a walkway took them to the main room, an underground cave full of crystals. "This is..." Twilight gazed aroud, getting familiar chills, "This is the catacombs where I was put with Cadence when Chrysalis tried to take over with her Changeling army." "Right as always, my faithful student," the sun princess strode forward, her usually shining pelt marred with a few scars, "And speaking of the Changelings...it seems thay've acquired a new leader. It's a monstrous beast...I've never seen any creature with such raw power in it. And the form it took when I so foolishly trusted it and brought it to the castle..." She lowered her head, her usual smile gone and her ever-flowing mane seeming to droop. Twilight had never seen her princess so defeated. Terrified that something could do this to the omnipotent Celestia, she approached her mentor. "Princess...please...wh-what happened...?" Before she knew it, a few tears escaped her. The alicorn managed a reassuring grin to cheer her pupil up, but it was soon lost as she recounted the day's events. "It was a homunculus named Envy...Luna and I tried to fight it off in the forest, and Spike even heled out. I coudln't do anything, though, and...I'd thought I'd lost my sister...and you all, my little six ponies." She gazed at them, chuckling some. "Well, almost. I see you've cast a very well-done transfiguration spell on yourself and Applejack. I'm sure its hard to change back without your horn now, isn't it?" With an embarrased nod, Twilight requested than Celestia change them back now. "Of course," the princess did as was asked, getting them back to their equine selves in a flash of light. She tended to Hughes as well, sealing up the wound as best she could. Her younger sister trotted over, greeting her sheepishly. "I am sorry, Celestia...whilst in that...other place...our magic was lost, and we have not been able to use it. Is there anything you may do?" The sun princess tried her stuff on it, but every time her white light met with Luna's dark horn, their was a spark that shocked them both. "I...I can't...After my battle with Envy, I...I'm not sure what happened to me...I've never felt so..." Celestia got that down look on her face once more, but with a worried gaze from Twilight, she went back to the matter at hoof. "Well, anyways, now that you're all here, we should..." Her voice trailed, taking a head count. "Wait...where are Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy?" Looking around, the other four realized the two pegasi missing from their group. They hadn't noticed in the dark of the night, but in the crystal-lit caverns, they could plainly see the elements were gone. "No..." Twilight sighed, "Dash...not again...and Fluttershy...where are they?" ~///~ "I can't believe it...we've been searching for forever..." Al groaned, wondering how his older brother could get so lost. Fluttershy was thinking the same about her fellow pegasus. "Well, I'm sure we'll find them soon..." she said optimistically. As they trekked, they found it becoming colder and the land growing steeper. "Although, speaking of lost..." Mustang stopped, doing a quick survey of the changing terrain, "I think we may have ventured too far." "That you have, colonel," spoke a sinister being, "And now it looks like you're mine now." The trio turned to see a humanoid dragon, a toothy grin on his face. Roy narrowed his eyes and got into a fighting stance, Al following his motions. "Greed...I had a feeling you'd gotten transmuted here with us." The dragon paced closer, leaning against a decaying tree. "That I have...and I've yet to meet with Envy...but that's only because I wanted to toy with you for a bit first." Meanwhile, the timid animal-loving pegasus couldn't stand to see the little baby dragon looking so horrific. "Spike..." she squeaked, stepping closer, "Spike...please...I-It's me, Fluttershy. I know you're in there, so please...don't fight..." Greed looked down, not feeling a shred of empathy towards the pony. "Heh...your pathetic little wuss of a reptile ain't here. Just me. Now fuck off before I kill you, too." He flipped her off and kicked a pile of leaves and dirt at her, getting the debris on her pelt. Too stunned to reply, she backed up behing Mustang and wimpered, trying not to cry. "Heh heh...stupid little chimera...Your friend's long gone now. He's mine. And you will be too...heh heh heh..." ~///~ "Are you sure you know where you're going? I mean, from what I remeber, Canterlot is on the polar opposite of Everfree." He was exaggerating, but he did know this wasn't the right way. "Relax," Dash said, "I got this. It isn't too far, trust me. After all, I'm the element of Loyalty. If there's anypony you can trust, it's..." Her voice descended as they came to clearing full of fog and oily, multicolored puddles, some rain dripping around it. "Oh no...n-no..." "What is it? I mean, I know it isn't Canterlot," Ed joked, "But we can just turn back, right?" Dash's face was twisted into a mixture of hurt and anger. "No...we can't..." she gritted her teeth, voice cracking, "Not until I found out who did this..." Once more, all the boy saw was some smoke and puddles with food coloring in them. "Did what? Dash...?" The pegasus snorted, a deathly look in her eyes. "This...is Cloudsdale..." she nearly choked on her emotions, furious at what had become of her birthplace, her home, her very life. "Or at least it used to be...until...whoever came along...and..." she sobbed in between words, shouting the last phrase, "And...And I'll make them pay!"