//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Twilight's Transmutation // by Epicburst //------------------------------// Twilight's Transmutation Chapter 4 Warning: If you are in progress of watching or reading Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, there will be minor spoilers to the story. If you wish for the story not to be spoiled, this chapter is just about what happened to the Ancients and Nightmare Moons involvement in the war of Ishval. At this point, Twilight was annoyed. She was annoyed at Shining Armor for raiding her home while she was away, Annoyed for herself for falling for Nightmare Moon's trick, and annoyed at Nightmare Moon for putting a magic negation cone on her horn because her magic 'disrupted the flow of alchemy from her to the earth'. What the hay does that even mean! For the past two days Nightmare Moon was talking about chemistry. Of course Twilight knew everything she was talking about, but the repetition seemed kind of pointless. Yesterday Twilight couldn't take it anymore, and she lashed out at Nightmare in frustration. "I already know all of this stuff about chemistry! I already know how to make circles and triangles and all of the other shapes too!" Twilight huffed in Nightmare Moons direction. "Can we just get on to the alchemy part please!" Twilight and Nightmare Moon where currently underneath the royal chambers. In a dusty old training ground with a giant transmutation circle in the middle. Twilight has witnessed Nightmare Moon perform some of her tricks, she used it to make a pillar that she now looks down on Twilight. Princess Luna hasn't been seen for the past two days either. After Twilight's training, Nightmare Moon would release her hold over the Princess of the night, and pass out on the floor. Nightmare Moon knew Twilight was impatient. She did not like the fact that she could not use her magic, and she also knew that she has begun feeling a new power flowing through her just waiting to be tapped into. Nightmare Moon also knew that if this power is going to be used. It must first be understood. "Twilight Sparkle, I am now going to begin telling you about this powers history, and how it caused so much suffering and bloodshed across the land. I am warning you now. Everything you do must be done precisely and you must remember this: All is one and one is all." Twilight shifted on her flanks. Was this power really so dangerous? Was it really used for such destruction by the Ancient beings of the country Amestris? Twilight laid on her stomach as she listened to her mentors history lesson. Nightmare Moon jumped off of her pillar, landing in front of Twilight, and began the lesson. "Twilight Sparkle, you must understand that at this time, Equestrian beings were not as sentient as they are today, and that Equestrian magic interferes with the ancient art of alchemy. Because of this, I will resort to my Ancient form." Nightmare Moon's eyes and horn began to glow, as she began to access her Ancient body. Of course, it has been destroyed a long time ago, but through the use of magic, she has been able to recreate her former form, never knowing when it would come in handy. Twilight's eyes widened as she backed out from the transmutation circle, to see a giant eye open from inside it. Nightmare Moon hardly gave any recognition to it has she continued the human transmutation. "Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare said, drawing her students attention towards her. "This is called a human transmutation. Once considered a taboo among alchemists. This act however, has been made easier, through the use of magic." Nightmare concluded her lecture briefly as shadow tendrils pulled her body through the gate. Nightmare's body began to break apart into small pieces, and a flash of light blinded Twilight. As Twilight looked up she saw another body being made. This one was not an Equine, however it stood on two legs, and its hooves looked soft, with stubs at the end of them. The body looked like soft white leather, and its forehooves where smaller, also with little stubs at the end, but longer then the ones touching the floor. The mane was a weird sight also. It was green in color, and it branched out in every direction, laying across Nightmares small head. Nightmare took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Nightmare walked shakily towards Twilight at first, not being used to having legs instead of hooves, but she quickly adjusted. "This, Twilight Sparkle," She said as Twilight stared in aw as the glow from the circle finally faded."Was an ancient being called a Homunculus named Envy." Twilight watched as Nightmare sat on her rump and folded her legs at impossible angles. "We Homunculi were created by Father based off of an ancient term known as the seven deadly sins: Pride, Wrath, Lust, Greed, Envy, Sloth, and Gluttony. Our mission was simple, we needed to create a device that would bypass the greatest law of alchemy known as Equivalent Exchange. "With this one law broken, we could create something out of nothing. We could rule the world in Fathers image. But in order to do that, we needed humans. Philosophers Stones were created by collecting thousands upon thousands of human souls, and the easiest way to create them was to start a war. Wrath went undercover and became known as Furor Bradly. The king of Amestrus. With an entire army at his disposal, our mission has begun. As a Homunculus, I am able to change my form at will, which allows me to be a highly effective and efficient assassin. My mission was to infiltrate the country of Ishval, a proud country with a hidden enemy, and create chaos. So, to accomplish my mission I shot a little girl." Twilight gasped, not expecting such force being necessary. "The people of Ishval decided that was enough, and decided to fight back. Years of fighting passed, and Wrath decided to speed things up. The Order 3066 was passed which forced state alchemists, alchemists working in the military, to come to the battlefield and wipe the slate clean. With the enemy slaughtered, we had enough bodies to create a Philosophers Stone. It wasn't until the meddling of two brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, eventually ruined our plans. "Edward and Alphonse performed the taboo. They tried to do human transmutation, but they discovered that when a person dies, they are dead, and nothing can change that. They performed the transmutation with almost everything that they needed.35 liters of water, 20 kilograms of carbon, 4 liters of ammonia, 1.5 kilograms of caustic lime, 800 grams of phosphorus, 250 grams of salt, 100 grams of saltpeter, 80 grams of sulfur, 7.5 grams of fluorine, 5 grams of iron, 3 grams of silicon, and some blood. But the two children forgot one thing, the human soul. because they didn't have it's value, the Gate of Truth decided it for them. Edward lost his left leg, and Alphonse, he lost his entire body. Edward pleaded with Pride, he would give up anything to save his brother. Using a blood circle, and his right arm. Edward tied his brothers soul to a suit of armor. You must understand Twilight Sparkle. Their quest for their bodies expanded into much more, and if you ever make the same mistake I will be forced to take your life. I no longer have tolerance for disobedience. If you want to begin your Alchemy training their are six rules. "Law 1: An Alchemist must have a medium for any form of alchemy to succeed. "Law 2: In order for true alchemy to operate, an Alchemist must fully understand the structure of matter. He/she must possess the “sight” (the ability to not see an object as a whole, but as a structure constructed of trillions upon trillions of atoms). "Law 3: The Laws of Nature are absolute in the art of alchemy. An Alchemist cannot create a reaction from nothing. He/she must be able to present something that is equal in value to that which he wishes to receive. Likewise, in order to turn an object into something else, an Alchemist must first break the object down to its simplest state and then reconstruct it completely using Celsius. "Law 4: To prevent the creation of life, (something that is considered a taboo for trying to tread in the realm of the high Celestials) one cannot manipulate carbon cells that are connected to a living thing. Namely, one cannot take carbon cells from a living thing and transfer it to another living or non-living thing; even for the purpose of replacing missing tissue. Alchemy can only be used to replace lost or damaged carbon cells with only dead tissue. An Alchemist must be able to “resurrect” the dead tissue so that it can become living tissue after the necessary process is complete. "Law 5: Alchemy is a process fueled by an Alchemist and the energy of his environment. A symbol, better known as a seigo, is required to start a reaction and also to draw the Celsis necessary for it to succeed. Some Alchemists can use their Celsis in combination with Ios to create Seia, similar to how Kamora is used with Dragoons. This allows them to cause an effect without any need to draw both a seigo for the reaction they wish to initiate and another for the Ios they require for it to work. "Law 6: Alchemy is an irreversible process. Once a reaction has been commenced it cannot be stopped until the process is complete. "Once you can abide to these laws, your training will begin. Go now Twilight Sparkle, get some rest, and come back when you're ready." Twilight Sparkle got up and stretched her sore body she wandered up the staircase and wandered outside. Twilight hopped on the chariot and fell asleep.