Chapter two: preparation
“RARITY!” Pinkie was the first to exclaim, bounding into Rarity, her legs almost crushing the marshmallow pony, “Yo…You’re” Pinkie is on the verge of crying waterfalls as she is joined by Applejack, Fluttershy, and Dash.
Applejack, holding on to her stetson and praying to the princesses that this wasn’t just some sick dream, “How, why?”
Fluttershy, her soft voice unable to show how much joy she had in her heart “Welcome back. I am so glad you are alive.” Begins to cry into Rarity’s shoulder.
“I…its just not possible…b…but I don’t care.” Dash allowed herself to cry, not minding how it made it look to others. The quartet of ponies backed off slowly to allow breathing space for the two figures.
“It was Spike,” She looked down at the purple dragon who was crying into her white chest, “And, Twilight,” She looked at the circle, the memory of being pulled away from heaven still fresh in her mind. She could see in her mind the young dragon crying on the circle, moaning at the loss of his ‘sister’.
“Twilight’s home? YAY! Now I can throw a double welcome home party, so where is she?” Pinkie looked around frantically, trying to see her friend, “Is she playing hide and go seek?”
“TWI? Where y’all at, come on out!” Applejack yelled, joining in Pinkie’s search, swaying her head back and forth.
“Rarity, where’s Twilight?” Dash asked, not liking the look in Rarity’s eyes.
“I am ssss…” Spike continued to break down, he was barely able to cope with the fact that it was his fault that Rarity died, and now…Twilight.
Rarity brushed the Dragon’s scales as best as she could, trying to sooth him. “ Spike…told me what had happened. He was trying to bring me back with something he called Alchemy, Twilight saw him and went to stop him. She then used some sort of spell to bring me back and pushed Spike out of the circle, completing the process as she finished the spell. I came to here, without Twilight.” The ponies stepped back in shock and horror, while Pinkie ran to a pile of books.
“N…no, NO! IT ISN’T FAIR!” Dash slams her blue hoof onto the wooden ground, “How is it that we get Rarity back just to lo...IT ISN’T FAIR!” Dash yelled, feeling rage and despair running through her heart. The ponies sat there in a group, the mood somber and silent with the exception of books being shuffled into a pile by a pink pony.
Applejack was the first to speak up, “Someone, s…should go to Canterlot and tell Twi’s family. They need to hear all of this in person. It won’t be easy.” She moved her Stetson over her eyes, as if to remain strong while holding the tears.
“I think I will go and see Sweetie Belle, she would be happy to know I am alive.” Rarity stood up, noting that Spike had cried himself to sleep. “It would be best if maybe I took Spike out of here, I don’t think he can stand being in this place anymore.” Using her horn she picked up Spike and walked out, happy to be alive, but feeling guilty at the same time.
“I’ll go with her, she needs someone to comfort her.” Fluttershy said, her light yellow wings helping her to take off. Deep inside, she knew that Rarity must be feeling horrible for being here at the cost of someone close. This left only three ponies alone, in a cold Library that would once hold laughter in its rooms. Dash grunted in frustration, wanting to head to Tartarus itself and fight whoever holds the keys to death just to bring back Twilight. In her head she could see the reaper’s neck in her hooves, strangling him until he gave back her friend and promising to never take anyone close to her ever again. It might take a while, but she had time she could do it and, “Pinkie what the BUCK are you doing?” Dash asked looking at the pink pony as the party animal threw a book at Dash.
“Well, when we bring Twilight home, she is going to want to clean up. SOOOOOOOOO we better get a head start while I look for that book.” Pinkie picks up another book and throws it onto a tower right next to Applejack.
The orange pony shook her head “Pinkie, I know you are taking this hard but, Twilight aint coming back.”
“Sure she is, after all…if she were really dead her fried and horribly censored-due-to-the-fact-that-the-author-can’t-do-gore corpse would be right there or at the very least ashes.” Smiling, she reached down and pulled up a book with a few symbols labeled Myths of Alchemy, “Ponies cant just up and die without leaving something behind silly, it would defy everything that makes sense in the world…and that is my job!”
“So, what y’all is saying is…” Applejack looked, arching an eyebrow.
“That Twilight is most likely in another dimension, waiting in a boring subway listening to some weird guy speak some philosophy before she gets to fight an agent!” Pinkie bounced to the table, laying it flat onto its back opening it, quickly looking through the pages.
Dash, lowered her head, began to laugh. Her heart filling with hope, there was a reason her friend was the bearer of laughter, because that type of thing could bring hope to a dark situation,
“Pinkie, you are a freaking genius!” She walked up to the table and read alongside Pinkie, looking for a clue on how to save her friend.
“Wait, how did you know all of that fancy science stuff?”Applejack asked, raising a hoof.
“Oh, Twilight one time gave a long boring lecture when I made Gummy’s ball disappear. She tried to tell me how I couldn’t ust make things disappear because the rules of matter or something like that.” Pinkie said, a smile on her face. The two other ponies just looked at each other, shrugged and put it up to: Things to never ask about Pinkie…EVER!
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“Ok, Twilight, you can do this…just take in what has happened to you today. You have lost one horn” She puts her hand onto her head, rubbing it, “ one Tail” Looking behind her at her butt “and your fur had been turned into a set of clothes,” She looked at her t-shirt, and purple pants, complete with a sparkle cutie mark. “You seem to have gained some appendages apparently” She looked at the top of her body, noting the additions. “Including ten digits and two…melons?” Shaking her head, trying to get used to this weird body. “First task, get used to walking and then to a library…maybe I could get some information on where I am and then home.” She began to walk slowly, putting one foot in front of the other, slowly as if she had never taken a step before, then she noticed a bum staring at her,”I’ve forgotten: talking to yourself is the first sign of madness.”
Just above her, in a small hotel room, a young man was asleep, his right arm over his eyes as he began to dream. “No, its all wrong! Take my arm, my heart anything just BRING HIM BACK! The next time I see you cry will be with tears of happiness. Look Hohenheim, it’s your daddy, wave hi. Congratulations, you are now a dog of the military. I am just so proud of you, my little Alchemists!” The dream was a flood of voices in his head. All of them memories of his life up until now, he hated some of them, but loved the others. Waking up, he removed his arm from his eyes, and sat up in the bed looking down at his hands “What a life I have been living huh?” He sighed looking up at the ceiling, watching the rotating fan. He always got bored at these cons that he visited; it felt less like he was giving lectures on Alchemy and more like he was talking about how to paint in the lines to third graders. All of these theories, equations, and solutions he had in his head…and no way to demonstrate them. Getting out of the bed slowly, he smiled to himself, being normal aint too bad though. I still get to investigate things no one else would dare to, solve scientific mysteries with my bare hands. I also get the chance to prove fakes wrong and show the truth. YES I AM THE MASTER OF SCIENCE FACT AND…in need of coffee! He looked at the coffee maker, its perking slow to come. Ohhhhh, his love of coffee is only hindered by how slow it is to get here. It was at this point he began to hear voices just outside, looking out over the edge of the window he saw a young purple hair woman backing up from three punks. “Please do not let this be another one of those fangirls who want to be my only love and they too went through my sad experiences and/or have a life rougher than I did!” Sliding out the window, he made a point to drink some coffee later.
“ Look you three, I need to get through you and out of here. So unless you can help me, I would like you to move please.” These men had just popped up in front of her, surprising her.
“Sure we can help yas.” A big man, hair of shining gold smiled.
Another big man looked down at Twilight, “ It’ll just cost ya”
“How much?” Twilight continue to back up, taking note that running is out and fighting will be hard due to her not being used to the body. She decided that magic would be the answer. Concentrating hard, she began to think of a fire spell to scare them, feeling the mana energy flow through her, she summoned up…nothing. It was like the files containing magic in her head were locked away in a sealed box, with a key that she doesn’t have. No matter what she did, the magic could not come.
“Oh, you wallet, or at least a kiss” A third man, shorter than his two compatriots sneered, wielding a bat. Behind them, a blonde man slips down a fire-escape and lands behind them.
“ I don’t have any money, and as for kissing I would prefer to be asked out on a date first” Twilight said, slapping her hands together.
“It wasn’t a request Wench!” The man growled as he stepped closer while Twilight put her hands onto the side of the wall to keep her balance after slipping on a brick. When her hand touched the wall, her mind began to dissect the wall as if it was a cadaver. She could see everything about the wall, what made it, how it was formed, the basic elements that went into the compound, the barest atoms that composed those elements. She could see everything that the wall had to offer, and more importantly what to do with it. Smirking, she willed the wall into a brick fist and caused the wall to punch out the punk.
“Hey, that witch used that fancy magic, what was it called?”
“It isn’t magic…Its Alchemy, and unless you want to see her use more of it…Run, now.” The young man smiling, clapping his hands together out of pure reflex.
“No, she knocked out my friend now she’s going to pay.” He brings out a knife as he watches the would be hero grab a trash can lid.
“Fine then…THINK FAST!” Ed throws the lid, missing the two thugs. Ed ran to the mook on the right, dodging a punch and upper cutting the mook following up with a round house. Behind the mook on the left, Twilight slammed the lid on the punk.
“Thank you sir, I was going to handle them myself. But any help is always accepted. Who are you?” Twilight looked toward her helper.
“The name? I am Edward Elric.” Ed pointed his thumb to himself, smiling.