Friendship is Magic; Damnation is Alchemy

by AnonymousCardCaptor

Chapter 6: The Stranger with the Familiar Face

Friendship is Magic; Damnation is Alchemy
By Anonymous Card Captor

My Little Pony-Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro Studios and created by Lauren Faust. Fullmetal Alchemist is created by Hiromu Arakawa. All other characters are the creation of the author. All thoughts or written dialogue will be in italics.

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Chapter 6: The Stranger with the Familiar Face

“So, your name’s Fluttershy?” Sinclair asked as he tagged along.

“Um...yes,” Fluttershy mumbled.

“So, um, you live in town?” Sinclair asked in an attempt to break the ice with the chimera he may be staying with for an unknown duration of time. He admonished himself for asking such an obvious question.

“I don’t live in Ponyville. My cottage is near the woods. If that’s a problem,” Fluttershy looked away bashfully and scraped the ground, “You can stay with somepony else? You have lots of friends, and I would like for you to stay with me, but if you rather be...”

“No, I don’t mind staying at your place,” Sinclair said apologetically. Fluttershy smiled back at Sinclair, who couldn’t help to gaze into her teal eyes.

‘Fluttershy’ suits her, though what would such a timid being such as her be doing with that Impostor? Maybe Fluttershy is the Impostor’s sister?

Just then, some light neo pink chimera with a curly bright pink mane jumped between Fluttershy and Sinclair.

“OhmygoshIcantbelieveyoucamebackfromtheEverfreeForestohthatssoawfulyoulostyourwingsbuttherestofyouisheresoitsnotsobad.” Sinclair backed away from this new chimera.

“Wind Racer, this is Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy introduced the hyperactive chimera to Sinclair.

“Well dud, of course I’m Pinkie Pie. Why wouldn’t Wind Racer know me? I mean, I know everypony in Ponyville and that means I know Wind Racer and that means Wind Racer knows me I mean I baked the cake for his parents wedding anniversary...”

“Pinkie Pie,” said Fluttershy, “Wind Racer has amnesia. He doesn’t remember *anypony*.”

Pinkie Pie’s eyes opened wide. “Amnesia?!? Oh, that’s awful.” Her facial expressions became solemn and full of determination. “Then in that case, I have no choice but to throw you a party.”

“Wha...” Sinclair said in shock.

“I’ll invite everypony you used to know before your brains got scrambled and then you’ll have fun getting to know everypony you used to know. I can whip one up for you lickety-split.”

“No!” Sinclair yelped out. “I mean, I’m not feeling very well.” The alchemist looked away. “It’d be bad if the guy you’re throwing a party for crashed out on a couch sick. We can talk about having it some other time, perhaps.”

“That won’t be a problem.” Pinkie Pie then whispered in Fluttershy’s ear. “Tell me as soon as he gets better,” and then trotted away.

“Wind Racer, I didn’t know you were still sick. I’ll take you to my cottage right away.”

“That’s not it, Fluttershy.”

She looked puzzled. “What are you talking about?”

After telling so many lies, Sinclair ached to bare his soul and be honest. “I really don’t want to be around a bunch of strange ponies acting as though they know me. I do still feel a little worse for wear, so I wasn’t being completely dishonest, but I’m not really into...” Sinclair paused for a moment on how to phrase his next words without giving away too much information. “Before I left, was I the type to socialize with ponies at parties and such?”

“Oh yes,” Fluttershy nodded, “You love parties and, on weekends, you’d drag me...take me… to the dance hall.”

“Maybe being out in that Everfree Forest changed me, but I can’t imagine wanting to go out and party. I don’t mean any disrespect to your friend, but it’s not my thing, at least not anymore.”

“I’m shy and quite and not very assertive but going out to parties isn’t bad at all if you’re with people you care about and there’s plenty of people who cares about you, even though you don’t remember.”

Sinclair’s mood went down a notch. “I guess I can’t argue with that.” He had trouble dealing with people, and it was apparent from the lack of friends and his inability to form any real camaraderie with his brothers-in-arms during Ishval. Once again, Wind Racer exceeded where he failed so miserably.

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“Is this your home?” Sinclair asked as he examined the cottage.

Fluttershy nodded. “Do you like it?”

“It’s...interesting.” Sinclair didn’t know what to make of it. It wasn’t the first time he saw a sod house before. The texture of the wall and grass growing on top was a dead giveaway. What surprised Sinclair was that the architecture was styled like a fairy tale cottage where some storybook princess hid from the wicked stepmother. Bird houses were placed randomly in the surrounding trees and on the side of the cottage, which had the slight scent of a lawn blanketed with the early morning dew.

Fluttershy went inside but then, a second later, peeped back outside. “Aren’t you coming?” She asked.

“I’m sorry,” Sinclair apologized. He wasn’t used to accepting kind gestures from anyone, especially after all these years of being alone. Inside the cottage waited two other chimeras. One of them was Wind Racer’s mother, Wind Dancer. The other one was a pegasus with a blue coat and a mane and tail colored in strips of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The mark on her flank was a cloud and a red, yellow, and blue lightning bolt.

Wind Dancer nuzzled up against Sinclair. “Oh honey, sorry to drop in unannounced, but I had to check on you before going back to Cloudsdale.”

“Mrs. Wind, you’re welcome to come over anytime,” said Fluttershy.

“Well, thank you dear. I would like to stay longer, but your father is being boorish again,” Wind Dancer complained. Halfway out the door, she turned around and said, “don’t forget my son likes alfalfa with his cabbage. And he has trouble falling asleep. Make him drink warm milk. Don’t let him drink it cold even though he doesn’t like it warm. Otherwise it won’t relax him, and don’t...”

“Don’t worry about a thing Mrs. Wind,” the blue chimera said as she gently nudged Wind Dancer out the door, “your son is in good hooves.”

The blue and rainbow chimera looked Sinclair over. “Damn, you got your wings clipped big time.” Fluttershy nudged the blue and rainbow chimera. “Oh sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“No problem, um...”

She shook hooves with Sinclair. “I’m Rainbow Dash. We met at Flight Camp awhile back. You were a Senior Speedster, and I was in the junior division.”

“It...umm...sounds...interesting,” Sinclair stumbled through. “I wish I could remember.”

Rainbow Dash tapped her chest with her right front hoof. “I’m not worried. I bet you’ll get your memory back in no time. And if you need anything, your old friend Dash’ll come through for you.”

“Well...um...thanks.”

“No problem, it’s the least I could do for the stallion that helped Gilda and me practice cloud-spinning.”

“May I ask you a question?”

“Sure, whadda want to ask?”

“How do you fly?”

“Say that again?”

“How is it that you’re able to fly?”

The apparent absurdity of the question was too much for Rainbow Dash to keep her composure. “You’re kidding right?” She asked while trying in vain to contain her laughter.

“I know you got wings,” Sinclair said defensively, “but how are you generating enough lift to stay airborne?” Sinclair bit into a pencil lying on a table and drew a badly mangled shape on it. And then he drew four crooked arrows in opposing directions pointing outward from the shape.”

“What’s that suppose to be?” Rainbow Dash chuckled.

“A pegasus pony.” Sinclair’s answer only made the blue winged chimera break out in uproarious laughter. “It’s not the best of drawings I know.” It’s not my fault I wasn’t born a freak that’s used to drawing with its mouth. “But what’s important are the arrows.” Sinclair pointed to them as he went along. “The arrow pointing down is gravity, and this one to the left is drag and those are the forces working against a flying animal.” Sinclair’s seemingly incoherent explanation only caused Rainbow Dash to laugh so hard she was gasping for air. “And the forces that counteract them are thrust and lift, both of which are generated by the wings. What I don’t understand is,” Sinclair, seeing how he made himself into a laughing stock, stopped talking and buried his head between the cushions on Fluttershy’s couch. “Never mind,” he finished.

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“Rainbow Dash, how could you?” Fluttershy glared sternly at the blue pegasus. The two winged ponies were on the other end of the cobblestone path leading to her cottage.

“But I couldn’t help it. Wind Racer was cracking me up.” Rainbow Dash giggled a bit before Fluttershy gave her a crossed look.

“Can’t you see Wind Racer was trying to remember? You said so yourself that he was a Senior Speedster. He might have been trying to recall something he learned.”

Rainbow Dash held her head down. “Now that you say it like that, it doesn’t sound so funny. I know," Dash lifted her head back and said with a smile, "maybe I can give him some tips and that could jog his memory.”

“That sounds much better,” Fluttershy smiled. “I knew you didn’t mean to hurt Wind Racer’s feelings. Now, let’s go back inside and help him recover.”

Sinclair was gazing at the floor when the two pegasi returned. “I suppose I made a fool of myself,” he said.

“Don’t sweat it W.R.,” said Rainbow Dash. “We know you’re going through a lot.”

“Thanks for being so understanding.”

“I can help you remember the classroom stuff back in Speedster Camp." Rainbow Dash put a hoof against her forehead and gritted her teeth before giving up. "But, to be honest," she sighed, "it was so boring that I’d need help remembering it myself."

“Actually, would it be okay if you pick up some books from the library?”

“Books? What sort of books?” Fluttershy asked.

“About this place-its history, its geography.”

“Wouldn’t you rather talk with some of your old friends?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Wind Racer is still sick,” Fluttershy said as she glanced back at Wind Racer. “He still needs a little time to recover.” Sinclair appreciated the yellow chimera for keeping him out of the limelight.

“No problem, I’ll just ask Twilight which ones to...”

“You mean the purple unicorn?” Sinclair blurted out.

“You know Twilight Sparkle?!!” Fluttershy asked.

“She was at the hospital bugging me about what I saw beyond the Everfree Forest.” Sinclair felt the walls closing in on him. He didn’t need to draw attention to himself, not if that horned chimera was acting as the eyes and ears of their princess, but if he objected to them getting the books, it would look suspicious. Sinclair decided it was too late to back out of it.

“Why would Twilight Sparkle ask you that?”

“It was the princess that wanted to know.” The cottage felt about ten degrees warmer. Sinclair tried not to act nervous. “I’m sure they both eager for me to get my memories back, so they would probably want me to get busy reading as many books as I can.”

“Are you okay W.R.?” Rainbow Dash said in a concerned tone of voice.

“It’s not everyday I get asked some important questions by royalty that I don’t know the answers to.”

Rainbow Dash put her hoof under her chin. “I guess I’d be nervous too.”

“I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about,” Fluttershy reassured Sinclair, “Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia wouldn’t be angry with you over something you can’t help.” Even though Sinclair doubted Twilight and Celestia would be so understanding, he couldn’t help but to be soothed by Fluttershy’s sweet, motherly voice. “Is there anything you’d need?”

Sinclair thought for a moment. I wonder if I would be pushing my luck. They’ve already bent over backwards for me, providing a place to stay and getting some books to do research on this land. But I’ve been without one for so long... “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to have a journal to write down anything I’d remember, one with a lock if they have it-if it’s not too much to ask. I’ll pay you back as soon as I’m on my feet.”

Rainbow Dash looked at Sinclair funny. “Don’t you mean hooves?”

“Yeah that’s what I mean-hooves.” Sinclair made a mental note to familiarize himself with the proper terminology used by these beasts, less he gives himself away.

“Of course it’s not too much to ask,” Fluttershy smiled. “We’ll buy you a diary., and you don’t have to worry about paying me back.”

“D...d...did you say ‘a d...diary’?!?” Sinclair stuttered. “No, you’re mistaken. I said ‘journal’.”

Rainbow Dash gave Sinclair an odd look. “What’s the difference?”

“Well...um...fillies have diaries and colts have journals.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “That’s boys for you,” she said as her and Fluttershy made their way out the door.

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“Why would you want a history book?” Twilight Sparkle asked Fluttershy. The purple unicorn was manning the Ponyville Library help desk when Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash dropped by.

“Oh it’s not for me. It’s for Wind Racer.” Fluttershy pulled back the flap on her saddlebag. “He also asked for a geography book.

Twilight Sparkle cocked an eyebrow. “You mean the pegasus pony found in the Everfree Forest?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “We’re helping Wind Racer get back his memories.” It was then Rainbow Dash's eyes lit up. "Couldn't you cast the memory spell like you did us when Discord screwed with our minds?"

Twilight shook her head. "It's not really a memory spell as much as a counter enchantment. It only works on magically-induced amnesia. His wasn't cause by magic. From what I read on retrograde amnesia, it might have been the result of head trauma. Dr. Stables pretty much came to the same conclusion."

"Oh dear," Fluttershy lamented. "Then I'll have to take extra care of Wind Racer."

What is Fluttershy talking about? Is she tending to that pony with amnesia? Why would she be the one to..no, I'm reading too much into it. Twilight placed those thoughts to the back of her mind. She probably meant being extra nice to him. However, there's one thing I am curious about.

"And did you say he doesn't remember history or geography?" Twilight asked.

"Well, he didn't actually say it," said Fluttershy meekly. "But he told me it would help him jog his memory. So I guess he doesn't remember those things."

"His amnesia is worse than I thought. According to the medical books I've read so far, in most cases, retrograde amnesia only affects personal memories, not general facts and information.” Two thick books floated off the shelves and towards the two pegasus ponies. “Where is Wind Racer, anyway?” The books slipped inside the saddlebag.

Fluttershy looked away and squeaked. “Um...he...um...staying at...mi...my place.”

Twilight Sparkle was shocked. “Is he a relative of yours, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy apprehensively scraped her hoof along the floor. “Um...he...um,”

“He’s what?”

Fluttershy looked even more nervous than before. “He’s…actually...sort of...unofficially...my fiancé.”

“WHAT!” Twilight Sparkle yelled out. One library patron, brown horse with an hourglass cutie mark, gave her a ‘shush’ for her outburst.

“It’s nothing formal.”

“It might as well be,” said Rainbow Dash. “They’ve been a couple two years before he got lost in the Everfree Forest.”

Twilight cocked her eyes again. “And you waited three years for him to come back?”

“It was only two and a half,” Fluttershy corrected Twilight.

“But still, that’s a long time to wait for anypony.” Twilight thought Fluttershy was being loyal to a fault. “You two need anything else?” The purple unicorn asked.

“Oh no, Twilight,” said Fluttershy, “this will do for now. Thank you.” She and Rainbow Dash slipped out the door. Twilight Sparkle went back to her reading when another familiar voice called out to her.

“Is he stayin’ at Fluttershy’s place?” Twilight took her nose out of the book and saw Applejack standing in front of her. The orange earth pony had a solemn demeanor.

“You’re talking about Wind Racer?”

“Well, who else yer think I would be talkin’ about!” Applejack snapped.

Twilight took a step back. She was aghast by her friend’s reaction. “It shouldn’t be a surprise that he’s staying with Fluttershy. She told me they were engaged.”

“Mah ears ain’t hearin’ this,” Applejack whispered. “I dun thought Fluttershy would be over’em by now.”

“I take it you don’t approve.”

Applejack averted her eyes away from Twilight. “Oh course I don’t. Dem two are too young to git hitched. Fluttershy was too young then, and she’s too young now.”

“He’s got amnesia, so I doubt their relationship would progress any further, at least for the time being.”

“This is Fluttershy we’re talkin’ about here. She already dun smitten by him and playin’ nurse maid will only make it worse.”

“You talk like it’s a bad thing?” Twilight then noticed Applejack anxiously pacing around. “Is there something wrong with Wind Racer?”

“It’s nothin’ except them being too young.” Applejack began to trot away when she looked over her back. “Twilight, could ya do me a favor: don’t go tellin’ Fluttershy I was here talkin’ to ya about Wind Racer? I don’t want her gettin’ any ideas that I hate’em or something.”

"I won't say a word to Fluttershy."

Applejack breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank ya Twilight. That filly can be pretty protective of her stallion."

"No problem at all," Twilight smiled. "If there's anything I learned, it's keeping secrets...FOOREEVER," Twilight giggled at her impression of Pinkie Pie.

"Yeah," Applejack half-heartedly laughed, "keep it a secret forever."

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Friendship is Magic; Damnation is Alchemy. Next chapter or two will cover Sinclair’s exploits in Ponyville as well as delve deeper into Fluttershy and Wind Racer’s relationship. But don’t think I forgot about Wind Racer, Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, and the rest of the FMA cast, either. I promise, what happens to them will be worth the wait.

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