Battle Scars

"So," Chrome asked, "do you know where we're going? Or do you just want me out of your house?"

"I was going to introduce you to my friends," Fluttershy said.

"Right," Chrome said, nodding. He grumbled something, but Fluttershy, not wanting to make him angry, didn't ask what he said. "You do know where we're going, right? You seem like you're just making this up as you go along."

"Oh, no," Fluttershy replied. "I have it in my head EXACTLY where we're going." She noticed that she had arrived at Sugarcube Corner. "In fact, here we are." The pair walked into the building.

When they were inside, Fluttershy looked around, then saw her friends. Yesterday, they had told her they were gathering at Sugarcube Corner. She said she couldn't come because of what Celestia had said, but, now, she thought some public interaction might be good for Chrome.

Twilight Sparkle noticed Fluttershy before the others. "Fluttershy!" she called. She had a pleasant expression on her face before she seemed to notice Chrome. Her face became confused as she saw the scarred pegasus. He looked so out of place against the bright walls and decorations of Sugarcube Corner. "Um, come over here with us." She used her magic to pull up two extra chairs for the new arrivals.

The other four mares looked up and saw Fluttershy and Chrome. They all had strange looks on their faces when they noticed Chrome, except Pinkie Pie, who gasped when she saw Chrome. "Ohmigoshareyounewinponyvillecauseiveneverseenyoubeforeandiknoweveryponyinponyville!" she said. She probably would've said more if Chrome didn't give her an annoyed glare. She stopped speaking, and her smile wavered.

"Pinkie," Applejack said, "this here's probably the pony that Fluttershy said she's be watchin'." Applejack looked at Fluttershy. "Am I right, Fluttershy?"

"Yes," Fluttershy said, nodding. "This is Chrome. He's a member of the Alchemy unit of the Royal Guard."

"Alchemy?" Twilight asked, sounding interested. "I've studied a bit of alchemy. How does it work?"

Chrome looked at Pinkie and smiled almost deviously. "May I borrow your drink?" he asked.

"It's not really sanitary to drink after others," she said. "But sure!" She slid the drink over to Chrome, who used his right wing to knock the drink to the floor, shattering the glass cup. Pinkie looked like her heart had shattered, and tears started to form in her eyes. Chrome nonchalantly reached into his vest and pulled out a piece of chalk with his mouth.

"What'd you do that for?" Applejack asked angrily. Chrome ignored her and walked over to the cup's shattered remains. He put the chalk under his hoof and drew a circle with intricate patterns, similar to his cutie mark.

"Listen to me when I'm--" Applejack continued, but Twilight shushed her.

"Wait a minute, Applejack," she said, smiling knowingly. "Just wait and watch."

When the circle was drawn, Chrome placed his good leg on one of the symbols and closed his eyes. The circle began to glow a pale shade of purple, and a white light enveloped the cup. The mares at the table all had to look away from the light. When the light cleared, everypony but Chrome and Twilight were surprised to fight that the cup had returned to normal, drink and all. The circled appeared to have vanished.

Chrome picked the cup up and slid it to Pinkie. "That is alchemy," he said.

"That was AWESOME!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Yeah!" Pinkie said. "Hey, do you think that you can make a cake out of a plate?"

"No," Chrome said, becoming seriously. "An alchemist cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's law of equivalent exchange."

"Um...yeah," Rainbow said. "So, do you think you could teach me how to do it?"

"It takes years of practice, and I won't be here for very long," Chrome said.

"Oh," Rainbow said, looking disappointed.

"Besides, you probably couldn't do it as well as me," Chrome said. He held up one of his front legs and, for the first time, Fluttershy noticed a silver band around it. "This enhances my alchemy skills. It's given to every member of the Alchemy Unit. With those, an alchemist doesn't have to use a transmutation circle. A transmutation circle is the chalk circle I drew," he added, seeing the question on Rainbow's lips.

"I bet you would make a great repair pony," Pinkie said. "If you were, I would come to you for all my repairing needs!" She sounded like a commercial when she said that last sentence.

Seeing Rainbow dash was still upset, Twilight said, "Don't worry, Rainbow. I can lend you some books on alchemy."

"Thanks, Twilight," Rainbow said, perking up.

"You have books on alchemy?" Chrome asked. "I didn't think a unicorn would have a use for alchemy."

"I'm just fascinated that earth ponies and pegasi can pull of any form of magic," Twilight said. "I'm currently trying to see if they can pull of levitation."

"Ha!" Chrome said. "That sounds like a story a middle-school colt would write."

"You never know," Twilight said. "It just might be possible."

For the next ten minutes, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy listened to Chrome and Twilight's conversation. The two seemed to really hit it off, much to Fluttershy's pleasure. She knew that talking with other ponies would probably make him feel better. He probably didn't have much of a social life, and socializing would probably help him feel better.

Once the conversation was over, Chrome turned to Fluttershy. "You're friends are pretty fascinating, Fluttershy," he said, a ghost of a smile on his face.

"Well, girls," Fluttershy said, "Chrome and I better get going. It's getting dark."

Chrome nodded and turned to Twilight. "It's been a pleasure, Ms. Sparkle," he said. He slid out of his chair and slid his crutch under his leg. "Evening, ladies." He started walking out of the cafe with Fluttershy following behind.

Thus began their longest walk together.