My Little Homunculus: Alchemy Is Magic Rewrite

by Lionblaze103

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Sad, Tragedy, Adventure, Crossover, Human
Length: 11475

Rewrite of my story My Little Homunculus: Alchemy Is Magic

A strange pony with no memories of his past shows up in Ponyville. As they dig deeper into his past, they'll find it's not the only one that's been locked away. Now Twilight, and Ed must go on a journey to find out the hidden history of Equestria.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-07-06 01:37:42 UTC

Chapter 2

Twilight, and Ed followed the guard to a carriage, and got in. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Ed asked her.

“Of course I’m sure.” she said, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well. It was the princess who banned alchemy right?” he said.

“Yeah, but Princess Celestia is the kindest princess there is. I’m sure she’ll understand.” she told him.

--

It hadn’t taken them long to reach the castle. They were led through several corridors, and through a door into a throne room, where they were now standing in front of a large winged unicorn, or alicorn for short. “Hello my student. What brings you here?” the princess asked.

“Well, I, um, I want to.” Twilight stuttered. Now that she was here she was having second thoughts. The princess gave her an encouraging smile.

“Come now Twilight. “she said, “Ask whatever it is you will.”

“I, I would like to learn more about alchemy!” Twilight blurted out. Suddenly the princess’s expression changed to one of fury.

“NO!” she boomed.

“B-But Princess.” Twilight tried to protest.

“NO!” she yelled again, “You shall not learn about such a monstrous conduct.!”

“Yes Princess.” Twilight relented. She’d never seen the princess this angry before. Not even during the Smarty Pants incident. Suddenly Celestia’s face changed to one of worry.

“Twilight, I-I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” she said.

“I-I understand Princess.” Twilight told her.

“But you still can’t learn about alchemy.” Celestia stated firmly.

“Yes Princess.” said Twilight.

“Why don’t you, and your friend stay the night here, and then tomorrow you can head back to Ponyville.” Celestia told her.

“Thank you Princess.” said Twilight.

“Come now, let’s have dinner.” Celestia said, leading them into the dining room, where they had dinner, then retired to their room.

“Well that was pointless.” Ed said.

“Maybe so.” said Twilight, “But we still have to learn more about alchemy.”

“And how do you suggest we do that?” Ed asked her.

“If the princess won’t tell us, then we’ll have to find out on our own.” Twilight told him.

“Where are you going with this?” he asked.

“The book said that the origins of alchemy went back further than Equestria, so we’re going on a journey.” Twilight said. She got out a map, and levitated a pointer. “We’ll start here.” she said, putting the end of the pointer on a large space labeled Dragon Kingdom.

“What’s there?” he asked.

“Dragons are one of the oldest species, besides gargoyles, and the gargoyles are farther away. If there’s a place with information on alchemy, it’s probably there.” Twilight explained.

“Okay, I understand.” he said.

“Tomorrow we’ll go back to Ponyville, and pack. The day afterwards we’ll leave.” Twilight told him. He nodded. “We should get some rest.” she said, laying down in her bed.

“Yeah.” he agreed, before drifting off to sleep. In the morning they were awoken by a knock at the door. Twilight got up, and opened it to reveal a guard.

“Breakfast is ready Miss Sparkle.” he said.

“Thank you.” she said, before letting out a large yawn. The guard saluted, and left. “Come on, let’s get something to eat.” she said, dragging Ed out of bed, and to the dining hall they ate in yesterday.

“Hello Twilight.” Princess Celestia greeted her.

“Hello Princess.” she said, bowing. During breakfast Twilight noticed that Ed wasn’t drinking his milk.

“You should really drink your milk Ed.” she told him.

“I hate milk.” he said.

“Milk’s full of protein. You should drink it.” she said.

“I don’t care, I hate milk, and I’m not drinking it.” he told her.

“Well it’s no wonder you’re short.” she said.

“Who are you calling short?!” he yelled. Twilight was about to respond when Princess Celestia started laughing.

“My, your friend is quite amusing.” she said.

“Yeah.” said Twilight, letting a small smile to slip onto her own face. As soon as they were done Celestia prepared a carriage for them.

“Goodbye Twilight. Tell your other friends I said hello.” Celestia called out to her as the carriage left.

--

When they reached Ponyville, they landed in front of Twilight’s house. “Thank you sirs.” she said, when they got off. The guards saluted, and left. Twilight opened the door, and entered the library. “Spike!” she called out.

“Coming!” he said, appearing a moment later.

“Spike I want you to get our friends.” she told him.

“On it!” he said, saluting, and walking out of the library. Soon enough the other five walked in. First Pinkie, then Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity, followed closely by Spike.

“So what’s this about Twi?” Rainbow Dash asked her.

“Yes darling, it’s not like you to just call us here.” added Rarity. Twilight took a deep breath, and let it out. She then turned to her friends.

“Me, and Ed are going on a journey.” Twilight told them.

“Really? Wow, neeto.” said Pinkie, “I’ll throw a big party!”

“No!” Twilight yelled, causing everyone to stare at her. She let out an uncomfortable cough. “I mean, no thank you Pinkie.” she said, “It’d be better if you didn’t throw us a party.” Pinkie seemed sad for a moment, but then immediately perked up again.

“Alright, but be sure to bring back lots of yummy recipes!” she said.

“And I want a cool souvenir.” Dash told her.

“You simply must tell me about the fashions of different cultures.” Rarity said.

“I’d like to know about the kinds of animals in different lands.” Fluttershy admitted.

“Yall should have some good stories to tell when yall get back.” said Applejack, “I’d like to hear some of them.”

“What about me?” asked Spike.

“I’ll make sure to get you a big juicy gem.” Twilight told him.

“Mmm.” he said, drooling at the thought.

“Well, we should pack now.” Twilight told them. They all gave a nod, and left, except for Spike, who lived there. They then packed two backpacks, full of essentials. Soon it was nightfall, and Twilight gave Ed an extra bed.

“Thanks.” he said.

“Get some rest. We’re leaving early tomorrow.” she told him. He nodded, and almost immediately, fell asleep.

“Wake up.” Twilight said, shaking him.

“Huh? Twilight? What time is it?” he asked, slowly opening his eyes.

“It’s 5:30.” she told him.

“Why’d you wake me up so early?” he asked.

“So we can get an early start.” she explained, “Now let’s get some breakfast.” Ed let out a yawn.

“Fine.” he said, following her to the kitchen. Soon after they’d finished breakfast, Spike appeared.

“Hey Twilight.” he said.

“Hey Spike.” she said, “We’re leaving now. Take good care of the library. I’ll be sure to write to you.”

“Don’t worry, the library is in good hands.” he said.

“I know.” she said. After they got their bags, they left. With that their journey officially started.

--

Twilight was levitating a map in front of her while she walked through the forest. “Alright.” she said, “We’ll follow this trail almost straight through the Everfree.” She ran her hoof along a path on the map. “We can stop at Zecora’s for some rest, and then we’ll keep going.” she explained, “Then we should reach about here when it’s getting dark.” She put her hoof on an opening in the forest.

“I see.” Ed said.

“We’ll stay the night there, and then we’ll head out of the Everfree, and onto dragon territory.” Twilight said, tracing their path out. “And from there we head to the foot of this volcano, and stay the night. After that we travel up to this dragon town, and get info, and resupply. After that, we’ll head towards the capitol.” Twilight explained.

“Okay. So how long until we get to the capitol?” Ed asked. Twilight ran some calculations in her head.

“Hmm. If we don’t get distracted, I’d say about two weeks.” she said.

“In that case we’ll need to resupply on the way  there.” Ed pointed out.

“Right, and that’s where this town comes in.” Twilight said, pointing at a dot on the map that said Fen’rar. “This is the town right before lava chasm. We’ll restock there, and then keep going.” Twilight explained.

“Alright then, let’s go!” Ed said, walking faster.

“Hey wait!” Twilight said.

“What is it?” he asked, looking back at the nervous Twilight.

“Well, um, I was wondering.” she stuttered.

“What?” he asked again.

“Could you teach me alchemy?” she asked. Ed got a distant look in his eye, and stared off into the forest. He stayed like that for a while. Just when Twilight was about to try to snap him out of it, he said something weird.

“All is one, and one is all.” he said.

“What?” Twilight asked, confused.

“If you can figure that out in a month, then I’ll teach you.” Ed told her.

“What? But can’t you just teach me?” she asked. He shook his head.

“This is the basis of alchemy. If you can’t figure it out, you won’t be able to use it.” he told her.

“Oh.” she said, putting her head down dejectedly.

“Hey, cheer up. You’ve got a month.” he said.

“Yeah, but what if I can’t figure it out in a month?” she asked.

“Then it just means you were never meant to be an alchemist.” he told her. Suddenly she perked up.

“I will figure out what it means!” she said, determined, “Then I’ll learn alchemy.”

“That’s the kind of spirit I like.” he said.

“Let’s go!” she said, before running off.

“Hey wait for me!” he called after her.

--

Twilight, and Ed lay in Zecora’s hut, panting. That running had taken a lot out of them. “My friends, you should run no more, because it seems that you are sore.” Zecora said, handing them each a drink. Twilight sighed as she sipped her drink.

“Tell me about it.” she said.

“Hey it was your idea!” Ed said.

“What brings you so far out here?” Zecora asked, “You know there is always danger near.”

“Actually, we’re just passing through. We’re heading towards the Dragon Kingdom so we can learn more about alchemy.” Twilight told her. Zecora’s eyes narrowed.

“Alchemy you say? Be careful, or you might have to pay.” she said. Twilight looked at Ed, and he shrugged.

“Well anyways, you’re from Zebrica right?” Twilight asked her.

“Yes.” Zecora said.

“Is there anything about alchemy there?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, but for your long hike, you may not find what you like.” Zecora told her. Twilight looked at Ed again, and again, he shrugged.

“Alright, well I’ll see you later Zecora.” she said, setting the empty glass down.

“It was nice meeting you.” Ed told her as he walked out with Twilight.

“That was weird.” Twilight said as soon as they had gotten away. “Anyways, we should get back to the trail.” she said. Ed nodded, and they continued walking until it was nightfall. They reached the clearing Twilight had told him about, and they set up camp.

--

A dark pony like figure was standing out in the woods. She was observing the two ponies sitting by the campfire. “My my.” she said, “Don’t they know it’s dangerous here? We’ll just have to change that.”

--

Ed, and Twilight were sitting by a campfire they had made. Suddenly, though, a manticore lept out at them. Ed dodged it, and clapped his hooves together, before slamming them to the ground, making a pillar of earth ram into the manticore.

The manticore landed on its paws, and once again, leapt at Ed. Ed rolled under it, and when it landed he made another pillar of earth slam into it, sending it skidding across the ground, and into the bushes. With that, the manticore ran off, whimpering.

--

The dark figure was now looking at the ponies with more interest. “My, my, a pony that can do alchemy.” she said, “There hasn’t been one of those for ages. I’m sure he’ll find this interesting.” With that she opened her insectoid wings, and flew off.

--

“Let’s try and get some sleep.” said Twilight, still shaken about the manticore attack.

“Good idea.” Ed said. Within minutes Ed was asleep, snoring. Twilight smiled at his sleeping form. It helped to relieve her fears. Within minutes, she was also sleeping soundly. The next morning Ed woke up, and Twilight wasn’t in the tent. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and walked outside into the sun

“Hey Ed, I see you’re awake.” Twilight said, “Here, eat.” She offered him a daisy sandwich, and he took it. “I know it’s not much, but it’ll help keep your strength up.” she said.

“Thanks.” he said. After they ate they packed up, and started to walk again. They spent another four hours walking through the dense, lush vegetation of the Everfree. Soon, though, the trees ended, leaving a large open space.

“We are now officially in dragon territory.” Twilight told him.

“Wow.” he breathed. In front of them was a vast land of open space, and in the distance he could see a giant volcano, with all kinds of dragons flying in, and out. “This is amazing.” he said.

“Yeah.” Twilight agreed. They stared at it a moment more, before Twilight spoke again. “Come on, we have a long ways to go.” she said, walking off. Ed nodded, and followed her. For the rest of the day they walked in almost complete silence. By nightfall the volcano was towering over them. As they set up camp for the night Ed yawned.

“I’m tired of all this walking.” he said, cracking his back.

“Me too.” Twilight said, “But tomorrow we’ll reach the town. We’ll get a good rest there.” Ed nodded, and they drifted off to sleep. The next day they ate breakfast, and packed up. by the time they reached the base of the volcano it was about noon.

“We’re finally here!” Ed said.

“Now we just have to get up there.” Twilight said.

“How are we supposed to do that?” he asked. Twilight pointed at something behind him. He turned to see a door.

“Oh.” he said. Luckily for them there were stairs for non-flyers, though it took them about half an hour to reach the top. When Twilight opened the door a red dragon’s head shot up. His eyes widened in recognition, and so did Twilight’s.

“You!” they said at the same time.

“You know him?” Ed asked her.

“Yeah, and he’s a jerk.” said Twilight.

“Is that so?” said Ed. The dragon looked down, and kicked a stone.

“Yeah, about that.” he said, “I’m sorry.” Twilight recoiled.

“What?!” she asked.

“You’re right. I was a jerk.” he told her, “I’ve changed though.” Twilight wasn’t sure whether to believe him or not.

“And why should I believe you?” she asked.

“Don’t. It’s not my problem. I’m just sayin is all.” he told her. She was surprised at the sincerity in his voice.

“Okay I believe you.” she said, “In that case, could you help us?”  The dragon seemed surprised.

“Sure.” he said, “What is it you need help with?”

“We need to find the library.” Twilight told him.

“I’ll bring you there.” he said. They nodded, and followed him. “I haven’t properly introduced myself yet.” he told them, “My name’s Garble.”

“I’m Twilight, and this is Ed.” Twilight told him.

“So why are you going to the library?” he asked.

“We need to research alchemy.” Twilight said.

“And you can’t do that where you're from?” he asked.

“No. I am unable to study alchemy in Equestria.” she half lied.

“I see. Well here we are.” he said, as they arrive at a large cave entrance.

“Thanks.” Twilight said, and walked in, followed by Ed. The passageway was lit up by torches, and soon they reached the end. They gasped in awe at the giant cave filled with bookshelves. “This is amazing!” said Twilight. Suddenly an image of a library passed through Ed’s head, and he heard a voice.

“This is the reference room. You’re welcome here.” said the voice.

Then it was gone. “What happened?” asked Twilight, “Did you remember something?”

“It was shorter than the others, but I also saw an image.” he told her.

“Interesting.” she said, “Anyways, let’s find the alchemy books.”

“Yeah.” he agreed. She walked over to a dragon behind a stone counter. She talked with him for a minute, then came back. “Well?” he asked.

“There’s no books on alchemy here. There’s only some in Drakonia, the capital.” she told him.

“I see.” he said, “We should at least learn about the history though.”

“Good idea.” she said, and walked back over to the librarian. She came back, and Ed followed her to the history section. For a good while they did nothing but read books, until Twilight threw one down. Well not threw, more so set it down angrily. “I don’t understand this!” she said.

“What?” Ed asked her.

“These books keep mentioning a war! I’ve never heard of any war before!” she said, “Especially not one that Equestria was in!” Ed immediately understood what had happened.

“Your government’s hiding it from you.” he told her.

“B-But Princess Celestia would never hide anything!” she exclaimed.

“This goes beyond alchemy.” Ed realized.

“W-What do you mean?” asked Twilight, though she thought she already knew.

“Something big that happened, and Equestria is hiding its past from its citizens.” Ed told her. Twilight realized he was right. “We need to get to the capitol’s library, and quite possibly the other nations too.” he said.

“You’re right.” she said, “We’ll stay the night here, and then we’ll leave.” He nodded.

“I promise you, we’ll get to the bottom of this.” he told her, “We should find Garble again, and he can lead us to a hotel. Then we’ll leave tomorrow.”

Chapter 3

Twilight, and Ed walked out of the library to find that Garble was standing near the entrance. “Oh, hey Garble.” Twilight said, “Good timing actually. Do you know a place we can stay the night?” Ed’s stomach growled.

“And a place to eat too?” he added.

“Why don’t we get something to eat first.” Garble said.

“That sounds good.” Twilight said as her own stomach growled.

“Come on, I know the best restaurant in town.” he said, before walking off. Ed, and Twilight quickly followed him. Finally after a few minutes of walking they stopped in front of a cave entrance. “Here we are.” he said.

“How can you tell?” Twilight asked, “All these caves look the same to me.” Garble chuckled.

“I’ve lived here for a while.” he told her.

“Well what are we waiting for?” asked Ed, “Let’s go.” Garble nodded, and walked in, followed by the other two. They entered what seemed to be a relatively small diner. There were three other dragons sitting in here, and they turned when they entered. They sneered, and went back to eating. They sat down at a table, and a waiter came up to them.

“What will you be having?” he asked Garble politely.

“Get me some chicken strips.” he told the waiter. Twilight wrinkled her nose in disgust at the thought of meat. The waiters expression changed as he turned to Twilight, and Ed.

“And what will the ponies be having?” he hissed, putting an emphasis on ponies.

“Just give us two salads.” Twilight said, put off by the waiter’s attitude. The waiter gave a bow to Garble, and left. 10 minutes later he came back with a plate of chicken, and two bowls of salad. He gently set down the chicken, but slammed the bowls of salad down in front of Ed, and Twilight.

“Rude much?” she said.

“Sorry about that. Not very many dragons like ponies.” Garble told her.

“I could tell by the glares we’ve been getting.” she said.

“Well, dig in.” he said, before devouring his meal. Ed, and Twilight started to dig into their salad. When they were done Garble asked, “You guys want dessert? They’ve got sapphire flavored ice cream.” They shook their head. “Your loss.” he said. The waiter then came over to the table again, and collected the empty dishes. “Here, I put a tip in.” Garble said, handing him some coins that Twilight didn’t recognize.

“What’s that?” Twilight asked him.

“What’s what?” he asked.

“That coin.” she said, “What is it?” He took out another one.

“You mean this?” he asked.

“Yeah.” said Twilight, taking it.

“It’s a dracon.” he told her.

“A dracon?” she asked.

“Yeah, dracons are our currency.” he said.

“Oh, um, I thought you just used bits, like us.” Twilight admitted, chuckling nervously.

“One bit is equal to about two dracons.” he told Twilight, “We should exchange your money.”

“How do you know so much about this?” Twilight asked him.

“No reason.” he said, a little too quickly.

“Hmm.” Twilight said, “In any case can you show me where I can exchange my bits for dracons?”

“Right this way.” he said, walking out, and into another cave. This one, though, had a vault at the back of the room. He walked up to the counter, and told the clerk, “We’d like to exchange some bits for dracons.”

“How many bits do you have?” he asked. Twilight put a bag up on the counter.

“I have 30 bits with me.” she said. The clerk did a few calculations, and then opened the vault to reveal large stacks of many different coins. He took the bits out, and then placed some dracons in it. He then closed the vault, and put the bag back on the table.

“That transfers to 57 dracons, minus the five dracon fee, so you have 52 dracons.” said the clerk.

“Thanks.” said Twilight, levitating the bag back into her saddlebags. “We have some time, so can you show me where I can get some souvenirs for my friends?.” she asked.

“Sure.” he said, walking out, and to another cave. It really did get confusing for Twilight. This time they entered a cave that seemed to be a small market. Garble led them past a few vendors, to one who had a bunch of knickknacks.

“Hmm. I don’t think my friends would like any of these.” Twilight said. Suddenly something caught her eye. It was a necklace with what seemed to be a tooth hanging from it. “What’s that?” she asked the vendor.

“I see you have a good eye.” the vendor said, picking it up, “This is the tooth of a manticore.”

“Hmm. I’m sure Dash would like something like that. How much?” she asked.

“Eight dracons.” he said.

“I’ll take it.” she said, levitating her money bag out, and giving him eight dracons.

“Pleasure doing buisness with you.” he said, taking the money.

“Same here.” she said, levitating the necklace into her bag. “I don’t see anything else here, so let’s go.” Twilight said. “Do you know a place we can stay the night?” she asked.

“Yeah. Come on.” Garble said, leading them to yet another cave. He walked into the reception, where there was a dragon behind the counter. “Do you have two rooms?” he asked the clerk.

“Yeah, but not for them.” he said, pointedly looking at Twilight, and Ed. Garble sighed, and brought them outside.

“Sorry about that.” he said.

“Don’t worry about it.” Twilight told him, “It’s not your fault.” He sighed again.

“Yeah, I know, but I just wish there was something I could do.” he said. Suddenly an idea popped into his head. “I know! How about you stay with me?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” Twilight said.

“I have plenty of room.” he insisted.

“Okay, I guess.” she said.

“Great, follow me.” he said. They followed him to another cave, and led them inside, and down a tunnel. When they reached the end they gasped in awe. Instead of a small cave like they were expecting, it was a gigantic cave, even bigger than the one the library was in. Hanging from the ceiling, lighting up the room, was a giant chandelier.

“Wow.” said Twilight, “Your house is amazing.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty nice isn’t it?” he said, grabbing a drink, and sitting on his huge couch.

“Pretty nice? This is amazing.” Ed told him.

“So tell me, what do you plan on doing now?” Garble asked them, taking a sapphire from an ornate bowl, and throwing into his mouth.

“Well, we were planning on going to the capitol.” Twilight told him. He nearly choked on his snack, when he heard that.

“The, uh, the capitol?” he asked, hoping he’d heard wrong.

“Yeah. Something wrong with that?” Ed asked him.

“Uh, no, nothing.” he said. It was Ed’s turn to narrow his eyes.

“Right.” he said.

“Anyways, why don’t you tell me about yourselves?” Garble asked them. Over the next few hours Twilight explained about her adventures, and then talked about why they were there. “I see. That’s interesting.” Garble said.

“Well why don’t you tell us about yourself?” Twilight asked him.

“Me, um, I.” Garble was trying to find a good excuse, so he wouldn’t have to tell them, when he noticed what time it was. “Well, would you look at the time.” he said, “Let’s get something to eat.” Twilight narrowed her eyes. There was obviously something he wasn’t telling them. She decided to go with it though, because she was hungry. “What do you want?” he asked them.

“I’ll just have another salad.” Twilight told him.

“Me too.” Ed said. Garble prepared them their salads, and just ate some gems himself. After they were done everyone was tired, and Ed let out a yawn.

“Why don’t you guys get some rest. I’ve got some extra beds.” Garble told them.

“Thanks.” said Twilight, as he led them farther into the cave, and brought them each to a room. “Night.” Twilight told them, and went to bed.

“See ya.” Ed said to Garble before going to his own room, and drifting off to sleep. The next morning Twilight, and Ed were awoken by the smell of cooking eggs. They walked into the kitchen at the same time.

“Oh, hey.” Garble said, when he saw them, “I made some breakfast.” Which was pretty unnecessary, considering there was a plate of eggs on the table.

“Thanks.” said Twilight, sitting down. They all made a plate, and started eating.

“So, what are you going to do now?” Garble asked them.

“Well first we’ll resupply, and then we’ll head towards the capitol.” Twilight told him.

“Yeah, well, about that.” he said, “Could I travel with you? Twilight was surprised. She’d hadn’t expected this.

“Uh, sure I guess.” she said.

“Thanks!” he said. As soon as they finished eating, they got their bags. Garble had packed his last night, just in case. “I’ll show you to the market again.” he said as they walked. Soon they reached the market again, and they bought supplies, which ended up to be 17 dracons. Luckily Garble paid for it, so Twilight still had 44 dracons left.

“Let’s go now.” Twilight said, taking her map out, “We’ll head to Fen’rar, and then to Drakonia.”

“We’ll have to cross Lava Chasm if we go that way.” Garble pointed out.

“I know, but it’s the fastest way to the capitol.” Twilight said.

“I see.” he said, “Well, we should probably get going now. We’ll be able to reach Fen’rar in four days if we’re lucky.”

“Could you lead us to the way down?” Twilight asked him, “I have no idea where it is.”

“Sure, this way.” he said. Just as he started to walk, though, his path was blocked by two dragons. One was a large purple dragon, and the other a large brown dragon.

“And where do you think you’re going with those ponies?” asked the brown one.

“None of your business.” he told them.

“It is our business.” said the purple one, pushing Garble, “You’ve changed man.”

“Yeah, I have.” said Garble, pushing him back, “I’m not a jerk anymore, unlike you guys.”

“What did you call us?” said the brown one, pushing Garble.

“You heard me jerk.” Garble said.

“That’s it!” yelled the brown one, throwing a punch at Garble, who easily dodged it. Using his smaller frame, and better agility, Garble dodged all their attacks, and dealt some blows of his own. Within two minutes the other dragons were flat on their backs. He spat on the ground, and turned back to Twilight, and Ed.

“Come on, let’s go.” he said. The other two just nodded, dumbfounded, and followed him down the stairs to the bottom of the mountain.

“Let’s see.” said Twilight, taking out the map. “We go that way.” she said, pointing north. They nodded, and silently set off across the wasteland, towards their next destination, Fen’rar. As they walked their destination never seemed to get closer. Two days went by just like that. On the third day, though, the village came into sight just as night  was closing in on them.

Finally! Ed thought. We’re almost there. That night, though, Ed had a nightmare.

“Why big brother? Why?” asked the voice of a little girl.

“Nina! I’m sorry. I’m so sorry Nina!” he called out.

“Why?” the girl’s voice asked again.

“Nina. Nina! NINA!” he yelled.

Suddenly he jolted awake, covered in sweat. He looked around, and took deep breaths to calm himself. Wh-What was that? He wondered. Was that a nightmare, or... or was it something else? Suddenly Twilight barged into his tent.

“Are you okay?!” she asked, “I heard you scream.” He took a few more deep breaths to compose himself before speaking.

“I’m okay.” he stuttered, “It was just a bad dream.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, “Do you want me to stay in here?”

“I’m fine.” he told her.

“Okay then.” she said, and went back to her own tent, leaving Ed to wonder what exactly that was. The next morning they ate, and packed up, determined to get to the city before sundown.

“We should go see my cousin.” Garble told them, “She’s a bit weird, but she’ll give us a place to stay.”

“Sounds good.” Ed said. They ignored the glares of most dragons as Garble led them through the many streets of Fen’rar. At least this town actually had houses. Garble led them to a cozy looking house. He knocked on the door, and almost instantly it slammed open, revealing a pink dragoness. She suddenly gasped, and pulled Garble into a hug.

“You never told me you were visiting cuz!” she said, excitedly hopping up and down.

“Yeah, well it was kinda short notice.” he said. Then she noticed the two ponies behind him, and gasped again.

“Are those your friends?” she asked.

“Yeah.” he told her.

“Great!” she said, “Come on in, I’ll make us some lunch.” Twilight smiled as she was reminded of Pinkie Pie. Now she understood what Garble had meant when he said his cousin was a little weird.

“Thank you Miss...” Twilight trailed off.

“Just call me Sam, or Sammy.” she told Twilight, “My parents named me Sprinkle, but I thought that wasn’t really a proper dragon name, so just call me that.”

“Alright. Thank you, um, Sam.” Twilight said.

“No problem!” Sam said. She quickly fixed something for them all to eat, and they sat at a table.

“So what brings you here cuz?” she asked.

“We’ll I’m just travelling with them. You should ask them what’s going on.” Garble said, pointing towards Twilight and Ed.

“So what are you two doing here?” she asked.

“We’ll it all started when I met Ed.” Twilight began.

--

“And that’s about it.” Twilight finished.

“I see now.” Sam said, “That’s sounds super duper fun!”

“If you say so cuz.” Garble said, rolling his eyes. His cousin never could grasp the seriousness of situations. “Anyways, I was wondering if you would set us up a place to stay for tonight?” he asked.

“Sure!” she said, cheerfully, “On it!” She walked off somewhere, leaving the others alone.

“What did I tell you. Weird or what?” Garble said.

“Oh I don’t know.” said Twilight, “I know somepony very similar to her.”

“I’m done with the rooms.” said Sam, suddenly appearing out of nowhere, “Were you talking about me?”

“No.” said Garble. To Twilight, and Ed he whispered, “See, weird.” Twilight gave a small chuckle. For the next few hours they just chatted. They then had dinner, kindly provided to them by Sam, and then it was time for them to get some rest. She showed all three of them to their room.

“Have a good sleep.” she said, before retiring to her own room. Ed laid awake for a little while, just thinking.

Am I going to have another nightmare? He wondered. I hope not. He tried to stay awake a little longer, but finally sleep overcame him. Luckily he had no dreams that night. The next morning he awoke, and entered the kitchen with sleep still in his eyes.

“Sorry, but the only thing I can really cook for breakfast is toast.” said Sam, “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” he told her, taking a seat. Surprisingly they were the only ones in there. That soon changed, though, as he ate.

“I would have liked some bacon, but I guess this’ll do.” Garble said, taking a bite out of his toast. “We’re leaving now cuz.” he said as they finished breakfast.

“Have a safe journey!” she called out after them.

“We will!” Garble called back. They walked to the market, which was just like Ponyville, and they bought supplies. Twilight sorted them out, and gave an equal amount to each of them.

“We’re ready to go now!” announced Twilight. Garble lead the way out of town, and they walked until they reached Lava Chasm Twilight, and Ed gasped in amazement. They could see why it was called Lava Chasm. It was about 200 yards across, and even deeper. At the bottom of the ravine was lava, flowing just like water in a river would.

“Let’s get going.” Garble said, walking towards an unstable looking rope bridge.

“Are you crazy?!” asked Twilight, “We can’t go that way!”

“We don’t have time to go around it.” Garble told her, “And besides, this bridge was made for dragons. It’s more stable than it looks.”

“I-I don’t know.” said Twilight, still unsure about this.

“Watch, I’ll go first.” said Garble, stepping onto the bridge. “See? Perfectly safe.” he said.

“O-Okay I guess.” said Twilight, following closely behind Garble. Ed followed behind her. When they were a little past the middle a strong gust blew. Twilight grabbed the bridge tightly, but to her surprise it only rocked very slightly.

“Oh no!” Garble gasped. Twilight looked up to the sky, like Garble was, and she gasped too. Rolling in on them was a giant storm cloud. Garble ran the rest of the way across the bridge. Twilight followed, not as quickly, but still pretty quick. She was then followed by Ed. As soon as they got to the other side, Garble opened Twilight’s saddlebag, and tore out the map. “We need to get to shelter as soon as possible.” he said.

“But where?” Twilight asked.

“Look here, the Lost Caverns are only 10 minutes away from here.” he said, pointing at what seemed to be a cave entrance with the words Lost Caverns written beneath it. “We can stay there until the storm passes.” he explained. Twilight nodded. She wanted to ask questions, but she knew their safety came first.

“Right.” she said. Garble started running, followed by Twilight, and Ed. The rain had just started right before they reached the cave, so thankfully, they weren’t too wet when they flopped into the dry cave floor.

"We made it." he said.

Chapter 1

It was a bright, and sunny day in Equestria. The kind of day that was perfect. But as the law of equivalence states, one cannot obtain something without first giving something in return. As Twilight was soon to find out, her world would be flipped upside down.

A strange pony was walking down an worn dirt road. He had greasy tan fur, and a golden mane, and tail that reflected the sun like a mirror. He had a metallic right fore-leg, and left hind-leg. His cutie mark was a strange circle, and his blood red coat was stained with dirt.

He had awoke a few minutes ago, on the ground. He had no idea where he was, or why he was there, or anything else for that matter. He didn’t know what else to do, so he started to trot along the dirt road not far from where he woke.

Likewise a pink party pony had been bouncing down the same exact path, only in the opposite direction. As fate would have it Pinkie heard a metallic sound, and went to check it out. When she did, she found a strange pony.

She let out a gasp, because she’d never seen this pony before. If she’d never seen this pony before, that means he was new, and if he was new, then he didn’t have any friends. If he didn’t have any friends, then he must be lonely, and that made her sad, so she decided to throw him a party.

The strange pony noticed her, and started walking over to her, hoping to gain some information, but she was already gone. He let out a sigh, and continued walking on the path he was following. There was no use dwelling on it, he just had to move forwards.

In town Pinkie hadn’t watched where she was going, so she ran into Twilight, sending all of her papers flying. “Pinkie! What’s wrong?!” Twilight asked the frenzied Pinkie.

“Well I just saw a new pony, and if he’s new, then he doesn’t know anypony. If he doesn’t know anypony, then that made me sad, so I’m off to organize a party for him.” Pinkie told Twilight, all in one breath.

“Alright, bye Pinkie.” Twilight said to air. She shook her head at Pinkies antics, and decided to see this new pony for herself. It didn’t take her too long to find the pony Pinkie told her about. He was walking on the path, head hanging down. “Hi there!” she called out. His head shot up, and she trotted over to him. “Hi. I”m Twilight Sparkle.” she said, putting her hoof out.

“I’m Edward Elric.” he said, shaking her hoof.

“It’s nice to meet you Edward.” Twilight said.

“It’s nice to meet you too.” he told her. Twilight noticed something weird about his armor. It should have been heated at least some by the body heat he generated, but instead it was cold.

“What kind of armor is that?” she asked, curious.

“Huh? Oh, you mean my automail.” he said, lifting his leg up.

“Automail? What’s that?” Twilight asked.

“It’s a mechanical replacement for my limbs.” Ed explained. Twilight’s eyes widened, and she gasped.

“Replacement? You mean...” Twilight was unable to finish her sentence.

“Yeah. I lost my real ones a while back.” he said, sadly.

“How?” she asked. Ed tried to remember, he really did, but nothing would come to him.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know.” he told her.

“What?! How can you not know?” she asked.

“I can’t remember.” he told her, “Actually, I can’t really remember anything.”

“Hmm. Amnesia?” pondered Twilight. “Do you have a place to stay?” she asked him.

“No, I don’t.” he said.

“Then you’ll stay with me until you get your memories back.” Twilight told him.

“I guess I have no choice.” he said.

“Great!” said Twilight, “Let’s go now.”

“Fine.” he said, following her back the way she came.

“I’m very interested in that automail of yours.” Twilight said, “I hope you’ll let me take a closer look at it.” Ed gave a little laugh.

“You remind me of my friend Winry. She-.” he cut off as a surge of pain went through his head. He collapsed on the ground, as he heard voices.

“Are you sure brother?” asked a familiar voice.

“Yeah Al. We haven’t been training all this time for nothing.” said another voice he recognized, “We’ll get Mom back for sure.”

Before Ed could hear anything more, he was shaken out of it. His eyes snapped open to find a worried Twilight standing above him. “Are you alright?” she asked.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” Ed told her.

“What happened?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I just suddenly heard some voices.” he said, “But I don’t know what it means.”

“You remembered something?!” Twilight asked.

“Maybe. I don’t know.” he told her.

“We should get to my house.” she told him. Suddenly they heard someone yell.

“Watch out!” they said. Suddenly a multi colored blur crashed into Ed, sending them both skidding along the ground.

“Watch where you’re going.” he said, pushing off the other pony.

“Hey Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called out.

“Oh! Hey Twilight!” Rainbow Dash called back, “Who's the shrimp?”

“SHRIMP?!” Ed yelled, “WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SHRIMP?!” She smirked.

“You shrimp.” she said. Ed lunged at her.

“I am not a shrimp!” he yelled. Before Dash had any time to react, they were both on the ground, wrestling for dominance. Finally Dash was able to pin him down.

“What’s wrong shrimp? Am I too tough for you?” she taunted.

“I’ll show you who’s weak!” he said, clapping his hooves together. He rammed them into the ground, and there was a bright light. Suddenly a column of earth shot out of the ground, ramming into Rainbow Dash, knocking her off of Ed. They all gawked at what just happened.

“What the hay was that?!” asked Rainbow Dash.

“I-I don’t know. I just did it on instinct.” he told her, surprised himself.

“Well whatever it was, it was cool.”  said Rainbow Dash.

“Maybe it has something to do with your memory.” Twilight said.

“His memories?” asked Dash.

“Oh yeah, you don’t know yet.” said Twilight, “Ed has amnesia.”

“Amnesia.” repeated Dash, “That’s like the stuff doctors give to knock you out right?” Twilight sighed.

“No Dash, that’s anesthesia.” Twilight told her, “Amnesia is where you lose your memories.”

“Wait, so you don’t remember anything?” asked Dash. Ed shook his head.

“We’re hoping to find some way to unlock his memories.” Twilight told her.

“Well good luck with that.” Dash said, “I gotta get going.” With that she flew off. At that moment Ed’s stomach growled, showing how hungry he was. Twilight let out a chuckle.

“Sounds like you’re hungry.” she said, “I know the perfect place to get a snack. It’s a small bakery called Sugarcube Corner.”

--

As Twilight led Ed through the streets of Ponyville, she noticed that they were unusually empty. “Where is everypony?” she wondered. She got her answer when they reached Sugarcube Corner. She opened the door to get confetti blasted in her face.

“Surprise!” yelled out everyone.

“Ah!” Ed yelled, rearing back, and landing on his flank. Suddenly a pink pony zipped up to him.

“Were you surprised?” she asked, “Huh? Huh? Were ya?”

“What?” was all he managed to get out.

“I saw you walking down the street, and I was like ‘I’ve never seen him before. If I’ve never seen him before, then he must be knew, and if he's new that means he doesn’t have any friends.’ That made me sad, so I threw this party for you.” she said, without taking a breath.

“What?” he said again.

“So were you surprised? Huh? Huh? Huh? Were you?” she asked.

“Yes, now get off me!” he said, pushing her away from him.

“Come on, let’s party!” she said before bouncing back inside. Ed stared blankly after her for a moment.

“What just happened?” he asked Twilight. She let out a small chuckle.

“Beats me.” she said, “I’ve been trying to figure her out ever since I met her. Come on, I’ll bring you to meet my other friends.” She led him over to a group of five ponies, which included the pink one, and Rainbow Dash.

“Hey pipsqueak.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Who are you calling pipsqueak?!” he exclaimed.

“You pipsqueak!” she said. They were in each other's face for a few seconds until an orange pony wearing a hat broke them apart.

“Woah. Simmer down there yall.” she said, pushing them apart.

“She (He) started it!” they said at the same time.

“Ah don’t care who started it.” the orange pony said, “This is a party. Yall lighten up.”

“Fine.” they huffed, and turned away from each other.

“By the way, my name’s Applejack.” the orange mare told him. “This here’s Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. I recon you already know Rainbow, and Twilight. What’s your name?” she asked.

“My name is Edward Elric.” he told them.

“It’s nice ta meetcha Ed.” said Applejack, offering him her hoof.

“Nice to meet you too.” he said, shaking her hoof.

“Boy howdy. That sure is some weird armor you got on.” she said.

“This isn’t armor.” he told her, “It’s automail.”

“Well what the hay’s that?” she asked.

“Automail is mechanical replacement for limbs.” he told her. Everyone but Twilight gasped.

“A r-replacement? You mean you l-lost your leg?” asked Fluttershy.

“Yeah.” he said, “And my back one too.” He showed them his left hind-leg, and they gasped again.

“That must be horrible darling!” said Rarity.

“Not really.” Ed told her.

“But how could ya lose your legs?” asked Applejack.

“That’s the strange thing. I can’t remem-” Ed cut off as a wave of pain hit him, like his brain was being stabbed over and over with a dull blade. He fell to the ground, grasping his head. Suddenly he heard a voice. One of the ones he’d heard before.

“Alphonse no!” it shouted, “No, dammit. You can’t have him too. Give him back! He’s my brother! Take my  leg. Take my arm! Take my heart, ANYTHING, YOU CAN HAVE IT! Just give him back! He’s my little brother, he’s all I have left!”

As suddenly as it came, it just stopped. Ed opened his eyes, and looked up at six worried ponies. “What the hay just happened?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“I-I don’t know.” Ed told them, shaken up by what just happened, “I just heard a voice. I don’t understand what it was yelling about, but it sounded desperate.”

“Do you think this has something to do with your memories?” Twilight asked him.

“Maybe.” he said.

“Wait. What are you talking about? What memories?” asked Applejack.

“Ed here has lost his memories.” Twilight explained to them. They gasped for what seemed the hundredth time that day.

“That’s awful darling.” said Rarity, “We’ll do anything we can help to get your memories back.”

“Thanks for that.” Ed told her. Rainbow Dash thought of something to lighten the mood.

“Why don’t you show them what you did earlier.” she told Ed.

“Huh? What do you mean?” he asked.

“You know, when you made dirt shoot out of the ground.” she said.

“But that was just an instinct.” he reminded her.

“Just do what you did last time.” she told him.

“Wait. Just what the hay are you two talking about?” asked Applejack.

“Come on, let’s show them.” said Dash, dragging Ed out with her, the other five close behind.

“Alright.” he said, “I guess it doesn’t hurt to try.” With that he clapped his hooves together, and slammed them into the ground. Sadly, though, it didn’t work.

“What? Why the hay didn’t that work?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“I told you I did it instinctively.” Ed told her.

“What was supposed ta happen anyways?” asked Applejack.

“This huge column of dirt was supposed to come out of the earth.” Dash told her. Applejack snorted.

“Yeah, right.” she said.

“Hey what’s your cutie mark mean?” asked Pinkie, out of nowheres. Ed strained his neck as he caught a glimpse of what Pinkie was looking at. When he saw the circle on his flank he got another agonizing wave of pain shooting through his skull. He clutched it, and fell to the ground as he heard more voices.

“What are you trying to accomplish by learning alchemy anyway? Just tell me that.” asked a female voice.

“Well, um, we wanna help others out.” said the voice from the other times.

“Do you have your parent’s permission?” the female asked.

“Well, um.” the voice started.

“I’m afraid they have no parents.” said a more elderly female voice, “I’ve been taking care of them since their mother died.” There was a moment of silence, then the first woman let out a sigh.

“It always happens. I’m just too nice.” she said, “I’ll give them one month, do you mind if I take them with me for that long? I’ll test them to see if they’re even worth teaching alchemy to in the first place. See if they have the right talents.”

“And what happens if you find out they don’t?” the second woman asked.

“Then I’ll send them back right away.” the first woman told her.

“And what happens if we pass?” asked another voice, “What’ll happen then?”

“Then we’ll begin your alchemy training.” she said.

Alchemy. Alchemy. Alchemy! Suddenly something clicked, and all of Ed’s knowledge of Alchemy came rushing back to him. In one fluid motion he clapped his hooves together, and slammed them onto the ground.

Suddenly there was a bright light, and the others shielded their eyes. When the light faded their eyes widened in awe at what they saw. In front of each of them was a perfect copy, only made from earth. “W-What? How did you do that?” asked Twilight.

“I remember now, I’m an alchemist.” he told her. Her eyes widened.

“Wait. So you have your memories back?” she asked. He shook his head.

“No.” he told her, “But I do remember I can use alchemy.”

“Alchemy.” she repeated, “I’ve heard of that somewhere.” Suddenly her eyes lit up. “I knew I had seen that symbol somewhere before. Come on, let’s go!” she said, excited, as she dragged Ed along with her.

“Wait!” he protested, “Where are we going?”

“To the library!” she practically shouted. Apparently she’d found something important. Soon they had reached a large hollowed out tree, and she let go of him. She slammed the door open, and called out, “Spike!”

“Coming!” someone called back. There were the sound of footsteps, and a purple reptile appeared from the spiral staircase on their right.

“Ed, this is my dragon assistant, Spike.” Twilight said, “Spike this is Ed, he’ll be staying with us for a little while.”

“Nice to meet you.” said Spike, offering his hand.

“You too.” said Ed, shaking the hand.

“Spike, I need you to find me a copy of Old Magicks, okay?” she asked.

“On it!” he said, saluting, then started searching.

“He’s quite reliable.” Twilight said.

“Here it is!” called out Spike, holding an old looking, dusty book.

“Thanks Spike.” she said, taking the book from him in her telekinetic grasp. “Could you please make us some tea?” he asked him. He saluted once more, and marched through a door to the left. “Alright, let’s take a look at this book.” said Twilight, opening it up, “I know it’s somewhere in here.”

“What are you looking for?” Ed asked her.

“I know there’s a section about alchemy in here.” she told him. She flipped through the pages for a few seconds, until she let out a triumphant shout. “Aha! Here it is.” she said, putting her hoof on the page.

“What does it say?” Ed asked her.

“Let’s see.” she said, “It says that alchemy is a very old, and powerful form of magic that can be used for many things such as healing the wounded, and turning metals into gold. It sounds amazing!”

“Sounds right.” Ed said. Her facial expression changed as she continued reading.

“But... Wait! This can’t be right!” she said, “If alchemy can be used for such great things, then why did the Princesses ban it?” “I need to know more. I’m going to request an audience with the Princess.” she said, taking out a piece of paper, and a quill. She finished a quick letter just when Spike walked in.

“The tea is done.” he announced, “I also made a daisy sandwich for both of you.”

“Thank you Spike.” said Twilight, levitating the letter over to him, “Do you think that you could send this letter to the Princess for me?”

“Sure thing Twilight!” he said, taking a deep breath, and blowing fire onto the parchment. Instead of burning, though, the parchment turned a whispy green, and flew out the window. This intrigued Ed.

“Come on.” said Twilight, “Let’s get something to eat.” Ed followed her into her kitchen, and just as they were sitting down, Spike burped up a letter. “Well that was fast.” Twilight commented as she read the scroll.

“What’s it say?” asked Ed.

“Princess Celestia is sending a carriage for us.” she said, setting the scroll down, “We better get something to eat.” She sipped at her tea, and took a bite out of her sandwich. Ed took her lead, only less neatly. Nearly as soon as they were done there was a knock at the door. Twilight opened it to reveal a white pegasus in golden armor.

“Miss Twilight?” he asked.

“That’s me.” she said.

“Your escort’s here.” he told her.

Chapter 4

All three of them were panting from the run to the cave. Once Twilight regained her breath she asked the question she’d been wanting to, “Why is this place called the Lost Caverns?”

“They say that there used to be a kingdom down here, but one day it just disappeared.” Garble explained.

”But, how can that be?” Twilight asked, “How can a whole kingdom just disappear?”

“I don’t know.” he told her. After that they just stayed like that, letting the sound of rain pounding against the ground calm them. Garble sat up. “I’m hungry.” he said. He got up, and walked over to a wall, in which was a particularly good looking ruby. He grabbed it, and tried pulling it out, but it wouldn’t budge. He tried pulling it with both hands, but still nothing.

“Need some help?” asked Twilight.l

“No. I. Don’t!” he grunted, pulling at the gem. “That’s it!” he said, grabbing the gem, and putting his feet on the wall. “You are coming out!” he yelled, pulling at the ruby. Finally he gave one more tug, and went flying as the ruby was pulled out. When that happened, though, the wall where the ruby was embedded collapsed.

“What?! What was that?!” asked Ed, who’d been woken up from his nap.

“Ugh. I don’t know.” said Garble, rubbing the spot where he had hit his head.

“It... It looks like a passageway.” Twilight observed.

“How convenient. You think we should go in there?” asked Ed.

“Well there’s nothing else to do until the storm passes.” said Garble, taking out a torch. He took a breath, and blew fire on it, lighting it. “I’ll go first.” he said, walking into the darkness. Ed, and Twilight followed close behind, because there wasn’t much light from the torch. The corridor was long, and dark, but after a few minutes of walking they came to a lighted room.

“What?! There shouldn’t be any light underground!” Twilight said.

“Look up there.” Garble told her, pointing at the ceiling.

“What... What are those?” Twilight asked. On the ceiling were light blue gems, that were glowing eerily.

“Light stones. A very valuable resource.” Garble told her, “They are very rare though, I’ve never seen this many in one place.”

“What are they for?” she asked.

“They are used for lighting caves. Mostly rich people use them, cause they’re so rare.” Garble explained.

“It looks like there’s another passage over there.” Twilight observed, “Do you want to keep going?”

“Yeah.” he said, “Luckily there’s light stones that way. I can save this torch.” He blew out the torch, and put it back in his bag. “Let’s go.” he said, walking into the passage, followed by the other two.

“Where do you think this leads?” Ed asked.

“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.” Garble told him. For a few minutes they walked through the eerily lighted corridor.

“I wonder what this leads to.” pondered Twilight.

“Whatever it is we’ll have to be prepared.” Ed told her. They all nodded in agreement, but when they finally exited the corridor, what they found, they were not ready for. They gaped in amazement at the gigantic space. A ways away, the ground sunk down, and then in the middle was a giant, bigger than Canterlot, city. Lighting all of this were tons of giant light stones.

“This... What is this?” Twilight asked in wonder.

“I think we just found the lost kingdom.” said Garble.

“It’s amazing.” she whispered. Suddenly she noticed something. “Look! Somepony is over there.” she said, pointing at a brown dragon, sitting with his back propped against the stone wall. She trotted towards him, and Ed, and Garble followed. “Hello! Can you help us?!” she called. There was no answer. “Hello?!” she called again. It was then Garble realized something.

“He’s dead.” he said, walking over to the corpse. Where it’s eyes should be were just empty sockets.

“He’s d-dead?” said Twilight.

“Yeah.” Garble said, tapping the body, and making an echoing sound. “See. A dragon’s scales are hard, so when it decays it leaves behind a shell.” he explained. Twilight shuddered.

“Come on. We’re not going to get anywheres by staying here. Let’s head into the city.” Ed told them.

“Right.” said Twilight, just wanting to get away from that spot.

“Look, there’s some stairs over there.” Ed pointed out. “Let’s go!” he said, before running off. Garble, and Twilight ran after him, not wanting to get left behind. Ed reached the stairs, and suddenly stopped.

“What’s wro-” Twilight cut off as she saw what Ed did. There were about 6 dragon bodies on the stairs. They looked like they were climbing up. They must have died that way. “Oh Celestia.” Twilight said, looking like she’d vomit.

“This doesn’t look natural.” Ed pointed out, “It looks like all of them died at the same time. And I bet when we go into the city we’ll find more.”

“This... This is horrible.” Twilight choked out. Ed nodded.

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.” he told her, “You can stay here.” She shook her head.

“N-No. I have to go.” she said. Ed nodded, impressed with her courage.

“Let’s go.” he said, walking down the stairs. Twilight shuddered as she passed the corpses, and followed Ed. When they reached the bottom, Ed’s theory was proven correct. The streets were filled with dead dragons. Some behind stalls, others reaching out for food that’s been long gone, and some just plain walking. Twilight gagged, but then regained her composure.

“We should head to the castle.” Garble said, pointing at the giant building at the end of the city, “We can probably find something there.”

“Right.” Ed said. He started walking in that direction. As they passed through the streets they saw more and more bodies. They were all doing something, suggesting further that this all happened at once. They even passed a mother carrying her baby, and Twilight had to look away. “I don’t understand what happened here, but I’ll find out.” Ed said, determined.

Finally after passing street after street, and body after body, they finally reached a large open area in front of a wall, and gate, which lead to the castle. There was even a fountain in the middle, but it had long since stopped working. Ed went up to the gates, and pushed on them. They were too rusted, though, and wouldn’t budge. “Great, how are we supposed to get in?” he wondered.

“Let me handle this.” said Garble. Ed stepped back as Garble took a deep breath. He then blew fire out at the bars. After a few seconds the bars started to melt. After a minute enough had been melted that they could get through, and Garble cut off the flames. “Neat, huh?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Ed said, “Let’s go.” He stepped through the gap in the fence, and started walking up the path towards the castle. They passed a body who had been chipping away at a half finished statue of something standing on two legs. It didn’t have scales like a dragon through. . Ed couldn’t tell what it was, but somehow it seemed familiar.

Soon enough they finally reached the castle. It seemed bigger up close, then when they were in the city. The door was rusted, but luckily it wasn’t stuck. When they opened it they found that it lead into a large courtroom. “This reminds me of the castle in Canterlot.” Twilight reminisced.

“We should check out the throne room first.” Ed told them.

“I know where that probably is.” said Twilight.

“Great, bring us there.” Ed said. Twilight nodded, and lead them through an intricate amount of halls, and past the bodies of many servants. Soon they were in front of a giant door. It was so heavy that all three of them had to push on it to get it open. They walked into the room to find a throne, and a dragon sitting on it with a crown on his head, and a book in his hand.

“Looks like the king.” Garble stated.

“What’s that he’s holding?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know. Let’s find out.” Ed said, walking up to the body.

“Wait!” Twilight called out, making him stop.

“What?” he asked.

“Take a closer look at that book.” she told him, “It’s old. I don’t want it to get destroyed. I know a spell that’ll preserve it, let me use that first.” He nodded.

“Alright then.” he said. She walked up, and her horn started glowing, and the book was surrounded by the same hue. It lasted a few seconds, until the light faded.

“There.” she said, “It should be safe to pick up now.” Ed nodded, and carefully removed the old book from the kings cold hand. “What is it?” asked Twilight.

“It... It looks like some kind of journal.” Ed told her.

“Well open it.” she said. He nodded, and opened the book to the first page. He started to read out loud.

“Entry one. A strange dragon entered the throne room today. What was even more interesting, though, was what he offered me. He offered the Stone of Power. The Red Gem. The chance to live forever. Dragons may live longer than any other species, but we still die. I must admit I was swayed by the possibility of being immortal, so I agreed.”

“Entry two. It has been a few days since the strange dragon told me the secret to creating the Red Gem. At first I was appalled, but I’ve realized that you can’t gain something without sacrifice, so now we are plotting how to create it.”

“Entry three. It has been a month now, and I’ve started having trenches dug around the city. The citizens have no idea what I’m plotting. I’ve also ordered a family attacked, to form one of the needed blood seals.”

“Entry four. It has been five months, and the circle is almost complete. There is also only one more blood seal that needs to be formed. In a few days I shall be immortal.”

“Entry five. The dragon has betrayed me! He was only using me, so he could create the gem for himself! I write this, so when, and if, anyone finds this, they can avenge me. The dragon's name is Env-”

“And it cuts off there.” Ed finished. Twilight looked horrified by what she’d heard. “So what do you think it means?” Ed asked.

“I-I don’t know.” Twilight said.

“I think I know what stone they were talking about, but I can’t figure out the rest.” Ed admitted, “I think it’s the Philosopher's Stone.”

“Philosopher's Stone?” asked Twilight.

“Yeah. It’s a powerful red stone that lets you bypass the laws of equivalence.” Ed told her.

“Laws of equivalence?” she asked.

“Yeah. It’s the first rule of alchemy. To gain something, something of equal value must be lost. That is the law of equivalence, but the stone lets you bypass that law.” he said.

“So this king wanted to get the stone?” asked Twilight.

“Probably.” he told her.

“But why?” she asked, “If it caused all of this, then why would anyone ever want the stone?”

“I don’t know.” Ed answered, “For power maybe. Or maybe to fix something.”

“Well, in any case, we should keep this.” said Twilight, levitating the book into her saddlebag.

“Maybe we’ll find out more about what happened when we get to the capitol.” Ed said.

“Maybe.” she agreed. Just then her stomach growled.

“Sounds like you’re hungry.” he said. Then his stomach growled too.

“We’re all hungry.” said Garble, “Why don’t we get outta here first.” They nodded in agreement, and walked out of the castle.

It was a bit too convenient how we found this place. Ed thought. Almost like someone wanted us to find it. He kept this to himself, though. as they walked back through the town. Soon enough they were back at the stairs. They climbed up, and went back through the passage they came from. They reached the room with light stones, and stopped.

“Let’s eat here.” Garble said, sitting down. The others complied, glad they got to rest. They got out their food, and started eating.

“We still don’t know what happened to those people down there, but at least we know it has something to do with the Philosopher's Stone.” Ed commented, “Next we’re headed to Drakonia, the capitol.”

“The capitol.” Garble echoed. I didn’t expect to go there again. He thought.

“I wonder what it’s like.” said Twilight. Soon they finished their meal, and Garble took out the torch again, and lit it.

“Let’s get going.” he said, walking into the dark tunnel. When they reached the entrance they were surprised. The storm was still going, but not as bad, which allowed them to see that it was night time.

“I didn’t think we were gone long enough for Luna to raise the moon.” Twilight commented.

“Who?” asked Garble.

“Princess Luna.” Twilight said, “You know, she turns the day into night, and raises the moon.” Garble started laughing.

“I can’t believe you believe in something like that.” he said, “No one raises the moon.” Twilight stomped her hoof.

“She does too! And Princess Celestia raises the sun!” she told him. He just laughed even harder, though.

“That’s rich.” he said, “Raising the moon, and sun. What a laugh.” Twilight wasn’t sure to react. She’d never met anyone who didn’t believe in Princess Celestia, or Princess Luna. Probably because everypony in Equestria had seen them. Finally Garble’s laughter stopped. “We should probably get some sleep now.” he said, “We have a long trip ahead of us.”

“You’re right.” she said. She hadn’t realized it, but she was tired. So much so, that she fell asleep, almost immediately. Her sleep was restless, though. Her dreams were haunted by the things she saw earlier that day. When they awoke the next morning the storm had stopped.

“Let’s get moving.” Garble said after breakfast, “Hopefully we can make some good time.” Ed, and Twilight agreed, and for the whole day they walked across the barren wastelands of the dragon kingdom, with only an odd plant or two for decoration.

“I don’t see how anything could live out here.” said Twilight.

“Dragons are adapted to live here.” Garble told her. She sighed, and continued walking.

“I’m kinda sick of the scenery.” she said.

“Yeah, there’s not much to look at.” Garble pointed out. She sighed again, and continued walking. This continued on for four days, until they came within sight of Drakonia. “Almost there.” he said, “Only a few more hours.”

“Let’s go!” Ed said with renewed vigor, and ran off. Garble, and Twilight ran after him. Finally they reached the city just as the sun was going down.

“Let’s find a hotel for tonight, and then tomorrow we can visit the archives.” Garble said. They nodded in agreement, and they walked around town. Unluckily they walked through the streets, going to hotel after hotel, and being rejected until finally one dragon said that he’d give them a room. Ed yawned as he got into bed.

"I'm going to sleep. See you guys in the morning." he said. The other two took his example, and fell asleep on their own beds.