Fullmetal Alchemist: The Magic of Alchemyby castroedgar316ChaptersThe Amestrian RepresentativesThe Fullmetal AlchemistThe Brothers' JourneyThe Amestrian Representatives"Water, 35 liters. Carbon, 20 kilograms. Ammonia, 4 liters. Lime, 1.5 kilograms. Phosphorus, 800 grams. Salt, 250 grams. Niter, 100 grams. Sulfur, 80 grams. Fluorine, 7.5 grams. Iron, 5 grams. Silicon, 3 grams." A young red unicorn stallion with a blond mane and tail read from a small journal. "Reading the composition of a pony's body again, brother?" a voice asked. Turning towards the voice, the young stallion saw what appeared to be a large unicorn pony wearing full steel armor that concealed his entire body except what appeared to be his glowing red eyes, sitting across himself. "Yeah, since there isn't much to do right now, I figured I'd read it to keep myself preoccupied." the young stallion replied. "Well on the bright side, the conductor said we should nearing our destination in a couple of minutes." the armor clad pony said. "That's a relief." the young stallion said, "We've been on this train for three days now. Just sitting around and looking outside gets old really fast. But hopefully, it'll be worth it if we finally find what we've been looking for these last four years." "The philosopher stone." the armor clad pony said before asking, "Do you really think the equestrian princesses have it, or at least know how to make it?" "They've got to." the young stallion replied, "How else could two of them be able to live for more than a thousand years? They've have to of used it to achieve immortality, or at least live for as long as they currently are." "I guess that is a good point." the armor clad pony said before adding, "And it's a good thing we'll be meeting them soon." "And while I can't believe I'm saying this, we have the colonel to thank for that." the young stallion said, "After we told him we were planning to leave amestris and go to equestria, he reported it to central. And once the fuhrer caught wind of this, he sent us a command to act as amestris' representatives at the meet and greet the equestrian princesses invited him to that he unfortunately won't be able to attend." "If it weren't for the fact that he has to monitor the clean up in central after the freezing alchemist's attempt to freeze the whole city, I'm certain the fuhrer would of loved to come." the armor clad pony said. The young stallion shrugged before saying, "At least it makes reaching the equestrian princesses easier than going to to their capital and requesting the guards there to let us see them." Just then, the train the duo was in stopped. "Alright folks, we've arrived at ponyville." the conductor announced, "For those of you getting off, thank you for riding the friendship express!" "Looks like we're here, brother." the armor clad pony said. "It's about time." the young stallion said before jumping off his seat and stretched his legs, "Any longer, and I swear my legs would be stuck in a sitting position." After stretching his legs, the young stallion lit up his horn (which had a yellow aura), and used his magic to grab a suitcase from the overhead compartment above the duo's seats. With the suitcase in tow, the two ponies exited the train and made their into the train station. As they were about to exit, they saw a young purple dragon with green spines in his head holding a sign that read "amestrian representatives." Figuring that the equestrian princesses sent the dragon to pick them up, the duo approached him. Upon noticing the duo, the dragon asked, "I take it you two are the amestrian representatives?" "That's us." the young stallion replied before asking, "And I take it that you're going to lead us to the equestrian princesses?" "That's right." the dragon said before putting the sign down, "Come on, they're waiting in the castle." "Castle?" the young stallion asked as he and the armor clad pony followed the dragon out of the train station, "In a small town like this?" "It might sound hard to believe, but just wait till you see it." the dragon said. "Whatever you say." the young stallion, "By the way, what's your name." "Oh, I can't believe that slipped my mind." the dragon said before introducing himself, "The name's Spike. Nice to meet you both." 'Spike?' the young stallion thought, 'That sounds like a name someone would give to their dog.' "It's nice to meet you too, Spike." the armor clad pony said. Turning towards the armor clad pony, Spike asked, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you wearing that armor? Is that what amestrian soldiers wear as a uniform or something?" The question made the two ponies nervous. "Actually, he's wearing that armor because he lost a bet." the young stallion said quickly. Catching on, the armor clad pony said, "That's right! We made a bet as to whether or not we would be chosen to be the representatives for our country. And because I lost, I have to wear this armor for a month." "What's so bad about that armor that you betted each other into wearing it?" Spike asked. "Mainly because of how heavy it is." the young stallion replied, "It is made of steel after all." "Wait, that entire suit is made of steel!" Spike asked in shock, "How are you able to move in that thing?!" "While it still feels kinda heavy, I've gotten used to it." the armor clad pony replied, "In fact, I'll probably be able to move in this suit with little to no issue by the end of the month." "Glad to hear that you're looking on the bright side." Spike said before stopping after turning a corner, "Well here we are. The castle of friendship!" Turning the corner, the two ponies where amazed at what that saw; a tree-shaped castle that was made of crystal. "It's amazing!" the armor clad pony said. "How the hell did you get that castle all the way out here?" the young stallion asked in shock, "Better yet, how was it build in the first place?" "It's a long story, but you could ask about it later." Spike responded before gesturing the duo towards the castle, "Come on, it's best if we don't keep the princesses waiting." Nodding in understanding, the duo followed Spike to the castle, preparing themselves mentally for anything. Meanwhile inside the castle of friendship, we find the mane six, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, and Prince Shining Armor waiting in the throne room. "How much longer do we have to wait for those representatives to show up?" Rainbow Dash asked impatiently. "Their train should of arrived by now, so Spike should be leading them to the castle as we speak." Twilight replied. "I'm mainly curious as to what they're like." Applejack said. "Ooo, do you think they like parties?" Pinkie asked in an excited tone, "Maybe they have a lot of parties where they're from!" "Say princess, do you know who exactly the amestrian representatives are?" Twilight asked Princess Celestia. "According to the letter I received from the fuhrer, the representatives are two brothers known as the Elric brothers." Princess Celestia responded, "The older brother, Edward Elric, who is known as the Fullmetal Alchemist, and his younger brother, Alphonse Elric." "Those are some weird names." Rainbow Dash said. "Rainbow Dash, it isn't lady-like to speak negatively about one's name behind their back." Rarity said, "Although, I am rather curious as to why their names are unique in their own name." "From what I've heard, all the names in amestris, along with some of it's neighboring countries, are weird by our standards." Princess Cadence spoke up, "And I'm willing to bet that they would think the same about ours. Although, why is the elder brother known as the Fullmetal Alchemist? And better yet, what is an alchemist?" Before Princess Celestia could respond, knocking could be heard coming from the door to the throne room, followed by Spike poking his head inside the room. "Hey everypony, sorry to keep you waiting, but I present to you, the amestrian representatives!" Spike announced before opening the door completely. Upon doing so, everyone saw a two ponies standing behind Spike. The first was a red unicorn stallion with a blonde mane and tail, and yellow eyes. He wore a red jacket with a black shirt underneath, black pants that completely covered his hind legs, and white gloves on his front hooves. Everyone also noticed that he appeared to be four inches shorter than a normal pony (Ignore Applejack) The second pony was a large unicorn (so large he was a few inches shorter than Princess Celestia), who wore a gray, full body armor that concealed his entire body except for his glowing red eyes. "Woah nelly, look at the size of the one in armor!" Applejack exclaimed in shock! "So, cool!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed before flying up to the armor clad pony, "Now I understand why you're called the fullmetal alchemist! While I don't understand the alchemist part, you wear armor the completely covers your entire body!" "While I'm flattered by the compliment, I'm not the Fullmetal Alchemist." the armor clad pony said, "That would be my big brother." Upon hearing that, everyone turned towards the red stallion. "Wait, that little guy is the Fullmetal Alchemist?" Shining Armor asked. Upon hearing that, the red stallion's expression turned into one full of anger. "WHO YOU CALLING LITTLE!?!" the red stallion exclaimed angrily. "Woah there shorty, no need to have a short temper." Rainbow Dash said before chuckling at her own joke. "Shorty!? Well, can a shorty do this!?!" the red stallion exclaimed angrily before leaping towards Rainbow Dash. Before he could reach her however, he was surrounded by a gray aura. "Brother, behave yourself." the armor clad pony scolded, revealing that he was the one who grabbed his brother. As the armor clad pony pulled his brother back, the red stallion struggled against the magic in an attempt to reach Rainbow Dash. "Let me go Al!" the red stallion demanded, "She asked for it so I'm just trying to deliver!" "Wait, Al as in Alphonse Elric." Twilight asked, catching the two brothers' attention. "That's right, but how do you know that?" the armor clad pony (now known as Alphonse) asked as he put his brother down. "The letter Fuhrer Bradley mentioned both you and your brother." Princess Celestia responded before turning towards the red stallion, "Which means that you must Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist." "That's me." the red stallion (now known as Edward) replied, no long feeling angry, "And seeing that you received the fuhrer's letter, that must mean you're Princess Celestia, ruler of equestria." "That's correct." Princess Celestia responded, "It nice to meet you and your brother." "Please, we should be the ones saying that." Alphonse insisted. "Nonsense, you're acting as your country's representatives." Princess Luna spoke up, "That mean, at the moment, you both are of high status as royalty." "As flattered as we are to hear that, I'm certain putting us in the same level as royalty is a bit much." Edward said as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. Deciding to make the situation more preferable, Twilight spoke up, "Before we get too deep into this conversation, I think it's best if we introduce ourselves." "Good point there, Twily." Shining Armor said, "Plus, it would make addressing each of much easier." "Then it's probably best if we get started." Edward said, "As you already know, I'm Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist." "And I'm his younger brother, Alphonse Elric." Alphonse added. "It's a pleasure to meet you both." Twilight said, "I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle, but you can just call me Twilight." Twilight then gestured towards her friends and added, "These are my friends. Applejack," "Howdy." Applejack said as she tipped her hat. "Rarity," "A pleasure to meet you both, darlings." Rarity said. "Pinkie Pie," "Hi!" Pinkie exclaimed happily. "Fluttershy," "H-Hello." Fluttershy said in a low voice. "Rainbow Dash," "Sup." Rainbow Dash said. "And you already met Spike." "Hey guys." Spike said as he waved at the duo. "It would be best if we introduced ourselves as well." Princess Celestia said, "As you already know, I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of equestria." "Greetings, I am Princess Luna, I am also the co-ruler of equestria, along with my sister." Princess Luna said. "I'm Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but you can call me Cadence for short." Princess Cadence before gesturing towards Shining Armor, "And this is my husband, Prince Shining Armor." "It's nice to meet you both." Shining Armor said. "It's nice to meet you all as well." both Edward and Alphonse said before taking a quick bow." As they both got up, Edward said, "With pretty much all of equestria's royalty in this room, I'm surprised we didn't run into any guards on out way here." "We didn't want you to make you both feel uncomfortable with their presence, so we told them to go around town and make sure nothing bad happens." Twilight spoke up. "I guess that makes sense." Edward said. Suddenly, Pinkie appeared next to Edward while holding a plate full of cupcakes. "Cupcake?" Pinkie asked. Startled by Pinkie's sudden appearance, Edward let out a startled scream before instinctly swinging his right forehoof at her. While Pinkie was able to dodge, the plate she was holding was knocked out of her hooves, making all the cupcakes splat onto the floor along with breaking the plate. "How the hell did you appear like that without us noticing you?!" Edward asked in shock. "I think a better question would be where she got that plate of cupcakes." Alphonse said. "Try not to question it too much." Twilight said, "Trust me when I say it'll save you from getting a headache. It's just Pinkie being Pinkie." "While that doesn't make any sense, I'll take your word for it and just roll with it." Edward said before turning towards Pinkie and said, "Sorry about your cupcakes." "Ooooh, and I was hoping you both would enjoy them." Pinkie said in an upset tone." "Don't worry, I'm certain we still could." Edward assured. "How?" Rainbow Dash asked, "They're splattered all over the floor, and I doubt you want to eat something off the floor." "Just watch and be amazed." Edward simply said before turning towards the ruined cupcakes and plate. After looking at the mess for a moment, Edward sat down his haunches before clapping his forehooves and planting them onto the floor. Upon doing so, the ruined cupcakes and plate were engulfed in a bright blue light the momentarily blinded the equestrians. Once the light died down, everyone (except the Elric brothers) were shocked to see the plate and cupcakes in tact on the floor, as if they weren't ruined in the first place. "What the hay!" Rainbow Dash said in shock. "It's as good as new!" Applejack said. "What type of magic was that?" Twilight asked. "Magic?" Edward asked before chuckling, "That wasn't magic. It was alchemy." "Alchemy?" Shining Armor asked, "What's that?" Edward turned towards Shining Armor and asked, "You don't know what alchemy is? Practically everyone in amestris knows what alchemy is." "I'm afraid that amestris is the most familiar with alchemy." Princess Celestia spoke up, "While it isn't unheard of in equestria, it isn't practiced as much as it is in amestris." "I should of figured." Edward said, mentally facehooving himself, before noticing Twilight was looking at him with admiration, "Uh, why are you looking at me like that." Faster than anyone else could see, Twilight rushed up to Edward before placing her hooves firmly on his shoulders. "Tell me about alchemy!" Twilight said in an excited voice as she began to shake Edward. Getting over his shock, Edward pushed Twilight's hooves off himself as he said, "Okay okay, no need to shake the information out of me." Realizing what she did, Twilight blushed in embarrassment and said, "Sorry, when it comes to anything I find interesting that I don't know about, I can get a bit too excited." "I can tell." Edward said as Twilight got a piece of parchment and a quill ready, "Anyway, to put it simply, alchemy is the scientific technique of understanding the structure of matter, decomposing it, and then reconstructing it." "Can you say that again in none egghead talk." Rainbow Dash asked, earning a small glare from Edward. As Edward glared at Rainbow Dash, Spike had a confused yet thoughtful expression on his face. 'Why does that sound familiar?' Spike thought to himself. "From what I can understand so far, alchemy is the understanding of what something is made of, breaking it down, and reforming it." Twilight spoke up, getting Spike out of his thoughts in the process. "That's right." Alphonse said, "But being a type of science, there are naturally some principles in place." "The biggest one being the law of equivalent exchange." Edward added. "Equivalent exchange?" Applejack asked. "To put simply, in order to obtain or create something, something of equal value must be lost or destroyed." Edward said, "For example, one can use lead to make a statue, but it can't be turned into water. The reason being that lead doesn't have the same subatomic makeup." 'Again, why does that sound familiar?' Spike thought to himself. "So in alchemy, you have to know what something is made of on a subatomic level in order to use it?" Twilight asked. "While you can have a good idea what something is composed of, it mainly helps to know what exactly the thing your trying to transmute is made of." "Transmute?" Shining Armor asked. "It's what the process of turning something into something else with alchemy is called." Edward clarified. "Speaking of process, there are three phases of transmutation." Alphonse said, "Comprehension, deconstruction, and reconstruction. Comprehension, the understanding the structure and properties of an object. Deconstruction, breaking down the object. And reconstruction, putting the object back together. However, you can't do any of that without a transmutation circle." "Transmutation circle?" Cadence asked? "It's better if we show you." Alphonse said before levitating a piece of chalk out of his armor and began writing on the floor. Once he was done, everyone saw a large, yet perfect circle that had different lines and symbols that the most of the equestrians didn't understand. 'Okay, that definitely looks familiar!' Spike thought to himself as realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "Now, is there anything any of you have that you wouldn't mind me using as an example." Alphonse asked. Deciding to test something, Spike grabbed a white gem from one of his hidden gem stocks before saying, "While I was planning to eat it, I do have this gem." Spike then walked up to the Alphonse with the gem in hand. "A diamond, it's perfect." Alphonse said, "Now, place the diamond on the center of the circle and get out of it." Doing as he was instructed, Spike placed the diamond on the center of the circle before quickly getting off it. Once Spike was off the circle, Alphonse sat in front of the circle before crossing his hooves above it. Suddenly, the circle itself began to glow blue before releasing a bright light. After the light died down, everyone saw what appeared to be a ball made of black metal that was close to the same size of the diamond. "What did you turn it into?" Spike asked. "Nothing special, just a ball of pure carbon." Alphonse responded. "I get it, since the diamond is composed of carbon, you simply turned it into it's pure form." Twilight said. "That's right, and by repeating the process," Alphonse said as he did just that. Once it was done, a small hunk of stone remained, "one could make graphite." 'So I was right!' Spike thought to himself, 'It is what I think it is!' "Amazing!" Twilight said before realizing something, "Wait, why is that you needed to use a transmutation circle while your brother simply clapped his hooves before planting them to the group?" Hearing that question made both brothers tense up. Luckily, before they could answer, the throne room doors swung open as a guard ran in. "Princess, the town is under attack by Timberwolves!" the guard exclaimed, catching everyone's attention. "What the hell is a timberwolf?" Edward asked. "We'll explain later." Twilight responded, "For now, me and the girls need to help the guards drive the Timberwolves out of town." "Then me and Al are coming too!" Edward insisted. "While I understand your brother going, what exactly are you going to do." Rainbow Dash asked. "Alchemy can be used for much more than just turning something into something else." Edward replied, "Even without alchemy, I've taken on a chimera the size of a lion. I'm certain these Timberwolves will be that bad." "Are you sure?" Princess Celestia asked, "While we appreciate your help, you're not in your jurisdiction as a state alchemist." "Jurisdiction or not, I'm still a state alchemist." Edward said, "And as a state alchemist, I have to protect civilians, no matter which country I'm in." Smiling at Edward's response, Princess Celestia nodded her head and said, "Then you all must hurry before someone gets injured." With that said, the Elric brothers and the mane six quickly made their way out of the castle, determined to stop the timberwolves before it's too late. Once the group if eight was gone, Spike began to make his way to the throne room, but it didn't go unnoticed. "Hold on Spike, where do you think you're going?" Cadence asked. "I, uh, I wanted watch how alchemy could be used during combat." Spike responded nervously, "Seeing that this might be my only time to do so, I figured I should take advantage of the situation." Thinking about Spike's words, the equstrian royalty thought he had a point. "When you put it like that, it makes a lot of sense." Shining Armor said. "I believe it would be best if we came along as well." Princess Luna said, "Young Spike's words has made me quite curious." "Good idea auntie." Cadence said, "Plus, if everyone needs some more help, we'll be there to assist." On board with the idea, the equstrian royalty began to make their way out of the throne room until Spike spoke up. "You all go ahead." Spike said, getting everyone's attention, "I need to go to Twilight's study to grab a few things to take notes. Knocking Twilight, she'll want to document the experience as well." Without another word, Spike flew out of the throne room, making the remaining occupants chuckle knowingly. "That does sound like Twilight." Cadence said between chuckles. As everyone was done, Princesses Celestia said, "Come now, let's get going. If we don't hurry, we might miss the whole experience." Nodding, all of the equestrian royalty made their way outside, unaware that Spike actually went towards the castle's library, not Twilight's study. The Fullmetal AlchemistAuthor's Note Disclaimer: I've made some changes to the first chapter that (in a way) affect this chapter. I recommend going back to the previous chapter and reading from when the brothers begin to explain alchemy before reading this chapter. The Fullmetal Alchemist After exiting the castle, the group of eight quickly made their way through the town, following the screams of terrified ponies to help them find the timberwolves. It didn't take long as the group see a total of fifteen timberwolves chasing a group of townsponies. "Those things are timberwolves?" Edward asked at the sight, "They're just a pile of sticks in the shape of normal wolves." "They might not seem like it, but timberwolves are one of the most dangerous creatures in equestria." Twilight warned, "Just one timberwolf alone could kill a pony if given the chance." "Compared to chimeras, those things don't sound too bad." Edward said casually, "Which means it wouldn't be a bad idea to do this!" Upon saying that, Edward clapped his front hooves together before planting them to the ground, causing a pillar of earth erupt upwards before making it's way in the direction the timberwolves went in. The pillar continued it's course until it was in front of the pack of timberwolves, blocking the predictors path and keeping the townsponies safe. Confused about the wall's sudden appearance, the timberwolves turned around, only to see the group. Seeing the group as new potential prey, the timberwolves let out a growl before charging towards them. "Why in the world would you make them all come towards us?!?" Twilight exclaimed, her tone being a mixture of confusion, anger, and fear. "Why else?" Edward asked rhetorically, "So that we could stop them! Come on Al, let's teach those twigs a lesson for attacking this town while we're around!" "Right!" Alphonse responded before he and Edward charged towards the timberwolves. "Those two are crazy!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, "They don't stand a chance against a whole pack of timberwolves!" "I can only assume that they have a plan." Twilight said. Acting quickly, Edward jumped into the air and clapped his hooves together before planting them to the ground as he landed. Upon doing so, several pillars of earth shot upwards towards the timberwolves. Surprised by this, the timberwolves halted their charge and attempted to dodge the incoming pillars. While most of the pack were able to evade, three of them were hit, scattering them into a large pile of sticks. "Alright!" Edward exclaimed happily, "That's three less wolves to worry about." Just then, the sticks began to shift around before suddenly coming together into one huge pile. The pile then began to morph it's shape until it formed a large timberwolf the size of a lion." "What the hell!" Edward exclaimed, taken completely off guard by this." "Timberwolves are made of enchanted wood." Twilight called out, "When scattered, they can simply pull themselves back together. And when multiple timberwolves reassemble themselves, they become one large timberwolf." "Why didn't you tell me that sooner?!" Edward exclaimed before jumping backwards in order to avoid the enlarged timberwolf, who lunged at him. Clapping his hooves and planting them to the ground as he landed again, Edward created a large spear before grabbing it with his magic. When the large timberwolf jumped in an attempt to pin the alchemist down, Edward swung the tip of the spear upwards, making the beast land on it and keeping it's upper body suspected in the air. He then turned around before bucking the wolf's midsection, knocking it back. "Wow, despite his small size, he certainly is strong." Rainbow Dash said. Unfortunately, Edward heard this, turning his calm, focused expression into one full of anger as he turned towards the mare. "WHO YOU CALLING SMALL!?!" Edward exclaimed angrily. Seeing that Edward was distracted, the large timberwolf tried pouncing towards him again, but Alphonse intercepted by tackling it, knocking it back towards it's pack. "Come on brother, teacher taught us to never turn our focus away from our opponent." Alphonse said, "Had I not not done anything, you would of found out why the hard way." Upon hearing that, Edward shuttered. "Don't remind me." Edward said in an uneven tone. Putting their attention back towards the pack, the brothers were about to charge when a beam of magic struck the large timberwolf, knocking into one of the pillars Edward made. Turning towards the source, everyone saw all three princesses and Shining Armor. "What the?" Edward said, taken completely off guard by the sight. "Princess, you need to get out of here!" Twilight exclaimed, "We can't risk you, or the others being attacked!" "There's no need to worry Twilight." Princess Celestia assured, "The four of us can take care of ourselves. "Besides, we can let you guys keep all of the fun to yourselves." Shining Armor added. "If that's the case, you better act fast it's too late." Edward said before charging towards the timberwolves with his spear in tow, prompting Alphonse to do the same. Once they were close enough, Edward began hitting the smaller timberwolves with his spear while Alphonse began punching the larger timberwolf, all while the two brothers made sure none of the wolves managed to sneak up behind the other. The mane six and equestrian royals watched this in amazement. It normally took four royal guards just to take on one timberwolf, yet the two brothers were able to take on an entire pack with little issue. Seeing that it wouldn't be easy to kill the brothers despite their superior numbers, seven timberwolves decided to back off for a moment before spotting the mane six. Figuring that they would be much easier to kill, the seven wolves began to charge towards the six, much to their horror. Seeing this, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna teleported in front of the six, making the timberwolves halt their charge. Hearing hoof-steps behind themselves, the wolves turned around and saw Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, who glared at them. "You made a big mistake trying to attack my sister and her friends." Shining Armor said with a hint of anger in his voice. The timberwolves growled in response before charging towards Cadence and Shining Armor, only to be met with a barrier to their muzzles. Recoiling from the sudden wall, the seven timberwolves noticed that they were trapped in a large magic bubble that was cyan, dark blue, and yellow in color. "I think it's best if you took the express way out of town." Cadence said before nodding towards her aunts. Understanding what that meant, the three alicorns' horns lit up, making the magic bubble raise into the air before flinging it away, dispersing the bubble once it reached the edge of everfree forest. With the timberwolves gone, Shining Armor sighed in relief and said, "That was a close one." Just then, the group heard a grunt before seeing Edward crash into a building (leaving some cracks on it's wall) before landing on the ground. "Lucky shot." Edward muttered as he stood back up. "Watch out!" Twilight called out. Looking up, Edward saw that the large timberwolf had leaped into the air with it's mouth wide open, hoping to bite the alchemist as he pinned him down. Smirking at the sight, Edward remained still, much to everyone else's concern. Once the large timberwolf was upon him, Edward raised his right forehoof upwards, making the beast bite down on it. However, instead of screaming in pain, Edward continued to smirk while looking the timberwolf in it's eyes, confusing everyone who saw the sight. "What the?" Shining Armor said with confusion in his voice. "H-How is he able to remain calm when he has a literal timberwolf chewing on his forehoof!?!" Twilight asked in shock. "He must have one heck of a pain tolerance to be able to withstand that." Cadence said. "I don't believe that's what we are seeing." Princess Celestia spoke up. "What are you talking about, sister?" Princess Luna asked. "No matter how much tolerance to pain a pony has, they're bound to show some signs of pain." Princess Celestia explained, "However, Edward hasn't done so at all, so unless he used a spell to increase his body's durability, which I doubt I don't sense the spell on him, he appears to have some other method to not feel pain." Back with Edward and the large timberwolf, the young alchemist continued to keep the beast at bay while he continued to state at it in it's eyes. "Do you like that doggy?" Edward smugly asked the timberwolf, "Go on, get a good taste!" As Edward said "taste," he bucked the timberwolf in the neck, making the beast let go while knocking it back. However, some of the cloth on Edward's pants got caught in the wood, making it rip and revealing that his entire left hind leg was completely made of metal. Shocked by this, the equestrians looked towards the forehoof the timberwolf bit, and saw metal through the holes in the jacket's sleeves instead of a flesh wound. "Metal appendages?" Twilight asked at the sight. Realizing what happened, Edward let out a sigh before saying, "I guess there's no point in hiding it anymore." Using his magic, Edward ripped off his jacket, revealing his entire forehoof was also completely made of metal, shocking the equstrians even more. Turning towards the equstrians, Edward simply said, "I'll explain later." Just then, everyone heard Alphonse yelp. Turning towards him, everyone saw the armor clad pony had all of his legs held down by one timberwolf while another was in front of him, ready to strike. "Al!" Edward called out as he attempted to help his brother, only for the large timberwolf to jump in front of him and block the way. Wasting no time, the timberwolf in front of Alphonse bit the armor clad pony's helmet before pulling it off (making the glowing red eyes disappear). With the helmet off, the beast dropped it before turning to bite Alphonse's head. However much to the beast's and the equestrian's (who were able to see from where they stood) were shocked to see that the armor was empty. "Wait, where is he?!" Shining Armor asked in shock. "Is it possible that he teleported out of his armor?" Twilight asked. "Hey, it's rude to take someone's head off without their permission!" Alphonse scolded (his voice coming from his armor) as the "horn" on his helmet lit up, making a piece chalk levitate out of his armor. The chalk then danced around the four timberwolves that held Alphonse's hooves until there was a transmutation circle underneath each of them. Using all of his strength, Alphonse jumped up before planting each of his hooves on all of the transmutation circles, making them glow blue for a moment before pillars of earth erupted from the ground, knocking the timberwolves away and freeing his hooves. No longer being restrained, Alphonse punched the timberwolf that was in front of him on the muzzle, knocking it away. "I'm not the only one who saw that, right?" Applejack asked in shock. "Do you mean the armor moving by itself, or the fact that the helmet's "horn" lit up like a normal unicorn's horn?" Rainbow Dash asked rhetorically, equally shocked at the sight. "What makes it all creepy was the fact that Alphonse's voice still came from his armor, despite the fact that it's empty." Shining Armor said. "Hey, do guys think it might be because of that marking that's where his neck would be?" Pinkie asked. Confused, the equstrians took a closer look at Alphonse's neck area and saw what appeared to be a miniature transmutation circle there that was red instead of the usual white. "...It looks like a transmutation circle." Cadence said, "And it's like it was draw in a hurry seeing how sloppy it is. Wouldn't you say, Twilight?" However, Twilight didn't respond. Looking towards the mare, everyone saw that she appeared to be deep in thought. "What's wrong Twily?" Shining Armor asked. "I'm just thinking about what Alphonse said after the timberwolf took his helmet off." Twilight replied before explaining, "Instead of saying helmet, he said head. Either he somehow got the two words mixed up, or there's something else in play." Back it Alphonse, the stallion approached his helmet before grabbing it with his forehooves and placed it back in place (making his glowing red eyes appear again). "That's better." Alphonse said to himself. Just then, the four timberwolves that where holding his hooves down approached him, ready to pounce. "I probably should of guessed that it would of take more than that to finish you all." Alphonse said as he prepared himself for another confrontation. Growling, the timberwolves were able to charge when the large timberwolf suddenly fell on top of them, holding them down with it's weight." "You alright, Al?" Edward asked as he stepped besides his brother. "Aside from having my head taken off, I'm fine." Alphonse responded. Just then, the timberwolves managed to right themselves and faced the two brothers. "At this rate, we'll be at it all day." Edward said before turning to Alphonse and asked, "What do say we put this to an end?" "What do have in mind, brother?" Alphonse asked. Edward then leaned towards Alphonse's "ear" before whispering something. "Do you really think that'll work?" Alphonse asked. "If I wasn't so sure about it, I wouldn't of suggested it." Edward replied. Alphonse thought about it for a moment before replying, "Okay, let's do it!" Nodding, Edward turned towards the timberwolves and said, "Already you stupid wolves, come right at us!" Growling at the challenge, the five timberwolves charged towards the two brothers. Before they could reach them, Edward clapped his forehooves together before planting them to the ground, making a wall the spearated them from the wolves. Stopping so they didn't hit the wall, the timberwolves growled at the sudden obstacle before they suddenly heard something scrapping across the ground. Looking towards the source, they saw a piece of chalk dance across the ground, confusing them. Just then, the wall the previously separated the brothers from the timberwolves lowered, gaining the wolves attention. Once the wall was gone, Edward exclaimed, "Now!" Making Alphonse jump towards the timberwolves before planting his hooves to the ground. Suddenly, the ground around the timberwolves began to glow blue, revealing that the chalk drew a transmutation circle. Before the timberwolves could react, a large bowl of earth formed around them before it began to close around them, pushing the beast's together while holding them in place. With the timberwolves trapped, Edward ran towards them before jumping into the air. He then clapped his hooves together before planting them on top of the large timberwolf's head making several sparks of blue energy appear before a large flash of blue light blinded everyone. When the flash died down, everyone saw Edward standing next to a large wooden statue of him and his brother while having a satisfied look on his face. "Wha-what did you do to the timberwolves?" Twilight asked as she and the others (sans Fluttershy, who was completely frozen in shock), unable to process what she just witnessed. "What else?" Edward asked rhetorically before replying, "I turned them into the statue I'm currently standing next to." "Wait, does that mean they're...?" Shining Armor asked before trailing off. "From what I could understand, they would always come back if we scattered them, and there's no way they could be hurt like a normal creature." Edward said, "And since they were made of wood, I figured the best way to beat them was turn them into something inanimate." "Wait, seeing how alchemy can change something into something else, does that mean alchemy can affect living things as well?" Twilight asked. Upon hearing that, Edward's cocky expression changed into an upset one. After hesitating for a moment, Edward replied, "Not exactly. You see-" Before Edward could explain, the group heard a loud scream. Turning towards the source, everyone saw Fluttershy backed into a wall as a timberwolf growled at her, ready to pounce at any second. "Fluttershy!" the rest of the mane six exclaimed before rushing to their friend's aid. Not wasting any time, the timberwolf pounced with it's mouth wide open, doing so just fast enough that the group wouldn't be able to reach their friend in time. However, before the timberwolf made contact, a pillar of earth smacked the beast away before pinning it down against the ground. Seeing that the treat was neutralized, Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief before saying, "Thank you Edward." "Uh, that wasn't me." Edward said before turning to Alphonse, only to no transmutation circle in front of the stallion, "And it Al either." Confused, everyone looked towards the origin of the pillar before being shocked at what they saw. Kneeling down with his claws planted to the ground, Spike could be seen with a opened book and a piece of chalk right next to him. He also wore an expression that was a combination of relief and disbelief. "Woah, I actually did it." Spike said to himself as he stood up and looked at his claws in amazement. "Spike!" called out a voice, getting the young dragon's attention. Turning towards the source, Spike saw Twilight running towards him with the rest of the group following behind her. Once everyone reached the young dragon, they all had the exact same question in mind. "How the hay did you do that?!" Rainbow Dash asked, voicing everyone's thoughts. Taking a closer look at the source of thr raised pillar, Edward and Alphonse saw traces of what looked like a transmutation circle. "A transmutation circle?" Alphonse asked aloud. "How the hell were you able to memorize what a transmutation circle looks like?" Edward asked, "There's no way you could of memorized what one looks like already, and even if you somehow did, you shouldn't of been able to use it without knowing the composition of earth." "Actually, you're half right." Spike said, getting everyone's attention, "While I didn't have what a transmutation circle looks like memorized, I did know the composition of earth." "Care to elaborate as to how you made a transmutation circle then?" Edward asked, his voice full of suspicion. "It's because I had this." Spike said before picking up the book and and showing everyone the cover." "'The wonders of alchemy: How to learn basic to advanced alchemy in just a few months.'" Shining Armor read the title aloud before looking at the wording underneath, "'By Jonathan Nachahmen.'" Upon hearing that, Edward and Alphonse let out a surprised gasp. "Jonathan Nachahmen?!?" the two brothers exclaimed in shock. "Who's that?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Only the most famous alchemist to ever live!" Edward exclaimed. "He's knock as the Mimic Alchemist due to the fact that he could perform alchemy that only other alchemist's could do!" Alphonse added. "Silver alchemy, ballistic alchemy, freezing alchemy, you name it, he could do it!" Edward said, "All that aside, how did you even stumble into that book in the first place?" "We'll, you see, it was only a couple of months ago." Spike began to explain, "I was read the lastest issue of Power Ponies and-" "What's Power Ponies?" Alphonse asked. "It's a comic series Spike like to read." Twilight replied simply before turning towards Spike and said, "As you saying." "Right." Spike said before continuing, "Anyway, I was reading the lastest issue of Power Ponies and the villain the team was fighting against was able to perform something called alchemy. Overall, I found the concept of turning something into something else interesting, but knew that it was impossible. That is, until I reached the last page of the comic." "What did it say?" Cadence asked. "Well, it said that alchemy actually was real and that one could actually learn how to use it." Spike responded, "It then said that if one wanted to learn it, they would need to go to a nearby library and find a book on it. Curious, I went to the castle's library began looking around until I found that book. And for the last couple of months, I began studying the art of alchemy. While everything I read was interesting, I simply thought the concept was made up and figured the comic wanted to make young ponies interested in studying. That was, until earlier." "When me and Al explained alchemy to you guys." Edward said, realizing what Spike was implying. "That's right." Spike said, "After learning what I studied was indeed real, I hurried to the library after you all left to get the book, in hopes that I could help out somehow. And, well, I'm certain you all know the rest." "I, guess that makes sense." Edward said as he rubbed the back of his head with his metal hoof. "Wait a minute, that reminds me." Twilight said before turning towards the brothers, "How is it that you have metal limbs while your brother was able to control his armor without actually being inside it?!" Hearing that made an upset expression form on Edward's face as his ears drooped downwards. "This armor, is my body." Alphonse spoke up, his voice sounding very upset. "Come on, that's got to be a joke." Shining Armor said before chuckling, "There's absolutely no way armor could have the sentience of a normal pony." Both brothers remained quiet, concerning the equstrians. After hesitating for a moment, Edward let out a sigh before saying, "It would best if we explained somewhere more private. But I will say this; it won't be pretty, mainly because of we did the greatest taboo amoung all alchemists." "What could possibly be so bad that all alchemists aren't allowed to do it?" Rainbow Dash asked. Edward and Alphonse simply turned towards the mare before replying in unison, "Sentient transmutation." The Brothers' JourneyAfter some cleanup around town and releasing the remaining timberwolf back to everfree forest, we now find everyone back in the throne room, with the equstrians putting all of their attention towards the two amestrian brothers. (Edward used alchemy to repair his clothes) After remaining silent for a moment, Twilight decided to speak up. "So, what exactly is sentient transmutation?" Twilight asked. "It's exactly what it sounds like." Edward responded, "Transmuting a creature that has sentience that's close to, or higher than that of a pony's." "Dragon's, yaks, griffins, changelings, you name it, transmuting any of them would count as sentient transmutation." Alphonse responded. "Wait, so your saying that somepony that can use that so called alchemy could use it to change somepony else to whatever they want?" Applejack asked, making the rest of the rest of the equstrians shudder at the thought. "Not really." Edward responded, "Sentient transmutation mainly focuses on someone transmuting deceased creatures, namely in an attempted to bring them back to life. However, that's not the reason why sentient transmutation if forbidden amoung alchemists." "Then why is it?" Cadence asked. Instead of giving a straight answer, Edward asked a question of his own, "Tell me, what is it about me and Al that's missing." Although confused about the question, the equstrians thought about it. "...From what we saw, your missing your right forehoof and your left hind leg, and we haven't had the chance to see your brothers body yet." Princess Celestia replied she, along with the other equstrians, remembered what Alphonse said earlier. "This armor, is my body." "Wait, Alphonse, you claimed that armor is your body." Cadence said. "But how can that be?" Princess Celestia asked, "The only way that could be possible is if your soul was bonded to that armor." "It is." Edward said, getting everyone's attention, "I had to, after he lost his body." "L-Lost his body?" Fluttershy asked in an uneven tone, "As in, Alphonse died?" "No, because, along with my brother's hind leg, it was the cost of performing sentient transmutation." Alphonse said. "You mean, you two actually were willing to give up parts of your bodies to perform sentient transmutation!?" Rainbow Dash asked in shock, feeling sick to her stomach at the thought. "Like hell we did!" Edward yelled angrily, making everyone flinch at his sudden outburst, "If we even knew what the actual consequences were for performing sentient transmutation, we wouldn't of done it in the first place!" Upon seeing all of the equstrians looking at him with worried expressions, Edward let out a sigh. "Sorry for the sudden outburst, but what I said still stands." Edward said. Although she was unsure if she should, Twilight said, "From what I can tell, you had to use alchemy to bond Alphonse's soul into that armor, but there's is something that I'm certain we're all thinking about." "And what would that be?" Edward asked, already having an idea what Twilight was about to ask. "Who exactly did you want to bring back that you both resorted to using sentient transmutation?" Twilight asked. Upon hearing that, a pained expression formed on Edward's face, it looked as if he debated whether or not he should answer Twilight's question. Luckily Alphonse intercepted by saying, "That's a question we'd rather not answer." "Yeah, it's bad enough that we're talking about the one of the worst experiences we've been through." Edward said before adding, "Explaining why we did it would be like adding salt to an already terrible wound to us." Seeing that the brothers were feeling uncomfortable, Princess Celestia decided to change the subject. "Well then, do you care to explain what happened after the experience?" Princess Celestia asked. After remaining quiet for a moment, Alphonse said, "Well, when I woke up, I found myself bonded to this armor Before seeing Ed clutching where his right forehoof would of connected to his torso, trying to stop the bleeding. He was on the verge of passing out from blood loss, so I quickly yet carefully placed him on my back before running to our family friends, the Rockbells." "The Rockbells must of been some really good friends if they were the first ones you both went to for help." Twilight said. "We might as well call them family at this point." Alphonse said happily. "Anyways, after getting some motivation from the pain in the neck known as Colonel Mustang, I decided to become a state alchemist." Edward said, "And before anyone asks how I planned to do that, the Rockbells are automail engineers, so they were kind enough to hook me up." "What's automail?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Answer this first, how do you think I'm standing right now?" Edward said. It didn't take long for the equstrians to put two and two together when they heard that. "Wait, so you're saying that automail is replacement limbs for somepony who lost a limb or two?" Shining Armor asked in shock. "But how does that work?" Twilight asked, "Is magic applied to the metal limbs to both stick to the user and to respond to their commands?" "Unfortunately, no." Edward responded, "How they're installed and operate is a lot more painful." "How so?" Princess Luna asked, "I doubt it would be as horrible as losing your limbs." "Really, you think that having the automail surgically attached to your body while your conscious isn't as bad as losing a limb or two?" Edward asked rhetorically. Hearing this completely shocked the equstrians. "Wait wait wait, you're telling me that those limbs are actually connected to you!?!" Shining Armor asked in shock, "As in you can't take them off!?!" "Well, the limbs themselves can be taken off so that adjustments could be made on them, but the mechanism that's connected to me can't be removed." Edward explained. "If you don't mind me asking, just how exactly are you able to move your metal limbs?" Cadence asked, "I doubt one could attach something to themselves and expect the object to move like a normal limb." "That's why they make it to where automail is actually connected to one's nerves, allowing the brain to send signals to the automail like it would for normal limbs." Edward said. Hearing that made the equstrians wince at the thought of someone doing such a thing to them. "Moving on from how automail works, can one use the attached limbs like normal immediately after they're attached?" Princess Celestia asked. "If only." Edward replied before explaining, "You see, you would have to get used to the automail after it's attached to your body." "Think of it like someone after they've woken up from an incredibly long coma." Alphonse added, "They would need to go through rehab in order to use their limbs normally again. It's the same concept with automail, only the brain needs to get used to sending signals to where a limb was formally absent." "If that's the case, how long does rehab take for those who had a limb replaced with automail?" Twilight asked. "Normally, three years." Edward replied, "But not for me though, I did it in one." "After hearing that, I'm not sure if that's impressive because of how you did so out of determination, or if you were too stubborn to wait the proper three years." Shining Armor said. "Say whatever you want, but after the year of rehab, I made my way to central city, the capital of amestris, to take the certification test to become a state alchemist." Edward said. "What exactly is a state alchemist?" Rainbow Dash asked, "We've keep hearing it, but we were never told what it meant." "To put simply, state alchemists are alchemists who are part of the amestrian military, which means that if a superior gives an order, the state alchemist has to obey." Alphonse replied, "Although, there are some who aren't very fond of state alchemists because of this." "Which is why state alchemists are referred to as "dogs of the military" some times." Edward said, "Anyway, as you all could tell, I passed the certification test. Some time afterwards, I was given my official state alchemist pocket watch and my official title, the Fullmetal Alchemist." "Do all alchemists get a title when they're certified as a state alchemist?" Twilight asked. "That's right." Edward replied before adding, "As for what their title could be, it mainly depends on either the type of alchemy they use, or their physical appearance." "While that's interesting to hear, there's just one thing I want to know." Shining Armor spoke up. "And what would that be?" Edward asked. "Why did you become a state alchemist?" Shining Armor asked, "I can't really find any logic of joining the military after an incident that costed your two of your legs and your brother's whole body." After remaining quiet for a moment, Edward replied, "I became a state alchemist, in hopes of finding the one thing that could restore me and Al's bodies, the philosopher stone." Hearing that both shocked and confused the equstrians. "Wait, when you mean "restore your bodies," you mean undoing what happened to both?" Shining Armor asked, unsure if he understood correctly. "What else would it mean?" Edward asked back. "Hold on, just how is a stone support to turn the two of you back to normal?" Rainbow Dash asked sceptically. "The philosopher stone isn't just some run-of-the-mill stone, Rainbow Dash." Edward said before explaining, "You see, with a philosopher stone in their possession, an alchemist could bypass the law of equivalent exchange, meaning, in theory, one could perform sentient transmutation without worrying about rebound, which is what made me and Al how we are now." "If you've been searching for it for so long, how is it you haven't found it yet." Twilight asked. "The only thing is, the philosopher stone is considered to be a legend to many." Alphonse responded, "In fact, there are some who doubt that exists at all." "If that's the case, why waste your time trying to find something that you're not certain even exists?" Applejack asked. "Oh, we're certain that it exists." Edward said confidently, "You see, before we decided to come here, we encountered a cultist who possessed what a ring that had a stone that behaved exactly how the philosopher stone is believed to behave. Unfortunately, we later debunked the stone as a fake since it broke easily when I tried to take it from him. While it was a dead end in our search, it at least confirmed that the philosopher stone, or at least the knowledge to make one, is indeed out there." "If that's the case, why come here to equestria?" Spike asked. "Because the two of know two ponies who just might be able to help us." Edward said before turning towards Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and pointed him automail hoof towards them, "Your princesses of day and night!" The equstrians (sans Princesses Celestia and Luna) gasped in shock upon hearing this. "Us?" Princess Luna asked, "How would we know?" "Don't act dumb." Edward said sternly, "Me and Al know for a fact that you two have been alive for more than a thousand years now! There's no way a normal pony could live that long, so the most logical explanation would be that you two used the philosopher stone to make yourselves immortal!" After calming himself down, Edward said, "Sorry, it's just that me and Al have been looking for the philosopher stone for so long that we're willing to go through any lenths just to get it. And right now, asking, no, begging the two of you to give us your philosopher stone, or any knowledge you may have to make our own." Following Edward's words, everyone remained silent, with no one daring to say a word due to the high amount of tension that was in the air. After remaining quiet for a moment, Princess Celestia said, "While I understand your situation, I'm afraid that you're mistaken." "What?" Edward asked, taken completely off guard by the response he was given. "While normal ponies cannot live for as long as we have, alicorns aren't normal ponies." Princess Celestia said before explaining, "As you may already know, alicorns are a mix of all three pony tribes, which means they have the types of magic all pony tribes have. Because of that, alicorns naturally have more magic than most ponies. Because of that special combination of magic, alicorns are granted much longer life spans than the typical pony." After processing that information for a moment, an upset expression formed on Edward's face he slammed his automail hoof to the ground as he said, "Damn!" in a very irritated tone. "Edward?" Twilight asked in a concerned tone. "Just when I thought we finally found a means of getting a philosopher stone, it only turned out to be another dead end!" Edward said to himself in a very irritated tone. "I'm sorry for disappointing you, Edward." Princess Celestia said, "Had I known what your real reason to come here was-" "It's fine." Edward said, cutting Princess Celestia off, "I probably should have figured as much from a country that has little to no alchemists in it." "Well, what do you plan to do now?" Twilight asked. "Well, me and Al can't go back to amestris since we just got here less than two hours ago." Edward responded, "So that means we're stuck here for about a day or two. While I doubt we'll find much, we'll go around town and see if we can get any new leads, maybe help anyone who needs it." Upon hearing this, a thought popped in Spike's head. "Hey Edward." Spike spoke up. "Yeah Spike?" Edward asked. "If it isn't too much trouble, do you think that you and Alphonse could teach me how to enhance my skills with alchemy?" Spike asked. "'Enhance your skills?'" Edward asked rhethorically before saying, "From what I saw, you seemed skilled enough as is." "That was mainly because I had the book for reference." Spike said, "I want to be able to perform alchemy as skillfully as you and your brother without needing the book." Edward thought about it for a moment before replying, "While I could give you some pointers, I can't really give you anything too proper due to the fact me and Al won't be here for long." "Actually, that shouldn't be an issue." Princess Celestia spoke up. "How so?" Edward asked. Instead of answering, Princess Celestia simply made a price of paper appear before handing it to Edward. Grabbing the paper with his magic, Edward brought it to his face before reading it's contents. To Princess Celestia, I'm sorry to inform you that I will not be able to attend your meet and greet. However, I will be sending others in my place to act as amestris' representatives. Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, and his younger brother, Alphonse Elric. For as long as those two individuals are in your land, I hereby give you permission to use them as you please. I do, however, request that they return in one months time. From the ruler of amestris, Fuhrer King Bradley. "Huh, I guess that solves that little issue." Edward said once he finished reading the letter. "What's it say brother?" Alphonse asked. "To put it simply, the fuhrer is allowing us to stay in equestria for a month." Edward responded before turning towards Spike, "Well, I guess me and Al can become your teachers." "Yes!" Spike exclaimed happily as he pumped his fist into the air. "BUT, you first have to answer a question for me." Edward added. "A question?" Spike asked. "That's right." Edward responded, "It's nothing too big, I just want to gauge your knowledge of alchemy." After nodding to show that he understood, Spike said, "Ask away." "Alright then." Edward said before asking, "Tell me, what does one is all, and all is one mean?" Hearing this confused Spike a lot. "Huh?" Spike asked. "One is all, and all is one, what does it mean?" Edward asked again. Greatly confused by the question, Spike thought long and hard in hopes of grasping the answer. Unfortunately, he was unable to think of anything. "I... can't think of anything." Spike said in a glum tone. "Hey, don't sweat it." Edward said before patting Spike in the head, "Me and Al didn't have a clue what it meant when we were asked it, go it's nothing to be let down by." Hearing this made Spike smile. "Now then, what do you say we get your training started?" Edward asked. "Let's do it!" Spike replied enthusiasticly. The rest of the equstrians couldn't help but smile at the sight. 'Something tells me that Edward's teachings will greatly impact Spike.' Twilight happily thought to herself. Meanwhile in an unknown location, we find three figures watching above a city. "So, Fullmetal Colt and his brother is out of country, huh?" asked one of the figures. "That's right, in some country called equestria." one of the other figures responded, "And, from what I heard, there's the possibility that they'll be there for a whole month." "Is that bad?" the third figure asked. "Unless they were find what they're looking for, which the odds of that is absolutely zero, then no, it shouldn't." the first figure replied. "Hopefully they'll return within the month." the second figure said, "Because there's no way I'm going out of country just to fetch them." "Hey!" a voice called out, "How did you three get in here!?" Turning towards the source, the three figures saw a forth figure standing behind them. The third figure smiled before turning towards the first figure and asked, "Can I eat him?" "Wait, what?" The fourth figure asked, unsure he heard correctly. "Go right ahead." the first figure responded, "But try not to make too much of a mess." A large grin formed on the third figure's face as he began to make his way towards the fourth figure. "S-Stay back!" the fourth figure yelled fearfully as began stepping back, trying to keep his distance from the third figure. This continued for a moment before the fourth figure bumped into a wall. Too scared to turn away, the fourth figure watched as the third figure slowly walked towards him while keeping the same creepy smile on his face. Unable to the resist the urge to do so, the fourth figure let out a horrified scream just as the third figure lunged at him with his mouth wide open. What followed afterwards was a horrible Splattering Noise along with the fourth figure's screaming suddenly coming to a stop.
The Amestrian Representatives"Water, 35 liters. Carbon, 20 kilograms. Ammonia, 4 liters. Lime, 1.5 kilograms. Phosphorus, 800 grams. Salt, 250 grams. Niter, 100 grams. Sulfur, 80 grams. Fluorine, 7.5 grams. Iron, 5 grams. Silicon, 3 grams." A young red unicorn stallion with a blond mane and tail read from a small journal. "Reading the composition of a pony's body again, brother?" a voice asked. Turning towards the voice, the young stallion saw what appeared to be a large unicorn pony wearing full steel armor that concealed his entire body except what appeared to be his glowing red eyes, sitting across himself. "Yeah, since there isn't much to do right now, I figured I'd read it to keep myself preoccupied." the young stallion replied. "Well on the bright side, the conductor said we should nearing our destination in a couple of minutes." the armor clad pony said. "That's a relief." the young stallion said, "We've been on this train for three days now. Just sitting around and looking outside gets old really fast. But hopefully, it'll be worth it if we finally find what we've been looking for these last four years." "The philosopher stone." the armor clad pony said before asking, "Do you really think the equestrian princesses have it, or at least know how to make it?" "They've got to." the young stallion replied, "How else could two of them be able to live for more than a thousand years? They've have to of used it to achieve immortality, or at least live for as long as they currently are." "I guess that is a good point." the armor clad pony said before adding, "And it's a good thing we'll be meeting them soon." "And while I can't believe I'm saying this, we have the colonel to thank for that." the young stallion said, "After we told him we were planning to leave amestris and go to equestria, he reported it to central. And once the fuhrer caught wind of this, he sent us a command to act as amestris' representatives at the meet and greet the equestrian princesses invited him to that he unfortunately won't be able to attend." "If it weren't for the fact that he has to monitor the clean up in central after the freezing alchemist's attempt to freeze the whole city, I'm certain the fuhrer would of loved to come." the armor clad pony said. The young stallion shrugged before saying, "At least it makes reaching the equestrian princesses easier than going to to their capital and requesting the guards there to let us see them." Just then, the train the duo was in stopped. "Alright folks, we've arrived at ponyville." the conductor announced, "For those of you getting off, thank you for riding the friendship express!" "Looks like we're here, brother." the armor clad pony said. "It's about time." the young stallion said before jumping off his seat and stretched his legs, "Any longer, and I swear my legs would be stuck in a sitting position." After stretching his legs, the young stallion lit up his horn (which had a yellow aura), and used his magic to grab a suitcase from the overhead compartment above the duo's seats. With the suitcase in tow, the two ponies exited the train and made their into the train station. As they were about to exit, they saw a young purple dragon with green spines in his head holding a sign that read "amestrian representatives." Figuring that the equestrian princesses sent the dragon to pick them up, the duo approached him. Upon noticing the duo, the dragon asked, "I take it you two are the amestrian representatives?" "That's us." the young stallion replied before asking, "And I take it that you're going to lead us to the equestrian princesses?" "That's right." the dragon said before putting the sign down, "Come on, they're waiting in the castle." "Castle?" the young stallion asked as he and the armor clad pony followed the dragon out of the train station, "In a small town like this?" "It might sound hard to believe, but just wait till you see it." the dragon said. "Whatever you say." the young stallion, "By the way, what's your name." "Oh, I can't believe that slipped my mind." the dragon said before introducing himself, "The name's Spike. Nice to meet you both." 'Spike?' the young stallion thought, 'That sounds like a name someone would give to their dog.' "It's nice to meet you too, Spike." the armor clad pony said. Turning towards the armor clad pony, Spike asked, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you wearing that armor? Is that what amestrian soldiers wear as a uniform or something?" The question made the two ponies nervous. "Actually, he's wearing that armor because he lost a bet." the young stallion said quickly. Catching on, the armor clad pony said, "That's right! We made a bet as to whether or not we would be chosen to be the representatives for our country. And because I lost, I have to wear this armor for a month." "What's so bad about that armor that you betted each other into wearing it?" Spike asked. "Mainly because of how heavy it is." the young stallion replied, "It is made of steel after all." "Wait, that entire suit is made of steel!" Spike asked in shock, "How are you able to move in that thing?!" "While it still feels kinda heavy, I've gotten used to it." the armor clad pony replied, "In fact, I'll probably be able to move in this suit with little to no issue by the end of the month." "Glad to hear that you're looking on the bright side." Spike said before stopping after turning a corner, "Well here we are. The castle of friendship!" Turning the corner, the two ponies where amazed at what that saw; a tree-shaped castle that was made of crystal. "It's amazing!" the armor clad pony said. "How the hell did you get that castle all the way out here?" the young stallion asked in shock, "Better yet, how was it build in the first place?" "It's a long story, but you could ask about it later." Spike responded before gesturing the duo towards the castle, "Come on, it's best if we don't keep the princesses waiting." Nodding in understanding, the duo followed Spike to the castle, preparing themselves mentally for anything. Meanwhile inside the castle of friendship, we find the mane six, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, and Prince Shining Armor waiting in the throne room. "How much longer do we have to wait for those representatives to show up?" Rainbow Dash asked impatiently. "Their train should of arrived by now, so Spike should be leading them to the castle as we speak." Twilight replied. "I'm mainly curious as to what they're like." Applejack said. "Ooo, do you think they like parties?" Pinkie asked in an excited tone, "Maybe they have a lot of parties where they're from!" "Say princess, do you know who exactly the amestrian representatives are?" Twilight asked Princess Celestia. "According to the letter I received from the fuhrer, the representatives are two brothers known as the Elric brothers." Princess Celestia responded, "The older brother, Edward Elric, who is known as the Fullmetal Alchemist, and his younger brother, Alphonse Elric." "Those are some weird names." Rainbow Dash said. "Rainbow Dash, it isn't lady-like to speak negatively about one's name behind their back." Rarity said, "Although, I am rather curious as to why their names are unique in their own name." "From what I've heard, all the names in amestris, along with some of it's neighboring countries, are weird by our standards." Princess Cadence spoke up, "And I'm willing to bet that they would think the same about ours. Although, why is the elder brother known as the Fullmetal Alchemist? And better yet, what is an alchemist?" Before Princess Celestia could respond, knocking could be heard coming from the door to the throne room, followed by Spike poking his head inside the room. "Hey everypony, sorry to keep you waiting, but I present to you, the amestrian representatives!" Spike announced before opening the door completely. Upon doing so, everyone saw a two ponies standing behind Spike. The first was a red unicorn stallion with a blonde mane and tail, and yellow eyes. He wore a red jacket with a black shirt underneath, black pants that completely covered his hind legs, and white gloves on his front hooves. Everyone also noticed that he appeared to be four inches shorter than a normal pony (Ignore Applejack) The second pony was a large unicorn (so large he was a few inches shorter than Princess Celestia), who wore a gray, full body armor that concealed his entire body except for his glowing red eyes. "Woah nelly, look at the size of the one in armor!" Applejack exclaimed in shock! "So, cool!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed before flying up to the armor clad pony, "Now I understand why you're called the fullmetal alchemist! While I don't understand the alchemist part, you wear armor the completely covers your entire body!" "While I'm flattered by the compliment, I'm not the Fullmetal Alchemist." the armor clad pony said, "That would be my big brother." Upon hearing that, everyone turned towards the red stallion. "Wait, that little guy is the Fullmetal Alchemist?" Shining Armor asked. Upon hearing that, the red stallion's expression turned into one full of anger. "WHO YOU CALLING LITTLE!?!" the red stallion exclaimed angrily. "Woah there shorty, no need to have a short temper." Rainbow Dash said before chuckling at her own joke. "Shorty!? Well, can a shorty do this!?!" the red stallion exclaimed angrily before leaping towards Rainbow Dash. Before he could reach her however, he was surrounded by a gray aura. "Brother, behave yourself." the armor clad pony scolded, revealing that he was the one who grabbed his brother. As the armor clad pony pulled his brother back, the red stallion struggled against the magic in an attempt to reach Rainbow Dash. "Let me go Al!" the red stallion demanded, "She asked for it so I'm just trying to deliver!" "Wait, Al as in Alphonse Elric." Twilight asked, catching the two brothers' attention. "That's right, but how do you know that?" the armor clad pony (now known as Alphonse) asked as he put his brother down. "The letter Fuhrer Bradley mentioned both you and your brother." Princess Celestia responded before turning towards the red stallion, "Which means that you must Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist." "That's me." the red stallion (now known as Edward) replied, no long feeling angry, "And seeing that you received the fuhrer's letter, that must mean you're Princess Celestia, ruler of equestria." "That's correct." Princess Celestia responded, "It nice to meet you and your brother." "Please, we should be the ones saying that." Alphonse insisted. "Nonsense, you're acting as your country's representatives." Princess Luna spoke up, "That mean, at the moment, you both are of high status as royalty." "As flattered as we are to hear that, I'm certain putting us in the same level as royalty is a bit much." Edward said as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. Deciding to make the situation more preferable, Twilight spoke up, "Before we get too deep into this conversation, I think it's best if we introduce ourselves." "Good point there, Twily." Shining Armor said, "Plus, it would make addressing each of much easier." "Then it's probably best if we get started." Edward said, "As you already know, I'm Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist." "And I'm his younger brother, Alphonse Elric." Alphonse added. "It's a pleasure to meet you both." Twilight said, "I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle, but you can just call me Twilight." Twilight then gestured towards her friends and added, "These are my friends. Applejack," "Howdy." Applejack said as she tipped her hat. "Rarity," "A pleasure to meet you both, darlings." Rarity said. "Pinkie Pie," "Hi!" Pinkie exclaimed happily. "Fluttershy," "H-Hello." Fluttershy said in a low voice. "Rainbow Dash," "Sup." Rainbow Dash said. "And you already met Spike." "Hey guys." Spike said as he waved at the duo. "It would be best if we introduced ourselves as well." Princess Celestia said, "As you already know, I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of equestria." "Greetings, I am Princess Luna, I am also the co-ruler of equestria, along with my sister." Princess Luna said. "I'm Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but you can call me Cadence for short." Princess Cadence before gesturing towards Shining Armor, "And this is my husband, Prince Shining Armor." "It's nice to meet you both." Shining Armor said. "It's nice to meet you all as well." both Edward and Alphonse said before taking a quick bow." As they both got up, Edward said, "With pretty much all of equestria's royalty in this room, I'm surprised we didn't run into any guards on out way here." "We didn't want you to make you both feel uncomfortable with their presence, so we told them to go around town and make sure nothing bad happens." Twilight spoke up. "I guess that makes sense." Edward said. Suddenly, Pinkie appeared next to Edward while holding a plate full of cupcakes. "Cupcake?" Pinkie asked. Startled by Pinkie's sudden appearance, Edward let out a startled scream before instinctly swinging his right forehoof at her. While Pinkie was able to dodge, the plate she was holding was knocked out of her hooves, making all the cupcakes splat onto the floor along with breaking the plate. "How the hell did you appear like that without us noticing you?!" Edward asked in shock. "I think a better question would be where she got that plate of cupcakes." Alphonse said. "Try not to question it too much." Twilight said, "Trust me when I say it'll save you from getting a headache. It's just Pinkie being Pinkie." "While that doesn't make any sense, I'll take your word for it and just roll with it." Edward said before turning towards Pinkie and said, "Sorry about your cupcakes." "Ooooh, and I was hoping you both would enjoy them." Pinkie said in an upset tone." "Don't worry, I'm certain we still could." Edward assured. "How?" Rainbow Dash asked, "They're splattered all over the floor, and I doubt you want to eat something off the floor." "Just watch and be amazed." Edward simply said before turning towards the ruined cupcakes and plate. After looking at the mess for a moment, Edward sat down his haunches before clapping his forehooves and planting them onto the floor. Upon doing so, the ruined cupcakes and plate were engulfed in a bright blue light the momentarily blinded the equestrians. Once the light died down, everyone (except the Elric brothers) were shocked to see the plate and cupcakes in tact on the floor, as if they weren't ruined in the first place. "What the hay!" Rainbow Dash said in shock. "It's as good as new!" Applejack said. "What type of magic was that?" Twilight asked. "Magic?" Edward asked before chuckling, "That wasn't magic. It was alchemy." "Alchemy?" Shining Armor asked, "What's that?" Edward turned towards Shining Armor and asked, "You don't know what alchemy is? Practically everyone in amestris knows what alchemy is." "I'm afraid that amestris is the most familiar with alchemy." Princess Celestia spoke up, "While it isn't unheard of in equestria, it isn't practiced as much as it is in amestris." "I should of figured." Edward said, mentally facehooving himself, before noticing Twilight was looking at him with admiration, "Uh, why are you looking at me like that." Faster than anyone else could see, Twilight rushed up to Edward before placing her hooves firmly on his shoulders. "Tell me about alchemy!" Twilight said in an excited voice as she began to shake Edward. Getting over his shock, Edward pushed Twilight's hooves off himself as he said, "Okay okay, no need to shake the information out of me." Realizing what she did, Twilight blushed in embarrassment and said, "Sorry, when it comes to anything I find interesting that I don't know about, I can get a bit too excited." "I can tell." Edward said as Twilight got a piece of parchment and a quill ready, "Anyway, to put it simply, alchemy is the scientific technique of understanding the structure of matter, decomposing it, and then reconstructing it." "Can you say that again in none egghead talk." Rainbow Dash asked, earning a small glare from Edward. As Edward glared at Rainbow Dash, Spike had a confused yet thoughtful expression on his face. 'Why does that sound familiar?' Spike thought to himself. "From what I can understand so far, alchemy is the understanding of what something is made of, breaking it down, and reforming it." Twilight spoke up, getting Spike out of his thoughts in the process. "That's right." Alphonse said, "But being a type of science, there are naturally some principles in place." "The biggest one being the law of equivalent exchange." Edward added. "Equivalent exchange?" Applejack asked. "To put simply, in order to obtain or create something, something of equal value must be lost or destroyed." Edward said, "For example, one can use lead to make a statue, but it can't be turned into water. The reason being that lead doesn't have the same subatomic makeup." 'Again, why does that sound familiar?' Spike thought to himself. "So in alchemy, you have to know what something is made of on a subatomic level in order to use it?" Twilight asked. "While you can have a good idea what something is composed of, it mainly helps to know what exactly the thing your trying to transmute is made of." "Transmute?" Shining Armor asked. "It's what the process of turning something into something else with alchemy is called." Edward clarified. "Speaking of process, there are three phases of transmutation." Alphonse said, "Comprehension, deconstruction, and reconstruction. Comprehension, the understanding the structure and properties of an object. Deconstruction, breaking down the object. And reconstruction, putting the object back together. However, you can't do any of that without a transmutation circle." "Transmutation circle?" Cadence asked? "It's better if we show you." Alphonse said before levitating a piece of chalk out of his armor and began writing on the floor. Once he was done, everyone saw a large, yet perfect circle that had different lines and symbols that the most of the equestrians didn't understand. 'Okay, that definitely looks familiar!' Spike thought to himself as realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "Now, is there anything any of you have that you wouldn't mind me using as an example." Alphonse asked. Deciding to test something, Spike grabbed a white gem from one of his hidden gem stocks before saying, "While I was planning to eat it, I do have this gem." Spike then walked up to the Alphonse with the gem in hand. "A diamond, it's perfect." Alphonse said, "Now, place the diamond on the center of the circle and get out of it." Doing as he was instructed, Spike placed the diamond on the center of the circle before quickly getting off it. Once Spike was off the circle, Alphonse sat in front of the circle before crossing his hooves above it. Suddenly, the circle itself began to glow blue before releasing a bright light. After the light died down, everyone saw what appeared to be a ball made of black metal that was close to the same size of the diamond. "What did you turn it into?" Spike asked. "Nothing special, just a ball of pure carbon." Alphonse responded. "I get it, since the diamond is composed of carbon, you simply turned it into it's pure form." Twilight said. "That's right, and by repeating the process," Alphonse said as he did just that. Once it was done, a small hunk of stone remained, "one could make graphite." 'So I was right!' Spike thought to himself, 'It is what I think it is!' "Amazing!" Twilight said before realizing something, "Wait, why is that you needed to use a transmutation circle while your brother simply clapped his hooves before planting them to the group?" Hearing that question made both brothers tense up. Luckily, before they could answer, the throne room doors swung open as a guard ran in. "Princess, the town is under attack by Timberwolves!" the guard exclaimed, catching everyone's attention. "What the hell is a timberwolf?" Edward asked. "We'll explain later." Twilight responded, "For now, me and the girls need to help the guards drive the Timberwolves out of town." "Then me and Al are coming too!" Edward insisted. "While I understand your brother going, what exactly are you going to do." Rainbow Dash asked. "Alchemy can be used for much more than just turning something into something else." Edward replied, "Even without alchemy, I've taken on a chimera the size of a lion. I'm certain these Timberwolves will be that bad." "Are you sure?" Princess Celestia asked, "While we appreciate your help, you're not in your jurisdiction as a state alchemist." "Jurisdiction or not, I'm still a state alchemist." Edward said, "And as a state alchemist, I have to protect civilians, no matter which country I'm in." Smiling at Edward's response, Princess Celestia nodded her head and said, "Then you all must hurry before someone gets injured." With that said, the Elric brothers and the mane six quickly made their way out of the castle, determined to stop the timberwolves before it's too late. Once the group if eight was gone, Spike began to make his way to the throne room, but it didn't go unnoticed. "Hold on Spike, where do you think you're going?" Cadence asked. "I, uh, I wanted watch how alchemy could be used during combat." Spike responded nervously, "Seeing that this might be my only time to do so, I figured I should take advantage of the situation." Thinking about Spike's words, the equstrian royalty thought he had a point. "When you put it like that, it makes a lot of sense." Shining Armor said. "I believe it would be best if we came along as well." Princess Luna said, "Young Spike's words has made me quite curious." "Good idea auntie." Cadence said, "Plus, if everyone needs some more help, we'll be there to assist." On board with the idea, the equstrian royalty began to make their way out of the throne room until Spike spoke up. "You all go ahead." Spike said, getting everyone's attention, "I need to go to Twilight's study to grab a few things to take notes. Knocking Twilight, she'll want to document the experience as well." Without another word, Spike flew out of the throne room, making the remaining occupants chuckle knowingly. "That does sound like Twilight." Cadence said between chuckles. As everyone was done, Princesses Celestia said, "Come now, let's get going. If we don't hurry, we might miss the whole experience." Nodding, all of the equestrian royalty made their way outside, unaware that Spike actually went towards the castle's library, not Twilight's study.
The Fullmetal AlchemistAuthor's Note Disclaimer: I've made some changes to the first chapter that (in a way) affect this chapter. I recommend going back to the previous chapter and reading from when the brothers begin to explain alchemy before reading this chapter. The Fullmetal Alchemist After exiting the castle, the group of eight quickly made their way through the town, following the screams of terrified ponies to help them find the timberwolves. It didn't take long as the group see a total of fifteen timberwolves chasing a group of townsponies. "Those things are timberwolves?" Edward asked at the sight, "They're just a pile of sticks in the shape of normal wolves." "They might not seem like it, but timberwolves are one of the most dangerous creatures in equestria." Twilight warned, "Just one timberwolf alone could kill a pony if given the chance." "Compared to chimeras, those things don't sound too bad." Edward said casually, "Which means it wouldn't be a bad idea to do this!" Upon saying that, Edward clapped his front hooves together before planting them to the ground, causing a pillar of earth erupt upwards before making it's way in the direction the timberwolves went in. The pillar continued it's course until it was in front of the pack of timberwolves, blocking the predictors path and keeping the townsponies safe. Confused about the wall's sudden appearance, the timberwolves turned around, only to see the group. Seeing the group as new potential prey, the timberwolves let out a growl before charging towards them. "Why in the world would you make them all come towards us?!?" Twilight exclaimed, her tone being a mixture of confusion, anger, and fear. "Why else?" Edward asked rhetorically, "So that we could stop them! Come on Al, let's teach those twigs a lesson for attacking this town while we're around!" "Right!" Alphonse responded before he and Edward charged towards the timberwolves. "Those two are crazy!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, "They don't stand a chance against a whole pack of timberwolves!" "I can only assume that they have a plan." Twilight said. Acting quickly, Edward jumped into the air and clapped his hooves together before planting them to the ground as he landed. Upon doing so, several pillars of earth shot upwards towards the timberwolves. Surprised by this, the timberwolves halted their charge and attempted to dodge the incoming pillars. While most of the pack were able to evade, three of them were hit, scattering them into a large pile of sticks. "Alright!" Edward exclaimed happily, "That's three less wolves to worry about." Just then, the sticks began to shift around before suddenly coming together into one huge pile. The pile then began to morph it's shape until it formed a large timberwolf the size of a lion." "What the hell!" Edward exclaimed, taken completely off guard by this." "Timberwolves are made of enchanted wood." Twilight called out, "When scattered, they can simply pull themselves back together. And when multiple timberwolves reassemble themselves, they become one large timberwolf." "Why didn't you tell me that sooner?!" Edward exclaimed before jumping backwards in order to avoid the enlarged timberwolf, who lunged at him. Clapping his hooves and planting them to the ground as he landed again, Edward created a large spear before grabbing it with his magic. When the large timberwolf jumped in an attempt to pin the alchemist down, Edward swung the tip of the spear upwards, making the beast land on it and keeping it's upper body suspected in the air. He then turned around before bucking the wolf's midsection, knocking it back. "Wow, despite his small size, he certainly is strong." Rainbow Dash said. Unfortunately, Edward heard this, turning his calm, focused expression into one full of anger as he turned towards the mare. "WHO YOU CALLING SMALL!?!" Edward exclaimed angrily. Seeing that Edward was distracted, the large timberwolf tried pouncing towards him again, but Alphonse intercepted by tackling it, knocking it back towards it's pack. "Come on brother, teacher taught us to never turn our focus away from our opponent." Alphonse said, "Had I not not done anything, you would of found out why the hard way." Upon hearing that, Edward shuttered. "Don't remind me." Edward said in an uneven tone. Putting their attention back towards the pack, the brothers were about to charge when a beam of magic struck the large timberwolf, knocking into one of the pillars Edward made. Turning towards the source, everyone saw all three princesses and Shining Armor. "What the?" Edward said, taken completely off guard by the sight. "Princess, you need to get out of here!" Twilight exclaimed, "We can't risk you, or the others being attacked!" "There's no need to worry Twilight." Princess Celestia assured, "The four of us can take care of ourselves. "Besides, we can let you guys keep all of the fun to yourselves." Shining Armor added. "If that's the case, you better act fast it's too late." Edward said before charging towards the timberwolves with his spear in tow, prompting Alphonse to do the same. Once they were close enough, Edward began hitting the smaller timberwolves with his spear while Alphonse began punching the larger timberwolf, all while the two brothers made sure none of the wolves managed to sneak up behind the other. The mane six and equestrian royals watched this in amazement. It normally took four royal guards just to take on one timberwolf, yet the two brothers were able to take on an entire pack with little issue. Seeing that it wouldn't be easy to kill the brothers despite their superior numbers, seven timberwolves decided to back off for a moment before spotting the mane six. Figuring that they would be much easier to kill, the seven wolves began to charge towards the six, much to their horror. Seeing this, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna teleported in front of the six, making the timberwolves halt their charge. Hearing hoof-steps behind themselves, the wolves turned around and saw Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, who glared at them. "You made a big mistake trying to attack my sister and her friends." Shining Armor said with a hint of anger in his voice. The timberwolves growled in response before charging towards Cadence and Shining Armor, only to be met with a barrier to their muzzles. Recoiling from the sudden wall, the seven timberwolves noticed that they were trapped in a large magic bubble that was cyan, dark blue, and yellow in color. "I think it's best if you took the express way out of town." Cadence said before nodding towards her aunts. Understanding what that meant, the three alicorns' horns lit up, making the magic bubble raise into the air before flinging it away, dispersing the bubble once it reached the edge of everfree forest. With the timberwolves gone, Shining Armor sighed in relief and said, "That was a close one." Just then, the group heard a grunt before seeing Edward crash into a building (leaving some cracks on it's wall) before landing on the ground. "Lucky shot." Edward muttered as he stood back up. "Watch out!" Twilight called out. Looking up, Edward saw that the large timberwolf had leaped into the air with it's mouth wide open, hoping to bite the alchemist as he pinned him down. Smirking at the sight, Edward remained still, much to everyone else's concern. Once the large timberwolf was upon him, Edward raised his right forehoof upwards, making the beast bite down on it. However, instead of screaming in pain, Edward continued to smirk while looking the timberwolf in it's eyes, confusing everyone who saw the sight. "What the?" Shining Armor said with confusion in his voice. "H-How is he able to remain calm when he has a literal timberwolf chewing on his forehoof!?!" Twilight asked in shock. "He must have one heck of a pain tolerance to be able to withstand that." Cadence said. "I don't believe that's what we are seeing." Princess Celestia spoke up. "What are you talking about, sister?" Princess Luna asked. "No matter how much tolerance to pain a pony has, they're bound to show some signs of pain." Princess Celestia explained, "However, Edward hasn't done so at all, so unless he used a spell to increase his body's durability, which I doubt I don't sense the spell on him, he appears to have some other method to not feel pain." Back with Edward and the large timberwolf, the young alchemist continued to keep the beast at bay while he continued to state at it in it's eyes. "Do you like that doggy?" Edward smugly asked the timberwolf, "Go on, get a good taste!" As Edward said "taste," he bucked the timberwolf in the neck, making the beast let go while knocking it back. However, some of the cloth on Edward's pants got caught in the wood, making it rip and revealing that his entire left hind leg was completely made of metal. Shocked by this, the equestrians looked towards the forehoof the timberwolf bit, and saw metal through the holes in the jacket's sleeves instead of a flesh wound. "Metal appendages?" Twilight asked at the sight. Realizing what happened, Edward let out a sigh before saying, "I guess there's no point in hiding it anymore." Using his magic, Edward ripped off his jacket, revealing his entire forehoof was also completely made of metal, shocking the equstrians even more. Turning towards the equstrians, Edward simply said, "I'll explain later." Just then, everyone heard Alphonse yelp. Turning towards him, everyone saw the armor clad pony had all of his legs held down by one timberwolf while another was in front of him, ready to strike. "Al!" Edward called out as he attempted to help his brother, only for the large timberwolf to jump in front of him and block the way. Wasting no time, the timberwolf in front of Alphonse bit the armor clad pony's helmet before pulling it off (making the glowing red eyes disappear). With the helmet off, the beast dropped it before turning to bite Alphonse's head. However much to the beast's and the equestrian's (who were able to see from where they stood) were shocked to see that the armor was empty. "Wait, where is he?!" Shining Armor asked in shock. "Is it possible that he teleported out of his armor?" Twilight asked. "Hey, it's rude to take someone's head off without their permission!" Alphonse scolded (his voice coming from his armor) as the "horn" on his helmet lit up, making a piece chalk levitate out of his armor. The chalk then danced around the four timberwolves that held Alphonse's hooves until there was a transmutation circle underneath each of them. Using all of his strength, Alphonse jumped up before planting each of his hooves on all of the transmutation circles, making them glow blue for a moment before pillars of earth erupted from the ground, knocking the timberwolves away and freeing his hooves. No longer being restrained, Alphonse punched the timberwolf that was in front of him on the muzzle, knocking it away. "I'm not the only one who saw that, right?" Applejack asked in shock. "Do you mean the armor moving by itself, or the fact that the helmet's "horn" lit up like a normal unicorn's horn?" Rainbow Dash asked rhetorically, equally shocked at the sight. "What makes it all creepy was the fact that Alphonse's voice still came from his armor, despite the fact that it's empty." Shining Armor said. "Hey, do guys think it might be because of that marking that's where his neck would be?" Pinkie asked. Confused, the equstrians took a closer look at Alphonse's neck area and saw what appeared to be a miniature transmutation circle there that was red instead of the usual white. "...It looks like a transmutation circle." Cadence said, "And it's like it was draw in a hurry seeing how sloppy it is. Wouldn't you say, Twilight?" However, Twilight didn't respond. Looking towards the mare, everyone saw that she appeared to be deep in thought. "What's wrong Twily?" Shining Armor asked. "I'm just thinking about what Alphonse said after the timberwolf took his helmet off." Twilight replied before explaining, "Instead of saying helmet, he said head. Either he somehow got the two words mixed up, or there's something else in play." Back it Alphonse, the stallion approached his helmet before grabbing it with his forehooves and placed it back in place (making his glowing red eyes appear again). "That's better." Alphonse said to himself. Just then, the four timberwolves that where holding his hooves down approached him, ready to pounce. "I probably should of guessed that it would of take more than that to finish you all." Alphonse said as he prepared himself for another confrontation. Growling, the timberwolves were able to charge when the large timberwolf suddenly fell on top of them, holding them down with it's weight." "You alright, Al?" Edward asked as he stepped besides his brother. "Aside from having my head taken off, I'm fine." Alphonse responded. Just then, the timberwolves managed to right themselves and faced the two brothers. "At this rate, we'll be at it all day." Edward said before turning to Alphonse and asked, "What do say we put this to an end?" "What do have in mind, brother?" Alphonse asked. Edward then leaned towards Alphonse's "ear" before whispering something. "Do you really think that'll work?" Alphonse asked. "If I wasn't so sure about it, I wouldn't of suggested it." Edward replied. Alphonse thought about it for a moment before replying, "Okay, let's do it!" Nodding, Edward turned towards the timberwolves and said, "Already you stupid wolves, come right at us!" Growling at the challenge, the five timberwolves charged towards the two brothers. Before they could reach them, Edward clapped his forehooves together before planting them to the ground, making a wall the spearated them from the wolves. Stopping so they didn't hit the wall, the timberwolves growled at the sudden obstacle before they suddenly heard something scrapping across the ground. Looking towards the source, they saw a piece of chalk dance across the ground, confusing them. Just then, the wall the previously separated the brothers from the timberwolves lowered, gaining the wolves attention. Once the wall was gone, Edward exclaimed, "Now!" Making Alphonse jump towards the timberwolves before planting his hooves to the ground. Suddenly, the ground around the timberwolves began to glow blue, revealing that the chalk drew a transmutation circle. Before the timberwolves could react, a large bowl of earth formed around them before it began to close around them, pushing the beast's together while holding them in place. With the timberwolves trapped, Edward ran towards them before jumping into the air. He then clapped his hooves together before planting them on top of the large timberwolf's head making several sparks of blue energy appear before a large flash of blue light blinded everyone. When the flash died down, everyone saw Edward standing next to a large wooden statue of him and his brother while having a satisfied look on his face. "Wha-what did you do to the timberwolves?" Twilight asked as she and the others (sans Fluttershy, who was completely frozen in shock), unable to process what she just witnessed. "What else?" Edward asked rhetorically before replying, "I turned them into the statue I'm currently standing next to." "Wait, does that mean they're...?" Shining Armor asked before trailing off. "From what I could understand, they would always come back if we scattered them, and there's no way they could be hurt like a normal creature." Edward said, "And since they were made of wood, I figured the best way to beat them was turn them into something inanimate." "Wait, seeing how alchemy can change something into something else, does that mean alchemy can affect living things as well?" Twilight asked. Upon hearing that, Edward's cocky expression changed into an upset one. After hesitating for a moment, Edward replied, "Not exactly. You see-" Before Edward could explain, the group heard a loud scream. Turning towards the source, everyone saw Fluttershy backed into a wall as a timberwolf growled at her, ready to pounce at any second. "Fluttershy!" the rest of the mane six exclaimed before rushing to their friend's aid. Not wasting any time, the timberwolf pounced with it's mouth wide open, doing so just fast enough that the group wouldn't be able to reach their friend in time. However, before the timberwolf made contact, a pillar of earth smacked the beast away before pinning it down against the ground. Seeing that the treat was neutralized, Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief before saying, "Thank you Edward." "Uh, that wasn't me." Edward said before turning to Alphonse, only to no transmutation circle in front of the stallion, "And it Al either." Confused, everyone looked towards the origin of the pillar before being shocked at what they saw. Kneeling down with his claws planted to the ground, Spike could be seen with a opened book and a piece of chalk right next to him. He also wore an expression that was a combination of relief and disbelief. "Woah, I actually did it." Spike said to himself as he stood up and looked at his claws in amazement. "Spike!" called out a voice, getting the young dragon's attention. Turning towards the source, Spike saw Twilight running towards him with the rest of the group following behind her. Once everyone reached the young dragon, they all had the exact same question in mind. "How the hay did you do that?!" Rainbow Dash asked, voicing everyone's thoughts. Taking a closer look at the source of thr raised pillar, Edward and Alphonse saw traces of what looked like a transmutation circle. "A transmutation circle?" Alphonse asked aloud. "How the hell were you able to memorize what a transmutation circle looks like?" Edward asked, "There's no way you could of memorized what one looks like already, and even if you somehow did, you shouldn't of been able to use it without knowing the composition of earth." "Actually, you're half right." Spike said, getting everyone's attention, "While I didn't have what a transmutation circle looks like memorized, I did know the composition of earth." "Care to elaborate as to how you made a transmutation circle then?" Edward asked, his voice full of suspicion. "It's because I had this." Spike said before picking up the book and and showing everyone the cover." "'The wonders of alchemy: How to learn basic to advanced alchemy in just a few months.'" Shining Armor read the title aloud before looking at the wording underneath, "'By Jonathan Nachahmen.'" Upon hearing that, Edward and Alphonse let out a surprised gasp. "Jonathan Nachahmen?!?" the two brothers exclaimed in shock. "Who's that?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Only the most famous alchemist to ever live!" Edward exclaimed. "He's knock as the Mimic Alchemist due to the fact that he could perform alchemy that only other alchemist's could do!" Alphonse added. "Silver alchemy, ballistic alchemy, freezing alchemy, you name it, he could do it!" Edward said, "All that aside, how did you even stumble into that book in the first place?" "We'll, you see, it was only a couple of months ago." Spike began to explain, "I was read the lastest issue of Power Ponies and-" "What's Power Ponies?" Alphonse asked. "It's a comic series Spike like to read." Twilight replied simply before turning towards Spike and said, "As you saying." "Right." Spike said before continuing, "Anyway, I was reading the lastest issue of Power Ponies and the villain the team was fighting against was able to perform something called alchemy. Overall, I found the concept of turning something into something else interesting, but knew that it was impossible. That is, until I reached the last page of the comic." "What did it say?" Cadence asked. "Well, it said that alchemy actually was real and that one could actually learn how to use it." Spike responded, "It then said that if one wanted to learn it, they would need to go to a nearby library and find a book on it. Curious, I went to the castle's library began looking around until I found that book. And for the last couple of months, I began studying the art of alchemy. While everything I read was interesting, I simply thought the concept was made up and figured the comic wanted to make young ponies interested in studying. That was, until earlier." "When me and Al explained alchemy to you guys." Edward said, realizing what Spike was implying. "That's right." Spike said, "After learning what I studied was indeed real, I hurried to the library after you all left to get the book, in hopes that I could help out somehow. And, well, I'm certain you all know the rest." "I, guess that makes sense." Edward said as he rubbed the back of his head with his metal hoof. "Wait a minute, that reminds me." Twilight said before turning towards the brothers, "How is it that you have metal limbs while your brother was able to control his armor without actually being inside it?!" Hearing that made an upset expression form on Edward's face as his ears drooped downwards. "This armor, is my body." Alphonse spoke up, his voice sounding very upset. "Come on, that's got to be a joke." Shining Armor said before chuckling, "There's absolutely no way armor could have the sentience of a normal pony." Both brothers remained quiet, concerning the equstrians. After hesitating for a moment, Edward let out a sigh before saying, "It would best if we explained somewhere more private. But I will say this; it won't be pretty, mainly because of we did the greatest taboo amoung all alchemists." "What could possibly be so bad that all alchemists aren't allowed to do it?" Rainbow Dash asked. Edward and Alphonse simply turned towards the mare before replying in unison, "Sentient transmutation."
The Brothers' JourneyAfter some cleanup around town and releasing the remaining timberwolf back to everfree forest, we now find everyone back in the throne room, with the equstrians putting all of their attention towards the two amestrian brothers. (Edward used alchemy to repair his clothes) After remaining silent for a moment, Twilight decided to speak up. "So, what exactly is sentient transmutation?" Twilight asked. "It's exactly what it sounds like." Edward responded, "Transmuting a creature that has sentience that's close to, or higher than that of a pony's." "Dragon's, yaks, griffins, changelings, you name it, transmuting any of them would count as sentient transmutation." Alphonse responded. "Wait, so your saying that somepony that can use that so called alchemy could use it to change somepony else to whatever they want?" Applejack asked, making the rest of the rest of the equstrians shudder at the thought. "Not really." Edward responded, "Sentient transmutation mainly focuses on someone transmuting deceased creatures, namely in an attempted to bring them back to life. However, that's not the reason why sentient transmutation if forbidden amoung alchemists." "Then why is it?" Cadence asked. Instead of giving a straight answer, Edward asked a question of his own, "Tell me, what is it about me and Al that's missing." Although confused about the question, the equstrians thought about it. "...From what we saw, your missing your right forehoof and your left hind leg, and we haven't had the chance to see your brothers body yet." Princess Celestia replied she, along with the other equstrians, remembered what Alphonse said earlier. "This armor, is my body." "Wait, Alphonse, you claimed that armor is your body." Cadence said. "But how can that be?" Princess Celestia asked, "The only way that could be possible is if your soul was bonded to that armor." "It is." Edward said, getting everyone's attention, "I had to, after he lost his body." "L-Lost his body?" Fluttershy asked in an uneven tone, "As in, Alphonse died?" "No, because, along with my brother's hind leg, it was the cost of performing sentient transmutation." Alphonse said. "You mean, you two actually were willing to give up parts of your bodies to perform sentient transmutation!?" Rainbow Dash asked in shock, feeling sick to her stomach at the thought. "Like hell we did!" Edward yelled angrily, making everyone flinch at his sudden outburst, "If we even knew what the actual consequences were for performing sentient transmutation, we wouldn't of done it in the first place!" Upon seeing all of the equstrians looking at him with worried expressions, Edward let out a sigh. "Sorry for the sudden outburst, but what I said still stands." Edward said. Although she was unsure if she should, Twilight said, "From what I can tell, you had to use alchemy to bond Alphonse's soul into that armor, but there's is something that I'm certain we're all thinking about." "And what would that be?" Edward asked, already having an idea what Twilight was about to ask. "Who exactly did you want to bring back that you both resorted to using sentient transmutation?" Twilight asked. Upon hearing that, a pained expression formed on Edward's face, it looked as if he debated whether or not he should answer Twilight's question. Luckily Alphonse intercepted by saying, "That's a question we'd rather not answer." "Yeah, it's bad enough that we're talking about the one of the worst experiences we've been through." Edward said before adding, "Explaining why we did it would be like adding salt to an already terrible wound to us." Seeing that the brothers were feeling uncomfortable, Princess Celestia decided to change the subject. "Well then, do you care to explain what happened after the experience?" Princess Celestia asked. After remaining quiet for a moment, Alphonse said, "Well, when I woke up, I found myself bonded to this armor Before seeing Ed clutching where his right forehoof would of connected to his torso, trying to stop the bleeding. He was on the verge of passing out from blood loss, so I quickly yet carefully placed him on my back before running to our family friends, the Rockbells." "The Rockbells must of been some really good friends if they were the first ones you both went to for help." Twilight said. "We might as well call them family at this point." Alphonse said happily. "Anyways, after getting some motivation from the pain in the neck known as Colonel Mustang, I decided to become a state alchemist." Edward said, "And before anyone asks how I planned to do that, the Rockbells are automail engineers, so they were kind enough to hook me up." "What's automail?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Answer this first, how do you think I'm standing right now?" Edward said. It didn't take long for the equstrians to put two and two together when they heard that. "Wait, so you're saying that automail is replacement limbs for somepony who lost a limb or two?" Shining Armor asked in shock. "But how does that work?" Twilight asked, "Is magic applied to the metal limbs to both stick to the user and to respond to their commands?" "Unfortunately, no." Edward responded, "How they're installed and operate is a lot more painful." "How so?" Princess Luna asked, "I doubt it would be as horrible as losing your limbs." "Really, you think that having the automail surgically attached to your body while your conscious isn't as bad as losing a limb or two?" Edward asked rhetorically. Hearing this completely shocked the equstrians. "Wait wait wait, you're telling me that those limbs are actually connected to you!?!" Shining Armor asked in shock, "As in you can't take them off!?!" "Well, the limbs themselves can be taken off so that adjustments could be made on them, but the mechanism that's connected to me can't be removed." Edward explained. "If you don't mind me asking, just how exactly are you able to move your metal limbs?" Cadence asked, "I doubt one could attach something to themselves and expect the object to move like a normal limb." "That's why they make it to where automail is actually connected to one's nerves, allowing the brain to send signals to the automail like it would for normal limbs." Edward said. Hearing that made the equstrians wince at the thought of someone doing such a thing to them. "Moving on from how automail works, can one use the attached limbs like normal immediately after they're attached?" Princess Celestia asked. "If only." Edward replied before explaining, "You see, you would have to get used to the automail after it's attached to your body." "Think of it like someone after they've woken up from an incredibly long coma." Alphonse added, "They would need to go through rehab in order to use their limbs normally again. It's the same concept with automail, only the brain needs to get used to sending signals to where a limb was formally absent." "If that's the case, how long does rehab take for those who had a limb replaced with automail?" Twilight asked. "Normally, three years." Edward replied, "But not for me though, I did it in one." "After hearing that, I'm not sure if that's impressive because of how you did so out of determination, or if you were too stubborn to wait the proper three years." Shining Armor said. "Say whatever you want, but after the year of rehab, I made my way to central city, the capital of amestris, to take the certification test to become a state alchemist." Edward said. "What exactly is a state alchemist?" Rainbow Dash asked, "We've keep hearing it, but we were never told what it meant." "To put simply, state alchemists are alchemists who are part of the amestrian military, which means that if a superior gives an order, the state alchemist has to obey." Alphonse replied, "Although, there are some who aren't very fond of state alchemists because of this." "Which is why state alchemists are referred to as "dogs of the military" some times." Edward said, "Anyway, as you all could tell, I passed the certification test. Some time afterwards, I was given my official state alchemist pocket watch and my official title, the Fullmetal Alchemist." "Do all alchemists get a title when they're certified as a state alchemist?" Twilight asked. "That's right." Edward replied before adding, "As for what their title could be, it mainly depends on either the type of alchemy they use, or their physical appearance." "While that's interesting to hear, there's just one thing I want to know." Shining Armor spoke up. "And what would that be?" Edward asked. "Why did you become a state alchemist?" Shining Armor asked, "I can't really find any logic of joining the military after an incident that costed your two of your legs and your brother's whole body." After remaining quiet for a moment, Edward replied, "I became a state alchemist, in hopes of finding the one thing that could restore me and Al's bodies, the philosopher stone." Hearing that both shocked and confused the equstrians. "Wait, when you mean "restore your bodies," you mean undoing what happened to both?" Shining Armor asked, unsure if he understood correctly. "What else would it mean?" Edward asked back. "Hold on, just how is a stone support to turn the two of you back to normal?" Rainbow Dash asked sceptically. "The philosopher stone isn't just some run-of-the-mill stone, Rainbow Dash." Edward said before explaining, "You see, with a philosopher stone in their possession, an alchemist could bypass the law of equivalent exchange, meaning, in theory, one could perform sentient transmutation without worrying about rebound, which is what made me and Al how we are now." "If you've been searching for it for so long, how is it you haven't found it yet." Twilight asked. "The only thing is, the philosopher stone is considered to be a legend to many." Alphonse responded, "In fact, there are some who doubt that exists at all." "If that's the case, why waste your time trying to find something that you're not certain even exists?" Applejack asked. "Oh, we're certain that it exists." Edward said confidently, "You see, before we decided to come here, we encountered a cultist who possessed what a ring that had a stone that behaved exactly how the philosopher stone is believed to behave. Unfortunately, we later debunked the stone as a fake since it broke easily when I tried to take it from him. While it was a dead end in our search, it at least confirmed that the philosopher stone, or at least the knowledge to make one, is indeed out there." "If that's the case, why come here to equestria?" Spike asked. "Because the two of know two ponies who just might be able to help us." Edward said before turning towards Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and pointed him automail hoof towards them, "Your princesses of day and night!" The equstrians (sans Princesses Celestia and Luna) gasped in shock upon hearing this. "Us?" Princess Luna asked, "How would we know?" "Don't act dumb." Edward said sternly, "Me and Al know for a fact that you two have been alive for more than a thousand years now! There's no way a normal pony could live that long, so the most logical explanation would be that you two used the philosopher stone to make yourselves immortal!" After calming himself down, Edward said, "Sorry, it's just that me and Al have been looking for the philosopher stone for so long that we're willing to go through any lenths just to get it. And right now, asking, no, begging the two of you to give us your philosopher stone, or any knowledge you may have to make our own." Following Edward's words, everyone remained silent, with no one daring to say a word due to the high amount of tension that was in the air. After remaining quiet for a moment, Princess Celestia said, "While I understand your situation, I'm afraid that you're mistaken." "What?" Edward asked, taken completely off guard by the response he was given. "While normal ponies cannot live for as long as we have, alicorns aren't normal ponies." Princess Celestia said before explaining, "As you may already know, alicorns are a mix of all three pony tribes, which means they have the types of magic all pony tribes have. Because of that, alicorns naturally have more magic than most ponies. Because of that special combination of magic, alicorns are granted much longer life spans than the typical pony." After processing that information for a moment, an upset expression formed on Edward's face he slammed his automail hoof to the ground as he said, "Damn!" in a very irritated tone. "Edward?" Twilight asked in a concerned tone. "Just when I thought we finally found a means of getting a philosopher stone, it only turned out to be another dead end!" Edward said to himself in a very irritated tone. "I'm sorry for disappointing you, Edward." Princess Celestia said, "Had I known what your real reason to come here was-" "It's fine." Edward said, cutting Princess Celestia off, "I probably should have figured as much from a country that has little to no alchemists in it." "Well, what do you plan to do now?" Twilight asked. "Well, me and Al can't go back to amestris since we just got here less than two hours ago." Edward responded, "So that means we're stuck here for about a day or two. While I doubt we'll find much, we'll go around town and see if we can get any new leads, maybe help anyone who needs it." Upon hearing this, a thought popped in Spike's head. "Hey Edward." Spike spoke up. "Yeah Spike?" Edward asked. "If it isn't too much trouble, do you think that you and Alphonse could teach me how to enhance my skills with alchemy?" Spike asked. "'Enhance your skills?'" Edward asked rhethorically before saying, "From what I saw, you seemed skilled enough as is." "That was mainly because I had the book for reference." Spike said, "I want to be able to perform alchemy as skillfully as you and your brother without needing the book." Edward thought about it for a moment before replying, "While I could give you some pointers, I can't really give you anything too proper due to the fact me and Al won't be here for long." "Actually, that shouldn't be an issue." Princess Celestia spoke up. "How so?" Edward asked. Instead of answering, Princess Celestia simply made a price of paper appear before handing it to Edward. Grabbing the paper with his magic, Edward brought it to his face before reading it's contents. To Princess Celestia, I'm sorry to inform you that I will not be able to attend your meet and greet. However, I will be sending others in my place to act as amestris' representatives. Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, and his younger brother, Alphonse Elric. For as long as those two individuals are in your land, I hereby give you permission to use them as you please. I do, however, request that they return in one months time. From the ruler of amestris, Fuhrer King Bradley. "Huh, I guess that solves that little issue." Edward said once he finished reading the letter. "What's it say brother?" Alphonse asked. "To put it simply, the fuhrer is allowing us to stay in equestria for a month." Edward responded before turning towards Spike, "Well, I guess me and Al can become your teachers." "Yes!" Spike exclaimed happily as he pumped his fist into the air. "BUT, you first have to answer a question for me." Edward added. "A question?" Spike asked. "That's right." Edward responded, "It's nothing too big, I just want to gauge your knowledge of alchemy." After nodding to show that he understood, Spike said, "Ask away." "Alright then." Edward said before asking, "Tell me, what does one is all, and all is one mean?" Hearing this confused Spike a lot. "Huh?" Spike asked. "One is all, and all is one, what does it mean?" Edward asked again. Greatly confused by the question, Spike thought long and hard in hopes of grasping the answer. Unfortunately, he was unable to think of anything. "I... can't think of anything." Spike said in a glum tone. "Hey, don't sweat it." Edward said before patting Spike in the head, "Me and Al didn't have a clue what it meant when we were asked it, go it's nothing to be let down by." Hearing this made Spike smile. "Now then, what do you say we get your training started?" Edward asked. "Let's do it!" Spike replied enthusiasticly. The rest of the equstrians couldn't help but smile at the sight. 'Something tells me that Edward's teachings will greatly impact Spike.' Twilight happily thought to herself. Meanwhile in an unknown location, we find three figures watching above a city. "So, Fullmetal Colt and his brother is out of country, huh?" asked one of the figures. "That's right, in some country called equestria." one of the other figures responded, "And, from what I heard, there's the possibility that they'll be there for a whole month." "Is that bad?" the third figure asked. "Unless they were find what they're looking for, which the odds of that is absolutely zero, then no, it shouldn't." the first figure replied. "Hopefully they'll return within the month." the second figure said, "Because there's no way I'm going out of country just to fetch them." "Hey!" a voice called out, "How did you three get in here!?" Turning towards the source, the three figures saw a forth figure standing behind them. The third figure smiled before turning towards the first figure and asked, "Can I eat him?" "Wait, what?" The fourth figure asked, unsure he heard correctly. "Go right ahead." the first figure responded, "But try not to make too much of a mess." A large grin formed on the third figure's face as he began to make his way towards the fourth figure. "S-Stay back!" the fourth figure yelled fearfully as began stepping back, trying to keep his distance from the third figure. This continued for a moment before the fourth figure bumped into a wall. Too scared to turn away, the fourth figure watched as the third figure slowly walked towards him while keeping the same creepy smile on his face. Unable to the resist the urge to do so, the fourth figure let out a horrified scream just as the third figure lunged at him with his mouth wide open. What followed afterwards was a horrible Splattering Noise along with the fourth figure's screaming suddenly coming to a stop.
