It was a bright, and sunny day in Equestria. The kind of day that was perfect. But as the law of equivalence states, one cannot obtain something without first giving something in return. As Twilight was soon to find out, her world would be flipped upside down.
A strange pony was walking down an old worn dirt road. He had greasy tan fur that clumped together in knots, and a golden mane and tail that shone brightly in the sun. He was wearing a blood red coat that was stained with dirt, and his right fore-leg and his left hind-leg were completely made out of metal. His cutie mark was strange, it was a circle with several lines in it.
He had awoken not too long ago to find himself on the ground. He had absolutely no idea where he was, or why he was there, or anything else for that matter. He hadn't had any idea on what to do, so he had decided to follow the dirt path he'd found, and see if he could find anyone.
As fate would have it, a familiar pink party pony was bouncing down the same path, on a collision course with the strange pony. Pinkie was humming to herself when she was interrupted by a loud clanking noise. Being the curious pony she was, she decided to check it out.
Pinkie hopped towards the noise, and soon the strange pony entered her sights. She found that the clanking noise was made whenever the pony took a step. She squinted as she tried to make out more details of the pony, and then her eyes widened, and she gasped.
Pinkie realized that she had never seen this pony before, and that if she had never seen him before then he was new. Then she realized that if he was new then he must not have any friends, and that made her sad. In that instant she decided she'd throw a surprise party for this strange pony so he could make some friends.
The strange pony lifted his head, and the pink pony entered his vision. When he realized that someone else was there he decided that he would see if he could get some information. He started walking towards the pony, but she was already running off, and he let out a sad sigh.
The pony decided to just continue onwards. The other pony had to have come from somewhere, so he would continue following the path until he found a town. He let out another sigh as he began trotting down the dirt road again, his destination unknown.
In Ponyville Pinkie was zipping around, not watching where she was going. Other ponies quickly moved out of the way so they wouldn't get run over by the pink blur. One such pony wasn't as lucky though, and Pinkie rammed straight into her, sending papers flying all over.
"Pinkie!" exclaimed Twilight.
"Oh sorry Twilight." Pinkie apologized.
"Where are you going in such a hurry anyways?" Twilight asked her.
"Well I just saw a new pony, and if he's new then he doesn't know anypony. If he doesn't know anypony then he doesn't have any friends, and that made me sad, so I'm off to organize a party for him." Pinkie said all in one breath.
"Oh, well that explains that." said Twilight.
"Yep. Now I gotta go. See ya Twi!" Pinkie said before zipping off again. Twilight smiled, and shook her head at Pinkie's antics. Twilight used her magic to gather up the papers that had been sent everywhere, and put them into her bag before deciding she wanted to see this new pony Pinkie was talking about. She then headed off in the direction Pinkie had come from.
She walked down the path for a few minutes until she found the pony that Pinkie had been talking about. He was walking with his head hanging down. Twilight trotted up to him, and his head shot up as she heard her hoofsteps. “Hi! I'm Twilight." She said, sticking her hoof out for him to shake.
It took him a few moments to realize what the gesture was, but then he stuck his hoof out, and shook hers. "Hi, I'm Edward Elric." he told her.
"It's nice to meet you Edward." said Twilight.
"It's nice to meet you too." he said. During the hoofshake Twilight noticed something strange. The armor he was wearing on his right fore-leg was cold. It should have been heated at least a little by his body heat.
"What kind of armor are you wearing?" she asked him, curious.
"Huh? Oh. You mean my automail?" he asked, lifting his leg up.
"Automail?" asked Twilight, "What's that?"
"Automail is a mechanical replacement for my limbs." he told her.
"R-Replacement?" she stuttered, "Y-You mean..." She trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.
"Yeah." he said sadly, "I lost my real ones a while back."
"How?" she asked. Ed tried to think back through his memories, but found nothing. He couldn't remember anything at all. He shook his head sadly.
"I'm sorry, I don't know." he said.
"What?!" she exclaimed, "How can you not know?!"
"I can't remember." he said, "Actually I can't really remember much of anything."
"Hmm. Amnesia?" Twilight pondered, "Do you remember anything?" Ed shook his head. "Okay, what's the last memory you have?" she asked.
"The last thing I remember is waking up a few minutes ago." he told her.
"Huh. That's strange." she mused, "Do you at least have a place to stay at?" He shook his head again.
"I don't think so." he said.
"Then you'll stay with me until you can get your memories back." Twilight told him.
"You'd do that for me?" he asked.
"Sure. I could never turn away anypony in need." she said.
"Thanks." he said.
"Your welcome." she replied, "Let's head back to my place for now."
"Alright." he said, following her as she started trotting back towards the way she had came from.
"I'm very interested in that automail of yours." Twilight said as she walked, "I hope you'll let me take a closer look at it. I've never seen anything quite like it." Ed let out a small chuckle.
"You remind me of Winry. She-" he cut off suddenly as a sharp pain shot through his brain. He clutched his head in his hooves and collapsed on the ground. Then he heard voices.
“Are you sure brother?” asked a familiar voice.
“Yeah Al. We haven’t been training all this time for nothing.” said another voice he recognized, “We’ll get Mom back for sure.”
Before Ed could hear more, he was suddenly shaken out of it. His eyes snapped open, and he looked into the worried face of Twilight. "Are you okay?" she asked, worry apparent in her tone.
"Yeah, I'm okay." he told her.
"What happened?" she asked.
"I don't know." he said, "I just suddenly heard some voices. I don't know what it means though."
"You remember something?" asked Twilight, excitedly.
"I don't know." he told her, "I might have."
"Well we should-" Twilight was cut off by a shout.
"Get out of the way!" Suddenly a multicolored blur crashed into Ed, sending him flying along with it. They skidded along the ground to a halt, sending up a huge cloud of dust. When the dust cleared Twilight saw the familiar shape of a cyan pegasus along with Ed entangled on the ground.
"Get off me!" he exclaimed, shoving the pegasus off of himself. She let out a guilty chuckle.
"Sorry 'bout that." she apologized.
"Hey Rainbow!" called out Twilight, catching her attention.
"Oh hey Twilight!" she called back, waving at her, "What are you doing here, and who's this shrimp?"
"SHRIMP!" yelled Ed, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SHRIMP?!" Rainbow Dash smirked at him.
"You shrimp." she said. Suddenly Ed snapped, and lunged at her.
"I AM NOT A SHRIMP!" he yelled. Before Dash had any time to react, they were both squabbling on the ground, wrestling for dominance. Finally Rainbow Dash was able to pin down Ed.
"What's wrong shrimp? Am I too strong for you?" she taunted.
"I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S THE SHRIMP!" Ed yelled before clapping his hooves together, and slamming them into the ground. Suddenly there was a bright light, and a pillar of earth shot from the ground, ramming straight into Rainbow Dash, knocking her off of Ed.
Ed shot up, and stared at his hooves with confusion written all over his face. He was quickly joined by two others. Finally Rainbow Dash spoke up. "What the hay was that?!" she exclaimed.
"I-I don't know." he stuttered, "I just did that on instinct."
"Well whatever it was, that was cool!" said Dash.
"Maybe it has something to do with your memories." contemplated Twilight.
"His memories?" asked Dash.
"Oh, that's right!" said Twilight, "You don't know yet. Ed here has amnesia."
"Amnesia." Dash repeated, "Isn't that, like, the stuff that doctor give to you to put you to sleep?" Twilight let out a sigh, and shook her head.
"No Dash." she said, "That's anesthesia. Amnesia is where you lose all your memories."
"Wait, so you mean you can't remember anything?" Dash asked him. He shook his head.
"No I don't." he said.
"We're hoping to find something about his memories." Twilight told her.
"Well good luck with that." she said, "I gotta get going. See ya." With that, she flapped her wings, and took off into the air. Just then, Ed's stomach growled, signaling how hungry he was. Twilight let out a small chuckle.
"Sounds like you're hungry." she said, "Why don't we go get something to eat? I know a little bakery called Sugarcube Corner."
"That sounds great." he said.
"Right! Let's go." she told him before swinging around, and walking off. Ed quickly followed behind. As they trotted down the path something nagged at the back of her mind. Something that Ed had said. Finally she decided to ask her question. "Who's Winry?" she asked.
"Huh?" started Ed.
"You mentioned her earlier. Who's Winry?" she asked again.
"Did I?" asked Ed, "I don't remember."
"Huh. So you don't know who she is then?" she asked. He shook his head no. "That's weird. You must have said it instinctively." she told him.
“Weird.” he said.
“Anyways, here we are.” said Twilight, motioning in front of her at a small town, “Welcome to Ponyville.”
“it looks nice.” Ed said.
“It is.” she told him, “Now follow me.” Ed nodded, and started following Twilight as she walked into the town. As Twilight trotted down the streets of Ponyville, she noticed they were unusually empty. Normally they’d be bustling with ponies. “Where is everypony?” she wondered aloud, “Usually this place would be filled.”
“It is unnaturally quiet.” Ed agreed.
“I guess we’ll find out later.” said Twilight, “For now let’s just get something to eat.” Ed nodded in agreement, and followed her farther into the small town. Soon Twilight stopped in front of a familiar little bakery that was decorated to look like a giant gingerbread house.
“We’re here.” she told him.
“Wow. Looks good.” he said.
“It is.” she told him, “Wait til you meet Pinkie.” At the thought Twilight let out a small giggle. Ed’s stomach growled once more.
“Can we get something to eat now?” he asked.
Twilight gave a small chuckle before replying, “Yeah. C’mon, let’s go in.” With that she reached out her hoof, and grasped the knob. She then twisted it, and pushed inwards, causing the door to swing open.
Suddenly Twilight was blasted with a wave of noise, and confetti. “SURPRISE!” many voices called.
“AHHHH!” exclaimed Ed as he reared up, and fell backwards onto his flank. Suddenly his vision was filled with a giant pink blur. He leaned back, and the pink pony he’d seen earlier had entered his sight.
“Did I surprise you?” she asked, “Did I?”
“Wha-” Ed managed to get out.
“I saw you walking down the street earlier, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve never seen him before, and if I’ve never seen him before then he must not have any friends, and if he doesn’t have any friends then he must be lonely’ and so that made me sad, and I decided to throw a surprise party for you.” she said, without taking a breath.
“Wha-” he said again.
“So were you surprised?” she asked.
“Uh, yeah.” he said.
“I knew it! Come on, let’s go partay!” she said before bouncing back inside. Ed stared after her blankly for a moment before turning back to Twilight.
“What just happened?” he asked. Twilight let out a small giggle before answering.
“Beats me.” she told him, “I’ve been trying to figure that out ever since I met her. Come on, I’ll introduce you to my other friends.” With that, she dragged him inside, and through a crowd of ponies to where a group of five ponies were standing.
Ed recognized one of the ponies as the pink pony he’d just encountered, and one of the other ones was Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash was the first one to spot them. “Oh, hey pipsqueak.” she said casually.
“Who are you calling a pipsqueak?!” he exclaimed.
“You pipsqueak.” she said. Suddenly they were in each other's faces.
“You wanna fight?” asked Ed.
“Try it.” said Dash. Just then, they were pushed apart by an orange pony wearing a hat.
“Woah. Simmer down there y'all.” she told them.
“She (He) started it!” they both said at the same time.
“Ah don’t care who started it!” she said, “This here’s a party, and y’all need to lighten up, and have some fun.”
“Fine.” they huffed, turning away from one another. The orange mare then turned to him.
“By the way, mah name’s Applejack.” she told him, “This here’s Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. I reckon y’all already know Rainbow Dash and Twilight. What’s your name?”
“My name is Edward Elric.” he told her.
“It’s mighty nice to meetcha.” she said, offering her hoof out.
“It’s nice to meet you too.” he said, taking her hoof, and shaking it.
“Boy howdy, that sure is some weird armor y’all got on.” she commented.
“This isn’t armor.” he told her, “It’s my automail.”
“Well what the hay is that?” she asked.
“Automail is a mechanical replacement for limbs.” he told her. Suddenly she turned a shade paler, and everypony but Twilight let out a gasp.
“A r-replacement? Y-You mean you l-lost your l-leg?” Fluttershy stuttered.
“Yeah. And my back one too.” he told them, showing them his his left hind-leg, making them gasp again.
“That must be horrible darling.” said Rarity.
“Not really.” he told her.
“But how did ya lose your legs?” asked Applejack.
“That’s the strange thing. I can’t remem-” Ed cut off as a sharp wave of pain sliced through his brain causing him to fall to the ground, and clutch his head. Suddenly he heard a voice. One that he had heard earlier before.
“Alphonse no!” it shouted, “No, dammit. You can’t have him too. Give him back! He’s my brother! Take my leg. Take my arm! Take my heart, ANYTHING, YOU CAN HAVE IT! Just give him back! He’s my little brother, he’s all I have left!”
As suddenly as it came, it went. His eyes snapped open, and he was left looking into the worried, and slightly green faces of six ponies. “What the hay just happened?!” asked Rainbow Dash.
“I-I don’t know.” he said, shaken up by what had just happened, “I just heard a voice. I don’t understand what it meant though.”
“Do you think it has something to do with your memories?” asked Twilight.
“Maybe.” he said.
“Hold on a second.” said Applejack, “What the hay are y’all talking ‘bout? What memories?”
“Oh, that’s right.” said Twilight, “You all don’t know yet. Ed here has lost his memories.” The others gasped for what seemed like the hundredth time today.
“That must be horrible darling.” said Rarity, “I’m sure we’ll do anything we can to help you get your memories back. Right girls?” The others all nodded their heads.
“Thank you all.” he told them. They all stayed quiet for a tense moment, trying to think of what to do when Rainbow Dash thought of a way to lighten the mood.
“Why don’t you show them what you did earlier.” she told him.
“Huh? What do you mean?” he asked.
“You know. What you did when we were fighting.” she said.
“But that was just an instinct.” he told her, “I don’t know how I did that.”
“Just do what you did last time.” she told him.
“Would you two tell me what the hay y’all are talking about?” said Applejack.
“Come on let’s show them.” Dash said, dragging him outside, the others following behind closely.
“Alright, well I guess it doesn’t hurt to try.” he said. He then reared up, clopped his hooves together, and slammed them into the ground. Absolutely nothing happened. No flash of light, no pillar of earth, nothing.
“What? Why the hay didn’t that work?!” Dash asked.
“I told you, I did it instinctively.” he said.
“What was supposed to happen anyways?” asked Applejack.
“This huge thing of earth was supposed to shoot out.” Dash told her. Applejack let out a snort.
“Sure, right.” she said disbelievingly.
“Hey Ed, what does your cutie mark mean?” asked Pinkie randomly.
“Cutie mark?” he asked, craning his neck to see what Pinkie was looking at. He got a glimpse of what Pinkie was looking at. What he saw was a familiar looking circle with several lines inside of it. Suddenly another wave of pain shot through his skull, and he clutched it as he fell to the ground.
“What are you trying to accomplish by learning alchemy anyway? Just tell me that.” asked a female voice.
“Well, um, we wanna help others out.” said the voice from the other times.
“Do you have your parent’s permission?” the female asked.
“Well, um.” the voice started.
“I’m afraid they have no parents.” said a more elderly female voice, “I’ve been taking care of them since their mother died.” There was a moment of silence, then the first woman let out a sigh.
“It always happens. I’m just too nice.” she said, “I’ll give them one month, do you mind if I take them with me for that long? I’ll test them to see if they’re even worth teaching alchemy to in the first place. See if they have the right talents.”
“And what happens if you find out they don’t?” the second woman asked.
“Then I’ll send them back right away.” the first woman told her.
“And what happens if we pass?” asked another voice, “What’ll happen then?”
“Then we’ll begin your alchemy training.” she said.
Alchemy. Alchemy. Alchemy! Something inside his head clicked, and suddenly all of Ed’s knowledge of alchemy flooded back into his mind. In one fluid motion Ed jumped up, clopped his hooves together, and slammed them into the ground.
Suddenly there was a bright flash, and everypony lifted their forelegs to shield their eyes from the light. When the light faded, they lowered their legs, and their eyes widened at what they saw. Standing in front of each of them was a perfect copy of themselves, only made from earth.
“I remember now.” he said, “I’m an alchemist.”
Twilight was galloping down the streets of Ponyville, dragging Ed along with her. "I knew I saw that symbol somewhere before!" Twilight said excitedly.
"Wait!" Ed exclaimed, "Where are we going?!"
"To the library!" she shouted. After another minute of being pulled along by Twilight, she jolted to a stop, and Ed fell face first to the ground. When he picked himself up he found that they were standing in front of a large oak tree with a door. "Spike!" Twilight called out as she slammed the door open.
"Coming!" called another voice. Ed managed to push himself up, and trotted into the tree after Twilight just in time to see a small purple lizard descend a set of stairs.
"Ed this is Spike, my assistant, he's a dragon," she told him, " Spike this is Ed, he'll be staying with us for a while."
"Nice to meet you," said Spike, offering out his hand.
"Same here," Ed told him, shaking his hand.
"Spike, I need you to find me a copy of Old Magicks," Twilight told him.
"On it!" he said before running off to a bookcase.
"He's quite reliable," she told Ed, "That's why he's my number one assistant."
"Got it!" Spike called out. They turned to see him holding a large, old looking book.
"Thank you Spike," she said, taking the book with her magic, "Could you please make us some tea?"
"On it," he said before scurrying into the kitchen.
"Right, let's take a look at this book," said Twilight, "Hopefully I can find what I'm looking for."
"What are you looking for?" questioned Ed.
"I remember there being a section on alchemy in here," Twilight told him, "I know it's here somewhere. I just have to- Aha! Here it is." Twilight leaned down, and started to read the words that were written on the page.
"What does it say?" Ed asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Well it says that alchemy is a very powerful, and arcane type of magic that has many uses, such as healing the wounded, and turning metals into gold," Twilight read, "It sounds amazing!"
"That sounds about right," Ed said. Twilight frowned as she flipped the page and continued reading.
"But... Wait. I don't understand," she said, "If alchemy can be used for such amazing things then why did the Princess ban it? I need to know more. I'll write a letter to the Princess, and maybe we'll find something out about your memories as well." Twilight's horn glowed as she levitated a quill and piece of parchment to her before she started writing.
Twilight finished writing the letter just as Spike walked in. "The tea is done," he told them, "Also I made you daisy sandwiches."
"Thanks Spike, I don't know what I'd do without you," Twilight said, rubbing his head, "Could you please send this letter to the Princess for me?"
"Sure thing Twi," he said before he took the letter, and blew green flames on it. The scroll quickly burnt up into a green mist, and shot out the window.
"Come on, let's eat," said Twilight, walking into the kitchen. Ed followed closely behind, and they had just sat down at the wooden table when Spike grasped his stomach, and let out a belch of green flames which condensed themselves into a scroll. Twilight wasted no time as she levitated the scroll to herself, and started reading.
"What does it say?" Ed asked her.
"It says that the Princess is sending a chariot to pick us up," Twilight told him, "We should hurry up and eat, it'll be here in a few minutes." Taking her own advice, Twilight gulped down her tea, and finished off her sandwich in a few bites. Ed did the same, and just as they finished a knock sounded at the door.
Twilight quickly trotted into the other room, followed by Ed, and opened the door to reveal a pure white pegasus wearing golden armor. "Miss Twilight, your escort is here," he said, a tad unnecessarily. Twilight nodded politely at him and she and Ed followed him out to a large wooden carriage.
As soon as they got settled down in the carriage Ed asked, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Of course I'm sure." Twilight told him, "Why wouldn't I be?
"Well the book said that the Princess was the one that banned alchemy right?" Ed pointed out.
"Yeah, but Princess Celestia is the nicest princess there is. I'm sure she'll understand." Twilight told him.
"I hope so." Ed mumbled, "I hope so."
It hadn't taken them long to reach the castle. Once they did they landed in the courtyard and then were quickly escorted through the many large castle corridors and into the throne room where they were now talking to Princess Celestia. "Hello my faithful student. And just what brings you here?"
"Well, I, um, I just wanted to," Twilight stuttered. She had been sure of herself earlier, but now that she was actually standing in front of the Princess she was starting to have second thoughts. She looked at the Princess whom gave her an encouraging smile.
"Come now Twilight," she said, "Ask me what you will."
"Well, I-I, I wanted to learn more about alchemy!" Twilight blurted out. Upon hearing that Celestia's expression quickly changed from that of kindness and compassion to one of rage and hate.
"NO!" she boomed.
"B-But Princess," Twilight stuttered.
"No!" she said again, "I will not allow you to learn of such a monstrous thing."
"Y-Yes Princess," Twilight stuttered, flinching away from her mentor. She had never seen her mentor this angry before, not even when she had cast the 'Want it, need it' spell on her Smarty Pants doll. Instantly Celestia's expression changed to one of worry.
"Twilight, I-I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me," she said.
"I-It's okay Princess." Twilight told her.
"But still, you must not learn about alchemy," Princess Celestia told her firmly.
"I understand Princess," Twilight said, lowering her head dejectedly.
"Why don't you and your friend stay here for the night, and return to Ponyville in the morning." the Princess said, "I'll have one of the guards prepare a room for you."
"Thank you Princess." Twilight said.
"Come now, let's have dinner." Princess Celestia then escorted them to the dining room where they ate dinner before the two retired to their room for the night.
"Well that was pointless." Ed said.
"Maybe so, but we can't let one dead end stop us. We still have to learn about alchemy somehow if we want to get your memory back." Twilight told him.
"And just how do you suppose we do that?" Ed asked.
"I don't know," Twilight told him before reaching into her saddlebag and pulling out the copy of Old Magicks from the library, "But maybe this has a clue in it."
"Great," Ed yawned, "Tell me when you find something."
After an hour of reading and re-reading Twilight finally stopped, closing the book loud enough to get Ed's attention. "Did you find something?" he asked, opening one eye to look at her.
"There was hardly any information other then what we already read, but I did find one thing." she told him, catching his attention.
"Oh? And what's that?" he asked.
"The book told me that the origins of alchemy go even further back than Equestria." she said.
"Yeah? And?" he questioned.
"Well, that gave me an idea. I don't like it, but it's the only chance we've got." she told him.
"And what would that be?" He asked.
"We're going to have to travel outside of Equestria." she said before reaching into her saddlebags and pulling out a map which she proceed to unfold and lay out on the desk she was sitting at. "Here's what I've come up with so far. First we'll start here," she said, levitating a pointer towards a large space on the map labelled "Dragon Kingdom".
"What's that?" Ed asked.
"That is the dragon kingdom," she told him, "Dragons are the oldest species on the planet, the next being gargoyles, but they're much harder to reach. If anyone has information on alchemy it would be them."
"Alright, I get it." he said.
"We'll go back to Ponyville tomorrow, and get prepared for the trip. Then the next day we'll set off." Twilight told him, "We should get some rest for tomorrow."
"Right." he agreed.
They were awoken the next morning by the sound of somepony knocking at the door. Twilight, though unwillingly, got up and opened the door to reveal one of the many castle guards. "Breakfast is ready Ms. Sparkle." he told her, "Princess Celestia is expecting you."
"Thank you." Twilight told the guard, "We'll be down in a minute." After dragging Ed out of bed the guard escorted the two back to the dining hall they had eaten at yesterday.
"Hello Twilight." Princess Celestia greeted.
"Hello Princess." Twilight said, taking a seat at the table. As breakfast progressed everything quickly disappeared, everything, but one certain object. Of course Twilight noticed, "You should really drink your milk Edward." she told Ed, whom was currently glaring at said drink.
"No, I hate milk," he said.
"But it's good for you, it has a lot of protein," Twilight told him.
"I don't care," he said, "I hate milk, and I'm not drinking it."
"Well it's no wonder you're short ." Twilight said.
"Who are you calling short?!" Ed growled. Twilight's response was cut short by Princess Celestia's laughter.
"My, your friend is quite interesting." she said. Twilight felt a smile slip onto her own face.
"Yes he is," she agreed. Celestia let out another small bout of laughter.
"Well I believe it's time for you two to go." Celestia said, "Tell your friends I said hello." As soon as they has left Celestia let out a sigh.
"You know that she will not be satisfied by this.." came a familiar voice.
"Ah, hello Luna." Celestia greeted.
"Twilight Sparkle is a very curious filly," Luna continued, "You know this will not stop her. She will learn the truth eventually. This isn't something you can protect her from."
"I know Luna," Celestia sighed, "But that doesn't mean I can't try."
Once they had reached Ponyville the guards landed in front of Twilight's house. "Thank you sirs," Twilight thanked them as they got off. They gave her a quick salute before taking off again back towards the palace. Twilight pushed open the door and trotted into the library, closely followed by Ed.
"Spike!" she called out.
"Coming!" came the reply. In less than a second the baby purple dragon had appeared in the doorway of the staircase. "What do you need Twilight?" he asked.
"I want you to go get our friends Spike," she told him.
"On it Twilight!" he said, giving a salute before marching out of the library. About ten minutes later Rainbow Dash rushed in closely followed by Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Spike.
"So what's this about Twi?" Rainbow Dash questioned.
"Yes Twilight," agreed Rarity, "It's not like you to call us out here on such short notice."
"I have something I need to tell you all," she said, taking a deep breath and letting it out, "Ed and I are going to go on a journey."
"Really? Wow, neeto!" exclaimed Pinkie, "I'll have to throw you a big going away party!"
"NO!" Twilight exclaimed, causing everyone to stare at her. She coughed into her hoof and tried again, "I mean no thank you Pinkie. I think it would be best if you didn't throw us a party." Pinkie looked sad for a moment before she immediately perked up again.
"Alright," she said, "But you gotta promise me you'll bring back a lotta yummy recipes."
"Deal," Twilight said.
"Hey, don't forget about me," Dash told her, "I want a cool souvenir too."
"And you simply must tell me about the fashions of other cultures." Rarity said.
"And, um, if you don't mind could you tell me about the different kinds of animals you see?" Fluttershy asked.
"Y'all will probably have some interestin' stories to tell when y'all get back. I'd like to hear some of 'em." Applejack said.
"Will do everyone." Twilight said.
"Hey, what about me?" Spike asked.
"I'll be sure to get you a big juicy gem." Twilight told him.
"Thanks Twilight." he said.
"Well girls we should really start packing now," Twilight told them. Each one gave their own respective goodbye and left. Once they were all gone Twilight shut the door and let out a sigh. "Welp, time to get packing I guess," she said.
"Yeah," agreed Ed. The rest of the day was spent gathering up several essentials and preparing two travelling packs for them to carry along the way. Finally after an exhausting day of packing they finally stopped.
"I think that'll be good," Twilight told him, "Let's get some rest. We're leaving early tomorrow."
"Agreed." said Ed.
The next morning Ed was shaken awake. "Get up." Twilight said.
"Ugh," he groaned, "What time is it?"
"It's 6:30," she told him.
"Why'd you get me up so early?" he questioned.
"I told you last night," she said, "So we can get an early start. Now let's get some breakfast."
"Fine." he groaned, pulling himself out of his comfortable bed. With that out of the way the two headed to the kitchen where they ate breakfast before grabbing their packs. Once they were ready to head out Spike showed up.
"Oh, hey Twi, hey Ed," he greeted.
"Hello Spike," Twilight greeted, "We're heading out now. You're in charge of the library while we're gone."
"Gotcha," Spike said.
"And don't get into any trouble either," she told him.
"Don't worry I won't," he said.
"Right, well I'll be sure to write to you," she said.
"Alright, see ya." he said.
:"Bye Spike." With that they headed out the door and shut it behind them. "Right, well I guess we should get going, we've got a long way to go if we want to reach the Dragon Kingdom." Twilight said. Just as they started off they were stopped.
"Hey wait!" someone called out. They turned around to see Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie standing together. "You weren't thinking of leaving without saying goodbye were you?" Dash asked.
"Even though I can't throw you a party doesn't mean I can let you leave without a proper sendoff," Pinkie said.
"Ah reckon Ah wanna say bye too." Applejack agreed.
"A lady never leaves without saying goodbye," Rarity said.
"Um, goodbye," Fluttershy said. Twilight felt a smile slip onto her face.
"Don't worry guys, we'll be back soon." she said.
"Yeah," added Ed, "I'll make sure she get's back safe and sound."
"I'm holding you to that pipsqueak." Dash said.
"Don't call me pipsqueak!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Dash said.
"Right, well we'll be back." Twilight told them.
"We'll be waiting for you darling," Rarity said.
"Y'all hurry up now y'hear?" Applejack told her.
"I'll throw you a huge party when you get back," Pinkie said.
"Thanks girls." Twilight said, "We better be going now. I'll see you all when we get back."
