Friendship Alchemy
It was a mistake, a big mistake. She didn't know why Alchemy was a lost art. She didn't know what secrets it held or why it had to be so precise. So balanced. So complex. It was such a big mistake. She thought that with the power of friendship, she could overcome it and bring the magic of Alchemy back…. But she didn't know what she was getting all of them or herself into. She was blindsided by the beat… clapping and stomping her hooves. She didn't know that they'd fall - it was now a new race… a non-magical world…. It was a mistake… For somepony so smart, she was so stupid…
The runes were in the proper places and in the proper order - check.
The formulas are balanced and are in the precise places - check.
All of the spirits of the elements of harmony were present, feat Spike - check.
All of the books that are needed to check everything's in order are present - check.
Everything is in working order - check.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders trying to see what's going on - check.
Princess Twilight Sparkle checked everything on her list. Now it was time to double check… She trotted around, looking at each Transmutation Circle was in it's proper place, in proper order, in balance, everything. She never thought that Alchemy was so delicate. One had to treat the art as if it was a knight. Training it. Sharpening it like a blade, till it was invisibly sharp, then continuing. Math, science, EVERYTHING was important to the art. One doesn't just USE the art of Alchemy, one HONES it. It was like mastering martial arts. Practice - practice - practice - practice!
She had been going through the art to such a point that she hadn't slept for weeks, until Spike oh-so-kindly knocked her out with a frying pan. She had slept for three days, before waking up. It was hard… too hard. Whoever created Alchemy was a genius but they could've made it easier…. Twilight tried, she really did… She tried to make it easier but found it as easy as trying to figure out Pinkie sense… Why was it so complex? Even its cousin: Potion making, was a little complex. It took Apple Bloom a month to learn how to make a simple Growing Potion. And she was a fresh mind.
No matter, everything was perfect. Though Twilight was hoping that she wouldn't have to check the box about the CMC, but besides that, everything was perfect….
She sighed and looked at how each circle intertwined with one another. Each emblazoned with the cutie mark of the bearers. The Transmutation of Loyalty connected with Honesty, it's brother, whilst Honesty connected to it's sister: Kindness, who went to it's sister: Generosity, then Generosity to Laughter, its cousin, who went back to Loyalty, its cousin - then all to Magic, who was in the center. All in all - it was one big transmutation circle.
Everything was in order. Everything was perfect. Everything was-
"TWILIGHT!" Rainbow practically screamed, shaking Twilight from her daze.
"Huh? WHA-?" Twilight said dumbly.
"You were spacein' out, sugar cube." Applejack stated.
"I was?" Twilight said in a confused manor.
"Uh-huh." Spike nodded.
"Darling, what is all of this?" Rarity said looking from the circle to the books.
"Ooooh pretty~!" Pinkie said hopping over to the circle.
"This is so cool!" Scootaloo said trotting over to the circle, fallowed by the other crusaders.
"Maybe we can get our cutie marks in…whatever this is!" Apple Bloom said excitedly.
Before the crusaders and Pinkie could even get near the drawing, Twilight used her magic and levitated them away from it, as she exclaimed, "DON'T GET NEAR THE TRANSMUTATION CIRCLE!"
She put them down several feet away from the Transmutation Circle. She calmed herself after noticing how FlutterShy was hiding behind Applejack. The alicorn sighed and said "This is Alchemy, I wanted all of you - excluding the crusaders and Spike - to help me activate it. Its supposed to make another batch of Elements of Harmony."
Everypony blinked at the princess.
"You want to what?!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Uh, Twi, no offense, but why would ya want to do that?" AJ said calmly.
"Yeah, Twilight. As cool as it sounds, why would you want to make another set?" Rainbow asked.
Twilight sighed, "Listen girls, remember how Tirek attacked us, and we didn't have the elements to defend Equestria? That magic box was our only defense against him, and it was a one time thing! We have absolutely nothing to defend Equestria, or all of Equis! So I thought that maybe we could make a new set. Ones with a different way of being used."
"What do you mean by that? - um… if you don't mind me asking…" Fluttershy asked.
"The way that these new elements will work, is - instead of being object filled with magical power - instead they'll be amplifiers. They will amplify the magic of the pony who uses them - at the will of the pony who uses them." Twilight explained.
"Ooookay, but exactly how are you going to make them?" Rainbow asked, " I don't think a drawing will do much…"
"Its not just a drawing," Twilight stated, "it's a Transmutation Circle. Its used for Alchemy. Alchemy is a lost magical art, that was made long before the time of Princess Celestia and Luna. Even Discord. It was something extremely powerful but when Discord came around, it was lost forever. I was able to come across books that mentioned it and how it worked. Did you know that if it wasn't for Alchemy, Archaic Magic wouldn't exist, nor Potion Making. Alchemy was the mother to many things… Heck, Pegasi would be able to control weather because of it! And believe it or not - it was invented by an Earth Pony named Nitrogen Flamel."
"Well all be-" Applejack gasped, "Ah didn't think that an Earth Pony could tamper so deeply in to magic…"
"That's not all," Twilight smiled, "Imagine what would happen if Alchemy is brought back to Equestria! Why, potions would be several hundreds times stronger than before! Everything would be enhanced! But the thing is… Alchemy is so complex… everything has to be perfect, no questions asked. One mistake, one mishap, one little line out of place or even smudged, and everything will go wrong."
"So that's why ya didn't let us near the drawing," Apple Bloom pointed out, "ya didn't want us ruining it…"
"That's correct." Twilight said, "Even a single rune out of place could mess up everything. Why Alchemy is so complex, is beyond me. Equations, balance, perfection, it took me two weeks just to understand that everything had to be written in the right runes! I just don't understand that much, but that's not why you all are here right now…." she flew over and above the circle, "I want all of you to go to your respective places. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Spike, I want all of you to make as much distance between you and the Circle as possible."
They nodded and did as she had commanded.
"Applejack, stand over by this end - Rainbow Dash, you go over here, - Pinkie, this way, - Rarity, over here, - and FlutterShy, you go here." Twilight directed her friends to their respective places. She herself went in the middle, making sure to not touch a single piece of the drawing or the runes. She positioned herself comfortably then said, "Now on the count of three I want you to place a hoof on the edge of the circle and envision the Elements of Harmony."
"Right!" her friends exclaimed.
"One." They got ready.
"Two." They neared the drawing and began envisioning the elements.
"THREE!" They made a mistake. With a flash of wild purple light, they were gone. Spike and the crusaders watched in shock as how the six ponies were deconstructed and tuning into ribbons… they were now gone. The girls wouldn't remember a thing of what happened, only the purple light that caused it all. They were gone. The only thing left in their wake was a lot of smoke and the drawing… Nothing else…
Twilight found her and her friends in a white realm. Spike and the CMC were nowhere to be found. The realm was blank and without color and life.
"Is everypony alright?" Twilight asked ,watching as her friends were getting back on to their hooves.
"Yeah." "I think so" "Oh, my head…" "Oh my" "Owww… Darling, where are we?"
"I don't know…" Twilight said plainly.
"I can an-swer that." said as voice.
Everypony looked over to where the voice came from. There before them was a large iron gate, hundreds of times bigger than them. It practically made Celestia look as small a foal. Beside the gate was a creature that was as white as the realm itself. Twilight was able to see that the creature was like that of the human from Canterlot High, but it had no features, the only feature was it's wide grin.
Twilight took a step back.
"Oh? A prin-cess?" the voice seemed to emanate from the creature, "I'm honored. But that wont excuse you from your punishment for disobeying the law of Equivalent Exchange."
The large gate opened, and everypony was able to see hundreds of eyes inside the gate. Without warning, black tendrils grabbed the bearers and began slowly dragging them in to the gate.
The creature's grin widened, "Tell Mis-ter Al-Chem-Ist I said 'hi'."
Twilight found herself lying on her back, in an alleyway. Everything looked like she was back at the world where Canterlot High belonged to… she sat up and saw that she was human and wearing the very thing she wore in that world too. She looked at her hands. Yup. She wasn't in Equestria anymore. She looked at her surroundings, seeing that her friends looked like their Canterlot High counterparts, they were in for a surprise when they wake up. Twilight got up and decided to look around. She peaked out from the ally way and saw that nothing looked remotely like what she saw back in the other world. She was shocked. This ruled out many of the ideas that were running through her mind. What's worse is that it was night time.
She sighed. She then heard groaning behind her…. Her friends were waking up.
When her friends woke up they were just about to scream but Twilight was swift enough to keep them quiet and get them to calm down. She had to help them stand like a normal human. It was going to be a long night…
"Twilight, darling - what happened? Where are we?" Rarity asked.
"I -…I don't know…" Twilight said. "Everything was right where it was supposed to be - I don't know what happened… or where we are. My best guess is that we're in the world that Canterlot High is in… but I have a feeling that I'm wrong…"
"Uh, how can the other me live without wings…" Rainbow complained as she kept looking at her back. "Seriously!"
Twilight looked up at the sky… she sighed, "Listen girls - we need to get some sleep… maybe we can find a library or someplace to stay…"
They nodded. It was hard for the other five to walk at first but Twilight was able to get them walking like a human. They began to scour the city for a place to stay but they more they searched the more they were disappointed - they needed money to stay in a hotel and to get an apartment - they had bits but they didn't have this worlds currency. But they got a great shock of a lifetime… they came across the ruins of a bunch of recently destroyed buildings… all of them - an entire side of a city… gone… they walked around the site looking at the destruction.
"What happened here?" Applejack asked.
"Who knows…." Twilight said, "But what ever it was it can't be good…"
"Well somepony must be responsible!" Dash said.
"Rainbow…"
"Yeah Twi?"
"You mean somebody."
"Oh…yeah…"
"Well who ever did this must've been really cruel!" FlutterShy said looking at a the ashes that must've been burned wood and at the many ruins of the destroyed remnants.
They left - wanting to get back to getting to their goal… they soon came a conclusion and stayed in an alleyway…
When they woke up in the morning everypony thought that what had happened was a dream - but when they realized that it wasn't a dream, there was a long groan from them. They all began walking down one of the many side walks trying to think of a way to get back home.
Twilight was practically stressing herself out.
"Twi, I think that we should get some help…" Applejack said acting as the voice of reason.
"But who are going to ask for help? And if we do find someone - what if they don't believe us?" Twilight said.
"She has a point." Rainbow said.
"But what about that Alchemist pony - I mean person - that that creature mentioned before we got here?" FlutterShy said. "Maybe he can help us… um…if he doesn't mind."
"But dear, we don't know who he is or where he lives. For all we know we're probably miles away from him!" Rarity said, "Not to mention we can't meet him looking like this!" she gestured to her outfit which was a little dirty and fairly wrinkled. "We need cleaner attire at least!"
Applejack and Dash rolled their eyes.
"Not to mention I'M HUNGRY!" Pinkie Pie groaned.
There was a long pause as their stomachs growled.
Applejack put a hand to hers and said, "Now that chya' mention it, Ah am pretty hungry…"
"We'll have to worry about that later, girls." Twilight said, "We should gather information first. If this Alchemist person is here we might as well find out, not to mention if we can convince him to help us he might be able to get us home."
"Right, but what if there are a bunch of Alchemists here? How do we know who's the right one?" Rainbow asked.
Twilight thought about it, "Hmm, lets just look for the best that this world has. The world's best Alchemist has to be the right one!" she looked at her friends deciding how they should go about the search. "Applejack, you and Rainbow Dash will team up and take the east side of the city. Rarity and FlutterShy will team up and take the south. That leaves me with Pinkie Pie, the both of us will take the west side. We will all meet back here in an hour, alright?"
"Right," the other five said.
They then split up and scoured the city. Little did they all know - they were going to get the same answer from all of the citizens - "The FullMetal Alchemist is the best alchemist there is - he is the youngest person to pass the State Alchemist exam - he did it at the mere age of twelve years old. He lives somewhere in town - your best chance at finding him is to head to Central Headquarters - which is in the center of the city."
The girls sighed - seeing that it was a relief that the citizens all agreed on who was the best alchemist. But the question still hung - where is the center of the city? They didn't know where that was because they didn't live in that city. They all decided that it would be best that they head north - hoping that it was the right direction. As they made their way north Applejack couldn't help but sniff the air and smile. She stopped dead in her tracks and took another whiff.
The other five elements looked at her curiously.
"Applejack, what are you doing?" Rainbow asked.
"Don't you smell that?" AJ asked.
The other Equestrians sniffed the air… Was that Apple Pie that they were smelling?
"Oh is smells a lot like the kind of pies that Granny bakes on the weekends!" AJ said. "Sorry girls but ah can't help myself!" she ran at full speed to where the smell was leading her.
The other elements were running after the apple farmer but suddenly - CRASH!
Applejack had bumped into someone and they both rolled several times before finally coming into a stop. She had pinned the person to the sidewalk - she was on top of them in a very awkward way. Her hat was covering the person's face.
"Brother!" exclaimed someone from behind them.
Applejack began immediately apologizing. "Ah'm sorry about that - ah wasn't watchin' where ah was goin' - ahm so sorry!" she said as she took her hat off of the person's face… and even though that she was originally an earth pony from Equestria, the boy she was on top of still looked handsome.
The boy had long golden hair tied in a braid, yet his bangs were parted to frame his face but there was a small bit of it that stuck up awkwardly between the parted bangs. But the one thing that AJ liked the most about him was his eyes - those brilliant and warm golden eyes that challenged the beauty of gold itself.
Applejack swiftly got off of him even though that she could've stared into the boy's eyes all day. "Uh, sorry about that."
"It's okay," the boy said.
"Brother, you aren't hurt are you?" asked a worried boy who looked a lot like the elder one. The other boy may have looked a lot like the other but his hair was tied in a ponytail and he wore a brown jacket - compared to the eldest's glistening scarlet one. The younger one didn't look as handsome as his older brother because of the sheer fact that he was younger than him.
"Yeah Alphonse, I'm fine." the elder brother said.
Alphonse simply sighed in relief.
"Well, uh, Ah know that it was mighty rude of me to bump into ya like that," AJ said sheepishly, "But, can ah ask ya'll a question?"
"As long as we can ask you one in turn." the eldest brother said.
"Brother…" Alphonse groaned.
The brother rolled his eyes.
"Do ya'll happen to know the FullMetal Alchemist. Mah friends and Ah, have been lookin' all over - Equ - I-mean- the place for 'em and haven't gotten a single clue as to where he is…." AJ took off her hat to show that she was being serious about what she was saying and to her surprise the two boy's looked shocked.
The eldest of the boys said, "I'm the FullMetal Alchemist…"
AJ blinked. But the suddenly she heard her name being called out. Her friends had finally caught up to her. Rainbow had nearly crashed into Alphonse, by luck she missed him and FullMetal.
Pinkie Pie however crashed into Applejack but stuck the landing and simply hugged AJ. Twilight, FlutterShy and Rarity were panting from the gallop, they leaned on a wall, trying to catch their breath.
"Applejack, darling, next time…" Rarity panted, "wait up, will you? I haven't ran at such a speed since I was mere -" the fashionista blinked and looked over to the two brothers. "Um, darling, who are they?"
"Ya'll, ah like ya to meet FullMetal Alchemist and his lil' brother, Alphonse." AJ smiled.
Twilight was the first to speak up, "You're FullMetal!" she walked up to the Alchemist, "Its an honor. Listen we need your help, we-" before she could voice their situation, Rainbow covered the former alicorn's mouth.
"Um, Twi, I think it would be a good idea to talk about our problem someplace more private!" Rainbow said.
"Oh, good point." Twilight said sheepishly.
"That is if you two don't mind…" FlutterShy said quietly.
The two brothers glanced at each other - looking for one another's opinion.
"Okay." FullMetal said.
The Equestrians found themselves in the FullMetal Alchemist's apartment, they had explained their entire situation to the brothers, who just sat there trying to process the information.
FullMetal crossed his legs and pinched his brow, "Its not that I don't believe you but do you mind giving me some proof."
"Brother's right," Alphonse said, "this is all a little hard to process."
The girls glanced at each other. FlutterShy then got an idea, she reached into her pocket and pulled out several coins - the Equestrian currency, bits.
"Um… will this do?" the shy former Pegasus asked.
FullMetal took one of the bits and looked at it curiously before asking, "Is this your currency?"
Twilight nodded, "Yeah, they're called 'Bits'."
"Do you have anything else that you have that can prove your story?" Alphonse asked.
They were tough. Pinkie Pie then got an idea as well.
"If there is anything that I never leave home without its my Party Cannon!" the party pony pulled her cannon from Celestia-knows-where and pointed it toward the other side of the room before it fired. To everyone's amazement the entire side of the room was decorated as if a party was about to take place.
The two brothers looked at each other, trying to process the information.
The anything that could be said - was said by FullMetal himself, "This defies all logic…" he sighed before saying, "Okay, tell me. You said that you wanted to use Alchemy create items that could amplify this magic that you speak of - what did you use to try to create these items?"
"Alchemy." Twilight answered.
"No, what did you deconstruct?" FullMetal asked.
"What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked.
The brothers glanced at each other… both of them sighed as if they were trying to explain something to a child who was ignoring them. They both said in unison, "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange."
The eldest went on, "Alchemy is the study of comprehension, deconstruction, and reconstruction. You need equivalence to achieve any of that. So, what did you deconstruct?"
Twilight's eyes went wide. "So…. You're saying that I needed something to get what I wanted to… make…" she face palmed, "I didn't have anything…."
"YOU WHAT?!" the brothers exclaimed
"You're telling us that you didn't know that one simple fact! We were six years old when we began using alchemy and we knew that from the very beginning! Alchemy is a science - not magic!" FullMetal shot.
"Unlike you, I didn't have books that described and taught Alchemy at it's fullest - I only had books that mentioned it." Twilight stated.
FullMetal simply pinched his brow, "This means that you didn't study the periodic table of elements either. You need to know the entire chemical makeup of what you're deconstructing…. This is going to be a long week…"
Honesty: the brother of Loyalty. One must know loyalty to have honesty. Without each other they would both be a lie and merely a shell of what they're supposed to be. One can't be without the other. There for they are at each other's side, yet they compete with one another. Honesty is to have the ability to tell the truth, and never speak a lie. Without Honesty, Loyalty wouldn't exist and neither would Friendship.
Laughter: Laughter is the one thing that must be shared making it be related to both Generosity and Kindness. If anything, its easy to distinguish the three but yet hard at the same time. Laughter is both a blessing and a curse, for it is shared by friends but used as a weapon when used by bullies. A double edge sword, Laughter is. But when it is used by friends for friends it is the greatest thing and makes memories that will last a life time.
Loyalty: the brother of Honesty. Loyalty has always been the Yin to Honesty's Yang - and will never part with it. To have one - you have to have the other. They are always together and never leave each other's side. If there is anything that Loyalty does best is protecting its comrades no matter the situation. Loyalty will back up its fellow elements but it will always stick with it's brother more - Friendship leans on Loyalty the most because it knows that it can depend on it as much as it needs to.
Kindness: the sister of both Generosity and Laughter. It has always been looked at as a push over - something that is easily taken advantage of - but truth is, its something that is very powerful. Kindness is the main thing that Friendship usually starts on besides Honesty. It's the first stepping stone of Friendship and it's true strength is always a surprise when it comes to facing enemies. For one to be kind to their enemies and to those whom they hate takes a lot of courage and will - and Kindness has more than enough of both. When those who face Kindness take heed, don't take advantage of it - and make sure that you return it's favor.
Generosity: the sister of both Laughter and Kindness. More than once it has been seen as a weakness and has also been seen as something to take advantage of - but it's always reliable like that of Loyalty. To give something to someone who someone who needs it takes great kindness that could only come from the heart and also takes great courage for it is unknown if they don't help you the near future. Generosity is a gift - don't let it be out of your reach because if one falls to greed… Generosity will make sure to take heed until it truly needs to help those in need.
The Magic of Friendship: Friendship is the greatest thing that can ever happen to anyone. It is forged through Laughter, Kindness, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty. It is something that has eluded many because they have been laughed at, been shown cruelty, were taken advantage of by the greedy, were lied too, and were broken by betrayal - the doubles of what makes friendship - but there have been instances where friendship have been forged through those flames by those who know what its like to face those flames. When one gains friends they make sure to keep the friendship going no matter the cause. For those to see it's magic is something that only true friends can see but one can see it if they take the first steps. Start with a smile, then be honest with who you are, help them when they fall, be generous, be kind, be loyal and honest, and make sure to share a laugh every once in a while. If that is returned then you have forged your friendship - but keep it going because it will fall apart if you don't. Friendship shall not be used for cruel purposes or evil agendas! If one tries then they will be betrayed by the one whom they were trying to use. But if the friendship is true then yours and their destines are made one.
From all of us together - together we are friends,
With the marks of our destinies made one - there is magic without end!