Chapter 2- The approaching Darkness!

Over the two days that Bruno and Lyra were staying with The apple family he repaid them by helping them with the work on their farm and Bruno decided to use he alchemy to make their lives a lot better.

One day he gathered as many scraps of wood and metal he could find then he used Alchemy to restore their barn, house, and the tools that they use in the fields and that includes the plow that Big Macintosh uses in the fields and they were grateful for their help.

Applejack-"Thanks again Bruno. I'm really not into using magic on my farm but aside from all that I'm glad you made things for me and my family much better and I'm very grateful for your help on my farm and you and your sister are welcome to stay as long as you need to until you two can find a place to live."

Bruno-"I'm happy to help and for the record Alchemy is not magic, it's science and since there's no magic involved in it then it doesn't break the 'no magic Rule' you have for your farm. Am I right Big Mac?"

Big Macintosh-"Eeyup."

Applejack-"Well I never said that magic was not allowed on my farm but the thing is we would rather be doing the work without magic and that we only use magic from others as a last resort in the even we really need the extra help. Right Big Mac?"

Big Macintosh-"Eeyup."

Bruno-"Well magic or not help is still help and I'm happy to help you all out for giving my sister and I a place to stay. Thank you."

Meanwhile in town Twilight Sparkle finally gets a response from Princess Celestia and goes to Sweet Apple Acres to inform Bruno about it.

Twilight-"Bruno I just got a letter from Princess Celestia just a few minutes ago and from what I read of it you might like what she says."

Bruno-"Oh really? What does it say?"

Twilight(Reading Celestia's letter)-"Dear Twilight, First I want to say that I was very shocked from what you said in your letter about somepony being able to use alchemy and even more surprising that it was someone from the 'Star Pony Family' and don't worry I kept their connection to that family a secret. I will be arriving in Ponyville tomorrow so I can meet them and for the record, the letters you and your friends write to me don't always have to be about the magic of friendship. You all can write me anything that any of you want as long as it's something good and believe me that what you said in your last letter to me was very good. Keep up the good work Twilight. Your friend, Princess Celestia"

Bruno-"Wow I guess she is eager to meet us and tomorrow sounds perfect. In fact Lyra and I are going to look for a new place to live today."

Twilight-"That's great! Homer is really good at finding homes for anypony here in Ponyville and you are in good hooves with him. If you want my friends and I can help you out with that task."

Bruno-"That very nice of you but I'm not sure what you and your friends can do to help us out."

As Bruno, Lyra and the others go to see Homer at his place they scroll through a book that shows what homes are available in Ponyville and There were a lot of selections to choose from.

Homer-"Here's my portfolio of all the houses in Ponyville. The ones with a green check-mark are ones that are for sale and the yellow check marks are ones that need some interior work but the red ones are ones that are meant to be torn down for building new ones, unless you just want to buy the land it's on. Feel free to look as long as you want and the prices are very reasonable."

As Bruno and Lyra read the book of homes for sale Bruno spots one that might suit him and his sisters needs but there's a catch.

Bruno-"What about this one here and why does it have a black X in front of it and How come the price was reduced by that much?"

Homer-"Well it's hard to explain. You see the house is really big and it's for sale and it's on a somewhat large amount of land, but the house has some problems with it."

Pinkie Pie-"Oh oh is it haunted?"

Homer-"The thing is aside from the major interior work that needs to be done the other thing is that a relative of one of the owners that lived there died in that house and after it was left to the owners in their will they then decided to sell it since they could not afford to keep it and the current price you see in that book is how low they're willing to sell it for so that they can make a profit from it."

Twilight-"Someone died in that house? How horrible."

Homer-"If it makes you feel better the one who died there went peacefully and felt no pain."

Rarity-"Well that does sound a bit better but, You aren't considering buying that house are you Bruno? That place is a dump!"

Bruno-"Can you take us to it. I'd like to see it for my self."

Homer-"Really? Well OK then. Just follow me and we'll be there soon."

Lyra-"Why do you want to see that house brother? There were a bunch of others that were much nicer than that one."

Twilight-"I agree. Just what do you hope to find there?"

Bruno-"I've got a hunch about that place. Trust me on this."

As Homer shows Bruno and Lyra the house, Bruno decides to have a look around for himself.

Bruno-"Hmm-Well it's going to need some major work but that's not a problem for me."

Rarity-"What do you mean? This place looks really awful."

Bruno-"Well on the outside but after looking inside I can tell that the plumbing works just fine and the major support beams and frames are structurally intact. This house won't fall apart for many years to come. How much is it again?"

Homer-"Well its' original price was 10,000 bits but it's now at 3,500 bits but it will cost you almost the same original price to have all the work done on it."

Bruno-"No problem. We'll take it! In fact I'll pay you right now."

Homer-"Really? I didn't think anypony wanted this house."

Bruno-"Well I like it anyway. Oh Twilight do you remember how I told you I knew a weird packing spell that I used to pack all our stuff from our old home?"

Twilight-"Yeah I do. why?"

Bruno-"Well prepare to be amazed. Everypony please pay attention to my right eye."

Bruno's right pupil opens up and a vortex is shown and all the stuff he had taken with him from his old home came out and Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were very shocked at this new power of his.

Rarity-"What was that and how did you do that?"

Twilight-"I agree. Did you learn that power from the portal?"

Bruno-"In a sense yes I did and as for how it works I'll tell you. What it does is that anything I want in there is sucked up into the vortex that resides in my right eye and is transported to a pocket dimension that exists within my body and in there is an infinite amount of space. I can even use it to capture anyone. For those who are evil it's an inescapable prison and for others it's also the safest place in existence. It's also what I used to pack all the stuff needed for our travels to find our new home. Speaking of which. Here is your 3,500 bits for the house and tell the former owners of this place that I'll take good care of it."

Homer-"YES SIR! Also I'll bring the keys to your new house later today."

Rarity-"You're really going to live here?"

Bruno-"Yes Rarity and I'm surprised that you haven't figured out why I picked this house from the start."

Rarity-"Why is that?"

Twilight-"OH I see what you are going to do now. You're going to use your Alchemy to restore the house inside and out and That's why you got this place so cheap. Right?"

Bruno-"That's right."

Rarity-"Oh you are one clever and sneaky guy. You planned this didn't you?"

Bruno-"You got it but it will take me some time to go through and restore it room by room and also the reason I also bought this was because I noticed that it was on a large amount of land and is big enough for me to build my own laboratory nearby so I can do my research in Magic and Alchemy. Which reminds me, Here are the Alchemy books I promised that you can read Twilight. Just promise me that you won't do anything reckless with it. OK?"

Twilight-"Thanks and I promise to be very careful with them."

Pinkie Pie-"How long will it take for you to repair the whole place?"

Bruno-"Well from its' size and the many rooms. It will take at least 2 or 3 days for me to finish it."

Lyra-"Two days! Where are we supposed to stay til then?"

Bruno-"Well I'll ask Applejack if you can stay with them a little longer. I'm sure that she won't mind. As for me I'll be working on the house and if I need a place to sleep I'll just setup my bed in the house for me to sleep in til its' finished."

Lyra-"Well OK then."

Twilight-"Is there anything we can do to help you out? It may make things go a bit faster for you."

Bruno-"Thanks but I can handle the work myself but I'll keep that idea in mind just in case."

As Bruno begins working on the house through the night and Lyra gets settled for bed, Twilight begins reading the Alchemy books that he gave him and is quite Amazed at how it's done and decides to try it for herself but is unable to do it properly but she keeps trying.

Meanwhile the Manticore trio continues to fly towards Ponyville and they are a day away.

The next day.

Twilight goes to Bruno's house to remind him bout Princess Celestia's arrival to Ponyville.

Twilight-"Bruno wake up! Princess Celestia will be arriving in Ponyville in an hour."

Bruno-"Really but I'm filthy from the work I did all night I need a bath like now!"

Twilight-"Well you can use the one at my place if you want but you need to be quick about doing that at this time."

Bruno-"Thanks and I'll be fast with it. By the way did she say where she wanted to meet?"

Twilight-"I told her to meet at my place."

Bruno-"Oh, Well you see I was going to meet Lyra at Sugar Cube Corner for some breakfast after I get cleaned up. Do you think you ask the princess to come there after she comes to your place instead?

Twilight-"No problem Bruno."

After Bruno finishes getting cleaned up he goes to Sugar Cube Corner to meet Lyra for breakfast and Twilight waits outside her place to watch as Princess Celestia arrive in Ponyville.

Twilight-"Princess Celestia, It's nice to see you again. How have you been these days?"

Celestia-"I've been doing fine Twilight. Now where are the ponies that you mentioned in your letter? I'm very eager to meet them."

Twilight-"He and his sister are over at "Sugar Cube Corner" but there's something that's been bothering me."

Celestia-"What is it Twilight?"

Twilight-"Why is it that you were so eager to find those alchemy books after the humans vanished? Bruno told me that he thought it was weird that you were desperate to get them. Why is that?"

Princess Celestia-"I think you deserve to know why but I'll tell you and Bruno the reason after he and I get to know each other better. First I want to hear more about their journey and see his use of alchemy."

As Twilight and Princess Celestia arrive at the Cafe she introduces them to each other."

Bruno-"It's nice to finally meet you face to face Princess. I take it that you were shocked to hear of my use of alchemy?"

Princess Celestia-"Yes I was and I was wondering if you could show it to me first before we talk about you and your sisters past?"

Bruno-"Sure."

Bruno shows off his alchemy to the princess by breaking the table into many pieces. Then he claps his hooves and begins to repair the table and after seeing it with her own eyes, Princess Celestia is very impressed with what she saw.

Princess Celestia-"That was amazing Bruno, But when I saw the humans use Alchemy they had to draw a circle for it. How is it that you can do that by clapping your hooves together and is there anyway I can check out those Alchemy books you got anytime soon?"

Bruno-"Well Twilight is currently reading those books and with all do respect Princess I'd feel better if those books would remain with me. I don't want any other pony to attempt to try a certain form of alchemy that can really do some serious damage or even death to another pony and I don't want their blood on my hooves."

Princess Celestia-"Why is that Bruno? You know I would never put another pony in any danger like that."

Bruno-"I do believe you on that but you see the reason as to why I can use alchemy without a circle is also why I would rather hold on to those books and you will know why."

Bruno tells Princess Celestia all about what happened in his life. The Alchemy books arriving to his family, his brother disappearing, his father leaving, their mother dying, him using alchemy to try to revive his mother along with the results of it going wrong, being pulled into the voided world and meeting the Entity of the void, the human and Zetsu, his injuries from returning from the void, the form of what his mother looked like from the failed transmutation, him and Lyra burning down their house and going on their journey through Equestria and ending up in Ponyville. After hearing all of that She was shocked beyond imagination but something that Bruno said about the human in the void caught her attention.

Princess Celestia-"WOW! I must say that you and your sister have been through a lot in your lives and I'm sorry for all the bad things that happened to you two. By the way the human you saw in the void, can you please tell me what he looked like. I need to know if it might be a survivor from Amestris."

Bruno-"Sure I have a photographic memory when it comes to remembering anything. Let's see I remember that he was really nice, was tall, had long black hair, wore sunglasses and he was wearing a long black coat, had a backpack, had a pouch around his waist and what else, Oh yeah he also had a locket around his neck too."

Princess Celestia-"Did you say a locket? What did this locket look like?"

Bruno-"Well it was surely Equestrian made and it's shape was some what Hexagonal and it's outer surface was made of gold and the front of it was made of 3 different materials. Two halves were made of Unicorn horn fragments each one a different color and it's center had a chrome diamond on it. Why do you ask?"

Princess Celestia(thinking)-"Wait! Could it be him? No it's not possible unless after 25 years he finally managed to harness the magic that was in the locket, but if he did then that means there's a chance he can return here. Sonny, Are you trying to come back here?"

Twilight-"Princess, What are you thinking about? That look on your face when Bruno mentioned the locket on the human makes me think that you might know who the human in the void was. Am I right? Hello Earth to Princess Celestia."

Princess Celestia-"Huh What! Oh Twilight I'm sorry for drifting off like that. You see It's the locket that Bruno mentioned a minute ago. I remember giving that locket to a very special human I met a long time ago and he was always the kindest human in existence and he always had a smile on his face. The locket just brought back some very good memories for me that's all. Now as for the alchemy books. I don't see any harm in letting you and Bruno keep them for now and as for why I was looking for them in the first place well I remember reading a section in one of those books about an object called 'The Philosopher's Stone'."

Twilight-"The Philosopher's Stone? I've never heard of that."

Bruno-"Wait I remember reading that in one of the books. It's said that the stone can amplify the use of both Alchemy and Magic and it can be used to heal any wound with magic or Alchemy and when it's used it glows with a red light to show off its' power but it's unclear on how it's even made. Is that why you were after these books in the first place Princess?"

Princess Celestia-"Yes. I thought that if I figured out how to make the stone then I can use it's power to help better everyone who lives in Equestria."

Bruno-"Well I remember seeing a book with an image of a red stone on the cover and was written in a weird language that looked somewhat familiar."

Twilight-"Bruno, Is this the book you are talking about?"

Bruno-"Yeah that's the one I was...Hold on a sec Now I remember where I saw that language. It's the same language I saw inscribed in the 'Ariel Ruins'."

Princess Celestia-"Did you say the Ariel Ruins?"

Twilight-"How is that possible? No pony in all of Equestria could ever figure out the origins of those ruins for as long as they have been studying them and now after all this time we are holding a rare piece of evidence that has any connection to those ruins. This is so exciting! Bruno do you think you can translate this language?"

Bruno-"I'm not sure if I can. All I said was that I recognize the books language from the ruins but as for De-cyphering it that may be a challenge even after gaining 'the truth' from passing through the portal. However I now remember seeing something strange in those ruins. Inside what looked liked a temple near the center of the ruins I saw a strange marking in a stone wall which closely resembled the transmutation circle I used when I tried to resurrect my mother. After all that I then concluded that there's a chance that Alchemy may have originated there and not in Amestris."

Twilight-"This can't be right! Are you 100% positive about this Bruno because if what you said is true then this could re-write the some of the history of Amestris and possibly Equestria."

Bruno-"I'm not sure it's 100% but I know for sure that what I saw in those ruins does match up with what I saw in one of those books without a doubt."

Princess Celestia-"Well the two of you take as much time as you need and if any of you need help from the library in Canterlot then feel free to drop by at anytime."

Bruno-"Thank you Princess. We will keep that idea in mind, but there might be a chance that the Amestrians may have gathered some information on these ruins in the event they did visit them. I know Twilight mentioned that Amestris was off limits because of what happened 1500 years ago but is there any chance you would allow anypony to go to any of the libraries in Amestris to see if they might have what we need to De-cypher these notes? I mean it's not like the danger from what happened to the humans is still there after 1500 years, Right?"

Princess Celestia-"You do have a good point but I still don't want to put anypony in danger just in case, but I'll arrange for you and a couple of my Guards to accompany you to Amestris in the near future, but before you go there I'll personally go back there to check things out and if I don't sense anything unusual there then you will be cleared to go."

Lyra-"Princess. This guard has been looking for you. He says it's urgent."

Royal guard-"Princess, do you remember the expedition team you hired to survey the Great Salt lick flats a few days ago?"

Princess Celestia-"Rocky and his wife Sierra. Yes I do. Why do you ask?"

Royal guard-"Well I'm afraid I have some bad news. We sent out one of the other guards to check on them so they could give their progress report and the guards found them about 2 hours ago and I regret to tell you that...they're dead."

After Celestia, Twilight, Lyra and Bruno heard what the guard said they were horrified beyond imagination.

Princess Celestia-"DEAD? What happened to them!"

Royal guard-"According to the report given to us by one of the survivors, Rocky's little sister Sandy, She says they were attacked about 3 nights ago by a trio of manticores. The manticores had killed them by stabbing them in their chests with the stingers on their tails."

Princess Celestia-"Oh my goodness! How can that be?"

Twilight-"That's not possible. Even though the relationship between the manticores and ponies has always been dicey over the many years but there has not been any reason for them to just attack us out of nowhere like that."

Princess Celestia-"I agree Twilight. Something about this just doesn't feel right."

Bruno-"Hold on! Did you say that one of the ponies was named Rocky and did he have a light brown coat with a sky blue mane and tail?

Royal Guard-"Yes but how did you know what he looked like?"

Princess Celestia-"Did you know him?"

Bruno-"Yes I do remember him. He was a friend of my older brother Vince and the one that traveled with him to hoof caverns the day my brother vanished. I can't believe that he's dead and I had no idea he was married too!"

Twilight-"I'm so sorry you lost one of your friends like that."

Royal Guard-"Twilight Sparkle is it? I'm glad you are here too because this attack also has something to do with you and your friends too."

Twilight-"With me? What do you mean?"

Royal guard-"When we questioned the survivor she overheard the manticores were asking them about the Elements of Harmony and who wields them. I'm thinking that they're on their way here to Ponyville."

Twilight-"What would they want with the Elements of Harmony? It's not like they can use them. This doesn't make any sense. I'll get my friends and the elements and well take care of them."

Royal guard-"I'd rather not take any chances. We need to take you and your friends someplace safe until we can handle them. Now!"

As Twilight is about to get her friends and go with the guards Lyra and Bruno sense the manticores are closer than they appear.

Lyra-"Brother!"

Bruno-"Yeah Sis. I sense it too. EVERYPONY GET DOWN!"

The 3 Manticores suddenly appear behind Twilight and as they are just about to attack her, Lyra at the last second jumps toward Twilight and pushes her out of they way.

Lyra-"Whoa that was too close! Are you OK Twilight?"

Twilight-"Yeah I'm OK. Thanks for the assist Lyra."

Lead manticore:"Damn I missed her."

Princess Celestia-"You three, I demand to know why you would kill 2 innocent ponies like that and why are you three after the Elements of Harmony! What purpose do you have for wanting them that you would sink so low as to murder others in your path!?"

Lead Manticore-"What difference does it make as to why we did that. All we were told to do is seek out the ones who wield the Elements of Harmony and unless that it was you Princess who still uses them then we were told to kill who ever else wields them."

Princess Celestia-"By whom were You were told do that? Who is it that sent you? I order you to tell me NOW!"

Lead manticore-"Like I said does it really matter? All we want is the Elements and if you won't hand them over we may just have to take a few more lives to get what we want but if it makes you feel better, those other two ponies we killed did not suffer one bit."

Princess Celestia-"How dare you! I'll use this spell to banish you from Equestria forever and you will never be able to return ever again!"

Lead Manticore-"Do your worst!"

Princess Celestia then fires her spell at the manticores and as the magic is blasted at them the ponies are shocked to see that it had no effect on them.

Princess Celestia-"Why didn't it work? I thought that spell was full-proof?"

Bruno-"Hold on a sec. Take a good look at them."

Princess Celestia-"What is it?"

Bruno-"Don't you notice anything strange about them?"

Princess Celestia-"What do you mean by that?"

Bruno-"Take a closer look at their eyes. Do they look somewhat off to you?"

Twilight-"He's right. Their Eyes don't usually glow red like that . Not to mention that they're a bit larger than they should be and their voice does not sound right at all."

Bruno-"Lyra are you up to fighting them?"

Lyra-"Do you even have to ask. I've been eager to show off my strength since we got here and now is the perfect time to kick their butts!"

Princess Celestia-"You two plan on fighting them on your own?"

Twilight-"That's crazy!"

Lyra-"Then call us crazy! Let's go brother!"

Bruno-"You got it!"

Lead Manticore-"Bring it on!"

Unknown human(from a nearby location)-"let's see what these two have to offer for my own amusement and it seems that the blonde haired pony named Bruno is the one that also opened the 'Portal of truth' with his Alchemy unlike the other one I sensed that night. He might prove to be a useful pawn for my plans to gain the power that I desire."

Ending notes of chapter 2

Do Bruno and Lyra actually have the Strength to take on the three Manticores to protect Ponyville, their new friends and the Princess and what is the unknown humans true objective while he's in Equestria?