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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“No, I don’t.” he said.

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

“I guess I have no choice.” he said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yeah. I’m fine.” Ed told her.

“What happened?” she asked.

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

“You remembered something?!” Twilight asked.

“Maybe. I don’t know.” he told her.

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

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

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

“Hey Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called out.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“His memories?” asked Dash.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

--

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

“Surprise!” yelled out everyone.

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

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

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

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

“What?” he said again.

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

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

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

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

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

“Hey pipsqueak.” Rainbow Dash said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“That must be horrible darling!” said Rarity.

“Not really.” Ed told her.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Maybe.” he said.

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

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

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

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

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

“Huh? What do you mean?” he asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yeah, right.” she said.

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

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

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

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

“Well, um.” the voice started.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You too.” said Ed, shaking the hand.

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

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

“He’s quite reliable.” Twilight said.

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

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

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

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

“What does it say?” Ed asked her.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What’s it say?” asked Ed.

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

“Miss Twilight?” he asked.

“That’s me.” she said.

“Your escort’s here.” he told her.