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."

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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."

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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."