The First Artificial Alicorn

by bron33guy

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Applejack, Original Character, Rainbow Dash, Adventure, Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 4905

Thunder Strike, a book repairist for Ponyville, creates a spell that could change Equestria, but The Princess, Twilight, must see it first, lest the spell be misused.

Thunder Strike is a stallion working on the outskirts of Ponyville as a book repairist, when he finally succeeds in his lifelong idea: An artificial Alicorn. Listening to his conscience, he sends a letter to the Princess, Twilight, for a demonstration.
The catch is, he doesn't know if the Princess will like his new spell... nor does he know what will happen next...
(OC created with http://generalzoi.deviantart.com/art/Pony-Creator-v3-397808116)

Published 2013-08-28 10:50:03 UTC
Last updated 2013-08-31 12:31:01 UTC

Part One: Beginnings

Thunder Strike kept at it. He wanted to perfect this new spell. He was sure that it could change the whole of Equestria. But perfecting this spell was testing Thunder Strike’s very touchy patience. Nevertheless, he kept going over the wording, making sure it had the desired effect. He cast it, but found himself hurtling towards the wall of his house.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!”

Thud.

“Ow!”

Thunder Strike had a few modifications he could make, but the frustration had finally gotten to him, and besides, having a few apples in your stomach, especially Sweet Apple Acres ones, might give him the inspiration he needed. He kicked the floor, out of spite, he didn’t know, then put up his work-in-progress, and headed outside, locking the door behind him
The stallion headed towards Ponyville, still trying to figure out what had gone wrong. It would have been so much easier if he had been turned into an alicorn, but they don’t grow on trees, and you have to have special stuff if you want to be one, which Thunder Strike knew he didn’t have.

Rainbow Dash flew by, clearing Ponyville of the clouds. Thunder Strike checked his watch. Heh, she’s doing it early, that’s a surprise. But if I succeed, I could eventually be up there, helping her. Yep, there’s the key word: if. Thunder Strike hoped to unveil it out of the blue, and stun Ponyville, and maybe even Equestria, with this new spell, for he had kept it a secret, for he felt if someone knew about it and snuck into his house and tried the unfinished spell, well, he shuddered and pushed that thought away.

He grabbed a couple bits from his pocket and trotted up to Applejack.
“Howdy there Thunder Strike!”
“Hey there Applejack”
“What can I do you for today?”
“Just a few apples thanks”
“4 bits”
Thunder Strike pushed the bits over, and feeling generous, poked a few extra bits in the tip jar.
“Thank ya Thunder Strike!”
“It’s the least I could do after you and the other 5 ridding us of Discord, and mind you, I wasn’t sure if Fluttershy could turn Discord around, I was surprised”
Applejack chuckles.
“Well that was a while back”
Turning to leave, Thunder Strike turns around and calls out
“Hey, if you see Rainbow, tell her I wish her luck for the Wonderbolts Academy!”
“I sure will!”
Chuckling, Thunder Strike finds a spot and sits down underneath a tree and starts eating his apples. Drawing in the dirt with a stick, just random drawings for most of the time, until the final bite of his apple. Suddenly, Thunder Strike understood. He knew what, and how to end the sentence. He smirked. Maybe friendship had something to do with it. He felt lucky to try teleporting. He had failed in accuracy in the past, but today, that wouldn’t stop him!

FWAT!

Thunder Strike found his feet a moment later out his front door, albeit a little dizzy, but feeling like he had accomplished a great personal feat.

“Now for part 2” he sighs and grabs the book and magical words start flowing like water does down the Ponyville creek. When his burst had ended, he shook his head, and then studies it. It all fit like a key to a lock. Time to write this down in his journal and he magically copied a miniature version of all the writing across.

LOGBOOK ENTRY 273
TODAY I, THUNDER STRIKE, UNICORN, APPEAR TO HAVE SUCCEEDED IN MY LIFELONG AMBITION TO ALLOW UNICORNS TO FLY INDEFINITELY. OF COURSE, AT THE TIME OF WRITING, I HAVEN’T ACTUALLY TESTED THE SPELL YET. BUT IF THIS SPELL SUCCEEDS, I WILL FILE OFF A LETTER TO CANTERLOT TO THE PRINCESS REQUESTING AN AUDIENCE. SHOULD SHE ACCEPT, I SHALL PROTECT ALL KNOWLEDGE OF THIS SPELL UNTIL THE DATE UPON WHICH I MUST TAKE OFF TO CANTERLOT (I THINK I HAVE ENOUGH SAVINGS FOR A TICKET, DON’T WANT TO ARRIVE THERE UNDER THE EFFECTS OF MY NEW SPELL AND FALL OUT OF THE SKY BY CANTERLOT’S MAGICAL DEFENSES :/ ) SHOULD THE GUARDS ASK UPON A REASON, I WILL TELL THEM THAT I HAVE MADE A NEW SPELL, ONE THAT COULD CHANGE EQUESTRIA IF NOT HANDLED PROPERLY. ALL I HAVE TO DO IS TAKE ALL SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE, LIKE LOGBOOKS WITH ME TO PROVE BEYOND DOUBT, THAT I HAVE BEEN THE ONE TO CREATE IT.
SIGNED, THUNDER STRIKE,UNICORN, OF PONYVILLE
1042C.R.

As Thunder Strike signed off, he realised the enormity of what this spell might achieve, but he could hear his conscience saying to him that he needed to take it before the Princess first, and judging by her past studies in magic, she would be able to tell him if there were any potential side effects, and, besides, the Princess would want to know about this spell. Of course, all of this was to no avail if the spell failed, and it was no use taking off for Canterlot to waste the Princess’s time with a spell that didn’t even work

Author's Note

The first chapter! Feel free to leave comments below! Feedback is appreciated!

Part Two: Success!

LOGBOOK ENTRY 274
THE SPELL HAS SUCCEEDED, AND THE POWER IS ENORMOUS. BUT BEFORE I CAN USE THIS FREELY, THE PRINCESS MUST BE NOTIFIED, AS POWER LIKE THIS IS FAR TOO EASILY MISUSED. I WILL ATTACH A COPY OF THE REQUEST LETTER BELOW
1042C.R.

Princess Twilight Sparkle,
I have a request to meet with you, in regards to something that I feel you must know about. Judging by your past studies of friendship and magic under Celestia, I feel that this must be shared with you first. Apologies to complaints about the weird letters I am sure the guards and mail deliverers, (and many magic scanners) might have felt uneasy about, but on my word, this letter only has a memory attached to it with what I have to show you, with the entire letter scrambled in such a way that only the sender and recievee can see the true contents. This reason, you shall see, upon seeing the memory, will become clear. I was brought up to listen to rules, and this tradition is one I follow.
Wishing your days go well
Thunder Strike , Ponyville

Thunder Strike took it to the post office, and paid the naturally heavy fee of bits to send a letter to royalty. The fee covered the many costs of getting the letter filtered, screened, and scrutinized, to ensure the letter was harmless, before it even got to the hooves of the Princess. Thunder Strike walked back to his house and saw a couple fillies run past and under him, tripping him up.

“Oops, sorry mister”
“It’s alright you lot” I replied, chuckling “I was just like you when I was younger”
“I didn’t know we had another unicorn out here” asked the trio of fillies, (which in a brief realization, were the trio know around town as the Cutie Mark Crusaders)
.
“I’ve always been here; it’s just that I don’t take many trips into town. Don’t worry, I have friends, even though I was the ‘not for friends’ type when I first came here. Pinkie Pie changed all that”
“Why is it that you don’t go into town mister?”
“Well, my work keeps me busy, see?” I reply “I repair magical books”
“Twilight used to do that before she left for Canterlot” said Scootaloo

“Well I’m just filling in the hole she created when she left” I reply “Hey, would you guys mind doing me a favour? I wouldn’t mind if you spread the word about me in town if that’s okay. I reckon I might be able to set aside a couple bits every now and then to help y’all with what you do.”
“Cool mister!”
“Although I might be gone for a day in a couple weeks, maybe sooner”
“Oh okay mister”
“Off you go”
“See ya!”

I wasn’t prepared for something I saw poking out of my mailbox. I thought: Impossible, the mail run’s tomorrow, unless…
I grabbed it and went inside to read it, locking the door behind me.

Thunder Strike ,
When I received you letter and browsed the memory you attached, was what I saw true, in that you appear to have made something revolutionary? If what I saw was true, you must come to Canterlot immediately! You should find a premium ticket enclosed. Pack your bags and use that ticket to travel to Canterlot and meet me as soon as you can! Powerful things like this should not be delayed! You appear to be a relatively talented unicorn in these arts, and I am flattered that you would bring such a thing before me first. Even Celestia agrees that your actions to bring it before royalty first was the right thing to do. We have much to talk about.
Princess Twilight.

A quick magical check I performed confirmed that Twilight, the Princess, really did write this letter. I was thunderstuck, but glad I filed off that letter first. It would have been rude to suddenly show up and try to see Twilight when it may not have suited her. At least I gave her that option. Time to get packing! I grabbed logbooks and evidence, magically sealing the original parchment with the spell on it in a shielder to keep damage away, and piled it all into my bag, adding a suit to wear before appearing in Canterlot. Well! I haven’t gone to Canterlot before, and basic one way tickets are usually flamin’ expensive! There is no time to waste! I finally flung my best quill in and pocketed the ticket and locked down the bag. Nearly ready. I grabbed another quill and scribbled a note which I left on my door:

Thunder Strike’s Book Repairs
Gone to Canterlot. ETA back in Ponyville not known. Leave messages on table. Don’t ask questions.
Thunder Strike.

I levitated my bag out the door, pinning the note on the door, double checking that I was packed for every situation. Yes, the Princess’s response letter was in the bag. I’m going to Canterlot!. To meet the Princess herself in person to boot! Assuming this spell works (I know it does) and it doesn't fail. The one who was once Celestia’s student. Let’s go! Trotting down through Ponyville, I see all of Twilight’s friends. If only I could tell them. Pushing that aside, I trotted up to the ticket master of Ponyville station and handed him the ticket.

“3 uses of 2 way travels to Canterlot”. He says in an undertone. What really boggles his eyes is the signature: T Sparkle and the Royal Seal after it.
“I take my hat off. This ticket’s one the Princess herself issued to you?”
“Eeyup, as Big Macintosh himself might say.” I reply
“Whoa Nelly! Safe travels then!”

Author's Note

The second chapter! As usual, comments and feedback are appreciated! I actually drafted this chapter in Word before copying and pasting, then adding the final modifications. Makes things a bit easier.

Part Three: I'm going to Canterlot!

On-board the train to Canterlot, I gawked. This is what Twilight’s friends get when they travel. Top of the line carriages with the comfiest seats bits can buy. This puts into perspective the scale of what I’m doing. I take a seat at the back and put the bag I have above me in the baggage compartment. What I next see shocks me to the core of my horn.
Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack all board the train. Trying to not be noticed, I pull out a crossword puzzle to look like I’m busy.

Their chattering is largely indecipherable, but a minor hearing enhancement charm changes that.
“… wonder what Twilight's calling us to Canterlot for?”
“Who cares? As long as it’s fun there!”
“I heard that the Wonderbolts are doing something there!”
“At least Canterlot has some of the best and latest fashion ideas there on offer!”
“Are you going to be fine for this trip Angel Bunny?”

Ending the spell, I go over what I had heard. Gulp. I might be taking center stage, with all of this resting on my spell working. Eventually I fell asleep A couple hours later I heard giggling. Opening my eyes, all I saw was Pinkie’s fuzzy pink mane. A bang behind me nearly made my hooves fall off as I jumped into the air and charged up my horn with energy, making it glow a nasty darker shade of my blue coat, ready to blast away anything.

“Pinkie Pie!” called out Applejack “That wasn’t nice!”
“I know, but it was funny!” She giggles
“You could have been blasted off the train if I didn’t have self-control” I say. “Anyway, what’s the ETA to Canterlot?”
“Abou’ 3 hours” pipes up Applejack “What do you mean you could have blasted Pinkie off the train?”
Smiling, my horn glows and picks Pinkie up and spins her around mid air a couple times, then plonks her down on the carriage floor.
“I found that very easy.”
Next thing I know, a cyan Pegasus flies through the air and crashes into me, shouting stuff I couldn’t make sense of.
“Slow down Rainbow!” Calls out Applejack

So. Rainbow Dash. I should have recognised the Rainbow blur of the mane coming at me. As she slowly slows down her voice box, and I mean slowly, words start to appear out of all the gibberish and non understandable muck.
“whassyurstoryidemanditoutofyou!”

“My story? If that’s all that gibberish was about? Okay, but you might as well sit down. This will take a while”

“I was, so far as I know, and can remember, born in Canterlot. But what must’ve happened is that the moment I was born, I was handed to a foster family. Don’t ask me why my biological parents did that, I could well never know. I remember moving around a lot in Manehatten. Eventually I just got sick of moving all the time, so, when I was old enough, I grabbed all of my savings and all the bits I had in my stash box and, practically, up and left. I knew I didn’t belong because I was a unicorn. Neither of my foster parents was one. Before I did leave, I left a note, the contents of which I wrote, escape me today. I wandered around Manehatten a lot, doing my homework about places in Equestria, when I heard that there was this nice place. A little digging and the name turned out to be called Ponyville. From what I heard about it at the time, it was not a big bustling city like Manehatten was, but a town where everyone knew each other. I was unsure whether to go and put all my savings into one ticket to Ponyville, when, out of the blue, something that was only told about in pony legends appeared. A Sonic Rainboom! I saw that it pointed to Ponyville and took it as a sign that that was where I should go. Thanking Celestia, I went up to the ticket box and used the leftover savings I had to pay for a rickety old train to Ponyville.

Once I got there, I felt like it would be fitting for me to grow up here. I wasn’t sure of my parents, but I figured that they’d come looking for me in Ponyville. No such luck. Eventally I just gave up on the search and focused on having a life of my own. I knew I had a talent for magic, but after seeing Twilight Sparkle banquish an Ursa Minor on her own, I knew that she had something special, better than me. Never mind! I didn’t let that bother me. I was proud of her. Nor could I find it within myself to disagree with the No. 25 Twilight gave Snips and Snails. At that stage, I didn’t have my cutie mark, a while later I got mine. Instead, I found a liking for repairing magical books. Just recently, I made a discovery, which I can’t talk about for reasons of safety, that lead me here, on my way to Canterlot, to show Twilight.”

“Wow!” said Applejack
“And don’t ask me about my secret thing, because I can’t speak of it freely until Twilight herself has seen it. Another spell of my invention.”
“That was my sonic rainboom by the way” pipes up Rainbow.
“I already knew that.” I replied “I matched the cutie mark I saw back then from a drawing I did at that time to yours, but I wanted to let you six discover that fact for yourselves”
“And how did you see my cutie mark from sooo far away?”
“Binocular vision spell” I reply. “I thought I was the first to invent it, but Twilight got there first, as I later discovered”.

An hour later I was in my dressy clothing, ready to depart the train with Twilight’s friends with my first few hoofsteps into my birth town. I was kinda nervous to see my birth town, but feeling confidant. If I could impress Twilight, I was something special too!
The train doors opened and the first thing I saw was the castle, set in the mountain. Everything had a glossy feeling to it.
"My home town" I mutter.

Author's Note

Eeyup! Chapter three is here! As usual, feedback and comments are welcome!

Part Four: The Meeting With Royalty

Canterlot.

The pony city where Princess Twilight rules.
I say goodbye to Twilight's friends:
“Bye!”
“Bye Sparkly One!”
“It’s Thunder Strike!”
Smirking, I can see why Twilight had a good time in Ponyville. They are great ponies. First things first though. To Twilight. I used a spell to build a 3d map in my head and then knew how to reach the castle gates. With my bags with me, I approached one of the guards

“Halt! Who goes there?”
“It is I, Thunder Strike, here to see the Princess”
“Proof please”
“What’s that floating in front of you?”
“Oh” The guard pony reads the summoning letter, and takes a peek at the seal. He whispers and sends a messenger to Twilight.

“You are to await here to get a response, after that, should the Princess agree, you will be sent by escort to her. Magic will not work inside unless the Princess lets it happen.”
I nod, and stand a-waiting, cleaning my hooves by magic. The messenger comes back and whispers into the ear of the guard.
“You are granted permission to go without escort. Remember, magic still won’t work within the castle grounds”
“I’ll remember that sir. Left at the spiral staircase is it?”

The guard nods and goes back to staring straight ahead. A cold tingly feeling washes over me and I realise that’s the anti magic field. A encasing appears over my horn. That’s likely a blocker. Using the map the princess sent me by telepathy, I finally appear at the main hall doors, which open of their own accord into the largely empty room, with the Princess herself, sitting upon the throne, and her friends next to her.

Twilight waves her horn. The encasing dissapears
“Now you may perform you new piece of magic without fear!”
I get out all the evidence and it flies over to Twilight. The parchment with the spell on it is in perfect knick. I start reading. Focus! A flash of light.
“Note that I am not an true Alicorn by definition. I can just fly now. It's more like a mod”
I begin flying around, doing stunts Rainbow Dash often does. She’s got the 'oh lookie here we've got a showoff' face. This freedom is unbelievable! Landing back on the floor, I announce.

“Now Princess, if I can get a bit more airspace, I can show that there is more!”
She waves her horn.
I am floating in the air above the castle. I perform the spell and go up high, diving just like I saw Dash did at the Young Flier competition. Come on! I aint' giving in! Sparks fly. A sparkling sonic rainboom echos forth across Canterlot. Gulp. I didn't think I could actually do that! The ground’s coming up fast! Oh great! Come on artificial wings! Don’t fail me now! I pull off a 180 degree turn and just tap the hard courtyard of the castle and rocket up through Cloudsdale like Dash herself often does, only 20% cooler and faster than ever! Feeling adventurous, I zoom past The Wonderbolts, increasing my altitude, grabbing some cloud and forming into the Wonderbolt logo with perfect precision, before roaring back into the castle hall through a window landing in the perfect center of the hall, albeit tired. (The spell is rather draining on magical reserves)

“Like I thought, I can be both Pegasus and Unicorn at differing times and still be good! Buckin’!” I say with a hoof pump. Before turning to meet the stunned faces of everyone. (Even Dash!)
“What? I’m good when I’m good!”
“I didn’t think this spell could do so much. Does it work on earth ponies?”
“No, haven’t tested it yet”
“Well, as Princess, and partly because I need to see this through, I will help you evolve the spell far beyond what it is capable now, into a spell that must be controlled. But I see many uses in the near future"

Bowing low, I reply:
"It was my pleasure, Princess"

Author's Note

Wow! Chapter 4! I didn't think I'd get so far! As usual, comments and feedback are greatly appreciated!

Part Five: The Real Work Begins

I actually stunned Dash! 'Course she'll never admit it, she's got a 'rep to maintain. Can't say I blame her.

Princess Twilight is busy looking through all my logs and is studying all the notes carefully. *study face*. She beckons me over with a couple hoof movements, and we start talking. Not as Princess and citizen, more like magic user to magic user. The talking is actually cool, and I can talk with someone who appreciates magic like I do. But still! I'm talking with somepony who used to be Celestia's student!

"I hear that you work as a book repairist in Ponyville" Twilight states.
"Yes Princess" I reply "Books that have seen better days apparently"
"It pay well?"
"It varies. If I succeed in repairing something that is a treasured family heirloom, well, the joy I get when I tell that pony family that I succeeded is the best feeling of all" I reply "I do try to keep the repair cost down as low as possible, and occasionally I will just repair the book free of charge"
Twilight nods.

"You were brought up well"
Looking up at the Princess, I tell her that I don't know who my biological parents are and that I was brought up in a foster family.
"I can see if I can dig up anything in the Canterlot Records later if you like"
"Wow. You stun me Princess... yes, I would like that"
She nods and we go back to discussing the finer points of my new spell. Debating this and that and coming up with refinements that make the spell more efficient on magical reserves and eliminating potential magic leaks. Later, Twilight calls for her friends to go get something to eat.

"Girls, go down and grab something to eat"
Twilight's friends thank her and head out. I nod.
"They are good friends Princess"
"Thank you Thunder." She replies
"Princess?"
I look up. Princess Celestia's here.
"May I ask who this stallion is?"
"He is Thunder Strike, a book repairist unicorn from the outskirts of Ponyville"

I present myself to Celestia and state my reasons for traveling to Canterlot. I also state the potential power of my new spell and the fact that I had realized that such a spell of this power should not be allowed to roam free around Equestria.
"Perhaps it would be better if we head to your study Twilight" Celestia pipes up.
"Yes, a good idea Celestia"
Twilight motions to me and Celestia. But before I can move a hoof, I find myself floating in another world. Seemingly standing on nothing, my nightmares to which I had forgotten from colthood suddenly seemed real. Being rejected by my parents when I finally found them was the most prominent.

No! This isn't my parents. They had a darn good reason for releasing me! This must be all inside my mind. I start fighting to return to the real Equestria. I shout out for Princess Luna, the one who stands duty at night, thinking this was her doing, but all I heard was an echo. I reach for magic in my horn, but it seems gone and dead, like it never existed. I shout out:
"If you think you can take control of my mind, whoever you are, get ready for a ride!"
The echo that bounces is creepier than before, but that doesn't disassure me. I want back to the real Equestria, not this depraved imitation of it! I focus, hard on an image of everything I cared for in Equestria. Cracks start to appear in the world.

Author's Note

Whew! Part 5?! This is turning into something big! As always, comments and feedback are appreciated!
--> For those of you who are curious as to what a magic leak is, a magic leak is like a memory leak in computers, where the magical energy has a chance to be used less efficiently, thus 'leak out' and unnecessarily drain a unicorn's magical energy levels.

Part Six: Waking up

More cracks are appearing.
The next thing I can remember is feeling like I'm being squeezed in all directions at once.
Another black out.
The first thing I saw was a red ceiling. Then, as my eyes adjust to the surroundings, I realize I'm in what appears to be a spare bedroom for the castle. A quick look out the window confirms my suspicions. That's the Canterlot market in the distance.
What the hay was all that? I ask myself.
Then I feel it. A cold set of bandages, mainly focusing around my horn, I reach up with my hoof and my horn feels really hot, like I've been doing something really magic intensive.

Then as I realize that my ears are working, I can hear muffled voices. Good luck working any magic at the moment, my horn is really hot. I twitch my ear in annoyance. Can they keep it down, darn it? Who knows what happened to me and the least they could do is give me some rest, from whatever it was. I fall asleep.

I wake up, and, glancing at the clock beside me, come up to date with how long my snooze was. 4 hours. Well at least it was half decent, and I didn't get any nightmares. It's a start. Then my eyes re-focus and I see Twilight standing there. She looked...concerned?
"Don't speak Thunder. You're still weak." Twilight starts. "I don't know what happened to you, nor does anypony else. I'll have to wait until you feel better before I can get a recount. Don't worry. I can wait. Anyway, there's other duties I have to attend to."
I watch Twilight leave, pulling the door closed behind her.
What.. just happened? I ask myself. Why is is that everypony doesn't seem to want to give me the full story? And did she just seem like she just wanted to get out of the room? Was it something I did before I collapsed?

Nightmares. They came for me. But they didn't seem to bother me anymore. Suddenly something rips me out of my thoughts as a colossal explosion reaches my ears. Waking up, all I can see is party streamers falling in the corridor beyond the bedroom door. This I must investigate. I flick my hooves out of bed and fall onto the floor, collapsing in a heap, then blacking out.

Floating. Again. But not like when I collapsed. Instead the great unicorns of the past were in this... unicorn heaven? Starswirl The Bearded trotted up to me:
"Congratulations Thunder Strike!"
"For what?"
"You created magic, the likes of which I am most impressed by." he replied
"Are you even real?" I ask
"Oh yes very real" he replies "But not real enough to walk in Equestria anymore"
"So what now?"
"We have watched you, Thunder, work on the piece of magic, hoping you were ready to release it for Equestria"' he continues "And for that, I am very grateful"
Considering myself, I plucked up some more courage, to speak to the ancient teacher.
"It was my pleasure"

The squeezing sensation again. The smell of the carpet of the bedroom fills my nostrils. I'm back.
I get up. Not a moment seems to have passed since I blacked out.
Was it just a dream?
Was that really Starswirl?
I trot over to the bedroom door, expecting to find a corridor with party streamers on the floor. Instead, It's just Twilight.
"Oh, you're up."
Rolling my eyes, I reply
"I did have a little help"

---THE END---

Author's Note

Whew! SIx?! Like usual, comment!