Heartstrings and Bronze Gears

Aldous walked slowly up to his workplace in Canterlot. He looked around the hallway. The royal purple hung from drapes spread across the ceiling. Stained glass windows depicted the famous Elements of Harmony as they defeated the greatest foes Equestria had ever known. He sighed as he turned the corner. He looked to the left to see a door. Emblazoned on the front was a pair of meshed bronze gears surrounded by mechanical wings. His insignia, which he designed himself. Slowly, he opened the door.

He was ashamed to admit it, but his workplace in Canterlot was just as cluttered, if not even more cluttered than his workplace at his abode. He had taken advantage of the height of the room. The heights that his stacks of parchment reached rivaled the size of the stained glass windows outside.

But, thankfully, he had an assistant that came in once a week. He always looked forward to it. She wasn't the most experienced in her field, but she was definitely one of the better ones. Today was one of those days. He smiled as a purple unicorn poked her head around a stack of paper.

"Aldous, I know you're the Royal Engineer and all. But honestly, your organizing skills could use a little help." Aldous sighed. "I understand that, Twilight Sparkle, and that is why I appreciate every single one of your visits." Aldous watched the room light up with purple magic. Twilight Sparkle quickly scanned through all the papers, organizing them by type and date.

"I'm going to leave the blueprints immediately to the right of your desk. The concept art to the right. They should be coupled by date and idea." Twilight sighed as she began to uncover various wooden models under the paper. "Aldous, I highly recommend getting a drawer or some type or organizing tool. This is getting to be a hassle."

Aldous chuckled when the last slip of paper slid into place. "Twilight. I'm the Royal Engineer! Do you really believe I have time for that?" Twilight shook her head. "No, but it would definitely help." Aldous smiled. "Here, Twilight. One hundred bits. Get as much as you think I need." Hesitantly, Twilight took the heavy bag and left.

Aldous looked around the now neatly organized room. He used his magic to lift his latest project off the far reached of the blueprint pile. Aldous smiled as he looked it over. Many of his inventions were already available for public use. But no pony could use them. They were simply far too expensive. For this problem, he had devised a mold, something to make smelting much quicker. He looked at the sample model and frowned.

It was a mold for a small figurine. One of his simpler metal works. It was a small unicorn, prancing in the fields, happy as could be. Aldous turned away as he felt tears come to his eyes.

He dropped the mold and print aside and pulled down the next concept. It was a small cube, with a speaker and a small light display. The blueprint read 'A friend indeed.' It was supposed to be a small contraption designed to respond in a friendly manner. Aldous sighed again. He looked around the floor at his other models. He suddenly realized they were the result of his loneliness thinking. Aldous was grateful that the doors were closed. The guards out roaming the halls could not hear him as he quietly began to sob.

"Aldous?" The engineer suddenly looked up. Twilight Sparkle had suddenly appeared in the room. She had with her several boxes for organizing and a noticeably lighter bag. Aldous sniffed and wiped a tear from his eye. "Thank you, Twilight. Help me sort this out, will you?" Twilight nodded.

Aldous slowly sorted through the stacks of paper, putting the models and parchments together for Twilight to store. As they worked, Twilight couldn't help but to notice Aldous was getting lost in his thoughts. After a while, he was just handing papers to Twilight. When she looked over, Aldous was staring silently at the model mold he had made. Twilight stopped.

"What is that you're holding, Aldous?" The engineer turned around. "It's an idea of mine. A mold to better and more efficiently make things." Twilight took the mold for herself. She examined it. "It looks rather... simple." Aldous smiled. "That's because that mold is for something simple." Aldous walked through a partially cleaned mess over to his table. He picked something up and handed it to Twilight.

It was a statue of a small unicorn. Pure bronze, shining with care and attention. Twilight examined it. None of Aldous more remarkable experiments were kept in such a perfect condition.

Twilight Sparkle suddenly heard music. She turned to find Aldous holding up a small box. It was a little bigger than his hoof, roughly the size of the statue Twilight was holding. Aldous watched it intently as the cover lifted off and a small figurine ascended into view.

It was a statue of a small green unicorn, poised in a graceful dance. Twilight recognized the figure as Lyra Heartstrings. She had attended her funeral just the other day. Twilight stood there, listening to the music box with Aldous.

Twilight could hear him quietly crying to himself. Silently, Twilight lifted the papers at his hooves away as tears fell onto the marble floor. She set the bronze statue down onto the floor and walked over to the crying stallion. Aldous did not appear to notice as she put his hoof around him.

"I don't know how you feel Aldous. I can only imagine." She knew Lyra as a friend, not as a daughter. She felt pain too, but in her heart she knew it could not compare to how Aldous was feeling. Twilight picked up a handkerchief and wiped Aldous' eyes.

"I was crushed when my wife died." Aldous sniffed as he stood unmoving, his gaze never leaving the spinning statue of his daughter. "Eileena was the perfect wife. Loving, kind, generous. I had never known joy like her." Aldous shuddered and closed his eyes. "Lyra was an angel from the heavens. Her voice, her character, her mind. She was perfect." Twilight wiped another tear. "And now she's gone. If only I'd been there for her..."

"If only for a minute longer... Maybe even a second... I would still have her..."

Suddenly a knock was heard upon the door. Aldous and Twilight turned to see a gray pegasus mare with crossed eyes. "Oh, uh... Sorry. Am I interrupting anything?" Aldous wiped his eyes on his sleeve and took a deep breath. "No, not at all Ditzy. Please, come in." The pegasus walked in and trip over a small stack of papers. "Oops."

The Pegasus got up and took a small parchment from her bag. She held it onto the floor and began to read.

Mr. Heartstrings,

We are aware that you are currently working on a faster mode of transport. Something called a 'bullet train?'

We would be grateful if you would take an advantage of an old train system between Manehatten and Las Pegasus. The current engine can hardly carry its passengers, and it still runs on coal. If your new train is successful, we will pay you half of the money earned on its' maiden voyage.

The sooner the better. There is absolutely no telling when that old train will crash.

With all respect,

The Train Drivers of Manehatten

Ditzy picked up the letter and gave it to Aldous. "Where are you're plans for this train?" Adlous took the letter and set it onto his desk. "Don't worry about it Ditzy. I'll get it done soon enough." Aldous smiled warmly at the mailmare as she turned to leave. Ditzy stopped just before she left.

"What's that?" Ditzy pointed to Aldous' model for the 'Friend Indeed.' Aldous looked down. "Ditzy, that's my model for a 'friend indeed.' Why do you ask?" Ditzy picked it up and hugged it. "Because it's absolutely adorable! Can I keep it?" Aldous was surprised for a moment. "Um... sure? You can have it Ditzy." She gasped. "Thanks, Aldous sir!" Ditzy scooped it up and left, cuddling the small cube. Aldous chuckled. "I'm not sure whether she's aware that it's not even a finished product."

But that got him thinking.

What if...?