Midnight Shadow (Outdated)

Chapters

Of Machines and Magic
To Catch a Bread Thief
The Psychology of Flux Posioning
Unexpected Inspiration
Inside
Where the Desert River Flows
Lunar Revival
A New Beginning
May the Bridges I Burn Light the Way
The Cost of Progress
Homecoming
Chapter 13
If at first you don't succeed...

Of Machines and Magic

The doctors never thought I'd survive. Ponies born with three legs rarely do. Not to mention my coat was jet black, which was considered a bad omen by some ponies. My father told me how happy my mother and him were when the doctor told them I hadn't died after one whole day, and that I had a chance of living longer than that. I was weak, could barely move for a few weeks, but I still survived.

My father told me how he remembered reading the newspaper headline: "Young foal born with rare birth defect survives three days." Ponies born with a missing limb usually didn't have enough strength to even move at all, and those who could move could just barely do so. I've been told it has something to do with chromosomes, or genes, or something like that, but I never really bothered to look into it. It never really was important to me why it happened because I could never change it, even if I did know.

However, I didn't really become "famous." For most ponies, it was just the "huh, that's interesting" kind of news. I didn't mind. After all, being famous would have just made my already difficult life even more so.

After I had survived long enough for the doctors to think I was ready to be given to my parents to care for me, I lived the kind of life you'd expect for a pony in my situation. My parents taught me things, how the world works, how to read, etcetera. Of course, I never learned how to walk, and that prevented me from living a "normal" life. When I was old enough to go to school, my parents got me a wheelchair and asked someone at the school to help me with my day.

I enjoyed the learning part of school, but never really liked the "being around other ponies" part of it. Probably because most of them were too busy laughing or making fun of me to talk to them. It was pretty rough, but I learned how to deal with it. It helped having an adult with me, so they were less willing to tease me to my face. I know they did it when I wasn't there, though. It never really bothered me, because I was too busy trying to learn all I could. After all, if I couldn't be physically strong, then I could at least be mentally strong.

I never cared much about things most ponies my age cared about. I never cared much about getting a Cutie Mark. I never cared much about making friends. I never cared much about social status, or really anything except learning. I was especially interested in math and science, although those were usually the classes ponies cared about less. Looking back at it, I realized that those programs were underfunded and neglected at the school, being overshadowed by the arts programs and the programs that taught practical skills, like farming and construction. Luckily, my parents would take me to the Canterlot Public Library after school sometimes so I could learn more.

Things went on like this for a few years, the routine basically the same from day to day. Go to school, ignore the bullies, learn, go to the library, learn some more, go home, sleep, rinse, repeat. I didn't mind the lack of change, but that's not to say I wanted things to stay the same. And the day would come when everything I knew changed forever.

"Okay class, as you all know, today we're taking a field trip to the historic Canterlot Clock Tower. Everypony get your permission slips out!" The teacher said cheerfully. My history teacher is nice, although I don't remember her name. I never was good with names. Instead I would remember ponies by the role they played in my life. Science teacher, history teacher, doctor, and so on.

I wasn't particularly interested in this field trip, but my father had insisted that I go. Ever since my mother disappeared, he'd been trying his best to raise me and keep his job in the palace. He was a Royal Guardsmen there, but his shifts were usually early in the day, so he was almost always there to meet me after school. He wanted me to go on this particular day because he had a later shift, and the field trip would go on for longer than a usual school day. This had happened a few times before, so I was okay with it. I took my permission slip from my bag and handed it to the teacher.

We then walked to the clock tower. It wasn't too long of a walk, so we were there in just a few minutes. The teacher lectured us on how this tower was the first clock made in Equestria and how it represented harmony between the pony races, blah blah blah. I wasn't listening for most of it, my mind focused on the science book I had checked out of the library just for this trip, when I heard the teacher say something that caught my interest.

"Now, we will go inside to see how it works!" She said. I hadn't really thought about that. I had always assumed it was magic, just like every other clock in Equestria was. But when we went inside, I was shocked at what I saw.

The tower was filled with huge metal wheels, ropes, and other parts. There was always something moving around somewhere. That wheel turned, which causes that thing to lower, which causes...

DING! The bell at the top rang out, surprising a few ponies in the group. "You see, class, when this clock was made, there were no magic clocks. So instead, the ponies who built this one used a bunch of gears and pulleys to make a working clock. For a while, all clocks were made this way, until a method for creating magical clocks was invented by..."

At that point, I had stopped listening, instead marveling at the complexity of the huge clock mechanism. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen; tons of metal parts, each one finely made to serve a specific purpose, all fitting together to form a whole, doing things that were otherwise impossible without magic. As the teacher lectured on about how magic clocks replaced mechanical ones, I pieced together how the clock worked. So that gear turns, which turns that other gear, lowering that weight using that pulley, which in turn raises that other weight, which turns another gear, which then...

DING! The bell rang off again. An idea popped into my head. It was crazy, no, it was completely impossible, and it came out of nowhere. But at the same time, it was so simple that I wondered why I hadn't thought of it before. I began to plan it in my head, working out how the pieces would fit together. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like it just might work.

That day, after school, my father and I went to the library. I wasted no time, asking for him to help find any books on machines, and machine parts, and how to make them. He asked why I was suddenly so interested in such an "obsolete" method of doing things. I told him that it wasn't obsolete, and that it was merely being used in the wrong way. I believed that, if done correctly, machines could solve problems that magic never could. And I intended to do just that.

Over the next few weeks, I slowly assembled my project. I kept it a secret from everypony, even my father. I told him it was a surprise. "Surprise" was a massive understatement. Often, I would ask him to get me a few small gears, or springs, or pieces of metal. And, being the supportive father he is, he would always at least try to get them for me. When it was finally ready, I told him to wait in the living room for a few minutes.

I took the metal contraption and strapped it on to where my front right leg would be. Then, for the first time ever, I stood up.

Many ponies claim to have had an experience that drastically changed how they viewed the world. This was mine. I took a moment to get used to it. My natural legs weren't that strong, so I couldn't stay up for long. Luckily, I had expected that. I strapped the metal bracings I made to my other legs. They were much simpler, only meant to help me keep my legs straight. Then, I called my dad back.

I will never forget the look on my father's face when he saw me standing for the first time.

For the first time in the twelve years I'd been alive, I could do something every other pony learned to do when they were two.

For the first time, I considered the possibility that I could have a normal life.

Then, the strain from standing got the better of me, so I removed my braces and sat down on the floor. I was lightheaded, and before I knew it, everything had gone black.
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The next time I woke up, I was in my bed. I could hear my father talking outside with my doctor, no doubt discussing what I'd just done. I took a moment to look around my room.

The room didn't have much in it, probably because my parents never thought I'd need much in it. There was my bed, a small desk with a lamp and some papers on it, and some framed photos on the dark blue walls. I looked at them. Some were of me alone, some were of me with my parents. One in particular caught my eye. It showed my father and mother standing on opposite sides of me. I was in my wheelchair. That was the first day I left the house since my parents brought me home from the hospital. The first day I went to school.

My thoughts drifted to my parents. First, my father. He was an Earth Pony stallion, with a gray coat and a darker grey mane. His name was Bremen-shade, although I'd heard many ponies just call him Bremen. His eyes were a dark blue, the same color as mine, as well as the paint on my walls. His Cutie Mark was a shield with then outline of an axe inside of it. He had always been there for me when I needed him, and he tried to help me in as many ways as he could.

It had been my mother's decision to paint the walls the same color as my eyes. She was a beautiful Unicorn mare, with a light blue coat and darker blue hair. Her name was Aurashine, although my father told me most ponies just called her Aura. I didn't know as much about her as I did about my dad, because she disappeared without a trace when I was five. She had sparkling emerald green eyes, and her Cutie Mark was a four-pointed white star surrounded by dark blue sparkles. My father says that she was one of the best Unicorns when it came to magic. According to him, she could lift an entire house if she wanted to, then transform it into one that was ten times as nice. She was even offered an internship with one of the Royal Magic Advisors, but declined it so she could have more time to raise me.

Just about the only thing she couldn't do is give me a new leg. Everything she tried failed. She asked everypony she knew who was good with magic, but none of them knew what else to try.

I suppose I was right about mechanical devices not being obsolete. Magic can do a lot, but some things can only be accomplished by something more physical. It had simply required somepony to apply it in a new way.

I heard the door open, and my father's face peered in.

"You awake, son?" He asked. I nodded in response.

"May I talk to you for a minute?" He asked, opening the door further. Another nod.

He walked in and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Your mother would be so proud of you, you know that? What you did, well, it's never been done before." I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was sincere.

"It's almost funny. Here we all are, trying to fix you, and then you go and fix yourself." I didn't really know how to respond to anything he was saying, so I stayed quiet and listened.

"You know, I was just talking with the doctor, and he said that if you're careful, you can practice standing and walking tomorrow."

I was somewhat surprised. "Really?" I said in a somewhat excited, but also somewhat disbelieving way. He nodded, then smiled at me.

The next day, I stayed home from school. My father had arranged for the school to send all my schoolwork through the mail, and I would stay home and build my strength until I could walk normally. At first, I struggled. But I knew that I could do it. Days passed, and I grew stronger. Eventually, I didn't need the metal bracings to stand. I could walk around almost like any other pony. For the first time in my life, I could be normal.

On the last day before I went back to school, I looked up at the picture of my mom and dad and I. Yeah, she would be proud of me, I thought.

Many things changed after that. For one, I didn't need an adult wheeling me around everywhere. That meant the bullies could tease me much more easily. I had thought they'd have nothing to tease me about, but they found something.

"You couldn't even walk if it wasn't for that nerdy contraption of yours!" One bully said.

"Yeah, at least we don't need to be total eggheads just to be able to walk!" another bully said. The whole group laughed at that one. I just kept walking.

Besides the fact that I could walk, I was still very weak compared to other ponies. One bully took advantage of that by blocking the door when I tried to enter the classroom. "Only normal ponies are allowed in here," he said. "Go back home; it's the only place you actually belong, and even then you still won't be normal!" I couldn't push past him, so I just kind of stood there until the teacher saw us and made him move.

Despite the bullies teasing me more, I did alright. I was walking around just like any other pony. Eventually, the bullies stopped teasing as much when they realized there wasn't really any point anymore. It had only been a few months, but things were already starting to become "normal" again. It was then when I got inspiration for my next machine.

I was thinking about my metal leg, and how it made me able to do more things than I could before. If that was the case, could I create other machines to do more things? I wondered. And what kind of things would it do?

I then looked at the photo of my mother again, and it hit me. Until that point, I had seen magic as some foreign, unknown talent that I could never have. Earth Ponies can't use magic. But can a machine use magic?

I decided there was only one way to find out. I sat down at my desk, took a piece of paper and a pen, and started to sketch the design for a device that uses magic. However, after a few minutes of trying to design something, I hadn't even worked out where to start. How was I supposed to design something that uses a force I had no understanding of?

Guess I'll just have to do more research, I thought to myself.

The next day after school, I went to the library. It wasn't the first time I went after I made the leg, but it was the first time in a while that I had a specific topic to research. As I entered, I took a moment to look around the building.

The Canterlot Public Library was truly an impressive building. Rows upon rows of tall bookshelves, each with hundreds of books on them. In the center, there was an area with tables for ponies to sit at and read. Towards the entrance, there was the checkout desk. The librarian at the desk saw me come in and smiled. She was nice, but I didn't know her that well.

"Well, hello there, Midnight Shadow!" She said cheerfully. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine." I replied. "Anyway, I need your help finding a book."

"What kind of book?" She stood up and walked around the desk.

"I need a book about magic. More specifically, how it works." She seemed surprised about this.

"Well, the magic books are in section C, but before you run off, can I ask you one question?" She replied. I nodded. "Why are you so interested in magic all of a sudden?"

I usually didn't try to find a book on a specific topic; instead, I generally just wandered around the library until a book caught my eye. Whenever I asked for a specific book, it was always because I was very interested in that topic. Of course, I understood her confusion. I wasn't a unicorn; why would I be interested in magic?

"I'm just curious. I have an idea and I want to see if there's any way to make it work." That wasn't really the best way to phrase it. I knew that if there was any way for this to work, I would find it. She seemed to understand, at least somewhat, and she nodded.

I made my way to section C of the library. It was towards the front, as were the other more popular topics of books. The books I usually read, ones about science, math, and things like that, were more towards the back of the large room. I looked through the books on the shelf, Magical Spells for the Everyday Unicorn, How to Interpret Spells, Magical Relics: The Dos and Dont's of Forcing Magic Into an Everyday Object. Then, I found what I was looking for. Method to the Madness: a Detailed Exploration of the Underlying Physics of Magic, an old-looking book with a blue cover. I pulled the book out and looked at it. It was written by some pony named Starswirl the Bearded. That's a funny name, I thought to myself. Then again, it wasn't too far from the naming conventions that were popular among ponies when the book was written. I was actually surprised how old the book actually was. According to the inner cover, it was published over a thousand years ago. It also seemed to have the author's signature in the cover. Judging by the dust covering it, I guessed it wasn't a very popular book.

I read the first page. For many years now, I have written manymagical spells, for a variety of tasks. However, I recently realized that I was as clueless as any other pony when it came to the underlying mechanisms by which magic acts the way it does. I decided to conduct a detailed scientific study to see if I could work out how magic works; its origin, its function, its reaction to certain circumstances, and maybe even what force drives it.

The book detailed the author's studies, and what he found. He discovered that magic was not a substance, but rather a specific type of wave similar to electromagnetic waves. Reading this, I was surprised how much he knew about physics, considering that he lived in an era where science basically consisted of "What would happen if I ate this plant?" Or "What happens when one mixes this thing with this other thing?" Knowledge of things like electromagnetic waves was basically nonexistent back then. I wondered how exactly he knew so much.

The book continued, describing the specific way these "magical waves" functioned, and what materials affected it. The author found that one material in particular conducted magical energy excellently; crystal. More specifically, the type of crystal that could be found in the caves below Canterlot. He discovered that this crystal contained a high concentration of an element he called Arcanium, which he later discovered was also present in the horns of Unicorns. This led him to believe that Arcanium could channel magical energy, and was how Unicorns could use magic in the first place. Again, I was surprised by how much this Starswirl pony knew about physics.

The book then describes how he tried to search for the origin of magical energy using a special Arcanium tool. He found that magical energy was stronger around specific points in space, points he called "nodes." He theorized that these "nodes" were the source of magic, and magical energy flows outwards from them where it can then be used by Unicorns, as well as other types of magic-wielding creatures. He believed there were different kinds of magical waves, but had no way to test it due to the lack of sufficient scientific instruments capable of doing so. Once again, I wondered how he could have possibly known about all of this before the invention of instruments that could detect them, but I had more important things to consider.

If I made a device using Arcanium, it could be possible to use said device to manipulate magical fields, much the same way as Unicorn horns do. Of course, I would need to obtain some Arcanium. Not to mention the fact that pure Arcanium was very flammable, according to the book, so I would need a spark-proof metal to build the mechanism. Once I figured that out, I would just have to design the device. I already knew a good spark-proof metal to use: bronze. Now, the only thing left was to obtain enough Arcanium crystal to make the magical funnel.

Luckily, the caves below Canterlot were no longer being used as a prison. Starswirl had to get express permission from the Princess herself to enter and retrieve his sample. I could just walk in.

The caves were fascinating to me. They weren't the most fascinating thing I'd seen, but they were definitely among the top ten. The beautiful sparkling crystal that formed the walls, ceiling, and floor of the caves was unique; it had a certain appearance to it that set it apart from non-Arcanium crystals. I found a crystal chunk that was big enough for my purposes, took the chisel and hammer I had brought, and broke it off from the wall. I had my sample, and could return home.

Now I just needed a way to extract the pure Arcanium.

Luckily, the book described how to do just that. The Arcanium crystal reacts to a special mixture of water, sulfur, and chlorine, separating the crystals into carbon dioxide and pure Arcanium, along with a sticky goo Starswirl referred to as "flux." Apparently, this "flux" had special properties of its own, but was apparently very dangerous, and had to be contained. I poured it into a jar, screwing the lid on tight, and stored it away under my desk in case I found a use for it. Then, I took the chunk of pure Arcanium and carved it into the shape of a rod. Then, I started building the mechanism. It took considerably less time than my leg did, because I was more experienced in making machines, as well as the fact that bronze was cheaper and easier to work than the steel I used to make the leg. I would never have used bronze for the leg, on account of it just lacking the strength of steel. The end result took about four days to complete.

It was a small, horn-like device, with the Arcanium in the center, surrounded by bronze mechanisms, and with a leather strap on the bottom. I strapped it onto my head, making sure it was aligned with the spot where a Unicorn's horn would be.

On pony skulls, there was a small section on the forehead where the bone was thinner. On Unicorns, there is a small hole to which the horn attaches. On Earth Ponies and Pegasi, this was covered by bone, but it was still thinner than the rest of the skull. This spot would be the best for attempting to control the device. The device had a special Arcanium "control" mechanism inside of it, which I had made out of the leftover Arcanium, that theoretically could allow a non-Unicorn to operate the device much the same way as Unicorns use their horns.

I turned the device on. It hummed gently, as magical energy began to flow through it. The pure Arcanium was working just as it should. Whether or not the control mechanism would work remained to be seen.

Before I left the library, I read another book. Magic for Beginning Unicorns: How to Create Magic with your Mind. I didn't need to check it out, because all I needed to know was what Unicorns do to use magic. The book said that to cast basic spells like levitation, a Unicorn simply needs to envision what they wish to happen. I picked up a pen from my desk and set it on the floor. Then, just as the book said, I envisioned it moving upwards.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the device hummed louder, and started glowing bright blue. The pen glowed with the same blue aura, and slowly lifted up into the air.

I had done it. I had created an artificial Unicorn horn.

I knew this would change everything. My leg changed my life, but given as my condition was very, very rare, it couldn't really help that many ponies. But this, this could fix a condition that the majority of ponies had. Every Earth Pony and Pegasi had the same condition: an inability to use magic. This device solved that. I could do so much more than I ever could before, just as I set out to do. Another thought popped into the back of my head; What else can I make a machine to do?But it was quickly overshadowed by my excitement for what I'd accomplished. I had, once again, done something nopony had ever done before, beating all odds and proving once again that machines had great potential.

But instead of doing something magic could never do, this time it does exactly what magic does. Something I would never be able to do.

My dad was beyond impressed. He was amazed at what I'd done. He decided to take me to show it to the Royal Magic Advisors. He was sure they'd be impresses just as much, if not more than he was.

That wasn't the case.

"Not to sound rude or anything, but what exactly is the point of this device?" One of the Advisors asked.

"It allows non-Unicorns to use magic, just as Unicorns do!" I responded.

"And what, exactly, is the point of that?"

I was confused by this. "What do you mean?"

"What is the point of letting Earth Ponies and Pegasi use magic? They have their talents, the Earth Ponies tend the land, the Pegasi control the weather, and all the magic is left to the Unicorns, the ones who actuallyknow what they're doing." He responded, slightly annoyed.

"But..." I began to reply, but was interrupted.

"Unicorns have handled magic for centuries, and you come in here and tell us you have a way to make that power available to everypony? " Another Advisor said. "That's ridiculous! Even if it does work, it's still pointless. I'd bet most non-Unicorns don't even care that they can't use magic."

"Listen, kid." The third Advisor said. "Your mom was a Unicorn. She understood magic. You, however, do not. How could you possibly claim to know enough about what you're doing to do it right? Trust me, kid, stick to what you know, do it well, play your role in our world. We have our roles, your dad has his role, everypony has a role to play. Don't go around thinking you can change that."

Then, to everypony's surprise, there came a loud sound from the distance. It shook the building, nearly causing me to fall over. Looking out the window, I saw a rainbow sweep across the sky. Then, the building shook again. Something crashed through the roof of the tower across from the one we were in. It looked like, a dragon? It looked odd, almost as if it were an oversized baby. Purple beams of light came from a window halfway down the tower.

A few moments later, it was over. The dragon disappeared, the purple lights stopped flashing, and everything went still. The Advisors went running out, to see what happened, if anypony was hurt, and if they could help. I was left alone, standing on the top floor of the highest tower in the Canterlot Royal School of Magic. I was confused about what had happened, but I didn't really want to stay to find out what happened. I went home, head hanging low, saddened by the Advisors' response to my invention.

They told me I didn't know anything about magic. I decided to bring the book by Starswirl and show them how I'd learned to make this device. But, upon returning home, the book was nowhere to be found.

I went to the library, thinking maybe my dad returned it for me. Maybe I'd lost track of time, and it was due that day? I couldn't ask him, seeing as he had a late shift that day. However, as I searched the library, I found nothing. I searched first the section where I found the book, then the rest of the library, with no luck. I asked the librarian if she had seen my father come in and return the book. She shook her head no. The only place I could think of to look was in the advanced section.

The advanced section of the library was in a tower behind the main library. I don't know why they put it in a separate tower. Maybe they ran out of room? I climbed the stairs up to the top. I didn't really know what to expect.

The advanced section was even more magnificent than the regular library. It had two stories of its own, with a giant hourglass in the center, and a huge glass window overlooking Canterlot. I was about to start looking for a book when I heard voices coming up the stairs. For some reason, I felt like I should hide.

"...and this is where you'll find the advanced books," a mare's voice said. She sounded very familiar, but I couldn't remember where I'd heard her before. "If you want, you can stay here a while."

"Really?" A filly's voice said. She sounded very excited to be here. I watched from my hiding place underneath a table as the filly walked in.

She had a lavender purple coat, with eyes the same color. Her main was dark purple with a pink and light purple stripe, parted by a horn on her forehead,and she had a six-pointed purple star surrounded by smaller white stars as a Cutie Mark.This seemed familiar to me, but I couldn't place it. She stood in the doorway, looking around, clearly happy to be here. "Wow! It's even better than I imagined!" She didn't see me, probably due to my jet black coat blending with the shadows under the table. She had a baby dragon on her back, seemingly the same one I had seen earlier that day at the Royal School of Magic. It seemed very likely she was the one who caused him to grow like that, as well as all of the purple light. "Thank you, Princess!"

It was when she said this that the other pony entered. I recognized her immediately. Her flowing rainbow mane, white coat, light purple eyes, Sun-shaped Cutie Mark, all pointed to her being one specific pony.

I was in the presence of Princess Celestia herself.

I had heard her voice before at the Summer Sun Celebration, explaining why she sounded so familiar. I had never seen her up close, though. She had a golden crown with a purple jewel embedded in it atop her head, and around her neck a similar looking pendant. Her long horn and feathered wings were the telltale signs of an Alicorn. I didn't leave my hiding spot, and luckily it didn't seem like she noticed me.

"You're welcome, my dear student," She responded to the filly. Her voice was wise, yet gentle. "Well, I'll leave you to it." She left, closing the door behind her. I breathed a very small sigh of relief.

The filly ran to the bookshelves, admiring their contents. "Wow, Spike! Look at all these books!" I guessed Spike was the name of the dragon. "This is the best day ever!"

Then, there was a large explosion that sounded like it came from the base of the tower. The building shook violently, nearly exposing me from my hiding spot and knocking the purple filly off her hooves. The dragon fell off her back, but she was quick to pull him close to her again.

The building continued to shake, and it was then I realized that the roof was starting to crumble. First, it was just small bits and pieces, but soon huge chunks of wood began to fall. It wouldn't be long until the whole thing collapsed. The filly was seemingly paralyzed with fear. I knew I had to do something, but I didn't know what I could do.

That was when I remembered my artificial horn. It was still strapped to my head, ready to be turned on. I flipped the switch, and felt it hum as it started up. The roof was just a moment away from collapsing.

I ran out to where the filly was on the floor, and tried to envision a shield around the two of us. The horn hummed louder, barely audible over the sound of the building's shaking, and soon a glowing blue shield appeared overhead, a split second before the roof crashed down on it.

The filly opened her eyes. She was scared. I knew I had to get her out of there, because I couldn't hold the shield forever. Already it was starting to crack.

"Go!" I yelled to her as she got back on her hooves. I opened a gap in the side of the shield for her to get out. "You have to go now!"

She froze for a moment, then grabbed Spike and ran. A moment later, the shield broke, and the roof collapsed on top of me.

I was barely conscious. Heavy pieces of debris had pinned me to the floor. I could feel the tower shaking. It would collapse at any moment.

Somehow, I was still awake when I landed. I was in pain, for sure, but awake. I felt myself get crushed more and more as the walls collapsed inwards. Hundreds of pounds of wood, glass, and books above me, I could barely move. Then, I realized my metal leg was broken. Most of it was completely missing, with only a few pieces left intact. It was then I realized just what kind of trouble I was in. If I didn't get out soon, I would either suffocate, be crushed, or bleed to death.

Then, I had a crazy idea. I still had the artificial horn, and although I was too weak to use it, the rod of Arcanium was still intact. I wiggled around until I got it off my forehead, then grabbed it in my hoof. I struck it against the remaining steel parts of my leg.

First time, no luck.

Second time, still no luck.

Third time, it ignited. Then, I nestled it between two pieces of debris in front of me, trying to angle it so it would explode outwards instead of inwards. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the explosion. I waited a moment, but nothing happened.

I opened one eye to see what was happening, then the Arcanium went off.

Everything past that was a blur. I remember there being a hole in the debris, me crawling through it the best I could. The last thing I remember before passing out was the silhouette of an Alicorn against the light of the sun.

Author's Note

Sorry for the weird spacing errors in this one, my space bar has been acting up on my laptop and I can't fix it any time soon. I tried to fix them, but I may have missed some. Other than that, if you have any constructive criticism, please tell me. Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, and the second one will come out sometime soon.

To Catch a Bread Thief

"Hey, Twilight! Come look at this."

Twilight walked over to where I was working, and looked at the paper. Then, she smiled at me."It's almost legible this time," she said.

I had been practicing writing using my horn for a few days. Twilight was right; this was the first time the lines on the paper made anything resembling words.

"I'll keep working on it. How's that spell of yours coming along?"

She levitated a book up, reread the spell for what was probably the twelfth time, and put it back down. Then, her horn glowed brightly, and in a moment, she disappeared. I heard a crash, and turned around to see her lying legs-up in a pile of books. Twilight herself looked very disoriented. She tried to get up, then stumbled and fell back down. It wasn't surprising to me that teleportation would be very disorienting the first few times, but I was sure she'd be back to normal in a few minutes.

There was a knock on the door. "Don't worry, I'll get it," I called to Twilight, who was trying her best to walk in a straight line. I went and opened the door.

Because of the security measures in place around the library, namely the guards, we didn't get too many visitors besides the Princess herself and our families. Twilight's family would come to visit often, and my father would sometimes stop by and say hello. The only other pony who visited was Parcel Bringer, the mailpony for this section of Canterlot, and the pony who was standing at the door when I opened it.

"Good afternoon, Parcel," I greeted him.

"Good afternoon, Midnight Shadow. Got a letter here for you, from the Princess."

Twilight told me that her pet dragon, Spike, would be able to send and receive letters from the Princess when he was older, but he was just a few weeks old at that point, so the Princess had to deliver news to us either in person or through the regular mail. She usually came in person and just told us what she wanted to say, only sending letters when she was too busy to drop by. I took the envelope from Parcel. It was addressed to both Twilight and I. "Thanks, Parcel."

"No problem, Midnight Shadow. Just doing my job!" After that, he flew off. It made sense to me that most mailponies were Pegasi. After all, they could get the mail delivered faster by flying through the air. Not that a Unicorn or Earth Pony mailpony was unheard of, just that they were uncommon.

I turned around and headed back inside, closing the door behind me. "Hey, Twilight! Got a letter from the Princess here!"

Twilight, who had mostly recovered from her spell from earlier, walked over to me. "What's it say?"

"I don't know, I haven't read it yet." I tore the envelope open, taking out the note inside.

Dear Midnight Shadow and Twilight Sparkle,

As much as I dislike having to pull you both away from your work, I'm afraid I need to ask a favor of you. Ponies all over Canterlot have reported missing food, and searches have identified that some sort of creature is to blame. From what we have seen, it isn't any creature we know about. And, with most of the Guard away dealing with a situation in Fillydelphia, we can't try to catch it.

Twilight and I exchanged a nervous glance, then continued reading.

That's where you two come in. Midnight Shadow, I need you to design a trap for this creature. Twilight, you will use your magic to lure it into the trap. It's small and fast, so you'll need to be smart about it. It usually comes out at night, and seems particularly attracted to grains, such as bread and rice. I'm sorry I could not be there to explain this to you, but I am away in Fillydelphia, so you two will have to deal with it. Catch it, find out what it is, and report back to me when I return.

Good luck you two.

-Princess Celestia

"That's all she said." I flipped the paper over, wondering if there was anything else, any clarification. "We're supposed to catch this thing, when we know so little about it?"

"Well, we know it likes grains. That's a start," Twilight replied.

"I suppose so. Still, we don't know how big it is, or what it looks like, or where it is, this could take days, or longer!" I sighed. "Well, I guess a good place to start would be trying to figure out how big it is." I thought for a moment, then came up with a plan.

I walked down the street, towards the grocery store. I needed two bags of flour, and some sort of grain.

We planned to lure the creature out with a bowl of food. When it did this, it would walk over the flour, which would be spread over the ground. Then, we could see its footprints.

The flour was easy to find. I grabbed two bags, and put them in the small wagon I had brought. Now, I just need a grain.

I then saw something on a nearby shelf that would be perfect.

"Why'd you pick orzo?" Twilight asked me.

"I'm... not really sure, it just felt like a good choice." I set the jar of orzo on the table. "I mean, everypony likes pasta, right?"

"No, I meant why'd you pick this specific kind of pasta?"

"Oh. I guess I was thinking, since the creature is so small, it might like something that was just big enough. At least, it won't be too big for it to eat. Probably." I was partially going on the assumption that the creature was at least bigger than a tennis ball.

Twilight looked at me, confused, but then nodded. "We should probably set it up soon. It'll be dark in an hour or two."

We set it up on the path leading to the library, figuring that nopony would disturb it due to the guards watching it from their posts. I briefly wondered why one of them couldn't handle this, then reassured myself that Celestia wouldn't have asked us to do this if she didn't have a reason to.

When it was finished, the sun was already setting. The flour was spread in a near perfect circle around the bowl of pasta, looking quite strange. Confident that our plan would work, we walked back up the library steps, and prepared for bed.

I woke up, feeling sluggish as I always did in the mornings, and got out of bed. Twilight was somehow already up and ready to go. She was always more of a morning pony than I was.

When we went outside to check the flour, we saw that the creature had been there. The pasta was completely gone.

So was the flour.

"I mean, flour is made from wheat, which is a grain, so it kind of makes sense, I guess?"

"Yeah, although we maybe should've seen this coming," I replied. "At least the bowl's still there."

"Yeah, but we're still clueless as to what this thing is!" Twilight was starting to get frustrated. "How are we supposed to do this? It's hopeless!"

"We just need some other way of telling how big it is. Then, we can make the trap, and this will all be over."

"But how are we-" Twilight was cut short by a scream coming from a building a few blocks down the street. After a moment, we ran down to see what happened.

"All of our bread, gone! What could have done this?" It turned out the source of the screaming was a baker, who had their bread stolen by the creature.

Twilight tried to get her to calm down, while I took a look around the bakery. Nothing seemed unusual, despite the lack of baked goods in the display. I looked all around the counter, but nothing seemed out of place. After a few moments, I turned away, only to have something shiny catch the corner of my eye.

A singular nail had been moved from its place. I looked closely. It looked as if somepony had tried to put it back after taking it out. Or some creature.

I used my horn to pull it out, revealing a small gap in the display case. The board wouldn't move, which led me to one conclusion.

This thing was tiny.

It had managed to slip through the hole that the nail was in, ate all of the bread and cake inside, and left the same way, putting the nail back in its spot. This answered our question, but it raised several more.

"Hey, Twilight? You might want to look at this."

"This creature must be one of the smallest animals to ever live! How was it even able to get the nail out?" Twilight had a point. Something that small shouldn't be nearly strong enough to pull a nail out from a board. Not to mention still being that small after eating thousands of calories worth of baked goods. "It doesn't make any sense. What could possible eat so much, be so tiny, and yet be so strong? How could we even contain something like that?"

I sat down in one of the reading chairs in the library. "Well, at least we know how big the trap needs to be. The problem is, it has to be strong enough to keep it in there, at least until we can find a better solution." I thought for a moment. "We'll need a strong metal, very strong, and it has to have a good lock on it as well."

"Can't you just use the metal you use for everything else?" She almost surprised me by saying that.

"That's the problem. Different metals are good for different things. For example, if you're making a tool that is going to be used around flammable stuff, you use bronze, because it doesn't spark. If you need a fairly cheap and strong metal, and sparking isn't an issue, you use iron. But the problem with that is, iron probably wouldn't hold it. Steel might, but it's much more expensive and harder to work than iron. I don't think we can convince anyone to get that for us without Celestia here. We would either need something just as strong, but much cheaper, or we would have to be able to get it ourselves. I don’t know of any metal that is either of those things."

Twilight seemed lost in thought. "I mean, we could try to make steel, but that would be dangerous, and hard, and could get us into a lot of trouble. Or, we could make an iron cage, but reinforce it. Or, maybe we could-"

"Shadow?"

I paused. I had let myself get carried away for a bit, but she had snapped me out of it.

"Yeah?"

"This might sound crazy, but can I see the original blueprint for your horn?"

"What if we took the flux, and mixed it with some iron?"

Twilight had something of a point. According to the formula, flux was at least part carbon, which makes steel when mixed with iron.

"But Twilight, we don't know anything about this stuff. If we mixed it with iron, who knows what might happen?"

"I don't think we have much of a choice here, Shadow. I think we'll just have to do it, and hope it's what we're looking for."

Reluctantly, I agreed. Despite the fact that it could do literally anything, from blowing up half of Canterlot to releasing multiple times the radiation of the only recorded successful atomic fission experiment, it was the only way we could proceed without Celestia's help. Plus, it was a risky gamble like this that ultimately got me my job as Royal Engineer anyway.

Our request for iron was approved by the Royal Council, who generally dealt with matters when the Princess was either away or preoccupied. Compared to other metals, iron is very common in Equestria, so it tended to be fairly cheap. Steel was much more expensive, mainly because its main ingredient besides iron was coal, which was much more uncommon, and was mostly used for trains. The council agreed to give us seven bars' worth of iron to work with, which would be plenty.

We then made our way to the Canterlot ironworks. This was where most of the guards' weapons and armor were made, as well as a lot of other metal products. This one specifically was owned by the Royal Court. Most private ironworking companies had their own ironworks in other cities.

"State your name and business," the guard at the entrance said.

"I am Midnight Shadow, and this is Twilight Sparkle. The princess assigned us the task of catching a bread-stealing creature on the loose"- I handed him the letter from the Princess - "and in order to do so, we need access to the ironworks."

The guard looked over the letter, then back at us. "Okay, you're clear." He then stepped aside, allowing us to enter.

"I'll never be fully used to all of this formal stuff that comes with being a Royal anything," I said once we were inside.

"Really? You seemed pretty good at it," Twilight responded.

"I'm just used to addressing strangers with respect. That's a little different from the 'wait a second I have to make sure you really are who you say you are' stuff that I have to do every time I go somewhere new."

We reached a furnace that would be suitable for our needs. I took out an iron bar from the wagon we had brought with us. I put the bar into the furnace, then took a match from a box that was sitting in front of it and lit the flame.

Unsurprisingly, metal takes a while to melt. After about twenty minutes, it had fully melted. Then, I took the jar of flux and a measuring cup from the wagon, and carefully poured the precise amount of flux I had estimated would make an alloy as close to steel as possible.

"How'd you know how much to use?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I tried to keep the proportions similar to steel, except with the coal replaced with flux. I thought that'd be the best way to make something similar."

With the flux all measured out, only about an eighth of the jar, it was ready to be mixed. I took a deep breath, held it, and poured the flux into the molten iron.

The iron and flux mixed together, making a strangely purplish-red mixture. It seemed almost as if the temperature of the furnace went up. Twilight and I were both sweating by that point. I then lifted the container using the special tool lying on the wall nearby, and poured it into a sheet mold.

It took another fifteen minutes to cool. The result was a solid sheet of purplish-gray metal, shimmering in the low light of the ironworks. Twilight's horn began to glow as she tried to levitate it.

It didn't budge.

It didn't even glow, like most objects did when being levitated. It just sat there, immobile.

"Let me try, Twilight." I switched my horn on, and tried to levitate it.

It still wouldn't move.

Then, I hesitantly reached out my metal hoof to pick it up. I thought it was maybe just too heavy to lift. But when I lifted it, I was surprised to find it was light as a feather.

I touched the surface with my other front hoof. It tingled a little, but nothing else happened. I shifted it from hoof to hoof, concluding that it definitely wasn't too heavy to be lifted.

Which led to another, more interesting possibility. But, we had created it with the sole purpose of making a strong metal, so we needed to test its strength. I grabbed a metalworking hammer off of the wall, and struck the metal plate with it.

When I lifted it back up, the head of the hammer was squashed down all the way to the handle. "Well, I guess that answers the question of strength," I said.

Still, I felt as if that wasn't the most important quality of this metal. There was definitely something special about it. I decided in my head that it would need further study, when I didn't have another task to complete.

It took us a few hours, but we eventually made enough of the new metal alloy to make the cage. I had started calling it "flux-steel," but Twilight wanted to name it something a little less obvious.

"How about... Purple-steel? Purple-iron? Lavender-iron?" She seemed to like the fact that the color matched her coat, although she didn't want to admit it.

"Twilight, we have more important things to do than come up with a better name for it. Flux-steel will do for now." I placed the six flux-steel sheets into the wagon, and we set out for home.

The trap was fairly simple; it was a flux-steel box, with one side that could lift up and down. It was rather small, about the size of a small fishbowl, but it was big enough to hold a creature small enough to squeeze through nail-sized gaps. It had a mechanism for being raised and lowered, attached to a string that could be pulled from a distance, and extremely tiny air holes, to keep the creature from suffocating. I figured that it wouldn't be that small, so it wouldn't be able to squeeze through.

Our plan was equally simple, if not more so. We would set the box down outside, put some bait inside it, then hide in the bushes and wait. When we saw it enter the box, we would pull the string, trapping it inside.

The sun was already setting by the time we had set everything up. We were ready to catch the creature, once and for all.

The light of the moon allowed us to just barely see the trap from our hiding spot. A few minutes passed without any movement. Twilight fell asleep twice, and both times I had to wake her up.

After about a half hour, I saw it. I couldn't tell what it looked like; but I knew it was there because of its eyes. They glowed a soft amber color, just barely illuminating the ground in front of it. It was about as big as I expected; that is, about as tall as a bit was wide.

It slowly made its way to the trap, seemingly unaware of our presence. I was breathing very shallowly, and Twilight was practically holding her breath, the two of us sitting in complete silence.It made its way along the path, taking a moment to look around after every two inches. It seemed like it took hours for it to reach the box.

It crawled inside. "Twilight, now," I whispered, barely audible. Twilight grabbed the string, and pulled back on it.

The trap's door slammed down. It wasn't that loud, but the fact that it was the only thing making any noise made it seem louder. We sat still for a moment, and I was about to go and get the trap when I heard another sound.

A strange Earth Pony walked up to the trap. Her hoofsteps were quiet, almost as if she was trying not to be heard. She reached the box, then started to try and open it.

"Hey! What are you doing?" I called out to her, as Twilight cast an illumination spell. The pony looked as if she had been out in the woods for weeks; her mane was messy, her coat was filthy, and her hazel eyes were bloodshot. Her coat looked like it was a yellowish-blonde underneath all the dirt, and her mane seemed to be a similar color. Upon seeing us, she hissed, exposing her jagged, yellow teeth.

I stood up and began to walk towards her. "Hello? Ma'am? I need you to tell me what you're doing here." She started to back away, almost as if in fear. "Listen, the Princess tasked us with catching this creature, and by interfering you are inhibiting a royal operation, which is against the law. Now please, explain yourself." I was getting closer to her. She hissed again, then turned and ran.

"Well that was unexpected," Twilight said. "Who was she?"

"I don't know, although it seemed like she wanted to set the creature free." Twilight and I both looked at the purple box, now closed, sitting in the middle of the path. I walked over to it, picked it up, and put it on my back. "Now, let's see just what this thing is, shall we?"

It was definitely small, that was for sure. It looked bug-like, although it wasn't any bug I'd seen before. I reached out a hoof to pick it up, but it scurried away, almost running straight into Twilight's forcefield.

"Relax, little guy. I don't want to hurt you." I slowly moved towards it. It pressed its back up against the forcefield, squeezing as far away from me as possible. Once again, I reached out a hoof to it, making sure to use my good front hoof, seeing as the metal one would probably scare it even more. Seeing it had nowhere else to go, it reluctantly crawled onto my hoof.

"There you go, little guy. See? I'm not gonna hurt you," I said. It seemed to calm down a little. I looked at Twilight, who was watching from outside the forcefield. She was looking at me with an anxious expression on her face.

I looked back to the creature in my hoof. Its eyes met mine. Its gaze was one of curiosity, and I could tell an intelligent being was looking back at me. It tilted its head sideways. I did the same. It blinked twice. I did the same. Then, I took it and set it gently back in the box, closing it afterwards.

Twilight lowered the forcefield. "What is it?"

"Well, it definitely isn't anything I've seen before." I looked at the floor, thinking for a moment. "The real question is, how is something so tiny able to pull a metal nail out of a board?"

"And what was up with that other pony?" Twilight said.

That was when I figured it out. "Twilight," I said. "What do you know about symbiotic relationships?"

It made perfect sense. The pony would do all of the strong work, and the creature would squeeze through the gaps that the other could never fit through. They shared the food they got from it, and that was how they survived. It was definitely strange, a pony acting so much like an animal.

"In order to truly complete our mission, we need to catch both of them." Twilight nodded.

"But how are we going to catch a full-grown pony?"

"It's actually quite simple. You saw how she tried to free its creature from the box. I bet, we could use her desire to free the creature against her, and trap her so she won't be able to steal any more bread."

"That's all well and good, but this is a pony we're talking about, not an animal. We can't chain it up like that." As usual, Twilight had a point. Even though the pony was a thief, she was still a pony, and we had no place arresting ponies. That was the police department's job.

The police department.

"Maybe we can't, but I know somepony who has every legal right to do so."

We planned to lure the thief out with the creature, then have the police arrest her. After all, she had been an accomplice to the creature; therefore, she could be arrested for stealing from the citizens of Canterlot.

When we walked outside to set everything up, I was surprised to see the pony standing just at the entrance of the path. It was barely past noon, so I was confused as to why she was there. I decided to try and talk to her.

"Excuse me, ma'am? What are you doing here?" No response. She just stared at me, her gaze like that of a wild animal looking at its hunter.

"Ma'am?" Still no response. I walked closer.

"...friend..." she said. I was surprised to hear her talk, seeing as she didn't seem to be able to before.

"Yes, I am your friend. I just want to help you."

"...you...take friend..." Her voice was raspy and hoarse, as if she hadn't had a drink of water in days.

"Oh, yes, well, about that..."

"...you...take friend...that make you no friend..."

"Listen, I only want to help you. You've done some bad things, but it's okay."

"...how would you like...if me took friend from you?"

It was at that moment I realized what the pony was saying. The creature was its friend, perhaps its only friend, and it had been tricked into being captured. Even if the creature wasn't a pony, it was definitely intelligent, perhaps even sentient. I realized what we had done.

"I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have tried to take your friend, but you've been stealing from other ponies, and that isn't right either. You're just trying to survive, and I get that, but there has to be a better way!"

"...no better way...without friend..." When I looked in her eyes, I saw true sadness. A single tear dripped down her cheek.

I understood what I had to do.

"You let it go?" Twilight said, practically yelling at me.

"Well, what was I supposed to do, Twilight? Keep it locked up, in a dark box, separated from the only friend it ever had? It just wasn't right."

"You know what else isn't right? Having them running around stealing from everypony. Shadow, how could you do this? Imagine what Princess Celestia would say!"

"Twilight, if you and I were going around stealing, might I add for survival and survival alone, and I was kidnapped, wouldn't you want to get me back?"

"I-I suppose so, but..."

"And does the fact that we're thieves make the kidnapping right? If we were to keep them imprisoned, we would be no better than they are."

"They are animals, Shadow! They are-"

"They are intelligent beings, Twilight. Intelligent beings who were forced to steal in order to survive. They didn't choose to live like that, they had to."

"You don't know that! For all we know, this whole 'surviving' thing could just be a trick pulled by her to make us let her go!"

I looked away, not convinced. "All I know is that I want to do what I feel is right. And keeping them in a cage doesn't."

A small rock hit the library window. I went over to see where it had come from, almost forgetting the argument between Twilight and I.

The pony was sitting in the branches of a nearby tree, with the creature on her shoulder. She mouthed words, and although I couldn't hear her, I could tell exactly what she was saying.

"...you...friend..."

"So you weren't able to catch it, even with this fancy trap of yours?" Princess Celestia looked at me, then at Twilight.

I nodded. "It was just too strong. It easily lifted the door."

The Princess looked over at Twilight. "Is this true?"

She nodded, very clearly nervous.

"Well, I guess it might have been a bit of a tall order for you two to take on alone. Even so, you tried, and came very close. I'll have my guards track it down later. Twilight, you may go. Shadow, stay here. I have something else to discuss with you."

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief and left the room. I could tell by her hoofsteps that she broke out running as soon as the door was closed.

"You let it go, didn't you?" Celestia asked.

"Huh?"

"Listen, Shadow. I know you wouldn't have given up like that. You would've asked for more time if you really thought you could do it yourself. Plus, there is no way a creature as small as the one you described could lift the door to this cage. There's something you're not telling me, Shadow, and I would appreciate it if you were just honest with me."

I took a deep breath, then described to her everything we went through. From the first test to figure out how small it was, to the bakery incident, to making the trap, to discovering the wild pony and her relationship with the creature, to me letting it go because it didn't feel right to keep it locked up. When I was finished, she thought for a moment, then nodded.

"I see." She made eye contact with me, and by her eyes I could tell she understood. "That was a very mature decision you had to make, Shadow. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure what I would've done in your situation. But you made the decision almost without a doubt. You stood up for what you believed is right, even when neither of the two choices were objectively better than the other. That kind of devotion is a trait which will serve you well, if you apply it correctly."

"So, what are we going to do about them?"

"Well, from my understanding, you never had any irrefutable evidence that this exact creature and this exact pony were the ones behind the thefts, did you? For all we know, they might not have had anything to do with it. And, since our court system operates on an innocent-until-proven-guilty philosophy, there is no way we could legally arrest them." The Princess winked at me.

I did the same.

"Goodnight, Shadow." Twilight climbed into bed.

"I just need to do one more thing, then I'll go to sleep as well." I opened the door, and walked down to the path. I set the wooden bowl full of pasta down on the ground.

In the morning, it would be empty.

I turned around, and went back inside the library, ready to get a good night's sleep.

The Princess issued a Royal Decree not long after the incident; that, in an effort to reduce the bread thefts, the citizens of Canterlot would put out at least a small morsel of food every night. Most ponies did so, and the amount of bread thefts dropped dramatically. Nopony could explain why it worked, or where the idea came from. Nopony, that is, except Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, myself, and the thieves themselves. Eventually, it became a normal part of life in Canterlot, and everything went back to normal.

Of course, the story isn't over. In our haste to catch the thief, Twilight and I had created something that had limitless potential, for both good...

...and evil.

Author's Note

Sorry this one took so long, I had a bit of writer's block, as well as a few things that came up and kept me from getting as much time to write as I would've liked to.
Again, sorry if there are any spacing errors (This is the last time I'm saying it).

The Psychology of Flux Posioning

Experiment one: effect of magical energy fields onflux-infused steel;

The metal, as I suspected, seems to be completely resistant to magical energy. It appears to actively repel it, much the same way two like poles on a magnet do. I have yet to determine the cause of this phenomenon. However, this quality gives the metal some unique practical applications.

Will continue to investigate.

I was alone in the library. Twilight was at magic school, as she always was in the morning, with the exception of the weekends. She would be back around three-thirty-ish, which was about two and five-sevenths of an hour away, to the nearest hundredth. I had decided to use that time in order to perform my investigation of the flux-steel Twilight and I had created a few days ago. My head was buzzing with ideas for the anti-magical metal, but I knew I needed to know more about it before working with it in complex projects.

There was a knock on the door. I was setting up for the next experiment, so I didn't have to worry about affecting the results by leaving it unattended for a few minutes. I walked over to the door, expecting to see Parcel, since Celestia was dealing with some legal disputes between a few citizens.

It wasn't Parcel.

It wasn't Celestia, either. In fact, I had never seen this pony before. She had a light pink coat, with a mane of purple, pink, and yellow, tied into a ponytail with a small blue bow. Something about her mane reminded me of the crystals in the Canterlot caves. Her eyes were purple, slightly lighter than Twilight's, and her Cutie Mark looked like a light blue gem in the shape of a heart. She had a horn atop her head, but also wings folded on her sides, the telltale signs of an Alicorn. I immediately bowed down.

"You don't need to bow, Shadow," the Alicorn said. I stood up again, my eyes just barely below hers.

"Sorry, your highness. What brings you to-"

"Shadow, you don't have to be so formal. Princess Celestia sent me here to stay with you and Twilight for a few days." I hadn't really thought about why she was here, or how she knew my name.

"If you don't mind me asking, your highn- ma'am, who are you?"

She snickered for a moment, slightly confusing me. "Well, I guess Twilight hasn't mentioned me to you yet. I'm Cadence, and I'm Twilight's foalsitter. Well, I haven't had to sit for her in a while, so it'll be nice to see her again."

I was still lost. "So, why did Celestia send you here? I mean, she let us stay here up until now without anypony watching over us, why would she just now send you?"

She sighed. "Well, that's a long story. Basically, Celestia wanted for you two to have somepony to protect you, in case something happens."

I was slightly offended by the fact that Celestia didn't think Twilight and I could handle ourselves. "I suppose we don't have a say in the matter?"

"Well, no," she said. "But I won't bother you all that much. You'll barely even know I'm here." With that, she took a hoofstep forward, obviously moving to get in. I sighed, then moved out of the way.

What bothered me most about her being there wasn't that she would occasionally ask how I was doing, nor was it the fact that her presence was a reminder of the fact that Celestia felt Twilight and I needed a babysitter, despite the fact we'd gone a while without one and we'd been fine. It was her presence alone, the constant feeling that she was watching me, her eyes fixed on the back of my head, that slowly drove me crazy.

Still, although I could barely stand it, I figured that if I showed Celestia how Twilight and I could take care of ourselves, then she might just let us be. I decided to keep doing what I was doing before; getting ready for the next experiment.

Experiment two: creation of sparks due to friction with other metals

Flux-infused steel does not seem to spark when struck by, or used to strike, any common metal. This quality of metal was only really found in bronze and brass, as well as some rare metals that are too expensive to be practical. If I could figure out a way to incorporate it into an Arcanium construct, it might be possible to-

I stopped writing. Oh Celestia, she's looking right at me, isn't she?

I turned around; sure enough, Cadence was looking right at me from across the room. "Do you need anything?" she asked as I looked back at her.

"No, I'm good, thanks." Well, this is going to be the worst few days of my life, I thought to myself.

At that time, I glanced over at the clock. Three twenty-nine. Twilight would be there any minute.

I heard hoofsteps from outside. Well, let's see how she responds to Cadence being here.

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves, and do a little shake!"

I should've seen this coming. After all, she said she was Twilight's foalsitter. Of course the two of them would be close to each other. I didn't expect them to do that strange dance-thing, though.

"Cadence, I'm so glad to see you!" Twilight said, hugging her.

"I'm glad to see you too, Twilight," Cadence responded. I facehoofed, sighing in a barely audible way.

"Why are you here, at the library?" I could've answered that for her, but Cadence answered first.

"Celestia sent me to stay with you for a few days. Isn't that great?"

Yeah, it was just wonderful, I thought to myself.

Why am I being like this? I took a deep breath.I shouldn't be acting like this. Cadence is a guest, and as long as she is here I will treat her as a guest. It doesn'tmean I have to be happy about it, it just means that I need to keep my thoughts to myself, and stay polite.

Over the next few days, I would find that increasingly hard to do. Eventually, that contempt for her presence would end up causing some major problems. And the worst part is, it was technically my fault, but in a way neither I nor anypony else could predict.

Experiment three: reactivity of flux-infused steel to certain chemicals effect of flux-infused steel in equine bloodstream

My original plan for this experiment, which was to test the reactivity of flux-infused steel, will have to be postponed. While setting itup, I accidentally knocked a piece of equipment over, causing a piece of flux-infused steel to fly out and make a small incision on my left hoof. I would've ignored it, if it wasn't for the strange effects it's seeming to have on my physical body. The veins in the immediate vicinity of the incision have turned purple, matching the color of the metal almost to the exact shade. I concluded that a small amount of the flux-infused steel has entered my bloodstream, and seeing as I have yet to pursue this line of study, I took this opportunity to examine in detail the effect it has on my physical and mental health. If the effects become severe, I will seek help. Otherwise, I will document the symptoms, and simply deal with them until I have found a way to reverse them.

Will continue to monitor.

I applied an adhesive bandage to the cut, seeing as there was no point in keeping it exposed to infection. I could simply take it off when I wanted to observe the progression of the effects, and replace it afterwards.

"What happened, Shadow? Are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere else?" Cadence had been asking me questions non-stop since the moment she saw the bandage. Which was about two seconds before then. I wished she would just shut up. I didn't say that for some reason.

"I'm fine, Cadence, really. It was just an accident with a piece of equipment; happens all the time. Nothing to worry about."

"Okay, I trust you, Shadow, but I want you to know one thing: if anything major does happen to you while you're working, tell me first, okay?"

"Fine," I replied. "I will." Why did she have to ask so many questions? Didn't she know I could handle myself?

"Hey, Shadow. I was thinking about taking a walk in the park over by the bakery. Wanna come?" I knew Twilight liked to go out and walk sometimes. She said it had something to do with 'collecting her thoughts,' or something like that. I didn't have anything else to do, so I agreed.

The park did look pretty that day. The flowers on the trees were blooming, the birds were singing, and from the pond a small fish splashed up, only to fall back down into the water.

Cadence had stayed behind, said she had some work she had to do. This meant I had a chance to talk to Twilight without her breathing down my neck.

"Twilight, are you really okay with Cadence staying here?"

"Well, of course! Why wouldn't I? She's kind, caring, generous..."

Clingy, obnoxious...
"...and she's always been there for me. Why, are you bothered by it?"

I knew she would ask that, and already knew my response. "Doesn't it bother you that Celestia doesn't think we're responsible enough to handle ourselves? Doesn't it bother you that she doesn't trust us to do what we've been doing for two weeks now?"

"Well, I'm sure Celestia has her reasons. Maybe she thought we were getting lonely? Maybe she was worried the guards wouldn't be enough to protect us?"
I doubt it. "Maybe."

"Look, if it really bothers you that much, then it'll be over in a few days."

I sighed. "I know, I just wish Celestia trusted us more." After all, why shouldn't she trust a young stallion whose job it is to work with machines that could potentiallykill somepony on a daily basis?

I briefly wondered where that thought had come from, then dismissed it. It's just a random thought, nothing more. It might be a little weird, but that doesn't mean we really feel that way.

...did I just refer to myself as 'we?'

"Just relax, Shadow. Why don't you try building something? That always takes your mind off of things that bother you," Twilight said.

"Yeah, I guess it has been a while since I've made a proper machine... But, what should I build?"

Well, we could try to make a machine that can move things more easily.

I guess that's a good idea, but...

Wait.

"Twilight, can we head back now? Something feels off." I started to realize that something was really wrong with me.

"Off? What do you mean, something's off?"

I sighed. "I'm not sure, I just feel... strange, is all. Should I head back?"

Twilight looked up at the sky. "It's starting to get late, I should probably head back too."

We walked the rest of the way to the library in silence. I resisted the urge to run, knowing that Twilight would be suspicious.

Suspicious of what? Why would I even try to hide this from her?

When we got back, I almost immediately went over to my drawing table, picking up a pen to start making the blueprint.

"Welcome back, guys! How was it?" Cadence. I ignored her, continuing to work on my absolutely brilliant idea.

"It was nice. The pond was really pretty today," Twilight responded. I said nothing. If I ignore it, maybe it'll go away.

"And what about you, Shadow? Did you have fun?" Of course. I couldn't even work for one minute without her pestering me with questions.

"Fine." I went back to my work. While drawing, I overheard Twilight and Cadence talking.

"Listen, I don't think Shadow's feeling well today, so it'd probably be best to leave him alone for a bit." Well, at least Twilight understood me.

"Are you sure? What if he needs my help?" I'll never need your help.

"I think he wants to be alone right now. He'll feel better tomorrow." I feel fine. I'm not acting like this because I don't 'feel well.' It's Cadence, she's the problem.

No, no, I need to calm down. There's no reason to act like this.

Yes, there is. She came in here, interrupting our life, constantly stopping us from being what we were always meant to be. She has to go.

Twilight and Cadence were going upstairs. Something snapped within me. "Cadence, why are you still here?"

She turned around to look at me. "What do you mean, Shadow? I-"

"I mean, why haven't you left yet?" I said scornfully.

She seemed offended by that. Serves her right. "But... But I thought you-"

"You thought I enjoyed your company? That I enjoyed you constantly interrupting my work to ask me ridiculous questions with obvious answers? That I would just be content to sit around and have you treat me like a foal all day? No. You've been nothing but an obnoxious distraction, and you need to leave. NOW."

Cadence stood there, for just a moment. Then, she burst into tears, running out the door. Finally. Now, there's nothing in our way.

That was when I noticed Twilight was crying too. What was I thinking? What have I done?

"Twilight, I-"

"No. Don't-sniff-Don't talk to me." She ran upstairs.

What iswrong with me?

Nothing is wrong with us.

...who are you?

I'm the one who will take you to your destiny. I have so many ideas, so many things we can build together. We will be great, we will be powerful, we will be adored. We will be respected. We will be feared.

You did this. You made me a monster.

I simply removed the things that were distracting you. We don't have time for them, not if we truly want to become the great stallion we were always meant to be.

I realized what was happening then. I looked down at my left hoof. Sure enough, the purple color had spread up my leg, into my neck, and now it was starting to reach my head. It was affecting my thoughts. I was becoming a monster. If I stayed, I might hurt them. Again. I couldn't risk it.

I had to leave Canterlot.

I could barely see, the light of the moon being just barely enough to guide my way.

You're making a mistake, Shadow. You're throwing your future away.

I won't let you hurt anyone ever again. I'm going far away, far away from anypony else. That way, nopony gets hurt.

I started running, wanting to get as far away from the library as possible. But where am I going?

I looked up, up the mountain on the side of which Canterlot was built. There, at the top, was a small structure. There.

When I reached the cliff face, I began to climb. I jabbed my metal hoof into the stone wall with all of my strength, making a hoofhold. I then took my horn, tied it around my other hoof, and used that to make another hoofhold. I slowly climbed, using my metal devices as climbing axes. It took a while to reach the structure I had seen, and the sun was already rising as I stood at the entrance.

It was some sort of ruin, carved inside the mountain. It was, admittedly, very impressive. Giant stone pillars held the roof up, and along the walls were symbols carved in some sort of ancient language. The architecture was unlike anything I had seen or heard of anywhere in Equestria. It was falling apart, but considering it was holding about a third of the mountain above it, it was holding up surprisingly well in its ruined condition. Vines covered the walls, obscuring some of the ancient carvings.The entryway had a stone slab next to it, clearly intended to block the entrance. I pushed it out, covering the only way in or out of the ruin.

Well, at least Twilight is safe from me. It was freezing cold there, so I curled up in a corner in an attempt to keep warm. Exhausted from the climb, and the effort of blocking the door, I fell asleep quickly.

My eyes opened.

Actually, they were still closed. But I saw things. I was standing on what seemed to be the top of a mountain, flattened out so that it was about as big as the park near the library. A thunderstorm completely surrounded the mountain, making it impossible to see anything further. Lightning would occasionally zap from one part of the cloud to another, strangely avoiding the mountaintop.

That was when I saw him.

He looked like me. Sort of. The main difference was his eyes. His right eye, the one that still looked like an eye, had a red iris, instead of the dark blue that my eyes normally were. His left eye was completely black, a hollow void that seemed to draw in all of the light around him.

"So, it's come to this, Shadow." His voice sounded exactly like mine. "I gave you every chance to be great. I tried to help you. I know you have potential, but you constantly let yourself be distracted by other ponies. Like that obnoxious foalsitter."

"You won't hurt them; not again. I won't let you." I glared at him, a determined expression on my face, my resolve stronger than ever.

"There, that's the fire I saw when I was first created! You still have it in you. You could still be great, but you need to focus on the one thing that actually matters in this world."

My expression did not change. "And what would that be?"

"Why, power, of course! True, raw power! Sure, other ponies have tried to become powerful, using magic, military strength, manipulation, all sorts of flawed methods. But you know the truth. True power can be unlocked, as long as you have the right machine for the job. Which is why I chose to help you."

"You're a monster. You hurt my friend, and one of her friends as well. If I let you go, you'd only hurt more ponies!" The thunderstorm raged on, even stronger than before.

"So what? They are below us. I can make you powerful. I can make you a god. All you need to do is accept my help."

I realized that my mechanical horn was still on my head. I turned it on. "This will go no further. I will make you leave my head, or die trying."

He smiled at me, an evil smile, sending a chill down my spine.

"So be it."

Surrounding himself with a grey aura, he began to transform before my eyes. A horn appeared on his forehead. He grew wings, but not Pegasus wings. His wings were more like that of a bat. Both of his eyes had gone completely black. All four of his hooves were metal, not just the one that was missing, and he grew fangs out of his mouth.

"You see, Shadow. This could've been you. You could've been a god, more powerful than Celestia herself, but you threw it all away because of some ridiculous filly."

I stood tall, facing him. "She isn't just some ridiculous filly. She's my friend, and I won't let you hurt her, or anypony else, ever again." I scraped the ground with my hoof, showing that I was ready to fight.

"You're kidding. You're kidding, right?" He clearly expected me to be more intimidated by his new form, but I wasn't going to let him win that easily.

I charged at him, firing three short beams of magic from my horn. He deflected them easily with a shield. "Come on now, Shadow. You know I'm more powerful than you."

I fired again. "I won't let you win!" I fired again, and again, but to no avail. No matter how many times I tried to attack him, he would just block it.

"Alright, I'm bored now. I'll just kill you and take over your body. Then, I won't need you, or anypony else." He charged his horn, readying for one final blow. I charged my horn as well.

We fired at each other at the same time, my dark blue beam perfectly aligned with his dark gray one. He pushed against mine, seemingly surprised that I was able to withstand him at all. I pushed back, but he was clearly more powerful. I was losing ground, his attack coming closer and closer to me.

I closed my eyes. Remember what you're fighting for, Shadow. Remember Twilight. Remember Celestia. Remember all of the innocent ponies he would hurt if he wins.

I had one last trick up my metaphorical sleeve. It was something I saw Twilight do, not too long ago. I breathed, and then focused. While the beam coming from my horn didn't falter, I started to glow with the same magical aura. It glowed brighter, and brighter, until...

POP! I was behind him. Taking the opportunity, I fired another beam at him.

It had clearly caught him off guard. He was knocked back, almost falling off the edge of the mountaintop. "How? How could you have beaten me?"

I was standing over him as he hung by his front hooves on the side of the cliff. "It was a little trick a friend of mine showed me." If it wasn't for Twilight, who had shown me her attempt at teleportation about a week before, I never would've been able to.

"Please, Shadow! Think about what you're doing! You could be a god, you could control everything!"

I smiled. "That's just it. You think it's all about power, about control. But it's not. There are some problems that just can't be solved using brute force. And sometimes, all you need is for another pony to show you a different way."

"Shadow, if you kill me, you'll never live up to your full potential. You'll be stuck, being constantly held back by the ponies you call 'friends.' I am the only one who can help you achieve your destiny! I am your muse! You can't do this, not if you ever want to be anything!" He was clearly getting desperate.

"I don't know what my destiny is, exactly, but I know one thing: It doesn't involve you." I raised my metal hoof to the sky. A bolt of lightning struck it, but I was unhurt. "Now, get the hell out of my head."

I struck the ground, causing it to break off. A huge chunk of the mountain fell, taking him with it. I thought about how he had called himself my 'muse.'

"Goodbye, Muse. I hope you end up someplace horrible."

My eyes opened again.

This time, they were actually open. I saw the ruin, where I had fallen asleep before.

So, that was all a dream? I wondered what exactly had just happened. Or is he really gone?

I seemed normal, and there wasn't another voice in my head. I thought about how I had treated Cadence. I wished I could take back everything I said.

Well, at least I know I'm me. He wouldn't have regretted that.

I heard a sound, voices, from outside the ruin.

"Could he be in here?" one voice said.

"Only one way to find out," another voice replied.

The slab in front of the door glowed with a white aura, and moved aside slowly. Bright light streamed in, causing me to shield my eyes.

"Shadow?" It was Princess Celestia. "Is that you?"

I tried to respond, but found that my throat was too dry to speak. I realized just how thirsty I was, and hungry too. How long was I asleep?

"Okay, don't worry. We'll get you home, just relax." I felt myself floating, realizing that Celestia was levitating me away.

Twilight was with her, a worried expression on her face. "Is he okay?"

"Well, his body temperature is probably dangerously low, not to mention how dehydrated he must be, but he'll be fine as long as we get him home soon."

I was fading in and out of consciousness. My heart beat slowly in my chest.

Is it over?
-----------
The next thing I knew, I was lying in my bed. I didn't remember much about what happened after Celestia found me. She was standing not too far away, talking to Twilight and Cadence.

"So, after he snapped at Cadence, he just ran off somewhere?" Princess Celestia was probably asking them what happened.

"Yeah, but I didn't realize it until the next morning," Twilight replied.

Cadence sighed. "I had already left, because of what he said..." A single tear formed in her eye. "I... Oh, auntie, I did a horrible job protecting him, didn't I? All because he said something mean to me. This is all my fault." She broke into tears again.

"No, it isn't." The three looked at me, surprised to see me awake. "I was the one who snapped at you. I'm sorry, Cadence." I tried to sit up, but found it took more energy than I could muster, and lied back down. "I should've been nicer to you. After all, you didn't do anything to me."

Cadence couldn't reply, since she was still in tears. It was Celestia who spoke next. "Listen, Shadow. I know you felt like I didn't trust you, but that isn't the case. Cadence is an Alicorn, and as such, she harbors powerful magic. The truth is, there are some ponies out there who were planning on trying to hurt you. I was afraid the guards wouldn't be enough, so I sent her to protect you two."

"Who? Why would anypony want to hurt us?"

Celestia sighed. "I'll explain it later. For now, just rest."

Cadence had regained some of her composure. "I... I forgive you, Shadow."

Twilight looked away, upset. She hadn't forgiven me yet.

"Just one more question, Celestia." She was about to leave, but stopped.

"Yes, Shadow?"

"How long was I gone?"

I should've been dead. Going a whole week without food or water would have killed a normal pony. Nopony fully understood how I had survived, or what had even happened to me during that time.

I decided not to tell them about Muse. Partially because I was worried they'd see it as an excuse to shift the blame off of myself, and partially because I wanted to forget him completely.

They found me because the ruin was giving off a strange blue glow at night. They thought I was using my horn to signal for help.

I knew otherwise.

I figured out that the mountaintop wasn't real, it was just in my head. Just like Muse was. That was the only place I could truly face him.

I looked down at the cut on my hoof. The scar was still there, but there was no more purple in the veins. The effects of the flux-steel were gone.

As soon as I could stand again, Celestia pulled me aside to talk to me.

"I believe I owe you an explanation as to Cadence's visit," she said.

"You said somepony wanted to hurt us? Why? And, for that matter, why didn't you explain it earlier."

"I didn't explain it before because I didn't want Twilight to know. She's younger than you, so I didn't think she'd understand quite yet." She sighed. "There are... some ponies out there who don't quite agree with my decisions as Princess." She looked out the window overlooking Canterlot. "They don't think I should be the ruler of Equestria. And, they tend to go to some...how do I put this... extreme lengths to try and make it so I'm not."

"Is that what happened at the first library tower?" I remembered all too clearly the day when I nearly died in that collapsing tower. The day I first saw Twilight.

"Yes." She sighed. "And, they especially disagree with my decision to make you the Royal Engineer. They don't like the world to change, and you are constantly working to do just that. Which is why they don't want you around anymore."

I looked down, procession what I'd just been told. "I... I guess that makes sense. You sent Cadence so if any of them tried to attack us, we'd be protected."

She nodded. "I know you're not too fond of her, but she is a nice pony. She only wants what's best for you, as do I."

"I know. I'm fine with her staying here for a little longer. You really should've just told me why she was here in the first place."

"I just didn't want you to worry all that much. And, on that note, could you not mention this to Twilight? Like I said, she's younger than you. I don't want her to be scared."

"I understand. I won't say a word." I looked around. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

The park was beautiful that time of day. I saw Twilight sitting by the pond, underneath the shade of a tree.

"Hey, Twilight." I sat down next to her. She turned away, clearly trying to ignore me. "Listen, I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have yelled at Cadence like that. I know you and her are close, but I just didn't understand why she was here."

"Hmmpf," was her response. I looked out, over the water, thinking. I raised my left hoof so she could see it,

"See this? This is where a piece of flux-steel cut me on the day Cadence got here." She looked over briefly, then turned away, crossing her hooves. "I think it made me act a little more aggressive than normal. I ran away because I was ashamed of what I'd done, and I didn't want it to happen again." Tears began to form in my eyes. "I didn't want to hurt you, not again. So, I ran. I ran and hid, somewhere where I thought I wouldn't be able to hurt you from. It was there when I realized just how awful I'd been. I'm... -sniff- I'm sorry, Twilight. Please, just talk to me."

Twilight lowered her head, for just a moment. The next thing I knew, her hooves were around me. I hugged her back. We sat there, for just a moment.

"I'm sorry, Twilight. You're my best friend, and I never wanted to hurt you."

"I know. I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have been so stubborn after you got back. I was just so mad at you, I let myself forget how much you mean to me."

Results of experiment three:

Flux-infused steel in the bloodstream seems to cause increased aggression, as well as amplifying negative thoughts. To my knowledge, no extreme physical effects occurred, although the conditions I was in during this study were less than ideal for appropriately monitoring for these effects. I have named the condition 'flux poisoning.' The exact cause of its disappearance is unknown. It could be that the condition is merely a temporary one. Still, ponies inflicted with this condition should seek medical help immediately. Extreme care should be taken when working with flux-infused steel to prevent this condition.

Will continue to monitor for additional symptoms or a possible resurgence of the condition. I am still here.

I stopped. Why did I write that? I took some correctional fluid, and blanked it out. Then, I closed my journal. I noticed the nearly finished blueprint I was drawing the day I ran away. It was Muse's idea to create a device that can move things more easily than by hoof. It looked almost like a small steam engine, only it had a different method of powering itself, relying on some sort of combustible fuel source. There were notes on the side, describing the process to create it. The machine itself seemed like a crazy idea at first glance, but the more I looked at it, the more I began to understand the mechanisms by which it was intended to work.

For a power-crazed lunatic, Muse sure did know his stuff when it came to machines. I might even try to make this someday.

Author's Note

Don't know what to say here, other than that Muse is in no way related to the English rock band of the same name.

Unexpected Inspiration

The process of creating refined liquid combustion fuel is as follows:

Step one: take the unrefined oil and pour it into a container made of a metal with a high melting point

Step two: heat the container to six hundred degrees Celsius

Step three: vent the oil vapor into a fractional distillation column

Step four: the vapor will condense onto the trays inside the column

Step five: about 40% of the resulting liquids will be refined fuel, whereas much of the rest can be further refined chemically

"Well, I'm not doing that. I don't even know what unrefined oil is!"

The truth was, most of the notes Muse had written on the blueprints made no sense. It seemed almost like it was intended for him and him alone to read. He was gone, though, so I couldn't ask him what it meant. Not that I'd want to, even if I could.

"Plus, I have no idea what a 'fractal dilution column' is anyway. I guess this design won't work after all."

Twilight was sitting in one of the reading chairs, looking over a book that, judging by the cover, was probably about magic. She looked up for a moment. "Well, you tried. I guess that infection or whatever it was really did make you crazy."

"Yeah..." I looked back at the blueprint. It was clear what was supposed to happen; the machine would basically light the fuel on fire, then use that energy to turn a metal rod, which could be attached to a number of things in order to automate their rotation. But, without the fuel, there was no point in making the machine.

I noticed a small side note written on the paper. Caution: both unrefined oil and refined fuel are highly flammable.

Why does everything have to be highly flammable when it comes to this stuff? I thought.

That was when I had an idea. Maybe, if I took another highly flammable substance, and made slight modifications to the engine, then it might be able to work without the refined fuel it was made to use. And I know just the thing to use.

It was a good idea on paper, but when I actually went to redesign the engine I found it a lot more difficult than I thought to make it run on solid Arcanium. After all, the engine was designed to work with liquid fuel, not solid. Plus, the Arcanium would be too volatile and inconsistent in its combustion; it would basically blow the whole thing apart.

I sighed, setting my pen down. There has to be a way to make this work, but I just can't figure it out.

Maybe I should go for a walk. It's nice out today.

The park was, as it always was, beautiful. The flowers were blooming, as always. The birds were singing, as always. The lone tree by the edge of the pond cast a shadow on the ground beneath it, as always. I walked over to the tree, sitting down underneath it. I could see why Twilight sat there so often; it had a great view of the pond, it was shaded from the heat of the sun, and the light was just about right for reading a book.

I closed my eyes, breathing deeply. No new ideas came to me, but I was still glad I went. It was relaxing, sitting under the tree, breathing in and out, listening to the sounds of the park around me.I should do this more often.

A cool breeze blew through my mane. I could hear a bird chirping in the tree above me. I heard a fish jump out of the pond with a small splash, and land back in the water with another one. I heard two ponies, walking in silence through the park, their hooves making small clicking sounds as they connected with the hard cobblestone path. I heard a small animal of some kind, rustling the bushes nearby. I could hear my own heart, beating slowly to the rhythm of some unknown tune, heard by none other than itself.

I heard a voice.

Shadow...

It was calling me.

I opened my eyes to see who it was, but nopony was around. Looking up at the sky, I realized I must have already been there for about half an hour. I should head back.

I woke up the next day, feeling surprisingly refreshed. Usually, I was sluggish and tired in the mornings. Maybe it was because I spent some time relaxing at the park. Maybe I should do that more often.

I decided to go back to what I was working on before. Maybe I just need to think about it differently.

So, the original design relied on combustion to move the pistons, generating kinetic energy. I was trying to make it work using Arcanium as a combustible fuel, but maybe that isn't the best method. The ultimate goal is to turn the crankshaft. This could be accomplished using pistons, which are themselves moved by ignition of fuel. But, perhaps, there was another way to move them.

Let's see, how many ways can something move? Well, gravity can move things, but that won't help much, since it always goes downwards. Ponies can move things, but that would defeat the purpose of the engine. Shockwaves could move things, but those couldn't be generated without using a flammable fuel source or a magical spell. Magic can move things, but...

Magic. That's it! I'll make an Arcanium construct, specifically designed to channel magical energy into a spiral, and that will turn the crankshaft!

I understood a lot about how Arcanium affected magical energy, thanks to that book by Starswirl. However, magic had a tendency to follow its own rules. I couldn't think of a way to get it into the construct in the first place, at least not without it being attached to a pony's head. Without a mind to control it, the Arcaniumcouldn't channel magic, and as such the machine would not work. I needed something that would not only channel magic, but attract it.

As far as I was aware, no such material existed.

I decided to take another trip to the park. Everything was as it usually was; that is to say, beautiful. It was actually quite peaceful, despite being in the middle of one of the busiest cities in Equestria.

I went back to the tree by the pond, sitting underneath it again. I looked around. There aren't a lot of ponies here, as usual.

I closed my eyes, taking deep breaths.

I heard a bird's wings flap as it landed on the edge of its nest, carrying food for its babies. I heard a tiny insect, buzzing around somewhere nearby. I heard the rippling of the water from the movement of the fish. I heard a frog croak from on top of a lily pad just off the shore of the water. I heard the rustling of the tree's branches above me, swaying gently in the breeze.

I heard a voice.

Shadow... please...

It was calling to me.

Once again, I opened my eyes, and once again, there was nopony there.

I returned home once again, sitting down at my drawing desk.

I need something that draws magic in. The rest of the construct can be pure Arcanium, but something needs to get the magic flowing, draw it in and funnel it down the construct. Flux-steel repels magic, so if I could create something that was the exact opposite of that, I would be set.

But how am I going to do that?

I ultimately decided to write down all of my progress up to that point, and file it away for later review. If anything new came up, I would pull the file back out of the cabinet immediately.

I had personally requested the filing cabinet from Princess Celestia not long after I moved in. I figured it would help keep all of my blueprints and notes organized. It had four drawers. The top-most drawer was labeled 'Incomplete Blueprints.' The second label read 'Completed Blueprints.' The third, 'Information,' was intended for anything that provided important details not included in blueprints, for example the exact chemical formula for creating Arcanium. The last drawer, labeled 'notes,' was where I kept pretty much anything that didn't fit into the other categories. I put the folder inside of that one, making sure the label was visible when the drawer was opened. The label read 'automatic moving machine.'

I didn't have any incomplete blueprints to work on at the time, and I didn't have ideas for anything new. This happened semi-often, and when it did I usually asked Twilight if she had any ideas. However, Twilight was at magic school, so that wasn't an option. I considered reading a book, but none of the titles I saw as I glanced through the shelves caught my interest. Besides that, there wasn't much to do.

I decided to go for another walk, despite the fact that I had already done so that day.

Something seemed off about the park that time around. It was one of those situations where everything looks and sounds normal, but something still makes you uneasy. I looked around, but nothing seemed even a little out of place. The only thing that was even slightly odd was that I was alone in the park. Even this wasn't out of the ordinary, considering how the park is empty most of the time.

I walked over to the tree by the pond, as I had done twice before. While its still waters were usually peaceful and sedative, at that particular moment their unrelenting stillness just added to the feeling of unease. I tried to close my eyes, take deep breaths, just as I had done before.

I didn't hear anything.

The last two times I had done this, I heard things louder than usual. I hadn't questioned it too much; perhaps it was because my eyes were closed, or perhaps the sound carried easily to that exact spot. But the third time, I heard nothing.

Nothing moved.

I saw... no, 'saw' isn't the best word to describe it. I had a feeling of sorts, that somehow conveyed a mental image, or rather three mental images.

The first one was of four glowing sparks, suspended in space, each a different color. Red, blue, yellow, green. After a moment, they gradually morphed into a triangular shape. The vision ended before the transformation was complete.

The second image/feeling/thing/whatever it was,was of a familiar-looking item, something I recognized as the magic-sensing device Starswirl described in the book that I used to create the horn.

The third was of the bushes across the small field from where I lay, with two pairs of eyes clearly visible in the bushes.

I heard a voice.

Shadow... please help...

It was calling to me.

I opened my eyes, looking at the spot shown in the third 'image.' Sure enough, something moved quickly away as soon as I looked at it. Somepony was watching me.

I thought about the other 'images.' The second one, Starswirl's magic-sensing device, reminded me of something I had been meaning to do since I first read the book.

The strange thing was, I actually hadn't thought of doing it at all, but at the same time I distinctly remembered putting the thought aside in order to focus on building the horn. I glanced down at my left hoof, but fortunately there was no sign of flux poisoning. Something strange was going on.

And I was going to find out what.

Starswirl's magic-sensing device, or, as I called it, the 'magic detector,' was simple. It was essentially a tuning fork made out of Arcanium, with a separate rod of the same material to go with it. When the fork was struck with the rod, it would vibrate. If the sound had a lower frequency, it meant a lot of magic was present. If it was higher, that area had little magic. And, if in the presence of one of the so-called 'nodes,' it would refuse to vibrate.

It took about fifteen minutes to make. Although I didn't have the original book, I had written the design down in case I needed it for anything.

Turns out, I did need it for something.

I entered the park for the third time that day. The sun was just beginning to dip towards the horizon, the sky in that direction beginning to turn into the orange color that was characteristic of the sunset. It wouldn't be long until Celestia lowered it all the way. Still, I had a theory to test, and it couldn't wait until morning.

Reaching the tree at the edge of the water, I pulled the magic detector from my bag. If I was right, then there would be several new questions to be answered, but I still wanted to know. I took the fork in one hoof, and the rod in the other, and struck them together.

It didn't even shake a little. There was a magical node, right there under the tree,

Well, that settles one thing. The strange occurrences could be a direct result of the magical node. Perhaps I had accidentally 'tapped into' the node when I had visited before, and that caused the strange visions. That could also explain the improved hearing.

But what about the ponies in the bush? Who were they? What were they doing? Were they watching me?

I decided to put those questions aside. I had more important ones to answer.

Somehow, I get the feeling that not even Starswirl knew everything there is to know about nodes. And, given my lack of things to do, it might just be worthwhile to investigate.

It was almost dark. I started on my way back.

Twilight was back by the time I got there. She explained that the Princess had wanted to teach her a few new spells, and as such she was gone for the whole day. I mentally slapped myself for not realizing her absence. Which reminded me of something else.

"Where's Cadence?" I looked around the library, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Twilight shrugged. "She might have had something important come up. I mean, she is a princess, even if she doesn't have that many royal duties. She's bound to have some important things to do from time to time."

I knew she was probably right, but I still felt nervous. Perhaps it was the strange things that happened at the park that had put me on edge.

"Yeah. She'll probably be back tomorrow, I'm sure it's no big deal," I replied. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that something bigger was going on, and if I could just figure out what...

I heard a yawn come from somewhere off to the right. Next to Twilight's bed, there was a small crib, inside which was a purple and green baby dragon.

"Twilight, don't you usually leave Spike at home?"

She looked over at the crib. "Well, I felt like I didn't get enough of a chance to see him, so I decided to bring him here. I figured Cadence could take care of him while I was at school, and if she couldn't, then you could."

It was clear Twilight cared a lot about him. I tried to work out in my head about how much this would slow down my progress, even though there hadn't been too much recently. It seemed like I had hit a steep incline after inventing flux-steel, after which any progress I'd made was either undermined by a bigger setback or just ended up creating more problems to solve than when I started. It was the engineer's equivalent of writer's block; I simply didn't have enough ideas.

"Shadow?" I had gone off into one of my thinking tangents again. Snapping out of it, I responded.

"Yeah, I can probably take care of him. Cadence should be back soon, so it'll only be a few days at the most." I considered not explaining the situation with my work, but ultimately decided that it would be pointless for her not to know. "Plus, I haven't been able to come up with a new project to work on, so I won't lose much time anyway."

She tilted her head sideways slightly. "I thought you were working on that one blueprint, the one you drew just before you ran off the other day. What happened?"

I sighed. "Hit a metaphorical wall. I'd either need a new fuel source or a material that attracts magic, instead of just channeling it like Arcanium does."

Twilight seemed to understand. "I'm sure you'll come up with something. After all, what you have built has been amazing! Your hoof, the horn, flux-steel, all things that you created. Sure, I helped some on that last one, but if it wasn't for you, and the things you've done, that never would've happened!" Twilight had a point, but I didn't see the need for an entire mini-lecture. "If I hadn't met you, we wouldn't be standing where we are now. This entire building wouldn't exist if it wasn't for us! If it wasn't for you!"

Twilight could be a pretty great motivational speaker, when she had a reason to be. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Surely something'll come to me."

It was then I remembered the investigation I had planned. "Actually, if we could find enough time to do it, there is something I've been wanting to investigate for a while now. It probably won't lead to any breakthroughs or sudden epiphanies, but it'll still be something interesting to do until I come up with something."

"Alright, what do you have in mind?"

Twilight agreed to help me investigate magical nodes. We decided to start by locating as many as we could in the Canterlot area. After all, it used to be an ancient unicorn city, and the ancient unicorns wouldn't have gone through the trouble of making a city on the side of a mountain if it didn't have some benefit. More magical nodes in an area meant a magical surplus, which meant complex spells that used a lot of magic left less of an impact on the caster and the surrounding area. Many of the current-day spells of such a nature had been based off of spells created by pre-Unification unicorns, which meant that they definitely could use that extra magic. Long story short, there were likely at least a few magical nodes in Canterlot.

There were far more than we expected. It took us a few weeks to pinpoint the exact location of thirty-four nodes, which covered pretty much all of Canterlot. We would either take Spike with us, or leave him with Twilight's parents. Strangely enough, Cadence did not return, although Princess Celestia had sent us a letter explaining that something had come up concerning her, and that she was alright and would simply have to be away for a while, and would return as soon as she could. Although she hadn't been there long, I had started to get used to her company during the short time between the flux poisoning incident and the day she had to leave.

The nodes were at seemingly random places. Some were in public places, and there were one or two that we had to ask to enter somepony's house to find them, but most of them were in or around the Palace, which wasn't incredibly surprising considering it took up a third of the city. What was surprising was the sheer number of nodes inside the castle. Out of the thirty-four total nodes, twenty-five of them had been inside the castle, with another one outside in the gardens. Why were there so many around there, I wondered, reviewing the map we had made.

It didn't take long before I came up with a theory. Most of the nodes are in the castle, but of the ones there, over half of them are closer to the mountain than the outer facing walls.

"Maybe it has something to do with the mountain?" Twilight had apparently reached the same conclusion.

I thought a bit deeper. Most of the nodes outside of the castle were in places that could be considered 'historic sites,' for example the park near the library, which was supposedly unchanged since even before the Unification. Which meant, if the nodes were originating from somewhere in the mountain, it would have to be someplace especially historic.

The only problem was, it was a mountain. Anything built much higher than Canterlot would be subject to brutal weather conditions and temperature. The steep cliff faces below Canterlot weren't a viable option, either. Canterlot had been essentially nestled on a relatively shallow incline, at just the perfect elevation.

That was when it metaphorically hit me. If somepony built intothe mountain, it would be protected from the climate of the higher elevations. And I had accidentally discovered one such structurea few weeks before.

When we explained our suspicions to Celestia, she agreed to let us go, as long as we dressed warm and she went with us. The climb was much easier than before, seeing as Celestia flew up and dropped a climbing rope down just before we started climbing. Not to mention having actual climbing gear.

Soon, we were standing at the entrance to the ancient ruin. It was just as I remembered it; weathered but still structurally sound stone pillars, vines covering strange markings on the walls, but in the center, I saw a feature I hadn't noticed before. It was a circular carving on the ground, with several symbols lining the edge.The inside of the circle was split into four sections, each with its own pedestal. The pedestals had triangular-shaped holes in them, that reminded me of the first vision I had at the park. Each pedestal also had a colored symbol on it; a red axe, a green heart, a yellow compass, and a blue four-pointed star. What is it with magic and stars? The center of the circle had a smaller circle in it, but apart from that it was blank.

I looked at Twilight, who nodded back at me. I took the rod in one hoof, the fork in the other, and struck the two together.

It didn't even shake. There was a node there, for sure. That led me to construct another theory. Could the node have aided in my survival when I ran away to here? Was that how I was healed of flux poisoning? I might want to keep that in mind in the future. I started to pace, as I usually did when I was thinking. While doing so, I stepped across the edge of the circle.

There was a loud noise, and Celestia backed away from the circle. It was glowing, the symbols around the edges rotating clockwise. The floor in the center slowly slid back, and an old stone lectern with a book on it rose up from the resulting hole.

For a moment, nopony moved.

The book was red, with a strange symbol on the front. The bottom half was a triangle, pointing downwards, with a red diamond shape in the middle. The top half resembled an Alicorn, its head pointed to the left. The wings had streaks of red on them, the same color as the diamond, as well as the eyes. I felt like I had seen the symbol before. There was no title on the cover, nor author, just the strange symbol. I removed it from the lectern, getting a closer look. It looked like it was brand new, which either meant it had been put there recently or it had an extremely powerful preservation spell on it. "Do wither of you know what this book is?" I asked, hoping that maybe one of them knew something, anything that would shed light on what just happened.

It was Celestia who spoke first. "The symbol on the cover is the emblem of the old Alicorn order. This book is likely their work."

"I thought you and Cadence were the only two Alicorns in existence?" Twilight said. I agreed with her; if there was another Princess, everypony would know her.

Celestia looked away, almost as if she was reliving a bad memory. "The Alicorns were once a mighty nation, residing in what is now Equestria long before the Unification. One day, they disappeared without a trace. I used to live among them, when I was much younger, although it has been so long, I have forgotten much about their ways. The book is unfamiliar to me, and I doubt Cadence will know any more than me, seeing as she never lived among them. This book might be a subject on which you are on your own, Midnight Shadow, if you wish to pursue it."

I opened the book, looking at the contents. It was written in a strange language, but I recognized it as the same language as the carvings on the wall and circle. It was unreadable. I closed it again, looking at the cover. That was when I realized why the symbol seemed familiar.

I set the book down on the red pedestal, and sure enough, the symbol matched the hole perfectly. "It must have something to do with this. Maybe if we could translate it, we'd find out more about this ruin. Celestia, do you know how to read this language?"

Celestia looked at the open book, thinking. "I am afraid not. However, it may be possible to translate it using a Decode rune."

I was confused. "What's a 'Decode rune?'"

Twilight replied that time. "A rune is a tiny symbol drawn on an object, which gives it certain magical properties. For example, a Tracking rune can be used to help find an object, even if it's really far away. And in the case of the Decode rune, it's usually used for coded messages and things like that, but it could still work on the book!"

I wasn't too surprised that I hadn't heard of runes before. After all, my magical knowledge was limited to basic spells, seeing as I only had a reason to study them after I invented the horn.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get back down there and use a Decode rune on this thing! Who knows what secrets it may hold?"

Since Decode was one of the more complex runes, and since this particular one had to be just right in order to have any effect, Celestia decided she would create it herself. We decided to draw it on the back cover, the blank, rigid surface being perfect for engraving a rune.

When it was finished, I couldn't help but be amazed at its complexity. It took up almost all of the cover, and the lines that made up the symbol were so close together, I could barely tell they were separate. There were several lines, each going in different directions on the cover, each one supposedly playing a part in the whole. At the bottom left corner, there was a somewhat larger and simpler rune etched into the surface.

"What's that for?" I asked the Princess, curious as to why it was so different from the rest.

"A basic rune, intended to activate the more complex parts by drawing in magic and sending it through the rune. It's called Activate."

Celestia's words practically hit me in the face, as I was struck with a sudden burst of inspiration. I almost regretted not studying magic more deeply, as doing so would surely have led me to the same discovery.

But that was for later. Celestia had finished the rune, and it was time to see if it worked.

It worked.

The book was fully translated into modern Ponish. Even Celestia was surprised by this, as she had expected the book to have a protection spell on it to prevent it being affected by magic like that. Nevertheless, the rune worked as intended. I read the first page aloud.

"Alicorns are now the only race to successfully discover a (somewhat) reliable method of predicting the future. These 'prophecies' are very vague, however many Alicorn scholars believe they can help us better prepare for the future. The first successful prophecy was written by the King himself, and goes as follows:

Four amulets will be the keys;

One to heal the wounds of the present,

One to find the treasures of the past,

One to control the magic of the future,

And one that can defeat any foe.

Four bearers will bring them to the gate;

The warrior, bearing the Amulet of the Healer,

The historian, bearing the Amulet of the Seeker,

The rogue Alicorn, bearing the Amulet of the Mystic,

And the architect, bearing the Amulet of the Commander.

These keys will restore what is lost,

And the Order will rise from its grave."

I paused for a moment. "Anypony else confused about what that means?"

"The prophecy mentioned a 'gate,' one with four keys. It is quite possible that it rests below the ruin atop the mountain," Celestia suggested.

"I guess that explains the pedestals. But, other than that, we don't know anything."

The three of us sat in silence for a few moments, then Celestia spoke.

"Well, I wish I could offer further insight into its meaning, but I am afraid I have nothing to offer. Plus, I have been away from my royal duties for far too long by this point, and I must return. I wish you luck in figuring it out." With that, she walked out, closing the door behind her.

"Well, I don't know about you, Shadow, but I'm tired." Twilight let out a yawn. "I'm going to bed."

It was getting late, after all. However, there was still something I wanted to do. I got out the blueprint I had been working on before. Redrawing it, I drew the Arcanium spiral in, with a small Activate rune on one end.

I stayed up for a few hours building it. I had plenty of spare supplies lying around, and I always tried to keep some spare Arcanium crystals. The rune was the most difficult part, but I managed to carve the symbol onto the end of the spiral. It was much, much simpler than Muse's design. I yawned.

I can test it in the morning.

I woke up the next morning, tired as usual. I got out of bed, looking over at the machine on my desk. I remembered that I had planned to test it. The rune could be turned on and off with a simple spell, so it could be activated and deactivated at will. I made a mental note to try and make a switch that would work for non-unicorns.

I slipped the leather strap of my horn over my head, smoothing my mane down until it covered the strap. Only the horn itself was visible, jutting out from my forehead. I flicked the switch, turning it on. Feeling the familiar hum of the Arcanium, I cast the spell.

It worked.

Finally, after all that time, I had figured it out. Muse came up with the idea of an automated motion machine, but I was the one who figured out how to use it. It was rather loud, and for a moment I was worried I would wake Twilight.

That was when I realized she wasn't in the library. I turned the machine off, seeing as it could probably be heard from a few blocks away. I made a mental note to work on sound-proofing.

That was when Twilight walked in. She was levitating a tray of muffins. "Hey, Shadow, just thought I'd... get us... some..." She trailed off when she saw me, and ended up just staring at me from the doorway.

I was confused. I looked at myself, trying to find the cause of her surprise.

It didn't take long.

It was a gray gear, with a white four-pointed star in the middle. Again, what is it with magic and stars? As soon as I saw it, I knew exactly what it meant.

I figured I'd get my cutie mark in engineering. What I didn't expect was getting it for combining magic and engineering, merging the arcane and the mechanical, creating something entirely new; an entire new field of study to pursue.

I looked at the photo above my bed, the one of my parents and a much younger me. I could only imagine how proud my father would be of me when he heard the news.

And, if my mother were here, she'd be proud of me too.

Author's Note

Sorry this one took a bit longer to write. I had to make sure I knew where to take the story next, and plan for it accordingly.

Inside

There wasn't a big party thrown to celebrate. If there was, only a few ponies would've shown up. My father, Twilight, Celestia, and maybe Cadence. I was never too keen on large social gatherings anyway, so we just decided to skip it.

I was personally happier about finishing the engine rather than getting my cutie mark. I felt like the cutie mark was just a sign that I was growing up. I would've gotten one no matter what it was for, or how difficult it was to get. The real accomplishment was creating something new, something with the potential to change the world. That is something that isn't guaranteed to everypony, and I thought it was the real achievement to be proud of.

My father was so proud, he cried when he found out. He told me that my mother would be proud of me as well, if she was still there to see me. That I already knew. But there was something that I didn't know.

"What happened to her?" I asked. My father's grin went away in an instant, replaced by a blank expression. I briefly wondered if I made a mistake by asking.

"One day, when you were at school, she told me she needed to take a walk," My father said sadly. "She never came back. I don't know why. She seemed fine before then, just a few minutes before she was sitting beside me, reading a book. I had the Guard help search for her, but we found no trace." He looked away, as if bothered by something. "I always wondered if it was something I did, or something I said, that made her leave. But, there was no way to find out." He sighed. "Well, that's life for you. Sometimes bad things happen, sometimes to those we love most. Nothing to do but move on, I guess."

I couldn't imagine how bad he felt after she disappeared, since I never got the chance to know her. I wondered if I'd ever truly understand.

"Thanks, dad," I replied. "I know it must've been hard to say that."

He smiled at me. "Well, there isn't much point in standing around, is there? Does Celestia know you've got your cutie mark now?"

"Well,no,I haven't told her yet."

"Well, let's go visit her then. I'm sure she'll be excited."

"State your name and purpose for requesting an audience with the Princess," The guard standing outside Celestia's throne room said.

"Bremen-shade, and we have some news that we believe she'd like to hear."

"What is your message?"

My father seemed slightly annoyed. "We were hoping to be able to tell her ourselves."

"The Princess requested increased security measures; as such, no civilians are allowed to see her."

"Come on, Flash, you know me. I'm in the Guard, same as you. Let me in."

"Sorry, Bremen, but the Princess gave strict orders to only allow high-level royal officers in, and only if the situation is urgent and requires her immediate action, now please-"

"Flash, step aside." It was the Princess. She must have heard us from the other side of the door, and came out to see what was happening.

"Yes, your majesty." He stepped aside, letting us through.

"Forgive him, he's just following my orders. Come on in." We followed her into the throne room.

There were several guards, even more than usual. I wondered why.

"I see Midnight Shadow has made a big accomplishment," Celestia said, smiling. "Congratulations, Shadow."

"Thank you, Princess," I replied. She was looking away, seemingly thinking about something. "Princess?"

She snapped out of it. "Oh, sorry about that." She looked at the ground. "I've been busy lately, and I suppose I let my thoughts drift away for a moment." There was an awkward pause. "Was that all?"

"Yes, I suppose..." My father turned to leave. "That's all, your majesty."

I was confused about so many things. Why was Celestia acting so strange? What was going on to warrant so many more guards? I started to follow my father out.

Something was wrong. That was the only explanation.

It's a strange thing about adults; when something's wrong, they try to hide it from younger ponies as much as possible. If my father had been alone, Celestia may have told him what was wrong. I knew she just didn't want me to worry, but not knowing what the problem was made it even more worrying.

"I just wish she'd told me what was wrong," I told Twilight. She looked up from her book.

"I'm sure she has her reasons, and we shouldn't question them. If she thought you should know, she'd tell you."

I laid back in my bed. "I know. I just can't shake the feeling that something horrible is going to happen."

Am I just being paranoid? I have come close to death at least twice in the past year. Maybe I'm just used to bad things happening.

I wasn't entirely convinced.

I decided to work on a new machine. It was the one thing I could do to calm down. I had created an engine, but that was only part of it. It didn't do anything practical on its own, it just spun the rod around and around until it was turned off.

It didn't take long for the ideas to flow. The first one I had was for a kind of automated chariot. Instead of being pulled by ponies, it would be powered by an engine. The next idea; a system of lifting ponies from floor to floor in large buildings. The ideas kept coming, and I wrote them all down.

I decided to work on them in the order I came up with them. Chariots could only go as fast as the ponies pulling them could go, which provided a biological limitation to the otherwise efficient mode of transportation. I drew some basic designs. The chariot would be attached to a cart housing the engine. The cart would pull the chariot along, and it could be controlled from an attached mechanism in the chariot.

There was a knock at the door. I briefly looked at the clock. A few hours had passed.

Time flies when I'm working on machines.

I stood up from my desk, walking over to the door. It was Parcel.

"Got a letter for you, Shadow."

"From the Princess, I presume?" Who else would send a letter.

"Well, actually, no. I couldn't tell who it was. They were wearing a cloak, and it covered their face. They asked that I tell you not to show it to anypony else; they said it was for you and only you."

This confused me. I didn't know anypony who would want to go to such lengths to keep this a secret. Still, I took the letter. What harm could there be in playing along, at least until I know what it says?

"Alright. I'll take a look, and see what it's all about. Thanks, Parcel."

"No problem, Shadow!" He flew off.

I walked inside. "Who was it?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, don't worry, Twilight. It's probably junk mail or something."

I was surprised that excuse worked. Twilight must have been particularly absorbed in her book, or else she would've figured out that I was lying.

I opened the letter. There was no indication as to its sender.

Midnight Shadow,

Don't show this to anypony, especially Celestia. This is the only way I can reach you.

You are in great danger. If you don't do anything, you and everypony you know will die. In three days, you, your father, Celestia, Cadence, and Twilight will be in the same room. Once you all are in one spot, they will try to kill you. If this is to be avoided, you are to do the following.

Find a book in the library called Advanced Runes and Enchantments. In this book is a special rune, one that is intended to protect those around it from all harm. The book says it is incomplete, because engraving it on normal materials has no effect.

Engrave the rune on a piece of Arcanium, combined with an Activation rune. This will create a single-use relic that can protect you. When you are all in the room, wait until you hear the three knocks, then activate it.

After that, get out. Run as far as you can. Don't stop for anything. Everything will end up as it is supposed to, as long as you escape. Whatever you do, don't let them catch you.

I wish you luck.

That was all it said. At first, I didn't believe it. It can't be true, can it?

Then again, there wouldn't be any harm in playing along, would there? I would make the relic, and keep it with me. I figured it was better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

There was a book called Advanced Runes and Enchantments in the library, just like the letter said. In it, there was a Protection rune. I started to wonder if the letter was really all that far-fetched.

I didn't have any Arcanium stored up, so I had to go get some. The Princess had allowed me to go to the Canterlot Caves whenever I needed some.

"Stop! State your name and purpose!" There wasn't a guard tower there before, I was sure of it.

"Midnight Shadow, retrieving some resource samples for a project."

"You are not allowed to enter royal property without direct permission from the Princess. Don't try to come back and lie about it, we'll check."

Well, there goes that idea. I'm not getting in unless the Princess lets me. And I can't tell her the real reason I need the Arcanium.

I walked home empty-hooved.

I needed a cover story to get the Arcanium. I couldn't believe I was planning on lying to the Princess about it. I decided to use the design for the motorized chariot as my purpose. I would need a larger engine to be able to carry an entire chariot full of ponies anyway, so I had a reason for wanting more Arcanium. Then, I could simply say that I wanted to have some extra, in case I needed it in the future.

I took two days to develop the idea further until I could not continue without the Arcanium. That way, Celestia would be more likely to let me get the Arcanium crystals.

I was somewhat nervous, but I stayed calm. The Princess would get suspicious if I seemed nervous.

The guard let me in immediately upon recognizing me. Celestia was sitting on her throne, looking over some sort of document.

"Oh, Midnight Shadow, hello. What do you need?"

I made eye contact with her. "I'm working on a new project, and it needs Arcanium. I don't have any left over, and the guards won't let me pass without your permission."

She nodded. "What is this project of yours?"

I expected her to ask that. I gave her the blueprint. "It's essentially a motorized chariot. Right now, I just need to make a working prototype, so I can start testing it."

She looked the blueprint over for a minute, then handed it back. "Very well, I suppose you can get some crystals from the cave."

I nodded, putting the blueprint back in my bag. "Thank you, Princess."

I turned to leave. "Midnight Shadow, wait," Celestia said.

I stopped. 'Yes, your majesty?"

"Tomorrow is the Summer Sun Celebration. I'd like you to come to the castle to celebrate. Bring all of your blueprints; there are some ponies who'd like to see them.

Is that when we'll all be in the same room, like the letter said? "Yes, Princess." I turned, and walked out the door.

The prototype was fairly simple to build. I was able to find an abandoned chariot to use, and the engine wasn't too difficult to make. The engine cart doubled the size of the chariot, but that couldn't be avoided at that point. I could have looked into smaller, more efficient designs for the engine, but I had to have a working prototype ready in a day, and I simply didn't have the time.

I had a lot of Arcanium crystal left over. More than enough for the Protection relic. It was about the size of my hoof, a flat Arcanium disk with the runes engraved on the surface. I needed a place to hide it, though.

I still had a few hours before dark, and I had been meaning to get around to redesigning it anyway. I could make a new leg with a small compartment for the relic, seeing as I didn't want anypony to know about it if it wasn't necessary. My leg needed redesigning anyway. I got to work.

I woke up the next morning, and things just felt off somehow. It was like the entirety of Canterlot was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen. I grabbed my saddlebag, filling it with every blueprint, note, and design I had ever written. I also included the prophecy book, wondering if the Princess would want to show it to those other ponies as well. The protection relic was safely stored in the secret compartment in my new hoof, just in case.

I decided not to take any of my heavy machines, seeing as they'd be too much trouble to move. Twilight, it seemed, had already left for the palace. Seeing as I had everything I thought I'd need, I set out to join her.

I realized I had missed Celestia officially raise the sun; I had been so tired from working on my new hoof. I didn't mind. I had already seen it a few times before, and from the library it would just be another sunrise.

The walk was uneventful, but all the while I felt uneasy. A few times, I felt as if somepony was watching me, but when I turned around nopony was there. After a few minutes, I reached the castle.

I took a deep breath, and opened the doors.

Celestia was waiting inside, accompanied by my father, Cadence, and Twilight, just as the letter predicted. "There you are, Shadow. Everypony, follow me."

The three adults in the group had serious expressions on their faces. I was sure they weren't telling us something. Walking next to Twilight, I whispered to her.

"What's bothering them?"

"I don't know," Twilight whispered back. "They wouldn't tell me, just kept saying that they'd explain it later."

The rest of the walk was completed in silence. A few times, I thought I saw my father look around nervously, as if he expected to see something. Cadence nudged him with her elbow each time, and his vision snapped back forward.

Something was definitely wrong. I was starting to believe the secret letter more and more.

We entered the throne room, Celestia falling back behind Twilight and I. She closed the door behind us. Strangely, there were no guards in the room. Besides the five of us, nothing was moving. Even the gentle breeze outside had stopped abruptly. It felt like the calm before a storm.

Celestia turned to face us. "Twilight, Shadow, I need you to listen. We don't have much time." Her voice was solemn, and her expression was locked in a frown. "We need to-"

She was interrupted by three knocks at the door. We all got quiet. "Get to the exit, I'll meet you there," Celestia whispered to us. Cadence started slowly walking towards the back of the room, followed by my father. Twilight and I started following them as well. I subtly turned my horn on, hoping nopony would notice.

They never got a chance to. So much happened in the next five seconds.

Celestia opened the door.

I cast the activation spell, and the five of us were covered in a blue aura.

There was an explosion from the door, knocking Celestia off her feet and launching her across the room.

The explosion set off more, seemingly from underneath the floor.

Celestia yelled for everypony to follow her, then ran towards the back of the room.

The large hall started to collapse around us.

I remembered what the letter had said, and ran out the destroyed door, despite the objections of the other four ponies.

I ran, the building collapsing around me. I knew nothing of what befell the others, and for a brief moment I looked back.

The aura around me had faded. Then, something hit me in the back of the head, and I collapsed.

Everything went black.

I opened my eyes, not that it made a difference. The room I was in was pitch black. I was lying on a hard stone floor, and it was freezing cold.

"Hello?" I called. No response. "Celestia? Cadence? Dad? Twilight?" Still nothing.

"Somepony? Anypony?" The only sound I could hear was the echo of my voice.

I tried to cast an illumination spell, but couldn't. Reaching up, I found that my horn was gone. So was my saddlebag. My metal hoof was still there, which was probably due to the fact it was embedded in my skin. I also had my mother's necklace, the one that was hidden in the photograph.

I ran through the events that had just transpired in my mind. I was running, and something knocked me out. Where am I? I began to feel the walls, finding nothing except a single small hatch that opened up into a tiny space beyond. It was far too small for me to fit through, and I couldn't see anything in it either. I felt some more, and found what felt like a door frame. The door was locked, though. I tried pounding on it with my metal hoof, but it did not give way.

Seconds turned into minutes. I began to cry, sitting alone in a cold, dark room. I hoped that somepony would rescue me somehow. But, I was almost certain that nopony would come, as I was alone when I was knocked out. I wondered what happened to the others. Had they made it out? Did I make the right choice, not following them? Would I still be with them if I had? Would they have died if I went with them? I had no way of knowing.

Minutes turned into hours. The dead silence was unbearable, so I filled it with my voice. Screams, cries, whispers, any noise I could make, I made it. Eventually, I settled into a hum. I was humming an old tune; I didn't know where I'd heard it before, but it was a sweet melody, and it helped deter the hopelessness I felt.

Powerlessness was a new feeling for me. I was used to being able to control the situation I was in, or at the very least be able to run from it. Now, I couldn't do anything.

There were three knocks at the door, and what sounded like a hatch opening from the other side. I checked the hatch, and there was a plate of food, with a bottle of water with it. I hadn't realized how hungry I was. It was gone in seconds. I put the tray back, and closed the hatch.

I didn't know how long I'd been there. I remembered a random fact; that sound travels better in solids than in air. Maybe, if I put my ear to the door, I could hear things from the other side. It was the only way I could get any answers at all.

At first, nothing. I stayed with my ear to the door for a while, then started humming when I could bear the silence no longer. Once I was calmed back down, I put my ear back to the door. It went on like that for a while, but eventually I started to hear voices from the other side. They were barely audible, and I couldn't tell what they were saying, but it was progress.

I kept trying, with nothing else to do. I started to make out words. "You," was one of them. "Anyway," was the next. I couldn't make anything of them yet, but with time, I hoped I would find something out that might help me escape.

I kept trying, and words formed sentences. "I wish they would let us go." "Who do they think they are?" "I hope my family is okay."

They must be other prisoners, who were brought here like me. But, why are they talking? Do they not have their own rooms?

Besides listening through the door, I passed the time by having 'conversations' with myself.

"Hi, how're you doing?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"It's dark out today."

"Isn't it dark every day?"

"What's a day?"

If I wasn't able to speak, I'd go crazy from the silence.

The outside ponies, as I started calling them, kept giving me meals. I tried counting the seconds between meals once or twice, but it seemed like they just fed me at random times.

Sometimes, I wondered if I had died. Is this what death is like? No wonder we're so afraid of it. Of course, I still had no way of knowing. I kept listening to the conversations of the outside ponies, trying to figure out anything I could. But it was mostly the same; "How could they do this?" and "If only I knew where we are." were popular phrases. There was the occasional "Get back in line, traitor," which I assumed was spoken by the Ones Who Captured.

The way I referred to things changed. The outside ponies separated into two groups: "The Ones Who Captured," and "The Ones Who Were Captured." I began to recognize certain voices among the Ones Who Were Captured. I gave them names.

"Oh, that's Voice, and that one's Speech, and over there is Word."

I wasn't very creative with it. I surprised myself with that, seeing as I was so creative before. At least, I thought I was. Everything before the Awakening was a blur by that point. I had forgotten what exactly it was I was creative with. I had trouble remembering what I looked like.

I think my coat is black, or is that just because I can't see it? And, I think my eyes are... Black? No, no, that can't be right. Can it? I can't seem to remember it black eyes are normal or not.

"So how are you doing in this moment in time?" I had lost count of how long I'd been there a long time ago, so I started using 'this moment in time' to refer to what was 'now,' 'before this moment in time' for things in the past, and 'after this moment in time' for things that hadn't happened yet.

"I'm the same as ever. I haven't changed. You haven't changed. Nothing changes."

"What is 'change,' again?"

I had named more of the Ones Who Were Captured. There was Verb, and Tone, and Text. I named them after either sound or... I couldn't remember the correct term for it. It was like words, but you could see them.

I began to wonder if sight was even a thing. After all, I had never seen anything, so how did I know it existed? Maybe it was just something I made up, wanting for the nonexistent concept of change to happen.

By that point, I was completely sure that nothing came before the Awakening. In fact, I wondered if the Awakening actually happened, or if I had always been there. Is this all there is to existence?

I started to think so, and I accepted that. This isn't bad, it's perfectly fine. Things have never been bad for me.

I slowly started to lose interest in what was outside. After all, how did I even know that existed? I stopped listening to the outside, perfectly content to stay inside. Inside was all I'd ever known, and it was all that was real. Outside was a thought, a dream I came up with back when I thought sanity had a use.

I began to build a world in my mind. It was another Inside, different from the one I was in. It was crazy, but was so much fun to imagine. In the second Inside, sight was real. You could see the boundary between the Inside and the non-Inside. And, there was a tree. I'm not sure why I included it, but it made me happy. It was a magnificent tree, that sparkled. It made me happy.

Something deep inside me, something I wished would go away, kept telling me to not be happy. I couldn't imagine why I would want me to be unhappy. Things were great! I could hum, I could visit the second Inside in my mind, and I always got food. What wasn't there to love about it?

With time, the voice faded. I was happy about that. The voice had kept me from being happy. Things that kept me from being happy were bad.

I started visiting the second Inside more and more. I would close my eyes, and there I would be, looking at the beautiful tree. I started visiting it more often that I visited the First Inside. After all, what mattered except the tree? The beautiful, beautiful tree. The only thing I couldn't get from the Second Inside was food. I decided to leave the First Inside behind, only returning to it when there was food.

I spent all of my free time staring at the tree. It was the only thing that mattered to me.

Then, something changed.

The door made a sound. It was loud, and it hurt. I wanted to forget it, but I couldn't. Then, I started staring at the tree again.

Everything went away, except the tree.

I didn't need food.

I didn't need anything.

I could just stay here forever.

And ever.

And ever...

Something inside of me told me to stop.

That made me non-happy. I wanted to stare at the tree. It made me happy. I tried to explain it, but the voice kept telling me to stop.

Then, I felt something. The opposite of happy. It took a moment to remember its name.

Pain.

It was everywhere. I wanted it to stop, I wanted to look at the tree. But, the tree was gone. Instead, I saw nothing.

And the pain didn't stop. I wanted it to stop.

Make it stop.

No.

Why not?

Because we can't give up.

What does that even mean?

I don't know, but it's important. We can't give up. We need the pain so we don't give up.

Please, stop.

No.

Stop.

No.

Stop...

No...

It went back and forth, with me telling me to stop and me telling me no. I wanted to be happy. So what if I gave up? If it meant being happy, why wouldn't I?

But still it didn't stop. Back and forth, and pain all the while.

Is this how it always was? I can't tell.

Nothing.

Nothing,

Nothing,

Nothing.

Such a beautiful word, nothing. It isn't pain, it isn't change. It is nothing.

I like nothing.

Then, something. Something bad.

The door opened.

A strange blob stepped through it, and made strange noises.

Then, it grabbed me. It was pulling me out of the Inside.

I fought it, with everything I had. I wanted nothing, not something. It was taking me to something.

"No, no, no!" It was the first time I spoke. "No! No! No!"

But I could do nothing. I could do nothing.

No. I couldn't do nothing. It stopped me from doing nothing. It made me do something.

I just wanted nothing. Was that too much to ask?

Nothing. The most beautiful word. I like nothing, I want nothing, give me nothing.

Not something.

Something is the ugliest word. I hate something, I don't want something, don't give me something.

Something is pain. Something is change. Nothing is neither.

But, I still couldn't stop it. It had pulled me completely out of the nothing by that point, into the something.

I closed my eyes. Darkness. Darkness was nothing. I could just stay like that.

But still, the something remained. And, the tiny voice was glad.

Something is good. It means we haven't given up.

I want to give up. I want nothing. Let me go back to my nothing!

No.

Yes.

No.

Yes...

No...

I was in a place.

There were several blobs around.

They made strange noises.

I was unhappy.

I felt pain.

The pain got worse.

I couldn't keep going.

I had to give up.

But I couldn't.

I felt something new, something I had never felt before. It came from deep inside of me. It told me I couldn't give up.

I listened.

For some reason, the feeling convinced me to not give up.

I don't want to give up.

I won't give up.

I won't!

The pain got worse, but the other feeling grew stronger too. It wasn't a good feeling, but it wasn't bad either. It was something, and nothing, at the same time.

And I didn't give up.

Things may have been bad. They may have changed.

But whatever happened, I wouldn't give up.

Strange noises came from all around me.

Something started pulling me away. It was a different blob. This one I identified as being blue. I didn't know what 'blue' was, but I still knew this blob was blue for some reason.

It pulled me somewhere else.

I went along with it. No matter how much I wanted to give up, to go back to nothing, I couldn't.

I didn't want to give up.

But I did.

But I didn't.

Then, a single thought consumed me.

Home. I want to be home.

And, the strange feeling that was neither nothing nor something grew even stronger.

And then...

To be continued...

Author's Note

I don't know what to say here, so... Banana cream pudding!
Edit: I know this chapter is confusing. (Almost) everything will be explained in the next chapter.

Where the Desert River Flows

A single thought echoed throughout the universe.

Twilight....

Twilight.

"Twilight!"

I was lying on the ground, somewhere outside. A blizzard raged around me, the white snow reducing visibility to zero. The light cloak I was wearing wasn't nearly enough to keep me warm, and I soon began to shiver.

Where am I? I couldn't remember anything; who I was, where I was, how I got there. All I knew was that if I didn't get somewhere warm soon, I would probably freeze to death.

"Hey, you! Isn't it a little cold for a morning stroll?" A voice, coming from somewhere in the white. I saw a warm glow, coming from a glowing rectangle, with the silhouette of a pony inside. "You should probable come inside for a bit."

I ran to the door, wanting nothing but to be out of the cold. The pony shut the door behind me, and I instantly felt warmer. I looked around the place I had just entered.

I was standing in the entry hallway to a home. The walls were painted a shade of tan, with few decorations. Further inside, there was what looked like a living room, with a comfortable-looking sofa in the center, a few other chairs, a coffee table, a bookshelf, a lectern with an open book on it, and a fireplace against the back wall. There was a window, but it was impossible to see anything out of it. It seemed rather dull, seeing as the walls were unadorned and the furniture was simple in design. Still, it was warm.

I looked at the pony who had let me in. He was a unicorn, and his coat was a silvery gray, along with his mane and eyes. His cutie mark, a hat and shovel, suggested that he was an archaeologist. There were two barely noticeable scars running parallel down his back.

"So what were you doing out in the storm?" he asked. I sat down on the sofa. It was comfortable, just as it looked. The fire warmed the room. The unicorn sat down in one of the other chairs.

"I... I'm not sure. I just woke up out there. I don't remember how I got there, or even who I am."

The unicorn nodded. "Well, you look alright, despite having just been out in a blizzard." He extended his hoof. "My name is Silver Lining, and I'd be happy to help you figure out what to do."

I shook his hoof. Somehow, that name almost sounded familiar, as if I'd heard it somewhere before.

I looked over at the open book on the lectern. I couldn't read it well from that far away, so I got up and walked over to it.

The Great Fire of 990was the heading of the page. I closed the book, looking at its title. Canterlot History: An Exploration of the Mysterious Past of Equestria's Capital City. The author was Silver Lining himself.

"You wrote this?" I asked, taking it off the lectern and walking back to the sofa.

"Yep. It was the most interesting of all of my works to research." It made sense. A book about archaeology written by an archaeologist. I flipped to the page it was on before. Something about it had caught my eye. It took a moment to read. The page seemed slightly blurry, almost as if my eyesight was off.

The Great Fire Of 990:

Few things in Canterlot's history are as unexplained or as devastating as the Great Fire. In 990 A.L., a fire started in the Canterlot Palace. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. The fire spread, destroying many buildings in the heart of the city until it eventually died out. Remarkably, there were no confirmed casualties. However, there was one pony who was reported as missing. Nopony knows what happened to him. He was a government official of some kind who was in the Palace just before the start of the fire.

Some have claimed that he started the fire, then ran to evade justice. Others say he was buried underneath the rubble of the destroyed Palace. The Royal Guard conducted a search for him, but found no trace. He was presumed dead, and the case was closed.

The fire destroyed many records, and with them much of the information about Canterlot's prior history was lost. Luckily, some of the records in the Royal Archive had copies stored in the Manehattan Royal Courthouse, so the fire's impact was mitigated.

Something about that missing pony rang a bell in my mind, but I couldn't figure out exactly what it was. "So, this section mentions a missing pony. What do you know about him?"

He frowned. "Well, pretty much everything I know is in that book. At least, everything that can be confirmed to be fact. There are some crazy rumors out there, I'll tell you what. One pony even tried to say that his ghost still haunted the library where he lived. Can you believe that? What a ridiculous story!"

I thought for a moment. "Where is the library?" I had a feeling I should go there. Something told me I'd find answers.

Silver shook his head. "We've already searched the rubble high and low, trust me. There's nothing there that would tell you anything about him." He looked at me. "I'm guessing you're gonna go no matter what, huh? Tell you what, let's wait until the storm dies down, and I'll take you there. I know it like the back of my hoof."

I nodded. I just knew that I'd find answers there, even if Silver claimed otherwise.

I hadn't realized until that point how tired I was. Closing my eyes, I drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up, the storm had stopped. The howling wind had become a gentle breeze. Looking out the window, I saw a blanket of snow covering the ground. It was still falling from the sky, but was more akin to a light dusting than a blizzard. I saw the city, which I assumed was Canterlot, spreading across the ground outside. It seemed like the city was built somewhere high, and looking around further I spotted the cliff face of the mountain it was built on. Up against the mountain was a beautiful castle, and further out were several smaller buildings.

It seemed all too familiar.

"Oh, you're awake," Silver said, walking in from another room. "Well, the storm's pretty much over, so if you still want to, we can go see the library."

I nodded, standing up. He handed me a heavy coat. "Just because the storm's over doesn't mean it's springtime out there," he said.

He walked to the door, opening it. I followed.

The walk was uneventful. Neither of us talked much. It was still freezing cold, but the wind had died down, and the coat helped keep me warm. It wasn't long until we reached our destination.

"Well, here we- Wait a minute, is that-" He started staring at a piece of rubble around where the door probably was. "This has been disturbed, very recently too." He kept staring at it. I walked inside.

I felt what was almost a sense of nostalgia. I couldn't explain why. Looking around, I spotted a broken mirror lying on its side. I walked over to it, taking a look at myself.

My coat and mane were pitch black. One of my eyes was blue, and the other one, surrounded with strange scars, was green. I noticed my pupils were slightly larger than a normal pony's, but had no idea why. I figured it was the reason I had trouble reading the book earlier.

I noticed an odd-looking bottle placed at the base of the mirror, filled with a white liquid. It had a note attached to it. Drink this, and you will find the answers you seek, it said. I had a feeling it was for me. With no other choice, I took the cap off, and took a drink.

My vision went white.

I was on a dirt trail, somewhere completely different from where I was. Trees lined the sides of the path. The sky was overcast. Silver was standing not far away, facing the opposite direction.

"Silver?"

"Hello?" was his response.

"Silver, it's me."

"Hello? Is anypony there?"

Why couldn't he hear me? "Silver?"

"Somepony? Anypony?" he cried softly. His voice sounded... younger. As I looked at him, I realized that he was younger. Where he had scars before, there were now two open wounds, the silvery surface of his coat stained red.

He turned my way. His eyes were filled with tears. Then, he collapsed on the ground.

I heard a sound from behind, and jumped out of the way of a carriage that was going down the road. The ponies pulling it stopped just before they hit Silver. "I swear, if it's another false alarm-" said a voice from inside. The door opened, and out stepped an unfamiliar earth pony stallion. His coat was a shade of tan, and his mane was dark brown. His blue eyes surveyed the surroundings, eventually looking at the injured silver unicorn.

"Oh, I see." He didn't sound surprised to see a young colt bleeding in the middle of the path. "Come on, kid. Get in." Silver lifted his head slightly off the ground.

The tan stallion turned to the ponies in front of the carriage. "Well, don't just stand there! Go help him!" The two ran to Silver's side, lifting him up. The other stallion walked up to him.

"Now, you listen to me, kid. I'll help you, but you'll need to help me in return. Understand?"

Silver nodded.

"Good. Put him in the carriage." The two carriage drivers lifted him up, taking him to the open door of the carriage. The blue-eyed stallion entered behind him. Then, the drivers got back into position, and the carriage started moving.

My vision went white.

I was in a small room, with no furniture except a table and a few chairs. In one of these chairs sat Silver, a bandage wrapped around his middle. At the other sat the blue-eyed stallion.

"Okay, kid. My name is Desert River. Remember that, because you'll be using it a lot."

Silver just sat there, looking down at the table.

"You remember how I said I'd help you, if you helped me in return?"

Silver nodded.

"Well, I've kept my end of the deal, now here's yours."

He spread a map out on the table. I recognized it as being the area around Canterlot.

"Somewhere around here" -he pointed to Canterlot with his hoof- "is an ancient relic. I don't know exactly where it is. That's where you come in."

He tilted Silver's head up with his hoof, so that he had no choice but to look Desert River in the eyes. "Your cutie mark tells me you're an archaeologist. That means you'll be able to use your horn to find the relic. Now, when you find it, you are to bring it right back to me. Understand?"

Silver nodded again.

"Okay. Follow me, kid." Desert River stood up. Silver did the same. The two walked out the single door to the room. I followed them, my questions about why they couldn't see me put aside in curiosity for what would happen next.

The two walked up several flights of stairs, turned down a few corridors, and eventually came to a door. Desert River opened it, motioning for Silver to walk through it.

The door opened up to the back room of a bakery, indicated by the bags of flour and other baking supplies lining the shelves. Silver and Desert River walked through to the exit.

The bakery seemed familiar to me, although I couldn't place it. Desert River glanced around the room, then kept walking, followed by Silver, who had an expression of fear on his face.

They walked out into a street. It looked like somewhere in Canterlot. Several shops lined the street. At the end of the street stood a tall tower. Looking closely at it, I saw a parked chariot at its base, attached to a box of some kind. It seemed familiar.

Desert River led Silver down a series of side paths, twisting and turning, until the pair arrived at an excavation site. At the bottom, there was a stone doorway. It would've been completely covered in dirt and stone, had it not been for the ponies that had unearthed it.

"Now, the relic should be down there. It looks like this." Desert River showed a picture to Silver. From the angle I was looking at it from, I couldn't tell what it was, and he put the photograph away before I could see it. "Remember; bring it straight back."

Silver walked uneasily down to the stone doorway. I followed him.

The doorway led into an ancient ruin. The walls were covered with vines, and wherever there weren't vines, there were strange symbols carved into the cracked stone. In the center of the large room, there was an ornate pedestal. It had nothing on it, though.

Silver's horn glowed with a yellow aura. He began to move around the cavernous ancient structure, probably using his horn to locate the relic. He stopped abruptly, before an exposed patch of the wall. On it, a triangular symbol was engraved. Silver put his hoof to the symbol, and pushed inwards.

The section of wall slid back slightly. Then, on the floor, yellow lines started to glow, converging at the pedestal. There was a flash of light, and an object appeared on the pedestal. Its shape matched the symbol on the wall perfectly. I assumed it was what Desert River was looking for.

Silver took the amulet off of the pedestal. The glow faded, leaving only the light of the sun from outside.

Voices could be heard from outside. Silver hid behind the wall next to the doorway, listening.

"So you're just gonna take him to the Complex?" a mare's voice said.

Another voice, which I recognized as Desert River, replied. "If he went free, he alone could bring down everything we've built. We need him to find the Amulet, but we also need to keep this whole operation a secret if we are to succeed."

"Well, let's hope he doesn't try using the Amulet. It would be really bad for us if he did." She sounded louder as she said it. Silver, hearing this, put the Amulet on. It glowed with the same yellow aura as before, and from this aura came a projection of Silver.

It was fairly convincing. If one looked too closely, one could see the imperfections in the illusion, but from far away it would look just like him. It even had the Amulet around its neck. The true Silver became translucent, nearly invisible.

The illusion Silver ran out the exit. "Wha- Guards! Stop him!" Desert River had fallen for the trick. The sound of running hoofsteps could be heard going away from the doorway.

Silver peeked out from behind the wall. Sure enough, nopony was there. They had all fallen for it. Silver paused for a moment, then ran out.

My vision, once again, went white.

This time, I was in what looked like a house of some kind. The room I was in had pink walls, a toy chest against one wall, and a small bed, among other pieces of furniture.

The door opened, and two fillies ran through. One of them, an orange pegasus with a red mane, closed the door behind her. The other filly, a sky blue pegasus, ran and hid under the bed.

"Come on, sis. It'll be alright, we just need to-" The orange filly was cut off by the sound of the door breaking inwards. She backed away from the now open door, as the silhouette of an earth pony could be seen.

"Now what do we have here?" Desert River stepped through the doorway. "Guards, would you kindly deal with these kids?"

Two armored ponies walked through the doorway. One grabbed the blue filly. "Sis, help!" The other guard went for the orange filly, but was met with a hoofkick to the face, knocking him out.

"Let her go," she said firmly, standing as tall as she could in front of Desert River. In response, he just chuckled.

"You're a feisty one, aren't you? Tell you what. I'll let your sister go, if-" he paused. "-if you join my army."

The orange filly looked at Desert River, then at her sister, still in the hooves of the other guard. She wiped a single tear from her eye. "Okay. I'll do it, but let her go!"

Desert River looked over at the guard. "You know what to do." The guard let go of the struggling filly, who immediately ran to hug her sister.

"Don't do it, sis. Please!" She was in tears.

The orange pegasus let go of her sister, smiling at her. "I promised Mom that if anything happened to her, I'd protect you. You know I have to do this."

She walked out the door, where Desert River was waiting. "What's your name, kid?"

She looked down at the ground, then replied. "Sunwalker. My name's Sunwalker."

"Sunwalker, huh? Your name suits you." He smiled. "You'll make a great soldier."

Another piercing flash of white light filled my eyes.

I was in a dull room, with a single desk. At this desk sat Desert River, looking at some sort of paperwork. There was a single door, opposite the desk. This door opened, and Sunwalker stepped through, now full grown.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

Desert River looked up at her, menacingly. He smiled, but his expression showed an emotion other than happiness. "You remember your last assignment, right?"

Sunwalker nodded, her amber eyes pointed at the floor. "Yes, sir..."

"Care to explain how you failed to eliminate both the main and secondary targets?" Desert River's smile had faded, leaving a blank expression.

"Well, there was a... complication. The device's detonator malfunctioned, so it went off far too late to eliminate the primary target. As for the secondary, well..." She paused.

"Go on."

"There was another pony in the building at the time, and I believe he helped her escape unharmed."

Desert River looked right at Sunwalker. "Listen, kid. I'll give you another shot, but if you fail this one, I believe you know what your fate will be." Sunwalker gulped, then nodded.

"Now, tell me. Who was this other pony?"

Another white flash.

Sunwalker was walking down a dark hallway, dragging something behind her. I couldn't make out what it was. She stopped, opened a door, and threw the object inside, closing it behind.

Then, she kept walking, down a different corridor. She opened another door, walking through it. She was in the same office as before.

"Sir, he's in."

Desert River looked up from his work. "Great. That'll be all, soldier. You're dismissed."

Sunwalker didn't move. "May I ask why this one needed to be put in solitary?"

"The commander told me that he's a dangerous one. She said that he'd get out of a normal prison cell easily. Therefore, he goes in solitary."

"Where is she now?"

Desert River looked back down. "In her office. I wouldn't recommend questioning her judgement, but it isn't my life that'll be in danger."

Sunwalker turned around, walking back out. She walked down a few more corridors until she reached another door.

She put her hoof on the handle, then pulled it away. She walked off, having changed her mind about seeing whoever was beyond that door.

Another white flash. I was getting tired of those.

Sunwalker was running down a dark corridor. She ran into another pony, covered in a dark cloak.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't see you there." Sunwalker kept on, walking that time. The cloaked mare looked up, and Sunwalker froze in her tracks. She had an expression of horror on her face, as if the cloaked pony was holding a knife to her throat.

"Commander, I am so sorry. Please forgive me."

I couldn't make out the facial features of the cloaked pony. All I could tell was that her coat was blue. "No, it's fine. Actually, you're just the pony I was looking for." She stood up.

Sunwalker saluted with her hoof. "Yes, commander?"

"Put your hoof down, Sunwalker. There's no need for such formalities now." Sunwalker quickly lowered her hoof.

"Now, I've heard you've had some doubts about what we're doing here."

Sunwalker's eyes widened. "N- No, ma'am, I would never question-"

The cloaked pony raised a hoof, quieting Sunwalker. "Listen. I know you don't like being a part of all this. So, I'll cut you a deal."

Sunwalker took a step back in fear.

"If you can release the prisoner in solitary confinement, then I will personally see to it that you are set free."

Sunwalker closed her eyes. She had backed into a wall and shrunk as low as she could.

"Listen. If you promise not to tell, I'll tell you a secret."

Sunwalker nodded anxiously.

The cloaked pony pulled back her hood. Still, I couldn't see her face well. It was almost as if she was purposefully being obscured from view.

"I don't like it either. I've never liked it. But, I need to get you out of here, as well as the prisoner."

Sunwalker relaxed slightly. "Why us?"

The cloaked pony smiled, pulling a blue book from under the cloak. It had the same triangular symbol that I saw earlier on the cover, but it was blue instead of yellow. She opened the book to a certain page.

"There's an ancient prophecy; it says that four ponies will each bring a key to a gate, and it will unlock something long lost. I'm trying to find the ponies to fulfill this prophecy, and I believe you are one of them."

Sunwalker's expression was a mixture of confusion and disbelief. "But, why would it be me?"

"Do you know why we broke into your home that night, several years ago?"

Sunwalker shook her head no. In response, the cloaked pony pulled something else out of her cloak.

It was another Amulet, same shape as the one I saw earlier, but this one was green.

"Your mother was hiding this. I believe it is one of the keys mentioned in the prophecy. The prophecy said this specific key belongs to a warrior. Since you are the only member of your mother's bloodline who is a soldier, it means you are meant to carry it." She put it back under her cloak. "The Lunar Revival is in just a few days. Desert River will ask you specifically to bring the prisoner in solitary confinement to be sacrificed. When that happens, we will be able to escape."

Sunwalker nodded.

"However, be careful around the prisoner. Being locked up in a dark room for ten years probably did some things to his mind. There's no telling what he'll do."

"What's so special about him anyway? Is he another one of the ponies from the prophecy?"

The cloaked pony smiled. "Yes, but he is much more than just that. He is the one pony who I believe can topple the entire Lunar Uprising. And, he's also-"

Her sentence was cut off by a flash of light.

I stood in a dark room, illuminated by a single skylight. Pale moonlight shone down from the glass window, directly on to the raised dais in the center. Several ponies surrounded it, many of them wearing armor.

There was a podium on one side. At this podium was none other than Desert River himself.

"Soldiers of the Lunar Uprising, tonight is the night we bring back the true Princess. The Lunar Revival has come, the day we have been working towards for generations!"

The crowd cheered.

"Sunwalker, please bring in the sacrifice."

In a large doorway on the opposite side of the room, Sunwalker was struggling with a black mass. It writhed around in her hooves, growling. After a moment, it seemed to calm down. Next to Sunwalker was the cloaked pony from earlier.

Sunwalker walked into the light, carrying the black thing.

Not many ponies know what it's like to look at yourself. Nevertheless, there I was, now standing on the dais, looking over my own collapsed body. I was muttering incomprehensibly. That is, the one that was on the ground. Both of the collapsed me's eyes were closed. Around his (my?) neck, there was a blue pendant on a silver chain.

The dais began to glow, as the moon aligned with the skylight perfectly.

"Oh, great Princess of the Night, accept our offering, and use the power of his soul to return to our world!" A fast wind blew through the room.

My body rose up, surrounded by a dark blue aura. But then, the necklace around my neck started to glow, with a lighter blue aura. It seemed almost like it was fighting against the dark aura flowing from the sky.

Eventually, the dark aura faded, and I fell back down. The cloaked pony leaned over to Sunwalker, whispering one word:

"Now."

Sunwalker moved quickly, knocking out several of the closest soldiers. The cloaked pony grabbed me off the ground, and started running away. Sunwalker was quick to follow.

"After them! We cannot let them compromise the ritual!" screamed Desert River. Several soldiers ran after them.

My vision went white again.

Sunwalker and the cloaked pony were standing in a forest clearing. Nearby, there was a small shed. The door was open, revealing a ladder beyond that led down into the ground. Sunwalker quickly closed it, barricading the handle with a sturdy-looking stick.

I was lying on the ground. The cloaked pony stood over me.

"Do you think he's okay?" Sunwalker asked.

My necklace glowed again, and I was surrounded by the same light blue aura from before. Then, the aura exploded, sending a shockwave out across the forest, and likely the lands beyond. Sunwalker and the cloaked pony were knocked off their feet.

I had disappeared. Good, now there's only one of me again. Much less confusing.

My vision went white, one final time.

I was in a familiar room. The walls were blue, and there was a crib against one wall. Over this crib stood a blue unicorn. Walking around to get a better angle, I saw her face.

Her eyes were an emerald green. She was looking down, at a small colt. It was a younger version of me. Both eyes were blue, and one of my front legs was missing.

The blue unicorn spoke. "Goodnight, Midnight Shadow."

Then, I remembered.

For the first time in the ten years since I had been taken, I finally understood what was happening.

I heard a voice.

It was calling me.

"Hey, you alright?" Silver Lining had stopped investigating the rubble at the entrance, and had noticed how I was standing still, staring into the distance.

I turned around. "Do you happen to know where Princess Celestia is?"

Silver looked surprised. "Yeah, she's probably at the palace, but-"

I broke into a run, knowing that I had to find her as soon as possible.

"Wait!" Silver called, but I did not slow down.

I remembered those streets. I knew the way from the library tower to the palace. I knew that they probably all thought I was dead.

But I had survived. I was Midnight Shadow, Royal Engineer, and I had survived.

I rammed full speed into a pony going the other way.

"Oh, so sorry sir, but since you've stopped me, would you mind helping me with a spell I've been working on?"

I was still on the ground, dazed from the collision.

"Great! Hold still..." The unicorn I had bumped into started charging a spell.

"No, wait-" I tried to stop her, but it was too late. The pony's spell went off, and everything went black.

My eyes opened slowly. My head hurt. What happened? I sat up, looking around. The temperature had gone up significantly, and there was no longer any snow. It was nighttime.

I shook the stars out of my vision. Stay focused, Shadow. I kept running towards the palace, faster than before. If I could get to the Princess, maybe she could help me.

Opening the front door, I noticed that the palace looked quite different. They probably had to rebuild it after the attack, so I guess that was why. There was a desk, at which sat a secretary pony.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but I need to know where Princess Celestia is. It's urgent!"

She looked up at me. "And you are?"

I shook my head. "There isn't enough time to explain; where is she?"

She adjusted the glasses on her face. "Celestia's in Ponyville for the Summer Sun Celebration. If your message really is that urgent, you can bring it up with the Council, and they-"

I had already started running off.

I needed a way to get to Ponyville, and fast. The train would be too slow, and I couldn't fly or teleport.

Well, I could teleport if I had my horn...

Then, I had a thought. If I could get to the Canterlot Public Library...

The run only took a few minutes. I walked through the doors, remembering all the time I had spent there. Nopony else was there, which was just as well. I didn't want to be seen until I could talk with the Princess.

I went to the magic section. The book I was looking for, Advanced Magical Runes, wasn't there, but there was a more basic version.

I flipped it open. Although it was a beginner's guide, it still had many useful runes in it.

Finding the one I wanted, I set the book down on a table. I flipped the small lever on my metal hoof, and the secret compartment opened. The relic was still there. I set it down, with the unengraved side facing up. Looking around, I saw a rune engraving tool just lying on the ground. Well, that's convenient, I thought.

I etched the Teleport rune into the relic. When it was finished, I added an Auto Activation rune, which was intended for unicorns who were attempting highly advanced runes. I was using it to sidestep my lack of a horn.

I put the engraving tool in the secret compartment. The relic started to glow; I only had a few moments before it went off, teleporting me to the exact coordinates engraved on it. The relic would be left behind, but I didn't care. I had to reach Celestia. It was the only thing I could do.

The relic activated.

Author's Note

Hopefully, this clarifies the last chapter. It's still fairly vague, but gives a general idea of what happened. It'll probably be explained in more detail down the line.

Lunar Revival

When I came to my senses, I was lying on the ground. My head was spinning, and my vision was crooked. I knew that teleportation was disorienting, but in that moment, I felt almost like I was lying on the ceiling. Slowly, my thoughts cleared, and I could see well enough to look around.

I was in some sort of cave. The entrance, in front of me, was obscured by a heavy mist. Turning around, I surveyed the interior. Along the sides of the floor grew several lily pad-like plants, a few of them holding pink flowers on top. Embedded in the ceiling were several large purple gemstones. Light seemed to shine through them, illuminating the giant tree in the center.

It was the same tree I had imagined while imprisoned by the Lunar Uprising. It looked like it consisted of crystal instead of wood. Its roots spread across the open center of the cave floor. From its branches hung several glowing orbs, suspended by blue vines. Five of the branches had large imprints on them, seemingly intended to hold something. On the point where the several branches converged, there was a symbol of a six-pointed star. Below this, on the trunk of the tree, were symbols of the sun and moon. At the base of the tree, strange black vines were poking out of the ground, a few of them wrapping around some of the smaller roots of the tree.

I wondered how I could have imagined it perfectly without ever seeing it before. Am I dreaming? The tree did seem surreal enough to be the product of a dream, but I still doubted that explanation. It looked too real. I could feel a light breeze blowing in from the cave entrance. I could feel the stone beneath my hooves. I could hear the sound of small drops of water falling from the cave ceiling. It was all too vivid, too real, to be a dream.

I had fully recovered from the teleport at that point, and I stood up. I approached the tree cautiously. It was truly unique, and yet I had never heard any mention of it. Surely if it had been discovered, it would have been famous across Equestria. Is it undiscovered? And, ifso, where is it? Did the teleport spell malfunction?

I reached out a hoof, touching the trunk of the tree.

"Shadow..."

It was a voice, coming from everywhere around me. I tried to take my hoof off of the tree, but somehow, I couldn't.

"Shadow..."

I had no choice. "Who's there? What's going on?"

"I have something that must be said. In the near future, you will stand against a mighty foe. If you stand alone, you will fail. Stand with others, and your victory is guaranteed. Now, go. You are needed elsewhere."

The sound of rushing wind filled the cave. Looking behind me, I saw that the mist had cleared. My hoof left the trunk of the tree, as I walked out of the cave and into the ravine beyond.

There were stone stairs carved out of the ravine wall. I climbed them slowly, still not fully comprehending the events that had transpired.

Was that tree talking to me? What did it mean? Where am I?

I reached the top. There was still a lot of mist there, so I couldn't see where I was that well. A broken rope bridge hung from the edge of the cliff. I had no way of repairing it, so that direction was out of the question.

In the opposite direction, a trail led off into the mist. In every other direction, there were trees. All things considered, there was only one possible way to safely go.

I started walking down the trail, hoping to find a town or something.

I didn't have my blueprints, or my horn, or the library. Wherever I ended up, I would basically be starting from scratch.

Once I figure out where I am, I can return to Canterlot.

But I saw what's left of the library. There's nothing left in that city for me. I would go live with my father, but by this point I'm old enough to make a living on my own, and I bet my father isn't doing too well. Losing mom, then me, would surely have taken a toll on him. Even if I came back, it's likely that he won't get better quickly. The kind of treatment he'll need is expensive, and he won't be able to work during it. He might have enough money in the bank to do it alone, but if I had to stay with him it's likely that he wouldn't. Any job I could get wouldn't be able to cover the cost, so it's probably for the best if I lived on my own until things are sorted out.

I can't believe things have come to this. Ten years ago, I didn't have to worry about things like this. I had pretty much everything I could want, but the Lunar Uprising had ruined everything, taking it all away. And for what? What were they even trying to accomplish?

That's a good question. I know they want Celestia dethroned, and they'll go to whatever lengths they think will lead them to that, but that's all I know. Did Desert River intend to take the throne himself? In the vision I had earlier, I heard him mention something about a Princess of the night. Were they trying to bring someponyback from the dead? I've read a few reports of attempted resurrection spells, but they always failed.

I had been walking for a while. Trees lined the side of the path, and both directions were cloaked in fog. It was dark, almost too dark to see the trail in front of me.

The mist was clearing somewhat. Eventually, I could see the outlines of small buildings in the distance. A town.

I figured that I could figure out where I was if I could just find out what town it was. It was definitely a more rural community, judging by the small buildings and rural architecture. As it came into view, I realized what town it was.

The teleport spell hadn't been far off. There, in front of me, was the small town of Ponyville.

Standing in one of the town's streets, I looked around the small town. Most of the buildings were stores, with residences likely on the upper floors. One particular building caught my eye; a large meeting hall at the center of the town square. It was much taller than all of the other buildings, its total height being around four stories, perhaps even more. I figured that if Celestia was anywhere in this town, she was there.

It looked as if some sort of event was being held inside. A huge crowd filled the room, probably the town's whole population. Banners hung from the ceiling, depicting images of the sun as well as several other symbols that commonly had life-giving connotations.

I blended into the crowd, surprised that nopony had noticed my entrance. Looking through the glass ceiling of the hall, I could see the moon, with the familiar pattern of craters forming the head of a pony. Four stars around the moon seemed to be getting closer to it, and eventually they reached it. The pattern of craters disappeared.

What? How is that even possible?

My attention was drawn to the stage on the other side of the room. On this stage was a pony, who had been speaking to the crowd. "And now, it is my great honor to introduce you to the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria..." The curtains on the second-floor balcony drew back. "Princess Celestia!"

She wasn't there.

The crowd gasped. One pony, a white unicorn with a purple mane, who had opened the curtains, went to check for her backstage. "Remain calm, everypony," the speaker said, trying to keep the crowd from panicking. "There must be a reasonable explanation..."

The white unicorn came back out. "She's gone!"

Another gasp came from the crowd.

I couldn't believe it. Princess Celestia was missing.

Then, something strange happened on the stage. A cloud of dark blue smoke began to appear, swirling around until it formed the shape of a pony.

Her coat was jet black, like mine. She wore a helmet, greaves, and something like a necklace, all made out of a blue metal. A large horn, much longer than most unicorn horns, extended from her forehead, through a hole in the helmet. Two wings spread out from her sides, feathered but vaguely bat-like. On her flank, there was a symbol of a moon, on a dark purplish background. Her mane looked like it was made out of the same dark aura she had appeared from.

"Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces." Her voice was threatening, yet not aggressive.

"What did you do with the princess?" a pegasus in the crowd shouted. She began to fly towards the menacing Alicorn, but was held back by another pony.

"Why, am I not royal enough for you?" She said. "Don't you know who I am?"

A pony started speaking from the crowd but was quickly muffled. I couldn't see who it was, nor hear what they were saying.

The Alicorn turned to a yellow pegasus who had been conducting the choir of birds to the right of the stage. "Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?" As she said this, she took a few steps towards the pegasus, who responded by shrinking back in fear, covering her face with her hooves, still suspended in the air.

The princess of the Night. She was the one they were trying to summon. Could she have been the ruler of Equestria before Celestia took the throne? What did she do with Celestia? Is she going to try and take the throne back?

"I did," a pony in the middle of the crowd said. "And I know who you are. You're the Mare in the Moon – Nightmare Moon!" The crowd gasped.

Nightmare Moon smiled. "Well, well, well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here."

"You're here to... to..." The pony trailed off, clearly nervous. She sounded familiar to me, but I couldn't place it.

Nightmare Moon chuckled. "Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" She laughed menacingly, as her dark aura filled the room, lightning strikes coming from the blue cloud.

Okay, I think she might be a problem.

"Seize her! Only she knows where the Princess is!" the speaker shouted. The Royal Guards who were standing by leapt into action, the pegasi among them flying up towards her.

"Stand back, you foals!" A few bolts of lightning struck the air near them, causing them to fall. In response to this, Nightmare Moon laughed wickedly, then transformed back into a cloud of black smoke.

She flew out the open front door. The pegasus who had challenged her earlier, a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane, gave chase, but couldn’t keep up with the dark cloud.

A pony bumped into me, seemingly in a hurry to get somewhere. She ran out the door at full speed, completely ignoring me. Then, I realized who she was.

Twilight.

It had been ten years since I'd seen her last. I started running after her.

It wasn't long before the pegasus started running alongside me. She had landed on the ground and was now chasing after Twilight, her magenta eyes locked forwards. Her cutie mark was a cloud with a tri-colored lightning bolt coming from it. I had certainly never seen her before.

"Hey, you," I said, trying to get her attention.

"Not now," was her response. She sped up slightly.

"Why are you chasing Twilight?"

She glanced over at me briefly. "I could ask you the same thing."

I heard four more pairs of hoofsteps from behind me. Sure enough, there were four ponies following close behind, some of which I recognized from the meeting room. The white unicorn and yellow pegasus were among them.

"I'm an old friend. I need to talk to her, and quickly. It's urgent."

The rainbow-maned pegasus rolled her eyes. "Well, duh! There's a pony trying to end the world! Why wouldn't it be urgent?"

We were approaching a library. Twilight was probably there; after all, libraries were her favorite, and if there was any place she expected to find answers, it would be there.

I looked back at the group of five that was also chasing Twilight. Remembering the cryptic message I had received from the tree in the cave, I wondered if this was what it was referring to. Are these the ponies I'm supposed to stand with? Is Nightmare Moon the foe?

We had reached the library. I could hear crashing sounds, as if Twilight was throwing books on the floor. That isn't like her. She'd usually insist that they be read with the utmost care to avoid damage. Why she would be haphazardly throwing them around was beyond me.

The rainbow-maned pegasus was the first to get there. She opened the door, surprisingly quietly.

"Ugh! How can I stop NIghtmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?" It was Twilight, speaking to herself. Hearing her voice, I identified her as the one who had called Nightmare Moon by name at the meeting hall earlier. I couldn't believe I didn't recognize her voice sooner.

The blue pegasus flew right into her face. "And just what are the Elements of Harmony?" she shouted. "And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy?"

That made no sense. "Calm down, whatever your name is. If she was a spy for Nightmare Moon, why would she be trying to stop her? If she was a spy for Celestia, she'd be on our side. And there's nopony else she could be a spy for." She backed off, seeing the flaws in her logic.

Twilight's eyes widened. "Shadow?"

I smiled. "I know it might not be the best time for a reunion, but yes, it's me."

"Wait, y'all know each other?" It was one of the other five ponies, an orange earth pony with a blonde mane,tied in a ponytail, and green eyes. Her cutie mark consisted of three apples.

I nodded. "Yep. It's kind of a long story, but she probably thought I was dead for ten years."

Twilight was just standing there, staring at me. After a moment, she managed to get a single word out.

"How?"

I sighed. "Listen, I promise I'll explain it later, but right now we have a bigger problem. You said something about a way to stop Nightmare Moon?"

Twilight shook her head. "I... I read that some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only way to stop her, but I don't know anything about them. I don't know what they are, where to find them; I don't even know what they do!" Her speech had returned to normal by the end of her sentence. The shock of seeing me again for the first time in ten years had lost out to the necessity of the situation.

"The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide," one of the other ponies, a completely pink mare with a messy mane and sky-blue eyes, said, reading the title of a book off of the shelf. Twilight's head immediately perked up, and she rushed over, knocking the pink mare aside.

"How did you find that!?"

The pink pony was already on her feet, and she was hopping across the room. "It was under 'E'!" she said, in a sing-song voice. I found it off how she could act so happy in the midst of such a crisis.

"Oh." Twilight opened the book. "There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery."

Great, just what we need now; we don't even know what all of the things we're trying to get are.

"It is said, the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters."

I thought for a moment. "I've heard about that place before, somewhere. But, isn't it in the middle of the Everfree Forest?"

Twilight gulped. "Yes, but it doesn't seem like we have much of a choice."

The rest of the group exchanged nervous glances.

We set out for the Forest, walking slowly. Nopony was too eager to get there, despite the immediate threat. I decided to take that time to learn about the members of the group. After all, I figured that, if we were saving the world together, I should at least know their names.

I started with the blue pegasus. "I'm Midnight Shadow. What's your name?"

She smiled. "I'm Rainbow Dash, best flyer in Ponyville!" Despite out situation, she still felt the need to brag. I made a mental note of this.

"So, how do you know Twilight?"

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "We... 'bumped' into each other earlier. Literally. You should've seen her mane, it was hilarious!"

I had no idea what she was referring to, but I kept on with the conversation. "Bit of a weird question, but has anything major happened in Equestria in the last ten years?"

Rainbow seemed somewhat confused. "Not really, except that one fire in Canterlot. That's an oddly specific question. What, have you been living under a rock all that time?"

I figured that she'd be confused about that. "It's kind of a long story, and one that I'm not too keen on talking about just yet."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. So, how do you know Twilight?"

I was prepared for this question. "We met when we were foals. We were friends for a while, but then something happened, and..." I looked away. "I don't really feel comfortable talking about this, after what I've just been through."

I didn't think Rainbow would have any more questions, but she surprised me. "What's with your weird leg?"

I looked down at my metal leg. I figured it'd only be a matter of time before I'd have to explain it.

"Well, I was born missing that leg, and I lived without it until I figured out how to make one to replace it."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure."

That surprised me. "You don't believe me?"

She didn't respond. I guess the story would seem pretty outlandish to somepony who hadn't lived their entire life knowing it to be true. I walked over to the orange earth pony, given that she was the next closest to Rainbow Dash.

"Hi, there. I'm Midnight Shadow. What's your name?"

"Mah name's Applejack." Applejack was speaking with a distinctly rural accent. I guessed she was probably from around Ponyville.

"If you don't mind me asking, how'd you meet Twilight?"

"Well, she came down to the farm yesterday, sayin' that she was supervisin' the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. Ah was supposed to be in charge of the food, before this whole thing went south like a flock a' birds in the winter." She looked over at me. "Say, what's with that fancy contraption a' yours on your leg? I ain't ever seen a pony wearin' one of those before."

"Oh, my leg? Well, that's actually the leg itself. It's made of metal, you see." I explained why I needed a metal leg, despite how the story hadn't gone over so well with Rainbow.

"Gee, Shadow, ah reckon it was hard getting' around places without your leg. Why, if ah lost mah leg, ah don't know what ah'd do!"

"Yeah, I had to have somepony push me around in a wheelchair. I guess I had kind of gotten used to it after a while."

Applejack sighed. "Ah'd never be able to work the farm if ah didn't have all four legs. Ah'd be as useless as a broken plow during harvestin' season! It's definitely somethin' to admire, how you dealt with all that."

I looked away. "Well, when it came down to it, all I had to do was put together a few springs and gears. I don't really see it as my greatest accomplishment, although it was, and still is, very helpful."

Applejack shook her head. "Ah'd never be able to do somethin' like that, and ah reckon most ponies are the same way. You got a real talent there, you really do."

"Thanks, but really, it's nothing compared to some of the other things I've made. If I had my blueprints, I'd show them to you, but I... I lost them."

"And how'd you go about losin' somethin' so important? Ah would've kept them on me all the time if ah was you."

I sighed. "I... I don't really want to talk about it." I flashed back to the dark, cold room. I shuddered. "Too many bad memories. Let's just say somepony took them from me, and I never got them back."

"Well, that's a shame, it really is. Ah hope you get 'em back someday."

I looked off into the distance. "Me too, Applejack. Me too."

She didn't say anything else, so I moved on to the next member of the group. She was the white unicorn from before. I got a closer look at her as I approached. She had light blue eyes, with long eyelashes extending out from her upper eyelid. Her mane was curled at the ends, as well as her tail. On her flank was a depiction of three diamonds.

"Hi. I'm Midnight Shadow." I was certainly making a lot of introductions.

"Oh, well, hello there, darling. My name is Rarity, perhaps you've heard of me?"

I shook my head. "Afraid not, although that isn't saying much. There are a lot of famous ponies I don't know."

"Oh, okay. Well, I'm still glad to make your acquaintance."

"If you don't mind, could you tell me how you met Twilight?"

"No, I don't mind at all. Twilight had come to check in on the decorations for the Summer Sun Celebration. You should've seen how she was wearing her mane; it was hideous! I just had to help her, give her a much-needed makeover." She looked down for a moment. "Now that I think about it, I'm not too sure she was happy with the results. I think she would've preferred me to leave her alone, but I simply couldn't allow such a crime against fashion go unresolved!"

She looked back at me. "Wow, that thing you're wearing on your hoof certainly is a..." She cleared her throat. "...bold fashion choice. It's really... unique... or, something like that..." She was clearly trying not to hurt my feelings, but I understood what she was saying.

I smirked. "It's funny. Applejack thought I was wearing something on my hoof too. This is my actual leg, and it's intended to be practical, not look good."

She looked again. "Sweet Celestia, you're right! How in Equestria did that happen?"

I explained the story, once again.

"Good heavens, that sounds dreadful. Having to live your life with only three legs, I can't even imagine how horrible that must have been!"

"Actually, it wasn't as bad as you might think. I was still able to read, which at the time was pretty much the only thing I cared about, so I guess I was okay with it. I mean, I always wished I could have four legs, but I knew that it was impossible, so I just accepted it. Well, until I got the idea for this, anyway."

"Well, I guess I can see that. If I lost one of my hind legs, I'd probably still be able to sow, even if it would take longer." I got the impression that she was a fashionista. She sounded almost like a Canterlot pony in her speech and word choice.

I heard the sound of somepony jumping up and down. Looking back, I saw the pink mare from earlier, jumping instead of walking. She made her way over to me.

"Hi there! I'm Pinkie Pie! What's your name?"

I didn't know how she got the energy to keep jumping like that. "Midnight Shadow."

"Well, hi, Shadow! It's so super fantastic to meet you! I love making new friends! Don't you?"

I looked away. "Well, Twilight's really the only friend I've ever had, and..."

Pinkie gasped. "You're telling me that in your whole entire life, you've only made one friend? That's awful! I'm gonna have to throw you a friend-making party after this."

"Thanks, but I'll be fine. I have bigger things to worry about after all this is over."

"But having friends is the most wonderful thing in the world! Well, that and frosting." She began to salivate, looking off into the distance.

"Um, Pinkie Pie?" She snapped out of it.

"Oh, sorry. But seriously, how can you turn down a friend-making party when you only have one friend?"

I sighed. "Okay, fine, maybe. We'll see. Now, please stop asking." I was getting annoyed with her.

She seemed happy about my response. "Okey-dokey-lokey! I'll start planning it as soon as we save the world!"

I sighed. "I said mayb- You know what, never mind."

I looked at her. It was hard to tell what her cutie mark was, since she was bouncing instead of walking like a normal pony, but I eventually made out that it was three balloons, two blue and one yellow. Her mane was a darker shade of pink than her coat, and it was curled in a unique, poofy way. Her tail matched this as well.

"Hey, what's up with your leg? Is it made of metal or something?" I figured she would ask about it soon enough.

"I was born with a missing leg, so I need a replacement one to walk around."

She stopped jumping, her head drooping down a bit. "That's super sad." Then, she perked up. "I guess that just means I have to throw you an even bigger party!" She started jumping again.

I sighed, walking towards the last member of the group. A yellow pegasus with a pink mane, three butterflies as a cutie mark, and teal eyes. Her mane was combed over so it covered the right half of her face.

"Hi there." She jumped as I said that, letting out a high-pitched squeak. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to ask your name."

She shrunk down, almost to the ground. "I'm Fluttershy..." She said, rather softly. I could still hear her, though, and noticing her shy nature I lowered my voice just a tad.

"Well, hello, Fluttershy. I'm Midnight Shadow. Nice to meet you." She seemed to be a bit more comfortable with me being quieter.

"Oh, well, hi." Her head raised just a bit.

"So, how did you meet Twilight?"

"Well, I was rehearsing with my birds for the Summer Sun Celebration, and she came by to see how it was going. I was too afraid to talk to her, but then I saw her pet dragon."

"Pet dragon? You mean Spike?"

"Oh, yes. How did you know?"

"I used to know Twilight, and I remember she had a baby dragon. I didn't see him much, he was too young to even crawl, but I knew he was there. I don't think he'd even recognize me."

"Why not?"

"Well, I haven't seen him, or Twilight for that matter, in quite a long time. It's... a long story."

"Oh, okay." She was quiet then. I was surprised that she hadn't asked about my leg. Maybe she just saw it as impolite to ask?

I looked back at the group. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. I wasn't sure what I made of all of them quite yet, although they seemed nice for the most part. I made my way forwards, walking next to Twilight. I hadn't gotten a chance to talk with her in ten years.

"So..." I said, trying to start a conversation. An awkward silence filled the space between the two of us. "How've you been?"

Her eyes were locked on the path ahead of us. "Fine."

More awkward silence. Maybe I hadn't seen her in a while, but I could tell something was bothering her, and it wasn't Nightmare Moon. I didn't have to think very hard to figure it out.

"Listen, Twilight, I really wish I could tell you everything, but I just..." I paused. "...can't. Not like it's something Celestia would want me spreading around anyway. I get the feeling like I know more about this than even Celestia herself."

She looked over at me, a confused look on her face. "Why is that?"

I sighed. "I think... I got thrown into something I should've had no part in. Got into some trouble, might've gotten locked in a pitch-black room for ten years. You know, normal things." I laughed nervously.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Let me guess, your dead mother broke you out?"

I took a few steps away from her. "Okay, now that was uncalled for!"

"Then tell me the truth, Shadow."

I sighed. "I guess I should've been prepared for you not to believe me. It's the truth, but if you don't believe it, then you don't believe it. I don't exactly have any solid evidence, so you can believe what you want. Just, don't be so harsh about it."

She looked forwards again, silent. Of course she wouldn't believe me. What am I, an idiot? Nopony would believe that story.

And yet, I have no other stories to tell. I know that's what happened, but nopony else believes me. This is so horribly clichéd, I'm starting to wonder if my life isn't some sort of book or something.

"We're here," Twilight said, stopping the whole group in its tracks.

Sure enough, we were standing directly on the edge of the Everfree Forest, one of the most dangerous areas in Equestria, and yet it was our only hope to save the world.

For a moment, nopony moved. "Whee! Let's go!" Pinkie Pie said, already starting to walk into the Forest.

"Not so fast," Twilight said, stopping Pinkie just before she crossed the border of the Forest. "Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'd really rather do this on my own."

"No can do, sugarcube." It was Applejack, who had started walking towards the forest entrance. "We're stickin' to you like caramel on a candy apple." The rest of the group followed her, crossing the Forest's border.

Pinkie Pie lagged behind. "Especially if there's candy apples in there," she said, to which Twilight and I responded with strange looks.

"What? Those things are good." She followed the rest of the group.

Twilight, who hadn't moved yet, glared back at me. I saw an unidentifiable negative emotion in her eyes.

She turned around and followed the rest of the group.

I was standing all alone. I had lost everything, my life, all of my work, and now my only friend. The only thing I hadn't lost was myself, and if I wasn't careful I'd lose that too.

I had nothing else to do; nowhere else to go. Taking a deep breath, I crossed the threshold, entering the Everfree Forest, facing almost certain death to save the world.

I had no other choice.

Author's Note

It was definitely interesting, trying to write dialogue for all of the main characters. I tried to make their reactions as close to what I think the characters in the show would do. The chapters might take a bit longer now that I'll have to refer to the show while writing them, but it shouldn't be too noticeable of a difference, if there even is a difference.

A New Beginning

I could hear movement in the foliage around the trail. It was like a thousand creatures were watching from the shadows. Still, I kept walking, now at the back of the group.

"So, none of you have been in here before?" Twilight asked, from the front.

"Ugh, heavens no! Just look at it - it's dreadful!" Rarity definitely wasn't enjoying herself.

"And it ain't natural. Folks say it don't work the same as Equestria," said Applejack, ignoring the fact that the Everfree Forest was, in fact, completely inside Equestrian territory, with a few unexplained exceptions in the middle of the forest.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Twilight asked.

"Nopony knows," Rainbow Dash said, in an attempt to scare some of the members of the group. She began walking towards Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, who were gathered together towards the back of the group. "You know why?"

I walked around her, joining Twilight and Applejack behind Rainbow. I noticed that we were standing on the edge of a cliff.

"Rainbow, quit it!" Applejack said, trying to get her to back off. Rainbow ignored her, taking a few small steps towards the trio of ponies in front of her.

"'cause everypony who's ever come in..."

Rainbow took another step towards the three.

"...has never..."

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

"...come..."

I heard a slight shift in the ground below us.

"...out!" Rainbow Dash jumped into the air, and at the same time, the ground below us split apart, and soon we were all sliding towards the cliff.

I saw Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy trying to grab everypony as they fell. They wouldn't get to me in time, given how close I had been standing to the edge. I struck the ground with my hoof, driving it into the rock, suspending me mid-slide. It wasn't the most comfortable position to be in, but I had managed to stop myself a second before flying off the edge of the cliff.

I hung there for a moment, trying to watch the two pegasi as they lowered the rest of the group down. Twilight had just fallen off the cliff but was caught shortly after. Applejack had found a series of small ledges against one side of the cliff wall. The other three flightless ponies were safely on the ground.

I looked at the distance between where I was and the ground. It wasn't really that far; chances are, I'd walk away with a bone fracture at the absolute worst, more likely just some bruises. The cliff face also looked fairly climbable, considering I could make a hoofhold wherever I needed one.

I slid the rest of the way down, using my metal leg to slide down as slow as I could. When I reached the edge, I started trying to climb the cliff. As I expected, it wasn't too difficult. I was on the ground in seconds, jumping down the last few feet.

My legs were a little sore, but aside from that I wasn't injured.

"Oh, goodness, are you okay? Sorry I couldn't make it over to you fast enough."

"No, it's okay, Fluttershy. I understand. We all made it down okay, and that's what matters." I didn't think to speak quieter until after I said it, but it seemed like Fluttershy was familiar enough with me that she didn't mind.

"Come on, girls. We should keep moving," Twilight said, taking charge of the group. Within a moment, the rest of the group was already moving. "Oh, and you too, I guess."

I followed them, walking down a different path from before. I briefly wondered why the ground had collapsed like it did, but put the thought out of my mind to focus on the more important task at hand.

I picked up on a conversation occurring between Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Rainbow was retelling the events of earlier, at the cliff, and by the sound of it she was embellishing the facts quite a bit.

"And once Pinkie and Rarity were saved, whoosh... Me and Fluttershy loop-de-loop around and WHAM! Caught you in the nick of time."

"Yes, Rainbow, I was there, and I'm very grateful, but we gotta-" she stopped abruptly, gasping. I couldn't see what it was from the back of the group, but from the roar I heard not long after I assumed it wasn't something good.

The group moved quickly, fighting the creature blocking the path ahead, which I quickly identified as a manticore. They were putting up quite a fight for a group of ponies who had no combat experience, but the manticore didn't seem to be affected much. I heard Fluttershy trying to get the group's attention, but none of them listened to her.

"Girls, I think Fluttershy is trying to-" I was interrupted by another manticore roar. I realized that it was charging straight at me. I quickly rolled to the side, its scorpion-like tail just barely missing me. It skidded to a stop the moment it realized it had passed me, turned around, and let out another roar.

The others moved to counter its next attack. I had a quick thought.

"Um, girls?"

The manticore roared again, readying for an attack.

"Girls? You know he's not in the way anymore, right?"

None of them seemed to hear me. Rolling my eyes, I started walking down the trail. I tried to get their attention, but they wouldn't listen. Time was precious; every second wasted was another second Nightmare Moon had to prepare for our attack.

I heard the sounds of fighting from behind, then a shout from Fluttershy. The manticore roared, then went silent.

For a moment, the whole group was silent. Then, five pairs of hoofsteps could be heard. It seemed like they had subdued the manticore somehow.

The group quickly caught up with me. "Where were you, Midnight Shadow?" Twilight asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I tried to tell you. When the manticore charged at me, it created an opening. We could've gotten past it then."

Twilight looked away. "Sure. Just abandon us when we really could've used your help. That's a great plan."

I shook my head. "Twilight, I didn't 'abandon' you. I was just taking the most logical and fastest route. When the world is at stake, you don't take time to smell the roses."

Twilight rolled her eyes and kept walking in silence.

I began to wonder if I had made the right choice. Should I have stayed to help, even though it would take longer? How much help would I even be in a fight?

Then again, those six took to it quite easily. Maybe I would be even better at it.

They did completely ignore what I was saying, though. Had they listened, would they have gone with my plan anyway?

They ignored Fluttershy, too, and everything turned out fine. Am I just making a bigger deal out of this than I should be? Or is Twilight the one doing that? This is confusing.

I hadn't noticed how dark it had gotten. We had entered a more heavily covered area of the forest, and barely any of the moon's light reached the ground.

Fluttershy screamed. That time, I could see what she was screaming at. Nearby, there were several trees with faces carved into them. They were probably made to scare ponies off from this part of the forest, and by the sound of the screams coming from the other five, it was working.

Except one of them wasn't screaming. Pinkie Pie was staring straight at the carved faces and laughing, making silly faces back at them. When the others noticed, they were clearly surprised.

"Pinkie, what are you doing? Run!" Twilight shouted.

"Oh girls, don't you see?" Suddenly, music started playing from everywhere around me. Pinkie started to sing along, somehow singing perfectly in tune despite the song being unrehearsed and spontaneous. The song wasn't bad, but it really wasn't my preferred style of music. Pinkie was singing about laughing at the things you're afraid of, and soon she had gotten the whole group laughing. Then, to my surprise, the carvings actually started to disappear. At several points in the song, Pinkie disappeared into thin air, only to reappear in a different spot. There were a few other physically impossible things about the whole situation. Ultimately, I concluded that there was definitely more to Pinkie Pie than an annoyingly friendly mare. I decided that if I ever got the chance, I would attempt to determine the source of the strange events.

The song ended. By that point, the whole group besides me was on the ground, laughing. I wanted to keep moving, but I knew Twilight would just get even angrier at me for it. I waited for them to get back up. After a few minutes, they did get up, still laughing.

I really didn't understand what was so funny.

We kept going. I resumed my position in the back of the group. The rest of the group was still laughing when Pinkie Pie, now at the front of the group, stopped abruptly. Most of the group failed to notice fast enough and bumped into the pony in front of them. I, however, managed to stop in time.

"How are we gonna cross this?" Pinkie asked.

I immediately began surveying the surroundings. The reason for the sudden stop was the raging river directly ahead. I quickly determined that the river was much more tumultuous than it normally was, and that was due to a serpent-like creature that was just upstream. It was thrashing around, upsetting the river's waters, and making it impossible to cross.

"Girls, maybe if we go upstream, we can cross?" I suggested. The girls didn't listen, instead trying to talk to the serpent.

I rolled my eyes. It looks like I once again have to leave the group to make any progress. I started upstream, staying as close as I could to the river's edge without falling in. By doing so, I had left the path behind, and as such I needed to be very careful.

Sure enough, the water upstream was much calmer. I could tell just by looking at it that it was very shallow. I turned around, heading back to the group.

"Hey, girls, I found a way to-"

"We can cross now! Let's go," Twilight said. Sure enough, the serpent had stopped thrashing.

Twilight had started to cross but was lifted out of the water by the serpent. "Allow me," he said. The serpent then carried all six ponies across, and swam off afterwards. Of course, I was still on the other side.

I didn't mind all that much. The water was actually very shallow, and crossing was easy. I reached the other side quickly.

"And where were you, Midnight Shadow?" Twilight asked, noticing me as I reached the shore.

"I was trying to find a way across the river." I was fully out of the water by that point.

Twilight took a step towards me. "And you just so happened to come back the exact moment we had solved the situation? I'm starting to think you just left to make sure that you aren't in harm's way, leaving the rest of us to deal with the problem!"

"Twilight, that's not-"

"Sure it's not. And you were locked in a room for ten years after you ran away. You didn't even try to protect me at the castle back then. You just ran off! I'm lucky to have even survived!"

"Twilight, if it wasn't for me, everypony in that room would have died! It was only because I made a protection charm that any of us were able to make it out alive!" I sighed. "Earlier that day, I got a letter that told me we were all in danger. It told me to make the charm, and it told me to activate it when I heard three knocks. Then, it told me to start running, and not stop for anything. Since the first two parts of the letter came true, I figured-"

"What do you think I am, an idiot? That makes two stories you've made up to cover the fact that you're a coward! You may have saved me once, but every other time since then all you've done is run. So, if you really want to run, then run. Run far away from us!"

I couldn't believe it. Twilight had told me to go away. I had officially lost everything; my life, my work, and now my only friend.

"Now, ah don't know what's goin' on between the two of y'all, but-"

"Fine, then. If you really want me gone, then..." I turned away from the group. "...I'll go. It's clear that you won't ever believe me, so what's the point in trying to convince you? And, if I can't convince you, then..." I trailed off.

"Wait! Midnight Shadow, darling, you can't possibly go off on your own, not in this forest!" Rarity said. "It's far too dangerous. We need to stick together."

I sighed, still facing away. "You're probably right. Chances are, I won't make it out alive if I go alone. But, by this point, all I've really done is hold the group back. I mean, just look at how much time we've wasted just arguing about this!" My head lowered just a bit. "Perhaps you'll have a better chance of saving the world without me."

I started walking into the dense foliage lining the path. The group had gone silent, and soon I couldn't look back at them even if I tried.

I walked for a while. The creatures of the forest were always close by, but for some reason, they avoided me. Perhaps they were afraid, or perhaps they felt sympathetic. Either way, nothing crossed my path. At least, not until I heard something unusual.

It was a muffled set of hoofsteps. Somepony was moving through the brush, trying to remain unheard. I froze, trying to identify where he or she was.

"Hello again, Midnight Shadow." His voice was familiar.

Is that-

Somepony grabbed me from behind, trying to drag me away. I struggled against him, but it was much stronger than I was. I tried to scream, but his hooves were covering my mouth so I couldn't make a sound.

I felt him take one hoof off of me. I still couldn't escape. He tied my front hooves behind my back with a piece of rope, and my back-left hoof was tied to a tree trunk.

He let go of me then. I took a deep breath and screamed at the top of my lungs.

"You might as well save the oxygen. Nopony's close enough to hear you."

I knew that voice.

He had tied me up at the edge of a clearing. He stepped into the pale moonlight, revealing himself. His coat was tan, his mane dark brown, and his eyes were a light blue.

Desert River.

"You know, I really didn't expect to see you here." Desert River started pacing in front of me. "I was just on my way to the old Castle of the Two Sisters, to ensure that our plans went smoothly, and there you were, walking through the forest alone!" He chuckled. "Of course, you know I couldn't pass up such a marvelous opportunity. And, well, here we are."

I glared at him. "Let. Me. Go." I tried to break the rope, but I wasn't strong enough.

He smiled with a sinister grin. "Do you have any idea the kind of trouble you're in right now? You started off as a symbol of everything my Uprising stands against, then you escape from the most secure facility we have, and now here you are, aimlessly wandering by the entrance to that very facility!"

I looked to my left. Sure enough, there was the shed, its metal door closed to the outside world.

"So, you're sending me back down there?"

"Ha! Don't make me laugh. No, I'm not going to show you that kind of mercy." He smiled. "I think I'll just kill you here and now, yes. That way, there's no possibility of you escaping to ruin our plans. The public execution of Celestia will occur just as we have planned it, crushing any remnant of hope left in the citizens. They will be forced to obey Nightmare Moon, and we will rebuild Equestria into the glorious empire it could have been."

"You won't succeed. Somepony will stop you."

Desert River walked up to me, staring me right in the face.

"By the time anypony gets the chance, there'll be nopony left who can even try."

So he doesn't know about the others. Maybe I did help the group by leaving them after all.

"There's one more reason I hate you so much. I figured you should know, seeing as it's one of the reasons why you're about to die. Not only are you a symbol of everything I stand against, but you're also a searing reminder of my prior failure. You see, I tried this once before, but I was stopped. And now, whenever I see you, I am reminded of the pony who put an end to my plans before."

He reached into the saddlebag he was wearing. "Now, normally I don't like having to do things myself-" He took out a familiar object; my horn. "-but this, I'm going to enjoy."

He put the horn on, flipping the switch. Sure enough, I could hear the light hum of the Arcanium as magic flowed through it.

The rope around my hind leg suddenly came undone. I tried to run away, but I was stopped by an invisible force. A blue aura had surrounded my entire body, and it was lifting me up into the air.

"It's ironic, really. Your invention will be what ultimately strikes the killing blow. After that, I can use your designs to make my army stronger than any other in the world. Without your help, I might not have been able to pull all of this off. So, thanks."

He threw me on the ground, the impact sending waves of pain through my whole body. I heard a few cracks.

Then, he lifted me up into the air again, and threw me against a large tree on the edge of the clearing.

"Oh, this is too fun," Desert River said. "But, I'm getting bored already. I think I'll just finish you off and move on to ruling the world."

He raised me back up into the air, but instead of throwing me back down, he used magic to crush me. I felt incredible pain, unlike anything I had experienced before, as his magic crushed my body from all directions. I knew that it would kill me very soon.

Come on, girls. You're Equestria's last hope. That would've been my last thought, just before everything faded into darkness.

Suddenly, there was a shockwave that sent both of us flying. Desert River lost his magical grip on me, and was very disoriented as he tried to recover. I recovered much faster, using one of the branches of the tree to break the rope. I then pulled the horn off of Desert River's head, who was still too dazed to notice.

In the distance, a rainbow light illuminated the sky. It was then that I knew.

The girls had done it.

"No, no! This isn't possible, how-" Desert River had stood up, and was looking at me.

"You planned this, didn't you?"

I shook my head. "Nope. It was just dumb luck, really. Had you kept going, not stopping for me, you might've been able to stop the other six ponies who had entered the forest in search of the only objects that can defeat Nightmare Moon. I'm guessing by the light show that they found the Elements of Harmony, and are currently using them to defeat your 'princess of the Night,' as you call her."

He charged at me, trying to hit me with his hoof. I simply levitated him up into the air, out of reach.

"Like I said; somepony will stop you. There will always be somepony to stop any threat to Equestria. Remember that, Desert River. You won't be so lucky coming out of your next attempt."

I set him down. He quickly ran off, disappearing from view. By the sound of his hoofsteps, he was running fast. He was out of earshot in seconds.

It was then that the full pain of my injuries hit me. Several broken bones, some ruptured blood vessels, a few other internal problems, none of it was good. The pain was so bad, I instantly collapsed.

Well, at least the world is safe, I thought. I was starting to go unconscious. The pain gave way to numbness, and I slowly closed my eyes...

Then, a single burst of green light filled my vision. Suddenly, all of the pain went away. It was as if I had never encountered Desert River.

I looked up just in time to see a streak of orange disappear into the foliage.

The sun had risen not too long after the rainbow lights went off. I assumed that meant the girls were successful in defeating Nightmare Moon.

It was over. The world was safe, and I had made it out alive. There only remained the question of what to do next.

It was one of many questions I had no answer for.

I decided that there was only one thing I could do; return to Ponyville. I doubted I'd ever be able to live my life the same way as before. The only thing that was left for me to do was to salvage what I could and move on.

First off, I needed to reorient myself. I had no idea where I was relative to the town. The trees around the clearing looked tall enough, so I picked the tallest one and climbed it.

Climbing a tree was a lot easier than climbing a cliff with nothing but a metal hoof to make handholds. When I reached the top, I looked around.

The tree I had chosen was taller than most of the other ones around, giving me a wide view of the Everfree Forest. From up there, it looked like any other forest. The green leaves stretched out in every direction, in most places completely covering the understory beneath. There were a few clearings here and there, and one such clearing had a stone structure jutting out from it, clearly many centuries old. I wondered if that was the place where the girls were going.

Looking further, I identified the edge of the forest, with the town just beyond. I climbed back down the tall tree, and upon reaching the ground I set out for Ponyville. Every so often I would climb another tree to make sure I was going in the right direction, and every time I saw that I was. I didn't encounter any creatures, although I could hear them moving just out of view. They were avoiding me, but it seemed almost like it was out of respect instead of fear. They didn't seem afraid of me, but rather it seemed like they avoided me because they knew that I didn't belong. I didn't belong there, and at that moment, I didn't belong anywhere else. They had their world, the ponies outside the Forest had another, and I belonged to neither. I wasn't an intruder, nor was I one of them. I was just there, slowly walking through the Forest. I didn't bother them, and they didn't bother me.

I soon reached the edge of the forest. The bright light of the sun was blinding, as it was the first time in a long time I had been out in the open in its warm glow. My eyes soon adjusted to the light, and I could see Ponyville.

There was some sort of celebration going on in the town. I guessed it was because of Nightmare Moon's defeat. I knew I couldn't go into town while it was still going on, as I would draw too much attention. Desert River was still out there, and he knew I was still alive. The Uprising would be looking for me, likely around Ponyville, and if I drew that kind of attention to myself I would be in danger.

I looked around. There was a small path that led out of the town, leading to an abandoned house on the edge of the Forest. One could argue that it was actually inside the Forest, seeing as it was overgrown with vines, and was almost completely surrounded by trees. Only the front wall of the structure was exposed to the sun; the other walls were covered by the treetops. It was a simple two-story home, made of the same materials as the other buildings in the town. The windows were boarded over, as well as the front door. Despite its old appearance, it appeared structurally sound, and the walls were still completely intact. It was clear that nopony had been there in years.

Which made it perfect for a fugitive to hide out in for a while.

Since I had no other choice, I walked over to the old house. Reaching the door, I looked over my shoulder to make sure nopony was around. Sure enough, I was alone. I broke the boards off of the door, trying to make as little noise as possible. Turning the handle of the now exposed door, I went inside.

It looked almost as if somepony lived there.

Everything was neat and in place. In the kitchen, all of the plates and silverware were neatly put away in a cabinet. In the living room, the sofa looked untouched, and the fireplace was completely clear of ash. Upstairs, there were four bedrooms. Each one was clean, and the beds were neatly made. In terms of furniture and decorations, the house was bare, only having simple pieces of furniture such as chairs and beds. Over every window, a curtain was neatly drawn. Whoever lived there before, they hadn't left in a hurry.

There was an empty room towards the back of the house. It had two doors, one that led back out to the rest of the house, and another that was locked. I assumed it led to the back of the house.

Despite the house's neat appearance, it was clear nopony had been there in quite a while. A thick layer of dust covered everything, and quite often I found myself in a coughing fit because of it. However, since I had nowhere else to go, I decided to stay there for a while. I could figure out something for food, and besides that, I would be fine.

I took a table and chair from the dining room and put them in the empty room in the back. I figured I'd turn it into a workshop of sorts. I didn't have any tools, or resources, to work with, but I was sure that I could figure something out. The electric lights still worked, much to my surprise. I didn't think there would be electricity anywhere in the whole town, much less this abandoned house. Does this town have its own power plant?

I began rearranging the furniture, moving everything to where I needed it. There wasn't much to work with, but there was just enough to give me hope that I could make it work. After a few hours, I decided to check and see if the celebration was over. I climbed the stairs and went into the bedroom closest to the front of the house.

The window was boarded from the inside, as I expected. It wouldn't be worthwhile to board the windows up from the outside. I broke the boards covering the window and looked out at the town. Sure enough, the celebration had already ended. It was late in the afternoon, bordering on evening. After all, Celestia had to make sure the calendar wasn't completely thrown off somehow.

I yawned. There was a lot to do, but it could wait for the next day. I walked over to the bed. Brushing the dust off of the covers, I lifted them off the bed. They felt like they were brand new, and yet they had clearly been left alone for Celestia knows how long. Nevertheless, I climbed under them, proceeding to shift around until I was comfortable. The bed itself wasn't bad. Soon, I found myself drifting off to sleep.

I woke up the next morning, feeling refreshed despite my current situation. Sunlight was shining through the window, illuminating a section of the floor. I got out of bed, making sure the covers were placed back perfectly. It just felt wrong to leave them messy. Then, I noticed the nightstand beside the bed. Somehow, I had missed it. On top of the stand was a blue book.

Method to the Madness: a Detailed Exploration of the Underlying Physics of Magic, by Starswirl the Bearded.

It was here this whole time? How did it get here? It was just as dusty as anything else there, and yet it clearly felt like it didn't belong. I opened it, flipping through the pages. Sure enough, it was all there. From the chemical formula for Arcanium, to the exact dimensions of the node finder, not a single page was missing.

I wondered if it was a sign that my luck was changing. After all, what were the odds that I would just happen to, by accident, stumble across the book I had lost ten years ago?

If I could find a source of Arcanium crystal, and a way to get the rest of the materials I'd need, I could start building machines again. There were just a few problems with that.

First, the book said that the Canterlot caves were the only known source of Arcanium crystal. There was no way I was going to go to the capital city of Equestria, not while the Lunar Uprising was still looking for me. That meant I would have to find another source, or else I wouldn't have any Arcanium.

Second, the other materials. Some of the materials I used were fairly cheap, but they still cost money. I didn't have a single bit to my name, so I couldn't buy anything.

Third, food. Since I couldn't buy anything, and I couldn't risk getting a job for fear of discovery, I would need another source of food.

Then again, how much attention would I really draw to myself just by getting a simple job? The townsfolk would likely see me as a strange traveler who happened to walk into town one day. Despite the fact that one of the Lunar Uprising's prison facilities was right next door, I doubted they had a large presence in such a small town. After all, it was likely they chose this location solely because it was so remote. They wanted to avoid capture, just as I did, only they had to hide from everypony, while I only had to hide from them.

I still wouldn't risk going to Canterlot, but I figured I could get a job to pay for the basic things I needed.

That left only one issue; where to look for a job. I needed something I would be good at, but it couldn't be too close to my actual profession, since there weren't many magical-mechanical engineers out there.

I thought about it for a moment. It's a fairly small town, so many of the townsfolk probably get their living from growing crops or making products from unique local materials. I wouldn't really be good at the former, which leaves the latter. But what did Ponyville have that other places didn't?

I remembered something I had read a while ago.

Common gems can be found in many places, but the largest concentration of them is near the small town of Ponyville. Because of their frequency, not many ponies find it worthwhile to extract them, although some locals have made a living off of finding them, using a special gem-finding spell unique to certain occupations. Most Equestrian citizens accept gems as currency, and as such a pony can use the gems they gather to cover all of the expenses of their daily life.

That's it! I'll just harvest gems. I can learn the gem-finding spell the book mentions and use that to dig some gems up. I should be able to use it, despite the fact that my Cutie Mark isn't related to gem-finding. It seems like, since my horn is artificial instead of natural, it allows for a wide variety of spells beyond that of most unicorns. Plus, I won't have to be employed by anypony else, and I can even do it at night if I feel like I'm drawing too much attention to myself.

Well, that only leaves one thing to do; find that gem locating spell.

I opened the door, and stepped outside.

May the Bridges I Burn Light the Way

I already knew where the library was due to the events of the previous day. I was on my way, walking slowly, taking the time to observe the town around me. I got a general idea of the path from the abandoned house to the library, and what I could expect to see on the way, since I figured I'd be making more trips there in the future.

The library definitely was strange. I couldn't tell if it was a hollowed-out tree, or if it was just made to look like a tree. From a distance, it definitely looked like a huge tree, yet it had windows and a balcony. I only wondered about it for a few moments, before getting back on task. I opened the red door, walking inside.

The main room of the library wasn't nearly as impressive as the tower library I used to live in, but it definitely set itself apart from most other libraries, mostly in its architecture. It was either made to look like it was carved out of the inside of a tree, or it actually was carved out of the inside of a tree. In the center, there was a round table which had a statue of a pony's head on it. A staircase against the back wall led to the upper floor.

I began to search the shelves against the walls, looking for a book that might contain the spell I needed.

"Why are you here?" It was Twilight. Turning around, I saw she had come down from the second floor.

"I could ask you the same question."

"I live here. I have a reason for being here. You don't."

"Twilight, this is a public library. I am allowed to be here."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Alright, just don't mess the books up. They're poorly organized as is."

I looked back at the books. They weren't that bad, but Twilight probably saw them as much worse, seeing as she was always a perfectionist when it came to organization. Still, I could tell how they were organized, and soon found the book I was looking for.

Magic and Geology. It was a dull-looking book, with a gray cover. The author's name had faded off the cove, seemingly due to its old age. It looked older than any other book in the library. I opened the book, and sure enough, the gem finding spell I needed was there.

"So, are you the librarian too, or..."

Twilight was still standing there. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm not sure there even was a librarian when I moved in."

"Okay. I need to check out this book."

She rolled her eyes. "You don't need to 'check it out.' You can just take it. However, if you don't give it back, I will hunt you down and take it back by any means necessary."

She seemed completely serious as she said this. I wasn't too surprised. Twilight had always taken books seriously, and seeing as the library was her home, it was likely she thought of the book, as well as the rest of the books in the library, as hers.

"Don't worry. I just need one spell, and I'll be done with it."

Twilight looked right at me. "I don't trust you, as you're well aware. I'll make sure it gets returned one way or another, Midnight Shadow."

I sighed. "Yes, Twilight, I get the message. I'll bring it back."

With that, I left. Twilight definitely still held my actions on the night prior against me, despite the fact that they were all in an effort to benefit the group's effort. I was just trying to get us to the Elements as fast as possible. Somehow, Twilight didn't understand that. But, I couldn't do anything about it. I had lost her trust, and regaining it was something that would take time, if it happened at all.

I had what I was looking for. It was time to test it.

According to the book, which was apparently written by somepony who lived in the area, there were caves nearby where gems were plentiful. By the book's description of the area, it seemed like the author lived there before Ponyville was even founded. By the description, Ponyville was nothing but trees, just another part of the massive Everfree Forest. Still, I could figure out where the caves were well enough.

Entering the caves, I saw no sign of the gems that were supposedly hidden there. I figured that any gems exposed to the surface would've been taken long ago, leaving only the well-hidden ones. I flicked the switch on my horn, read the spell from the book one more time, and cast it.

Sure enough, I could see where the gems were. It was sort of blurry, but I could tell where they were well enough to retrieve them. They were clustered together in chunks, hidden in the ground. There were quite a lot of them, just as the book said.

I dug up a few. It wasn't too difficult, seeing as the ground in that part of the cave was surprisingly soft.Sure,they were common gems, but they were still worth something. Given how easy it was to get them, I was surprised more ponies didn't become gem finders.

Then again, that would significantly increase the population of Ponyville, and the constant excavation plus the construction to accommodate the new population would likely have devastating effects on the local ecosystem. Not to mention the fact that Ponyville would no longer be a rural area, which would make it impossible for me to hide here.

Maybe it's a good thing not many ponies are gem finders.

I could only take a few, seeing as I had nothing to carry them in, but what I could carry would be enough to buy a saddlebag, which would allow me to carry more on my next trip.

I was still unsure if it was wise to be out during the day, even though it was such a rural area and was likely devoid of any presence of the Lunar Uprising. Still, as I was walking through the streets, nopony really paid attention to me, beyond a few strange looks, which I figured were due to either my mismatched eyes, strange scars, or metal leg, or perhaps both. I moved fairly quickly, trying not to be out longer than I had to, but also trying not to be suspicious.

I was able to buy a saddlebag, as well as a plain cloak, which at the very least would make it difficult to recognize me from a distance. I got considerably less strange looks from the ponies passing by after I put the cloak on, although there were still a few who were probably wondering why a pony would be walking through such a small town wearing a cloak. Nevertheless, nothing bad happened.

When I got back to the abandoned house, I took a deep breath. It's over, at least for the time being.

I had figured everything out. I had found everything I needed; a hiding place, a source of bits, and, most importantly, a chance to rebuild my life. I had lost everything, but I had been given the chance to salvage what I could and replace what I couldn't.

I walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa. It was the first time I had really gotten a chance to stop and think.

I thought about everything I'd been through ever since I first met Twilight over ten years ago. So much had changed in so little time. And then, when I was captured, a long time went by without anything changing. After I escaped, things began changing again.

The dust on the ground had been kicked up time and time again. But the dust was finally settling back down.

What would I see once it was settled? And how long would it stay that way?

Having nothing else to do, I decided to read more of the Magic and Geology book. It was more than just finding gems; it described several experiments performed by the author, the most noteworthy of which involving magical runes on gemstones. The author found that when a magical rune was carved on a gemstone, as compared to a regular stone tablet, the rune was much more powerful. The book seemed like it was written back when rune-crafting was in its infancy, and yet some of the runes mentioned were much more modern.

About halfway through the book, a plain envelope slid out from between two pages. It was marked with two words: Midnight Shadow.

Somepony had left it in the book, knowing I would find it. Both the envelope and the enclosed letter looked like they were just as old as the book. I began to read.

If you're reading this, Midnight Shadow, it means you've found my book. I know you likely have a lot of questions, but I cannot answer any of them yet. Many of them have answers you must find yourself. However, while you may be safe for the time being, you aren't out of the woods yet. He knows you're still alive, and he'll be searching for you. Eventually, he'll find you, no matter what it takes.

You need to convince him to stop looking. If he thinks you aren't in the picture anymore, he'll turn his attention to his main goal. I can't tell you how to do this, but I can tell you that once you do, he will forget you quickly. His eyes will likely be on Canterlot; I recommend you go there to get his attention.

And, remember one thing. No matter what you do, don't let him get all of the-

The rest of the letter was torn. I read it again, an expression of disbelief on my face. The letter was asking me to fake my own death. I just couldn't believe it.

But the more I thought about it, the more that initial reaction faded, and the more I saw the logic behind it. If Desert River thought I was dead, there would be no reason to search for me. If he had no reason to search for me, he wouldn't find me. Everypony else already thought I was dead, with the exception of Twilight and those other five ponies. The Lunar Uprising was a huge threat to my safety, but I could change that with a simple plan and good timing.

Sure, it might require me to fake my own death, but that was nothing compared to what I'd been through up to that point.

I made up my mind. All I needed was a plan.

The sun was setting over the magnificent city of Canterlot. The last ponies left outside their homes were returning, anticipating a good night's sleep. The streets were unusually still, as they always were during the night. An eerie silence filled the air. While most of the streetlamps had been blown out for the night, there was one that was forgotten. I stood underneath its flickering glow, surveying the dark street around me. Everything was still, as if the entirety of the universe were holding its breath. From under my cloak, my two mismatched eyes peered into the darkness, watching for any sign of movement.

Suddenly, I noticed another pair of eyes staring back. They were light blue, sparkling in the dim light of the streetlamp.

For a moment, neither one of us moved.

"So, you've come back," a familiar voice said from the blackness.

I said nothing, standing as still as a statue.

"I knew you couldn't stay away, Shadow. You have nothing left, and when ponies lose everything they go looking for anything they can cling on to, any fragment of their life they can grasp, anything to comfort them from the cold world around them. But, I'm afraid there's nothing left for you to find. You've done nothing but save me the trouble of tracking you down."

He stepped forward, his figure finally coming into view. He was also wearing a cloak, concealing everything except his eyes. "Perhaps you know you can't escape, so you're just willing to get it over with and save us all the trouble. How thoughtful of you."

I shifted slightly, still not speaking a word.

"Or maybe you really did think there was something left for you here? Well, I guess I'll find out in a moment."

He pulled something out from his cloak. A single tan hoof, holding a metallic object, emerged from the cloth.

I knew exactly what to do, and how to do it.

I turned and ran.

"So be it, Midnight Shadow," I heard him whisper from behind. Then, I heard his hoofsteps following me. I knew which way to go, making each turn quickly. He followed perfectly, not deterred by my rapid changes in direction, just as I was hoping.

Soon, I reached a bridge. On the other side stood two more cloaked ponies, blocking the way off.

"I really did hope you'd make it easy, but I guess that isn't your style." Desert River was blocking the only other way off the bridge. I briefly looked down, seeing a long fall onto a barren rock face. "Now, it's over."

I smirked. "You're very arrogant, Desert River, you know that?" I flicked the switch on the horn atop my head, and used a spell to bring an object out from under my cloak; a rod of a shiny blue material.

"What, you think that blue rod is going to save you?"

I climbed onto the railing of the bridge. Pulling down my hood, I smirked at Desert River.

"No. But it will bring you down with me."

I struck the rod against my metal leg. On the first strike, it ignited. Desert River took a step back.

I looked over the edge again. The bridge was held up by several supports that reached all the way down to the bottom of the ravine. I threw the burning rod at the base of the nearest support, and then waited three seconds.

Desert River had started darting towards me, knife held ready to strike. I charged a spell in my horn, and leaned backwards.

Freefall is definitely not a comfortable situation to be in. Still, I held my eyes closed, focusing my mind on a single task.

Everything slowed down. I heard the sound of hoofsteps running off the bridge. Then, the sound of an explosion just beginning to light, followed by the much closer sound of a Teleport rune charging up.

I opened my eyes, looking up. Desert River was running off the bridge. He wasn't watching.

Good. Now he'll think I died here. Just as I planned.

The rune activated.

I was lying on a grassy field. The wind was blowing softly, rustling the leaves on the trees nearby. I opened my eyes, head still spinning. My breathing was surprisingly slow and even, and I felt no panic or fear, just a sense of disorientation. Soon, even that faded, leaving me in a state of perfect tranquility.

I sat up, looking out at the field surrounding me. It was still nighttime, but the open field was well lit by the moon's silvery glow. I sat there, breathing deeply, watching the wind as it blew across the grassy field. It was so peaceful, almost like the events that had just occurred were nothing but a distant memory.

I was humming an old tune. I wasn't sure where I had heard it before, or when I had started humming, but the song was slow and relaxed, like the surface of a placid lake, undisturbed by the troubles and hardships of the world around it. I knew I couldn't stay there forever, but I was content to spend one tranquil moment there.

I looked around. In one direction, the small buildings of Ponyville. In the other, the abandoned building on the edge of the Everfree Forest.

I did it. My plan worked. Desert River made it out, and so did I.

But he didn't know that.

I began to walk towards the house I had been staying in. I had things to do, machines to build, gems to find, a life to rebuild. And now that I was free from the searching gaze of the Uprising, I could do so with peace of mind.

It was a new beginning for me, and as I reached the door, I smiled.

I reached up, turned the door handle, and entered my new home.

I carved the last line in the rune, etching it into the deep blue surface of the Arcanium construct. It was somewhat more complex than my horn or the Arcanium coin I used to create the Protection and Teleport spells earlier, and for good reason. This particular device had to perform several operations in a short time frame, and as such it needed a more advanced Arcanium construct at its core.

A few days prior, there was some very strange news from Canterlot. Apparently, in the middle of the night, a bridge that was built over a ravine simply collapsed. The Royal Guard couldn't find any evidence as to what caused it, despite their best efforts. It was simply dismissed as a chance event, and construction for a replacement bridge began soon after.

It was unfortunate that my plan had involved damage to public property, but there was no other way I could ensure it was convincing with the resources I had available. I still wasn't completely sure if the plan worked, but I refused to allow myself to live in fear for the rest of my days, and as such I assumed it went perfectly. After all, if it didn't work, there would be nothing else I could do.

My thoughts drifted back to the construct on the work table. It was small, about two thirds the size of the bottom of my hoof. I had already made the bronze casing, and it was a simple matter to put it on the construct. I put it in the compartment in my mechanical hoof, then grabbed my saddlebag and notebook.

In order to test the device, I needed a place that was completely isolated. I had decided that the gem caves would be remote enough. The walk was uneventful, and soon I was there. I went inside, picking a particularly open area in the cave system to set the experiment up.

First, I identified the center of the cave. Then, I began to place objects in a circle around the center point, keeping seven steps between the objects and the center. The objects varied in size and weight, which was how I had chosen them. Among them were two rocks, a pen, a piece of paper, a pillow, and a tree branch I had picked up on the way.

Then, I walked back to the center. Taking the device out, I held it in my hoof, looking it over. To the untrained eye, it would look like a bronze cube, with a line splitting it in two. I twisted the two halves of the device, widening the gap slightly and exposing a small part of the blue construct beneath.

The device began emitting a blue glow, which quickly formed into a shield around me. Then, a shockwave of energy burst out from the outside surface of the shield, pushing all of the objects back and putting cracks in the semi-soft cave walls.

The device had worked exactly as intended.

I had designed it to be an emergency self-defense measure. A shield around me for protection from immediate threats, followed by a shockwave to relocate and disorient other potential threats, buying me precious time to escape. I may have stopped worrying about the Lunar Uprising, but that didn't mean I was going to let myself be defenseless. After all, being on the edge of the Everfree Forest, there were a number of creatures that would attack me on sight, and if one wandered into town one day I wasn't going to be found without something to protect myself. That, and there was always a possibility that the Uprising was either still looking for me or would catch word of the fact that I was still alive. Regardless of how likely I was to come across danger, it was definitely better to have the device and not need it than need it and not have it.

The device had slammed every one of the objects onto the cave walls. I wasn't sure if this meant the shockwave was incredibly powerful, or that objects were affected the same regardless of mass. I wrote the results down in my notebook, then collected all of the objects, put the device back in my hoof's compartment, and left.

Later that day, I found myself once again making my way to the library. I had finished copying all of the information in the Magic and Geology book, and I didn't want to lose Twilight's trust any more than I had, if that was even possible. Plus, she might not let me check out any more if I don't return this one.

I opened the door, once again entering the tree-library hybrid building. Twilight wasn't there, which I had prepared for. I set the book down on the center table, and then put a note I had written on top of it. That way, when she came back, she would know I was the one who returned the book.

I walked out, my task complete. However, immediately after I left, there was a flash of light from inside. I stopped, turning back to see what had happened. When I got back to the door, I found it locked, and all of the lights that had been on inside the library were strangely out, leaving the inside in complete darkness. It was starting to get late anyway, so I decided not to worry about it, and started heading back to my house.

Not long after, I was stopped by a large group of ponies. It seemed like about half the town's population.

"Hey, you, have you seen Twilight?" one pony in the front of the group asked.

I couldn't walk around them, seeing as they were somehow blocking the whole street. "No, I haven't." I didn't like being inconvenienced for no reason. "Now, can I please get by?"

"Do you have any idea where she might be?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, I don't. Now, if you don't mind-"

"Are you sure? Do you have any idea at all?"

I felt something snap inside of me. I opened the compartment in my hoof, took out my device, and quickly turned the two halves.

Sure enough, it launched the whole crowd back. I started running as soon as they were clear, glancing back to make sure nopony was seriously hurt. Luckily, it seemed like most of the ponies had been slowed down when they collided with the rest of the crowd. It may not have been the best thing to do, but there was no serious harm done, and I could continue on my way. The shield dropped, a mere three seconds after its activation. I put the device back in its compartment, then kept walking away from the crowd.

Well, at least it's been useful once.

The next morning, I was walking to get the newspaper, as I had done for the past few days. I noticed some ponies trying to avoid me, walking on the other side of the street or even turning down a road they were clearly not planning on walking down. It was probably due to the events of the evening prior. I made a mental note to devise less disruptiveways of getting around obstacles like that crowd.

The newspaper stand was open, as usual. I put a gem on the counter and took a paper. The pony on the other side of the stand simply nodded. I took a look at the headline.

Possible New Lead in Canterlot Demolished Bridge Case.

Upon reading those words, I felt a surge of anxiety. I hoped that the plan had, in fact, worked as planned, and that this 'new lead' was just a false alarm. I started reading the article.

Earlier this week, a bridge in Canterlot crumbled to dust in the middle of the night with no explanation. However, new information has come forth as to what may have caused this. An anonymous source gave some information to the Royal Guard yesterday. He said that he had seen what happened from his window, which overlooked the bridge. He claims that, just before the bridge went down, there were four cloaked ponies standing on the bridge. According to the anonymous source, one pony jumped off the bridge, and soon after an explosion came from below, destroying the supports holding up the bridge. The other three ponies supposedly escaped. The Royal Guard has not made an official decision as to whether or not this source can be trusted, but have released the information in accordance with the Information Transparency decree which was issued by the Princess in 831 A.L. For those not familiar with the decree, it requires that all military operations conducted by the Royal Guard and National Guard cannot be hidden or concealed from the public in whole or in part. Since the Royal Guard themselves were given the information anonymously, they are incapable of revealing the identity of the source, which they would otherwise be required to do. Because of this, we were unable to interview the source to obtain more information. We will report on any new developments as they occur.

So, somepony saw me, as well as the others, but they didn't see who I was, and they didn't notice that I had made it out alive. Which meant there was no new news for me, or for the Uprising.

I took a deep breath. I had said I would live without worrying about them, but it was sometimes quite difficult to do so when their influence could be seen on a daily basis.

I flipped through the pages of the newspaper, looking for anything else that might affect me. Sitting down on a nearby bench, I saw another article. It wasn't particularly interesting or important, but something about it seemed off.

New Theater Planned for Canterlot

Sunday, plans were released for a new theater in the heart of Canterlot. In the Great Canterlot Fire of 990, an old historic theater was destroyed. Luckily, the rubble has been cleared out enough to allow for an exact replica to be made in the same spot. Very soon, construction on this new project will begin. Estimated to take seven months, when it is finished it will be a hub for theatrical performances in Canterlot, and will be, once again, the biggest theatre in Equestria. Rare is the day when such a massive project is approved, given all of the challenges that come with it.

Lately, there has been an increase in governmental interest in the buildings destroyed in the fire. In June alone, seven different expeditions were approved to search the ruined portions of the city. Never before has the Royal Court so suddenly and unexpectedly taken an interest in something they seemed so content to leave alone. It is estimated that about sixty-five percent of the ruined buildings will be replaced or restored in the next year. No doubt about it, something has happened to make the Royal Court find interest in the ruined city. Given how much time has passed, it isn't likely much will be left, but what is left will certainly be recovered.

That was it. The article itself seemed okay, if not a little lacking on details. What really caught my attention was the wording. In some places, it just felt like they purposefully shifted words around for no reason. It was almost as if-

I had an idea. If I was right, it meant there was definitely something strange going on. I looked over the article again, but I began writing down the first letter of every sentence.

S-I-L-V-E-R L-I-N-I-N-G

I looked at the author of the article. There wasn't a name listed. I then noticed that none of the text on the rest of the page made any sense. It was just a bunch of random words, put there to look like text. The paper it was printed on was a slightly different color and texture than the rest of the pages.

Somepony had put this fake page in this newspaper. And from the looks of it, that pony was Silver Lining.

I looked around, hoping to see him somewhere. After a moment, I noticed a cloaked pony standing in the shadows of an alley, looking straight at me.

It was him, alright.

I looked around, making sure nopony was watching me too closely. Convinced that I was, more or less, just another face in the crowd, I stood up and started walking over to him.

I entered the alley, standing next to him. He was leaned up against the right wall, and I began leaning against the left one.

"What is this about?" I asked, my voice slightly hushed.

"I know it was you at the bridge that night."

My heart began to beat a little faster. "What do y-"

"Don't try to play dumb with me, I know it was you."

My heart rate was definitely accelerating. "So what if it was?"

"I wanted to ask you a few questions."

Considering all that was at stake, I decided to comply. "Like what?"

"Who are you?"

The question surprised me. I figured that if he was able to find me, then he would know all about me.

"I know you were the pony I met in the blizzard last January. I know you were the pony on the bridge. And I know who the others were. So, tell me, who are you?"

I took a deep breath, my heartbeat slowing just a bit. "My name is Midnight Shadow. I'm just a gem hunter."

"That isn't all. There's no way those ponies would take such an interest in somepony who was 'just a gem hunter.' I know them, and they only go out in such a populated area when they have a good reason, even at night. So start talking."

I sighed. Silver was definitely good when it came to identifying lies.

"Remember back during the blizzard, when I read your book on Canterlot?"

"Yes, but what does that have to-"

"Remember how it said something about a government official who went missing?"

Silver looked at me, for the first time in the whole conversation, and there was a look of pure shock in his eyes. "That was you?"

I nodded. "Midnight Shadow, former Royal Engineer."

He definitely wasn't expecting that, but he quickly regained his composure. "Still, you had to do something to get them to notice you like that."

I looked around, making sure nopony was paying attention to us. "He said something about me being 'a symbol of everything he stands against,' and 'a reminder of a past failure.' I'm not sure even I fully know why they're after me."

"Who was this again?" he asked. "Could he have, by any chance, been named after a certain aquatic feature in an arid landscape?"

It took me a moment to realize what he was saying. "I... think so. Yeah."

Silver went completely silent.

"Silver?"

He pulled a small card out of his cloak, and passed it to me, still silent. I took it, not quite understanding what he was doing. Then, he turned around swiftly, facing into the alley, and disappeared into the darkness.

"Silver?" I called again, into the alley, but there was no response.

I walked out of the alley to take a look at the card.

It was coordinates, and they were fairly close by too. It was quite obvious what he wanted me to do.

Author's Note

Sorry if this one took a bit long.

The Cost of Progress

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Homecoming

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 13

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

If at first you don't succeed...

When I woke up, I was in a hospital bed. I couldn't think straight, so I had difficulty remembering what had just happened. I was just about willing to write it off as a dream when I realized my metal leg was still missing. I couldn't see very well either, although I didn't know why I couldn't. I tried to focus on the room around me. It was your standard hospital room; white everything, with some counters with medical equipment on them. As my vision cleared and my thoughts straightened themselves out, I realized that my left eye had been closed. I tried to open it, but had to stop due to the searing pain that shot through my body. Something had happened to it, but I didn't know what.

The doctor entered the room. "Oh, you're awake. Good." He walked over to the bed. "How do you feel?" he asked. After a moment, I replied.

"Horrible." Everything hurt. My thoughts were still somewhat in disarray. I was confused, tired, hungry, thirsty, and I couldn't open my left eye. Horrible was an understatement.

"Oh, well the good news is, you are going to be fine. Nothing's broken, nothing's seriously damaged, and you didn't lose enough blood for it to be a concern, so don't worry. You'll feel better eventually. Now, get some rest." He got up to leave.

"Wait!" I caught him just before he left. "What happened?" I was still confused, so I hoped maybe if he explained what happened, I would be able to remember more clearly.

"Well, you were in the tower of the Canterlot Public Library, and the building collapsed. A few moments afterwards, there was an explosion which let them know you were there. After that, you were rescued and brought here."

There was one thing I didn't understand. "Why did the tower collapse?" I asked.

"I don't think the Guard has figured that out yet. I heard some rumors that it was because of the fact that the Princess was there earlier."

I was still confused. "They destroyed the tower because the Princess was there? Why?"

"Listen, Midnight Shadow. There's a lot you have left to learn about our world. My advice is, don't worry about it."

He left, closing the door behind him. Then, I laid myself back down on the bed, and a single thought passed through my mind before I drifted off to sleep.

I hope that filly made it out okay.
----------

I spent a total of five days in that hospital room. I spent most of my time either asleep or thinking about the events leading up to where I was now. My father came to visit me, as well as a few other ponies I knew. They all basically said the same thing: glad you're okay, how do you feel, etcetera. I responded to them the same way I responded to the doctor, minus the questions about what happened. It seemed like most of them were reluctant to talk about it, especially my dad. I slowly began to feel better, until the doctor decided I could go home on the fifth day.

It was then I found out what happened to my eye. Apparently, the Arcanium explosion had damaged it to the point where I probably wouldn't be able to see out of it again. They told me to keep the bandage on.

I had to build myself a new leg, following the designs I made earlier. I made some changes, improving it slightly, but for the most part it was the same as the one before. I didn't have any more Arcanium, so I couldn't make another artificial horn. I was just glad to be alive. After that, I just wanted things to go back to normal.

I heard a knock on the front door. I was in my room, reading a book at the time. My father went to get it. "Shadow, somepony's here to see you," he said. I stood up and walked to the front door, where I was surprised to see none other than the young filly herself, accompanied by who I guessed were her parents.

"Hello, are you Midnight Shadow?" the mother asked.

I nodded in response. "Yes, ma'am."

"Is your father home?" she inquired.

I nodded again. "Yes, ma'am, he's in the kitchen. Down the hall, and to the right." My father had always told me to be as polite as possible when meeting other ponies. I didn't fully understand why, but I did it anyway.

I then stepped aside to allow them to walk in. The purple filly stayed behind. There was an awkward silence for a moment.

"Can I ask you something?" she said. I nodded. In that moment, I briefly reflected on how I tended to nod quite a lot. I could try to say yes instead, but I preferred nodding. It gives the same response without having to say a word.

"How did you do it?" she asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"How did I do what?"

"You know, how'd you make that shield thingy, back at the library?" There was curiosity in her eyes, and I could tell she really wanted to know. "You know, with you being an Earth Pony and all."

"Well, I had this... machine thingy, and it let me use magic." I tried not to confuse her too much, so I simplified it a bit.

"Do you still have it?" It seemed like she wanted to see it for herself. At least, when there wasn't tower collapsing around her. I could hear her parents talking with my father in the kitchen, although I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

"No, it was busted when I tried to get out." I didn't go into too much detail. I had gotten the sense that nopony really knew all that happened there.

"Is that what caused the second explosion?" she asked. I felt a little uncomfortable discussing it, but she seemed like the type of pony who wouldn't stop asking until she found out what she wanted to know.

"Yeah. The part that made it work was made out of this one special material, which was easily flammable, and..." I trailed off, not really knowing what else to say.

We stood in silence for a few moments. "Could you make another one?" she finally asked.

"I guess you really want to see it, huh?" I thought for a moment. "I should still have the blueprints in my bedroom, and I guess I could build another one, but... I don't know, it's just after what happened, it seems a little..." I had to think to find the right word to use. "...unsafe. It seems a little unsafe. I mean, one spark and the whole thing goes boom. I didn't really consider how dangerous it was when I first made it, and now that I know just how dangerous it is, I'm not sure if I should make another one."

The filly seemed sad about that. Her head drooped down, and her eyes avoided mine. "Well, thanks anyway."

Her parents then walked out of the kitchen. "Young stallion, we can't thank you enough for what you've done," the father said. They didn't really seem to notice how sad the young filly was. They turned to leave. "Come on, Twilight."

She walked out, slowly, without purpose. I knew she was being unreasonable. After all, it would be unsafe to make another one.

But there was something about her, something that I didn't understand. Despite what logic said, she still wanted to see the machine. Despite the danger, she still wanted to know more.

She was willing to take such a risk just to learn something new.

"Wait!" I cried out. The filly and her parents were only a few hoofsteps away. "Twilight, was it?"

The filly nodded.

"Maybe... if I could figure out a way to reduce the danger... I could maybe..."

"Really?" the filly said, interrupting me. I nodded, almost grateful that she had stopped me. I didn't really know what I planned to say anyway.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" she said, jumping up and down happily. She made her way over to me, still jumping, still "ohmygosh"ing, still smiling hugely.

"Twilight, dear, what has got you so excited?" the mother asked.

She seemed too excited to explain, so I stepped in for her. "Well, when I saved her, I used a special machine I made a while back. She really wanted to see it, so I decided I'd make another one, seeing as the first one is broken." Her parents didn't need to know about the exploding Arcanium that goes into making it. Although every part of my brain told me to stop, that it was dangerous, that it made no sense not to tell her parents. But, I knew that they'd forbid me from doing it if they knew just how dangerous it really was, and the young filly was so excited about it, I just couldn't let her down. I knew nothing about her, but I just couldn't find it in my heart to disappoint her. She reminded me of somepony, but I just couldn't tell who it was.

Her parents agreed to let her come back tomorrow. I began to figure out what I would need to build another artificial horn.

That night, I stayed up, thinking about how my life had changed in such a short time span. I had gone from being a crippled young stallion, to being "normal", to saving a filly's life, all over just a few months. I thought about the filly.

Her name was Twilight Sparkle. She was a few years younger than me, but she had already got her cutie mark in magic. She was apparently the direct student of Princess Celestia, as of the very day I first saw her. I hadn't thought about why the Princess called Twilight her "student" back at the library, or really why she was there at all. Now, it made sense. Mostly.

I still didn't know why the library collapsed. I also didn't know what happened to the book. Luckily, I had taken notes.

Then, I began to wonder how I could make the device safer. Well, as long as no sparks touch it, it'll be fine. I need a way to protect the Arcanium core, I thought to myself.

How I was supposed to do that, I had no clue.

Twilight arrived at around noon the next day. Her parents trusted my father to keep an eye on her. After all, he was a member of the Royal Guard; if there was anypony they could trust to keep us out of trouble, it was him.

"So, where is it?" Twilight asked excitedly.

"Well, I haven't built it yet, although I do have most of the parts for it." I grabbed the blueprint off my desk. "We still have to get the Arcanium, and then we can make it."

"Arcanium?" she replied, confused.

"It's the stuff that was in the center of the device. It channels magic through the horn, allowing the user to use magic." I pointed to the chemical formula written on the side. "We just need a sample of Arcanium crystal, then we can make the pure Arcanium."

"Where do we get the crystal from?" Twilight seemed to be following along just fine with what I was saying.

"Well, there's a cave system beneath Canterlot that's full of the crystals we need.We just need to go there, get a sample, and walk out."

The walk was uneventful. Neither of us said anything for a while. I remembered the walk being less boring the first time.

"So, what kind of things do you like to do?" I decided to ask Twilight.

"Mostly reading, and magic. And more reading." Her response reminded me of how I usually was. Minus the magic part.

"I like to read too. In fact, that was how I figured out how to make my metal leg, as well as the artificial horn."

"Really? I'd read every book in that library, and I don't remember anything about stuff like that 'Arcanium' you keep mentioning. What book was it?"

"I don't remember the title. It was by some pony named..." My mind drew a blank. "Swirl-something. Swirlbeard? Swirlstar?"

"Starswirl the bearded?" she said.

"Yeah, that's him. The book was about how he did some experiments to figure out how magic works."

"I'm pretty sure he never wrote a book about that. He's my idol; I know all of his work, practically by heart!" She was confused, and so was I. "If he'd written a book like that, I of all ponies would know!"

"Calm down, Twilight." She had gotten a bit angry about not recognizing the book.

"Can you show it to me?"

"Well, I actually don't know what happened to it. It just kind of... disappeared."

I could tell she didn't believe me. However, we had reached the cave entrance. Just like before, I got the sample, and put it in my bag.

"Now, let's get to building an artificial horn!" To be honest, despite how dangerous it was, I was still excited about it. Being able to use magic had made me feel... powerful. Like I could do anything. I couldn't explain it, but it seemed almost as if I was compelled to do it by some unseen force. Or, maybe I just wanted to make up for the years I spent missing a leg. Whatever the reason, I was going through with it, and at that point there was no turning back.

"Hey, you two! What are you doing?"

The voice came from a member of the Royal Guard. It wasn't my father, nor was it any of the Royal Guard I knew.

"We were just getting a few things for a project," I said, which was technically true.

He had caught us walking away from the caves. He had a serious expression on his face.

"From the Canterlot caves?"

"Well, we just needed a little of the crystal, and..."

"Oh, I see how it is. A couple of foals, thinking they can make a quick bit by stealing royal property."

"Royal property? I thought those caves were abandoned. If they aren't being used for anything, why does it matter if we take a little piece of crystal."

"The Caves still belong to the Royal Court, even though they aren't being used anymore. Not to mention how dangerous they are. You could've been seriously hurt!" He clearly wasn't happy with us.

"Come with me, and we'll get this sorted out." He then started walking in the direction of the palace.

Twilight and I waited as the Royal Guard member who had caught them talked with another Royal Guardsman. I assumed he was discussing our punishment. Then, I heard a third Royal Guardsman interrupt them to ask what was going on. After a moment, the door opened, and my father stepped out.

"What is going on, Midnight Shadow?" he asked, clearly upset.

"We just needed some crystal so I could make another artificial horn. We didn't know it was stealing, I promise!" He seemed like he believed me, and calmed down a bit.

"You could've asked me to get it. You know those caves are dangerous."

"We needed a chunk of a specific size, or else it wouldn't work. I just thought it would be better if I got it," I responded. If the chunk was too small, we wouldn't have enough to work with, and if it was too big, we would have extra Arcanium, which I didn't want to have lying around, waiting to catch fire.

"You could've asked me to go with you."

"I know, it's just that you said you were busy with some work, and we didn't want to bother you.

Twilight was staying silent. It was clear that she was worried about her parents finding out.

"Listen, Twilight. I won't tell your parents, if" he paused. "you don't tell them I let you two slip out without me noticing." Both of us were quick to agree.

My father cleared things up for us, told the rest of the Guard that he would punish us himself, then took us home. He even let us keep the crystal, although I still didn't think he knew how dangerous it was.

I mixed the reactant solution up and put the crystal in it. Just like before, it reacted, turning into pure Arcanium and leaving flux behind. Twilight reached her hoof out to touch the flux.

"Don't touch that, it's dangerous!" I caught her just in time. Then, I took the jar from under my desk and poured the new flux into it. Screwing the lid back on, I explained it to Twilight.

"The flux is a byproduct of the chemical reaction. The book said it was really dangerous."

"Oh, you mean the one that disappeared?" I couldn't tell whether or not there was sarcasm in her voice.

"...Yeah. Still, I'm holding on to this stuff. Partially because it might be useful someday, and partially because I don't know how to get rid of it safely," I replied. Then, I took the rod of pure Arcanium and got to work.

It went surprisingly fast, with Twilight helping. We built the mechanisms just like I did before, assembling it according to the blueprints. I hadn't yet figured out how to protect the Arcanium better, but I figured it would be fine as long as we didn't use it anywhere near a fire or anything that could make sparks. When it was finished, I took the leather strap and put it on, lining it up on my forehead. I had to move the bandage around my left eye slightly to fit it on.

"Okay, now show me," Twilight said.

I grabbed my pen, set it down on the floor, turned on the horn, and levitated the pen up. It seemed significantly easier than before, although I couldn't explain why. My left eye tingled a bit. I tried moving the pen around in the air, and it worked. Twilight looked from the pen, to me, to the pen again, and back to me. She was in awe.

"That's amazing! An Earth Pony using magic!" I was glad she was happy. I lowered the pen back onto my desk, and switched the horn off. "Why haven't you told anypony? This could change everything!"

"Well, my father did take me to show the Royal Magical Advisors, but they didn't really like it. Said it was 'pointless.' I guess, in a way, that was one of the reasons I was reluctant to make it again."

She was surprised at this. "How could they not see how amazing this is? This could revolutionize magic, and not just magic, but everything!"

"They said that even though it works, it doesn't matter because nopony cares about not being able to use magic. They said that everypony has a role to play in this world, and that I shouldn't go around trying to change that." It made me kind of sad, having to repeat what they said to me.

"Well, what do they know? I still think it's wonderful," Twilight said, trying to cheer me up. "And, you know what, I know somepony who would love to see this; somepony who can actually appreciate what your machine can do."

"And who would that be?"

This was madness. Utter madness. I couldn't just show my machine to the Princess! There was no way that could end well, and every part of me screamed not to do it.

Yet Twilight seemed determined to have me show it to her. As much as I didn't want to, I still couldn't bring myself to disappoint her.

She took me into the castle, all the way to the throne room entrance. I was barely able to stand. It reminded me of when I first made myself a metal leg. If only I hadn't scrapped those braces. She opened the door.

There, at the far side of the room, was Princess Celestia. Although I had seen her before, even up close, this was the first time I had ever met her face to face. Needless to say, I was nervous.

"Twilight, my young student! How are you today?"

"I'm doing fine, your majesty," Twilight said. She seemed much calmer than I was, although I could still tell she wasn't at ease.

The Princess laughed. "Twilight, I told you that you don't have to refer to me as 'your majesty.'

"Sorry!"

"There's no need to apologize, Twilight,"

"Sorry!"

Yep, she was definitely at least somewhat nervous. It made me feel a little better, knowing that she felt the same way, even if it wasn't to the same extent. I still couldn't bring myself to move from the doorway, though.

"And I believe you are Midnight Shadow, are you not?" Celestia said, looking straight at me.

It took me a moment to respond. "Yes, your m- majesty." I couldn't shake the feeling that she was silently judging me from her throne.

"You were the one I found after the tower library collapsed, aren't you?" This confused me. I thought the Royal Guard had found me in the rubble.

"I- I guess so..."

Twilight motioned for Celestia to lean close to her. She whispered something in the Princess's ear, and she nodded back.

"So, Twilight tells me you have something to show me?"

"Oh, yes, um..." I grabbed my bag to get the device out.

"This is, um..."

"There's no need to be nervous, Midnight Shadow. Take your time." The princess had noticed my struggle.

"This is a device I made, and it..." I looked at Twilight, and she nodded. "It allows a non-Unicorn to use magic."

"Really? Can you show me?" The Princess sounded... almost curious, instead of disbelieving like I expected.

I took out the rock we had picked out for the demonstration, and set it on the ground. Strapping the device to my forehead, I clicked it on. The familiar humming began, signifying the device was ready to use. I took a deep breath, and lifted the rock with magic.

It was a simple thing, lifting the rock. Were it a Unicorn doing it, nopony would care. But I was no Unicorn. I kept it in the air for a few seconds, moved it around some, and gently set it back down.

"You made that?" the Princess asked.

"Yes, your majesty."

She stood up, and walked over to me. I shrunk back in fear, worried that I had angered her. But she rested one hoof on my shoulder, and when I looked up at her I saw pride. Not anger, not bitterness, not contempt, but pride.

"You are an amazing young colt, Midnight Shadow." She stepped back, then looked at her servant. "Can you take a note, please?" He nodded, taking out a blank scroll and a quill.

"I, Princess Celestia, do hereby decree that the Earth Pony, Midnight Shadow, will continue his research into the fields of mechanical and magical engineering, with funding from the Royal Court."

I was dumbfounded. "Huh?"

"He will report to me his findings, and will be assisted, if necessary, by my student, Twilight Sparkle. Together, the two of them will help drive Equestria towards a bright future."

"Huh?"

She then called Twilight over. "Twilight, I know it would be a bit difficult to manage, between helping him and your own studies, but can I count on you to aid him as best you can?"

"Yes, Princess," Twilight said.

"And Midnight Shadow, would you be willing to take on this role for Equestria?"

"Yes, y- your majesty," I replied, thoughts still in total disarray.

"And, one more thing. There's no need to refer to me as 'your majesty' now. You are the Royal Engineer now, after all."

"Yes, Princess," I replied. I still couldn't believe Princess Celestia had made me the Royal Engineer. In a way, it was a dream come true. Before I got into this whole mess, I didn't have any goals in life. I just learned all that I could about pretty much anything I found interesting. But now, I had a purpose. A specific goal that I could follow, with Twilight by my side. It was then that I realized who Twilight had reminded me of.

She reminded me of my mother.

The Princess gave me a room in the castle, and offered Twilight one right next to it. She refused, having a better idea. She suggested that we both stay in a library, so we would have access to any information we might need. She decided to rebuild the tower library, this time closer to the castle. It was also slightly redesigned, with guard posts around it so that, hopefully, nopony could even get close enough to destroy it like the last one. I, personally, was a bit reluctant to move in, but eventually agreed, mainly because Twilight was so excited about it. I soon came to realize that she was an even bigger bookworm than I was.

As we were settling in, I thought of a question to ask Twilight. "How come you insisted I show my machine to the princess? I mean, you were nervous too, weren't you?"

"Yes, I was nervous, but I just couldn't stand to see you so sad about it."

This puzzled me a bit. "How come you care so much about my feelings?"

"That's what friends are supposed to do, isn't it?"

I was somewhat surprised by the fact that she already considered us friends. Especially since she didn't seem like the socializing type. But, then again, neither did I. Plus, the whole reason we were even there is because I cared about her feelings.

"I guess so."

That night, I reflected on all that had happened to me. Making the leg, walking for the first time, making the horn, being rejected by the Advisors, saving Twilight, rebuilding the horn for her, being caught by the Royal Guard trying to get Arcanium, showing the horn to the Princess, becoming the Royal Engineer, all in such a short time span.

My mother really would be proud of me, wouldn't she?

There was a soft knock on the door of the library. I saw Twilight stirring in her bed. "I'll get it, Twilight," I said softly, and she went back to sleep.

The knocker was none other than my father. "Dad, what are you doing here so late?" I said in a soft whisper.

"I just came from the doctor. He told me you could take the bandage off your eye, but when I went home to tell you, you two were gone again. I came here to the palace, and that's when I found out that my son was the new Royal Engineer!" He said all of this in a soft whisper, so as not to wake Twilight. I could tell he was proud of me.

"You said I could take the bandage off?" I replied.

"Yes. He said it'd feel a little weird at first, but you'll get used to it, I'm sure."

I had already gotten used to the bandage being there, to the point where I often forgot it was there. I took a deep breath, and peeled the bandage off.

My father gasped. "What? What is it?" I asked, but he didn't respond. I went to get a mirror.

My left eye had lost all color, and was completely white. Several small scars ran outward from the eye. Somehow, I could see fine. Still, it was very surprising to see how my eye had been affected by the explosion.

What the doctor said was right. It would take some getting used to. Then again, so would a lot of things in my new life. This was just another sign that I had entered a completely different world from where I was before.

"Thanks, dad. I love you." I hugged him for a moment. "But I need some sleep."

He nodded, and left. I climbed back into bed, pulling the covers over my body. Before I fell asleep, I took another look around the library. Just like the last one, it had an hourglass in the center, and a huge glass window overlooking Canterlot. However, it also had several new changes; there was a second story around the outer edges of the room, and on the side of the balcony-like second floor there were busts of ponies I didn't recognize. There were also many other architectural flourishes added as well. I yawned.

Closing my eyes, I fell asleep.

I woke up early the next morning. I couldn't get back to sleep, and Twilight wasn't up yet, so I decided to finish unpacking. I opened one of the remaining full boxes. On the top was the framed photo of my parents and I on my first day of school.

It was broken.

I was a bit sad about that, but it was only the frame. The photo was still intact. I took it out of the frame to look at it closer. That was when I saw the envelope.

It was just a small envelope, that somepony had put behind the photo. The front read Midnight Shadow, implying that the letter was for me. I opened it and pulled out a note.

Dear Midnight Shadow,

Before I say any more, let me say that I love you, Midnight Shadow. I will continue to love you, even when I am so far away.

I know you won't understand why, but know that I left for a good reason. I wish I could've stayed, seen you grow into whoever you are meant to be, but that would put you in too much danger.

I couldn't leave without giving you something to remember me by, though. Inside the envelope, there is a silver necklace. Keep it with you, and it will give you strength when you need it most.

I checked; sure enough, there was a silver necklace in the envelope, with a shimmering emerald pendant hanging from it. I took a moment to put it on, then continued reading.

Maybe someday I will be able to return, but for now, I must go. I know you'll do great things in this world, no matter how clichéd that sounds.

Your loving mother,

Aurashine.

I heard Twilight getting up from her bed. "Midnight Shadow?"

When I turned around to face her, there were tears in my eyes.

Author's Note

Again, sorry if there are any spacing errors in this one.