"Hello there Celestia, for what do I owe the pleasure?" I say prying Sunset off of me.

"I think you know why I am here." Celestia said as she walked into the lab.

"I have a few theories, but why don't you tell me, so I know for sure."

"You stole my student."

"Stole is such a harsh word. I like to think I gave her the opportunity she thought she would get from you. And she chose to learn from me instead of you. Besides, she went through the proper channels to become my student. I have a letter of application from the Dean's Office and everything." I said as I pulled out the letter from my lab coat. To which Celestia grabs it with her magic and brings it to her face to read it.

"According to this, Sunset put this application in a month ago, and you accept it a day ago. So why did I only learn of this today when Sunset told me she quits?"

"Blame the administration. They are understaffed and overworked. Must have slipped their minds." I reply

"Even so. I won't let you simply take my student."

"What do you mean you won't let me take her. Last time I checked ponies had free will and could do what they wanted. Unless slavery was legalized within the past year, she is well within her rights to choose who she wants her teacher to be."

"That still doesn't explain why Sunset decided to change from being my student to being your student. And I want to know why."

"Well... to be honest, Princess, there are a few reasons. I felt like you put the court and administrative responsibilities before me, even when you have entire departments who could take care of it. I have learned more about magic from Moonshadow in the first year I was getting lessons from him, than the entire time I have been your student. Then there was the first test he gave me, he gave me simple instructions and let me go at it alone, and after 6 months of not getting anywhere, he saw I was on the verge of breaking and taught me that I could have asked him the whole time for help. While with you, you let me struggle on a task for 4 months, and when I finally did it, all you said was it took me long enough. I mean what the fuck, who lets somepony struggle and then says it took them long enough. At least Moonshadow went into detail on how to properly complete the test he gave me when I was sitting there defeated. So yeah, I would rather be his student than yours." Sunset said while counting on her fingers the number of reasons.

Celestia just stood there as she listened to what Sunset was saying. "Was I really that bad?" she asked with her ears drooping.

"Let me put it this way, if Moonshadow hadn't been teaching me for the last 3 years, I would probably have ended up in some other world by now." Sunset said crossing her arms.

"I see. I didn't realize I was that bad of a teacher."

"Yeah, from the sound of it, you really blew it. Maybe you should take this as a lesson for the next time you take on a personal student." I quipped

"Watch it. I'm still mad at you and can easily revoke your funding." Celestia said glaring daggers at me

"Fair enough." I said waving my hands up.

"Sunset, is there anything I can do to convince you to take me back as your teacher?" Celestia asked.

"At this point. It is too late for that. I am Moonshadow's student now. And with all due respect, I wish you luck the next time you take on a student and hope you give them the attention that you didn't give me. Less this occurs a second time." Sunset said while crossing her arms.

"Very well then. I wish you the best of luck Sunset. And as for you Moonshadow, you better treat my former student well. Otherwise, I will be back for you." Celestia said as she turned and walked out of the lab closing the door behind her. Sunset and I stood there for a moment before I broke the silence.

"Well, that could have gone worse. The first lesson as your new teacher, give your teacher a few days’ notice before you throw them into a situation unprepared."

Sunset sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, "Yeah, I didn't expect for Princess Celestia to just show up like that."

"That brings me to my second and third lessons. Always expect the unexpected, and anything that can go wrong will go wrong at the worst possible moment."

"Lesson learned." She replied with her ears drooping slightly

"Excellent!" I said while clapping my hands, "With that out of the way, let's get to work."

During the next 3 years, I took Sunset under my wing and started teaching her what I knew, and she taught me things that I didn't know. I taught her more about chemistry, engineering, making alloys, and how to read and write German. While she taught me about historic uses for some of the elements on the periodic table, and how to better optimize the spells that I made. As apparently, my spells were not very mana efficient. Which came in handy as once I turned 21, and had a height of 6ft 8 inches, (which for reference, Celestia was about 8 feet tall.) I had Sunset help me with my spell to replace all my bones with carbon nanotubes with an outer coating of Tantalum for added strength, except for the bone marrow and teeth. Before we started though, I prepared a backup spell that with the help of another powerful unicorn, or Celestia, would reverse the process should my body go into rejection. How we did it was I would be the one casting the spell in a meditative state, using 70 mana crystals we had prepared over the course of a month, while she watched over me with a scanning spell to watch for complications.

When the day came to start the spell, we were both nervous as nopony had done something like this before. So, we started small, replacing the bones in my hand first. And once that was done, I stopped to see if I felt any different, while at the same time, performing several scans using a more advanced spell similar to one that was used during my medical checkup when I first came to the school. And over the course of 2 hours of rigorous scanning and monitoring, everything seemed to be working correctly. Satisfied, I sat back down, entered a meditative state once again, and resumed the spell. It took an entire day to finish the spell and used 68 of the 70 crystals we prepared, but it was done. Leaving my meditative state, I stood up and surprised how light I felt. Weighing myself on a scale in the lab, I had gone from 240 pounds to 215 pounds, (Average male weight is 250, and females are 200 due to high muscle density.) After the weigh-in, Sunset also wanted me to cast the spell on her, but I told her she would have to wait until she is 21, just to make sure she finished growing.

In 992, during the third year, I worked on creating a doctoral thesis using my knowledge of atomic theory, chemistry, the spell I taught Sunset to view the atomic makeup of something, and a spell to view atoms. As I came to find out that both of them were basically unknown in this world. They knew that mixing certain substances resulted in new ones and that transmutation magic had something to do with it. But because of how small atoms are, no unicorn in the past has been able to properly document how the magic works. Upon submitting the paper, I didn't hear anything for 3 months as it was being peer-reviewed. Until one day I got a letter from the crown saying that because of my paper, not only would I be getting my doctorate, but my name would go down in Equestrian history as the founder of atomic theory, and the standardization of elements. And I had the honor or creating an entirely new class that focused solely on the knowledge that I put in my paper.

To say that I was excited was an understatement. As I was in the middle of teaching Sunset how light is both a wave and a particle when I received the letter, and I had paused the lesson due to see what the crown had sent me. And as I read through it, my eyes got wider and wider, until at one point I passed out from forgetting to breathe. I was only out for a few seconds, but Sunset had already rushed over to my side and was in the middle of grabbing the medical kit off the wall with her magic. To which I stopped her once I saw what she was doing.

"Sunset, I'm fine."

"But you just passed out. What if it is from the bone replacement."

"It wasn't that Sunset, I know exactly what caused it."

"What?"

"I simply forgot to breathe when I was reading the letter from the crown."

"From the letter? What was in it that could have made you pass out?" she asked.

"Go ahead and read it yourself," I said as I sat upright.

Sunset grabbed the letter and started reading it. To which her eyes got wider the longer she read it. "Is this for real? Did you really just get approved to create an entirely new field of study?"

"It looks that way." I reply standing up

"And has what you been teaching me..."

"Been a part of that field of study? Yes, it has. Which makes you the second most knowledgeable pony in the field of Chemistry, and Atomic Theory."

Sunset just sat there processing what I told her. When the realization finally hit her, her eyes practically sparkled with glee. As she was basically bouncing around the room squealing yes.

A month later, I had officially graduated from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns with my doctorate. The only downside was that because I was no longer a student there, the stipend and research grant ended the second I was given my degree. I was allowed to keep Sunset as a student as she also received her master's degree the same day and decided to drop out to continue learning from the expert on Atomic Theory and Chemistry. The school told us that we had a month to vacate the lab and the dorm that I have been living in for 14 years, so I had to either find a new place to live. Luckily, with the income from licensing the patents I had in my name, I had saved up a lot of bits. A quick inquiry at the bank and I learned I had saved up close to 50 million bits due to how successful some of my intentions were. I also received a reward from the crown of 70 million bits for my contributions to magic and establishing a new field of study.

The amount of money I had was frankly insane. I had never had this much money in any of my lifetimes, nor do I think I will see this much money in any other lifetime again. With this much money, I opted for having a home lab constructed. The only question was where. I needed a place that has access to the railroad and had access to an area that I can conduct my more explosive tests in. And after 3 days of research, I found a perfect place. A place called Ponyville, it had access to the railroad, was not densely populated, was near several potential sites I could use for testing and was about an 8-hour train trip from Canterlot. Satisfied with the location, I went back to the bank and filled out the necessary documentation to purchase a 20-acre lot on the outskirts of the town. It cost me 5 million bits for the 10-acre lot, but I was able to get close to the landmark known as Ghastly Gorge. A perfect place for explosives testing.

Returning back to the lab Sunset was in the process of packing up the lab equipment, books, chemicals, and various raw resources. I went over to the drafting table and started the process of drawing up a floor plan for the compound that I would like to be built. It took me 6 hours to come up with a good plan, but I was finally satisfied with a 6,000 sq. ft house, with a 20,000 sq. ft hangar, a 10,000 sq. ft lab, a 12,000 sq. ft storage facility, a 5,000 sq. ft smeltery, and an observatory. If my calculations are correct, it should cost about 25 million bits to have this place constructed. Once I had finished the plans, I realized Sunset was looking over my shoulder at what I had made.

"Uh, why is the place you are designing so large? What could we possibly use all that space for?"

"I'm glad you asked. I have designed our new home to be so large so that we have plenty of space for all the projects that I have in mind. I have plans to turn the lab into one that is unequaled, to the point where it dwarfs the one we currently have and may allow for many experiments to be conducted. The large storage facility will be separated to store chemicals, compounds, and raw resources that we will need. The smeltery will allow us to create new metals and alloys using atomic theory. The hanger will store the vehicles that I designed."

"I guess that makes sense. Wait... our new home? Where did you plan to have this place built?"

"Oh, I plan to have it built on a 20-acre lot I bought in a town called Ponyville just today. And as to what I mean by we, I expect that you would rather live in the new house rather than teleporting from your home every day."

"So, wait... I'm moving in with you?" She asked with a slight blush on her face

"Of course. You will have your own room and everything. All I need to do is get these plans to the mayor of the town and to find work crews to get the place built."

"I see, how long do you think it will take for it to be built?"

"Well, I think the house should take 6 months once we leave Canterlot if we get crews of unicorns working 7 days a week. After that, it should take a year before the rest of it is done."

We arrived in Ponyville at the end of that month, it was a quiet town with a population less than a thousand. We met Mayor Mare practically once we stepped off of the train. She was the mayor of the town and wanted to make sure we were able to find our way to our new land, as well as thank us for purchasing the land. I’m guessing because it was a huge purchase of land. Walking through the town, I overheard ponies talking about how that thanks to the huge plot of land being purchased, the town has more money than it ever had. And that the town has begun work on projects that have been on delay due to lack of funding. Like bringing electricity to every house, repaving the roads, projects to improve the look of the town, and the rebuilding of several bridges that have started to fall apart. Once the ponies dispersed, I asked Mayor Mare if what they were saying was true. She told me that it was, and if we hadn't bought that land, they would have had to find ponies to invest in the town. To which I replied that I guess it was a good thing we came when we did.

It wasn't until after trains started to arrive with 300 unicorn construction workers and train carts full of building materials did ponies realize exactly who we were. Once they realized we were the ones who bought the land, that they practically mobbed us thanking us for the huge investment we made into the town. Ponies were coming up to us for hours asking if we needed anything, or if they could help with the construction of our new place of residence. I had to tell them several times that the best thing they can do for us at this moment is to maintain their normal lives.

With the mob around us dispersed, I asked for Mayor Mare to take us to our new plot of land. As she led the way, I told the construction workers to grab their housing gear, so they can set up once we get to the site. Mayor Mare told me she had already set posts in the four corners of the plot of land I bought just a day before we arrived. It was a 20-minute walk from the station to the plot of land that I bought, and it was the first time I could see the land I bought. The land was relatively flat with only some trees breaking up the clear view. With how flat the land was, it would speed up the construction time considerably. Taking a tour of the land, I found the perfect place for the house just an acre in. I told the head construction workers, that the entrance to the building will be where I was standing, and to just follow the plans I gave them. The large stallion nodded and started ordering the others to make camp on the edge of the property, and to get to work.

Heading back into town, Sunset and I went to a small hotel in town and rented two rooms. It would be the two rooms we would live in for the next 6 months. However, it wasn't two days into our hotel stay, that the first incident occurred that marked the beginning of the strange events that occur in this town.

Sunset and I were having lunch at a local hayburger place. I was enjoying some sweet potato fries and a cheese hayburger, while sunset was eating a salad. We had just finished at a local garden shop about getting some landscaping done once the construction on the house was finished, as well as when the project was totally finished. When there was a loud boom, the kind of boom that is associated with breaking the sound barrier. Looking up, I what could only be described as a rainbow shockwave. That shouldn't be possible. The shockwave was a perfect rainbow and didn't affect the cloud cover as is passed. I sat there in a stupor for a moment, but when I snapped out of it, I grabbed a new journal from my bag, wrote rainbow shockwave on the front, and started writing theories on how what I just saw could have happened.

Sunset meanwhile just sat there eating her salad as she had seen me do this a few times before. So, she just sighed and continued to eat her salad. I spent 2 weeks doing research into what could have caused this phenomenon. I was so engrossed in my research, that I didn't even read mail that came to me. Though, once I hit a dead end, I rejoined the world. And started going through my mail, letters about ponies wanting to study under me. Requests to get a license to use the inventions I patented. But the one that caught my eye was a letter from the dean at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Opening it, it was a letter from Celestia. Huh, when did she start acting like the head of her school? It was a short letter, but an important one none the less.

Hello Dr. Flash,

I felt that you would like to know that I have taken on a new student, an 11-year-old unicorn named Twilight Sparkle. Who scored off the charts on magic potential and a 9 in magic control. I have taken what you and Sunset said to heart, and I plan to teach her well.

Warm Regards,
Princess Celestia

Huh, no shit. Wonder how this will turn out. After I was finished reading it, I walked took the letter over to Sunset and let her have a look at it as well. She was surprised at how quickly she got herself a new student and shared my sentiment that it will be interesting to see how this turns out.

At the end of 6 months, the house was finished being built, and Sunset and I started to move in. I took the owner's suite, and Sunset took the bedroom next to the dining room. We spend another week after that going and buying furniture for the house, and having the landscapers start making the outside of the house look presentable while the construction workers started on the other buildings behind the house. Once we were moved in, I got to work writing course documents to send back to the school, so they can start teaching Chemistry and Atomic Theory. It took me 5 months to write the coursework, and I also made a more advanced version and sent it to Celestia. along with a note telling her that she should teach her new student this once she gets though the basic version.

I taught Sunset more and more as we lived in the new house. As 6 months went by the year 993 approached, the construction workers were able to finish construction on New Years Eve, and Sunset and I were able to start the real work.

Over the course of the next 7 years, Sunset and I continued to live out daily lives, produce new products, and slowly change the world of magic by enhancing spells that were long thought to be at their pinnacle. Along with creating many new spells, with notable ones including Mind Shield, Privacy, Connection, True Silence, Enhanced Heal, Dark Vision, and Enhanced Senses. Most of the spells we created we didn't publish, but ones that helped out the masses like Enhanced Heal, we patented and licensed it out to hospitals for only 10 bits a year. We made a lot of money with those spells, but the real money earner was in the alloys we made, some of them didn't even exist back home. We made and patented crystal-infused titanium-steel alloy, stainless steel, and a platinum-iridium alloy. We kept the number of ponies who knew how to make the metals we kept low as to make sure it could never be used against us. Especially the crystal-infused titanium-steel alloy, it was as strong as the steel used in cold war era tanks, but it absorbed magic and stored it.

When I found that out the first time, an idea for a tank popped into my head. If I could create an engine that ran off of magic energy, I could then connect it to batteries that would be recharged by mana, or spells hitting the hull could be used to allow the tank to recharge as it gets hit. To which, I started work on designing a tank that could use this function. Of all the designs that popped in my head for what kind of tank to base it off of, I just had to go with the Tiger 2. So, pulling out the blueprints, and started work on making a real version of it. With the help of Sunset, we were able to complete a prototype in 998.

"So, this tank. What is the purpose of it?"

"It is meant for war. To defeat others like it or heavily armored targets."

"Will we ever have to use it?"

"I hope not Sunset, I really hope not. But in my opinion, it is better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it."

Sunset was a bit distant for a week after that. But in the end, she saw the logic in what I said and agreed that it is best to have it and not need it. So, for the moment, we put it into the hanger for safe keeping.

In 999, I had just turned 27, and Sunset turned 25. Its a big moment for either of us. So, I thought I would make something nice for the both of us. I made one custom necklace for each of us, made from the platinum-iridium alloy. I spent 1 week enchanting them with a custom spell. The spell allowed for either of us to know the exact location of each other in the case that either of us become greatly injured, go unconscious involuntarily, or speak the word German word for help; Hilfe. And with the spell, it would allow for either of us to teleport within 30 feet of the other.

When I gave it to Sunset, she was very happy. She became ecstatic when I offered to give her bones the same treatment we gave mine 6 years ago. Although I had to remind her that once we do the spell, her height would be locked in at 6 ft 1 inchs for the rest of her life. Once making sure she was fine with it, we spent the next day changing her bones to be like mine. And when we were done, she was surprised by how light she felt. To which I only laughed saying I told you so.

Although at the start of summer in the year 1000 was where things really started to hit the fan. And it all started with the return of Nightmare Moon.

Author's Note

New home floor plan, and will be the layout of the house until otherwise said. Next chapter, we get into season 1 episode 1. New link to house image as the old one is broken