Arel faced every day with everything he had. He was about to turn seventeen on 22 of February, his parents helped him get all the books he would need and the supplies for his classes. Just like a lot of students going to a new school, he was both excited and terrified of it. He had thought that he was going to have time to process this and go with a clear mind, however, time flew by before he could even realize that the big day had come.

Once the first day arrived, Arel found himself at the front gates with only his backpack and a lot of anxiety. He was really happy when he entered, but now he was in a blind panic. Taking a deep breath he took the first step, then another, and another. Before he knew it, he was heading to the notice board after overhearing a few students talking about checking which classes they were on.

Arel kept his finger running down the list until he saw his name.

'Class 3-6, ok. Now...is there a map somewhere?' Arel thought as he opened space for the others to check while he wandered off to see if he could find a map.

"Looking for directions?" Arel heard from behind him. Turning around he found himself sweating bullets as he saw who it was.

"P-p-p-p-p-p-p-p...."

"Did the cat get your tongue? Yes, I am a princess. But I also happen to be a student and chief of the monitors."

That was none other than Princess Cadence, the alicorn princess of love that nopony knew where she came from. Making her both a mystery and a celebrity. And also one of the most desired mares in Canterlot, there were a lot of stallions claiming that they would make the princess of love fall for them in interviews. But as far as he knew, all of them failed miserably. Which gave her a moniker by the males that failed, 'the unattainable trophy'. Arel thought that was a repugnant moniker, he preferred her title of 'princess of love'.

"I-I'm looking for Class 3-6, Neuroengineering," Arel finally managed to speak, he felt a burden lift when his voice finally came out.

"So, he talks. Well, the three means third floor. The six means the sixth row of classrooms on the floor. The door for it will have the name of your course. And that's about it."

"Thank you!" Arel said bowing to her.

"Now, your name?"

"Huh? Ah! Yes, I'm Arel Araneo. Pleasure." He said still bowing.

"Very well, Welcome to our academy Arel. Now, go on. Your class will begin in ten minutes."

Arel thanked her again, then he took off to find his class. The inside of the building was way bigger than the outside, Arel found himself in awe at the place. He could barely see the ceiling and there were lots and lots of enchanted books and objects flying around from one place to the next.

Arel went to the stairs thinking of where he wanted to get, after two steps he found himself at the top of stairs with a sign that had 'third floor' written on it.

'That is convenient!' He thought before he began to look for his class.

Just as the Princess had said, the classroom that he was looking for was on the sixth row of rooms. The building was strangely laid out, Arel could swear that he heard explosions coming from some classes, from others he heard roars. After passing by a few doors, he found the one with 'NeuroEngineering' labeled on the door.

'Well, here goes. Let's get ready for the next three years!'

It didn't take long for Arel to start drawing attention to himself, being the youngest there was the main reason. The fact that he had the highest score on the first test their teachers made was another one. Soon after, Arel found himself being asked to help others study. The teachers also began to pay more attention to him, some would constantly throw questions at him during classes.

It didn't seem like anything could stop him. Not even the limitations on what he was actually able to do, researching magic in order to understand it? He would do it without batting an eye, even if he wasn't able to cast spells. Researching biology so that integrating an interface between the tissue and synthetic components could be possible? No problem.

Arel kept growing in more fields than one, his attendance in extra classes also made him get even more spotlight. The more time went on, the greater was the number of ponies mentioning the young earth pony that was all over the school. Dismantling enchanted objects, mixing up chemicals and creating all sorts of random potions and fluids with different effects. Arel had become a star by simply doing what he was best at, thinking and innovating.

But, just as he had earned high regards from multiple ponies. There were also those that would look at him and see nothing more than the earth pony. Playing pranks, calling him names, beating him down was not an option but they came close to it. Making him trip and drop his things seemed to be the preferred method of the punks.

"Hey look, a mud pony where he belongs. The ground," Said Blue Blood, Celestia's nephew and the all-time jackass that also was held back a year multiple times until his teachers suddenly had a 'change of heart' and sent him to the next grade. Every. Freaking. Time. His one redeeming quality was his talent for mastering new spells. If he read instructions for the spell, he would do it first or second try. Even if he wasn't especially powerful.

"Wow, real smart Blue. Did you think of that on your own? Or did one of you flunkies made it for you? Like all of your school projects and exams?' Arel replied getting all of his things back and heading to class. Leaving behind an angry 'prince'.

Arel was moving perfectly as a student. And his mind kept expanding what he could do, on what he could create. The ideas for circuits, programming, every gadget that could help others kept popping up in his head. But there was something that kept getting in the way, the modulator for the power cells. That's when the simplest yet greatest idea hit him.

(Begining of the second semester of Arel's second year)

"Professor Astro, I was wondering if you could take a look at my thesis?" Arel asked after getting his teacher attention.

He went to him due to this teacher being extremely open to his students, sometimes he would stay way beyond his working hours helping out his students with any problems they had with his class. Sometimes even other teachers' classes. His full name was Philip Astro.

"You're working on a thesis already? Mr. Areneo, you certainly don't waste any time. But certainly, let's see here. What are you...?" Professor Astro's eyes widened as he read the paper. "You came up with a material that can be synthesized for the modulator for Harmony-Tech Industries?! You, you also..." The teacher kept running through the pages like a maniac, his eyes darting around the pages.

"I-I'm sorry. I guess the schematics and the project are all messed up."

"Are you kidding?! Kid, you may have just started this. But you're incredible! With a few corrections, you might have solved the modulator problem!" Arel raised his head and looked up to his teacher.

"Really?!"

"No, I'm just pulling your leg. Of course, I'm serious! Tell you what, I'll help you with your research and you are done! Did you show this to anypony?" The teacher asked as he looked around with a suspicious look in his eyes.

"No, why?" Arel tilted his head while looking around as well.

"Keep it that way, if you show this to somepony else, they might try to steal your project. This is huge, what do you say? Let's change their tech?"

"Sure thing!"

And so Arel and Professor Astro started to work. After settling on their work time for the project, they reunited every night to review the formulas and rewrite the thesis according to the results they got on simulations. The professor even got them a modulator to work on and modify it. With some convincing, they also managed to get permission to use the equipment for what Arel's teacher described as ' Astro's especial experiments'. Something about being mandatory that the teacher who was conducting an experiment gave his name just in case something happened.

"Come on, Arel! Think! You managed to crack the chemistry required to synthesize this. We can break the calculations and adapt this! Think back your steps, see each phase. You'll make a breakthrough without an issue! I'm sure of it!"

Receiving advice and pep talks was one of the many things Astro did for Arel during the research. There were times when the professor would cover up for Arel when he fell asleep in the lab the entire night. Helping Arel by arranging materials they required in a short span of time, explaining Arel's scores whenever he had a drop in performance due to the experiments.

Telling the teachers that Arel was overworking himself and asking for them to give him another shot at some exams saved Arel's grades from plummeting since Astro would monitor Arel's activities to prevent burnout syndrome. The teacher was like a watchful guardian ensuring that his student could keep his academic life while keeping up with his research.

"Arel. A sound mind rests within a sound body. You cannot overwork yourself this way. You'll start making mistakes. Then you start hurting others and yourself in the process."

Arel took the teacher's lessons to heart, assuming a new and healthier routine. Arel was able to get his body the rest it required and get his academic life back in the rails. With the rest from new routine, Arel's mind was also able to figure out more about the schematics for his project and how to improve it. Professor Astro was basically Arel's pillar for the project, his reviews and his advice kept Arel on the right track and taught Arel about the scientific method. Making both Arel and the project grow.

Nearly a year late,r the duo was running tests to see how much the modulator managed to stabilize the magic flow. The experiment was basically running the highest magic flow possible through the modulator and seeing how much the flow was dampened, and that was measured by the amount of damage they would see in the circuit board for the experiment.

"Please, flip the switch, Professor," Arel asked while putting on his goggles, protection just in case shards decided to fly. The loud clicking sound from the switch echoed through the halls. Then energy started to flow through the circuit, Arel watched as the modulator started to vibrate and function.

'Can't have that, better work on something to stabilize the inner workings. Don't want the users to hear rattling from inside the gadget.'

It took a while, but the modulator started to change color and then there was a loud pop followed by smoke. "Professor turn the switch off!"

Arel waited for the modulator change back into its natural color, once it was back to normal, Arel took it and started to analyze it.

'The part kept its integrity, the outer casing at least, meaning that the inner liquids didn't get out and damage the entire circuit. Now, let's take a look inside. Yes! The solid component of the mix melted and mixed with the liquid component preventing the liquid portion from turning into a gas. YES! The smoke came from the conduit burning up! Thus stopping the magic flow to reach the circuit and damaging it further.'

"How did it go?!" Arel heard from behind him.

"How much energy did we send through the modulator?" He replied after looking at the clock.

"Six times the maximum capacity for the current circuit we have," Arel smiled at that.

"Professor, we managed to extend the time again! Two and a half minutes! Forty extra seconds!" The professor practically rushed to Arel's side and looked at the results.

"That's great! And it is working perfectly with the safety mechanism! Ok, how about the board's integrity?" Astro was practically hopping around in excitement. His creepy grin came forth.

"Enough smiling, professor! I don't need nightmares," Arel replied with a smirk, which made the teacher start to laugh. "Ok. Now, for the moment of truth!"

Arel picked up the board, after placing it on a well-lit table, he picked up a magnifying lens and started to analyze it. His eyes meticulously searched every inch of the board, using his free hand he kept writing up all of the damages. Once that was done, Arel went to the circuit's schematics to check what the damage was and how it would affect the machine's performance.

"So?"

"Professor, I-I'm sorry," Arel replied without looking back to his teacher. His shoulders dropped and he let the notes rest. After a few moments, Arel felt a hand on his back.

"It's ok, we still have time. Let's look back on what we did and try to figure it out," Arel stood there, silently looking at the schematics. "Don't beat yourself over it. It was an experiment, we made some things right, others wrong. That happens! I'm sure we can find-"

"We don't need to do it," Arel said in a low tone interrupting Astro. "Because...Because we managed to keep an integrity of 96 percent! That's three percent higher than we predicted! No vital systems were damaged! The board can still function even after receiving a charge six times its capacity for two and a half minutes! Imagine with its ideal flow not overheating the modulator!"

"Y-you mean that..."

"Yes! We broke through! The base issue with the modulator was solved! Now we can work on improving it!" Arel said turning to his teacher. Astro offered his hand, Arel took it. Then the professor pulled him to his side and passed his arm over Arel's shoulders.

"You did it, kid. Or should I call you Professor Areneo?" Arel laughed at that.

They made humongous progress on the development of the modulator, Arel's thesis was progressing just as fast. The professor was getting more and more interested in the project the as they progressed. Then came the midpoint of Arel's last semester before he graduated. The teacher also seemed to get anxious whenever there was a setback, no matter how small it was. He also seemed a bit obsessed with Arel keeping the entire project under wraps.

'If get there earlier I can put some extra work and maybe finish the thesis today! Yes, it's all thanks to the professor. If he hadn't helped me out I would probably still be figuring out which areas to fix. Having a different point of view can help a ton!'

Arel reached the classroom where they worked and saw silhouettes inside. Opening it he saw the professor and another stallion. He looked to be part of the nobility, either that or he was very rich.

"And who is this Astro?" He asked while examining Arel from top to bottom, his gaze was cold and Arel felt a shiver running down his spine.

"Oh, this is my student. He is part of that dream project of the princess to make this school open to all races of ponies." Astro replied looking over his shoulder, a strange smile on his muzzle. Arel had seen that smile before, whenever they made progress on the project the professor would start with that creepy smile. But then again, whenever a student came up to him with project ideas that smile would pop up.

"Who is this professor?" Arel asked while putting on a polite smile for the two elders. One of his twitches came up due to how uncomfortable and nervous he was, that twitch was his left ear dropping while his right would get up like he was on high alert.

"This is my friend from Harmony-Tech Industries, the chief of the military outfit. He is here to evaluate my special project." Arel tilted his head and offered his hand to the newcomer, that ignored him before turning back to Astro. Arel brushed that off and shook his head when he processed what the professor had just said.

"You have a project for the military? Awesome! What is it?" Arel asked almost jumping over to see what was on top of the table between the two stallions. Astro placed his hand on Arel's chest and pushed him back slightly.

"Oh, nothing big. Just my new modulator model." Arel's ears dropped and his smile disappeared. "With it, the technology for new armor and magic powered swords, bows, crossbows, and other military equipment will be way more powerful and efficient!"

"But that's MY project! I wrote the thesis! I came up with the modulator's new component! You said that you woul-" Arel stopped because Astro raised his hand.

"I'm sorry, but you should know better at this point. Look at this." He said making a pile of papers appear on top of the desk. "See? If you check, it's my handwriting there. My signature in each of the pages. My name on the cover. You are a brilliant student, but you can't claim merit for something you didn't do."

"But-" Arel's mouth was held shut by magic energy.

"Before you even try, can you back up your claim? Documents, witnesses?" Arel tried to retort, but he couldn't. He and the professor worked on all that on their own. Even the experiments on the modulator were just labeled as his property. Arel was backed into a corner and he had nowhere to turn to. And worst of all, after Arel handed over the thesis over a year ago, professor Astro told Arel to keep a copy of all he did. The professor, at the time, said he could handle making the copy.

"Thought so," The rotten teacher said with an evil grin on his muzzle. "Now, run along kid. This is a meeting for adults, important matters are being discussed here. Not lies and fantasies from a wannabe inventor."

'So...when the original disappeared a few two days ago. He was the one who did it, but...I saw it. The professor made a quill to mimic my...that was a distraction...this is another copy. He probably got rid of both of the samples with my handwriting.'

All his hard work, all of his effort into making that simple stupid piece of metal was stolen from him like it was never his, to begin with. Arel would need to start a new thesis from scratch, and he would need to finish it in three months. Tears began to form in his eyes, Arel struck Philip with his fist. But all he ended up with a wounded hand and ran away.

He didn't need to come back to school for a few days, Arel locked himself in his room and started to run through his notes. Trying to find anything to get his research back, on his third day of searching his room, Arel heard somepony knocking on his room's door.

"Son, a letter arrived for you. I'll slide it underneath the door. Also, please come out. We are worried about you."

Arel looked at the envelope, he saw a glow coming from the seal on it.

'Magic envelope...wonder who is it from.' Arel thought as he picked it up. 'No sender? Then they must have left it on the mailbox directly.' Arel opened it, there was a note and a bag inside.

Arel picked up the note and read it.

Hello there kiddo,

This is professor Astro. I got to say that you are pretty weak, you know? That punch of yours was nothing. But that's not why I sent you this. The bag accompanying the note is filled with some bits so you stop causing a ruckus and go back to the Academy. A student up and disappearing at the same time as the teacher leaves for a military research is a bit inconvenient. Especially since everypony thinks that you were my pet. Take it and get a job, maybe you can even come work for me and make me even more famous.

You can't turn down this offer, or my little friends will make sure your parents won't be able to keep their jobs. I'm no murderer, but I do have some friends in high places. So be mindful of that before you do anything stupid.

By the way, how do you like Harmony-Tech Industries newest paper? Courtesy of another little student just like you, actually, it never ceases to amaze me how many stupid students I managed to steal from. Just so you know, before you even think about using this as evidence. The letter is enchanted with two little gimmicks. First, to other ponies, this is just a blank piece of paper. The second, you'll know soon enough.

The letter turned into smoke and then disappeared when Arel read the final sentence. 'The professor must have rigged the paper to do that once I had finished it.' Arel reached for the bag and picked it. It was heavy, very heavy.

'Astro, you fucking bastard. You're mocking me even with this?! If you can send me this much, how much did you get from them?!' Arel tossed the bag on top of his bed and tossed himself on his chair. 'What am I supposed to do now? He took everything. And I didn't get anything but that bag of bits and...THAT'S IT!'

Arel spun his chair around and faced his desk. Picking up a quill and some paper he looked at the empty parchment. Arel had just remembered something the professor mention during their work.

"Guess what, professor? You just gave me the funding for my project and the idea for it. This time, I'M going to outclass you with MY own work while making sure this idea gets to the right hands."

Arel's quill started to run through the paper, his new project was based on a problem he heard the Professor mention regarding the power cells.

"So, our current power cells can only be charged by directly channeling magic into the capacitor through the unicorn's horn? How about a power cell that absorbs the magic energy from the environment? Even better, both the environment and the user. Earth ponies can channel magic from their bodies to use their strength. Pegasus, on the other hand, use it to manipulate the weather and its components. Unicorns...that's obvious."

With that idea in hands, Arel rushed so he could get his project done by the deadline. Going back to school on the following day, Arel gave the excuse of starting to feel sick to justify his absence. Using every second he could spare, Arel would write and design the power cell, giving more emphasis to writing. He was way quicker this time to cover the theory. By the time the day to submit his thesis came by he had finished it. It was way simpler than the final product he wanted to achieve, however, for his current situation that was the best he could pull.

"So, Mr. Areneo. What is your thesis about?"

"A new part for the Power cell that powers up magi-tech. The current power cells require a unicorn channeling energy directly to the capacitor in order to charge it. However, that takes a long time and the unicorn faces exhaustion after doing it. My thesis is about the possibility of multiplying the amount of energy absorbed by adding the new piece at the entrance of the siphon used to charge it."

"Interesting, but wouldn't that have the risk of causing the power cell to explode? We can barely tell when the power cells are completely recharged right now."

"Not if the power cell had a safety mechanism made by using the alloy used in the prison cells for unicorns. The one that repels magical energy. If you check the current schematics I placed there, you will notice that the safety mechanism has a trigger by the entrance of the siphon. Once the magic energy reservatory reaches its peak, it will send a pulse of magic to the trigger. Since the alloy part is small, the magic will move it in the same direction of the pulse's vector. Causing it to close the siphon's entrance with a similar material."

The evaluators looked at each other, then they started to read the document. Each one of them had a good long look at the entirety of it, Arel just stood there waiting for them to finish.

'Please, please! I have enough to get me started. There something way more elaborated back in my home. But it would need more time to finish it.'

"Well, Mr. Areneo...this project...have you looked for anypony to sponsor your research? Because this shows promise if it received more work." Arel smiled internally.

"No, sir. I have worked up on that thesis and tried to design the model. But everything on my own. I intended to present a more elaborate version of this once I graduated."

"Well, if you want you can present it to the Harmony-Tech Industries research team. You might be hired right away."

"Sir, with all due respect. If this got to their hands, they would probably send it to the Military outfit that receives way more funding. My intention is to use this for helping out civilians. The military would take this and only let civilians have access to it years later once they got a newer model," Arel replied with a cold voice while frowning.

"How would you develop this?"

"I was thinking of finding a smaller lab and start from there."

"Are you aware of Princess Celestia's special research institute?"

"The ones that developed that mirror that shows ponies as strange creatures without fur and different faces?"

"Correct."

"The same one that had a scientist disappearing while working on the same mirror?"

"C-correct."

"And the one where the magi-tech was first theorized?"

"Yes." Arel frowned a bit at that point, his mind started to rush into probabilities that opportunity could bring.

"Wouldn't I need to be noble to enter?"

"That's an urban myth. The research center is free from the influence of other nobles than Princess Celestia. She chooses the projects that are developed there. She also manages the funding. Just as you said, magi-tech was theorized there. But a private initiative convinced the scientists who developed it to join them."

"And so was Harmony-Tech Industries formed. I am well aware of its story." Arel said frowning.

"The princess also made a point that research projects that show promise presented by the students can be sent to her. If the student who developed it agrees to it."

Arel stopped and looked at his thesis on top of the table, then he looked back to the evaluators, and then out the window where he could see the princess' castle.

"So, basically I get access to research materials and a team?" He asked while scratching his chin.

"More specifically, you get to chose your research staff. And you'll receive some funding. But is better if you have some bits to start, if possible. The first payments there tends to take longer to get to the researchers."

'If I go there...the lab is secured. The staff would be as well since I could choose who would work with me. Since I can stay away from Harmony-Tech I won't have to worry about professor Astro. This can be the starting point, the next step would be working on the circuits. There is so much I can do with this! Am I lucky or what?'

"Mr. Areneo?" The evaluator's voice snapped Arel back from his thoughts. "Is this your final project or just the beginning of one?"

"Sirs, my actual project is to make a power cell that can be charged by any race. And that also feeds on the magical residue left in the air after any of us uses the abilities unique to our races." The evaluator sitting at the center of the table stood up and slammed his hands on it.

"Mr. Areneo. You don't mean the same residue that pollutes the immediate area where the ability was used?"

"That is the residue I'm referring to. As you are all aware, using if one of our race's skills inside a magic waste saturated area will cause unwanted side effects. Varying from those limited to the caster, like paranoia and hallucinations. To those that affect bystanders, like explosions. If the amplifier works, then the amount of energy we get from the user itself can be kept at safe levels when magic wast is low. And we also clean the magic waste from our abilities and preventing accidents by turning waste into the main source of power to charge the power cell."

Just as he had finished that sentence, the evaluator that was standing up fell on his chair while the other two had their jaws on the floor.

'Hook line and sinker!'

"M-mr. Areneo! P-please allow us to submit your project to the Princess' research institute!"

"Yes, please do," Arel replied with a confident smile on his muzzle. Everything was back on track, now all he had to do was show Astro what he was capable of. The three of them came forth to shake Arel's hand, the last one smiled at Arel as he shook Arel's hand.

"I guess we can expect some great things from you, Mr. Areneo!"

Author's Note

Hello everyone!

Thanks for reading, if at all possible I would like to know your opinion on the chapter.

I'm also going to look for an editor for this one.

Thank you for your time. Have a nice day!