//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 // Story: To Guard Equestria // by BleepBloop2 //------------------------------// The earth ponies made a space for me at the front, giving me a wide enough space to swing my spear. I got in position just in time to catch a leaping griffon in the chest. The base of my spear sank deep into the mud, and I barely kept a grip on the rain-slick haft. I kicked the griffon off the blade and stabbed him through the throat before turning and cracking the griffon fighting the pony to my left over the head and tripping the one to my right. It was all I had time to do before another griffon was on me. This one was smarter and kept low to the ground, trying to get inside my reach. I blocked a swipe and gave one of my own, trying to force the bird back. It just ducked under and tackled me, which didn't do much. I kneed it in the face, sending it reeling, and swept it’s legs out from under and stabbing it between the eyes. I tried to pull my spear free, only to find it stuck on something. Shit. That was all I had time to think before a third griffon was on top of me, literally on top of me, and pushing me down into the mud. I got an arm under its chin, keeping the razor sharp beak from me. It’s claws raked my armour, scratching but not ripping the tough hide. I dropped my spear and punched the griffon where I thought it’s kidneys would be. It let out a squawk, and then another when I brought my knee up between it’s legs. The griffon rolled off me, and I slipped a knife from my belt and slit open her stomach before pushing her downhill. I made to put the knife away only to realise I kicked it downhill with the griffon, putting me at my spear, another knife and an axe. I pull my spear from the griffon’s skull and feel it hit something. I turn to see a griffon staggering back. One of the earth ponies finished it off. I heard a scream, and turned to see the earth pony on my left go down, throat torn out, the griffon responsible already fighting another pony, who dodged the griffons wild swipe and cracked it’s beak with a swift one-two to the face. I moved over to try and fill the gap and stop any other griffons getting through. The rest of the fighting was like that, short and brutal and unforgiving. The blood mixed with the mud and the rain, soaking me in a mix of the three that made me glad my sense of smell was terrible compared to ponies. The whole thing stunk, the smell of death and shit mixing with burning fur and feathers from griffons hit by explosives or whatever else the unicorns were raining down on them. I don’t want to imagine how bad it must have been for the ponies. The griffons just kept coming. For every griffon I killed, two more took it’s place. Its one thing to know your badly outnumbered, quite another to see it. And as the fighting went on, we got more and more tired, took more and more injuries, while the griffons were, comparatively, fresh. The only rest we had was when they paused to group up and when they had to dodge a corpse sliding downhill. When that happened, I took a moment to take a look at the ponies around me. They were tired, the bone deep weariness of the exhausted who know they’re going to get to rest, one way or another. I lost track of time pretty quickly, so when Luna’s shield dropped I was taken by surprise. The cloud of yellow gas was blown away quickly, heading south. A shield grew in front of our line, separating us from the griffons. I finished off the griffon in front of me and headed back up the hill. The unicorns looked exhausted as well. More than one had collapsed. Luna looked fine. She nodded at me when she spotted me. “Captain.” I nodded back. “Luna. Good idea with the shield,” I said, waving a hand over my shoulder. It was a bubble around us, and had an added effect of stopping the wind. “Any idea how many of them are left?” Quick Cut answered, his voice thick with weariness. “A little over a thousand, I think.” I nodded to him, then turned back to Luna. “How’re you feeling?” She glanced at me. “I am fine. Why?” “Feel like killing some griffons?” She tapped a hoof against her chin. “I think I can make space in my schedule.” “Good. Here’s what you’re going to do.” I hopped up onto the rock she was standing on. “You’re going to teleport the two of us to one of the griffon’s flanks. We pop out there, kill some griffons, then as soon as they start rounding on us, we move. Don’t focus on any one griffon. Let me keep the ones close away from you; you just focus on killing as many as possible.” She nodded, a small smile on her face. “That sounds acceptable.” “Well, I’m glad you approve. Really, it means so much to me. We’ll start over there, just behind where they meet our line.” Her horn started to glow. “Whenever you’re ready.” There was a flash of darkness, and I was somewhere else. I didn’t wait for my sight to return before swinging. My spear bit into something and I shoved forward, twisted and pulled back. I caught a leaping griffon in the wing with a thrust and slammed it into the ground before spinning and cracking another over the head. We had surprised them, appearing suddenly and attacking. I put another two down as they tried to sneak up on Luna before I started getting pushed back to her side. I leaned against her and shouted, “Move!” Another flash, another jump, another griffon taken by surprise. And then something was on my back, pushing me into the mud. I rolled over and tried to push the griffon’s face away from me. Bad idea. I felt a sudden sharp pressure on one of the fingers of my left hand, followed by a snapping, cracking feeling, and then pain, so much pain. I let out a scream from the pain and just pummeled the griffon. I don’t remember rolling over or getting to my feet, but I must have, because next thing I remember was stomping on the griffon’s skull. And then I glanced at my left hand which suddenly remembered it should hurt. One of my fingers was gone, just gone, down to the lowest knuckle. There was the tiniest bit of a stump, but it wasn't even level. A griffon came from nowhere to swipe at me, and I swung without thinking, breaking its foreleg with my spear before cracking it’s skull and taking out it’s throat. Each swing of the spear brought more pain, and I was forcing back tears by the time I put the griffon down. I kept trying to bend that finger, I could feel it bend. I managed to spear a griffon one handed and get Luna’s attention at the same time. She glanced at my hand and next thing I know its burning, like it was one fire, and I lift it to see the stump now had a burn over it. She fucking cauterized it. It would have to do; not like I was going to find the finger in this. She must have done something else, because the pain slowly faded, my whole left hand going slightly numb. She touched her horn to my forehead. A flash, and I was somewhere else. I cut down a pair of griffons from behind, kicked another away, and took a moment to look around. Luna was laying waste to the griffons, whatever spells she was using leaving patches of fire even with the rain. I saw one griffon just wither away, watched as it grew old and rotted. I dodged a swipe only to back into another griffon that shoved me forward. I bounced between the two griffons for a few seconds before I managed to grab onto one by the shoulders and throw it at the other. I glanced around and saw we were surrounded. I slapped my hand against Luna’s side. “Jump!” Flash. I surprised a trio of griffons by falling on one from a few feet up, felt it’s bones crack and shatter under me. The two left didn’t even move, too stunned to do anything before I took care of them. Another threw itself at me - what is it with griffons and jumping? - and was speared by a bolt of lightning from Luna. I ducked under her next spell, a ball of liquid fire, and broke the beak of a griffon sneaking up behind her before breaking it’s wings, but not before it managed to break a pair of my fingers. Flash. I crouched down and came up swinging, completely missing everything. Still managed to put down a few griffons before they turned from the earth ponies they were fighting. I tripped one just as a pony swung at it and it went down minus a face, killed another with an axe in the back, which I barely managed to take out and plant in the chest of another griffon. Flash. The axe still had a chunk of griffon on it. I slapped the first griffon I saw with the flat of the blade, then dropped the axe and hit it again with my spear. One of these griffon’s had a sword; they seemed to be frowned upon or something. We traded a few blows before Luna set it on fire. Flash. My spear took a griffon in the chest, broke another’s leg and a slit open a third’s stomach. Flash. Jab with my spear, killing one. An explosion was Luna contribution. Kick in the chest staggered another. A griffon turned and slashed out at it without realising, turning it’s chest to ribbons. Flash. Another griffon down. I followed, a griffon sent flying by one of Luna’s spells landing on me. Another spell must have hit it, because it froze solid and then thawed. It’s eyes bled, though thankfully it didn't scream. Luna helped me to my feet, and then shoved me back. A spear, my spear, flew through the space I’d been standing in a second before. Luna caught it in her deep blue glow and sent it flying back. Flash. My spear was next to me, sticking out of a griffon. I pulled it out and spun around. I hit a griffon in the neck, collapsing it’s windpipe. I left it choking. Flash. Thrust spear. Dodge. Swipe. Flash. Attack. Dodge. Flash. Flash. Flash.   I don’t know how many jumps it was before the griffons started learning, focusing on us as soon as we appeared. On one of the jumps, I don’t remember which, they jumped me as a group, with two holding me down. I managed to get the ones holding me down to let go, but not before another got a swipe at my face. I managed to turn away from it, so it only tore open my cheek and ripped off part of my ear. I slammed a handful of mud into it’s face, screaming in pain and fear all the while, which just made it hurt more. I slammed the griffon that hurt me face first into another one, then turned to see another readying to attack me. I screamed at it, and it turned and ran. I found my spear in the mud just in time for Luna to take one look at me and teleport us back to where we had made our stand. The rain had started letting up, the wind dying down. I stumbled as I reappeared among the ponies. I heard Luna giving orders. “Your captain needs a medic. Send for one.” “Zecora,” I said. Fuck, talking hurt. “Get Zecora.” Luna glanced at me as the pony she had been talking to scurried off to find the zebra. “By the moon, Michael, how are you talking? The side of your face looks like ribbons!” “The cold numbs it, I think.” I started trying to get all the mud out of my face. I don’t think I did very well, but my hands were mostly dead by this point. I hadn't even noticed the cold, out there. Where was Zecora? “How many did you get, Luna?” I glanced at her, and noticed how tired she looked. “Over the twenty or so ‘jumps’, as you called them, I slew several hundred griffons personally. You took another four or five dozen.” I nodded, which stung. Zecora finally got here, with Sergeant Bloody Bandages close behind. They took a look at me face and swore. At least I think Zecora may have sworn. It sorted of rhymed, I think. I’m pretty sure I told her not to rhyme. Dude, you’re getting delirious. Just, try not to fall over, alright? Alright, don’t fall over. I can do that. I can do that. I can- wait, nope, fell over. Wait again, I’m being lifted. Luna’s levitating me. Theres a burning pain in my cheek and the world grew clearer, like a fog lifting. I blinked a few times and glanced to the sky. It was noticeably lighter, though that was probably more to do with the storm finally passing than the time. The moon was full and the stars bright, shining merrily down on a blood stained field. I pushed myself to a sitting position. “Report!” Quick Cut was first. “The griffons are more or less gone, sir. After you and the Princess took the field, one or two other unicorns emulated you, causing havoc among the enemy.” He sounded much more rested than he had only shortly before. “A large portion of those that remained kept a shield up while earth ponies gathered ammunition for the one or two that continued launching them. With the wind dying down, pegasi took to the skies before the griffons did, causing a great deal of trouble. Spike vanished around the same time you and Princess Luna left. He returned an hour or so ago, having seemingly looted everything of value from the griffon camp that wasn’t nailed down, and some things that were. He also took the nails. Anyway, the the griffons broke. I estimate they suffered around eighty percent casualties before they fled. We suffered a slightly lower percentage.” “How many survivors?” “Around forty? Thats including wounded, so while accurate now, it may not be later.” “The Princess?” “Princess Luna is currently assisting with the wounded, and will be teleporting us over the Everfree in the morning. Princess Alvor is still under guard.” I nodded and pushed myself to my feet. My staff levitated over to me, held by Quick Cut’s green magic. Leaning on it as little as possible, I walked around our small camp, checking on everyone, before stopping by to help with the wounded. The sun rose slowly that morning. I yawned along with everyone else as we watched it rise, stopping only when I felt pain in my cheek. Running my fingers over it, I felt the stitches holding the side of my face together. There was something off about it though. I glanced at my left hand and saw my missing finger. It was the fourth finger I was missing. What had it been called? Not important. It itched, though. My ear was ragged, the lower half torn off. They must have magicked it closed as best they could. I hurt pretty much all over, though it was hard to tell the pain from exhaustion, the latter all the worse for its rarity. On top of my finger and the side of my head, I had a line of gashes along one hip where a griffon had gotten a lucky hit in as I tried to dodge, a swollen ankle from tripping over a corpse, dozens of cuts and scrapes and I don’t even know how many bruises, the largest of which felt like it covered a fair portion of my back. As for casualties, Night Wind was the highest ranking one, and one of the few pegasi to die. Most of the unicorns were alive as well, most of the dead being earth ponies. We gathered what dead we could and sent them off there, though we had to make up most of the military burial procedures. Luna made a speech, I said a few words, everyone else just looked solemn. We burned the griffons. We were moving out at noon, giving me twelve hours to get ready. I made a list of the dead, and noted any next of kin. I promoted where promotions where needed, merged squads, and generally herded the ponies into some semblance of an organised military force. Most of them were working without thinking, responding to orders as I gave them because it was me giving them, and they were used to doing as I said. We divided the loot Spike acquired. It wouldn't have been much to two hundred, but to forty three, it was around half a years pay for everyone. I gave up my share. Luna also took nothing. The general had had some fancy armour, all gold edges and silver inlays. Useless for actual fighting though. Waste of metal. Also one of the few griffons with armour. They had mobilised quickly, probably trying to get to Equestria quickly and hoping that the ponies would roll ever between them and the Dogs. I finished with a few hours to spare, so I joined the ponies on guard duty while the rest slept. I told one to find a spot and get some sleep before taking her place. Nothing much happened other than me sharing some rabbit with Spike. It took Luna a while to teleport the lot of us across the Everfree, even though we were less than half the size and had less than had the stuff. Last night must have tired her more than she let on. After a few long minutes of watching her horn slowly grow brighter and brighter, there was a flash and a sound like gunpowder going off. I panicked for a moment before I remembered I’d used what was left to help burn the griffons. We had a long walk to Canterlot ahead of us, but I wasn't going to rush. Sure, I wanted to see Twilight again, but the ponies with me deserved some time to relax. We set off at a slow march that would get us there in two or three weeks, if we were where Luna said we should be. I didn't trust her aim. Or Celestia’s for that matter. We passed a few small towns here and there, along with the odd farm, but it was mostly open land until we reached central Equestria, where towns popped up like weeds after rain, growing closer and closer together until they became cities. No one in any town or city we passed through seemed to know where we had been, so they were surprised by the grim faces of the ponies, probably deciding the Night Guard was just weird. The fact we all had fangs and the pegasi had bat wings didn't help. Neither did myself or Spike. We reached Canterlot in a week and a half, quicker than I’d thought. As soon as the city could be seen over the horizon, everyone started pushing harder and harder, eager to be home. The city was quiet, lacking the usual hustle and bustle of trade and tourism always present inside the marble walls. Also lacking was the guard presence. It was usually kept to a minimum during the day - after all, we couldn’t let anyone know there was crime in the capitol - but now there was none. I debated taking the rest of the Night Guard up to the castle with me, but I just sent them all home. I got a round of salutes and a few tired smiles as they left. Quick Cut and Ironshod stayed behind. I hadn’t replaced Night Wind yet. Didn’t have enough pegasi to make it worthwhile. The walk to the castle was quiet, and the castle itself quieter. Here, Quick Cut and Ironshod left me, heading to my office. I eventually found a servant, who pointed me towards the Princesses. They were in an out of the way sitting room. When the three of us entered, they looked up from the table they were sitting around, one covered in maps and parchment. They glanced up when I shut the door behind me. “You are early, Michael,” Celestia said, then looked back down at the maps. Luna caught my eye and nodded to her side before doing the same. I went to the spot Luna nodded to and leaned on the table. The maps were of where Equestria met Diamond Dog land. The various tribes were only rarely unified with each other, though they were slowly forming into a smaller number of larger tribes. I was almost certain Celestia was behind that. Luna leaned over to me. “How many of those who went with you survived?” “Thirty nine. Dozen unicorns, dozen pegasi, thirteen earth ponies, myself and Spike. How goes the war?” Celestia answered that with a small sigh. “Not well. The Hounds are a hardier foe than they have been before. Advances in smelting and forging have given them better weaponry, which I should have anticipated. The last war before this was so long ago.” She trailed off towards the end, frowning slightly as something caught her eye. She was still frowning when she asked, “How long until you are well enough to go south?” I glanced at Luna. After a moment of shock she almost hid, she nodded. “I could leave now.” Celestia glanced up at me, surprised. “I would rather not, though. I haven’t slept in a few weeks, and there are some things that need done here that I should do.” “Very well. The next supply shipment leaves in eight days. Be ready by then.” That seemed to be all I warranted from Celestia, as she turned back to the reports and maps in front of her. I looked to Luna. “Dismissed, Captain, Go and rest; you have earned it.” I wanted to ask about the favour Luna wanted from me, but if they weren't going to mention it I wasn't. It’s not like either of them would have forgotten about it. First order of business was not one I was looking forward to, but not one I could put off. So, many hours later, I was standing outside a smallish Canterlot home. I double-checked the address and knocked. A child’s shout of, “I’ll get it!” came from behind the door, which opened a few seconds later to reveal a pale purple and white pegasus filly. She looked at me and froze still. A few seconds later, another voice, from farther inside the house, said, “Who’s at the door?” A head appeared around a corner, followed by the rest of a pegasus stallion. He shared the filly’s colouring, if a few shades lighter. “Can I help you?” he asked, moving forward between me and the filly. “I’m Captain Michael, of the Night Guard.” He relaxed slightly, and the little filly blinked and looked up at me, her little wings buzzing. “Do you work with Mommy? Is she coming back? Where is she?” Its like she was trying to make this harder. I hated this, but I know I’ve got the easier job. I just have to tell him, He has to explain it to the filly. They have to deal with it. “Are you Morning Breeze?” I asked. “I am,” he said. “Why?”  Is there somewhere we could talk?” I asked the stallion. I flicked my eyes towards the filly and added, “Privately?” He caught that, and sent the filly upstairs to play before ushering me inside the house. It wasn’t large, as Canterlot houses go, but I only had to duck a little, but had a homey feeling to it. Toys littered the floor, along with a few sheets of parchment and crayons. He offered me a seat, which I declined. “So, you’re Night Wind’s boss?” he asked. “What brings you here?” He was nervous, worried. He must have seen something in my face, or else he’s just heard word around Canterlot. I sighed. The hard part. There was no easy way to do this, so I went with blunt. “I’m sorry to inform you that Lieutenant Night Wind was killed in action three weeks ago.” I watched to all too familiar reaction. He frowned for a moment, as if he didn’t understand what I’d said, then all the colour and life seemed to drain from his face. He managed a small, “What?”, heavy with confusion and disbelief. “No, she, she can’t be. She can’t!” I let him go through the motions. They never get easier to watch, whatever species is going through them. I used to wonder why no one wanted this job. After all, they had it easy, the family getting the news had it hard. But it’s not easy, just easier. And those three letters can mean a world of difference. I let him get through the first spike of grief in peace, but that's all. “Sir, there are a few things we need to discuss before I can leave you to your grief.” “What?” he half said, half shouted. “What else could you possibly have to say to me?” “Your wife left some things in the castle, in case she didn't come back.” I handed him a thick envelope and continued. “There’s also the matter of money.” I handed him another envelope. “Whats this, a bill?” Then he actually looked at it, and saw it was his wife’s last paycheck. He started to apologise, but I waved it away. “One last thing, though I will understand if you don’t want to hear. If you want, I’ll leave now.” He frowned, but didn't say anything. “I… know what you’re going through, a little, and I’ve got some advice.” “Oh, do you now?” he asked, voice full of disbelief. I glanced up. “Your daughter is what, seven or eight?” I asked. “Seven,” he said slowly. “What does that have to do with anything?” “I was a little younger than her. My advice is to just tell her. Don’t try and sugarcoat it, or make it easier for her to deal with. You can’t.” I sighed, and looked down at him. “If you ever need anything, ask any guard to send a message to me. I’ll do what I can.” I squashed another sigh. “For what little it’s worth, I’m sorry.” With that, I left. Thankfully, that was the last one. Ironshod and Quick Cut , along with an officer from the Day Guard still in Canterlot, had understood why we had to do this, even if they hadn't really wanted to. They’d been glad when I’d offered to take all the ones with children. Though, I can honestly say those weren't the worst ones. The worst were the ones who just didn't care. Thankfully, there are none of those here. The Captain of the Night Guard being arrested for murder would not be good. Twilight came by a few days later. She was a sight for sore eyes if there ever was one. She surprised me while I was sitting at a table in the mess hall, filling out some paperwork. My vision went lavender, the world smelled of parchment and ink, and from behind me I heard her say, “Guess who?” “Twilight?” I turned to see her smiling face, and I wrapped her up in a bear hug before she could say anything else. I let her go, and saw her other friends looking at us with varying expressions. Rarity looked like she knew something I didn’t, her smile smug. Pinkie Pie had her usual grin, though I think I've only seen her once or twice without out. Rainbow Dash looked surprised. Applejack and Fluttershy just had small smiles, the edges of their mouths curling upwards a touch. Twilight noticed first. I was standing with my other side to the rest. She glanced up at me and gasped. “Michael, your ear! Your hand! What happened?” “Griffon got the better of me for a moment. It’s nothing bad. More annoying than anything.” “Whoa, I thought we were fighting Diamond Dogs, not griffons?” Rainbow Dash said. She was hovering around eye level for me, putting her a little above the heads of the other ponies. I turned to look at her, and they all winced slightly. “Oh yeah, that griffon got you good. Nice scars though.” “We aren't fighting the griffons any more. They sent someone to negotiate their surrender a few days ago. Think that's were Celestia and Luna are now.” “Wait, the griffons surrendered? What happened?” I glanced at Rainbow Dash, then down at Twilight. I really didn't want her to hear that. She wouldn't like her part in it, even if it was only making things for me. “You didn't come here to listen to me talk about work. I’m sure there are things you want to do.” Twilight shrugged. “Not really.” I’d expected that, but it still made me happy to know she was here to see me. I wasn't expecting Rainbow Dash’s answer, though. “Well, there's a Wonderbolt’s show this afternoon, but until then I’ll be hanging with you.” The others were less surprising. Rarity was here because it was Canterlot. Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Fluttershy were here because the other three were. There was nothing to pressing for me to do. With most of the guards down south, and the few Night Guards in Canterlot taking some well earned time off, I’d been doing some tinkering and little else. It’s amazing what you can get done when you don’t sleep, but with Cameron helping it was basically cheating. I don’t know how everyone else finds enough hours in the day though. The ponies seemed to have made a plan before coming to Canterlot. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy left to look around Canterlot, with plans to meet the other two for lunch. They had barely arrived, and then they were gone, leaving me with Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash looked over the paperwork in front of me. “Is this what you do all day?” The distaste was obvious in her voice. “There isn't that much paperwork, no. This is the rest of the weeks.” She gave the small stack of papers a glance, then frowned. “There's only two more days in this week.” I nodded. “So, what do you do when you’re not filling out forms?” I shrugged. “Train new recruits, drills, test new equipment, plan flight plans around Canterlot. Been quiet, with most of the guards down south. Been doing a lot of tinkering, lately.” Cameron had been incredibly helpful there, finding all sorts of schematics and formulas for me. I glanced at Twilight, who’d been quiet, even for her. “Want to see my lab?” She gave me a small smile. “Sure. I’d like that.” After a seconds pause, Rainbow Dash shrugged and nodded as well. I grabbed the paperwork and led them on the twenty minute or so walk to my lab. I didn't make much of any one thing there, so it was pretty messy. As I opened the door and pushed inside, a crossbow I’d had made fired a bolt into the wall next to the door. I grabbed the bolt and opened the door wide enough for Twilight and Rainbow Dash to come in and look around. It was a fairly large room that was still dusty from recent disuse. I’d talked a few servants into helping me get some tables set up, with each wall being lined with tables with another set down the middle, like the head of a fork. Okay, pretty messy may have been an understatement. The place was littered with half-finished builds and discarded experiments, but there was a sort of order to it. I had alloys on one set of tables to my right, explosive chemicals on another closer to the back. At the back and center were the larger ones, like the ballista I was taking apart. I had a modified steam engine from a train I’d been turning into an electric generator on the left, and I was working on a better casing for grenades in the center. As Twilight took a look around, Rainbow Dash made a beeline for the ballista. I took a moment to make sure nothing was loaded or dangerous before letting either of them go near it, though. While they looked over their first choice, I had a look around. I hadn't left the crossbow loaded. I certainly hadn't pointed it at the door. And how could I have rigged it to go off when the door opened from the outside? I took a deep breath and smelled lavender and rain, parchment and thunder. And, faint, behind those scents, was the smell of mold and mildew. The room, while only recently in use, did not have any mold in it. Not in Canterlot Castle At first I was pissed off. I mean, that could have hit Twilight. But, when I took a look at the door frame, the bolt was aimed at chest height for me, so it had been meant for either one of the princess or myself. Considering I’d been the only one of the three in here in who knows how long, it was probably me.  Under a layer of rage - it still could have hit Twilight - I felt oddly vindicated. All the things I've been doing to make myself harder to assassinate must have been working, or at the very least didn't seem to be a waste. I snapped out of my head when I heard Twilight start to speak. “... this thing for?” I grabbed a few things before answering. “It’s a generator. Watch.” I put down a glass bulb and connected it to the generator with some copper cables. “Mind heating the water up for me?” Twilight’s horn flashed, and soon it was bubbling merrily away. It took a few minutes to get going, which I spent answering a few questions. When I felt it was hot enough, I covered the windows. The light bulb didn't give off much light, but it would last hours. The girls were not impressed. “Is that all?” Rainbow Dash asked? “I was expecting something more. I dunno, cool. Like the big crossbow you've got over there.” Twilight was looking at the bulb like there was something wrong about it. “It’s mostly just a proof of concept, really. I wanted to see if it could be done. I’m glad it does, platinum is too expensive to buy in bulk.” “Metal can’t hold magic,” Twilight said, still looking at the bulb like it had insulted her. I just nodded. Her frown deepened. “There's no magic in the glass I can sense. How does it work?” I gave her a quick run down of: steam moves a thing, which moves a magnet, which makes really weak lightning, which travels down the wire to the bulb, heating the metal and making it glow. When she asked me how that all worked, I had the shrug. She gave the generator another look. “Why’d you build it?” “Like I said, proof of concept. Next step is to scale it up a bit, and start working on some other uses.” She tapped it with a hoof, then flashed a quick smile at me. “Let me know if you make anything interesting. What else do you have here?” I gave them a ten second tour. It isn't a very big room, and it feels smaller with all the clutter and scrapped projects. The alloys were Twilight’s favourite part, especially when I told her I was mostly looking to make stronger armour. Rainbow Dash favoured the ballista, though she wasn't too happy that I was trying to make one strong enough to take down a dragon. The crossbow didn't get much of a look from either, though it was easily the thing I was most proud of in the room. It had some of the best steel made in Canterlot, with a sort of wood-grain pattern too it. With a few enhancements to reduce weight, it weighed the same as a wooden one of the same size, though it still kicked like metal. It was also a bit harder to load, but more than made up for it with how fast the bolts flew. All it needed was some work on the sights. Though I’m glad I’d put that off, considering. Noon came all too soon. Twilight invited me to have lunch with the rest of them, but I declined. She had new friends now, and I’d be in the way. It was tempting, I’ll admit, but I scared Fluttershy, didn't get along with Rarity and didn't know Applejack. They would have more fun without me. But I was happy she had new pony friends. Really, I was.