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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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"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.
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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.
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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?"
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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.
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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."
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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.
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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.
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