Stone Cold

by M_D_Quill


Chapter 14

Frantic pacing sounded from behind the hospital door. Celestia grimaced and turned to her Captain of the Guard. “You said she has been like this for at least an hour now?” she asked.

Yes, Your Majesty,” Shining said, “Ever since I left to come and get you... It hasn’t even been a year since her last episode and I'm starting to fear for her mental health.”

The Princess gave him a reassuring smile, “Don’t worry, my little nephew. Even Star Swirl had bad moments like this in his life...” she glanced at the door, “Though fortunately, he only had extraordinary control over his magic, and not the raw power we see in your sister.”

She turned to her other side, where Doctor Red Cross was standing, “We need to find a way to get her out of that room and bring her in contact with one of her friends. I’ve started hearing rumors that she has ceased responding to all messages sent to her.”

The doctor grimly nodded, “Contact with her friends would probably be for the best. I will send for Miss Rainbow Dash immediately.” He left the group and called out for a messenger to be sent to his office.

Celestia watched the doctor leave and turned back to the door. The pacing still sounded from behind them. She started to take a step forward to the door, but stopped and set her hoof back down with a small sigh.

Shining Armor give the Princess a questioning glance when he noticed her hesitation on entering the room. “Is there something wrong, Your Majesty?” he asked.

The ancient Alicorn sighed and turned away for the room and began to leave. “As much as I wish to help my faithful student, I fear in her current condition, my presence might be more harmful than helpful.”

Shining paced next to the Princess, “What do you mean you would be more harm? Twilly adores you!” he exclaimed, “You are almost a second mother to her...”

Celestia paused and glanced over at her nephew, “That may have been true once,” she nearly whispered, “but ever since she moved to Ponyville to study the Magic of Friendship, we have grown... distant.” She faced forward, “Send out a call for anypony with mechanical knowledge. If they show promise, bring them in so I can interview them.” She started to walk away before pausing again, “And please try to get your sister away from the creature for a bit. Her obsession is clouding her mind, and I’ll need her to have a clear head to help solve any problems that might arise.” With that she continued walking and left the hospital.

The white unicorn stood in place watching his monarch leave. He looked back and glared at the door. It was all that creature’s fault...

With a growl, he called for some guards and gave them the Princess’ order. After that he called for a nurse to send for Red Cross.

x.X.x

Shining groaned as another pair of unicorns walked into his office.

“If your machines use magic, then we cannot use your skills,” he stated, “We can only use ‘non-magical’ devices.”

The two unicorns glanced at each other for a second before taking a seat. “Need you worry not, my good sir. My brother and I are experts in both magical and non-magical pieces of machinery.”

Shining raised his eyebrow. Mechanics were rare in Equestria due to the country’s high reliance in magic. In fact, they were so rare that few called themselves professionals in the field. Technical engineering was considered more of a hobby than an actual profession. To find not one, but two who can confidently call themselves professionals in the field came as a surprise to the unicorn.

“Experts you say?” he asked, “I’m sorry but I need more than just your word. Do you have any proof you are as you say?”

The two unicorns smiled at the captain and pulled out a rolled up sheet of paper. Shining grabbed it with his magic and carefully unrolled it.

On the sheet was a diagram of a complex contraption. He studied it looking for any aspects that would require magic. He spotted two large metal cylinders at the top that had marked on them ‘magic required’.

“You said this didn’t require magic. It clearly states here it does.” Shining pointed out.

The second brother smiled wider and pointed further down on the page. “The magic is only used to push those cylinders down to trigger that switch,” the unicorn used a pencil to point out what he was talking about, “We only use magic because otherwise we would have to build a ramp up so we can physically force them down.”

The second brother jumped in, “It would be very unpleasing to look at if we did.”

“Other than that, it is purely mechanical. No magic whatsoever,” the first brother finished.

Shining studied the blueprint for another minute or so before he rolled it up and handed it back to the brothers. “Alright, it seems like you know the basics of what we are looking for,” he said, “but I need more than theory. Do you have physical proof that your concepts work?”

“Why yes we do,” The first brother laughed, “Come outside and we will show you.”

The second brother bounced up and quickly opened for the door, holding it open for captain and his brother to pass. The group left the office and made their way outside into the courtyard.

Shining stopped in his tracks when he saw the large contraption sitting in the middle of the field. It stood twice as tall as him, and easily twice as long as a wagon. Pipes and gears adorned the entire thing, looking more like decorations than actual working devices. He turned and looked at the two smiling brother, “Is that...”

“Why yes,” The first brother said. The two brothers looked at each other.

“Let us introduce you to The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.” They both cheered.

x.X.x

“Are you sure these two are fit for the job?” Twilight asked, her eye twitching as she watched the self-proclaimed engineers study the broken scanner.

“You asked for some engineers to fix that machine, so I brought some,” replied her brother, a smug smile adorning his face.

The purple unicorn growled and pulled her brother to the side, “Shiny, I’ve met these two before,” she harshly whispered into his ear, “They are charlatans and con-artists!”

“Twilly, I doubt they-”

“They tried to run my friend Applejack out of business.”

“Actually, my dear mare,” Flim cheered from across the room. Twilight jumped up and squealed in surprise at being overheard. She quickly recovered and turned to face the brothers. “We offered her a business deal, and she declined.” He turned back to the machine and Flam looked up.

“So, we decided to make it more fun. A competition, so to speak.”

Twilight glared at the two salesponies, “Winner got to own my friend’s land. Doesn’t seem fair, does it.”

“We played by the rules and they were agreed upon,” Flam shrugged, “Whether they were fair or not, they were still the rules set and agreed upon by both parties.”

“It is normal business practice, dear mare,” Flim agreed.

Twilight growled and took a step to the mechanics. Before she could say anything though, Shining surrounded her with his magic shield and started to carry her out of the room.

“We should let them work in peace, Twilly,” he chuckled as he watched his sister struggle against his magic, “We can stay if you have any objections though.” Twilight’s mouth opened and closed angrily, but no sound escaped the bubble. “Ok then. I guess it is time to go.” He turned to the mechanics. “Work quickly, we don’t want to keep the Princess waiting, and she is the one who ordered this.” He exited the room, carrying the bubble behind him. He gave a nod to the two guards outside the door and signaled that he wanted them inside the room. They saluted and hurried inside, closing and locking the door behind them.

The white unicorn nodded in satisfaction as the door clicked and started down the hall toward the main lobby. The shield holding his sister began to flicker and he looked over to see Twilight was using her magic to try and dispel her brother’s shield. With a grunt, Shining shook the bubble like a snowglobe, knocking his sister around like a ragdoll. When he stopped, Twilight was lying on the bottom of it, her eyes spinning.

Shining chuckled and he hurried to the front desk. The receptionist already had the paperwork to release his sister on the desk. Shining signed it and the pile of papers quickly disappeared into the filing cabinet. Since everything was in order, he left the hospital and headed downtown.

Ignoring the stares, Shining wove through the streets, holding the bubble high above the crowds. Shortly, he was in front of the train station. He dispelled the bubble, causing Twilight to plop onto down onto the ground.

“Hey, what was that for?” she shouted once she recovered from her fall.

“It is time for you to go home,” Shining said. He took out a ticket from one of his pockets and handed it to her. “The train to Ponyville leaves in fifteen minutes. Your friend Rainbow Dash is waiting at the terminal.”

Twilight stared at him for a second before growling. “I can’t go back yet. Not until I finish studying the creature.”

“So you are abandoning your studies on friendship?”Shining asked with a growl.

His question caused Twilight to blink in surprise. “What? No!” she cried out.

“Then what are you doing here looking at some creature when your friends are waiting for you in Ponyville?” Shining asked, “From my experience, studying something at long distance doesn’t work out very well.”

“But...”

“Princess Celestia asked you to study the Magic of Friendship, Twilly. Not that creature.” He glanced at the clock, “You should hurry. Train will be arriving soon.”

“But what about my research here? I’ve almost discovered-”

“We have other scientists here in Canterlot, Twilly,” the captain sighed, “They can study your notes and continue where you left off.” He gave her a sideways glance, “I promise I’ll have them send any new discoveries to you, but it is time for you to head home now.” He turned and started to trot away from the station to the castle.

Twilight slumped to the ground as she watched her brother leave. With a dejected sigh, she stood up and slowly made her way into the station.

x.X.x

Flim and Flam smiled at each other once the ancient device lit up and began to beep steadily. They both turned to the guards stationed at the door and waved their hooves at the fixed machine.

“Well lookie here, Guard number one and two,” Flim cheered.

“It looks like we finished our task, and none too soon,” Flam laughed with a glance at the setting sun.

The two guards grunted in agreement. Flim and Flam stared at them as the two soldiers stood in place. A minute passed before Flam coughed.

“Um... shouldn’t you go get the doctor or the white unicorn to tell them we are done?” he asked.

The two guards looked at each other before shrugging and leaving the room to find Shining. When the door clicked, the two brothers glanced at the other, an evil smile spreading across their faces.

“Well, now that we are alone, let us try this out,” Flim chuckled.

“An excellent notion, brother of mine,” Flam responded. They grabbed the wires and hovered them over the creature. “Shall we?” he asked.

With a nod from Flim, they both stuck the wires onto the creature. Instantly, the magical energy they were using to hold the wires disappeared. The machine’s lights doubled in brightness before exploding in a loud bang, throwing the two brothers back and into the walls.

Silence filled the room before the door burst open revealing Red Cross, flanked by the two guards. He coughed at the smoke and looked around the room to see what happened.

Two unconscious unicorns imbedded in the walls, a room full of destroyed machines, and...

Red Cross gulped as he stared as the creature sat up, rubbing its eyes.