“Well I guess we’re taking the train,” Princess Celestia said as one of the wheels on her carriage broke. As soon as Nautilus had set foot on it there was a cracking sound before he fell through.
“Have fun in Canterlot,” Twilight said. She had come to the train station to see Nautilus go.
“I don’t see why you can’t come,” Nautilus said.
“I have responsibilities here in Ponyville. Don’t worry, you’re in good hooves with Celestia.”
“If you say so.” Nautilus seemed unconvinced.
“I can come visit this weekend if you want.” Twilight was confused by the titan’s reluctance. Sure Celestia’s guards had attacked him, but it was all a misunderstanding and Celestia had apologized.
“Alright.”
“All aboard!” The voice of the conductor was heard.
“Come along Nautilus,” Celestia said as she walked onto the train.
“Bye.” Twilight waved a hoof as Nautilus headed for the vehicle. When he reached the door the titan stopped. Looking at it then her he waited. “Oh.” Twilight remembered his problem with doors. Her horn glowed before the frame grew to let him in.
“Are you ok Mr. Nautilus?” Celestia asked. The titan had been quiet for the entire trip.
“This car is very small.” Nautilus replied. Nautilus was folded up in the train car. He took up an entire row of seats by himself and had to hunch over to avoid grazing the ceiling.
“I’m sorry about that. If I had known you were this large I would have brought a stronger carriage.”
“I watched that Luna one teleport. Couldn’t you do that?”
“Unfortunately no, the distance is too great for me to teleport both of us.”
“That is a shame.” Nautilus looked out a nearby window. “Speaking of Luna what became of her?”
“Luckily the carriage was in good enough shape to take her home. She’ll get there much faster.”
“When will we reach this Canterlot place?” The titan asked.
“It will take about an hour.”
“Wonderful.” Nautilus said sarcastically.
Nautilus looked at his left arm, clenching the thin metal hand. After arriving in Canterlot by train the doctors had quickly removed his left arm from the elbow down. They were currently recreating his original limb, he had been given a replacement for now.
The stand in was a simple piece of machinery, they had just taken thin metal and molded it into the shape of his hand, a few spells later it worked like his old one. The only downside was its build, the piece was small and weak. The titan was only able to do basic functions such as grabbing small objects.
They had also taken a chunk of his chest plate so that his armor could be recreated and replaced. For now he was left with simple steel pieces to fill the gaps.
“It’s lucky you’re inorganic.” Nautilus looked up as Princess Celestia walked into the temporary bedroom. “The limb would have simply been amputated otherwise.”
“Lucky is not the word I’d use,” Nautilus said as he moved the temporary fingers. “When will my arm be returned?”
“I’m afraid it may be a while, our smiths and doctors have not encountered anything like you. It will take time for them to find the right materials and understand it well enough to effectively reattach your limb.”
“Just get them to hurry.” Nautilus said as Celestia turned to leave.
“So impatient.” Celestia looked back and smiled. “I suggest you relax. If you move too quickly you’ll miss your life.” The alicorn then left the room.
“I can’t believe you trust that thing,” Luna said to her sister as she took another bite from her sandwich. “It’s clearly dangerous. I mean look at me!”
The princess of the night certainly had looked better. While the doctors in Canterlot were able to do a lot for her they were unable to fully fix a broken wing, splintered leg, and her damaged muzzle. All of those would take time, for now she had casts for her leg and wing and a brace for her nose.
“While I don’t feel completely comfortable with him running loose I feel that we need to give him a chance.”
“Fine.” Luna sighed.
“We’re going to need you to drop the anchor,” A guard said as he held a hoof out to stop the approaching Nautilus. There was an obvious amount of fear in his voice and eyes. He had heard the stories of the titan.
“Why?” Nautilus asked coldly. He had come to what he understood to be the throne room. The titan had been in the palace for two days now and was getting impatient. His arm was still under repair.
“Its protocol,” The guard said nervously, shrinking slightly as Nautilus loomed over him. “No weapons in the throne room.”
“Fine.” Nautilus then slammed the anchor into the white tile floor. The force managed to force the anchor into the ground, allowing it to stand in place. The guard looked at him with wide eyes. “Now let me in.”
“It’s been a quiet day,” Celestia said as she looked out a nearby window.
Surprisingly her day court had gone almost completely unattended. A few ponies had come but overall she had spent most of her time sitting around bored. The princess jumped when there was a loud thud outside the throne room. Then the doors swung open and a now familiar metal form walked in.
“Hello Nautilus.” Celestia offered him a smile.
“When will my arm be done?” The titan jumped to the point.
“According to my ponies you’ll have it back in two days.”
“Why are they taking so long?” Nautilus asked angrily. “I don’t have time to sit around. I have to find them.”
“I have a question for you,” Celestia said, completely ignoring his question. “Several times while demanding your limb you have talked about ‘finding the guilty’ or how ‘they will pay’. Who are these beings you talk about? Are they creatures like you?”
“The ones who abandoned me in the depths.”
“What?”
“Tell your ponies to hurry.” Nautilus then turned and left the room. Leaving a confused Celestia.
Nautilus sighed as he walked into his temporary room. The sun had set and it was now time for Luna’s reign. He had come to resent the night, due to his condition sleep was an impossible task. The time when the moon lit the sky equaled several hours of staring at a wall.
“Good evening giant,” A voices said from the darkness. As moonlight soaked in through the open door Luna was revealed to be standing in the middle of the room.
“What do you want?” Nautilus asked bluntly.
“Come with me.” The princess then limped out the door, shoving past him. Groaning Nautilus followed the pony. They walked for several minutes until the two came to a long hallway. The walls were lined with stain glass windows.
“What is this place?” The titan asked as the entered the room.
“This is the where we used to store the Elements of Harmony,” Luna explained.
“The what?”
“It is not important.” The alicorn waved a hoof, quickly wincing from the effort.
“Why have you brought me here?”
“After your talk with Celestia she became curious,” Luna said as they continued down the hall. “You left her with many questions. Contacting Twilight Sparkle we were able to learn the basic details of your past.”
“What did you hear?”
“Nothing of detail, Twilight said she didn’t have the right to disclose everything. All I know for a fact is you were betrayed and are now seeking vengeance.”
“That is about it.”
“Here we are.” Luna suddenly stopped in front of one of the many windows.
“What is it?” The stain glass created the picture of a large black pony surrounded by a strange aura. Around the pony there were six smaller ones. One of them Nautilus recognized to be Twilight without wings.
“This is part of my past,” Luna said. “A long time ago I let jealousy over take me and I became a monster. My sister ended up imprisoning me in the moon to stop my rampage. When I eventually returned I was filled with anger and a sense of betrayal.”
“Is there a point to this?”
“The point is that you and I are not as different as we think.”
“So?”
“I know you don’t like me, the feeling is mutual. So this advice may carry no weight, but I will give it anyway.” Luna looked at him with a hint of concern. “Abandon this path of vengeance, a life of hatred and misery is not one worth living.”
“You don’t understand, despite the small link our lives are very different. We were both given a second chance, yours was offered for redemption. Mine is to have vengeance, it is the only explanation for my revival.”
“We are all capable of choosing our own paths,” Luna said as she moved past him. “Life is what you make of it. Think about what I’ve said Nautilus.” The princess gave him one more look as she opened the door. “Goodnight.”
“Our own path.” Nautilus returned his gaze to the window.
“It’s done your majesty,” A unicorn in a lab coat said as he levitated a large arm in front of her. They had finally finished Nautilus’s arm.
“Excellent, and it has the modifications I requested?” Celestia asked.
“Yes princess, to your exact specifications.”
“Good work.” Celestia took the limb in her magical grip. “Nautilus will be glad to have this back.”
Nautilus stomped through the hall that lead to the throne room. Celestia had sent for him to meet her and Luna there. As he neared the large doors the guard nervously stood in front of him.
“I need you to-“
“I know.” Nautilus interrupted before slamming the anchor into the ground. He then moved past the armored pony and entered the room.
“Ah Nautilus.” Celestia greeted him. “I have good news.”
“What is it?”
“Something I think you’ll like.” Celestia’s horn glowed before a large leather and metal arm appeared in front of her.
“My arm!” Nautilus’s eyes widened.
“Yes, my ponies finally finished it.”
“Excellent.” Nautilus grabbed the thin metal arm he currently wore. “Let’s put it on.” He then yanked the cheap appendage off.
“Wait!” Celestia shouted. As the flimsy limb was torn off there was a sudden blast of blue light.
“Argh!” Nautilus shouted in pain. As the light faded Nautilus fell to one knee, there was swirling blue aura pouring out of the hole in his body.
“Luna we need to get the arm on!” Celestia shouted as she levitated the new arm.
“Right.” Luna nodded before the sisters ran towards the fallen titan. Quickly shoving the new arm into place Celestia braced as the internal magic attempted to force its way out.
“Luna, seal it!” Celestia ordered.
Nodding Luna’s horn glowed, a dark blue aura surrounded the point where the new limb and body met. Channeling magic the princess of the night was able to fuse the two parts together. As Celestia stepped back Nautilus lifted his arm.
“What was that?” The titan asked.
“Your core being released,” Celestia said. Nautilus gave her a confused look. “Allow me to explain, when we were removing your old arm we discovered that internally you are almost entirely magic.”
“So?”
“It means that your body functions as a container for an extreme amount of magic,” Luna explained. “That incident a moment ago was your magic leaking out, similar to a bucket with a hole.”
“Luckily this new arm has an enchantment that will keep that kind of thing from happening again. It helps contain your power,” Celestia said.
“I see.” Nautilus moved his new fingers before clenching them into a fist and smashing it into the tile floor. Both princesses jumped at the sudden action. When the titan lifted his fist he was pleased to find a large dent in the floor while his hand remained intact. “This will do.”
“There we go,” A unicorn said as he stepped back. “What do you think?”
Nautilus looked himself over, he had been told that his armor had been repaired and to come to the workshop. Old chunks of his suit lied on a nearby table. Nautilus was surprised that they had managed to perfectly recreate his look. According to the unicorn it was also enchanted to allow him to take more punishment in a fight. He said something about it being necessary for a guard.
“It is impressive, I look just like before.” Nautilus looked back to the unicorn. “Attack me.”
“What?”
“I need to test this armor.” Nautilus spread his arms out. “Hit me with your best shot.”
“Ok?” The unicorn looked at him confused. Grabbing a nearby sledge hammer he swung it at the titan’s chest. The tool ended up bouncing harmlessly off the giant.
“Excellent.”