> Just another life to live
>  by JackTheEpic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Rebirth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darkness. 

As I turn, I see nothing but darkness. 

Consuming and cold. 

It chills me to the bone. 

I move forward looking for light and warmth. I hold my arms to my chest to try and keep myself warm.

It feels like I have been walking for an eternity, cold and blind. 

I see a light in the sea of darkness ahead. I move towards the light, picking up my pace with each step I take. To the point where I am at a full sprint. I run and run, the light slowly getting closer. I feel my legs start to burn, and I run faster than I ever have. 

I sprint into the light, the warmth taking me. I feel the cold leave my body and replaced by warmth. The fatigue from running leaves, as I feel better than I have in 30 years. The stiffness washes away from my body and is replaces by a vigor I haven't had since I was in my twenties. 

While standing in the light with my eyes closed, absorbing the warmth. I don't notice that my surroundings have changed. 

When I open my eyes, I see I am in a white room with a table and two chairs in the middle of it. No sign of the darkness, or the endless sea of light I was bathing in, just the light of a florescent bulb lighting up the room. 

"Sit. Please." I hear a voice ring out at me. It sounds like two people speaking at once. A female and a male. 

Seeing as I have no other choice, I pull out a chair at the table and sit down. Averting my eyes, no more than a moment. But when I look to the other side of the table a being in all white sits at the other end. Dressed in a simple robe, the being has golden eyes, and hair that is pure white. With no determinable features that would define it as male or female. It places a folder on the table, that has my name in black letters across the front of it.

"Welcome back. I hope you enjoyed your time on earth this time." they say. Its voice is that mix of male and female voices I heard before.

"Let's see here, how you died this time." they say as they open the folder.

"Hang on, what do you mean I'm dead. And what did you mean by welcome back?"

"Allow me to show you." They say as the reach out and touch my forehead with a single finger.

As they do, it is like the flood gates just opened. Memories of lives I lived come rushing back to me. A life as a Buddhist monk, an English blacksmith, a general in the Roman Empire, a Merchant in Venice, a Native American Hunter, and French Solder in the trenches, a Spanish inquisitor, and a German Chemist. All mixing with my current memories of an Accountant. Years of memories merging together. Lifetimes worth of experiences becoming one.

I clutch my head and shake as they all come rushing back to me. My breathing ragged, as I work on trying to make sense of what is happening. As I sit there one thing from all these lives is constant. This room, and this being returning the memories each time. The same thing occurs every time. Every time I die. Every time I am reborn.

I look at the being, a smile across its face. The smile I have seen 8 times before. That damn smug smile. 

"Now you understand don't you. The cycle is once again complete. It is time for you to make a choice of where to be reborn." They say as they pass a piece of paper towards me.

Each time I have had a choice of when and where I am reborn. But I have no idea of what life is waiting for me in said life. Pulling the paper towards me, I see 10 options presented before me numbered 1-10

1. 1444 Hungary

2. 3053 Japan

3. 760 France

4. 2096 India

5. 2100 Africa

6. 1600 South America

7. 100 Indonesia

8. 400 Mongolia

9. 2459 USA

10. ????????????

Looking over the list, some of them look enticing, when comparing them to the ones I have seen in the past. But the tenth option, the one with not date or location listed is something that grabs my attention immediately. Something like his has never appeared before in any of the other times I have been here. 

"What is with the tenth option?" I ask

"Let me see." they ask as I turn the paper towards them. "Well, this is certainly a surprise. It looks like you have a sponsor."

A sponsor? "What do you mean a sponsor?"

"It is quite rare to see this. It means a being like myself, has offered you a chance to be reborn into the world they guard over. Think of it like winning the lottery 10 times in a row, an event like this just doesn't happen." they say as they turn the paper back towards me.

I look the paper over, with the words of the being stuck in my mind. Think of it like winning the lottery 10 times in a row. The way that was phrased makes me think that the tenth option is one that is too good to pass up. I will lose my memories once I reincarnate anyways. Might as well try something different.

"I choose option 10." 

"Very well. Enjoy your life." The being says as they wave their hand and fade from existence.





Darkness, pressure, warm, and sound. The sound I hear is muffled, but I hear the grunting, breathing, and screaming that coincides with each wave of pressure.  Something I have felt before. I am being born. But, why do I know what being born is like? Shouldn't my memories have been taken away? Why do I still remember? Why do I remember everything? When the being waved me away it should have taken my memories along with it.

With each wave the sounds become clearer.

"You are doing well Azure Moon, just keep pushing."

"Come on honey, you are almost there."

"Please step back Rocky Ice, let Dr. Wintersong do his job." 

What kind of names are Rocky Ice and Azure Moon? I asked myself as my body was pushed again. I could feel temperature difference on my head now. I must be crowning.

"Okay, on the count of three one more big push. Ready? 1. 2. 3. Push!"

I could hear my new mother scream and my body was pushed though the passage into the cool air. As the pressure subsided, I could feel my lungs burn for air and I couldn't stop myself from letting out a cry to settle my body's craving for air. 

"Congratulations Azure Moon, it's a healthy unicorn colt." the doctor said as he cleaned me off with a towel and handed me to my new mother.

"Look at him honey, he is perfect."

As my lungs stop burning for air, I am able to calm myself down to the point where I stop crying. Opening my eyes, I am greeted to my first sight in this world. My new mother. Her face looked like that of an anthropomorphic horse, but with a muzzle that extends only a few inches from her face. She had large yellow eyes with a slit like irises, silver hair, and light blue fur. On her head I noticed a pair of horse ears with tufts coming out of the tips of them. 

"Look him, he has your ears." Said my new father, as he came into my view. His facial structure was like my mothers, but more masculine and his ears didn't have the tufts of fur like my mother did. His eyes were green, and he had brown fur, and very light blue hair, to the point where it was almost white. 

What an odd combination. Looking down I can see I had a muzzle as well and was covered in dark blue fur. But without a mirror, I won't be able to tell much more about myself. 

"What should we name him?" My father asked

"How about, Moonshadow Flash." The fuck kind of name is that. 

"Sounds perfect my love." My father said as he kissed my mother. 

I would be angry, but it was at this point, I realized how empty my stomach was. My more basic instincts kicked in and I started crying again. Which even I knew wasn't going to stop until I got fed. 

Almost on instinct, my mother brought me to her breast, and I started drinking milk from her breast. Honestly, it was the best thing I have tasted in this life so far, even if it is the only thing I have tasted. Drinking my fill, I felt myself dozing off to sleep. 





During the first five years of my life in this world, it was nothing to talk about. Mainly consisting of eating, sleeping, playing, and crapping myself. A day after we arrived back from the hospital, I noticed that my mother had a par of bat wings on her back, later in life, I would learn that she is Thestral, commonly referred to as a batpony. 

I learned to walk at 8 months, which you would think would be easy having done this 9 times in other lives, but what made it hard was the fact I didn't have feet. Rather, my legs ended in hooves. During one day, my parents weren't paying attention to me for a good 10 minutes, so I took the time to go find a mirror and examine myself. Looking in the mirror my fur was indeed dark blue, my ears did have the tufts of fur like my mother, yellow eyes like my mother, and I had a small horn on my head, slightly hidden by silver hair. I'm guessing the horn will grow as I age. Opening my mouth, I notice most of my teeth were that of a molars but had a pair of what looked to be fangs in the front, like what my mother has. I wonder exactly they are supposed to be for. I didn't get much farther that day, as I heard my parents approaching. 

At the age of 3, my magic started to kick in. The first few times it felt like a migraine, as I was learning to control it. And I may have sent a lamp out the window at one point and it hit someone square in the head. I only know this because the poor bastard came to our front door. Thankfully, when he learned it was a kid he let it go. 

At the age of 5, I started this world's version of kindergarten. And boy, I thought human children were bad. Try having to deal with kids flying around the room, and levitating objects at mach speed. It was here during the few times that it wasn't pure chaos, that I was able to learn a few things about the world we lived in. Like the ruler was an alicorn named Princess Celestia, that the year was 975, how to adapt my vocabulary to fit in this world, and that the entire currency system is fucked. My merchant past was practically having a heart attack as I learned there was only one currency with one denomination. And I lost it when I learned that something like an apple could cost 3 bits. How does it make any sense? How does the currency stay stable? How has the economy not collapsed over 20 times by now? It took me a day to recover from that. My parents were worried when I stopped talking for that period of time.

At age 6, I learned that magic could affect things down to the atomic level. Which made my inner German in me giddy with possibilities. Imagine, altering the structure of an object on an atomic level. I could turn coal into diamonds, and split salt into chlorine and sodium. Create a perfect bond between two objects. Split water into hydrogen and oxygen with a thought. My mind was racing with possibilities, to the point I started cackling like a mad man, it gave my parents quite a fright when they came into my room and saw the crazy look in my eyes. But the fear was replaced with joy when I got my cutie mark. Which is basically this world telling you this is the thing you do best. Mine happened to be three atoms. Which I guess means I'm the best at reorganizing matter into what I want. Wunderbar.

At around age 7, I started to show I had an affinity towards magic. Which made my parents want to send me to something called Celesta's School for Gifted Unicorns. Which apparently was so prestigious, that you had to pass an entrance exam to even get into the damn thing. I tried to study for this exam, but apparently, they design different tests each year. We had to take a train to get to this school in the capital city of Canterlot. I have to say; the city is quite stunning. The school itself nice as well. Looked almost modern, almost. As I was painfully aware that electricity is nothing more than a science experiment and has not yet been commercialized. I'm going to have to change that. After entering the school, I was told the test was broken down into two parts, a written test, and a practical test. The written part mainly consisted about math, literature, and magic. The piratical part is where things got interesting. I was ushered into a room with a group of 20 other ponies who had passed the written test and were told we could request one item to assist us with a demonstration of out magic. I requested a 5x5x10 foot block of coal, the face on the poor girl when she asked if I was serious. She sighed and wrote it down, before proceeding down the line to get the answers from the others in the room, before heading over to the judges and handing the list off to them.

One by one foals were called up, once they finished their demonstration, they were told to sit on the other side of the room. Eventually it got to my turn, as I walked up, I saw a team of earth ponies bring the block of coal I requested into the room. I feel bad for them having to carry that huge thing. I stood in front of the table of judges and waited until they were ready.

"Name?" one of them asked. He looked like and sounded like Simon Cowell

"Moonshadow Flash" At this point in time, I had decided to adopt a subtle German accent. Honestly, I think it sounded really cool.

"Talent?"

"Transmutation." 

"And what will you be doing with that block of coal? Turn it into fire?" He asked getting a laugh from the other judges and the ponies on the side.

"No, I will be turning it into a solid diamond statue of Princess Celestia." I replied with a smug grin

"Well then, we're waiting." He said while poking his colleague in the way one would to say get a load of this.

Turning around, I sat down on the floor and cleared my mind. It was only me and the block of coal in the room. My past life as a monk helped me greatly in this, as I focused on the many pictures of Celestia I have seen in the past, her form, her appearance, and the presence she enforced when in the room. With it clear what I wanted the statue to be, I focused on a core pillar in the center of the statue and started changing the bonds of the carbon atoms. Starting slowly, I changed the center of the block of coal to diamond, slowly expanding it to it's the thinnest points of the statue. From there, I moved down to the base of the block, and started turning the bottom of the block into pure diamond. It was just me and the block, nothing else. I had blocked out all external audio to focus solely on my task. Moving up, one the base was complete, I formed the rough legs of the statue, then the torso, the arms, the head, and finally the hair and tail. Finally, I smoothed the statue down until it was as smooth as glass. Going over it again and again until I was satisfied. Then, I pulled away every left-over piece of coal with my magic, leaving nothing but a smiling statue of Celestia holding a book open in her one hand, like she was teaching a class. 

Slowly, I came out of my meditative state, my whole-body aching. Looking over to a clock on the wall, I noticed one and a half hours had passed. This was by far the biggest thing I have made, and it took a toll on me. I let the spell fade fully, and the Prussian blue glow around my horn faded, as I put a hand on the ground to stand up. As I stood and turned around. The judges were sitting there slack-jawed. I could tell I clearly impressed them.

"I must say, that was a sight to behold." A regal voice said from my left. Turning my head, I saw Princess Celestia in the flesh, hair flowing in an ethereal wind, dressed in what must be the finest silks, and her full regalia. 

"That was quite the complex spell you pulled off. Turning a block of coal into this beautiful statue. At a distance, one might think it is made of glass. But this is pure diamond isn't it?" She asked with a smile while examining the statue

"Indeed, it is your majesty. My biggest achievement yet." I said as I started to walk towards her, only to fall over as my vision starts to go black. Right before I black out, I see Princess Celestia move towards me as I fall.





The next time I open my eyes, I'm in a bed, with a bag of pink fluid hooked into my arm. I look over to the left and see my parents asleep on a couch in the corner of the room. The clock on the wall shows it is at least 6 hours later. As I try to sit up, a hand on my right shoulder keeps me from doing so. Looking to who the hand belongs to, I see it is Princess Celestia.

"Rest now my little pony. That feat you preformed took more out of you than you thought." She said

"What happened? I remember the world going dark as I took a step forward."

"You were suffering from magical exhaustion. To be honest, you are one of the youngest ponies this has happened to in a long time. A few days of rest, and some more mana to help you recover more quickly and you will be as good as new." 

"Did I get into the school?" I ask

"Yes, my little pony, you did. You passed with flying colors. I will be keeping my eye on your progress, if what you demonstrated earlier is anything to go by, your future is going to be a bright one. Now rest, you can worry about school once you are feeling better.

I nod in response, she takes her hand off my shoulder and leaves the room. As I sit there, I think back on what transpired. Sure, I was able to transform the coal into diamonds by reworking the structure of the atoms, but I want more than that. I want to bring all the good elements of earth to my new home. I want to go down as one of the greatest minds this world has ever seen. I want this life to mean more than just another one in the cycle of death and rebirth. I want this life to last a long time, possibly forever. And I will find a way to do just that.
> Studies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I spent 4 days in that school's hospital. Two were spent recovering from magical exhaustion, and the other two were spent doing a series of tests to measure how much control I had over my magic, how much I had, and a physical. I scored a 7 on magical potential and broke the scale for control. To put it in reference, Celestia's magical potential can't be measured, but the average unicorn scores a 5-6. While magic control usually ranges between 5-7, with it being 1-4 for foals and those with damage to their horns. Honestly, it is a decent way to measure it. But it could be vastly improved by moving it into a 1000-point system. 

The physical was quite interesting, apparently having a unicorn when any of your parents have thestral blood is extremely rare, even more so when one is a full thestral. I was quite the oddity for the medical staff. And frankly, I learned quite a bit about what I inherited from my mother. Like the fact that I obtained the ability to digest small quantities of meat, which when the doctors asked my parents if I have ever eaten any meat before, responded by saying that they didn't want to risk an allergic reaction to the meat like most ponies get. Honestly, I don't blame them, imagine dying on a piece of bacon. I also found out my hearing and vision were the same as a thestral's. That would explain my good night vision, and the fact I could hear the neighbors next door when they were in the middle of passionate lovemaking. 

After being cleared for classes, my parents and I were escorted to the finance office to pay the tuition before I could get my scheduled. I thought the office we were heading to would have nice desk, view of the court yard, and book shelves containing academic records. I did not expect it to have papers stacked high on tables, and office supplies placed in various corners of the room. If the office did have a window, it was blocked by towers of papers, and smelled of smoke. The finance officer was a unicorn who had grey fur, blue eyes, no mane to speak of, and massive bags under his eyes, and wore a dress shirt, and a tie that was undone like he had just gotten off of work. He looked like he hadn't had a good night sleep in weeks and was only awake due the caffeine and sugar in his system. My theory was confirmed when he pulled out what could only be described as one of those Team Gulp cups from 7-11, the massive 128-ounce cups. And he opened a can of Red Minotaur and poured it into the cup, following it up with what has to be the blackest coffee I have ever seen. As we sat down, I watched him drink half of it before even asking us what we wanted.

"Okay, what do you need." He said in a tone of someone who wanted to be put out of their misery.

"We need to pay for my son here, he just got accepted." My father said

"Name?"

"Moonshadow Flash."

The finance officer's horn glowed grey as papers started flying past his face from a pile to his right. As they flew by, the papers he needed were pulled from the torrent of papers, and the ones he didn't need were put back in the pile at the bottom. After about a minute the whole stack of papers had been gone though, and he moved onto another pile on his left, and the process repeated for each stack closest to the desk.

"Alright, let see exactly how much the school is going to pay for your education, and how much you need to hoof over." He said as he held the papers up with his magic and downed the rest of his drink. "Okay, travel grant, housing grant, equestrian citizen grant, and royal financing. Wow, royal financing, don't see that very often, going to have to find the letter detailing how much the crown is going to fund your education." He said as a pile of sealed letters started flying past his face. "Moonshadow, Moonshadow, ah ha, here it is." He said as he snatched a letter from his magic. "Would you like to do the honors, or should I?"

"I think my little Flash should open it." my mother said

Of all the... at least she doesn't call me her little shadow. Taking the letter from the finance officer, I notice the wax seal holding it shut. It had Celesta's royal seal which consisted of her cutie mark with a background consisting of the skyline of Canterlot. Breaking the seal, I open the letter, and begin to read it. It was a short letter, consisting of a formal decree style greeting, stating that the crown has taken an interest in my education, and has decided to award pay for my entire education, along with a monthly stipend of 10,000 bits, and a yearly research stipend of 20 million bits. My eyes do wide, and I just stare at the paper when I read that amount. Surely that has to be a typo, there is no way that I am getting that amount of money to attend school. Without saying a word, I hand the letter to the finance officer, who also reads it. And his eyes go wide as well, and his magic cuts out. Causing the papers that were held by his magic to drop to the ground. We look at each other and without a word we both nod our heads. He then grabs a stamp on the side of his deck, and stamps my application with a green approved stamp, and hands it to me, while he shows the letter to my parents. Who both proceed to faint. And with a little bit of slapping, and smelling salts, were woken up within 5 minutes. 

And with that, we left the overworked bean counter, and went to the admissions office to get my schedule set up for my first classes. In stark contrast to the financial office, the room was organized, and what I thought the accountant's office might have been. Sitting at the desk was a green unicorn with yellow hair, and pink eyes, dressed in a loose blouse, and black skirt, and had a pair of glasses resting on her muzzle.

"Ah, please come in, sit." She said with one of those slutty teacher voices. "I am Miss High Marks, I am in charge of assigning classes to all new students that come to the school. Can I have your name please young colt?"

MILF alert. "My name is Moonshadow Flash Miss Marks."

"Oh, so you are the student that left quite the impression on my ex-husband. It takes quite a lot to leave him slack jawed these days. Trust me, I would know." she said with a grin, "Now, can you give me your financial document while I get your test results." 

As I go to by bag to grab the document I got from the Financial Officer, I look back up to see Miss Marks bent over looking into a filing cabinet, leaving nothing to the imagination. Yup, total MILF. I could even see my mother giving my dad the death stare as he averted his gaze. 

"Ah, here it is." She said as she reached and grabbed toe folder before returning to the desk. "Let's see here." She said as she went through the test results, "Well, you must be quite the genius, your math scores easily put you into 18th year Math, Reading and Writing into the 13th year, History into the 5th year, Practical Applications of Magic into the 8th year, and Magical Theory into the 2nd. Quite impressive, now onto your financial approval to see what kind of housing we can set up for you." She says as she grabs the paper I placed on the desk. When she read it, they looked quite impressed at what she was seeing, "Well, even got the attention of the Princess, according to this, you are approved for a single room with an attached laboratory, and access to all school facilities. I must say congratulations to both your parents, you must be very proud of your son." 

"Indeed, we are Miss Marks, we wanted the best for our little Flash, and it looks like he is going to get exactly that." my mother said, after averting her death gaze.

"I will send a message to the moving staff on campus to take you to your new room for your years here at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns." She said as her horn glowed pink and she help her hand to her ear. A few moments later, 5 Stallions came into the room and asked for me to follow them while Miss Marks finished up with my parents. I was following the Stallions for a good 45 minutes, which made me realize how massive this school actually is, as we reached out destination on the second floor, a door marked 23430. One of them pulled out a key and unlocked the door, inside was a large lab that was easily 3000 sq. ft, which was currently bare except for lab benches, cabinets, and a cleaning sink. Going back outside of the lab, we went to a door marked 23431 that was next to the lab. And on the other side was easily a 600 sq. ft apartment. Complete with a living area, bed room, full kitchen, walk in closet, and a full bath, with another door that led out into the hallway at the end. I just stood there in silence for a good 3 minutes, as I try to comprehend I have a what is essentially an apartment in the school.

"Sir, what do you need for your room. We are here to help get your room furnished by the day's end. Just tell us what you want." The stallion in charge said as he handed me my room keys. 

"Oh. Right, well what I need is..." And I went into detail of how I wanted the room to be furnished, with a small 2-person table in the dining/living room, a recliner in the corner of the living room, bookshelves along the northern wall, a couch on the southern wall, two end tables, and a magic lamp to go on one of the tables. And in the bed room, I requested a king-sized bed against the southern wall, two-night stands, and a dresser to go on the northern wall of the room. 

As for the lab, I requested for 200 pounds of iron, copper, coal, lead and nickel. Followed by 100 pounds of silver, gold, and tungsten. and for the benches in the lab walls, floor, and ceiling to be magically reinforced to withstand explosions, and a several tons of weight. I specifically told them to leave the windows that face out into the court yard to be left along. If there is going to be any large explosions I want the force to blow out the windows, so it doesn't blow me up with it. As well as a drafting bench, and a full set of glass ware.

And for personal use, I requested pencils, ink, 100 journals, 50 pounds of drafting paper, 500 blank books, and a mechanical calculator. Let's just say they were less than pleased with my list, and when asked who was paying for this, I made sure to show them the letter from the Princess that gave me a large research grant. Once they had their list of what they needed, they left out the door of my new home, just as my Parents arrived along with Miss Marks, and two more stallions that carried my things into the room. I directed the stallions to unpack my cloths into the closets and leave anything else on the kitchen counters. 

"Look at this Moon, our son is going to have fantastic 18 years here." my father said. Hold up, 18 years here, damn. That is a lot even for a 7-year-old. I'm not even considered an adult until 16 here, let alone fully grown. 

"He sure will Mr. Ice, and of course, you are free to come visit any time you want, provided you give a 3-day notice before arrival. Your son will receive the best education in the country, and if he is as smart as his test show, he should complete standard 18-year program at 8 years, and most likely his master program at 12 years, and his doctorate at 18 if my predictions are right." Miss Marks said. 

I would say that is inaccurate, but considering I have 8 lifetimes worth of experience in my head, I can honestly say I agree with her.

"Oh, my baby is growing up so fast!" My mother said as she embraced me in a large hug. "I'm going to miss you so much!"

"I'm going to miss you both of you too. But I promise to make you proud." I said honestly. 

The next hour consisted of the usual sending your child off fanfare and directing the moving stallions where to set everything up as the furniture arrived piece by piece. Before Miss Marks left, she handed me my schedule, a purple cloth bag, a blue cloth bag, and a platinum coin engraved with the symbol of the sun.

"This will be your classes for the first semester, consisting of Magical Theory 2, History 5, Reading and Writing 13, Math 18, and Practical Applications of Magic 8." She said as she handed me a folder containing the times and locations of the classes, along with a map of the entire school. "The purple cloth bag is connected a bank account with access to your research funding, and the blue bag is connected to your monthly stipend. If you need to make an inquiry into either, both are at the 1st Bank of Celestia across from the main entrance of the campus. Finally, that platinum coin will allow you access to any area of the school except for the dorms of any other student unless they invite you in, and areas restricted by Celestia herself. I look forward to seeing what you can do." She said as she left with my parents

At the end of the day, with the sun just starting to set, I finish my shower, and lay down on my bed. This is going to be the start of something wonderful, with the funding from the crown, access to the school’s resources I should be able to create anything from back home and more.





During that first 8 year of what schooling, most of the classes were boring, and I barely had to put any work into them to pass with flying colors. Which pissed off all the other students in the advanced classes, as a child was the top of the class consistently while looking bored out of his mind the entire time. But the ones that I paid the most attention in were any time they related to magic. As that was the one unknown force that could change the structure of a material on the atomic level. Any chance I got to learn a new spell, I took it and ran with it. From a basic shield spell, I tore it apart to learn how it worked, and how the force stopped objects while protecting the pony inside. And then tried to apply what I already knew to try and enhance it. Filling at least two journals a month with research notes, related only to magic. And filling another 2 with experiment notes. For as soon as I found a pet store that was willing to sell me 11 rabbits, and I replaced the outer structure of their bones with carbon nano tubes. With each rabbit getting a different percentage of their bones replaced. Ranging from 0-100% at 10% intervals. As I had plans to replace my bones with the same material, but I first needed to know how much could safely be replaced. 

While I started the experiment in the first year, I maintained it until their deaths during my 8th year. I took daily observations of each rabbit and took blood samples weekly. And when I learned a scanning spell, I examined their entire bodies weekly. And when they finally died, I did an autopsy on they to see exactly the condition of the bones. And I concluded that it would be safe to replace my bones with carbon nano tubes. Making my bones stronger than steel.

At the end of my eight year, I finished what is equivalent to a bachelor’s program at the age of 15 and proceeded to start the master's program. I started wearing a light blue shirt, brown pants, and a white lab coat on a daily basis at this point. And I could easily be mistaken for a professor at the school if the other pony didn't know who I was. By the time my rabbit experiment was done, my lab had to be the most advanced one in all of Equestria. By this point I held several patents to new technologies and chemicals, including the combustion engine, all plastics, synthetic rubber, petroleum-based fuel, and several different amphetamines. Along with having written over 50 books containing theories, new magical spells, mathematical formulas, and methods for refining products.  All of which I had written in either German or Latin making it so only I could read them. I also had a steady income of several thousand bits a week as I get royalties for my inventions.

As I started my education in the master program in the year 985, and 6 months in, word had spread that Celestia had taken on a personal student by the name of Sunset Shimmer, I saw her around campus in the library every now and then. She was a 13-year-old Orange Unicorn with Red and Yellow hair, blue eyes wearing a black skirt, and a purple shirt. I also learned that she was 13 and placed into 13th year classes as a start. I got curious with this individual, and I wanted to know what Celestia saw in this individual.

I grabbed a translated journal containing an older version of my enhanced shield spell. As I heard from professors that she was distant unless it was pertaining to magic and growing stronger in it. Almost like myself actually. On my way to the library, I overheard that Sunset Shimmer has recently mastered the teleport spell and started using it to get away from conversations she wanted no part of. Not a bad tactic actually, might need to have my anchor spell ready if she tries to leave. 

I arrived outside the library, which was a 7-story building that was easily a mile long, and a half mile wide with classical architecture style, white marble columns and all. It was the largest and oldest repository of knowledge on the continent. Walking inside, I ask the librarian who sits at the front desk if she has seen Miss Sunset. To which she replied that she arrived 10 minutes ago and went to the magical section on the 6th floor. I thank her for the information, and give her a tip of 50 bits, as I walk up the grand staircase to the 6th floor. Due to the size or the Library, it took me the better part of two hours to find Miss Sunset, but I eventually found her in the magical theory section of the Library. She was sitting in a bay window with her back against the wall, reading a book on advanced magical theory by Hoofington. I remember reading that one, it helped me refine my atom restructuring spell to the point where I can pull the carbon from CO2 and restructure it into coal or diamonds.

"Ah, you must be Miss Shimmer, Princess Celestia's new personal student. I have been meaning to meet you for a while now. My name is Moonshadow Flash, a pleasure to meet you." I said as I held my hand out. Who proceeds to promptly ignore it. Rude.

"What do you want?" She asked in a disinterested tone

"I wanted to meet you and offer you the chance to learn. Information for information."

"No thanks, I already have a teacher." 

"Well, read this book, and if you change your mind, you can find me in the lab in room 23430 from 8am-6pm. Stop by if you are interested. I'll make tea." I said as I left the journal next to her

"I'll be sure to do that." she said sarcastically. 

"Very well then." I replied and promptly teleported back into my lab. What an egotistical ass. I have no idea what Celestia saw in her. With an ego like that, she must have scored quite highly on the magical examination. Oh well, if she doesn't show up, no loss. It was an older version of the spell anyways. 

Figuring it was a lost cause, I started setting up for my experiment that involved making an explosive out of magic infused crystals at 11 am. If my initial reading is right, this should be the equivalent of 1 kilogram of TNT at a 4th of the weight.

By 5pm, I had set up everything I needed to test the explosive potential of the crystals in a blast chamber I set up. I was in the middle of double checking the blast chamber when I heard a knock at my lab door. Sighing, I went over to the door and opened it, only to be greeted by Sunset Shimmer on the other side.

"Ah, Miss Shimmer, have you reconsidered my offer?" I said smugly

"You said Moonshadow Flash, right? I read the book you left with me. That shield is the most advanced one I have seen. It is nothing like the ones in the library. I should know. After reading it, I pulled every shield spell the library had, and nothing came even close to it. Where did you find it?" She asked

Letting out a chuckle, "Find it? Miss Shimmer, that is a spell of my own invention. Aside from that copy you hold, there only exists one other written copy of the spell in the entire world. Even those are an older version of the spell." 

"Please, you must teach me how you came up with that spell. It is nothing like I have ever seen before." she said practically begging

"Like I told you in the library, Information for Information. Come, follow me over to my room, I'll make some tea." I said as we went into my room next door.
> Sunset
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Heating a teapot with a heating spell, I pour two cups of tea. And bring them over to the small table in my room. Placing one in front of Sunset Shimmer, and I sit down with the other. 

"So, Miss Shimmer, tell me something. What about the spell made you change your mind?" I said taking a sip of tea.

She took a moment but finally responded with, "It is the most powerful shield spell I have found so far. Even amongst the most advanced ones in the library, nothing came close to the strength of the shield for that amount of mana. How did you come up with it?"

"Well, you know how shield spells belong to the school of Abjuration" I ask

"Of course, everypony knows that."

"Well, what if I told you that shield spell uses teachings of the school of Transmutation to enhance the protective nature it gains from the school of Abjuration."

Her eyes go wide, "Isn't mixing schools of magic incredibly dangerous?"

"Oh, incredibly dangerous. And you should never do so unless you are absolutely sure it won't misfire. Which is why it took me a year of testing using a magic circle and many mana crystals before I cast it using my own magic. I have 3 journals worth of testing and failed attempts." I said before taking a sip of my tea again, "But if it is done right, it can amplify the properties of the base spell several times."

"Please, let me see how you did it!" She said placing her hands on the table while leaning towards me

"Information for Information." I reply

"What?" She said sitting back down

"I gave you some information, now I expect some in return." I said taking another sip of tea, "Now, why do you want so badly to learn how I made my spell?"

"I want to become stronger. I need to become stronger. If what you say is true about mixing schools of magic, I have to learn it." 

"But you already have Princess Celestia as a teacher. Is she not doing a good enough job?

"I mean, sort of. While I am grateful to be her personal student, she is a better ruler than a teacher. She keeps telling me I have to go out and make friends. That friendship should come before magic. But I want to learn magic, not make friends. Magic is the whole reason why I came to this school in the first place. For someone who has lived more than a thousand years, she should know that."

"That must be very frustrating."

"You have no idea. On top of that, there are ponies who look down on me in my classes due to my age. I almost wish I didn't place so high up. It is awful being 13 and having those your age envy you, while older ones look down on you because of your age."

"I can actually relate to you on that one." 

"What do you mean?"

"I placed into the 18th year of mathematics and placed high in most of my other courses. In fact, I just turned 15 this year, and started my master's program."

"Wait... You are only 15? And you have your own lab!?" 

"Well, I actually got the lab at age 7 when I first came here. Thanks to a letter from Princess Celestia, along with a monthly stipend and yearly research grant."

"Why would she grant you that when you were 7? I can barely get her to let me experiment on my own."

"Not really sure, it might have to do with the fact I used a single spell to turn a massive block of coal into a statue of her made out of solid diamond for my entrance exam."

"Wait... is it as smooth as glass?"

"Yes, you have seen it? I haven't seen it in 8 years."

"Yeah, Princess Celestia keeps it in one of the halls in the castle. What school of magic did you use for that?"

"I used a custom Transmutation spell. My talent is in Transmutation after all. What is yours if you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, mine represents my affinity towards magic in general."

"Interesting, I didn't know a talent like that existed." Taking a look at a clock that hung on the wall, I noticed it was getting late, "Tell you what. I have been meaning to find someone who can help me in the lab. Come back tomorrow around 1 pm, and I will teach you in exchange for some help with some of my more involved experiments. Does that sound fair?" 

"Yeah. Yeah. I'll do that. Can I uh, keep the book you gave me earlier?" 

"Sure, just don't leave it lying around. I keep the spells I develop a secret for a reason. Not even the Princess knows that spell. You are the only other person besides myself who knows it."

"Thank you." She said as I walked her to the door. "I will see you tomorrow."

"I look forward to it. Good might Miss Shimmer."

"Good night Moonshadow. And you can call me Sunset." 

"Very well, see you tomorrow Sunset." I said as I closed the door. 

What an interesting mare. I did not expect to learn that her cold exterior is because of how her peers perceive her. Or that Celestia is trying to force Sunset to make friends before teaching her magic. That just seems like a waste of talent. I wonder if, with enough time, I could get Sunset to become my student instead of Celestia's. She definitely seems more interested in learning what I have to offer rather than what the Princess can. I might actually have to come up with lessons and homework for her in the near future if she decides to learn from me on a regular basis.





The next morning, I made a breakfast consisting of eggs, black coffee, and toast. While eating, I was going over possible tests to see how quickly Sunset can pick up on. Should I have her try to separate water into oxygen and hydrogen and have her tell me why one is explosive, and one is not, maybe have her maybe try to explain how a piece of coal can be turned into a diamond or have her try to turn caffeine into cocaine by altering the chemical composition. Eh, I'll figure that out after I finish my experiment with testing the explosive power of mana crystals.

Finishing up my meal. I put on a clean shirt, and my lab coat before heading over to the lab to start the crystal experiment. Inside the lab, I finish setting up the experiment my putting up a blast shield and sandbags in the corner of the lab and placing a large uncharged mana crystal in an apparatus at the other end of the room. I also put a helmet on just in case. Pulling out a tape recorder, I press record.

"The time is 11:30 am, experiment Crystal One. Testing the explosive power of a full mana crystal via cracking it at a charge. Starting the charge of the crystal at 11:31 am." I say as I start to transfer mana into the crystal. "Current time is 12:50 pm, mana crystal is at full capacity, activating shield spell, and preparing to crack the crystal with a titanium-tungsten alloy. In 3, 2, 1..." I said as I let the allow swing into the crystal. The world when white the second after the crystal cracked, followed by my ears ringing. When my vision returned, the crystal was gone, and the windows of my lab were blown out, and my lab was filled with dust. The blast shield is completely fucked. I put my hand to my ear, and when I pull it away, I see blood. Putting my hand on a nearby table, I force myself to stand, and walk out of the lab coughing. As I reach the door, I see it has been blown off the hinges and is embedded in the wall across the hall, and standing 5 feet from the door, was Sunset. She looked at the door, and back at me several times. She ran up to me and started saying something, but my ears were still ringing, and I couldn't hear a word she was saying.

"WHAT? CAN'T HEAR YOU! I THINK I BLEW OUT BOTH OF MY EARDRUMS!" I said. She stopped talking, as she saw the blood coming from my ears, "THERE IS A RESTORATION SPELL IN MY ROOM, 3RD BOOKSHELF FROM THE LEFT, 2ND SHELF, BLUE SPINE, GOLD LETTERING. GO GRAB IT AND CAST IT ON ME. I DON'T WANT TO RISK CASTING ANY MAGIC BEFORE I KNOW IT IS SAFE!" 

Sunset nodded and ran into my room. While she was getting the book, I sat down on the ground outside of my lab, took off both my lab coat and shirt to check for injuries. Looking over my arms, and chest, I don't see any visible wounds, but I can differently feel some sore spots that will differently bruise if the healing spell Sunset is grabbing doesn't take care of it. Feeling along my horn, I don't feel any obvious cracks in my horn, but there might me microfractures that I don't feel. 

A few minutes later, Sunset comes out of my room, book in hand. She walks over to me while reading the spell. She stands in front of me, and her horn lights up as she casts the spell. As she does, the ringing in my ears starts to slowly fade. As she finished the spell, my hearing is returned to normal.

"Much better. Thank you Sunset." I say. Only to get a slap across the face in response. "What was that for?" I ask holding the side of my face.

"If I had been any closer, that door would have decapitated me. What the buck were you doing in the first place that caused an explosion like that in the first place." 

"I was testing how explosive a full mana crystal is when it is cracked. I have to admit. I did not expect the explosion to be so powerful. It even blew through the same shield spell I showed you. Maybe if I used a more recent version of that spell maybe it wouldn't have failed." 

"You were... what. Why would you do that in the first place?"

"I wanted to see if the crystals could be used as an explosive that could be used in mining operations. I figured it would produce an explosion, but not one that large." I said as I stood up and walked back into my lab examining the damage more closely. "Though, I have to say. It did produce some impressive results." I said as Sunset followed me into the lab and seeing the damage first hand.

"But your lab is ruined. It will take days for it to be rebuilt. Possibly months to replace all the equipment you lost."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I have a spell for this." I said as my horn lit up as it was encased in the Prussian blue glow of my magic. Focusing on the door, it flew out of the wall and reattached itself to the hinges of the door frame as the metal bent back into shape. Focusing on the window, I searched for glass shards eventually finding them scattered in the courtyard that my lab overlooked. I picked them up with my magic, and like reeling in a fish, pulled them back to the window frame and remade the glass by fusing the shards back together on an atomic level. And I repeated this on every item in the lab that was broken or shattered from the crystal. Which I found wedged in the floor of the room. Finishing up the spell, the lab was restored to its pre-explosion state.

"How did you? How did you do that?" Sunset asked

"Oh, it’s a modified time spell that I can target things with to send them back in time to a point I desire. Only works on non-living things at the moment, but I'm working on that. In theory, once I figure out how to affect living things, it could even restore limbs." 

"That is amazing. Imagine all the good it could do for ponies and all the damaged relics that could be restored."

"Well, you also need to know what the item you are restoring use to look like for it to work. Otherwise, it will just fizzle." I say grabbing two containers from a cupboard in the corner of the room. "Anyways, I have a test for you. If you can solve it, then I will be happy to teach you more."

"What kind of test?" 

"Oh, nothing too difficult. I want you to turn the powder labeled Caffeine into the powder labeled Cocaine using nothing other than the Caffeine powder. If you can do this, then I will know you are ready to learn more."

Sunset looked at both containers of powder, and then looked at me, "What's the catch?" 

"The catch is it has to be done with magic, and you can use nothing other than the Caffeine powder that I provide you with. Other than that, you can take as long as you want to do it, using any school of magic you want, and any source of knowledge you have access to. I can provide you with as much of the Caffeine power as you need, but I will provide you with that one sample of Cocaine only. You can do it here, or you can take it somewhere else to do it. But I will know if it is done correctly. Good luck." I say with a smirk.

Sunset looks back at the powders in front of her and starts casting spells on both of them. It is quite a difficult task I have given her, but an entirely feasible one once she figures out the chemical formulas for both of them, and the structures of the compounds. Since Caffeine is C8H10N4O2, and Cocaine is C17H21NO4 she should have all the ingredients she needs to make what I am asking her, provided she can get the correct number of atoms in the correct structure. Let's see how long it will take for her to do this.





6 months later, Sunset is getting visibly frustrated. She is trying more than 100 different spells a day to try and get the Caffeine to turn into Cocaine. Yet she still has not asked me for any help, she is quite the stubborn one. And while she has been doing this, I have been drawing plans for WWII era tanks that can be operated by two to one unicorns. I already made new variations of the Tiger, Tiger 2, Panther, IS-6, Sherman, T-34, and Cromwell tanks that could be put into production if needed. 

New Year's Eve, tomorrow will be the year 986, Sunset is in my lab still trying to pass my test. I am in the corner of the room working on a version of the Centurion tank when I hear Sunset scream in frustration. Turning around I see she had put her head on the table and is muttering something. I get up and as I walk over to her I can hear her saying, "I can't do it. I can't do it. It is impossible. How am I supposed to learn from Moonshadow if I can't pass this simple test." Approaching her, I put my hand on her shoulder. 

"What is wrong Sunset?" I ask

"I can't do it. I have tried everything I can think of and looked in every book I can think of. I got it down to the school of Transmutation, and I can do it if I have other substances, but not by itself. It is impossible." She said practically on the verge of tears, "I have put so much time into this, and just when I think I have it, the spell fizzles."

"Let me ask you a question. What sources of knowledge did I say you could use?"

"You said I could use any source of knowledge I have access to. But I have used every source I can think of."

"Well, you have missed one very important source."

"What do you mean?" She asked looking at me

"You have yet to ask me for any help or even a hint." I say to her. She looks at me for a few seconds, registering what I just said. And then proceeds to call herself stupid for a good minute.

"Can you please help me? I can't figure it out." She asks clearly embarrassed

"Of course. Let this be your first lesson. Never be afraid to ask for help, even if your pride doesn't want you to. Now, if you want to change Caffeine into Cocaine you need to understand a few things." I said to her while pulling out a chalkboard with my magic as I went into detail about chemistry and how atoms can make up molecules and compounds. Then I proceeded to teach her a spell I devised to show you what atoms are in a substance and how they are arranged. Along with the periodic table. To say she soaked up the information like a sponge would be putting it lightly. 30 minutes after I finished the lecture, she was already putting into practice, and slowly over an hour, she converted all Caffeine she possibly could into Cocaine. She was so happy when she finally did it. It was like a little kid who just got a puppy for Christmas. 

"Congratulations Sunset. Now remember this, you can't just go around wildly changing anything. There exist substances that are similar to harmless ones to the point where they have the same chemical formula, but when arranged in a different order can be very deadly. If you have to alter something, make sure you only change it into something you know is safe."

"What do you exactly mean by that?"

"Take salt for example. It is made up of Chlorine and Sodium, Sodium on its own is a very reactive metal what tends to explode, and chlorine is a poisonous gas, but together make up a vital substance." I say as I grab a plastic bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide and a vial of water from a shelf. "Use the spell I taught you to tell me the difference between these two liquids."

As she cast the spell I could see her wondering why I asked her to, "The two liquids are almost identical, only the one in your left hand has an extra oxygen atom."

"That is correct. The one is my right hand is just regular water, while the one is my left hand is Hydrogen Peroxide. The uninformed would think that one atom wouldn't make much difference, but in fact, it is a huge difference. For while water is safe to drink, you wouldn't want to drink Hydrogen Peroxide. As it can be used as an antiseptic for cleaning wounds and should someone drink it would result in vomiting and possibly require hospitalization."

"But the only difference is a single atom." 

"One is sometimes all it takes." I say looking at the clock, "It is getting late, I think I'm going to turn in for the night." As I say this Sunset looks at the clock as well.

"Oh ponyfeathers, is it is almost midnight! Celestia is going to kill me. I have to go now. Goodnight Moonshadow." She says as she teleports away. Leaving me alone in my lab. With Sunset gone, I grabbed the fresh cocaine and put it into a silk bag that I kept hidden in my coat. Going to save that for a rainy day. I think to myself as I clean up the lab before heading over to my room. Taking off my clothes, I lay down in bed and think to myself. Sunset Shimmer, that girl is stubborn, but I think this test is what she needed to realize that she can't rely only on herself to get something done. It was impressive how quickly she was able to put the lecture into practice. She would make a good apprentice if she wasn't already Celestia's. It will be interesting to see if Celestia gets her to stay, or if she will want to learn from me instead. Imagine the headlines if she becomes my apprentice, 'Princess Celestia's Student leaves her for a teacher closer to her age.' That would be hilarious. 





During the next 3 years, I got my master’s degree and started my Doctorate program at the age of 18. Sunset was able to start her master's program at the age of 16 and started to get lessons from me on a weekly basis. During this time, she started to grow closer to me and became more distant from Celestia. It started to become clear that at some point soon, she would have to choose whose student she wanted to be. Mine or Celestia's, and since I turned 18 and I was a legal adult, and I started my towards my Doctorate, the school told me I would need to take on a student if I wanted to receive my Doctorate at the end of my studies.

This came to resolve one day in the middle of the year 989. It was two days after I had just put in a patent for smokeless gunpowder, and hand sanitizer that I got a letter from the dean's office. Saying that someone had filled out an application to be my student. Looking it over, it was defiantly an application from Sunset. I waited until the day before the school needed a response to decide. But I decided that I would take her on as a student. She was a quick learner and I have no idea when another pony like her could come along. This might be a once in a lifetime chance, and I need to take it. No matter how bad the consequences might be. So, in the morning, I sent a message back to the dean's office that I would accept her as my student. I didn't see Sunset until later that day when she stopped by my lab, but when I did she looked very happy.

"Thank you so much for accept me as your student!" She said as she ran up and hugged me. 

"Yeah, no problem. What are you going to do about being two pony’s students?"

"Oh, that won't be a problem." She replied cheerfully

"What do you mean?" I asked. This can't be good.

"I went up to Celestia before I came here and told her I quit being her personal student, and that I already have a new teacher."

"Did you mention who your new teacher was?" 

"Yeah, I said that you had agreed to become my new teacher."

This won't end well. I thought to myself as I ran through all the possibilities of what could happen in my head. And what I would say to appease a sun goddess. Which was interrupted when the lab door opened and on the other side stood Princess Celestia.

"Hello there Moonshadow, we need to talk." She said in a passive aggressive tone.

Oh, fuck me.
> Students
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hello there Celestia, for what do I owe the pleasure?" I say prying Sunset off of me.

"I think you know why I am here." Celestia said as she walked into the lab.

"I have a few theories, but why don't you tell me, so I know for sure."

"You stole my student." 

"Stole is such a harsh word. I like to think I gave her the opportunity she thought she would get from you. And she chose to learn from me instead of you. Besides, she went through the proper channels to become my student. I have a letter of application from the Dean's Office and everything." I said as I pulled out the letter from my lab coat. To which Celestia grabs it with her magic and brings it to her face to read it.

"According to this, Sunset put this application in a month ago, and you accept it a day ago. So why did I only learn of this today when Sunset told me she quits?"

"Blame the administration. They are understaffed and overworked. Must have slipped their minds." I reply

"Even so. I won't let you simply take my student." 

"What do you mean you won't let me take her. Last time I checked ponies had free will and could do what they wanted. Unless slavery was legalized within the past year, she is well within her rights to choose who she wants her teacher to be."

"That still doesn't explain why Sunset decided to change from being my student to being your student. And I want to know why."

"Well... to be honest, Princess, there are a few reasons. I felt like you put the court and administrative responsibilities before me, even when you have entire departments who could take care of it. I have learned more about magic from Moonshadow in the first year I was getting lessons from him, than the entire time I have been your student. Then there was the first test he gave me, he gave me simple instructions and let me go at it alone, and after 6 months of not getting anywhere, he saw I was on the verge of breaking and taught me that I could have asked him the whole time for help. While with you, you let me struggle on a task for 4 months, and when I finally did it, all you said was it took me long enough. I mean what the fuck, who lets somepony struggle and then says it took them long enough. At least Moonshadow went into detail on how to properly complete the test he gave me when I was sitting there defeated. So yeah, I would rather be his student than yours." Sunset said while counting on her fingers the number of reasons.

Celestia just stood there as she listened to what Sunset was saying. "Was I really that bad?" she asked with her ears drooping.

"Let me put it this way, if Moonshadow hadn't been teaching me for the last 3 years, I would probably have ended up in some other world by now." Sunset said crossing her arms.

"I see. I didn't realize I was that bad of a teacher." 

"Yeah, from the sound of it, you really blew it. Maybe you should take this as a lesson for the next time you take on a personal student." I quipped

"Watch it. I'm still mad at you and can easily revoke your funding." Celestia said glaring daggers at me

"Fair enough." I said waving my hands up.

"Sunset, is there anything I can do to convince you to take me back as your teacher?" Celestia asked.

"At this point. It is too late for that. I am Moonshadow's student now. And with all due respect, I wish you luck the next time you take on a student and hope you give them the attention that you didn't give me. Less this occurs a second time." Sunset said while crossing her arms.

"Very well then. I wish you the best of luck Sunset. And as for you Moonshadow, you better treat my former student well. Otherwise, I will be back for you." Celestia said as she turned and walked out of the lab closing the door behind her. Sunset and I stood there for a moment before I broke the silence.

"Well, that could have gone worse. The first lesson as your new teacher, give your teacher a few days’ notice before you throw them into a situation unprepared."

Sunset sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, "Yeah, I didn't expect for Princess Celestia to just show up like that."

"That brings me to my second and third lessons. Always expect the unexpected, and anything that can go wrong will go wrong at the worst possible moment." 

"Lesson learned." She replied with her ears drooping slightly

"Excellent!" I said while clapping my hands, "With that out of the way, let's get to work."





During the next 3 years, I took Sunset under my wing and started teaching her what I knew, and she taught me things that I didn't know. I taught her more about chemistry, engineering, making alloys, and how to read and write German. While she taught me about historic uses for some of the elements on the periodic table, and how to better optimize the spells that I made. As apparently, my spells were not very mana efficient. Which came in handy as once I turned 21, and had a height of 6ft 8 inches, (which for reference, Celestia was about 8 feet tall.) I had Sunset help me with my spell to replace all my bones with carbon nanotubes with an outer coating of Tantalum for added strength, except for the bone marrow and teeth. Before we started though, I prepared a backup spell that with the help of another powerful unicorn, or Celestia, would reverse the process should my body go into rejection. How we did it was I would be the one casting the spell in a meditative state, using 70 mana crystals we had prepared over the course of a month, while she watched over me with a scanning spell to watch for complications.

When the day came to start the spell, we were both nervous as nopony had done something like this before. So, we started small, replacing the bones in my hand first. And once that was done, I stopped to see if I felt any different, while at the same time, performing several scans using a more advanced spell similar to one that was used during my medical checkup when I first came to the school. And over the course of 2 hours of rigorous scanning and monitoring, everything seemed to be working correctly. Satisfied, I sat back down, entered a meditative state once again, and resumed the spell. It took an entire day to finish the spell and used 68 of the 70 crystals we prepared, but it was done. Leaving my meditative state, I stood up and surprised how light I felt. Weighing myself on a scale in the lab, I had gone from 240 pounds to 215 pounds, (Average male weight is 250, and females are 200 due to high muscle density.) After the weigh-in, Sunset also wanted me to cast the spell on her, but I told her she would have to wait until she is 21, just to make sure she finished growing.

In 992, during the third year, I worked on creating a doctoral thesis using my knowledge of atomic theory, chemistry, the spell I taught Sunset to view the atomic makeup of something, and a spell to view atoms. As I came to find out that both of them were basically unknown in this world. They knew that mixing certain substances resulted in new ones and that transmutation magic had something to do with it. But because of how small atoms are, no unicorn in the past has been able to properly document how the magic works. Upon submitting the paper, I didn't hear anything for 3 months as it was being peer-reviewed. Until one day I got a letter from the crown saying that because of my paper, not only would I be getting my doctorate, but my name would go down in Equestrian history as the founder of atomic theory, and the standardization of elements. And I had the honor or creating an entirely new class that focused solely on the knowledge that I put in my paper. 

To say that I was excited was an understatement. As I was in the middle of teaching Sunset how light is both a wave and a particle when I received the letter, and I had paused the lesson due to see what the crown had sent me. And as I read through it, my eyes got wider and wider, until at one point I passed out from forgetting to breathe. I was only out for a few seconds, but Sunset had already rushed over to my side and was in the middle of grabbing the medical kit off the wall with her magic. To which I stopped her once I saw what she was doing.

"Sunset, I'm fine."

"But you just passed out. What if it is from the bone replacement."

"It wasn't that Sunset, I know exactly what caused it."

"What?"

"I simply forgot to breathe when I was reading the letter from the crown."

"From the letter? What was in it that could have made you pass out?" she asked.

"Go ahead and read it yourself," I said as I sat upright.

Sunset grabbed the letter and started reading it. To which her eyes got wider the longer she read it. "Is this for real? Did you really just get approved to create an entirely new field of study?"

"It looks that way." I reply standing up

"And has what you been teaching me..." 

"Been a part of that field of study? Yes, it has. Which makes you the second most knowledgeable pony in the field of Chemistry, and Atomic Theory." 

Sunset just sat there processing what I told her. When the realization finally hit her, her eyes practically sparkled with glee. As she was basically bouncing around the room squealing yes. 





A month later, I had officially graduated from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns with my doctorate. The only downside was that because I was no longer a student there, the stipend and research grant ended the second I was given my degree. I was allowed to keep Sunset as a student as she also received her master's degree the same day and decided to drop out to continue learning from the expert on Atomic Theory and Chemistry. The school told us that we had a month to vacate the lab and the dorm that I have been living in for 14 years, so I had to either find a new place to live. Luckily, with the income from licensing the patents I had in my name, I had saved up a lot of bits. A quick inquiry at the bank and I learned I had saved up close to 50 million bits due to how successful some of my intentions were. I also received a reward from the crown of 70 million bits for my contributions to magic and establishing a new field of study. 

The amount of money I had was frankly insane. I had never had this much money in any of my lifetimes, nor do I think I will see this much money in any other lifetime again. With this much money, I opted for having a home lab constructed. The only question was where. I needed a place that has access to the railroad and had access to an area that I can conduct my more explosive tests in. And after 3 days of research, I found a perfect place. A place called Ponyville, it had access to the railroad, was not densely populated, was near several potential sites I could use for testing and was about an 8-hour train trip from Canterlot. Satisfied with the location, I went back to the bank and filled out the necessary documentation to purchase a 20-acre lot on the outskirts of the town. It cost me 5 million bits for the 10-acre lot, but I was able to get close to the landmark known as Ghastly Gorge. A perfect place for explosives testing.

Returning back to the lab Sunset was in the process of packing up the lab equipment, books, chemicals, and various raw resources. I went over to the drafting table and started the process of drawing up a floor plan for the compound that I would like to be built. It took me 6 hours to come up with a good plan, but I was finally satisfied with a 6,000 sq. ft house, with a 20,000 sq. ft hangar, a 10,000 sq. ft lab, a 12,000 sq. ft storage facility, a 5,000 sq. ft smeltery, and an observatory. If my calculations are correct, it should cost about 25 million bits to have this place constructed. Once I had finished the plans, I realized Sunset was looking over my shoulder at what I had made.

"Uh, why is the place you are designing so large? What could we possibly use all that space for?" 

"I'm glad you asked. I have designed our new home to be so large so that we have plenty of space for all the projects that I have in mind. I have plans to turn the lab into one that is unequaled, to the point where it dwarfs the one we currently have and may allow for many experiments to be conducted. The large storage facility will be separated to store chemicals, compounds, and raw resources that we will need. The smeltery will allow us to create new metals and alloys using atomic theory. The hanger will store the vehicles that I designed." 

"I guess that makes sense. Wait... our new home? Where did you plan to have this place built?"

"Oh, I plan to have it built on a 20-acre lot I bought in a town called Ponyville just today. And as to what I mean by we, I expect that you would rather live in the new house rather than teleporting from your home every day."

"So, wait... I'm moving in with you?" She asked with a slight blush on her face

"Of course. You will have your own room and everything. All I need to do is get these plans to the mayor of the town and to find work crews to get the place built."

"I see, how long do you think it will take for it to be built?"

"Well, I think the house should take 6 months once we leave Canterlot if we get crews of unicorns working 7 days a week. After that, it should take a year before the rest of it is done."





We arrived in Ponyville at the end of that month, it was a quiet town with a population less than a thousand. We met Mayor Mare practically once we stepped off of the train. She was the mayor of the town and wanted to make sure we were able to find our way to our new land, as well as thank us for purchasing the land. I’m guessing because it was a huge purchase of land. Walking through the town, I overheard ponies talking about how that thanks to the huge plot of land being purchased, the town has more money than it ever had. And that the town has begun work on projects that have been on delay due to lack of funding. Like bringing electricity to every house, repaving the roads, projects to improve the look of the town, and the rebuilding of several bridges that have started to fall apart. Once the ponies dispersed, I asked Mayor Mare if what they were saying was true. She told me that it was, and if we hadn't bought that land, they would have had to find ponies to invest in the town. To which I replied that I guess it was a good thing we came when we did.

It wasn't until after trains started to arrive with 300 unicorn construction workers and train carts full of building materials did ponies realize exactly who we were. Once they realized we were the ones who bought the land, that they practically mobbed us thanking us for the huge investment we made into the town. Ponies were coming up to us for hours asking if we needed anything, or if they could help with the construction of our new place of residence. I had to tell them several times that the best thing they can do for us at this moment is to maintain their normal lives. 

With the mob around us dispersed, I asked for Mayor Mare to take us to our new plot of land. As she led the way, I told the construction workers to grab their housing gear, so they can set up once we get to the site. Mayor Mare told me she had already set posts in the four corners of the plot of land I bought just a day before we arrived. It was a 20-minute walk from the station to the plot of land that I bought, and it was the first time I could see the land I bought. The land was relatively flat with only some trees breaking up the clear view. With how flat the land was, it would speed up the construction time considerably. Taking a tour of the land, I found the perfect place for the house just an acre in. I told the head construction workers, that the entrance to the building will be where I was standing, and to just follow the plans I gave them. The large stallion nodded and started ordering the others to make camp on the edge of the property, and to get to work.

Heading back into town, Sunset and I went to a small hotel in town and rented two rooms. It would be the two rooms we would live in for the next 6 months. However, it wasn't two days into our hotel stay, that the first incident occurred that marked the beginning of the strange events that occur in this town. 

Sunset and I were having lunch at a local hayburger place. I was enjoying some sweet potato fries and a cheese hayburger, while sunset was eating a salad. We had just finished at a local garden shop about getting some landscaping done once the construction on the house was finished, as well as when the project was totally finished. When there was a loud boom, the kind of boom that is associated with breaking the sound barrier. Looking up, I what could only be described as a rainbow shockwave. That shouldn't be possible. The shockwave was a perfect rainbow and didn't affect the cloud cover as is passed. I sat there in a stupor for a moment, but when I snapped out of it, I grabbed a new journal from my bag, wrote rainbow shockwave on the front, and started writing theories on how what I just saw could have happened. 

Sunset meanwhile just sat there eating her salad as she had seen me do this a few times before. So, she just sighed and continued to eat her salad. I spent 2 weeks doing research into what could have caused this phenomenon. I was so engrossed in my research, that I didn't even read mail that came to me. Though, once I hit a dead end, I rejoined the world. And started going through my mail, letters about ponies wanting to study under me. Requests to get a license to use the inventions I patented. But the one that caught my eye was a letter from the dean at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Opening it, it was a letter from Celestia. Huh, when did she start acting like the head of her school? It was a short letter, but an important one none the less. 

Hello Dr. Flash,

I felt that you would like to know that I have taken on a new student, an 11-year-old unicorn named Twilight Sparkle. Who scored off the charts on magic potential and a 9 in magic control. I have taken what you and Sunset said to heart, and I plan to teach her well.

Warm Regards,
Princess Celestia

Huh, no shit. Wonder how this will turn out. After I was finished reading it, I walked took the letter over to Sunset and let her have a look at it as well. She was surprised at how quickly she got herself a new student and shared my sentiment that it will be interesting to see how this turns out. 





At the end of 6 months, the house was finished being built, and Sunset and I started to move in. I took the owner's suite, and Sunset took the bedroom next to the dining room. We spend another week after that going and buying furniture for the house, and having the landscapers start making the outside of the house look presentable while the construction workers started on the other buildings behind the house. Once we were moved in, I got to work writing course documents to send back to the school, so they can start teaching Chemistry and Atomic Theory. It took me 5 months to write the coursework, and I also made a more advanced version and sent it to Celestia. along with a note telling her that she should teach her new student this once she gets though the basic version. 

I taught Sunset more and more as we lived in the new house. As 6 months went by the year 993 approached, the construction workers were able to finish construction on New Years Eve, and Sunset and I were able to start the real work. 

Over the course of the next 7 years, Sunset and I continued to live out daily lives, produce new products, and slowly change the world of magic by enhancing spells that were long thought to be at their pinnacle. Along with creating many new spells, with notable ones including Mind Shield, Privacy, Connection, True Silence, Enhanced Heal, Dark Vision, and Enhanced Senses. Most of the spells we created we didn't publish, but ones that helped out the masses like Enhanced Heal, we patented and licensed it out to hospitals for only 10 bits a year. We made a lot of money with those spells, but the real money earner was in the alloys we made, some of them didn't even exist back home. We made and patented crystal-infused titanium-steel alloy, stainless steel, and a platinum-iridium alloy. We kept the number of ponies who knew how to make the metals we kept low as to make sure it could never be used against us. Especially the crystal-infused titanium-steel alloy, it was as strong as the steel used in cold war era tanks, but it absorbed magic and stored it.

When I found that out the first time, an idea for a tank popped into my head. If I could create an engine that ran off of magic energy, I could then connect it to batteries that would be recharged by mana, or spells hitting the hull could be used to allow the tank to recharge as it gets hit. To which, I started work on designing a tank that could use this function. Of all the designs that popped in my head for what kind of tank to base it off of, I just had to go with the Tiger 2. So, pulling out the blueprints, and started work on making a real version of it. With the help of Sunset, we were able to complete a prototype in 998. 

"So, this tank. What is the purpose of it?"

"It is meant for war. To defeat others like it or heavily armored targets."

"Will we ever have to use it?" 

"I hope not Sunset, I really hope not. But in my opinion, it is better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it."

Sunset was a bit distant for a week after that. But in the end, she saw the logic in what I said and agreed that it is best to have it and not need it. So, for the moment, we put it into the hanger for safe keeping.

In 999, I had just turned 27, and Sunset turned 25. Its a big moment for either of us. So, I thought I would make something nice for the both of us. I made one custom necklace for each of us, made from the platinum-iridium alloy. I spent 1 week enchanting them with a custom spell. The spell allowed for either of us to know the exact location of each other in the case that either of us become greatly injured, go unconscious involuntarily, or speak the word German word for help; Hilfe. And with the spell, it would allow for either of us to teleport within 30 feet of the other. 

When I gave it to Sunset, she was very happy. She became ecstatic when I offered to give her bones the same treatment we gave mine 6 years ago. Although I had to remind her that once we do the spell, her height would be locked in at 6 ft 1 inchs for the rest of her life. Once making sure she was fine with it, we spent the next day changing her bones to be like mine. And when we were done, she was surprised by how light she felt. To which I only laughed saying I told you so.

Although at the start of summer in the year 1000 was where things really started to hit the fan. And it all started with the return of Nightmare Moon.
> Return Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When it was announced two weeks before the 1000 summer sun celebration that it would be taking place in Ponyville, there was a town gathering where Mayor Mare announced the good news. I think she was expecting the crowd to cheer, not to go deathly silent. When the mayor asked for volunteers to be put in charge of making sure the town was ready, only 5 hands went up in the crowd, not including my own. One of the local farmers, Applejack asked to be put in charge of the food for the celebration. Captain of the weather team, Rainbow Dash said she will personally be in charge of making sure the skies are clear. Rarity volunteered to be in charge of decorations. The local recluse, Fluttershy said she and her animals would be happy to be put together a chorus for the Princess. And the resident enigma known as Pinkie Pie said she will take care of planning the party for the representative Celestia will be sending to town, how she knew that I don't know, but I have learned to trust what she says. 

When asked what I would like to be in charge of, I told the mayor I would like to be in charge of security. To which she raised an eyebrow to.

"What do you exactly plan on doing for security?" She asked

"I have an invention that I think will be more than enough security. It also gives me a chance to show it off to the public for the first time." 

"Do I want to know what this invention is beforehand?"

"Eh, 50/50 really. I plan on bringing it into town a day or two before dawn the day before the celebration."

"Am I going to regret agreeing to this?" she said crossing her arms

"I hope not. But I'll write you a check for half a million bits just in case." I said while pulling out a pen and a checkbook from my pocket.

"I am already regretting agreeing to this."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." I said as I finished writing the check. Handing it over to the Mayor, she gives it a once-over and nods in my direction.

Walking out of the mayor's office, I see the other girls outside talking on how they plan on getting the town ready. As I go to walk past, Rarity flags me down and motions for me to come over to the group. Putting my hands in my lab coat pockets, I walk over to the group of mares. As I recalled what I knew about the mares

Pinkie Pie had a bubbly personality and generous ass. I remember when she moved into town, she threw a party for everyone in town and made the entire town just brighten up. Her happiness was infectious, even if she regularly seemed to pop out of nowhere half the time. For 3 month I was addicted to her special cupcakes, I swear the only thing that is more addictive than those damn things is meth. And even then, it is a close call.

Rainbow Dash had a tomboy personality and athletic appearance. She lived up in a cloud house, which I didn't know was a thing until I actually saw it. When she wasn't busy doing aerial stunts and crashing many times, I usually spotted her tail hanging off of a cloud as she took her daily naps. Never really had much of a reason to interact with her. 

Fluttershy with her shy demeanor with how she liked to hide in that large green sweater of hers and was by far the kindest pony I have ever met. Seriously, she was able to calm down raging animals with ease. However, she really only came into town a few times a week, as she usually stayed in her house near the forest. But from what I hear, animals love her. Her house is practically an animal sanctuary.

Rarity had that elegant look of a fashionista, and more generous than Bill Gates when it comes to helping others. She is one of the more recent arrivals, only moving to town 4 years ago. To which she immediately bought a plot of land near the center of town and build a boutique. I have to give her props on her work. The sundress that Sunset bought a year ago from her was damn sexy and showed off all the right things.

Applejack with her visible muscles and was oozing with what could only be described as southern charm was attractive in her own ways. She was a farmer by trade and was actually born here in Ponyville. I have to say, her family had the best cider in town, and whenever it went on sale the entire town went nuts for it. She could give anyone a run for their money if it came down to an athletic competition.

"Yo, what up?" I asked

"You are Moonshadow right? You own that big plot of land near the gorge, right? With the big house and the other large building?" Rainbow asked.

"That is right. You are Rainbow Dash, right? Captain of the weather team?" I asked to which she replied with a nod, "Pleasure to finally meet you." I said as I shook her hand.

"Good to meet you too." she replied

"The reason I call you over darling is we were curious to what you were planning to do for the Summer Sun Celebration. As well, none of us really know what you do. Even though you have been here for years, anyone I have asked has said all they know for sure is that you have regular deliveries of large quantities of materials." Rarity asked in an elegant voice.

"Well, as for what I plan to do for the Summer Sun Celebration, I plan on providing security with one of my inventions. As for what I do, my talent is in Transmutation, so I mainly focus on my field of study in my lab. But I also write course material for Chemistry and Atomic Theory, as I am the leading expert in both fields. With my student Sunset Shimmer being the second leading expert. So, we usually spend months at a time doing research and developing new spells, materials, or inventions."

"Why would the celebration need security?" Fluttershy quietly asked

"And what kind of inventions?" Applejack asked

"Well, to be honest, I'm using the security pretense to show off one of my inventions. As to what kind of inventions I make, your farm has a new Mustang 6-cylinder Tractor right?" I asked Applejack

"Yeah, we just got it 2 months ago. It has already made plowing the fields monumentally easier. Why?" 

"Well, the engine in that Tractor is one of my inventions, along with the fuel and lubricants for it. It has made me quite a lot of bits over the years by selling licenses to companies to make and use it."

"That's a might impressive. I guess I have to thank ya for coming up with something like that. I cut the time to plow the fields down to a day rather than 5 days." Applejack said.

"No need for thanks. Now if you will excuse me, I need to go and get my invention ready in time for the Summer Sun Celebration. It was a pleasure meeting you all." I said as I started to walk away, but I stopped after 3 steps. "Hey Pinkie, you got any of those cupcakes?" 

"Only if you have some of the fun stuff." She said with a smirk. I really shouldn't have introduced her to that stuff. 

"I do. But you know this stuff is super addictive and can take years off your life, right?" I asked her. Thanking myself that besides Pinkie only Sunset and I know this stuff even exists.

"Eh, I never planned on living forever anyway." She said as she pulled a box of cupcakes out of her mane. I honestly will never know how she does it.

"You also never told me why you had a purple silk pouch full of baking soda that day." I said as I pulled out a small purple silk pouch from the inside of my lab coat and traded it to her for her special cupcakes.

"Nor will I ever tell you." She said as she took the bag from me. with the others looking oddly at both of us.

"Why do I have the feeling we just watched something illegal happen,” Rarity asked

"It isn’t illegal is there are no laws on it in the first place. Anyways, I bid you all adieu." I said as I walked away with the box of goodness. Once I got back to the house, as I placed the box of goodness on the counter and took one of the cupcakes bit into its goodness. I took my time to savor the flavor and texture of the cupcake. It was fluffy like angel cake and tasted of strawberries and cream with some. I was so engrossed in the flavor that I didn't hear Sunset walk up behind me.

"I thought you swore off those cupcakes after that 3-month period where you ate nothing but those things." 

"I did. But I missed them so much."

"So, what was the big meeting in the town about?"

"Oh, the Summer Sun Celebration is being held here in two weeks, and the town was freaking out about how to get ready. In which I volunteered to provide security, but I will really be showing off the tank."

"Wait... they are having the Summer Sun Celebration here? Why here of all places?"

"No idea. But like I said I'm going to take the chance to show off the tank. Possibly shoot a boulder or two."





As the days grew closer to the Summer Sun Celebration, I spent most of my time getting the Tiger 2 tank ready to roll out of the hanger and into the town. I even loaded 10 shells of High Explosive and 20 Armor Piercing Shells with the sole reason of showing off the potential to Celestia when she arrives. And a days before the celebration, I hopped up into the commander's position, and Sunset hopped into the driver's position and we started the engine. Thankfully, it wasn't as loud as a normal tank due to replacing the engine with one that runs off of mana batteries and sounded more like a hybrid car. Which quickly changed as the tank started moving and the sound of the tracks became part of the mix. I felt like Erwin Rommel standing up out of the commander's hatch as we rode into town. As we leave the hanger, I could see a golden chariot pulled by two Pegasus guards fly out of the town. Huh, wonder who got dropped off. 

It takes us about 10 minutes to get the tank to the main entrance of the town. And to say heads were turning our direction would be an understatement. Many ponies who were busy getting ready for the celebration stopped what they were doing to stare at the massive 10 ft machine rolling down the main road. Several of the young ones ran beside us for a while as we made our way to the center of town. I had to tell them several times to be careful of the tracks and wheels as to not get crushed. As we rolled up to the center of town, I could see the mayor talking to a purple pony at the entrance of the town hall. The purple pony was wearing a blue shirt and purple pants and had a brown book bag slung over her shoulder. And it looked like she was having a heated discussion with the mayor. Which I was stopped when she finally heard the tank approaching the building. I have no idea how she didn't hear a 71-ton tank rolling down the main road, I mean the electro-magic engine did reduce the noise a lot, but still, it is a tank. But she definitely saw it when the mayor pointed in my direction. As the purple pony turned around, I saw the mayor grab a flask from her jacket and started drinking from it as she went back inside.

As I parked the tank outside the mayor's office and turned the turret to the left, so I could open the engine hatch. Pulling myself out of the commander's hatch, I hopped down onto the engine deck and with the power of magic opened the heavy access panel. I wanted to check on the electro-magic engine since it hasn't run in over 6 months prior to today. It should be just fine but considering this is a new technology, I wanted to make sure it is working properly. Less I want a Porsche Tiger situation where it catches on fire and breaks down often. As I was inspecting the engine, the purple pony walked up to the tank.

"You are the pony in charge of security, right? Might I ask what who you are, what are you doing, and what is this thing?" She asked

"The name is Moonshadow Flash, and if you can't tell, I'm making sure my invention here is working properly," I replied to the purple pony without looking at her. "Hey Sunset, what is the battery gauge looking like?" I yelled to the other side of the tank.

"It is sitting at 75% charge!" She yelled back

"Thanks!" I yelled back. "Now, I told you my name, who might you be, and why are you here?" I asked while elbow deep in the inside of the tank.

"I am Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia. I was sent here to make sure everything is ready for the celebration. So far, you are the only pony left I need to talk to." Twilight said

"Wait, your Twilight Sparkle?" I asked while pulling my arm out of the engine compartment and hopping down to the ground to be level with her, "I remember hearing about you from Celestia years ago. How is the Princess doing? I haven't had the pleasure of talking to her in quite some time."

"Princess Celestia is doing well. May I ask how you know her?"

"Oh, I met her during my entrance exam when I attended Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. She took an interest me after I made a solid diamond statue of her during my entrance exam. I would also like to think it is due to the fact I am a rare case of being a unicorn with thestral ancestry."

"I know of that statue; my assistant Spike actually took a bite of it a few years ago actually." 

"Who is Spike?" 

"He is a dragon I hatched during my entrance exam, he should be right behind me." Twilight said turning around to look for her assistant. And while she was looking, I saw a purple and green dragon in blue pants, with a green shirt, and a purple jacket holding a bunch of scrolls running down the main road towards us. He looked no more than 7 or 8 years old if going by pony standards.

"Is that your assistant?" I asked pointing towards the dragon

Twilight turned in the direction I was pointing, "Yeah that is him. Spike! Where did you go?"

As he reached us, he took a moment to catch his breath, "Sorry about that Twilight, I had to find the notes you had me take after getting ran into by a grey mail pony." he said 

"Is your assistant going to be alright?" I asked Twilight

"He will be fine. He just needs a moment to catch his breath." she replied

"A gem wouldn't hurt either Twilight. The lunch we had wasn't very filling." Spike said

"Fine. Let me grab you a gem to snack on." Twilight said as she reached into her bag. I watched as she fumbled around in her bag for a good minute before slapping her head. "I must have forgotten the gems back in Canterlot.  I'm sorry Spike."

"Need some help there?" I asked

"You wouldn't happen to know a place that sells gems, would you?" Twilight asked with an embarrassed look on her face

"I can do you one better. But before I do, what kind of gem do you want?" I asked Spike

"I mean, I would really go for some amethyst right now." Spike said.

"Not a problem." I said as my horn was encased in the Prussian Blue glow of my magic. I started pulling Silicon from the ground and oxygen from the air to form the amethyst. I watched as thin strands of the silver silicon were pulled from the ground and were bonded with the oxygen from the air. and after 30 seconds, a 20-carat amethyst was floating in the air encased by my magic. Another 30 seconds and it was 60 carats. Another 30 and it was 200 carats. And finally, after another 30 seconds, it was 500 carats. Plucking it from the air, I tossed it over to Spike. "Here ya go. One 500 carat amethyst."

"Thank you!" he said as he bit into the gem. "Wow, that has to be the best amethyst I have ever tasted. It is so crisp and juicy!"

"I have to ask, what does amethyst taste like?"

"It's hard to describe. But if I had to compare it to something, it is crisp like an apple, and tastes like grapes."

I grab a notebook from the inside of the tank, and write it down with my magic, "That is interesting to learn if you both stay in town after the celebration, do you mind if I ask you how other gems taste?"

"I would be happy to tell you if you can provide more gems like that." Spike replied.

"Excellent. Now Miss Sparkle is there anything else I can do for you. Or can I get back to work?" I asked turning towards her. Only to see her furiously writing in a notebook. 

"What spell did you use to do that. I have never seen anything like that."  She asked

"Really? I made sure to include that spell in the advanced coursework I sent Celestia." 

"What coursework?" she asked

"Advanced uses of Atomic Theory in Transmutation. I know I included it in there when I wrote it."

"I think I was going to learn that next year. I'll have to ask Princess Celestia if I can learn it earlier. Anyways, I'll let you get back to work. Come along Spike." She said as she started to walk away.

"Coming Twilight. Thank you for the amethyst sir." Spike said as he ran after Twilight.

"No problem kid!" I said to him as he ran after the purple pony. 

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, other than having a crowd around the tank most of the time. Sunset answered questions while I was busy working on various parts. And getting ready for a demonstration we were going to do during the Summer Sun Celebration. Including going to the edge of town near the Whitetail woods and setting up a shooting range that involved a lot of rocks, some brick walls, and a 2-inch thick plate of steel. While I was doing this, Pinkie stopped by and asked me if I wanted to come to the surprise party for Twilight. I politely declined saying that I still have more work to do before the celebration tomorrow. She said she understood and went back into town. When I was done setting up the demonstration area, the moon was already in the sky as I went back to the house to shower and get some rest to get up early for the celebration.





As I slept that night, I had an odd dream. I was in a ruined castle in a forest, and there was a midnight black alicorn with blue split eyes wearing blue armor looking over a bunch of ponies lying on the ground.

"You have failed to defeat me. Now I shall bring eternal night to Equestria and rule it as the one true ruler!" She said letting out a cackle. 

One of the ponies of the ground spoke, but their figure was covered in shadows, and their voice was distorted. "As long as I live, I will not bow down to a false ruler. I will get the Elements of Harmony, and I will come back and defeat you, Nightmare Moon!" 

Nightmare Moon? Like in that old wives’ tale?

"And that is why I shall not let you live." Nightmare Moon said as she cast a spell, engulfing the ponies on the ground in blue flames.

"Now my followers of the night, rise up. Rise up and, Rise up and follow your true Princess!" she said.

As she said that, my head started hurting. It was hurting really badly. I clutched my head and screamed. And as I did, I sat up in my bed, the pain in my head still persisting. As I clutched my head, voices in my head started whispering to me.

"She has returned. Our Princess. We must obey. We must follow. We must bring night to the lands that did not worship us." the whispers said over and over again. Growing with intensity with time. As I clutched my head, I tried to cast a spell, but the voices made it impossible for me to focus long enough to cast the mind shield spell. I hobbled out of bed, and with my hand on the wall, I walked down the hall towards Sunset's room. The voices getting louder and louder with each passing second. And the pain intensifying. 

As I reached Sunset's door, the voices were deafening. I started pounding on Sunset's door. 

"Sunset! Sunset! I need your help now!" I yelled

"Moonshadow, it is the middle of the night, what could you possibly need." I barely heard her talk through the voices now screaming in my head.

"Sunset, I need you to cast the mind shield spell now. Something is preventing me from casting my magic, and there are voices screaming in my head!" I yelled. And after a moment, the door was slammed open and on the other side was Sunset in a pink nighty. I didn't have time to admire it as the voices were becoming too loud that I had to clutch my head with both hands now. Sunset took my head in her hands, and I assume cast the spell, as the voices started to fade, and the pain subsided.

"Moonshadow, are you alright?" Sunset asked 

"I'm alright now. But this all started when I was asleep." I said as we went over to the couch in the living room and I went into detail of the dream I had.

"So, if I'm understanding this correctly, this has something to do with Nightmare Moon and the Mare in the moon story. Right?"

"From what I can understand. Yes." I said, "Wait... the Mare in the Moon!" I said as I jolted up and ran outside to look at the moon. Looking as I looked up, I saw the Mare in the moon still there, but then four starts near the moon glowed really bright for a moment, and the Mare was gone.

"Oh shit. SUNSET! Get dressed, now."

"Why? What’s wrong?" Sunset asked as she followed me outside.

"Look at the Mare in the Moon." I said

"What about it?" She said as she looked at the moon, "Wait... where is it?"

"I just saw it disappear. I think that wasn't a dream. But rather a prediction of the near future."

"I'll go get dressed. What are we going to do?" she asked

"After we are both dressed, we are going to look for anything on Nightmare Moon in our library before we need to be at the Summer Sun Celebration. Once there, we need to be on high alert. And not hesitate to use the tank if needed."

Over the course of the next 3 hours, we wasted no time scouring the books we had for anything on Nightmare Moon. With the only real information being the legend itself. How Princess Celestia banished her to the moon using the elements of harmony in the Castle of the Two Sisters. 

As the time of the Summer Sun Celebration grew closer, we both went back into town and got the Tiger 2 tank ready just in case. We turned on the engine and loaded the gun with an armor-piercing shell. We were staying vigilant, watching for any signs of Nightmare Moon outside of the town hall as the Summer Sun Celebration was happening. Looking at the time, the sun should be rising any second now. But as the seconds turned into 5 minutes I knew something was wrong. Something must have happened to Princess Celestia. I wasn't sure what, but it can't be good. 

Before I could wonder any more exactly what happened, I heard an evil cackle from the inside of the town hall, and Ponies started running out of the building.

"Sunset she must be inside the town hall. We need to get in there now! Use the Tank to knock down the wall!" I said as I ducked down into the turret of the tank and closed the commander's hatch and looked through the periscope. As I did, I could feel the tank move, and a few seconds later, I saw the wall in front of the tank break down and standing where Princess Celestia should be is what can only be Nightmare Moon. She looked exactly like she did in my dream. Knowing full well that this will hurt the ears of the ponies in the room, I took aim at Nightmare Moon and fired. As the explosion echoed through the room, the shell flew true and went straight through Nightmare Moon, leaving a gaping hole in her chest. I thought for sure it would have killed her, but I saw the hole close and Nightmare Moon fire a beam of magic at the tank. The beam of magic hit the tank, and I watched as the charge of the battery rise quickly and was at capacity when the beam finished. I looked back to where Nightmare Moon was, and I saw her disappear in a blue mist with a cackle. 

Opening the Commanders Hatch, I looked out at the ponies still in the room. Most of them were on the ground clutching their ears and were in shock at what just occurred.

"Sunset, back out of the town hall please."

As we reversed out of the hall, I saw Twilight running towards Golden Oaks Library, with Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy a good 60 seconds behind her.

"Sunset, follow Twilight Sparkle. She might have more information on what is going on."
> Return Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset and I followed Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity to the tree/library in 5 minutes from the town hall in the tank. We stopped outside of the library and as we got out of the tank, I could hear yelling from inside the library as we approached the door.

"And just what are the Elements of Harmony? And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy?" I heard Rainbow saying as Sunset and I walked into the library

"Simmer down, Sally. She ain't no spy. But she sure knows what's going on. Don't you, Twilight?" said Applejack

"I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon. Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her, but I don't know what they are, where to find them; I don't even know what they do!" Twilight said as she pulled at her hair

"The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide," Pinkie said pulling a book from one of the shelves

"How did you find that?!" Twilight asked

"It was under "E"!" Pinkie said in a sing-song voice

"Oh. There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said, the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters." Twilight said, "It is located in what is now--"

"The Everfree Forest!" They all said in unison.

"What, you mean the one on the edge of town?" I asked leaning up against the wall with my arms crossed.

"Well duh, is there any other forest near the town?" Pinkie asked

"Well, there is the White Tail woods to the west." I responded

Pinkie walked up to me narrowed her eyes, and glared at me for a moment, "Fair enough." She said walking back to where she was previously.

"If you are all going into the forest, Sunset and I should probably come with you. At the bare minimum, we can give you a lift into the entrance of the forest." I said looking at the group

"Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'd really rather do this on my own." Twilight said

"Where have I heard that before." I said whispering to Sunset. To which she rolled her eyes in response.

"No can do, sugarcube. We sure ain't lettin' any friend of ours go into that creepy place alone. We're stickin' to you like caramel on a candy apple." Applejack said, getting a hmph in agreement from the others.

"So, if you are done chatting. Do you want that ride or not? Cause, either way, I'm heading towards that forest. If the Elements of Harmony are there, I'm willing to bet every bit I own that Nightmare Moon is heading there as well.

*Insert Scene Involving Twi Asking questions and start of the everfree trip here*

"Sure? I mean, it is faster than walking right?" Twilight asked

"Oh definitely. We can fit 4 of you inside of the tank, and two of you will have to hold on from the outside." I said as I walked out of the library, "I would recommend those who can fly be on the outside, and those who can't be on the inside. Any objections?" I ask

"I call hanging out the back of the turret!" Pinkie said sitting on the open hatch on the back of the turret. I look behind me and there is a smoke outline of where Pinkie was before. How did she... Never mind, best not to question it.

"Ok, so Pinkie has chosen the empty ready rack area. Who wants to be up front and who wants to be in the turret with me?"

"I'll join ya in the turret." Applejack said

"I would love to be up front." Rarity said

"I guess I'll also be in the turret." Twilight said

Sunset and I helped the others into the tank. Rarity sat up front in the radio operators position, Applejack got the gunner's position, and Twilight got the loaders position. While Rainbow sat on the left side of the engine deck, and Fluttershy on the right side of the engine deck. 

"It is kind of cramped in here." Twilight said as she got into the tank.

"Well, we never had a full crew in here before. And it could be even more cramped if Pinkie wasn't hanging out the rear of the turret."

"Why are ya complaining Twilight? It is even more cramped down here." Applejack said from below me.

"I have to agree with Applejack on this one." Rarity said

"Well, at least yall got a place to poke yer heads out of. I ain't got that luxury." 

"All right, all right. That is enough. Next time Sunset and I build a tank we will go for one with more space in it." I said to the group. "Now hold on, as we start going forward. Sunset, full speed towards the Everfree Forest." 

"Alright. Heading towards the Everfree Forest now." Sunset replied as the tank lurched forward.

As we started moving towards the Everfree, Twilight started asking me questions about the tank. Specifically how it was moving and what it was made of. I went into detail about how the tank is made of a crystal-infused titanium-steel alloy that when it is hit with offensive magic, the mana of the spell gets dispersed along the entire hull, and can be used to charge a series of mana crystals in the rear of the tank. Which in turn fuel an electro-mana generator which in turns power electric motors that turns the main sprocket at the front allowing the tank to move. I also went into detail on how the tracks allowed for the tank to have a better grip on surfaces and allowed for it to pivot in place without having to go in a large circle to turn around. She also asked what the gun was and what it did. Since she didn't know what it was, I was very vague in what it did. I told her that it was for defense and hopefully, we wouldn't have to use it. 

After a few minutes of traveling through the town, and ponies who were still panicking diving out of the way, we finally reached the edge of the Everfree Forest. As we approached Applejack told us that there was only one main path in the forest, and directed us towards it. As we approached, the sounds of insects and while beasts could be heard. Looking at the main path, it was going to be a tight fit, but the tank could make it on the main path with about 2 ft of space to spare on either side. I told sunset to slow down as we went through the forest as to make sure we don't end up driving off a cliff. Turning on the headlight at the front of the tank, it helped to illuminate the path, but not for more than 60 ft ahead of us.

About 20 minutes into the forest, we came to a sharp left turn, with a wall to the left, and a sloped drop to the right. The path was a little wider here, but I had Sunset take it slowly all the same. As the tank crawled slowly along the path, I was paying attention to the right side of the tank, making sure we don't go over the edge. Constantly having Sunset make adjustments the entire time. We were all so focused on making sure we didn't go over the edge that none of us noticed a blue smoke coming up from behind the tank, and flow into the ground just ahead of us. 

As we reached the middle of the section what the smoke creature entered. The ground beneath the tank gave way, we started sliding down a slope that was easily a 45-degree angle. As what just happened registered in my mind, "Turn to the right and full reverse! Do everything you can to stop us before we slide too far down!" I shouted at Sunset, as I used my magic to grab the tow cables from the side of the tank and looped them through the hooks at the back of the tank, and using my magic changed some spare track on the side of the turret into four grappling hooks. Attaching the hooks to the tow cables, I wedged the hooks into the ground. As we continued to descend, four trails of upturned dirt appeared behind us as we desperately tried to show the massive tank down. I saw Rainbow and Fluttershy flying after us, as they approached, I grabbed the final, thinner tow cable and looped it through a hook on the turret, and a metal pole through each of the loops on the tow cable. As Rainbow and Fluttershy caught up with the tank, I handed one of the poles to each of them and told them to fly back towards the top with everything they got. Ducking inside the tank, Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight were freaking out, while Pinkie just jumped out of the open hatch at the rear of the turret. I grabbed Twilight by the shoulders and looked her square in the eyes.

"If you can teleport, get Rarity and Applejack out of here and back up to the main path. Do you understand?" Twilight just looked at me frozen in fear. I slapped her to snap her out of it, "DO YOU UNDERSTAND!" I said much louder this time. To which Twilight nodded and grabbed Rarity and Applejack by the hands and they blinked out of the tank with a purple flash. 

I poke my head out through the commander's hatch, and about 1000ft in front of us is a sheer drop. Time slows down, as I realize we won't make it at this rate. I duck back into the tank and grab onto Sunset's shoulder as I prepare to teleport us 2000ft up into the air. But right before I cast the spell, I feel the tank lurch as we come to a sudden stop. I poke my head out of the commander's hatch again, and I see we stopped less than 10 ft from the cliff edge. Looking behind me, I see the tow cables enveloped in a purple magic glow, and up by the main path, I see Twilight focusing on making sure we don't plummet to our doom, and Applejack halfway down the slope her hooves dug into the ground assisting Twilight by pulling on two of the cables.

"Twilight! Focus on the hooks on the rear of the tank! I'm going to move the tow cables to the front and once we get the tank turned around, pull the tow cables as we move back up!" I yelled.

"No way! The second I let go, you will go off the cliff taking Applejack with you!" She yelled

"Now listen here. We won't go off the edge. What he is sayin' to you is the honest truth. Now let go, we will be safe!" Applejack said in a strained voice.

"Alright! Im trusting you!" Twilight yelled in response.  

It took us 20 minutes to get back up to the main path with the tank, and to say we were on edge from then on was an understatement. Not to mention Twilight was worn out from stopping the tank dead in its tracks. We took a moment to calm down, and while we were doing so, I was scanning the ground with magic to see if we would have to deal with this thing again further down the path. As I was scanning the area where the ground gave way, I could detect trace amounts of foreign magic in the area that gave way. Most likely it was Nightmare Moon trying to stop us. 

"Ok, so that wasn't natural. After scanning the ground, there are traces of foreign magic in the area that gave way. I'm thinking that Nightmare Moon is trying to kill us before we stop her." I whispered to Sunset

"Should we send the others back to town as we go after the elements?" Sunset asked

"Eh, for now, let's just have the gun loaded in case we encounter something else that tries to kill us. " I say as I load an AP shell into the main gun. "And let's keep this quiet, we don't want them panicking. Panicking leads to mistakes. Something we don't have time for."

"Agreed," Sunset replied.

Turning to the group, I clap my hands together, "So, shall we hop back in the tank and get a move on?" I ask the group

Rarity, Pinkie, Twilight, and Applejack all look at each other and nod, "If it is all the same to you, I think we will walk," Twilight said

"That's fine. Just stay close to the tank." I said as I hopped back in the commander's position.

Moving forward, Fluttershy opted to sit on the turret with her feet dangling down into the loaders position, Rainbow sat in the middle of the engine deck with her legs crossed, and the rest of the group walked single file to the right of the tank with Twilight in the front, followed by Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie. 10 minutes after the near-death experience, we came across a small clearing in the forest. As we entered the clearing, a Manticore jumped out of the bushes at the other side of the clearing. The entire group except for Fluttershy went after the Manticore to try and get it out of the way. While the others were doing various things to get it to move, Fluttershy was telling them to wait the entire time. Though she was speaking really softly, causing the others to not hear her over the ruckus,

"Fluttershy, what up? Why do you want them to wait?" I ask

"Well... I think I can get him to move out of the way. Judging by the way he is moving, I think it is in pain." Fluttershy practically whispered

"Well, if you think you can stop it. I'll pull the others away from the Manticore. But if you are wrong, I'm going to kill it before it can kill you. Is that acceptable?" 

Fluttershy gulped, "Y-yeah." She said as she flew down to the manticore as I pulled the others off of it, while at the same time aiming the gun center mass.

"Shhh... it's okay. Oh, you poor, poor little baby." Fluttershy said as she approached the manticore

"Little?" Rainbow said while still encased in my magic

"Now this might hurt for just a second." Fluttershy said as she grabbed the paw of the Manticore. Who then proceeded to let out a roar.

"Fluttershy!" the others yelled struggling in my magic. Only for the Manticore to start purring and licking Fluttershy's face while she held a large thorn in her hand.

"Aw you're just a little ol' baby kitty, aren't you? Yes you are, yes you are." She said with a giggle while petting the manticore. Satisfied that the situation has resolved itself, I released the others from my magic. Twilight then walked up the Fluttershy.

"How did you know about the thorn?" Twilight asked Fluttershy

"I didn't. Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness." Fluttershy responded. Did... did Fluttershy just guess? Holy shit, that could have ended so badly if she was wrong. Or it could have easily resulted in her eardrums blown out and covered in blood if I had shot it.

"Eh hem, if you are done risking life and limb, can we get a move on? The last thing we want is for Nightmare Moon to get to the Elements of Harmony before us." I said 





A half hour later, we had to be about a quarter way into the forest, as the forest density had been steadily increasing over time. And the dirt path started to become mud, either due to rain or because of a nearby water source. As we were approaching an especially dense and dark section of the forest, to the point where Sunset and I were in the front with the tank, and the others were in a group behind us. As we hit a really muddy spot in the path, and we ended up coating the others in the others in a layer of mud.

As they cleared the mud from their eyes, lightning flashed in the forest, causing the trees around us to be lit up like scary monsters. I was unfazed, but the others started freaking out and panicking. All except for Pinkie, who was laughing and making faces at the trees. What is she doing?

"Pinkie, what are you doing? Run!" Twilight said mid freakout.

"Oh girls, don't you see." Pinkie said as she approached the others, "When I was a little filly and the sun was going down..." She started to sing.

"Tell me she's not..." Twilight started

"Music Magic! Sunset seal the hatches!" I said ducking down into the turret and closing the open hatches on the turret with my magic. I hate music magic, I still don't understand how it occurs, but it tends to get anyone near the song to get involved and start singing and dancing. I learned that the hard way when I was younger and ended up in a song and dance number. I hated not being able to control my body as the magic took hold. I'm still working on trying to figure out what causes this phenomenon. but it is proving difficult. I have only had success in nullifying it, and some success in stopping it from occurring.

Sunset and I waited in the tank for around 7 minutes, as we waited for the song outside to die down. Looking outside through the periscopes occasionally, I watched as the others started to jump towards the treed and laugh at them. It had to be one of the strangest things I had ever seen. Eventually, though, they got in a group and started laughing at what had occurred. Sunset and I waited another minute before we carefully poked our heads out of the tank. 

"Is it over? Has the music magic subsided?" I asked the others

"Yeah, it stopped alright. Why did ya hide from it in the first place?" Applejack said

"I don't like being part of musical numbers," I said flatly. "Now if you are done, let's get a move on. we don't have all night." I said as I went back inside the tank. "Come on Sunset, let's start moving before they start stinging again." 

"Agreed. I never liked those musical numbers anyways." Sunset replied

As we moved forward, the ground became muddier as we approached a river. Testing the depth, I figure that the tank can make it across with a little effort. 

"Ok girls, Sunset and I are going to cross here, are you coming with?" I asked

"And get in the muddy water? No thank you, darling, I think we should check farther down the river for a bridge or a shallower part of the river." Rarity said in a huff, clearly still mad about the mud in her mane.

"Suit yourselves. If we don't see you on the other side of the river, we will meet you at the old castle." I said as I helped Sunset get the tank ready to cross the river. The girls went farther down the river and out of sight, as Sunset and I were making sure all hatches were sealed and watertight. I also made sure that the engine bay was sealed tight, luckily since the engine used mana to run, it didn't need air to operate at all times.

With the tank sealed up, Sunset got into the driver's position through the turret, and I got back into the commander's position. We put the tank in reverse, till we were a good distance back, then we floored it. As the Tiger 2 reached its top speed, we hit the water and everything below the turret ring was underwater. I felt the tank get pushed to the right as it fought against the flow of the river. Looking out the commander's hatch, I could see that we were getting pushed down the river as we were crossing it. The longer we were in the water, the more the tank slowed down, going to half speed halfway across, and down to quarter speed as we reached the other side. As the tank climbed out of the river, I could see several types of grasses and a few fish were crushed in stuck in the tracks. I sighed knowing I would have to go in and get rid of all of that gunk later.

Moving away from the river, we continued making our way deeper into the forest, eventually, I spotted hoof prints of the group and I directed Sunset to follow them. After a few minutes of following them, we spotted the group except for Rainbow standing at the edge of a ravine covered with fog.

"Oi, there you girls are. Where is Rainbow?" I asked as we rolled up behind them.

"She went to the other side to fix the bridge, but a group of ponies called the Shadow Bolts were trying to convince Rainbow to join them and leave us. As we tried to call out to her to tell her not to, this fog appeared." Twilight said

"That sounds like Nightmare Moon is trying to stop us. What is on the other side of the ravine?" 

"The castle is on the other side, all we needed to do was get the bridge back up so we could cross."

"What kind of bridge is it?"

"A simple rope bridge. I don't think your tank will be able to cross it."

No shit Sherlock. I thought to myself. There is no way that the tank would be able to make it across. "Alright then, Sunset, I'm going to leave you in charge of the tank. Be ready to fire the gun if you feel your necklace go off." I said climbing out of the tank, sliding down the front. Landing in front of the tank, I use my magic to make make a quarterstaff appear out of the upper plate of the tank.

"Alright, but please, be careful. I don't want anything happening to you." Sunset said 

"I'll be fine. Just make sure you keep yourself safe." I said as I heard the girls start cheering behind me. Turning around, Rainbow had come back to this side, and the fog has dispersed. 

"Alright, the bridge is up, and we can make our way across," Twilight said as she ushered the girls across.

On the other side of the ravine, there stood a ruined castle that looked to have been reclaimed by nature, there were piles of stone littered on the ground, and moss was climbing up the remaining walls. Trees were growing out of a hole in the wall on the side of the building, and the stone was wet from recent rain. At the top of a set of stairs, there stood wooden doors. As Twilight went up to open the doors, they opened with ease, as if they had just been oiled. On the inside, the roof had caved in, and the pillars in the room were covered in ivy. And in the center of the room stood a large pedestal with several stone orbs on platforms jutting out from the center of it.

"Whoa." Twilight said taking in the sight around her

"Come on, Twilight. Isn't this what you've been waitin' for?" Applejack said

"The Elements of Harmony, we've found them." Twilight said as she rushed up to the pedestal containing the orbs. "Fluttershy, Rainbow go up there and get them." As Fluttershy and Rainbow went up to the pedestal, Twilight was saying  "Careful, careful!" Over and over as they brought them down to the ground

"One, two, three, four... There's only five!" Pinkie said counting them one by one

"Where's the sixth?" Rainbow asked

"The book said: when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed." Twilight said

"What in the hay is that supposed to mean?" Applejack asked

"I'm not sure, but I have an idea. Stand back. I don't know what will happen." Twilight said as her horn glowed and she focused on the elements. 

I stood in the corner of the room and watched as Twilight focused on the elements. As she was focusing, I saw a blue shadow come out of a pile of rubble in the corner of the room. As it made its way towards Twilight and the Elements, I ran up to towards it. As I approached Twilight, I leaped over her head and whacked the smoke monster with the quarterstaff made from the crystal-infused Titanium-Steel alloy. As it made contact, It caused the smoke monster to fly back and slam against the pillar the elements had been sitting on. As it hit, it transformed into Nightmare Moon. I noticed right away, that there was a gaping hole in her chest piece where the tank shell had hit her back in town. I guess that while she was able to regenerate her armor didn't.

As she stood up, and her horn glowed as a burst of magic radiated out from her. Slamming myself against a pillar in the room, and knocking the girls over. As I hit the pillar, I saw her walk over to the stone elements and she crushed them in her magic. Twilight looked distraught as she saw what we came here for get completely obliterated.

"You have failed to defeat me. Now I shall bring eternal night to Equestria and rule it as the one true ruler!" She said letting out a cackle.

As Twilight lay on her ass, she said "As long as I live, I will not bow down to a false ruler. I will repair Elements of Harmony, and I will come back and defeat you, Nightmare Moon!"

"And that is why I shall not let you live." Nightmare Moon said as she started casting a spell. But having seen this once before, I teleported behind her, and with my quarterstaff, I started chocking her out.

"Twilight! If you can fix those elements do it now! I can keep her occupied for a little bit, but not for long!" I said pulling Nightmare moon away from the others.

As I was pulling her away, she started struggling against the quarterstaff against her throat. I saw her horn light up again and I could feel her try and use her magic to pull it off her throat. But due to the properties of the metal, her magic had no effect. Seeing as how her magic wasn't working, she started elbowing me and trying to pry my arms off of the staff. Her elbows hit my side and it hurt like a mother fucker. It the stories about alicorns are true, they have the strength of Earth Ponies. And I have seen an Earth pony shatter a boulder with a single kick. As she kept hitting me, I could feel her starting to get out of the position I had her in. But as she was breaking free, I saw on the other side of her the girls floating off of the ground, with Twilight wearing a crown, and the others wearing necklaces.

As they floated off of the ground, their eyes glowed white and a rainbow beam started coming out of them. A different color originated from each of them and met in the middle to form a rainbow. It looked like the Death Star firing its main weapon. The rainbow beam shot towards us, and as the beam hit us I could hear Nightmare Moon scream as she took the brunt of the beam. And what hit me burned like hell. It was like my blood was boiling, and my skin was melting. As beam continued, Nightmare Moon started shrinking, and more of the beam started hitting me. The pain was so bad, that I could feel my consciousness slipping, and just before I blacked out, I hear Sunset scream. 

"Moonshadow are you alri... WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!"
> Awaken
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pain. All I could feel was pain as I was drifting in and out of consciousness for who knows how long. Between the brief moments of awareness, I could hear some of the conversations going on around me for several minutes at a time. 

During the first period of consciousness, the voices were distorted, like I was in an echo chamber. But I was able to understand what was happening.

"Male Unicorn, with first-degree burns to the torso, second-degree burns to the right and left forearm, upper left and right legs, and third-degree burns to the hands. His forearms appear to be broken and his breathing is shallow. The patient is also showing symptoms of severe magical overload and a cracked horn."

"What else do we know of this patient nurse?"

"His name is Moonshadow Flash, half-thestral, and one of the leading experts in the field of Transmutation. He was brought here by Princess Celestia and his student named Sunset Shimmer. According to the report that Miss Shimmer gave us, he has used his knowledge to rework the chemical make up of his skeletal structure to make them lighter and stronger."

"Any idea what caused these injuries nurse?"

"No Doctor, when I asked all Miss Shimmer did was glare at Princess Celestia."

"Nurse I need you to find out exactly what caused this if we are to safely remove the excess magic from his system. When you find out, get to OR 2 as fast as you can."

I blacked out after I heard two doors slam open. The next time I gained consciousness must have been after surgery, as my whole body was in pain, but it was a dull pain. That dull kind of pain that you get when on very powerful painkillers.

"...even after severe damage to his nervous system, we do expect for Mr. Flash to make a full recovery, in time. We are currently waiting for the anesthetic to wear off, and then we will put him in a medically induced coma for a few weeks while we wait for his skin to heal more. Until the anesthetic completely wears off, we expect him to be drifting in and out for some time."

"What about his magic? Did the fracture to his horn, or the magical overload cause any permanent damage?" Was that Sunset? It sounded like Sunset.

"From what we can tell, no. He will lose some fine magic control while the fracture heals, but it shouldn't be any more than two months before the fracture is fully healed. He is quite lucky actually. if the fracture was two centimeters to the left, it would have hit the main mana conduit. In which case, he might have lost the ability to use magic altogether. Now normally, the chances for that would be extremely low, but due to the magical overload, if he had a surge it would have been about 50/50 if he lost it forever."

"Is... is it ok if I stay in his room until he wakes up?" That had to be Sunset...

"At this time, no. However, once we have put him into the coma then you may."

That was the last thing I clearly heard before I passed out again. 





When I woke up, my whole body was sore and ached like hell. Opening my eyes, I was in a hospital recovery room, directly in front of me on the other side of the room was a window where I could see that it was dark outside. To the left of me was a sliding glass door that went out to the hall, and to my right lying down on a couch with a blanket over her was Sunset. Her hair was messy and there was a bit of mascara running down her face. It looked like she had possibly cried herself to sleep. Sitting on a table next to the couch, was a 'Get Well Soon' basket and a giant card. And at the back of the room was a closed door with a bathroom sign on it. Looking down at myself, I saw that my arms, hands, and torso were wrapped in bandages and an IV to my right leg. I guess they were having difficulties finding a vein in my arm. 

I try to sit up but made the mistake of using my arms to try and lift myself up. As soon as I tried to push myself up, I immediately had pain shoot through both of my arms. I suck in air and grit my teeth to the pain. That is a mistake that I don't want to repeat. So I just give up trying to sit up and concede to the fact that I will need someone else to help me up for the time being. 

Lying down on the hospital bed, I think of everything that had happened that put me here. If I had done things differently, would I have still ended up here? Have I made the most of this new life? How close was I do dying again? And if I did die, the next time I am reincarnated, would I still retain the memories of past lives? Or would they go and fix it so I once again can't remember anything of my old lives? Would I return to Earth, or would I stay here on Equis? And what kind of legacy would I be leaving behind if I did die? Would I leave this world better off? And what kind of impact would my death have on Sunset? Just seeing the trails of mascara running down her face as she sleeps makes my heart ache. It makes me want to make sure she doesn't experience something like this again. She has been close to me for years now, loyal, willing to learn, and by far one of the nicest pony I have had the pleasure of knowing. 

I lie there on the hospital bed, those last three thoughts running through my mind several times. The more I think on it, stronger a feeling I have felt many times before gets. I think... I think I love her. But... does she love me. And if she does... how do I go about telling her about the past lives I have lived, if I tell her at all. I know that she can keep a secret, but how will she react to learning that I have memories of nine different lifetimes not including the ones I have made here. Locked in this head of mine is enough knowledge to rival even the most learned of scholars. And knowledge of terrible things, things that I do not feel this world is ready for. Crimes that my past lives have commented, inventions I helped to make that caused the death of millions. How would she react to learning that one of my past lives, my life as the German Chemist Gerhard Schrader, discoverer of Tabun, Sarin, Soman, and Cyclosarin? I think she would be horrified and disgusted knowing what I had made. She would probably reject me outright, asking herself how could she love a monster who created such horrible weapons of war. 

I was lying there for hours on end just thinking of everything that could go wrong if I were to tell her. As I never thought that I would reveal this secret so soon. I figured that I would leave it in a journal to let somepony discover in the future after I had died. During this time while I was thinking I must have entered a meditative state as when I next opened my eyes, I could see the sun had risen outside of the window. Turning my head to the right I noticed that Sunset wasn't lying on the couch anymore, instead, I heard water running from what I can only assume to be the bathroom. I am guessing that she was either washing her face or taking a full shower. Considering how she looked last night, I am not surprised she would want to get cleaned up after seeing her face in the mirror.

Sunset is going to come out soon. Even with all the time I have had to think this over, I don't think I am ready to tell her about my past just yet. In time I will, I mean I am only 28 and she is 26, I have at least another 120 years to do so, if not more to find the right moment to tell her. But the fact that I love her... I should make the moment memorable when I tell her. A nice dinner, a romantic spot, the works. God this never gets easier no matter how many times I have experienced it before. 

I hear the water turn off, and hooves walking on tile through the wall. She should be out quite soon. Having lived with Sunset for a long time, I know it takes her about 13 minutes from the time she finishes showering to exit the bathroom. It is just of those things that I have noticed having lived with her for 7 years.  Just like how she likes orange juice with her eggs on Mondays, and apple juice on Tuesdays. 

13 minutes later, and I see Sunset walk out of the bathroom, her hair still damp and clinging to the side of her head. She closes the door and looks over towards me. Her eyes go wide as she sees me staring back at her.

"Hello there." I say

"You're... YOU'RE AWAKE!" She yells as she rushes over to hug me. As she grips me, pain surges through my body.

"I thought I lost you forever, when I saw you at the castle... I thought... I thought you died." She says griping me even harder.

"Too hard, Sunset. Too hard." I say though grit teeth. 

Realizing exactly what she was doing she released me from her death grip and the pain started to fade. "I... I am so sorry. I didn't hurt you did I?" She asks

"Nothing painkillers won't fix." I say to her, mentally I am screaming every curse word I know.

"I am sorry that I did that. It's just... I have been so worried about you over the last month and a half. When I saw you... When I saw you on the ground your skin burnt and your horn cracked, It took me a moment to process what I was seeing. Before... Before I lost it." She said with tears in her eyes.

"Lost it? What do you mean lost it?" I asked. I didn't get a response from her. Instead, she just looked down at the ground. "Sunset, look at me. No matter what you did, I won't hold it against you. a near-death experience is just as hard on people close to somepony as it is for the pony it happened to. Now please tell me, what happened."

She lifted her head up, and I could see tears welling up in her eyes. "Well... I may have in a fit of anger, tried to kill the others that we were with. You know, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight." 

Shaking my head in surprise, "What do you mean by tried to kill them?" I ask

"I may have fired on them repeatedly with the tank." She said while looking increasingly more embarrassed.

"How many times did you fire on them? And are they alive?" I asked worried that I might have to pull many favors to keep Sunset out of jail should one of them be dead.

"Well... I think I fired on them 29 times. And to my knowledge, they are all fine at least physically. At least the last time I checked a few weeks ago." She said

I sighed internally knowing that I would not have to worry about Sunset ending up in jail. "So... two things. One what exactly did they do to not get hit? Especially the high explosive shells. And two, what stopped you from firing the last shell?" 

"Well, the first 7 shots broke down the walls between us and where the tank was, then I used magic to drive the tank through the broken wall. Then the first real shot I took at them missed, causing them to scatter and hide behind other walls and pillars. I used a majority of the shells firing at them behind cover. Until I had them in one place, wherein desperation, Twilight put up a shield spell, and then I think I fired 5 of the High Explosive Shells at the shield until it failed. And if I am honest, I had a shell loaded and aimed at them, and I think I would have shot them. But before I could, Princess Celestia teleported in and threw the tank out of the castle with her magic." 

"Wait... she threw the tank out of the castle with magic? Like through the hole in the wall, you drove it though?" I asked

"No... she threw it straight up through the roof and I think it landed somewhere in the forest." 

"Huh... I guess even out Crytal-Infused Titanium-Steel alloy can't withstand alicorn levels of magic. Good to know. Anyways, what happened next?" 

"Well, after Princess Celestia showed up and threw the tank out of the Castle, she cast some kind of spell on me to calm me down. After which she asked me and the others exactly what happened. She rushed over to where you and Princess Luna were lying on the ground unconscious."

"Princess Luna? Who is that?" I asked surprised to hear about another princess

"Oh, remember Nightmare Moon?" She asks, to which I nod, "Well, it turns out it was Princess Luna who in Princess Celestia's words, 'May have been possessed by an evil entity. Or may have been a personality in Luna all along who slowly corrupted Luna.' To be honest, I don't think Princess Celestia entirely knows what Nightmare Moon was. But what I can tell you is that after the Elements of Harmony hit her, it either stripped Nightmare Moon from her or suppressed it again. So now we have Princess Luna. Who turns out to be Princess Celestia's sister, and like how Princess Celestia controls the Sun, she Controls the Moon and Dreams."

"OK... so, how did I end up here, and what happened to Princess Luna?" I asked

"Well, when Princess Celestia rushed over to where you and her sister were, she saw your condition and immediately started casting spells on you. When I asked her what she was doing, she said she was making sure that you were still alive, and making sure you were stable enough to teleport. While she was making sure you were still alive, Princess Luna woke up, she got up, exclaimed how much she missed her, and was about to hug her sister when she saw you on the ground. It took her a moment, but she realized what had happened. She broke down in tears realizing that there was one last victim of her being Nightmare Moon. After a few minutes of Celestia casting spells on you, she told me that she was about to teleport You, her, and myself to Canterlot Hospital. And told Twilight to take Princess Luna to Canterlot Castle. Then we ended up here." She said recounting what happened.

"Huh, so that is where we are. I honestly couldn't tell where we were, from my current position in comparison to the window I couldn't tell which hospital I was in. Speaking of which, I was conscious twice before this but only briefly, so I know generally my prognosis. But do you know how my recovery is coming along Sunset?"

"Well, the doctors said that you would likely never have full feeling back in your hands, and the skin on your arms would probably be permanently discolored, and you might not regrow fur in those areas either." She said

"What about my magic, I heard that my horn was cracked and I was suffering from magic overload during my first period of consciousness." 

"Well your horn is fully healed thankfully, and it looks like your mana system is fine as well. The doctors said the only way to tell exactly if your magic will be fine is to actually cast a spell, under supervision of course." She said

"Well alright then. Can you help me sit up, please? I tried to earlier, but the pain was too much." I ask

"Of course." She said pressing a button on the side of the bed slowly putting me into an upright position.

"Thank you Sunset. Now I have to ask, how are you doing exactly Sunset? I saw you earlier, with mascara running down your face. And please, tell me exactly how you feel." 

Sunset took a moment to respond as if she was asking herself something internally, "Well... when I saw you on the ground, burns on your arms and your horn cracked, and I thought you were dead. I felt... I felt like my heart was breaking. Like I lost something irreplaceable, something that I didn't realize I valued so much. It hurt... and made me so angry. Angrier than I have ever been. Even when Princess Celestia cast that calming spell on me, it still hurt, but I didn't feel like destroying the other anymore, I felt sad and worried. But when Celestia said she was teleporting us to the hospital, I felt relieved and hopeful. The best way to describe it was like learning that something you broke could be fixed. However, after the doctors took you away, and Princess Celestia and I were alone, the calming spell wore off, and all that anger returned. And I punched the Princess."

I snorted when she said that, "You punched Celestia? Tell me, two things, where did you punch her, and how did it feel?" I asked stifling a giggle

"It's not that funny. And if you have to know, I punched her in the face. And to be honest, it felt kind of good. I wasn't as angry after that. And before you ask, I'm not in trouble for that, though I should be if it wasn't for the fact that Celestia used mind magic to suppress my emotions. After punching her, she explained that the spell would suppress a pony's most prominent emotions but once the spell ends would come back twice as strong as before. And that she had me alone in a room with her on purpose."

"Well, I am glad you are both safe, and hopefully feeling better." I said smiling at her

"Well, if I am honest, there is one other thing I want to say to you, I just don't really know how to say it." Sunset said rubbing one of her arms and blushing

"Oh? Why don't you just come out and say it." I say with a smile on my face

"Well... over the course of the three weeks you were in a coma, I had a lot of time to think, and... and I think... I think I am in love with you." She said with a heavy blush on her face.

I did not expect her to say that. And it took a moment for me to process what she just said. There go any plans I started to develop to confess to her. Taking a deep breath, and letting it out slowly I collected my self and replied with four words, "I love you too." And knowing exactly how much pain this could cause, I put my right arm around her back, pulled her in, and kissed her. As we kissed, time seemed to stop, we let our passions take over. As my tongue passed her lips, I tasted the inside of her mouth, and to my surprise, she tasted like orange sherbert. After seveal minutes we broke the kiss, my mind was still processing what I just did, and was holding the pain I should be feeling at bay like the Spartans holding back the Persians at Thermopylae. And at that moment, all I could say was, "You taste like orange sherbert." 

To which Sunset replied, "And you taste like Blackberried." After which we both laughed for a good minute before the pain finally hit me. To which I grit my teeth and fail to hold back a tear that eventually runs down my face, "The pain was totally worth it."

"Oh, you must be in incredible pain after doing that." She said suddenly realizing exactly what I did

"You have no idea. Can you go get a doctor to either give me more painkillers or supervise me while I cast a modified version of the restoration spell we developed to reverse the changes to our bones in case of rejection? I think I can use the base form that the spell uses to repair the damage done to my nerves system, muscles, skin, and possibly restore my fur in those areas as well." 

"Really? I'll go ask the nurse to bring him here." She said as she rushed out of the room.

As she leaves, in my mind I visualize the restoration spell and change the target of the spell to the skin, fur, muscles, and the nervous system. And just to be safe, also make four other modified versions, with each one only targeting one of the four areas that were damaged. I go over the spell several times to make sure that it was stable, and I think that it will work. But if the doctor lets me cast the spells, I will start with my chest first, since it was the least damaged. After several minutes, Sunset returns with what I can only assume to be my doctor and a nurse. The doctor was a male crimson unicorn with a grey hair with blue eyes, wearing a brown button-down shirt, and a white doctors coat, while the nurse was a female pink unicorn with white hair, and lavender eyes wearing blue scrubs. 

"Hello there Mr. Flash, it is good to finally see you awake, I am Doctor Crimson Heart, and this is Nurse Soothing Touch." Doctor Crimson Heart said with a thick Irish accent

"Hello!" Nurse Soothing Touch said in a bubbly voice.

"Now Miss Shimmer here says that you would like to cast a spell? What kind of spell were you thinking of?" Dr. Crimson Heart asked

"Well, I have a spell that was originally designed to restore my skeleton back to bone should my body have gone into rejection. But the way it works is that it has a template of my body in an undamaged state and I want to use a modified version of it that in theory can restore the parts of my body that have been damaged. Ideally, I will cast it as one spell, but should it prove unstable, I have four back up spells that focus on one damaged area at a time." I said explaining what I wanted to do

"I see, well... I would recommend that you let your body heal naturally, but if your spell does work, provided you are supervised by us, I think I can grant your request so long as we get a confirmation that this is your own spell and if your condition worsens as a result of the spell, you can in no way sue this hospital." Doctor Crimson says

"I understand completely, however, while the spell can work without seeing the damaged area, I would like to be able to see it as I am casting the spell." I say

"I think we can do that. Nurse Heart, can you please remove the bandages from Mr. Flash." Dr. Crimson asks

"Can do." Nurse Soothing Heart said as she walked over to me, "Now as I remove the bandages, you might feel a bit of pain. But please try not to move." 

"I'll try," I said while I watched her grab a pair of scissors and started cutting the bandages on my chest first. As she cut away the bandages on my chest, I could see that the area that was burned wasn't too bad, some discolored skin and missing fur, and looked like it could be healed quickly with the modified spell. The arms and legs were worse as even after weeks of healing, there were still some remaining blisters and bright red skin on in these areas. But my hands were the absolute worst even after weeks of healing, they were there was skin missing, and some bits of muscle exposed, and it looked like burnt Christmas turkey. I saw Sunset recoil visibly as she saw the state of my hands. And even I visibly disturbed at how my hands looked. "Didn't think they were that bad," I said

"Oh, believe me, they have healed quite well so far." Doctor Crimson said, "So, what area are you going to try your spell on first?" He asked

"Well, I think I will try the combined spell first on my torso considering it is the least damaged," I said as I started to cast the combined spell on my torso. As I began casting, I could feel my skin on my torso start to itch as the skin healed and fur started to grow back. As I was casting the spell, I felt that that the spell was a bit wobbly, so I was adjusting the spell as I cast it until it felt stable. After 2 minutes, of casting the spell and it pulling the necessary elements out of the surrounding environment, my chest looked like it was back to normal.

"Well I'll be damned, it looks like it worked. What part are you going to do next?" Doctor Crimson asked

"I want to do my arms and legs next, but I'll need some things before I can do so. Sunset, can you and the Nurse Heart get  7 pounds of the following items, Water, ammonia, baking powder, coal, and 3 pounds of bananas, salt, magnesium, and sulfur. I'll need them to finish allow the spell to replace and regenerate what has been damaged." 

"Can do!" Both Sunset and Nurse Heart said as they left the room.

"I'll be outside doing some paperwork. I'll be back once they return." Doctor Crimson said





20 minutes later, both Sunset and Nurse Heart are back with the requested items. 

"You will not believe how hard it is to find 3 pounds of bananas this early in the morning," Sunset said placing the bananas, salt, magnesium, and sulfur on the table next to me. 

"It was actually quite easy to find my items, though I did get some weird looks when I asked for 7 pounds of them." Nurse Heart said placing a gallon of water, and ammonia on the table, followed by several boxes of baking powder and a crate of coal.

"Than you both very much. If all goes well, then after I cast this spell several times I should be as good as new." I said as Doctor Crimson walks back into the room.

"Ah, I see they have returned. Are you ready to finish your spells?" He asked

"Yes, doctor. I'll start now."  Now I know I won't use every pound of what they brought me, but I would rather be safe than sorry. Starting the process again, I cast the modified spell on my left leg and watch as streams of the required materials flow in streams from the table to my left leg as it replaces what was lost. The itching was worse than before, but after four minutes, my leg looked good as new. Satisfied, I move over to my right leg and cast the spell again, and just like before it took about 4 minutes. Moving onto my upper arms, I repeated the process I did with my legs, and after 8 minutes they also looked good as new, now all that was left were my hands, and this would be the most tricky of all of them.

"Ok, everything else is looking good, now here comes the difficult part. I am going to let you all know, that instead of trying to heal it all at once, I will have it go from a Third-degree burn to a second-degree burn, to a first-degree burn, then fully heal it from there." I said as I started the slow process.

Starting with my left hand, I watch as the crispy parts of my hand turn red as skin cells are revived and blood is restored to the area, at the same time, the nerves in the area come back to life and it hurts like a motherfucker. I then transition it to a first-degree burn and the pain starts to fade, finally, I turn the first-degree burn back to normal. The whole process took around half an hour and I was starting to sweat at this point. I then move onto my right hand and repeat the process. Finally, after another half hour, both my hands look and feel like before they were burned, however, I was sweating heavily and was out of breath. Doctor Crimson had left at this point, and only Sunset and Nurse Heart were left in the room.

"Ok, I am done. I should be as good as new. Hopefully. Sunset, can you help me out of bed please." I ask

"Oh no Mr. Flash, as your nurse, I will help you out of bed." Nurse Heart said as she rushed over to my bedside. 

Sighing, I allow her to help me out of bed. It took me a good 10 minutes before I was standing and walking on my own, but aside from some itching and dull pain, I felt as good as new.

"Well Nurse Heart, if I am good to go, I would like to get out of the hospital today. I have a few choice words I want to say to a certain princess." 

"I'll go get Doctor Crimson to see if he will approve your discharge, so wait here while I go start the process." Nurse Heart said as she left the room.

"It will be good to be out of here. Oh, Sunset."

"Yes?" 

"Thanks for staying here with me," I said as I hugged her and planted another kiss on her lips.

After breaking the kiss, she said, "I don't think I will ever get used to that."

"Me neither. Now... where are my clothes?"
> Reimbursement
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After releasing Sunset from the hug, I was informed that my clothing was burnt and what was still intact, had been cut off by the doctors when I was being wheeled into the OR. I was going to ask her about where the quarterstaff I was using back in the castle went, but I noticed it leaning up against the wall just behind a bunch of balloons that said: "Get Well Soon". 

"Sunset, can you go back to the house and get me a new set of clothing and a new lab coat and my checkbook, please? It will probably take a few hours before I can leave here, not to mention pay the bill." I ask

"Sure, I'll teleport over there and be back in a few minutes. Don't miss me too much," she said before teleporting away. 

I let out a long sigh, and run my hands through my hair as I sit down on the couch. I sit there on the couch thinking about what I need to do. I need to talk to Celestia and get a reimbursement for the tank she launched into the forest, as I doubt I will be getting it out any time soon, even if I can find it that is. I should probably talk to Luna just to make sure she is alright, I'm fairly sure she will have some sort of PTSD after seeing an extra crispy unicorn. I need to talk to the other six back in Ponyville, make sure there are no hard feelings after they toasted me. And I need to start thinking of how to tell Sunset about my past, maybe in a year or two. It is too early in our new relationship to dump information like that on her.

Looking over at the table next to the couch, I see a couple of cards resting on it. They look like generic "Get Well Soon" cards you would get at a store. As I read through them, I noticed that I have one from everyone except for Celestia and Luna. I wasn't expecting one from them considering that Celestia is the ruler of the country, and Luna is probably is suffering from PTSD or culture shock, perhaps even both. But I do have to say I am a bit disappointed, especially in Celestia, as from what I can gather, she knew about Nightmare Moon returning and where she would eventually end up. I'm going to have to go to the castle and have a few choice words with her.

Standing up, I go to the corner and grab my quarterstaff. As I examine it, I notice that there is a slight rainbow shimmer to the crystals. Curious... I sit back down on the couch and I start casting spells to see exactly what is going on. I start by examining the atomic structure of crystal-infused titanium-steel alloy, and there is no noticeable change to the atomic structure. I then move on to checking the crystals for stored magic, only to find that there is no significant magic stored in the crystals themselves. Finally, I check it for enchantments, which should, in theory, be next to impossible on an alloy like this, but to my surprise not only is there an enchantment on the quarterstaff, but an extremely powerful one of a school of magic that I am not familiar with. But, from what I know about enchantments, I can, in theory, change the size and shape of an object and allow for it to keep its enchantment, so long as there is no sudden change in mass. I will have to test this on less... important enchanted items to see if the theory is correct before I even try it on this, but before that, I need to find out what school of magic this enchantment belongs to and identify what the enchantment does. As I finish looking it over, I decide to cast the Pocket Dimension spell and store the quarterstaff in side

Sunset teleported back into the hospital room with new clothing in one hand, and my checkbook in the other just as I finished storing the quarterstaff. "Thank you for getting some clothes for me Sunset. Now if you don't mind, I am going to go get changed. If you want, you can head home and I should be there my either tonight or tomorrow morning, or you can stay here with me while I fill out paperwork, get examined, and pay the bill." I said as I took my clothing from her.

"I think I'll head home. I might have been sleeping on this couch for the entire time, and I desperately need to sleep in a real bed again," she said

"I know that feeling. I have done that once or twice back at the school. I will see you later Sunset, go get some real sleep on a real bed." I said as I gave her one last hug.

"I can do that. Catch you later my love." She said as she kissed me before teleporting out. 

I let out a small chuckle as I go to the bathroom to go get changed.





It took another 3 hours of filling out paperwork and getting examined to make sure everything was in working order before I was finally discharged at noon. Leaving this hospital, I was greeted by the elegant sight of Canterlot, the stone-paved streets, the elegant houses and shops that lined the streets, and of course the castle in the distance. I start walking towards the castle, as day-court should have just stopped for lunch, and should start up again around 1. I'll make my way there early, and be first in line for the second half of day court.

I start walking towards the castle, and I am reminded why I didn't come outside of the university all that often, I see the elite ponies of Canterlot quite literally moving to the other side of the street when they saw a homeless pony on the street begging for some bits. All while dressed in extravagant outfits that must have cost around the same amount as my house in Ponyville did, yet are made of the same base materials that everyone else is wearing. Yet at the same time, the normal ponies are willing to stay on the same side of the street but not even acknowledge the pony asking for a few bits. Fortunately, there are a few good eggs among these stuck up snobs, the occasional noble giving bits to the pony, while the common worker sometimes walks past, and returns later with some food, drink, or some clothing for them.

But, that is how it tends to be in society, the upper class tends to worry about themselves, the middle class helps where they can, and the lower class looks out for one another and hope that their luck will turn around in the near future. It is a vicious cycle that has repeated itself throughout history, where the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. Sure the rich say that they are helping the poor by throwing charity events and donating money to "Charitable" causes, but from what I have seen here in Canterlot, a majority of that money finds it's way to "Beautification Projects" that usually involve the areas where the rich live, work, and shop. With the occasional real charity that goes towards things like orphanages, homeless shelters, and soup kitchens. 

As I walk closer to the homeless pony, I see that it is a female pegasus with grey fur, somber green eyes, and ash grey hair, she couldn't have been older than 19 years old, and she wore a dirty white shirt with underneath a grey coat and brown pants, both the coat and pants were torn and had patches covering the areas that were too large to stitch up, and pair of old gloves. She had an old can sitting next to her left leg and in front of it was a sign asking for spare bits. As I walk closer to her, I step off to the side and I pull out my checkbook and using a pen I took from the hospital, I write a check for 300,000 bits, it should improve her situation enough for her to move to a better area, rent a small house for a year, and allow for her to buy food for that year until she can find a stable job. Plus I have plenty of money saved up since Sunset and I have been patenting and licensing our inventions over the years we were in Ponyville. Last time I checked a years ago, I had close to 750 million bits at our inventions became more popular over time, and we were getting more money every day.

Stepping back onto the main path, I continue towards the homeless pegasus, as I approached, she was busy thanking another pony for giving her a few bits. Approaching her, she looks at me with those somber eyes that say, "can you spare any bits good pony?" I walk up to her, with my checkbook hidden in my coat pocket.

"Hello there, might I ask your name, and what happened to put you in this unfortunate situation?" I ask 

"Hi... my name is Stormy Skies," She said in a sullen voice "I... I lost my parents a few months after I turned 16, and I... I didn't realize how deep in debt they were, so when the passed away, the bank came and seized their assets to try and get their money back. Leaving me with nothing other than the clothes I was wearing at the time. I have been living on the streets of Canterlot for the three years. Living on handouts and sleeping where I can rest my head. Might I ask who you are?"

"Such as tragedy for someone so young. My name is Dr. Moonshadow Flash, the foremost expert on transmutation. Now please stand up, with your permission, I would like to cast a spell on you that will repair your clothing." said holding a hand to help her up

Stormy looked at my hand for a moment, before she grabbed it and I helped her up. "Sure..." she said.

"Now this may tickle a bit, so just hold still for a minute," I said as I started casting the spell. I watched as the torn areas of her clothing stitch up as the fibers were reconnected, the patches on her coat and pants changed color to match the rest of the fabric, and any signs of patchwork disappeared, and lastly, and filth on her clothing was cleaned away.

Finishing the spell, Stormy looked down at her mended clothes, "Thank you... these... these clothes are the last thing I have of my old life." 

"I am glad I can help. Oh, before I go, I have one more thing for you," I said pulling out my pen and checkbook from my pocket, I write Stormy Skies on the final line of the check. "Take this to a bank and open an account in your name, once you do that, I want you to try and salvage what you can of your life," I said putting the check in her hands and clasping them, "Don't freak out over the amount, just remember two things, no matter how bad your life seems all you need is a chance to turn it around, and that everyone deserves a second chance to live the life they were meant to live," I said with a smile on my face as I released her hands.

When I let go, she looked at the check, and I saw joy and hope in those once somber eyes. And without warning, she gave me a massive hug, and with a shaky voice said, "Thank you... Thank you so much. I will never forget what you have given me." 

"You are quite welcome Miss Skies, now you should go open that account and go get a nice hot meal before start living your life again," I said once again with a smile. 

When she released me from the hug, I could see tears rolling down her face, "I will Dr. Flash. Once I get my life back, I promise I will pay you back for this." she said wiping the tears from her face.

"Please, there is no need. Now, I must be off Miss Skies. I bid you farewell." As I turned and continued on my way to the castle.

"Thank you! I will repay this favor one day!" she said as I walked away.

I put my hand up in the air acknowledging that I heard her as I continue to walk away. As I walked down the path, I am looking in the storefront windows to see if they have anything interesting in stock. It mostly consists of expensive clothing, hats, and restaurants that look they serve the same menu, with the only interior difference being slightly different decor. However, I stopped at one store when I saw something that I wanted to buy right then and there. It was a store that sold only sunglasses, and right in the front window was a pair of Aviators that looked just like the ones in Top Gun. 

Surprisingly, it was relatively cheap for something that was produced in Canterlot. Only 5,000 bits. But completely worth it. Finally, I arrived in front of the castle, unfortunately, there was already a line of at least 30 ponies waiting at the castle gates, I guess others had the same idea that I had, unfortunately, knowing the rumors about the trivial problems that are brought today court, and the likelihood for bickering between two ponies to occur, I will probably be here for a few hours.





Five hours... Five fucking hours I have been waiting in line. It was almost 6 pm, and the last call for Day Court should be happening anytime now. However, I am next in line and no matter what, I should be guaranteed to get in. I have some very choice words to say to Celestia. Like having the guards screen requests to see if they really need to be addressed by the Princess, or to tell the pony to fuck off.

"Last appointment for the day, Number 32!" A guard shouted into the room. I stood up and walked up, while everyone else that behind me groaned out loud as they realized that they would have to come back tomorrow to try and get their complaints heard.

Walking past the guard, I approached a set of large wooden double doors that were adorned with ornate gold and silver filigree and had a golden sun with a silver moon embedded in the center of both doors.

On either side of the doors, were two unicorn guards dressed in the formal gold armor holding spears guarding the throne room. As I approached, the two guards opened the large doors with magic. The throne room was a long room with carved pillars on each side of a long carpet that stretched from the door to the throne that sat upon a golden dais. On either side of the room, between the pillars, there were intricately stained glass windows depicting events of bygone ages.

In front of the dais were two more guards with spears guarding Princess Celestia who sat on the throne atop the dais. Celestia looked bored out of her mind and looked like she just wanted court to end so she could get out of there. She wasn't even looking down towards me as I approached, she instead was looking off to the side of the room through one of the two regular windows in the back of the throne room.

"Hello, there my subject, with what can I help you with today," Celestia said still not looking my way

Since she is not paying attention, I think I will fuck with her a bit by changing my accent and lowering my tone of voice until she decides to actually look at me, I think French will work well for this. "Hello there Princess Celestia, I am here requesting reimbursement for property damaged by the crown, and property destroyed by the crown." 

She lets out a sigh, "What was damaged, what is the estimated value, and who caused the damages?" she asked as she levitated a piece of paper and pen out of a basket to the side of the throne. She as still yet to actually look my way.

"Let's see here, an experimental vehicle using proprietary technology and materials, hand made valuing around 600 million bits, emotional damages to one unicorn, and one extra crispy pony's medical bills which came out to around 5 million bits. As to who caused it, one Purple Unicorn, and one White Alicorn that likes cake a bit too much." I said still doing my best impression of a snobby Frenchman. 

After a moment, of Celestia processing what I had just said, she glanced down at me with a glare, as while it was well known that Celestia had quite the sweet tooth, no noble in their right mind had called her out on it. It took her a moment of looking at me, but once she realized who was standing in front of her throne, she went from a looking displeased to surprised.

"Moonshadow?" She asked

"Suuuuup," I said doing my best impression of Alucard

"What are you doing out of the hospital? You should still be healing from your injuries." She said as she started walking down towards me.

"Well, normally you would be right if it wasn't for the fact that I am brilliant and was able to modify a spell I had when I did some... alterations, to restore and regenerate what was so rudely burned by a magical rainbow," I said as she was approaching me. I really had just wanted to say, 'eh, I got better.' but I knew she would ask how if I did so. 

"Do you mind if I look for myself?" She asked

"Above the belt only, please," I said with a smirk as I took my new lab coat off, to which she just rolled her eyes. Once my lab coat was off, she started touching my hand and upper arms where the burns had previously been. They were still a little numb as my brain was still processing that it had feeling back in these areas.

"Amazing, you said you modified a spell? Which one was it? If possible, I would like to make it so at least one doctor in every hospital can use it." 

"I am afraid it is not that simple. The spell I used was one of my design that requires a previously existing scan of someone's body to work properly, as well as certain compounds and elements to be within 10 feet of the caster, otherwise, it will start destroying objects that contain the elements that are needed and can result in... unforeseen consequences. In theory, you could use a scan of several ponies to create a general template, but there is always the possibility that it could result in cancers, mismatched fur, permanent pain, among other things. To be frank with you, there was a good chance that the spell would have failed in the first place. I had to adjust it while casting it to make sure it remained stable."

"That's a shame that it can't be used right away. If you have the chance, can you write that spell down? Maybe with enough time, we can use it to save a lot of ponies."

"I can do that once I get back home. By the way, how is... Princess Luna?" I ask

Celestia looked a bit somber when I brought up Luna's name, "She blames herself for what happened to you. For the first week, she was back, she refused to eat and she slept all day. While she is starting to come around, she only comes out of her room to eat twice a day. If I am being honest here, I don't even know what exactly happened to you. I only I knew more, then maybe I could help." 

I took a moment to process what she had said about her sister and the fact that even she didn't know exactly what had happened. "Well, I can tell you what I know. I was using a quarterstaff out of a special alloy that I made to absorb magic, which by the way, the vehicle you threw into the evergreen was made of the same material, to hold your sister back while Twilight and her friends blasted her with the elements. I remember it started to hurt once your sister began shrinking." I said recalling what had happened. "Oh, speaking of that, do you have any idea what enchantment and school of magic is on the quarterstaff I used? It wasn't enchanted while I was holding her back, but now it is." I said as pulled the quarterstaff out of the pocket dimension and handed it to Celestia.

As she grasps it, and I let go, I see her arm jerk down toward the ground a good inch before she pulls it back up with a small grunt. "Why is it so heavy?" She asks

"It's not... it should only weigh around 5 pounds," I said confused

"Feels more like 200 pounds to me," she said as she was looking at it. After a moment, she holds the quarterstaff back out to me, and to prove my point, I pick it up and balance it on one finger.

"So... any idea what enchantment is on it?" 

"No... but it looks like it has been enchanted with Harmony Magic, which should be impossible." 

"Why is that?"

"Harmony magic is very rare, and the only known items to permanently hold harmony magic are the elements of harmony."

"So... is this some kind of new elements of harmony?" I ask

"No... the enchantment, while strong, is not even close to the same amount of power the elements hold."

"Interesting, I will have to do some tests with this once I get back home," I said as I put the quarterstaff back into my pocket dimension. "Now, about my reimbursement."

Celestia lets out a long sigh, "I really don't want an expense that large on the crown's financial records, is there anything else you might want in exchange?" she askes

"How about seven favors, anything I want at any time, within reason of course." 

"Three." She countered

"Six." 

"Four."

"Meet me in the middle at five favors." 

"Fine, but in return, I want you to send a letter to Luna telling her to not punish herself so hard over what happened." Celestia said, "I want my sister back, and this incident is slowing that down."

"Deal, I'll write it once I get back home," I said holding my hand out for her to shake it.

"Very well then, we have a deal." She said as she shook my hand

"Thank you for your time, Celestia, now I have a train to catch. I wish you a good evening." I said as I put my lab coat back on and left the throne room. 

Once out of the castle, I made my way towards the train station to catch the train back to Ponyville. Now I could have teleported back home, but I wanted to take it easy after just getting out of the hospital, and a train ride felt like a good idea right now. Walking through Canterlot towards the station, I saw ponies out eating at restaurants, and businesses closing up for the evening. 30 minutes later, I arrived at the train station and boarded the train back towards Ponyville. I didn't arrive until around 9 pm, and once I got home, all I wanted to do was go to bed. I quietly checked on Sunset, who was sleeping in her room, before heading to my room and promptly going to bed.
> Message 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quantum Link Booting Up...

Current OS... WEIT REICHEND 1.0.4

Establishing Connection...

Connected...

Enter Message...

Encoding Message Using SC...

-- Lwoecl V nwm tccu mccu xcwjdue lnc nsmqdlwx wui esdue isgu lnc qwln lnwl nwm tccu qocidrlci tb lnc Cvqcoso. 

-- Lwoecl V nwm vwic rsulwrl gdln lnc qsub lnwl nwm tccu icmdeuwlci wm lnc hdoml qslculdwx ocrokdl hso Sqcowldsu Ncxxhdoc. Rsulwrl gdln lndm qsub gdxx tc vwic suc vsuln whlco Cjcul P nwm srrkooci. 

-- Lwoecl V nwm vwic rsulwrl gdln lnc Qodurcmmcm. Sko duhsovwul nwm lsxi km lnwl lnc Qodurcmm dm xdycxb ls edjc wrrcmm ls lnc ocpkcmlci duhsovwldsu lnwl Lwoecl V nwm ocpkcmlci. 

-- Lwoecl V xchl lnwl udenl twry lsgwoim nsvc, wui ls Lwoecl M. Sko mqb du lnwl ocedsu nwm ocqsolci lnwl Lwoecl M oclkouci ls lnc mnwoci nsvc tchsoc Lwoecl V mlwolci vwydue ndm gwb ls lnc Qodurcmmcm. Rkooculxb, cjcoblndue dm esdue wm lnc Cvqcoso nwm qocidrlci. 

-- Lnc ocrsjcob lcwv nwm ocqsolci lnwl lnc mdlc gncoc lnc Cfqcodvculwx Ldeco xwuici nwm tccu hskui whlco gccym sh mcworndue, wui nwjc ocqsolci lnwl lnc lwuy dlmcxh gwm vdmmdue, wui lnc suxb lndue lnwl gwm hskui du lnc rowlco gwm suc sh lnc lsg rwtxcm wui w mqwoc lowry xduy. Lnc ocrsjcob lcwv wxms ocqsolci lnwl lncoc gwm w rokmnci Rnwuecxdue du lnc rowlco wm gcxx. Gc mkmqcrl lnwl lnc lwuy xwuici du lndm rnwuecxdue, wui dh dl gwm qwol sh w qwlosx du lnc wocw, wxcolci lnc ocml sh lnc ndjc ls dlm xsrwldsu wui ocrsjcoci dl tchsoc gc hskui dl. 

-- Lnc Ocrsjcob lcwv nwm ocpkcmlci wklnsodawldsu ls lowry isgu lnc rnwuecxduem wui hdui lnc xsrwldsu lnwl lnc lwuy gwm lwycu ls. 

-- Exsob ls Odjco Ocdrn! Exsob ls lnc Cvqcoso! Vwb ndm ekdidue nwui xcwi lnc gsoxi duls w ucg wec!

Transmitting Message to Command...

Message Successfully Transmitted...

Powering down...
> Embassy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


--One Week Earlier--


POV: Princess Celestia


"... And that Princess is why a 10 bit tax should be applied to all purchases in Equestria to pay for renovations to The Garden in the Shopping district." Said Bronze Bit after spending 2 hours talking

This is was the fifth day in a row he has come today court wanting to "renovate" the garden in the shopping district, when in reality "The Garden" he was talking about was actually a restaurant that he owns. He really should know better. "For the last time Mr. Bit, I will not tax the ponies of Equestria to renovate "The Garden" in the Shopping district. Now if I hear one more thing about renovating "The Garden" I will personally tear it down and replace it with a Barnyard Bargains. Now, please leave the court before I have you escorted out." I said while rubbing my temple with my hand.

With a huff, Bronze Bit stormed out of the courtroom. After he left, I let out a long sigh. "Some days, I feel that it would be easier to just strip the nobility of their titles and kick them out of Canterlot."

"If only it were that easy Princess." The guard to the left me said

"Don't I know it. Anyways, can you tell the guard at the front to let the next pony in please." 

"Right away Princess." the guard said as he walked to the end of the courtroom. A few moments later, he came back into the room, "Uh, Princess." 

"Yes?"

"There is a pony here claiming to be a foreign diplomat that would like to meet with you as soon as possible."

Sigh... what happened this time. "The diplomat, what race are they?" I ask

"A male Unicorn your majesty."

"A Unicorn? What nation did he say he represented?" I asked interest peaked.

"He didn't your majesty. Only that he would like to meet with you as soon as possible."

"Very well, let him in," I said, and the guard went back out of the room.

A few minutes later, the doors opened and the diplomat entered the room. The diplomat was a dark grey unicorn with blue eyes and black hair, and wore a dark blue tailcoat with lapels embroidered with silver oak leaves, a silver sash, and silver aiguillette on his right side with an eagle with its wings spread open underneath the aiguillette, darb blue pants, and had a small dagger at his side. 

"Geeting your majesty. I am Colonel Burkhardt Panzinger. I am here on behest of the Emperor of the River Reich to establish diplomatic relations." He said in a formal tone and finished with a bow

"Greetings Colonel Burkhardt. I can't say I am familiar with the River Reich. However, I am familiar with a River Republic, though I have not heard from them in a long time." I say

"Ah, yes. The reason you have not heard from the River Republic is that around 300 years ago, a terrorist attack occurred during a council meeting in which all except for the Speaker of the Republic were killed in an explosion. Since then, the Speaker rapidly consolidated power to become the first Emperor of the new River Reich and spent the next 20 years putting down dissidents and stabilizing the country. Since then, we have spent the last 280 years on improving the Empire, and as a result, cut ourselves off from the rest of the world. Only recently has the Emperor decreed that we should re-establish relations with other countries, and the Emperor has decided that relations should be established with Equestria first. So with your permission, we would like to establish an embassy here in Canterlot."

"I am sorry to hear about the situation your nation was in. If we had known, we could have sent you aid. As for your request to establish an Embassy, we would be happy to host you here in Canterlot." 

"Thank you, your majesty. While I am here, I can try to answer any questions you have."

"I do have two questions. You never mentioned your Emperors name, I would like to know his name, and if possible, could you provide me with a map of the River Reich? I'm fairly sure the one we have of the River Republic is out of date by now." 

"I am sorry your majesty, but I cannot provide either of those to you at this time." 

"And why is that?" I ask

"Under the National Security Act of 802, it is illegal to provide national information that might provide a strategic advantage to any foreign powers without the direct approval of the current Emperor. I can put in a request to allow you access to a recent map, and allow for you to know the Emperor's name. But I would not get my hopes up."

"While I am concerned that your nation would go to such lengths, I respect the laws you have, and am willing to wait to hear back at a later date."

"Thank you, your majesty. I appreciate you respecting your laws and regulations. Is there anything else I can help you with?" Burkhardt asked

"No, that will be all Colonel Burkhardt. My secretary Raven Inkwell will take you to the Embassy complex outside fo the castle grounds."

"Thank you, your majesty." Colonel Burkhardt said with a bow as he turned and left the courtroom.

After he left, I stood up from my throne and turned to my guards, "Cancel court for the rest of the day. I have some research I need to do." I said as I walked out of the courtroom and went up several flights of stairs to the Royal Library. Inside, I started searching for old documents on the River Republic, maps, history, demographics, leaders, anything I could find to refresh my memory. After searching for two hours, I found a thin book that was published a year before Colonel Burkhardt said the council leaders were killed, that went through a basic history of the Republic.






A History of the Republic


By Bronze Feather


To understand how the Republic came to be we must first understand what lead to the formation of the Republic. 

We are not sure exactly what year the first citizens of the Republic arrived on the continent we now know as Ronia, but we do know that the first settlers arrived on different ends of the continent and founded the five kingdoms that make up the republic all around the same time. What documents we have recovered shows that the initial settlers did not know about one another until roughly 50 years after each nation was established. 

To the southwest is the Kingdom of Nimbusia. It was established by Pegasi that were expelled from their old nation after they refused to recognize the new military leader of their old lands. The Nimbusians had a democratic society that elected a new king every 20 years from a select group of Pegasi generals. From recovered documents, it looks like the new military leader of their old home gained power through bribes and intimidation. It is unsure how many initially arrived, but it is widely told in Nimbusian legends that 5,000 pegasi flew for 10 days to find their new home. Today, the Nimbusians are known for their grand structures and their aerial combat abilities. The current capital of the Kingdom of Nimbusia is Grand city of Segnino.

To the southeast is the Merchant Kingdom of Skyfall. Skyfall is ruled by Griffins Merchants that found the continent by accident after the founder's merchant fleet was blown off course in a massive storm. The King is elected by a council of merchants and leads the nation until death, or is voted out by the council. The Kingdom is known for their renown sailing skills on both the ocean, and on their skyships, and can be seen today in every other Kingdom on the continent selling goods that they have obtained, and selling information for the right amount of coin. The current capital of the Kingdom of Skyfall is the trading city of Machim.

To the east, there is the Agrarian Kingdom of Gold Hoof. One of the two largest kingdoms, Gold Hoof is ruled by a society of Earth Ponies who today provide over 70% of the food to the republic. The Kingdom of Gold Hoof is ruled by the Cherrygrain family, who owns over 30% of all the lands in the Kingdom. While many would consider the lifestyle that the citizens of the Kingdom of Gold Hoof to be simple and dull, the sheer amount of food that the kingdom produces is a testimate to the skills that they have honed over generations of farming and sowing seeds. In the library of the Cherrygrain estate, a document was found that said the initial settlers were in search of new fertile land after the land in their old homeland became barren. The current capital of the Kingdom of Gold Hoof is Harvest Hub of Hitchested.

To the north, there is the Tribal Kingdom of Pontia. The smallest of the five kingdoms, it was founded by a group of Zebra that left their homeland after being persecuted by what they called the Great Devil. The Tribal Kingdom is ruled by a council of zebra shamans that are known for their extraordinary potion-making skills that can cure minor ailments, to serious injuries. When asked what the Great Devil was, the shamans have been either vague or refused to answer, and to this day historians outside of the Kingdom of Pontia still, have no idea what the Great Devil is or was. The current capital of the Kingdom of Pontia is the city of Askrillala.

Finally, to the northeast, we have the Technocratic Kingdom of Arcadia. The second of the two largest kingdoms, the Technocratic Kingdom of Arcadia was founded by a group of unicorn scholars and is ruled by a king that is elected by a council of the smartest and most learned of unicorns in the land, and rules until death. Of all the kingdoms, the method to which the unicorns arrived on the continent is thoroughly documented. According to the documentation, the scholars arrived after a mass teleport spell was interrupted by a group of winter wolves, as a result, the spell was cast before a destination was chosen. According to the same document, the entire group could have ended up inside of a volcano, deep underground, or in the middle of the ocean. Luckily, they ended up on dry land. On this site is a monument to their good luck, currently, this monument is in the center of the capital city of Verano.

Now that a basic history has been established for each of the kingdoms that make of the Republic, it is important to know how these five kingdoms came together to form the republic we know today. When the kingdoms first made contact with each other, there was a massive race to grab as much land as possible on the continent, with conflict arising where settlers met one another, with only the Kingdom of Pontia expanding to their current borders and then stopping.

War broke out between the four kingdoms and the borders fluctuated back and for several years. That is until the great freeze came. No one is quite sure what caused the great freeze, but during one winter, when the armies were dug in. It started to get colder and colder. The rulers of each kingdom thought that it was just an especially harsh winter, but when it stayed cold after winter was supposed to end, panic started to set in. The rulers of the Kingdoms told the population that it was just a long winter, and it would soon pass. But when it remained cold through the spring, summer, fall, and got even colder during the next winter. Food stores started to run dry in all but the Kingdom of Golden Hoof, and the armies that were dug in for the winter abandoned their duty and posts after the food shipments started to dwindle. 

When it reached the second year of the great freeze, the Kingdom of Arcadia called for all the rulers of each Kingdom to meet in the city of Verano to end all hostilities, as the need to survive became the number one concern. Thankfully, each ruler realized that survival became the number one concern and agreed to meet in a weeks time. 

During what would be known as the first meeting of the republic, each ruler told the other the situation their kingdoms were in. At the current rate of food and firewood consumption, none of the kingdoms would last. All five kingdoms came together that day to ensure that they would all survive. Nimbusia used their ability to manipulate clouds to insulate the homes in the capital cities. Skyfall used their airships to transport citizens from the countrysides of each kingdom to the city to ensure that the population of each nation would survive, and would transport goods between each nation. Golden Hoof would provide food from their vast stores of food and would ensure that seeds from every crop would survive the freeze. Pontia would supply healing medicine and potions to the kingdoms to heal those who were suffering from frostbite, and who was sick. And Arcadia would use their magic to cast healing spells in the cities to make keep the temperature a few degrees above freezing. The rulers of each kingdom left Verano with their current kingdom renewed hope. And all hostilities were ended, with the country borders becoming what they are today.

The Great Freeze lasted for 7 more years after this first meeting, and each year, the rulers would meet in Verano once every 3 months after the first meeting to ensure that each kingdom would survive. Finally, when the temperature started to rise, and the snow started to melt, the populace that had been confined to the capital cities of each nation was finally able to return to their homes to try and recover their old lives. Some thought that the alliance between kingdoms would break down after the great freeze was over. But surprisingly, the alliance held strong, and the rulers decided to create a federation that would help one another to survive and prosper in the year that followed. 

Eventually, this federation became a republic, where the five rulers would nominate someone to lead the new republic. Most of the time one of the five rulers would end up ruling the republic, but on rare occasions, the rulers would nominate and appoint a well-known citizen from one of their nations to lead the council. In 6 months time of this book being published, the council will elect a new leader of the council to rule for 7 years.

Map of the Five Kingdoms and Ronia





I reread the thin book again to look for anything that I missed, but it seems that I will probably need to have somepony search the records room to find more information. Taking the book with me, I leave the library and make my way towards my bedroom. Once I arrive at my room, I take off my regalia and lay down on the bed. This past month has been hectic. From Luna returning, one of my subjects ending up in a coma as a result of the Elements of Harmony, Luna closing herself off from even myself after she learned that Moonshadow was ended up in a coma trying to stop her, now a nation under a new ruler reestablishing relation with Equestria. I really need a vacation.
> Embassy pt2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


--After Meeting with Princess Celestia--


POV: Colonel Burkhardt Panzinger


As I walked out of the Throne room, I thought to my self that it was almost too easy. I thought I would have to at least offer up something in exchange, but she just easily agreed to let us establish an embassy. Though the fact that it is in a complex likely containing other embassies, it is a minor obstruction that might very well turn into an advantage. 

Outside of the throne room, a white earth pony with brown eyes, brown hair, and wearing a white shirt, a brown dress skirt, red ascot, and had a pair of glasses resting on her muzzle. In one hand she had a clipboard and was also holding a set of keys with the same hand. "Hello there, I am Raven Inkwell, and you must be  Mr. Burkhardt." She said in an unfamiliar accent. 

"A pleasure to meet you Miss Inkwell. I would prefer to be called Colonel Panzinger, Mr. Burkhardt will work for now." I say.

"Very well Mr. Burkhardt. I have been informed that I am to show you to the embassy complex, and to show you to the building that you and any associates will be using. I just have a few minor things I need to ask as we head there."

"Very well. Lead the way."

"Follow me." She said as she started to walk down the main hallway, "So, I need to ask, do you plan on providing guards from your own nation, or would you like to use the Royal Guards?"

"We will be using our own guards. I have my own personal squad that is waiting outside of the main gates, that can do until the rest of the company arrives in a week and a half."

"I see. And how many personnel are in a squad and company respectfully?"

"Typically 8-14 in a squad, and 80-150 in a company. In regards to my personal squad, there are 14 of them."

"Thank you for the clarification. We use similar designations for the guard, but I wanted to clarify for the documentation," she said while filling in a document on the clipboard

"It is no problem at all, proper documentation is very important in any organization," I say to which she nods in agreement, as we exit out of the castle, and into the courtyard.

"Now, how many personnel are you currently planning to house in the embassy building aside from yourself and the guard?

"Ideally, I would like to have 50 dedicated staff for diplomatic related issues, and 30 for support."

"What exactly do you mean by support?" she asked

"Cooking, cleaning, handling logistics, maintaining and repairing equipment that can't be handled with a regulation field maintenance kit."

"Why exactly do you need dedicated personnel for cooking?" she asked as we neared the main gate at the other side of the courtyard. 

"Well, the River Riech is made up of five different races, Earth Ponies, Unicorns, Pegasi, Griffins, and Zebra. And while it would be simpler to feed everyone the same thing, Having cooks prepare specialized meals for each race not only improves morale but also makes sure that everyone is getting the nutrition they need." I say as we exit out of the main gates, "Now if you will wait just a moment, I need to go collect my guards." Looking around, see my guards gathered around a table and benches across from the castle. In total, by squad consists of 5 unicorns, 2 zebras, 3 earth ponies, 3 pegasi, and a griffin.

As I approach the group, I see that Sargeant Simone Minadone a male griffin with black feathers, with white tips and green eyes is arm wrestling with Corporal Irena Prokop a scarlet red earth pony with blond hair and teal eyes. And like the rest of the squad, are dressed wool grey field tunics, wool trousers, and had each of their Mp 40's resting against the side of the table, and had their sidearms in their holsters. Irena liked her Colt model 890, while Minadone had a Luger. Currently, they are in a deadlock with both of their faces strained, and the rest of the squad is either rooting for Irena or Simone. Considering this was a common occurrence in this group I wait to see who wins before saying anything. 

I watch for several minutes as first Simone starts to push Irena's arm down, only for her to grip the stone table with her other hand and push Simone back to the middle and beyond. Only for Simone to respond with the same tactics. Eventually, though, Irena pushes Simone past the point where he can recover and Simone's claw hits the table. At which point Irena jumps up and says, "I beat you this time featherbrain." 

To which Simone replies, "Might I remind you this is only your 7th victory, and you have lost against me 33 other times."

"Very good you two. Now if your done playing around, we need to get a move on." I say, to which everyone realizes at that moment that I had returned.

"Sir!" Irena said saluting, "How... how long were you watching?"

"Long enough. Now, all of you, grab your gear, Princess Celestia agreed to allow for us to establish an embassy, and we are heading to the complex now." I said as I turned around and walk back to Miss Inkwell

"Interesting composition of guards you have." She says

"That they are." I say as the squad falls in behind me, "Now, shall we continue?"

"Of course." She said walking down a street left of the main gate. "I must ask, how what determines eligibility for your military and who gets assigned what ranks?"

"I am afraid the ranking system and how to obtain each one is classified to noncitizens of the River Reich. However, I will tell you that everyone is required by law to serve 7 years in the military between the ages of 18 and 35. They can serve their time consecutively, or nonconsecutively."

"Interesting. I remember from old documents that we use to do a similar thing 600 years ago before the nobles pressured Princess Celestia to make it volunteer only. To which she agreed if there was a clause put in that would allow for conscription in times of war. To which the nobles agreed. Surprisingly."

"Quite interesting. I will have to look into your history once we get set up at the embassy."

"Speaking of the embassy, we have arrived at the complex that holds all foreign embassies." She said as she turned to her right.

Looking right, I saw a massive courtyard that had rows of identical buildings on either side, each with a different flag flying on a flag pole outside of the building, with two main paths running on either side of a large green space with smaller paths leading to each building. Quickly counting, I saw 13 buildings in this area, six on each side and one at the end, and each of these buildings were massive. "Miss Inkwell, how large are these embassies?"

"Oh, each embassy is 1,500,000 sq ft."

"Mein Gott." Well... I guess I can tell command that we will have no problem with bringing a half-battalion like the major wanted to in the first place. 

"If you will follow me, you will be put in the one at the end, next to the embassies for the Griffon Empire, and Minotaur Autocracy." She said as she led us down the massive courtyard towards the building at the end. It took us a while to get there, the entire length of the courtyard has to easily be 2 miles.

"Miss Inkwell, why are these embassies so big?"

"Well, to answer that, you need to understand that his area of Canterlot was built over 700 years ago and use to be the homes of 13 prominent families who were through a series of political marriages, were all related by some degree. These 13 families, decided in a rare show of cooperation at the time, to create a massive combined estate that would house their entire families and staff for generations. However, 550 years ago, all thirteen heads of each family were found guilty of not only mass corruption but had plans to overthrow Princess Celestia and establish themselves as the leaders of the country. As a result, all thirteen families were stripped of their titles, their lands confiscated, their assets were seized, and the heads of each family were executed while the rest were banished to the frontier cities of Equestria. And in the 550 years since then, 7 of the families have died out, 4 of them became prominent families in the frontier town that today are large cities, 1 family after years of providing evidence that they had no idea about the plot to overthrow Princess Celestia had some of their titles returned, and currently live here in Canterlet, and the last family got kicked out of their new home on the frontier and have been moving from city to city performing magic shows ever since."

"A fair punishment to traitors. Though I have to feel bad for the family that was punished even though they had nothing to do with the plot." I said as we approached the building at the end, "So... what family did this building use to belong to?"

"Well, that Griffin Empire is in the one that used to belong to the Bluebloods, and the Minotaurs are in the one that used to belong to the Galtungs, so that would make this one the one that used to belong to the Pferd's."'

"Small question, of those three you mentioned, what were the fates of those families?"

'Well, both the Galtung's and Pferd's died out, and the Bluebloods was the family that proved their innocence."

"I see. Thank you Miss Inkwell. If we are done, we will take out leave and start setting up in the embassy."

"I have one last thing to do before I take my leave. We need to establish an exchange rate for our currencies. To do that I just need to ask you the prices of four things, and all you need to do is tell me how much they cost."

"Of course. Please, ask away."

"Ok, what is the price of a ton of wheat, a ton of raw iron, a ton of lumber, and a ton of a ton of raw copper cost." 

It took me a few minutes to remember from the briefings what the prices of goods were, but all I could remember was the price for iron and copper, "Uh... A ton of raw iron costs 95 Marks, and a ton of raw copper cost 6500 marks. Sargeant Minadone, you come from a family of air shipbuilders, how much is a ton of wood today? Corporal Prokop, do you know how much a ton of wheat cost?"

"Sir, before we left, a ton of wood costs 40 Marks." Sargeant Minadone said

"Sir, If I remember correctly, a ton of wheat costs around 300 marks." Corporal Prokop said

"Thank you three very much. Just give me a moment to calculate the conversion ratio." Miss Inkwell said as she started writing something out on her clipboard. After a few minutes, she looked up and said, "Ok, it looks like the average conversion rate is 2.739 bits per mark." she said handing me a document with her signature and the conversion rate. "Until I can get this conversion rate approved by the Princess, any merchant or bank will honor what is written on that document. I would recommend going to a bank and converting your money into bits if you need to go shopping. And with that, I will leave you and your guards to get acquainted with your new embassy building. Have a good day." She said as she started walking back the way we came.

As she left, I told my troops to follow me into the building. Entering the building, the first thing we saw was a grand entrance that went up four floors and had a grand staircase leading up all four floors. Each floor had railings that overlooked the entrance. 

"Ok," I said turning to my troops. "I want you all to fan out in groups of two and explore this building. I want a full report in 3 hours of the layout of the building, the locations of rooms, and a list of anything interesting that you find. Make sure to check for any secret passages or locations where we could add secret passages."

"Sir, yes sir!" They said in unison as they split off into groups of two to explore the building.

Once they were gone, I pulled a sealed envelope out from my jacket, on the front was the Emperor's seal, and before leaving I was given orders to read this after meeting with the Princess. Walking over the corner of the room, with my back to the wall. I opened it up and read the letter inside.





Colonel Burkhardt Panzinger

While your main assignment is to oversee diplomatic relations in Equestria, you will also serve as the main point of contact for our spies currently in Equestria, and the spies that will arrive. This task is vital to the interests of the Empire, and as you read this document, should you have successfully established an embassy, you are being promoted to Brigadier General. If you have not yet established an embassy, your main task will be to do so at any cost. Including bribery, coercion, and intimidation. Once the embassy is established you are to send an encrypted communication back to command and your new rank will be officially appointed.

Let me make this clear to you Burkhardt Panzinger. Establishing an embassy in Equestria is key to our future operations, and you will be in charge of our spies in Equestria, with you only answering to me. Once I have received word that your task has been accomplished, you will receive an encrypted message when I have a task for you. When you receive a letter from me, it takes top priority. 

Do not fail me.

Emperor Ulrich Schachner, the Black Kaiser
> Letters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night, I had a dream about my past life as an English Blacksmith, how I learned from my father how to turn ingots into a useful form. I remember working on small items from nails, horseshoes, hooks, and small blades. Working on several swords for the local duke. Yet, most requests were for small items that the local folk needed to build or were simple repair tasks. The dream felt so real, I could feel the heat of the forge, the hammer hitting the iron, and the vibrations running up through my arm. I remember in the dream I was working on my third sword for the duke, and as I went to quench the sword in oil, I saw my reflection. I was not human, rather, I saw my current face. 

I woke up after that, with the dream still fresh in my mind, I tried to remember what I looked like in that life long ago. Yet, I could not remember what I looked like as a human before that, rather, all I could remember was the clothing I wore during that time. I kept trying to remember how I looked, but no matter how hard I tried, in every memory, I could only see myself. Everyone else was still human, my past kids, past wives, past friends, everything and everyone. Except for myself.

I sat in my bed, trying anything I could think of to try and remember how I use to look in those past lives. But nothing worked, even details like photographs showed me as Moonshadow. The idea that old memories were being changed terrified me. If I couldn't remember my past lives as clearly as I use to, was it something that recently happened to me that is resulting in this change? Or could it be that the entity finally realized I can remember past lives and is trying to fix it? 

Hoping that it is just something from a recent event I tried to think of what could have changed between now and then. And the list was quite short, I grew older, I was blasted by a rainbow, was in a coma for a while, and realized that I love Sunset. Of those, that beam of harmony magic, the coma, or growing older and seeing this face in the mirror for years seems the most likely. Unfortunately, I am not an expert on neuroscience nor memories so I can't test the coma theory safely. I might be able to test that using my quarterstaff since it seems to have enchanted that after being hit. I'd also have to do some research on how the mind develops as it ages just incase that theory of growing older has any merit. 

Either way, I will start researching that soon. As of right now, I need to do my daily routine before going to get some food and start writing that letter to Luna. I spent the next 30 minutes tending to my daily hygiene and getting dressed before heading out to the kitchen. There I see Sunset cooking eggs, bacon, hay bacon, and toast. I will say, I am quite glad that my body can still process meats since the difference of taste between normal bacon and hay bacon is vast. 

"Good morning Sunset. What's on the schedule for today?" I ask as I sit down in the table in the nook.

"Good morning to you too." She said with a smile. "Four letters arrived a bit earlier from the University. Maybe stuffy old coots finally realized how revolutionary Atomic Theory is to many fields of magic."

"Did the letters say from which department it came from?"

"They did, they came from the heads of the departments of Transmutation, Evocation, Enchantment, Abjuration, and Conjuration."

"I can understand Transmutation and Evocation, since most spells I have designed works on the basic theory of those two schools.  Conjuration I could see how it could apply since most of the spells bring the materials to me from the surrounding area. Abjuration makes sense since we can use Atomic theory to greatly enhance shield spells and would be needed for anything dealing with radiation. But Enchantment? You and I both know I don't deal heavily in enchantments. While I easily could, it is just so time-consuming, even for something like unbreaking glasses takes a week and components to enchant." 

"No idea. Didn't open them, just recognized the department logos. I left them on your office desk in the media room. There were also two letters from the crown, one for you and one for me. In mine was a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala, and I assume yours contains the same thing." 

I pinch the bridge of my nose when she says that, "Not that again... I have received a ticket to that every year but always blow it off. It is literally just noble circle-jerk." I think back to all those gatherings I went to back when I was a Venetian Merchant, sure they were great for their time, at the hight of the Republic of Venice. But having the experience from all my other lives, the thought of going there to shmooze with other high-class individuals just did not interest me. 

"I mean... you are not wrong. The two times I went, at least 10 different families tried to get me to marry their son. Likely since I was the protege of Princess Celestia. But if we got this time, we will both be taken. And we can laugh at those stuffy nobles trying to get into the good graces of Princess Celestia."

Honestly, that might be really fun to watch. "Ya know what, sure. Let's attend this year, and if it is interesting, we will see about next year." I say as Sunset walks over with breakfast. "Thank you for making breakfast."

"You are welcome."





After breakfast, I walked over to the media room where I have my office. On my desk made from wenge sat various books, notebooks, binders, loose paper, pens, drawings, and rough notes for new inventions. Sitting on top of a stack of papers is six letters. Thumbing through them, the first one is from the crow, with the seal of the crown on the top right of the letter.  Beneath that one where the five letters from the University. Each emblazoned with a white eight-pointed star the symbol for universal magic, and each department having a different point of the star colored in representing their field of magic. Abjuration had the north point colored in yellow, Transmutation had the northwest point colored in orange, Evocation had the west point colored in red, Divination had the southwest point colored in pink, Necromancy had the south point colored in purple, Enchantment had the southeast point colored in blue, Conjuration had the east point colored in green, and Illusion had the northeast point colored in teal.

Before opening the letters from the university, I sit down and open up the one from the crown. Pulling out the letter, it reads:

Dear Dr. Moonshadow Flash,
On behalf of the crown, we extend this ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala. We hope that you will attend this year. Princess Celestia has informed me that it should be quite interesting this year, and one that should not be missed. Should you decline, please return the enclosed ticket.

Raven Inkwell, Royal Aide to Princess Celestia.

Behind the letter was a golden ticket emblazoned with the words The Grand Galloping Gala at Canterlot Castle. Admit one. I let out a sigh, I will have to go get an appropriate outfit before that stupid event. Setting it aside, I started to go through the letters from the University. The first one on the pile was from the department of enchantment. Inside the letter read,

To Dr. Moonshadow Flash,

It has come to my attention by one of my aides your 'Atomic Theory'. I have read through your published works on the subject and I believe that with your cooperation, I would be able to drastically increase the number of enchantments available on an object, and decrease enchanting time. I urge you to reply to this letter at your earliest convenience to set up a time that we can meet to discuss the finer details. 

Archmage Magic Tinker, Head of the department of Enchantment at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. 

Oh, that arrogant mare Magic Tinker actually became the head of the department of Enchantment? And when the fuck did she become an Archmage? With that self-centered attitude of her's I would bet bits on it that she would never have reached the rank of Archmage. I let out a sigh, "Hey Sunset! Did you know that Magic Tinker was promoted to Archmage and became the head of the department of Enchantment?" I yelled out into the living room.

"You mean that mare that couldn't come up with an original enchantment to save her life?" She yelled back

"The same!"

There was a momentary pause, "How the fuck did she become an archmage before you!?"

"No idea! Gonna write to Celestia later about this."

Going back to the stack, I grab the next letter. Looking at the front, it is from the Department of Abjuration. 

To Dr. Moonshadow Flash

I have heard word of you coming up with a new variation of the shield spell that is significantly stronger. I would be quite interested in getting a copy of it from you. In addition, I would love to meet with you sometime to see if we can come up with any more enhanced spells. 

Warm Regards,
Archmage Steel Mustang, Head of the Department of Abjuration at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.

Oh, I remember hearing about Steel Mustang. I heard his special talent was dealing with banishing spells, particularly whenever there was a class from the department of Conjuration that dealt with the summoning any kind of creature. Though I wonder if the rumors of him punching the more rowdy summons back to where they came from are true. 

Moving onto the next letter, I see the marking for the department of Conjuration on the front.

To Dr. Moonshadow Flash

We should meet sometime to discuss how you are able to bring materials to you for your transmutation magic from the surrounding area. It could save quite a bit of time for the student.

Archmage Ivy Charm, Head of the Department of Conjuration at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns

Thinking back, I don't ever recall meeting Ivy Charm, though I do remember that one time where I got a letter from her when one of my failed experiments interrupted her summoning of sentient Devil's Claw. I remember it only read, 'Please aim your explosions towards Steel Mustang. Thanks, Archmage Ivy Charm.' I did hear though, that she had a good sense of humor.

The next letter was from the Department of Evocation,

To Dr. Moonshadow Flash,

After reading your Atomic Theory, and your published book. I have come to the conclusion that this could be a revolution in the field of Evocation. As such, I am currently writing a letter to the crown to nominate you for the title of Archmage in Evocation. While I am acutely aware your specialty is more in Transmutation, your Atomic theory could easily be a bridge between the two schools.

Archmage Crystal Swirl, Head of the Department of Evocation at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns

Ok... was not expecting that today. I will deal with that in a bit. Grabbing the last letter from the Department of Transmutation,

To Dr. Moonshadow Flash,

I want to congratulate you on your Atomic Theory on becoming an advanced course to be taught in the Transmutation Department. As a result, I am nominating you for the title of Archmage in Transmutation. I wish you the best of luck and hope you receive the title you so rightly deserve for your work.

Archmage Platinum Twister, Head of the Department of Transmutation at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. 

Excuse me? Two nominations? That is... unusual, though not unheard of. Setting the letter aside, I take a deep breath and calm my self down. I can go and freak out later. Right now, I am going to write that letter to Princess Luna. I grab a crisp piece of paper from a nearby pile with my magic, as well as a pen. I take a moment to think exactly what to say since I don't exactly know much about Luna other than she controls the moon and stars. 

Dear Princess Luna,

I do not know you personally, and all I really have to go off are the stories about you. But I heard from a reliable source that you seemed to be punishing yourself over what happened back at the Castle of the Two Sisters. Most likely due to hearing how badly burnt I was from the resulting injury. I want you to know that I am fully healed due to a spell of my own creation and there is no lasting physical damage. Should you wish to see for yourself I live in Ponyville, but please, send a letter a day or two in advance. As it would be... unfortunate for you to show up in the middle of a delicate experiment. 

Best wishes,
Dr. Moonshadow Flash

Looking over the letter, I am satisfied with how it turned out. Folding it up neatly, I put it in an envelope and walk it to the mailbox outside of the front door. Walking back inside, I grab the letters from Crystal Swirl and Platimum Twister. 

"Hey Sunset, take a look at these." I say as I walk over to her.





I swear... I keep forgetting that Sunset has a powerful set of lungs on her. My ears were still ringing two hours after her squealing in delight after reading those two letters. But then again, that might be more of my sensitive hearing I inherited from my mother. After my ears stopped ringing, I noticed that we were running low on vegetables and steel. So I decided to make a quick run into town. As I entered the town, I noticed that Pinkie was giving away free muffins again. But they looked weird. I guess she is trying a new recipe? I walked past the stand as a crowd of ponies gathered up all the free muffins and devoured them. But, the Sugar Cube Corner was not my goal today, rather, I was heading to the market place. 

An hour later, I had the vegetables I needed, and I placed an order for steel to be delivered to my compound. As I walked back through the streets, I saw Twilight in a mad dash towards the hospital. Curious, but none of my business right now. Ony my way back, I decided to stop at Cafe Hay from some lunch. As I was eating, I felt the ground start to rumble, followed by the sound of Rainbow Dash yelling, "Stamped!" Followed by everyone in the vicinity heading inside for cover. 

Looking down the street, I saw the 'Stamped' a literal hoard of bunnies heading down the main road. I let out a long sigh and teleported myself, what was still left of my lunch, and my groceries to the roof of Cafe Hay. I sat on the roof my hooves hanging off the main support beam. Finishing my lunch, I saw Rainbow Dash heading this way.

"Hey Rainbow!" I yelled out towards her.

"What?" She said as she flew towards me

"What exactly is going on? I noticed Twilight head towards the hospital earlier and how a bunny stamped?"

"It's Applejack! She made a bet that she could buck all the trees in the orchard by herself and it is affecting everypony! First, she launched me halfway to Canterlot, then she made a bunch of Baked Bads, then she caused that bunny stamped!" 

"Let me guess... she is working herself to a point of delirium?" 

"How did ya know?"

I let out a sigh, "Look, if she doesn't stop this, just come get me and I can knock her out for a bit with a minor tranquilizer." 

"Honestly, I might consider that if Twilight can't get through to her." 

"Well, I wish you the best of luck," I say as I look down and see the bunnies have dispursed. "Now if you will excuse me, I need to get back home." I say as I teleport back down and start walking home. I swear she one of the most stubborn people I have ever met in all of my lives.