I no longer have any perception of time it could have been days, months or even years and all I knew was that I was on the fast track to being turned into diced pony. I would be beaten for hours and then after not answering a question I would have a part of my legs severed until my front legs were no longer there and my hind legs cut up to the upper thigh. I no longer feel afraid for myself. I feel pain and agony on a daily bases just to remind me that I am still alive. I remember them telling me that my eyes were next and that I should take in my surroundings while I still can.

I now lay here, a mangled torso of a unicorn with nothing but the beating in their chest. The medical pony told me that there is a silver lining to everything but I can’t see one now. I lay here, a broken stallion, waiting for death. For the first time, I fall asleep. Not pass out, fall asleep. I am surrounded by the comforting shadows I was so accustomed to for what seemed like eternity. Then a white light fills my vision and I become weightless.

“Lunarus?” a smooth, familiar mare’s voice calls out to me. “Lunarus.”

My eyes open to see that I am face to face with Princess Luna. She was the source of the white light. It looked as though we were standing in a cloud, high above Equestria. Nope, not standing. She is laying in front of me in order to be nearer to my new eye level.

“Your Highness…” I say weakly.

“I hath been searching for you. I only wish I had come sooner.” she says looking at my condition.

“Am I dead?” I can’t help but speak softly.

“No, thou is still breathing. And thou must live.”

“Why, I have no legs. I am useless to everypony now. I failed you Princess.”

“Thou hasn’t failed me. Thou hath protected the kingdom with thy life.”

“I can’t do anything more. Please, just let me die.”

“I can’t let that happen to thee. Much more lies ahead of us. And I cannot face it alone. My sister is powerful, but she has more to worry about then the fate of a lone soldier. I can help thee, but thou must help thyself first.”

“How?”

“Thine talents are beyond simple magic. Thou hast the power to do great things, but thou must be willing to not accept what seems to be written in stone and to know the hardships that lay ahead. I must leave thee now.” she stands now. “Heed my words Lunarus Nexus. Thou hast great powers, not all magical.”

With that, my eyes shut and I slam down onto a wood floor.

“Dear Celestia!” an old mans voice shouts.

I open my eyes enough to see his basic features. He’s an ebony black Pegasus with yellow eyes and a black mane. Before I can see anything more I pass out once more.

I’m alive? I can’t be. No I’m alive. I can feel a comfortable mattress beneath me. It has to be night time, I feel aware. I’m safe now, the whispers are soothing again. Almost like Luna telling me I’ll be okay. I open my eyes slowly, lift my neck and look down at my body and see the fresh bandages over my wounds. They were stained with blood, but much less then the first batch I had on. I groan as I plop my head back onto the soft pillow.

“Oh thank Celestia you’re awake.” the stallion’s voice called out. “I thought we may have lost you there.” he says trotting up to me.

“Where am I?” I ask.

“In a minute. Drink this, it’s a healing potion.” he said bringing a bottle to my lips.

I drank the pink liquid, greedily trying to quench my thirst. I was too weak to levitate the bottle myself and it felt deeming to have somepony feeding me. But the potion was effective. I feel better already!

“There, that should put an end to the bleeding. Won’t do anything for the legs, but it will make it easier to get you out of those bandages sooner.” he tells me trying to sound enthusiastic.

I could see the stallion clearly now. He is fairly thin with a seven pronged, navy blue star cutie mark and a single yellow lock in his mane. He seemed earnest and kind, but he doesn’t seem like a medic.

“Where am I?”

“You’re in the middle of The White Tailed Woods. The town is by the same name.”

“White Tailed Woods? That’s hundreds of miles south west of Canterlot.”

“Yeah. Where did you come from exactly Lunarus?”

“How do you know my name?”

“It’s on these bags. I didn’t look in ‘em. But from the weight, I’d guess you’re in the guard.”

“I was north of the Foul Mountains… I don’t even know how long ago that was.”

“I’d imagine that you wouldn’t have gotten this far without help.”

“Luan.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Listen I need some help.”

“Obviously. The name’s Midnight Spangle. Ex-guard.”

“Nice to meet you, look, is there a machine shop near by?”

“You happen to be laying in the only one for hundreds of miles.”

‘She can’t be serious.’ I think to myself.

“How good are you?”

“I don’t mean to brag, but I think I’m the best in Equestria.”

“Well, in my saddle bag, there should be a schematic right in the front of the blue folder for my designs.”

“Okay.” Midnight Spangle makes a quick trot over to the work table, he opens the right bag and slides the blue folder out with his teeth. He opens the folder and knits his brow when he sees what is inside. “What in the name of Luna. Mechanical legs? Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Because you don’t work like me.”

“What are these?” Midnight Spangle sais holding a booklet of the nervous system and diagrams of diodes.

“Contact plate. Magically connects to the nerve endings that already exist. I need you to build both.”

“Both?”

“At least build one leg and the contact plate.”

“And you want me to put them on you?”

“Yes. If the doctor that fixed me up can help, have them put it on me.”

“Okay.” Midnight Spangle said hesitantly opening the saddle bag.

It took him a few months, but he got the front leg’s inner design built and functional via my magic. Half way through the process I had him build the adoption plate that was now attached to my chest. The doctors had to use some macabre magic to even get the plate on my chest. Thank Luna they were good with magic. Once it was completed, I hooked the leg to the open socket where a right foreleg should be. It fit perfectly and I could feel the spark of magic when it was finally ready for a test run. Currently, ponies without hind legs have devices similar to wheel chairs for dogs. It was demeaning, but at least I could “stand”. I had two ponies lift me into the chair and strap me in. The entire time, the leg had been unused and had been hanging loosely from my body. Now was the moment of truth. It was holding me up after Spangle manually locked it, a feature I will have to remove later, but now it had to move. The nurse unlocked the leg and I nearly fell flat on my snout, until the leg started pushing me back up. Once I was up right I hopped and leaned forward enough for the leg to be extended out a little. Once I pulled it back to upright, I had moved forward. It was like having first steps all over again.

“I don’t believe it. It works.” Spangle said astonished by the array of pistons, ball joints, wires and steel beams in front of him.

“Neither can I. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a legs to build.”

With that I hobbled over to the work bench and started work on the hoof joints of the next foreleg. For several months I forged, hammered and welded piece after piece until the second leg was finished. Once hooked up and functioning, I had the pleasure of having to make articulated coverings for them for another three. I had to keep the dirt and grime out of them somehow. Two down, two to go. The hind legs were more complicated then I thought. I had several problems with the articulated joints and how to mount it to myself. I could have what was left cut from my body and have another contact plate, but that would take too much time. I have to have it connect to the existing nerve endings on my stumps. Not only that but I found that the hind legs take the most impacts when jumping, so the entire bone that would normally be attached to the ankle would have to be a piston. And the only kind that big are industrial.

I also had to build them both at the same time and have them surgically implanted onto me. I couldn’t connect the points of the nerves to the sensor plate in the cradle with my skills, nor could I bolt it down to myself while conscious. The medical ponies would have to do that for me. And so they shall. Now that the legs were complete, I will be wheeled off to the hospital in town where they will put the legs on and hope to Celestia they work. They wash me until I’m more than sterile and put me under with a sleep spell. I dreamt I was walking a field at night, the cool air blowing my mane back as I stride. I feel the grass on my hoofs. My real hoofs I am alone, at peace. I only with this wasn’t the dream.

The light is blinding as I awaken back in Midnight Spangle's shop. Everypony in the village came to see if they would work. I was laying on my stomach and my hind legs were dangling from the edge of the bed. I stand on my front legs and start sliding back off the bed. Moment of truth. The hind legs responded to my nerves telling them to move back and I am eventually on all fours, unsteady, but up. I need assistance to walk, but a week or two of physical therapy along with a few health potions a day should help speed up the recovery.