Celestia continued to walk the young ex-convict through the halls of the palace. She had used her magic to heal the wound on his face and he had used his shirt to clean the blood. Their destination, the royal seamstress workshop. The sun princess came up with a plan after hearing about the stallion’s ability from her niece. The little one would check somepony very specific to determine if there was any chance of saving that pony. The thought of still having a chance to save that pony filled her with hope, the likes of which she had never felt since that dreadful day. But at the same time, if he said it wasn't possible to save this individual...that thought sends shivers down her spine and crushed her heart. Celestia was so deep in these thoughts that she didn't notice the stallion walking backward in front of her.

“So,” Arden said making her snap back into reality “Are you going to fill me in on the details of your plan or am I to guess?”

“About a thousand years ago I was forced to banish my sister Luna to the moon using the most powerful magic our kind had, the Elements of Harmony. She lost control of her body to an entity known as Nightmare Moon. As I said before the seal that keeps her in the moon is weakening. When we hit the turning point of the millennia at the Summer Sunset Celebration in four years, she will be able to return.”

“Summer Sunset Celebration?“

“It’s the longest night of the year and celebrates my “victory" over Nightmare Moon,” she said with a defeated sigh. It didn't matter how long ago it has happened, she still hated that event. “Your role is to determine if there is anything left of my sister once she returns in four years. They are two separate entities, therefore, two separate hearts. You’ll need to do that before my plan to deal with her is completed. If there is anything left I am sure my plan will save her. But...if there isn’t...”

“She’s a goner, as well as Nightmare moon, correct?” Celestia gave out a positive nod as a response while she tried to keep her composure. “I won't say that there isn’t a chance that she will disappear. But if your sister had a strong enough heart you can bet she still there. I guess it all comes down to how much you believe in her.”

“Thank you for your words.”

“By the way...” Arden said squinting his eyes at her as if he was looking for something. “...did you ever sing a song called Lullaby for a Princess?” Celestia frowned at that. She didn't recognize that name at all.

“Do you know any of the lyrics?”

“I believe, BELIEVE, it starts with: Fate has been cruel and order unkind. How can I have sent you away? The blame was my own the punishment yours, the harmony silenced today.” Arden sang as if trying to match a rhythm.

“Where did you hear that song?” Celestia asked confused as she heard the lyrics.

“I love animations. So one day I found this video which had Lullaby for a Princess as its title. You resemble the character that sings the song. But the character walked on four legs and didn't wear any sort of clothes. I didn't look into any details of the animation or the story behind it, but from what I gathered from the video itself the story told by Lullaby is very similar to your story. VERY similar." Celestia's eyes lit up with curiosity and an idea popped into her head.

“Have you seen any other of this videos?” Arden nodded positively. “Have any of them pointed out the outcome of the story?”

“I think I saw two different outcomes. One had the sister being saved and the other had the “evil” one taking over.” That left her without any sort of answer. It would appear she would have to wait. Then she realized that they finally arrived at their destination.

“It would appear we arrived,” Celestia said halting her march while the stallion turned around only to faceplant into the door. “He-he...you should look at where you are going.”

“Perhaps I should,” he said pulling his face off the door. Then he tried to lean on it, but as he tried to do so the door opened and he once again fell to the ground. “I should not lean on doors either.” Celestia giggled.

‘He certainly is an odd one.’

“Your Highness,” said a pony coming out of the chamber. It was a light gray mare with white and lavender mane wearing jeans, a white shirt, and a black waistcoat. This mare was appointed as the royal seamstress due to her ability in making amazing clothes for others, not for the taste of her own clothing.

“It is good to see you again Velvet,” Celestia said before looking down and seeing that she had walked over the stallion that had now disappeared.

“To what do I owe the pleasure? Has something happened to my daughter?”

“No, nothing of the sort,” Celestia said as she looked around the hallway looking for the stallion. “I actually came here because I need to have some traveling clothes done for somepony.”

“And who might that be? You don't mean to send my little boy out on a mission do you?” The captains’ mother tried to hide her concern.

“No. It’s a stallion that I seem to have lost in these hallways somehow.” Celestia continuing to search for the stallion. Her search came to an end when she heard his voice coming from inside the workshop.

“These designs are amazing!” Celestia entered the workshop accompanied by the seamstress that hid behind her once she saw the stallion in an orange jumpsuit that was destined for convicts. “Did you do this Ms.? You really know your stuff!"

“That is the stallion I need you to make those clothes for,” Celestia said trying to calm down her friend. “He was considered innocent and has actually agreed to help me with some problems.”

“I-is that so?” Velvet said from behind the princess while looking at the stallion. After taking a deep breath she spoke. “My name is Twilight Velvet. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Pleasure is mine. I'm Arden Sila.” As he offered his hand, Celestia saw Velvet hesitate a little before shaking his hand.

“Well, let’s take your measurements. Take off your clothes but keep the underwear.” Velvet used her magic to pull a stool for him to stand on.

Aredn obliged, Celestia watched him take off his clothes. He was very slim, barely any muscles. No scars and nothing actually worthy of attention, in fact...he looked so light. Celestia started to question how did he not turn into a bloody splatter on the wall when he first appeared. Suddenly Velvet stood up. “I got them, return in two hours and I’ll have them ready for you,” she said turning her back on them and headed to her designing table.

Celestia watched the stallion put his clothes back on before he said, “Now what do we do?”

Celestia scratched her chin pondering the possibilities. “How about we see what you can do?”

“You mean...like a test?” the little one asked with a raised eyebrow. Celestia nodded positively.

“Lead-” before he could finish his sentence Celestia teleported them to the training yard. The stallion stood still with his mouth agape. “Show me the ways of the magic master!”

Celestia rolled her eyes with a smile. “Try to levitate that rock,” she said pointing to a small rock, when she looked back at him she saw him staring blankly at her. “What?”

“How does one levitate rocks?”

“Oh...world without magic,” Celestia said with an awkward smile. “Focus on the rock, then imagine a force great enough to keep it afloat.”

Celestia watched the young one try his best to make the rock float. He managed to channel magical energy around his horn on the first try but...no matter how much he tried no aura would manifest itself around the rock. After several minutes he left out a defeated sigh before turning back to face her.

“I don’t think I can do that.”

“That’s odd. That’s one of the most basic ones.” Celestia frowned and scratched her chin. “Let me check something.” Celestia then proceeded to check his magical potential. Casting a spell that allowed the caster to verify somepony else’s ability to manipulate magical energy to use it according to their species talent. From what she could see he had the same magical level of her student. Yet he was unable to cast the simplest of spells.

“Let’s try something else. Maybe I can’t do everyday stuff.” Arden said making her blink and cancel the spell.

“Then try to create an energy beam,” Celestia said. “Focus your energy on the palm of your hand then imagine it blasting away in a straight line.” The result was the same as before. “Try elemental.” Nothing again. “Illusion.” Zero. “Then try to make a shield. Focus your energy anywhere and then give it the shape of a shield and imagine how sturdy you want it to be.”

She watched a round shield made out of blue energy materialized itself attached to his arm, the stallions arms were sparkling as he stared at the creation. “Now let’s see how durable it is.” The stallion agreed excitedly and raised the shield. Celestia charged a small beam and shot at him, not a crack. Another blast, this time stronger, once again no damage. Then a constant beam, the stallion was pushed back but nothing happened to the shield.

“Brace yourself, this is the strongest blast I ever used against the best defensive magic user we have,” she said before shooting another beam. Arden flew upon impact and hit the wall causing it to crack.

“Oh no!” Celestia rushed to the stallion and found him getting up and brushing off dust. The shield was still there and not a single scratch on it.

“That was a strong one, glad I had something between me and the beam,” Arden said once he noticed her standing there.

“Shining Armor’s shield withstood that blast but broke soon after...yours is still intact. That’s impressive.” She walked around him to look for wounds due to his impact on the wall. None were there.

‘This is the durability of an earth pony...what is going on here?’

He left out a giggle before making the shield disappear. “I’m okay if that's what you're checking. It seems I can only use defensive magic though.”

“Let's test something else,” Celestia said channeling her magic and making a machine intended to measure the strength of an earth pony. ”Punch the red spot with everything you have.”

Celestia paid close attention to the display as the stallion prepared to hit the designated area. He swung his fist and the machine produced the number one thousand two hundred. ‘That’s the minimum strength of an earth pony. Their maximum value goes up to three thousand five hundred. or at least that's the maximum ever registered. I am at four thousand five hundred due to my duties preventing me from training...given his species, he should be at six hundred, that’s the unicorn’s max. If he was a pegasus he that would be acceptable since they can reach up to two thousand.’

“Is that a good number?” the stallion asked looking at the display.

‘Maybe...since his world doesn’t have magic he was supposed to become an earth pony when he came here. But that would mean something either went wrong with the transformation or something about him made him turn into a unicorn.’

“Princess?" Arden said waving his hand in front of her, Celestia woke up and shook her head before answering him.

“That is an astonishing number.” The stallion blushed as he let out a laugh and scratched the back of his head when she said that. “You said you didn’t have magic in your world. Did you ever wish to be able to use it?”

“Of course! Having magic meant being able to protect other people back in my world. Or at least...that’s how I saw it when I saw heroes using magic in the stories I loved.”

“Did those heroes have to channel magic through spells?”

“Yes!”

‘Maybe that could be it? His desire to use magic combined with how he saw it...a way to protect others. Maybe that desire twisted the transformation allowing him to become a being able to use magic that required channeling spells. But...I think his desire could only influence the change partially, so the end result was a unicorn only capable to use defensive magic with the strength of an earth pony.’

“Is something wrong?” he asked making Celestia come back from her thoughts once again.

“You are.” The stallion frowned at that. “Your traits are all over the place. You can only use defensive magic and you have the strength of an earth pony.”

“I am too crazy for this world, I’m breaking all of your rules!” He exclaimed striking a pose.

“You are indeed an odd one,” Celestia said giggling.

‘And maybe you could be a good sparring partner...if you got stronger.’