Study of the Mind Delve

Chapters

Chapter 1: Comprehension
Chapter 2: Reasoning
Chapter 3: Understanding

Chapter 1: Comprehension

Twilight threw her hooves up in frustration.

“WHY IS THIS SO COMPLICATED!?” Twilight groaned as she put the latest book she had been browsing through down. It too had yielded her no answers; she was squarely back where she had begun once again.

“You seem stressed Twilight, is this really that important?” Spike asked as he approached her quickly, placing a cup of her favorite tea down next to her.

“Thank you Spike.” Twilight sighed softly levitating the cup up to her lips and taking a sip, starting to settle down again, “And it is. This spell is baffling me now. There’s no indication in the book it comes from that suggests the spell is bad. Yet I have four separate testimonies that the spell shouldn’t EVER be used again.” Twilight rubbed her forehead carefully.

“Have you asked them why?” Spike asked curiously.

“Of course I have Spike. But…” She took another sip of the tea as she thought about her friends reasons carefully, “Pinkie found out about her sister through the spell but refused to explain how beyond that she had to go through some fog filled version of Ponyville, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash also said they saw the same thing. And Lance refused to say a word about it. Of course they didn’t explain why or even how.” Twilight groaned softly.

“Poor Pinkie… It’s sad that she lost her sister when she was younger.” Spike frowned thinking about it.

“Yeah… I know how you feel Spike.” Twilight said calming down a little, that reminder sobering her emotions, “And chances are Fluttershy had something similar happen to her, but she hasn’t told anypony but Rainbow Dash… and from what I can tell it wouldn’t be a good idea to pressure her into telling us.” She sighed softly. “And honestly I don’t even want to know what Lance saw, I’m sure he saw a lot during his time as a doctor. But that’s also why I’ve been doing this research, to try and figure it out on my own.”

“Have you figured anything out yet?” Spike asked curiously, looking at Twilight’s notes.

“Nada. Nothing. Zilch. Zero!” Twilight groaned frustrated putting her head against the table, “I’ve gotten nowhere Spike. I’ve looked at every detail, every loophole, anything that would tell me exactly how this spell works or why it does what it does.” She lifted her head and levitated her copy of ‘Dreams: A Psychological Understanding’ over to her. The book once more flipped open to the offending spell in question.

“What’s so difficult about that spell? I mean, your Twilight Sparkle, you can figure out any spell you put your mind to.” Spike said praising Twilight.

“Heh… Thanks Spike.” Twilight said lifting her head, “But the problem is just the lack of information.” She put her hoof against the page in the book, “This book has a description of the spell and how to cast it… and that’s it. Every other spell has details on it. Possible side effects, proper handling and use, just basic info every spell should have. And I didn’t notice any of this till I started studying it.” Twilight closed the book, not wanting to look at the page anymore.

“So I went searching for answers in the rest of the library but… I turned up nothing.” Twilight said turning to the massive amount of books and papers that were stacked around the library, a usual scene after her intense studying, “Every book on dreams, psychology, understanding the mind… ANYWHERE the Mind Delve or a similar spell might appear there was nothing. The mind delve spell appears in THIS book and this book alone.” Twilight gave ‘Dreams: A Psychological Understanding’ a soft glare.

“How is that possible?” Spike asked confused, “No spell appears in just one single book, it has to be somewhere.”

“Well, apparently this one doesn’t show up anywhere else in the library.” Twilight sighed again, taking a sip from her tea before her frustrations started to get to her nerves again, “I even tried to check other books by this author, but this is the only book I have of his. So I checked the creators of the original spells. Even in his book, every spell is referenced to having an original creator and I can find out more about them. But not this spell.” Twilight opened the book back up to the page, running her hoof across the page as she scowled at the spell. “This one. Specific. Spell. Has no extra information. It’s just there. Mocking me.”

“…Huh. Do you think the answer would be in the Canterlot archives?” Spike asked curiously.

“Most likely Spike, but I can’t just waltz over to the Canterlot archives whenever I want. I’ve still got things to do in Ponyville. I’ve got to help Applejack with the farm, then help Pinkie Pie try and figure out her new recipe, Rarity wants to spend time at the spa as well, and then Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash want to talk to me about some personal spell they need. My schedule is booked solid.” Twilight sighed.

“…Uh… Twilight, how’re you going to find time to go to Canterlot then?” Spike asked curiously.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying Spike, I can’t go to Canterlot right now. As much as I’d like to.” Twilight sighed again carefully sipping on her tea once more.

“No, I mean, you have to find time to go to Canterlot Twilight. Your evaluation is next week, don’t you remember?”

Twilight nearly gagged on her tea, it spewing out back into her cup and splashing onto her face.

“MY EVALUATION!” Twilight cried out in a panic, not even flinching about the tea, “I COMPLETELY FORGOT!” Her horn lit up as her books and notes quickly moved to the side and her list of things to do flew over. At the top of the list was in fact, underlined in red, the date of her evaluation, one week from now. “Spike, why didn’t you remind me sooner!?” She said jumping from her seat and rushing around quickly putting books back on the shelf haphazardly as she panicked.

“I’ve never had to remind you before Twilight. Besides, it’s not like you to forget something so important… How DID you forget about it?” Spike asked scratching his head a little confused.

“I… just… the last few days have been very stressful, alright Spike?” Twilight said shaking her head. She didn’t want to admit to Spike that the combination of Pinkie and Fluttershy’s dreams had been getting to her, as much as she’d like to forget them. She was grateful she couldn’t remember Lance’s, but that only furthered the conundrum. On top of all that she was still worried about the mental health of her friends; even though they said they were alright she worried. Pinkie lost her sister and Fluttershy likely suffered something similar, there was no way she could believe they were handling it as well as they showed it to others. Then on top of that she’d been researching the mind delve spell.

“That’s not like you Twilight. You’ve never forgotten about your evaluation before.” Spike said rather surprised, “Even when you’ve been busy you remember it… are you alright?” Spike seemed worried now.

“I’m fine Spike… I just…” Twilight thought about her words carefully, “I guess things have been bothering me alright? But… I have no choice now. I can’t fail the evaluation, so there’s nothing else I can do. I have to put all my other plans on hold and go to Canterlot.” Twilight said gathering the books scattered amongst the library more calmly now, placing them away gently.

“Your friends will understand Twilight, besides you could use a short break from all this, study up on your magic for the test and all. I’m sure you’ll be feeling better in no time.” Spike said moving to help Twilight pick up the mess of a library.

‘I hope you’re right Spike.’ Twilight thought, still feeling a bit of a grip on her heart. If her friends were troubled, then so was she.

“Again, I’m really sorry about all this.” Twilight turned to her friends, as she placed her small suitcase on the chariot.

“Don’t you worry two bits over it Twi’, nothin’ a little extra hard work can’t handle.” Applejack said adjusting her hat before crossing her legs, “’Sides, this here’s like yer final exam of the year right? Well we wouldn’t want ya to fail that.”

“Undoubtedly. You can come with me to the spa anytime, and after your exam I most certainly must take you. You’ll need a good relaxation and grooming after that.” Rarity explained, her voice as elegant as ever.

“Don’t worry Twilight, when you get back I’ll have figured out my new super-duper amazing recipe! We’ll throw you a super-awesome Congratulations party with cakes and sodas and balloons and streamers and everypony in Ponyville will be there!” Pinkie spouted happily prancing in place, already excited for the party.

“It’s okay Twilight, really, this is very important for you. Don’t worry about our small problems if they’ll interrupt your big one.” Fluttershy offered up with a smile.

“Yeah, we can wait for you to get back. You have a good trip.” Rainbow nodded in agreement.

“Thanks. Still, I really feel like I should apologize for not remembering.” Twilight smiled softly, looking at Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, “but, I suppose with all the craziness the last week or so what else was I supposed to do?” Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash each gave a soft laugh rubbing the back of their heads.

“We’re all set to go.” One of the royal guards pulling the chariot said turning to Twilight.

“Thank you sirs.” She nodded politely to them before turning back, “Alright, I guess I’ll be off then… uhhh, you WILL be okay taking care of the library by yourself, right Spike?” Twilight asked cautiously.

“For the millionth time, of course I will.” Spike said rolling his eyes having heard the question far more often then he’d like. “Owlowiscious will be there too if I need any help. You’ve got nothing to worry about Twilight, I promise.”

“Well… then I’m off everyone. I’ll see you all in a week.” Twilight said finally satisfied with her goodbyes. The royal guards gave a quick nodded and proceeded to take off into the sky. Twilight waved to her friends who waved back as they soon disappeared into the distance of Ponyville.

Twilight let out a soft sigh as she settled into the chariot ride. She looked at her suitcase, opening it carefully with her magic and pulling out her copy of ‘Dreams: A Psychological Understanding’. She scrutinized the cover once more, her eyes landing on the name of the author.

“Magus V. Darkarts.” Twilight read out loud for what seemed like the hundredth time to her. “I will find out about your little ‘Mind Delve’ spell if it’s the last thing I do.”

“It’s wonderful to see you again Twilight.” Celestia said sipping her tea gracefully, “I do hope your trip here was pleasant.”

“But of course Princess.” Twilight smiled remembering her manners.

Since she would be staying in Canterlot for the week the Princess had taken the opportunity to have tea with her star pupil before she became a studying recluse.

“How have your studies in magic been going?” Celestia smiled interested.

“Oh, unbelievably!” Twilight said excitedly, “I’ve learned a lot while in Ponyville, not just about friendship but about new magic in general.” Twilight said excitedly.

She quickly began a rant to the Princess, not even knowing where it was coming from, about all the new things she had learned in Ponyville. She explained about the new spells she taught herself during their crazy misadventures, such as growing facial hair, turning objects into clothes, making music from reeds, finally getting the hang of teleportation, levitating large objects and even how to turn simple mice into carriage pulling horses.

Celestia listened eagerly to her student’s tales, laughing where appropriate and happy to hear her student was having fun with her friends while learning about magic. It did her heart good to know she was growing up so well. She was already an adult but she did have a lot left to learn. She was on the right track though and Celestia was thankful for it.

“Spike was sneezing for a few days after that. We had to keep him outside to keep from burning the place down.” Twilight laughed, Celestia chuckling softly in return, “But we eventually got it settled and he was very grateful. The day after that I sent him out on a shopping trip to replace the things he’d accidentally scorched during his sneezing fit, though we were lucky he didn’t burn up any of the books.” Twilight nodded taking a sip of the tea before her thinking about what happened next.

“And then after that Pinkie…” Twilight stopped as she realized where she was in her story. She stopped abruptly, lowering her tea cup to the table as she stared down at it with a melancholy look.

“What’s the matter Twilight?” Celestia asked curious about this sudden shift in mood and behavior. Twilight softly contorted her face in thought, debating with herself about what she should tell the Princess next. A thought came to her mind first though.

“Princess, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course my faithful student, what is it?” Celestia asked genuinely smiling, not sure what to expect.

“Do you know of a spell called ‘Mind Delve’?” Celestia pondered this question for a moment, not really having expected it.

“Well… what kind of a Mind Delve my student? There have been many spells that focus on the mind throughout the years, be it for a memory problem, a medical problem, finding out if somepony is telling the truth or not, and various psychological studies.” Celestia answered with her normal regal tone, thinking over the types of spells she’d seen during her years.

“Well… this spell is simply called ‘Mind Delve’.” Twilight said looking to her side and seeing her suitcase. Her horn lit up as she reached inside of it and pulled out the book once more, flipping open to the page in question before showing it the Princess, “It appears in this book called ‘Dreams: A Psychological Understanding’, but there’s no extra information about it. I was wondering if you knew anything about this spell.”

Celestia looked over the spell curiously, reading the description and the intricate details of how to cast such a spell. A slight worry came across her face that sent a small bit of panic through her body, but the Princess simply closed her eyes in thought before moving the book down onto the table.

“I’m not sure what to make of the spell Twilight.” Celestia finally spoke, Twilight letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding in. “It’s a spell that lets one find out about problems that are hidden deep within the subconscious.” Celestia tilted her head, looking up at the ceiling in thought, “However, that seems like an awfully dangerous idea…”

“…Princess?” Twilight asked, not sure what was going through the Princess’s head.

“The mind is a delicate thing Twilight. Even with magic its very easy to harm it if you’re not careful. This spell says that it’s supposed to draw out the problem its patient is suffering from to shorten the time they need to recover… however, its more than that.” Celestia explained placing a hoof against the page, Twilight listening with earnest.

“This spell, the way it’s written, described and displayed is in fact a cure for nightmares. However, even without casting it I can tell that it’s more complex than that.” Her hoof passed over the section explaining how to cast the spell, studying it intently, “This is a very complex dive into the mind. The potential for abuse is high for somepony that could figure out the details of this spell. With some modifications it can very easily be turned into something that attacks the mind instead of helping it.”

“R-Really?” Twilight’s eyes widened in shock, not having expected any of this from the princess. She was good at learning a spell and how to cast it, but she was still just a beginner in how to deconstruct a spell and learn it’s inner workings. Celestia on the other hand had thousands of years of experience in this, deconstructing a spell would be almost second nature to her.

“I’m… almost amazed at this spell.” Celestia said, turning the pages to check on a few of the other spells in the book before returning to the page with the Mind Delve. “This spell… I would say this spell is at least a Rank A.”

“Huh!? But… but I’ve seen Rank A spells before and they were much harder to cast than that spell.” Twilight said in shock.

Twilight knew that spells went in rank of difficulty casting and the ability that went along it. The lowest a spell could be was Rank D and was often associated with every day spells Unicorns needed, such as levitation of objects. The highest a spell could reach in Rank was S, and spells of that nature could move the very Sun and Moon itself. Not to mention the Elements of Harmony broke the scale itself, being a power beyond anything seen before.

“That’s what worries me my student. While not just anypony could cast this spell, it’s easy enough for unicorns studying magic to cast. Despite how complex it is, it’s designed to be simple to cast.” Celestia then mumbled softly, “It took a great genius to devise a spell this way…” Celestia closed the book and looked at the cover, her eyes falling to the author. “Where did you find this book my student?”

“It… it was in the library.” Twilight explained, “I found it because my friends were having troubles with nightmares… and they were some serious nightmares. That spell was the only option we felt we had left and so I used it on them… they came out better and saying they were thankful for having found out what was causing their nightmares, but it concerned me.”

“And what was the cause of them?” Celestia asked curiously.

“…W-Well… Pinkie came to me first with the Nightmares…” Twilight began. She quickly explained to Celestia about finding the spell and using it on Pinkie. How after the spell ended Pinkie had left for a while before returning to Ponyville and explaining to her that the spell had showed her the death of her sister Bellamina at the hooves of a serial killer.

“A… A serial killer?” Celestia stopped Twilight short.

“Y-Yea… is something wrong Princess?” Twilight looked up at the Princess curiously.

“Twilight… in the last 100 years of my reign there has only been one known and captured serial killer. He’s currently locked away in Foalsom Prison for Deranged Ponies.” Celestia spoke slowly and clearly, “I haven’t been informed on everything about the case with him, it’s been left up mostly to my security staff… I had no idea that one of the wielders of the Elements of Harmony had almost been a victim to him…” Celestia looked away from Twilight, as if gears were turning in her head as her eyes narrowed.

“W-Well… Princess, Pinkie may have been a victim to his evil but she’s alright now.” Celestia looked at her student curiously, “Well…I -I mean I assume she is… she keeps telling me she is and she certainly doesn’t seem to do anything to contradict that… so I think she took the lesson and used it to strengthen her resolve in life, rather than let it keep her down.”

“…I see.” Celestia said still in thought. “Well… go ahead and continue Twilight, you said Pinkie was the first?” Celestia seemed even more attentive now than she had been before.

“Y-Yes… about two months after Pinkie had suffered from her Nightmares, Fluttershy started having them too. So I ended up using the spell on her as well… she came out better for it as well, though she hasn’t told me what happened to her.” Twilight grew quiet as she finished explaining. Fluttershy wasn’t the last pony she had cast the spell on. She had also cast the spell on Fluttershy’s father Lance Strongshy...

But she remembered promising Fluttershy she wouldn’t speak of him having needed her help. And as much as she would like to tell the Princess, she hadn’t learned anything more from the experience. So she decided to keep to her promise for the time being.

“I see…” Celestia pondered quietly. “What did you experience during the spell?”

“That’s just it Princess… I don’t know.” Twilight said, looking away, “Both times I used the spell I found myself in a dark foggy void staring at a floating picture that morphed and changed. I couldn’t make sense of what I saw. It only lasted a short while too. The spell ended on its own both times, I had no control over when it ended. However it seemed to end just as my friends found resolution within the spell.”

“The spell ends on its own?” Celestia looked at the contents of the book once more. She didn’t see anywhere in the intricate castings of the spell of it ending on its own. “And that’s all you know of the spell?”

“Yes… see, my friends… whatever it is they saw or went through… they refuse to tell me. In fact… they made me promise to never use the spell again.” Twilight looked down at the book feeling defeated, even though part of the reason she had come to Canterlot was to find out more about the spell.

“Well, then I have a proposal for you Twilight.” Celestia said turning to her student, Twilight looking up in surprise, “I’d like to see what this spell does for myself. Would you grant me permission to cast it upon you?”

Twilight perked up in curiosity. On one hoof that made sense, if she couldn’t cast the spell again her teacher certainly could. On the other, she was suddenly afraid of what she might find inside of herself, this spell was enough to have Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash all make her promise that she shouldn’t use the spell again. She found herself second guessing this idea.

“Twilight?” Celestia’s voice kicked Twilight back to her senses, “I asked if it was alright for me to cast the spell on you.”

“…Of course Princess.” Twilight put a smile on her face, “You’re here with me, what could go wrong?” She really hoped she hadn’t just tempted fate right then and there.

Celestia just gave a smile and her horn lit up as she cast the spell that was written down in the book before her. Twilight gave a silent gulp and tilted her head forward for the princess. With careful precision she tapped her horn against Twilight’s forehead.

Twilight felt herself float up into space. She was confused at this new sensation, as she opened her eyes to try and figure out what was going on. She blinked, trying to confirm that she had opened her eyes.

Everything was pitch black around her. There wasn’t anything to be seen anywhere. She raised a hoof up to her face. She could see it clearly. She looked at more of herself, able to see herself completely despite the lack of a visible light source. She looked down at where she thought she would see a ground, but only saw darkness. Her hooves weren’t standing on anything discernable, she was just floating in a random black void.

Suddenly she felt as if somehow the world was moving around her quickly, a rush of wind moving past her body though she could see nothing. She squinted her eyes at the rush of wind, trying to gain control of the situation. Her hooves flailed as she tried to gain ground. The whirlwind was deafening though she couldn’t explain how anything was there to be loud.

Then it all stopped. All at once Twilight blinked her eyes open and found herself in a completely new location. Her hooves set down on a dirt road with a small grass patch on either side that ended shortly before a black pit. The sky was still dark, but was randomly littered with floating trees and buildings she recognized from Canterlot. Not too far from her she could spot her home in Canterlot and looking behind her she could see the castle.

“I must say, this is very unique. I’ve never quite experienced anything like this.” A voice called out much to Twilight’s surprise. She quickly looked up, seeing the white form of Celestia slowly fly down and land before her.

“P-Princess! How did we get here!?” Twilight asked confused about her surroundings.

“It appears we’re inside a projection of your mind.” Celestia explained looking around.

“We… we are?” Twilight asked surprised.

“We are. I must say, I’m surprised to see a version of Canterlot here. I was expecting a representation of Ponyville if anything.” Celestia pondered looking around.

“Well… I spent most of my life in Canterlot… b-but that’s not the point.” Twilight shook her head, “How’re you here? Whenever I used the spell I didn’t interact with my friends. I saw nothing and this…” She looked around at the floating scenery, “This is strange but…i t’s not terrifying. My friends were terrified of what they saw here.”

“I see. Then the only solution is to look further into what is happening with this spell. Shall we?” Celestia smiled at her student.

“Of course Princess, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this to learn more about the spell.” Twilight smiled.

“I’m glad my faithful student.” Celestia said happily, the two of them walking down the dirt road to the house that looked like Twilight’s.

“Comprehension is but a small portion of ourselves. We take what we learn and say that is how things are. But there’s always more to it than that, isn’t there? We must look further, for within every answer will always be another question.” – Magus V. Darkarts.

Chapter 2: Reasoning

Chapter 2
Reasoning

“Twilight? What are you doing?” Her mother asked looking down at the little filly who seemed to be nestled on a pillow surrounded by a fort made out of books.

“The munsters can’t get me while I read now!” Filly Twilight spoke up in her young cheerful voice before sticking her nose back into the book and happily read away at her latest adventure.

Celestia stifled a giggle as the more adult Twilight who stood next to her blushed.

“I forgot how adorable you had been.” Celestia commented.

“Ahaha… yeah…” Twilight said trying to laugh her blush away. The ghostly image of that memory seemed to fade away and was replaced with another, this one a scene of Twilight’s mother reading a book to filly Twilight.

This had been the scene since they had entered the building that looked just like her old home in Canterlot. Various images of memories past blinked in and out of existence, all of them Twilight’s. Most in this house were just of her as a little filly, interacting with her parents, having birthday parties and of course lots of studying. Most of her active memories of her youth involved her nose deep in some kind of book.

Celestia looked around the house curiously, watching each memory come and fade before her eyes fell on a chest that seemed to somehow stand out from the rest of the scenery objects. Twilight looked at her curiously as her mentor began to walk forward, before looking at what her eyes were drawn to, her heart almost stopping.

“Oh, hey Princess, w-what’re you looking at?” Twilight asked quickly zipping in front of the Princess, standing between her and the chest.

“This chest seems to stand out as something different from the rest of the room. I was just going to check what was inside it.” Celestia explained with a smile.

“Oh, what, this chest?” Twilight said awkwardly placing her body against the chest as if protecting it. “Oh there’s nothing inside of here, haha, don’t be silly, it’s just an ordinary chest! It’s not like anything would be kept inside of here.” She laughed trying to grin away the Princess’s curiosity. Celestia opened her mouth to question this, when suddenly a voice interrupted them both as if answering her question.

“What’re you writing Twilight?” The supportive voice of her father came, looking over the filly sitting at a desk who was happily writing away.

“Oh, I just finished reading The Adventures of Captain Roger! I was sad to see the story end, so I’m writing what happened next!” Filly Twilight giggled happily.

“And what happens in your story?” Her father asked curiously.

“So far Captain Roger has fallen in love with the pretty mare Midnight Sparkle! They’re currently seeking to find a cure to the curse placed on Midnight to restore her broken heart!” Filly Twilight giggled as she went back to writing.

“My, a romance story? How bold.” Her father chuckled.

“It’s the bestest story ever!” Filly Twilight gave a wide grin.

Celestia did everything she could to keep herself from falling over with laughter, as Twilight’s face became a deep red as she clutched the chest harder.

“It’s not funny!” Twilight said trying to bury her face against the trunk now.

“Oh… oh my faithful student… I had no idea you were such… such a romantic.” Celestia let out another set of giggles, covering her mouth with her hoof as she was failing, miserably to not laugh at this revelation.

“Ooooh… curse my mind… this is so embarrassing.” Twilight groaned at Celestia’s laughing.

Twilight and Celestia walked down the dirt road heading for the depiction of the castle. Twilight’s ears were folded back as she walked, still trying to get over the embarrassment of having been caught writing her silly fanfiction as a foal.

“Come now Twilight, you should relax. I’m not going to tell anyone about your daring adventures as a child.” Celestia chuckled soflty walking beside her student.

“It’s STILL embarrassing.” Twilight grumbled softly, “I haven’t told anyone I used to write those… things when I was younger. They’re so poorly written!” Twilight said letting loose her inner critic. “The established characters were all acting out of character, everything was focused around my original character, a poorly written one I might add, who was the admiration and affection of every other character. Captain Roger was a swinging bachelor, he would never settle down with a single mare so easily! Not to mention the physics of their adventures, oh they broke physics so often just because I wanted to.” Twilight rubbed her forehead as they walked.

“But that sounds like such fun.” Celestia laughed, “Everypony has written something like that at least once in their life. It’s fun to write silly things for the sake of it. Even I’ve written some in my days.” Celestia smiled.

“W-what? Really?” Twilight asked surprised having heard the Princess had written fanfiction in the past.

“Of course. Though it has been many years since I wrote anything that wasn’t a letter or a political paper.” Celestia mused with herself. “I’ve been so very busy with all my work as of late. Perhaps when I get a break I’ll write something new.” She smiled softly.

“Would… would it be okay if I could read it?” Twilight asked now very curious as to the kind of literature the Princess would write. Surely anything that she graced would be filled with an exhilarating prose, one that would keep her enthralled for quite some time.

“Only if I can read some of your old work.” Celestia gave a sly smile to her student. Twilight felt her ears go back again as she groaned looking up at the sky, eliciting another chuckle from the Princess.

Inside the castle Celestia and Twilight were greeted with a very similar scene as they had upon entering Twilight’s house. Only now the scenes were of an older Twilight, learning and studying magic.

“I don’t get it Princess…” Twilight said watching the ghostly images of her younger self struggling to learn spells. “It seems that everything here is just showing us my memories. It’s helping me remember these events more clearly… but how is this terrifying?” Twilight looked up at Celestia looking for an answer.

Celestia didn’t answer straight away. She had to ponder that question herself.

“Well… let me ask you Twilight, you haven’t been having nightmares correct?” Celestia watched with a bit of amusement as a filly Twilight was bouncing around in a circle cheerfully at having succeeded in casting a spell.

“No, I haven’t… and I don’t think I have memories I’ve suppressed from my childhood… I just wasn’t very social as a child. I read books and studied primarily but… that was always of my own choice, not because I was afraid of friends.” Twilight spoke softly, remembering back to her focus on studying and bettering herself over getting to know anyone she knew.

“Tell me Twilight, do you think that it would make a difference?” Celestia asked in a curious manner.

“I… it’s the only thing I can think of that would…” Twilight murmured slowly to herself.

“Well, now that I have seen this spell for myself I can give you a proper analysis of what I think of it.” Celestia said closing her eyes, her horn flaring up with magic. Twilight looked at her teacher curious, wondering what exactly it was she was doing when she suddenly felt the world begin to crumble away around her.

The wind returned as everything returned to the black void. She closed her eyes trying to orientate herself quickly before she felt solid ground underneath her once again. The warm touch of her teacher’s horn pulled away from her forehead as she blinked open her eyes, realizing she was sitting at the table once more, looking at Celestia.

“Wait… did you… you ended the spell on purpose?” Twilight said astonished rubbing her forehead.

“I did. It’s in the casting instructions.” Celestia explained with a soft smile.

“Well… I knew that but…” Twilight was just kind of at a loss for words. She was used to the spell ending on its own... she scoffed at herself for thinking it was possible to get ‘used’ to that spell.

“This has certainly been an interesting discovery.” Celestia said closing the book and levitating it back over to Twilight, who carefully took it in her hooves, “It’s a spell I believe I’ll have use for in the future. However I’m still worried that it was released in a book available to the public.”

“I... I can understand your worries Princess…” Twilight said looking at the book.

“Regardless though, here are my thoughts on what I saw.” Celestia said taking a quick breath to gather her thoughts, “The spell does exactly what it says it does. It lets the caster delve into the patients mind so that they can view memories better. I’m sure if we had dug deeper we would’ve found more… embarrassing things that you’d rather keep secret.” Twilight could only blush, knowing it was true, there were somethings she did on quiet days while alone that she didn’t exactly want the Princess to see.

“However, your experience seems to differ. We used the spell as intended and it reacted exactly how it’s supposed to as it’s written down. The spell allows me access to your mind and together we unravel what might be ailing you. That’s why it’s so effective as a cure for Nightmares. It takes you directly to the problem of the Nightmares and makes you deal with them.” Celestia pondered again, “However… you should still have been with your friends the entire time. There’s no explanation for you to have been separated as you said you were.”

“Do… do you think I screwed up in casting the spell?” Twilight asked a little worried.

“No, I don’t think you did.” Celestia pondered. “I think there’s more going on than meets the eye.” She grew quiet after that, the gears in her mind turning. Twilight opened her mouth to speak up; however Celestia was the next to speak.

“Well, this is as good a place as any to end our time for the day.” Celestia smiled. “I have business to attend to and I’m sure you would like to get started on studying for your evaluation.”

“Y-Yeah, I guess I do need to start studying.” Twilight said thinking to herself, there was only a few days left till she would be evaluated; though now that she had talked with the Princess she was feeling better about it all. “Would it be alright if I had access to the Canterlot Archives for my studies Princess?”

“But of course Twilight. I’ll see you again soon.” Celestia bowed softly to Twilight, Twilight bowing back before the two of them went their separate ways.

‘Okay, I’m only more confused now…’ Twilight thought taking several mental notes of everything she saw during her experience with the Princess, ‘I have to find out more though.’ She thought while looking at the book she was levitating by her side before placing it back into the suitcase as she made her way to the archives, ‘For the sake of my friends I have to learn more about this spell…’

The Canterlot archives were a vast network of book shelves that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. It was the single place in all of Equestria where all known knowledge was stored. Every book that was published had a copy placed inside its lengths, every finished research paper, every official document, anything written that was deemed important for Equestria.

The archives were a well-guarded resource. Only those who had direct permission from the Princesses were allowed access to them. At any time there could be found at least two or three researchers browsing the archives for information, however the size of the archives often meant you’d find solitude more often than running into another soul.

This wasn’t Twilight’s first time stepping into the hallowed chambers. She’d been there several times, the first few with the Princess teaching her how to access the resources available, then how to study details on new spells she was studying, then she’d been there on several personal trips looking for books that were not available in the normal Canterlot Library.

Twilight found herself now staring at the many long pathways before her, books filled from one end to the other. It was one of her dreams to have all the time she could ever want to just simply browse through the literature here, learn everything that was possible to learn from the hidden depths of this amazing collection of knowledge.

However, she was here for a very specific purpose and she didn’t have the luxury of idling for too long.

Along the wall next to the door she had just entered were several pendants that hung loosely by strings on the wall. She levitated one over to herself and looked at it. The pendant was a simple point cut crystal wrapped with a decorative silver frame. The pendants were simple yet shined with a complex beauty. Twilight was sure Rarity would love to get her hands on one.

“I’m looking for the works of Magus V. Darkarts.” Twilight said concentrating her magic on the pendant. The pendant lit up with a soft white glow and Twilight let go of the pendant as it now floated before her on its own. The pendant then began to move, creating a path through the massive lengths of archives for Twilight to follow.

The pendant was like a small star leading her through the dimly lit hallways of the archives. She had once asked why the lights were kept dimmed and the answer she had received was that it helped preserve the documents. It was an answer that made sense to her, but it made looking for what you wanted a little more difficult.

She turned and wove through several archives following the light as it guided her through the maze of knowledge. It was always hard to tell just how far you would have to travel, for all she knew his section could have been at the very back of the archives.

However the pendant made one final turn down a length of the archives and came to a stop, illuminating the area.

“Ah-hah, so here’s the section.” Twilight said aloud to herself smiling as she drew closer, when she noticed movement. She quickly shifted her eyes in the direction and saw a dark colored pony that seemed to be just slightly taller than her, “Oh, I didn’t expect to meet someone else here.” Twilight said surprised, trying to adjust her eyes to see who it was.

“O-Oh…We did not see thou either…our apologies, we shall just go elsewhere.” The voice of a restrained mare replied to her as the pony turned and began to walk off, her own pendant following her.

“There’s nothing to apologize for.” Twilight explained causing the mare to stop, “I don’t mind having someone else around while I study. My name’s Twilight Sparkle, what’s yours?” Twilight smiled giving her guest a friendly greeting.

The other mare was quiet for a moment before turning around and walked closer before her pendant raised up and glowed brighter, giving Twilight a proper look at the mare before her. She had grayish purple coat with a dark flowing mane and tail of energy. Her teal eyes seemed to pierce strongly through the dim light as Twilight could now make out the large size of her horn accentuated by a small dark crown. Her body was adorned with small pieces of royal regalia the same color as her crown and hair. Her chest and flank bore the shape of the crescent moon.

“... It is I, Twilight Sparkle… Princess Luna…” Luna spoke not wanting to look Twilight in the eyes, seeming nervous.

“Oh, I’m sorry Princess; I didn’t mean to intrude upon your studies.” Twilight said giving her a quick bow before smiling, “I must admit I wasn’t expecting to see you here of all places.”

“W-Well…We have been spending our free time studying here…much to Celestia’s dismay. Our sister insists we should go out and be... social…” Luna turned her head to look at Twilight, “But… I… I just want to study right now.” “However, we only wish to broaden our knowledge for now. There will be time for social gatherings once we have learned more about the fate of Equestria.”

“Well… we haven’t seen you since… well…” Twilight said not wanting to bring up bad memories, “Since Pinkie threw you that party. Is this where you’ve been the whole time?” Twilight asked surprised, eliciting a nod from Luna. “Well, Princess… if I may… I think you should make some time for friends.”

“…But… We have no friends…” Luna seemed hestitant to say so, looking up to the cieling of the library, “Nopony has seemed willing to spend lengthened periods of time with us. It has been... strange... we fear that it was because of our actions as Nightmare Moon.”

“Oh come now, everypony already forgave you.” Twilight smiled, “No one holds it against you, and you just need to work up the courage to make some friends.” Twilight felt weird giving this advice to Princess Luna. Not just a year ago she wouldn’t have said a word of it; surprising what can change in such a short amount of time.

“…Are thou sure?” Luna asked, looking at Twilight with a curious look, not sure whether she was being told the truth or not, “Thou unleashed the powers of harmony upon us that took away our dark powers. Does thou not hold any ill will towards us?”

“Of course not, don’t be silly.” Twilight chuckled, “What were you currently studying anyway?”

“We... We were researching into what became of dreams in our absence.” Luna looked towards the book shelves, “T’was always a subject of fascination for me, since our subjects always dreamt during our nights. So, we were curious about the contents of their dreams since my absence.”

“What a coincidence, I’m here studying dreams too.” Twilight grinned, walking up to the shelves her pendant point to indicating the section that was labeled as the works of Magus V. Darkarts. Twilight scanned through the selection and frowned a little. There were only four books released by this author which disappointed her. She grabbed all four of them with her magic and levitated them to her side before levitating one of the books over to Luna. “I think you’ll find this one particularly interesting.”

“Dreams: A Psychological Understanding?” Luna said curiously reading the cover of the book.

“Why don’t we study together Luna? If we compare notes I’m sure we can learn a lot more about this subject than either of us could alone.” Twilight grinned happily.

“Thou would want us as... thous fellow researcher?” Luna perked up, a smile forming on her face at Twilight’s proposal.

“Of course! Plus I’m sort of on a time limit, so having the help would be greatly appreciated.” Twilight beamed happily before looking around and finding one of the nearby study tables, “Lets study!” She exclaimed walking over to the table and placing the three books down onto it.

“Very well, let us join together to further our knowledge.” Luna said happily walking over to the table with her book and sat down across from Twilight, looking curiously at the book before her. Luna wondered what kind of knowledge would be gained from this book that delved into the psychology of dreams.

“Everything happens for a reason. From the wind blowing to the very movements of the sun and stars. There is only one thing to do with knowing this… and that is to seize the knowledge! To let the answers slip away is...as criminal as theft.” – Magus V. Darkarts.

Chapter 3: Understanding

Chapter 3
Understanding

Dreams: A Psychological Understanding

Sea Ponies: Fact or Fiction?

Long Distance Communication Theories and Ideas

A Modern History of Thumbtacks

Twilight felt her face hit the table hard, prompting Luna to look up quickly from her reading. The paper next to Twilight was filled with many crossed out scribbles that once had been notes on what she had THOUGHT were important aspects of each book in an effort to learn more about the author. But no, each note taken was very easily contradicted in the next book which had some other bit of info that would then be destroyed by the next.

There were only four books he had written and each one told the story of a completely different author.

“Is everything well Twilight?” Luna asked blinking curiously.

“I’m just frustrated is all.” Twilight said lifting her head and flipping through the next page of ‘Sea Ponies: Fact or Fiction?’ “These books are almost like they were written by a completely different author. However, I know they weren’t because despite the contexts being different, the writing style is almost exactly the same. Quick, to the point yet nonsensical dialogue. Listen to this for instance.” Twilight said clearing her throat and putting a hoof to the page as she read.

“Early research said that the possible existence of ‘Sea Ponies’ would be a biological impossibility even amongst the fields that studied the biology of the dubbed ‘mythical’ class creatures. However, the recent discovery of a new species of fish with an elongated body with similar structure to that of a pony has given way to the possibility of life developing in such a way under the sea. The fish known as ‘Sardina Equus’ has come in various sizes and has shown a level of increased intelligence in comparison to other fish in the same genus.”

“He then goes on to talk about the various research trials the fish have undergone and how this relates to intelligent life developing under the sea.” Twilight said rubbing her forehead in discomfort, “This whole book is just one big nonsense rant. An equine fish would NEVER be classified under the ‘sardine’ family.”

“We… thought thou were researching dreams not… Sea Ponies?” Luna asked a little confused.

“Well… I am and I’m not.” Twilight said pointing to the book Luna was reading, “See, in that book your reading there’s a spell that’s different from all the others called The Mind Delve.” Luna looked at her book carefully, she hadn’t gotten there yet but she flipped through the pages quickly till it fell onto the page Twilight mentioned. “The author who created the spell also wrote these books… yet these books haven’t been useful at all.” Twilight sighed closing the book that dared try to say that if Sea Ponies were real that they’d be classified as ‘sardines’.

Luna was still reading over the mind delve spell carefully, much the same way Celestia had. Her brow furrowed as she seemed to suddenly become concerned about the spell.

“Well, I guess this lead was a bust.” Twilight sighed as she moved the three books over to the side, “I don’t know what I was expecting from ‘A Modern History of Thumbtacks’ that would tell me more about the Mind Delve.” She groaned, “Guess I’ll just have to go find some books on psychology and the mind and see if I can’t get any answers from here.” Twilight said standing up from the table.

“I pray thee wait Twilight.” Luna said stopping the purple mare who was just about to head out, “This spell thou hast shown me… I know of it from elsewhere”

“What? Really?” Twilight asked a little shocked, turning to look at the princess curiously.

“Well… this spell is not the same by any means… however it does seem to have taken thine roots from a spell we had read just recently and… well we know how THAT spell came into being.” Luna said putting the book down and turning to look at her pendant her horn glowing, “We require Spirits and Deities of Ages Past.” Luna spoke clearly.

The pendant gave a quickly glow of confirmation before streaking off into the depths of the archives. Luna waited a moment or two, before the pendant came streaking back, this time carrying a book wrapped in the strings that hung loosely from it. The pendant stopped before Luna and laid the book down on the table before her.

“Spirits and Deities of Ages Past?” Twilight asked curiously walking up to the table and looking at the book. Luna nodded before opening the book, flipping through several of the pages.

“It is a book that speaks of the old myths and legends of Equestria’s past. Legends even older than either of us royal sisters… it even has myths from before Equestria was born.” Twilight looked up at Luna curiously, “Most of these myths and legends even we are not too sure hold truth to them. Honestly, most of it sounds like nonsense a foal would dream up. However other sections of it are filled with truth we have seen with our own eyes.” Luna didn’t dwell too long on any particular old myth or legend, before stopping on the page she was looking for.

“Ah, here we are. In this section, where it does talk about myths related to the deities of dreams, it brings up a spell that grants restful sleep to the restless.” Luna said pushing the book over to Twilight, her looking it over and reading out loud.

“For the restless and the weary, thine chance to probe into dreams is very real, allowing rest and relaxation from that which ails you. With the blessing of the Ruler of Dreams this spell shall clease the mind of worries and doubts and grant peaceful sleep once more. Caution is to be had, as the mind of others can be a vexing and daunting place to behold. The mind is tied to the soul and the soul will protect itself from what it deems an attacker. Ensure safety of both involved before casting this spell.”

“This… this sounds a lot like the Mind Delve.” Twilight said surprised, reading how to cast the spell. It was similar no doubt, but the instructions on how to cast the spell… they were much harder to follow than the Mind Delve’s instructions. The flow of the spell was all over the place, not to mention even she could tell that the spell wasn’t intended to do the exact same thing.

“Precisely.” Luna said bringing the other book back over to her looking upon the Mind Delve spell’s page once more, “It is of our opinion that whoever wrote this spell to delve the mind found its origins during the research of that spell. They then manipulated it until it fit their needs. And truthfully…thine researcher must have been a genius. They wove the spell so well… even we would take a long time weaving it into this…”

Twilight chuckled softly, making Luna look up curiously, “Oh, sorry.” Twilight apologized quickly with a smile, “It’s just Princess Celestia said something very similar.” This brought a small smile to Luna’s face.

“Yes, well, as we were saying.” Luna said clearing her throat quickly, “The book Spirits and Deities of Ages Past is very old. This copy is a newer one and we doubt we’d find but a few copies of it floating around Equestria anymore, after all this book is at least a thousand years old.”

“A thousand years?” Twilight said in mild surprise. No doubt that books that old had to be reprinted or else their contents would be lost to the ages. The book was written in an older style but she hadn’t suspected it to be a thousand years old. But as she thought about it more other legends had to be at least that old, after all the Legend of the Mare in the Moon must’ve been at least a thousand years old in order to know what happened back then…

“Yes. We remember meeting the author who wrote that book. He was doing his research at the time.” Luna explained, causing Twilight to close the book and read the cover again, “A wise old Unicorn who was known for his powerful magic abilities and his sense of prophecy. He was simply known as-“

“Merlin.” Twilight said blinking at the front of the book. Now that was an old name of legend she knew. He was one of the original studiers of magic in ponies. Sure there had been researchers before him, but he went beyond what other ponies had thought of in spells before. Most of the modern day spells were built off of the research he originally made. He even tried, from what she had heard, to do research into the Elements of Harmony though the results of that research was never published.

Not only was his research known as legend, but there were legends about him. It was once said he gained control of the most powerful dragon Equestria ever knew, the dragon of Apocalypse. It was once said that he commanded the stars themselves to fall to save Equestria from an invasion of mythical creatures. It was once said that he created the most powerful sword ever known, a sword made out of pure light, from the very essence of magic itself.

“Yes. Merlin was quite an eccentric unicorn… unfortunate that we never knew what became of him. However he came to us while doing his research into the deities of dreams. As the ruler of the night he had many questions for us. We never did get to see this book get published though…” Luna sighed softly looking at the book. “This was one of the first books we found whilst researching dreams… we were planning to look into more of Merlin’s later works after our study into dreams.”

Twilight felt a small pang of guilt rise in her chest. She felt guilty knowing more about Merlin than Luna did, even though she had known him personally in the past. She looked at the book before her, than at the book before Luna and a thought popped up in her head.

“Hey Luna, I think a better idea would be for us to start researching Merlin’s works.” Twilight suggested.

“Huh?” Luna blinked confused, “What has brought this on? Is our research not on dreams?”

“Well, it is… but in a different way now.” Twilight smiled, “Whoever this Magus v. Darkarts is, he obviously took his inspiration from Merlin here; meaning that he must’ve studied Merlin’s work in order to figure out to manipulate his spells. If we follow his method I’m sure that we’ll not only figure out how to make a safer version of the Mind Delve, but we’ll also get my studying done for the evaluation!” Twilight explained, proud of herself.

“Thou are trying to make a safe version of the mind delve?” Luna asked curiously, this being the first time she’s heard of this.

“O-Oh…” Twilight said having forgot, “Sorry, I guess I should’ve mentioned it… see…” Twilight quickly retold the story she had told Celestia, about her friends experiences with the Mind Delve spell. Luna listened intently, not speaking up till Twilight was finished.

“…And they made me promise never to use the spell again because of their experiences.” Twilight sighed softly, “So, in case something like this happens again I wanted to create a safe version of the spell. However, since I don’t know a Magus V. Darkarts or how he came up with the spell, I’ve basically had to do research from scratch.” Twilight said before looking at the spell in Spirits and Deities of Ages Past. “However, now that I have a starting and ending point, finding out the steps in the middle will be much easier!”

Luna tapped her chin in thought.

“Very well Twilight, we understand. We shall help you with your research.” Luna smiled.

“Oh thank you! This’ll make life so much easier.” Twilight sighed happily before turning to her pendant, “We need the works of Merlin.” Twilight smiled as her horn glowed, the pendant lighting up to lead the way.

The next week seemed to go by in an instance. Twilight could honestly admit to it being one of the hardest sessions of studying she’d ever taken part in. The spells of Merlin were vast and seemed to affect every part of Pony society. His legends stretched far and wide, Luna was amazed to learn of everything the unicorn had accomplished since her time trapped away.

The research didn’t only reveal more clues about the Mind Delve spell, it also was teaching Twilight new spells she hadn’t thought to try and learn before. She made sure to make time for learning new spells for her evaluation as well as making sure the spells she already knew were mastered to every detail.

By the day of her evaluation Twilight wasn’t that much closer to figuring out a new spell to use for her friends should they have a problem like they did before.

“Ugh… Magus you really are a genius.” Twilight grumbled softly walking down the halls of Canterlot, heading for the testing room where her evaluation would take place. “Even WITH Luna’s help we didn’t get that far in cracking your spell.” She sighed softly.

It didn’t take long to reach the big double doors that would lead to the evaluation room. She took a deep breath and calmed her mind.

“Alright Twilight, Luna promised to continue helping you from Canterlot, you can’t ask for much more right now. Focus on passing the evaluation.” She said putting a smile to her face and pushing the doors open.

The large class room opened before her, set up specifically for her evaluation. A small box of a stage was set up with various materials she could use for her spells. In front of the stage was a long wooden desk, behind of which sat several of the head teachers from Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, two of the unicorn royal guards and Celestia herself.

Celestia gave a smile looking at her faithful student walk in and take her place on the stage, Twilight looking back and smiling as well, before a throat clearing cough caught her attention and she looked towards them.

“Alright Ms. Sparkle, welcome to your Evaluation.” The stuffy teacher with a bright yellow cut and curly light purple hair spoke up, Twilight recognized her as Lonsdaleite, one of her old homeroom teachers. “You’ve been through this before so you know the drill. You also know that just because Princess Celestia choose you as her personal student doesn’t mean you can simply neglect our grading standards… however we also cannot expel you due to this either.” Lonsdaleite adjusted her glasses, “So present to us the spells you have learned over the last year.”

“Certainly.” Twilight said smiling confidently. She used to be nervous over these evaluations, but she’d long since gotten over that fear. She turned to face the table before her, placed on top of it were things like rocks, cloth, a hat, an apple and some string. Twilight smiled in amusement thinking about the various things she could do with all of it.

With ease she began to show off her abilities. The rocks were soon turned into rather fashionable clothes, the apple was turned into a rather sizeable chariot able to fit up to six, the strings formed together creating a complex diagram with ease, the cloth rubbed and wove together as it began to play a rather soothing song from the folds somehow.

The teachers were quickly scribbling down notes as they watched, Twilight continuing to sneak smirks at Celestia who happily smiled back, happy to see her student performing so well. Despite the time spent in Ponyville she was happy to see her student’s talents growing with her own eyes.

Twilight looked at the hat on the table for a moment, pondering what to do with it. However, an idea popped into her head as she smiled, floating the hat over to her.

“And here’s a more recent one I learned.” Twilight said floating the hat up and presenting it, “Now you see it…” then the hat just simply disappeared into thin air, “Now you don’t.” She grinned. “But where did it go?” Twilight tapped her chin while pondering. “Oh, I know!” She said lowering her head, the hat suddenly appearing on her head, “It was on my head the whole time!” She laughed.

The teachers murmured amongst themselves. Twilight had a hard time knowing if that meant they were impressed or not, but it often mean they were wanted to know more about what she’d done.

“It’s a rather interesting yet simple spell I found.” She made the hat disappear from her head and then summoned it before her, “By creating a pocket inside of my magic I can create a space in which I can put a limited amount of small items.” She put the hat back down on the table, “Of course it’s more practical for short travel and hiding private things quickly than it is for long travel, as it can be exhausting to hide the items for too long. But it does allow for quick surprises.”

“Very impressive Ms. Sparkle.” Lonsdaleite said writing something down, “It seems you have been learning a lot and you’ve learned it exceptionally.”

“That’s my student for you.” Celestia smiled proudly.

“Before we finish the Evaluation, is there anything else you’d like to show us?” Lonsdaleite asked curiously.

Twilight suddenly hesitated. She did in-fact have a spell she hadn’t shown off yet, one she had spent the last week studying… would it be right for her to use it here? Celestia already proved the spell was fine… but she still had a promise to keep to her friends… what should she do?

“Well Ms. Sparkle?” Lonsdaleite asked again. Twilight stood at attention.

“Ugh… w-well I do have another spell… but I need a volunteer for it.” Twilight spoke hesitantly, causing Celestia to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

“Very well.” Lonsdaleite commented putting down her clipboard and walking onto the stage quickly. Twilight hesitated looking at the teacher before her, before quickly glancing a look at Celestia who seemed curious as to what Twilight was going to do. Twilight let down a quick gulp and smiled awkwardly. She then concentrated as her horn glowed. Lonsdaleite looked curiously at what was happening.

Lonsdaleite felt a little weird as Twilight worked her magic. She wriggled her nose for a moment before suddenly she felt something appear on her upper lip.

“Tada~ Mustache magic!” Twilight laughed a little awkwardly. The teachers looked at her a little awkwardly as Celestia put a hoof up to her chin quietly chuckling.

“…Yes… well.” Lonsdaleite wriggled her nose before her horn lit up and the mustache disappeared, “Thank you Ms. Sparkle, we’ve seen everything we need to for your evaluation.” She said simply going back to her Clipboard, “You are free to do as you like until we have completed assessing your progress.”

“Thank you.” Twilight said giving a short bow before walking out of the room. Once the door was closed behind her she let out a soft sigh. “Well… not my best evaluation…I mean, normally I have a lot more to show off than that but…” she thought it over, “Well… I did spend most of my study time on that ridiculous spell… well, it was worth it, I’ve found a whole slew of new spells to learn from Merlin.” She grinned to herself, walking away from the evaluation room.

“A B+ huh?” Twilight chuckled as she placed her suitcase onto the chariot, before turning to face Celestia, “Well it certainly could’ve been worse.”

“I’m surprised you held back on using the Mind Delve spell my student.” Celestia smiled, “That probably would’ve earned you a perfect score.”

“Well… I did promise my friends Princess.” Twilight smiled, “And losing a friends trust is the fastest way to lose a friend forever.”

Somehow, someway, through the miles between Canterlot and Ponyville, despite the difference in height and no way for that sentence to have been heard, an echo of Pinkie’s voice was heard clearly across Canterlot.

“FOOORRREEEEEVVVEEEEEEEEER.”

Twilight put a hoof to her face as Celestia thought the oddity curious.

“Anyway Princess, don’t worry, thanks to my time down in the archives I’ve found a whole new set of spells I can start learning.” Twilight smiled, “Princess Luna said she would help me borrow copies of Merlin’s books for me to learn from. He had a lot of interesting spells I’d like to learn.”

“So you’re going to study Merlin’s work?” Celestia said surprised, “Well I know you’ll learn a great deal from him. I would dare say he was one of the greatest Unicorn’s I’ve ever seen during my days.” Twilight smiled, “It was an honor to know him.”

“I can imagine Princess.” Twilight smiled, “Though I suppose I should be heading back to Ponyville now. I can’t wait for the next time I get to see you Princess.”

“Likewise Twilight. Have a safe trip.” Celestia gave Twilight a quick nuzzle, Twilight returning it happily.

As the chariot took off towards Ponyville, Twilight felt elated at her trip. Though she hadn’t learned enough about the Mind Delve to satisfy her interest, she had come out richer for the trip. Luna promised she’d continue the research and keep her informed as well as supply her with good books from Merlin.

And though she didn’t know it now, the spells she would learn would prove useful in her coming future…

“It is impossible to ever answer every question in the world. At one point you will answer so many, that the question remaining will be, is there any question left to answer? So seeking understanding means nothing more than to go after the eternal questions.” - Magus V. Darkarts

-The End-