Parallel

Chapter 17: Date

Ms. Celestine stepped forward, laid a hand on Tammy's shoulder, and smiled, "Feel free to use the library, I presume you came here to find something that could help you against Discord." Tammy nodded, and Celestine continued, "Very good." Then she turned her gaze towards me, "Considering the nature of the threat against my student's life, I highly suggest that you two don't lose sight of each other."

Tammy frowned, "How did you..."

Celestine grinned, "You should know by now I have familiars all over the city my student. I'm hardly going to overlook a threat on your life Tammy."

Tammy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Right, of course, how could I forget?"

Celestine left from the back door without another word, smiling and humming a cheery little tune the entire way. I definately got the same impression from her that I did from Celestia: well carried, wise, kind, and extremely practical. These weren't just human copies, they might as well have been the same people, and the way Twilight spoke of it, they probably were.

Tammy turned to me and smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "So, shall we get started then?"

"Yeah, yeah no problem."

The next hour was spent sifting through books I had never even heard of. From the outside it looked like a book store, but as Tammy and Celestine had called it, it was more of a library.

A library with ancient tomes of magical knowledge.

Honestly, I didn't understand any of it, I was just looking for familiar terms like 'Discord', 'Chaos', and 'Alternate Universe'.

Tammy, on the other hand, was on fire. She sat at the counter, and had three books open at one point, sifting through them and jotting down notes like crazy. She would skim through one book, and then use her magic to pull another from the shelf. Add in a pair of glasses and the picture of the ultimate librarian would be complete.

'... She would look good in glasses.'

It wasn't until partway through our session that a particular book caught my eyes in the back of the store. The book was a faded golden color, and on its binding was the rather concise title, 'Mage: A History'. The book itself was on a shelf next to the door that Celestine had left through, tucked in the very upper right corner of the shelf. I grabbed a small stepping stool so I could reach the top shelf just barely and stand on the tips of my toes to coax the book out. With a little bit of effort I was able to get my hands on it.

I made my way to the counter and sat in the chair next to Tammy, opening the book and starting to read.

No one knows where magic came from. What we do know, however, is what we have done with it in the past, and how dangerous it can be. Many mages believe that magic was discovered by the founders of Atlantis, the mythical city, and that this was ultimately the cause of its downfall, as magic itself is very unstable and causes the very laws of the universe to shift around it in order to accomodate for the sheer power.

As for how Atlantis was built, imagine if modern humanity were to discover the technology of an advanced civilisation from long ago, and then we proceeded to use it to advance our species. Our development would be carried forward thousands of years in the span of one generation. Many mages are skeptical of this theory, but it's the only explanation for why the city was so advanced. The Circle has done well in guarding what remains of the disappeared city, so well, in fact, that most of the population believes it nothing but a fable.

For example; the Veil.

My eyes widened.

"Twi... I mean... Tammy, look at this."

Tammy looked up from her own books and tossed me a smirk, "Wow, getting our names mixed up? I guess it wouldn't be very logical to be jealous of MYSELF."

I groaned, "Yeah yeah, very funny, just... take a look at this."

"Oh that old thing? That's just for initiates, I don't need to read that."

I frowned, "Just read the damn thing, if you forget your basics then how do you expect to know the advanced stuff?"

She shrugged and took the book from me as I stood over her shoulder. After a moment she turned her head to look at me, "Yeah, the Veil? What about it?"

It took me a long moment to realize it, and when I did I let out a sigh. I had yet to tell her about the Veil. "Okay, look, HOW do you think I got the medicine to you from the other world?"

There was a moment of silence, then her eyes widened in realization. She turned her wheelchair to me, reaching up and grabbing me by the collar, "Do you know what this means?" she asked with a grin.

"Um... what?"

"William, you've changed EVERYTHING! I've been meaning to ask about the medicine, but with Discord and all the crap that's been happening and I haven't added it to my checklist and..."

"Tammy!"

"Huh?"

"How have I changed everything?" I asked, laying my hands on top of hers as they loosened around my collar.

"No one has ever returned from the veil," she said softly. With a sigh she let me go, and then brought a hand to her chin, "I mean, people have tried before obviously, but it hasn't exactly worked out. A long time ago The Circle of Mages got their hands on the veil. It's not a physical thing, it's more of a tear... a portal that you can walk through."

"It had a physical form in Equestria."

"Equestria? Are you serious?" she asked with a laugh.

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, let's focus now."

"Right, focusing... ignoring horse puns." After another moment of thought she continued, "A few weeks back the Circle lost track of the veil."

"How do you lose track of a tear in the universe?" I asked with a laugh.

"Well for one, it was a pain in the ass to find it in the first place. It changes location sporadically and unpredictably. If you read further you'll see that it was found in the shell of the city, and the walls were literally built to keep it in. We had to build a special room just to contain it."

"How did you move it?"

"We used EXTREMELY complicated magic. Even after endless calculations we only got a hold of it because of dumb luck."

"Maybe that's why they made it into a gate in Equestria. Over here it didn't have to be a gate because it was already contained by the city."

"That's exactly what I was thinking." She smiled and leaned up to me, ruffling my hair with a giggle, "You're sharp for an Army guy."

I batted her hand away and glared at her when she kept giggling, "Do you know how it was made? Why is it called the veil?"

Tammy shrugged, "Nope, no one does, we just know that every unlucky mage jumping through there has never come back. As for why it's called that, that's just the name that the Circle gave it."

"I came out in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the city when I came through with your medicine."

"It won't be there anymore."

"I know, but Discord was waiting for me. If its movement is so random then how did he know where it would be?"

"The only way to find THAT out would be to ask Discord himself, and I don't plan on letting him live long enough to answer us."

I let out a low whistle, "I like it when you make death threats," I said with a smirk.

Tammy blushed and looked away with a sigh, "Shut up. He wants to hurt my friends, I don't like that. As curious as I am about his knowledge it's not worth risking anyone's life." She turned back to me, "As for the veil, we should start running tests on it, is there an easy way to access it over... there?"

"Well, it's through a bloodthirsty monster-ridden forest, but I'm pretty sure I can just fly over it. It would still take like, half the day to get there though."

She raised an eyebrow, "You can FLY?"

"I'm... kind of a pegasus."

Tammy's only response was laughter.

After our fun little time at the library the sun started creeping towards the horizon, and we decided it was time for our dinner date. The place she had in mind was also within walking distance, so it wouldn't be an issue pushing her there. I couldn't help but notice she had almost every single little detail of this evening planned out. This didn't surprise me one bit, as I had noticed it on the other side as well, Tammy/Twilight seemed to love her checklists and schedules.

The place itself was only a block away on another corner, and seemed to be some fancy Italian restaurant. There were people in suits and dresses lined up at the door with waiting beepers. I looked down at my plain white shirt and jeans and let out a sigh, "Tammy, I'm not exactly dressed for this."

Tammy smiled up at me, "I wouldn't worry about that. Just leave our first date to me..." she paused, then looked up at me with a raised eyebrow, "This IS our first date, right?"

I let out a laugh, "Yeah, yeah it is."

"Good, I expect you to tell both of me everything that's going on, take notes and bring them through the veil if you can."

I rolled my eyes, "I really am just a science experiment to you, huh?"

"Well," she said with a soft giggle, reaching back with her hand and laying it on mine with a blush, "It's not purely scientific interest."

My face went red and I let out a cough as we approached the door.

A tall man in a suit stopped us at the door, "Do you have a reservation Ma'am?"

"Yes," said Tammy with a smile, "Under Robin Raines for two, Tammy Sainte and William Jenkins.

My jaw dropped and I leaned over the back of the chair to whisper in her ear, "How the hell did you..."

Tammy pinched my lips shut and grinned, "Phoebe came by the hospital with everyone from the party. We decided to have some girl talk after Discord crashed our party, all of us got along really well, even Rachel showed up after a while."

I stood up straight again, "Huh..."

For some reason it felt like an extremely good thing that the six of them were now friends.

Maybe it was meant to be.

As I wheeled her into the restaurant I couldn't help but be baffled by the decor. Every table was adorned in a pure white sheet with condiments set up in the center almost like a decorative tower. The chatter was a low and polite hum, and chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The rug was a patterned crimson with intricate black tendrils creeping across it.

I felt like I had just stepped into some grand hall.

Suddenly, before a waiter or waitress could come to seat us Robin burst through past the seating podium with a large smile on her face. She leaned in and pecked both of us on the cheeks, "Oh Darlings I'm so glad you could both make it. Tammy dear you have a fine taste in restaurants, I just wish you'd given me time to make your wardrobes match the surroundings. Also, everything tonight is going to be paid for, so drink and be merry!"

Tammy's face softened into a smile, "Robin, you didn't have to do that, all I asked for was the reservation."

Robin waved a hand and chuckled, "Oh please, I'm a sucker for romance, and you're a new friend. Phoebe tells me so much about William all the time."

Tammy wheeled forward a bit and tugged a slightly shocked Robin down into a hug, "That's really generous of you. Thank you."

A blush creeped onto Robin's face and she laughed nervously, "Please, think nothing of it." After a moment the hug broke and Robin readjusted her black dress with a smile, "I have to get going, I must must must meet with this client, and I do need my beauty sleep, after all. Have fun you two!"

With a wave and a smile, she was gone.

I laughed, "Wow, guess we're covered then."

We were seated quickly, and served promptly. Obviously Robin had pulled a few strings, and I reminded myself to pay her back later.

As we waited on our fancy pasta and sipped our wine, Tammy leaned forward and gave me a grin, "So, what do I look like as a pony?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Purely scientific interest, right?"

She rolled her eyes and laughed, "Of course, purely scientific."

"Well, you're a unicorn, and unicorns can use magic."

Tammy frowned, "Ah, that explains it then. I expected you to freak out more when I did my little magic trick. Also, is Rachel a pegasus?"

"Yeah."

Tammy nodded, "I was wondering why you asked about her wings."

"How about Felicia?"

"... Yeah."

"Then Robin should be a mage too, she probably just uses it for her job though."

As I said that Tammy was taking another sip of her wine, and she almost choked on it and tipped her wheelchair over, "She... *cough*... what..."

"Alright, I should probably tell you this." I leaned forward and brought my voice down to a whisper, "Those other five girls that gathered at the hospital with you... I think you're all meant to be friends."

She cleared her throat and let out a sigh, "What makes you say that?"

"Because as far as I can tell these worlds run Parallel, and you guys are friends in Equestria. That's why I was so specific with the names at the party."

"Even Alice and Robin?"

"All six."

"That's... interesting. So how do you factor into this equation?"

I shrugged, "I honestly don't know. As far as I know I'm an anomoly. Another thing has been bugging me since I found out you could do magic and Rachel had wings."

"Hmm?"

"Where are all the other people with wings? In Equestria there are a ton of Pegasi. I guess magic would be easier to explain since you're all kind of underground with it, but there would be a lot more people running around with wings on their back. So there's three possibilities here, there are a bunch of people with wings on their back that are really good at hiding that fact, the people with wings generally don't know they have them, or these worlds aren't as close as I thought, and you six are special in some way."

Tammy nodded and brought a hand to her chin. After a moment she pulled out a notepad and began to write. It took her about ten minutes to be done and put the notepad away, "You've brought up some great points." She cleared her throat and reached across the table. I took the message and clasped my hands with hers, "The next hour is scheduled for dinner though, we'll talk about it later."

I smiled, "Yes Ma'am."

Our food had arrived.