//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: The Court's Decision 
// Story: Pieces of time 
// by StoryWeaver 
//------------------------------//

The royal ear perked at the slight sound, it seemed familiar but was too faint to make out clearly enough to confirm that.

Her royal highness, Princess Celestia, stood atop the balcony of the ivory tower, close by was what Celestia had taken to calling Twilight's library, and recent lodging for the protege. 

The tall Alicorn smiled warmly at the memories of her pupil as a filly, head stuck in her books, it had been cute to see her like that...

What was that? There was a sense of disturbance in the aura around her castle, like something had breeched the perimeter. She wheeled around quickly, aiming her lengthy horn at the unknown shadow that had just entered her room.

"Is that how thou greetest an old friend Celestia? For shame, dear, I thought ye had more sense about ye than that," the shadows parted slightly to cough up a bipedal creature, clothed in a dark gray cloak with gold trim on the edges, a sword slung over his back and his belt set with various odds and ends, including a leather holster for a unicorn horn, a set of toy mechanical wings in a pouch, and a shiny orb wrapped with leather cords. His shirt was a bright blue, with two abstract dragons facing each other symmetrically.

"y-you!" the tall mare gasped, her unobscured eye going wide.

"me, yes, it's me! Little old me. me me me. I'm so full of myself it hurts" 

Celestia smiled, a fiercely loyal smile, "how long has it been since I saw you last, Raymond. Guardian Master. Maker of the Storeroom, and holder of way too many titles."

Raymond shot Celestia a playful glance, "15 hundred thousand, 54 years, 2 months, 4 days, 14 hours, 35 minutes, 25 seconds, and counting, you know how literal I am 'Tia, but as much as I'd like to reminisce about old times I'm here on business,"

Celestia's eyes narrowed slightly, "what do you wish?" she spoke lightly, the friendly tones lingering behind the regal mask she now wore.

"I have a charge for you, a being of my figure has trespassed upon the court of the four scales, Naturally he has no power, no awareness of where he is, and possesses little to none of my alluring charm" The Human made Immortal smiled cockily at the mare that was about his height, not including the horn.

"hah, where is he right now?" 

"he is currently within a stasis loop within the crystal caves underneath your castle. I must say that for all the value of that crystal, you aren't using it very much, it's magical capabilities are staggering if put into the right hands"

"just the same reason I'm keeping them out of the wrong ones"

"noted, I shall be off now 'Tia, wish I could converse but the court is now in session," with that the cloaked biped took out a black onyx and looked into it, shortly afterward a plain white door appeared and opened in front of him, "I'll come see you on my next break, dear, I bidst thee goodninja for now" with that he strode through the door, which promptly closed behind him, and unmade itself in a puff of smoke.