The Vault

by Educated Guess

V-165: A Silver-Rimmed Lens

Item Number: V-165
Designations: Useful, Unsolved, Cautionary, Contained
Administrator: Archduke Montagne
Lead Researcher: Agent Lee

Procedure: When not in use, V-165 is to be kept in a velvet-lined box in the safe of Archduke Montagne’s office. To request use of V-165 for testing, please submit the proper forms to Under-Secretary Haasburg.

Note: I would like to state for the record that V-165’s ability to see through walls is entirely rumor, and that personnel who are found to be requisitioning V-165 for the sole purpose of spying on the locker rooms will be reprimanded severely. -Archduke Montagne

Description: V-165 is a lens approximately 4 inches in diameter. It is made entirely out of smooth, polished quartz crystal, and is rimmed by two (2) thin bands of silver, each of which has a small, sphere-shaped nodule. Unlike other V-series items, it does not display any unnatural or magical durability, and thus, should be handled with the utmost delicacy. The scratch that V-165 obtained when testing this factor does not appear to inhibit its function.

V-165 functions similarly to our own thaumic lenses in that it can see the shape and pattern of various thaumic fields. However, normal thaumic lenses are only able to see one type of field per lens. By rotating the silver nodules on the bands circling V-165, one can adjust it between viewing a large number of different fields, including many not previously known. It also has a viewing clarity unrivaled by any of our own devices. How V-165 accomplishes this is unknown. The estimated number of fields it is able to view, based on the rotational position of known fields, is [REDACTED].

Known viewable fields include:

1. The Potential Field

2. The Intrinsic Field

3. The Prismatic Field

4. The Celestial Field

5. The Phlogistonic Field

6. The Aetherial Field

7. The Terrarian Field

8. The Aquarian Field

9. An unknown field that appears to be related to darkness and/or shadows - further research is underway.

10. An unknown field that appears to be related to living things - further research is underway.

11. An unknown field. It’s purpose cannot be discerned, because it appears entirely black through V-165. It

is assumed that the type of magic related to this field is uncastable by ponies, or has simply never been

cast. Further research is underway.

12. An unknown field that appears to be related to [REDACTED]. Research into this field has been

cancelled following Incidents V-165-A and V-165-B.

Research into further fields viewable by V-165 has been put on hold following Incidents V-165-A and V-165-B.

Note: No, viewing that particular field did not send Agent Lee into “the throes of the broodfester tongues”, whatever those are. She did not see “ancient secrets never meant to be seen by pony eyes”. She is recovering well, and will be back to work within the next few weeks. If this mocking continues, I will feel perfectly justified in giving her a list of every pony I have seen making light of her situation behind her back. Your fate is in your hooves. -Archduke Montagne

---

Incident V-165-A:

While performing a field-progression test with V-165, Agent Lee moved past the previous maximum point of exploration (Field 11) and into Field 12. The events that followed, as transcribed by Stenographer Richards, are shown below.

Lee: Field 11 is behaving normally-

[She holds V-165 to her eye and looks around the room.]

Lee: -still can’t see anything. Permission to move ahead to Field 12.

Montagne: Permission granted.

Lee: Moving to Field 12.

[She adjusts the nodules slightly ahead, and holds V-165 to her eye.]

Montagne: What do you see, Agent Lee?

Lee: I see... hm.

Montagne: Is it another black field?

Lee: No, I can definitely see something, I just...

[She squints, and seems to look into the distance.]

Lee: [Whispered] What is that?

Montagne: Agent Lee?

Lee: Hold on, I just-

[Lee freezes.]

Montagne: Agent Lee?

Lee: Oh no.

Montagne: Agent Lee, what do you see?

Lee: It’s coming! Oh [EXPLETIVE REDACTED], it’s coming!

Montagne: Agent Lee, put down [V-165]!

Lee: I can’t! It’s gonna kill me! It’s gonna-

[Lee begins screaming uncontrollably. When security personnel remove V-165 from her eye, Lee collapses to the ground and convulses spastically, similar to the effects of a seizure. The on-stand-by medical team rushes Lee to sick-bay.]

Montagne: For [EXPLETIVE REDACTED]’s sake, Richards, you can stop writing now.

---

Incident V-165-B:

[REDACTED]

Comments

[Scrap Velveteen]

Marquess Lemke: " Um... I sorta kinda maybe broke it."