Starlight tugged gently on the string, her eyes cast skywards. "So, you see, even when things seem against you..." She leaned her entire body as she adjusted the string in her arcane grip. "It only makes you go higher. That's part of the magic of kites."
Maud nodded in a shallow motion, her eyes with Starlight's, watching the kite dance above them. "Is that why you're flying now?" she asked in her usual monotone.
"Technically," added her boyfriend. "She isn't flying."
Starlight glanced aside at the new socially awkward pony for just a moment before looking back to the sky. He didn't need to be agreed with, or argued against. He just liked offering clarity. He meant nothing by it. This was a fact she reminded herself of often when he was around. "I'm flying... a kite... right now because..."
Mudbriar nodded softly. "You're jealous."
"W-what?" Her kite veered off, carried on a stray breeze. She should have corrected it, but it came back to the earth, landing a few feet away from all three of them. "Why would you say that?!"
Inside the castle that towered over them, two ponies sat side-by-side. Twilight looked a little frizzled, caught up in the research. It was harder to see in Sunburst, as that was his natural appearance. He tapped energetically at a passage in the book. "This is a reference to the argument on page 12. "Like a dam comprised only of loose sticks."
Twilight bobbed her head in quick agreement. "A strong enough current would carry it away, but how would you do that when the current is the issue in the first place?"
Sunburst's hoof traveled to the opposing page. "And should you? Floods are classically a force of terrible destruction, and overflowing a river is a sure way to cause one."
Twilight's hoof came down on Sunburst's, pinning his as she looked at him pointedly. "That is why," she argued. "It must be done with care and a gentle touch."
Sunburst colored suddenly, thinking of things outside the realm of decoding the arcane text. "O-oh, um... Well, I mean... I trust you?"
Twilight smiled at that. "Thank you, I appreciate that confidence, but I don't think we're ready to try this... yet."
"Lunch!" announced a sudden new voice as Spike skipped into the room with a tray of small sandwiches displayed. "You two need fuel to keep those big brains of yours pumping."
Sunburst leaned back, his blush growing more intense with witnesses. "Hey, Spike!" He tried to draw his hoof back, but Twilight still had her hoof down on his, pinning him beneath her wonderful touch. "Um, thank you." He only remembered then that he had a horn and snagged one of the offered snacks in his magic.
Twilight released him suddenly, reaching for one of her own as her magic scooped it up and brought it closer. "You're a lifesaver. Can you get us some tea? I feel like we're really getting into the rhythm of things now."
Spike set the tray down on a small table for the two to reach when they wanted more. "Yeah sure. Got it figured out then? You're looking less stressed today."
Twilight wrapped an arm around Spike, hoof snagged around him. "You have no idea! I was beginning to sincerely dislike this author, but then came Sunburst." She waved her free hoof in his direction. "Like a golden ray from the sun itself, he parted the clouds of ignorance and showed me the wonders laid out in front of me."
Sunburst decided eating his sandwich was suddenly the most important thing he could do, as if he could hide his shame in his chewing. Then it suddenly clicked. "You're quoting her from page 8!"
Twilight grinned impishly. "I had a feeling you'd notice."
Spike rolled his eyes with an understanding smile. "You two are really something. I'm glad it's working out though, really. I'll be back with the tea." He flapped out of the room, narrowly avoiding clipping his wings on the doors. Flying was still an art to be mastered.
Twilight swallowed the last of her little tidbit and slid in closer to Sunburst. "Shall we at least attempt a survey?"
"Hmm?"
"Just looking, no touching." She reached up and touched her horn. "You examine mine, and I'll examine yours." She reached and gently poked his horn. "We'll compare the differences. If there's an obvious blockage, that will be a clue."
Sunburst was ignorant of the salacious implications there, his mind on something else. "Of course! We'll use the Internal Matrix Visualizer spell!" With a glowing horn, he grabbed a book from Twilight's shelves and yanked it over. It flopped open right to the correct page. "Here. Then what we feel will be written down, giving us a visual map."
Twilight's eyes wandered over the arcane instructions. "Mmm. I haven't cast this one before... I gather you're already familiar with it? Let me read it while you go first." She pulled the book closer, reading back and forth over the steps in the spell. "It doesn't look too complex..."
Sunburst did know the spell, and it wasn't entirely beyond his means, though it rested right on the edge of what was. "I'll do my best," he promised, closing his eyes. The only eyes he would need would be the glow of his magic, dim as it was compared to Twilight's. He reached for her horn, hesitating a moment. There he was, casually touching Twilight's horn, the source of her power, symbol of what made her the amazing wizard she was. It was a part she surely treasured and held dear, and she was letting him casually inspect it with his magic.
He shook away those thoughts as he flailed about the room a moment, finding a paper and holding it in his arcane grip. He needed something for the impressions to go onto. "Ready." Only a soft noise of approval came in reply. He felt around her horn carefully. It was a long and slender spire. He could feel the rising ridges, meant to carry magic as a force up from the mind of the unicorn. It was pointed and sharp, as befit a princess. It was larger than his, but only by a little.
The sounds of his discoveries was like a scratching quill, the magic echoing what he felt with his grasping.
"That tickles," giggled Twilight. "I'll try to be still."
Sunburst could feel his cheeks warm. He was casually caressing Twilight in places that could make her laugh, and he hadn't even gone where he needed to, yet. It was time. He gently seeped into the very end of her horn, where the most powerful of magics would need to escape from, and where his weak magic entered timidly. The structure inside felt complex, but... also very purposeful. Internal spirals and helixes served as conduit channels that allowed Twilight to perform her amazing tricks and sorceries with such ease.
Twilight's voice came through his efforts, "I never knew my insides looked exactly like... that." Was she watching what was being drawn as it happened? "Fascinating... Is it alright if I start doing yours now?"
Sunburst tensed. It was time for her to press as intimately as he had done, and was still doing, to her. "S-sure!" He tried to smile. It was no big deal, right? They were working for the betterment of Equestria and its ponies. It was no time to be shy. "Examination while focusing power may yield additional clues."
Then he felt it. She was performing magic, the imaging spell specifically. He could feel her lovely lavender surround his own magic and rush past it, but it never 'left', it was a constant stream. He was bathing in her power, and it was so smooth and pure. He could feel which paths she was using, and which were left dry. He could feel the mechanisms in the horn working gently to help keep things moving in the right direction, but perhaps there was more to be seen?
He pressed further down, carefully, slowly, reaching the root of her horn. He was getting close to her precious brain, where the wonders of her sharp intellect were born. He could hear the scribing going on, following his journey as he went. There was an end. There had to be. In one direction, power, staggering power. It was the reservoir that held her magic ready for use. He dared not approach any closer than he already had. Even the slightest intrusion in that place with foreign magic could have caused her body to react poorly. In the other direction, the softer flesh that made up her brain, as well as the more organic parts that allowed her to minutely control and direct the energy before it reached her horn and its stiffer controls.
She was inside him. He could feel her magic in his horn, exploring and bouncing around. It was... amazing, and distracting. Had she ignored his presence so well when he had done that? He had never felt so vulnerable before. With a casual twist, she could destroy his ability to perform even the slightest hint of magic. Of course, the same could be said for him, but that would be a lie. His magic was not very powerful. By the time he did more than give her a terrible headache, she could throw him across the room.
Not that he would ever do that! He withdrew his magic even as he let it fade.
Twilight murmured something under her breath as she labored. "Mmm, fascinating..."
He could feel her presence, she was still looking over and exploring his horn. Did he dare to open his eyes? Examining and seeing the differences while she was still exploring could make him gasp or do something even more silly, which would throw off her drawing. No, he would remain still and quiet and wait.
"Interesting..." Twilight and Sunburst could feel the touch of her breath, carrying the faint smell of daffodil, as she peered up at his horn, probing around carefully. When she reached the base and found the source of his power, she had far fewer reservations. She hadn't read about the allergic reactions a unicorn could have with the presence of foreign magic in that delicate organ.
She reached casually as if it were any other part of him to be mapped.
Sunburst's eyes snapped open. Suddenly it felt like he had a massive sinus clog. His head was feeling tight and it was growing worse. "T-Twilight?" The pressure was rapidly becoming painful and he cringed even as he tried to sit still.
"Almost done," she sang, ignorant of the discomfort she had caused. She withdrew from his reservoir, leaving the inflammation to finish developing. She felt over the part of his brain that was within reach, dutifully mapping the area without pressing deeper. "And... finished." Her magic faded away as if it was never there.
Except for the blinding headache that pounded in his head. That was surely a reminder that she had been there. He raised a hoof to the side of his head, trying to knead the spot despite quite a bit of bone and flesh between his hoof and the affected organ. "Did you..." His tear-filled eyes looked up at the map she had drawn. Yep, there was his reservoir, diagramed quite well. "You... shouldn't go there." He raised a shaking hoof, pressing it against the bulb drawn on the paper. "It's..."
"I'm so sorry!" exclaimed Twilight, realizing her error. "Are you alright?" He clearly wasn't, brave as he was trying to be. "Lay down." Suddenly her arms were around him. He could feel her soft hooves cradling him as the world fell away. She put him on a cushion. "I didn't know! Please tell me you'll be okay."
He forced a little smile. Even if the pain was intense, being held by Twilight... almost... made it worth it. "I'll be... alright." He tried to force the pain away, as feeble as the attempt was. "It'll calm down... Let's take a little break."
"Yes, a break." She patted his side with one of her soft hooves. "You deserve that. We'll examine the drawings after that."