The train ride back to Ponyville was a long one, especially since it was an overnight. Originally Twilight wasn't due to arrive back in Ponyville until tomorrow, but she had no further desire to stay in Canterlot. The city had not been kind to her in the slightest during her stay, and she longed for nothing more than the comfort of her own bed, the warm wooden walls of her library, and the gentle rustle of the leaves on the tree outside of her window. Her friends were sad to see her go, but that was to be expected, and she promised them to meet tomorrow afternoon when they got back. Thus mollified, they had agreed to see her to the station. Morning Star was conscious, and had continually apologized while she was there. She had assured him that it was no fault of his own that he had been concussed with a large book, and they had agreed to begin the exchange of letters necessary to help their relationship prosper over the distance between them.
Twilight looked out the window as the train passed through town, taking in the rapidly thinning buildings and the approaching wall. With a howl, the train passed through the wall, Canterlot's gate sealing behind it. Twilight steeled herself for the simultaneously most boring and interesting part of the trip, a recent addition to the ever-growing rail system. The train slowed as it approached its next destination, The Rounds.
The Rounds was a set of railway turntables, simply put. However, they were anything but simple. Almost all freight and passenger trains passed through Canterlot traveling from Northern to Southern Equestria, and space on the side of a mountain was at a premium, especially with Princess Celestia's accessions to security. The result was the towering structure of gears, steam, and bronze known as The Rounds. Each train entered through the same massive turntables, designed to accommodate up to one hundred and fifty cars. Once halted, the machinery would pull the table to one side, turning it while moving it upwards toward one of four levels, depending on how long it would take to rotate. Once properly oriented towards its appointed track, it would be brought back to ground level, where it would begin its journey once more. Two massive towers housed the table stacks, manned by guards who often checked inside the trains to ensure their security. The rails themselves were large enough for a cart to be driven along slowly, and the intricate gearwork was maintained by at least two hundred ponies at all hours of the day. It was widely touted as one of the greatest achievements of Ponydom, save perhaps for the construction of the capital itself.
It was towards this massive construct that Twilight moved. She never got tired of the sight, it was a true masterpiece of science and willpower, stretching far above the track. There was a brief thud as the train came to a halt on its table, and she watched out of her window as the gears engaged, moving the table to one side as another descended from above. Glancing across the aisle, she saw another solid steel disk come rumbling into place. Most fittings and metal were bronze or iron, but steel, a recent invention, was really the only acceptable metal for this job, both light and strong enough to handle the stresses of the machine. Twilight turned her gaze back towards the tower. There would be a brief moment of darkness before the magical lamps on the train re-adjusted themselves to the confines of the tower, and then a fairly long wait. Twilight shifted her saddlebags, containing her dress, some few of the gifts she had received, and all of her get well cards and letters. Smiling, she thought back. Maybe Canterlot hadn't been all bad.
The train reached the tower, its magical lights flickering and going out for a brief moment. There was a thud and a muffled curse nearby. A child cried out in fear, and was quickly hushed by its mother. Twilight counted in her head, waiting for the lights to come back on. One, two, three, four...before five, they were back on. Twilight smiled. The first time they had to recalibrate the lights for the inside of the tower, they had gone out for nearly a full minute. Twilight lay on her side as the platform began to rise. This train was low priority, going from Canterlot to Ponyville and continuing on towards Fillydelphia, so she could look forward to at least an hour before they started moving again, depending on the loads of the trains above and below them. Pulling her bags up onto the bench, which had tipped over, she used them as a pillow, closing her eyes and sleeping, this time without dreams.
________________________________________
It was not until nearly three in the morning that Twilight Sparkle returned to Ponyville. Spike had gone ahead of her, so she got off at the train station and trotted towards the tree house, which she could see from the station. Its lights were among the only still burning, so Twilight walked back, a tired expression on her face. Finally, she was returning home. She inhaled, realizing that this was her first time in Ponyville in nearly a month. The air smelled pure and clean, a hint of fresh earth and apple blossoms in the air. As she rounded the corner, she smelled living wood, and she broke into a full out run, glad to be home again. She placed her hoof on the knob, relishing the moment. She swung open the door, and a smile broke on her face as she took in her library. Spike had already cleaned, and she trotted forward, closing the door softly behind her. She set her bags by the door, and trotted over to the table in the center of the room. There was a note on it, in Spike's writing. "Welcome home, Twilight! You're probably reading this on a Sunday, so I'll wake you up at two tomorrow, if you still aren't up. Rarity told me before I left that their train would be in around three. If you're hungry, there's a few apples and some relatively fresh bread in the icebox. See you in the morning!"
Twilight smiled. Truth be told, she was hungry, but right now she wanted sleep more than anything. The rest she had on the train had served to only make her more tired, and she ached for her bed. Walking slowly up the stairs, she turned the lights down as she went, relishing the familiar feel of her wooden floor beneath her hooves. She approached her bed, which was freshly made and greeted her like an old friend. Slipping under the covers, she turned off the last of her lights, and was asleep within minutes. The library felt like home again. The only disturbance, unheard even by her, was the quiet wingbeats of a departing black Pegasus, who began the arduous trip back to Canterlot.
________________________________________
The next morning dawned bright and cheerful over Ponyville. A near constant stream of well-wishers were turned away gently by Spike, who explained that Twilight had gotten back very late and likely needed her rest. "Besides, it's Sunday!" he said. "We will be open bright and early at ten tomorrow, if you want to come by then. I'm sure Twilight would be happy to see you all." And with good natured grumbling, the ponies in general would wander away, back to their business. Spike checked the clock briefly, after giving the same line to Roseluck, who smiled good naturedly and informed him that Twilight was welcome to come around the stand tomorrow if she wanted some fresh flowers. The time was only eleven, and he had hardly had the time to enjoy being at home. Spike wasn't even sure of how ponies had known Twilight was back today, deciding to merely chalk it up to rumors and gossip. Surely somepony saw her get off the train, the night watchstallion or some such. Or it could simply have been Ponyville's unique way of finding out things, things they really had no business knowing. He looked at the clock again. The hand had not budged. He sighed. It was going to be a long morning. The dragon headed downstairs, knowing that Twilight would probably be wanting those books.
Twilight woke up at a quarter past noon, stretching herself fully before rolling out of bed. She had slept without dreams last night, but had woken up considerably more refreshed than she had felt during any morning in Canterlot. She trotted downstairs, heading for the bathroom. On the way, she scooped up her saddlebags, which were sitting by the door. Stopping by the closet, she began to remove the items from her bag. The letters and cards went on the table, to be responded to on a later date. The gifts, including the coins and dagger, also went on the table. She switched to the bag containing her dress, opening the closet. Humming to herself, she hung the dress on its hanger. As she closed the door, a flutter of movement caught her eye. Pausing, she turned around. A piece of paper rested on the floor, neatly folded in two. Frowning, Twilight picked it up. She was sure that it hadn't been there before she had packed the dress...she unfolded the paper, reading the single line of text inside. "If you want to know more about the web in Canterlot, look to yourself and the line of Arias."
Twilight frowned. Herself and the line of arias? She grabbed a book of musical terms off of a nearby shelf, laying it in front of her. She flicked through the pages, coming upon its definition, one of the first. "Aria- Expressive melody usually performed by a singer. Often with orchestral accompaniment, commonly used in operas. Notable arias include..." She shut the book. An aria was comprised of many lines, that much she knew. Melodies were rarely one line only, and often were long and expressive. Unless...she read it again. "Look to yourself and the line of Arias." Arias. Not arias, Arias, like a specific thing, or a place, or...a name. She grabbed her piece of paper, galloping down the stairs past Spike's room, heading into the basement. She slammed the trapdoor behind her, picking up the book she knew was still there. She picked it up, flipping furiously through page after page, at last reaching her intended goal. House Aria, placed slightly ahead of House Radiant.
She began to read furiously. The two were eerily similar, but had a few key differences. House Aria was another unicorn House that had declared loyalty to Celestia. Instead of fighting like House Radiant, however, they began to immediately use their considerable resources to help the wounded and weary, and were also instrumental in ensuring diplomatic missions to other nations such as the Minotaur Khanate were successful. Their House mark was also genetically superior, and usually consisted of a diamond or other precious stone. The House was still active at the time of Golden Radiance’s writing.
Twilight remembered something, a phrase that came to her mind unbidden. "The Houses were no more disbanded than the castle torn down...". She shook her head. Twilight didn't know what it meant, but by Celestia she would find the truth if it killed her. She shut the book, looking at the cover. She would have to be discreet, though. The Keepers had shown her that the truth could very well end up doing just that...
________________________________________
Spike returned from grocery shopping ready to wake Twilight for her day. He was perturbed to find her missing from her bed, and checked the library to see if she was hiding in an alcove he had missed. She had a habit of it, curling up somewhere and being lost in a book, part of the scenery until she finished. He scanned the shelves, with no luck, although he did notice the closet door was open and a book on music was lying on the ground near the basement door. Sighing, he headed for the cellar. Pausing before the trapdoor, the young dragon knocked politely. "Twi? Can I come down?"
The door flew open, revealing Twilight standing at the bottom. She was wearing one of her "intense" faces, the ones she got when faced with a real challenge, an expression of vast intelligence bordering on madness. "Spike! Quick, come down. And close the door." The dragon reluctantly did so.
"Twilight, what are you doing? And why are you doing it in here?" The dragon had a point. Twilight had about twenty different genealogies, trade manifests, censuses, and court records spread out before her. None of them was on combat magic, and none of them appeared related to each other. In addition, Twilight had begun to paper one wall with parchments containing phrases such as "dominant fuchsia coat coloring", and "moved to Manehatten, circa 700s." These notes were interspersed with sketches of Cutie Marks, hundreds of them. And they were all connected by bits of string, in about ten different colors. Twilight was writing furiously, ink spattering her face and notes. Spike spotted a pile of worn down quills in a forlorn pile in the middle of the floor, and silently congratulated himself on purchasing more while he was out.
"Spike, what I've got is...well, I don't know. But it's big, and it's secret, and I think some of it might involve me." the purple unicorn muttered, scribbling feverishly. She added another page to the wall, a sketch of a fiddle Cutie Mark, and ran a line from it to another parchment, fastening them both. "Another to Canterlot. Damn." she mumbled, turning back to her book.
"Twilight, you're starting to scare me. You've gone from 'scientific genius' to full on 'conspiracy theorist' mode, and this is starting to look like you have a problem. Have you even eaten?" the dragon asked. Twilight gave no response, checking two passages against each other. Spike's face contorted, and he slammed a claw down on one of the books, causing Twilight to jump. "Twilight Sparkle. Tell me what is going on, before I call the Princess down here to sort you out." he growled, smoke dribbling from his nostrils.
Twilight looked up at him, her eyes full of fear. "No, Spike. Don't. Don't do it, I'm begging you, not her." she stammered, eyes wide. She shook her head violently, her new red streak glinting like blood in the poor light of the cellar. Spike was perplexed. Not the Princess? Something was seriously wrong here. He settled onto his haunches, waiting for an explanation.
"Twilight, something is bothering you. Tell me." he said, emerald eyes focused on her.
The unicorn gave a shuddering breath. "Alright. Ok, alright. Remember when you were in the hospital with me, and you asked me about those burns? And I told you that I had held some stuff back? Well, this is that stuff." And the two of them sat in that dark space, protected from watchful eyes and wandering ears. Twilight told Spike about the Talent Marks she had noticed, about the fate of Golden Radiance, about the Keepers and the vision they had shown her, about Golden Radiance and her knowledge of the Elements and of Breaking magic, of how she had really slain the hydra. She told him about the black Pegasus, the Lunar Captain, the notes and the feelings of being followed while she was in Canterlot. She told him all of it, and held nothing back. When it was over, she felt drained, like that secret had been fueling her. But she also felt lighter, as if a great burden had been lifted and she was now free to move again.
Spike sat still, and Twilight could see his thoughts racing. His eyes darted towards the wall and back again. When he spoke, his voice was shaky. "And you think this is something to do with Celestia?"
Twilight shook her head. "No. This is everything to do with Celestia, or a group near her. It all comes back to Canterlot, and high up at that. It may be the Houses, but until we can figure this out, we tread carefully. Neither of us tells another pony about this, agreed?"
Spike nodded. "Agreed. What do we do if it is Celestia?"
The unicorn shuddered. "I don't want to think about it. If that happens, we'll go to Luna. But we can't accuse anypony of anything, at least not without proof. And that goes double for Princess Celestia. I'm going to start sending letters out, and soon. We'll get to the bottom of this." She turned to her wall, looking at the web being woven in Canterlot. "Somehow..."