//------------------------------//
// Thrhndrd 
// Story: Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot 
// by Equimorto 
//------------------------------//

"What is this?"
"A protective spell."
"I see that. Do we need a protective spell? I mean, I guess biological or chemical warfare and large scale spells aren't out of the question, but should it be a priority? It sounds like the kind of thing we should be able to react to. If we're not then we're probably screwed either way."
"True, but that stuff is just fancy dressing. We already figured out how to optimise energy consumption so I figured I'd throw it on while I'm at it."
"Oh? What's it actually for, then?"
"Nightmare Moon."
"What about her?"
"Last time I was just near her unshielded, I passed out. She's got an aura to her, I don't know if she's deliberately projecting it or if it's just something she developed."
"She's that strong?"
"Not quite. It's not exactly like the passive auras powerful magic users give out, like what you might experience near Celestia. It's something different. I want to say more deliberate, but that's not really the right word if I'm not sure she's doing it on purpose."
"Interesting. So we need a shield for that, yeah?"
"Yeah."
"You look nervous."
"Yeah."
"Why is that?"
"I know the spell works. It's not that."
"I asked why you're nervous, not why you are not."
"I was just trying to reassure you that this is safe."
"Knowing there's something that worries you and you don't want to address is not reassuring. I appreciate the effort nonetheless."
"You're right."
"So?"
"There's something off about her aura. I want to say it's either just a wild coincidence or a defining feature of certain kinds of manifestations that doesn't imply any real correlation, and both are plausible considering the amounts we're talking about, but there are some parts of the readings we're getting that look really similar to something we've already seen."
"Sounds like that would make it easier to work on it."
"It does. Or, it did, the spell's been ready for a while and tested for only a little less. It's still bugging me though."
"Well, nothing we can do about it. Honestly, getting this bothered over just a few lines on a pair of graphs is definitely a you thing."
"You're not particularly helpful."
"I'm trying to be. You clearly don't have a solution or even a concrete problem in the first place, only what could either be a coincidence or a connection, and nothing to work with. Spending your time running your thoughts over it and worrying won't help you nor us, so trying to get your mind off of it is the most useful thing I can do about it. Whether it was relevant or not, you'll find or won't find out as things happen, and you don't have time to work on it now. It's best if you ignore it."
"It's not a me thing to ignore something like that. It's too suspicious, and it's too potentially important if it turns out to be something concrete."
"But you don't have the time for it right now."
"I suppose you're right. Not that I enjoy it."
"Truth doesn't need to be pleasant."
"Sadly."
"Thank you for the spell, by the way."