Chapter 42
To Twilight there was nothing more relaxing than curling up in her favorite reading spot on a sunny, Sunday morning with a good book, a fresh cup of tea, a plate of cookies, and spending the day just reading. Especially after a long and busy week, though thankfully not the saving the world kind of busy. Unfortunately, before she could even crack open her chosen book, a flurry of knocks, followed by the front door bursting open interrupted her plans.
“Twilight? Are you here?” called Lyra from downstairs.
Sighing in frustration, Twilight set her book aside and trotted downstairs to see what her surprise guest wanted.
“Lyra, what are you doing here? I thought you said you were going to be in Canterlot this weekend?” complained Twilight as she descended the stairs.
“I was, but I finished my business up earlier yesterday, so I decided to head home and bug you,” replied Lyra cheekily as she playfully stuck out her tongue at the irritated librarian.
Taking a sniff of the air, Lyra asked, “Did you just make some cookies and tea?”
Rolling her eyes, Twilight nodded tiredly. “I suppose you want some?”
Trotting past her, Lyra quipped, “Naturally! I never turn down free food, thanks for asking.”
Sighing, Twilight turned and trotted back upstairs to collect her things and bring them down to the lower floor while Lyra made herself comfortable at one of the low reading tables. Emptying her saddlebags, she lit up her horn and pulled a nearby chalkboard over, and began writing various equations down while she waited for Twilight to return.
She didn’t have to wait long, as she soon heard the tell-tale thuds of Twilight’s hooves descending the stairs. Turning away from her current equation, she saw that Twilight had brought down a massive plate full of chocolate chip cookies, a still steaming kettle of tea, and a pair of mugs.
Setting everything down in the middle of Lyra’s commandeered table, Twilight poured her guest a mug of warm tea as well as refilled her own mug before taking a seat on the opposite side of the table and asking, “So, what brings you by this formerly quiet Sunday morning?”
Taking a sip of mint-flavored tea, and snagging a couple of cookies, Lyra replied, “So, as you know, I’ve been doing some digging in various archives and repositories of lesser-known knowledge about where our little sunflower might have come from.”
Rolling her eyes, Twilight took a bite of her cookie and muttered under her breath, “Yeah, I know... lucky nag.”
Lyra took another sip of tea to hide her smirk. She knew that Twilight was a bit jealous at the fact that she hadn’t been given the same level of access as Lyra had been to the more restricted areas of the Royal Archives and other knowledge vaults around Equestria.
The reason was that apparently when Twilight was younger she had a certain penchant for sneaking into restricted areas and reading forbidden tomes. Consequently, she was still banned from said areas after several... incidents had occurred, at least that is what the Royal Archivist had told Lyra when she had asked, though the old mare hadn’t elaborated on what incidents had taken place so Lyra was left to wonder. In the end, it didn’t really matter to her, though it was kind of funny to tease Twilight about it from time to time and watch her get flustered. Though on the downside, that meant that the lion's share of the research work fell on her withers, but it was a small price to pay for what she had uncovered, doubly so because she was the first one to put some of the pieces together of what was turning out to be a much bigger puzzle picture than she had originally thought.
Setting her mug down, Lyra put on a more serious face and replied, “Well, that digging has turned up some interesting findings. I’ve also been looking over those calculations you did about a month ago when that sunflower showed up behind the schoolhouse. I even got a couple of my math buddies at Canterlot University to look them over as well to make sure I didn’t miss anything.”
Munching on another cookie, Twilight cocked an eyebrow and said, “And? What’s your point?”
Lyra sighed and shook her head. “That you’re predictions were off, like, way off.”
Pausing mid-bite, Twilight stared at Lyra and slowly put the cookie down. “What do you mean they were off? I double and triple checked my calculations, they should be accurate.”
“Well, they weren’t,” said Lyra as she pulled out a sheaf of papers and passed them across to Twilight, “Your notes stated that you thought that the aftershocks created by Discord’s chaos magic would either get weaker and go away naturally or they would get stronger and stronger until they destroyed the world.”
“There was also the option that the magical aftershocks would remain localized and relatively small in scale,” added Twilight defensively.
“Or that,” agreed Lyra, “but even that’s not a good thing.”
“Well not for Ponyville, and the surrounding area it’s not, no,” agreed Twilight, “but we’re getting off-topic here. You said that my calculations were off, what was wrong with them?”
“Nothing really, you were just missing a couple of variables that would change the results is all,” replied Lyra simply.
Twilight felt a stab of frustrated irritation flare up, however, she tamped it down using that breathing exercise she had learned from her old foal sitter. Taking a deep breath, she held it before releasing it while pushing her hoof away from her chest, as if she were trying to physically push away the frustrations.
After doing this several times, she felt calm enough to rejoin the conversation and asked, “Would you care to explain what I missed and what you think is going on then?”
Lyra pointed to the papers in front of Twilight and said, “It’s all right there.”
Twilight looked down at the papers skeptically and said, “Uh Lyra, these pages are talking about Paradoxical Pendulum’s Theory of Dimensional Gates and Temporal Bridges. Which is a load of bunk and you know it. His theories and formulas were proven inaccurate nearly a thousand years ago right after he died and Starswirl the Bearded disappeared.”
Lyra’s smirk returned and she slid another sheet of paper across to Twilight and replied, “Except they weren’t.”
Twilight shot Lyra a flat look and replied, “Lyra, stop trying to be mysterious and all-knowing. It works for Princess Celestia, it doesn’t work for you.”
Lyra’s smirk turned into a pout and she said, “Fine, be that way, take all the fun out of it for me.”
“I will, now get to the point please,” remarked Twilight as she ate another cookie.
Sighing, Lyra explained, “Alright, so it turns out that Pendulum stepped on a couple of hooves when he was still alive and when he died his enemies messed with his work to discredit him. Apparently, Pendulum was really big on preserving his legacy and I guess they figured this was the best way to get back at him, petty as it is. Anyways, these pages are from his original manuscripts that he gifted to Princess Celestia right before he passed. Everything else that we know about him is a corrupted version of his work.”
Glancing back down at the papers in front of her, Twilight carefully pulled them closer and took another look at what they had to say. As she read, she asked, “So if his work was sabotaged after he died, why did nopony try to correct it later? I can’t imagine Princess Celestia would be too happy hearing that somepony’s hard work was destroyed just for petty revenge.”
Lyra shrugged. “The Royal Archivist said that it was better that his true works remain hidden as apparently he and Starswirl managed to not only confirm that his theories were correct, but they were able to put them into practice by pulling items from other worlds. I’ve also found some evidence that they were working on making a stable portal between worlds. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to verify if they managed to do it or not. This, however,” she tapped the pages in front of her, “was all I was allowed to copy and bring with me. There is a bunch of his work that I wasn’t allowed to bring for security reasons. But everything I’ve seen paints a very different picture as to what is going on than we initially thought.”
“And that would be?” pressed Twilight.
Lyra took a sip of tea. “That Discord might have been trying to open a dimensional gateway between worlds when you and your friends stopped him. I mean, look at what he did with Allen and his farm. He managed to bring him and his home through before or just after you defeated him.”
“But for what purpose?” asked Twilight, partly to Lyra but mostly to herself as she floated over a quill, ink pot, and several sheaves of paper and began adjusting her calculations based on Pendulum’s formulas.
“Chaos perhaps? Pendulum theorized that the space between worlds is full of chaotic energy. Maybe Discord was trying to breakthrough and absorb it so that even the Elements of Harmony couldn’t stop him.”
“Hmm,” hummed Twilight to herself as she worked. Her horn lit up again as she began pulling more and more books, scrolls, and pieces of paper to swirl around her like a tornado of research and knowledge. Lyra for her part sat back and waited for Twilight to finish, contenting herself with a couple more cookies while she waited.
Twenty minutes later and the paper tornado subsided and left Twilight staring down at her final answer, a frown on her face.
“Well?” asked Lyra after a minute of waiting.
Without saying a word, Twilight shoved the paper across the table to her guest and Lyra looked it over. Chewing on her bottom lip as she read, she was pleased to note that Twilight had come up with the same answers that she and her friends at the university had.
Setting the paper down she nodded. “Matches what I and my friends got, so either we’re on to something or we’re all wrong.”
Twilight sighed, a look of worry on her face. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Lyra shrugged. “Well, look on the positive side, at least we don’t have to worry about an end-of-the-world scenario anymore or at least an end-of-the-world scenario that we can’t stop anyways,” she quietly added at the end.
Nibbling thoughtfully on her last cookie, Twilight said, “I need access to those archives. I can’t figure out what’s going on if I have to rely on second hoof information or what you are allowed to bring out of the archives.”
Lyra adopted a hesitant look. “Yeah, something tells me that isn’t likely to happen after what the Royal Archivist said when I mentioned your name.”
Twilight mostly suppressed a groan of exasperation. “Ugh, summon just one extra-dimensional being by accident and you’re branded for life.”
“You summoned a what now?” asked Lyra incredulously, unsure if she heard her friend right, and praying that she hadn’t.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “I was like nine, and it wasn’t even my fault. How was I supposed to know that a book titled, Summoning for Dummies was for summoning eldritch horrors from another dimension? I mean it wasn’t like Glub Glub even did anything other than demand fish flakes and call Princess Celestia fat before said princess banished him back to where he came from.”
Lyra blinked. “What?”
“You heard me, and I’m not going to repeat myself either,” Twilight shot back flatly.
“Okay, well I suppose I can try to put in a good word for you and say that I need your help with research but...”
Twilight sighed, a depressed look on her face. “I know, Dusty Shelves will probably still say no and we’ll be right back to square one. Ugh, the fact that there are books out there that I’m not allowed to read is driving me crazy!”
“Well, like I said, I’ll see if I can’t get your ban overturned, perhaps now that you are a Hero of Equestria and a responsible adult that has an actual need to read those books and records other than to just read them will get them to change their minds,” replied Lyra with a placating gesture.
“Maybe, but I’m not going to hold my breath, after the Glub Glub incident, Dusty Shelves ended up in trouble because I got access to the restricted section without adult supervision, and you know how she likes to hold a grudge until it dies of old age, then stuff it, and put it on display,” pouted Twilight.
Silence descended between the two unicorns as they both tried to figure out their next move. Lyra for her part was really hoping that Twilight would be able to get her ban overturned as she had hit a bit of a brick wall with her research and she desperately needed a fresh set of eyes to help her finish connecting the dots. She had a pretty good idea of what they were dealing with, and if her assumptions turned out to be true, then Equestria, and by extension the world should be safe(ish) or at least in no more danger than normal, meaning that Twilight and her friends should be able to handle it... probably.
“We could ask Princess Celestia to overturn the ban,” suggested Lyra, suddenly breaking the thoughtful silence.
Twilight hung her head and shook it. “I thought about asking her, but she was the one who originally instated the ban after the summoning incident. Though at the time I was only banned from browsing the restricted section by myself. Dusty Shelves added further restrictions onto the princesses ban after she got in trouble for letting me wander the restricted section unattended, though to be fair to her, I did kind of sneak past her, and make a bit of a mess of her bookshelves. That might have been more irritating to her than getting in trouble for not keeping a closer eye on me.”
“But what does that have to do with Princess Celestia and asking her to overturn the ban?”
“Because the princess is the one who has to approve of any further restrictions on access to the various knowledge vaults and archives around the country. Especially when it involves their personal student,” replied Twilight glumly.
“Well, maybe if the both of us go and speak with her, we can convince her to unban you. Besides, we need to give her an update on what’s been going on since Allen got here. I know she’s got ponies keeping an eye on things in the background, but they might have missed something in their reports,” said Lyra, hoping to lift her friend's mood a bit.
Twilight nodded. “You’re right, I’ll have Spike send her a letter,” she said before turning and yelling, “Spike! I need you to send a letter to Princess Celestia for me!”
“Coming!” came the muffled reply from upstairs.
While she waited, Twilight grabbed a scroll and quill and began to write. She was just finishing up when Spike plodded down the stairs.
“Why do you need me to send a letter to Princess Celestia on a Sunday, Twilight? Oh, hey Lyra, how’s it going?” greeted Spike when he spotted the mint-colored unicorn.
Giving the little dragon a friendly wave, Lyra replied, “It’s going alright, how about yourself?”
“Pretty good, I managed to snag the latest Power Ponies comic yesterday before they sold out,” he bragged.
“Oh, is that the one where they fight the Mane-iac in space?” questioned Lyra.
“Naw, that was last month's issue, this time they’re fighting the evil Dr. Horse who plans to take over the world using a mind control beam!” replied Spike excitedly, “I was just getting to the good part when Twilight called me down,” he said, a hint of a pout on his face.
Twilight meanwhile finished her letter with a flourish as she signed it and passed the rolled scroll to Spike who took it and sent it off in a gout of green fire without hesitation.
“Thank you, Spike, sorry for pulling you away from your comic, but Lyra and I were discussing some research and we needed to set up a meeting with Princess Celestia to discuss some things,” said Twilight gratefully.
“Hmph, well alright,” grumbled Spike as he turned to leave, however, he paused as his cheeks swelled up and a scroll was expelled from his mouth in another burst of flames, falling to the floor in the process. Picking it up with a claw, he handed it to Twilight.
“Anything else you need me for or can I get back to my comic?” he asked.
Twilight quickly opened the letter and read it over, nodding to herself as she went before grabbing another scroll and jotting something down, and hoofing it back to Spike. “I just need you to send this reply please, and that’s it.”
Grabbing it out of her magical aura, Spike took a deep breath and sent the message on its way in a burst of spellfire.
“Now can I get back to my comic?” he snarked.
Twilight smiled and pulled her little brother in for a hug and said, “Yes you can get back to reading your comic, thanks for your help Spike,” letting him go, she pointed a hoof to the kitchen and said, “There are a couple of rubies sitting in the jar on the counter. Go ahead and have them.”
His grumpy mood dispelled itself in an instant, Spike happily waddled to the kitchen, calling back over his shoulder, “Awesome, thanks Twilight!”
“You’re welcome, Spike. Oh, and Lyra and I will be leaving shortly to head to Canterlot, so you’re in charge of the library till I get back,” added Twilight.
“Why are you going to Canterlot?” asked Spike as he poked his head back through the kitchen doorway.
“Princess Celestia’s reply letter stated that she was free this afternoon to meet with us, so we are going to catch the next train to meet with her to give her an update on what’s been going on here in Ponyville since Allen arrived.”
“Oh, okay, well say hi to the princess for me,” called Spike as he ducked back into the kitchen to raid the gem jar.
Chuckling, Twilight replied, “I will Spike.”
Turning back to Lyra, she asked, “That’s not going to be an issue, is it? I kind of assumed you were free this afternoon since you stopped by here. If you’re not, I can have Spike send another message before he goes back upstairs.”
Lyra shook her head. “Naw, I’m free for the rest of the day. Let me go get a couple of things from the house and let Bonny know where I’m going and I’ll meet you at the train station.”
“Sounds good, the next train should be leaving in about an hour,” replied Twilight as she drained the last of her tea and began cleaning up the various papers on the table and organizing them into neat stacks.
Lyra quickly shoved her things into her saddlebags and stood up. “Okay, I’ll meet you at the train station in one hour then, see ya around Spike!” she called as she made to leave.
The little drake waved goodbye from the staircase as he balanced his haul of gems in one arm. “See ya later Lyra!”
With a final wave, Lyra stepped outside and rushed home, while Twilight set about gathering her things.
~oOo~
Several hours later, both Twilight and Lyra found themselves seated in one of Canterlot Castle’s many meeting rooms. Their train ride up the mountain had been uneventful, as had been their short journey to the castle. They had been met at the main entrance by Celestia’s personal assistant, Raven Inkwell who had swiftly escorted them to their appointed meeting room. Upon entering the room, Raven had asked if they required anything, and after being given a short list, by Twilight Sparkle standards, she had taken her leave to procure the needed items, leaving Twilight and Lyra to make themselves comfortable.
Setting their saddlebags down beside their chosen seats, both Twilight and Lyra set to work organizing their presentation. In truth, neither mare had been sure exactly what Princess Celestia knew concerning Allen, the events following his arrival, and what they had so far learned. As such, they had felt it better to err on the side of caution and had decided to bring everything they had discovered with them.
By the time Raven had returned with their requested items, which included refreshments and several blackboards and boxes of chalk, both mares had covered the table in neatly organized piles of paper and rolled up scrolls and charts.
“Princess Celestia will be here shortly, she is just finishing up morning court. Was there anything else you needed from me?” asked Inkwell in a courteous, yet professional manner.
Twilight and Lyra looked at each other for a moment before turning back to Raven and shaking their heads.
“No, I think we’ve got everything we need,” replied Twilight politely.
Bowing her head, Raven said, “Very well then. If you need anything else, just pull on that rope by the door, and a servant will attend you. Good day.”
With Raven now gone, both Lyra and Twilight had little left to do other than wait for Princess Celestia to arrive. As the minutes ticked by, Twilight felt her nervousness grow. She couldn’t even distract herself by talking to Lyra about their findings, as the two of them had discussed everything in detail on the journey from Ponyville. She couldn’t even organize the papers around as she had already done that three times already, and she could tell that Lyra was getting annoyed at her constant paper shuffling. As such, she tried to distract herself by pouring herself a cup of tea and sampling the various treats from the snack cart.
Thankfully, the wait wasn’t very long and after a short time, Twilight’s ears perked up as she heard the doors open behind her. Leaping up from her seat, she turned and beheld her teacher and princess step through the doors, a warm, motherly smile adorning her muzzle as she spotted Twilight.
“Princess, it’s so good to see you!” exclaimed Twilight in equal parts happiness and nervousness.
Shutting the door with her golden magic, Celestia stepped forward and met her student. “Indeed it is, Twilight. How have things been in Ponyville since your last letter to me?”
“That’s kind of why we are here,” interrupted Lyra as she rose from her shallow bow on the other side of the table.
“Oh, and why is that?” she asked with an inquisitive expression.
Both Twilight and Lyra shared a silent look between the two of them.
Well, here goes nothing, thought Twilight as she turned to launch into her and Lyra’s preplanned presentation.
“Well Princess, I suppose, first of all, we should ask you how much you know about the situation with Allen the human in Ponyville?” asked Twilight first.
“Along with our research into the matter,” added Lyra.
Picking a comfortable-looking cushion, Celestia gracefully lowered herself down and floated over a tea cup and plate of cookies. Taking one in her magical grasp, she delicately nibbled on it for a moment before saying, “I’ve received regular reports from various sources, many of which I cannot share with you at present for reasons of security, as such, I feel quite confident in saying that I have a strong grasp of the current picture.”
Seeing both Lyra and Twilight’s confused, and slightly disappointed expressions, Celestia added diplomatically, “Though, it would not hurt to have a refresher on what all you have learned so far.”
Giving a nod, Twilight was the first to lead off. What followed was several hours of lecture, with the occasional question from the princess, as both Twilight and Lyra brought her up to speed on what they knew.
“So, you believe that Discord may have attempted to open a portal to another world in an effort to bolster his power?” asked Princess Celestia once she heard Lyra’s newest hypothesis.
Lyra nodded. “Yes, the evidence, coupled with Paradoxical Pendulum’s Theory of Dimensional Gates and Temporal Bridges, seems to indicate that this might have been Discord’s goal. Though it is also possible that it was a backup plan of his should he be contained again to create enough chaos to free him at a later date. On the other hoof, he might have also attempted to use it as a means of escape to another world where his powers could not be challenged and Twilight and the Elements stopped him before he could run.”
Celestia looked over Lyra’s notes, her face an impassive mask to her inner thoughts. Finally, she nodded and set the papers back down. “I believe you might be on the right path, Ms. Heartstrings,” she concluded, “if you do not mind, I would like to share your recent findings with a few other talented ponies to see what they think on the matter, if that is alright with you.”
“Of course, Princess,” replied Lyra quickly, the thought of saying no never even entering her mind.
“Good, if you could make copies for me, I’ll have them dispersed amongst my ponies for review. I suspect they’ll agree with your current hypothesis. Paradoxical was a stallion ahead of his time, and his work was quite revolutionary.”
“You remember him Princess?” asked Twilight.
Celestia smiled. “Of course I do, he was a close friend of mine, as was Starswirl, in his own prickly way, before he disappeared. It pained me to see Paradoxical’s legacy dragged through the proverbial mud like it was,” she added, her smile turning into a sad frown.
“Then why didn’t you do something to fix it?” asked Twilight, as she couldn’t understand why her teacher would allow somepony, who she called a friend, to be disgraced like that.
Celestia sighed. “Believe me Twilight, I wanted to, I really did. However, things were... different back then. My and my sister’s authority was not nearly as strong as it is today and there were many ponies looking to remove us from power. Paradoxical, while he was alive, was a strong supporter of mine and more importantly, my sister, and he frequently butted heads with powerful nobles. Naturally, this left him with few allies at Court and when he passed, his enemies took advantage of the fact that my sister and I were distracted with other pressing matters at the time to sabotage his work and discredit him, and by extension his allies. By the time I realized what they had done, it was too late. If I had attempted to restore his image it would have seemed as though I was attempting to rewrite history to make one of my supporters look better than the population thought they were. As such, the best I could do was to keep his true works safe until his and my enemies, along with several generations of their children, were dead and buried before I could attempt to rehabilitate his image. The fact that you two found his original works and are putting them to use in this manner will be a strong first step in restoring his legacy to its rightful place.”
Both Lyra and Twilight were silent for a moment as they digested Celestia’s words. Finally, Twilight spoke up and said, “That... makes a lot of sense, but I must confess Princess, I didn’t help Lyra with her current theory using Paradoxical’s work, she was the one that did it all. All I did was look it over this morning for anything she might have missed. Other than that, I haven’t done much besides keeping an eye on Ponyville for any further displacement activity, and refining my initial calculations, which have turned out to be all wrong anyway,” she sighed, a disappointed look on her face.
“Is this true?” asked Celestia, puzzled as to why Twilight wasn’t horn deep in books researching alongside her friend in a musty archive somewhere. When Lyra nodded, Celestia frowned, “I thought you two were planning on working together on this task?” she asked confused.
Twilight sank lower in her seat, her ears flat against her scalp. “We were... but I’m still banned from the restricted sections of the Royal Archives, and I’m not allowed to remove or request any books or artifacts from the Royal Archives either.”
“And because of those restrictions, a lot of other archives and repositories around the country won’t let Twilight near them either,” complained Lyra, “so I’ve been the one doing the majority of the legwork when it comes to researching things. Twilight’s sort of been stuck being my glorified proofreader ever since we tapped out the easily accessible libraries and archives that will let her in.”
Now Celestia was even more confused. Why would anypony deny access to my student like that? She wondered quietly to herself as she took a sip of her tea to buy time while she thought, but her mind kept coming up blank. The only thing she could think of was that time Twilight had accidentally summoned an eldritch horror when she was a filly in the restricted section of the Royal Archives. But there hadn’t been any damage, beyond a few torn pages and bent book spines, and Twilight hadn’t been tainted by the use of dark magic during the ritual. Really, the only pony who had been somewhat at fault had been the Head Archivist at the time for letting Twilight wander around unsupervised, and Celestia had only given her a warning to keep a better eye on ponies accessing the restricted section. There hadn’t even been an official reprimand, just a verbal one.
Setting her teacup down, Celestia gave Twilight a concerned look and replied, “I’m afraid I do not understand Twilight. I don’t remember issuing any restrictions against you being given access to the archives once you came of age following the summoning incident. You should have full and unfettered access to any and all archives and repositories across Equestria. Especially considering what you and your friends have done for this country and the world.”
Now it was Twilight’s turn to be confused. “But that doesn’t make any sense. If I’m not banned from the archives anymore, then why won’t Dusty Shelves let me in or for that matter the other major knowledge vaults around Equestria?”
The corners of Celestia’s lips turned down slightly in a frown as she pondered Twilight’s question. The more she pondered, the more her frown deepened, finally, she said, “I believe I will need to have words with my Head Archivist about going behind my back and issuing restrictions without my knowledge or permission.”
Twilight’s downcast expression lifted at the words of her mentor and she hesitantly asked, “Wait, so does this mean that I can enter the restricted section again?”
Celestia’s frown lifted and she chuckled. “Yes, Twilight, you can enter the restricted section again, so long as you abide by the rules that everypony else does. I’ll be sure to correct Dusty Shelves' misconceptions about who she can and cannot ban on her own initiative. I know that she has a tendency to be a bit of a pain for those who have annoyed her, and disturbed ‘the peace and quiet of the archives’ as she puts it.” she sighed.
Twilight’s frown returned. “I think she needs more than a talking to,” she grumped, memories of dealing with the prickly mare flashing through her mind.
“Perhaps you are right Twilight,” mused Celestia, “that mare has been in that position for a long time. Maybe it is time that she moved on. I will have to speak with her about that. I know she would think I’m punishing her if I force her to retire, perhaps there is another position that I can ‘promote’ her to that will keep her somewhat happy in her final years.”
“Well just so long as I don’t have to ever deal with her crustiness anymore I’m happy,” remarked Lyra, a distasteful look on her face as she recalled her most recent encounter with the elderly, and cranky Royal Archivist.
“Oh Dusty isn’t that bad,” chuckled Celestia, “in fact, she used to be quite the troublemaker back in her younger days. She had a penchant for pranking the other librarians when things were slow. Whoopie cushions were her favorite if I remember correctly.”
Both Lyra and Twilight shared a look of disbelief at the thought that Dusty Shelves the most hidebound, cranky, stickler of rules that ever lived would ever prank anypony.
“You’re kidding, right?” asked Lyra skeptically.
“Nope, she and Philomena used to be thick as thieves back in the day. Always getting into mischief and annoying Faded Ink, the head archivist at the time, with their antics,” replied Celestia with a fond smile as memories played back through her mind.
“So, what changed?” asked Lyra curiously.
Celestia shook her head. “I do not know, perhaps it was when she was named Faded Ink’s successor that she decided to become more strict in her manners,” she shook her head, “it doesn’t matter. I will get your access to the archives restored Twilight and if you run into any further issues, please let me know as soon as possible and I will remove them.”
Twilight smiled. “Thank you so much, princess.”
Celestia returned the smile with one of her own. “You are welcome, now why don’t you two tell me how you have been doing since I last spoke with you. I know I haven’t spoken with you Lyra since you graduated from the School for Gifted Unicorns.”
Lyra’s face lit up with a bright smile and she quickly launched into a story about how she met her current marefriend Bon Bon. Celestia for her part simply sat back and let her former student speak, enjoying the time she had with her and Twilight as they spoke of their day-to-day lives.
However, eventually, that time ran out and the return of her personal assistant caused Celestia to reluctantly rise from her seat and say, “I’m afraid it’s time for me to go, my little ponies. Matters of state rarely wait patiently.”
Both Lyra and Twilight stood up from their seats and nodded in disappointed understanding.
“Of course princess,” they replied with shallow bows of respect.
“Keep up the good work, and I look forward to hearing from you in your next report. Twilight, feel free to send me updates through Spike when you learn something new, and I will be sure to pass anything along that the other research teams learn to you as well.”
“Wait, there are other research teams?” asked Lyra, a confused, and slightly disappointed look on her face at learning she and Twilight weren’t the only ones working to save Equestria.
Celestia giggled. “Of course, there are Lyra. Though their focuses are in other directions and topics. Most of them are simply building upon what you and Twilight find in your research, though that is not to say that some of the other groups haven't come up with interesting ideas themselves.”
“Can we see their work princess? It might give us a fresh idea on what and where to look in the future,” asked Twilight as she, along with Lyra gathered up their various papers.
“That might be difficult,” replied Celestia hesitantly, “currently every team is working independently, and collecting all of their work might take some time. However, with this latest revelation, it might become necessary to create a way for the teams to collaborate. I’ll have to look into that at a later date, in the meantime, you two continue your efforts in monitoring events in Ponyville and in sifting through the various archives.”
“We won’t let you down, Princess Celestia,” replied Twilight seriously.
Celestia smiled proudly at her student. “I know you will do your best, Twilight, you always have,” turning to Raven, Celestia said, “Raven, I want you to help Twilight and Lyra with anything they will need going forward. If what they have told me today is correct, I believe that a more coordinated effort will be needed soon.”
Raven gave a shallow bow of her head. “As you command, Your Highness,” before turning to the other two unicorns. “I am afraid I am not as up to speed as Her Highness on your efforts, and unfortunately, my schedule is full for the next few days so we will nee-”
“Your schedule is fully cleared starting now, Raven,” cut in Celestia.
“Y-Your Highness?” said Raven as she blinked in confusion, a lock of her mane coming free from her perfect mane bun.
“As I said, the situation appears to have changed, Ms. Inkwell,” stated Celestia seriously, “there is no time for delay. I am assigning you to this task as you are my most trusted assistant and your organizational skills cannot be matched. Wisteria will fill in for you while you are gone.”
“B-but...” sputtered the now shocked Raven, however upon seeing Celestia’s commanding expression, she bowed her head in deference and quietly said, “As you wish Your Highness.”
Celestia’s expression softened and she leaned down to give her assistant a gentle nuzzle, who immediately blushed in embarrassment. “I know you will do well. You were one of my best students before Twilight and Lyra came along, and you have been one of the best personal assistants that I could ever ask for. However, now I need you to help protect Equestria and all of her citizens in these unknown and trying times.”
Raven’s blush disappeared and raising her head, she squared her shoulders and gave a single confident nod. “As you command, so shall it be.”
“Thank you,” replied Celestia before she lifted her head and made for the door. Opening the door with her magic, she turned to look at the three unicorn mares behind her and offered them an encouraging smile, “I look forward to seeing your next report, good luck to all of you,” and with that she turned and left the room, closing the door behind her as she left.
A silence descended upon the three mares left behind as they each looked at each other awkwardly. Finally, Raven cleared her throat and said, “Well, since Her Highness has seen fit to reassign me, I suppose now is as good a time as any for you two to bring me up to speed on what has been going on and where we should go from here.”
Both Lyra and Twilight looked at each other before letting loose a happy squee of excitement and dancing happily in place before lighting up their horns and producing a literal tornado of papers, charts, and documents around the suddenly worried Raven.
As the two excited scholars descended into what looked to be a long lecture, Raven quietly sighed to herself.
My brain hurts already.