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

"You seem calm."
Twilight was eating, and she finished putting the spoon into her mouth and chewing through its contents before addressing the other. "I am."
"And aren't you worried about today?"
"I am." Twilight took another spoon in her mouth. "But I'm as prepared as I'm going to be, and being less calm will only hurt things. So I've decided I'm just going to remain calm, and do my best."
"You could die today."
"I could die every day." A sip of pomegranate juice. "And even if we're only counting the days I'm more likely to, I've had quite a bit of those lately. You could say that statistically that means this time I have even worse odds, but honestly I'm getting used to this state of affairs. I don't like it, but I'm growing accustomed to it. Call it adapting to survive if you will."
"That's a cold way to look at things."
"It's a cold world out there, even if it's getting hotter these days. Or is it already getting cold again? I lost track." Twilight finished her meal, slowly and quietly. "I don't know you."
"Most ponies won't know a given one, statistically speaking, if you pick at random."
"I don't know you, but I feel like I can interact with you. It's not a real bit of knowledge. It's more like something stuck at the back of my head, something that's there right now and wasn't here before." Twilight looked at the stallion. "Is this how her coil works, too?"
"It is. She's not here right now, by the way."
"I figured. I figured you wouldn't show up if she was." Twilight stepped off her chair and went to put her plate and glass into the sink. "Do you..." She paused and turned to the stallion to ask that question. "Do you have all of them?"
"I do. I knew you'd figure that out sooner or later, you're a smart mare. You could say it's not so much like hers as it is hers. Or maybe she has mine. That part isn't really clear, is it?"
Twilight returned to focusing on the sink's contents. "And you're not going to make it clearer, right?"
"Well of course not. That's not my part to play. It would be quite boring if I did, anyway."
"It would be quite safer."
"You haven't died yet."
"Not for lack of trying, on anyone else's part." A thought struck Twilight. She turned again. "When you said I had help. Was she there too?"
"Not the only one. But yes, she was. Quite more important than you might have realised. I think she was... No, no, that's saying too much."
"Hmm. That's at least more information to have, that's always good. Will I be seeing you today?" She grabbed hold of the table cloth, folded it, and put it in a drawer.
"Unlikely, but I will be watching you. Good luck, Twilight."
When Twilight next turned, she was alone in the room.