//------------------------------//
// One-Six 
// Story: Observations and Preservations 
// by Tolerance 
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	Celestia was glad to have the opportunity to catch up on her reading for once. She had just finished another one of the steamy romance novels that she liked so much, this one was the latest in a series penned by some mystery writer under the name of 'G.A.P.T.’ When she felt a sudden influx of energy coming from the central chamber.
When she reached the room's entrance, she knew something was wrong. Twilight was completely surrounded in a magical fire, intense light pouring from her eyes. 
"Twilight?" 
Whether from shock or not, Twilight slowly turned to look at her mentor only to start screaming in agony. Celestia tried to approach the unicorn to see if she could help.

The moment she returned to her world, everything seemed fine until she got all feeling back. She felt as though she were about to exlode, her consciousness bursting at the seems, the very walls of the cavern seemed to press against her sides. She thought she heard somepony call her name, but when she tried to discover its source she faced only a harsh burning light before her. The beacon of light seemed to pierce through her very being. "NO! Stay away!" Twilight shouted, finally recognizing that she was witnessing the unfiltered presence of her mentor for the first time.
The pain made it hard to focus. What was causing her suffering, and why, were two of the questions that Twilight was desperately trying to answer. 'The Focus.' she thought, 'Something must have happened to me there. Something I found? Something I did?' Nothing Twilight could come up with for an answer seemed sufficient, she spent most of her time learning about how she could save this world after all. 'Unless...' She thought to herself. If the unicorn didn't act soon, she might very well tear herself apart.

The Sun Princess hated being forced to watch as the one she had sworn to protect was suffering right in front of her. She noticed that Twilight's aura was slowly expanding, seemingly gaining more and more power as each second passed. Her charge then threw a barrier around herself, surrounding her growing aura until it could expand no more. She followed this by casting another spell, one that Celestia couldn't quite see. What she did notice, however was its immediate effects.
Twilight's aura began to dissipate, and her shield vanished as she absorbed the energy once held within. Soon only a few embers of latent energy were all that remained of the aura outside of Twilight’s body, which had began to drift slowly towards the floor.

As Celestia approached, Twilight opened her eyes. "Princess Celestia? What's going on? Where are we?" she asked as she tried to get up, her legs unsteady.

Celestia embraced her former student, steadying her as she attempted to answer the mare. "Careful now, I'm not entirely sure what just happened, but rest assured you’re in safe hooves now. Did your mission go as planned?"

"Mission?" asked a dazed Twilight before she slipped into unconsciousness.


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Celestia found herself pacing impatiently around the royal study, her sister Luna having requested that she be left alone with Twilight for the duration of her examination. Twilight had cast some sort of memory spell upon herself and much of the last few years seemed lost to her. That much had been determined during the long trek home. 

Luna had, at first, been reluctant to see Twilight at all, especially once she knew that Twilight was unable to answer whether or not their world was safe. She would be the only one able to see how much Twilight had lost, however, and with any luck, she might even be able to reverse or fix whatever it was that the unicorn had done to herself.

Twilight lay asleep on the cot while Luna prepared to dive into her dreams. Once there, it was a simple task for the Night Princess to see the extent of Twilight's spell. There was surprisingly little damage from what Luna could tell, and it wasn't until she came upon the spell's actual location that forced Luna to reassess her opinion of her former student.

"What have you done to yourself, Twilight Sparkle", she asked while she skirted the perimeter of what looked to be an imposing, perfect black sphere inside Twilight's mind. She hoped to find some sort of entrance or even an exploitable flaw, but from what she could tell surface of the spell was immaculate. The fact that Twilight was able to invent and perform such a spell while under such distress, and on herself, no less, only impressed the princess further. One thing did manage to stand out from the rest of the spell, but she would ask for Twilight's permission before she attempted to do anything to that peculiar mechanism.

Once awake, Twilight asked if any of her memories had been found.

Luna thought to herself a moment before answering. "I am afraid I do not know, Twilight Sparkle. The only thing I can say for certain is that they don't seem to be gone, only sealed away. Though whatever was affecting you upon your return seems to be sealed inside the memory spell along with everything else you may be missing."

"If something bad was happening to me why didn't I just erase it from my mind? Celestia said that I certainly had the capability before."

"I am not sure. There is one other thing. It appears as though you have placed a device in control of the spell. From what I was able to observe, it seems to be a timing instrument of some sort. Do you have any idea why you may have placed it there."

"Celestia told me that I was in quite a bit of pain before I cast the spell, so for me to give it the ability to open back up, by itself, would mean that whatever is inside must still be important. Right?"

"I suppose so. I can try and see if there is a way around the mechanism if you would permit it."

"No. I don't think that's going to be a good idea. Whatever I locked away could still be dangerous."

"Very well. If that is your choice, then perhaps we should make preparations for when the spell eventually opens itself back up. There are exercises that are designed to help potentially dangerous creatures manage their own magic."

"That sounds good, Luna." Twilight said as a single tear rolled down her cheek.	

"Is something else the matter Twilight?"

"I don't think so. I know it sounds kind of weird, it's just that, since I've been here talking to you, I feel really sad for some reason."

"I-It's nothing Twilight, you should probably get some more rest. I need to speak with my sister." Luna added hurriedly.


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"We just don't know what to do anymore!" Luna cried as she entered the study, "How might we holdeth anything against a pony that knoweth not what they've done!"

Celestia still found it amusing that her sister reverted back to an older tongue when she was upset. The matter at hoof was a serious one, however. "So, that was gone as well. I suspected as much. Did you manage to uncover anything regarding her mission?"

"No. Everything is sealed within the spell. It will eventually open up itself, which should return Twilight to the state she was in when she returned from the Tether."

"Do you believe that she might have succeeded against the threat?"

"We had better assume that we are still in danger. I suspect that Twilight gave herself a way to unseal her memories for a reason." Luna answered.

"Then I suppose that our course of action is decided then."

"Please enlighten us, sister."

"It is the same thing that we've always done, Luna. We wait."