//------------------------------//
// Reality is Subjective 
// Story: The Pony That Is Never There 
// by divinearcadia 
//------------------------------//


Reality is Subjective


It was the morning three days after the rather... unique dinner party Twilight and her friends attended and Twilight still felt a little out of it. Twilight was lying on top of her messy bed like she had for the past two days and was looking at nothing in particular as she mentally replayed key scenes of that night. The party itself was fine, the company interesting and encouraging once they learned that she was going to be venturing into their field of study and work. What really left her feeling as though she had yet to set her hooves back on solid ground was the incident with Mobius Fractal. It still made her shiver slightly when she remembered how she was in two places at once, both versions of herself looking up and making eye contact. Then there was the thing with ponies walking on the wall of the living room. She couldn't help but think about how it was only one small fragment of what she would be learning about. Never before had she ever reconsidered her studies in such a way.
She had to do something or she would go crazy. Maybe a short walk to Sugar Cube Corner would be in order to help clear her head. Well... maybe not there. But a walk to someplace is definitely in order. So with that in mind, Twilight sat up and gave her coat and mane a perfunctory brushing to look like she hadn't spent the past few days doing absolutely nothing in her bed. She knew Spike was worried about how she had behaved these past couple days, but it was time to show him that she was okay. Well... somewhat okay anyways.
Once she opened her door and walked down the stairs, she called out to Spike, “I'm going out for a bit! I'll be back soon!”
“You okay, Twilight?” Spike replied as he came hurrying into the room from the kitchen. “I mean, you've been hiding in your room for two days since that dinner party.”
“I'm okay Spike,” Twilight said with a slightly apathetic sigh. “It's just that I now know that there's a distinct group of ponies devoted to regularly breaking my world-view, repeatedly, on a daily basis. Hay, I even know a living embodiment of reality bending impossibility. I just figured that I had something of a handle on things after I lined up tutoring, but it's really looking like I just dived into the deep end without knowing how far down it goes.”
“Well... just take it slow,” Spike said with a concerned look before giving her a quick hug. “It might take some getting used to, but I think a more open mind might help you out here.”
“You're right, Spike,” Twilight said with a small smile as she returned his hug. “It looks like the world isn't as orderly as I thought it was.”
“I would have that was pretty obvious,” he said with a laugh but continued at Twilight's quizzical expression. “Look at all the things that've happened to us. Seriously... an infestation of parasprites ate most of Ponyville one time. The town was terrorized by a stampede of baby bunnies. Pinkie Pie?”
“Ha ha!” Twilight laughed at his examples. “I guess so, but it's still going to take some time for me to get used to everything.”
“No worries.” Spike said confidently. “You've got plenty of friends to help you when you need it and let's not forget your number one assistant!”
“Right,” Twilight said with a smirk as she ruffled his head spines. “I'll be back later. Maybe I'll do a bit of shopping while I'm out.”
“Alright. We're low on milk and orange juice, just so ya know.”
“I'll be sure to pick some up.” She said as she put her saddlebags on. “If it's not much trouble, could you do some laundry while I'm out? I'm pretty sure my bed sheets could use it.”
“Sure.” Spike said happily at seeing Twilight finally pull herself out of her funk. “Take as long as you need.”
“Okay... See you later,” Twilight said with a smile as she walked outside. The day was nice and warm with a cool breeze to take away the fangs of the heat. All in all, it was a great day for Twilight to finally come out of her seclusion. Turning to her right, Twilight decided to head over to the market to do a little browsing. As she entered the bustling square, she saw that everything was still the same. Her neighbors and acquaintances still went about their lives like usual, the sun was still shining down brightly and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Maybe everything was going to be okay. With that stray thought, Twilight smiled and shook her head before plunging into the general hustle and bustle of a typical Monday morning.
As she made her way past the various stalls, Twilight's eye was drawn to the oddities stall that was set up every once in a while. She was a fairly regular customer as the curious pegasus stallion that ran the stall would sometimes stumble upon something or other that she could use: lenses, old scientific equipment, the odd tome here or there and even the occasional artifact from times long past. She never knew where he found such things, but she never questioned her luck. Another thing she never questioned was whenever Wandering Tinker would suggest she buy something. He possessed something akin to Pinkie's Sense, only it involved items that would be needed in the near future.
“Good morning Tinker,” She said as she walked up to peruse his wares. “Any luck today?”
“Oh, there's always luck around if you know where to find it,” he replied with a chuckle. “When I was out gathering my wares the other day, I found a real gem I think you'll really like.”
“Oh?” Twilight said, eager to see what it was that he had found. Waiting patiently while he rummaged around to find the item, she looked over his wares a bit, gathering a couple impulse purchases like a stone flask that looked to have seen a couple centuries at least, a set of copper scales that were beautifully engraved with stylized scenes of commerce and a curious looking gem that she had never encountered before. She would likely run it by several reference guides first, to make sure that it wasn't a new type of precious stone, but if it had been previously discovered, she would likely give it to Spike as a thank you for putting up with her sudden fit of hermitage. She still added an extra ruby to be sure he got something at least, in case she had something exciting on her hooves.
“Aha! Here it is!” Tinker finally exclaimed as he pulled out a narrow wooden case engraved with a curious relief. He set it on the middle of his display area and opened it to reveal a small spyglass set with sapphire lenses. “I was wandering around in the mountain ranges north of Canterlot and came across a small keep carved deep into a nearly hidden ravine. If you asked me to find it again, I swear on my life I don't think I would be able to. But anyhow, deep inside this keep I found a room layered in dust that hadn't been disturbed in over a millennium at least, where some great and mystical construct glinted in the faint light. I looked around that room for a bit, barely daring to breath for not wanting to wake the mighty thing. Don't ask me why I thought it was asleep, but that's how I take a feeling to these things sometimes.
“So, as I gathered a few odds and ends littered about the room, something caught my eye, resting on the very platform of the construct itself. It was this, you see. So I walked up to it all reverent like, so as to be respectful and offered an exchange for it. I traded a half full wineskin for it and it seemed alright, so I took the case and was about to go before that curious gem you got there caught my eye as well. Everything I knew about places like this told me to thank my lucky stars and get out, but it felt like it was thanking me for dropping by. I would imagine it gets mighty lonely, sitting in a long forgotten keep so I took it with a word of thanks and made my farewells before walking out with the strangest feeling of happiness in my heart.” He finally finished with a flourish.
“That's quite the tale,” Twilight said with a smile. Tinkers tales had to be taken with a cube of salt or two, but he certainly knew how to entertain his patrons. “So, do you know what it does?”
“Oh, it's a mighty artifact, Twilight,” he said with a broad smile as he leaned in conspiratorially to her. “It reveals the secrets of magic.”
“The secrets of magic?” She asked, clearly skeptical.
“I know it's hard to believe, but it's the honest truth, Celestia as my witness.” He said in all seriousness. “It's mighty dear to me, but I know that one such as yourself would put it to good use instead of setting it on a shelf to collect dust. If you'd care to try it out for yourself before buying it, I'm sure you wouldn't find the price too dear.”
“Okay...” Twilight said, ready for a demonstration though expecting nothing spectacular. “So what do I do?”
“Just put it up to your eye and take a gander at me.” He replied, full of confidence that she would buy the object in question as soon as she saw what it did.
Simple enough. Twilight thought as she lit her horn to open the case and lifted the object in question to her eye. Inside the case was a fairly plain spyglass. The first thing she noticed was that it was fairly simple, about as long as her horn with a simple line of unknown script around the edges of the apertures and that the lenses were of a dark blue sapphire. She lifted it to her right eye, noticing the new tint that colored her view... Then she saw what he meant. There, standing before her was Tinker, though it seemed as though a dark cloud had passed over him. The next immediate thing she noticed was the lines of  the vibrant tattoos of light scrawled across his wings and body as well as a pair small orbiting rings of text centered on the joints of his wings. She looked up at his face as her attention was drawn by the occasional line of script in an unknown language floating up from his forehead followed by Tinker smirking broadly. As she studied the script, a thought came unbidden to her mind. Told ya. 
“What...?” She trailed off weakly as she lowered the spyglass.
“Told ya.” Tinker said aloud with a smirk. “So, interested?”
“Y-yes! How much?” Twilight suddenly asked, eager to get her purchase and return to the library and study it.
“How does... nine hundred and fifty bits for it and your other items sound? That gem and spyglass are truly rare items I think you'll get more use out of it than I will.” He replied.
“Can you drop by the library after you close up?” Twilight asked needfully. “I don't have that many bits on me right now.”
“I don't see why not...” He said before trailing off as a blinding flash of light cut him off, her remaining items left where they were. “That mare needs to learn how to take life in stride.” He said to himself with a shake of his head and a chuckle. He looked around briefly as he searched out the next pony who would have need of his wares, patient as always.

“Spike?!” Twilight called out before even the ambient light of her teleportation spell could dissipate. “Spike! I need you to send a message to Princess Celestia and ask her if she remembers anything, anything at all, about a small spyglass artifact.”
“Huh?” He said quizzically at her sudden reappearance and behavior. “Did you get the milk?”
“What? No. This is more important than milk.” Twilight replied in a brusque tone. “This... This is probably one of the most valuable magical artifacts that may exist in Equestria, Spike. I need you to send that letter to the Princess as soon as possible.”
“Alright, alright... Sheesh.” He complained. “At least you're back to normal...”
His words went unheeded as Twilight had already made her way to the staircase leading down to her basement laboratory. She was going to have to get serious this time. She pushed up her metaphorical sleeves as she took her prized treasure over to the wide basalt workbench that she had recently installed and placed it gently on its surface before walking off to gather several tools she felt would be needed. She calmed down significantly after a moment of focus so she wouldn't buck up anything that could potentially be irreplaceable.
The first thing she did was take a sheet of parchment and quill before levitating the spyglass up to study the script around the edge of the larger aperture so she could copy the oddly flowing runes. She constantly looked between the two objects to ensure that her transcription was accurate. She wrote and wrote and wrote, filling up half of the parchment before she broke out of a trance she didn't even know she was in.
“What...?” She said dazedly as she looked at the transcribed words. Seemingly, without her realizing it, she had been writing a line of unending text. “Ugh... Seriously?”
“Quite so, my dear Twilight.” A calm voice replied to her. Startled, she spun around quickly to see that Princess Celestia had arrived without her noticing. “I see you've found something from a time long ago.”
“Wait... You know what this is?” Twilight asked, all pretense of honoring her mentor's status forgotten in the depths of her knowledge craving mind.
“Of course I do, Twilight.” Celestia responded as a smile graced her face. “I helped Starswirl with the first prototype and funded his associates in the beginning of their endeavors to discover the truth behind magic.”
“The truth behind magic?” Twilight asked in confusion. “But... We know all about magic now because of...”
“Exactly!” Celestia said, laughing slightly at her students slightly befuddled expression. “Magic was still enigmatic and temperamental when Starswirl began his in depth studies. Even Luna and I knew nothing about how magic worked until Starswirl taught us what he discovered. We just used it and that was that. But Starswirl... He wanted to know the hows and whys of magic. He always ranted on and on about how 'magic was so wishy washy,' so he decided to take it on his own shoulders to 'straighten it out' or so he said. So that's where this spyglass came into play. He wanted a way to see how magic behaved on its own so he could try to discern some natural laws about it. He wanted to see it in use and if it changed in any way depending on the spells used. Well, as you obviously know, he got all that and more from this ingenious little artifact.”
“But that doesn't tell me anything, Princess...” Twilight said helplessly, her love of magics greatest and most influential personage not even drawing her attention away from her need to know. “I used it a little... I saw somepony's thoughts, their inherent magic. Why and how does it do what it does?”
“Well, I can't tell you all you want to know, but I can tell you one small piece about it at the very least, though the rest you'll learn about in your new studies.” Celestia replied. “I know that the lenses are made of pure Arcanum Firmus. Raw, solid magic.”
“I though Arcanum Firmus was a myth. I mean, solid magic? What has the power to do that? I mean... sure, I've read about it once or twice, but from what I know, magic's only attracted to active thought...”
“Enough speculation for now, Twilight.” Celestia said as she derailed her protege's train of thought. “Lets go share a cup of tea and talk of other things.”
“Wait... Why are you here?” Twilight suddenly asked once she finally came out of the depths of her mind.
“Well, I received a letter from Spike and knew what would likely happen if I left you to your own devices,” Celestia said with a chuckle. “At least I got here quickly enough that you didn't try to channel a spell through the lens...”
Twilight's eyes widened significantly, her pupils reducing to the size of pinpricks as the implications ran through her head. “Yeah...” She said in a very small voice. “I'm glad you came as soon as you did, Princess.”
“Come now, let's not worry about things that didn't happen and now, never will since you know better. Lets see about that tea.”


***


“So... As a part of my new studies... I'm required to read not only Starswirl's personal journal, but his complete research notes too?!” Twilight exclaimed giddily from across the table from Celestia, her tea being woefully neglected.
“Every metaphysics student is required to read them as an introductory primer.” Celestia replied casually.
“A... a primer?” Twilight replied softly, hurt that such an important pony's life work was nothing more than a... /primer/. “But... that's just... cruel...”
“Quite the contrary, Twilight.” Celestia retorted. “Starswirl was quite prolific in his research and to be honest, these two works contain everything one needs to know in this field of study.”
“You've gotta be kidding me, right?” Twilight said, feeling as though she wasn't just being pulled from one emotional extreme to another, but getting spun around and shaken like a bartender's drink mixer, all at the same time. “What kind of cruel joke is this?”
“It's no joke, Twilight. Metaphysics requires you to only know what it is that you're dealing with. The sheer scope of metaphysics is as broad and varied as thought itself.”
“But... Only two books!” Twilight exclaimed squeakily.
“To learn about it, dear. There are hundreds, neigh, thousands more on the discoveries and revelations provided through metaphysics.” Celestia said, a smile breaking through as she saw Twilight relax, knowing that there were books to read for her studies. “Would you like a demonstration of one such revelation?”
“Oh! Yes, please!” Twilight exclaimed, happily this time.
“Then, please tell me what you know about the weight of a thought and the perspective it grants.” 
“Thoughts... don't have a weight...” Twilight replied, clearly becoming disheartened at not being able to expound on a clearly philosophical question.
“Of course they do.” Celestia said, grinning. “Don't you feel it when you think of certain things? Absolutes, certainties, unchangeable things and concepts? Don't these thoughts feel as though they settle more firmly in your mind?”
“Well... yeah...”
“That's because these thoughts are heavier. They are comprised of more than one thought as they are meant to.” Celestia shifted in her chair slightly, taking on a slightly lecturing tone. “Take gravity for example. Everypony knows that gravity keeps their hooves planted firmly on the earth, makes expensive things break when knocked off of their pedestals and so many, many other things as well. That it is always down. So because of these many amalgamated thoughts being included in that one word, that one thought, it is a very heavy thought indeed. So, what if I decided to change, in my own mind at least, how gravity worked for somepony else. Or for a room, or even for a house? Why, I would use metaphysics of course.”
“But... that would use so much magic, I don't even know how somepony could manage it...” Twilight said as she tried to mentally calculate how much it would require to change the laws of physics that drastically.
“Oh, it's actually quite easy if you know how to change your perspective,” Celestia said with a smile. “So, I change my perception of gravity for... oh, lets say this tea.” She said as she gestured to her full cup of tea. “The origin of gravity for this tea is from there.” She said as she pointed to the bust in the middle of the library, her voice layered strangely from magic as her horn lit up to enforce her change in perspective. The tea immediately shifted as though it were being spilled onto the ground... if the ground were to suddenly become a bust and nopony tilted the cup. It sloshed through the air as it rapidly gained speed and splashed into the object, spraying slightly before “falling” back to the surface of the bust and flowing about its surface. Twilight stared for a bit, watching the tea settle and pool around the object of interest. “See how simple and effortless it was for me to affect just a cup of tea by modifying my concept of 'gravity?' It would only be marginally harder for me to... lets say, shift or invert gravity for Ponyville.” Twilight's face drained of color at imagining what havoc that could wreak. Celestia chuckled and continued talking, “Of course I would do nothing of the sort, but you can see how useful, and how powerful, metaphysics can make a pony.”
“I... How many ponies are involved in that division of the College?” Twilight asked nervously.
“Eight unicorns, seven earth ponies, and three pegasi.” She replied with a smile.
“Eight of which can easily break the laws of physics, or any natural law with a change of perspective and a little magic...” Twilight wobbled slightly in her chair.
“They use their gifts and talents solely for the protection of Equestria dear Twilight, so please don't be so frightened of what they can do.” Celestia soothed.
“I'm... just... a little frightened.” She said as a slight shiver shook her body. “Just... a little.”
“Don't worry, Twilight. You'll come to no harm from them, I assure you.”
“Physical harm, no. But I'm not so certain about my mental well being around them.”
“It just takes a little... adjustment, is all.” Celestia said warmly. “I'm sure you'll be much happier overall once you learn one little trick I quickly picked up on.”
“Yeah?” Twilight asked hopeful to hear the advice of her mentor.
“Just accept whatever happens. Don't worry about it because you have the power to change it to something you can deal with at any time.”
“I don't know if I can though...” She demurred.
“Of course you can Twilight. You could move the heavens and the earth with how much studying you do coupled with your limitless potential. I know you can.”
Bolstered by Celestia's words of praise, Twilight raised her head a bit higher and smile a little shyly. “I'll try my best, Princess.”
“That's all I've ever asked, Twilight,” Celestia said as she leaned over the table to nuzzle her student warmly. “And you've never disappointed me before.”


***


Once Celestia had left, Twilight puttered about the library for a little while before she realized that she had a new tool in her studies to use with no subjects to study, so she sent Spike out with a trio of notes asking some of her friends for assistance. Within a couple minutes of his departure, Tinker dropped by with her other items from earlier and looked to settle her debt. Twilight laughed sheepishly as she remembered her behavior earlier and retreated to her basements strongbox to withdraw the bits agreed upon as well as a few extra for the hassle she put Tinker through. With that settled, Tinker left on his merry way, his saddlebags jingling and a spring in his step despite the heavy load. 
The rest of the day went by at a leisurely pace after Spike returned. Despite the fact that a certain pony was to come by after supper, Spike found himself exhausted enough that he couldn't hold off sleep anymore, so Twilight took the punch drunk dragon upstairs and tucked him in for the night. It was about an hour after suppertime when the door to the library opened to admit a trio of familiar ponies. “So, why'd ya need us ta drop by for again, Twi?” Applejack asked as she, Rainbow Dash and Rarity walked into the library looking around the main room of the library for anything out of the ordinary. Thankfully, the Princess took care of the tea and the bust shortly after her little demonstration. “Ah don't mind helpin' out, but Ah don't need ta wake up tomorrow with gills or feathers for a mane.”
“I just need you girls to get some initial observations before I try this out on anypony else.” She replied as she left her desk from putting down some miscellaneous notes.
“Try what out?” Rainbow asked.
“This!” Twilight said happily as she brought forth her new treasure from its resting place on her desk and opened the case to show them.
“A little telescope?” She asked as she tilted her head to the side slightly.
“It's not really a telescope, and it's normally called a 'spyglass.'” Twilight answered. “This is an artifact originating from Starswirl himself! I don't really know how many there are, or if this is even the last one in existence, but it allows whoever looks through it to see magic itself.”
“So? We see magic all the time. What's so special about this thing?” Dash asked.
“No, no, dear Rainbow.” Rarity chimed in a second before Twilight spoke. “What we see is magic's effects in the world. Normally, magic is only visible when it's being used by unicorns when we bring enough of it together to be put to purpose, hence the aura around our horns before we use a spell.”
“Well put, Rarity!” Twilight said giddily at her friends display of knowledge. “Exactly right! Now, normally magic cannot be seen, but this miracle of arcane engineering allows for anypony to actually see magic in its natural form. Once I'm done with my observations, you girls can use it yourselves to see what I mean. But, Rarity? Please be very careful not to cast any spells directly at the lenses. It would be an incredibly bad idea to do so for everypony in Ponyville.”
“Duly noted, Twilight.” Rarity said as her voice wavered noticeably.
“Now, all I need for you girls to do is stand in the middle of the room while I take notes. Maybe have you do something or other involving your unique pony magic, but nothing dangerous of course.”
“Doesn't sound too hard,” Applejack said casually with a cheeky grin as she walked into the middle of the room while their other friends lingered behind Twilight so that they didn't distract her. “May as well git this over an' done with so we can see what this thing can do ourselves.”
“Alright, Applejack. Just stand still and we'll get started.” Applejack just nodded with a quick adjustment of her hat. Twilight levitated a piece of parchment over to the floor in front of her along with a quill and inkwell before adjusting the artifact to look at Applejack. As the blue hue tinted her vision and Applejack seemed to darken as if under a shadow, Twilight saw line after line of brightly glowing script scrawling across every part of her friends body, making her appear as though she wasn't even something physical. Unlike her brief glimpse of Tinker, Twilight saw no orbiting rings of text on her person, though she did see the occasional scrap of text float from her forehead. It must have something to do with being an earth pony. She mused as she wrote her observations down. Twilight studied Applejack for a couple more minutes, noticing that the script seemed to ebb and flow slightly though the majority of the script concentrated itself in thicker lines that flowed down her legs. “Could we step outside for a moment, Applejack? I want to see if your magic behaves differently while in contact with the earth.”
“Ah don't see why not.” She agreed. Twilight smiled in thanks as they made their way out the front door with Rarity and Rainbow in tow. Applejack walked over to an area of closely cropped grass and stood still again for Twilight as she examined her friend once more. As she looked at Applejack again, Twilight saw that the magic now pulsed strongly, the torrents of script that once looped around inside of her friends body now flowed into the ground beneath her hooves, fading into the ground and glowing brightly as it flowed back into her. It seemed as though Applejack were standing amidst a pool of glowing light that cast no glow.
“Thanks, Applejack. I think I have all I need for now.” Twilight said after about a minute more observation. “So, who's next?”
“I'll bite.” Rainbow said in a slightly bored tone.
“Thanks, Rainbow.” Twilight replied. “It shouldn't be too much longer before you can try out the spyglass yourself.”
“No worries. It's just that this is a little boring is all, just watching you watch Applejack stand still.”
“Like I said, it shouldn't be too much longer.” Twilight reassured. “I just want to make sure I don't miss too much the first time so I'm not asking you girls to come by every other day just so I can get all the notes I need.”
“I know, but still...” Rainbow said with a helpless smile. “So, I guess you want me to stand still for a bit and then fly a bit so you can see my magic in action?”
“That would be perfect!” Twilight said as she grinned at her friends deduction of what she wanted. “Alright, just go stand where Applejack was and we'll get right to it.”
Rainbow smirked at Applejack as they passed each other which caused Applejack to laugh a little before they stood in their swapped positions. Twilight raised the spyglass once again and watched as the artifact did what it does best. She saw Rainbow darken while her inherent magic became visible. From her brief glimpse of Tinker earlier that day, Twilight decided to inspect her friend a little closer to see if there were any differences between pegasi. Twilight walked over to Rainbow and asked her to extend her left wing so that she could study the orbiting ring of script better as she discovered that the script on her friends body was static. The biggest difference between Rainbow and Tinker was that Twilight could notice that instead of one orbiting ring of magic, Rainbow had five rings that overlapped slightly and decreased in size from the central ring. As she inspected the rings a little closer, Twilight discovered that she was incorrect in her initial observation as the “rings” were in fact one incredibly large ring that looped and twisted around the appendage.
“Huh...” He said quietly.
“What?” Rainbow asked. “Is there something weird about my magic or something?”
“No... I don't think so...” Twilight replied. “When I first found the spyglass, I looked at Tinker with it and I only saw one ring of orbiting script around his wings. Well, you do too. The thing is that your magic ring is so massive, it apparently wraps around your wing several times to contain itself.”
“So... is that good or bad?” Rainbow asked nervously.
“I don't know to be honest.” Twilight confessed. “I haven't read Starswirl's journal and research yet, so I can't really answer your question, but if you've always been like this, and I think you have, I don't think you should be worried. It might have something to do with energy conservation.”
“Alright, if you say so.” Rainbow replied mostly reassured. “So I guess I have a lot of magic or something?”
“Most definitely.” Twilight replied. “Like I said, I'm just trying to get some basic observations, so maybe asking you for this may be a bit unfair in comparison to other pegasi I'll be observing.”
“Well... I am the fastest flier in Equestria!” Rainbow boasted, a cocky grin plastered on her face.
“Sure as hay the best bragger in Equestria too!” Applejack snarked.
“Hey! When it's true, it's just called 'stating the facts.'” Rainbow retorted.
“Rainbow Dash, please stay still!” Twilight pleaded as Rainbow flared her wings in response to Applejack's taunting.
“Sorry.” She responded in a slightly embarrassed tone at being so easily riled. Twilight made a few more notes on her parchment before stepping back a few paces.
“Could you fly a little bit for me?” Twilight asked once she stopped. “Maybe hover a bit while keeping your wings as still as possible?”
“Sure thing, Twi.” Rainbow replied before launching herself about ten feet into the air. Once she established herself in the air, Rainbow took a few moments to adjust her wing beats so she was hovering with reasonably small strokes of her wings. Once Twilight got a nod from Rainbow, she looked through the artifact again. The massive ring of magic that had once been wrapped tightly around Rainbows wings had unraveled itself in a mesmerizing helix pattern three times as long as her wings, bunches of the script being crimped into a loose approximation of feathers that extended half again as far as her real feathers, giving her the appearance of having enormous ethereal wings imposed  over her actual ones. After studying them for a roughly a minute, Twilight noticed something else as well as she looked at the rest of her friend. The static lines of magic were now floating slightly from her and glowing more strongly. She couldn't do much in the way of closer observation at the moment, so she just made a note of the phenomenon and an addendum to look into it at some point.
“Alright. That should be enough for now.” Twilight said as she finished her notes. “Thanks for the help.”
“No prob.” Dash said as she dropped back to her hooves and an eager smile on her face. “So, just Rarity left and we can see what this little thing can do.”
“How about we head back inside?” Twilight suggested.
“A splendid idea.” Rarity replied.
Once back inside, Rarity separated herself from the others to stand in the middle of the room. Knowing the drill by now, Rarity just stood there as Twilight smiled in thanks before lifting the spyglass one more time and looked at her friend. Unlike her other friends who had magic script that was a part of their bodies, Rarity seemed unnaturally dull in comparison. That is until Twilight noticed what appeared to be something akin to an incredibly dense nexus rotating around her head, just above Rarity's eyes.
“That's interesting.” Twilight mused aloud.
“What is, dear?” Rarity asked.
“Well, you don't have any intrinsic magic involving your body. It all seems to be concentrated into some kind of nexus around your head. It sorta looks like a slowly rotating crown.”
“A crown you say...” Rarity said with a bright gleam in her eyes. “Why, I simply must see it for myself. Once you're done with your notes, of course.”
“No problem, Rarity.” Twilight replied distractedly as she scribbled a few more things down. “Do you think you could cast a spell for me?”
“Does it matter what kind?”
“I guess levitating something would be best for this. Try that teacup on the table over there.” Twilight said as her focus ramped up exponentially. She watched intently as the nexus stopped its slow rotation as it wrapped and intertwined incredibly quickly, layer over layer onto her horn and glowed easily three times as brightly as Rainbow's ethereal wings.
“How was that, Twilight?” Rarity asked, breaking Twilight's moment of total absorption in the moment.
“Oh! Sorry... I was studying the script around you and missed the spell. Could you do it again while I watch the teacup?”
“It doesn't seem too arduous to me, Twilight,” Rarity said with a little chuckle which got Twilight to laugh too.
“Thanks, Rarity.” Twilight replied as she moved over to the table and made herself ready to observe magic in action. “Ready when you are.” She said once the artifact was back to her eye. Watching closely, Twilight saw a very faint flicker of silvery light dart across her vision before the teacup suddenly rose an inch off the table and had two rings of script suddenly rotating around the object. “I think I have enough for now. Thank you, Rarity. Thanks a lot, all of you. I'm not quite sure what I can really do with this spyglass just yet, but I think I have some good groundwork to start with.”
“Shucks, sugar cube, all we did was stand still fer the most part,” Applejack said with a chuckle. “You did all the note takin'.”
“Yeah, seriously.” Rainbow said as she laughed a little. “It's not like we're doing anything special or anything.”
“Quite so.” Rarity chimed in. “We're just happy to help.”
“Thanks, girls,” Twilight said with a winning smile. “Now, I'll just go take care of a couple things with my notes, so feel free to check out the spyglass if you want. Just remember to be careful and no spells directed at the lens.” Twilight saw them nod at her instructions and walked off to her desk along the wall and settled down to transcribe her notes for archival and to double check for anything she may have glossed over or forgotten in her initial writing.
As she was temporarily absorbed in her work, her friends were busy passing the spyglass back and forth. They weren't sure about what to expect when they looked through the artifact, but they were all very surprised by what they saw, if the gasps and words of wonder they offered were any indication. Especially when Rainbow Dash hopped up into the air to show them her magic at work. After a couple minutes of this, they turned their attention to Twilight who was only partially paying attention to them.
“Hey, Twilight?” Rainbow asked curiously of her friend to draw her out of her work.
“Yeah?”
“Well... What does it mean, since Rarity has a “crown” and all, if you were to have one that looks completely solid and a cloak to match?”
“I... I don't know...” Twilight said curiously. “I've noticed that the more magic somepony has relates to how much “script” they have, but so far, I've only seen a few ponies, so I can't say for certain. Maybe the magic manifests differently for different ponies depending on their talents? I'll have to do a lot more studying before I can say anything for sure, but I'll let all of my friends know about what I find.”
“Cool.” Dash replied.
“I must say though, Twilight.” Rarity said charmingly. “You simply must let me make an analogue of your magical appearance for you to wear. You look so... noble and dignified that it would be a travesty not to let you look like that in real life.”
“If you insist, Rarity, but it'll have to wait for a while.” Twilight relented, knowing that Rarity would have her way despite her denials sooner or later with varying levels pleading and wheedling on her part. “I'm about to start my new studies soon and I won't have much time to model for you.”
“Not a problem, dear.” Rarity assured. “Just drop by tomorrow morning and I'll take all the measurements I'll need. Shouldn't be take longer than a brief cup of tea.”
“Alright.” Twilight agreed with a half smile. “I guess I can manage that much at least.”
A couple chuckles from Rainbow and Applejack drew the pair apart from their conversation as it reminded them that they weren't alone. After a few more viewings of one another and of their selves once a full length mirror was brought into play, before Twilight put the precious item back in its case and stored it in her desk, they wound down with a little idle chatter before Twilight was left to her own devices. With a slowly growing smile Twilight returned to her desk and finished her notes before putting everything away for the night. After extinguishing the candles and lanterns around the main floor of the library, Twilight let Owlowiscious out for the night before she made her way back upstairs to turn in for the night.
She lay on her side under her blankets as she looked out at the starry night sky as slow thoughts plodding through her mind. Surprisingly enough, Twilight wasn't ecstatic or overly excited about her new course of study or her unexpected treasure find earlier that day. Instead, she found herself open minded and calm in a way she had rarely experienced before. She was going to rediscover magic and all it was in a way few others had ever experienced. She had to be open for any new perspectives she may discover and just incorporate them into what she already knew. It wasn't so much the discovering of metaphysical magic that she anticipated eagerly, but the complete understanding of magic as she knew it that she was truly looking forward to.