//------------------------------//
// 65 - Pieces 
// Story: Gladiator 
// by Not_A_Hat 
//------------------------------//

"A plunderseed?" I looked at the withered black vine, trapped in a slim glass tube.
 
"Correct." Zecora scooped a tiny cauldron off the fire, pouring the contents into the vial. The glass immediately frosted over, and she quickly corked and wired it. "Reckless, even for Discord. I wonder what drove him?"
 
"Probably alicorns." I scooted back against the wall, under the carved masks’ disapproving frown.
 
"You found this beneath the Tree of Harmony?"
 
"In… a manner of speaking." I frowned. "Actually, the whole story is a little ridiculous. But yes. By the way, do you have any idea why the Tree has cutie marks on it?"
 
"None at all." Zecora carefully hung the preserved plunderseed vial from the ceiling. "I recognized Luna and Celestia. When I met Twilight, I was quite surprised."
 
"I bet." I crossed my arms behind my head. "Although I thought maybe Sunset's cutie mark - "
 
"What're ya'll talking about?"
 
I stopped as a large red bow poked around the doorframe, followed by a small yellow head.
 
"Oh, Apple Bloom." Zecora smiled at the filly. "Come in, come in! We were discussing cutie marks and magic plants."
 
"Those don't mix well." The filly trotted over and sat next to me. "Hey, Wes. Good to see ya."
 
"Thanks, Apple Bloom." I gave her a quick hug. "Been a while since I've spent much time out here."
 
"You've been busy." Zecora smiled. "Your friends ask much of you."
 
"Well, that goes both ways." I scratched my head. "But yeah. It wasn't long ago you were the only two ponies I knew." I glanced at the bed. "And I was laying here, half-dead, trying to pull myself together. Now I've got commitments and connections pulling me every-which-way."
 
"Feeling melancholy?" Zecora grinned. "Come here to escape?"
 
"Heh. Maybe a little." I gazed at her shelves. "Say, Zecora. Do you have any potions for memory loss?"
 
"To cause, or cure?" She raised an eyebrow. "Erasing a memory is simple, but rarely useful. I could have erased your troubled past, Wes, but it wouldn't have lessened your pain; merely buried it. Recalling the lost is more difficult, but sometimes possible. Have you lost something?"
 
"Maybe." I frowned. "Possibly. When Twilight’s spell sort-of-rescued me, she remembered pieces of something I may have lost."
 
"Ah." Zecora shrugged. "That is murky water. Celestia's rules are mere guidelines to a free zebra, but I am still wary of soul-magic. I shed such treacherous power with my foolish youth."
 
"Dang." I sighed.
 
"Perhaps a potion of return could be made, with some help." Zecora pulled out a small card-file and started flipping through.
 
"Potion of return?" I glanced curiously up at the zebra. "How does that work?"
 
"Poorly." She shook her head. "They can… cast the spirit through time, to see events deemed important. The recipe is rarely used, because it takes the magic of all three pony tribes to complete. Though perhaps a Princess would help you. All we need is something to indicate the location."
 
"Hmm." I frowned, contemplating the idea of inter-reality. "But… even if I remembered where I was, I don’t think we can get anything from there."
 
"Ah." Zecora snapped the box shut. "Then, I cannot help. The spell must be grounded."
 
"Phooey." I sagged against the wall.
 
"Aw, don't be sad Wes!" Apple Bloom gave me a hug and I smiled.
 
"Okay." I ruffled her mane. Not all the Crusaders were as standoffish as Scootaloo.
 
"Ah know!" She bounced away. "You can use that time spell of Twilight's! Go back and find out!"
 
"Seriously!" I groaned, imagining 'Cutie Mark Crusaders: Time Travel Edition'. "Does Twilight have no sense of self-preservation? How do you know about that spell?"
 
"Well, um, Rarity was talking about it." Apple Bloom looked sheepish. "But we looked all over, and couldn't find it anywhere."
 
"Good!" I sighed in relief.
 
"Traversing time?" Zecora raised an eyebrow. "Are you even strong enough? That sounds quite hazardous."
 
"It doesn't take much power, although it would strain me. Still, it's not as dangerous as you'd think." I frowned. "It's not really time-travel; Twilight proved that, when she solved the Infinite Stable Loops paradox. It's actually a type of prescience, but… well." I spread my hands. "Long story short, it won't be causing paradoxes, because you cast it from the future to your past self, and you can't change a future you've already seen. It does lock the future in place, though. Sort of a reverse-predestination?" I grimaced. "No, that's dumb. Forget I said it."
 
"Of course." Zecora smirked. "Now, would you like some lunch?"
 
"I would love some lunch." I accepted a bowl of her ever-present soup, and the three of us settled into companionable silence.
 



 
"WeeeeesLEY!"
 
"Huh?" I raised my head groggily, blinking sleep from my eyes in the dark room. "Bit, see who's - "
 
"WESLEY!" This time, pounding accompanied the voice.
 
Waking more, I rolled out of bed and padded to the door. My head was thick from oversleeping, and sweat slicked my skin. It was unseasonably hot; Indian-summer was scorching the town, and Rainbow wasn't moving in a cold front until Tuesday.
 
"Sunset?" I blinked groggily as I cracked the front door. "What are you doing here?"
 
"Bringing you brunch!" My adopted sister shouldered her way in. I stumbled back, trying to escape the sunlight, but she flipped the curtains open with a twitch of her magic, and plopped a wicker basket on the table.
 
"But the project - "
 
"Can wait." She gave me a fierce stare. "You've been moping, and I'm here to end it."
 
"I haven't been - "
 
"Look at yourself!" I glanced down. I was still in my pyjamas. "Sleeping in occasionally is one thing, but this?" Sunset stamped a hoof. "Lyra said you've barely been outside!"
 
"I'm… catching up on my reading?" I tried.
 
Sunset lifted an eyebrow, and meaningfully surveyed the room. There wasn't a book in sight.
 
"Do you miss Bit?" She pushed me towards the table, and I sank into a chair. She passed me the basket, and I opened it; two slices of ice-cream cake, still frosty, were nestled inside. A fork floated over, and I took it.
 
"Yeah, some." I frowned. "Have I really been… " I stopped, and tried to think back. "Huh. Moping. But I did go see Zecora." I protested weakly.
 
"Look, Wes." Sunset sighed, and plopped into a chair across from me. "There's nothing wrong with taking it easy once in a while. We all need a break now and then. But is that all you're doing here?"
 
"N…no." I took a bite of the cake. It was vanilla and maple; perfect for a hot, still autumn day.
 
"Then decide when you're getting back to work, and get something done!" Sunset levitated her slice out of the basket. "Bit's not gone for good. She might come back, but… well, your life will be different until she does. She's not here to take care of, or to take care of you. But you can't let that keep affecting you!"
 
"You're right." I put my fork down. "I dunno. I wasn't even thinking. Suddenly, I had all this free time. Until the mercury fulminate arrives, or I hear back from Celestia on memory magic, or the harvest comes in and my winter supplies need to be put up, or… an emergency, I’m free." I shrugged. "I've got time for my own projects. I just started by catching up on my sleep."
 
"There's more to it than that." Sunset's glare pierced me. "You've got a hundred-and-one projects you could be working on, and you choose sleep?"
 
"Well." I rubbed my nose. "Maybe I was feeling a little depressed." I sighed. "I really spent a lot of energy on her, you know? We were always talking. She always had a question or seven. I looked towards her future, and she looked towards my present. Half the time, she knew what I needed before I did, but couldn't imagine what tomorrow would bring." I stared into the distance. "And now she's all grown up."
 
"So, was it worth it?" Sunset floated a jug of milk out of my fridge, and poured herself a glass. "In the end?"
 
"Completely." I accepted the milk jug. "I'd do it again, too, despite all the angst and annoyance I threw around when they dragooned me." I thought back to my initial indignation and smiled. "I guess Celestia’s plan had some merits."
 
"She has her moments," Sunset mumbled around a mouthful. "And Bit? You talked about her like a work-in-progress. Did she turn out okay?"
 
"She's not done yet!" I imagined Bit moving forward with her own strength, gathering friends around her as they walked towards the future together, one strong, sure step at a time. I smiled; I was already feeling more upbeat. "I just started her off. She'll keep growing for years. Hah." I lowered my fork, and looked Sunset in the eye. "Okay, I'm over it. Thanks, sis, for taking the time to talk that out of me."
 
"What are friends for?" She grinned. "Glad you're feeling better. Now, come help us with the project! We want your input, and Twilight's been itching to have you review our paper!" She eyed my cake. "You going to finish that?"
 
"Yes!" I curled my arm around it protectively, waving my fork. "Back, back!"
 



 
I stumbled away from the warp beacon, trying to stop the world from spinning.
 
"No matter how many times I do that, I'll never get used to it."
 
"Filly." Sunset shook her head once, and walked over to the door. I glanced back, taking in the Tree of Harmony and the pink shield sealing the cave mouth.
 
"They really locked this place down," I said in awe. "That's double-thick, isn't it?"
 
"Yeah." Sunset didn't even turn to look. "Shining Armor did it himself. Oh." We stopped just inside the entrance. "Princess Luna's here."
 
"How can you - " I stopped, as a familiar voice, muted by distance, floated up the stairs. "Is that the RCV?"
 
"Probably." Sunset sighed. "I swear. One of these days, she and Fossil Record are doing to start pulling each other's feathers out." I glanced curiously at the meticulously lettered circles of paper ringing the stairwell.
 
"Climate control?" I skimmed the runes carefully; I only recognized a few.
 
"And security, dust and dirt wards, even a sonic filter."
 
"I see that one." The echonarchy stood plain, as we stepped into the tomb. "Woah."
 
"Yeah, it's a little messy." Sunset shrugged. Messy was an understatement; the tomb was difficult to walk through. Magic dampeners, field modifiers, crystal resonators; if it had anything to do with measuring, modifying, or managing natural magic, there was at least one of them. Most were in pairs.  I counted seven attunement kits. In the middle, Ethur, Tethur, and Cethur lay peacefully, careful cocoons of emptiness protecting their pedestals.
 
"This seems… a little disrespectful." I grimaced at the spectacle.
 
"We're just looking." Sunset paused, glanced around, and sighed. "Yeah, we should clean up. At least the things we know don't work. But… if we can get a decent reading…"
 
"Yeah." I nodded somberly. If they could get a successful scan off one of the corpses, it might yield all sorts of answers. "Oh." We stepped out onto the landing, and I smiled. "This is an improvement."
 
"At least for us without wings." Sunset nodded. Before me, just to the left of the landing, a column of air shimmered with magic. I recognized the spell; it was our variable-gravity zone.
 
"Can I just…" I stopped, as she stepped off the edge, floating in space.
 
"Come on; I'll take you down!" She held out a hoof, and I took it, gingerly forsaking the landing for thin air. My stomach only fluttered slightly as gravity disappeared. Sunset pulsed her power and we started to slide gently down the column, alighting at the bottom of the cliffside stairs.
 
"Clever." I eyed the rune-circle. "You float up the same way?"
 
"Yup." Sunset led me towards the next set of stairs. "Even the lightweights can levitate in a grav-column. Luna likes it a lot; I swear, she spent, like, five whole hours doing backflips the first time she tried. Only problem is, earth ponies need a lift."
 
"Huh." I glanced back. "I'll have to try myself, next time."
 
"You could do it, I think." Sunset nodded judiciously. "With a little straining."
 
"Eh, just want to give it a shot. Why don't you install the same thing to bypass these stairs?" I grimaced at the wearying steps.
 
"Can't; there's a branch in the way." Sunset shrugged. "The magic doesn't bend. Even slanting it would be dangerous. Besides, these don't have an ancient message inscribed. Fossil was nearly foaming at the mouth when he discovered you'd walked on them."
 
"Ah, yeah. I could see that." As we neared the bottom of the stairwell, Luna's argument started to sound clear. "He even gets on Luna's case?"
 
"Doesn't like the way she puts trivial things, like safety, at the top of her priorities."
 
"Silly Luna."
 
"Uh - huh."
 
" - AND YOU WILL NOT REMOVE THE MARKERS I'VE PLACED FOR THE ZONE OF EFFECT!"
 
We stepped out of the stairwell, into the cave. I blinked, and looked around. It was bright down here. Floods lit the floor, opening the depths of the cavern to view.
 
"This is base camp, I guess." I glanced around. Tents looked a little odd underground, but the community was obvious enough. "What's the ruckus?"
 
"My guess? Fossil's been 'tidying' Luna's danger zone." Disgust was evident in Sunset's voice. "I swear, if he was any less of a scientist, I'd have bucked him out on his ear ten minutes after meeting him. Give him a nice, contained job, and he's the best archeologist in the world. Let him run wild, and he's insufferable."
 
"Danger zone?" I peered warily around. "Why?"
 
"Around the pool." Sunset shrugged. "Besides the obvious reasons, we've discovered its edges move, very slowly. Luna cordoned it off, to keep ponies out. Fossil must have decided to adjust the cordon, for who-knows-what harebrained reason."
 
"Huh." We walked over as Luna finally wound down. The pegasus archeologist looked like he was about to retort, but tried to slink away with dignity when he saw us coming. I ignored him.
 
"Oh, Wes!" Luna nodded to me, grinning. "Good to see you!"
 
"You as well, my Princess." I bowed.
 
"Ahah! Proper formality!" Luna clapped a wing to my shoulder, staggering me. "Wait, let me try. I believe the teenagers say: nah, brah, chillax." She grinned. "How was that? Was I 'cool'?"
 
"Ice. Cold." I held out a fist, and she bumped it with a hoof. "But in all seriousness, good to see you. How's the project?"
 
"It… moves." She sighed, returning to reality. "Slowly. We haven't found much, Wes."
 
"No breakthrough?" I shrugged. "That's fine." I understood her frustration somewhat. The last report I'd read had described exploring the entire underground city and finding nearly nothing. Merely a few relics, mostly art or trash. "But why did you want my input?"
 
"Ah!" She brightened. "We want you to search for patterns!"
 
"Ooooh." I nodded, understanding. "Yeah, that's a good idea. We breezed through, last time. Let's see what we find!"
 



 
"Nothing." I paced the edge of the danger zone. "Not one pattern!"
 
"Well, they're not exactly common, right?" Twilight gave me a reassuring smile. "You saw barely a half-dozen before this." I'd canvassed the whole underground city, scrutinizing every inch of bare wall. Various members of the team had taken turns guiding, so i didn’t get lost. I hadn't found even one magical pattern.
 
"Yeah, I guess." I frowned at the shimmering darkness beneath the Tree. "Still disappointing."
 
"I know." We stood in silence for a few minutes.
 
"Hey, Sunset said this thing moves. What's up with that?" I waved at the surface of the Pool. The stars rippled.
 
"Um." Twilight gazed up at the tree. "The whole Pool… actually, Tear fits it better. It's really a tear in reality." She frowned. "It's intrinsically unstable. Since it's this large, it doesn't shift fast, but the edges do move. If you want more than that, you'll have to ask Sunset; she's been studying it ever since we arrived. I think inter-reality fascinates her, after your little jaunt."
 
"Huh." I could see that.
 
"Actually, she might have learned more about the Pool than we have about the Tuatha. I'm half-tempted to say she should publish it separately." Twilight sighed.
 
"Heh. Such hardship!" She glared while I snickered. "Seriously, though. What sort of things has she learned?"
 
"Well, the surface is almost liquid. We've tried to collect some for testing, but it evaporates quickly. Also, the portal is razor thin." Twilight waved at the darkness. "If you dig down a little, it becomes obvious that 'underneath' and 'through' are different spaces. But we could have guessed that."
 
"No wonder the stick I poked it with got sliced." I rubbed my jaw. "Have you dropped any more things in? I'd almost do it again, just to see if Cog shows up."
 
"…not on purpose." Twilight frowned. "Before the cordon, someone lost a lantern to it. They'd set it down, a good three feet away, and when they came back, it was gone."
 
"Did Cog show up?"
 
"No… actually…" She gazed into the distance. "Not Cog. But later we had to fight a few windigos. Fossil Record nearly got a tragic case of frostbite. I was worried that Sombra had found us, but the security didn't show intruders."
 
"Windigos?" I grimaced. "From the Tear?"
 
"I know, right?" Twilight shrugged. "But then, there have been theories they're extra-dimensional. And you said Glisten had them, in the Mirror World."
 
"Oh." That stopped me; the slim report I’d gotten from the Archive had mentioned that. "You're right. Woah."
 
"That is why I call it the Well." I jumped, as a voice suddenly boomed beside me. I turned, and Luna gave a playful smirk.
 
"That was one of the names the Tuatha used." I considered trying to tickle the Princess in revenge, but she'd probably kick me.
 
"Maybe, maybe not." Luna shrugged. "Translations of Ogma's script have become a favorite discussion among the unicorns here, and the different definitions we've arrived at are myriad and mostly pointless. I call it the Well, because I believe it's the Well of Silver Stars, from the unicorn mythos of prehistory."
 
"Well of Silver Stars…" I mumbled, trying to place the words. "Oh…!" Slowly, a half-remembered story came to mind, drawn from deep within Twilight's memories. "That Well? Where the first unicorn drank?"
 
"It fits, doesn't it?" Luna looked up. "In the days before magic, when we were merely ponies, three sisters found a tree with wide, spreading branches. One of them ate the leaves, one of them grazed near the trunk, and one of them drank from the Well of Silver Stars at its roots. They brought magic into the world, and were the first pegasi, earth pony, and unicorn. But their actions released a great evil."
 
"The windigo." Twilight shrugged. "It does fit, in a narrative sort of way. But there's no leaves, and nothing at the base of this tree. And… I highly doubt you could 'drink' from this well."
 
"Ah." Luna smiled at her. "You are correct. However, most fairytales aren't descriptive, but symbolic. There's likely a truth hidden there that we're missing, simply because we lack context. And… well. I, for one, am convinced that it was Nightmare Moon who was released, and not the windigos." She grimaced, and ignored our questioning glances.
 
"Sunset thinks she could close it." Twilight turned back to the Pool. "If it was smaller."
 
"Really?" The idea intrigued me. "What does that even mean?"
 
"You'll have to ask her." Twilight grimaced. "I haven't had time to look over her work, and I can't just absorb it out of her head like you."
 
"Heh. Maybe I'll do that." I shoved my hands into my pockets. "Well… sorry I wasn't more help, but I need to be getting back." I glanced around automatically for Bit, sighed, and turned towards the stairs. "I think Sunset's up in the tomb; I'll ask her for a lift."
 
"Sure." Twilight gave me a parting hug. "Thanks for coming."
 
"No worries. You'll be seeing more of me." I smiled as I left. I had things to do; ponies to see. How had I forgotten that?
 



 
Ready, Rainbow?
 
Let's do this.
 
"Ready, Lyra?" I kept my face smooth, hiding any hint of glee. My teacher knew something was up, but had no idea what. I'd resolved, soon after returning to Equestria, to tell her everything. But first we'd have a little fun.  She scrutinized me, but no hesitation entered her stance.
 
"Give me a moment." She closed her eyes, and focused on meditation. Rainbow yawned, already looking bored as she floated by the rafters in the sun-drenched studio. The slow beats of her wings were loud in the stillness. I idly wondered if Lyra had soundproofed the room; I'd never heard more than faint noises from outside, even when the street was packed.
 
"Okay." Lyra nodded, and I drew my vibroblade. I'd quickly discovered that she could block it with her bare hooves, so I'd abandoned training with a cane.
 
I harmonized my magic as Rainbow raised the flag. She dropped it, and we both watched it flutter to the ground. As soon as it touched, Lyra was on me.
 
I didn't spar with her often. She was too far out of my league for it to be useful for her, and I always felt toyed with whether she let me win or thrashed me. But fighting was different from drilling, so we made a point to do this once in a while.
 
My weapon flashed and hummed as I whirled it, trying to match her flurry of blows. She was holding back, running me through forms I'd been practicing. Each time my blade impacted her skin, sawtooth dissonance and a shower of sparks showed she was nullifying it easily.
 
Our sparring normally went in stages. She'd start with as much ferocity as she thought I could take. As soon as I got up to speed I'd push back, and she'd match me. We would go back-and-forth, until I reached my limit.
 
We had a ways to go. I concentrated, trying to internalize the flow and rhythm of her motions. As soon as I grasped it, she'd change, but if I could read her for just a second…
 
There. I punched smoothly through the pattern, forcing Lyra to draw back a step. It wasn't much space, but I'd take what I could get. I could feel Rainbow's excitement, a subtle pressure behind my forehead just left of my nose; she was enjoying this.
 
Can we try it? Can we try it?
 
Hold on, this is going to be tricky.
 
I needed more space. And getting anything from Lyra was beyond hard; she was so much faster than me. This was a good start, but I'd managed this much before. She be on me again in a split-second.
 
So, I tried something new.
 
The power from my vibroblade came from my hands. I pumped magic into the metal barrel of the handle, and let the enchanted crystals inside do the rest; one piece of silicon and one piece of green beryl. It wasn't much power, but it was still my magic. I could still feel it, even after it was tightened, synched, and focused into a beam. And that meant I could still control it.
 
Lyra's eyes widened slightly, as I raised my arm. This wasn't part of our drills. She could tell I was about to try something new, but she couldn't guess what. I smirked, and she dashed, thinking to break my stance. I whipped my arm down, and she dodged around the straight blade.
 
So I bent it.
 
Crack!
 
I felt Rainbow gasp as the stream of green squirmed, popping like a whip. Lyra's eyes narrowed as the blade lashed around her guard, slicing across her face. She managed a block, but the unexpected attack was enough to push her slightly, ever so slightly off balance.
 
Got her. My satisfaction rang across the link, and Rainbow grinned with me. Here goes. I stepped in, pushing back. A blow at her knee, trying to stumble her, and she danced back, pulling out past the range of my now-fluid blade. Arcs of green sang around me as I chased, stabbing and probing her guard. She would adjust quickly, so I stepped things up again.
 
I let my reflexes ride for a moment, and reached across the link. Rainbow willingly offered me what I needed. Lyra's eyes popped wide as I grasped Rainbow's formidable magic and accelerated.
 
"You've been holding out on me!" Lyra's smirk was in slow-motion.
 
I could feel Rainbow's glee as I danced around suddenly avoidable strikes. For a second, a gleam out of the corner of my eye distracted me.
 
Am… am I leaking aura?
 
Bucking yes! Check it!
 
For a moment I could see myself from Rainbow's eyes. Trailing my motions, a barely discernible rainbow hovered in the air, orange stripe crackling. I pushed the distraction away and concentrated on the fight.
 
Hey, Wes…
 
Gah, stop interrupting! I frantically dodged a strike, trying to keep my focus.
 
But I just thought that -
 
I picked the rest of the idea out of her head. She was wondering why I wasn't using her powers to the fullest. For a second, I pondered what she meant. Then she pushed it across the link, and I understood.
 
With a sudden flash of insight, I saw the air in the room as Rainbow did. Not just as sort-of-filler, or a carrier for my soundwaves, but as a living, moving, connected whole, where each pocket of pressure and whisper of movement propagated through the entire system, a sliding, changing, breathing thing.
 
You see like this all the time?
 
This is nothing! Try monitoring a blizzard.
 
Just like that, I realized how little of Rainbow's power I was actually using. Still, I didn't have time to experiment. I took every advantage I could, scraped up every scrap of intuition and innovation, and pressed in, but my chances of winning were still beyond slim. For a moment, I carried the momentum. For a moment, I'd truly surprised her. For a moment, I thought I might land a telling blow.
 
Then Lyra noticed my aura.
 
She hit me so hard and fast I bounced off the wall.
 
"Ow." I groaned, all my fight gone. "The hay, Jedi? If I hadn't blocked, that would have broken ribs!"
 
"That was numancy. You were using pegasus magic." Lyra took a step forwards, and I saw uncertain frustration in her stance. "Wes, if you're on the wrong side of the law - "
 
"Oh, that. Don't worry!" I wheezed, slumping to the floor. "I've got a license." I did; Celestia had legitimized my magic, although it was irregular. I'd already resolved to tell Lyra everything. Maybe I shouldn't have done it in such a haphazard manner.
 
"You can't get licenses for numancy." Her frustration was moving into anger.
 
"You can," I pushed myself into a sitting position, "if you're part of the Intelligence Archive." Her anger faded, mouth widening to an 'O' of surprise.
 
"Wait!" Rainbow caught the tail end of the sentence, and I felt her shuffle through my thoughts, looking for the meaning of 'Archive'.
 
"Oooof!" I gasped, as she literally dropped onto me, forehooves landing on my shoulders and pushing me down.
 
"You're a spy?"
 
"Yes." I groaned, remembering why I'd never actually discussed the Archive with her. Screw it; I was going to tell everypony everything. To Tartarus with keeping secrets; it didn't help, anyways. "Yes, Rainbow. I'm a spy."
 



 
"Your lab looks like a small-scale copy of this one, Twilight."
 
"There's a good reason for that." Celestia smiled at us. “It is.”
 
"Heh." I looked around. We were in Canterlot, in the castle basement. It would be ridiculous to say I could call on Celestia whenever I wanted, but she'd promised me her help, so I'd asked her about memory restoration and she'd made some time in her schedule.
 
The lab was impressive. It was maybe half the size of the full basement, with vaulted ceilings and intense floodlights. Machines, newer and more intricate than what Twilight used, were carefully arranged; experiments in progress stood in neat progression, each properly delineated and annotated, so they could be continued on a whim. I saw half-completed rune circles, potion distillations, and even what may have been parts of an automaton.
 
"So, gonna hook me up? Give me a scan?" I forced a laugh. Being experimented on wasn't usually pleasant, but my memory was worth a little discomfort.
 
"Yes… well, we will try." Celestia turned back, brushing her mane out of her eyes. "The chances are slim, Wes. But you know that." I nodded. We'd discussed this. Celestia was willing to probe for my past, but memories damaged through numancy were notorious. "Here." She motioned me towards a simple rune-circle.
 
"Why the secrecy? Couldn't we have cast this in Ponyville, from your instructions?" I glanced at the markings curiously; Celestia used some sort of pastel instead of chalk. I scuffed one line with a foot, but it held firm.
 
"Hmm." Celestia gave me a hooded glance. "Well, you'll keep my secrets, and Twilight will inherit this eventually." She levitated a slim volume towards me; I snagged it from the air. "Still, I didn't think it wise to allow it out of my sight."
 
The cover said Runes. It was a simple notebook, the sort a student might use. I flipped through it, and paused.
 
I didn't recognize any of the runes in here.
 
Suspicious, I turned to the back. My eyes widened; sure enough, written in neat spell-script was an exhaustive declaration for each rune, outlining what it did, why it did it, and even why that was necessary.
 
"This is your codex?" I handed the book to Twilight, who took it reverently. Codifying their understanding of magic in runes was a huge step for a magician, and Celestia was the most important magician in Equestria. Her codex would shape magic for generations to come.
 
"Eight hundred years of work." Celestia shrugged. "It has some… unique properties." I nodded slowly, and re-inspected the runes at my feet. Here and there, I could see Celestia's original composition thrown into the mix. No wonder the circle was hard to read. "They describe personality traits. I intend them for use in spells that need feedback from the target."
 
"Such as this." I nodded to the circle.
 
"Exactly. The aim is to scan you for the missing memories, using feedback from what you do know to track them." She shrugged. "It's a slim chance, but I guarantee you won't find better."
 
"I believe you." I stepped into the circle. "Alright, light 'er up."
 
Celestia nodded, and touched her horn to the key. The circle flashed bright.
 
We all stood quietly for a few minutes.
 
"Now what?" I glanced around, hesitant to disturb the spell.
 
"Now we wait." Celestia sat nearby. "It will work in the background, trying to draw your memory to mind. If it exists. If you've recalled nothing in the next five to ten minutes, this spell is a failure."
 
"Oh." I glanced at my feet. "Anything I should do to help?"
 
"Try not to think about it. Talking might work."
 
"Hmm." I rubbed my jaw. "How about this, then? When we were in Manehatten, trying to recover the painting, Sunset got the closest. She saw the Misty Mirror before Glisten escaped with it, and her reflection shocked her."
 
"Shocked?"
 
"Yeah. See, she saw herself in the Mirror as an alicorn."
 
"Fascinating."
 
"Yeah, the Mirror was strange. But it made me wonder… you picked her as your student. Did you see something in her?" I jerked a thumb at Twilight, nose tucked into the codex. "Like you saw in Twilight?"
 
"I…" Celestia sighed. "Maybe. You must understand, Wes, I actually have very little certainty about alicorns." She lowered her voice. "Twilight's ascension was carefully choreographed, but it's not like I plotted a course from the day we met. I didn't know for certain my plan would work until nearly a year ago. And after your arrival, I was afraid it would never work at all."
 
"Because of the cracked element." I rubbed my eyes. "That is sorted out, right?"
 
"You've seen it mended." She frowned. "Though it has changed shape. It's her crown, now. Didn't you know?"
 
"Oh." I blinked. "Huh, no. I didn't notice."
 
"Soon after you left, I found it restored." She looked thoughtful. "I believe that the soul-gem you had was confusing the Element. Since it was built along the same lines, and you were bound to Twilight, it thought you should 'fit in'. But since the Elements are whole at six, trying to include you strained it."
 
"And that's also why it hurt so much when she used them." Celestia nodded. "Okay. So when I broke the Mirror and dimension-hopping snapped my link to Twilight, it fixed itself?"
 
"Basically. So I jumped at the chance to implement my plan. And it worked." She smiled softly at her student. "As for Sunset…" She grimaced. "It's out of my hooves; she's my student no longer. But I'm confident she has the potential for alicornhood. What that would take, though… " She shrugged. "I can't guess."
 
"Sure," I answered absently, imagining Sunset as an alicorn. It made a nice picture. "Okay, thanks." I looked down at the circle and sighed. "This is a wash, huh?"
 
"I guess." Celestia shrugged, and waved a wing at the lab, smiling much like Twilight. "But I have a few more tests we can try."
 
"Haaaaah."
 



 
"So, do you think she was serious about that?"
 
"Hmmm?" Twilight looked up from a vanilla milkshake. "About which?"
 
"What she was discussing at the end there. About…" I waved my hands vaguely.
 
We were in a small teashop, not far from the castle. Yesterday, Celestia had tried everything in her arsenal to recover bits of my memory, but nothing had worked - much. I could now remember the pieces I'd already recovered with surprising clarity, but nothing new.
 
"Oh, about getting you elected?"
 
"Yes." I lowered my head to my hands. "Do you think she'd really do it?"
 
"Dunno." Twilight grinned. "I must say, you'd look good with a crown."
 
"Really?" I gave her a flat stare. "Really? Prince Wesley Kilmer? She just wants to give me more jobs! Like, like…"
 
"Ambassador to Aerie. It would be interesting to see the griffons confronted by another predator." Twilight smirked. "Go on, do your 'fierce' grin." I smirked, baring my canines. Twilight shivered. "Yeah, like that. I bet you'd be a great negotiator."
 
"Blargh." A pony entered the shop; I tapped my teacup with my spoon. "Seriously, though. I've never once woke up in the middle of the night and thought - 'You know, I want to be more like Blueblood!'" Twilight snorted. "I mean, I realize 'royalty' here is an elected position, but still. Me? A prince? What have I done to deserve that?"
 
"More than Blueblood did." Twilight shrugged. "Cronyism can be a problem with the unicorn elite. I'm not sure how Celestia would manage it, but… she's not really one for jokes."
 
"Even though she pretends to be." I rubbed my forehead, and tapped my teacup again as a customer left.
 
"Why are we even here?" Twilight looked around. "Shouldn't we head back? I left Sunset in charge, because last time she was the one who got to leave, but she won't be happy if I'm gone for too long. Even though she's been studying that portal night and day."
 
"I got a note." I pulled it out of my pocket and flattened it on the table for her. "On my nightstand this morning."
 
It was simple enough; the name of the shop, todays date, and a squiggle.
 
"It's typed." Twilight frowned. "Except for this." She pointed to the scribble. It looked like part of a square-wave, or maybe a sharp, sideways 'S'. "And it was on your dresser? Maybe the last pony to use the guestrooms left it?"
 
"No, no." I waved a hand dismissively. "The room was clean, and I use that dresser. And I ward my rooms, at least with an alarm."
 
"Really?" Twilight's glare was flat. "In the castle?"
 
"Look!" I sighed. "Just because I’m paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get me."
 
"Heh." Twilight grinned. "I guess you might have an excuse. So… somepony left you a note, and didn't trip your wards. Well, it wasn't me."
 
"Sure." I shrugged. "Or Celestia or Luna. They've no need for notes." I tapped my teacup, as a waitress passed.
 
"Why do you keep doing that?" Twilight pointed to my teaspoon.
 
"Well, I had an idea." I shrugged. "About the sort of pony who could get through my wards. It's a long shot, but this is a trap." I looked around. The café was fairly empty. A barista stood behind the counter, and a waitress was polishing tables. When she got near, I tapped my teacup again.
 
Absently, she stepped up to our table, picked up the teapot, and refilled my cup.
 
"Thanks Bit," I said softly, and sipped my tea.
 
She froze.
 
"I, uh, don't know - "
 
I tapped my teacup.
 
She refilled it.
 
I took a sip.
 
She looked at me. Looked at the cup. Looked at the teapot. Her ears drooped slightly.
 
"It seems I'm still an open book to you, sir." Her disguise flickered, just enough to confirm it really was my erstwhile assistant.
 
"Your disguise is good, but you still need to work on your reactions." I smiled. "But it's nice seeing you, even if I didn't expect it."
 
"Yes. And I would have approached you eventually. Still, how did you know I was here?"
 
"Um." I frowned at the note. "You didn't leave this for me?"
 
"No." She examined the scrap of paper. “Why would I do that?”

“Maybe to see if I could recognize you?” I frowned. “But… you don’t know who it was?”

“No idea.” She shook her head. "But if they intended us to meet, they have penetrated my disguise."
 
"Oh." I tallied off ponies in my head. "Not a Princess, present company included. Not a Queen, but somepony who knows her movements." The list of possibilities contracted quickly, eventually emptying completely. "Then who?" I frowned. My friends shrugged. "Great." I sighed, and rubbed my forehead. "I guess… what we’ve got here is… a mystery?"