"Anon, you did it!" the voice of the familiar bookish unicorn calls out to you.
Your eyes shoot open and you focus your gaze on her. Quickly you crawl backward from the unicorn who trots towards you.
"How do I know you're real?!" you yell at her. Twilight stops in her tracks and stares at you as the Princess and Arty follow in behind her.
"Anon, it's all over. You can relax! You fell unconscious, then woke up, dumped the stuff on the book-" Twilight begins to explain.
"Which it looks like lost it's powers when you touched it," Artie interrupts. "Then when you touched the book, you fell into a seizure, but when we were about to come in to help, you stood up and took the book into the room."
"You were in there a long time," Twilight continued. "Then you leaped out and here we are."
"I can't believe you did it!" Arty exclaimed. "Nopony's ever overcame that book before. What happened?"
You look at each pony one by one, unblinking. Is this... is this it? Is this real? Only one way to find out. You blink.
When you open your eyes, everything is the same. You let out a deep breath, then collapse on the ground.
"That was the most terrifying, horrible, stupidest thing I've ever done," you state flatly.
"What did you see?" The Princess asked.
Rising to your feet you finally relax. "Well, it was like one big nightmare... It was like what was going on every night for the last few weeks, but even worse."
You point to Celestia. "And you were there..." Your finger moves to Twilight. "You tried to kill me..." Your finger points to Arty as he looks at you expectantly. "You weren't there at all."
He has a slight look of disappointment, but nods.
"Right. Well, great job anyway," The scientist mentions before turning and leaving. "Maybe I'll see you around here tomorrow."
"Speaking of which," Celestia says her focus returning to you. "I believe we discussed a job opportunity here? Especially in light of recent events."
"Yeah, yeah. Is it going to be as bad as this?" you ask. "Or is it going to be more vending machines? Cause I would love to find one that makes chips. Or a fancy microwave that makes food just right."
"That would be cool," Twilight says hesitantly with a smile. She turns to Celestia and attempts to quietly whisper, "What's a microwave?"
"You may find out soon, Twilight. Anon, I will be honest and say that while what happened today is uncommon, it is not out of the ordinary. This position is dangerous and it may even take your life, but where there is high risk, there is high reward. There is no greater service you could do for Equestria," Celestia explains.
You look from Celestia, back to Twilight.
"Do I still get to live at home?" you ask.
"Of course. Forty hours a week, with possible overtime in certain occasions," she explains.
You think carefully over your options. On one hand, there is working in a top-secret facility, filled with magical toys and dangerous creatures. On the other hand, there is living in a house less than ten miles away from said facility, with no idea what's going on in it. At least with one option, you get money.
"Well, it's not like I'd be doing anything else with my time. Sure, I'll do it."
Princess Celestia smiles to herself and nods.
"A wise choice. I believe will you start tomorrow at the crack of dawn, under Arty's supervision," the Princess concludes.
"Cool. Well, I think I'm going to head home then. I haven't necessarily had the most restful sleep lately. Plus, I want to make a good impression for my first day on the job," you add.
"Very well then, Anonymous. If you speak with the other workers here, they can help you leave. I would escort you out, but I have some matters to attend to here with Twilight," she explains.
"Awesome. Thanks for everything, Princess," You give a quick, awkward bow, then leave the unicorn and alicorn alone.
Was bowing the right thing to do? Ugh. It's still weird to interact with royalty in a way that doesn't have your life on the line. Oh well. At least the worst of that is over. Hell, even some good came of it. You got a new job. Who knows what sort of new adventures are waiting for you? Until then, you think that it's time for a well-deserved nap. Your attention grabs onto a few scientists walking through the halls. Well, you suppose it's coworkers now.
"Hey! You, the one in the lab coat. No, the other- Never mind. Can one of you help me outta here?"
Twilight and Celestia move diligently through the bright hallways of the facility, passing door after door. The young unicorn couldn't help but hold her tongue for this long, out of respect for her mentor. Yet, now that Anon was gone, they began to boil to the surface. Was she just moral support for Anon? If she wanted to show this place to Anon, then she could have without her. Anon didn't even need her on the mission.
So, why?
"Uhm, Princess."
"Yes, Twilight?" Celestia replies.
"I'm sorry, but I have a question..." Twilight continues. "Why was I here? I mean, I'm grateful that you exposed me to a top secret facility and everything... and I think it's really nice and cool, but I guess I just don't understand why."
Princess Celestia nods and smiles.
"You see Twilight, I explained earlier that these artifacts are created from extraordinary ponies that try to do extraordinary things," Celestia begins. Her student nods in reply. "There has been one that has been in containment for a long time, it seems to be relatively harmless... but I believe it can be something magnificent if somepony put their mind to it," Celestia continues.
"I see. So, do you want me to-"
"Now, only I have the clearance to remove an artifact from this facility, do you understand?"
Twilight follows her mentor through the halls as they stop in front of a closed door. This must be a major secret, even from the facility.
"I think so..." she answers warily.
"So, I will be taking this artifact back to Canterlot," Celestia explains.
"Okay," Twilight says. "So what is the artifact?"
Celestia smiles and opens the door. Sitting on a table in the middle of the room is a small red book.
"This artifact doesn't have a name yet. On the final page of this book is an unfinished, untested spell by Starswirl the Bearded," Celestia says, stepping inside.
Twilight follows behind, her interest peaked.
"You want me to try finishing a spell written by Starswirl the Bearded?" she asks in disbelief.
Celestia remains silent as she claims the book from the room and turns to her student.
"If you cannot complete it, then there shouldn't be any harm done, but if you can... then I believe it may change everything," Celestia says. "Would you like to try?"
Twilight does everything she can not to do a back flip on the spot.
"Of course!" she exclaims. "I'd love to!"
If she had wings, they would be at full mast. The Princess smiles and nods.
"Then I will send it to you in the mail," Celestia says.
"The mail?" Twilight asks. "Why not through Spike? Like normal?" Celestia moves closer, with a smile.
"This task is for you and for you alone. Hmm... how should I put it. Think of it as... an ungraded, pop quiz," Celestia says warmly.
Twilight nods and smiles for the Princess.
"Then I won't let you down."