//------------------------------//
// Chapter 28--The Unicorn Tower 
// Story: What You Don't Know 
// by Flaming Pulsar 
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Chapter 28--The Unicorn Tower

Because Twilight was too cautious about teleporting herself, we had to take a train to Canterlot, which took a few hours. It was about 3 by the time we finally got there. We immediately headed toward the castle and just a quickly we were stopped by the guards.
        “Halt! Who goes there?” one of them asked.
        “Twilight Sparkle and Síor. Student of Princess Celestia and personal friend of both Princesses,” I said, “And Spike, Twilight’s assistant.”
        “We’re going to need to perform some identification verification procedures. The one who calls herself Twilight, we need to do a horn inspection.” Twilight stepped forward and they put a thing on her horn that apparently told them that she was herself. “You who call yourself Síor, step forward to have your tongue examined.” I was smiling at the fact that they had the tongue inspector already. I stepped forward and stuck out my tongue and they clipped a thing on it. After a few seconds, they verified that I am me. “You may proceed. I assume you are here to ask the princess to solve this predicament that you’ve found yourself in?”
        “Yeah. Let’s go.” We proceeded to the castle and went to Celestia’s court room.
        “Good afternoon Spike,” she said when we all entered. “Who’s this you have with you?”
        “Síor,” I said.
        “And Twilight,” she said.
        “Síor and Twilight? Oh my. I think an explanation is in order.” I explained what happened, though this time without the flipchart. “Hm, I see. Well, I can fix Twilight, but as I am unaccustomed to the anatomy of humans, I would need some time to prepare a spell to transform you back, Síor.”
        “Of course. So how long is a little time?”
        “It’s hard to say but one thing is certain, if you get a cutie mark, it will be harder to change you back. Although I am curious as to why you became an alicorn of all things.”
        “We had assumed that it was because Trixie’s spell was supposed to turn her into one but after she botched it, I took the majority of the blast.”
        “I suppose that makes sense. I will get with the Unicorn Tower as soon as I can and get started on that spell but for now,” she transformed Twilight back to normal “that’s all that I can do.”
        “Thank you Princess,” Twilight said.
        “Yeah, and we’ll let the Unicorn Tower know that you need their help. We’re heading over there next,” I said.
        “Good. I will get to work on what I can then. Good luck with your new form, Síor.”
        “Yeah whatever.” We left to go to the Unicorn Tower but not without Twilight thanking her precious princess again. “Alright, lead us to the Unicorn Tower.”
        “Right this way.” She led us to the cliff edge on the west side of Canterlot. There was a patch of ground that looked different than what was around it. There was also a sign next to it that said ‘All those wishing to visit the Unicorn Tower, please stand on this patch of ground. No more than 10 at a time please.’ Understanding video game logic, as soon as we were all standing on the patch of ground, it would start moving somewhere so I stepped on and sure enough, it started moving upward to a giant floating rock that I hadn’t noticed before.
        “Has that always been there?”
        “Since the unicorns put it there about 100 years ago.”
        “How have I never noticed it in all the times I’ve been to Canterlot?”
        “I guess you’re just not very observant.”
        We got to the Tower and were greeted by a blue unicorn stallion who said, “Welcome to the Unicorn Tower. Please stand still while I cast protective enchantments on you.”
        “What’s the protection for?” I asked as he did his magic on Twilight.
        “Some of the magic researched here can be dangerous and we always like to take precaution on the part of visitors to ensure that they don’t get hurt.”
        “I guess that makes sense.”
        “Twilight, you’re clear.” He started working on Spike next.
        “So is it true that they really research anything here?”
        “Well, we have to get permission from one of the Princesses but anything they approve is free game. Spike you’re clear to go. Alright, Mr. Question Guy, you can’t talk while I’m performing the spell.” I shut up while he did his thing. It seemed to take longer than it did with the others but that was probably just because I was talking to him before and talking tends to pass the time quicker. Finally he was done. “That protection will last for about 5 hours or until I take it off when you leave. Enjoy your visit to the Unicorn Tower.”
        That done, we went to the Tower. No sooner did we get to the door than did a huge flaming ball of magic hit the ground right behind us. “Now I see why we needed protection.”
        We went inside where we saw a receptionist mare at a circular counter in the center of a lobby area with many hallways and signs pointing off in various directions. “Twilight, Spike, how have you two been?” she asked. “I haven’t seen you in a while. Where have you been?”
        “We moved out to Ponyville a few months ago,” Twilight explained.
        “Well, I’m glad you decided to visit. Who’s your friend?”
“This is Síor.”
“Well, we always welcome new visitors. What can we do for you today?”
        “We need the Magical Artifact Research Center. Is it still in the same place?”
        “Actually it’s moved up to the 5th floor.”
        “Oh, they got a promotion?”
        “That’s right. They’re work has been very helpful in the past few months. Just take the transportation pad over there. You know how it works.”
        “Thanks Milly.” We walked over to a blue pad on the floor that seemed to glow with magic. We all stepped on and Twilight said, “Level 5 please.” Before I knew what was happening, we were somewhere else, presumably the 5th floor. We found the hallway where the Magical Artifact Research Center was and went down it. We found the door and Twilight knocked and it opened and we entered the room which was full of all kinds of strange items.
        “Ah, Twilight and Spike. And a friend,” a white nerdy scientist unicorn stallion greeted us.
        “I’m Síor,” I said. “I don’t usually look like this though so don’t get used to it.
        “Transformation mishap,” Twilight explained. “That’s our next stop.”
        “Well, what brings you lot to MARC today?”
        “MARC?” I asked.
        “Stands for Magical Artifact Research Center. Also my name. Mark Data,” he explained.
        “Well, we have this amulet that we need looked at,” Twilight said as she gave him the amulet.
        “Hm, it looks familiar. I’ll have it looked at right away. You said you were heading to the Transformation Department next, do you have any other business here?”
        “I don’t but Síor presumably does.”
        “Well, Síor, if you stop by here before you leave, I should be done with it.”
        “Thanks Mark.” That done, we left and went back downstairs to the lobby.
        “Anything else I can help you all with?” Milly asked as we appeared in the lobby.
        “Transformation Department,” I said.
        “3rd floor.”
        “Thanks Milly.”
        We went back to the magic elevator pad thingy and told it to take us to the 3rd floor. We found the sign telling us where to go and knocked on the door. We were greeted by an obnoxiously green unicorn mare. “Welcome to the Transformation Department. I’m Shifty. You’ll have to excuse my greenness, we had a slight mishap with the color changing spell. Please come in. How can we help you?”
        We entered the room and saw many unicorn performing various kinds of transformation spells. “Well, our friend here” Twilight explained as she gestured toward me “is not supposed to be an alicorn.”
        “That’s a pretty big transformation to happen accidentally.”
        “Well, somepony tried to create a new spell but she did it wrong and Síor got caught it the blast. I took some of the blast too but Princess Celestia was able to change me back. Síor on the other hand, she was not able to transform back because she is unfamiliar with his anatomy.”
        “And what anatomy might that be?”
        “Human,” I said.
        “Human? I thought they were just a myth.”
        “Well, I can prove otherwise. But Celestia wanted your help to help me.”
        “If you can get me a book on human anatomy from the Mythological Studies Department, then I might be able to help you.”
        “Thanks Shifty. I’ll be back.”
        We went back to the lobby. “We Síor,” Twilight said, “You can do what you need to do, I was only supposed to be here to drop off the amulet and tell the Transformation Department that Princess Celestia needed their help. So I’ll be at the Canterlot Library. Come find me when you’re done and we’ll head home.”
        She left and I went back to the desk. “Hey Milly, can you direct me to the Mythological Studies Department.”
        “Why would you need to go there? I’m surprised they even still have a department. They’re down that hall there.” She pointed to a hall off to the right.
        “Ground level, huh?”
        “Yeah, that should tell you how little respect they get.”
        “Well, thanks. I’ll be back for my other stuff.” I left and went down the hall she pointed to. I found the door and walked in. Behind the door, I was greeted with a long hallway with unmarked doors on either side. Well, might as well start from the first one. I opened the first door on the right and went in. On the other side, I found myself back in the hallway but in a different place. What is this, Scooby Doo? After trying doors for about an hour, I finally wound up back in the first hallway. I then noticed a sign on the door advising me to knock. I did so and the door opened revealing the actual Mythological Studies Department.
        “Ah, you must be Síor,” a minty green unicorn mare said. “Shifty said you would be coming down here. What took you so long?”
        “I got trapped in your hall of doors for an hour,” I explained.
        “You didn’t knock the first time, did you?”
        “No.”
        “Yeah, the Unicorn Tower practices manners as well as magic. If you knock, the door will open but if you barge in, you’ll wind up in our little maze.”
        “Good to know.”
        “I’m Lyra, by the way. So what brings you to the Mythological Studies Department?”
        “I need a book or a diagram about human anatomy.”
        “Did you say human? I love humans, they are by far the best creatures to ever live, assuming of course they did ever live.”
        “Oh, they did, I can vouch for that.”
        “So you believe in humans, too?”
        “I don’t just believe in them, I’m one of them.”
        “No you’re not, silly. You’re an alicorn.”
        “No, I’m not an alicorn.”
        “Well, you’ve got a big bump on your forehead for a pegasus.”
        “I was transformed into an alicorn. Magically.”
        Off to the side somewhere, one of the other researchers coughed, “Crazy.”
        “Mitos, that cough doesn’t sound to healthy, you oughta get that looked at,” Lyra said to the stallion. “It’s rather unlikely that you were transformed into an alicorn. Many powerful unicorns have tried and they all failed. How did you become an alicorn?”
        “Well, long story short, someone tried casting a spell that would presumably transform her into an alicorn but she screwed it up and the magic energy exploded into me.”
        “Yeah, that sounds like it might do it. So you’re saying you used to be a human? How did that happen?”
        “I was born a human to human parents in a human world. I’m the last human alive and the only reason for that is probably Discord.”
        “Discord, eh? We’ve been doing a little research on him. Turns out he appears in the lore of many cultures.”
        “Well, I’m sure whatever you’ve found I already know. I just want something on human anatomy.”
        “Right, of course.” She started getting a huge stack of books and scrolls and such. “This is everything we have about human anatomy.”
        “Why so many?”
        “Some of the books detail specific parts of the human body.”
        “Alright. Thanks Lyra.”
        “Anytime.”
        I left with the books and went back upstairs to the Transformation Department. I knocked on the door and a now light blue Shifty answered. “Hey Shifty, I got the books you wanted.”
        “That is a lot more than I was expecting. I’ll get started right away but keep in mind this could take anywhere from two weeks to a few months.”
        “Well, I appreciate you putting it on your priority list. I don’t want to be like this any longer than I have to.”
        “Of course.” She got to work sifting through all the books and I took that as my cue to leave.
        Back on the ground floor, i asked Milly, “Is there a time travel or alternate dimension department?”
        “You must be looking for the Department of Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. It’s on the 4th floor.”
        I was grinning at the name of the department as I stepped onto the elevator pad. I walked down the hall that the sign pointed me to and found a suspiciously blue box at the end of it. Upon knocking, a familiar brown pony opened the door. “Hello, I’m the Doctor. Welcome to the Department of TARDIS, how may we help you?”
        “Doctor?”
        “Wait, is that you Síor?”
“Yeah.”
“How did you become an alicorn?”
“Magical mishap. How did you become a unicorn?”
“Oh, I never mentioned that to you? I made a thing that lets me change my race if I need to. It comes in handy if I ever need to visit Cloudsdale or when I’m here as a researcher.”
        “So, you’re the head of the Department of TARDIS? Very clever name by the way.”
        “Well, when I posed the idea for the department, they needed a name for it so TARDIS was the first thing that came to mind. I designed the exterior of the department after my TARDIS and I also made it bigger on the inside. I use this department to see if I can’t find any other way to get myself and my TARDIS out of this time period or to get the TARDIS up and running again. I fixed the mobility circuits by the way. So, I can move places, I just can’t time travel.”
        “Well, that’s actually why I’m here. I was wondering if you could find any way to use magic to send me back to the time of humans. Either that or send me to a different dimension where humans are still alive.”
        “Well, Starswirl the Bearded created time travel spells but we’re talking a length of over 6 billion years. It’s barely allowed for up to 1000 years.”
        “I already knew about Starswirl’s time travel spells as well as their limitation. Which Is why I was thinking you could create a group spell.”
        “A group spell? You mean a spell that was meant to be cast by multiple people at once? I don’t think anything like that has ever been done. The closest thing I can think of that works like that is the Elements of Harmony but they use artifacts. I suppose I could work on something. But you won’t want to be an alicorn when you go back, it might scare the humans.”
        “I already have Shifty from the Transformation Department working on that. She said it could take as long as a few months.”
        “Well, this group spell could take a couple years, but I’ll see what I can do.”
        “Well, I’m not in a huge hurry, I just need it done before I go crazy in ponyland.”
        “Understandable. I’ll see to it that’s it’s put on our priority list.”
        “Thanks Doctor.” That done, I left the Tower and went to get Twilight and Spike and we went home.