//------------------------------//
// The Question 
// Story: Perfection 
// by LeapingEquine 
//------------------------------//

"Princess Celestia?"
Celestia; startled out of her day dreams; blinked. 
She fixed her eyes on Twilight's face. It was worried; inquiring. A look she knew very well; though she saw it rarely.
Twilight was never one to run to her for guidance. She saved that look only for the most difficult exams, the most puzzling, completely unsolvable problems.
She couldn't really think of any unsolvable problems off the top of her head. Of course, she could come up with dozens of tricky or challenging situations; corrupt nobles; the next visit from the Saddle Arabian dignitaries; the effort, time, and money it would take to repair the damage caused by Tirek's rampage; among many other things.
She'd wager that Twilight could come up with a dozen unsolvable problems. And list them.
Twilight was like that. A worrier. An intelligent worrier. But still a worrier.
"Yes, Twilight Sparkle, my most faithful student?" she inquired. Her voice was rich, smooth. A hint of playfulness lurked there.
"Oh, Princess Celestia, you don't have to call me 'your most faithful student' every time you speak to me!"
Celestia smiled. Yes, she knew she didn't have to, but she also knew that Twilight felt a great burst of pride whenever she heard Celestia praise her.
Twilight loved knowing she'd been good, done the right thing. It soothed her worries.
Doubtlessly those worries gnawed constantly at her. It was an unfortunate thing, that worrying of hers.
It clouded her head, made her panic. Panicking was not good for a princess.
It was a flaw. An imperfection.
The only thing that quieted it was praise. And those breathing exercises Cadance had taught her. 
And, of course, friendship. Friendship wiped away all of Twilight's imperfections. It was how she had become a princess in the first place.
Her mind was drifting. Back to Twilight.
"Twilight Sparkle, I'd stop calling you my most faithful student if you stopped calling me Princess."
Twilight blanched, shocked by the very idea. 
The words "Princess Celestia" to her didn't just mean her mentor, weren't just the title of most wonderful teacher she'd ever had.
To Twilight, "Princess Celestia" was an idea, a dream. Power, organization, kindness, guidance. It had a ring of omnipotence to it, something beautiful and unreachable.
Celestia saw Twilight's plight, and rescued her.
"What were you going to tell me, Twilight? And why insist we talk in my private study, without any guards?"
Twilight glanced around nervously. She seemed to scrutinize every nook and corner in the room, as if she thought there were invisible enemies hiding all around her.
If so, they had plenty of hiding spots. The study was pristinely tidy, but immense.
Hidden behind pairs of carved oak doors, bookshelves taller than Applejack's trees were arranged around the room, standing neatly against the light pastel walls. 
The long length of red carpet in the middle of the study led to its main fixture, the desk.
The desk was enormous, not only to fit an alicorn of Celestia's size, but also to hold the stacks of papers that she dealt with every day.
A stained glass window behind the desk let the soft light of dusk slip in, turning it into a softly glowing monument to education.
It depicted the founding of the very first institutes for magic, hundreds of years ago.
Celestia had once been head of her own private school for gifted unicorns. She had long given up her headmistress position at the school, leaving its workings to her past students. Although she still allowed the school use of the palace, the study was detached from it.
It was now a place for her to work on official documents at day's end, when Luna's Night Court was in session.
Twilight finally spoke.
"In the light of all the physical damage Tirek caused to Equestria, I've been using all the spells I know to make sure he didn't leave any magical destruction."
Celestia was alert, attent. Twilight must have found it...but how could she?
"I've discovered something very strange, Princess.      An enormous spell, encompassing all of Equestria, and even beyond!"
"Why, Twilight, that seems rather unbelievable!"
"I know! It's impossible! But it's there. I almost didn't find it, it was so well hidden. It's full of magical traces, and they all seem to interact with each other to form a kind of...shield.Except it's not a shield. 
"The best comparison I can make is of changeling magic; or what I gleaned about it from old notes in the Canterlot Archives. It's vaguely like the spells they use to hide their hives, but very different. The caster obviously used entirely different magical planes...and it's just not possible!
"I've checked every relevant book the Archives have, and I've reread all of Starswirl's notes! And I've found nothing! Nothing! Not even in the notes! And they're about the size of a set of encyclopedias!"
Twilight's voice had gradually continued rising, and now her words betrayed signs of a panic attack in the early stages.
Another one! Celestia had hoped that Twilight had grown out of full-blown panic attacks, if not the actual panicking and worrying.
Yet another defect in something seemingly flawless.
"Twilight, what you've told me is very important. But I don't think you have a reason to worry just yet."
Celestia smiled at Twilight's puzzled face, with it's deeply furrowed brows.
"What do you mean, Princess? Were you previously aware of the spell? How could you be?! Did I miss something in Starswirl's notes?"
"You could say I was aware of the spell...and no, Twilight, you didn't miss anything in Starswirl's notes. My source of information comes from a legend."
"A legend?" asked Twilight doubtfully.  She had almost never known Princess Celestia to be wrong about anything, but she didn't view fairy tales and bedtime stories as accurate sources of information.
"Yes, Twilight, a legend. Like the legend of Nightmare Moon."
Twilight immediately quieted. Celestia's solemn words had convinced her, at least for the time being.
"Can I learn what this legend is about?"
"Of course, Twilight! It'll take a while to tell it all, though."
"Tell? I thought I was going to read it. Somepony wrote it down, right?"
"No,Twilight. What I've pieced together to form the tale has never been written down. You will find no mention of it in any document the Canterlot Archives contains. Not even in Starswirl's notes."
Twilight blushed as Celestia gave her a kindly look. Then she leaned forward in her wooden chair, trying to focus on the mare on the other side of the desk.
And Celestia began.