To say that Princess Celestia was upset to see the ponies before her would be an understatement, but through countless years of practice she managed to hide the full extent of her displeasure. She did however let enough of it show through to allow the ponies arrayed before her be aware she was displeased. Several of them gulped nervously while trying to wet their lips from suddenly dry mouths.

Just moments before, Princess Celestia recalled, she had arrived in her carriage along with a troop of her guards. Riding with her in the carriage was Spike and one Penny Dream, the de facto expert on– and former proprietress of– Enchanted Books. Celestia's mood had been cautiously optimistic as she looked forward to achieving Twilight's return.

However, the moment she had landed one of her guards, a Sargent Sweet Rock, had come running up to her, bringing with him some unpleasant news. Early that morning, five ponies had been caught trespassing inside the Golden Oaks Library. They were currently being detained just outside the library, awaiting her attention.

Shocked at first, Celestia's thoughts had briefly spun out of control, imagining the worst, that the sole remaining clues as to Twilight's disappearance and possible whereabouts had been destroyed by the careless hooves of some random Neighdals. But the truth she witnessed when her guards marched the trespassers out before her was even more heartbreaking.

Wearing an intense neutral expression that was calculated to make others uneasy, Celestia slowly paced back and forth in front of the ponies that stood before her. Bracketing the prisoners were four of her Royal Guards, and even they began to display signs of nervousness from her unusual pacing. Time to finish this. She thought, feeling sick to her stomach.

Wheeling about suddenly, Celestia confronted those who had deliberately disobeyed her orders and put everything about Twilight's recovery in jeopardy. From the vantage of her greater stature, Celestia looked down upon the assembled Elements of supposed Harmony.

“Eep!” Fluttershy, at the end of the line off to Celestia's right, gave a shriek and dropped to the ground, quaking violently. The sight of Fluttershy's huddled terror caused Celestia's own kind heart to skip a beat. As she stood there for a moment, observing the yellow Pegasus her neutral expression shifted to one of sorrow.

Perhaps curious as to the sudden quiet, Fluttershy, who had been hiding behind her mane and hooves, chose that moment to cautiously lift a hoof and peek out, only to catch sight of the Solar Princess looking directly at her. Instantly, her hoof came down again as she convulsed with another “Eep!”

Pinkie, who happened be standing directly in front of Celestia, in the middle of the line, was not at all intimidated. She giggled and beamed a broad smile. “Hi-ya Princess Celestia. It's great to see you!” For her part Celestia was equally resistant to the distraction of a bright cheery greeting. She did however focus more of her attention back on the pink mare.

“Awww– are you upset because you missed our sleepover?” Pinkie of course, was totally missing the point of their current encounter.

“Don't be sad Princess,” Pinkie continued, “we'll be sure to invite you for our next sleepover! We simply didn't think to ask if you wanted to join us; you being wa-ay up there in Canterlot and all.” Pinkie swept a flamboyant hoof off towards the direction of Canterlot.

Out of the corner of her eye, Celestia was able to witness Rainbow Dash giving herself an emergency facehoof, the action accompanied by a soft smacking noise. Applejack, situated on Pinkie's other side merely reached up a hoof to pull her hat down lower over her face, murmuring a soft “Whoah-nelly."

“Cheer up Princess!” Pinkie exclaimed. “We'll be sure to invite you to our next one.” Pinkie was now bouncing up and down with excitement.

Rainbow Dash, always ready to take direct physical intervention, suddenly grabbed Pinkie in mid-bounce and held a hoof over her mouth. Speaking softly into Pinkie's ear, but loud enough for all to hear, Rainbow wheezed out through clenched teeth, “Not– helping– Pinkie!”

Perhaps Pinkie's erratic behavior had served some purpose after all. Her little by-play with Rainbow Dash, as well as Fluttershy's terror moved Celestia's heart a tiny bit away from the black despair which had gripped it. Celestia took a step back to re-consider the ponies before her.

These were the Elements, the ponies which had stood as true friends with Twilight through all her adventures; together they had faced down incredible danger and adversities. And they stood there still. To believe that these friends would put Twilight at risk would be the same as losing hope in Twilight's return. They were connected to Twilight through the Elements of Harmony, and whatever actions they took might well have been guided by that same Harmony.

Celestia's attention was brought back to the group as Rarity suddenly cleared her throat. “If it pleases Your Royal Highness, perhaps I should explain.” Celestia responded by calmly moving to place herself directly in front of Rarity. Looking down upon the white mare, Celestia was impressed at how Rarity held her head and ears up, projecting both poise and dignity even though her hind legs did quiver slightly.

Feeling much calmer now, Celestia cocked both of her ears forwards towards Rarity. “If you would be so kind, Rarity. I'm listening.” The sound of her even tempered voice seemed to encourage the fashionista, and caused Applejack, standing between Pinkie and Rarity, to push her hat back up again. Even Fluttershy, Celestia observed, had managed to uncover one of her eyes and peek out again.

“We ever so humbly ask your forgiveness, Princess, for disobeying your orders to stay away from the library. But we did what we felt was absolutely necessary. We did it for Twilight's sake.

“And however great your punishment might be, we knew that we could never live with ourselves if we didn't investigate the matter which Owlowiscious found.”

“Owlowiscious?” Celestia blinked, trying to recall where she had heard that name before.

“Um, Twilight's pet owl, Your Highness.” Fluttershy suddenly spoke up from the ground where she still huddled. She had uncovered her head to do so. “He came to us yesterday to tell us that he had seen something strange in Twilight's study.”

“Pet Owl? Something strange?” If Celestia didn't know Fluttershy any better she might have assumed that she was being pranked. But Celestia did know Fluttershy, and she knew that the yellow mare had an uncommon rapport with animals, stronger even than her own.

Pinkie chose that moment to clarify the situation. “That's right. Owly here came to tell us that he saw something glowy in the Library.” Pinkie began to pick up speed. “And-then-Rainbow-said-'Pffht!'-and -then-Owly-said-it-was-lots-of-glowy-things-and-then-I-said-'Maybe-they're-ghosts!”-and-then-Rainbow-wanted-to-punch-the-ghosts-and-then...” Pinkie's voice suddenly cut off as a globe of soft yellow light enveloped her head. Pinkie continued to gesticulate even as her mouth remained in animated motion.

“Forgive me ladies, and especially you Pinkie,” Celestia bowed her head, “but I find that my patience has been sorely tested these last few days. Rarity, if you would please continue.”

Rarity cast a worried glance at Pinkie, who continued talking, oblivious to the fact that she was doing so in total silence. “Yes, well. Perhaps I should start over, and explain more fully.” Celestia smiled at Rarity's wise decision.

“When Owlowiscious came to us, we learned that he had been present in the Library that night we first learned the details of how Twilight had come to be missing. Owlowiscious was there when you gave your instructions that the Library was not to be disturbed, and he took it upon himself to guard Twilight's study. Oh, it was such a terribly brave and selfless thing to do, but what else should one expect from Twilight's assistant.”

“Hey!” Spike called out angrily from where he stood near the carriage. His expression, from what Celestia could see, fairly radiated jealousy.

“I'm sorry Spike.” Amended Rarity. “I meant to say Twilight's number two assistant.”

“That's not what... Spike squelched his voice in mid-utterance as he suddenly caught a look from Celestia. Though her mood had improved somewhat, it had worsened again with having to silence Pinkie, and at the moment she did not appreciate another party, even Spike, hijacking the conversation.

Rarity continued. “Owlowiscious stood watch over Twilight's study all night long, and it was a good thing that he did. He discovered that there were a number of faintly glowing objects on the floor of the study. Fortunately Owlowiscious knew that this was something out of the ordinary. So the following day, yesterday in fact, he came to tell us about the glowing objects.

“He told us that there were quite a few of them, and that they would sometimes glow brighter or get darker but they did not all do so at the same time.”

Celestia frowned slightly as she considered the news. Could it be some active form of residual magic? Those can be dangerous.

Rarity continued. “And that's why I decided to spend the night in the library Princess. Owlowiscious' report needed to be independently verified, and if possible this needed to done without delay. Who knows what might happen to Twilight or to this clue if we were forced to wait another full day just to verify it.” Rarity bowed her head, as though awaiting Celestia's judgment.

As she heard the story, Celestia was pleased to discover the leadership being displayed by the alabaster fashionista. Rarity's reasoning was sound and did much to justify what she had done. Still, Celestia had yet to hear the full story. “And so you spent the night in the Library. What did you discover? Was there anything worthy of note?” Celestia asked.

“Yes, Your Highness. We all saw the glowing lights,” Rarity raised her head again and glanced meaningfully about at the other Elements, “just as Owlowiscious described them. I- I did approach one of the glowing lights, but was unable to sense any magic in them, nor could I detect any residual magic upon it or any magical aura coming from it.”

“What kind of spells did you use?” Celestia asked, more sharply than she had intended.

Rarity blinked, caught by the sudden bite in Celestia's voice. “Why none, Your Highness. I know my limitations. I only used my passive magical senses to determine if there was any magic or aura to be sensed. As I said before I was unable to sense anything.”

“My apologies, Rarity,” Celestia dipped her head briefly towards the white mare. “I was merely worried that the use of active magic may have contaminated the scene, making our own investigations that much more difficult. But I see now that you kept your wits about you and I commend you for that.”

Applejack cleared her throat, drawing Celestia's attention. “Yer forgettin' somethin', Rarity.”

Celestia turned her attention from Applejack back to Rarity. “Was there something else?”

“Oh, Ah-hah, Eh, yes. Sorry Your Highness. Yes, thanks to Applejack's clever thinking, we did discover something important.

“Applejack suggested that we simply turn on the lights in Twilight's study, to see what it was that was making the glow. Well at first that didn't work too well, because under the bright lights we couldn't see anything glowing. But after a bit of experimentation with dimming the lights down low enough, we found out that the glow was coming from some of the scraps of paper that had been blown out of the destroyed book.”

“Yes, Your Highness. But not all of them were involved. The glow was only given off by the ones that appeared blackened, which we had originally supposed to be burned. The unburned scraps of paper never glowed.”

“Oh, and don't forget the smell.” Pinkie chimed in, having somehow managed to escape her voice trap, which now englobed a tiny green alligator. Celestia blinked at the sight. The alligator blinked back at her. Right eye followed by left eye.

“The glowing objects had a smell?” Tearing her attention away from the alligator, Celestia tried to make sense of Pinkie's last statement.

“Well yes, Your Highness. But none of us could agree on what we smelled. The only thing I could make out was the smell of dirt−” Rarity wrinkled her snout in disgust.

Appplejack spoke next. “Ah don't know about any rocks, Princess. But ah'm sure ah smelled trees. Maple and Poplar and Beech mostly, but other kinds too.”

“Hmph! You're all wrong.” Declared Rainbow. “ That glowy paper thing smelled like snow. And by that I mean it smelled like snowy weather.”

When Fluttershy whined and scuttled back several paces. It became obvious to Celestia that the mare had been too frightened to attempt getting close to any of the glowing objects.

These are all intriguing clues. Celestia thought to herself. It's obvious to me that those scraps of paper are actively involved with whatever happened to Twilight. She shuddered to think of what may have happened if anypony had given the order to 'clean up this mess'.

Celestia's frown had by now fully disappeared and she could feel her previous optimistic mood slowly returning. “One more thing, Miss Rarity. If you chose to spend the night at the Library, how is it that all of you were arrested there this morning?” As she said this, a faint smile played about her lips, too tiny for the other ponies to catch.

“Ah reckon that’s my fault, yer Highness.” Applejack spoke. “Ah knew Rarity weren't feelin' too well – none of us were – what with Twilight bein' gone an such – so Ah volunteer'd to keep her company. An then Rainbow decided ta join us─”

“Hey,” A feisty Rainbow Dash spoke up. “I told you that if there was something doing that had the slightest chance of helping Twilight then I needed to be there doing it.”

“And then I suggested we make it a sleepover− sorry for not inviting you Princess.” Pinkie lamented sorrowfully. Celestia's lips quirked slightly as she repressed a smile.

“And then Pinkie convinced Fluttershy to join us so she wouldn't be spending the night all terrified and alone.” Concluded Rarity.

Celestia sighed inwardly to herself. The Element Bearers had once again performed admirably beyond her expectations.

“Guards, you may return to your duties. I find that the Bearers of the Elements have acted in a responsible manner and are hereby exonerated of all charges against them. Girls, please stay with me for a moment.”

Celestia waited until the guards had moved off a distance. “Thank you, Ladies. Once again I find myself amazed by the friends Twilight has found. Rather than waiting quietly, in meek and passive obedience to my flawed orders, you chose instead to do that which you knew to be Right.

“Your actions, Ladies, may have brought us some vital clues to understanding what has happened to Twilight. Indeed, without this knowledge we may have done something irrevocable and lost her forever.”

“What do you mean, 'lost her forever'?” Rainbow Dash spoke up, her voice full of anxiety. “Uh, Princess.” she hurried to add the missing honorific.

“I mean just that Rainbow Dash. Now that we know there is something special about those paper fragments we will be sure to treat them with the respect they deserve. But without this news you have brought to me, it is all too easy to imagine that somepony might simply 'clean them up', or perhaps unthinkingly break whatever lingering magic they represent.” Hearing this, Rainbow gulped and backed off a pace.

“And one more thing, Ladies. I would like to apologize for my unseemly display of anger earlier. I find I have been out of sorts these last few days.”

Surprisingly it was Pinkie that responded. “We understand Princess. We've all been hurting really bad ever since Twilight got lost. Rarity's lost her inspiration, Fluttershy can't sleep and has been getting cranky with her animals, Rainbow's wings have lost their magic and she can't fly, Applejack's forgotten how to buck apples and I even lost my smile.

“So I think that Twilight getting lost has made you hurt really bad, Princess, just like us. And that probably means that you've lost something too.” Pinkie brought a hoof up to her chin, posing for a moment in deep thought before she chirped up brightly again. “Maybe you lost that part of you that you need to keep yourself from getting angry.”

Surprisingly, all of the Elements nodded and affirmed their agreement with Pinkie's statement.

“Would you like a cupcake, Princess? It'll make you feel better.” Pinkie held up a cupcake before the Princess. Celestia had to admit that it looked quite appetizing, with pink frosting and gold sprinkles set upon it in the pattern of her Cutie Mark.

“Thank you, but not right now, Pinkie.” Celestia was forced to answer in reply. As a Princess, she could not allow herself to be seen eating casually in public. Celestia lowered her head down to Pinkie's ear and whispered, “But I would like to try that later. Perhaps you could put it into a box so I can take it home with me.”

Celestia turned her head, away from the Elements. As valuable as this session had been, she could feel the time she had lost for the investigation. It was time to get started.

Celestia stood in the doorway to Twilight's study. Except for the presence of Penny Dream in the room, the study appeared exactly as the last time she had seen it.

“Your Highness?” Penny Dream interrupted her thoughts. Realizing what was needed Celestia immediately dampened her Thaumic signature. “Uh, never mind.” Penny Dream concluded.

Penny Dream must have been a striking mare in her day. Her copper-red coat was surely the inspiration for the 'Penny' part of her name, while her poufy bright-white mane, nearly a match for Pinkie's, could make the clouds envious. Her Cutie Mark, which was two copper bits within a white cloud, only served to complement her name.

Now past her prime, it was easy to see why Penny Dream had sold her business and sought retirement. Though Penny Dream's white mane was mostly immune from the ravages of time, the rest of her was not. Her face had begun to show some wrinkles and her muzzle held a frosting of gray and a little of that bulbosity which was common to the elderly. Her legs also no longer held the sleek lines of youth but had begun to entertain a few wrinkles about certain joints.

Standing near the entrance, a mere three paces into the room, Penny Dream opened her spell book, which was actually her old lab journal, giving it a moment's review. Closing her book, she began to cast her magic.

Celestia fought back an urge to instruct the mare on how to perform her tasks. They had already discussed how the investigation should proceed and Penny Dream had assured her that no disruptive or destructive magics would be involved.

Well her mind seems as capable as ever. Observed Celestia, as she sensed Penny form a surprisingly intricate and delicate spell matrix. At first she thought it was Oak Mare's standard spell used for enhancing residual Thaumic energies, but quickly revised her opinion as the room was illuminated by the faint glow of fluorescing Thaumic residues. I'm sure that that's Cold Light's last spell. I certainly wasn't expecting Miss Dream to know forensics.

“How is it that you know Cold Light's Residual Refulgence?” Celestia asked. “That's a rather specialized forensic spell known only to the Guard and Senior Mages at the School for Gifted Unicorns. They use it for investigating very faint Thaumic residues wherever there is evidence of a magical disturbance.”

Penny Dream paused from her examination of the magical residue and turned towards Celestia. “Is that what she called it? I wouldn't know about the Guard or the spells they use, Your Highness, but Cold Light and I were close friends. We grew up together as Fillys in Trottingham and kept in touch. Penny Dream sighed and bowed her head. “I still miss her...”

Celestia sighed inwardly as she remembered Cold Light and the tragic incident with a defective chariot. Still when she and Luna had interviewed Penny Dream shortly after breakfast that morning they had caught nothing to indicate her association with Cold Light. That was probably because the questioning had been focused on Penny Dream herself and the magic behind her Books. In hindsight, their interview had been all too brief. They had cut it off after discovering that Penny Dream had developed her own special talent into these same Magic Books not as a nefarious plot but as a the realization of a lifelong dream.

Penny Dream's special talent was the ability to create and enter the world of whatever story she was reading. As a filly and even as a young adult, she had taken great joy in entertaining young foals, taking them with her on thrilling adventures into the world of their favorite books.

But her joy became a dim memory as the adult world brought with it its own burdens such as working for a living. Such stories as most adult ponies were interested in were too embarrassing and graphic for Penny to dare venture into. Taking an adult into their fantasy world was to her either boredom or nightmare, sometimes both.

Eventually Penny Dream found a way to make use of her special talent by becoming a writer of adventure stories, and a successful one at that. Using her talent she merely had to live the adventure and then write it up. It was a living, but she found it unsatisfying. To Penny Dream the written word taken without her talent was a hollow experience.

Feeling frustrated and missing out on the joy of bringing other ponies into the world of a story, Penny Dream conceived the notion that it might be possible to imbue the book itself with her own special magic. Finding a way to replicate the mysterious workings of her special talent had been an arduous task, filled with many trials and disappointments.

It took her fifteen years of fumbling research and development, without even the benefit of an education in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, but Penny Dream eventually achieved her dream of creating her Magic Book. It did not perform precisely as did her own talent, but it did allow the reader to participate in the worlds created by written words.

Sadly for Penny Dream, by the time she realized her dream of bringing her special gift to the masses, most of life had already passed her by. Her fortune was spent, her notoriety as an author had faded and age and declining health sapped her strength.

Penny Dream woke from her fugue and resumed speaking, waking Celestia from her own musings as well. “Cold Light was always a great help to me when I was trying to develop my Magic Book, always encouraging me to keep on trying, and giving me new ideas that I could try. That Magic Book has as much of her magic in it as it does mine.”

That's it! Celestia crowed in sudden understanding. That's how Penny Dream obtained those restricted spells. Working for the Guard as she did, Cold Light certainly had the access to spells and ideas from that section of the Library.

Penny Dream was still talking. “Along the way she developed these diagnostic spells for me. They were incredibly useful, allowing me to diagnose and understand how my spell components were failing and breaking.”

Again Celestia had a flash of insight. And now I understand how Cold Light came up with those forensic spells so rapidly during the Unicorn-bomber incident. She must have based them on the work she originally did for Penny Dream.

Laying aside the question of how Penny had obtained her diagnostic spells, Celestia now looked about, taking an interest in the Thaumic residues that had been revealed. It was not a pretty scene. Obscuring the entire room was a thick fog that blanketed everything like a pink miasma. Within this fog she could make out several bluish blobs of Thaumic residue that only happened to be visible due to their close proximity to the doorway where she stood.

“It's− a disaster. I can tell you that much, Your Highness.” Penny spoke cautiously. Celestia had feared as much.

“In all the years I spend developing my book,” Penny Dream observed, “I've witnessed countless failures of the Reality builder. Events where it literally tore itself apart, spewing cascades of magic residue everywhere. But I've never seen anything nearly as bad as this.”

Penny's words were like a sword driven through Celestia's heart. It was the pain of all the fears she had for Twilight descending upon her all at once, clawing away at her hope. “Please, can you do anything to resolve this present mess?” Celestia was amazed to hear herself speaking calmly and rationally. “Could you at least do something about this fog?”

Penny seemed to start, as if realizing something. “Why yes, Your Highness. That was just the inclusive display. I'm actually illuminating four different magical residues at the moment.” Penny Dream's horn flashed briefly, modifying the spell matrix she had constructed for the forensic spell.

Vanished now was the rose fog. Now Celestia could see numerous blobs of Thaumic residue, exhibiting a blue color, floating about the room. Celestia of course knew a great deal about magic, and could see that these blobs of residual magic told their own story. Normally, the Thaumic residue which originated from the destruction of a spell would bear a faint attraction to other remnants of the same spell. One could expect, considering the time which had already passed, that these blobs of spent magic would have begun to coalesce.

“Your Highness,” Penny called out, “What we are seeing now are the energies that comprised the Reality builder. If I could direct your attention to the book.”

“Yes, I see.” Celestia replied. “A good fragment of that spell's Thaumic residue should have remained in the book.” She stopped there, not willing to voice her own conclusions. Celestia had found over the years that ponies would willingly discard their own theories in favor of her own, sheerly on account of the weight of her prestige and title. By not giving any conclusions or theories of her own, Celestia effectively forced Penny Dream to speak her own.

“Well, Your Highness.” Penny Dream resumed her explanation after a lengthy pause. “This tells me that the Reality builder came totally unraveled. And I mean totally. Normally there should be a significant amount of residual magic clinging to the book. The builder doesn't contain a great deal of Thaumic energy and so it can’t exceed a certain level of dispersal. But as you can see, there is virtually nothing left of it, the disruption it experienced was severe enough to cast away all of its energies.” Celestia nodded, Penny's explanation fell in line with her own thinking.

“Only once have I seen such complete destruction occur, and that was during one experiment where I injected a large quantity of Thaumic Energy into the Reality builder.”

“How did you manage to inject additional magic into the Reality ‘builder'?” Celestia asked, her curiosity piqued. She used Penny's terminology for what she suspected was actually a Reality Generator – a prohibited magic. “Once the builder has been created and bound to the book, would it not become static and require no additional magic?”

“Yes and no, Your Highness. The builder is bound to the content of the book; however the book always starts out blank. The builder has an additional section of active magic which I added to its matrix. That active section is designed to receive and consume an external spell called the Libris, which I use to convey the literary content into the builder. The actual story as it were. Once it does so, the book contains and displays the printed story.

In that experiment I mentioned, I attached a fully charged Thaumic accumulator to the Libris. The results were quite similar to what you see here. Why would anyone attempt to inject Thaumic Energy into the book like that?”

Celestia could not imagine any scenario by which Twilight would take to performing such an irresponsible experiment on a book she intended to give as a gift to Spike. After a while she shelved her fruitless speculations. “What about the other thing you mentioned, the Libris?” she asked.

Another flash from Penny Dream's horn and the floating blue blobs were replaced by a cone of fine green particles sprayed out from the book's epicenter, one larger green blob floated near the book. “Oh dear.” Penny announced in a shocked voice.

“Please explain.” Commanded Celestia, unable to interpret what she was seeing in front of her.

“That green blob near the book is typical residue I would expect to see from the Libris spell itself. But that fine spray of green particles is what's left of the Libris's literary content. I'm afraid that little of the story made its way into the builder.”

“How would the generator function if it had no story content?” Celestia was forced to ask. “What would happen to a pony caught in such a reality?”

Penny Dream's eyes expanded their Irises dramatically and then shrunk down. “Are you saying, Uh Your Highness, that some pony was caught up in this− this Disaster?!” It hadn't been intentional, but suddenly Celestia realized that she had neglected to inform Penny Dream that a pony had indeed been involved.

“Yes,” was Celestia's simple reply. “Now, please tell me if you know, what effect would the lack of story content have on the builder and the pony caught up in it?”

Penny Dream began to shake and her legs slowly folded underneath her. “I− I don't know.” She sobbed. “In all of my experiments I never attempted entry into a blank or damaged Reality. A-are you sure that a pony was transported into this book?” Celestia nodded. “W-Who was it?” Penny asked.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia felt like breaking down in tears as she spoke the name of her former student and now sister Alicorn. She was sure that her eyes were watery.

“Nooo!” Penny Dream responded in anguish at hearing how her life's work had been responsible for hurting the newest Princess. She fell down, burying her head in her hooves, weeping.

Though her own heart was breaking, Celestia nevertheless found the compassion within her to comfort another of her little ponies. She immediately lay down and placed one of her wings over the elderly mare. A motherly nuzzle over her neck also seemed to help.

Soon Penny Dream's sobs came to an end. “T−Thank you Your Highness. Your kindness is far more than I deserve.” Celestia retreated by getting back on her own hooves, allowing Penny to rise up as well.

With a final sniff Penny Dream illuminated her horn and caused the forensic spell, Residual Refulgence, to shift again. Once again the traces of another spell contained within the workings of the Magic Book was revealed.

This Thaumic residue appeared as visible entities within the room. Their arrangement was quite striking. Strings of tiny golden bubbles formed themselves into chains. Extending outward from a golden haze, occupying the location where Twilight had sat, they arced gracefully upwards and outwards before descending down again.

The paper scraps! Celestia observed with some excitement. Every hazy golden thread seemed have its own unique terminus in one of the paper scraps the Elements had mentioned. It was hard to tell without taking inventory, but it seemed to her as if every scrap of paper, both blackened an otherwise, was pointed out by its own golden thread of Thaumic residue. Interestingly, the delicate wispy threads never touched the paper scraps. They faded out at about a hoofs distance away from the paper scraps.

Penny Dream had a stunned expression on her face. “I− I'm sorry Your Highness. I have never seen anything even remotely like this.”

“What is it you expected to see?” Celestia asked calmly. Inwardly she felt a strange elation at possessing some secret and prior knowledge about the paper scraps littering the floor. Almost, she allowed herself to hope that this was the clue which would bring Twilight home.

“These are the residual energies associated with the Transport Engine. It converts the pony into etheric form and transports them into the Reality prepared by the builder. I would have expected a solid chain of these residue bubblies trailing from the book to the position where the po-Princess was. Instead we have this...” Penny's voice trailed off in confusion.

“Thank you Penny Dream.” Celestia announced to the shocked mare. “Your answer has been the first piece of good news I have heard since we began this investigation.”

“Please, just call me Princess or even Celestia.” The Solar Diarch replied with a smile. “You told me that your Transport Engine conveyed the pony in their etheric form. Alicorns are particularly resilient and immune to harm when in their etheric form. Even when the Reality builder exploded, it was probably not enough to harm her.”

“Truly, Your Highness?” Questioned a hopeful Penny Dream, having immediately forgotten Celestia's request that she stop using that form of address.

“I have every confidence that it is so.” Affirmed Celestia with a smile. “Further, if you consider the fact that these scraps of paper represent the remains of the book, then what we see here is evidence that Twilight was successfully transported into it.”

“Yes. I see that now!” Penny dream exclaimed. She wore a happy smile for a moment but then suddenly lost it.

“I'm so sorry Princess.” Penny declared sadly. “Even if Princess Twilight is still alive, I have no way to reach her.” A brief pulse of light from her horn changed the parameters for the Residual Refulgence spell once again, turning the room pink with a foggy miasma.

“Normally, a nexus should form within the book, an access point joining our reality with the Book's reality.” Penny Dream paused and took a deep breath.

“But this dispersed fog of magical residue tells me that there is no nexus, no joining point between the Book's reality and ours.”

Penny Dream and Celestia spent another half hour performing detailed magical scans on all items in the room, but nothing further leading to Twilight's fate was discovered. Celestia in particular had paid attention to the paper scraps as they had been singled out by both the elements and Penny Dream's forensic spell, but there was nothing there that she could discover. No Thaumic residue, no magical aura, nothing at all to her magical senses.

Nothing that is, except for the fact that she could not levitate them. Her curiosity had led her to attempt to levitate one of the blackened pieces of paper. It shocked to her core to discover that she could not move it! At first puzzled, Celestia tried to levitate it with greater and greater amounts of her magic. Soon, fearing she might contaminate the scene, she was forced to abandon her efforts. Still not giving up, Celestia asked Penny Dream to levitate a blackened scrap of paper. The results were the same.

After some thought, Celestia turned her attention to one of the un-blackened pieces of paper. She felt vaguely disappointed to discover that it levitated upwards exactly as she had expected. Releasing it from her magic, it flipped once in the air and came down to rest – blackened side up. Quickly testing out a theory, Celestia confirmed that the same piece of paper she had lifted but seconds ago was now immune to her magic. At least this discovery showed that all of the scraps of paper were the same, some were just flipped the wrong way, or the right way, however one chose to think about it.

Heavy was Celestia's heart when she finally exited the Library. Penny Dream too was acting subdued. Their best efforts had failed to find any clue as to Twilight's present situation. Penny Dream was visibly saddened at the loss of Princess Twilight.

Celestia’s first order of business was to thank Penny Dream for her assistance and order her wait in the Royal Chariot. She dreaded her next task. That of addressing the group of five ponies, and one dragon, that were eagerly waiting for her to make some sort of happy announcement.

“Will Twilight be coming home today?” Pinkie shot off a question. “Ooh. I'd better get started on a 'Welcome-Back-We're-Glad-You-Were-Rescued' party!”

The eager hopeful faces of Twilight's friends tore at Celestia's heart. It was too much, too soon. Great tears formed in her eyes and tracked slowly down her muzzle, shocking the Elements and even some of the Guards who were close enough to see.

“I'm sorry everypony.” Celestia began her painful announcement. She could see everypony's expressions falling, their ears bending backwards as well. “We were unable to discover anything about Twilight's whereabouts.” A silent groan, not so much heard as it was felt, came from the assembled ponies. ”But despite that unhappy news, there are a few reasons to remain hopeful.

“First - I have good reason to believe that Twilight survived the initial experience of having the Book explode, however rough that may have been for her, it should have caused her no lasting harm.”

“We'll that's somthin' ta be glad about.” Applejack exclaimed, followed by sounds of assent from the rest of those assembled there.

“Excuse me, Princess...” Fluttershy's timid voice called out. “But you said there were a couple of reasons that we...” Her voice faded suddenly into inaudible squeaks as she noticed everypony had turned their attention to her.

“Thank you Fluttershy. Yes there is one more thing. I have investigated those paper scraps that you reported to me and I believe they hold the only clue we have for getting Twilight back.”

“What's so special about them – uh, Your Highness.” Demanded Rainbow Dash. “They look just like burned pieces of paper, so why do they glow in the dark?”

Princess Celestia proceeded to relate to those assembled everything she had discovered about the scraps of paper blown out from the book.

“... And even though they remain a mystery, I feel that those pieces of paper are perhaps our last and most valuable link to Twilight. But we have to find out what that is.

“I'm so sorry to impose on you like this, but could I ask you girls to keep a watch over those scraps of paper at night. Please report anything unusual that happens with them.”

And this will give them something useful to do to keep them out of trouble. Celestia thought privately to herself.

“Spike, you won't be returning with me. I want you to stay here in the Library. You should be fine if one or more of the girls stays here with you every evening.” Spike’s face lit up with joy at the prospect of returning home and being able to help.

“Now remember, Spike,” Celestia lowered her head down to look him in the face, “I'll want you to send me a report every morning, even if there's nothing to report.”

“Yes ma'am!” Spike brought up his right foreclaw and saluted in Guard style.

Addressing the assembled Elements, Celestia attempted to encourage them with a few parting words. “Even though Twilight is still lost, we still have hope. Don't─”

Whatever Celestia had been about to say was left unsaid as a curl of sparkling rose colored smoke darted in front of her and with a tiny -pop- transformed itself into a scroll.

Suddenly Celestia felt her magic grow unsteady as she caught the scroll. The smoke had been a rose color and the feel of the magic within it was familiar, like... It's not possible. Could it be? Hope whispered within her mind.

The Elements, expecting to hear whatever encouragement the Princess had been about to say to them looked on with puzzlement as Celestia fumbled with the letter. Clumsily she broke the seal bearing her mark and unrolled the scroll.

Dear Princess Celestia.
It has been a long time since I wrote you a friendship report...

As she read the letter, Celestia had to stop numerous times to blink the tears out of her eyes. Her little Twilight was alive! And somehow, incredibly, had managed to contact her!

Joyously she tossed her head about in a large circle causing an enormous rolling wave to pass through her mane, the sight of which caused everypony's eyes to pop.

Suddenly Celestia's eyes expanded as a thought struck her. Oh no. Whatever chance allowed Twilight to send me a letter from another universe might not last long. I'll need to reply immediately.

Quick as a thought, Celestia teleported scroll, quill and ink out of her carriage and set to penning her reply

My Dearest Twilight.

Please know that I have indeed received your letter.

We have all been so incredibly worried for you. The news that you are doing well is a huge relief to myself. And it soon will be to all your friends as well.

I urge you to write again with more details about your adventure and this other universe you say you have fallen into. We will bend every resource we have towards finding you and bringing you home.

Hoping for your safe return

Princess Celestia

Writing the letter had taken less than a minute, rolling it up and affixing her seal a mere moment, translating it into the magic smoke which would send it speeding off to Twilight but a mere flicker of thought.

Celestia watched anxiously as the smoke circled aimlessly around her head. Soon it slowed down, eventually dissolving away on the light breeze. Celestia's ears drooped.

Spike must have been watching the letter's progress. “I don't understand Princess. When I send a letter that can't get through, it always returns.”

“I used a variant of the normal spell, Spike. It sacrifices the ability to return the letter for the benefit of extended range.”

The ponies wore confused expressions. Celestia had been speaking to them when suddenly a letter had consumed her full attention for several minutes. Then she had attempted to send a letter, which had failed.

“Iff'n ya don't mind my sayin', Princess.” Applejack began. “That was some awful urgent letter. I hope it weren't somthin' that takes ya away from helpin' us find Twilight.”

Celestia gave Applejack a bittersweet smile. Dear Applejack, always grounded in the important things.

Taking a deep breath, Celestia answered Applejack. “Do not worry, Applejack. That letter was some good news for a change. In fact, I have an idea.

“Spike, if you please, would you read this letter out loud for everypony.” She levitated Twilight's letter over to the young dragon.

“Of course, Princess. I'm always ready to help.” He took the letter and began to unroll it.

In truth, Celestia could have read the letter to them herself, but this way she would be able to observe their individual reactions when they received the good news. And Spike had certainly started off with a bit of excitement.

“HOLY SMOKE!” The dragon shouted, his eyes bugging wide and his tail ramrod stiff. “It's a letter from Twilight!”

“Let me see that!” Cried Pinkie, grabbing the letter out of Spike's claws. “It is! It is! It's a letter from Twilight!” She began jumping up and down, in her excitement neglecting to actually read the letter.

Suddenly a blue aura surrounded the letter, whisking it away from Pinkie's grasp. “Hey! I was reading that.” Pinkie mock grumped.

“Actually, you kinda weren't.” Replied Rainbow Dash. “C'mon Rarity. Let's hear what Twilight has to say.”

Spike who became indignant at having the letter taken away from him suddenly settled down with a happy smile as soon as he realized Rarity had the letter. Celestia for the most part was enjoying their antics, hiding a smile behind her hoof.

Rarity held the scroll out in front of her, cleared her throat and began to read its contents.

“Dear Princess Celestia.”
“It has been a long time since I wrote you a friendship report...”

A happy hum seemed to come from the others as they revelled in hearing Twilight's words.

“Yes, I know that I am now a Princess and that I no longer have a duty to report to you. But know this. In my heart I will always be your faithful student. And even though this letter will never find its way to you, I have such a desire to tell you what I have learned that I can barely contain myself.”

“But, Twilight, WE DID GET YOUR LETTER.” Pinkie shouted as loud as she could, as if Twilight just needed a bit of volume to hear her reply.

“Darn tootin' we did!” Added Applejack. “Yeeeeeee-Haaaaawww!” She screamed, flinging her hat upwards.

Rarity wore a smile while she waited patiently for everypony quiet down. Soon she resumed reading the letter.

“When you think you are lost, completely and irrevocably lost, lost without hope and without light, at times like those it is a true friend who searches for you in your darkness and guides you back to the light.
“I thought I was lost, inside a pocket universe created by a damaged enchanted story. I thought I was lost in a story with no escape, no hope, and no friends. That all whom I met were fictitious characters. Incapable of friendship.”

Rarity paused, perhaps dismayed at the grim tone of the letter. The other Elements appeared equally shocked and Spikes lower lip was quivering. “Please continue Rarity.” Celestia spoke up, encouraging her with a gentle smile.

“Then I met somepony, only he's not a pony, he's something called a human, and his name is Mike.” At this point Rarity's eyes expanded momentarily and she acquired a quirky smile.
“When I first met Mike, I was near death's door.−”

“Oh no!” Interrupted Fluttershy, suddenly concerned for the health of her friend. “Eep!” she squeaked, belatedly realizing that she had interrupted.

“He saved my life and took me into his home.”
“He has shown me kindness and generosity.”
“He has been honest and loyal and frequently makes me laugh.”
“In short, Mike became my friend.”

While Rarity read those lines, Celestia observed each Element straighten up and fill with joy when her own Element was in turn mentioned.

“Whoa Whoa Whoa.” Interrupted Rainbow. “Who's this Mike guy? How do we know we can trust him with our Twilight?”

“I think he sounds like a nice Stallion.” Murmured Fluttershy so low that Celestia almost missed it. Privately, Celestia agreed with Fluttershy's opinion.

“Maybe he's Twilight's Special Somepony.” Pinkie's suggestion startled Celestia so much that the ripple in her mane stopped for a second. A quick glance at Rarity's deepening smile told her that Pinkie was not the first to imagine such a thought.

“Maybe if ya'll let Rarity finish readin' then maybe we can find out.” Suggested Applejack.

“Only− I was drowning in despair, because despite my initial joy at meeting Mike, I believed him to be no more than a character. A mere shell of a pony (Mike would use the word 'person' instead of the word 'pony'.)”

“I knew it!” Rainbow exclaimed. “He's a dirty no-good.” She said, while smacking her forehooves together threateningly.

“Mike showed himself to be a true friend when he recognized my inner despair. He convinced me to divulge my fears, even though I knew such knowledge would destroy him. And then Mike did something wonderful, he banished those fears.
“You see, Mike proved to me, to my complete satisfaction using nothing but logic and reason, that he was a real pony (or person as he would say). And further to that, he showed me, again to my complete satisfaction, that this universe where I find myself is in fact a real universe.
“Mike gave me so much today.
“Today, I found out that I have a true friend.
“Today, I found out that I am alive in a new universe full of limitless possibilities.
“And today, I found a hope that there is some way to get home.
“Because, as Mike told me, If I'm not lost in a pocket universe created by an enchanted book, then I arrived in this universe by some other mechanism. And I mean to discover what that mechanism is.
“Full of hope and abounding with joy- Your faithful student.
“Twilight Sparkle.”

As Rarity lowered the letter, Celestia could see that her eyes were full of tears, just as her own had been. In fact, all of the ponies, and even Spike were sniffling back tears of joy. Somehow none of them asked about sending a letter back to Twilight. They must have realized that she had already tried and failed.

Celestia took the letter away from Rarity. “I'll be taking this with me. I need to bring it back to Luna as soon as possible. I'm sure that reading it will bring her as much happiness as it has brought to you. She has been just as upset at losing Twilight as any of us.”

“Awww.” Pinkie interjected. “Do you have to go already, Princess? Don't you want to stay and have a 'Twilight-Is-Alive-And-Doing-Okay' party with us?”

“Thank you Pinkie, but Luna would be very angry with me if I delayed any longer in bringing her this good news.” Celestia lowered her mouth to Pinkie's ear and whispered conspiratorially, but loud enough for all to hear, “But if it will make you feel any happier, I can tell you that I've found that part of me which keeps me from getting angry.”

“Good bye Princess.” All the other Elements offered as they watched her turn away.

It was not until the chariot had lifted off and she was well on her way back to Canterlot that she discovered the pastry box stuffed with a dozen of Pinkie’s ‘Celestial Cupcakes’ sitting on the seat beside her.

Twilight's World

by grouchopony

18. Surprises